The Coconut Telegraph

Nothing flies quicker than the STX Coconut Telegraph. Moments after you hear prominent voices whispering, the rumor mill strikes hot. It hits the texts and mobile air waves with the buzz of authenticity. Everyone wants to know the big scoop. And it all sounds so real: Did you hear what so and so said? Can it actually be true about what they’re up to now? But we all know talk is cheap. Or is it? It’s human nature to want to know who’s got the low-down on the inside dope? Who knows what the real skinny is? And yet, as rumor has it…

Too, too, too much corruption. Too, too, too much garbage hitting the fan! Word is a lot more is coming down the pike. Hold your nose!

2026 Gubernatorial Race Political rumors: Tregenza is hooking up with Sen. Francis...Stacey loses Potter as running mate...Donna Frett searching for Crucian running mate...Jed JohnHope starting to make his move. And they are almost off! November is not that far away!

Is the insider news true that Little Caesar, the ultra popular pizza franchise, is planning on finally re-opening in a nifty space in the small shopping center across from The Market STX on the West Side off the Old Highway (Queen Mary)? Wouldn't that be grand to cure all the quick pizza fixes on the island. Stay tuned for a confirmation... Ah, well, talk still seems to be cheap! No one in that plaza seems to know a ting.' And so far, still no Little Caesar.

Is there any truth to the talk coming out of certain USVI political circles that there are one or two more federal indictments waiting to be pinned on corrupt USVI government heads? How much more ugly can things get?

Perhaps things can get a lot more ugly: As the Feds are beginning to turn their million-page Epstein file attentions to the USVI where so much of the convicted sex peddler of minors/pervert to end all pervert's, disgustingly dirty activities took place. Subpoenas/strongly worded letters are already making their way to the AGs desk. Word is already around the web that redacted material is not that hard to decipher. So what lurks in the darkness behind the Little Saint James doors? Whose head will be on the chopping block next, after docs show Delegate Plaskett was caught red-handed conversing with Epstein at a Committee hearing? Do we really think the Feds are going to buy that no one knew anything? That Epstein's jet flew in and out of the USVI unloading underage girls and no one saw or knew a thing? Catch this: When a political witch hunt is in progress, no one is safe!

Is the future of JFL at a Crossroads? Does the negative chatter by Doctors and employees about the hospitals' ability to pay its bills, perform certain lifesaving services, and ultimately keep the doors open have any real factual basis? Will the USVI Government be able to figure out a solution before more critical professionals head back to the Mainland? We can only hope for the best.  

Is it really down to a photo finish that a deal is on the table ready to be signed by a new promoter to bring horse racing and a Racino with a world-class track back to STX. Place your bets! Place your bets! The mutuel window is about to close.

What extremely popular mid-island Restaurant that is known for its Puerto Rican, Dominican & Crucian cuisines is moving across the road to spiffy new digs in the near future? Could its name have something to do with the golden orb that rises over the east side of the island everyday?

Will Amazon's New DR Hub bring even more problems to STX retailers? Will faster deliveries and cheaper prices cause an even speedier exodus from "Buying Local

WHAT POPULAR PBS station that just lost their Fed funding thinks it's appropriate to pry into retail shops rental agreements and decide to publicize their non-payment of rent? They did it to Senator Carrion in the last week's of his campaign; with Pueblo in recent months; and now with the great retail institution Baci. How inappropriate and uncool is that for a public broadcasting station? They're supposed to report the news objectively and perform a public service, not spend their airtime looking into everyone's dirty laundry. They have been taking sides for years on a national level. Not hard to understand why Trump pulled the plug after their incredible favoritism reporting on the Dems in the last two Presidential elections.

IS THE BIG PUSH by the PR to plant U.S. military bases on its island a sounding call for the USVI to go after the same? The Guv seems to not have any problems with such a friendly invasion.

WHAT LOCAL BUSINESS has the ability to take over the STX Kmart spaces now they have both closed. Only a few could have the need for such large square footage. And does the history of the difficulties of national chains planting roots in USVI weigh heavily on those spaces? Despite the Gov's recent talk about trying to lure Big Box Chains, isn't the reality they will most likely be kept empty for years to come? Ans even if they could be divided up, with the current dismally slow economic scene, the future for them, unfortunately, looks bleak.

WHAT COMPANY is putting in a cement plant on the Rum Road grounds next to Cruzan Rum? At least it's not near any residential or commercial developments. Could it be Benton?

WHAT PROMINENT VI POL who spends a good deal of time in the Nation's Capital has their sights set on the VI Gov Mansion in 2026? But can their recent scandalous troubles knock them for a political loop?

IS IT TRUE that a couple of F35 Fighter Jet Sub Hunters, that recently buzzed low over the Big Island, have something to do with the Fly Boys hunting for Chinese and Russian Nuclear submarines prowling up north of the USVI; just about the same time Russian warships were pulling into Cuban harbors?

CAN IT BE that one dominant hotel player on the West End of STX, while planning on expanding their fabulous facilities, is strongly entertaining the notion of rolling the dice and adding casino style slot machines to the old hospital building not far from their swanky property?

IS THE BACK ROOM conjecturing correct that a certain beloved long-time Senator lost his re-election bid due in part to the careless, nosy reporting of an online media source that broke a highly derogatory story about his personal business dealings, days before the election, without double-checking the facts and hearing both sides? And is the muffled down n’ dirty talk finding new evidence in the suspicion that this media source, who purports to be fair and objective, had its own electoral agenda?   

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that a newly-built, cool-looking West Side Mega Mall, across from shuttered Kmart,  scheduled to open a year ago, is growing weeds taller than its yellow brick buildings and may very well be turning into a White Elephant, struggling to stay afloat, even before the doors of a bank, a hardware store and a number of shops and businesses have opened?    

CAN IT RISE AGAIN as the Big Island has long been awash in rumors, is it possible the long shuttered STX Refinery is gaining a great deal of momentum on a restart now that Trump has taken office? Will the iron fist of “The Donald” soften the EPA’s hard line game they have been playing over the past four Biden “fossil fuels be damned” years, and direct a new EPA governing team to ease up on the restrictive regs that have kept the Refinery from opening? If so, is a new economic boom on St. Croix just around the corner?

IS IT ANY SURPRISE that recent published reports of a VI daily newspaper, currently grappling to become a nonprofit, and is raising their street price to $2, has been unable to pay their rent for years and is in jeopardy of being thrown out of their STT digs? Can it leave readers with no other frightening conclusion than this publication must be on shaky financial ground like dozens of other print publications who are challenged by the onslaught of the internet? And after the strange and unapologetic sudden shutdown of another long standing VI daily, can it possibly spell the end of daily print reporting in the USVI forever?  But the real question is: Does anybody really care?