Weekly Weather Forecast with Jesse Daley
Check out our weekly weather forecast with Jesse Daley, covering Sunday, Aug. 25, through Saturday, Aug. 31. Our YouTube playlist is updated every week, AND check out Jesse’s daily weather updates here.
Veterinarian With Almost 30 Years Experience Joins V.I. Agriculture
Traveling the width and length of the United States from Oregon to St. Croix, Dr. David Wenger joined the V.I. Agriculture Department less than two weeks ago, as the veterinarian to work with and advocate for the territory’s ranchers and farmers.
Commissioner Louis Petersen and the Ag Department conducted a nationwide search to replace Dr. Bethany Bradford, who retired, and Wegner was selected.
“Dr. Wenger cares about his work, he cares about animals and their well-being, and he cares about the growth of our department. We are honored to have him on our team and look forward to his contributions to the territory,” Petersen said in a press release.
No stranger to traveling great distances, Wenger moved around as a child with his father, an international educator. In his youth, he lived in Colorado, Wyoming, Virginia, Taiwan, Taipei and other countries. He graduated from the American School in Taiwan, earned a degree from the University of Wyoming and his doctorate at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University.
After college, over the last 28 years, he has settled in Oregon, opened a private practice, married, and raised two children. He gained experience in large animals — especially cattle, sheep, and goats and eventually kept his own herd of goats.
The Wengers decided to accept the St.Croix position because their children are adults living in “other parts of the country.”
A part of Wenger’s job at the department is to support agriculture, in particular the large animal population, he said.
“I’ve been tasked with developing, supporting, advocating for the animal production and the producers,” he said.
Wenger said there are farmers and ranchers with methods for and interest in producing more meat for export. Some of the local breeds, Senepol cattle and White sheep, have been exported in the past. They are valuable elsewhere because of their heat resistance and other qualities.
“The Tropical Bont tick is invasive and a big barrier,” he said. He added that if it becomes established there will be restrictions on exporting animals, which will affect farm business in a very negative way.
So one of Wenger’s first projects has been to work with the USDA Cooperative to study the Bont tick. He said so far they have collected lots of ticks and sent them off island for identification.
He noted that most of the animals bred and grown on the island are consumed locally. However, “… we need to get where we can provide more (meat) locally. Most of what you see in stores, if not all, is imported,” he said. “It would be a great thing. Getting fresher meat with better quality.”
There are challenges, as he stated in his 10 days on the island he has learned that farmers have lost a large number of stock to packs of roaming dogs.
“In fact, some pretty dramatic losses. One fellow had lost over 80 head in one attack,” he said. “When they (dogs) get to doing that it isn’t for any purpose but to kill.”
As Wenger gets settled, his personal goal this first year is to meet and get to know the local farmers and ranchers, he said. He said he understands animal production well, but not Virgin Islands animal production yet.
Wenger said he has met around 20 producers on St. Croix so far and with his knowledge, he hopes “to be able to offer advice and be a resource for folks to help them to be more productive.”
Wenger’s division also produces documents to allow animals to travel off-island. A big project is to tag and record individual large animals to track disease outbreaks and identify owners.
In addition, he said the abattoir is not under his direct supervision, but getting it running is critical. He said they hope to reopen it soon.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Dr. Wenger’s surname. It is Wenger, not Wegner.DLCA’s Market Basket Survey Encourages Consumers to Compare Prices
The Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department completed a territory-wide Market Basket Survey during the week of Aug. 18, Commissioner H. Nathalie Hodge announced.
This survey helps consumers identify which stores offer the best prices for staple grocery items, regardless of the brand. The number of items compared on each island differs based on guidelines that require identical items for a valid comparison, according to the press release.
Consumers are encouraged to shop wisely and compare prices to make the best economic choices, the press release stated.
For questions, contact the Consumer Affairs Division at 340-713-3522 on St. Croix, 340-714-3522 on St. Thomas, or 340-7270-3303 on St. John. For consumer-related issues, email consumerawareness@dlca.vi.gov.
St. Croix Survey Results
St. Thomas Survey Results
St. John Survey Results
Consumers are encouraged to shop wisely and compare prices to make the best economic choices, the press release stated.
For questions, contact the Consumer Affairs Division at 340-713-3522 on St. Croix, 340-714-3522 on St. Thomas, or 340-7270-3303 on St. John. For consumer-related issues, email consumerawareness@dlca.vi.gov. Local Swallowtail Butterflies Are Missing Their Tails
Battus polydamas butterflies are fairly common in the Caribbean. However, they have an uncommon status because they are included in the large ‘swallowtail’ family even though they don’t have the characteristic ‘tails.’
In fact, when I first saw one of these butterflies on St. John, its back wings had been bitten off, so I didn’t realize that it was missing the tail-like extensions characteristic of other types of swallowtail butterflies.
In the northeast United States, I have seen other swallowtail butterflies that have their namesake projections clearly sticking out from the bottom edges of their back wings.
The swallowtail name refers to birds like Barn Swallows that have long, thin, outside tail feathers, sometimes called ‘streamers’. These thin feathers can improve their ability to maneuver quickly in flight, especially when they chase flying insects. Interestingly, female Barn Swallows seem to be attracted to the males with longer tail feathers — even when the tails get so long that they are no longer helpful for hunting maneuvers and instead create extra aerodynamic drag on the birds’ wings.
Swallowtail butterflies probably deal with the same issues of lift and drag as barn swallows, and having tails may actually help them glide smoothly over flowers. But the butterflies’ swallowtails are all pretty much the same size, so probably aren’t a factor for sexual selection. They might be helpful in distracting and scaring off predators, though. When threatened, butterflies sometimes will quickly flick their wings open and closed, showing surprising flashes of bright colors.
And when birds come up behind swallowtail butterflies and grab onto their back wings, it might be helpful to have a skinny tail part that tears off, to help the butterfly escape and survive — like when lizards lose their tails to predators but escape with their lives.
However, the tailless Battus polydamas butterfly I saw with the bitten wing seemed to have managed to survive okay too.
Meanwhile I can’t help wondering why a no-tail butterfly is classified as one of the swallowtails.
The scientific names we use originally came from a classification system designed by a Swedish naturalist named Carl Linnaeus in 1735. The groupings were based on similarities and relationships he observed in nature. Of course, since then classifications of life forms have become more complex and fluid. New species have been discovered, and more is known about interconnections in evolutionary history, including through DNA sequencing.
The VI no-tail butterfly is identified as:
Class: Insecta;
Order: Lepidoptera (which covers both moths and butterflies);
Family: Papilionidae (butterflies);
Subfamily: Papilioninae (swallowtail butterflies);
Genus: Battus (swallowtail butterflies in the Americas associated with Aristolochia plants);
Species: Battus polydamas (tailless Battus butterflies);
Subspecies: Battus polydamas thyamus (tailless Battus butterflies living in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).
A species represents a set of individuals that can mate with each other and reproduce. Usually a scientific name provides first the genus and then the species. A third name indicates a subspecies with some physical variations, often related to geographical differences, such as living on different islands. Many members of the various subspecies listed under Battus polydamas are located on different Caribbean islands, and they are all tailless. The subspecies found in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is named ‘thyamus’.
I learned that an important link between the tailed and tailless members of the Battus swallowtail butterfly genus is co-evolution with their host plants in the Aristolochia family. These plants are woody, climbing vines often called pipevine or Dutchman’s pipe because of the shape of their flowers. They sometimes have been cultivated for medicinal purposes, but also can be toxic. The Battus butterflies lay their eggs on these vines and the caterpillars ingest the toxic chemicals, making themselves and the adult butterflies poisonous to predators.
Another (weird) attribute they share is that their caterpillars have bright orange organs called osmeteria that they can pump up and extend out of their heads like forked tongues, while also emitting a foul smell — as a way to ward off potential predators. Sounds like something we all could use.
So due to their common evolutionary history, different types of swallowtail butterflies share some behaviors and physical attributes unrelated to the tail or no-tail distinction.
I think that’s a good reason to come up with a more inclusive name for the group. Maybe something like ‘stinky, orange, fake forked-tongue caterpillar heads’ would be more appropriate.
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Gail Karlsson is an environmental lawyer, writer and photographer. She is the author of two books about the Virgin Islands – The Wild Life in an Island House, and the guide book Learning About Trees and Plants – A Project of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. John. She has also recently published A Birds’ Guide to The Battery and New York Harbor. Follow her on Instagram @gailkarlsson and at gvkarlsson.blogspot.com.
Delta Member Makes History as First Virgin Islander Elected to Eastern Regional Leadership Team
Stephany Andujar WIns Miss Universe USVI Title
Op-Ed: St. Croix Hiking Association Explores the Natural and Cultural Wonders of Belize
Since the establishment of the St. Croix Hiking Association in 1998, we have been hiking off-island to other Caribbean islands. The last trip was to Jamaica in 2019, with a hike planned to Martinique in 2020. Believe me, there was great excitement and anticipation to hike on the island of Martinique. However, it never happened. In 2020, the World Health Organization announced that it was calling the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. After that, the entire world locked down. It was only this year that our next off-island hiking trip took place, when we traveled to Belize.
What a trip! There were hikes, culture, and adventures for the members of the St. Croix Hiking Association that they will never forget as long as they live. Believe me, Belize is a hiking, cultural and natural paradise for nature lovers. There is so much to write about the adventures we experienced in Belize. I am trying to figure out in my head how to write the stories of exploring on foot, in waterfalls, etc., and driving for hundreds of miles visiting the natural and cultural sites of the country.
This will have to be a series of articles describing a country that lies within the Caribbean Sea and is part of the Central America landmass. Before I can write about our adventures in Belize, I must say something briefly about the country’s great civilizations. The great Maya civilization dates back thousands of years between 1500 BC to 1200 BC. This great civilization in Central America flourished up until 1000 AD. There are several historic sites throughout Belize and neighboring countries that reflect the Maya ancient culture.
This ancient civilization emerged in the lowland area of the Yucatan Peninsula and the highland to the south, and spread to Mexico, Guatemala, western Honduras, and Belize. In the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries invaded Belize and its neighbors. It is a sad history, how the European colonizers raped the countries of Central America of its cultural and natural resources, such as logwood, and how they enslaved its people. With the Spanish also came the British settlers to the region.
Nevertheless, despite nearly 500 years of European domination in the region, the Maya culture and way of life persists. Our adventure to Belize started with members traveling from different parts of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It took most of us two days to get to Belize by traveling and layover in Miami overnight. We couldn’t wait for the sun to rise the next day to travel to Belize. As the American Airlines plane begin to descend over the lowlands of Belize, believe me, goosebumps began to form on our bodies with excitement.
As we went through the immigration process, we were welcomed to Belize with open arms by the officials. As soon as we stepped outside the airport building, there was brother Nick Drayton and Cathy Prince, two members of the association, welcoming us with a big sign that said, “GONE BUSH St. Croix Hiking Association,” along with local drinks and healthy goodies to eat such as garlic spice cassava biscuits. The hospitality at the airport was great, with members greeting one another with open arms and ready to take on the Belize adventure.
We had not hiked yet on foot, but our first day driving from the airport was an adventure. Everyone loaded into two vans from Philip Goldson International Airport with suitcases, backpacks, hiking boots, water shoes, etc. Without a doubt, we were all excited as we talked among ourselves during the 90-minute drive on the Coastal Plain Highway of Belize to Dangriga, the place where we would stay for the duration of our hiking trip.
As we asked Nick questions about Belize’s history as we drove and took in the natural beauty of the landscape of the country, Nick got a call from the other van saying that there was problem with the vehicle. There we were, miles away in the wilderness on a highway. The members of the hiking association took it with grace that this was all part of the adventure in Belize. We stuck together as one family and knew the unexpected experience on the roads is all part of life’s adventure.
To make a long story short, the van that I was in continued to Dangriga town. We did get another van from the car rental company. As we arrived to Dangriga, we were all happy to conquer our first adventure without hiking on foot. Mr. Augustine Flores, owner and manager of a small hotel known as Pals On the Beach near the Caribbean Sea, welcomed us to the perfect spot to rest our tried bodies. I could literally throw a stone from my room to the Caribbean Sea. What a beautiful view of the Caribbean Sea, with so many Frigatebirds flying in the air and small islands in a far distance of the sunrise on the shorelines of Belize. Paradise, baby!
That evening , we had dinner at Island Breezes Restaurant in Dangriga. The food was great, with music playing in the background. Before dinner, Nick and Ceilia Joseph, our two hosts in Belize, gave us a pack schedule of activities for hiking, camping, cultural, and natural visit sites for the week of our adventure. With a good night’s rest, which we all needed after a long day’s adventure from the airport, everyone went to bed looking forward for the next day where we would be hiking on foot in the mountain rainforests of Belize and bathing in waterfalls of our delight.
— Olasee Davis is a bush professor who lectures and writes about the culture, history, ecology and environment of the Virgin Islands when he is not leading hiking tours of the wild places and spaces of St. Croix and beyond.
Amid Court Battle with VIPD, Mon Ethos Announces New Owner
Mon Ethos Pro Support, the cybersecurity firm embroiled in a legal dispute over its contract with the V.I. Police Department, announced Friday that the company has changed hands in an acquisition that it says was formalized back in April but only just now made public.
According to the release, Mon Ethos chief technology officer Curtis Jones is the new owner, with founder David Whitaker “continuing to assist as needed to ensure a smooth handover.”
“The acquisition was formalized on April 16, 2024, with a notarized agreement. Since then, Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Jones have maintained a confidential arrangement regarding the transaction. A private formal agreement was reached in April, outlining the long-term transition plan, which is currently being guided by MEPSVI’s legal team. Mr. Whitaker will continue to be involved with MEPSVI as needed to ensure a smooth transition,” the release stated.
In response to questions from the Source, Mon Ethos said that while Jones has acquired MEPSVI, “the process of updating and formally notifying corporate and public records is ongoing and will be done in accordance with legal guidelines. Given the intricate nature of MEPSVI’s client relationships and contractual obligations, this process may take more time than would be necessary in less complex acquisitions.”
The company declined to divulge the sale terms as “MEPSVI is a private company, the financial terms of the acquisition are confidential.” It also declined to discuss employee numbers.
However, according to U.S. Small Business Administration records, Whitaker received two COVID pandemic Payroll Protection Program loans, in April 2020 and in February 2021, totaling nearly $1 million for his company Mon Ethos Pro Consulting, which claimed “63 jobs.” That business, which was involved in promoting bodybuilders and fitness models, was organized in Massachusetts in June 2018 and, according to publicly available records, was dissolved “by court order or by the Secretary of the Commonwealth” in December 2022.
Mon Ethos Pro Support was registered in January 2020 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, listing its principal office as 17-B Estate Smith Bay, Building 263, on St. Thomas, according to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office Division of Corporations and Trademarks. It listed its purpose as providing “digital operational support of Mon Ethos Pro Consulting, LLC. This includes but not limited to, website development, mobile app development, live stream, TV broadcast and social media development for the Mon Ethos Pro Consulting, LLC clients.”
VIPD Property Returned?Friday’s announcement comes ahead of a hearing set for Aug. 29 in the government’s complaint against Mon Ethos. Filed Aug. 2 in V.I. Superior Court, it alleges the company breached its contract for cybersecurity services with the V.I. Police Department and threatened to delete data critical to ongoing investigations and court cases unless it is paid some $500,000 it says it is owed over and above its contract.
According to the verified complaint, equipment in Mon Ethos’ custody includes a GrayKey — an item that lets police hack into mobile devices and retrieve encrypted information — iPads, Facebook portals, iPhones, Max West Nitro tablets, Qlink Wireless tablets, laptops, Motorola cellphones, and Android Moto G phones with cases.
Mon Ethos has denied wrongdoing and on Friday told the Source that it “already returned the physical evidence and the GrayKey device to the VIPD,” as ordered by the court.
The Source sought to confirm that information with both the V.I. Justice Department and the VIPD but did not receive a response by its press deadline Friday night.
Public spending records reveal that the V.I. government has paid $3.31 million to Mon Ethos since August 2022, including $1.7 million from the Office of Management and Budget and $1.5 million from the V.I. Police Department.
In June, both Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal resigned after the FBI announced they were the targets of a federal investigation regarding the government’s contract with Mon Ethos. Federal agents also seized the phone of Sports Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White and were reviewing the department’s dealings with the company, which Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said at the time included a $1.8 million proposal for surveillance cameras.
According to the Property and Procurement Department, the one-year, no-bid VIPD contract was awarded in October 2023 under an exemption to the formal bidding process, specifically 31 V.I. Code section 239(a)(8). Reasons for circumventing bids can include emergencies, expenditures under $10,000, under $50,000, single and sole source providers, technical expertise, and standardization of equipment, it said.
The company also signed a contract with the V.I. Education Department for $1.9 million on Feb. 28 for security systems and surveillance at 11 campuses in the St. Croix district.
While Bryan said at the June press conference concerning the FBI investigation that all contracts were being pulled and were under review, Mon Ethos said on Friday that it is proceeding with the Education contract.
“MEPSVI is actively engaged in fulfilling its current contracts, including an existing agreement with the Department of Education for the installation of cameras in schools across St. Croix. We anticipate the arrival of these cameras next week, and we plan to invite the press to document this significant milestone,” the company said in response to questions from the Source.It also said that it has an award letter from the Sports, Parks and Recreation Department, “though we are still awaiting the official contract.” The Source sought to confirm that information with the department but did not receive a response.
“Regarding our relationship with the VIPD, we are deeply concerned about recent developments, particularly the department’s failure to pay its outstanding invoices and its misrepresentation of our intentions. It is important to clarify that we have already returned the physical evidence and the GrayKey device to the VIPD,” Mon Ethos told the Source.
“We are extremely disappointed with the Virgin Islands Police Department, particularly given that we have been a trusted partner for more than a year. The VIPD has consistently relied on our work product and publicly praised our efforts, with even the governor recently acknowledging our contributions. Our work has been instrumental in hundreds of cases and matters, yet it seems that once it was time for the VIPD to settle the remainder of their bill, they began to misrepresent facts,” it said.
Mon Ethos said when it previously tried to return physical evidence and the GrayKey device to individuals identified by the DOJ or VIPD, those individuals were unaware of the directives issued by their own departments.
“In a concerning example of retaliation, when Senior Detective Jose Allen, who was stationed in the Police Commissioner’s office located at our MEPSVI headquarters, refused to sign an affidavit against Mon Ethos Pro Support or MEPSVI — because he did not believe the statements were factually accurate — he was demoted from the Commissioner’s office to patrol duty,” Mon Ethos said. Again, the Source sought to confirm this information with the VIPD but did not receive a response.
According to Mon Ethos, the change in ownership “will bring greater accountability to such misrepresentations. We will be transparent about our relationships with government entities, and when issues like this arise, we will not hesitate to notify the public and be forthright in our communications. We are serious people conducting serious business, and we expect to be treated with the fairness and respect that our professionalism and contributions warrant.”
As for how the transition will affect the current litigation, Mon Ethos said it was “crucial to note” that the contract with the Virgin Islands Police Department is between the department and MEPSVI as a corporate entity, not with Whitaker personally.
“The government’s continued focus on Whitaker seems to be a misdirection, and this acquisition should clarify that MEPSVI’s obligations, as well as its rights to payment for services rendered, remain intact. This transition should serve as a reminder to the government and the public of the real-world impact on the company’s employees and stakeholders, who are being asked to work without compensation due to the government’s failure to fulfill its financial obligations,” the company said in response to questions from the Source.
A New Direction?Whitaker was nabbed in 2008 in Mexico and returned to the United States to face a multicount fraud complaint of bilking customers out of more than $10 million by selling, but never delivering, electronic equipment. While on the lam south of the border, he allegedly made millions of dollars by selling black-market steroids and human growth hormones online. Facing 65 years behind bars on the fraud charges, Whitaker became an FBI operative in a sting that eventually saw Google fined $500 million for its role in facilitating online illegal drug sales. Whitaker subsequently got five years on the fraud charges.
According to an expose of his escapades by Wired magazine in May 2013 that called him a “career conman,” Whitaker has been in and out of jail since he was first arrested for bank fraud and e-racketeering in 1997 when he was 22. He is involved in numerous court disputes both in the U.S. Virgin Islands and on the mainland.
Jones, Mon Ethos’s new owner, is a “tech veteran” and has worked on projects for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Apple, according to the press release announcing the acquisition.
“Mr. Jones brings an impressive background, having held key roles at major technology companies such as Apple and Bloomberg. At Apple, he played a crucial role in developing an internal macOS/Cocoa retail store application and has developed an application related to video surveillance that is downloadable from the Apple App Store. His work at Bloomberg was instrumental in optimizing infrastructure for processing financial data,” the release stated.
“In addition to his contributions at these industry giants, Jones’s expertise is evident in his work with The Wall Street Journal, where he developed their first iPhone app, and with Kmart, where he created an inventory management iOS app based on VT-220. His work on phonetic-based macOS applications at Nexidia further underscores his proficiency in audio and speech technology,” it said.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Jones is based in Atlanta and is the principal engineer at Streamie Security, Inc., and at Symphonic Systems, Inc.
“The story you’ll find here as you filter through the buzzwords is of one who, to his core, revels in engineering challenges, is more than a little opinionated, loves simple solutions to complex problems, eschews office politics, can delegate, manage, encourage and mentor, and who would rather be playing with his kids right now than typing a profile introduction. Also, I’m truly terrible at marketing,” the “About” section of his profile states.
According to Friday’s announcement from Mon Ethos, Jones “has already introduced himself to various government officials in person and Governor Albert Bryan via email. He plans to make a formal statement once the public transition is complete.”
Virgin Islands Secures $27 Million to Boost Digital Equity Initiatives Across the USVI
EPA Orders PHRT to Remove Additional Chemicals from the Refinery on St. Croix
The Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order Friday on consent to Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation LLLP, under which PHRT agrees to safely remove materials and strictly adhere to environmental regulations. This order, which follows a detailed inspection process, is part of the EPA’s ongoing commitment to protect the environment and public health on St. Croix, the agency announced.
“EPA is upholding environmental laws and protecting people’s health in St. Croix,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This order on consent is a continuation of EPA’s work over the past several years to address risks at this facility that may pose a threat to people and the environment. We will work closely with PHRT and monitor progress to ensure the directives are completed.”
This administrative order on consent results from a September 2023 inspection that found potential risks associated with handling materials not previously removed from the facility, including liquified petroleum gas, or LPG, in LPG Units #1 and #2. This order outlines specific requirements for PHRT to mitigate these risks and addresses materials identified since PHRT removed other materials during the summer of 2023 under a prior order on consent, according to the press release.
Under the order, PHRT is required to:
- Immediately implement safety measures for LPG Units #1 and #2 at the facility, including staffing for nightshift walk-downs and bolstering emergency response capabilities.
- Submit a detailed work plan for EPA approval and secure any necessary permits for material removal from LPG Units #1 and #2, in compliance with environmental laws.
- Safely remove materials from LPG Units #1 and #2.
