stx today,comments

ok linda mystery solved,apparently it's much more considerate to your neighbors and much smarter to just pile the brush and set it to smoldering and smoking,not burning just smoldering and smoking,instead of using that perfectly good pickup parked next to the smoldering smoking piles to load it up and haul it into the bush like everyone else up here does, no lets just stink the neighborhood up for 2-3 days,there are days here that i do not understand the thought process

trw...don't mean to make like of your smokey situation, but that's a great post. Makes me think of autumn in the midwest when ppl would rake their lawn and set the leaves to smoking, smoldering piles of stink. The entire town would be covered in thick smoke that would just hang there. Really bad for anyone with asthma. My friend used to put tape around the windows in her son's bedroom hoping to save him from an asthma attack. Some ppl just don't get it.

slow downtown tonight, seems like everyone left after the dog dress up thing on the boardwalk,lol richard must have done alright,i watched him walk up from the boardwalk and buy some rock from one of the dealers by bongos,my boss is off sailing for the week so i guess i'm in charge of the place,still stinks up here

hey has anyone gone to evita yet,this is a busy month,evita for the next 3 weekends,ag fair and jump up next weekend and then mardi croix on the 21st

still stinks up here,but it looks like rain coming my way from over the mountain,nope clouds just went by but the sun is coming over now and that looks cool,so i'll do the laundry before i have to go back to town. Hey undercover books over in gallows bay won the best bookstore award this year from the daily news and their "best of"thing,asha the manager wants to put in a small gay and lesbian section so i'm bringing her a bunch of the books i've picked up over the years so she can get an idea of the great writing thats out there,so much of our early history from the late 1800's and early 1900's is being forgotten because so many of the young generation just take it all for granted and think gay started in the 80's with madonna

TRW, I think the smoke is from down in front of Frank's. They are clearing the brush out from around that small abandoned building.

It is a balmy 68 degrees in Norfolk Virgina today so we are rushing to load our container before to cold returns. Back to STX on Wednesday as long as nothing else goes wrong. In the last 2 weeks my Dads heart has stopped beating 4 times and Mom was hospitalized with pneumonia. Dad now has a pace maker and Mom is back home on the mend.

The news here is all doom and gloom about the economy and stimulus bill. People out of work and foreclosures everywhere. I don't understand our government. It seems quite simple to me. Instead of spending billions of dollars for bailouts why don't they send every adult in America 20 K, force the mortgage companies and banks to lower everyone's interest rates without going through the ordeal and cost of refinancing, temporarily lower or suspend the high interest rates on credit cards, lower taxes and give business incentives to hire people. We have a runaway goverment that is out of control. Sigh

I finally told JJ we were returning to the island and he is marking the days on a calender. We made a final trip the Toys R Us were he picked out a couple of things for his friends on the island.

so i just got back from breakfast at cane bay,tattoo'd muscle bound man stud was working as well as barbie,so the rain came down hard for about 5 minutes drenching everything at the end of the bar that is'nt covered,so it's done raining and tattoo'd muscle bound man stud walks over to a very drenched radio plugged into an equally drench power cord and proceeds to pick it up,and so i watched in mild anticipation for him to get fried and receive his darwin award but alas not today,so i ate my breakfast and came home

Yesterday was a good day. Great weather, the sun was shining bout a nice steady breeze. Diego, Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob were in Sunny Isles yesterday. Sunny Isles held a Valentine's Day Function for the kids. Free balloons, face painting and teddy bears. A guy from Puerto Rico doing a juggling act really cool. Seems like all the kids enjoyed themselves. Lots of families!!!!!

Hey TRW, how can you smell the bush fire from where you live if it's in LaValle?

um,well because i own a house in lavallee and keep an apt in town

well i for one am tired of the court battle over golden resorts,just let him build the damn thing and be done with it for god's sake,and then you have idiots like olasee davis whining about beach access over at williams and punch,the whole stretch in question is crappy beach,go and look,i am sick to death of the whiners that say "oh i'm for this or that but"jesus christ just pay the idiots off so they shut the hell up,olasee davis fails to mention that he makes his living by doing tours of the places he writes negatively about,oh he nevers mentions that his living would be hampered by developement

trw-do you think if the resorts get finished that it will get some people off of welfare

doug-i agree with you 100%

Cruise ship was docked in F'sted Sunday............the passengers were told to go to C'sted for all the local artist & retail stores for shopping.
$16.00 cab fare to an EMPTY town!!! Only 3-4 stores opened & lots of MAD cruise passengers!!!! *sigh*

i heard most of the stores were going to be open, bit surprised about that. i guess my info was wrong

Can someone just form a downtown association group, so that everyone is on the same page when the ships are coming in. There could be meetings maybe once or twice a month to stay on the same page, take up donations for things like , trash clean up,decorations,etc... And if by chance someone fails to open there shop when the boats come, then they get a fine. Just a thought. I guess rules and regulations for owning and operating a down town business.

I think there is a group already. I know Violettes Boutique is on that association called something like restaraunts and retail association. They are the same group that started First Fridays and has a big part in Jump Up.

yes, there is a group already i think it crra. something like that

Mydream,
I agree with your idea, however, we (they...whomever) can't tell people they HAVE to be open. We are a free country. It is a real shame they don't choose to be open and clean, decorated, welcoming..etc.

I don't know all the particulars of how people are being treated, how they like our little piece of paradise, what their perceptions are, but MY perception, so far, is we are going to lose them. I sincerely hope I am wrong!

CRRA has held meetings & encouraged the retailers to be open when the ships arrive! (Including Sunday).
CRRA also does 1st Fridays & Jump Up. Plans to aide in the cost of cab fares have even been proposed......lots of fighting a broken system.(Reducing cab fares, banners for streets....help up by historic reasons......lack of interest.....on & on)
Working Sundays sux.........but so does a friggin cab fare to a Ghost town!

Alas we cry for the ships to come back & ignore them when they do.

I guess they're making so much money they don't need to be open unless it's against their religion.

I just think it's a shame that downtown merchants do not feel the need to open when there are ships coming. I have been an owner of retail businesses, and if i knew there where a ship coming to the island for the next three days, i would be open and would remind my fellow merchants .I do not live on the island yet, but I'm looking forward to it soon. What worries me is the lack of government responsibility, merchants responsibility. I believe in freedom to do as you wish as a shop owner, but those ships will only come back so many times.As i have read in a few of these threads the ships did stop for awhile. I think as a downtown merchant there should be something put in place(mandatory),that you have to be open on ship days. Or you can move your business off the main shopping area. I'm not trying to make anyone mad by saying this, but i think as a shop owner it is your responsibility. Just my thoughts on this..........

I hear ya mydream and you also have to realize that many remaining STX business owners have gotten use to NOT making a large amount of cash due to tourism and so many are not "slaves" to the tourist industry. I was involved in a Csted business for years and never once opened on a Sunday because a cruise ship was in, full of tourists. Having a mandatory rule would be one more pain in the side that STX businesses would have to go through to stay in business. There are plenty hurdles already.

There is also the cruise line speech they give to passengers as they leave the ship..."don't spend your $$$ here on STX...we're going to STT or St. martin next....you'll get better buys there"...you know how it goes.

Many local SURVIVING businesses succeed due to local traffic.

I know some businesses that are tourist oriented, and they do stay open for the business. . I vote against mandatory open laws.

STT is a different story.

aquaponics
i have also heard that they are told to spend their money in stt and not here. also one of the local businesses was open and they didnt even make enough to pay the person who worked that day.

Do you really think they're not told to buy in Sint Maarten or other islands? Do you really think that all the merchants on STT advertise on the ships? And what about the merchants on STT who do NOT advertise on the ships? They're open when ships are in & up to now are making a living so obviously ship passengers are buying from them.

I don't mean to be harsh but if stores can't bother opening after all the whining about no ships coming to STX then they deserve what they get which is nothing. Unfortunately, that hurts the ones who are trying to attract the business. Friends I have in retail say not all days are wonderful but if you judge by just one or 2 days then you're not a very smart retailer & if nobody's buying anything maybe you need to look at what you're selling or your prices.