Military News
Wayne James Premieres Cuba Movie While Challenging Conviction, Battling Blindness
UNION CITY — “Going…Going…Gone: The Grandeur of Golden-Age Cuba,” a film by fashion designer and former St. Croix Senator Wayne James, premiered at New Jersey’s prestigious Musto Cultural Center. The public screening of the three-part docufilm was officially hosted by Union City’s mayor Brian P. Stack and the city’s Board
GERS Chief Preparing $7.7 Million Lawsuit Against WAPA For Payment Failures
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The Government Employees Retirement System of the Virgin Islands is preparing a lawsuit against the financially-strapped Water and Power Authority for about $7.7 million in past due money. At issue are past due employees’ and employer’s contributions and employees’ loans as well interest on these sums. WAPA
Tamia Grant Crowned Miss University of the Virgin Islands
CHARLOTTE AMALIE Tamia Grant, a junior at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), has been crowned the 42nd Miss UVI. Reigning Miss UVI Jackeima Flemming crowned her successor at the Miss UVI Ambassadorial Presentation and Coronation, which was held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, on St. Croix. “I feel

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Puerto Rico’s Exclusion From Welfare Program
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court this week rejected a bid to extend a federal program offering benefits to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people to residents of Puerto Rico, finding that Congress had the authority to prevent those living in the American territory from receiving the assistance. The justices

St. Thomas American Federation of Teachers Protest Working Conditions In The Schools
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Members of the St. Thomas-St. John American Federation of Teachers Local Union 1825 held a march Wednesday from Emancipation Gardens to the Earle B. Ottley Legislature Building to protest poor working conditions in the public schools. “Teachers, students and supporters came out to express their concerns regarding

Social Security Administration Resumes In-Person Services At Local SSA Offices
We are pleased to announce that local Social Security offices are offering more in-person appointments and have resumed in-person services for people without an appointment. To avoid waiting in line, we strongly encourage people, who can, to use our online services at www.ssa.gov/onlineservices, call us, and schedule appointments in advance

Coast Guard Seizes $11.7 Million In Cocaine, Transfers 6 Suspected Smugglers To San Juan
SAN JUAN — Coast Guard Cutter’s Joseph Tezanos and Heriberto Hernandez crews offloaded approximately 1,289 pounds of cocaine and transferred custody of six suspected smugglers at Coast Guard Base San Juan Monday, following two separate vessel interdictions near Puerto Rico. These interdictions are the result of multi-agency efforts involving the

Concerned Scientists Probe Sea Urchin Deaths In Caribbean
SAN JUAN (AP) — Sea urchins are dying across the Caribbean at a pace scientists say could rival a mass die-off that last occurred in 1983, alarming many who warn the trend could further decimate already frail coral reefs in the region. Dive shops first began reporting the deaths in

Social Security Administration Releases Equity Action Plan
The Social Security Administration released its first Equity Action Plan on Thursday, supporting President Biden’s whole-of-government equity agenda to advance equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity for all. On January 20, 2021, The President signed an Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the

2 Vieques Men Who Brought $1 Million In Cash To St. Thomas By Boat Plead Guilty
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Two residents of Vieques who tried to smuggle more than one million dollars in cash by sea to St. Thomas have admitted their guilt in federal court. Julius Alvarez-Gonzalez and Jimmy Garcia-Quinonez, of Vieques, Puerto Rico each entered guilty pleas to the charge of concealing over one