Students in the Young Writers’ Camp showed off their writing, recital and dramatic art skills at an end of session performance on Friday, July 30, at St. John School of the Arts. This year the camp, led by V.I. Summer Creative Writing Program founder Coreen Samuel, focused on Art, Ecology, Poetry and Prose with an emphasis on birds. The young writers shared some of their work, performed a dramatic interpretation of Cristina Kessler’s Jubela and joined together on drums, xylophone and more for an African song of welcome.

About 20 students wrapped up their six-week summer course with the Love City Pan Dragons on Thursday, July 29, with a concert in the pan yard. The students are newcomers to pan, and organizers hope many of them join the group for its 2010/11 performance season which kicks off on September 3.

Runoff at Maho Bay, above, eroded the beach and sent sediment into the bay.

With waterfalls gushing, guts overflowing and rockslides wiping out entire lanes on several St. John roadways, Love City looked more like Soggy City last week.

As of Friday morning, July 23, 12.46 inches of rain had accumulated at Trunk Bay during the month of July alone, according to Rafe Boulon’s rain data.

NOAA officials spotted and nabbed this juvenile lionfish, above, in Fish Bay earlier this month.

As officials continue monitoring sensitive reefs for signs of lionfish, an invasive species which could potentially devastate local fish populations, the fourth specimen was captured off the shores of St. John this month.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials spotted the lionfish in Fish Bay on Thursday, July 15, and captured the fish on July 16, according V.I. National Park’s Chief of Resource Management Rafe Boulon.

“The scientists were out there on different work when they spotted the lionfish in Fish Bay,” said Boulon. “They went back out the next day and caught it. It was about five inches in total length, so it was still a juvenile.”

Usually the sight of fun and frolicking, the Westin pool, above, was a more frightful sight last week when officials discovered a body floating in the water.

Emergency Medical Technicians were unable to resuscitate a woman whose body was discovered in the swimming pool of the Westin Resort and Villas on Monday night, July 19, around 8 p.m.

While about 100 St. John residents packed a ballroom at the Westin for a town hall meeting that night, EMTs and St. John Rescue officials responded to an alert of a possible drowning in the pool just a few hundred yards away.

Despite the efforts of EMT and St. John Rescue personnel, the woman — whose name was not available from V.I. Police Department officials last week — did not regain consciousness and was transported to the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center where she pronounced dead that night.

While details of the incident remained sketchy as of press time, the drowning victim was identified as a 32-year-old woman originally from England, according to information from VIPD spokesperson Melody Rames.

The woman was reportedly visiting St. John on vacation with her ex-husband, but VIPD officials did not suspect foul play, according to Rames.