Slick Instead of yellow lines dividing lanes, too many Virgin Islands roads have dried oil slicks. While nearly every road features this slippery obstacle courtesy of commercial vehicles, few are …
October 10, 2024
October 10, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 23
In her 2012 book Lest I Forget, former Trellis Bay resident Mabel Wagner mentions Leeward Islands Governor Sir Kenneth Blackburne visiting Tortola on July 1, 1956, before sending London his …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 23”
October 10, 2024
LETTER — ‘Gratitude where gratitude is due’
I totally agree with Michael Riegels’ commentary in last week’s Beacon. He suggests that although the Sir Rupert Briercliffe Hall has been torn down, “some suitable recognition be given to …
Continue reading “LETTER — ‘Gratitude where gratitude is due’”
October 8, 2024
EDITORIAL: Funds from new loan must be spent wisely
The government’s plan to borrow $100 million to rebuild critical public infrastructure is a big step in the public sector’s long-delayed recovery from the 2017 hurricanes. However, given the scale …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Funds from new loan must be spent wisely”
October 3, 2024
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Oct. 3, 2024)
Data dearth While a Beaconite was reporting on the ongoing census (see her story on page one), she was reminded of the importance of data all around the world. As …
October 3, 2024
POEM — Fading Away
hunger so strong that even imagination does not ease off the pain because the mind is weaker than the limbs and not even the hymns can be remembered as the …
October 3, 2024
LETTER — Call made to honour destroyed hall’s namesake
It is with great sadness that I look down at the rain-filled, rubble-strewn hole in the ground that was once the Sir Rupert Briercliffe Hall. I suspect that not many …
Continue reading “LETTER — Call made to honour destroyed hall’s namesake”
September 30, 2024
EDITORIAL: Fund the climate fund now
Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley is right to seek international funding to help the territory adapt to climate change. But if he wants to be taken seriously abroad, he must …
September 26, 2024
COMMENTARY — Call made for better data in VI
This commentary, which is the second in a series, seeks to discover why the most productive societies utilise data, especially statistical data, to drive prosperity. The Virgin Islands is a …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made for better data in VI”
September 26, 2024
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Sept. 26, 2024)
Price point A Beaconite on a budget has a tip for stores in the Virgin Islands: Label items with price tags. The reporter is genuinely curious about why so many …
September 25, 2024
EDITORIAL: Support sports year-round
Residents across the Virgin Islands watched with rapt attention and plenty of territorial pride last month as four VI athletes competed at the Paris Olympics. But the government and the …
September 19, 2024
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Sept. 19, 2024)
Smooth and safe, for now For the first time the other day, a Beaconite felt safe (as anyone can feel on two wheels) on roadways in the Virgin Islands. Without …
September 19, 2024
COMMENTARY — Data seen as key to VI progress
This the first of a series of commentaries exploring why the most productive societies utilise data, especially statistical data, to drive prosperity. When was the Virgin Islands public last aware …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Data seen as key to VI progress”
September 16, 2024
EDITORIAL: Sister islands face a healthcare crisis
Virgin Gorda residents who spoke at a recent community meeting argued forcefully that improving their island’s healthcare system should be an urgent government priority. They are right. And the same …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Sister islands face a healthcare crisis”
September 12, 2024
EDITORIAL: COI reforms must be finished, then followed
We are disappointed that the government and the governor missed their Aug. 31 deadline to complete the Commission of Inquiry reforms, but the delay does not detract from the extensive …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: COI reforms must be finished, then followed”
September 12, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 22
On Nov. 17, 1956, several of 50-year-old Carris Penn’s brothers and stepbrothers from East End attended the opening of the clubhouse on Bellamy Cay, as recounted last Thursday in part …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 22”
September 12, 2024
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Sept. 12, 2024)
Get it together, DMV A Beaconite who took the Department of Motor Vehicles’ written driving test 18 years ago still remembers the soul-draining experience. The multiple-choice questions ranged from confusing …
September 5, 2024
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Sept. 5, 2024)
Good God God must have been late back from his summer holidays, then? Asked previously if the government would complete the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations for improving governance by the …
September 5, 2024
COMMENTARY — Corporate rules seen as tool for addressing climate change
In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, this three-part commentary explores three legal responses to climate change as the Caribbean faces a grim reality: Hurricanes are arriving earlier, growing stronger and …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Corporate rules seen as tool for addressing climate change”
September 5, 2024
COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 21
In November 1956, Polish Captain Wladek Wagner and his wife Mabel Wagner opened their clubhouse on Bellamy Cay in Trellis Bay shortly before their boatyard reopened at the end of …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — The Wagners of Trellis Bay, part 21”
August 29, 2024
EDITORIAL: Public needs answers on giant salary mistake
Like many residents, we are dumbfounded. We cannot even begin to understand how the government’s laudable attempt to update all public officers’ salaries to a “living wage” misfired so badly …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Public needs answers on giant salary mistake”
August 29, 2024
COMMENTARY — Attorney explains climate litigation
This commentary is the second of a three-part series. In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, this three-part commentary explores three legal responses to climate change as the Caribbean faces …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Attorney explains climate litigation”
August 29, 2024
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Aug. 29, 2024)
‘Bleat’ to pass While riding his motorcycle recently, a Beaconite nearly experienced what would have been a very messy and very painful accident when he almost collided with a goat …
August 23, 2024
EDITORIAL: Ernesto’s outages lasted too long
With the worst of this year’s hurricane season yet to come, Tropical Storm Ernesto brought many lessons when it passed over the Virgin Islands in the middle of last week. …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Ernesto’s outages lasted too long”
August 22, 2024
COMMENTARY — Attorney offers the region ideas for addressing climate change
This commentary is the first of a three-part series. In the wake of Hurricane Beryl’s unprecedented fury, the Caribbean faces a grim reality: Hurricanes are arriving earlier, growing stronger …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Attorney offers the region ideas for addressing climate change”