FUNDING FLAW WESTERN BUREAU: With the 2026 Easter term set to begin next week, school administrators are again calling on the Ministry of Education to review its funding model, arguing that the current per-student allocation is no longer adequate to meet their...
Mixed bag for Kingston vendors as Melissa squeezes Christmas shoppers While several business owners across the Corporate Area have expressed dissatisfaction with their Christmas sales, one downtown Kingston entrepreneur is revelling in the increased profits from the holiday season. The manager of Rockland Furniture...
Garbage pile-up sparks outbreak fears in Blackstonedge Fears of a disease outbreak are mounting in Blackstonedge, St Ann, where residents say they are being forced to live alongside uncollected garbage and are now pleading for urgent intervention from the waste and health authorities. “We’re asking...
Jamaica nears year-end with lowest murder toll since 1994 Jamaica is closing out the year with a dramatic fall in murders, recording a 42 per cent fall in murders at the end of 52 weeks with 666 killings, the lowest number recorded since 1994. That year some 690 people were killed. While the country await...
Duke of Earle delivers hope, again WESTERN BUREAU: For nearly four decades, Christmas Day in Barnett Town has meant more than celebration. It meant preparation, hope, and a fresh start for hundreds of children in the St James-based community. This year was no different, as more than...
Govt to repair, rewire 800 storm-ravaged homes, says Vaz WESTERN BUREAU: Energy Minister Daryl Vaz says the Government has diverted $372 million from its National Energy Poverty Reduction Programme to support households severely affected by Hurricane Melissa, starting with St Elizabeth and extending to...
SSL ‘execs’ face court Jan 26 Law-enforcement officials are seeking to quell public criticisms of the near three-year investigation into the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud at collapsed investment firm Stocks...
Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ remittance tax takes hold this week Effective January 1, Jamaicans in the United States (US) sending money to relatives in their homeland will have to pay a one per cent excise tax on those remittances. The one per cent tax is set out in the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ passed by the US...
St James Health Department renting 15 garbage trucks for clean-up effort WESTERN BUREAU: Lennox Wallace, parish manager for the St James Health Department, says the department is arranging to rent several garbage trucks to carry out its own waste collection in sections of the parish, a move bolstered by concerns about...
Discovery Bay Bauxite vows no ease up on assistance to Melissa victims Discovery Bay Bauxite is committing to continuing its collaborative efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Melissa in St Ann. Since the passage of the hurricane on October 28, the bauxite company has joined forces with several other entities to...