"The light that comes from wisdom never goes out"
As students head back to class this month, all is not well in the territory’s schools. First came the case of the Joyce Samuel Primary School, where the opening was …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: As school resumes, students deserve better”
as the chime of a clock goes tick and tock so my mind chimes with thoughts sublime and as I rhyme in time with lines designed to …
Capital is resources that drive social and economic growth: finance, machinery, land, technology, labour, skills and management. Those who control capital and how capital is managed rule society. If Virgin …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — ‘The rule of capital’ explained”
We are glad that the new government is jump-starting long-delayed plans to redevelop the Prospect Reef Resort. To hear Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley tell it, leaders seem to be …
Recovery newsletter A Beaconite was pleased to see that the Recovery and Development Agency recently launched a “Recovery Matters” newsletter focusing on the impact of the agency six years after …
I described in my Aug. 30 commentary, “A VI wedding and Captain Wagner,” how an amusing incident after my wedding on Tortola in 1983 led me to discover my Virgin …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Brit recalls his early married life in VI”
The past year has seen the most progress yet on the government’s protracted recovery from hurricanes Irma and Maria. Unfortunately, that’s not saying much. First, though, the good news: The …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Six years after Irma, all is not well”
A community coming together to aid one stricken by personal financial crisis is admirable. However, that assistance must come with safeguards for those who contribute their cash. There are caveats …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — ‘A hard lesson for a generous community’”
For more than a decade, a disturbing lack of transparency has surrounded multiple governments’ unsuccessful efforts to expand the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport. The new government must turn over …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Airport project won’t work without full transparency”
Whale of a time The float of a humpback whale that dazzled crowds at the August Monday Parade with its working blowhole, recorded whale songs, and immense scale has found …
In my Aug. 17 commentary “Captain with VI links remembered,” I described how Polish sailor Wladek Wagner’s epic voyage to promote the reborn Poland started in summer 1931 when he …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — A VI wedding and Captain Wagner”
The heart-breaking wildfire in Hawaii this month should serve as an urgent warning to the Virgin Islands. The two archipelagos, after all, are very similar in many important respects. Both …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Deadly Hawaii fires a wake-up call for VI”
At the annual August Emancipation Festival in late July and early August, the people of the Virgin Islands have traditionally celebrated emancipation and the basic freedoms we enjoy today. But …
Commentator Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway recently made an important point about August Emancipation Festival. “We celebrate a festival, not a carnival; & rise ’n shine, not j’ouvert,” he posted on …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — ‘A festival, not a carnival’”
Following a busy tourism season that harked back to pre-Covid years, we are now encouraged by signs that the first post-pandemic slow season may not be so slow after all. …
Miss BVI Beacon Beaconites are pleased and proud that frequent Beacon contributor Anika Christopher won the Miss BVI Pageant on Aug. 6. They also applaud her platform of spreading climate …
The recent diplomatic spat between Jamaica and the United States over Jamaica’s refusal to accredit the same-sex partner of a US diplomat posted to the island highlighted the truly bizarre …
Continue reading “LETTER — Activist defends LGBTQ+ rights in region”
I was introduced to Poland’s tragic history in my early teens when I read about the origins of the Dulwich Picture Gallery (as I recounted in my July 20 commentary, …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Polish captain with VI links remembered”
In the coming days, we hope that everyone will partake in a post-pandemic August Emancipation Festival that promises to be one for the record books. But amid the revelry, the …
Continue reading “EDITORIAL: Much to celebrate, much to remember”
Printing schedule Because of the August Emancipation Festival holiday, the Beacon will not print next Thursday. Printing will resume Aug. 17, and advertising and editorial deadlines will return to normal …
One of my most memorable calypso moments happened not in a calypso tent or in the Festival Village; not in the cultural centre or in the courtyard at Prospect Reef …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — More calypso memories shared”
The recent report from election observers should serve as a reminder for the new government to tackle long-needed reforms before voters head to the polls again. We were pleased that …
Celebrating D’Moi A Beaconite has called Cane Garden Bay home for more than three years, and she was moved by the astounding support her neighbours gave to D’Moi Hodge as …
I heard about the call for comments in the news on increasing the minimum wage, and there is so much here that I don’t know where to start. I think …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Engineer weighs in on minimum wage”
Following my recent post on the Facebook forum Real BVI Community Board questioning the omission of a calypso show or competition from the August Emancipation Festival line-up this year, I …