Just a week after opening its doors, the Pure Chocolate factory in Ocho Rios, St Ann, was battered by Hurricane Melissa. A massive guango tree lodged in its roof, leaving production at a standstill and causing millions in losses. But since last month, the business has started to bounce back, with staff, chocolate, and some of the island’s cocoa farmers all rising from the wreckage. On top of that, the company was nominated days ago as one of the top three businesses of the year by the St Ann Chamber of Commerce.

Dozens of schools still without electricity months after Hurricane Melissa are now being targeted for emergency support as the National Education Trust (NET) moves to plug critical gaps with the distribution of generators. The agency is compiling a list of institutions still in the dark and in urgent need of backup power following the storm late last year. Students at several schools in Hanover and Westmoreland – two of the parishes hardest hit – are among those most affected, according to NET Executive Director Latoya Harris-Ghartey.

The venerable Titchfield High School marked its 240th anniversary with a week-long programme of celebrations, culminating in a family fun day on the school’s grounds on Easter Monday. Festivities began on March 29 with a meet-and-greet at the Ken Wright Pier, where past students – including many from the overseas diaspora – turned out in large numbers to reconnect, socialise and reminisce. The gathering set a convivial tone for the week ahead.

WESTERN BUREAU: Veteran deejay Roger Walker, popularly known as ‘Jaggy D’, was murdered shortly after midday on Monday in Hopewell, Hanover, when an unknown assailant opened fire, killing him on the spot. Reports are that Walker was speaking to friends at a popular hangout spot when he was shot. The 57-year-old entertainer was among a group of promising deejays who surged to prominence in western Jamaica in the late 1980s.

Five people died on Jamaica’s roadways over the five-day Easter holiday weekend, raising concerns for the main road safety advocacy group even as road fatalities continue to trend downwards. “Inattention/diverted attention” was listed as the possible cause of three of the four crashes that resulted in the five deaths, according to the respective police reports reviewed by The Gleaner. A pedestrian, 66, and a motorcyclist, 63, were killed in separate crashes in Kingston and Westmoreland on Holy Thursday, the reports revealed.

The teenage boy who suffered injuries in an incident at Jamaica College on March 26 will not be returning to the Old Hope Road, St Andrew-based institution when it reopens for the summer term next Monday. “I haven’t decided on how to finish the term as he only has a few more months left to complete fourth form, but the short answer is he is never setting foot on that campus [again],” the boy’s mom told The Gleaner yesterday.

WESTERN BUREAU: The Hanover Kitchen of Love has received a $2.4-million boost from GV Service Station, which is spearheading an initiative to provide 400 hot meals per month to needy persons in the parish. The latest donation brings to $9.2 million the amount of money that GV Service Station has donated to the Kitchen of Love from its 2025 quarterly promotion at its two service stations to generate funding for the project. The latest funds are for the last quarter of 2025.

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Mark Malabver is calling on the Government to show greater respect for the nation’s teachers, arguing that educators are not being adequately compensated for the demanding work they do.

WESTERN BUREAU: For 32 years, Shernette Crichton walked the corridors of Half Moon not as a spectator of its legacy, but as a student of it; quietly studying, steadily rising, and preparing for a moment she always believed would come. On April 2, that moment arrived. In a move that signals both continuity and change in Jamaica’s tourism sector, Crichton was appointed managing director of the 72-year-old institution, becoming the first Jamaican and the first woman to hold the post. Her elevation came against the backdrop of renewal.

The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) paid Strategic Alignment Limited US$92,000 (J$14.5 million) to create a strategic transformation plan, but rejected the draft without explaining why the board did not approve it. At the same time another consulting firm, William Pragmatic Limited, which received nearly US$93,000, representing 50 per cent of the cost to produce an operation and turnaround plan for the UHWI, only delivered a draft document nearly two years after collecting the down payment.

A former attorney has lost his bid to pursue a conflict-of-interest complaint against a member of the disciplinary panel that ruled over 20 years ago that he should be struck off the list of lawyers authorised to practise in Jamaica. Disbarred attorney Therol Voche filed an application in the Court of Appeal requesting permission and more time to challenge a decision made last year by a disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council (GLC) not to pursue his complaint against Charles E. Piper, KC. The GLC is the body that regulates the legal profession in Jamaica.

WESTERN BUREAU: The Government of Jamaica has pushed back against claims that St Kitts and Nevis is the first Caribbean nation to recognise Rastafarianism in law, insisting that Jamaica has long acknowledged the faith within its constitutional and parliamentary framework. Speaking with The Gleaner on the sidelines of the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 Coral Gardens Incident last Friday, Culture Minister Olivia Grange said that Jamaica’s legal system has historically recognised Rastafari as a legitimate religion.

What should have been one of the happiest moments of Shandale Ballentine’s life ended in heartbreak on Good Friday. Instead of leaving the Cornwall Regional Hospital cradling the baby boy she had spent months preparing for, the 33-year-old first-time mother said she returned home “empty-handed”, struggling to make sense of how her long-awaited delivery ended in tragedy. Ballentine said she lost her son, Ramontay Rakai Ranger, during labour at the Montego Bay, St James-based hospital during what she described as the “worst” ordeal of her life.

The People’s National Party (PNP) says it has referred the membership of a former Member of Parliament charged with incest to its internal disciplinary processes for “immediate action”. In a statement issued late Monday, the party said it acted “without delay” after learning of the charges.

Jamaica’s push to expand advanced neurological care is getting a boost from the return of a locally trained specialist, whose new facility is aiming to reduce the need for patients to seek treatment overseas. For Dr Francene Gayle, the move was not simply a homecoming. It marked the beginning of a deeply personal mission to help close one of the country’s most pressing healthcare gaps, access to specialised brain care, particularly for patients and families confronting Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Police in St Catherine have launched an investigation into the death of a 28-year-old woman whose body was discovered inside her bedroom at her home in Eltham Acres, Spanish Town. She has been identified as Annica Hamilton, a trainee customer service representative. According to reports, about 10 a.m. on Sunday, a relative returned home and noticed that the house was open, except for the room occupied by Hamilton. Efforts to reach her by phone were unsuccessful, prompting a forced entry to the room, where her body was found.

Ariel Bowen, the officer in charge of the Jamaican Consulate in New York, has emphasised that even as media attention surrounding the impact of Hurricane Melissa fades, the push towards full recovery continues – driven in large part by the Jamaican diaspora. “Our mission is keen to ensure that as the limelight of Melissa diminishes in the media, the next phase of support – the rebuilding efforts – will continue, mindful that the race to full recovery is not a sprint but a marathon. So the work continues,” she said.

WESTERN BUREAU: Fourteen primary school students from St James East Central are now more empowered to further their education after being gifted with computer tablets by their member of parliament, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, last Friday. The tablets were handed over to the students during a formal ceremony held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James. The 14 tablets that were given out are from a batch of 20 tablets, which were provided through a donation from the Universal Access Fund.

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica is facing a bitter truth about its sweetest habit. From vending machines on university campuses to roadside coolers and taxi stands, sugary drinks have become the nation’s go-to refreshment. But behind every bottle of soda or sweetened juice lies a growing health crisis – one that doctors warn is quietly fuelling epidemics of hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease across the island.

The National Housing Trust (NHT) has funnelled $1.1 billion to private banks to subsidise its External Financing Mortgage Programme (EFMP), a move that effectively outsources its mortgage book to protect a multibillion-dollar housing construction budget. The contributor-funded state-run entity is projected to pay a further $1.3 billion in interest to financial institutions for the 2025-26 fiscal year, it disclosed, following a Sunday Gleaner query.

The police in Clarendon are probing the shooting death of a man in Lionel Town on Friday. He has been identified as 57-year-old Orville Garriques, otherwise called ‘Bugle’, who lived in the area. The police report that about 11:00 a.m., the man was in a section of the community known as Capture Land when explosions were heard. Passers-by summoned the police. On their arrival, the man was found along the roadway with what appeared to be gunshot wounds.

A St Thomas man has been charged after allegedly stabbing his spouse during a domestic dispute that left her hospitalised in serious condition. Twenty-eight-year-old Hadji Thompson, a taxi operator of Duhaney Pen, has been charged with wounding with intent following the incident at his home on Monday, March 30. Reports from the Morant Bay police are that about 8:45 a.m., an argument developed between Thompson and his spouse. During the dispute, he allegedly used a knife to inflict stab wounds to her body.

Jamaica’s steady decline in offender readmission to correctional facilities is being hailed by Executive Director of Stand Up for Jamaica, Carla Gullotta, as a sign of progress, but she argues that stronger efforts are needed to facilitate their reintegration into society. “It [reintegration] remains a big, huge problem. There is a very strong stigma when they apply for the job, and the employer hears that they come from prison, it is most of the time a no-no,” she told The Gleaner.

On the most important weekend in Christianity, which should have been filled with polished pews, floral arrangements, and the echo of choirs beneath sturdy rooftops, many Jamaicans are instead gathering under tarpaulins, in classrooms, or beneath the open skies. And still, they will worship. Months after Hurricane Melissa tore across sections of the island, the damage still feels like a raw, open wound, visible in the twisted zinc, shattered walls, and sanctuaries reduced to memory. But this Easter, something else is just as visible: a stubborn, unyielding faith.

Tensions are high in Coral Spring, Trelawny, as residents of the upscale community push back against a developer’s plan to close a section of road, arguing that it is privately owned and warning that the move would cause significant inconvenience. The standoff between the residents and Gore Developments Limited escalated in a recent virtual meeting where residents voiced their objection to a written notice issued by the company on March 11, indicating its intention to commence roadworks and infrastructure upgrades on Canada Way and Orchid Road in the area.

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica’s tourism sector has rebounded to more than 80 per cent of pre-hurricane levels, with the reopening of Half Moon signalling renewed confidence in the island’s post-Melissa recovery. Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the recovery has been driven by the steady return of hotel rooms and visitor arrivals, supported by continued investment in the sector.

Senior trade unionist Senator Lambert Brown this week cautioned that the Government’s move to scrap incentive and emergency duty allowances for doctors who are mandated to work overtime could have a detrimental impact on the health sector should frustrated doctors decide to consider their options. Brown, who was making his closing submission Wednesday on behalf of the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA) to a panel of three adjudicators at the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT), said the medical professionals were just asking to be treated fairly.

A new initiative aimed at tackling market-access challenges facing small farmers in Jamaica is set to roll out through a 90-day corporate farmers’ market pilot programme spearheaded by Reality Focus Limited. The programme was developed in response to long-standing difficulties within the agricultural sector, particularly the challenge small farmers face in securing reliable and consistent markets for their produce, Reality Focus Operations Manager Stephen Richards told The Gleaner.

There were tears on both sides of the aisle as Jamaica College ended a 39-year drought to lift the Television Jamaica (TVJ) Schools’ Challenge Quiz (SCQ) defeating Westwood High School 30 – 28 in a fiercely contested final at the TVJ studios on Thursday.

WESTERN BUREAU: Warning that insurance alone is not enough to safeguard businesses from disaster, Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Jason Russell is urging entrepreneurs to strengthen their financial preparedness and build resilience to withstand unexpected shocks. Russell made the call while addressing final-year business students at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) Western Campus Business Seminar held recently at the Sea Gardens Beach Resort.

Most travellers flying with United Airlines will now pay $10 more to check their luggage beginning on Friday, as rising jet fuel costs driven by the war in the Middle East pushes another major United States carrier to increase fees. Customers travelling in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Latin America will now pay $45 for their first piece of luggage and $55 for their second bag, according to United. “This is the first time in two years the airline has raised bag fees,” United said in a statement.

The Opposition People’s National Party is calling for the Government to address the condition of a bridge in Easington, St Thomas, following the death of a man who fell through the structure today. Opposition Spokesperson on Roads, Richard Azan, has described the incident as a profound failure of duty on the part of the Government. Azan called for a full parliamentary disclosure of all infrastructure spending since Hurricane Melissa last October and an immediate temporary crossing for Easington.

Manchester’s most wanted, Oral Cole, was shot and killed by police on Thursday during an alleged confrontation in Trelawny. According to police reports, a team from Manchester was conducting reconnaissance operations in connection with Cole. According to the police, Cole was linked to multiple crimes in Manchester and was described as a major threat to several communities. Police say Cole was accosted in the Albert Town area and, according to them, opened fire at the officers, who returned fire.

A man today died after falling from a bridge in Easington, St Thomas. Reports are that approximately 10:00 a.m., the man, who is yet to be identified, was attempting to cross the bridge when he fell through a gaping hole, reportedly created by heavy rains from Hurricane Melissa in October last year. He was taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital in the parish, where he was pronounced dead. Minister with responsibility for Works, Robert Nesta Morgan, has expressed deep sadness over the death.

Two men from St Mary have been charged after allegedly using counterfeit United States currency to make purchases at a business establishment in Oracabessa. Charged are 25-year-old shop operator Kevin Farquharson, otherwise called ‘Lewis’, of Clarks Town district, Retreat, and 29-year-old construction worker Robert Gray of Three Hill district, Retreat. Both men have been slapped with charges of possession of counterfeit notes, uttering counterfeit notes, and obtaining goods by false pretence following the incident on Monday, March 30.