News Articles

A.J. Pike USVI - Commissioner Jean-Pierre L. Oriol of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR), on behalf of the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), is advising the public that Virgin Islands shorelines are likely to experience significantly elevated levels of Sargassum in 2026. This forecast is based on new findings from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science’s Optical Oceanography Lab. These assessments are developed in collaboration with

M.A. Dworkin USVI - In a move that can hopefully be seen as restorative, in a hospital system that by many accounts is broken beyond repair, The Virgin Islands Government Hospitals and Health Facilities corporation has named Darlene Baptiste Chief Executive Officer of the Territory’s hospital system. It is perhaps a way of thinking by the powers that be to bring some sort of progressive adjustment to a system that seems to lurch from one crisis to another. The appointm

M.A. Dworkin USVI - The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice (DOJ) in coordination with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) announced on January 28, 2026, the arrest and charges of four employees of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services (DHS) Medicaid Program, two employees of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and four of their family members and associates. The actions follow a comprehensive twenty-month investigation into al

M.A. Dworkin USVI - There’s an old saying: You can’t make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. delivered his eighth State of the Territory Address (SOTA) since taking over the reins of the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 2019. He certainly had high hopes in correcting all that ails us at that time, righting all the wrongs of past administrations, and leading a financially ailing Territory into the Promised Land. To a great extent, he has accompl

M.A. Dworkin U.S. - The United States is facing mounting reputational damage from global tourism markets following unusually stark criticism from the United Nations’ (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who warned recently that current enforcement practices by the Trump Administration risk being “dehumanizing, discriminatory and corrosive to basic human dignity.” Industry leaders now say that the language used by Mr. Turk is reverberating far beyond dip

M.A. Dworkin USVI - In a tense, escalating economic dispute, being described as a Charter Boat Trade War, that has now reached the U.S. White House and Congress, Governor Albert Bryan Jt. and members of the 36th Legislature of the Virgin Islands met to discuss the hot topic of the recent outrageous increase of fees imposed by the British Virgin Islands on cargo and trade entering from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Government House officials said the fees function as an unre

M.A. Dworkin Havana, Cuba - U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking regime change in Communist Cuba by the end of the year. Government insiders in Havana, Cuba are conveying the message that the Trump Administration is actively seeking to push out the Communist regime headed by President Miguel Diaz-Canal, and they are willing to make a deal to expedite his ouster. Although it is not known if Trump has a concrete plan at this point, it is becoming clear that certain poli

M.A. Dworkin U.S.A. - According to a report released on January 13, 2026, by the American Cancer Society (ACS), the five-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined in the United States has reached 70% for the first time. The milestone signifies a major improvement in cancer outcomes, as the rate was roughly 50% in the mid-1970s. Seven in ten people diagnosed with cancer are now expected to live at least five years, a figure that has increased from 49% in the

A.J. Pike USVI Airports - For all those would-be passengers who need to fly but show up at the airport without proper ID, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is offering a new way to still get you on the plane and to your destination, but it’ll cost you $45. The TSA is rolling out its new ConfirmID program starting February 1, 2026, allowing passengers without a REAL ID, passport or other acceptable identification to attempt to proceed through security for

A.J. Pike St. Croix - On Thursday, January 8, 2026, at approximately 4:28 pm, the 911 Emergency Call Center received several calls of a female who was suspected to be bitten by a shark at Dorsch Beach. Marine units as well as Fire and Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to the scene. Fire confirmed that the female lost an arm during the attack. It was first reported that there might be another victim but St. Croix Rescue made a search of the perimeter o

M.A. Dworkin Caribbean - President Donald Trump has never been a man to think in small terms. It’s not as if he is looking at world conquest, but more to make the United States the dominant force in our own hemisphere. Chase out the Russians. Scare the heck out of the Chinese, take over Venezuela, Columbia, Cuba, and bully or take over any other country that does not see his personal view on how the Western World is supposed to behave. President Trump gave several expl

M.A. Dworkin USVI - On December 29, 2025, V.I. Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea announced the filing of a lawsuit by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice (VIDOJ) against Meta Platforms, Inc. and the company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries - including Instagram, LLC and Facebook Holdings, LLC - to protect the well-being and safety of the tens of thousands of U.S. Virgin Islands teens and children who use Facebook and Instagram. In addition, VIDOJ’s complaint marks the fir