You’re fired!
A Beaconite has seen defendants switch attorneys during court proceedings, but he has never seen one fire his lawyer in the middle of a trial – that is, until Tuesday. An attorney was defending a client against an assault charge, and wanted to call a psychologist to the stand to testify about the defendant’s mental health history. “I object to the summons,” the defendant said before turning to the attorney and adding, “And I want to get another attorney because you’re dragging your feet and playing games.” Magistrate Ayanna Baptiste-DaBreo advised the defendant that she thought the attorney was acting in his best interest, but her reassurances were to no avail. So she then advised the defendant to get another attorney by the time the trial starts again in July. After the trial, the attorney explained to the Beaconite that the defendant’s mental health history may have helped absolve his charge, because one can’t have criminal intent while in a state of psychosis.
The sounds of running
Although a Beaconite tries to go running as much as he can, he hates it. He finds the exercise to be monotonous and boring. As a distraction, he takes along his iPod to listen to music. But the cords sometimes get in the way of his swaying arms or the battery dies and he is left to listen to his heavy breathing and shoes slapping on the pavement. However, last weekend he thinks he found a solution when he was covering the Dive BVI Virgin Gorda Half Marathon (see story on page 54). Some runners didn’t need iPods, because there was live music playing. Al Broderick, of the band Hot Sauce, followed the runners in the back of a truck, playing his guitar and singing songs like, “Rat in mi Kitchen” by UB40. Mr. Broderick said it was the first time he has had a gig in the back of a truck at a running race. He added that the hardest part was getting up at 5 a.m. to play.
Redirected mail
A Beaconite again found himself grateful for living in a small community last week when some of his lost mail was returned to him unexpectedly. For several weeks, the Beaconite hadn’t received copies of a magazine subscription that he used to enjoy weekly. The copies had suddenly stopped arriving. But thankfully when he attended a public meeting convened by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour last week, a public officer approached him with several back issues of the magazine. The officer, who shares the last name and initials of the Beaconite, brought the copies to the meeting because he rightly thought the newspaper would cover it. The Beaconite is grateful for the official’s thoughtfulness.
Reckless
A Beaconite got firsthand experience of the dangers of reckless motorcylists on Monday evening. He was driving west on Waterfront Drive in front of the Crafts Alive Village when he stopped to let a car turn right out of the oceanfront parking lot across from Pusser’s. A motorcyclist behind him, however, didn’t see the need to stop. He zoomed past the Beaconite’s stopped vehicle and ran smack into the turning car. Fortunately, no one was hurt, though the bike sustained some damage. The Beaconite hopes scooter riders will be more careful in the future.
Senior month
A Beaconite enjoys covering Senior Citizens’ Month events. On Tuesday while covering the open house at the Adina Donovan Home for the Elderly, she got the opportunity to listen to more stories about old times in the Virgin Islands. She also got to play the squash, a traditional handmade instrument. The humour, the food and the stories were a blast, and she hopes to hang out with more seniors in the future.
From the archives
A Beaconite researching the paper’s 1999 archives recently came across an amusing advertisement. The house ad — so called because the space is used to promote the paper itself — shows an image of Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture The Thinker, along with some text describing the qualities the Beacon’s independent-thinking readers would appreciate, such as quality journalism, thoughtful commentaries, thorough sports coverage, and, of course, “the most comprehensive cable TV schedule in the BVI.”
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