Going green
A Beaconite is really hoping to see the Virgin Islands go green sooner rather than later and hopes to see one other thing that will — in her eyes — significantly improve the lives of residents: cleaner public water. She has noticed that many people here avoid drinking tap water, and with the amount of water bottles she uses in just one week, she’s shocked at how much plastic she singlehandedly accumulates. The sheer dehydration of living in a hot climate and the necessity of potable water have driven her to this dilemma, and she’s not alone. As she sees it, the VI needs a recycling system and a water supply that everyone can feel comfortable drinking. A plastic bottle can take more than 450 years to decompose — a hard pill to swallow with each water bottle downed.
Empowering women
It’s an exciting time to be the Beacon’s new business editor. Financial services in the territory are facing an existential crisis between Brexit, the Foreign Affairs Committee report, the spectre of European Union blacklisting, and whatever else these uncertain times are sure to throw at it. Elsewhere, the tourism industry struggles to rebuild and reshape itself in the wake of the 2017 storms, and a new generation of Virgin Islands entrepreneurs are increasingly thinking outside the box, both out of necessity and sheer inspiration. And of course, the recent regime change means a brand-new government must try to find its footing and responsibly lay the groundwork for the future of the VI economy. Covering all of this is a big task, and she would like to thank the outgoing business editor for sharing his mountains of knowledge and providing guidance in the transition. On a different note, last week was International Women’s Day. When this reporter joined the Beacon in 2017, it was more or less by accident. The last thing she expected to be, over a year later, was business editor, let alone the first female business editor since the position was created in 2009. For the territory, and for the Beacon — whose founder, of course, is a woman — here’s hoping the right kind of progress continues to be made.
Furniture anyone?
A Beaconite moved into her new apartment recently and it marked a significant new phase of her settling-in process. She now has a room, a bed, a monthly bill to call her own and… that’s about it. Apartment shopping post-Irma, she realised, not only means sky-high rents but newly refurbished, unfurnished homes. While the emptiness is temporarily annoying, it is also exciting for the opportunity it represents. She and her housemates can fill the rooms with whatever they want, and that means laying down roots for the first time and truly making the space her own. She is excited for what life has in store in the VI, and hopes that some residents on their way out will be so kind as to sell her their furniture.
Sloops
A Beaconite was lucky enough to witness the launch of a new foundation in the Virgin Islands — one that will restore some historic sloops and bring them back to sea (see coverage on page one). As the VI meets challenges to upgrade infrastructure and meet the demands of the world around it, there are things that are true to the core of the territory, and one of those is sailing. Thus, she was happy to see an initiative designed to preserve that aspect of the VI’s past. She hopes that residents will visit the boats at Nanny Cay and otherwise support the new foundation.