STAY ON BEACH EVICTION The Supreme Court has imposed an injunction that temporarily blocks the country’s environment regulatory authority from evicting at least 40 people from the Jacob Taylor Beach lands in Duncans, Trelawny. Justice Andrea Thomas granted the injunction on Tuesday at the end of an application by attorneys for four of the 40 residents. The application forms part of a lawsuit they have filed seeking judicial review of a move by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) last month to serve them with eviction notices.
Disabilities Act yet to break down barriers... but few successes recorded at tribunal Four years after Jamaica implemented the Disabilities Act, structural and communication barriers continue to hamper members of the disabled community, according to inclusion advocate Alister McLean. McLean said inconsistencies in public infrastructure remain a major concern, particularly for wheelchair users who face difficulty accessing sidewalks.
St Hilda’s delays boarders’ return Nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa battered St Hilda’s Diocesan High School in Brown’s Town, St Ann, leaving an estimated $40 million in damage, the institution has been forced to delay the full reopening of its boarding facility for the new academic year. In social media posts over the weekend ahead of Monday’s reopening of schools, the administration advised that “boarders will remain at home until further notice”.
Police kill suspect linked to string of murders A suspected gangster and contract killer, who the police have linked to a string of murders and other violent crimes across several parishes, was killed during an alleged confrontation with cops on the weekend. Neco Dixon, 25, was shot several times after he reportedly pulled a firearm from his waistband and pointed it at cops who were pursuing him in the Eight Miles area of Bull Bay, St Andrew, on Saturday. One firearm and several rounds of ammunition were reportedly seized.
Gov’t plans $8b max-security prison Planning is under way for the construction of a new maximum-security correctional facility, with the government having identified a site and established a committee to advance the project. The development comes as Jamaica moves to modernise its correctional system, with Ministry of National Security and Peace State Minister Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn outlining a raft of measures on Monday aimed at improving security, rehabilitation and the reintegration of inmates.
Chang: New Granville Police Station back on track WESTERN BUREAU: National Security and Peace Minister Dr Horace Chang has indicated that the plan to build a new police station in Granville, St James, is now back on track. According to Chang, additional property has been acquired for the building of the police station, and the Government is now moving towards the design and construction phases.
COOPERS PEN SCHOOL BLUES - Majority of 25 displaced children miss first day of new academic year WESTERN BUREAU: Of the 25 school-age children whose homes were bulldozed during a recent demolition exercise in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, only seven ventured out for the start of the new school year on Monday, as displaced families struggled to prepare them for classes. When The Gleaner visited the community on Monday morning, residents said 18 of the children who would normally have returned to school had been relocated to stay with relatives in other areas, creating uncertainty about when – or whether – they will be able to resume classes.
A new dawn - Hopes high as Hydel Cumberland High embarks on win-win mission Principal of the newly created Hydel Cumberland High School in St Catherine, Carlon Pitt, said the institution is already seeing the benefits of the merger, and is focused on moving forward as it enters the new academic year. The two St Catherine-based high schools, Hydel and Cumberland, were merged over the summer holidays to consolidate resources in what stakeholders have labelled as a win-win for both schools.
Two primary schools merged, 3 closed The Government is exploring closing and merging more schools across Jamaica as a means of maximising resources and infrastructure, Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has indicated. “We have to look at it holistically across the country. There are many schools where we have low populations, and many communities where there are less students than the school can accommodate,” she told The Gleaner at the merger ceremony of St Catherine-based high schools Hydel and Cumberland.
Western schools reopen as rehab work continues WESTERN BUREAU: Schools across western Jamaica reopened on Monday for the 2026-2027 academic year despite some still needing extensive repairs to restore their hurricane-ravaged compounds. Dr Lavern Stewart, the newly installed principal at Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay, St James, told The Gleaner that a special effort was made to ensure that the school would be ready on Monday. Having been heavily impacted by Hurricane Melissa last October, 18 of its classrooms and its canteen and tuck shop are still undergoing repairs.