News

Gordon, a wearer of many acclaimed honorary distinctions throughout a distinguished career in academia, community work and personal life, will deservedly be recognised at the diaspora’s annual Spring Ball in Queens Village, New York on May 25, 2024.

The event commemorates 31 years for the organization as a charity, providing financial support and other forms of aid to the community and its people.

The ease with which, based on amateur video footage, the 12-foot male crocodile was seemingly removed from the water, has even led some persons to assume that the reptile was sick.

But according to wildlife expert Damion Whyte, the animal was in excellent health and seems to be co-operating with the rescue team only because of exhaustion.

The incident took place in Church Pen – two miles east of Old Harbour town centre – at a family home occupied by the two men.

About 1:00 pm yesterday, an argument developed between 31-year-old Orlando Jones, a police officer assigned to the Denham Town Police Station, and Keadon Clarke, 39, who is unemployed.

Clarke, said to be deportee, used a knife to cut Jones on his hand. Jones then fired two shots from his private licensed firearm, hitting Clarke in the upper torso.

Though the NWC did not state the cause of the emergency, it has advised that restoration time at the facility is estimated at June 14, 2024.

This means tens of thousands of residents will be negatively impacted, but the NWC noted that contingencies are in place to minimize the effects of the disruption. 

“The works are intended to safeguard the viability of the well and expected to improve the overall efficiency for water supply delivery,” stated the utility company.

At present both the Old Harbour police and fire stations have been grappling with inactive phone lines, raising serious concerns about public safety and the town’s most essential service providers.

The Old Harbour Police Station has been facing this issue for over a year, while the Old Harbour Fire Station’s main phone line went down two weeks ago. The repercussions of these inactive lines have been alarming, leaving residents feeling vulnerable and unprotected.

“The Government values and relies on the essential involvement of local contractors for the successful execution of the SPARK project. We remain committed to fostering local expertise while benefiting from international collaboration,” he said in a recent stakeholder meeting at the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

His statement was in response to concerns raised by local contractors as the government prepares to roll out its much-hyped $40 billion national road improvement project.

Details of the plans were disclosed by Managing Director of TransJamaican Highway (TJH) Ivan Anderson at a town hall meeting at the Free Town Primary School.

Residents in Longville Park; Free Town; The Aviary; New Harbour Village IV; and Sandy Bay currently are unable to access the highway’s westbound lane to go to May Pen and beyond. Neither do they have any access to an off-ramp in that area when travelling eastbound.

The Prime Minister was addressing residents and journalists in the community of Nightingale Grove on Friday.

Much of Mr Holness’ day was spent in St Catherine South Western, the constituency of former works minister Everald Warmington whom he had recently fired following controversial remarks made public.

Before visiting Nightingale Grove, the Prime Minister had delivered two housing units to residents in Bamboo Ridge and Brethren Town in the Old Harbour North Division under his HOPE programme.

This was announced by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during a visit to the community on Friday (June 7).

The new bridge will replace the existing structure which was closed by the National Works Agency (NWA) in September 2022 following assessments which determined that the structure was severely compromised and posed a danger to motorists and other users.

The Jamaica Broilers (JB) Group, which operates a plant in the area, is contributing $50 million towards the project.

This development is slated to commence this year and comes amidst growing concerns due to traffic backlog at the Vineyards toll booths especially during peak hours.

This expansion project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025, and has been allocated a budget of approximately J$53 million. China Harbour Engineering and Construction (CHEC) is the contractor.

Managing director of the TJH, Ivan Anderson, says the upcoming upgrade is necessitated by motorists experiencing lengthy delays when accessing their services.