Press conferences, please
The Beacon heaped praise last year on Premier Dr. Orlando Smith’s efforts to explain his government’s actions and communicate with residents.
His decision to hold regular press conferences at which reporters could ask him questions on any topic went a long way towards bolstering transparency. However, the press conferences, which were held regularly for several months until mid-December, seem to have stopped. Another transparency effort — ministerial “On the Road” meetings that were held across the territory — also seem to have been halted. As the meetings and the press conferences gave residents a chance to hear and be heard by their elected leaders, Beaconites, and likely many other residents, hope they resume soon.
Court etiquette
Beaconites are accustomed to seeing defendants and visitors reprimanded for not following proper court etiquette, but it’s not every day that lawyers are scolded. That’s what happened last Thursday, though, when a Beaconite witnessed Magistrate Dr. Velon John threaten to boot an attorney from the courtroom for what he considered rude behaviour. After a witness had already testified that he did not know two defendants’ names, a counsel for the Crown seemingly was about to ask whether he knew the defendants or whether he would recognise their names if he heard them. But the counsel never got a chance to ask his question because the defence attorney interrupted him. “Don’t do that!” the attorney said while still sitting in his chair, yelling at the Crown counsel for allegedly leading the witness.
“Control yourself,” said Dr. John.
When the attorney persisted in his soliloquy, Dr. John became sterner. “Counsel, I am speaking to you,” he said. “Control yourself or else you can be escorted out of the court with relative ease.”
The defence attorney apologised and made a proper objection. Dr. John agreed with the attorney’s objection after the Crown counsel admitted that he was going to ask the witness whether he knew the defendants, but the magistrate warned the defence one more time before the trial continued: “I expect a certain decorum in my court at all times.”
Election warm-up
With Saturday’s launch of the People’s Empowerment Party, a Beaconite is thinking a lot about election season. Although the next elections aren’t due until next year, since politics are a major part of her work, the reporter knows that quite soon she’ll be immersed in the details of candidates for office, political parties, manifestos and campaign promises. Even though she knows firsthand how tedious election season can be, the reporter still hopes that all VI residents will get involved in the political process in some way or another, because she believes that public participation strengthens any democracy. To that end, eligible voters who are not yet registered can visit the Office of the Supervisor of Elections at the foot of Russell Hill in Road Town. For more information on the registration process call the office at 468-6842 or 468-3701, extension 4380.
After deadline
Last week’s tsunami drill fell on the Beacon’s Wednesday deadline. Accordingly, the coverage in last Thursday’s edition didn’t include information about the drill that Beaconites thought was worth mentioning. For example, the Department of Disaster Management subsequently reported that nearly 4,500 people around the territory participated. Apart from 2011, when all schools tested their evacuation procedures, this was the highest number of participants since the DDM started the exercise in 2009. “This year we had a greater response from the private sector when compared to previous years,” said DDM Training Officer Carishma Hicks. “Immediately after the initial announcement of the exercise in February, we started receiving calls and e-mails with persons expressing their interest in participating.” Still, more participation is needed in order to ensure that the territory is properly prepared for disasters, according to the agency. DDM Director Sharleen DaBreo added that there remain “a number of critical departments, agencies and private sector organisations that must come on board and ensure that a comprehensive approach to disaster management is continuously practised throughout the territory.”