The new opposition members presented a united front while making their first public appearance together on April 27 during a press conference. Expressing collective frustration, they gave a blow-by-blow account …
Parties pit experience against new candidates
The National Democratic Party and Progressive Virgin Islands Movement both added election candidates over the past week, pulling largely from the pool of political veterans but also giving a platform …
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Official charged with breach of trust
Lorna Stevens, an assistant secretary who helped oversee the controversial Elmore Stoutt High School perimetre wall project, has been charged with breach of trust and released on bail, police announced …
Officials: Ministry was aware of ESHS wall overruns
The Elmore Stoutt High School perimeter wall project, which has been investigated extensively by the Commission of Inquiry in recent months, was the focus of the last two hearings the …
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COI probes ESHS wall project
The Commission of Inquiry called former Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn for a hearing on July 1 concerning an unfinished project to build a perimeter wall around Elmore Stoutt …
COI calls former legislators
Besides questioning current members of the House of Assembly over the past week, the Commission of Inquiry also called former members as it sought information about elected officials’ interests. Like …
Walwyn resigns as NDP chairman
Myron Walwyn resigned as chairman of the National Democratic Party, according to a press release issued last week. In his letter of resignation he thanked the NDP for “entrusting its …
Police formally probing ESHS wall project
Police have launched a formal investigation into the construction of the incomplete perimeter wall around Elmore Stoutt High School, a project spearheaded in 2014 and 2015 by National Democratic Party …
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Willock appointed Speaker of the House
Julian Willock has a controversial past. He was dismissed from the public service in 2012 following allegations of impropriety, he was briefly imprisoned in 2016 after he allegedly missed scheduled …
Walwyn blames social media and PVIM for NDP loss
Social media and the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement were the main reasons for the National Democratic Party’s loss in the Feb. 25 election, according to NDP Chairman Myron Walwyn. At …
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Enid Scatliffe school back on its feet
This article originally appeared in the Beacon’s print edition on Feb. 21. For almost a year and a half, students from Enid Scatliffe Pre-primary School have packed into the classrooms …
Potential coalition would be first in 33 years
For the youngest voters in next week’s general election, a coalition government may be an unfamiliar concept. For their entire lives, Virgin Islands politics has been dominated by a two-party …
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Ivan Dawson reopens for students
Almost a year and a half after Hurricane Irma, students and teachers at Ivan Dawson Primary School can now return to a new-and-improved school building in Cane Garden Bay. To …
Walwyn takes aim at rivals during NDP rally
The National Democratic Party rally on Saturday was a night full of music, dancing, cheering and political promises. The roughly three-hour event was held in the Road Town Market Square …
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Christmas on DeCastro Street thrives thanks to late Delores Christopher
If there was any doubt about the survival of Christmas on DeCastro Street in the wake of the death of founder Delores Christopher, those fears were put to rest by …
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A colourful Culture Week
There was an explosion of colour last Thursday at Joyce Samuel Primary School in Belle Vue. On one side of the school, children wove pink and yellow ribbons around a …
Irma Diaries author introduces Read to Heal programme in schools
Albert Wheatley, whose story was one of many featured in The Irma Diaries by Angela Burnett, stood before an assembly at Alexandrina Maduro Primary School, vividly describing chasing his jeep …
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Tender waived for management of Elmore Stoutt building rebuild
On Oct. 25, Cabinet waived the tender process for project management services for the restoration of the L-shaped building on the Elmore Stoutt High School campus, awarding the contract to …
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Skelton splitting from NDP; guv moves election deadline up to April
Health and Social Development Minister Ronnie Skelton plans to lead a new political party into the upcoming general elections, which are now due by April 16 after a surprise announcement …
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Walwyn’s ESHS wall project broke the law, audit states
The Ministry of Education and Culture, led by Minister Myron Walwyn, broke the law when constructing the incomplete perimeter wall around Elmore Stoutt High School in 2014 and 2015, overspending …
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Caribbean Development Bank hosts procurement workshop
The Caribbean Development Bank held procurement workshops in the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean in September and October to help ensure that governments get good value for money. The …
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Education ministry launches High School Certificate Programme
More than 150 people across the territory registered for the new online Virgin Islands High School Certificate Programme this week. The opportunity serves as a rough equivalent to the United …
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Lawmakers punt on human rights law
The establishment of the long-delayed Human Rights Commission has been postponed once again. Last week, after debating a bill designed to bring forward the commission, House of Assembly lawmakers broke …
House of Assembly overhauls prison laws
Lawmakers unanimously passed the Correctional Facilities Act, 2018 on Tuesday morning, overhauling the policies governing Her Majesty’s Prison. The act — passed with yet-to-be-publicised amendments — repealed and replaced the …
HOA mulls law to modernise prison rules
The policies governing Her Majesty’s Prison are likely to be overhauled soon as lawmakers tinker with comprehensive legislation designed to outline prisoners’ rights and regulate the responsibilities of prison guards. …