News Articles

America needs oil now: Trump is sitting on a sleeping giant in the Virgin Islands By Albert Bryan Jr. Published in the Washington Examiner September 24, 2026 President Donald Trump has made American energy dominance and lower costs national priorities. He recently announced an agreement giving the United States majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven crude reserves and brought refinery executives to the White House with a practical que

M.A. Dworkin USVI & PR - Puerto Rico is turning one of its largest former military sites into a test of what coastal redevelopment can look like in the Caribbean. At Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba, old federal facilities are coming down, marina plans are moving forward, and the phrase “Blue Economy” is starting to mean something concrete: jobs, research, boat services, tourism, conservation, and climate-ready coastal infrastructure. The opportunity is large because the site is larg

"We have invested millions in attracting large hotels It is time to invest in Virgin Islanders and help them become hotel owners" ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - Republican Senate candidate Raymond T. James, Esq., is proposing a small-hotel ownership and historic-town revitalization initiative designed to help Virgin Islanders own hotels, create jobs, build generational wealth, restore underused properties, and expand the lodging inventory needed to strengthen St. Croix's

M.A. Dworkin USVI - A projected $59 million deficit for fiscal year 2026 has put the US Virgin Islands at a difficult crossroads. The Territory is trying to fund basic services, protect vulnerable residents, satisfy new federal oversight demands, and manage a slower flow of revenues than officials expected. The pressure is not coming from one source. It reflects several problems landing at once: weaker tax collections, uncertainty around federal funding, lower-than-expected r

M.A. Dworkin USVI - Federal recovery money can rebuild schools, hospitals, roads, power systems, and public housing. It can also stall when documentation, pace, and oversight do not satisfy federal reviewers. That tension now sits at the center of the latest discussion over FEMA’s Enhanced Compliance Review of U.S. Virgin Islands recovery funds. The core message from Governor Albert Bryan Jr. is clear: FEMA has placed closer scrutiny on the territory’s recovery portfolio, but

A.J. Pike St. Croix - When a monument is desecrated, the damage is not limited to stone, bronze, paint, or plaster. On St. Croix, the reported desecration of the Fort Freedom and General Buddhoe statues has touched something much deeper: the island’s memory of freedom, resistance, and belonging. These statues are more than public art. They stand in places tied to the end of slavery in the former Danish West Indies and to the courage of enslaved people who forced history to tu

A.J. Pike U.S.A. - Although there are no confirmed measles cases in the USVI or Puerto Rico, the current measles outbreak reaching 47 states with a reported 3,471 cases in 2026 and four related deaths is not a routine childhood illness making a temporary return. It is a warning sign. Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known. It can linger in the air after an infected person leaves a room. It can spread before a rash appears. It can move through schools, clinics, ho

A.J. Pike USVI - A federal fishing order can sound distant from the dock until it changes who gets a permit, what data a captain must report, how fast a rule moves, or whether a visitor can book a charter without friction. For the U.S. Virgin Islands, those details matter because fishing is both a livelihood and a tourism asset, and because the resource base is small, reef-linked, and sensitive. President Trump’s September 2026 executive order, “Restoring American Saltwater A

Cameron Dowe and Nat Peligan Special to the St. Croix Times USVI - When the United States purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917, it did not simply acquire three Caribbean islands. It inherited communities with their own labor struggles, colonial memories, commercial networks, cultural traditions, and expectations for local voice. That tension has shaped the political history of the U.S. Virgin Islands ever since. The territory has moved from Danish colonial rule to U.S. na

M.A. Dworkin USVI - A refinery restart on St. Croix is never just a business decision. It is a test of how far regulators will go to protect air quality, how much risk nearby communities are asked to accept, and whether a shuttered industrial site can return as an economic engine without repeating the mistakes that shut it down. The EPA’s recent rollback of clean air regulations could shift that balance. If federal greenhouse gas rules and Clean Air Act upgrade requirements b

Advertisement St. Croix - Raymond T. James Esq., Republican candidate for the Senate in the District of St. Croix is calling for a municipal government that will give St. Croix greater control over its economic and infrastructure priorities while preserving the unity of the Virgin Islands. “The Virgin Islands is one Territory, but our islands do not have identical economies, assets, infrastructure needs or opportunities,” Mr. James stated. “One Virgin Islands does not r

M.A. Dworkin St. Croix - Frederiksted has always made a strong first impression. The town faces the Caribbean with a long waterfront, a historic fort, and streets that still carry the shape of colonial-era planning. Yet for years, many visitors and residents also saw empty buildings, damaged facades, and blocks that felt overdue for care. That picture is starting to shift. Across Frederiksted, new roadwork, public improvements, private building repairs, arts programming, muse