The Public Works Department advises the motoring public of the rescheduled road closure starting Wednesday between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a segment of Dronningens Gade W on Main Street on St. Thomas.
Motorists driving on Dronningens Gade W will be allowed to turn left on Store Traer Gade on Main Street. Please adhere to the onsite flagger and posted directives while work is in progress.
Jeanne Josée Ani Deckert was conceived in Santiago, Chile, born in France on June 9, 1928, and died on June 28, 2024, on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. She is survived by her godchild, Olivia Bouchon-Duquenois, and her spouse, Rosary E. Harper.
Her childhood was shaped in part by World War II when she and her mother left Paris during the occupation for the South of France to Juan-les-Pins.
Josée earned a degree from L’École Nationale Des Arts Décoratifs de Paris in sculpture and soon was hired at the Musée de L’Homme to make molds and replicas of priceless ancient artifacts.
Later, she taught French to young villagers in Burkina Faso for two years, and for six years taught photography and ceramics for the US Army in camps throughout France.
She continued teaching photography and ceramics in a private atelier in Paris until she moved to St. Thomas in 1970, where she taught French to Peace Corp volunteers and, in time, taught art at Sts. Peter and Paul and Antilles schools.
The theater faculty of UVI bestowed upon her the title “Artist in Residence” for all the invaluable contributions she made to the theatre program. Her skillful painting of scenery made the settings come alive. She designed approximately forty posters for performances staged during 1970-2005, some of which still hang in the entranceway to UVI’s Little Theatre.
Josée’s works can be found in private collections in the Caribbean and the US. She exhibited locally at the Reichhold Center for the Arts, Fort Christian, CARIFESTA, and the First Biennale of Central America.
Josée was very pleased to become a naturalized American citizen; she loved the open attitude of Americans. She was a material girl with an affinity for the physical world. She understood the winds over the Mediterranean and the salt ponds on the East End of St. Thomas. She had a special relationship with her large, flourishing avocado tree grown from a seed.
She was also an intellectual, read endlessly, and loved to argue avidly about politics, religion and current events. She had boundless curiosity, often exploring aspects of history, grammar and culture that piqued her interest.
Her artwork is distinctive and recognizable for its unique treatment of Caribbean light, air and water, her main sources of inspiration. A local farmer dubbed her “The Skyscraper” for her frequent and vivid depictions of the Caribbean skies.
Josée’s wishes during those war years were to one day live on an island, to eat chicken whenever she liked and to watch movies. She had the good fortune to fulfill those wishes for 58 years with her companion and great love, Rosary (Lapin).
Marceline E. Steele of Estate La Grande Princesse transitioned into eternal peace on August 4, 2024. She was 93 years old.
She is survived by her Daughter: Patricia D. Steele; Grandson: Mario A. Thomas; Adopted Grandchildren: Vicent Richards, Iona Henry, Escolastico Reyes, and Ruby Mathurin; Nieces: Kimberly Johnson, Natasha Jackson, and Shirley Roker; Great Nephews: Shawn Jackson, Andre Jackson, Amare Johnson, and Aiden Johnson; Special Cousins: Edna Mae Belardo, Lenore Finch, Lisa Rose Bough, Claire Roker, Magda Finch and Jose Villafane; Special Godchildren: Hon. Kenneth L. Gittens, Kristen Hodge, and John Canegata; Special Friends: Julie Hansen-Hodge and Family, Shirley Christian, Josephine Hector, Ulmont James, Jr., Getive Vidal and Family, the Schjang Family, the Galiber Family, Virginia Guirty and Family, Bonda Cunningham, Matthieu Javois, George Coleman, Roger Adams, Allan Petersen, Linda Valerino and David Wills, Dr. Michelle Berkeley, Monique Hodge, Gloria Joseph, Juanita Matthew, Joseph and Rachel Graham, Christian Vivican, Berneice O’Reilly, Reuben Fenton, Wilma Rodney, Christine Greenidge, and Lillian Jacobs; Other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.
The funeral service will be held on Monday, August 12, 2024, at Holy Cross Catholic Church service at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Kingshill Cemetery.
David Whitaker has filed a motion to dismiss the V.I. government’s lawsuit alleging his cybersecurity company, Mon Ethos Pro Support, breached its contract with the VIPD and is holding sensitive equipment and data hostage over payment by the police department of $479,795.
The Justice Department filed its complaint on Friday in V.I. Superior Court along with a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunction. It alleges that Mon Ethos is refusing to return equipment it was loaned under its contract with the VIPD, which is due to expire on Sept. 30, including a GrayKey — an item that lets police hack into mobile devices and retrieve encrypted information.
Judge Carol Thomas-Jacobs issued an order on Tuesday for the government to produce the contract between Mon Ethos and the V.I. Police Department, which it failed to include with its exhibits filed on Friday.
“Although the Government refers extensively in its complaint and motion to the contract between the Government and Mon Ethos, it did not attach a copy of the contract as an exhibit to its motion. The Court has to ensure that it has the core documents and reliable evidence before exercising its discretion whether to grant or not grant a temporary restraining order,” Thomas-Jacobs wrote.
Whitaker did include the contract as an exhibit in his motion to dismiss, alleging it wasn’t among the government’s exhibits because “the text of the agreement itself indicates that the Plaintiff’s claims regarding the alleged breaches by the Defendants are void as a matter of law.”
In short, Whitaker said he has not violated the contract because any equipment loaned to him for his work with the VIPD for investigative support services, data discovery and forensic analysis doesn’t have to be returned until the contract expires on Sept. 30. There’s also no allegation that Mon Ethos has failed to perform the work, he said.
“The Complaint does not allege that the Contract has been terminated, and therefore any of the information and forensics performed by MEPSVI continues to [be] the property of MEPSVI and not the Plaintiff,” Whitaker’s motion states.
According to the government’s complaint, that property includes iPads, Facebook portals, iPhones, Max West Nitro tablets, Qlink Wireless tablets, laptops, Motorola cellphones, Android Moto G phones with cases, and the GrayKey that is used to extract encrypted data from mobile devices. According to the court filings, the VIPD began asking for its return in late June after the FBI announced that Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal were the targets of a federal investigation regarding the contract with Mon Ethos. Within days, both officials had resigned.
Moreover, Whitaker denies the government allegation that he threatened to destroy sensitive information critical to serious court cases.
“Even if the Contract imposed a duty upon MEPSVI to safeguard data or property for the Plaintiff (it does not), there is no allegation that MEPSVI has failed to safeguard data or property. The Complaint only alleges that the Defendants ‘utilized the threat’ of data deletion in a financial dispute. It does not allege that any data has been deleted, or that any property has been destroyed,” the motion states.
Further, it was the VIPD itself that “predicated the return of the property on the payment of invoices, not MEPSVI,” it says.
“The Complaint does not allege that there is any ambiguity regarding the Contract between the parties,” according to Whitaker, who hinted that more filings will be coming.
“Furthermore, the Defendant has not (yet) filed any claim with respect to any unpaid invoices. If and when such claim is filed, there will be a justiciable controversy regarding such payments, and this Court will adjudicate such controversy.”
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals excoriated the territory’s courts for “enduring judicial inertia” in a ruling Monday over an inmate’s petition that has languished for 10 years. The opinion comes just days after the V.I. Supreme Court struck down a Virgin Islands statute mandating speedy trials for elderly litigants, saying it is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers doctrine.
The Third Circuit case concerns Jamal Morton. Convicted of second-degree murder and firearms offenses in 2012 in V.I. Superior Court and sentenced to 50 years, he has waited 10 years for the court to respond to the merits of his habeas petition — essentially a review of the validity of his convictions.
The V.I. Supreme Court case concerns Vincent Liger of St. Croix who is suing Limetree Bay Terminals for alleged contamination of his property from a refinery flaring incident that spewed pollutants into the atmosphere. He filed suit in August 2022 and in June 2023 Superior Court Judge Jomo Meade granted his motion for trial preference for those over age 70 under the statute passed by the V.I. Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. in the summer of 2021.
Limetree Bay appealed the decision, arguing that the statute violates the separation of powers principles of the Revised Organic Act of 1954 — the territory’s de facto constitution — and the Equal Protection Clause in the Virgin Islands Bill of Rights. The V.I. Justice Department supported the appeal in an amicus curiae brief. The case was argued on May 14 before Chief Justice Rhys S. Hodge and Associate Justices Ive Arlington Swan and Harold W.L. Willocks.
Specifically, Limetree argued that the statutory mandate that a trial must occur within 180 days infringed on the authority of the individual judges of the Superior Court to manage their docket and that of the judicial branch to establish the rules of practice and procedure to govern proceedings. It also claimed the preference statute violates equal protection guarantees by automatically providing this right to every litigant who is over 70, without regard to any factor besides age.
On Friday, the court found for Limetree in an opinion penned by Hodge that among other issues dissected the difference between a procedural rule versus a substantive right, finding that the statute is procedural, and thus out of the realm of the legislative branch.
The extensive legislative history cited by the parties in the case “reflects that the Legislature did not intend to enact the mandatory preference statute to create a substantive right, but to control the internal affairs of the Judicial Branch. Senator Kurt A. Vialet stated that ‘cases are not flowing through the system the way that they should’ and that ‘it is our job to pass [the Act] and send a message that this body is not pleased with what is presently taking place,’” Hodge wrote.
One of the bill’s co-sponsors, then Sen. Janelle K. Sarauw, “emphasized the large backlog of cases in the Superior Court as a reason to enact the legislation. Senator Milton E. Potter even openly acknowledged the procedural nature of the statute, stating that ‘the judiciary has the ultimate say as to how it chooses to manage its docket, but if nothing else, this bill will send a message that the Legislative branch is concerned [that] the docket is not moving as swiftly as it should,’” the opinion states.
Court rules are replete with provisions that provide certain protections for specific groups, such as the children or the disabled, and yet are nevertheless clearly procedural, said Hodge — they simply vindicate a substantive right codified elsewhere, such as the right to a jury trial.
“Because the mandatory preference statute does not create a new right, but simply governs the implementation of existing rights, the Superior Court erred when it characterized it as substantive rather than procedural” in the Liger case, Hodge wrote.
Additionally, while the Revised Organic Act authorizes both the Legislature and the judicial branch to establish rules of procedure, the Senate infringes on the courts’ authority when it establishes procedures that conflict with those established by the judiciary, “or that otherwise impermissibly interfere with the internal operations of the court system or the authority of individual judicial officers to perform their official acts,” Hodge said in declaring the statute void and reversing Meade’s order for a speedy trial.
There will always be overlap in the division of powers, he said. For instance, “this Court has not only upheld, but repeatedly enforced via writ of mandamus, the statutory directive that the Superior Court rule on a habeas corpus petition ‘without delay,’” he wrote.
That’s in stark contrast to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals precedential opinion issued on Monday, which remanded Morton’s case back to the District Court with a sharp rebuke over the tardiness of the Virgin Islands’ court system in addressing his habeas corpus petition that raised 20 claims, including for violations of his Fifth Amendment right against double jeopardy and his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.
“In the normal course, federal courts do not entertain habeas petitions before a prisoner exhausts his state court remedies. But there comes a point when justice delayed becomes justice denied,” according to the Third Circuit opinion written by Judge Cheryl Ann Krause that details Morton’s herculean efforts to get his petition heard in both the Superior and District courts. Oral arguments were heard on Dec. 13 before Krause and Judges Thomas M. Hardiman and Marjorie O. Rendell.
“Morton has waited ten years for a court to reach the merits of his habeas petition. Such a delay erodes confidence in the judiciary and its ability to dispense justice, and it is unacceptable absent a compelling reason. We will therefore vacate the District Court’s judgment and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion,” Krause wrote.
The inordinate delay was severe, even considering the disruptions caused by the 2017 hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, Krause said in her 14-page opinion.
“By the time Morton sought federal relief in April 2020, almost six years had elapsed since he first filed in territorial court, and the Superior Court had done nothing but hold a status conference three years earlier. As for progress in the territorial court, over four years have elapsed since Morton filed his federal petition, and seven since the Superior Court last acted, with no indication that proceedings will resume anytime soon. Taken together, these two factors — extreme delay and lack of progress — strongly support a determination of inordinate delay,” the judge wrote.
Morton satisfied his obligation to demonstrate inordinate delay, so the District Court should have required the Virgin Islands to justify his years-long wait, rather than dismissing it sua sponte, meaning of the judge’s own accord, without prompting, said Krause.
“We will vacate and remand to give the Government that opportunity,” she wrote.
The Virgin Islands District Court was right to order companies affiliated with the St. Croix oil refinery to distribute water to people whose cisterns had been soiled by showers of petroleum, the United State’s second-highest court ruled Monday.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals judges upheld the District Court’s May 2023 ruling that Limetree Bay Terminals and associated companies were required to buy water for some St. Croix residents whose cisterns and properties were contaminated by the refinery’s 2021 toxic flares.
Limetree Bay Terminals, now known as Ocean Point Terminals, appealed the ruling, arguing that giving water to people whose homes were coated with oil four times from February to May 2021 was too much of a financial burden. They also said definitive proof was lacking that the oil spray caused harm. They also said now that the company no longer owns the refinery and has changed its name, distributing water would harm Ocean Point’s reputation. In another name twist, Ocean Point argued it was not liable for the oil damage as its predecessor, Limetree Bay Terminals, had sold its refining interests to sister-company Limetree Bay Refining while retaining the terminal operations.
Judge Lewis denied the refiners’ appeal, saying the two companies were both liable. Terminals had never amended its operating permit to specifically list which company was refining, and thus beholden to federal environmental regulations. They were co-permittees.
Dallas, TX-based attorney Daniel Charest argued on behalf of those with soiled cisterns.
“After a St. Croix oil refinery got fined millions of dollars for polluting the environment, it closed for about a decade. During that time, Terminals bought and then sold the refinery to its sister company, Refining. Terminals kept doing maintenance and repair work on the refinery and held onto its operating permit. In early 2021, the refinery reopened. Only three days later, it released “a mist with heavy oil in it” that settled on nearby properties,” Charest argued. “A few months later, it again spewed a heavy-oil mist and spat out flames dozens of feet high. The EPA ordered Terminals and Refining to stop running the refinery, so they did. Yet the damage was done.”
Many people in the Virgin Islands lack regular access to municipal drinking water, making cistern reliance a vital necessity. Oil like the kind sprayed on these people’s properties would not biodegrade like other substances, meaning if it was there in 2021, it was there still. The court agreed the oil was a health risk and ordered the companies to buy bottled water for those without reasonable means to buy their own.
The lower court did, however, require people hoping to receive the water to collectively put up a $50,000 bond, plus $50 per household. These sorts of bonds guard against frivolous suits and also serve to potentially repay Limetree should another court ultimately rule that bottled water was not needed.
Although the lower court considered waiving the bond altogether, Limetree unsuccessfully argued the bond was too low.
After the oil sprays, the Environmental Protection Agency shut down the refinery in May 2021 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two months later. It was sold to Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation at auction in December 2021.
The EPA oversaw removal of highly toxic materials stored at the refinery in sub-optimal conditions over the summer of 2023.
Established in 2002, the Adams-Mahepath Scholarship has awarded over $500,000 to 250 deserving students, supporting the educational dreams of Virgin Islands youth. Joel Mahepath reflected Tuesday on the program’s impact, highlighting the joy of celebrating families and witnessing scholarship recipients return to contribute to their communities. “What I love most about this program is being able to celebrate families,” he shared. “Seeing these recipients come back and give back to our community is incredibly rewarding.”
This year’s scholarship recipients were chosen based on their GPA, SAT scores, and community involvement. Their impressive contributions include restoring the butterfly garden at St. George’s Botanical Garden and creating a storytelling project spotlighting local stories after hurricanes Irma and Maria, among others.
During the Zoom simulcast ceremony from Sterling Optical offices in both districts, Lisa Adams-Mahepath encouraged the students to strive for excellence. “We look forward to hearing from you after your first semester – and hearing that you’ve gotten all A’s,” she said with a smile. Her words were met with enthusiastic nods and hopeful expressions from the students and their proud families.
Joel Mahepath left the students with a motivational message, emphasizing “focus” and “purpose” as keys to achieving their goals. ”
The 2024 Adams-Mahepath Scholarship recipients are:
The scholarship program, part of the broader community-focused vision of Sterling Optical, which expanded to St. Thomas in 1999, is meant to uplift students, according to the Mahepaths, proving the lasting value of investing in education and community growth.
The Virgin Islands Cannabis Advisory Board approved a draft fee schedule at its Tuesday meeting that isn’t for the faint of heart. Hobbyists may think twice about ponying up $1,000 to be a micro-cultivator, while those hoping to open a cannabis dispensary will need to build $25,000 into their budget — $10,000 to apply for the license and another $15,000 once granted.
A permit for an adult-use lounge would be $1,500.
Joanne Moorehead, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Regulations, said a full list of the fee schedule would be posted on the office’s webpage by Wednesday. It includes $1,500 for a research and development license, $5,000 for a cannabis manufacturing license, and between $2,500 and $10,000 for a license to cultivate cannabis — depending on the number of plants.
Board member Positive Nelson worried high prices might deter those already in the territory’s cannabis industry from leaving the illicit market and joining legal growing and sales efforts.
“Legalization shouldn’t be so cumbersome and, you know, complicated that it drives people today in the illicit market,” Nelson said. “Whether it’s for personal consumption or from the cultivation end, we want them to participate. In discourse and as things go along, I’m sure we’ll be making some adjustments.”
Nelson suggested one adjustment before the meeting ended. The board voted to reduce identification cards for sacramental cannabis users from $75 to $50.
“I could just cry,” said a smiling Nelson. “We know the truth about this cannabis. The world has made it seem like only Rasta people was using cannabis until legalization happened. All of a sudden we realize everybody and their mom be.”
The board also unveiled a draft prescription form for cannabis medical practitioners. It included recommended product type, dosage, and other information.
In July, Moorehead said she hoped cannabis regulators would be accepting applications from would-be cannabis-selling businesses by September. The office had been working closely with the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department, she said, to assess what still needed to be done and what had for sure been completed. Currently, the office offers cannabis licenses for adult caregivers, sacramental organizations and individual sacramental users, medical patients and medical practitioners.
At a July meeting, the board passed a fee schedule for medical practitioners to pay $250 and patients to pay $50. Designated caregivers would pay $35 plus $20 per additional patient; at-home plant cultivators for sacramental use would pay $100.
After decades of stalled initiatives, the territory legalized cannabis in January 2023.
The board approved draft regulations in April, and a month later, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. also signed off on them.
The Pelican Post is now open, offering an array of business and communication services for St. John residents and visitors in a well-known spot only a block from the ferry dock in Cruz Bay.
Owners Crystal George and Krista Kremer opened the doors on Aug. 1, the day the tropical wave that became Hurricane Debby passed over the Virgin Islands.
They are now planning a more festive grand opening for the public on Thursday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. with a pop-up art show curated by Aubrey “A.C.” Burgess.
The Pelican Post is located in the pink and purple Moorehead Building that was the home of Connections for nearly 40 years until it closed last April.
George and Kremer have spent the last two months purchasing new equipment, setting up systems, hiring new employees, and remodeling the space for multiple uses.
The Pelican Post now offers phone, mail, and internet services; equipment for laminating,
scanning and faxing; concierge services, including bookings for boat trips, restaurants, and car rentals; business services, including bookkeeping, tax preparation, payroll processing, business license renewals, and LLC formation.
The scope of their work remains flexible. On Monday, someone called and asked them to pick up brownies from the North Shore Deli and mail them to the States to fulfill a particularly sweet family tradition.
Kremer and George have been friends for more than 15 years. Both women were raised on St. John and attended All Saints Cathedral School on St. Thomas, but with a five-year age difference between them, they missed out on being friends as youngsters.
They decided to become business partners three years ago in order to sell food and drinks at events, forming Sandy Cheeks LLC, which is now the parent company for Pelican Post.
Kremer had considered buying Connections when it was put up for sale in 2020, but the timing wasn’t right. Then, this past spring, when George learned that Connections was closing for good, the two of them decided to take their business partnership to the next level.
Launching a new business has been a challenge, especially as both women already have busy lives with robust careers and young families. Kremer has been a massage therapist on St. John for 16 years. George, who now serves as the financial administrator for the Cinnamon Bay Resort Campground, has worked in accounting and business management since earning her B.A. at UVI.
On Monday, Kremer and one other employee – Freda Abramson – were handling matters as customers came in, but two more employees are set to come on board soon.
And although, as of Monday, the bulletin board had only one notice – a listing for a roommate – Kremer and George are looking forward to filling the board and the newly remodeled space in the coming weeks.
They want to make the space available to rent after hours for meetings and events and host family-oriented activities, like story hour for children. They plan to put in tables and chairs and sell local products, particularly those made on St. John.
The paperwork is nearly done that will allow George and Kremer to process money transfers through Western Union, and they’re now providing notary services by request.
Residents who lost their mail service when Connections closed can get a personal mailbox at Pelican Post with an updated service that will notify them when they have a package.
Computer Express and Sing St. John still have their offices within the Pelican Post, and people in transit can still stash their luggage for a few hours while they shop, eat, or take a swim.
The Pelican Post is now open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Starting in September, they will be open on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m..
For further information, call 340-693-4535. Email thepelicanpostvi@gmail.com or check their website, www.thepelicanpostvi.com.
On Monday, visitors and residents on Tortola were bright and lively as they flocked to the streets, all wanting a share of a festive parade day. Although the parade started late, the atmosphere was electric. Colorful banners and decorative works set buildings sideways, filling the air.
The soca music burst from huge speakers set up down the route as the dancers took center stage, leaving the audience in awe with their energetic moves. A riot of color and flowy dresses, the costumes shone brightly under the sun to capture the free spirit.
It wasn’t until deep into the evening that the moko jumbies took to the streets, and suddenly, their towering figures drew all eyes. This was what everybody had been waiting for when one could finally say without any doubt that the party had really started. In vibrant local garb, their colorful costumes were adorned with intricate patterns and symbols representing this proud, storied tradition.
The moko jumbies, the protector spirits of the Virgin Islands, moved with infused grace and agility that would not be stopped even with such towering stilts. Riding out a mesmerizing blend of dance, acrobatics, and storytelling, the crowd cheered.
The Grenadians grooved into that colorful sound of ringing cowbells, drums, and horns; their presence was felt everywhere. From children to adults, out in the streets, dancing would be underway to their merry, haunting rhythm of carnival spirits. They brought life into the streets of St. George’s with rich, pulsating beats to get people moving their dancing feet around.
These feathers mesmerized all eyes, sparkling profoundly with kaleidoscope colors and electric dancing that stiffens a statement hard to forget. Each feather was a work of art, swaying rhythmically to the movements of the dancers who wore them proudly. The streets revived not only Tortola but also erupted in color and energy as each feather captured light and reflected celebration with pure joy.
Vibe’s truck, with its fifty-thousand-watt speakers boomin’ waves of music like liquid, seemed to animate the very air as it moved down the road. The infectious rhythm of cowbells, drums, and horns fused with the exuberant spirit of carnival and made everyone take part in the revelry. The sun had already set, but the Tortola float seemed to shine a little brighter as it approached the judges’ stand.
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