On today's WTJX NewsFeed, Kyle Christopher, who recently pleaded guilty to the 2019 beating death of four-year-old Aaron Benjamin Jr., is sentenced. The US Department of Veterans Affairs issues a crucial warning to veterans and survivors about companies employing predatory practices. The Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance convened earlier this week to hear testimony on two significant bills aimed at beautifying the territory. We bring you highlights from the hearings and discussions. Click "listen" for these stories and more.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the WTJX News Feed. In today's top stories, Kyle Christopher, the man who pleaded guilty to the 2019 beating death of Aaron Benjamin jr. Was sentenced today by the department of Veterans Affairs is warning veterans and survivors of companies employing predatory practices. The Senate Committee on Budget, appropriations and Finance met earlier in the week to hear testimony on bill number 35-0097 and bill number 35-0118, both aimed at beautification efforts in the territory.
These stories and more on today's WTJX news feed from the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting Systems Studios on Saint Thomas. This is the WTJX News Feed with Marcellina Ventura-Douglas, welcome to the WTJX Newsfeed, bringing you the latest news and updates throughout our community today on Saint Croix. The family of four year old Aaron Benjamin Jr. Filled the courtroom of judge Harold Willocks Sr.
Today would have been young Aaron's ninth birthday. Instead, Aaron's father, Aaron Benjamin, senior, his sister, grandmother and godmother were in attendance to see Kyle Christopher, the man who pled guilty to the 2019 beating death, be sentenced to 24 years with credit for four years of time served. Fable Ford Young Aaron's grandmother addressed the court, stating that she was not seeking revenge but accountability for her grandson, who she called AJ.
Ms. Ford identified her grandson's body at the hospital. He was burned, beaten, scarred and bruised. She said her grandson had suffered and was hidden from his family. The family did not accept Christopher's apology. She requested a sentence of the maximum under the law. Aaron's mother, Dalicia Daniel, who was Mr. Christopher, his girlfriend at the time, is currently serving a 20 year sentence after taking a plea deal in which she pleaded guilty to a single charge of child abuse in October 2021.
Monica Rivera, chief of stakeholder engagement and organizational change management at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, joined Duane Henry, who filled in on Analyze This with Neville James to discuss reports of companies and third party entities employing predatory practices to take advantage of veterans and their survivors. What's happening is this companies are advertising that is, that only with their help, you are going to be able to get the maximum amount of or the rating.
Or is that only with their help you will get access to this benefits. And we have we have found out that there's been companies that are trying to charge veterans up to 40% of a retroactive payment or even for the rest of their life. 40% of the benefits that they will get in the future. And I am here today to tell veterans and their beneficiaries, family members and caregivers and all of our communities that this is this is this is a scam.
This is this is not right. In fact, the VA offers this service with no costs for free. You can go to one of our regional offices. You can call the one 800 number one 887 1000, and you can get the assistance that you need for free. Miss Rivera spoke on how veterans can secure their toxic exposure benefits, as well as the resources available to help file claims.
The address we have is VA.GOV, and if you're interested in a specific pact benefits, you can just use VA.GOV/Pact and then you'll find all the information that we're discussing here this morning. You'll find out there's plenty of information in both and actually three languages and English, Spanish and Tagalog. And you can also submit your application using that email, that web address.
Head over to the WTJX app to listen to the full discussion. Members of the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance met earlier in the week to hear testimony on Bill number 35-0097 aimed at establishing a beautification tax credit sponsored by Senator Novelle Francis. The measure seeks to encourage local business to work collaboratively with the Department of Public Works.
This bill incentivizes corporate participation in local beautification efforts. It creates a collaboration between the Department of Public Works and local corporate partners to support a cleaner community. This is not a giveaway. The territory has historically, historically incentivized programs to attract businesses as part of its economic development strategy. This is an opportunity to build partnership between the public and private sectors in ways that reap significant economic, social and environmental benefits for the Virgin Islands, with the added benefits of supporting our tourism product.
During his testimony, Director of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Joel Lee, seemed hesitant of the proposal. From a technical standpoint, this bill represents an opportunity for avoidance of payment of the gross receipts tax as written in the approved participant under subsection A-2 must apply and be accepted by the Department of Public Works to clean a portion of a designated area.
Is there a bidding process, a licensing requirement, and the execution of a contract? Would the participant be held to all other government vendor requirements under the procurement laws, such as registering with SAM.GOV. Will the Department of Public Works ensure that the participant is enrolled in workman's compensation and obtain the required insurance for this type of work?
Department of Public Works Commissioner Derek Gabriel supported the intent of the bill, but did express some concerns. The Department of Public Works supports the intent of this bill, which is to utilize corporate sponsors to fund beautification efforts throughout the territory. However, we are not tax subject matter experts and will defer to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and others regarding the implication of taxes and bonds.
As we understand that revenues generated from gross receipts, taxes are directly tied to bond obligations. My team and I are very passionate about the appearance of our roadsides, not only for the tourists who visit our territory every year, but more importantly for our residents. The department spends millions of dollars every year to maintain our roadsides, but it is very clear that more needs to be done.
I believe with dedicated beautification funding, the department could transform the look and feel of our roadsides and medians across the territory. It would be a great benefit to the Territory if we allowed private companies to contribute to this effort as the money we currently receive for roadside contractors is insufficient to handle the workload on all three islands. The requirements of DPW outlined in the bill are a concern for us.
Building a program of this magnitude in-house where we will be responsible for promulgating regulations and managing the process will require additional personnel and capacity, which we currently do not have on staff. Senator Donna Frett-Gregory posed the following to Commissioner Gabriel. What is Public Works doing as a release, and what is that relationship, I guess, between public works and waste management?
Because I think there is a there's a little fuzzy line there as we discuss this as it relates to what waste Management is doing around that conversation and what your relationship is yet. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I'm sorry. Derek Gabriel, Commissioner, Department of Public Works. So we do share the responsibilities, I think where the I guess the line is to your point, Fuzzy is fuzzy is because we focus on beautification and they more so focus on the cleanup and picking up trash and stuff later.
I think more contemplation needs to be done because when the Waste Management Authority was created, we lost our ability for enforcement. The measure provides for a maximum of $1.5 million per district allocated from the tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to be used to offset the tax credit so that there is no default on the bonds. A point Senator Samuel Carrion noted on I, like some of my colleagues have expressed.
I do have concerns, some concerns with the proposed legislation. I think it we could work it out. There are some areas that need tweaking and I need some more clarification. For example, if we are using the Tourism Revolving fund, then we can pay directly from the tourism body and fund and hire the contractors to do the beautification public work or waste management, establish the projects and just hire them to do the job.
My concern realizing this could be a tax loop if we are allowing corporations that have nothing to do with beautification to engage in projects that they have no expertise for. And if it's not really going to be a tax credit because we cannot touch our gross receipts because we have bond covenants that then we shouldn't even explore this measure and perhaps find another way to do it.
At the end of the debate, Senator Francis moved to hold his bill in committee pending further amendments, with committee members agreeing with his decision as we continue our updates. During the Senate Committee on Budget Appropriations and Finance meeting, Senator Dwayne DeGraff introduced Bill number 35-0118 seeking funds for additional beautification efforts by the Waste Management Authority, allocating $2.5 million of the timeshare environmental impact fee to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority for beautification and cleanup.
I am on a quest also like my colleague before, Madam Chair, to clean up this territory. We have to find one way to do it or the other and the timeshare monies based on when I checked in September of this year was approximately four point something million dollars in that account, 4.48 And basically from what it timeshare monies came from was when the bill came, I think originally $4 million that I came here for and went to the two hospitals by getting a 2018, 2019, 21.
In 2021, I think it was supposed to put aside 15% of that money goes to tourism advertising revolving fund, and 85% of that fund remained to be put aside in an account which actually was supposed to appear to 8% to the government employees. When the government employees 8% was paid, the 85% of that money goes into the general fund.
During the hearing, it was shared by the Office of Management and Budget Director Jennifer O'Neal that the amount of money into the fund is reducing with each passing year as currently enacted. The reference law allocates 40% of the environmental infrastructure impact fee revenues collected to the general fund, 15% to the Department of Tourism, and 45% to a contingency reserve account for the purpose of funding in a negotiated settlement called the VIESA Case for VIESA for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
Section four then reallocate 85% of the revenues collected to the general fund beginning in this current fiscal year 2024. In fiscal year 2022 and 2023, 85% of the environmental infrastructure impact fee collected was 5.1 million and 4.5 million respectively. As of October 2023, the fund balance for the VSC Contingency Fund was $2.6 million after all other transfers to the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund.
It is important to note that the revenue projections for the current fiscal year 2024 operating budget included collection projections from this source based on the 85% share to the general fund previously mentioned. This proposal shifts the cost share percentage due to the general fund to slightly under 50%. I will state, however, that because this is a relatively new revenue source accessible only since the majority of the lawsuits have been resolved, along with the fact that we are using all sources of funding to make the $25 million payments for retroactive wages since fiscal year 2021.
I would advise against using this as a source of funds for anything until and unless all of the retroactive wages have been paid and or the remaining lawsuits settled. Given the information in her testimony, Senator Noel Francis posed the following question Do you have any recommendations in terms of what additional funding source may be available to support this endeavor?
So, Senator, short answer is there is none. There's there is none. As you know, we just went through the budget cycle and we looked at every single source of revenue collections that we had in order to get to a point where we could finalize the budget. At this point, there is no is no additional funding until and unless our collections can improve.
So at this point, especially this soon into the fiscal year where we have not had an opportunity, it is see how collections are going to go. There is no way that I can advise on any funding source to pay anything that was not already appropriated in the fiscal year 2024 budget. Ms. O'Neal said that payment of the timeshare environmental infrastructure impact fee should be considered voluntary, clarifying that it's based on what is reported.
Bureau of Internal Revenue director Joel Lea indicated that the problem was more of a structural one. I do want to point out, you know, our this specific revenue source is tied to timeshare owners. I did want to point out that, you know, the market is changing. We did lose a timeshare based on Saint Croix. So that is going to, you know, add to the deficit for this line item of revenue.
Senator DeGraff moved to hold the bill in committee at the call of the chair. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources will reveal two dimensional sketches during town hall meetings as next steps towards the drafting of a comprehensive land and water use plan for the territory. Getting information on the meetings we spoke with Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol. We begin in Saint Croix on November seven.
That's next week, Tuesday. Then we will go to Saint Thomas on Thursday the ninth, and then Saint John on November 13. The very first meeting we were asking for what peoples wants, where we wanted to make sure that we captured, you know, where they felt Greenspaces needed to be. Either maintained or expanded some of their park areas. What areas of historical significance needed to be captured, preserved and maybe enhanced?
The second meeting we were dealing with policies from a high, high level, a 30 kind of a 30,000 foot level that these development and guiding policies would then influence how we pursued development. These types of things were gathered during the first two meetings, and now this is the first time we're actually going to have a visual representation of what that looks like in areas that people are familiar with.
The visualizations developed for the meetings can be viewed online at WW dot plan USVI dot com. The meetings on Saint Croix will be held Tuesday, November seven at the UVI Great Hall from 530 to 730 on Saint Thomas on Thursday, November 9th at the Columbus Hall Holy Family Church from 530 to 730 and on Saint John Monday, November 13th at the sprung structure in Coral Bay next to the fire station from 530 to 730.
A question and answer session and a small table discussion about the drawings will follow after the presentations. For more information summaries on prior townhalls and to join the email lists, visit Planusvi.com. The Virgin Islands Police Department postponed their annual trunk retreat this past weekend due to inclement weather in the Territory. VIP Public Information officer Kisha Chichester has the details.
The Trunk street for both islands will now be held simultaneously on Saturday, November four, 2023. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.. Trunk Street on St. Croix will be held at the Mall of Saint Coix, formerly Kmart with parking lot and on Saint Thomas at the West Indian Company Limited. We are excited to see all the fun costumes and to create a memorable experience for all Trunk Streeters.
Thank you to all our participants and sponsors for their hard work. Additionally, the Virgin Islands Police Department is issuing a reminder to the public that permits are required for parades, marches or rallies in the Territory. For more information, individuals can call the chief's office at 3407742211 on Saint Thomas or 3407782211 on Saint Croix in more community news. The University of the Virgin Islands Association of Black Journalists has announced the third annual journalism summit.
We spoke with Dr. Sharon Honoré, associate professor and faculty advisor for the association. Each of the last three years, as students have invited guests, local guests and people from the states to come in and give us an overview of journalism. And so this year, our theme is Media Matters Navigating a Changing Landscape. So what we're looking at is, again, the media itself and how it's changing and how the how graduating and people that are actually in the air, what are they doing to get around this landscape as far as all the different technologies of news and YouTube and Twitter?
Tick tock. So we actually have six sessions, one, and they will start on Friday, November the 10th from 530 to 8:30 p.m. and they'll last about 55 minutes. And then Saturday, we have a session at 945. The rest of the sessions will go until 430. So the last 55 minutes, we have different people who are invited to participate and they can join the US.
So I will actually have two classes open on both campuses so they can come to the campus and an in-person session, or if they would prefer to log on. We didn't have a Zoom link for them to log on to. Dr. Honoré continued. They can call me at 2253264514 2253264514. Or they can send us an email.
uvi.mj@gmail.com. For those interested in participating, go to at @uvi.abj on Facebook or Instagram for more details as we move through the news feed. We turn now to our regional report. Police in Puerto Rico arrested at least 380 people on Tuesday in the department's biggest crackdown on crime in recent years. Police Commissioner Antonio Lopez said 12 gangs dedicated to the sale of drugs and weapons were targeted after receiving tips from residents who had complained about violence in their communities.
Police also seized 78 firearms and more than 50 vehicles and nearly $100,000 in cash, along with a variety of unspecified drugs. Reporting to the AP News, Police, Colonel Carlos Cruz said that among those arrested were couples, families and women who ran criminal organizations linked to various killings on the island. The FBI and other federal agencies were involved in the operation.
As we move through the news feed, we turn now to the territory's weather forecasts. Here's the latest look at the short term forecast for the Virgin Islands. Meteorologist Eric Weglarz at Saint Croix. Clouds will continue to increase this afternoon. There's the chance for scattered showers, mainly towards sunset. Temperatures will climb into the upper eighties to near 90, once rain from the east at 15 to 20 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 25.
At Saint Thomas in Saint John. We'll find more in the way of sunshine. The risk for showers a bit lower, too. Temperatures will climb to near 90 once in the east at 15 to 20, with gusts as high as 25. Mainly towards sunset tonight and scattered showers early will give way to partly cloudy skies as St. Croix Temperatures will fall back into the middle and upper seventies.
Winds from the east are 15 to 20 miles per hour at St. Thomas and St. John. A few stray showers may linger near midnight, otherwise it's partly cloudy. Lows will fall back into the upper seventies to near 80. Friday features a partly sunny day at St Croix with scattered showers. In the afternoon it is warmer. Temperatures will climb into the lower and middle nineties.
Heat index values into the upper nineties and near 100 at St Thomas and Saint John will find scattered showers in the afternoon under partly sunny skies. Temperatures are similar in the lower to middle nineties. Heat index values as high as 100 in the afternoon with more sunshine expected as we go through the weekend. That's the latest look at your short term forecast.
Meteorologist Eric Weglarz. We are at the end of today's WTJX news feed. I'm more Marcellina Ventura-Douglas join me every weekday at 5 p.m. Be sure to download the WTJX app. And if you missed a part of our news, listen to it on demand wherever you get your podcasts. We now return to All Things Considered.
