WESTERN BUREAU: Pastor Mary Wildish turned her church into a war room. Tamika Williams opened her home as a lifeline for battered communities. And five months’ pregnant Tiffany Grant introduced ‘Sunday dinner’ to hurricane victims determined to hold on to their dignity. They were among seven honorees from western Jamaica recognised on Sunday as Jamaican Women of Resilience by the Women of Western Jamaica (WOWJa) during a brunch hosted by S Hotel Montego Bay and Sagicor Group.

WESTERN BUREAU: A major clean-up operation at the mouth of the South Gully is bringing renewed focus to proper waste disposal and regular drainage maintenance as Montego Bay prepares for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. The work is being carried out by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) under the second phase of a national debris management programme introduced after the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa.

A police sergeant, who has been freed of drug-related charges, previously filed multiple complaints internally about sexual harassment by high-ranking police officers and victimisation, her attorney has disclosed. Marcus Goffe, the lawyer representing Sergeant Tamica Taylor, said he believes the complaints fuelled “this escalation of the case”, culminating with the criminal charges filed against his client and her fiancé, Rayon Harris.

The leadership of Jamaica College was meeting up to late last night to deliberate on a violent incident involving students at the Old Hope Road, St Andrew-based institution. The episode left one boy seriously injured and his mother facing medical bills already exceeding a quarter million dollars and still rising.

Taxpayers will have to dig deeper into their pockets to cover the Customs fees waived by the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) when it applied its tax-exemption status to import goods on behalf of at least four private companies. Acting chief executive officer of the UHWI, Eric Hosin, told members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday that the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) had made it clear that it was the hospital that would have to cover the unpaid taxes and penalties as it had no arrangements with the private companies who benefited.

The University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) so-called procurement scandal takes centre stage today as Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is expected to drill down to unveil additional details into the multimillion-dollar breaches that were uncovered in an audit of the health facility by the auditor general earlier this year.

Edwin Allen High School turned Frankfield blue yesterday, celebrating their 11th ISSA/raceKennedy Girls’ Athletics Championships title with a high-energy campus rally and street parade. Students and supporters packed the school grounds before marching through the Clarendon town, filling the air with music, whistles, and vuvuzelas in a celebration that stretched over three hours. Principal Jermaine Harris set the tone. Dressed in school colours and waving a blue flag, he was introduced to roaring cheers with Vybz Kartel’s We Nuh Fraid A Nobody.

Jamaica College (JC) Principal Wayne Robinson said the school’s latest ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ Championships triumph is more than a title; it is another marker of a school firing on all fronts. The Old Hope Road, St Andrew-based institution secured its 23rd hold on the Mortimer Geddes Trophy with a commanding 345 points last Saturday, finishing ahead of Kingston College (282) and Calabar High (169.3). It marks their second title in six years and the first under head coach Duane Johnson. But for Robinson, Champs is only part of the story.

A 21-year-old police constable is at the centre of a murder-for-hire investigation that has rocked the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), after he was slapped with charges for three homicides committed within a 48-hour period across two parishes.

It shall be now or never for the Reggae Boyz, when they take their final kick at qualifying for this summer’s FIFA Men’s World Cup against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today. Match time is 4 p.m. Mexico’s Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Guadalajara, will host the winner-takes-all Intercontinental final, which ultimately rewards a spot in the 48-nation global championship to be hosted jointly by Concacaf nations the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Ocho Rios Runaway Bay Chapter continued its decades-long support of the Mustard Seeds Widow’s Mite facility in St Ann with a donation of $150,000 on Friday. The donation followed the handover of a cheque to Adult and Teen Challenge in February, and marked the JHTA’s commitment to continue its charitable contribution to the wider community. Hurricane Melissa had forced the postponement of the annual children’s treat and cheque donation to the two institutions, which is normally held in December.

St Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation Chairman Donna Parchment Brown has issued a call for Jamaicans, individuals and organisations to come forward and assist students who have not returned to school since Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.

The Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE) is blaming systemic “inertia” for the protracted delay in correcting an anomaly affecting registered dental surgeons. The union, as part of its efforts to press the ministries of health and wellness and finance to bring action to the signed agreement, has issued a notice of industrial action.

A Trelawny mother who gave birth six months ago to a baby with Trisomy 13, or Patau syndrome, has come forward to share aspects of the family’s journey with the child, who is currently hospitalised. Babies affected by Patau syndrome have a low life expectancy, with up to 95 per cent dying within the first year. However, for six-month-old Anna-Olivia Gardener, there are high hopes that she will be a blessed exception and go on to live a life as close to normal as possible.

Declaring that no act of violence will go unanswered, Pastor Adolphus Smith yesterday warned that there will be “a day of reckoning” as he addressed mourners at the funeral of slain Denham Town shopkeeper Kerrio ‘Boyu’ Pinnock. “All those who believe they are going to get away with their ungodly deeds and their dirty deeds, they better think again,” he said. “For the Bible says that every knee shall bow and everyone will have to answer to God for what they have done.”

A night of relentless rain and thunder left sections of northeastern Jamaica reeling, as swollen waterways burst their bounds and sent murky floodwaters rushing into homes, reigniting fears ahead of the looming hurricane season. The Meteorological Service of Jamaica had forecast unstable weather conditions across the region, warning of persistent rainfall through late Sunday into Monday. But for residents of eastern Portland, the weather’s true force came suddenly and without mercy late Friday night.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is warning that Jamaica’s recovery from the destruction of Hurricane Melissa will rise or fall on a single factor: Government, private interests, citizens and international partners all pull their weight in a united, national push. Utilities have largely returned in western parishes devastated by the monster storm last October, but more than 90,000 households remain displaced or are living in gutted structures.

WESTERN BUREAU: From a little girl growing up in Kingston to one of daytime television’s most influential producers, Talia Parkinson-Jones has built a career shaping stories, steering culture, and helping to define what millions of viewers see each day. Now, after more than two decades behind the scenes of American television, the Jamaica-born executive director and producer at NBC is stepping into her own spotlight, her journey, forged through grit and vision, coming full circle.

Five months after the passage of Hurricane Melissa, the danger hasn’t passed. It’s hanging – literally – over nearly every road, sidewalk, and gate in Westmoreland, especially in the capital. What used to be a routine drive remains a gamble as low-hanging wires now snake along roadways and sidewalks, turning everyday movement into a split-second calculation between safety and disaster. One wrong move, one unseen cable, and the outcome could be catastrophic.

Irish telecoms founder Denis O’Brien is on track to double his equity stake in Digicel Group to about 20 per cent, buoyed by improving financial performance at the Caribbean-focused operator and a rebound in telecoms sector valuations, according to The Irish Times. Despite renewed attention on ownership, Digicel has declined to comment on any prospective changes in shareholding. “We will not be providing comment at this time,” Ana Rua, a spokesperson for Digicel Group, told The Gleaner.

WESTERN BUREAU: The United States (US) has indicated it is satisfied that its US$22-million hurricane relief support is helping Jamaicans recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa, with a strong focus on health and mental health services across western parishes. US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires in Jamaica, Scott Renner, made the remarks during a visit to Montego Bay, St James, on Friday where he toured recovery activities carried out by humanitarian organisation Project HOPE, one of the key partners implementing the US-funded programme.

The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) has announced that it will submit its written recommendations on proposed changes to the Jamaica Teaching Bill (JTC) to the Ministry of Education next month, after it had voiced strong objections to the law that would govern the teaching profession, and delayed its enactment. Mark Malabver, president of the JTA, made the disclosure in response to a public appeal from State Minister Rhoda Moy Crawford.

The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) has disclosed that “another step will be taken” following the publication of an investigation report alleging that Tank-Weld Metals Limited was “likely abusing” its dominance in the local reinforcing steel bar (rebar) market by harming rivals and customers”. However, Executive Director of the FTC David Miller declined to comment on the actions being contemplated. “I am not prepared to state at this time what that step is,” Miller told The Gleaner when contacted yesterday.

Tesha Miller’s legal team is weighing the possibility of taking his case to the Privy Council, after the Court of Appeal quashed his convictions for accessory to murder but ordered a retrial. The appellate court, in a judgment delivered yesterday, found that a fundamental error in jury selection rendered Miller’s original trial a nullity. The panel of judges, Justices Jennifer Straw, Nicole Foster-Pusey, and David Fraser, ruled that the trial judge erred in limiting Miller to two peremptory challenges during jury empanelling, when the law entitled him to four.

A major expansion in access to Jamaica’s regulated cannabis industry is under way, with new permit regimes aimed at bringing more small and traditional farmers into the legal framework. The reforms, now formalised in the Jamaica Gazette, are designed to tackle long-standing barriers that have kept many rural cultivators out of the licensed sector.

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica secured major global exposure yesterday as NBC’s morning programme, Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, aired from the island, with the aim of reinforcing its recovery from Hurricane Melissa and appeal to the critical United States (US) market. The popular US network show will continue its multiday Girls’ Trip broadcast from Jamaica today, but it was not the first time Today hosts have made their way to the island.

Attorneys for Rae Town Councillor Rosalie Hamilton have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Kingston Central Member of Parliament (MP) Donovan Williams, threatening Supreme Court action unless he ceases “unwelcome contact” and alleged harassment against her. The legal strike, contained in two letters dated March 26, also rejected claims that the councillor defamed Williams in a series of leaked voice notes now widely circulated.

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has indicated that it has engaged multiple stakeholders to help locate the more than 300 students who have been missing from the formal school system since the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October last year. Speaking yesterday during a quarterly press briefing hosted by the Education Transformation and Oversight Committee (ETOC), Dr Kasan Troupe, permanent secretary in the education ministry, said the ministry has revamped its Find The Child initiative, which was first launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tank-Weld Metals (TW), the leading supplier of steel products in Jamaica, is “likely abusing its dominance in the market by harming rivals and customers”, a report by the country’s fair competition watchdog has concluded. The report is based on an investigation conducted by the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) into a complaint filed by another company, ARC Manufacturing Limited, alleging that TW was selling steel reinforcing bars – also known as rebar – below cost to the detriment of rivals.

WESTERN BUREAU: For the next three months, the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) will be putting into effect an advertisement and building amnesty, which will become effective on April 1 and run until June 30. Mayor of Lucea and Chairman of the HMC, Sheridan Samuels, told The Gleaner that the amnesty was not just an income-earning exercise but was aimed at strengthening compliance, improving community development, and strengthening orderly growth across the parish.

The upcoming 11th Biennial Diaspora Conference is being touted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade as potentially the most impactful since the first was held in 2004, with a number of changes implemented to achieve this. Alando Terrelonge, minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, addressing a town hall meeting to launch the conference in New York on Monday evening, said he was excited about the prospects of the upcoming event, to be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from June 14 to June 18.

WESTERN BUREAU: Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is urging Jamaicans to embrace environmental stewardship and resilience as the country embarks on the Restoration, Ecological Enhancement and Landscape Framework (RE-LEAF) National Programme, an initiative aimed at restoring forests devastated by Hurricane Melissa. Speaking at the launch in Lowe River, Trelawny, yesterday, Holness recalled the destruction he witnessed immediately after the storm.

What should have been a routine trip to the doctor with his children ended in bloodshed just steps away from the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), where tragedy unfolded on a strip of land long whispered about for fear and turf control. Yesterday afternoon, 30-year-old Damion ‘Danger’ Henry was gunned down in the unofficial parking area adjacent to the hospital — a space meant to serve the sick, but one now stained by years of violence. Henry had come for one reason, his relatives said: to seek medical attention for his ailing children.

It was the guidance of a mentor that led Dorrette Rhoden Henry into the teaching profession and, 30 years later, that influence continues to shape her approach to teaching and learning. After graduating from the Mary Mount High School in St Mary, Rhoden Henry said she was invited by the former principal of Preston Land Primary School, in the parish, to join the teaching staff there. It was here that she discovered her “calling” for teaching and, despite challenges, has diligently stayed the course.