Newspaper Articles
The benefit of being a stranger in a strange land is that every day is a learning experience. When I moved to St. Croix and became a daily reporter for the Virgin Islands Source, I knew very little about Caribbean culture. I quickly discovered that in order to do my job I had to open myself fully to whatever experience the story threw my way, whether it be documenting a mango eating competition, riding along with the Hurricane Hunters, or capturing a wild boa constrictor. Over the course of hundreds of assignments, I learned how to adapt quickly to unfamiliar situations, get the information I needed, and somehow package it into a story by press time that evening. Below are just a handful of my favorite stories from my time on this colorful island.
Net Metering Series
March 20-31, 2013
With electricity costs near 50 cents per kilowatt hour, Virgin Islanders have long looked for a way to use renewable energy to lower their bills. So when a net metering program was instituted in 2009, residents jumped at the opportunity. The response was so strong and rapid that it put the local utility company in the rare position of going green too fast and, if left unchecked, the program threatened to destabilize the grid. This four part series explored the difficulties of faced by the Virgin Islands' Water and Power Authority and it's ratepayers as they struggled to incorporate modern means of energy production into a small and outdated island electrical system.
Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
March 20-31, 2013
With electricity costs near 50 cents per kilowatt hour, Virgin Islanders have long looked for a way to use renewable energy to lower their bills. So when a net metering program was instituted in 2009, residents jumped at the opportunity. The response was so strong and rapid that it put the local utility company in the rare position of going green too fast and, if left unchecked, the program threatened to destabilize the grid. This four part series explored the difficulties of faced by the Virgin Islands' Water and Power Authority and it's ratepayers as they struggled to incorporate modern means of energy production into a small and outdated island electrical system.
Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
Ride Along with the Hurricane Hunters
August 5, 2013
During the summer months the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Wing, better known as the Hurricane Hunters, set up an advance base on St. Croix to probe nascent storm systems blowing into the Caribbean Sea. In this story I'm invited to tag along on one of their reconnaissance missions and document the sometime mundane, sometime terrifying world of the nation's most daring meteorologists.
Read story
View photo gallery
August 5, 2013
During the summer months the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Wing, better known as the Hurricane Hunters, set up an advance base on St. Croix to probe nascent storm systems blowing into the Caribbean Sea. In this story I'm invited to tag along on one of their reconnaissance missions and document the sometime mundane, sometime terrifying world of the nation's most daring meteorologists.
Read story
View photo gallery
Profile of Dr. William Coles
May 14, 2012
As the chief of environmental education for the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, William Coles in on the front line in the battle against invasive species on St. Croix. While most of his days are spent lecturing the public about the deleterious effects of lion fish upon the island's reefs, some times his job requires him to take a more hands-on approach. In this story I join Coles on an impromptu boa constrictor hunt in the St. Croix rainforest that brings us face to face with the danger of releasing exotic pets into the wild.
Read story
May 14, 2012
As the chief of environmental education for the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, William Coles in on the front line in the battle against invasive species on St. Croix. While most of his days are spent lecturing the public about the deleterious effects of lion fish upon the island's reefs, some times his job requires him to take a more hands-on approach. In this story I join Coles on an impromptu boa constrictor hunt in the St. Croix rainforest that brings us face to face with the danger of releasing exotic pets into the wild.
Read story
St. Croix 70.3 Ironman Triathlon
May 6, 2013
With year-round summer temperatures and warm, clear waters, St. Croix is an endurance athlete's dream and some have gone so far as declare the triathlon as the island's national sport. The hallmark of the triathlon season is the annual half-Ironman triathlon, which consistently draws top international contenders including one appearance by Lance Armstrong before his expulsion from the sport. On this year, however, the race was tarnished by bad weather and poor road conditions, knocking out dozens of competitors during the bike phase and underscoring just how hard it is to manage a world-class event in a small, Caribbean community.
Read story
View photo gallery
May 6, 2013
With year-round summer temperatures and warm, clear waters, St. Croix is an endurance athlete's dream and some have gone so far as declare the triathlon as the island's national sport. The hallmark of the triathlon season is the annual half-Ironman triathlon, which consistently draws top international contenders including one appearance by Lance Armstrong before his expulsion from the sport. On this year, however, the race was tarnished by bad weather and poor road conditions, knocking out dozens of competitors during the bike phase and underscoring just how hard it is to manage a world-class event in a small, Caribbean community.
Read story
View photo gallery
Hospital Financial Crisis Series
May 22-June 15 2013
The island of St. Croix, home to around 45,000 people, is reliant on a single, government owned hospital for all of its acute medical needs. Despite it's monopoly on care, the Juan F. Luis Medical Center found itself on the brink of financial insolvency in 2013. In this series hospital administrators speak candidly about the various factors impacting the center's balance sheets including a growing number of uninsured patients, declining government funding, and the arcane rules governing Medicaid payments in the U.S. territories.
Read part 1, part 2, part 3
May 22-June 15 2013
The island of St. Croix, home to around 45,000 people, is reliant on a single, government owned hospital for all of its acute medical needs. Despite it's monopoly on care, the Juan F. Luis Medical Center found itself on the brink of financial insolvency in 2013. In this series hospital administrators speak candidly about the various factors impacting the center's balance sheets including a growing number of uninsured patients, declining government funding, and the arcane rules governing Medicaid payments in the U.S. territories.
Read part 1, part 2, part 3