Books galore After stopping by the BVI Red Cross headquarters last week for an interview, a Beaconite seized on an opportunity to do something he has been meaning to since …
September 18, 2019
September 18, 2019
Commentary — More big storms seen as imminent
Belief that the Virgin Islands may escape another devastating hurricane such as Irma, Maria or Dorian is simple delusion and dangerous complacency. As the United Kingdom convulses in a major …
Continue reading “Commentary — More big storms seen as imminent”
September 18, 2019
Commentary — Cruise tourism gets a hard look
Cruise tourism has become a big business, with the Caribbean now accounting for more than 35 percent of all such vacations globally. This year more ships will sail in or …
Continue reading “Commentary — Cruise tourism gets a hard look”
September 11, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (September 5, 2019)
Helping the Bahamas It’s strange to be out on a sea as smooth as glass, cruising on a boat toward the back of Ginger Island, when more than 900 …
September 11, 2019
POEM — Listening
What could I have known of the easeful ways of sliding through this world? A dew drop descending the petal’s sloping splendour; this same moon that rose over great …
September 11, 2019
COMMENTARY — Brexit battle called ‘civil war’
Brexit could very well be the swan song of the United Kingdom, with England going its way to become the world’s largest financial offshore destination and Scotland and Northern Ireland …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Brexit battle called ‘civil war’”
September 4, 2019
COMMENTARY — Climate change seen as dire threat in region
In recent weeks, new evidence has been published suggesting that scientists are now 99 percent certain that human activity is causing global warming. As if to validate this, temperatures in …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Climate change seen as dire threat in region”
September 4, 2019
Commentary — Warning sounded about debt
Debt is a super-tool of modern economics, transferring wealth from the 90 percent to the one percent. Now, most consumers own debt. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration …
August 28, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (August 22, 2019)
New face The Beacon has recently welcomed a new reporter. Fresh out of college at the University of Vermont and hailing from California, Joey Waldinger is beginning to settle in …
August 28, 2019
COMMENTARY — Ex-public officer speaks out on poor governance in VI
In the early 1990s when I entered the civil service of the Virgin Islands, there were some standards and principles that were well known even to junior officers. Little did …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Ex-public officer speaks out on poor governance in VI”
August 20, 2019
COMMENTARY — History of Festival recounted
It is important to ensure that the terms “August Monday” and “August Emancipation Festival” are clearly understood. “August Monday” means the first Monday in August, and it is of great …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — History of Festival recounted”
July 30, 2019
COMMENTARY — Need seen to move ‘beyond carbon’
Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, has asserted that the dominant economic model of the latter 20th Century — supply side free market economics — is obsolete in today’s …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Need seen to move ‘beyond carbon’”
July 23, 2019
COMMENTARY — More Brexit fears aired
Brexit is the most damaging event in recent United Kingdom history, equivalent to the Suez Crisis of the early 1960s in terms of its malevolent effect on UK politics, economics …
July 16, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (July 11, 2019)
Sister islands woes A Beaconite had the pleasure of visiting Jost Van Dyke this week for a meeting on disaster preparedness that turned into a town hall style event where …
July 16, 2019
POEM — Today
Say something kind to someone today. Too soon that someone could pass away, And you’d be left with pain in your heart, Wondering why you didn’t do your part. …
July 16, 2019
COMMENTARY — VI warned about obesity
Too many Virgin Islands residents are ignoring their health and well-being. The cost to the taxpayer is astronomical and increasing. Prevention is better than cure. It is public knowledge the …
July 8, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (July 4, 2019)
Quiet support The Beacon, like other media outlets, occasionally finds itself embroiled in controversy (the reasons for which are far beyond the scope of this Reporter’s Notebook). When that happens, …
July 8, 2019
COMMENTARY — Call made for economic change
In his preaching on the need for a new capitalism that will power social and economic prosperity in the West in the decades ahead, economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — Call made for economic change”
July 3, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (July 4, 2019)
No good deed… A Beaconite who recently bought a car decided it was only fair to pick up hitchhikers as often as possible, given that she certainly hitched her share …
July 3, 2019
Commentary — Call made to separate ‘big money’ and politics
Neo liberalism is the idea that markets are self-correcting. For 40 years the belief that free markets allocate resources efficiently ruled. Jack the Tycoon was king, and whatever was good …
Continue reading “Commentary — Call made to separate ‘big money’ and politics”
June 24, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (June 20, 2019)
‘A miracle’ As a Beaconite waited for a tow truck to come drag her vehicle out of the ditch last week (long story short, wear better sunglasses when driving up …
June 24, 2019
COMMENTARY — Case made for legal pot
As the HempFest at Foxy’s Tamarind Bar approaches, it is the time of year to look once again towards a future that will have cannabis and cannabis products legalised on …
June 24, 2019
COMMENTARY — ‘New economic thinking’ praised
Neo-liberalism — supply-side trickle-down economics — has failed the world. However, a new economic thinking can save the day, according to a number of influential economists. The new thinking is …
Continue reading “COMMENTARY — ‘New economic thinking’ praised”
June 18, 2019
Reporter’s Notebook (June 13, 2019)
35 and counting Beaconites of course realise that the Queen’s birthday was celebrated on Friday in the territory. But that day also marked another birthday that is close to their …
June 18, 2019
Commentary — VI-Cornwall links explained
A recurring theme throughout more than 100 commentaries I have contributed to the Beacon has been the Virgin Islands’ ties over time with Cornwall, a county in southwest England. Last …