Beacon honoured again
Beaconites are proud that another honour has been awarded to a cross-border series on sargassum seaweed published in April 2024 in the Beacon and several other partnering media outlets around the Caribbean and further abroad. The six-article series is one of three finalists for the 2025 prize in non-deadline news reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sunshine State Awards, alongside the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times. The awards honour journalism published in Florida, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. The winner will be announced in September, and Beaconites have their fingers crossed. Earlier this year, the sargassum series was also a finalist for the Victor K. McElheny Award from the Knight Science Journalism Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That prize is awarded annually for outstanding coverage of science, public health, technology and environmental issues at the local and regional levels. For the cross-border series, which was facilitated by the Puerto Rico Centre of Investigative Journalism, the Beacon worked with journalists in six other countries and territories to probe the sargassum problem and policymakers’ failure to adequately address it. Sadly, not much has changed since the series was published. And this year, the smelly seaweed is worse than ever. Beaconites hope policymakers will take another look at the series — which includes reporting on a wide range of solutions to the problem.
Is it really gossip?
It started as one of those casual, unexpected run-ins during a client site visit. A senior manager happened to be passing through, spotted a freelance Beaconite — who also works as a business consultant — and waved him in for a quick chat. Nothing serious; just a few minutes of small talk: the traffic after 4 p.m. (still awful), the weather (still hot), and how the families were doing (thankfully, all fine). Then the Beaconite asked gently about one of the acquaintance’s relatives. He meant it as a general check-in — not an invitation to dive into personal matters. The Beaconite, after all, was aware of a delicate situation involving the relative, and he wasn’t about to wade into sensitive territory. But the response came fast and full: legal matters, reputational concerns, news coverage, emotional strain — all laid bare in the office space. The Beaconite stood listening, politely nodding, while internally thinking: Was this information meant for me? His initial reaction was that it felt like gossip. But was it really? Then it raised a larger question about Virgin Islands society — one the Beaconite has quietly pondered before. Why is it that people here so often speak so freely about personal family challenges? To be honest, the Beaconite has always tried to steer clear of gossip. And while he wishes for more discretion at times, in that moment he began to wonder: Is it really gossip? Or is it trust? Catharsis? Maybe what we call gossip isn’t gossip at all. Maybe it’s something more human — a way of connecting, a quiet search for empathy in an island society where privacy and proximity are always in tension. To the Beaconite, being confided in is a great privilege — one he doesn’t take lightly. So in this moment, he decided that sharing shouldn’t feel like stirring talk. Maybe, sometimes, in the VI sharing is how people cope, carry on, connect — and ask for support without admitting it is needed. The Beaconite wishes the senior manager and their family strength, support and better days ahead — and he will hold what was said in confidence, because that’s the difference between gossip and care.
Waving the flag
Many Virgin Islands residents (especially those who typically park in the lot near the Sakal Place) have probably noticed that preparations for the August Emancipation Festival Village are well under way. Indeed, this week a Beaconite noticed that the village — which, for the rest of the year is used as additional parking space and a shortcut for pedestrians — has been filled with workers. They are preparing the various vendors’ huts and setting up the stage and amusement park. This week, they appeared to have made ample progress. It’s not only the activity happening in the village that is a sign that the annual celebration is coming soon. Small, colourful flags have been strung up along Waterfront Drive and part of the Sir Francis Drake Highway. These flags always brighten up Road Town. In fact, she likes them so much she wonders if they should remain year-round.
