Colin O’Neal is the CEO of JOMA Properties Ltd, a property development and management company based on Tortola. The company, he says, has completed about 95 percent of the work …
Bird numbers still down after Irma, Christmas count suggests
When the 2017 Christmas Bird Count showed that bird populations in the Virgin Islands had been decimated by the previous September’s hurricanes, Clive Petrovic was not surprised. A year later, …
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Government hopes to rebuild Palm Grove Shopping Centre
The government will soon invite proposals for rebuilding the Palm Grove Shopping Centre, which was demolished in August after being gutted by Hurricane Irma, according to Premier Dr. Orlando Smith. …
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In their Words: Joe Collier
Mr. Collier is the president and CEO of Mainsail Lodging and Development, which owns and operates Scrub Island Resort and Marina, the grand reopening of which took place Oct. 1. …
Questions about Irma donations still unanswered
In spite of a promise made more than two weeks ago, Premier’s Office officials have not provided any further information about an incomplete list detailing $16 million worth of hurricane …
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Government releases, then partly retracts, vague info on Irma donations worth $16m
In response to a request at a recent press conference, government officials last week provided — and then partially retracted — a spreadsheet listing limited information about more than $16 …
In looking back at Irma, hindsight is 20/20
This article appeared in the Beacon’s “Irma Anniversary” special edition on Sept. 6. Sharleen DaBreo, the director of the Department of Disaster Management, is trained to think about all the …
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‘Doing a little bit towards something big’
Before volunteers started reconstructing Wonder Years Daycare & Preschool, there was essentially no upper floor left at all. “The roof was completely gone,” project manager Mitch Lederman said while giving …
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One year after Irma, Virgin Gorda fights to recover
This article originally appeared in the Beacon’s Sept. 6 “Irma Anniversary” edition. The team of people who once served as Virgin Gorda’s de facto government now have their headquarters in …
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Irma, Then and Now: Photos from around Road Town
Road Town was devastated by Hurricane Irma, but the capital is building back in leaps and bounds. Scroll down to compare scenes captured shortly after Hurricane Irma to the same …
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Anegada “pushing for bigger and better things” after Irma
This article originally appeared in the Beacon’s Sept. 6 “Irma Anniversary” edition. For the some 300 people living on Anegada, day-to-day life is punctuated by boat arrivals. Road Town-based passenger ferries pull …
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Virgin Islands economy takes new shapes after Irma
This article originally appeared in the Beacon’s Sept. 6 “Irma Anniversary” edition. Like many people throughout the Virgin Islands, Courdney Williams has a very different daily routine than he did 12 months …
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Irma, then and now: Photos from around Tortola
Much has changed since Hurricane Irma struck the Virgin Islands on Sept. 6, 2017. In some locations, the recovery effort has transformed the landscape. Other areas, however, don’t look much …
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Irma Anniversary: Seven unsung heroes of the storm
This article originally appeared in the Beacon’s Sept. 6, 2018 Irma Anniversary edition. It seems that everyone in the Virgin Islands knows at least one hero of Hurricane Irma. …
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EDITORIAL: Virgin Islands strong, but must be stronger
“The Virgin Islands must build back stronger.” In the weeks after Hurricane Irma, this phrase was repeated like a mantra. A year later, is the territory succeeding? The answer varies …
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Disney Cruise Line returns today, territory prepared
Last Tuesday morning in Cane Garden Bay, something was happening everywhere you looked: Backhoes were churning up sand, steps were being swept, roofs were being hammered, buildings were being painted, …
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Community Emergency Response Team trains for hurricane season and beyond
Outside the New Testament Church of God in Baughers Bay last Thursday, a woman lay on the ground beside her crashed car, screaming hysterically. “My baby, my baby!” she cried. …
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Recovery plan coming today
More than ten months after Hurricane Irma, the revised Recovery to Development Plan has been submitted to Cabinet, and is scheduled to become public when it is tabled today in …
In their Words: ‘We see a drastic decrease in business’
Richard Henry is the owner of Marine Depot BVI. A Guyana native, he has lived in the Virgin Islands for 35 years. Below are his words, condensed and edited by …
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Hurricane heroes honoured with BVI Red Cross medals
A royal engineer who helped open the airport, shelter managers who lived among the homeless for months on end, police and fire officers who assisted the vulnerable, and an elected …
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In their Words: Sanjay Surtani
Sanjay Surtani, a gemologist, is the director and co-owner — with his wife Veera — of House of Luxury, a jewellery store in the Tortola Pier Park. The following are …
Hurricane season starts tomorrow, as Alberto makes landfall in US
The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins tomorrow, and government officials are evaluating the territory’s readiness after last year’s devastating storms. Governor Gus Jaspert assured the public in a press …
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In their Words: Duran Greaves
Duran Greaves, 23, is the food and beverage coordinator at Village Cay Resort and Marina. He spends most of his time there tending the bar — a role he resumed …
Mathavious to chair RDA board
Robert Mathavious, the managing director of the Financial Services Commission, will chair the board of the Recovery and Development Agency, according to Premier Dr. Orlando Smith. Mr. Mathavious will be …
Islands Adrift: Trump politics hinder USVI climate change prep
PUERTO RICO CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM — When you approach St. John from the water now, the United States Virgin Island at first appears untouched by hurricanes Irma and Maria. …
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