WESTERN BUREAU: The deepening partnership between Jamaica and China was highlighted Saturday night as Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, representing Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, addressed the Chinese Community’s Spring Festival celebration in Montego Bay, St James. Addressing more than 2,000 patrons gathered at The Pinnacle on Saturday night, Chuck described the Spring Festival as “a living reminder of the deep bonds of friendship, mutual respect and cooperation” that have long defined relations between the two nations.

The Government, through the Ministry of National Security and Peace, is signalling that it intends to collect a whopping $1 billion in traffic fines in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. This compares with $450 million that was set as the target to collect in fiscal year 2025-2026. The increase is set out in the Estimates of Expenditure, which was tabled in Parliament last week by Finance and the Public Service Minister Fayval Williams.

A senior police investigator testified yesterday that he never identified any alleged members of the Clansman Gang as suspects in a 2017 murder on Roger Avenue in Spanish Town, St Catherine – and never identified any suspect at all – despite the prosecution’s case linking the killing to the gang. “I have not identified a suspect up to this date,” the detective inspector told the court during the trial of alleged gang leader Tesha Miller and 24 other men in the Home Circuit Court.

Jamaica is renegotiating its long-running medical cooperation programme with Cuba amid renewed pressure from the United States. Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton confirmed that while the previous memorandum of understanding (MOU) has expired, nearly 300 Cuban doctors and specialists continue to serve under existing contracts.

Dennis Shipping company, a sea service provider catering largely to the Jamaican diaspora in specific geographic areas in the United States, is pleading with local authorities to strip more than 40 containers that have been sitting at Jamaica’s two ports, some since last year, with emergency hurricane supplies that are no longer of value.

WESTERN BUREAU: The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) has pushed back against claims that Jamaica’s general aviation sector is in collapse, outlining legislative reforms, licensing growth and ongoing infrastructure interventions it says signal an evolving, not dying, industry.

WESTERN BUREAU: A coalition of church leaders is urging lawmakers to proceed cautiously as Parliament advances the Casino Gaming (General) Regulations, 2025, warning that Jamaica must be fully prepared to manage the potential social risks of expanded casino operations. The Watchman Church Leaders Alliance (WCLA) said it has been monitoring the parliamentary discussions surrounding the regulations tied to integrated resort developments (IRDs), which the Government has positioned as catalysts for tourism expansion and foreign investment.

Born out of an ever-increasing need for emotional and mental healing from gun crimes, the mission of the Pamella’s Sunrise Foundation is to close these deeply inflicted psychosocial wounds, by taking people through their pain towards their purpose. Turning around what’s traumatic can be torturous as often serious scars remain ... and Denise Johnston, founder of Pamella’s Sunrise Foundation, readily admittted that hers was a long journey towards purpose because her pain was not properly dealt with. Her grief ... is gripping.

If donating a pint of blood can save the lives of three persons, then Sonya Binns-Lawrence, the country’s leading blood donor, is just 10 shy of perhaps saving the lives of 400 of her fellow Jamaicans. The phlebotomist, who is celebrating her 60th birthday, decided to twin the occasion with her 130th donation of blood to the cause of helping someone in dire need. The selfless blood donor understands too well the need to give the precious life-giving substance, having worked as an expert in drawing blood for more than 35 years.

Less than a year after a literacy crisis at Pembroke Hall High School drew national attention, the institution has reported a landmark academic turnaround. Internal assessments have shown that 76 per cent of grade-seven students have advanced by two or more grade levels in reading, a success attributed to reduced class sizes, a specialised Grade 7 Academy model, and intensive remedial collaboration, principal Reverend Claude Ellis said.

Three additional solar energy community centres are to be established in fishing villages affected by Hurricane Melissa under a $9.2 million partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Australia. When completed, the UNDP-supported centres will total five, with plans to expand to other impacted fishing communities. Two centres were recently delivered to Parottee and Galleon Beach in St Elizabeth.

A shortage of labourers, building materials, and shrinking cash flow is slowing repairs to public institutions hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. Suppliers and contractors are scrambling to prioritise projects and compete for limited resources as they race to finish jobs. Three months after the storm, the sound of hammers and saws still echoes across several schools and state-owned buildings in St Elizabeth – perhaps most noticeably at the Black River Hospital, where workers from at least three companies were on site just over a week ago.

John Brown* was trying to pick up passengers in downtown Kingston on a busy Thursday afternoon last month when inspectors from the Transport Authority (TA) blocked his Toyota Probox motor car with red plates affixed. The TA was established by law in 1987 to regulate and monitor the public transportation sector in Jamaica. All the documents for Brown’s vehicle were up to date, including the hackney carriage licence that he was issued by the regulatory body, he recounted during an interview with The Sunday Gleaner last Friday.

WESTERN BUREAU: Savanna-la-Mar is not a town you stroll through for leisure. You move because you must. The capital of Westmoreland, home to an estimated 13,930 people across 3,980 households, has long depended on foot traffic. In this low-lying coastal town, walking is not a lifestyle choice – it is survival. To get to school, to work, to the hospital, to the market, residents walk. Now, in the wake of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, that daily necessity has turned into a daily gamble. The storm did not create Sav’s infrastructure problems. It exposed them.

Caught between failing infrastructure in Cuba and what they described as a wall of diplomatic silence at home, Jamaican medical students are urging the Government to establish a formal bridge to local universities to safeguard their academic futures. Tightened United States sanctions and the cessation of Venezuelan oil shipments have plunged the Spanish-speaking nation into a deepening crisis, leaving its power grid and essential services close to collapse.

The continuing oversight of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC) by the Government has sparked fierce pushback from some members of the Jamaican diaspora in the United States, with a former Diaspora Advisory Board member calling for change. At the same time, an outgoing GJDC council member for the Southern region is publicly questioning why the Government retains control over the body. Former Diaspora Advisory Board member Patrick Beckford is calling for the Jamaican Government to divest itself from serving as chair of the diaspora governance structure.

WESTERN BUREAU: Deputy Superintendent of Police Roderick Reid, the acting operations officer for the St James Police Division, is urging the councillors at the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) to play their part in engaging the residents of their divisions in a bid to reduce the parish’s crime rate, particularly murders. Reid made the appeal while addressing Thursday’s monthly meeting of the StJMC, where he reported that St James has recorded nine murders since the start of 2026. He also noted that eight illegal firearms had been seized in the division to date.

WESTERN BUREAU: The St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) on Thursday passed a resolution during its monthly meeting to erect a statue of the late reggae icon James ‘Jimmy Cliff’ Chambers at the entrance to Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in downtown Montego Bay. The resolution, which will be sent to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport for review, was presented and unanimously approved by the councillors in attendance.

Western Bureau: It has been more than three months since Hurricane Melissa devastated western Jamaica, but the impact is still being felt in the region with some families in Hanover, whose homes were destroyed, still being housed in shelters. Speaking at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), Lucea Deputy Mayor Andria Dehaney-Grant said approximately 20 persons were still occupying shelters across the parish as they have no homes to return to because of the impact of the hurricane.

Jamaica Prefects’ Association (JPA) President Nashá Patterson is calling for urgent, coordinated action to locate and re-engage students who have stopped attending school following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Patterson warned that absenteeism is deepening learning loss and contributing to growing demotivation among teachers. Reports coming out from Regions 4 (Hanover, Westmoreland and St James) and 5 (St Elizabeth and Manchester) have raised red flags for the student leadership body, with classrooms now operating at less than half their usual capacity.

The continuing oversight of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC) by the Government has sparked fierce pushback from some members of the Jamaican diaspora in the United States, with a former Diaspora Advisory Board member calling for change. At the same time, an outgoing GJDC council member for the Southern region is publicly questioning why the Government retains control over the body. Former Diaspora Advisory Board member Patrick Beckford is calling for the Jamaican Government to divest itself from serving as chair of the diaspora governance structure.

Business leaders in Montego Bay are pressing the Government to commission a comprehensive study of the city’s rivers and drainage system after Hurricane Melissa left billions of dollars in damage last October. Countless businesses and homes in Westgreen and Catherine Hall were inundated, forcing costly clean-up efforts and disrupting jobs. Barnett Tech Park, a 48-acre hub for global services firms, was among the hardest hit, alongside retailers such as MegaMart and National Supply Limited.

WESTERN BUREAU: More than four years after fire destroyed the Granville Police Station in St James, there is still no clear picture as to when the promised replacement facility will be constructed. Deputy Superintendent of Police Roderick Reid, the acting operations officer for St James, told Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) that discussions about the police station are still being held between the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Ministry of National Security.

An elderly American couple who lost US$70,000 to a Jamaican lottery scam syndicate got dressed “on several occasions” in their “best clothes” and waited for their million-dollar ‘prize’ to be delivered to their home, according to authorities in the United States (US). The allegations were outlined in an indictment charging a Jamaican man, Richard Murray, 31, with money laundering and fraud-related crimes for his alleged involvement in a lottery scam that defrauded mainly elderly American citizens of millions of dollars.

A detective corporal told the Home Circuit Court on Wednesday that police intelligence had identified one of the three men killed during a January 2013 operation on Acadia Drive as an area don in Grants Pen. The officer, who initially led the investigation before it was taken over by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), said intelligence indicated that Eucliffe Dyer was regarded as an area don. He made the disclosure in response to a question about whether he considered Dyer to hold that status.

Negril Councillor Arthel Colley is calling for greater investment in the resort town, arguing that insufficient spending by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has left critical infrastructure issues unresolved and is negatively affecting both residents and visitors. Speaking at this month’s Westmoreland Municpal Corporation general meeting yesterday, Colley said repeated attempts to get answers from the relevant agencies have yielded no response.

The Government’s 2026-27 Budget has sparked a stark divide between public-health advocates celebrating a new sugary drink levy and industry leaders warning that it will hit low-income consumers hardest. The Budget will lean on eight revenue measures that blend classic ‘sin taxes’, modernisation of the tax base, and the continuation of extraordinary flows from the National Housing Trust (NHT) as Government seeks to close fiscal gaps widened by back-to-back climate shocks.

At least two medical professionals are cautioning parents and caregivers to pay extra attention to their children when the country experiences colder-than-usual temperatures. Two recent cold fronts came at a time that paediatricians Dr Carolin Thomas Boyd and Dr Lisa Franklin-Banton both labelled “flu season”.

Western Bureau: More than three months after Hurricane Melissa battered western Jamaica, life in sections of Darliston in Westmoreland remains defined by darkness, uncertainty, and mounting frustration, as residents continue to grapple with prolonged electricity and water outages that have disrupted daily life and tested their mental health. Darliston, Westmoreland, have been living without electricity since the passage of Hurricane Melissa,” one resident told The Gleaner during a recent visit to the community.

The 2026-2027 parliamentary year will begin today with Governor General Sir Patrick Allen delivering the Throne Speech at George William Gordon House, the seat of Jamaica’s bi-cameral legislature. In his presentation, the head of state is expected to highlight the Holness administration’s policies and programme for the legislative year. The ceremonial opening of Parliament is characterised by pomp and pageantry, with the First Battalion The Jamaica Regiment giving the Royal Salute, after which the governor general inspects the Guard of Honour.

The Supreme Court has ruled that police personnel acted lawfully in self-defence during an armed confrontation that left 18-year-old Jerome Lee dead on Ramsay Road, St Andrew, in August 2004, dismissing a civil claim against the State. “The court is satisfied that the officers used the degree of force they honestly and reasonably believed was necessary to repel an armed attack. They were acting in the execution of their duty under Section 13 of the Constabulary Force Act,” Justice Sonya Wint-Blair said in her judgment handed down last Thursday.

Economist Keenan Falconer says he was not expecting the administration to introduce new tax measures at this time, arguing that the conventional approach in the aftermath of a crisis is to either reduce or remove some taxes to spur economic activity and accelerate growth. According to Falconer, by taking this approach the Government would pave the way for gross domestic product (GDP) growth and output that would result in a return to pre-crisis levels in the shortest possible time, allowing tax revenues to rebound.

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors staged a walkout from Tuesday’s meeting of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) after Councillor Lorraine Dobson of the Springfield Division was elected deputy mayor. The walkout followed heated exchanges between JLP and People’s National Party (PNP) councillors over whether the election process complied with the KSAMC’s standing orders. JLP members argued that as a matter of principle, the post of deputy mayor should have gone to one of their councillors.

National Integrity Action (NIA) Principal Director Dr Gavin Myers wants the Government to urgently roll out critical anti-corruption legislative reforms such as the long-proposed unexplained wealth order (UWO) regime. His call comes at a time when the country remains stuck in stagnation with a repeat score of 44 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

For 21 years, Liston Morrison has been living in a world that has slowly faded into darkness. The 60-year-old Spanish Town resident, once a proud and hard-working chef who spent years preparing meals in Cuba, never imagined that the same job that allowed him to provide for his family would one day cost him his sight. Constant exposure to heavy steam from boiling pots gradually damaged his eyes, leaving him visually impaired and eventually unable to work.