🌱 Travel Portal Update + David Edgecombe, Playwright, Dies

Monday morning, you sure look fine.* Now let's get into the latest headlines, events and social chatter from across the territory.

*credit to Fleetwood Mac for an opening line that never fails to get in your head.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny with a shower. High: 84 Low: 74.

And Patch USVI has the full forecast for the week ahead.

Here are the top stories in US Virgin Islands today:

1. The V.I. Fire Department is investigating two structural fires that occurred earlier this week. An apartment at the Ruby M. Rouss housing community in Watergut caught fire on Tuesday morning. The occupant was treated for smoke inhalation. Later on Tuesday night, firefighters responded to a structural fire at The Bistro in Gallows Bay. (Virgin Islands Daily News)
2. A St. Thomas police officer is charged with simple assault and battery in a case of domestic violence. (V.I. Consortium)
3. V.I. travel portal is ready to accept proof of vaccines from travelers who were vaccinated outside of the territory, but Governor Bryan is delaying the making the feature live. His primary concern is the risk of more COVID-19 cases. (V.I. Consortium)
4. David Edgecombe, a well-known and well-loved playwright and teacher died on Friday at the age of 68. Edgecombe was a resident of St. Thomas for many years. Among other roles, he served as the Director of the Reichhold Center for the Arts at the University of the Virgin Islands for 12 years. Read more about his life and contributions here. (St. Croix Source)

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Top Headlines:

As Seen on Social:

• St. Croix public schools will close Nov. 24-26 for the Thanksgiving holiday and for Professional Development (Twitter)
• The V.I. Health Department confirmed the territory's 85th COVID-19 victim, a 96-year-old St. Croix man. (Twitter)
• Friends of Virgin Islands National Park: "“Sky above, sand below, peace within.” ~ unknown Donate to support our turtle protection program, youth programs, cultural programs, marine conservation, trail work, beach cleanups, tree replanting and other projects here: https://donate..." (Facebook)
• Virgin Islands Department of Health: "Protect Each Other. Getting a flu vaccine this year is more important as ever. Flu vaccine not only can help protect you and your loved ones from the flu. It also helps reduce the burden of flu on hospitals and healthcare systems." (Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and please get in touch if there's anything you'd like to see in the Daily newsletter. See you tomorrow!

— 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.