According to the Coral Bay Community Council, a $12 million, 171 acre piece of Coral Bay land is just one Governor’s signature away from becoming a park.

And it’s seeking your help to make sure that signature gets done.

The land, which has been listed as “Sale Pending” for some time, is on your right as you head toward the Coral Bay Garden Center. A 9-hole golf course has been marketed as one of its potential development possibilities.

If the Governor signs an appropriations bill the VI government will pick up 25% of the sale price, whatever that ends up being, with the federal government picking up the rest. It also includes money for boardwalks and trails near Island Blues.

The Coral Bay Community Council thinks the Governor will make his decision in the next week or two, and is asking everybody who cares to make their voice heard.

You can read details about the land deal, print up something to fax to the Governor’s office and get a phone number to call, by clicking here.

We know the Upper Deck as a little neighborhood of nice condos at the top of Jacob’s Ladder with awesome views over the Westin and toward St. Thomas. There are even a few vacation rentals there.

But once upon a time, it was also home to the Upper Deck, a very popular bar that was destroyed in Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Lonnie Willis, from St. John Car Rental, recently posted a bunch of old pictures on Facebook, including this one of the Upper Deck in 1975, and agreed to let us post a couple of them.

“They served lunch and dinner, family style food, hamburgers, pot roast, liver and onions, fish and steak,” says Lonnie, recalling the old Upper Deck.

“We often drove up during lunchtime (we took two hours for lunch in those days) and usually once a week for dinner. Lots of parties were held there, especially the annual New Year’s party.”

She also has this picture, below, of Capt. Loredon Boynes that she found when the Captain’s old house was taken down to build what is now St. John Car Rental. A couple of other vintage photos below as well.

(Read  Lonnie’s history with St. John and St. John Car Rental here.  It’s a great story!)

We can’t believe it’s been a year since Dean Doeling’s last Just Play Day, but it has, and this fun day organized by Dean, an extremely generous off-islander, is preparing for the next event.

It takes a lot to prove your good intentions on St. John, and Dean certainly has.

Just Play Day – a day of sport and fun for kids that includes donations from Dean’s employer, Nike, of sneakers, balls and other sports gear for kids – is set for Oct. 11.

There are 24 sponsors this year. Among them is Cruz Bay jewelry store Verace, which is picking up the tab for trophies, medals and the canvas bags kids will take their freebees home in, and St. John Catering, which will provide all the grub for volunteers who will eat very well with a buffet of pastas and sauces.

Dean admits he was met with skepticism when he first floated his idea, but he is an inspiration to anyone who wants to help make a difference on St. John.

Donkeys won’t yield to cars. They do not move for trucks.

You can honk as loud as you want, but donkeys own the right-of-way.

With one exception.

What do donkeys respect? See for yourself.

Paris to Marseille in 3 hours. That was enough to rattle a few rows of razor sharp teeth.

The newly-blue clinic in Cruz Bay survived the bashing of a big old tree that tumbled atop it.

The tree, downed by Hurricane Earl, finally got whacked away from the clinic’s sturdy roof this week.

Must be that coat of blue paint that saved it.

Joe’s Rum Hut and the Cruz Bay Pizzeria right next door are officially getting married.

Joe, the owner of both businesses, had the pizza shop listed for sale for awhile, but says he’s decided to hold on to it now, ditch the pizza theme and make Joe’s Rum Hut a proper place to get some decent grub.

“I’ve wanted to converge the two into one business, but there has always been a separation between them,” Joe tells us. “People are always asking if they can eat pizza at the bar or get a drink at the pizza place. The answer is “yes,” but now we’re formalizing the connection.”

The team is busy renovating…bringing the bar’s metal roof and bamboo motif into the restaurant too, and the whole operation, kitchen and all, will now simply be Joe’s Rum Hut.

“I’m still working on the menu, but I’m leaning toward burgers and salads and we’ll keep pizza too, but I want the place to be a bit more approachable and family friendly,” says Joe. “We want it to be the kind of place you can hang out for lunch and dinner.”

The place, and its new menu, will be open for you to check out by the second week in October.

This big, mean switchback between Trunk Bay and Peter Bay gets a new coat of pavement Thursday and Friday, and with that, the yearlong resurfacing of the North Shore Road is wrapping up.

But it’s not done yet.

“They’ve added about $1 million in new work to the project, so I’d guess we won’t be completely done until mid-November,” says the Federal Highway Administration’s Butch Brooks. “But we’re still close to on-time and, not counting the additional work, we’re on-budget.”

The Trunk Bay to Peter Bay switchback work will cause some traffic problems, with waits up to an hour to pass in either direction, Butch tells us. But the whole project has been worth the occasional traffic jams.

“The new road won’t last as long as it would’ve years ago, what with all the heavy truck traffic on St. John these days, but it should last a good 20 years,” Butch says.

Butch, who also oversaw the Roundabout project, is leaving St. John Monday. His next project? Doing roadwork on the George Washington Parkway in Washington, D.C.

Score a victory for the St. John Chamber of Commerce.  After complaining about plans to install turnstiles at the Red Hook ferry terminal, the Port Authority is reconsidering.

The 25 cents VIPA wants to collect with the turnstiles will fund upkeep of the Red Hook terminal. Now, that quarter may be collected at the counter where you buy your ferry ticket instead.

The Chamber argues turnstiles would be a headache for tourists with bags and for St. John residents returning with their shopping trip loot, and says they would be just one more hurdle on the journey to St. John.

You can read the Chamber’s petition to the Port Authority, here.  The Port Authority has already responded, saying it’s reassessing the turnstiles.

What do you think?  Is the ferry ticketing and boarding process a pain or a piece of cake? And, would turnstiles be a hassle?

Emil Dameff (with his wife Teddi) and Ryan Lennon got more than they expected when they went on a diving excursion with Cruz Bay Watersports last week. The two spotted, and then later went back to the same spot and snared a 9 inch Lionfish near Chocolate Hole.

Alex Dedes, from Cruz Bay Watersports, sends us these pictures of the fish and the proud divers who brought the fish back to the watersports’ company’s store.

You can read the story of the dive and capture, as Alex sent it to us, here.

Wade is back and he’s put some miles on his fin. He’s also got a lot of catching up to do. Like beating back turnstiles, and a Lionfish in Chocolate Hole? Holy cow. We’ve missed a lot!

More this week.

(Wade, enjoying the hillside view at Gordes, outside of Aix-en Provence.)

Your On-StJohn.com editors return next week, and we figured this was the perfect little video to put us (and you) back into a relaxing, St. John kind of mood.