WTJX NEWSFEED

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: The Bureau of Corrections has pledged to secure the condemned Alva A. Swan Correctional Annex after Senator Franklin Johnson raised concerns that the abandoned facility remained accessible and contained sensitive inmate records.

Detectives are working to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the death of a four-year-old boy who died after suffering a gunshot wound on St. Croix.

Attorney General Gordon Rhea says it's too early to say whether ongoing government corruption investigations will result in criminal charges or whether those cases will involve public officials, private contractors, or both.

Three U.S. Virgin Islands beaches have been ranked among the World's 50 Best Beaches for 2026, with Trunk Bay on St. John earning the title of the world's top beach.

Listen to these stories and more.

Pictured: Alva A. Swan Correctional Annex

Source: WTJX/Richard Sturdivant

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: A routine question about a scholarship program during a budget hearing has sparked a back-and-forth between the Virgin Islands Board of Education and the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority: VIBE told lawmakers VIEDA didn’t provide a report needed to manage a territorial scholarship while VIEDA says it did provide the report, calling VIBE's comments inaccurate and unnecessary. But with a closer look, VIEDA’s story isn’t exactly lining up.

                 Senators float legislation that would create a Virgin Islands Gaming Control Commission, ahead of the governor calling a special session to discuss the much-debated revised horse racing agreement with Southland Gaming.

                 And the Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General has issued a report that details the mishandling of money in an adult mental health facility run by the Department of Health. Listen to these stories and more.

Caption: Dr. Kyza Callwood, chairman of the Virgin Islands Board of Education, left, and Celina Morris, marketing director for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority.

 

Credit: U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature / Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: As residents deal with the latest streak of water and power disruptions, Senator Ray Fonseca says he is introducing legislation that would allow the court to temporarily appoint an independent outside manager to run WAPA.

 

The Virgin Islands Supreme Court is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented change in leadership, as Chief Justice Rhys Hodge and two other justices retire from the bench this year.

 

And the Virgin Islands Track and Field team has returned home from a championship event in Mexico where it set three national records. Listen to these stories and more.

Pictured: Senator Ray Fonseca speaks during a meeting of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance on July 13, 2026.

Photo Credit:  U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: After a piece of the deteriorating bridge near the old Addelita Cancryn School on St. Thomas fell and struck a passing vehicle, officials have sent mixed signals over whether the long-unused structure should be repaired or demolished.

         Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital leadership says no layoffs have been approved or executed and that they have only begun workforce planning discussions and have not come to a final decision, after reports of a Workforce Reduction Plan affecting bargaining unit employees circulated yesterday.

         And police are urging residents to remain vigilant following reports of a phone scam in which criminals impersonate telephone provider representatives to gain unauthorized access to customer accounts. Listen to these stories and more.

Pictured: The deteriorating pedestrian bridge near the old Addelita Cancryn School on St. Thomas.

Photo Credit: WTJX/Dante Morón

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: A robotic BGC-Argo float has been deployed in the waters south of St. Thomas, diving more than a mile below the surface and resurfacing every 10 days to collect data never before gathered in Virgin Islands waters.

      After receiving reports of impending layoffs at the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center on St. Croix, Senate Vice President Kenneth Gittens is calling on leadership to move affected workers into funded vacancies elsewhere.

      And residents on the west end of St. Croix are experiencing water service disruptions, with some reporting they have gone days without running water. Listen to these stories and more.

Pictured: Members of UVI’s Ocean Glider Lab, CMES and NOAA prepare a BGC-Argo float for deployment in USVI waters.

Photo Credit: University of the Virgin Islands

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: The Virgin Islands Department of Health's EMS for Children Program has received a national award for its work preparing the Territory for emergencies involving children, after coordinating a first-of-its-kind full scale pediatric disaster simulated exercise involving numerous agencies.

          The Central Labor Council issued a statement that neither the Council nor its AFL-CIO affiliated unions have endorsed any candidate this election cycle, clarifying that they had no part in the polling process that led to the Area Labor Federation’s endorsement of Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett for governor in the Democratic primary.

          And Attorney General Gordon Rhea says criminal charges connected to government corruption are expected within a few weeks.

          Listen to these stories and more.

Pictured: Emergency responders participate in a full-scale pediatric disaster simulated exercise organized by the Virgin Islands Department of Health's EMS for Children Program.  

Photo Credit: Virgin Islands Department of Health

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: As the territory celebrates French Heritage Week, Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. has signed a proclamation declaring July 9 “Virgin Islands St. Barths Friendship Day.”

                 Nearly a year after police fatally shot 48-year-old Alejandro “Alex” Tores III in LBJ Gardens on St. Croix, his mother says she is still waiting for answers.

                 And the Area Labor Federation has thrown its support behind delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett in the upcoming Democratic gubernatorial primary.

                 Listen to these stories and more.

Pictured: Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. shakes hands with St. Barths President Xavier Ledee after signing a twinning agreement to promote cultural, social, and economic ties between the islands on March 10, 2026.

Photo Credit: Government House

On today’s WTJX Radio NewsFeed: The Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure told lawmakers it's running on what its Executive Director Carmen Vanterpool-Romney called a "skeletal budget, while fielding questions about new data that shows the territory has lost roughly 400 active nursing licenses, most of them registered nurses.

      We speak with Danica David, whose book “Creative Callaloo: Art, Poems, and Recipes Inspired by the Virgin Islands” was one of two books selected to represent the territory at the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival this summer.

      Jenifer O’Neal is now in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Guaynabo MDC in Puerto Rico.

       Listen to these stories and more. 

Photo description:  Carmen Vanterpool-Romney, the Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure, testifies before lawmakers during a budget hearing on June 22, 2026. 

Photo credit: US Virgin Islands Legislature