Breaking

ST. CROIX — Governor Kenneth Mapp announced at his Thursday press briefing at Government House that Seaborne Airlines has resumed daily flights at the seaplane terminals between St. Thomas and St. Croix, offering $70-dollar walk-in, one-way flights between the islands. The airline intends to resume daily flights at the airports soon.

Mr. Mapp also noted the reopening of the Cyrile K. King Airport, with flights from American and Delta Airlines at the facility today. He said Jetblue would have flights on Friday, and United Airlines on Saturday.

The governor said 50 additional persons left St. Croix today on a Limetree Bay chartered flight, among them were tourists who had visited St. Croix and were staying in AirBnB apartments. According to the governor, Limetree Bay realized it had additional space on the chartered flight and was graceful enough to offer them as mercy seats. Additionally, an airline that the governor did not name has offered 100 seats for mercy mission passengers, and the Department of Tourism has since notified those in line on the waiting list of a planned departure.

Below are the other important updates from the press event:

The Postal Service will be able to restore handout of packages and mail service, along with retail (stamps, packages, money orders) on Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In Christiansted. The Christiansted main Post Office, the downtown office, Gallows Bay and Sunny Isle will each be open for the customers of those offices. Kingshill will provide handout of mail service for Fredericksted addresses.
Distribution centers will reopen on St. Croix on Friday in the five established locations — Cotton Valley Fire Station, Eulalie Rivera Elementary School, Educational Complex, Alexander Henderson School and the Juanita Gardine Elementary School. The hours of operation are between 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.
Distribution centers will reopen Monday in the St. Thomas-St. John District.
Mr. Mapp said the curfew on St. Croix will be eased further next week.
The governor said Disaster Survivor Assistance teams (DSA) would soon be on St. Croix and throughout the territory speaking with residents affected by the storms, and aiding with registration for federal assistance. Mr. Mapp said registration centers are scheduled to open as early as Saturday, where enrollment will also occur. Locations will be revealed in Friday.
Bureau of Internal Revenue Director, Marvin Pickering, announced that due dates for income tax payments have been extended to 2018. The Sept. 15, 2017 and January 16, 2018 payments have been extended January 31, 2018. Taxpayers with valid extensions through Oct. 16 now have until January 31, 2018 to file. Payroll tax deposits have been extended to January 31, 2018, however there are no extended due dates for local taxes such as Gross Receipts and Hotel Occupancy taxes. Those who need extensions in the aforementioned tax categories will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, Mr. Pickering said. B.I.R. is hopping to resume services beginning on Monday, October 1.
Mr. Mapp said roadside clearance and debris removal have been proceeding at a satisfactory pace. Lloyd Bough Jr., commissioner of the Department of Property and Procurement, said 20 additional contracts were signed on St. Croix, and 17 on St. Thomas. DPP will not be accepting more contracts for the roadside clearance and debris removal work on St. Croix, however proposals are still open for the St. Thomas-St. John District.
V.I.P.D. Commissioner Delroy Richard is urging the community to slow down at checkpoints. He said persons with no business on the road who use their curfew passes at nights, will be arrested. The commissioner also noted a rise in domestic violence incidents throughout the territory, and said at least two families engaged in brawls that saw victims and suspects being hospitalized.
The Department of Health’s (D.O.H.) Behavioral Divsion is finalizing an agreement with a behavioral health provider, with services set to begin on Monday. Teams will be sent to the Education Complex on St. Croix, which is currently serving as a shelter, and the Lockhart Elementary School on St. Thomas, which is also serving as a shelter. D.O.H. is seeking volunteers for a variety of services. It has made contact with the Association of Black Psychologists to provide volunteers. The department will hold a meeting on Sunday with a broader group of providers as it seeks help in a variety of health professions.
D.O.H. has a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) team in the USVI assisting with shelter assessment, including environmenttal health and food safety. Commissioner Michelle Davis said some issues have been found, and D.O.H. has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) to resolve the concerns. Infrastructure assessment for public health and medical facilities is being conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, and D.O.H. said it would have a report on their findings in the near future.
D.O.H. will be developing health messages to keep residents safe. Federal public health teams will be arriving within the next 48-72 hours from the Department of Defense and the Indian Health Service from Atlanta, Georgia.
The Juan F. Luis Hospital evacuated 5 dialysis patients today from the Caribbean Kidney Center. They, along with four caretakers, were taken to the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb County, Georgia. These patients will be assessed before being transferred to dialysis facilities. Two additional patients were evacuated today with the assistance of FEMA.
Governor Mapp will host business leaders on St. Croix at Government House on Saturday between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m., to discuss a variety topics, among them how the government can help, and the desire of cruise ship companies to start scheduling ships to dock at the Frederiksted Pier, among other topics relative the Mapp administration’s post-Hurricanes Irma and Maria recovery effort.