There is a piece of the infrastructure, often neglected, that forms a significant part of the tourism product.  Without it, the visitor experience is diminished.If the ponds are the kidneys of the city, a tool of filtration, then the national parks are its very lungs.  The parks system of the United Kingdom is vast and it significantly improves the quality of life for residents and visitors alike.  But although scaled, BVI, too, has a credible network of national parks.  They are, in the main, d...

The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force has successfully recovered three prohibited firearms from two separate incidents this week.On Monday, June 24, 2024, officers of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, acting on specific intelligence, attempted to stop the driver of a Kia Soul in the Johnsons Ghut area. Upon seeing the officers, the driver immediately abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot to evade capture. Enquiries continue toward identifying and locating the driver.During a subsequent sea...

Information reaching our newsroom indicates that the Premier and the BVI Tourist Board, the Statutory Body that is now charged with the planning of Festival, are at odds with where the 2024 Emancipation Festival Village will be located. We are understanding that the BVI Tourist Board is adamant that the annual Village should remain at its original location as that would be more financially feasible and fiscally responsible; while the Premier is adamant on proving the usefulness of the grounds th...

Ebenezer Thomas Primary School is the fourth of five primary schools in the Territory that has received a new playground facility following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of the Virgin Islands and Unite BVI. Minister for Education, Youth Affairs and Sports Honourable Sharie de Castro, Executive Director of Unite BVI Dr. Sauda Smith and Representative for the Third District Honourable Julian Fraser addressed the handing over ceremony held at the school. Following the c...

Officers of the Virgin Gorda Police Station responded to a burglary report at a villa in Virgin Gorda on the night of June 18, 2024, after 9 PM. Due to the swift response by our officers, a suspect was arrested and charged in connection with the incident.Keithroy Smith, 21, of Windy Hill, Virgin Gorda has been charged with Burglary and remains in custody pending his appearance at the Magistrate’s Court.Some of the stolen items have been recovered according to Police, and efforts are ongoing to ...

“They will bury Vernon Malone on Saturday.  He will receive a semi state funeral for he, like all BVI legislators, holds the key to the city.The historians will chronicle his significant contributions to the BVI.  They will keep it positive although he was not a candidate for canonization.On Tuesday, there were encomiums for him in the Honourable House.  But Vernon, as a law enforcement expert would have preferred Members to have spent that time addressing the crime epidemic that is killing the...

Another public clinic has shuttered its doors today, this time, in the Premier’s District. The Rosalind Penn Clinic in District 7 has had to shut its doors due to lack of electricity and being unable to keep their generator running. Just last week June 16, the Iris Penn Smith Clinic in District 8, also had to close its doors.  The closures of the Clinics disenfranchises both communities, and leaves the Residents having to make the journey to Road Town for any basic medical care. On Thursday 14 ...

The Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs. Shaina M. Smith-Archer as the Director of Programme Delivery. Mrs. Smith-Archer’s appointment took effect on 10thJune, 2024, which effectively adds over 20 years of expertise in project management and engineering to the Programme Delivery Unit.As the Director of Programme Delivery, Mrs. Smith-Archer holds the mandate to proactively lead and coordinate the direction of the RDA’s delivery prog...

Judge Kathleen Williams has today 20 June 2024, sentenced former Port Authority Boss Oleanvine Pickering Maynard to 9 years and 4 months behind bars, plus 5 years supervised release.Former Premier Andrew Fahie is set for sentencing on 5 August.  Full story to come. 

Word reaching our newsroom is that all ancestral lands have been removed from the Crown Land Legislation; including Anegada, Salt Island and Wickham’s Cay. The Bill in its original form, came under heavy scrutiny from the Anegada people in particular, as well as other Activists/supporters, and House of Assembly Members. The controversial Bill was passed in the HOA last night, Monday 17 June. The Bill will now have to be ascended to by the Governor, to become law. The completion of the Crown Lan...

Overnight, Governor Bryan has asked Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O'Neal to tender her resignation. O’Neal was subpoenaed to testify and or give evidence in a Grand Jury trial scheduled for June 24, 2024. Her phone was seized and she was handed a search warrant. Unconfirmed information is suggesting that the investigation focuses on a cybersecurity and surveillance contract that was awarded by the VIPD to a company that allegedly provided Ray Martinez, Commissioner of Police,...

Detectives of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force are investigating a burglary that occurred overnight at a residence in John's Hole, Tortola.The initial report indicates that two masked individuals, armed with firearms, entered the home, and accosted the occupants. They assaulted a female member of the household, then quickly fled after other occupants were alerted to their presence.The investigation into this crime is proceeding diligently, and the RVIPF has directed the requisite support an...

Officers of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force responded to a report of an attempted armed robbery in Lower Estate, Tortola after 9 pm on Friday, June 14, 2024. It was reported that a lone masked male armed with a handgun accosted another male in an attempt to steal jewelry from his person.The quick actions of the police led to the recovery of a 9 millimetre semi-automatic pistol with a magazine containing three (3) live rounds and the arrest of the assailant. Jahnoi Frank, age 21, of no fixe...

On June 13, 2024, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force arrested and charged Leonardo Frett, a 64-year-old resident of Long Look, with Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm.Frett is alleged to have been the assailant in an incident earlier this year in East End, Tortola, where a woman was seriously injured after being assaulted with a piece of wood.Following an investigation, Frett was arrested and subsequently granted police baiL until his cou...

The Bryan Administration says it has a zero tolerance policy on corruption.

V.I. Office of Management and Budget Director linked to investigation surrounding Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and contracted firm.

The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force continues to make progress in combating property crimes, charging one individual in relation to two recent,unrelated incidents of crime on Tortola.On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, detectives of the Criminal Investigation Department arrested and charged De'Shaun Thomas, a 19-year-old male of Sea Cow's Bay. Thomas was charged with Theft of a motor scooter, which occurred on May 19, 2024. The scooter was subsequently recovered by the police.Thomas was also charged wi...

“The danger is now in our midst.  The crown jewel of tourism, Virgin Gorda, was visited twice in ten days.Residents and employees on the island are shocked.  Fear is palpable.  No one wants to work the ‘close up’ shift.BVI subsists on its twin economic pillars of financial services and tourism.  One can be shipped out in a suitcase while the other will vaporize on issues of insecurity and crime.The UK government is, constitutionally, responsible for security.  And with few exceptions, two by ...

Relief for commuters sailing to and from Trellis Bay, Beef Island is on the horizon as a contract was signed on 11th June, to construct the Trellis Bay Welcome Centre.The Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency (RDA), on behalf of the Government of the Virgin Islands, signed a contract with No Limit Construction Services in the amount of two hundred and seventy-one thousand, two hundred seventy-nine dollars and sixty-seven cents (USD $271,279.67).The contract commences the construction of...

Deputy Premier and Minister for Labour and Workforce Development Honourable Lorna G. Smith has announced that significant progress is being made towards modernising the operations of the Department of Labour and Workforce Development.Honourable Smith said in a recent statement that technical preparations are being made for the implementation of a new Labour Management System in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology and consultants. The minister said the preparations were a ...