🌱Epstein Victim Testifies + $16 Million to USVI Hospitals

Good morning. Today's issue brings you an update on the Ghislain Maxwell trial plus details on the $16 million going to the territory's two hospitals to help hire and retain nurses.

First, today's weather:

Clouds and sun with a shower. High: 85 Low: 76.

Here are the top stories in US Virgin Islands today:

• The first accuser took the stand in the trial of Ghislain Maxwell. The witness, identified only as "Jane," recounted her experience of being approached by Ms. Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein while he was a young teenager at summer camp. Check out 4 take-aways from her testimony here. (New York Times)
• Governor Bryan has awarded Juan F. Luis Hospital and the Schneider Regional Medical Center $8 million each to help keep the hospitals staffed. Both medical centers have lost nurses after the vaccine mandate was implemented, and the new funds are intended to help the hospitals hire and recruit new staff, as well as convince existing staff to stay. (VI Consortium)
• Concordia EcoResort on St. John is open for business. The resort took a beating from Hurricane Irma in 2017 and sat untouched for several years after the storm. But after a round of renovations and updates, 17 tents and 8 studio units are open and available. (News of St. John)

Today's US Virgin Islands Daily is brought to you by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in US Virgin Islands!

Today in US Virgin Islands:

• Crucian Coconut Festival Fine Art Exhibit (4:00 p.m.)
• Crucian Coconut Festival (4:00 p.m.)
• Book Reading & Signing with Award-Winning Tiphanie Yanique (5:00 p.m.)
• Taste of St. Croix (5:30 p.m.)

Social Chatter:

• "THE GRINCH HAS STOLEN CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR! We are unable to get our trailers of Christmas trees for this year…. The shipper did not send truck to the North Carolina tree lot to pick trees up for the past three days…. After this point they would not make the boat… These circumstances are beyond our control and we agonizingly deliver this devastating news. We are so sorry…this truly is so awful. From: Brant and Dru and the Elves at the Tutu Christmas Tree lot." (What's Going On St. Thomas?)
• The V.I. Department of Education + the V.I. Department of Health are running a Cradle Literacy Project with 2 drive-through book give-away events: Dec. 4 on St. Croix and Dec. 11 on St. Thomas. (Facebook)
• Two USVI high school students completed their solo flights and are on schedule to have their private pilot licenses before graduation. Watch this YouTube video to learn more about CTEC Aviation Academy students! (Facebook)

Feature your local business here in the US Virgin Islands Daily for just $79 per month. Click here to learn more.

That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Ashleigh Baldwin

About me: I'm the Patch Community News Editor for the U.S. Virgin Islands. I'm here to provide news you can use. Do you have a news tip, question or feedback? Please contact me at ashleigh.baldwin@patch.com.