Local News Shorts

Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake struck the northeastern Caribbean early Sunday morning, May 4, 2025, shaking buildings across multiple islands. No tsunami threat was issued. The epicenter was located 74 kilometers northwest of the BVIs. The Quake was felt to a great degree on St. Thomas where residents reported the shaking lasted less than a half-minute in certain areas.    

American Airlines will begin direct weekly Saturday only flights from Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) to St. Croix starting Dec. 6, 2025. Daily service from Chicago O’Hare to St. Thomas starts on Dec. 18, 2025.

Virgin Islands Lottery has reopened after refusing a $1 million ransom demand due to a cyberattack that crippled the system. Lottery Director Raymond Williams refused the hackers demands and took the ingenious steps of completely rebuilding the network.    

Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease (HFMD) cases have plummeted dramatically in the USVI due to the aggressive campaign by the Dept. of Health. Jan thru March totaled 270 reported cases which have fallen to just 11 cases during the latter weeks of April.

JFL Hospital identified a data security breach that disrupted its network at the end of April. The JFL team took immediate steps to mitigate any associated risks and launched a thorough investigation. They report there have been no disruptions to their clinical operations - both inpatient and outpatient 

services are fully operational.

VI Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea joined a bipartisan group of 39 other Attorney Generals across the country to urge Congress to keep in place critical funding for the Legal Services Corp (LSC) which provides legal assistance to people in rural communities, Vets and Military families, domestic violence survivors, and older adults who were victims of scams and frauds.