SANTIAGO, Chile — The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a socio-economic crisis of an unprecedented scope and reach. Worldwide, it has led to a massive decline of working hours, equivalent to 400 million full-time jobs. It has also exposed structural inequalities related to social protection and in the labor market, particularly those based on gender, age […]
Category: Community Affairs
St. Croix Senator Gets Sit Down Meeting Between Governor And Horse Owners After Protest On Saturday
FREDERIKSTED — St. Croix Senator Kurt Vialet that that he saw firsthand the hue and cry of local horse owners at Plaza Extra West on Saturday and has persuaded Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. to sit down with them to hear their grievances. Protesters by the hundreds, some of them on horseback, assembled in the grassy […]
‘Williams Delight Downs’ Closed Down By VIPD, DPW Due To Coronavirus Social Distancing Concerns
FREDERIKSTED — The Virgin Islands Police Department said it participated in the closing of an illegal horse racing path in the Williams Delight area on Thursday. Throughout the past two years, VIPD has responded to the path used for unsanctioned horse racing. Officers have gone to the location in the past, renamed by attendees as […]
Are License Plates Required For Cars In The USVI? If You Can See, You’d Think Not
CHRISTIANSTED — You could get into an accident trying to take pictures of all the vehicles on St. Croix that do not have a license plate on the front or back here. I know, because I have tried to take pictures of all the cars I see here driving with absolutely no license plate on […]
Mostly Black Town In Puerto Rico Sees Its Own Past In The Death Of George Floyd
LOIZA — As evening fell over Puerto Rico, hundreds gathered at a vigil for George Floyd recently in Loíza, a coastal town home to one of the island’s largest Black communities. Crowds congregated at el Ancón, a pier named after the retired barge it once housed, which crossed loiceños and their cars over the Rio […]
COVID-19 SPIKE! St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John Set Records For New Infections: VIDOH
CHRISTIANSTED — The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the territory spiked on Wednesday with St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas all setting single-day records for new infections, according to the Virgin Islands Health Department (VIDOH). A COVID-19 Response Report released Wednesday shows 22 new cases territory-wide with 13 new cases on St. Croix, […]
U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Online Training Seminar for USVI Grantees
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD-OIG) will provide no cost, online training for Virgin Islands federal grantees and law enforcement personnel, July 13-15th. The three-day training session is designed for HUD Community Development and Block Grant-Disaster […]
DSPR Awarded $2.6 Million To Retrofit The St. John Community Center: ODR
CRUZ BAY — The Office of Disaster Recovery announced a $2.6 million award to the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation (DSPR) for the retrofitting of the Community Center on St. John. The dual-phased project funded by FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) will include the reconstruction of the DSPR community center and the […]
Construction To Begin On $22 Million Gordon Finch Molasses Pier Facility
CHRISTIANSTED — The Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) recently completed the first phase of the Gallows Bay Port Transformation Project, which converts the port from mixed-use passenger and cargo facility to an upscale mini-cruise and yacht seaport. All cargo activities will be relocated from Gallows Bay in Christiansted to the Gordon A. Finch Molasses Pier […]
Worsening Drought Forces State of Emergency In Puerto Rico … What Is USVI Doing?
SAN JUAN — Puerto Rico’s governor declared a state of emergency effective Monday as a worsening drought creeps across the U.S. territory amid a coronavirus pandemic. Starting July 2, nearly 140,000 clients, including some in the capital of San Juan, will be without water for 24 hours every other day as part of strict rationing measures. […]