🌱 Bryan's New Mission: Cut Back On Fossil Fuels + VIPD Arrests

Good morning and welcome back. Governor Bryan has a new mission: reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The Russian/Ukrainian conflict and ensuing surge in gas prices has pushed this issue to the top of his agenda. Find out what Bryan plans to do about it below.

And I think this event is worth an extra shout-out: the Dept. of Education is hosting a virtual viewing and discussion of "Fireburn the Documentary" with Executive Producer Angela Golden Bryan at 10:00 a.m.

Here are the top stories from across the territory:

• Gov. Bryan wants the territory to be less reliant on fossil fuel and on Monday he announced several new alternative energy initiatives.
  • V.I. Energy Office will install 110 charging stations for electric vehicles across the territory. The hope is that more Virgin Islanders will buy electric and hybrid vehicles. Bryan says his administration is leading the way by buying 23 old electric vehicles for official use. Full story in the VI Consortium.
  • Bryan also wants to make St. Croix 100 percent solar-powered. And he says he can do it in a just a few months. How? He's tasked the V.I. Energy Office and WAPA officials to "look for a big manufacturer like Siemens [Energy] or one of the other big ones to come in and build the whole thing for us and then sell us back the power." By "whole thing" he means a solar plant powerful enough to provide electricity to the entire 84-square mile island. He added, "I told my people think about it as we need to get the whole island energized in 90 days... That's the kind of urgency we're under here because we cannot afford for the light bills to go where they were in 2008, 2009. It crippled our economy, crippled our small businesses — we have to figure this out and we have to do it quickly." Full story in the VI Consortium.
• Public Works will start working on 34 different road projects - 17 in each district - utilizing $22 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The department says it also built an online complaint portal where residents can suggest streets that need repairs. Full story in The Daily News.
• The VIPD made multiple gun arrests over the weekend. The Source has the latest police blotter.

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Today's weather: Mostly sunny. High: 82 Low: 75.

Today's Events:

• Join the Dept. of Education at 10 a.m.for a viewing and discussion of "Fireburn the Documentary" with Executive Producer Angela Golden Bryan! Plus, enjoy a reading of "James and the Fireburn." Zoom Link
• Art Career Pathways: Graphic Design with Jean Picou at CMCArts Inc. (4:00 p.m.)
• Mom Fitness with Katrin on the lawn at Yacht Haven Grande, St. Thomas (5:00 p.m.)
• Wednesdays with Wayne at Lovongo Rum Bar in St. John (5:00 p.m.)

Social Buzz:

• The St. Croix main headquarters building on Hospital Street will be closed March 14 and 15 for scheduled repairs and cleaning. Employees will work remotely during the closure and can be reached via email. Affected offices include Office of the Insular Superintendent, Business Office, Payroll and Human Resources. Normal office hours will resume on Wednesday, March 16 (Virgin Islands Department of Education)
• VIRGIN ISLANDS FILM SERIES AT FORT FREDERIK MUSEUM: https://dpnr.vi.gov/.../Fort-Frederik-Film-Series.final_.pdf Wednesday, March 30th @ 5:30 pm “OUR ISLAND OUR HOME”, directed by Crystal Fortwangler and produced by Theodora E. Moorehead. (Department of Planning and Natural Resources)
• Chef Taj of Buddha Sushi was the 2019 King of the Wing champion! Do you have what it takes to take the crown? Get ready for 2022 KOW at Magens Bay on Saturday, June 11th! (King of the Wing)
• Join us this Friday (9am) as we tackle another access point. Due to its remoteness, many east End Beaches are subject to illegal dumping. Help us keeps these access point and our coastlines clean. Help us do some good! (Friends of St Croix East End Marine Park)
• You will never see two dolphins with the same pattern on their flukes or tail. The indentations on their flukes are similar to our finger prints….no two are the same. (Coral World Ocean Park)

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— Ashleigh Baldwin

About me: I'm the Patch Community News Editor for the U.S. Virgin Islands. I'm here to provide news you can use. Do you have a news tip, question or feedback? Please contact me at ashleigh.baldwin@patch.com.