Work permits A Beaconite has experienced plenty of frustrations while sitting in the Labour and Immigration offices when she could have been at work. She is not the only one. …
April 9, 2019
April 9, 2019
COMMENTARY — Food seen as third economic pillar
We in the Virgin Islands have been talking a lot about diversifying our economy. We have spoken about diversifying our financial services pillar and enhancing and diversifying our tourism pillar. …
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April 9, 2019
COMMENTARY — VIP election victory impresses
The recent victory of the Virgin Islands Party in the Feb. 25 general election could be viewed as a spectacular political achievement. Much of this success is to be attributed …
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April 2, 2019
COMMENTARY — Mother explains Down syndrome
Hugs, warm and tender touches, soft kisses and overwhelming cuddles are some of the tender loving care I have experienced as the mother of a child with Down syndrome. My …
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April 2, 2019
Commentary — Concerns about hackers linger
I am related to seven different kiwi (New Zealander) families, the first descended from a war bride taken in 1917 to a gold-mining town in South Island, better known for …
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March 25, 2019
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (March 21, 2018)
At the gas station A new Beaconite has been busy covering political parties without bias or opinion for the past two weeks. But everywhere she seemed to go throughout town, …
March 25, 2019
COMMENTARY — Voters urged to hit the polls
The table is set for the Virgin Islands’ general election. Premier Dr. Orlando Smith dissolved the House of Assembly in January and set an election date for Monday. Last Thursday …
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March 25, 2019
Commentary — Cyberattacks feared in VI
I am following up my letter of last week, “Cyberattack victim recounts his ordeal,” to alert voters to possible external interference in our election, without compromising police investigations into the …
March 25, 2019
Commentary — The VI election and Brexit
As Election Day approaches, this Virgin Islands resident pleads with the voting and nonvoting public to exercise patience, civility and cordiality throughout the whole electoral process through the voting on …
February 12, 2019
Commentary — Campaign rhetoric, promises mocked
It’s February. February. Are they here yet? Where are they? Who? Why, the 450 medical students who were to arrive this month to begin, or continue, their studies. Perhaps the …
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February 12, 2019
Commentary — PO woes seen to be worsening
Last July, I had occasion to write to your newspaper about the postal services in the Virgin Islands. I had hoped to be able to write a follow-up letter some …
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February 12, 2019
Commentary — VI lawyer blasts EU threats
The European Union’s blacklisting threat against smaller territories is undemocratic and brutal. It also reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what Virgin Islands companies do. Repetition is to be avoided in …
October 2, 2018
COMMENTARY — VI urged to rebuild to be disability friendly
While we rebuild better, let’s consider the needs of the disabled residents in our midst. It also makes good commercial sense to encourage them to participate more actively in their …
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September 11, 2018
Commentary — ‘Make something frighteningly new’
A year ago I wrote that there was opportunity hidden amidst the wreckage of Irma and Maria and that we just needed the wherewithal and the courage to find it. …
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September 11, 2018
Commentary — Irma like ‘the voice of God’
Prior to Hurricane Irma, I had been experiencing a sense of helplessness and hopelessness about what the Virgin Islands had become. That feeling was reinforced when I listened to a …
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September 4, 2018
COMMENTARY — Past nationality laws deemed unfair
I indicated earlier that the provisions of the 1948 Nationality Act did not favour ancestral Virgin Islanders and that fact was not generally known here. It may be that the …
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July 31, 2018
COMMENTARY — Postal system called ‘disgrace’
I read with a wry smile in your esteemed newspaper that the government is moving forward to establish physical addresses for all properties in the Virgin Islands, one of the …
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July 31, 2018
COMMENTARY — Former nationality rules draw scrutiny
When I speak of ancestral Virgin Islanders, I am referring to those persons whose ancestry goes back to the middle and late 1800s. I expect that such persons would have …
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July 31, 2018
COMMENTARY — Tortola visits, 52 years apart, recounted
In September 1966, I was a 22-year-old American Peace Corps trainee straight out of college, fortunately placed on Tortola for two months of agricultural training in chickens and gardens. My …
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July 24, 2018
COMMENTARY — Call made for church unity
Over the past years, many Christian residents, including ministers of religion, government ministers, politicians and many others, keep saying that this is a Christian community. However, the actions of many …
July 24, 2018
COMMENTARY — ‘Dedicated walker’ recounts more travels
I related in “Walker recounts travels of his youth” (Beacon, June 28) how I came to work in Linz, Upper Austria, in a Quaker organisation helping to settle refugees from …
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