Op-ed

In Part 2 of this exploration of forest development within the Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park on St. Croix, bush professor Olasee Davis touches on the indigenous people’s influence on the terrestrial environment in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, specifically on the island of St. Croix.

We respectfully call upon territorial and federal leaders to urgently address these funding deficiencies, release overdue government allotments, and develop long-term solutions to support uncompensated care and the increasing healthcare demands facing our institution.

In his biweekly column, Langley Shazor speaks to issues important to men within the territory.

The Virgin Islands Board of Education issues this statement not as routine communication, but as a moral response to a wound still open in our community. A young life was lost a couple of weeks ago as a result of violence in our Territory, and the weight of that loss has not faded with time. We are not only mourning a life lost. We are confronting what is being lost every time violence is chosen.

It is important to know the geological history that helps to explain present tree distribution in the Virgin islands and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico and the adjacent islands began as submarine volcanoes on the ocean floor, according to geologists, some 125 million years ago and were built by the end of the Cretaceous period, which was about 80 million years ago.

Around a domino table, Virgin Islanders confront a difficult question: Who is willing to come home, and who is truly qualified to lead the territory forward? Carmelo Rivera and Trina Soto-Clarke argue it's time to demand more from those seeking the governor's office.

Every time another young life is lost to violence in the Virgin Islands, we ask the same questions. What is wrong with our children? Where are the parents? Why are our young people becoming so violent? Perhaps it is time we ask a different question. What if our children are simply becoming more like us?

In his biweekly column, Langley Shazor speaks to issues important to men within the territory.

Though the stadium erupted as the Knicks and their fans celebrated, and the owners quickly acted to protect their money, beneath this excitement lies a crucial lesson: society often celebrates collective action in entertainment but fails to apply a similar level of engagement and responsibility to democratic life.

Through more than 29 books, Richard A. Schrader Sr. dedicated his life to preserving the stories, traditions, language, and history of the Virgin Islands. In this tribute, Geron A. W. Richards reflects on the cultural giant who inspired generations of Virgin Islanders and whose legacy continues to nourish the community long after his passing.

The death of 15-year-old Tre’Vante Etienne has left a family grieving and a community searching for answers. Former Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory writes that the Virgin Islands must respond with more than mourning—it must respond with action.

The story of American freedom is often told through 1776, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Juneteenth. But nearly two decades before emancipation reached the mainland, more than 9,000 enslaved laborers on St. Croix forced their own liberation at Fort Frederik.

All expenses of the baobab tree project in Grove Place were paid for by the Virgin Islands Trail Alliance organization, to install the benches, signage, and painting of poles along the road near the tree. However, my heart was broken when I learned that the property owner, Ms. Magdalene Edney, passed away. She never got a chance to see the baobab tree project completed. The signage and benches under the historic baobab tree in Grove Place are a tribute to her and her family.

In his biweekly column, Langley Shazor speaks to issues important to men within the territory.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has fewer than 100,000 residents spread across islands with expensive logistical realities. Everything costs more. Electricity costs more. Shipping costs more. Construction costs more. Healthcare costs more. Even governance itself costs more because duplication across islands becomes unavoidable. Meanwhile, the economy remains dangerously narrow.

I am telling the Virgin Islands public that Attorney David Bornn was a godsend to help protect Maroon Country by using his legal skills.

In his biweekly column, Langley Shazor speaks to issues important to men within the territory.

Election season is here but how effective are political parties in the USVI? Are they vetting candidates, building coherent policy platforms, and helping produce good governance — or do they need major reform?

For many of us, hurricane preparation is not just a checklist, but an emotional process. It brings back memories of long lines, hot nights without power, cold showers, damaged roofs, blocked roads, lost workdays, and the deep uncertainty that comes after a major storm. So yes, preparedness begins at home; but, in the Virgin Islands, it cannot and should not end there.

April is the month where the monstrous leatherback sea turtles come onto our shores to lay their eggs, particularly on the island of St. Croix. Like the leatherback sea turtles, one of our rarest, beautiful wildflowers in the Virgin Islands, known as Watapama or Wattapania, which loves our dry weather, comes into bloom.