Wednesday, September 9, 2026 - Part 2

0:00The views and opinions expressed on analyze this are entirely those of the on air participants and do not reflect those of the station's board management staff or underwriters. Good morning everyone. This is Dwayne Henry filling in for the Nivell James on analyze this. The it will on 93.1 your MPR station reverse now on WTJX. And if we continue the candidate speaks forum and this hour we have Mr. Julian Rivera. Vera from I keep doing that. I know better. What people do. Yes and and he's running here in the St. Croix district. Good morning Mr. Vierre.

1:00Good morning. How are you doing? Good. How are you doing? I'm always well. Okay good. I know you you you you're right in 2022 and 2024. Yes I do. But still you know. Introduce yourself to us. Who are who are you? Yes good day. St. Croix on the rest of the election. I'm and everyone who is what everyone has with watching my name is Julian S Vera. I've resided here in the for the time I was 11 years old. I'm originally from St. Vincent and the grandadins. My parents relocated here in 1977. I attended the Lamocla Elementary School in the Christian Junai School graduated from Central High and attending then you college at the Virgin Islands. Very studied business management for a shared period which I had to cut because of an in-ism of dad had. My family owned from 1983

2:04St. Croix radiated at the service which I worked at as a youth and which I managed as an adult. So I'm well versed in the business field. I saw the Virgin Islands with the St. Croix public through that business for from far years. After that my wife and I opened them on me a little goods and things at the San Farm gas station. During that time at St. Croix radiates I saw the trouble with youth and St. Croix through the public defenders office on Omila Joseph teaching the trouble with youths my trade which is automatic mechanic and automatic repair. I was served at the Alfredo Andrews PTO organization. Why not even having a student a child in the public school system. So I've been active with the public and with children because a lot of people and our children

3:06are top priority. So here I am again in 2026 trying to make a difference here in the Virgin Islands. By running for the Senate this third time. Hopefully I'm successful this time because the things I've seen over the years and how it needs to be addressed is part of the problem that we have. And again my name is Julian here. Thank you very much for introducing yourself again to us. And I do remember the business working with the Tony Joseph and then over the PD's office. So thank you for that. That's a former PD myself. Tell me what do you stand for? If somebody said if somebody said Julian Vera is AB or see what what would it be?

4:06What do I stand for? What do I stand for? I stand for better education for children. Which is part of my platform. I stand for a resilient economy for the Virgin Islands. I also stand for better government for the Virgin Islands. And I also stand for a firm financial system for the Virgin Islands people. So you mentioned that you have a platform that everybody that comes on but you have more experience than this isn't your first rodeo. You know how to run a campaign. Tell us what your platform is. Well in the education portion of the platform, we would like to see that our children from the elementary school level be educated from a different perspective.

5:06A perspective that would understand who they are. A perspective that they would understand where they're where the loyalty should be. Let me put it that way. The loyalty should be. And of course to include other subjects, mathematics, and the English and all that. But what I think is missing our education system is the groundation of our children that they don't understand who they are as Virgin Islands. And I see that to be a major part of the problems that we have here in the Virgin Islands. Okay. As one education platform, I see that all of children should have a training graduation from high school. I see that to be a must. We don't know where our lives will lead us after high school. So having a train where you can far back and in case of, you know, if you decide to go to college and think those

6:06and go right in that field, you cannot, you cannot at least maintain yourself on your family. So, and I also see under the education platform that we need to remove politics from the education system itself. The board of education, we should be elected by the people of Virgin Islands should be only education system and not education system. So, we have a community that is the most important part of the education system. Secondly, food security, which is vital. We can also have a way with old food. So we have a foreign plan as to a water source which we can use for food production. We have plans for a packaging and processing plant. We have plans for also a seed bank for the Virgin Islands. Those are the main parts of the agriculture plan for the portion. I want to take a break because I don't want you to bite off too much one time. We can get to all your stuff

7:07within the next hour. So I just wanted to zoom in on some of the things you were talking about here. The identity, you said, you wanted to make sure that students are not going to be able to make sure that students understood who they are. And these are the Virgin Islands. Earlier, when I was hosting last week, several times we discussed cultural preservation. We spoke about examples like the festival, how it's changed over the years, etc. How would you address the issue of preserving Virgin Islands culture? Well, first of all, we must understand Virgin Islands culture. Most of the things that we think are Virgin Islands culture and we are operating today and not. So what we need to do, we need to go back in time and space

8:08through the others that we have here, try to understand their perspectives and their understanding as to how things were done so that we can produce a better set of people in this region. For example, the elders would say that we used to do things as sort in a way and, let me back up a bit. Carnival for example. The elders would say, well, this is the way we used to do things in this region, in the past. We had to do things in the past courage during the carnival time. And the younger folks would say, well, hey, this is our culture. But the way we are masquerading to the door, that is not our culture. These are things that we have adapted. So, it needs to be defined specifically as to what

9:08happened in carnival season and what happened in carnival season. We have to be very careful to understand that everybody else around the world are doing shouldn't be a part of our washing and carnival or washing and sculpture. So, these things are the things that I'm saying should be embedded within our school system. So, what Sharon, can identify who they are? We talked about nationalism and the culture. We also, glad you are offering your thoughts there in that culture because that's a pet peeve kind of thing with me, with how the society is going. Let me ask you about the, how would you do the trade requirement for high school? Okay. In the high school system, except for nine grade, we would identify what we are offering whether it's atomic mechanics,

10:08atomic battery pay, welding, or whatever, and see what student male or female is interested in. So, from the nine grade level, we would along with the other education that our children are having would stare whatever child into whatever feel they want to be. And whatever trade they want to pick up. But along with this, well-graduated from high school, our students would also be certified in that trade. Not just having that trade, but the certification that goes along with that trade. So, whether here and the boys and the male and the male and whoever else worldwide, right, they would have the necessary certification to enter that particular field. Because, you know, you went to central. I went to central. And, you know, central, I don't know what they're doing now. But, back then, when we went to school, they had college prep academic and then I think. So, you know, the people that were doing

11:10industrial arts or trades, they would have the instruction time would actually be in the trade. So, if everybody is going to be doing a trade, would you say that it would be that intense or would you be more, you know, kind of like an introduction to different trades to see what people would like? Well, first, it would have to be in the docks, and yes, as I said, we would start from the 9th grade level. It would have to be in the docks, in the trade. And whatever student would like, whatever trade, then we would stay in that direction. Of course, the upper trade to have the college prep and academics would also be there. So, now we can have our students, you know, broaden whatever they want to be into. But I would still insist on the trade because for everyone, because, as I said before, and with experience being our age,

12:10we don't know where this life is going to take us down the road. So, it's good to have something that you can fall back on or something that could even help you because we are our drive cars, we are our home, we are our experience, whatever we experience as adults. Even though you're not working specifically in that trade, you would be able to help yourself along the way. Right, I understand here. And you would at least know how to make... Who is trying to rip you off? Exactly. And they want to go there. We have to be real about who is trying to rip you off. Yes. You completely write to me like, no, this is supposed to work like this. Exactly. And then, you know, I sympathize with that whole idea of students having more than just book knowledge. Right. You know, even though I was a college prepent, and not a manual person in any sense of the world, but I do respect the trades and the sciences.

13:12Let's go out and say it's with dark in school, let's go to this boarder education. Would you be in favor of the education system being pulled away from the executive, but the whole thing, you know, in most places in the states, the boarder education is elected, and they actually are independent agencies. As a part of the governor, the state has not the dual with the running of schools. Right. That's what I'm in favor of. I mean, favor of taking the education department, with this monthly education department, and let the board of education actually run the education system, to take the politics away from education itself. It's not working here in the boys' neighborhood. Clearly not. Clearly not. So we have to identify the things that's not working, and get rid of them, the things that are working, or we keep them.

14:12What do you think about the funding, most cases, property tax is what goes to the fund education system. How would you set up the funding for this new independent school district like they like to call them? ISDs. Well, of course, still, should the property taxes, but should the funding that we get from the federal government, really, and also, on my platform, we have a version of development bank that would also be a part of the funding for whatever else we're trying to do here in the voice and error. Isn't there already a government development bank? By name, probably, but not any reality for the masses or the people in the voice and error. So you would, and we do. It's the EDC. Yes, yes. So you would expand their...

15:15No, not truly EDC, though. No, by me, the government bank, well, you would move it out of there, or create a new one, and call it that, and that would have more expensive thing than the current. Exactly. This would be a bank that the voice and error can invest, that can deposit their monies in. We would use the federal monies that we get yearly to start to initially fund the bank, and the Varsness Common Man can be able to access this bank to place their monies in and to get loans from this bank. And also, this bank can be used to finance a restaurant that we have to bring somebody else from outside to finance. So what a bank does, a bank is a money-making institution. A bank is not just a lending part of the bank, it's a minor part of the bank system. A bank is created to make money, to create money from the monies that you already have, to multiply your monies there.

16:15Let's put it that way. So initiatives like a restaurant that we... You know, it's up in the air right now. This bank could have financed that, the Varsness and I don't see. Let me add to that. I don't see why it is that every time we're trying to do something in the Varsness, we have to go to old-sized sources to do it. I don't understand that concept. I think some of the people would say that we don't have the money, the local government. Okay. What you said to that? What I'm saying is that we can multiply the monies that we get yearly from the federal government to have the money. That's what I'm saying. Creating this bank and letting all our own people place their monies into this bank. We can't finance things that we need to. And we introduced this in 2022 when I ran for the first time. We could have been unaware to making this bank a reality

17:15and making these finances a reality. Let me ask you this, because you just mentioned the race track. So you don't have to go there. The governor had identified five million dollars for the St. Croix race track. Do you think that's enough to bring the race track back together? Or we need twenty-eight million dollars, which is the private proposal. How much money we need to bring this race track? The five million dollars is not enough. I don't think we need close to thirty million dollars to do it either. I think we probably need something that's still in the teens to bring the race track together. You realize that until track score I believe was back then, went and I said, dig up the race track.

18:19We had a fully functioning race track. Nothing was wrong over here. The first thing that did was take down the bleachers. You know, why I have no idea. But the first thing that did was dismantled that race track. And then it went and did some kind of surface work and bringing in sign from Antigua or Barbuda that ended up being bad sign and all kinds of stuff. But we had a functioning track. So how much would it cost for us to at least take it back? To functioning. WTJX is underwritten in part by Cost U Less. Your local warehouse retailer offering a wide variety of grocery items, bulk size everyday essentials, and household necessities to run your home or business. Located at 4300 Sion Farm, Christianstead, 3407194442, or costueless.com.

19:21Cost U Less is proud to support public media in the Virgin Islands. On American Experience. Which Cassidy knew how to plan a robbery? They were partners in crime who had one hell of a ride. They are really cut from a different cloth. They don't leave bodies in their wake. The true story of the last legendary Western Outlaws. When they're gone, the Wild West is gone. Which Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Tune in September 15th at 9PM on WTJX TV Channel 12. As veterans, we're no strangers to helping others. That's what we were taught, service before self. But we do have one question for the veterans listening. When is the last time you reached out for help? If you or someone you know needs resources, whether it's for stress, finances, employment, or mental health, don't wait, reach out. Find more information at V.A.gov slash reach.

20:22That's V.A.gov slash reach. Brought to you by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the Add Council. This season on My Money Mentors. My name is Chris Caranthian. I'm Jacqueline Shaddick. Ready for action. We are a professional powerhouse. I'm gonna run the field. So I handle the numbers. And I try to see what is their relationship with money. So we melt the two together to give you the most financial empowerment. Tune in Saturdays at 8PM on WTJX TV Channel 12. Good morning. We're back. This is Dwayne Henry. All the shoppers like Nile Lake to say, feel it is for Neville James. And we have Miss Adjuli and Rivera. No, they have. V.A.R. And they listen. I'm watching the name and I still say Rivera.

21:29But I know you and I know your name is Vera. I don't know why I keep doing that. But I apologize. Most people don't know. Yeah. It's just you know, you saw your brain. It's wired up to produce it. I saw it. So to think that it's Rivera and Carl and your reverence that are Vera. Yeah. No, the. And Mr. V.A.R. is a candidate for the Senate here on the same croit. And we were just talking about the risk track. And could pick up weird stuff. Yeah, this is a risk track that we're talking about with the 20-something million dollars to be a real track. Right. Most of that. But I wouldn't say most. But a lot of these monies, right, might be going into individual's pocket because I don't think we need 20 at thousand 20 at million dollars to be a real track. You're insane. And I don't see why we need to go outside to an outside entity that is now holding the

22:33Washington has government hostage with the racism in St. Thomas. We should have built this risk track of ourselves. The Washington has government with local contractors and if we need to hire special individuals to assist them. Right. That this specialty is building heart creation track. We're going to find individuals to assist and pay consultants here in a pay assault consultant to bring them to the Washington has to assist. Or people to build this risk track. You just you just brought up something very important that I think a lot of people miss in this argument. Each of those companies that have ran that when the member before the government used to run the race track sports park and recreation. And we chose back a housing and something back in the day. But the government used to run them. And then they started bringing these companies in. But you know what these could be none of these companies have any experience running a

23:35track. These are gaming companies. These are gamble hoax. It's like a better term. The specialty is gambling. Track school V.A.G.L. Clearly said they had a guy that was in charge of the project. And I remember being in a meeting with him with them and when I was working for Senator Barnes and Lisa Barnes. And the guy clearly admitted the project manager that he had zero experience in any kind of reassurex thing. And that his experience was actually he was a CB in the Navy. Or all billion bridges. Or all the CBS and the Navy engineers. And I was like, and then they want even serious because they had my good friend on their working by himself for years.

24:36I think he just recently retired. But you know, the age it was demand on their full. And you know, one man. What's going on here? So, so, you know, what I'm saying is that a lot of these companies are not serious. But to see my brother, this, this, this is a problem that we have. The problem that we have here in the Poisson Islands is the individuals that we put in places to run these Poisson Islands. Everyone is saying that we have a problem with the house, raise me a problem with the health care, we have a problem with this. But the problem is the individual and the genuine care for the people of the Poisson Islands and the individuals that are not executing what they need to execute on behalf of the people of the Poisson Islands. Remember, we live in this Poisson Islands. We are going to be here. The individuals that we like should have or should, their priority should be us in the Poisson Islands.

25:40Not some outside entity that's going to come here, right, to take what they want from the Poisson Islands. Because let's be real. We bring, not that we shouldn't bring anyone, but when you bring someone into your community, their interest is to take what they can. That's their interest, right? We should never bring someone in unless we have exhausted all the resources we have as a community to make our community better. We shouldn't just jump and go outside to bring someone in into our community to make our community better. Have we even tried to investigate being in this reassurement and just bringing individuals in special fields to assist us? Why do we need a complete whole organization, complete whole private entity to establish this reassurement and another thing? The Poisson Islands government have a Gambian arm. Let's put it down here. So why, if we're going to have some kind of gaming at the reassurement,

26:43shouldn't this Gambian arm of the Poisson Islands government be in charge of that or set that up so that this money can still be invested in the Poisson Islands as a whole? I really, this has reassurement thing. Have me so upset you, you wouldn't believe it. I do believe it. I do believe it. This agreement, if I was sitting and sent it up in the 36th edition and I read this garbage that's come down in front of the people, I wouldn't have any more, I wouldn't have any questions, that's a read in it. I wouldn't have any questions to anyone who come to testify on behalf of this. I would state that I'm not supporting this and have no questions concerning it because it's not a good deal for the Poisson Islands. Let me ask you this. You must be really in mind as a good segue because my next question is, what actions would you be able to take as a sitting senator to fix this reassure issue?

27:49What would be your plan? How would you go about attacking it, getting the support and resources and everything you need? So let me understand your question, Papi. You're talking about getting rid of the proposed plan or nothing to do with that? No, no, no, what I'm saying is, okay, you won money in the legislature, right? You have your idea of how it should be done. How would you get your idea adopted? How would you convince everybody to go along with your idea? Okay, I got you. Well, let's talk about the finances in the reassure for the world. I would identify the finance if it's students' bank that are proposing, which would already have the finance to do this. And if we're going to do gaming, convince my colleagues that, hey, we already have a gaming arm in the Poisson Islands. And this arm... Break that down for us, tell us who that is.

28:50The Poisson Islands, that way. Thank you. The Poisson Islands. I know that's what it is, but I wanted everybody to know what he's talking about. The Poisson Islands, that way is a gaming arm in the Poisson Islands. Absolutely. The Poisson Islands, that way, should be in control of the gaming in the Poisson Islands, right? And at the reassure. So that these monies can be funneled back into our community and finance is in charge of most of everything in our lives. So I would be able to convince the rest of the Senate that, hey, this would benefit our people financially, right? Instead of letting these monies, that would be coming from our people's packet to leave the Poisson Islands because, hey, who's gambling at the reassure? You know what people? Yes, it's not. Nobody is flying in. You know, nobody's flying in. And we would be able to finance these purses, right? Sure, or develop on a bank and show the same gaming that the lottery would be in charge of. So it's a win-win situation for the people of the Poisson Islands. I don't see how other individuals wouldn't support once I identify the funding that we can use

29:57to balance reassure the funding that we can use for the harsh race day to pay the individuals. So it would be a win-win situation for the people of the Poisson Islands. So who would go against that? And it would take a serious campaign publicly so that the people of the Poisson Islands would convince their elected officials that, hey, this plan is a good plan for the people of the Poisson Islands. And I must mention, right, that being in the Senate, I wouldn't disconnect myself from the people of the Poisson Islands. It would be constant communication with the people of the Poisson Islands. So they can have a say in whatever legislation I'm drafting for them. I remember, right? The legislation that we draft is for the people of the Poisson Islands, not for ourselves. So how can we draft the legislation for the people? And the people only find out when it comes to the Senate flow. The people should be a part of, hey, I'm trying to do this, this, this, this.

30:58And what do you all think? We're going to have meetings, concerning what you think should be in this legislation that would be my approach, draft legislation and the Poisson Islands. And that's an interesting approach because as you know, that's the way it works now. No, it should not work the way it's working now. Right? So your approach to being a senator would be more public involvement. Of course. Who am I representing? I'm representing the public. They hire me. I'm working for them. So how, how my boss wouldn't know what I'm trying to do? His, his, his, his work. Let me ask you this question because you hear people, do you see senators as leaders or representatives or servants? I should say. Well, both. Because listen, the individuals that we put should have the vision to lead us in a certain direction. So yes, we're serving the people of the Poisson Islands in a leadership capacity.

32:01And of course, we have to let the people know what we're trying to do as a leader. So yes, we're serving the people, but the position that we're in is in a leadership position. Right? And we should have vision for the Poisson Islands. Okay. So if you're a certain senator and you have an idea, let's take one of your ideas, the trade requirement is, suppose nobody wants to do that. Well, if nobody wants to do it, they don't see the benefit of it in the Poisson. So if I'm working for you and you don't see, the majority of us don't see that this is important. I wouldn't push forward with that. Okay. And then the flip side of that is, if everybody wants something, let's, this is hypothetical, right? Suppose everybody wants prostitution. And you're against it. But you put them out of spot. That's why I asked you this.

33:01So I want to lead a question. What I would do before saying yes or no to that is, we need to wear the pros and cons of this situation and then present it to the public again, because hey, maybe the public could be making the car on the one prostitution to be legalized not knowing all the artifacts of it or the pros and cons of it. So you would educate. Exactly. You would do that first and then go back to the public with all the information and then let them be say what they want. Okay. So you hear about people saying, well, I just vote my conscience and something. How far does that go? Because your conscience is different. So how far are we going with that? Listen, right? I watch many, many sessions. I want to hear a statement that is love. That doesn't make any sense. You want to vote your conscience. I mean, your conscience is limited. What about if you do your investigation and then vote from there, from being informed?

34:08Not your conscience. That's not what you're there for. Thank you. Thank you. I like to ask candidates that question all the time because that's what goes back to my leader versus solve a representative thing. If you're representing every, if you represent in the people or if you just deal with your own set of ideas. Real quick because we're going to break in a second, but talk about public interest or rather special interest groups. Well, the reality is I don't have any support from anyone. This campaign, which is minimal, this is a food campaign for me. I'm talking to individuals on the street. So I don't have any individual, any corporation, any company that's investing in my campaign. So I don't have any connection with anyone. So there's no public. There's no special interest group that is pushing me.

35:10Okay. Now, once you get in, you know they're going to cut shop. Of course. How would you handle that? Well, I've always been an independent thinker. Right? And I'm here to represent the people of the wars and whatever special interest group approached me. If it doesn't align with a betterment of the people of the wars, I wouldn't be interested. That's a fair answer. Because you know this tremendous pressure. Once you get into these positions, you know the political pressure call it what you may. People with money, want to give you money or will give money to your opponent to get rid of you. If you're not playing the game, that kind of stuff. So that's a question I like to pose to all the different candidates to see how the kids that pressure is intense.

36:12Let me state this. I've been a long journey from about 20 years old. I'm 60 years old today. I mean this year and my only objective in seeking this office, not only but my main objective to seeking this office is liberating the people of the wars and the islands from certain things that have had a stock in this dilemma that we're in. And this is why my platform is like this education, food security, better government and a money system for the wars. Because these are the things that I see would take our people, our people here in the wars and islands, it's a better situation, a better level. That's what I see. It doesn't have anything to do with anyone coming behind the scenes and trying to influence me.

37:13I'm not like that. So I'm well-grown in my position. Let me put it that way. Understood. I appreciate that. Listen, we're going to go to a break. But when we come back, I want to talk more about food security. Sure. You

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40:4090% of suicide attempts involving a gun are fatal. My way of continuing my service is to help protect my community by being a responsible gun owner and by storing firearms safely. Store all your guns securely. Help stop suicide. Brought to you by N Family Fire and the Add Council. Good morning again, everyone. We're back. This is Dwayne Henry, fallen in for Neville James on analyze this WTJXTB 3.1, your MPR station, the Virgin Islands. We have the candidate speaks series going on this morning and in front of me is Mr. Julian Vera from here on St. Croix. He's running for one of seven seats that's available and we've been talking. We'll be having a very interesting conversation. I'm actually enjoying it.

41:42And you will we're gonna this is our last segment and let's begin by talking about food security. You mentioned that as one of your main things. But in reality, we cannot survive without food. It is a main staff of life and this is not just a conversation about food. It's a conversation about good food. Right. It's a conversation about locally grown and organic food. We have to identify a water source for this food, which we're already identified. We get rid of about three million gallons of water every day in the woods and that's a service to public utilities that we don't don't worry angular land. We feel we need to retreat that water and use that water for food production. All the government land. Right. That is available and synchrony the good land for the culture. We need to utilize that land for food production. We can implement a home setting plan, which we put individuals who are seriously interested in farming and this government land so they can produce food we need.

42:50Also, we need a good reliable food bank a seed bank rather for the portion of the lands and I'm saying seed bank because if you go and you purchase food from the supermarket, most of the food when you cut them open that should have seeds don't have seeds. So these foods are genetically modified. Right. To not to produce seeds that you cannot replant the seeds from these foods. You may see one or two seed and those seeds cannot be used to plant again. If you look at the seed properly, it's really minute compared to how the seed should actually be. So the world and the individuals that control food, right. They are making sure that they have the pattern and seeds and we need to secure ourselves here in the forest as far as seeds are concerned. So we can have healthy food here for people in the forest and health food will produce healthier individuals.

43:52Healthy food are genetically grown food will eliminate a lot of diseases that we are plagued with here in the forest. So food security is a major part of my platform here while I'm running for the 37th legislature and we need to be serious about food. We cannot show where we're going food. Let me ask you this. You know with agriculture at least stateside it's agribusiness. These huge corporations that all these things. You mentioned something which I proposed a lot when you talk about the homesteading for people who serious for doing agriculture, whether it's husbandry or growing food. How would that look like? You're talking about one acre plots, two acre plots, five acre plots. We're talking about at least five acre plots because we're not playing when it comes to food production.

44:59We want to give it serious individual when it comes to food production and we must realize that to keep food in circulation early, we must be producing, we have more of our set schedule as to how we're producing this food. We cannot produce food and then next month we don't have the same food that we need next month. So it would be a serious comprehensive plan as to how we secure food, secure food production here in the forest. I forgot to mention not just the food that we planted the ground but the food that's around us in the ocean that's around us. We're talking about fisheries also and we're talking about crop production but animal production also. We're talking about the holistic understanding of food production. So I don't know how it is that in this 2026 we don't have a serious food plan that has been implemented here in the forest.

46:03I just, we have something on paper, yes, but I don't see the implementation of it. I don't. Remember when when Cyril King and Wang Lui were in power back in the day, the ICM administration, one of the things that Governor King had started and Governor Lui continued was, you know, down there to lower love. Yes, yes. They had all these community plots and over the years they just went there. But in the beginning there was a lot of people down there trying a thing, you know, and you had the Youth Commission with the active agriculture programs and stuff like that in St. Thomas. You had the guys out in Bordeaux, you know, which grew into we grew food in. Yeah. You know, they. So we know that it works. Yes, it does. We know that it works. But you see my brother, it takes the leadership to implement it and make it work.

47:08Yes, because let's face this reality, the government in any island and any nation, they have the resources to make things happen. Right. And if they don't put the resources within things that the people need, things wouldn't happen. But what kind of incentive would you offer for this home standing program? Because agriculture land is already not taxable or is exempt, right? 100% exempt. How else can we convince our children to put down the iPhones and, and you know, I'm saying the kids these children are not studying, going in New York to do not. Well, agriculture is not only about going in the yard, right? There's a lot of other fields associated with agriculture. It's not just planting, you know, there's a lot. The marketing distribution. Exactly. And which of which are children they can do that and the systems and the method and you and I can.

48:08Absolutely. So no, there's a lot of ways and also today in the agriculture field in the in the grown itself, there's so much more machinery that's available to make this job easier to do. So it's not that we're going to just use our hand or two hands to kill the soil and stuff like that. The reality is machinery is available to make agriculture easier and how the other fields that comes along with agriculture. And the key to this is starting this full survival within the school system as a low and as a young age. So the children would be familiar with it, right? Education is key to making a community different education is key. That's why you say have. We're coming for the circle. Yes, yes, education. That's why in this education plan, we need to put this education system upside down and shake it all and show the things that's not working for us.

49:08There are many industrial state plainly. A lot of things within the system is not working. I have a 12 year old that attends Paul Bielassen and most of the things that she being taught, she's not interested in. And the way the education system is functioning now, that they're only concentrating and your child coming to school to practice how to take a test is not working for us. It's not the reality is the mandate that the education system has in place for our students is not working. So you're saying that we're not the children are not learning that actually just going through a motion to. Yes, yes, that's what they're doing. The evidence is there to support what you say. You know, the UVI did a study years ago, I showed that children graduated from the public schools in the Virgin Islands.

50:09Something like 70% of them required remedial work when they got to the thing. And you know, it's the same thing. States are when they go to school, states, that's just UVI get up. It's a problem. There's a problem. And the situation is the world is not the world, but the majority is teaching younger individuals to be subject to AI instead of conquering AI. That's what we should be doing. We need to be in control of the system, not letting the system control us. And that's the problem that we have. We need to teach or educate our children properly so they can be in charge of AI instead of AI being in charge of them. No, you know, there's a big issue, a state side. A lot of schools, systems abandon AI at least in the early grades. New York, there's a system done in the Jersey School District that's completely banned it.

51:12New York has put great restrictions and only high schoolers could do it. That's because it's not allowing your brain to function properly. That's the problem. And in the younger, in the younger levels at the school, where children should be actually learning, right? This system is destroying the children's mind. No, it's not developing. No, it's not. And that's the problem that we have and we need to go away from that. Let me go back to the water source. We both know that after they built the Aguilla plant that one of the requirements was for the effluent coming out today to be used for agriculture purposes. However, there's a problem with distribution. What distribution system you think would be best to get that water to the farmers? Well, from the Aguilla area, we see that we can pipe that water. We have already identified a spot there across from the Jhanage Woodson School, where there's a lot of land inside there,

52:17to be the storage area for that water that we clean up a few more times, right? So that would be the storage area. When you come from Bethlehem and you come into Wars, and you come into Wars, and you come into Wars, and the Fisemborg area and the Lefans, we identify that spot. Where that water can be stored, and where it, where we put tanks at each agricultural site to store that water from there to be trucked to the area, or to be piped to each farm. That hasn't been decided yet, but we can either truck the water to the farmers to a storage tank, or the water can be piped from that storage area to the farm, because most of the farmland is not too far from a wrong land area, any hole. That would be utilized. So that problem wouldn't be difficult to solve. Right, I know that I think what's been happening over the years is that nobody wants to take the responsibility for the distribution.

53:22And the farmers and my good friend, Mr. Edwards, and them have been pushing for years for the government to solve the problem for them, and the government seems to be saying, no, you guys get your own trucks, get your own trucks and come get your own water. But who is the government? The government is the people of Washington, so the government should be assisting the people, because as I said before, the government has to have the resources that is necessary. The water to the individuals, and the individuals who are doing the farming, this is a business, and if this is a profitable business, they would might pay for the government. For the water, also the water, to be trucked today, to the farm site, after they have reaped the benefits of producing food for the Virgin Islands. So what do you think that hasn't happened already? A lack of vision for the people of the Virgin Islands. Putting individuals in place that think that we should go to outside sources to solve our problem here in the Virgin Islands.

54:28So the solution is a $50 million pipeline. Exactly, and that's not needed. No, it's not needed. You know, when I listen to Senator Harris and hear the monies that these individuals are attacking about, and I do not see, right? The tangible evidence of these monies that have been spent. I say, this is craziness. I mean, you know what I'm talking about? You don't see the evidence. Okay, let's take the party, Joseph, stay there, my friend, stay away. The evidence of $35 million. I walked into that stadium there that day, and I am looking for the $35 million buried in the ground or something, because I don't see the evidence in the structure that is there. No, no, no, no, no, because I went in there. And you know, you have to understand that at the end of the day, it's a battlefield. Most of it is grass. Okay. I don't see where the $35 million is to build that place.

55:30And it's still in the end. No. And you know, it's ridiculous. And a big part of the problem here in the Virgin Islands is that we do not have representation for specific places and specific things. And so, we have seven floating positions, senators I'm talking about, and not the particular senators, talking about the position. We have seven floating positions that nobody's responsible for, no particular era or no particular system. Unless we change that, we would hardly see any changes in this Virgin Islands. We need to put districts and individual responsible particular districts and individual responsible for particular systems like education, infrastructure, health care, utilities, and then we start to see changes. So you would know which senator you can harass, most of them was there at lightly. So when things are going wrong, whether it's in your district or whether it is within a system itself, we need to do that.

56:36Well, Mr. Vera, that's a good way to end it. I think you made your thoughts it. Thank you very much for coming in today and good luck in the campaign. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me and to the people of the Virgin Islands. I'm Julie and Vera, number 12 on your ballot. Hombie, asking for your support to create a better synchroid and a better version of the Virgin Islands. Thank you. Dwayne Henry, signing off from Analyze this, filling in for NEVIL James again, Gallavante in some place. I don't know. Is everybody have a good Tuesday? The views and opinions expressed on analyzed this are entirely those of the on-air participants

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