ORANJESTAD  — The Citgo Petroleum refining unit of Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) has reached a deal to lease and restart an idled 235,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Aruba, the government of the Caribbean island said over the weekend. The agreement involves a 25-year lease that would allow

CHRISTIANSTED – In a speech aimed at firing up Democratic voters in the territory, former president Bill Clinton told a sympathetic crowd at Island Center that his wife Hillary believes the Affordable Care Act is not fair to Virgin Islanders – and that people here should have the right to

CHRISTIANSTED — The family of Creola Jones is appealing to Virgin Islanders to help in the search for the missing woman. The 41-year-old disappeared after arriving on the island of St. Croix with her husband. She did not call her mother as often as she used too and after several

CHRISTIANSTED — The Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA) put supermarkets in the territory on notice that “deplorable” conditions will no longer be tolerated. DLCA Commissioner Devin Carrington said that unclean floors, rotting food on the shelves and many other dangerous and unsanitary conditions visible in Virgin Islands supermarkets

CHRISTIANSTED – The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) said large amounts of rain from Saturday to Monday have compromised its underground circuits and knocked out power to Christiansted town as of 8:50 a.m Tuesday. WAPA said its line crews are working to restore electrical service to Christiansted town

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) says it has received several reports of  Internet and telephone scams occurring within the territory. The Internet Scam is described as follows: The scammer, acting as an agent for a company, posts a job vacancy or an investment opportunity on the

  CHRISTIANSTED — A fire at the Richmond power plant plunged St. Croix into an island-wide power outage for four hours on Saturday forcing businesses that stayed open to rely on generators, flashlights and candles. The incident began about 4:30 p.m. at on Saturday when a fire erupted at the

MIAMI — Claudio Hidalgo joins Sprint as president of the Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Region. Based in Miami, he will be responsible for sales strategy, network oversight, customer service, marketing communications and general operations supporting the full portfolio of Sprint products and services from enterprise to consumer

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — V.I. Attorney General Claude Walker is investigating whether Exxon Mobil deceived the public or shareholders about the effects of climate change, joining similar inquiries into the oil giant launched by Massachusetts, New York and California. The investigation, announced this week, came as nearly two dozen state attorneys

By SIMONE FRANCIS/SPECIAL TO THE V.I. FREE PRESS On March 23, 2016, the U.S. Virgin Islands joined the growing list of states, municipalities, and territories that have adjusted their minimum wage above the federal minimum wage, which has been set at $7.25 per hour since 2009. Employee welfare should be