DT: the perfect ship’s captain Tributes flooded the airwaves on Thursday as stunned colleagues, listeners, and relatives saluted broadcaster Daniel ‘DT’ Thompson, who passed away after falling ill earlier this week. For 28 years, the St Elizabeth native’s smooth, rich, and velvety baritone was a constant for listeners of Radio Jamaica 94 FM. Through the decades, he worked across every time slot on the station and had his own show.
Chang: Current JCF uniforms not designed for body cams WESTERN BUREAU: National Security and Peace Minister Dr Horace Changs says body cameras are being dangerously overestimated as a cure-all for Jamaica’s deep-rooted policing challenges. “Bring me one research paper, just one, that shows cameras, by themselves, solve the problem,” said Chang, while speaking at a pipeline project in Montego Bay, St James, on Wednesday. “There are many other issues. Cameras don’t stop crime.”
FLOW’s Price backs NaRRA push to cut telecoms rollout delays WESTERN BUREAU: Stephen Price, vice-president and general manager of FLOW Jamaica, is endorsing the proposed establishment of the National Regulatory Reform Authority (NaRRA), arguing that Jamaica must urgently remove bureaucratic bottlenecks, which are slowing critical infrastructure rollout.
Confidence high as grade six students wrap up PEP After two intense days, more than 30,000 grade six students across the island are breathing a collective sigh of relief after completing the 2026 Primary Exit Profile (PEP), the outcome of which will determine their high-school placements. On Wednesday, they sat papers in mathematics and language arts, and on Thursday, they did the ability test. On Thursday, the poundiing rain drenching the lush vegetation did not put a damper on the energies of the students at Red Hills Primary in rural St Andrew as they waited for their rides home after completing the final paper.
PERMIT VOIDED In a landmark decision on Thursday, Jamaica’s Constitutional Court ruled that a government minister cannot override the decision of an environmental regulator without clear, evidence-based justification, striking down a controversial 2020 permit for mining in the Dry Harbour Mountains, St Ann. In a unanimous judgment, Justices Sonya Wint-Blair, Andrea Thomas, and Tricia Hutchinson-Shelly declared unconstitutional an environmental permit granted to Bengal Development Limited to mine bauxite, peat, sand, and other minerals in the ecologically sensitive area.
Messing with the mace When Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Western Dr Angela Brown Burke hoisted the mace from “under the table” while the committee of the whole House examined the controversial National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) bill on Tuesday, there was a predictable outcome – chaos ensued.
No panic over PEP WESTERN BUREAU: Despite still feeling the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica last October, the 2026 sitting of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations started smoothly across western Jamaica yesterday, with students, parents, and teachers expressing confidence and relief. Dominic Robinson, the 12-year-old head boy at Chetwood Memorial Primary School in St James, told The Gleaner that he felt confident about his chances of passing, despite feeling nervous about the examinations hours earlier.
Pressure mounts on executors after court blocks audit in Stewart estate dispute WESTERN BUREAU: Attorneys representing Adam Stewart have welcomed last week’s Supreme Court ruling striking out an application by executors of the estate of Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, arguing that the decision removes a key obstacle to the transfer of shares to the hotelier’s son. “This judgment is significant. Butch Stewart died over five years ago. In his uncontested will, he left a majority interest in the ATL Group to Adam,” said Conrad George, partner at Hart Muirhead Fatta.
A blessing for Anna-Olivia The family of seven-month-old Anna-Olivia Gardener has expressed relief and joy after the child, who is affected by Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome), was given a new start date of May 11 to begin early stimulation. In January, Anna-Olivia had been assigned a December 2027 start date for treatment at the Kingston-based, government-run Early Stimulation Programme (ESP), an almost two-year wait. Early stimulation of the brain is a critical part of development for infants affected in the way Anna-Olivia is.
New Forest High runs for staff welfare Before the sun broke through the morning mist last Sunday, the roadway flanked by farmlands in New Forest was already alive. More than 120 runners and walkers – students, teachers, and corporate teams – gathered at New Forest High School (NFHS) for the institution’s second annual 5K Run/Walk, an event with a mission far beyond fitness. The funds raised will establish a staff welfare fund, a direct response to the growing pressures facing educators and ancillary workers within the institution.