Don’t bank on it
Ten months have passed since regulators warned Virgin Islands banks to get their act together and cut the customer lines. Spoiler alert: The lines have grown even longer. On Friday afternoon, a Beaconite felt he had been standing in the same line for that whole ten months trying to cash a paycheque. Okay, that was for dramatic effect: In reality, it was “only” an hour and a quarter, but that is still shockingly long, and in most competitive banking markets it would be unacceptable. It’s basically the same slow-motion shuffle every Friday in every bank this reporter has visited in the territory. The frenetic Friday rush — and still just two of the five teller positions are open? Of course, it’s not the poor tellers’ fault: They are just trying to do their jobs as the line simmers in increasing anger and despair before them. The blame should fall on managers, who seem to display a contempt for their customers. Which brings us back to the regulators: What’s the point of being a regulator if you do not actually regulate? Still, no one is ever really at the back of the line in a Virgin Islands bank: That’s a spot reserved for the customer service.
Joe’s Hole
A couple weeks ago, a Beaconite arrived home to find a surprising addition to the landscape near his driveway — or, rather, a surprising subtraction. While he was at work, somebody — apparently armed with an excavator — had dug a large hole just metres from his apartment building. The Beaconite was concerned about the hole, which was a mosquito’s idea of prime real estate. And a week later, his worst fears were realised when he woke up with mosquito bites on his face. After a call to the Ministry of the Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, the Beaconite was told that an officer would come out to look at the hole in the mountainside, which by that point had filled with water. Waiting for his knight in shining armour to arrive, the reporter went and took another look at the hole. It appeared that whoever dug the square depression had cut a drainage pathway — a foot above the water level. As he wrote this item, the Beaconite was still waiting for the officer from the ministry, who he hoped would resolve the mosquito breeding ground sooner rather than later. Given all the recent rain and the possibility of a dengue outbreak, the Beaconite encourages all residents to do everything they can to eliminate standing water around their homes and business premises.
Tourism
Since no cruise ships had docked in Road Town for some days, the capital had less foot traffic and Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park was quieter. But many boats, a Beaconite noticed, were still mooring around Tortola. And tourists were still wandering around Road Town, drinking and eating in Cane Garden Bay, and lounging at Brewers Bay. The high tourism season may be winding down as summer approaches, but tourism officials have long pledged to try to attract more visitors in the slow season. Their efforts, the Beaconite thinks, may be working. With the rain that came this week, the cruise ships also returned to Road Town for three days (an odd coincidence, as tourists likely expected sunny skies rather than clouds). Next week, only two ships over the course of two days are scheduled to be in port. The tourism season may be slowing down, but the Beaconite does not believe it is grinding to a halt.
