ST. CROIX - They're back.
Members of the 403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron - the Hurricane Hunters - are on St. Croix this week, getting equipment and supplies in place and at the ready for what experts predict will be a busy hurricane season.
"We really like it here," said Col. Roy Deatherage, mission commander and a meteorologist who has been coming to St. Croix with the Hurricane Hunters since 1996, the first season they based some of their missions here.
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ST. CROIX - Someone first took note about 10 to 12 years ago of the unusual glow when something moved in the water at night in a man-made inlet at Salt River Bay.
At least, that's the first evidence that National Park Service officials can find of someone documenting the bioluminescence there - a natural phenomenon that is now the subject of an ongoing research project at Salt River involving multiple universities.
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Without reform measures, the Government Employees Retirement System will collapse in less than a decade, GERS Administrator Austin Nibbs said.
The task force the governor put together last year to find solutions to the government's ailing pension system has publicly released its final report and recommendations.
The system's unfunded liability - the difference between what is being paid into the system in contributions and the obligation to pay out all retirement benefits - currently stands at about $1.8 billion.
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ST. THOMAS - Senators questioned V.I. Health Department officials Friday about the problems plaguing the Emergency Medical Services unit, but neither side offered solutions and they all avoided discussing any of the major issues.
The Senate's Health, Hospitals, Human Services and Veterans Affairs Committee convened Friday to hear about Schneider Hospital's dialysis unit, but the discussion would frequently turn to the EMS issues laid out in a series of stories published in The Daily News this week.
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ST. CROIX - In observation of their outstanding performance in varying areas and their exceptional service to the community, a number of V.I. Police officers were honored during a ceremony Thursday.
Officers were recognized for their performance during the last six years.
Recognition was given for exceptional service, cross combat, wounded in combat, educational achievement, honorable service, commendation, appreciation, civilian service and morale boosters.
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ST. THOMAS - With Schneider Hospital's hemodialysis unit at capacity, the hospital is seeking a partnership with a private entity to take over and expand dialysis services in the St. Thomas-St. John District.
In a Senate hearing Friday before the Health, Hospitals, Human Services and Veterans Affairs Committee, Schneider Chief Executive Officer Bernard Wheatley said he is in talks with DaVita, Inc. to provide hemodialysis services in the district.
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