A statement from the National Water Commission (NWC) is being met with scepticism and frustration from crocodile conservationists, following the death of at least 10 of the protected species at the Greater Portmore Sewage Ponds in St Catherine – an...
Two housing developments in Hellshire, St Catherine, have become symbols of both promise and frustration for their eager homeowners. However, while the Hellshire View development being undertaken by a state agency is mired in delays and mounting...
Getting water uphill is a Herculean and expensive task. Residents of Windsor Heights in Central Village, St Catherine, also find it deeply unnerving after repeatedly paying a “flat fee” to the National Water Commission (NWC) for the commodity,...
They carry a heavy burden. But, tethered to sworn oaths, familial bonds, and even fear, some officers within police forces across the world opt for secrecy and inaction when members of their squads openly act outside of policy. God forbid those...
Decraig Green, a psychiatric nursing assistant at the Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth, had just finished his afternoon shift and had planned to celebrate the rest of his birthday with his co-worker and friend, Patrick Henry. Henry was off work...
It is a dust bowl. A dry, desolate and rocky worksite battered by the unforgiving Portmore, St Catherine sun. As it is, it is a long way from the gated community promised to potential homeowners – and neither they nor the developers can say for...
Sharon Silvester* is a broken woman. Ever since losing her son a month ago, her world has been a strange place, where sleep eludes and tears visit her nightly. Silvester’s 27-year-old son, Kirk Gooden, an employee of Tank-Weld Metals, died in a...
They may not be the ones pulling the trigger or bludgeoning those who dare test their authority. Still, women in Jamaica’s most organised crime syndicates play roles that are no less deadly, and heinous, and which continue to challenge law...
It was a tearful and mournful farewell. But most of all, it was a celebration of inspiration – a tribute to two Jamaicans who had no qualms putting their country’s development and their family above all else. Their legacies promise to endure for...
Ellinor White is particularly grateful for the home she received under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP). However, just a month after moving in, she is facing new challenges: blocked sewage drains and manholes that sometimes...
Attorneys representing Portmore, St Catherine resident Dwayne Leckie say they are prepared to explore all options in their pursuit of compensation after Leckie was arrested and thrown in jail for five days by cops who accused him of stealing his...
When Valerie Wilmott and her daughter Jacqueline Rogers were promised a house under Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’ New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), they were overjoyed. They readily agreed to demolish the bathroom of their severely...
It was a sombre night at Jessie Ripoll Primary School last Friday as loved ones paid tribute to O’Neil and Camesha Stevens, who lost their lives tragically while returning home from a holiday vacation overseas earlier this month. Students, parents...
Barbara Gayle was the community jester, its prayer warrior, the loving ‘Aunt B’, whose daily messages of inspiration, faith, and “mix-up stories” residents of Block A at the Caymanas Country Club Estate (Phase 1) and its environs had come to love...
It’s their most alluring pull – a blend of tranquillity with enhanced security. With perimeter walls, closed gates, security checkpoints and even security patrols, residents flock to gated communities for the sense of safety they promise. Yet, last...
Once vibrant hubs of learning and laughter, now they stand as stark reminders of fading dreams and shrinking communities. They are havens for wild animals, vagrants, and insects and spark contention among residents who remember their glory days and...
After 14 years, Andrew Richards, the man who pulled a drowned policeman from the Rio Cobre after he fell in while chasing gunmen along the sippery river bank in Gordon Pen, St Catherine, was honoured by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) last...
It is crucial that they move quickly and safely, making split-second decisions about routes, precautions, and care for those in need. However, emergency service workers say their jobs are being made increasingly more difficult by Jamaica’s...
Elletson Primary and Infant School in East Kingston has long been affected by gang violence, with the toll becoming increasingly evident in its declining enrolment numbers. The impact is so severe that administrators often find themselves waiting...
Nestled high in the Blue Mountains, Claverty Cottage Primary is home to Jamaica’s smallest student body in the public school system, with just five children on its roster. Four boys and one girl – one student each in grades one, two, and three, and...
With the continued prevalence of violent crime, including multiple murders and gun-related incidents, primary school administrators say there is a desperate need for more guidance counsellors and social workers at institutions to help buttress...
Dozens of children who witnessed last month’s murders of five people in Rockfort, East Kingston, are still suffering from psychological trauma. Some have reportedly become silent and fearful of the dark, while others have been violently acting out...
Although they did not make the list of national awardees for this year, to their relatives, neighbours, and the children whose lives they saved, they are lifelong heroes, worthy of all commendation. They are unsung, their actions driven by pure...
It is one of the fastest-growing parishes, with several housing developments emerging yearly. Yet, St Catherine also has a rapidly growing population of the homeless and persons in need of assistance, a situation that outreach workers fear could...
Coswell Barnett is a decorated Spanish teacher, with more than a decade of experience. But now, unable to find permanent employment, he has had to settle with teaching two classes per week, for a paltry sum of $4,000. Blind since birth, Barnett...
