Tag: 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands

Legislature Tries To Rein In WAPA By Giving PSC More Control Over It

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The Virgin Islands legislature appears to be near to voting to increase Public Service Commission control over the financially troubled Water and Power Authority (WAPA). As of December 31, WAPA had $190 million of electrical system revenue bonds and unamortized bond premiums and a total of $1.143 billion of liabilities, according to […]

Bryan Asks Senate For $1.5 Million To Help Revitalize Downtown Areas In USVI

FREDERIKSTED — Amidst more than a half-dozen ongoing infrastructure projects throughout the territory’s downtown areas, some close to completion, Governor Albert Bryan is sending down legislation to the Senate requesting $1.5 million to complete improvements to the Frederiksted waterfront, spanning from Dorsch Beach along Strand Street to Buddhoe Park. These new infrastructure upgrades and improvements in Frederiksted are part […]

Bryan Signs 5-Year Moratorium On New Gas Stations Into Law: Government House

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Governor Albert Bryan signed two bills into law, approving a five-year moratorium on issuing all permits for the construction and operation of gas stations and a bill appropriating money to buy land for the reconstruction of Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix. “May the executive and legislative branches continue to collaborate in […]

Senator-At-Large Decries Rash Of Gun Violence That Plagued St. Croix This Weekend

FREDERIKSTED — Senator-at-Large Steven Payne, Sr. was profoundly disheartened to learn of the barrage of gun violence that broke out in St. Croix in separate incidents occurring late Saturday evening into Sunday, injuring 13 people, and he mourns the five individuals wholost their lives. “Every single Virgin Islander’s life is precious, and I grieve with […]

USVI Gets $12 Million To Help Tenants Behind In Their Rent; Senator Asks Bryan To Dole Out Money

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The U.S. Virgin Islands has received about $12 million from the COVID-19 aid bill passed by Congress in December to aid the territory’s residents with rent payments, Senator Marvin Blyden said. Blyden called on Governor Albert Bryan to take swift action to implement a program of financial assistance to renters and mortgage […]

Senator Heyliger Offers Bill To Enhance Career And Technical Education In USVI

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Senator Alma Francis Heyliger said Tuesday she has submitted legislation to an amendment in a bill designed to clarify and strengthen Virgin Island’s vocational programs funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (CTE). Locally, the act — also known as the Perkins Grant — encourages partnerships between vocational-technical […]

Bryan Congratulates Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory And Incoming Members of 34th Legislature

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Governor Albert Bryan issued the following statement congratulating Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory and the incoming members of the 34th Legislature, who took their Oath of Office on Monday at Emancipation Garden on St. Thomas before convening their first session to establish the Senate leadership. “I want to thank and congratulate the members of the […]

4 Back In, 3 Out In St. Croix Senatorial Race, Foiling the Pollsters And Their Magic Numbers

CHRISTIANSTED — Senator Kurt Vialet proved the polls right by finishing in first place in the 2020 General Election Senate race. The former St. Croix Educational Complex High School principal finished with 4,421 votes. St. Croix attorney Genevieve Whitaker, a newcomer who ran unsuccessfully in 2018, laid her claim to a second place finish with […]

Frustrated Voters On St. Croix Abandon Polls After Problems With Ballot Machines Bring Long Lines

CHRISTIANSTED — Voters encountered long lines in St. Croix due to ballot machine issues that made eligible voters leave the long wait behind — and decide not to vote this election cycle. “The machines were a little complicated,” Hortensia Encarnacion acknowledged. “Next time put a machine in every large supermarket and allow folks to practice […]

What If Wayne ‘Facts Man’ Adams, Deceased, Is Elected In Today’s Senatorial Elections On St. Thomas?

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — What if perennial senatorial loser Wayne “Facts Man” Adams were to prevail for the first time at the polls today? As a deceased person? The St. Thomas voting public might have been concerned to see Adams on their 2020 General Election ballots. After all, he died on September 26 of COVID-19, prior […]