The Senate Rules Committee on Thursday approved six of nine nominees to the Coastal Zone Management Commission, three for St. Thomas and three for St. John. But the governor's nominee to replace Albert Paiewonsky, who chairs the CZM Commission, said he wasn't invited to testify.
The Senate Rules Committee on Thursday approved six of nine nominees to the Coastal Zone Management Commission — three for St. Thomas and three for St. John.
Two current members up for reappointment were not scheduled to appear, and one new nominee, the governor's choice to succeed commission chair Albert Paiewonsky, was not invited.
Approved for the St. John CZM Committee were St. John administrator Julien Harley, retired educator Madaline H. Sewer and attorney J. Brion Morrisette.
Confirmed for the St. Thomas committee were retired educator Ida A. White, former Realtor Sarah M. Simmonds and Anthon Winston Adams, project manager for school construction.
The nominee who wasn't invited, Robert Mathes, was nominated by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to succeed CZM Commission chair Albert Paiewonsky.
"I didn't know anything about today's hearing until I heard it on my car radio about six this morning," Mathes said Thursday. "Nobody was more surprised than me" that he was not invited to testify, he said.
Mathes, retired from a 24-year government career that included serving as Consumer Affairs commissioner and in the Public Works Department, said, "I left my application personally at the Legislature three or four months ago."
He said he telephoned Jim Southerland, an aide to Rules Committee chair Violet Anne Golden, on Thursday morning but wasn't able to reach him.
Harley, who has served 10 years on the committee, is being reappointed. A possible conflict of interest was raised by Sen. Gregory Bennerson regarding Harley's role as St. John administrator.
Southerland said "the reappointment of Harley to CZM raises an immediate question of conflict." Southerland said holding the two posts may mean that Harley would have to recuse himself from a large number of CZM cases.
"It is a judgment call on his effectiveness to the commission because of his all-inclusive oversight as administrator," Southerland said.
Harley responded, "I am my own person." He said he had consulted a lawyer who had told him there would be no conflict. Harley said he would recuse himself if he had an interest in a matter, or if the applicant was a good friend.
Conflict concerns were also addressed to Simmonds because of her real estate background. Simmonds said she was retired from the field, and her only job was working for her husband, Michael A. Simmonds, in his food distribution company, Masco.
"If there were a developer I knew, or any of my former contacts, I would recuse myself," she said.
Adams, project manager for Lockhart School, said he also would recuse himself if the situation required, but he said that was something he didn't anticipate. He said, "The biggest challenge facing CZM today is balancing development and maintaining open space while implementing all necessary CZM requirements."
Morrisette and Adams both questioned current CZM laws. Morrisette said he believes regulations and requirements of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 laws should be changed. Tier 1 applies to land seaward from a boundary, and Tier 2 applies to properties landward.
"Everything that happens in Tier 2 affects Tier 1 — it's the law of gravity," Morrisette said. If regulations for the two tiers were the same, the standards for all building criteria would be the same and it would benefit all coastal development in the territory, he said.
Sen. Adelbert Bryan took issue with all but two nominees. He accused White of being anti-development because of presentations she had made in the Legislature opposing the development of a bowling alley in the Bolongo Bay area.
White said several residents had opposed the rezoning of the area. She said they were not opposed to development but wanted to retain the integrity of the neighborhood, and that some of their concerns had come true.
Aside from Bryan's questions, the committee appeared satisfied with the nominees' qualifications, approving Adams and Harley unanimously. White, Morrisette, Simmonds and Sewer received 4-1 votes with Bryan dissenting. Senators voting were Golden, Bennerson, Bryan, Judy Gomez and Almando "Rocky" Liburd. Committee members Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Vargrave Richards were excused.
Up for reappointment, but not slated to appear Thursday, were retired Port Authority official Austin "Babe" Monsanto of St. Thomas and St. John resident Marquise James.
As for Mathes, Southerland said Thursday afternoon that he would have to look into the matter on Friday.
The approved nominations will now be forwarded to the full Senate for a vote up or down.

The Senate Rules Committee on Thursday approved six of nine nominees to the Coastal Zone Management Commission — three for St. Thomas and three for St. John.
Two current members up for reappointment were not scheduled to appear, and one new nominee, the governor's choice to succeed Albert Paiewonsky, who chairs the commission, was not invited.
Approved for the St. John CZM Committee were St. John administrator Julien Harley, retired educator Madaline H. Sewer and attorney J. Brion Morrisette.
Confirmed for the St. Thomas committee were retired educator Ida A. White, former Realtor Sarah M. Simmonds and Anthon Winston Adams, project manager for school construction.
The nominee who wasn't invited, Robert Mathes, was nominated by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to succeed CZM Commission chair Albert Paiewonsky.
"I didn't know anything about today's hearing until I heard it on my car radio about 6 this morning," Mathes said Thursday. "Nobody was more surprised than me" that he was not invited to testify, he said.
Mathes, retired from a 24-year government career that included serving as Consumer Affairs commissioner and in the Public Works Department, said, "I left my application personally at the Legislature three or four months ago."
He said he telephoned Jim Southerland, an aide to Rules Committee chair Violet Anne Golden, on Thursday morning but wasn't able to reach him.
Harley, who has served 10 years on the committee, is being reappointed. A possible conflict of interest was raised by Sen. Gregory Bennerson regarding Harley's role as St. John administrator.
Southerland said "the reappointment of Harley to CZM raises an immediate question of conflict." Southerland said holding the two posts may mean that Harley would have to recuse himself from a large number of CZM cases.
"It is a judgment call on his effectiveness to the commission because of his all-inclusive oversight as administrator," Southerland said.
Harley responded, "I am my own person." He said he had consulted a lawyer who had told him there would be no conflict. Harley said he would recuse himself if he had an interest in a matter, or if the applicant was a good friend.
Conflict concerns were also addressed to Simmonds because of her real estate background. Simmonds said she was retired from the field, and her only job was working for her husband, Michael A. Simmonds, in his food distribution company, Masco.
"If there were a developer I knew, or any of my former contacts, I would recuse myself," she said.
Adams, project manager for Lockhart School, said he also would recuse himself if the situation required, but he said that was something he didn't anticipate. He said, "The biggest challenge facing CZM today is balancing development and maintaining open space while implementing all necessary CZM requirements."
Morrisette and Adams both questioned current CZM laws. Morrisette said he believes regulations and requirements of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 laws should be changed. Tier 1 applies to land seaward from a boundary, and Tier 2 applies to properties landward.
"Everything that happens in Tier 2 affects Tier 1 — it's the law of gravity," Morrisette said. If regulations for the two tiers were the same, the standards for all building criteria would be the same and it would benefit all coastal development in the territory, he said.
Sen. Adelbert Bryan took issue with all but two nominees. He accused White of being anti-development because of presentations she had made in the Legislature opposing the development of a bowling alley in the Bolongo Bay area.
White said several residents had opposed the rezoning of the area. She said they were not opposed to development but wanted to retain the integrity of the neighborhood, and that some of their concerns had come true.
Aside from Bryan's questions, the committee appeared satisfied with the nominees' qualifications, approving Adams and Harley unanimously. White, Morrisette, Simmonds and Sewer received 4-1 votes with Bryan dissenting. Senators voting were Golden, Bennerson, Bryan, Judy Gomez and Almando "Rocky" Liburd. Committee members Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Vargrave Richards were excused.
Up for reappointment, but not slated to appear Thursday, were retired Port Authority official Austin "Babe" Monsanto of St. Thomas and St. John resident Marquise James.
As for Mathes, Southerland said Thursday afternoon that he would have to look into the matter on Friday.
The approved nominations will now be forwarded to the full Senate for a vote up or down.

A 35-member gymnastics team from Denmark will arrive in the territory Saturday for a week of performances on St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix.
The team, which is visiting the Virgin Islands for the first time, was formed by Danish Gymnastics International in 1992 to promote awareness of the tradition of Danish gymnastics. The organization, which is both financially and politically independent, was created by two other sports entities, the Danish Gymnastics and Youth Organization and the Danish Shooting, Gymnastics and Sports Association, according to the DGI web site.
One goal of the team's yearly trips is to make new friends in different countries, a release from the V.I. Tourism Department stated.
The release quoted Tourism Commissioner Rafael Jackson as saying that his department, "with the assistance of several government agencies and civic organizations," has arranged "a spectacular week of activities for the group." He did not identify the agencies and organizations.
Following is the schedule of the team's appearances:
Saturday, Aug. 26 – Emancipation Garden, St. Thomas, at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 27 – Winston Wells Ballpark, St. John, at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 28 – University of the Virgin Islands golf course clubhouse, St. Thomas, at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 31 – Educational Complex, St. Croix, at 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 1 – Good Hope School, St. Croix, at 10 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2 – Whim Museum, St. Croix, at 11 a.m. This presentation will be in conjunction with Starving Artists Day activities at the Whim Plantation. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children, with proceeds to benefit the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Association.
For more information on the appearances of the gymnastics team, call Beverly Drew-Petrus at the Tourism Department, 774-8784.

A 35 member gymnastic team from Denmark will arrive in the territory Saturday to begin a week of performances on all three islands.
The team, who are visiting the islands for the first time, was formed by Danish Gymnastics International in 1992 to promote awareness of the tradition of Danish gymnastics. The Danish gymnastics organization, which is both financially and politically independent, was created by the fusion of two large Danish sports organizations, the Danish Gymnastics and Youth Organization and the Danish Shooting Gymnastics and Sports Association, according to DGI's web site.
According to a release from the Tourism Department, one of the goals of the team's yearly trips is to make new friends in different counties.
Tourism Commissioner Rafael "Rafie" Jackson said, "The Tourism Department with the assistance of several government agencies and civic organizations have arranged a spectacular week of activities for the group." However, Jackson did not specify what agencies and organizations will be assisting.
The following is the schedule of appearances:
Saturday, Aug 26 – Emancipation Garden, St. Thomas at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug 27 – Winston Wells Ballpark, St. John at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug 28 – University of the Virgin Islands Golf Course at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug 31 – St. Croix Educational Complex at 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept 1 – Good Hope School, St. Croix at 10 a.m.
Saturday, Sept 2 – Whim Museum, St. Croix at 11 a.m.
The show on Saturday, Sept 2 will be in conjunction with Starving Artist Day activities on St. Croix. Admission will be $5 for adults and $1 for kids. All proceeds go to the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Association.
For more information on the appearances of the gymnastics team call Beverly Drew-Petrus at 774-8784.

Delays in the case of a 25-year-old man accused of strangling his girlfriend last October in the Frederiksted area and burying her body in their backyard will push the murder trial into next month.
Marvin Dominguez’s court-appointed attorney, Richard Daley, has a motion pending in Territorial Court asking that the case involving the death of Patricia Ann Haumacher, 30, be dropped because the government has yet to produce evidence against his client. The lack of test results on DNA, hair, blood and soil samples submitted to the FBI Crime Laboratory by government prosecutors in early March means the trial that was set to start on Monday will be delayed.
Daley said on Thursday that Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews is scheduled to hear several motions concerning the case, including the motion to dismiss, on Sept. 4.
Dominguez is being held on $100,000 bond. After turning himself in to police in late November, he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.
Members of Haumacher’s family in New Jersey reported her missing on Nov. 9 after not hearing from her for more than a month. On Nov. 13, V.I. police interviewed Dominguez, who told investigators she had been having family problems and had left the island. The last time acquaintances of Dominguez and Haumacher recalled seeing her was around Oct. 8.
Dominguez turned himself in on Nov. 29, soon after authorities had again questioned him about Haumacher’s whereabouts. The next day, police found Haumacher’s body, bound and gagged, inside a duffel bag in a shallow grave in the yard of the house the two had shared in Estate Two Brothers. An autopsy determined that the victim died of strangulation and had been dead for one to two months.

By November shoppers at Tutu Park Mall will be able to shop longer and access Kmart directly from the mall without going outside.
Construction to join the mall and Kmart through a 16 foot entrance way is set to begin in September and be completed by November, according to Pamela Morales, marketing director for Tutu Park Mall.
The entry way will be placed where After Thoughts is now. Morales said even though After Thoughts will close, "Claire's owns After Thoughts," and Claire's will still have a store in the mall. Morales said two more stores will go into the entry way area.
John Foster, co-owner of the mall, said, "Both corporations knew it was something that had to be done to facilitate the entire shopping experience at Tutu Park Mall."
The expanded hours will also allow for more events at the mall, Morales said.
"Our current mall hours do not really allow for events during weekdays like community meeting, dance recital or plays, which are requests we have received lately.
Morales couldn't say exactly what the mall's expanded hours will be, only that they will be closer to Kmart's hours.
Currently the mall hours are:
Mon. – Thurs. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fri, Sat. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sun. 12 noon to 5 p.m.
Kmart's hours are:
Mon. – Sat. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sun. 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Morales said the entry way will be good for both Kmart and the mall retailers. "You won't have to go outside to enter either way. It will bring more traffic both ways."

Book review
Cradle and All
James Patterson
Little, Brown, 325 pp., $25.95
No. 22 on the Aug. 27, 2000, New York Times Best Sellers Plus list for hardback fiction
One of the most successful novelists of the day, James Patterson ("Along Came a Spider," "Kiss the Girls" – this one made into a hit movie), has opted to weave a different type of book this time, one that veers off into new territory and does it in a most unsettling way.
In "Cradle and All," Patterson has departed from his usual route of mystery and murder to take us into the backyard of the evangelist to meet. . . the devil. There's no doubt about it, he is the real thing, in flowing day-glow garb with "fathomless eyes, vengeful, bestial eyes."
The plot focuses on two teenage girls, both virgins and both pregnant, who are of prime interest to the Roman Catholic Church – and, indeed, to the world at large. With an ex-nun private detective on the case, the news media go all out to exploit the one girl in New England, while the other lives quietly in Ireland, each wondering what will become of her and her baby.
We go with them on a roller coaster ride of worldwide attention, intrigue and secret negotiations beset with plots and sub-plots. But throughout all the excitement, we never lose sight of the real power behind it all, "Beelzebub, the Evil Presence, Moloch, Mormo, which means King of the Ghouls." From the halls of the Vatican to the Ocean Walk on the shores of Rhode Island where John Kennedy is said to have courted Jacqueline Bouvier, the heroines of Patterson's saga flee the Prince of Darkness.
You will find yourself looking over your shoulder at a slight noise, checking out a shadow a second time.
One thing about this book that is the same as with its predecessors is that once you start it, you'll have a tough time putting it down. Don't start cooking and then sit down to read a bit – burnt dinner ahead!

Editor's note: Bette Davis, a longtime St. Thomas resident, will periodically review current top-selling works of fiction for the Source newspapers.

The next superintendent of the V.I. National Park on St. John said he wants the park to become more inclusive of the island's people and their lives. "I think one of my challenges is to prepare Virgin Islanders to take a more active role in management at all levels" within the park, he said.
One barrier faced by locals seeking advancement within the park service is geographic, Wendell Simpson said in a telephone interview Wednesday. In the continental United States, the training needed for advancement is more easily accessible. NPS workers can move from state to state within a region and still be in proximity to their hometowns. "In the Virgin Islands, people tend to want to stay in the islands, which is home," he noted.
The options to provide opportunities for advancement for locals here are to bring trainers in or to send workers away for training, he said, and both are expensive propositions.
Simpson also said he's interested in revitalizing park-sponsored educational programs that introduce natural history and conservation into the territory's school systems.
The newly appointed V.I. park superintendent, chosen from among about 45 applicants for the job, is a 22-year NPS veteran who has moved up the ranks by moving around the country. He has served as superintendent at two sites – first the Canaveral National Seashore in Florida and currently the Natchez Trace Parkway, a historic trail traversing three Southern states.
Geographically, his new assignment "is a much smaller park than where I am now," he noted.
In charge of a historic trade route for Tennessee boatmen taking their goods to New Orleans, Simpson said, he has been overseeing an annual budget of $9 million, maintaining 438 cultural sites visited by 7 million people a year.
Simpson's appointment to replace V.I. National Park Supt. Russell Berry Jr., who retired from the position in July, was announced last week by National Park Service regional director Jerry Belson. After more than two decades of working for the park service, Simpson said, he still considers it "one of the most rewarding agencies in the federal government." NPS personnel "largely treat each other as family and greet visitors who are there to enjoy themselves," he said.
In the course of his first two superintendencies, Simpson distinguished himself in different ways. One he doesn't like to talk about; the other he speaks of proudly.
This spring he was honored by the Department of Interior, under which the NPS falls, for increasing on-the-job safety through an employee incentive program. "Safety is a behavior thing," he said. "It's how you think and what you do. We set up a program where we were talking about safety at every meeting." The upshot, he said, was that "we had some favorable results."
Within 18 months, the employee safety program at the Natchez Trace Parkway "made a drastic difference" in the number of Workers' Compensation claims and accidents resulting in time lost in the workplace.
The matter Simpson would rather not discuss is his enforcement of regulations against nude sunbathing at the Canaveral National Seashore. In the official announcement from NPS regional headquarters in Atlanta last week, Simpson was cited for his skill at dealing with controversial issues. There are numerous website references on the Internet to his opposition to advocates of going bare at certain beaches in the Canaveral area.
In the telephone interview, all he would say about nudity at beaches that lie within national parks was, "It's illegal. I have no further comment."
While there are at least two St. John beaches off the beaten path where it is commonly known that nudity is the norm, there are other challenges on Simpson's mind as he prepares to wrap up his duties from the parkway headquarters in Tupelo, Miss. He will be trading hundreds of miles of highway and 438 cultural sites for a park on and around a small island, with numerous beaches, hills, bays, birds, beasts and marine life in his domain. He will also inherited a growing park budget which has been approved to add $1 million to its spending plan for Fiscal Year 2001.
Although national parks across the country are receiving slight boosts in their budgets, Simpson called the increment for St. John's significant. "One million dollars, that's a great boost. That's a third of their budget," he said. "I think there will be some positions filled. I think there will be a backlog of maintenance projects filled."
Beyond that, he said, he will confer with St. John park staff personnel about where they think the spending priorities lie for what he termed "flexible dollars."
His first priority once he relocates to St. John in late September, he said, will be assembling his management team. Together, he said, the team members will tackle the park service mandate for natural resource preservation.
"I'm excited about it," he said. "I look forward to the opportunity. I believe I can bring something to the table to benefit the park."

Dear Source,
Albert Lincoln, Secretary-General of the Baha'i International Community will represent the Baha'is of the world at the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. The organizers of this World Peace have asked religious communities throughout the world to join in a Day of Prayer for World Peace on Monday, Aug. 28, the opening day of the summit.
Some of the basic principles of the Baha'i Faith are the oneness of God, the oneness of mankind and oneness of religion. World peace and the elimination of all prejudice are essential to the progress and development of communities through out the world.
In the spirit of mutual respect, religious cooperation and understanding the Baha'is of the Virgin Islands encourage all faith communities to say prayers for world peace on Monday, Aug. 28, (the opening day of the summit).
Faith communities are also encouraged to say prayers for world peace during their religious activities held over the weekend of Aug. 26 and 27.
The public is also invited to prayers for world peace at the monthly devotional meeting of the Baha'is of St. Thomas on Sunday, Aug. 27 at the National Baha'i Center at 129 Contant at 10 a.m.
For more information on the Baha'i Faith call 774-3648 or email: nsavi@islands.vi or visit the website at www.baha'i.org.
Tanya Ward Benjamin
National Office of Public Information
Baha'is of the Virgin Islands

Dear Source,
Albert Lincoln, Secretary-General of the Baha'i International Community will represent the Baha'is of the world at the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. The organizers of this World Peace have asked religious communities throughout the world to join in a Day of Prayer for World Peace on Monday, Aug. 28, the opening day of the summit.
Some of the basic principles of the Baha'i Faith are the oneness of God, the oneness of mankind and oneness of religion. World peace and the elimination of all prejudice are essential to the progress and development of communities through out the world.
In the spirit of mutual respect, religious cooperation and understanding the Baha'is of the Virgin Islands encourage all faith communities to say prayers for world peace on Monday, Aug. 28, (the opening day of the summit).
Faith communities are also encouraged to say prayers for world peace during their religious activities held over the weekend of Aug. 26 and 27.
The public is also invited to prayers for world peace at the monthly devotional meeting of the Baha'is of St. Thomas on Sunday, Aug. 27 at the National Baha'i Center at 129 Contant at 10 a.m.
For more information on the Baha'i Faith call 774-3648 or email: nsavi@islands.vi or visit the website at www.baha'i.org.
Tanya Ward Benjamin
National Office of Public Information
Baha'is of the Virgin Islands