🌱 St. Croix Energy Takes on Troubled Refinery + A Tsunami Story

Limetree Bay has new owners and lawmakers are debating a bill that would allow the development of a 26-acre tech center on St. Croix. Those stories and more are below.

Now it's certainly not news, but did you know that yesterday marked the 154th anniversary of the 1867 Tsunami that devastated St. Croix and St. Thomas harbors?

The islands were then known as the Danish West Indies and on the afternoon of November 18th, 1867, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred in the Anegada valley between St. Croix and St. Thomas. The earthquake generated two tsunami waves which struck Charlotte Amalie, Coral Bay, Christiansted and Frederiksted.

The first wave was the largest, described as a "straight white wall, about 15 to 23 feet (4.6 to 7.0 meters)." Both harbors and their waterfronts suffered major damage and experts say 24-30 people died. Learn more and read eye-witness accounts here.

First, today's weather:

A passing shower or two. High: 84 Low: 76. Patch USVI has the weekend weather forecast.

Top Headlines:

1. Maybe the anniversary of the 1867 Tsunamis did not go unnoticed! On Wednesday, the St. Thomas Coastal Zone Management Committee granted permission for five new locations for tsunami sirens: four on St. Thomas and one on Water Island. The alert system is managed by the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency but most of the sirens were destroyed by Irma and Maria. (St. Croix Source)
2. St. Croix Energy emerged as the winner of the bankruptcy court auction for ownership of the Limetree Bay Refinery on Thursday. The group claims to be made up of "businessmen with deep roots in the Virgin Islands, along with industry professionals that have decades of experience in the refining, marketing, and renewable fuels sectors." Their goal: to get the refinery running again. (V.I. Consortium)
3. V.I. Senators discussed a rezoning effort to build a new Tech Village on St. Croix. However, the development would displace a local farmer who has been farming the land for the past four years. If the bill passes, the property would be rezoned to accommodate "a 26-acre mixed-use economic development Qualified Opportunity Zone project dedicated to agricultural research and technology led by University of the Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park." (Virgin Islands Daily News)
4. The Animal Care Center (ACC) of St. John is raffling off an 11×16 oil painting of a St. John donkey. Sign up this week. It's a win/win: support the work of the ACC and take home a donkey! (without really having to take home a donkey) (St. John Source)

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Today in US Virgin Islands:

• Sea Turtle Talk (8:30 a.m.)
• DPNR hosts a Talking Book Club at the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Challenged in Christiansted (10:00 a.m.)
• Daril Scott on the Steel Pan (6:00 p.m.)
• For the full weekend line-up of events, check out Patch USVI.

Social Chatter:

• The VI Department of Human Services is looking for short-term and long-term families to care for foster children and teens. (Facebook).
• DLAM and the Division of Virgin Islands Cultural Education invite students to create works inspired by David Hamilton Jackson's activism (learn more here). "Students will have the opportunity to envision themselves as social justice warriors and to embody the spirit of a great Virgin Islands leader and activist." (Facebook)
• DPNR is seeking vendors for the Made In The USVI Pop Up Shop (Facebook)
• Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands: "Today is the final day of Community Foundation Week!" (Facebook)

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You're in the loop for today. Check-in tomorrow morning for the weekend update.

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— 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.