Virgin Islands

WASHINGTON -- Donna Christensen, then new in Congress, was passionately opposed to the motion to impeach President Bill Clinton in December 1998. Whatever his mistakes, Christensen believed, Clinton did not deserve to be removed from office. But Christensen, who represents the Virgin Islands, could not vote. She was reduced to speaking on the House floor only after the impeachment vote and declared that if she could have, she would have voted no. "We're all generally forgotten or on the back burner," Christensen said recently, referring to herself and the four other nonvoting delegates in the House.

Mary Hudson, 86, a self-made businesswoman who built an oil empire worth $325 million that made her one of the few women on the Forbes 400 list, died in Prairie Village, Kan., Thursday of cancer.Almeric L. Christian,79, the first native of the U.S. Virgin Islands to be named a judge in the territory's District Court, died in Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands, Wednesday of an undisclosed illness. He was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1969 and retired in 1988.Stanley Weigel, 93, a retired U.S. District judge who defended professors in loyalty oath cases, died in San Francisco on Wednesday.

By the time the North All-Stars figured out how to contain South guard Felicia James, the damage had been done yesterday afternoon during the women's portion of the Black College All-Star Classic at the Baltimore Arena.North coach and WNBA star Ruthie Bolton-Holifield made her wishes known midway through the second half -- "I want someone to stop her," the Sacramento Monarch told her team -- but James led a 17-2 run that propelled the South to a 71-65 victory, earning her the game's MVP award.

Blackbeard and his fellow pirates were lured to the tropical paradise that's now the British Virgin Islands for the same reasons we were: Hidden coves, calm waters and 50 islands within sight of each other, most ringed with pristine, white-sand beaches.Unlike the pirates, we weren't looking for a cave to stash pieces of eight, though I wish we could have found some of their treasure which, legend has it, is still hidden there. We came to sail the easily navigated, clear, blue waters that draw yachters and divers from around the world, increasingly these days with their children aboard.

Jasmine L. Gunthorpe, a community activist in Harlem Park, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, died Tuesday of an aneurysm at University of Maryland Medical Center. She was 43 and lived in Rosemont in West Baltimore.At her death, the former welfare recipient was executive assistant at Harlem Park Revitalization Corp., where she had worked since 1995.Ms. Gunthorpe was a driving force behind Harlem Park Academy, a community-based school that was created in 1997 by the school system's New Schools Initiative.

SAN ANTONIO -- It's Tim Duncan's lack of emotion that stands out most, a personality that never appears to change. Rarely on the court will he smile, yell or display any type of passion. That's true whether he's dunking on Shaquille O'Neal, hitting a jumper from the top of the key or blocking a shot."He's a strange bird in that sense," said San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "He's got this natural disposition. I always say he's on island time, where nothing fazes this guy. He doesn't get excited about anything.

Grab the sand toys, masks and fins. It's time to hit the beach. With more than 40 to choose from on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, each with plenty of white sand, secluded coves and some of the best snorkeling anywhere, the only question-of-the-morning is which beach?Do we opt for Trunk Bay with its friendly National Park ranger lifeguards and just-offshore underwater snorkeling trail marked by white buoys and underwater signs identifying the different kinds of coral and fish? Do we head to Cinnamon Bay Beach, home to the popular campground and the longest, widest beach on the island?

Jane Shahmanesh was in a quandary. The single mom didn't want to miss one of the Caribbean's most famous snorkeling reefs, but she didn't want to spring for an expensive excursion her 7-year-old would hate, either.She took a chance -- that's what vacations are for, after all -- and signed herself and her daughter Allison up for an all-day boat trip to Buck Island National Reef Monument. The mostly underwater national park is six miles off St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is famous for its marine gardens.

NAGANO, Japan -- Eddie the Eagle. The Jamaican bobsled team. And now Grandma Luge.They come to you every four years, all goofy and innocent and sincere, sloshing into the sports mainstream for their 15 minutes of fame.They're people you've never heard of, competing in some freezing place you've never heard of, never to be heard from again.Only at the Winter Olympics.Figure skating is the reason Americans watch, but the wacky sideshows that precede it rarely lack for entertainment, however ridiculous.

The epiphany arrived for me without fanfare somewhere around midnight the second day. Here I was, on my back, hands under my head, looking up at the night sky over the British Virgin Islands. The Milky Way clouds stood out almost as clearly as the stars and galaxies around it. A shooting star punctuated the scene every few minutes.Two things made this scene stand out from any other vacation. First, I was with my five closest "guy" friends, all of them similarly laid back at the moment, each of us with a Cuban cigar in hand and some of us with a glass of choice Cabernet.

Fashion consultant Nilsa Wheatley, 36, is moving here from Atlanta. To get an idea of Baltimore's fashion scene, the fashion expert headed to the War Memorial Building to catch Baltimore Fashion Week's opening night. Wheatley describes her style as "bohemian with a modern edge," which developed when she returned to her native Virgin Islands after attending design schools in London and New York. "I found my creative voice while living in the islands. It was good to leave New York, where everyone tells you how fashion is supposed to be, and go somewhere where you can find your own voice and be yourself."

Most of the nation returns to daylight-saving time at 2 a.m. tonight, spinning the dial ahead to 3 a.m. Officially, there will be no 2 o'clock hour. Hawaii, most of Arizona and Indiana skip the switch, as do Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The rest of us spend 65 percent of our year on DST, and "noon" comes an hour before the middle of our day.

Hasheem Thabeet and the second-ranked Connecticut Huskies overpowered Miami in the Paradise Jam semifinals last night at Charlotte Amalie in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thabeet, 7 feet 3, had 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting and added 14 rebounds in 32 minutes in the Huskies' 76-63 victory over the No. 17 Hurricanes. "It's not about me hitting the first shot or the last shot," Thabeet said. "I give credit to my teammates and my coaches for executing the plays." No. 3 Louisville 81, South Alabama 54: : Freshman Samardo Samuels scored 24 to lead the Cardinals (2-0)

Donna A. Waters, an administrative assistant and avid fisher, died of cancer Wednesday at her Pasadena home. She was 48. Donna A. Yirka was born in Baltimore and raised in Curtis Bay. She was a 1978 graduate of Southern High School. For the past decade, she had been an administrative assistant with the Baltimore New Homes Guide. Since 1999, Mrs. Waters had lived in Pasadena. She enjoyed boating, fishing, attending Ravens games and playing Bunco. Mrs. Waters also liked traveling and was particularly fond of visiting Magen's Bay at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, family members said.

A 20-year-old man living in Towson was ordered detained yesterday on charges that he was involved in a bank robbery and shooting last summer in the British Virgin Islands. Ricky Terrence Powell of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, and several other men are accused of making off with $56,415 in a robbery of the National Bank of the Virgin Islands, authorities said. During the Aug. 15, 2007, robbery, two customers were shot, authorities said. Authorities say Powell ended up living in an apartment in the 7000 block of Lachland Circle in Towson.

The Caribbean in summer? It's a more appealing option than you might think, especially if you're looking for a bargain vacation this year. Here are a few reasons: 1. Prices are lower, with some hotels and resorts cutting as much as 60 percent off their winter rates. 2. Temperatures are typically only a few degrees higher than they are in the peak travel months of January through March. And they can be even lower than you'll find at popular beach spots back in the United States. 3. The threat of hurricanes is certainly real, but perhaps not as great as you might imagine.

My husband was grumpy when this whole destination wedding trend hit us for the first time. Italy? They are getting married in Italy? Why can't these crazy, love-struck kids walk down the aisle of the parish church like everybody else, he wanted to know. "Look," I said. "Your best friend's daughter is getting married. If the wedding was being held in Antarctica, we'd be going. "And, by the way," I said. "I am not going to Italy just for the weekend." Last fall, Maria and Morgan were married in an ancient monastery in a tiny village in the hills of Italy in one of the most intimate and original ceremonies we have ever witnessed.

March 31 1880 Wabash, Ind., became the first town in the world to be illuminated by electrical lighting. 1917 The U.S. took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark.

Jan. 17 1893 Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate. 1917 The United States paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.

WASHINGTON -- Donna Christensen, then new in Congress, was passionately opposed to the motion to impeach President Bill Clinton in December 1998. Whatever his mistakes, Christensen believed, Clinton did not deserve to be removed from office. But Christensen, who represents the Virgin Islands, could not vote. She was reduced to speaking on the House floor only after the impeachment vote and declared that if she could have, she would have voted no. "We're all generally forgotten or on the back burner," Christensen said recently, referring to herself and the four other nonvoting delegates in the House.