Local News

Happy Monday everyone! It’s February, so you know what that means … it’s 8 Tuff Miles time! For those of you unfamiliar with 8 Tuff Miles, it’s a pretty darn impressive road road that happens on St. John every year. The race starts behind the National Park Visitor’s Center in Cruz Bay and continues 8.3 miles up and down Centerline Road to the ball field in Coral Bay. It’s an intense course, but doable according to several of my friends. (Yours truly has yet to conquer it … some day perhaps.)

This year’s race is happening on Saturday, February 27. It starts at 7:15 a.m. and there’s a three hour time limit. For those of you who will be on island that morning, please know that Centerline Road from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay will be closed.

Think you have what it takes to conquer 8 Tuff Miles? Well what are you waiting for? Register now!

For those of you who live off island, you can click here to register.  For those of you on island, you can register at The Tap Room at Mongoose Junction. Peter Alter, the race’s organizer, will be at The Tap Room every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. So stop by, grab a beer and sign up.

Curious just how tough this course is? Check out this quick video we made two years ago of most of mile one:

And here are some pics from last year’s race:

Who’s ready to buy a home on St. John without completely breaking the bank? Well today we’d like to tell you about a great opportunity where you could live in one unit while renting out the other. Check it out:

Villa Mahr, units 3 and 4, is a stand alone, two-level house with a masonry pool and views toward the British Virgin Islands, Hurricane Hole and the Carolina valley below. The home was built in 2004 and is roughly 2,400 square feet. The home sits on .39 acres.

Villa Mahr, Units 3 and 4, are being offered for $649,900. For more information, please contact Tammy Donnelly at 340 Real Estate Co. at [email protected]

How many of you wish you were on warm and sunny St. John? Well for those of you do, this may help warm you up a bit. We popped the GoPro onto the Jeep the other day and took a cruise through Cruz Bay for all of you. And of course, we brought some Kenny Chesney music with us, so please turn your volume up. Enjoy!

Well folks, gala season on St. John is about to begin! Here are details on the first one happening this year…

On Saturday, February 6th, our friends over at the Animal Care Center will hold their annual winter gala. This year’s theme is Venetian Carnival, which should be fun. Guests are asked to dress “island fancy” or costumes are welcomed too. For those of you who’d like to don a venetian mask to the event, but do not have one, no need to worry. A limited number will be available at the door.

Tickets for the event at $125 and can be purchased in advance at the Animal care Center, Chelsea Drug Store, at Connections, St. John Hardware and online at www.stjacc.org.

This event typically sells out, but should tickets remain the day of the event, they will be sold for $135 at the door.

The event runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and happens at Sirenusa. Shuttles will leave the MarketPlace at 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Shuttles will leave Sirenusa at 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

The ACC is currently holding an online auction too. Click here to read all about it. 

Well folks, it seems like the latest proposed marina over in Coral Bay probably won’t happen either.

We received an email from David Silverman, of Save Coral Bay fame, informing us that the US Environmental Protection Agency has rejected the Moravian Conference’s plan to build a marina in Coral Bay. This plan is the second proposal for a marina out in Coral Bay, the one that we wrote about earlier this month. (Click here to read that story.)

Here’s what David had to say about EPA’s opinion which was sent to the US Army Corps of Engineers:

The key comment in the EPA letter was their statement that the project would have “substantial and unacceptable impact on aquatic resources of national importance” and then their statement that “EPA therefore recommends the denial of a Department of the Army permit for this project.”  They then cite parts 3(a) and 3(b) of the Section 404(q) Memorandum of Agreement between the Army Corps and the EPA.  This all translates to the EPA saying because the project will have substantial impacts on an Aquatic Resource of National Importance (ARNI) the EPA has the authority to veto any action the Army Corps takes which is inconsistent with their recommendation (to deny the permit).  Basically the EPA holds the trump card. 

Pretty good news if you ask us.

For those of you interested in reading the letter it its entirety, you can click here to do so.

For the first time in months, St. John, once again, has a stop light. But no need to worry, it’s not permanent.

We were driving over to The Tourist Trap for lunch the other day when we saw that road work had begun, yet again, on Centerline Road. It’s happening near Coral Bay just past the turnoff to Iron Wood Road, Stone House Road, Cereus Corner and Majestic Mile if you’re headed East. The road is now one lane and there is a stop light on each side.

According to a release sent out in November, the work is part of the “emergency repair relief project” and will include three sites along Centerline Road. Repairs at all three sites are expected to be completed by June. We’ll keep you all posted on the other sites as soon as work starts happening there.

Well it seems that my background as being a real life journalist has come in handy this evening because I was able to get my hands on all of the documents pertaining to the seizure of the Mister B. Here are the details…

Back in April 2015, Boyson, Inc., the company that owns and manages the Mister B., entered into a loan agreement with Revere High Yield Fund, LP in which is promised to pay $2.835 million dollars. Boyson Inc., along with a host of other entities and St. Johnians, agreed to make payments on the loan. That never happened and as of Nov. 6, 2015, they were in default.

They were asked again earlier this month to pay the loan – which has since ballooned to more than $3.3 million including interest and attorney’s fees – and they subsequently failed to pay. It was at that point that an arrest warrant was issued. That warrant was executed last week and the Mister B was seized.

As we mentioned earlier, this seizure poses a huge logistical problem for residents as the Mister B was the largest barge transporting vehicles between St. John and St. Thomas. It is unclear when or if the Mister B will resume service. There are, however, two other barges that are currently running.

For those of you who enjoy reading about the knotty gritty details, we have all of them for you. Click here to read the original complaint filed against Boyson, Inc. And click here to read the arrest warrant issued last week.

If you took the car barge over the last few days, you may have noticed an interesting site down at the dock – the Mister B’s been seized by U.S. Marshals. Here’s what we know…

According to a woman with the U.S. Marshal Service in St. Thomas, the Mister B. was seized as part of an asset forfeiture a few days back. She stated that Boyson, Inc., the owner of Mister B. is involved in a local lawsuit. As part of that lawsuit, a warrant was executed and the Mister B. was seized.

There’s no word as to how long the Mister B. will be out of commission, but it’s pretty safe to say that vehicle transportation between St. John and St. Thomas is going to be greatly affected by this as we are now down to only two barges.

We’ll keep you all posted as soon as we learn more.

We’ve received a ton of questions over the past few months about the status of Island Blues, and we can finally tell you what’s going on … the folks from Woody’s are officially taking it over!

The new spot’s going to be called Woody’s Waterfront Saloon, and from what we hear, it’s going to be pretty cool. They’re working to spruce the place up now and if all goes well, they’re hoping to open around March. They’re currently tweaking their menu, but we can say that some of Woody’s favorite menu items will make an appearance over in Coral Bay.

Woody’s Waterfront Saloon will be open seven days a week and will serve lunch and dinner. They’ll offer a great happy hour like their sister restaurant in Cruz Bay, although the drink specials will likely be different. They’re also planning on offering a variety of fun lawn games and are going to take advantage of its awesome waterfront location.

We’ll keep you all posted on its progress.

Yesterday’s blizzard impacted a lot of things along the East Coast yesterday, but it wasn’t going to get in the way of one thing – Moose’s journey to his new home.

By now, most of you probably know Moose’s story. He’s an adorable dog that was living at the Animal Care Center here on island for more than four-an-a-half years. A big social media push was made several months ago to find him his forever home. There were a few bumps in the road, but the ACC, which is an extraordinary organization by the way, was able to find him a fantastic, loving family in the Boston area. Once the family was found, he needed a ride. The Riggi family, New Yorkers who visit the island frequently, graciously stepped up and offered the use of their private plane. Well they all left yesterday and Moose landed safely in Albany before taking a private car to meet his new owners. Here are some pictures of his journey:

Saying goodbye to Laurie Damron, a woman who was instrumental in finding Moose his forever home:

Walking up to his private plane with Ryan Moore, the manager of the ACC:

The pilots were very excited to be a part of Moose’s journey:

The Riggi family, Moose and Ryan

Moose and his new best friend Patty Riggi:

Ryan and Moose flying in style:

Can this dog be any happier?

This story simply makes us smile. Thank you to everyone who helped Moose in his journey. 🙂