St John article op-ed

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:08 pm

The article in St Thomas Source - the online newspaper titled 'The Forgotten Ones' by Dr. Malik Sekou of UVI is well worth reading to get a better understanding of some of the reasons why some forumites have a different perspective. Hopefully someone much more computer savvy can post the link -- and -- Thanks! -- to that person!!

DELETED · Post by **DELETED** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:24 pm

DELETED

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:32 pm

Thank You Salty Dog.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:28 pm

That was an interesting and informative article...Thanks Exit!

Lex · Post by **Lex** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:53 pm

Thanks for drawing my attention to that. It's a lot to chew on. I've been increasingly saddened by the changes I've seen on STJ but this puts things in a much broader historical perspective.

Here's another link to an article that always stuck with me:

http://www.seestjohn.com/culture_food_for_thought.html

St. John Lover · Post by **St. John Lover** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:56 pm

Interesting articles. I especially love the last paragraph of the 2nd article referring to the "sovereignty of the heart."

But I'm sure it was written long before a local, native St. Johnian--then-Senator Carmen Wesselhoft--ensured that one of those very large resortish type developments--that all the locals say they hate and resent--would get governmental approval.

I obviously still don't quite "get" the local politics...

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:39 am

Both links were informative. I have read a lot of STJ and VI over the years and the different points of view are very interesting.

I am also baffled/amazed by local politics and development issues.

Berlingirl · Post by **Berlingirl** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:10 am

Interesting article.

The same thing is going on virtually everywhere there is prime real estate and people with extreme amounts of money willing to purchase it.

Locals are getting squeezed out everywhere.

augie · Post by **augie** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:23 am

Exit Zero wrote:The article in St Thomas Source - the online newspaper titled 'The Forgotten Ones' by Dr. Malik Sekou of UVI is well worth reading to get a better understanding of some of the reasons why some forumites have a different perspective.

It was an interesting and informative article that I'm glad that I got to read - thanks.

In reference to the comment that some forumites have a different perspective, what do you mean?

I would expect that any location that has become a tourist haven would garner differing viewpoints from those that visit temporarily and from those that make it their home, particularly those that have done so for a long time.

Progress, however that is defined, almost always comes at a price, and some folks think that the price is a fair one for what you get, and some don't.

I believe that most of the people that "get" St. John do make the effort to try and be as "island friendly as possible" and all that that, within reason, entails.

I don't think that they like to be told that their self centered enjoyment of the place is the primary cause for the ruination of the island. I do understand that for some, that is an inescapable conclusion, and I empathize. As The Eagles sang on the "Hotel California" album - "call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye".

I do understand the sadness of seeing a place that's near and dear to one changing, and I believe that almost everyone experiences that.

I can understand letting potential visitors know just how much negative impact they can avoid causing by taking some well thought out precautionary measures.

But I can't understand why, on a forum dedicated to getting the most enjoyment out of travel to a specific location, why it's necessary to repeatedly make statements that essentially say "you all have been, and continue to, ruin my home".

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:17 pm

Augie....You really got me thinking about the similarities between St John and my home state of Vermont. Wee too are burdened with the burning question of economy vs environment and what's "best" for our state. Vermont is dependent on tourism for a huge portion of our economy. We have skiing and other snow sports in the winter. Foliage season in the fall. Maple sugaring in the spring and hiking, fishing, camping etc...in the summer. We are a major "short trip" destination for Boston, NY, Montreal and all their metropolitan areas. They love to come here because of the quaint "New Englandiness" of it. Picture Norman Rockwell etc..

The problem is that we have to balance all that against sprawl that would make us look like suburban Jersey. No offense, but people would stay home. The difficulty with all this is that tourism jobs are typically lower paying service jobs that don't do much for our bottom line.

This all works against us when we try to lure businesses with higher paying jobs. We have a small workforce pool that is under trained/educated and decaying or non-existent infrastructure. There are areas of our state with no broadband or cellular service! The only thing we seem to be able to do is use huge tax breaks to lure companies here. Often times these companies close up shop once their sweetheart deals expire. There is a strong "keep the flatlanders out" mentality that keeps many folks and businesses away; for better or worse. We've managed a delicate balancing act for years, with varying degrees of success.

I suspect that much of this is what is going on in St John. People have very different views of what progress really is. What's acceptable and what's not depends on who you ask. Lifelong residents are bound to have a very different opinion than the occasional traveler. I suspect that they feel blessed and cursed by their geography much like we do here in Vermont. The one thing I have learned is that change is inevitable!

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:24 pm

Augie - I think you understand and stated the different perspectives quite accurately.

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:18 pm

Exit Zero wrote:Augie - I think you understand and stated the different perspectives quite accurately.

He does that a lot for us.

JIM

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:57 pm

It's a hard row to hoe. Charging property taxes at a higher rate on inflated St. John valuations to people who have lived on their land for more than 100 years? We were out with Cleve Mahabir on his boat in November and asked him about the land for sale on East End, "Nobody can afford that, people who work here won't have anywhere to live. If they have land they'll have trouble paying the taxes."

The VI Government will be able to collect property taxes again before too long. We're going to see some hard impacts.

What's the solution? Probably not regressive property taxes. A legislative solution might look more like the BVI model, with separate tax rates for residents/Belongers.

Cheers, RickG

usvi-on-line