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Happy Monday everyone. Happy Columbus Day to those who observe it. This is the 8th edition of the Monday Digest, where we compile excerpts of the stories of consequence that occurred over the weekend to help you start your Monday informed.
This weekend was sadly another violent one, but where there's life, there's hope.
VI Consortium readers are telling us how fancy and useful our app is, so go download the thing here!
Below, the weekend's stories of consequence:
8 People Were Shot, One Died Over the Weekend
The violence first erupted on St. Croix Friday night, where four people were injured during various incidents. A 21-year-old woman identified by next of kin as Kadiyen Illidge of Sion Hill, succumbed to her injuries at the Juan F. Luis Hospital after being caught in crossfire during a shooting that occurred in Frederiksted after 10:00 p.m. Four other individuals were shot, including one in the midsection, two in the head and one in the arm. They were all said to be in stable condition.
A day later during the evening time, three men were injured by gunfire at the Coki Point entrance in St. Thomas, according to police. All were said to be in stable condition as well.
Families, Leaders Call for Peace
Elected officials, law enforcement, behavioral health professionals, clergy, and educators were all in attendance Sunday for the Reclaim our Village march in St. Thomas aimed at fostering peace. UVI President David Hall was succinct with is remarks: "The reason this is one of the most critical issues facing us, is not only do we lose young lives, but we lose so much potential. We do not know what these individuals would have been able to contribute to this territory, to this world, if they would have been able to live and realize all of their potential."
More Flights Coming to USVI in November
American Airlines will be adding more flights to the USVI beginning November, according to the V.I. Dept. of Tourism.
Beginning next month, American will serve St. Thomas with two daily flights from Charlotte; daily flights from Philadelphia; and Saturday service from both Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth during the first half of the month, followed by daily flights from both cities in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. The additional flights will complement the existing thrice daily service between Miami and St. Thomas.
St. Croix will also register an increase in service from American in November with two flights a day from Miami as well as daily Charlotte flights during the second half of November, up from the existing Saturday service.
In other news, fielding unrelenting criticism, the Dept. of Labor will soon commence some in-person service; a new lawsuit has been filed seeking voting rights for USVI residents and other territories; V.I. Housing Finance Authority breaks ground on "Wild Pineapple" affordable homes effort in St. Thomas; Viya experiences outage in St. Thomas and St. John due to AT&T cutting Viya's fiber cables; Health Commissioner issues order restricting campaign, live band and deejay events; and FEMA awards Bureau of Corrections $14.2 million to replace the Alva A. Swan Correctional Annex (Swan Annex) on St. Thomas.
Our previous Monday Digest is here.
