Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
islands are feeling the impact, with a falloff in tourism and revenues. There has also
been a drop in investments in the private sector aimed at expanding tourist
facilities.
In the meantime, the governments of both the British Virgins and the U.S. Virgins
continue to struggle with unemployment as they mount ongoing struggles to reduce
crime and to protect the environment.
In 2010, officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands developed closer contact with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The aim is to help the territory solve some of its
long-standing problems, such as the best way to address the solid waste problem and
how to preserve healthy air standards.
The U.S. Virgin Islands were awarded $364 million in federal stimulus funding in
2009, and the funding is being used to stimulate the local economy during the reces-
sion. One of the major and predictable goals of the stimulus package is in job cre-
ation. Some of the money has been earmarked for upgrading the ferry service
between Cruz Bay on St. John and Red Hook on St. Thomas. Other programs will be
announced at some point in the future.
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THE VIRGIN ISLANDS IN POP
CULTURE
Books
FICTION
Herman Wouk's
Don't Stop the Carnival
(Little Brown & Co., 1992) is “the Carib-
bean classic,” and all readers contemplating a visit to the Virgin Islands might want
to pick it up. It's great airport lounge reading. Wouk lived in St. Thomas in the 1950s,
and his novel is based on actual people he met during that time. Bob Shacochis's
Easy
in the Islands
(Grove, 2004) giddily re-creates the flavor of the West Indies with short
stories.
Tales of St. John & the Caribbean,
by Gerald Singer (Sombrero Publishing Co.,
2001), is an easy read: a collection of amusing and insightful stories, and the best
1956
British Virgins released from the
Federation of the Leeward Islands.
fourth U.S. Virgin Island; U.S. Senate
grants permission for two casino
hotels to be built on St. Croix.
1966
Queen Elizabeth II visits the British
Virgin Islands.
2000
St. Croix becomes the fi rst “casino
island” in the Virgin Islands.
1967
B.V.I. get a new constitution.
2005
Plans stall for grand development
of St. Thomas.
1980s
U.S.V.I. see major development
and construction, putting natural
resources at risk.
2008
B.V.I. become one of the world's
leading of shore fi nancial centers.
1989
Hurricane Hugo rips through
the islands, hitting St. Croix
especially hard.
2009
Islands experience drop-of in
tourism as U.S. economy goes
into recession.
1995
Hurricane Marilyn causes millions
of dollars of damage and leaves
thousands homeless.
2010
U.S.V.I. oi cials tackle
environmental problems.
1996
Water Island, of the coast of St.
Thomas, is oi cially declared the
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