Janeka Simon

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Inadequate staffing levels and obsolete facilities are the predominant barriers preventing the Bureau of Corrections from making timely progress in complying with the terms of a 36-year-old consent decree surrounding the operations of the John. A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility, formerly named the Golden Grove Prison.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Andrew Fahie, while no longer the premier of the British Virgin Islands, is still the duly elected representative for District 1 and is being paid accordingly. That's according to Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley, who confirmed the information in a press conference on Friday after a follow-up question from a local reporter.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — After avoiding calls from Consortium journalists and ignoring our messages for over a month, embattled Senator Steven Payne on Friday in a flurry of communication issued not one, but two public statements addressing the three women who have all accused him of inappropriate, harassing, and abusive behavior. The second statement, which was, for some reason written in the third person even though it was published on the senator’s official letterhead, suggested that people had been attempting to coerce or bribe others to “besmirch his name”.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — After over a month of silence, Senator Steven Payne has issued a statement calling the Consortium's reporting on the allegations of sexual harassment and assault against him inaccurate, slanderous, and defamatory. The statement attempts to rebut the claims made by Mr. Payne's three accusers.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Update: About an hour after the Democratic Party issued its statement calling on Sen. Steven Payne to step down, the New Horizon Women's Democratic Club added its voice in support. A statement issued on Thursday afternoon by the club says that while the organization supports and believes in due process, they nevertheless urge the senator to vacate his position in the 34th Legislature while he addresses the allegations against him.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Over the weekend, a young woman reached out to Consortium journalists, telling us that having seen our reporting on the sexual harassment allegations against Senator Steven Payne , she too was ready to tell her story of abuse against her perpetrated, she said, by Senator Payne.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Andrew Fahie will be able to bond out of the federal detention facility in Miami where he has been held since his arrest in late April on drug and money laundering charges.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — While the former premier of the British Virgin Islands Andrew Fahie fights to be granted the ability to bond out of the federal detention facility in Miami where he is being held on drug and money laundering charges, one of his co-defendants says she will not seek to be released at this time.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — The extreme flight risk Andrew Fahie represents exists only in the fevered imaginings of U.S. prosecutors, said defense attorney Theresa Van Vliet as she sought to build her case detailing why her client's freedom on bond is something the court should allow.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — The chair of the British Virgin Islands Port Authority is set to resign from his post, BVI Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley has announced. Additionally, all board members will be replaced. Mr. Wheatley indicated on Wednesday that he had been communicating with Kelvin Hodge, who indicated that he would be submitting his resignation.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Local firm Island Analytics has begun its polling work for the upcoming 2022 USVI election cycle, and the first set of results are now in. IAM LLC surveyed more than 400 Virgin Islanders to find out their views on potential gubernatorial candidates that are expected to contest the November elections.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — The BVI House of Assembly is currently debating a motion of no confidence in the Andrew Fahie government.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Developments in the BVI have been occurring at breakneck speed, ever since last week's arrest of Premier Andrew Fahie prompted Governor John Rankin to release the report of the Commission of Inquiry a month early.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — One day after UK Overseas Minister Amanda Milling arrived in the British Virgin Islands on Sunday to discuss which recommendations outlined in the Commission of Inquiry report should be implemented, protests erupted, with hundreds gathering outside the official residence of Governor John Rankin in Tortola on Monday to signal their opposition to the imposition of direct rule by the UK for two years - perhaps the most consequential of Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom's recommendations.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — One day after UK Overseas Minister Amanda Milling arrived in the British Virgin Islands on Sunday to discuss which recommendations outlined in the Commission of Inquiry report should be implemented, protests erupted, with hundreds gathering outside the official residence of Governor John Rankin in Tortola on Monday to signal their opposition to the imposition of direct rule by the UK for two years - perhaps the most consequential of Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom's recommendations.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — BVI Premier Andrew Fahie has demanded his release on the basis of diplomatic immunity, a principle of international law that provides foreign diplomats with a degree of protection from criminal or civil prosecution under the laws of the countries hosting them. Fahie was arrested on Thursday in Miami on charges related to conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — The system is broken, and elected officials in the current and previous administrations like it that way. That's the picture Commissioner Gary Hickinbottom paints in his 940+ page report that British Virgin Islands Governor John Rankin released to the public on Friday.

The Virgin Islands Consortium — Hours after his arrest, the criminal complaint against Andrew Fahie, premier of the British Virgin Islands began to make the rounds. The 19-page document, filed in U.S. federal court in the Southern District of Florida, lays out the case against Fahie and his co-accused, Oleanvine Maynard, managing director of BVI's Port Authority and her son Kadeem Maynard.

Virgin Islands Consortium — The Prime Minister of Dominica cajoles his citizens to have more children, saying that the country is severely underpopulated.

St Lucia Star — Explaining to the neurotypical the black hole of despair that sometimes makes a depressive feel like there's only one way out.