The new House of Assembly is taking shape. The past week saw the appointment of Progressive Virgin Islands Movement leader Ronnie Skelton as opposition leader and the setting of ministerial …
May 6, 2023
April 27, 2023
Election: What made the difference?
The at-large race in the general election proved a challenging arena for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party, which secured only one of the four seats available in a blow to …
April 20, 2023
Three of four party leaders field questions
For more than 20 years, a party system has dominated Virgin Islands politics, and this year may be no different. As in 2019, four parties are contending the general election, …
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April 20, 2023
Interview: Wheatley says turmoil strengthened VIP
This interview is one of three conducted with party leaders ahead of the 2023 general elections. To read the others, click here. It was a baptism of fire. Dr. Natalio …
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August 20, 2021
ESHS rebuild to be under two-part plan
Government is working with the Recovery and Development Agency and two United States-based nonprofits to finalise designs for a rebuilt Elmore Stoutt High School, according to Deputy Premier Dr. Natalio …
June 24, 2021
Legislators’ interests declared late, or not at all
Concluding hearings for the first of six major topics it plans to investigate this summer, the Commission of Inquiry called legislators from the present and past to answer for their …
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May 15, 2021
$300k contract signed for EE centre
Community centres in the Virgin Islands serve as gathering spaces in good times and as vital shelters during storms, but many of them have sat in ruins since taking severe …
March 8, 2021
Caricom leaders slam UK over VI inquiry
Following a virtual meeting attended recently by Deputy Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley, leaders from the Caribbean Community expressed “dismay” with the way the United Kingdom went about launching its …
January 25, 2021
National library, museum promised this year
Public libraries have been mostly closed in the territory since Hurricane Irma hit the Virgin Islands in 2017, but they were struggling even before then. That will change this year, …
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January 9, 2021
More students head back to class in person
More students are filtering back into in-person classrooms under the phased approach to school re-openings that began in October as Covid-19 numbers fell, though some are still attending primarily or …
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October 2, 2020
78 percent of CXC exams written earn passing grade
Though they faced unprecedented challenges caused first by Hurricane Irma and then by the Covid-19 pandemic, a total of 358 students in the Virgin Islands registered for at least one …
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September 4, 2020
Bill would reform farming and fishing industries
The spotlight has turned to more sustainable practices as the Virgin Islands looks to create a more self-sufficient food industry, and an early iteration of proposed legislation is designed to …
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August 14, 2020
Natalio Wheatley is deputy premier
For the fifth time since the February 2019 election, the territory has a new deputy premier. This time, however, he is here to stay. Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and …
August 3, 2020
Virtual service reflects on emancipation
Though the annual Emancipation Service could not be held in person due to Covid-19 precautions, viewers who tuned in to a virtual version of the event last week still got …
July 24, 2020
Scaled-back August Festival is on
Though the celebrations will look notably different from typical years, the August Emancipation Festival will still happen in the coming weeks despite the complications of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to …
July 17, 2020
Sweeping rewrite of police rules on table
Coming on the heels of widespread protests around the world concerning the death of George Floyd and the role of police in communities, the House of Assembly is considering a …
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July 3, 2020
Food security, sustainability bill in works
Sustainable food production in the Virgin Islands has been a hot topic since long before the emergence of Covid-19, and legislators are crafting a new bill to comprehensively address it. …
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June 24, 2020
Virtual exhibits open window to VI history
Though the pandemic threw a wrench into the Department of Culture’s plans to produce an exhibition at the Ralph T. O’Neal Administration Building and several satellite locations, the agency got …
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June 24, 2020
House passes border control measures
New border control measures aimed at giving the Virgin Islands more information about who is coming to the territory before they arrive passed the House of Assembly on June 16. …
May 13, 2020
Looking ahead in sports
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley spoke to the Beacon on Tuesday about the fate of sports in the territory admist the Covid-19 pandemic. When …
April 24, 2020
$2 million fishing, farming stimulus moves ahead
Government recently sent out a call for farmers and fishers in the territory, and they answered, according to Education, Culture Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley. …
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March 17, 2020
Mr. Malone’s marvellous mural
As Virgin Islands artist Vincent “Bing” Malone sat on his chair with a rainbow-coated palette in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, drivers stopped by every few minutes …
March 6, 2020
2019 festival report promised soon
A detailed report on the government’s spending on last year’s festivals is written, but Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley told the House of …
March 6, 2020
Government to crack down on illegal fishing
The Virgin Islands includes more than 87,000 square kilometres of marine space, and government leaders are urging people who draw on its resources to take better care of it. “As …
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June 13, 2019
Rymer sworn in as deputy premier
Transportation, Works and Utilities Minister Kye Rymer will succeed Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley as deputy premier under the new government’s rotating deputy premier system. “If ever there was an individual …