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VI_DAILYNEWS/PAGES [A04] | 06/25/15 02:06 | SUPERIMPVI VIRGIN ISLANDS Superior Court judge wrangling HOVENSA cases Daily News Staff The V.I. Superior Court is working to organize and move through the sys- tem more than 700 complex toxic tort cases, some of them going as far back as the 1990s, Superior Court Presiding Judge Michael Dunston told senators on Wednesday. The cases remain from the operation of the Hess-HOVENSArefinery on St. Croix’s South Shore. Dunston said at a Senate Finance Committee meeting Wednesday that the cases are being placed on schedul- ing orders and outstanding motions are being addressed. In January, Superior Court Judge Harold Willocks issued an order call- ing a “global status conference to begin discussions with counsels how best to move through the court” all the com- plex litigation cases that are pending. The cases are lawsuits alleging toxic tort claims — claims that expo- sure to a toxic substance caused inju- ry or illness — arising from opera- tion of the former oil refinery or alu- minum refinery on St. Croix that also involve multiple parties. The court is systematically going through the cases, consolidating where appropriate, creating master dockets, and reassigning the cases as necessary. The cases are in various stages — some are being actively litigated, some have lain dormant for years, and some may have been settled, according to Willocks’order. The idea is for court staff to deter- mine whether a case could be closed because all claims — including any counterclaims brought by a defendant against another defendant, or third- party complaints — have been resolved against all parties or whether the case is still open because the claims of one or more parties remain to be resolved, Willocks wrote. The court came up with a color- coded chart almost 80 pages long list- ing out all the cases. Most of the cases involve Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. There have been two status confer- ences in the matter so far, the most recent one in May. Dunston said in his testimony Wednesday that the Superior Court supports the request of the V.I. Bar Association and senators from St. Croix for an additional judge for St. Croix to facilitate reducing the sheer volume of pending civil cases on the docket. A new judge position and support staff were included in the Superior Court’s budget proposal for FiscalYear 2016, he said. Vision for Upstreet on display atWinston Raymo Center Daily News Staff ST.THOMAS—TheV.I.Economic Development Authority will have dif- ferent community plans for the Upstreet area on display this week for public input. Residents of Upstreet and the gener- al public can view and select from among proposed community plans that have been developed to help revitalize the neighborhood on St. Thomas. These proposed community plans will be on display from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Winston Raymo Center on St. Thomas today and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Winston Raymo Center is locat- ed across from Lionel Roberts Stadium and adjacent to the basketball court in Upstreet. Attendees will have the opportunity to view and cast their vote for one of three proposed community plans for Upstreet. The plans were designed for the community’s consideration by three teams of local design planners from the American Institute ofArchitects. The design teams — led by Robert deJongh, John Woods and Mike deHaas — will deliver a presentation about their plans at 5:30 p.m. today at the Winston Raymo Center. According to the Enterprise and Commercial Zone Commission, the community’s full participation is necessary for the selection of the best plan that will represent the community’s vision for the revital- ization of Upstreet. The community plan is designed to provide a road map for the economic, social and architectural development of this neighborhood and should also reflect the vision of the Upstreet com- munity. Upstreet is one of four designated enterprise zones in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The proposed community plans were initiated, in part, by a char- rette, a series of town meetings and workshops that took place in Upstreet in 2014. For more information, contact Nadine Marchena Kean at 714-1700 ext. 256 or Raheem Smith at ext. 253. To learn more about the Enterprise and Commercial Zone Commission, visit www.usvieda.org. V.I.Tourism Department seeks dancers, musicians and actors The Tourism Department is seek- ing entertainers — including musi- cians, dancers and other performing artists — who are interested in per- forming for visitors. Entertainers should visit the Department of Tourism offices to complete an application and W-9 form and provide the following: copy of a current business license, perfor- mance sample and rates for on- and off-island performances. Criteria include: • Musicians will be involved in performing music in a variety of genres and can be composers, instru- mentalists or singers who perform either in the studio or before a live audience. • Dancers must be able to perform to live audiences and for television, film and video productions with cho- reographed performance and appro- priate costumes. • Actors should be able to per- form for a live audience, in a studio or “on location” for film, television, internet and radio broadcast. The individual should also be able to do voice-overs for advertisements or recordings. Tourism is seeking entertainers with flexible schedules available to work during the week, weekends and holidays. Applications may be picked up at the Tourism offices on Strand Street in Frederiksted; on St. Thomas at the Visitor’s Center (behind the former USO building); the John McCleverty Welcome Center at the Havensight cruise ship dock on St. Thomas; and at the Visitors’ Center in Cruz Bay, St. John. For more information, contact Diana Brown on St. Thomas-St. John at 774-8784 ext. 2236 or Alvin Milligan on St. Croix at 772-0357. 4 The Virgin Islands Daily News Thursday, June 25, 2015