The recent and tragic death of nine-year-old Jacqueda Issac on St. Thomas has shaken our community to its core. While official details surrounding the circumstances are still coming to light, the collective grief and anguish felt by those who knew the family – and even those who didn’t – has been palpable.
Perhaps it’s a common human experience, as we age, to reminisce about the past and feel a profound sadness for what no longer exists. A few months ago, I drove through Frederiksted, and there, I had to pause, overcome by a strong torrent of emotion. I cried like a helpless, abandoned child. Yes, I’m a grown man, and though I’m not ashamed (perhaps just a little), I wept uncontrollably for a few minutes.
Verdel L. Petersen urges Virgin Islands to get involved with choosing delegates to the next Constitutional Convention to create a proposed constitution for the USVI that will be approved by the electorate and the US Congress.
In the last few months, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced monumental awards for rebuilding critical infrastructure in the Virgin Islands related to destruction from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The announcement of over $928 million for the rebuild of Roy L Schneider Regional Hospital, along with the previously announced $834 million for the Juan F. Luis Hospital, creates a tremendous opportunity to become a regional powerhouse for healthcare.
With changing demographics, the Virgin Islands of the United States needs to make it absolutely clear to its residents the territory does not have a Constitution, and it needs one to be ratified. But first, qualified delegates need to run to be seated as Delegates to the 6th Constitutional Convention. That election is set to take place this coming November 5, 2024.
As I embark on the task of expressing my journey in the realm of politics, I find myself traversing the tumultuous terrain that has defined my existence—a landscape marked by victories, challenges, and an unyielding quest for justice. It's a narrative that commences with the resounding echoes of my family's legacy, resonating through the corridors of power and shaping my destiny from an early age.
Hello! I am a third-grade student in Northern Virginia. Our class is learning about the United States, and I will be teaching our school about the state of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In May, I will create a display for our State Fair that I hope will make you proud. Although I have gathered facts about your state from books and websites, I think that I can receive the best information from the people who live there.
At the 52nd Virgin Islands Agrifest in February, I met a very good friend of mine, Sean Krigger, who is the director of the Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Office. Whenever we see each other, we always chat about the territory’s natural and cultural resources. Believe me, it is in our blood as native Virgin Islanders. He told me that he found a file about the Great Northwest of St. Croix, Maroon Country. Of course, I got all excited because for 41 years I have been fighting socially and politically to preserve this area.
Around the world, people are living with mental illness, and the resources and support needed to help this community of people are lacking. More specifically, these resources are almost non-existent right here at home in the territory. And on Tuesday, due to the minimal support we have, a man lost his life and another is possibly going to prison for murder.
Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett shared the following statement on the passage of H.R. 3385, the DiasporaLink Act, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett writes, “He has left a roadmap for those in his agency and elsewhere on how to utilize setbacks as set-ups for great things!”
The other day, I got a text from a hiker friend of mine asking if I saw the picture of the lighthouse on the front page of a local newspaper. I did. I have written several articles over the years about preserving the historic lighthouse on Ham’s Bluff in the northwest corner of St. Croix, which is part of Maroon Country’s steep cliff wilderness area. In the 1990s, I took thousands of schoolchildren, and beyond that over the years, to this historic and sacred landscape of St. Croix.
These are indeed challenging times for the Humane Society of St. Thomas as an organization, and the HSSTT Board of Directors as a governing body. Although we are in a Code Red position now, our immediate goal is to become financially strong enough through donations and fundraising events to expeditiously bring back our laid-off team members and provide all the animal welfare services that our community so desperately needs. Unfortunately, there have been numerous malicious, inaccurate, untruthful, and defamatory social media posts, and I would like to take this opportunity to provide the facts for those who have been misinformed.
For this Black History Month, I will mention a Virgin Islander who served as a great diplomat and became an extraordinary ambassador for the United States government. His name is Terence A. Todman, the son of Racheal Callwood and Alphonso Todman, who was born on St. Thomas on March 13, 1926. He grew up during the U.S. Navy rule of these islands and the first appointed civilian governor of the Virgin Islands, Dr. Paul Martin Pearson.
The Senate Committee on Health, Hospitals, and Human Services will hold a tri-island Community Health Fair on Feb. 29, committee chairman Sen. Ray Fonseca announced Wednesday.
Coffee originated from Africa. Its spread to the rest of the world can’t be contained in a book on how this plant influenced cultures globally. Today, the world cannot do without drinking coffee, which made its way to the Caribbean islands through colonization, trade, and cultivation.
The hearing's focus must be on outlining a clear and actionable plan to effectively utilize the increased federal cost share. The purpose of this hearing will be multifold.
I don’t know of any states that do not use certified private mechanics to conduct vehicle inspections, either annually or every other year. Here in the Virgin Islands, the government tries to do it all — handle both registration and inspection.