Pier Park photos A Beaconite believes that people should be encouraged to take photographs and videos in the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park. Such material, after all, often finds …
COMMENTARY — COI reforms seen as election issue
The most important factor in Virgin Islands prosperity is public, business and investor confidence in the society and economy. Public confidence drives the value of everything in the economy. Confidence …
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EDITORIAL: As school resumes, children are being left behind
As students head back to class for a new school year, all is not well in the Virgin Islands. Five years after Hurricane Irma, far too many of the territory’s …
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COMMENTARY — The Fifth Irmaversary
This is the fifth Irmaversary. Destructive Irma distressed the territory: Crashing into our lives, creating confusion, She poured a deluge of terror with no compassion. The day started out very …
COMMENTARY — Two education stalwarts remembered
Florence Wilhelmina Thomas (1901-1996) of East End was the first native Virgin Islands qualified teacher, and legislator Howard R. Penn (1903-1994), of East End and Road Town, did much to …
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EDITORIAL: VI strong, but government recovery far behind
For the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Irma, we asked a handful of residents to grade the territory’s recovery on a scale of one to ten. Their scores averaged nearly seven, …
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Sept. 1, 2022)
Journalism award Readers may remember the Beacon’s January special report about the destruction of mangroves in the territory over the past 60 years. The piece was part of the “Paradise …
COMMENTARY — VI blasted for infrastructure woes
Poor social and physical infrastructure is costly to residents, and it causes inflation to inflict greater woe on a society. In the Virgin Islands, the list of such issues is …
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COMMENTARY — Voters urged to ask the right questions
People tend not to trust politicians. For example, a 2017 YouGov poll conducted in the United Kingdom found that only five percent of respondents trust politicians’ opinions when they talk …
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EDITORIAL: Gov’t right to apologise and re-form climate board
It’s about time. More than three years ago, then-Premier Andrew Fahie’s newly elected government unlawfully disbanded the Climate Change Trust Fund Board, stalling years of hard work and showing a …
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (August 28, 2022)
Everyone has a story A Beaconite was sitting in her car the other day when a complete stranger stopped by and struck up a conversation. Chatting about the weather gradually …
COMMENTARY — Festival changes spark concern
As we celebrated emancipation this year, we heard the commercials, saw the advertisements, and heard the exciting talk. But with our modern-day celebrations, we have to ask, “What have we …
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COMMENTARY — Residents urged to ‘budget wisely’
Price controls and reducing taxes will not alleviate the inflation burden in the Virgin Islands. Only charity and handouts to the needy will help contain suffering. The world has entered …
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EDITORIAL: Prepare now for the height of storm season
This Atlantic Hurricane Season has been eerily quiet so far, but with storm activity expected to intensify in the coming weeks the territory must not let down its guard. In …
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (Aug. 18, 2022)
Getting in touch The Beacon has been having some phone trouble at the office in recent days, but the advertising department can be reached by phone or WhatsApp at 542-2404 …
COMMENTARY — ‘Headwinds, or an opportunity ahead?’
The centrality of the Virgin Islands to global finance has never been more relevant, or more scrutinised. But wandering along Main Street in Road Town, the vividly colourful shop fronts …
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LETTER — Previous ‘reforms’ seen to fall flat
As I’ve watched the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry reforms unfold, my mind took me back to 2003 when I joined the public service at the Ministry of Finance. …
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EDITORIAL: Open the interests register with no restrictions
Our first draft of this editorial praised legislators for passing a bill last month to finally make the Register of Interests public, thereby promoting the sort of government transparency that …
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (August 11, 2022)
Diving A Beaconite who first became a certified scuba diver in the Virgin Islands has done all but one of her dives in VI waters. This week, she finally got …
LETTER — Adults blamed for ‘male youth crisis’
At the root of the male youth crisis in the Virgin Islands are adults who inadvertently support their misdemeanors and poor behaviours. The issue of poor male behaviours in the …
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COMMENTARY — Call made for ‘shift’ in national life
On Emancipation Sunday, the Abolition Act 1833 was read from a reprint published by the Virgin Islands Public Library in 1984. The following year, the library also published a reprint …
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EDITORIAL: Celebrating and remembering
As the first fully in-person August Emancipation Festival in three years gets under way, we encourage everyone to celebrate while also remembering the reason for the annual observance. On Aug. …
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK (July 28, 2022)
Festival schedule The Beacon won’t print next week because of the August Emancipation Festival holiday. Advertising and editorial deadlines will return to normal leading up to the next edition on …
COMMENTARY — COI seen as a ‘blessing’
The present discomfort and nervousness with United Kingdom indirect rule of the Virgin Islands is a very necessary wake-up call for the territory. We all know that the grandstanding and …
EDITORIAL: Next year’s general election must not derail reforms
With a general election due early next year, there is a very real danger that a divisive campaign season could derail the ongoing governance reforms and trigger direct rule by …
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