Last blog

The last blog gets the last post again, and it is typical of last posts. www.stjohntravelforum.com has loads of villa rentals that you can look at and even rent for your st john vacation. But you can postpone if you want and get a last-minute special and save some money. That would be a good thing to do.

Maybe tonight we'll visit Elaine at Coconut Coast Studios and then go to open mike night and perform Big John. I hope Michael has memorized the refrain. It is very easy. Big John, Big John, Big Bad John, Big John. Not much to it.

Rebate Checks -- An article from The Source

Benefits of $41.5 Million Reimbursement Will Soon Reach Islanders
by Bill Kossler

This was in The Source today. I don't understand all of it, but anything will be worthwhile. And everyone getting a rebate should rent a st john villa, using www.stjohnvillarental.com for a vacation in the usvi, or www.frankbayvillas.com.

April 28, 2008 -- The Virgin Islands government will soon receive $41.5 million from the U.S. Treasury to give $600 checks to most of the territory's taxpayers.
Congress passed a $150 billion dollar economic stimulus package earlier in the year calling for cash rebates to every taxpayer, with the goal of jump starting the economy with a rush of consumer spending. Those with direct deposit of their taxes began getting money in their accounts Monday. But the rebates put the Virgin Islands and other territories with tax systems tied to the federal rates in a bind. Because the territory collects income taxes locally at the rates set for federal income tax, the rebate checks would have come directly out of the V.I. government till, putting the budget $41.5 million in the hole.
Christensen and her fellow delegates from the U.S. territories successfully lobbied to amend the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 to reimburse the territories which would have had to shoulder the cost of the rebates as an unfunded mandate.
“We were determined to protect the insular treasuries from loss and I am pleased that the Bush administration is providing this advance payment,” Christensen said. “I am even more pleased that our residents will be receiving their checks in the mail at this time of rising gas and food prices.”
The stimulus is expected to provide $600 to individuals who make up to $75,000 annually, $1,200 per married couple who make up to $150,000 and $300 per dependent child. Low wage workers who earned at least $3,000 in 2007 will get at least $300.
The U.S. Senate also added provisions that would give $300 for seniors living on Social Security and disabled veterans. In a press release from her office Monday, Christensen said low income residents and seniors who usually do not file income tax returns can still get a $300 stimulus payment by filing before Oct. 15.
“They should contact the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue for assistance,” she said.
Christensen added that the Congress is planning a second stimulus bill in the near future focusing on increasing energy provisions that assist low income residents, funds for a summer jobs program, increasing food stamps and other provisions to assist Americans suffering in this faltering economy.
These individual tax rebates are one horn of the federal stimulus package. The other is a generous one-time 50 percent depreciation write-off on investments made during this year. This encourages businesses thinking of major capital investments to do it now, rather than later.
"It accelerates into the current year some tax savings in exchange for not getting the deduction in later years," said tax expert Neil D. Kossler during a telephone interview Monday. . "Over time, it is revenue neutral, except if I can have a dollar now in exchange for a dollar next year, I'll take the dollar now every time." Kossler is a D.C. metropolitan area certified public accountant who has appeared on CNN as a tax expert.
Small businesses will benefit from the stimulus because they can write off taxes for capital investments made in 2008 up to $250,000 and for purchases of new equipment up to $800,000.

Another provision helps homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis. It increases Federal Housing Administration loan limits for single family loans from $417,000 to $729,000 for one year for loans made between July 31, 2007 and December 31, 2008.
"This will help some home owners go from a variable rate to a fixed rate mortgage," said Brian Modeste, Christensen's legislative director, during a phone interview Monday.
The $41.5 million should be disbursed to the territory around April 30 and the checks will then be distributed to V.I. taxpayers by the V.I. Internal Revenue Bureau, Christensen's spokeswoman Monique C. Watson said on Monday.

Celtics Game Tonight

When the Celtics win tonight, they will all be invited to look at www.stjohnvillarental.com to rent a vacation villa. This will be the best place on the internet to find villa rentals.

Patriots First Pick

The Patriots selected Mayo from Tennessee, and he will be outstanding, of course. Looks like they wanted him all along. I will rent him a villa if he wants.

The last blog of the four

Since this is always the last blog of the four, it is right about now that there is nothing to write about, so I simply fill it up with words like Cielomar, Caribsea, Bougainvillea, villa rentals, and sun sand beaches water Caribbean. That way, it gets full, and eventually has a lot of posts.

New England Patriots

The Patriots are about to draft some wicked good player and pay him a few million dollars a year to do something, but it might be a lot better to get someone lower in the ratings and pay a lot less. At least that's what they currently think. What do you think? Maybe someone on St John will write in from a villa and make a comment today. I think someone probably discovered that www.stjohnyachtclub.org is fifth in search engine rankings. Everyone knows this.

Blog Number Four

By the time we get to this one every day, the other blogs have received all the news, and it is time just to fill it up with some potrzebie. I bet that if I wanted to, I could make this optimized for poigt, axolotl, or potrzebie. But that would be silly, so I won't do it. Maybe I will go a full day without mention of st john villa rentals, but maybe not. I wonder how my search engine rankings are today. Will check them shortly.

Captain G. Piecost signing off.

st thomas today

Going to st thomas today for some shopping and then a night in the motel and then sending M off to Ohio so she can see relatives. No mention of anything here today. In another one, I will tell everyone about the Celtics.

Everyone Won Yesterday

The Celtics won yesterday to go ahead 1-0 in their series against Atlanta. Not very hard, since the Celtics were the best team in the whole nba, while the Hawks were the worst of all 16 of the playoff teams.

The Red Sox were behind 5-0, started rallying, and eventually won 6-5. A great rally for the lads.

They are all invited to use www.stjohnvillarental.com to rent villas on st john, but I think they are otherwise occupied for the next few months. Eventual World Serious for the Sox, and NBA Championships for the Celtics.

Test of anchor text.

This is a test of anchor text.


Here is information about st john virgin islands villa rentals. You can take a vacation in st john, but you need to use either of thse websites to find a house or condo or villa to rent.

St. John Villa Rental
This is the best choice of all villa rentals.

St. John USVI Villa Rentals
Frank Bay Villas are perfect for st john vacations.

St. John Vacation Villa Rental
A villa on St John is very relaxing. Go to Cruz Bay or Coral Bay, or get something on the water with a view.

St. John Villa Rentals
Wedding or honeymoon? Try the wedding section, or the last-minute specials.

Sail your boat upon the sea

Time to go sailing, and the best place is on the british virgin islands. You might as well sail today, since it is nice and sunny here.

Red Sox Beat theteamthatsucks

Red Sox won 7-5 yesterday, with Manny Ramirez hitting two home runs. This has absolutely nothing at all to do with villa rentals on st john in the usvi, or vacation villas anywhere in the world, so I won't mention that the google rankings for www.stjohnvillarental.com and www.frankbayvillas.com should be better than they are. Maybe I will just add some more text and posts to this blog about villas and they will get better. Maybe not.

Nothing today again

This poor little blog will have to go through another day with no news in it about st john, usvi, the pretty island in the virgin islands.

St. Croix Triathlon

This was in The Source today, the Virgin Islands On-Line Newspaper.

(If you need a villa rental during your stay in St John, look at www.stjohnvillarental.com or www.frankbayvillas.com, and you can find villa rentals all over the place.)


High-Impact Sporting Event Has Big Impact on Crucian Economyby Bill Kossler

April 14, 2008 -- Two decades old and going strong, the 20th St. Croix Ironman 70.3 triathlon will bring business and international attention to St. Croix, but there is plenty of room for growth. One of the premier destination triathlons in the world, racers will wind through the island's waters and roadways May 4. Some 850 top athletes, their spouses, children, friends and supporters will soon descend upon the big island. Hotel rooms will fill. The Friday before the race, a Jump Up celebration will pack the streets, stores, bars and restaurants of Christiansted. The race definitely brings people and money to St. Croix, Race Director Tom Guthrie said in an interview Monday. But the benefits are difficult to quantify, and when numbers are given they are not very reliable, he said. ( Click for rest of article )
A D V E R T I S I N G : "All we know is it is safe to say we fill up the available rooms on St. Croix," he said. "And if we had more hotel rooms, we would have more participants." There are 100 more participants this year than last, Guthrie said, attributing the increase to more rooms at Divi Carina Bay Resort. The bump from last year results from unusual circumstances, not a dramatic trend, said Pat Henry, Divi's general manager. "I've always had rooms available," he said. "Last year was hurt a bit because Hovensa's turnaround filled a lot of rooms. So they changed their starting date to not take over everything available at that time. Hovensa needs to be commended for that." Whether growing exponentially or gradually, it is still a good thing, he said. "Is it a great event?" Henry said. "Yes. Does it fill every hotel room? I don't know. But it is a huge shot in the arm for us every May. ... With 850 athletes people pair up, so there are maybe 500 rooms rented. That's 50 percent of the hotel rooms on the island." The benefits come to businesses all over the island, but boost Christiansted the most. "It does not have a big impact out west," said Brian Mika, owner of Aqua West restaurant in Frederiksted. "We get one or two customers." He and others restaurateurs said restaurants on the Christiansted boardwalk see several good busy days. Hotels see a big spike, restaurants in the hotels do well and restaurants a bit further afield see a bump in sales; a few good but not necessarily extremely busy days. But these good days come at the tail end of the season, and are prized. Though the race is well established, Guthrie sees plenty of potential for growth. "Most Ironman competitions easily sell out at 2,000 participants," he said. "Our race is far more famous than other Ironman races -- because we've been around longer, for one reason." The visitors are a good demographic, too. "The Ironman athletes are professionals: doctors, lawyers and so on, typically with six-figure family incomes," he said. "This is the kind of visitors that St. Croix wants and needs." Guthrie sees this and other races as part of a package, a part of the branding of the island as a destination. "It is not just the Ironman," he said. "Along with Elizabeth Armstrong's Coral Reef swim from Buck Island in October and Wallace Williams' St. Croix International Marathon in January, they mark St. Croix as the endurance-sport island. ... We are trying to turn our events into an economic engine." This year's race has attracted some of the most highly respected and admired athletes in the field to participate: Simon Lessing, Craig Alexander, Faris al-Sultan, Mirinda Carfrae and Karen Smyers. Other noteworthy participants include Joanna Zeiger, Nina Kraft, Michael Lavato and Julie Dibbens. Many eyes will be on Alexander, who has become synonymous with the race. The Australian triathlete has placed first in three of the last five races, dating back to 2003. He did not race in 2005 and placed second in 2004. The race kicks off with a 1.24-mile swim around Christiansted Harbor. Next the competitors begin a demanding 56-mile bike ride that includes sharp turns, twisting roadways and the legendary "Beast," a 600-foot climb with a 14 to 18 percent grade. Finally, the triathletes run a 13.1-mile foot course. Round it up and you get the 70.3 miles of the course. As an affiliate of the Ironman World Championships, the St. Croix Ironman 70.3 Triathlon offers participating athletes a chance to fill 28 qualifying slots in the Hawaii Ironman, as well as 50 Ironman 70.3 World Championship spots. Additional information can be found at stcroixtriathlon.com or by calling (340) 773-4470.

This is the 37th Post in This Forum

In celebration of this forum getting its 37th post, equalling the other two, I am going to be very brief and mention www.stjohntravelforum.com and probably the st john yacht club website which is www.stjohnyachtclub.org, although google doesn't seem to be able to find the yacht club website yet. Maybe someday it will be found and will be number one in the search results for caribbean yacht clube.

New Post about www.stjohnyachtclub.org

The St. John Yacht Club in the Caribbean has a website called www.stjohnyachtclub.org, and this is the definitive yacht club website in the world. All about sailing and racing and social events.

Breakfast

You should go to breakfast today on st john at Donkey Diner. Advice for everybody is at www.stjohntravelforum.com, which lists villa rentals, villas, vacations, virgin islands, etc.

News from The Source about Energy Woes

From The Source -- Energy Woes Bring Congressional Hearing to St. Croixby Bill Kossler

Rep. Jim Costa (D-Cal.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources April 12, 2008 -- For the first time, the U.S. Congress convened a hearing Saturday in Frederiksted on St. Croix, in response to rising utility bills in the territory. They all should just visit www.stjohnvillarental.com and get a vacation villa rentals from www.frankbayvillas.com.
Flanked by Jim Costa (D-Cal.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, and subcommittee member Bill Schuster (R-Penn.), Delegate Donna M. Christensen (D-V.I.) chaired a joint hearing of the Energy and Insular Affairs subcommittees in the V.I. Legislature's Fritz Lawaetz Conference Room. It's true. You can look it up on www.google.com. They heard testimony from local utilities, regulatory agencies, local government offices, federal agencies and private industry on energy issues facing the U.S Virgin Islands and to a lesser extent, the other insular U.S. territories. "We are here because we are trying to face the challenges of being here," Costa said. "The utility rates here are the second highest in the U.S., second only to American Samoa." Virgin Islands representatives from the Energy Office, the Legislature, the Water and Power Authority and the Public Services Commission testified about efforts to move to alternative power and answered questions from Christensen and the two congressmen. Many of the local testifiers emphasized similar themes. "The only way the utility has been able to survive has been to impose unending increase on the ratepayers, in a way that is unsustainable," said Donald "Ducks" Cole, assistant chairman of the Public Services Committee. "Residents are paying more than 34 cents a kilowatt hour and rates above 40 cents are on the horizon. … Families of the poor and elderly simply cannot afford the increases in cost." Cole noted Virgin Islanders already consume less than half the electricity per capita than the U.S. average. "It is evident that we must establish a mechanism to finance the development, production and distribution of clean energy in the Virgin Islands," Senate President Usie Richards said. "Our territorial government, despite its willingness, does not possess the necessary capital to ascertain and retain clean, renewable and sustainable energy." WAPA Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. briefed the committee on the utility's recent efforts to move toward alternative power generation, increase plant efficiency and reduced consumption. Hodge also identified federal funds that should be available under the Energy Security Act of 2005, and suggested how they could best be used. "We would point to our potential development of an undersea connection between St. Thomas and St. Croix as a good example of a project that might be particularly appropriate," he said. The subcommittee looked at ocean thermal power generation, solar, wind, coal and burning municipal waste to generate energy. All had some potential as well as drawbacks. Ocean thermal is untested, but Sea Solar Power International, the company bidding to build such a plant, is willing to invest its own capital at its own risk. Solar has high start-up costs, but James Resor of groSolar said the costs are competitive if absorbed over the life of the system. Generating energy from municipal waste uses a readily available resource, local trash, and takes strain off local landfills, said Frazier Blaylock of Covanta Holding Corporation, a company that builds such plants. But Blaylock said the territory doesn’t produce quite enough trash to meet the ideal threshold for economies of scale. Christensen asked Nikolao Pula of the Interior Department if more funding from Interior was realistic. "Energy basically became a crisis in the last year or so," said Pula, Interior's acting deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs. "We need to really think seriously on focusing our limited resources on the crisis." That may help address the long-term problem, Christensen said, then asked what could be done in the short term. No one offered any form of immediate relief. A high point of the hearing came when Costa asked about Energy Department record keeping. "I notice the Department of Energy doesn't keep data like with the states," Costa said. "I mean you treat them almost like a foreign country. … It doesn't make sense to me, because these are our citizens we are talking about." The room burst into applause at this comment. Christensen said one reason for the hearing was to establish a record for Congress to use and refer to. She invited residents to submit testimony to her office and said the record will remain open for ten more days. Residents can call her St. Croix office at 778-5900, St. Thomas at 774-4408 and St. John at 776-1212 for more information.

Going away party tonight

We have to bring some mexican food to a going away pot luck party for Jan Trainor tonight. Yes, mexican. That is the theme. I am essentially doing a nothing post today in this forum just to fill it up. But who knows. Maybe it will become found by the search engines and indexed for the word Mexico, and then someone will find it and want to rent a villa. You know where to go for the villa rental, don't you. St. John.

American Airlines Still Flying to Virgin Islands

This is an article from today's The Source. Fortunately, www.stjohnvillarental.com will still get lots of visitors because American Airlines is still flying here. That is good. And let's not forget Frank Bay Villas either, www.frankbayvillas.com. No American Airlines Flight Cancellations in Virgin Islandsby Lynda Lohr
April 10, 2008 -- There are no canceled American Airlines flights to and from Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix because American does not use the problematic MD-80 airplanes in the territory, an airline spokeswoman said Thursday. American was forced to cancel 900 flights Thursday, the third day of cancellations necessary so it can inspect its MD-80 airplanes to comply with Federal Aviation Administration orders. The airline also does not fly MD-80s out of Miami, so passengers connecting there won't experience any problems either, spokeswoman Martha Pantin said. Cancellations elsewhere in the American system haven't caused any slowdowns at Miami International Airport, she said. However, passengers connecting through JFK International Airport in New York should check to make sure their connecting flight isn't one of the ones canceled. "By Saturday, we expect all the planes to be flying again," Pantin said. There were no cancellations at San Juan International Airport because MD80s don't fly to Puerto Rico, either. American Eagle, which flies from St. Thomas and St. Croix to San Juan, also does not use MD-80s. Customers scheduled on a canceled flight may request a full refund or apply the value of their ticket to future travel on American, according to American's website. Additionally, customers scheduled to travel on any MD-80 flight from April 8 through 11, even if their flight was not canceled, may rebook without a change fee to any AA flight with availability in the same cabin as long as their travel begins by April 17. Published reports indicate the airline canceled 2,400 flights since Tuesday. It was the second cancellation in two weeks. American had to cancel flights the second time because the FAA said it didn't comply with its original orders. "We've been working in good faith to ensure that we are in complete compliance with this airworthiness directive," said Gerard Arpey, chairman and chief executive officer of American Airlines, according to a news release on the airline's website. "We regret and apologize that we are once again causing inconvenience to our customers, but we will continue to work in good faith until we satisfy all of the technical issues related to this airworthiness directive." The issue relates to wiring in the airplane's wheel wells. The FAA raised additional concerns about the recent inspection of American's aircraft, and the manner in which American followed the engineering change order written for the airworthiness directive related to the wiring in the MD-80s' wheel wells, according to the release. Specifically, some areas of concern included the spacing of the ties on the wiring bundle and the direction in which the retention clips and lacing cords were facing. Published reports indicate the FAA was concerned that frayed wiring could allow arcing, which in turn could ignite a fire in nearby fuel tanks.

Chauncey the cat

Chauncey did nothing again yesterday, so I won't even mention him. I imagine the same will occur again today. He'll do nothing, and I won't mention him again. He and Henry the lap cat are good at sleeping.

St. John Yacht Club News

Form The Source today -- about Earth Day Activities on St. John. This has absolutely nothing to do with www.stjohnyachtclub.org, the St. John Yacht Club.

Earth Day Coming Early with Presentation Based on 'An Inconvenient Truth'by Lynda Lohr
April 8, 2008 -- Earth Day, usually celebrated April 22, begins early this year with a presentation of Al Gore's slide show on climate change drawn from his Academy Award-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Kent Taylor, who was trained by Gore and his Climate Project and who has made several presentations on St. John, will make the presentation, which begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the St. John School of the Arts. The Friends of V.I. National Park on St. John are sponsoring the event. Activities continue from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday with the Friends' annual Earth Day Environmental Fair. It will be held at the ballfield adjacent to the National Park Visitors' Center. "It's a very fun environment," said Kristen Maize, the Friends program manager. The fair is free and open to the public. The event includes hands-on eco-activities, environmental and recycling demonstrations, and science and "earth art" exhibits. Participants can learn about alternative energies and landscaping with native plants, participate in simulated archeology digs, as well as view other demonstrations. There will be new exhibitors this year, including educational outreach coordinators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Coastal Zone Management program and the V.I. Energy Office, Maize said. www.stjohnvillarental.com. There will be live music and snacks and goodies for kids. All St. John schools have been invited to attend. The Friends are able to have the educational outreach coordinators participate because the island's Earth Day is earlier than celebrations on other islands, Maize said. In other years they had conflicting commitments. The date change was made because Gifft Hill School on St. John was on spring break the week of April 22. "And it was a day that worked for all schools on St. John," she said. The list of schools expected to attend includes public and private schools. On April 19 and 20, participants in the Friends' Adopt-A-Beach/Trail program will remove debris from their adopted beach/trail as part of an island-wide cleanup. The Adopt-A-Beach/Trail program encourages volunteer groups to adopt a site and become responsible for keeping it clean. If you are interested in participating in Earth Day, adopting a beach/trail or joining the Friends for a beach cleanup of Drunk Bay April 19, contact the Friends at 779-4940.

www.stjohntravelforum.com

The st john travel forum and villa rental website is number one on google for loads of search terms. When you search, you always get www.stjohntravelforum.com, which is really good because then you can look things up. Captain G. Piecost says that everyone should look here for things because it has a list of st john attractions and villa rentals and cruz bay and coral bay villas.

Nothing today

Nothing today except a little potrzebie to add to the blog. So here is the potrzebie.

Potrzebie.

That's the end of the blog for today.

Sailing in the Caribbean

The St John Yacht Club website is www.stjohnyachtclub.org, and you can learn all about sailing in the Caribbean. Sailboat races, parties, social news, boats, etc.

Front Page of Frank Bay Villas

St John Villa Rental Pool Wedding Honeymoon Last-Minute Specials www.frankbayvillas.com.
St John Villa Rental USVI - Last-Minute Specials - Frank Bay Villas
Please note: Information about St. John Villa Rentals, including Last-Minute Specials, has been moved to the St. John Villa Rental Website. Click below to see photos and descriptions about villa rentals in all areas of St. John. If you need further information about St. John, click on the St. John Travel Forum Link below. Your inquiries go directly to the owners of these properties, and you will have answers within one day.Click here for St. John Villa Rentals and Last-Minute Specials
Our St. John rental villas include the following excellent properties:1-Bedroom Villas: Apartment Suite Dreams, Azul de Mar, Bananaquit, Bougainvillea, Captain's Cabin, Caribsea, Caribsurf, Catch n Keep, Coconut Coast, Coral and Blue, Coral Dream, Far Horizons, Fishbone Cottage, Garden By The Sea, Hillcrest Guest House, In Harmony Retreat, Lavender Hill Suites, Meritage Cottage, Papaya Moon, Siempre Azul, Star Villas, Tranquility, Trinidad Charlie Eco Cottages, Valley View, Windcrest.2-Bedroom Villas: Blue Tang, Cameron Cove, Caneel Trailside Cottage, Carnival Beach House, Castle St. John, Coconut Coast, Daffodil Villa, Hibiscus Gardens, Horizons Cottage, Kamabesu, Lavender Hill Suites, Louisenhoj, Luna Vista, Mystic Ridge, Panacea, Sea Turtle Villa, SeaCruz, Skyridge, Star Villas, Starlit Escape, Tradewinds Cottage, Villa Cielomar, Windcrest.3-Bedroom Villas: Allesandra, Andante by the Sea, Blue Palm Villa, Cari-beana Villa, ChocoCruz, Cinnamon Stones, Idyllic Villa, Odessa, Rendezvous By The Sea, Safari, Serenity, Still Waters, Villa Mollo, Windchime Villa.4-Bedroom Villas: Acqua Blu, Amani, Blue Skies, Chateau La Tete Rouge, Fish Bay Hideaway, Meritage Great House, Rendezview, Sea Turtle Villa, Skyridge, Sol Inclination, Villa Callaloo, Villa Claudia, Villa Colorado, Villa Venturoso.5-Bedroom Villas: Crystal Seaview, Kismet, Mystic Ridge, Peter Bay Beach House, Starlit Escape, Vida de Mar, Villa Tesori.6-Bedroom Villas: Chateau Margot, Great Expectations, Villa Paulette.And we have links to over 75 additional villa availability calendars. Villas of all sizes and locations -- in every section of St. John.Click here for St. John Villa Rentals and Last-Minute Specials
We like the Frank Bay area. Looking for the best St John Villa Rental? Welcome to Frank Bay Villa Rentals, a group of superb villa rentals in a quiet section of St. John. Located just a few minutes easy walk to St. John's Cruz Bay, the Frank Bay Villa Rentals have the perfect location for your every need. Stay at a St. John Villa for your wedding or honeymoon. All of our villas are tastefully furnished, with stunning views of the St. John Caribbean water. The perfect spot for a Virgin Island vacation on the Caribbean's loveliest island, St. John.
Peace and quiet at night
Southern and western Caribbean views
The best sunset beach on St. John
Snorkeling and diving nearby
Fine dining only 5 minutes walk
Beach bars, shops, and all the Cruz Bayactivities only 10 minutes walk
The Frank Bay Villas include
Azul de Mar
Bananaquit
Bougainvillea
Caribsea
Caribsurf
Coconut Coast
Far Horizons
Star Villas
Villa Cielomar
Sunset view of Frank Bay from a villa deck
The Frank Bay Villas are on the far left. On the quiet side of a small hill just outside of Cruz Bay.
The blue Caribbean is in sight everywhere in this section.
We have two "streets". Speed limit 10, and drive on the left.
Flowering shrubs and trees are always in bloom.
Caribbean colors, flowering bushes, and views everywhere.
One of our brilliant flamboyant trees, with bougainvillea underneath.
St. John's best art studio is located right on Frank Bay.
Frank Bay Beach looking towards St. Thomas and numerous small Cays.
St John Villa Rentals
Please note: Information about the Frank Bay Villas, including Last-Minute Specials, has been moved to the St. John Villa Rental Website. Click below to see photos and descriptions about these and other villas in all areas of St. John.Click here for St. John Villa Rentals and Last-Minute Specials
Visit the St. John Travel Forum
The most complete information about St. John. Dedicated solely to news and information about St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Villa rental, shopping, water sports, boat charters, beaches, national park, weddings, webcams, restaurants, activities, where to find just about anything. Read any article, or you can Register & Log In to post information, reviews, trip reports, ask questions, etc.Click here for St. John Travel Forum, complete information about St. John.
All About the St. John Travel Forum
The St. John Travel Forum was founded August 20, 2007, by a small group of people who know and love St. John, and who wish to share their knowledge with everyone. It is intended to be the internet's most complete collection of information about St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Inside you will find numerous articles about St. John. Topics include where to shop, water sports, boat charters, our beautiful beaches, the Virgin Islands National Park, weddings (officiants, jewelry, florists, even cakes), webcams, restaurants, activities, where to find just about anything. You can get the ferry schedule, read a trip report, or see a photo gallery. If you need to find churches, ATMs, books, newspapers, or the weather report, you can locate the information in the St. John USVI Travel Forum. You can enter the 8 Tuff Miles Road Race from here. Or look at a live webcam of Foxy's Restaurant on Jost Van Dyke. The restaurant section that we compiled is the most complete of any we have found on internet. Listed by location and price, with phone numbers and links to websites when available. We even list the places to get pizza. And as the Travel Forum gets more and more people registered and doing posts, you will have multiple restaurant reviews available at your fingertips. The same is true of villa rentals. We are planning to have a complete list of available rental villas, organized by size and location. Cottages, small rental villas, large rental villas, Eco-tents, even Caneel and the Westin hotels. Multiple photos of each property, full descriptions, prices, and links to the availability calendars. You will be able to find the perfect villa for your next trip, and send an inquiry right from the Travel Forum. And there will be an ever-growing number of reviews, located in the same section as the villa descriptions, so you won't have to hunt all over internet for information. Click here for St. John Travel Forum, complete information about St. John.
Wedding or Honeymoon on St. John
Thinking of getting married on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands? Good choice! Many happy couples do this. In fact, our wedding officiates and wedding planners are always very busy. Your St. John Wedding can be on a beach or a boat, in a church, or in a luxury villa. Any size ceremony. Two people to hundreds. Here are some tips: 1st, the Marriage is legal and is recognized in the US since St. John is part of the US. All of the paper work and marriage application can be done by mail prior to your arrival in the Virgin Islands. You must send a certified check or money order made out to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands for the Application Fee of $50 and License Fee of $50. There is no residency requirement – but you do need to have your application for a license in the court 8 working days prior to your wedding date. There is an 8-day waiting day waiver, if for some reason you cannot get your paperwork in 8 days prior to the wedding date. If you plan to arrive in the Virgin Islands any day M-F, you can stop at the court after you arrive on St Thomas. It is open from 8-5 M-F and 10-12 noon on Sat. Tell the taxi driver at the airport this is what you want to do. Once you submit your documents to the court with your marriage application -- express mail is best -- call them prior to your arrival to ensure they have received the application. The ladies at the court are efficient and process many, many applications. Go to the St. John Travel Forum below to get information about Wedding Officiants, Wedding Planners, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Jewelry, Wedding Cakes, Wedding Photography. Everything you need to know about getting married on St. John. Click on the "Weddings" Category.

Villas

Villas for rental on St. John. Yes, we have them. But not today. Today is a day to do nothing except put silly stuff in the blogs. Maybe eventually there will be meaningful stuff, but certainly not today. If the Virgin Islands were the vacation spot of your dreams, you would read about them in http://www.stjohnvillarental.com/, but I am not going to mention that website today. You can hunt for it in google if you want, but you can also look at http://www.frankbayvillas.com/ and essentially get the same information, since it refers you to Villa Rental.

Property Tax Suit (from The Source)

This was in The Source today. If you like it, go to www.stjohnvillarental.com and rent a st john villa.

St. John Group Files Suit Over Property-Tax Revaluationby Lynda Lohr
April 2, 2008 -- The St. John Unity Day Group filed a suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court essentially asking the Tax Assessor's Office to start over with its property-revaluation process and not assess or collect taxes until the situation gets resolved. "Our assessments were too high on St. John," said Unity Group member Lorelei Monsanto. The group, along with many other St. John residents, tried to get the government to do something about a situation that many fear will force St. John residents out of their homes and off their land. "Nobody was hearing us, so we had to do the next step," she said. While residents throughout the territory had their properties revalued, those on St. John face revaluations and tax bills that in many cases far exceeded those of property tax payers on other islands. Government House spokesman Jean Greaux said Wednesday he hadn't seen the suit, so he couldn't comment on specifics. However, he said the administration is addressing the St. John residents' concerns and is working on a plan to help alleviate the problem. "We're trying to get some happy medium," Greaux said. The Unity Day Group raised funds from a broad cross-section of St. John residents to hire Attorney James Derr to file the suit. The group does not want to make public the amount of money it raised, Monsanto said. Derr was instrumental in filing the case that sparked the entire revaluation process. Years ago he filed a case in District Court for a group of St. Thomas business owners who said the government unfairly taxes businesses in a different way than residential properties. The 2000 settlement eventually resulted in the court-ordered property revaluation, but residents continued to pay property taxes based on the 1998 values until the revaluation was complete and District Court's "special master" signed off on the case. That case -- usually referred to as the Berne case after one of the principals in the suit -- is now nearing completion, but the special master has not yet certified the revaluation. The situation took another turn when the Senate passed its version of Gov. John deJongh Jr.'s tax bill that assesses residential and commercial properties, as well as land and timeshares, at different rates. When the governor announced March 10 that he had signed the bill, he said he had "instructed the government's lawyers to file all appropriate motions necessary to expedite the lifting of the court's injunction on the issuance of real property-tax bills at the earliest possible date so that the bills can be issued, the taxes collected, and the disruption of both government services and payroll avoided." However, the bills can't go out until the special master gives his approval. The suit claims that because the revaluation process was so flawed and fundamentally erroneous, similar properties on all three islands were assessed at wildly different amounts. Therefore, the owners will pay unequal taxes. The suit indicates that the company hired to do the revaluation, Bearing Point, used different formulas and cost figures for St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. In August 2007, figures obtained from Bearing Point by the Coral Bay Community Council indicated that St. John's base rate for houses stands at $360 per square foot. The St. Thomas rate was $93 a square foot. St. Croix's base rate stands at $89 a square foot. St. John land is valued at a base rate of $25.12 a square foot, while St. Thomas' is $7.41 a square foot and St. Croix's $2.78 a square foot. Numerous properties were not reassessed and people hired to collect the data were poorly trained, the suit claims. "As a result the data was gathered in a haphazard, inconsistent and arbitrary manner," the suit alleges. "Much of the data collected is erroneous and incorrect. Therefore, assessments based on said defective data is also erroneous and incorrect."

Red Sox Win Again, 2-1

The Red Sox won 2-1 yesterday, and we are all so proud of them we could bust. Maybe they will come to St. John in the Virgin Islands and rent some vacation villas, using www.frankbayvillas.com as the source website for finding the villas. Gotta clean a boat today and then take a ride in it.

A good day

Today is a good day to go for a sail on a sailboat and to look for info at www.stjohnyachtclub.org, the St. John Yacht Club.