BVI Gateway A Beaconite applauds the government’s move to eliminate arrival testing and quarantine for vaccinated travellers. However, she has observed that one of the major sources of frustration for …
June 16, 2021
June 16, 2021
COMMENTARY — Call made for referendum on political status by 2030
The below is adapted from the speech Mr. Wheatley delivered on June 6 during the Frederick Pickering Memorial Lecture Series at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. Let me …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made for referendum on political status by 2030”
June 16, 2021
COMMENTARY — Cops criticised for armed arrest over money owed to the court
Twice on Tortola, my vehicle and I have been stopped by armed human beings with guns drawn. The first time I was with my 20-year-old child. It was over a …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Cops criticised for armed arrest over money owed to the court”
June 14, 2021
EDITORIAL: Prison probe should result in public report
The killing of an inmate and the injury of at least two others in a recent brawl at Her Majesty’s Prison should spark a thorough investigation resulting in a comprehensive …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Prison probe should result in public report”
June 10, 2021
EDITORIAL: Unfair stimulus sidelined the unemployed
More evidence has surfaced in recent weeks suggesting that government’s taxpayer-funded economic stimulus package was grossly unfair to thousands of residents who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The unemployment …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Unfair stimulus sidelined the unemployed”
June 10, 2021
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (June 10, 2021)
Happy birthday, Beacon The BVI Beacon turned 37 on Monday. The newspaper’s first issue — a 12-page black-and-white edition — was published on June 7, 1984 after being composed on …
June 9, 2021
COMMENTARY — Likely inflation causes concern
The challenge with inflation is that it increases the cost of living. When uncontrolled, inflation can be very damaging. And if economics is primarily about human behaviour, then uncontrolled inflation …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Likely inflation causes concern”
June 9, 2021
COMMENTARY — Call made to rekindle softball’s ‘glory days’
Virgin Islands softball once soared and reached the pinnacle of international competition, excellence, and prominence. However, its status and standing has declined precipitously in the past decades. As such, the …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made to rekindle softball’s ‘glory days’”
June 2, 2021
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (June 3, 2021)
Redacted On Monday, the Commission of Inquiry posted a redacted transcript of its May 5 hearing with BVI Airports Authority Chairman Bevis Sylvester. However, because the unredacted transcript previously had …
June 2, 2021
COMMENTARY — ‘Is the beach enough?’
Sometime in the next 12 months, when the pandemic is fully brought under control in North America and Europe, visitors will return to the Caribbean in significant numbers. Once that …
June 2, 2021
COMMENTARY — Call made for greater social equality
Social democracy means a bottom-up economy, with public spending directed at alleviating the burdens of the poor; public policy that drives greater social equality; and public investment in infrastructure that …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made for greater social equality”
May 31, 2021
EDITORIAL: Government must respond fully to COI requests
After the Commission of Inquiry was announced in January, Premier Andrew Fahie and other leaders promised that the government would assist investigators by providing requested information as transparently as possible. …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Government must respond fully to COI requests”
May 26, 2021
EDITORIAL: Governance bills a test of leaders’ promises
Kudos to the House of Assembly for making steady progress in recent weeks on a raft of legislation designed to improve governance in the territory. We hope to see all …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Governance bills a test of leaders’ promises”
May 26, 2021
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (May 27, 2021)
Museum hop On Saturday, a Beaconite climbed aboard a safari bus in Road Town that whisked him away to several Tortola museums, none of which he had seen before. The …
May 26, 2021
COMMENTARY — Gov’t spending questioned
I didn’t realise how short of money we have become. The BVI Ports Authority puts out a tender and receives three quotes for old boats, not new ones. Where is …
May 26, 2021
COMMENTARY — ‘Random act of art’ in UK had VI link
I am writing to the Virgin Islands community from a small village in Cornwall in the United Kingdom about a figure we share in common: the late Reverend Ralph Perry-Gore, …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — ‘Random act of art’ in UK had VI link”
May 26, 2021
COMMENTARY — Case made for social democracy
For positive change in the era of Covid-19, a Commission of Inquiry that is throwing a fog over the future, and a terrifying new culture of crime, social democracy is …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Case made for social democracy”
May 19, 2021
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (May 20, 2021)
HOA transparency A Beaconite was troubled by a quote from opposition member Julian Fraser during a House of Assembly sitting last week. When debating a bill to update supplementary …
May 19, 2021
COMMENTARY — Politicians warned of rising anger
Politicians who ignore specific sections of the population to focus on channelling public resources to a select group are usually in for a rude awakening. Politics and economics are joined …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Politicians warned of rising anger”
May 19, 2021
COMMENTARY — Show host, others called out
In the House of Assembly, members can get away with saying almost anything under privilege without fear of retribution, except perhaps for calling another member a liar. It is not …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Show host, others called out”
May 18, 2021
EDITORIAL: Prepare now for hurricanes
The Atlantic Hurricane Season officially starts on June 1, and forecasters are predicting an active year. The Virgin Islands must prepare now, especially given that storms have been coming early …
May 14, 2021
EDITORIAL: The waste strategy is great, but it must be followed
The territory’s outdated waste disposal system is nothing short of a national crisis, and it is endangering residents’ health and degrading the environment. We are therefore glad that the government …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: The waste strategy is great, but it must be followed”
May 12, 2021
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (May 13, 2021)
No good deed… Last week, a Beaconite received a text message that no one wants to read: He had recently come into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. …
May 12, 2021
COMMENTARY — EE library plans applauded
I was pleased to read in a recent issue of The BVI Beacon that Cabinet has approved a new location at Major Bay for the East End/Long Look Community Library. …
May 12, 2021
COMMENTARY — Social democracy seen as ideal for VI
Supply-side trickle-down economics has not taken the world to Eldorado. And if the Virgin Islands is to fulfil its potential as a hive of social and economic prosperity, then it …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Social democracy seen as ideal for VI”
