It is sad and shocking that our senators continue to ignore the repeated request of their colleague, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, for a rate investigation of our phone company.
It is particularly reprehensible in light of the recent discovery that the V.I. Telephone Corp., a regulated public utility receiving enormous tax breaks, was paying employees of other non-Vitelco companies from Vitelco's payroll.
When the Source and the Independent reported the payroll irregularities, the response was that Vitelco was keeping records and was being reimbursed by VitelCom, St. Thomas-St. John Cable TV, the Daily News and other companies owned by Jeffrey Prosser, owner of Innovative Communication Corp.
How do we know that, without an investigation or audit conducted by highly skilled, experienced people who could sleuth out even the most well-hidden irregularities?
And isn't it interesting that on Friday last, only a few days before the issue was brought up in the Legislature, Vitelco finally filed financial reports with the Public Services Commission going back as far as August 1999?
These reports are supposed to be filed monthly.
And our legislators do not see any reason for an investigation?
This raises serious questions about the senators themselves.
There has not been a thorough investigation of Vitelco since 1992. Why? Other jurisdictions require regular investigations of their telephone companies. Why do we only require investigations when the company seeks a rate increase? How can consumers be sure the company is earning its mandated 11.5 percent profit — not more and not less?
Donastorg has made this a one-man mission and he has been relentless, undoubtedly to the annoyance of his colleagues. But Donastorg has raised many legitimate issues. Among them:
– The last two rate investigations, in 1990 and 1988, each resulted in a rate decrease.
–– Current Vitelco profits are estimated at more than 25 percent, when by law the utility's maximum allowed rate of return is 11.5 percent.
–– Earnings more than tripled, from $6.2 million in 1996 to $20.5 in 1997, after the company was granted 100 percent tax breaks, and estimated earnings continue to skyrocket.
–– Vitelco billed customers more than $2 million a year for hurricane insurance it never purchased, then used a claim of financial hardship due to its lack of insurance as the basis for seeking more tax breaks. But the company has not provided the PSC with documentation of its hurricane losses.
–– Georgetown Consulting Group's preliminary report a year ago stated that Vitelco had overcharged consumers by more than $20 million.
–– The inspector general has recommended that the PSC conduct a telephone rate investigation and that the territory join the many states that mandate periodic rate reviews.
The people of the Virgin Islands, who seem to be paying high phone rates to make up for the multiple taxes that Vitelco is not paying, should be hopping mad. We hope their ire will be fully evident when they go to the polls in November.
After all, whose interests are these senators protecting? Certainly not the public's.

There are so many light-hearted things to think about at this time of year – school's out, summer's here and the Emancipation Day / Independence Day holidays are approaching, with the St. John Festival in full swing.
But it's also hurricane season in the Virgin Islands, and the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency wants the public to give some serious thought to getting ready to face whatever comes this way.
On Wednesday night at the Cruz Bay Legislature Building, officials of VITEMA, the Lieutenant Governor's Office and the University of the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center held the second in a series of disaster preparedness forums. According to Alvis Christian, VITEMA's deputy director for St. John, about 75 residents attended the first two forums, on St. Thomas and St. John, with a third scheduled for Thursday night on St. Croix.
"It's pretty good, given how close it is to festival," he said of the St. John/St. Thomas turn-out.
Representatives of the Division of Banking and Insurance, SBDC and the Planning and Natural Resources and Human Services Departments made presentations for the benefit of business owners. They went down a series of mental checklists of steps to take in getting ready for approaching storms and others to use in assessing their status in the event of a hurricane or earthquake.
Christian noted that the expertise available at the forum would not as readily be available in the aftermath of disaster because the same people would be occupied in relief efforts. "We give people a chance to meet them before, because what they do is give you broad information so you would know what to look for," he said.
Among the topics covered during the two-hour seminars were these recommendations of action to be taken long before the first tropical storm of the season approaches:
– Communications and other computer-based businesses should back up their hard drives and keep copies in a location other than their place of business. In the case of computers using modems, not only the computer equipment but also telephone systems should be equipped with surge protectors. That's because a power surge through a phone line can damage a computer through its modem.
– Business owners should take a photographic inventory of all their equipment, furnishings and other office or shop contents, and homeowners should do the same of their household effects. The photos should be wrapped in plastic or put in a waterproof container and stored in a secure location in case they are needed to back up insurance claims.
– Property owners should check with their insurance agent to see about discounts for buildings with properly set overhangs on the roof and shutters installed at the windows.
– Property owners should be aware that if a building was not noticeably damaged in the major storms of the last 11 years (since Hugo in 1989), the chances are good that the structure has been weakened. It would be wise to have a contractor inspect the building, and then to make any needed reinforcements.
– Business owners who do not already have business interruption insurance should consider acquiring it. The policies provide financial relief during periods of business loss or slowdown that result from natural disasters.
– Everyone should consider buying a generator. Virgin Islanders used to think of generators as optional investments, but after the passage of Hurricanes Hugo, Marilyn, Bertha, Georges and Lenny, presenters said, a generator may be thought of as a necessity, like a refrigerator or a stove.

It is sad and shocking that our senators continue to ignore the repeated request of their colleague, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, for a rate investigation of our phone company.
It is particularly reprehensible in light of the recent discovery that the V.I. Telephone Corp., a regulated public utility receiving enormous tax breaks, was paying employees of other non-Vitelco companies from Vitelco's payroll.
When the Source and the Independent reported the payroll irregularities, the response was that Vitelco was keeping records and was being reimbursed by VitelCom, St. Thomas-St. John Cable TV, the Daily News and other companies owned by Jeffrey Prosser, owner of Innovative Communication Corp.
How do we know that, without an investigation or audit conducted by highly skilled, experienced people who could sleuth out even the most well-hidden irregularities?
And isn't it interesting that on Friday last, only a few days before the issue was brought up in the Legislature, Vitelco finally filed financial reports with the Public Services Commission going back as far as August 1999?
These reports are supposed to be filed monthly.
And our legislators do not see any reason for an investigation?
This raises serious questions about the senators themselves.
There has not been a thorough investigation of Vitelco since 1992. Why? Other jurisdictions require regular investigations of their telephone companies. Why do we only require investigations when the company seeks a rate increase? How can consumers be sure the company is earning its mandated 11.5 percent profit — not more and not less?
Donastorg has made this a one-man mission and he has been relentless, undoubtedly to the annoyance of his colleagues. But Donastorg has raised many legitimate issues. Among them:
– The last two rate investigations, in 1990 and 1988, each resulted in a rate decrease.
–– Current Vitelco profits are estimated at more than 25 percent, when by law the utility's maximum allowed rate of return is 11.5 percent.
–– Earnings more than tripled, from $6.2 million in 1996 to $20.5 in 1997, after the company was granted 100 percent tax breaks, and estimated earnings continue to skyrocket.
–– Vitelco billed customers more than $2 million a year for hurricane insurance it never purchased, then used a claim of financial hardship due to its lack of insurance as the basis for seeking more tax breaks. But the company has not provided the PSC with documentation of its hurricane losses.
–– Georgetown Consulting Group's preliminary report a year ago stated that Vitelco had overcharged consumers by more than $20 million.
–– The inspector general has recommended that the PSC conduct a telephone rate investigation and that the territory join the many states that mandate periodic rate reviews.
The people of the Virgin Islands, who seem to be paying high phone rates to make up for the multiple taxes that Vitelco is not paying, should be hopping mad. We hope their ire will be fully evident when they go to the polls in November.
After all, whose interests are these senators protecting? Certainly not the public's.

Efforts to preserve coral reefs in the U.S. and its territories and establish a marine science laboratory on St. Croix received a boost last week when the House Resources Committee passed the Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration Act of 2000.
A proposal to build the Joint Caribbean Marine Science Center on St. Croix was a major part of the third Coral Reef Task Force Conference held on the island last November. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and scientist from across the country were on St. Croix to plan a strategy in the fight to save endangered coral reef ecosystems.
A critical part of the plan is the establishment of a marine lab devoted to supporting field research on diseases striking coral reefs. While funding has been an obstacle the Resources Committee’s approval of $64 million over four years for reef conservation means movement is being made. The legislation also contains language that would appropriate $1 million in fiscal years 2001 through 2004, for a coral disease center.
Because of the success of the former West Indies Lab, across from the St. Croix Yacht Club, and its proximity to coral reefs, experts pegged the derelict facility as an ideal site to use as a headquarters. Although the Resource Committee’s legislation identifies funds for the science center, Mike DeLuca of Rutgers University, said the money will go toward developing an electronic clearing house for coral reef information.
"We’re hoping that can be considered in the context of the West Indies Lab" until on-island progress is made, DeLuca said.
Rutgers and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are spearheading the effort the effort to revitalize the old West Indies Lab. Bob Wicklund, director of federal programs at UNCW, said lease negotiations between Contessa de Navarro Farber, who owns the land the former West Indies Lab sits on, have been completed. Still, renovations to existing laboratory facilities have been estimated at $2 million.
"We’re talking millions of dollars," DeLuca said. "So it takes a little time to put that kind of package together. Ideally, we’d like to get renovations started as quickly as possible."
The West Indies Lab was a pioneer in much of the world’s reef research but was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and has since sat derelict.
The new lab will focus on education and research and be operated by the Rutgers, UNCW, the University of the Virgin Islands and the University of South Carolina. Lowell Weicker, former governor of Connecticut, U.S. senator, Congressman and part-time St. Croix resident, will be chairman of the science center.
While the Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration Act of 2000 provides $64 million over four years for reef preservation, the legislation still must past muster on the House floor and the Senate. And even if the bill is approved, Wicklund said that the money has to go a long way considering the sheer amount of diseased reefs in the V.I., American Samoa and the Florida Keys.
"Because of the really poor condition the reefs are in, that’s not a lot of money. We need to move quickly to find out what’s going on. It’s appalling," he said.
One problem in solving the mystery surrounding dying reefs is that there is no central place for researchers to confer. The proposed Joint Caribbean Marine Science Center on St. Croix may become that place; a type of Center for Disease Control for coral reefs.
Particularly hard hit is elkhorn coral, the results of which is especially noticeable at Buck Island Reef National Monument off St. Croix. Elkhorn coral is a primary reef-building coral in the Caribbean and helps reduce coastal erosion. But over the last 15 to 20 years the species has been hit hard by white band disease and hurricanes.
At Buck Island following Hurricane David in 1979, the combination of disease and storm had reduced the live coverage of elkhorn coral from 85 percent to 5 percent, according to research done by W.B. Gladfelter. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 decimated the coral further.
While scientists have not correlated white band disease with pollution or other human activity, it usually kills the elkhorn coral colonies it infects, according to Caroline Rogers of the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Despite the gloomy outlook and the plodding rate of legislation and funding, Wicklund said the Resource Committee’s approval of the reef legislation could be an end to years of rhetoric.
That sentiment was echoed by DeLuca.
"We’re very optimistic," he said. "There’s a lot of attention being paid to the decline in the health of coral reef."

A celebration of life to honor the memory of William "Bill" Beer, who died June 9, will be held Monday, July 3, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Beer residence on St. Thomas.
Beer was killed in Kayenta, Ariz., when the ultralight aircraft he was flying crashed. He was 71.
All friends of Bill's and the Beer family are invited to attend.

A bill approved as amended by the Senate Operations Committee Wednesday is intended to strengthen child protection laws by raising the age of sexual consent from 16 years of age to 18 and by identifying anyone up to age 18 as a "child" in rape cases.
Testifying on amendments to the proposed Child Protection Act of 2000 were Iris Kern, executive director of The Safety Zone on St. John; Dilsa Capdeville and Joyce Pruitt of Kidscope on St. Thomas; Clema Lewis, co-director of the Women's Coalition of St. Croix; and Michal Rhymer, executive director of the Family Resource Center on St. Thomas.
The women were of one mind on the definition of a child, which in the original bill made distinctions for different ages. "From zero to 18 is a child," Lewis said. Kern added that "despite the fact that their bodies may have matured . . . they should be treated like the children they are."
Kern also noted that, while people who assault children are "sick persons, monsters, they were not born that way." She said unless psychological treatment is part of their incarceration, they will resume their pathological behavior as soon as they get out of prison. She urged that a treatment program be built into the territory's penal system.
Rhymer said there should be no time limitation on criminal action for aggravated rape, a clause which the bill contains. "There have been several instances where children haven't reported rape for over three years," she said. And she cautioned that "predators who rape one child will most likely move on to another child victim."
Capdeville said the islands are "loaded with pedophiles," people who prey sexually on children. "If you want to take a look, just go to the Children's Village during Carnival," she said.
Sen. Lorraine Berry, a committee member, presented some current V.I. statistics. She said that of the 28 reported rapes in the first six months of this year, 21 were against children. She said the number of such offense reported has almost doubled from last year, at least in part because victims and their parents or guardians are less afraid of coming forward.
Also, Berry said, incest is accounting for a larger proportion of the rapes reported than in the past. She said she didn't know why, or whether it could be culturally related.
Under the amendment:
– First degree aggravated rape would be defined as sexual intercourse or sodomy with anyone under 18, except with a spouse, and/or by anyone using a deadly weapon while committing rape. The penalties would be 15 years to life in prison for the first offense, and 25 years to life for the second offense and any subsequent offenses. Attempted aggravated rape would be carry 7 to 25 years imprisonment.
– A new category would be created of second degree aggravated rape, which would apply to anyone using force, intimidation, or a position of authority to have sexual intercourse or sodomy with anyone under 18 living in the same household, except a spouse. Second-degree aggravated rape would carry penalties of 10 years to life for the first offense, and 20 years to life for second and subsequent offenses.
The amendment was passed unanimously by Sens. Berry, Donald "Ducks" Cole, Roosevelt David, David Jones and committee chair Gregory Bennerson. Committee members Adelbert Bryan and Allie-Allison Petrus were absent. The bill now goes to the Rules Committee, which will determine whether it will go before the full Senate.

Seven Ivanna Eudora Kean High School students and students from around the country gleaned career advice and lessons in policy making from members of Congress Tuesday as part of the National African American Youth Initiative (NAAYI), a preparatory program for students entering health professions.
NAAYI is sponsored by the Auxiliary to the National Medical Association (NMA) and is designed to provide high school students who are interested in health careers with firsthand experience on how the federal government formulates and implements health initiatives. The Capitol Hill visit is sponsored annually by Delegate to Congress and physician Donna Christian Christensen, a longtime member and former trustee of the NMA.
Representing the Virgin Islands in its largest turnout this year were Ivanna Eudora Kean High School students Raquel Caban, 11th grade; Chantele Casimir, 11th grade; Jarvis Anderson, 11th grade; Kaeche Liburd, 11th grade; Jarvis Anderson, 11th grade; Kehmisha Reid, 11th grade; Blissa Letang, 10th grade; and Shenita Penn, 10th grade.
Participants in the program come from various states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands to address the under representation of African Americans in health professions, the lack of mentors and role models, as well as to support and encourage socially responsible African American youth.
"I am really pleased at the large turnout of Virgin Islands students this year and thank American Airlines for providing their transportation to Washington. I hope that more young people will take advantage of this exciting opportunity to visit our Nation's capital and interact with other students who share the same professional ambitions," Christensen said.
Interested students may contact the Congressional District Offices at 774-4408 or 778-5900.

There are so many light-hearted things to think about at this time of year – school's out, summer's here and the Emancipation Day / Independence Day holidays are approaching, with the St. John Festival in full swing.
But it's also hurricane season in the Virgin Islands, and the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency wants the public to give some serious thought to getting ready to face whatever comes this way.
On Wednesday night at the Cruz Bay Legislature Building, officials of VITEMA, the Lieutenant Governor's Office and the University of the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center held the second in a series of disaster preparedness forums. According to Alvis Christian, VITEMA's deputy director for St. John, about 75 residents attended the first two forums, on St. Thomas and St. John, with a third scheduled for Thursday night on St. Croix.
"It's pretty good, given how close it is to festival," he said of the St. John/St. Thomas turn-out.
Representatives of the Division of Banking and Insurance, SBDC and the Planning and Natural Resources and Human Services Departments made presentations for the benefit of business owners. They went down a series of mental checklists of steps to take in getting ready for approaching storms and others to use in assessing their status in the event of a hurricane or earthquake.
Christian noted that the expertise available at the forum would not as readily be available in the aftermath of disaster because the same people would be occupied in relief efforts. "We give people a chance to meet them before, because what they do is give you broad information so you would know what to look for," he said.
Among the topics covered during the two-hour seminars were these recommendations of action to be taken long before the first tropical storm of the season approaches:
– Communications and other computer-based businesses should back up their hard drives and keep copies in a location other than their place of business. In the case of computers using modems, not only the computer equipment but also telephone systems should be equipped with surge protectors. That's because a power surge through a phone line can damage a computer through its modem.
– Business owners should take a photographic inventory of all their equipment, furnishings and other office or shop contents, and homeowners should do the same of their household effects. The photos should be wrapped in plastic or put in a waterproof container and stored in a secure location in case they are needed to back up insurance claims.
– Property owners should check with their insurance agent to see about discounts for buildings with properly set overhangs on the roof and shutters installed at the windows.
– Property owners should be aware that if a building was not noticeably damaged in the major storms of the last 11 years (since Hugo in 1989), the chances are good that the structure has been weakened. It would be wise to have a contractor inspect the building, and then to make any needed reinforcements.
– Business owners who do not already have business interruption insurance should consider acquiring it. The policies provide financial relief during periods of business loss or slowdown that result from natural disasters.
– Everyone should consider buying a generator. Virgin Islanders used to think of generators as optional investments, but after the passage of Hurricanes Hugo, Marilyn, Bertha, Georges and Lenny, presenters said, a generator may be thought of as a necessity, like a refrigerator or a stove.

The "First Emancipation Mile–Run Free Mile" road race will be held Monday July 3 at 8 a.m. and will start at the Pool in Frederiksted, continue along the waterfront, on Strand St. and Finish at Bhuddoe Park/Fort Frederik.
This event is in conjunction with the Emancipation Day celebration activities planned by the Frederiksted Emancipation Committee. For more information call V.I. Pace Runners 777-0258 or visit: http://www.virginislandspace.org/page68.html

The general consensus from testifiers at an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public hearing Thursday night was that the V.I. government should get one more chance to retain regulatory oversight of the territory’s landfills.
The hearing was the second of two, the other held Tuesday on St. Thomas, in which the EPA recorded comments on its preliminary decision to disapprove the territory’s landfill program and assume a greater role in enforcing federal solid waste laws in the islands.
The agency is taking the approach because over the last seven years the V.I. government has not adopted necessary solid waste regulations or allocated enough funding and staff to deal with solid waste issues. Once the hearings have been held and EPA officials have considered comments from the public, a decision will be made on whether to formally disapprove the territory’s program and assume a greater role in the enforcement of landfill regulations.
At the hearing Wednesday, where EPA officials only listened, Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett, who heads the local agency charged with regulating the landfills, said the long-awaited rules and regulations were signed by Gov. Charles Turnbull Tuesday night, that a landfill inspector had been hired and that funding was available to keep that person on the job well into the future.
Plaskett noted that DPNR has been regulating the Department of Public Works, the operator of the territory’s landfills, but that department doesn’t have the funding to make the needed fixes to its many problems. He said the most recent notice of violation against Public Works was issued by DPNR.
Plaskett also noted that if EPA was to take over regulatory control, all fine proceeds and permit fees would go into the U.S. Treasury, not local coffers.
"If EPA were to regulate the landfill, what’s to say Public Works will be in compliance," Plaskett asked. "EPA will bring a bigger stick. They’re not bringing in any carrots.
"We are of the position that the enforcement authority should lie with the territory."
Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson agreed, saying that the problems with solid waste management would be addressed with the creation of a proposed self-funded waste management authority. A waste authority would allow for a more focused operations and be "more responsive to the regulators," he said.
Thompson noted that if the territory’s regulatory rules were found to be inadequate, it couldn’t site and build a new solid waste handling facility.
"If we do not have the (regulatory) authority locally, the V.I. government would be precluded" from opening another landfill, Thompson said.
The only surprise of the evening came from Gordon Finch, executive director of the V.I. Port Authority, which owns the land the Anguilla Landfill is located. The Port Authority has been ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to close the landfill by December 2002 because scavenging birds pose a threat to aircraft using the nearby airport.
Finch noted that a draft consent order was issued by the EPA in May to the Port Authority and Public Works to make several improvements at the Anguilla Landfill. But because of the time frame within the order and Public Works’ lack of funding, corrective action would be difficult to achieve. The result, he said, would be "big fines."
He said that if the EPA does find local regulatory rules inadequate, the draft consent order would become final and the resulting fines would suck "the very resources out of this territory required to solve" the problems.
"Don’t come and use your big stick by saying your plan is inadequate," Finch said. "It’s not going to serve any good purpose."
Finch expressed his dismay that the Port Authority, Public Works, the FAA and the EPA were all aware of the 2002 closure date for the St. Croix landfill but that the EPA was still intent on pressing the territory.
"Why are you going to come give us a big beating when you know the landfill is going to be closed," asked Finch. "Come hell or high water the Anguilla Landfill is going to be closed in December 2002."
Although Jim Casey, the EPA’s V.I. coordinator, said official responses to testimony will be made later this year, he did comment on Plaskett and Finch’s statements.
As for DPNR’s just-signed rules and regulations, he said nobody at EPA has "seen a single document to that effect."
"By the way, the governor just signed them last (Tuesday) night," he said, noting there is a set protocol for submitting such documentation.
Casey said the Port Authority was named in the draft consent order issued in May because it owns the Anguilla Landfill property. He said EPA is "definitely" aware of the 2002 closure date, but that the order is aimed at curbing immediate problems at the landfill, such as fires and other daily operating shortfalls.
He said that for the past 10 years individuals and non-governmental organizations have been requesting EPA to do something about the territory’s landfills. Those requests and the lack of action on the government’s part in drafting acceptable regulatory guidelines has placed the EPA in its current position.
"The EPA is not desirous of running or regulating solid waste programs," Casey said. "EPA has to bring to closure a task started in 1993 that didn’t foresee a plan established between the Port Authority, Public Works and the FAA."