When Stacy Hodge started a “side hustle” selling and renting party supplies, she was working as a general manager and interior decorator. But eventually, her business, Party World BVI, became her main source of income. Ms. Hodge shared some of the lessons she learned from...
March 18, 2024Students hold mock HOA sitting
Nineteen fifth graders from Ebenezer Thomas Primary School got a taste of leadership on Friday when they took part in a mock sitting of the House of Assembly. Led by teacher Candia McFarlane, the students took turns acting the role of the premier as they...
Native trees planted at Long Bay
Last Thursday morning at Long Bay on Beef Island, Angela Burnett-Penn pointed to a bushy tree growing on a sand dune near the ocean. “This is the enemy. This is the invasive neem tree,” she said, adding, “It does have a number of human health...
QEII Park roadwork at standstill
The Public Works Department spent $180,743 on roadwork alongside the Queen Elizabeth II Park before workers discovered shallow utility lines and a high water table that have stalled the project, according to Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer. Of those funds, $135,523 went to “rebar,...
HOA votes to up penalties for withholding stats
As part of efforts to help government collect information as the census continues, lawmakers have passed a bill designed to impose harsher penalties on people who withhold statistics they are required to provide. The proposed Statistics (Amendment) Act 2023, which was Gazetted on Feb. 8...
Haitian, Syrian migrants stuck here for now
As gang violence continues to ravage Haiti following the Monday resignation of the country’s prime minister, at least 41 Haitian migrants are being housed in Hotel Castle Maria in McNamara while immigration officials work to navigate current restrictions on sending them home, according to Deputy...
Attorney found dead with gunshot wounds
Virgin Islands attorney Jamal Smith was found dead at his Manuel Hill residence with apparent gunshot wounds on Tuesday afternoon, police said. The 46-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. On Monday, the day before Mr. Smith was found, police received a report via the...
A new UK gov’t could press VI to adopt global tax
Pressure could be brought down on the Virgin Islands to bring in the 15 percent Global Minimum Tax on multinational giants if there is a change of United Kingdom government this year, according to UK professor specialising in the overseas territories. The VI government has...
Immigration Policy keeps 20-year rule the COI deemed ‘unlawful,’ but law could change soon to match it
The government’s new Immigration Policy keeps in place a 20-year residency requirement for belongership applicants that the Commission of Inquiry previously deemed “unlawful” under the Immigration and Passport Act. However, a planned amendment to the act could rectify the issue by changing the law to...
Long-delayed rights watchdog in the works
For more than 15 years, successive governments have been promising to establish the Human Rights Commission provided for in the 2007 Constitution. But the initiative has been delayed again and again. Recently, however, a revised draft bill to establish the commission was submitted to the...