Bounced cheque
Opposition member Julian Fraser stood up in the House of Assembly recently and told legislators he’d received a bounced cheque for $149 from an unlikely source: the government. He described the situation as “embarrassing” for government and asked for an explanation of what happened. Government officials have since complied, providing media outlets with a copy of a letter Premier Dr. Orlando Smith received from Ian Smith, a senior vice president with Banco Popular.
The bank, which maintained the government account on which the cheque was drawn, gave the following explanation: “We wish to make it abundantly clear that the return of the said cheques was not as a result of insufficient funds but rather a system error arising out of changes in the way in which the accounts were administered.”
Good morning!
A few Virgin Islands traditions aren’t observed as they were in the past, but others appear to be here to stay. While standing in line in a crowded bank on Monday, no one could deny hearing a loud “good morning!” from an elderly woman who called out the greeting as soon as she walked in. Almost everyone responded, including the reporter.
Turning the tables
A Beaconite got a taste of what it might be like to be on the other side of an interview this week while out on assignment. The reporter met a teenager at the event who was apparently very curious. The teen fired a barrage of questions at the reporter without reacting at all to the answers. Indeed, the teen seemed not to even be listening to the reporter’s responses. The interaction felt uncomfortably like an oral examination. The Beaconite knows that interviews can sometimes be uncomfortable, but she hopes that when she interviews people, they get a sense that they are having a conversation, not being grilled.
Montserrat on the rise?
A Beaconite was interested to read this week about development plans in fellow United Kingdom overseas territory Montserrat. According to the Invest Montserrat website, the government has approved a master plan to build a brand new capital town, which is set to include a breakwater, a cruise ship dock, ferry facilities, a marina, a beachfront hotel, retail space, condominiums and villas. Now, officials there need to attract something like $150 million in investment for the new port, and up to $400 million for the rest of the master plan, according to media reports. Some aspects of the development, such as its focus on walkability and the inclusion of major marine and landside works, remind the reporter of the Virgin Islands’ plans for extending the cruise ship pier and developing the surrounding area. The reporter wonders what effect, if any, the Montserrat development might have on the VI in the future.
Sunrise
Last week, a Beaconite rekindled her love for running. On Saturday, she was particularly glad she did: On her way back to Road Town, she witnessed the sunrise. It reminded her that she often forgets how beautiful the territory is. In the future she hopes to take more time out to enjoy it.
Spelled out
A Beaconite isn’t quite sure what he witnessed in Magistrates’ Court when he heard an attorney repeat the word “crotch” three times before spelling the word out loud. “The defendant kept grabbing his crotch — his crotch, crotch, crotch, c-r-o-t-c-h,” the lawyer said. The Beaconite wonders if the attorney was struggling to read sloppy handwriting or a misprint. Or perhaps all the studying of cases in law school can make basic anatomy easy to forget.
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