Court-esy
A Beaconite loves poring over publicly available legal and financial documents. That likely sounds very strange, but considering that there are often many roadblocks to obtaining information as a journalist, being able to search through a database or filings with relative ease is a luxury (as long as the price to do so isn’t too high). The reporter has grumbled in the past about her unsuccessful attempts to obtain Magistrates’ Court schedules ahead of time, but wanted to give a quick shout-out to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court website and those who update it. She has recently been able to find consistent postings on the site about upcoming Court of Appeal and High Court sittings for the territory, and very much appreciates having a reliable source of information for at least some court matters.
A shout-out from Trump
On May 31, United States President Donald Trump proclaimed that June would serve as the US’s “Caribbean-American Heritage Month,” honouring both the neighbouring US-Caribbean jurisdictional relationships and historical contributions made by Caribbean-Americans. “As trailblazers, Americans with Caribbean roots have sewn their own unique thread into the fabric of our nation,” Mr. Trump wrote in a statement. “Dr. William Thornton, a native of the British Virgin Islands, designed the United States Capitol and is generally considered the first ‘architect of the Capitol.’” In light of that personal shout-out, one wonders how Mr. Trump would feel about the VI government’s recent request that the floating bar named after Dr. Thornton — the Willy-T — be moved to make way for new development on Norman Island. “Total Witch Hunt!” this Beaconite could imagine him writing via Twitter, his chosen method of public communication, therapy and international diplomacy. “SAD!” On the other hand, he might just as easily be thrilled by the news.
In the field
Sadly, being a crass Yank by birth, a Beaconite had never experienced firsthand a celebration of the birth of the Queen (who actually turned 92 in April, but that’s beside the point). Saturday at the A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds, she found the dozens of uniformed police, firefighters and other uniformed groups marching in perfect ranks on the manicured lawn to celebrate the birth of Her Majesty a stirring sight indeed. However, even with her telephoto lens, getting up-close photos of the marchers proved difficult — until a helpful fellow reporter from another news outlet beckoned her to run out onto the grounds. She soon found herself darting in and out of the uniformed ranks, following Governor Gus Jaspert as he made his inspections — all with the sinking feeling that she was about to be chastised (or perhaps even shot) for violating the sanctity of the royal birthday. However, the marchers, including Jacqueline Vanterpool (the VI’s first female superintendent of police, who performed her commands flawlessly) seemed not to object, thankfully. The Beaconite is just glad she followed royal protocol and wore a hat for the occasion.
Signs of the times
During Hurricane Irma, many road signs were knocked over or simply blown away. This has caused various driving hazards around the territory in the months since the storm. Thankfully, however, in recent weeks some of the missing signs have been replaced. A Beaconite is glad for that, as he wonders who would be at fault, for example, if a driver caused an accident by running a stop sign that wasn’t there — particularly if that driver happened to be a foreigner unfamiliar with the pre-Irma rules of the road. However, he also has noticed one or two signs that have been reinstalled in new locations that don’t make much sense. He hopes, then, that careful thought will go into the placement of all new signs in the future. And if the installers don’t remember the former locations, they should ask somebody. Otherwise, the roads could become more dangerous that they were without any signs at all.