St. John TW

Money isn’t the only thing in short supply at the Water and Power Authority, WAPA officials said at a meeting of its governing board Thursday. While the embattled utility’s financial concerns have been well publicized, WAPA also faces dramatic challenges in obtaining key hardware vital to power generation and grid stability.

With St. Thomas Carnival festivities already underway, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has locked in the administrative leave schedule for government workers and announced that more than $5 million in income tax refunds have been issued to Virgin Islands residents.

Virgin Islands native Rashawn Ross is still pinching himself. The trumpeter for the Dave Matthews Band, recently announced with the group as part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 inductees, said when the email confirming the honor finally came through, it was a surreal moment.

V.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rhys Hodge on Wednesday denied a motion by the V.I. Legislature that sought nearly $100,000 in costs and attorney fees it says it spent defending against a lawsuit brought by former Senator-at-Large Steven Payne Sr. The request was filed two weeks too late, and without the proper notice, he said.

Virgin Islands legislators expressed dismay Tuesday at Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s declaration of emergency over the dire financial situation at the Water and Power Authority. 

The complaints continue as Liberty went before the Public Services Commission on Tuesday to address customer complaints both in person and via Zoom. 

Throughout the world, one million plastic bottles are bought every minute; each one can take up to 100 years to degrade. Five hundred billion plastic bags are used each year. Eight million tons of plastic enter oceans and wash up on beaches every year. Unless we change our ways, by weight there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish in the year 2050.

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. declared a local State of Emergency to tackle the territory's energy crisis andprevent further rotational power outages from crippling the the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will send $62.45 million to the territory for residential community solar and power storage projects, federal officials announced Monday.

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. announced Monday at the weekly Government House press briefing, his nomination of Gordon Rhea to serve as the next V.I. Attorney General.

The Friends of Virgin Islands National Park held its annual Earth Day fair in Cruz Bay, St. John Monday.

Majestik Freedom Estrada-Petersen, a student at the University of the Virgin Islands, stole the show at the St. Thomas Ambassadorial Queen Competition held Saturday night at the Eldrige Blake Sports and Fitness Center. Estrada-Petersen was crowned queen, and also took home the awards for Miss Intellect, Best Swimwear, People's Choice and Queen's Raffle, sponsored by Viya.

A top official at the Public Services Commission is urging customers of Liberty V.I. services to submit written complaints to the agency. That appeal was heard during two days of public listening sessions held to let consumers air their telecommunications problems.

When the Senate Committee of the Whole met Wednesday to discuss three applications for zoning changes for St. Thomas and St. John, senators were asked to consider something truly new in the housing industry.

Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory said she plans to work with her colleagues to override Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s veto of a bill that would prevent employers from asking about a job applicant’s criminal history until after they have been interviewed and offered a job.

Prolonged, exceptionally warm temperatures have caused the fourth ever global coral bleaching event – a likely precursor to yet more massive loss of the world’s coral reefs.

During Monday’s weekly Government House press briefing, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. celebrated the upcoming horse races at the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack on St. Thomas during Carnival. Bryan also shared updates and enthusiasm regarding the future of tourism and improved infrastructure across the territory. 

For years, St. John residents have been struggling with a critical housing shortage, and now one local landowner is seeking to address the problem.

The Virgin Islands garnered major attention at the recent 42nd annual International Sea Turtle Symposium in Pattaya, Thailand. The Hawksbill Project, founded by Scott Eanes, was spotlighted for its substantial progress in filling critical data gaps regarding hawksbill turtles in St. John last year.

The landlord of the Virgin Islands Daily News has filed a complaint in V.I. Superior Court seeking to evict the newspaper from its St. Thomas office, claiming it hasn’t paid the rent since last May, and prior to that had arbitrarily reduced the amount it was paying. The case appears linked to an ongoing property dispute between the paper's owner and the company he purchased the paper from in 2014.