"The light that comes from wisdom never goes out"
The Virgin Islands’ reputation for good governance has been under a cloud, so it is surprising that a team from Commonwealth countries has not yet been invited to observe the …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made for new census soon”
Mark Twain once said that history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. In the hurricanes of 2017, we heard echoes of what Virgin Islands residents experienced 150 years …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — 2017 disasters ‘rhymed’ with 1867’s”
On Aug. 26, 1854, the United Kingdom government replaced the Virgin Islands’ House of Assembly with a Legislative Council of only nine members following the Cattle Tax Riots (as recounted …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — VI’s political history reviewed”
Members of the House of Assembly representing a district are rewarded with a salary and other benefits for participating in the lawmaking process and furthering the interests of residents in …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Fahie urged to resign D-1 seat”
The National Unity Government’s performance to date gives its well-wishers scant assurance that its members understand the challenges the Virgin Islands is confronting, let alone have a strong enough vision …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Reform plan’s viability questioned”
A playwright stated in 1716, “’Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but death and taxes.” However, participants in the 1949 Great March in the Virgin Islands couldn’t have …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — ‘Taxes and death: a cautionary tale’”
Toxic fumes from the garbage fire burning on the hillside at West End are poor rewards to the First District’s electorate for its past loyalty to the disgraced former premier. …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made for radical reforms in VI”
I write in support of The BVI Beacon’s Oct. 15 editorial titled “Premier should stop bickering with the UK.” I do, however, have certain reservations, particularly your assumption that constitutional …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Writer responds to Beacon editorial”
In my recent commentaries, I have been imagining the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father …
In my recent commentaries, I have been imagining the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father …
In my recent commentaries, I have been imagining the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Banking, policing seen through 2030 lens”
In my recent commentaries, I have been imagining the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — 2030 view considers land, corruption”
In my recent commentaries, I have been imagining the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father …
In my previous four commentaries, I imagined the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father Troy. …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Dispatches from 2030 continue”
In my previous three commentaries, I imagined the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria, her older brother Zak, and their father Troy. …
In my previous two commentaries, I imagined the Virgin Islands of 2030 through the eyes of a 10-year-old Guyanese girl named Maria and her older brother Zak. This week, I’ll …
In last week’s commentary, I imagined the perspective of a Guyanese girl named Maria in the Virgin Islands of 2030. This week, I’ll imagine her older brother’s perspective from the …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Writer imagines VI in 10 years”
Imagine a scene from the Virgin Islands of the year 2030. Maria put on the new headset her parents had given her for her 10th birthday, adjusted the controls on …
Legalising gambling and the growth of cannabis are unlikely to produce strong revenue streams since we have no great competitive advantages in fields already crowded with more experienced players within …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Pot, gambling seen as distractions”
We might view contemptuously United States President Donald Trump’s attempts to revive the US coal industry against global moves towards cleaner energy, but he gave an enormous boost to the …
In 1983, Tom Crowe reported enthusiastically to the Virgin Islands government on the prospects for computerisation reducing the territory’s dependence on tourism (see my May 28 commentary titled “‘Commuting home’ …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY – Need seen for telecom taskforce”
In May 1986, shortly after being appointed head of the Virgin Islands Library Services Department, I presented a paper to a regional conference on St. Croix, foreseeing a bright future …
As a former power walker, I sympathise with the runners who are now allowed to exercise outdoors but are expected to wear face masks that obstruct their breathing. However, recent …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Residents warned to use sanitisers safely”
I recently read the subtitles on a video as a bright young girl led viewers round her refugee camp. She took us to a communal standpipe, filled a small jerrycan …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Residents urged to handle sanitisers, wipes with care”
The shocking way in which a few greedy people took advantage of the efforts of the government and voluntary services to feed the hungry during the recent lockdown reminds us …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made to ‘revive our pride’”