‘Death by coconut’
After a Beaconite was almost hit by a falling coconut, she decided to Google “death by coconut” and see what turned up. She was amused to learn that “death by coconut” actually has its own page on Wikipedia. According to the website, coconuts have been dubbed “the killer fruit” by various newspapers due to their tendency to conk people on the head. While the Beaconite would certainly prefer not to be killed by a falling fruit, she must admit it would make for an interesting obituary.
Duty free no more
A Beaconite writing about the impending duty-free shopping system feels at least partly responsible for the Road Town retailer formerly known as BVI Duty Free having to change its name to BVI Premium Outlet. The Beaconite was reading through the Tourist (Duty-Free Shopping System) Act 2015 – which was just made public two weeks ago – when he came across a provision that penalises non-licensed stores from advertising themselves as duty free with a $4,000 fine upon conviction. He went to the Customs Department with his findings to question whether the law would affect BVI Duty Free, and a day later he noticed that the store had taken down the “Duty Free” portion of its logo and changed its name on Facebook. The Beaconite has mixed feelings about the provision. On the one hand, he doesn’t think a store that isn’t duty free should advertise itself as such; on the other hand, he doesn’t think that the government should criminalise misleading ads. Regardless, he can’t help but wonder whether the outcome would have been different if the public had been consulted before legislators rushed the bill through the House of Assembly in one sitting.
Fake money
Police in the neighbouring United States Virgin Islands issued a warning this week about an increase in counterfeit $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills. According to the police there, the fakes are made by bleaching authentic notes and reprinting them to give them the appearance of higher-value bills. The best way to identify these fakes is to check the denomination on the front corners of the bill. The ink in that area on real bills will shift colour, while a counterfeit’s won’t. Another feature of the counterfeit bills is their distinctive scent, which USVI police described as “sulphuric.” Beaconites hope few if any of the counterfeit bills make their way to this territory, and that residents will be on the lookout.
Making a difference
There has been much talk recently about the problem of sargassum, but some residents are not waiting for officials to handle it. Last week, a Beaconite was on her way home when the bus stopped to drop off some passengers in Brandywine Bay. She noticed three people raking seaweed off the nearby beach in an effort to help clean a shoreline covered with the stuff. The Beaconite commends these individuals for taking action, and she notes that their work made a noticeable difference.
More chairs, please
On Monday, a Beaconite had to visit the Immigration Department. Thankfully, it only took her about three hours to complete her business there, but she couldn’t help noticing the number of customers who had no seats. This reporter commends the department’s recent efforts in improving comfort in its lobby. Sometimes, the television is on and the air conditioning works great. However, on Monday there was none of that, and there were about as many customers standing as seated. The Beaconite hopes the department will consider adding more chairs and taking other steps to ensure customers’ comfort.
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