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Stories by Ruddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Published:Friday | March 28, 2025 | 12:06 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

As Spanish Town prepares for a major cleanup campaign on Sunday, Mayor Norman Scott is renewing his call for a comprehensive overhaul of the town’s drainage system to combat persistent surface flooding. Scott, who has faced ongoing criticism from...

Published:Saturday | March 15, 2025 | 12:05 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Frustrated by mounting complaints from residents over a worsening garbage-collection crisis, councillors in the Portmore Municipal Corporation are demanding that the municipality assume full responsibility for waste management as outlined in the...

Published:Wednesday | March 12, 2025 | 12:06 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

In a bid to enhance professional development within Jamaica’s security forces, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Area 5 Division, in collaboration with HEART/NSTA Trust, officially launched its Capacity Building Educational, Social, and...

Published:Thursday | March 6, 2025 | 12:05 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Waterford Councillor Fenley Douglas is calling for a forensic audit into how funds allocated under the REACH programme were spent on repairs to Caymanas Drive in St Catherine. Douglas has criticised the quality of work carried out by National Works...

Published:Saturday | March 1, 2025 | 12:08 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The Senate yesterday approved the bill to make Portmore Jamaica’s 15th parish despite lingering constitutional concerns and intense political debate. The vote came after a marathon session that saw sharp exchanges between Government and Opposition...

Published:Wednesday | February 26, 2025 | 12:06 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The controversy surrounding the move to designate Portmore as Jamaica’s 15th parish escalated on Monday as scores of residents, backed by high-ranking People’s National Party (PNP) officials and municipal councillors, took to the streets in protest...

Published:Thursday | February 20, 2025 | 12:14 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

A stakeholders’ meeting called to discuss Portmore’s parish status ended in chaos Tuesday night as political tensions flared between supporters of the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Mayor of Portmore Leon Thomas...

Published:Tuesday | February 18, 2025 | 12:11 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The ongoing discord between government and opposition councillors in the St Catherine Municipal Corporation (StCMC) deepened on Monday when the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors walked out of the Disaster Preparedness Committee meeting. They...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 10:03 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas is defending the process of Portmore residents directly electing their mayor, vowing to go to court to challenge legislative changes passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. During the debate in the House on a...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 10:00 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The Government has successfully pushed through legislation to establish Portmore as Jamaica’s 15th parish despite strong objections from the Opposition during yesterday’s debate in the House of Representatives. The bill, which amends the Counties...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 9:56 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Several residents of Portmore, St Catherine, are expressing outrage over the Government’s decision to table legislation to transform Portmore into Jamaica’s 15th parish, citing a lack of consultation and the potential loss of their democratic...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 9:47 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Reaching a milestone few ever do, Catherine Murray, affectionately called ‘Maama’, celebrated her 100th birthday on February 4, surrounded by more than 400 family members, friends, and community well-wishers. Born Catherine Edmond in 1925, Murray...

Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 9:38 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The police are reporting that one of the two brothers shot and killed by security forces on Thursday night along the Spanish Town bypass near Okra Lane was allegedly linked to the Okra Lane Gang, a faction of the notorious Clansman Gang. Everton...

Published:Monday | February 3, 2025 | 5:09 PMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development, has condemned what he labelled the “chaos” that took place during yesterday’s annual general meeting (AGM) of the Association of Local Government Authorities of Jamaica (...

Published:Monday | February 3, 2025 | 4:51 PMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The Government on Tuesday tabled a bill for the Counties and Towns (Amendment) Act 2025, setting the stage for Portmore’s elevation to parish status. The bill, which was tabled by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie, proposes changes to...

Published:Saturday | January 25, 2025 | 4:19 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town experienced a day of relative calm on Friday as businesses reopened and regular activities resumed following the tense atmosphere that gripped the town on Thursday. The flare-up of violence on Thursday occurred after reputed One Order...

Published:Friday | January 24, 2025 | 12:11 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Senator Peter Bunting, the opposition spokesman on national security, has called for a thorough investigation into reports of a special police squad accused of intimidating residents in Portmore, St Catherine. Bunting, who toured police districts...

Published:Thursday | January 23, 2025 | 12:14 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

An operation to apprehend wanted men in Ellerslie Pen, also known as Capture Land, in Spanish Town, St Catherine, escalated into a confrontation between lawmen and citizens on Wednesday, leaving four police service vehicles damaged. The incident...

Published:Friday | January 17, 2025 | 12:09 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Two municipal corporations, St Catherine and Portmore, have sought to clarify discrepancies in welfare spending highlighted by Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis in a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The issues arose during audits of their...

Published:Thursday | January 16, 2025 | 12:11 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has emphasised the importance of productivity as a solution to inflation, urging Jamaicans to adopt smarter work strategies to drive economic growth. Speaking at the inauguration of the CB Group’s state-of-the-art...

Published:Saturday | January 11, 2025 | 12:10 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Residents of McBride Hill in Central Village, Spanish Town are still reeling from shock following the brutal killing of three young men on Wednesday night in what police suspect is a gang-related attack. The victims – 22-year-old Jahiem Ferguson,...

Published:Friday | January 3, 2025 | 12:11 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The relatives of Richard Thomas are disputing the police’s account of what led to the fatal shooting of the St Catherine man during a police operation in Lakes Pen, Spanish Town, on Thursday morning. The police claim that Thomas was shot during an...

Published:Wednesday | January 1, 2025 | 12:11 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Police in St Catherine were yesterday holding back on comment after a bizarre incident during a funeral at Dovecot #2 cemetery in Kitson Town on Monday left one man dead and another hospitalised. The incident, in which 23-year-old Isaac Foster,...

Published:Friday | December 20, 2024 | 12:05 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

The Spanish Town Hospital has launched a state-of-the-art electronic health record (EHR) system to improve efficiency at the St Catherine-based facility. Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said that the new system, which is part of...

Published:Thursday | December 19, 2024 | 12:09 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton is raising concerns over the quality of care and compassion provided to hospital patients, particularly in distressing situations, in the wake of the recent death of 14-year-old Anna Shay...

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