Western Bureau: Young Jamaicans are being urged to harness their creative ideas so that they can develop the skills needed to shape the future of Jamaica’s tourism. Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism, noted last Thursday that students play a crucial role in generating the ideas that will drive the next phase of tourism development. Bartlett was speaking at the Jamaica Youth Tourism Summit & Artisan Experience, which was hosted by the western campus of The University of the West Indies, and held under the theme, ‘Jamaica Wi Cyaa Dun: Resilient Tourism Roots’.

Parents of a child diagnosed with either Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or autism often face a range of emotions in dealing with the impacts of the situation. In terms of autism, some parents experience fear as they are uncertain about the child’s future and safety, while others may experience shame or guilt because of the social stigma attached and the reaction of people in general.

WESTERN BUREAU: Deputy Superintendent of Police Linroy Edwards, the operations officer for the St James Police Division, says that while the 20 murders recorded in St James this year is one more than the corresponding period last year, the police remain fully committed to keeping the murder tally low. Edwards, who was speaking during a press briefing in Montego Bay on Friday, disclosed that the St James police have also strengthened their operating capacity with the addition of 31 personnel, five motorcycles, and three pickup vehicles.

Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate Donna Scott-Mottley is urging the Government to put stronger safeguards in place to protect vulnerable Jamaicans as the country moves to grant three casino licences under its integrated resort development model. Contributing to debate in the Upper House on Friday on the Casino Gaming (General) Regulations, 2025, Scott-Mottley warned that gambling is an industry that often exploits human vulnerability and can lead to addiction.

When Courtney Anderson went to court last Thursday, the last thing he expected was that the judge would order his arrest, have him jailed, and place a stop order against him.

NEW YORK (AP): Before Megan Pilatzke was diagnosed with autism, she wondered why she always felt drained when she got home from work. All day long, she’d laboured to understand when to speak up or stay silent in meetings. She replayed conversations in her head, worrying she’d misunderstood or said the wrong thing. Noisy environments distressed her. She watched her peers receive promotions when she didn’t.

Just minutes from St Mary’s seaside capital of Port Maria, the Frontier (Phase 2) Housing Scheme appears at first glance to be an idyllic residential enclave with its elevated lots gazing out towards Pagee Beach. But a closer look tells a different story – uneven roads riddled with potholes break its polished image, street lighting is scarce, and residents have for years been without piped water, and proper garbage collection.

After nearly three decades protecting the public, retired Jamaican police officer Marlon Campbell* sits at home, sometimes unable to pay his light bill. He gave his working life to the State, but more than four years after leaving the force, he has not received his final pension letter and the full pension he is entitled to remains unpaid. “It’s one of the things where you leave now and you have regrets. It is that bad,” said the retiree, who served over two decades in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) before retiring almost a decade ago.

The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) did not turn over hundreds of documents that were critical to an operation and turnaround plan it commissioned for millions of dollars, the Canadian consulting firm that was contracted to draft it has alleged. This claim by Williams Pragmatic Services (WPS) comes amid scrutiny of its contract with the UHWI by Jamaican lawmakers. Hodine Williams, chief executive officer (CEO) of WPS, dismissed questions raised publicly about the qualification and competence of the consultants.

Scientific and Medical Supplies has rejected findings by the auditor general that the company benefited from a “misuse” of the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) tax-exemption status for imports, and has signalled it has no intention of repaying a cent. Managing Director Howard Lau dismissed the audit conclusions outright, maintaining that the shipment of 40 specialised waste bins linked to his company belonged to the hospital and not his company.

Attorneys decry cops’ decision to lay shooting charges against Jaii Frais, Jahvy Ambassador despite podcaster’s and music producer's duelling claims that they were acting in self defence Defence attorney Isat Buchanan has raised concerns about what he describes as a troubling signal being sent by law enforcement following charges laid against popular podcaster Jhaedee Richards, more popularly known as Jaii Frais, in connection with Sunday’s shooting incident at a carnival afterparty in St Andrew.

The Senate on Friday passed the Casino Gaming (General) Regulations, 2025, but not before Opposition lawmaker Allan Bernard cautioned against the pitfalls of the integrated resorts development (IRD) model, which has been espoused by the Government as the approach to strengthening Jamaica’s tourism competitiveness. The IRD model, among other things, includes luxury hotel rooms, luxury shopping, entertainment facilities and casinos in particular.

When the world ground almost to a halt at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, millions were forced to reimagine their futures overnight. For Sashae Shaw, a young woman from Portland pursuing an associate degree in psychology at Excelsior Community College (ECC), the disruption was more than an inconvenience – it was a turning point that reshaped her life’s trajectory. Today, at 30, Shaw stands not only as a fisherwoman, but as a symbol of resilience, adaptability, and the growing role of women in Jamaica’s fisheries sector.

What began as a life-altering medical emergency nearly a decade ago has since blossomed into a beacon of hope for vulnerable students across Jamaica. For entrepreneur and philanthropist Shadeka McIntosh, May 12, 2016, remains etched in memory as the day she was granted what she describes as a “second chance”. That defining moment, born out of a frightening health emergency during her final year at university, has now inspired the launch of the Shadeka McIntosh Second Chance Scholarship, an initiative through which 10 students are set to benefit annually.

The Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica (YEA) is calling for urgent, targeted support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) following the sharp rise in global oil prices to nearly US$100 per barrel, a development that now confirms risks previously highlighted ahead of the national budget discussions.

Defence attorney Isat Buchanan has raised concerns about what he describes as a troubling signal being sent by law enforcement following charges laid against popular podcaster Jhaedee Richards, more popularly known as Jaii Frais, in connection with Sunday’s shooting incident at a carnival afterparty in St Andrew. Buchanan said the decision to charge his client risks discouraging Jamaicans from defending themselves in life-threatening situations.

Executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) Dr Damien King hopes Jamaica never strikes commercially viable oil – and he means it. King, a former lecturer in economics at the University of the West Indies, fears what development economists call the ‘resource curse’ – a pattern in which the discovery of natural resources weakens, rather than strengthens, a country’s institutions and governance.

Rising oil prices are taking a toll on Jamaican fishermen, forcing many to make shorter trips out to sea and to increase the price of their catch to cope with the escalating fuel expenses. “It rough man. It rough pon fisherman,” 56-year-old Alton Foster told The Gleaner. “Sometime mi deh ya and mi haffi a think bad bad right ya now ‘cause mi cya manage di price a gas.”

Executive Director of the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) Everton McFarlane says players in the insurance industry are concerned about the magnitude of increase in insurance fees, in some instances as high as 100 per cent, which was approved on Thursday by the Regulations Committee of Parliament. Asked whether insurance companies are likely to pass on the increase to consumers, McFarlane told The Gleaner that it would be left up to individual entities to make that decision.

A 29th birthday celebration in Trench Town turned into a night of fear and trauma on Wednesday after police officers descended on a family gathering, detained the celebrant, and allegedly discharged high-powered weapons. Residents were left angered, shaken, and demanding answers. The incident unfolded along West Road in Federal Gardens, where relatives and friends had gathered in a yard to mark what should have been a joyful milestone. Instead, the night ended in chaos.

The music fraternity is mourning the passing of legendary singer Ernie Smith, who died on Thursday evening at a hospital in Florida. “He’s gone. He’s no longer with us,” his wife, Claudette Bailey-Smith, told The Gleaner. Earlier on Thursday, Bailey-Smith had shared that the beloved reggae and folk singer, who underwent surgery on Sunday, had been experiencing health challenges since June last year.

Shockwaves rippled through the global track and field community – particularly in Jamaica – after World Athletics (WA) on Thursday blocked the transfer of allegiance to Türkiye for 11 professional athletes in an unprecedented ruling. WA said the move, first revealed in June 2024, amounted to a coordinated state recruitment effort driven by financial inducements, with athletes lacking any genuine connection to Türkiye. The governing body argued that such arrangements undermine eligibility rules and threaten the integrity of international competition.

Nearly a year after the National School Nutrition policy was approved by the Senate, and its implementation officially launched, advocates are raising concerns over the pace of its roll-out. “Our Government will write policies, but the implementation is where the challenge happens,” Shannique Bowden, executive director of the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), asserted yesterday during a panel discussion at a forum on ‘Healthy Food Policies and Consumer Rights’ hosted by JYAN.

Western Bureau: With the nation now in one of the windows associated with the emergence of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), health officials are urging parents, caregivers, and educators to remain alert and proactive, even in the absence of confirmed cases.

Residents of Whitfield Town in St Andrew say they were left shaken and fearful early Wednesday morning after what they initially believed was an armed invasion, as explosions rang out and the sound of running boots echoed through sections of Bowens Road and Stephen Lane. At first light, it was confirmed that a planned police operation had taken place – one that left two men dead.

Courtney Anderson’s trip to the Half-Way Tree Court on Tuesday was supposed to end a 20-year wait for documents confirming the dismissal of a 1996 case against him — the final step needed to begin the expungement of his record. Instead, the man who walked in “with the confidence of a lion” left shaken “like a frightened rabbit”, empty-handed and facing a shocking revelation.

The removal of the fuel price cap at Petrojam, the state-owned oil refinery, will trigger an increase in the price of basic food items and some essential goods and services across several sectors, an economist has warned. The cap prevented fuel prices in Jamaica from increasing or decreasing beyond $4.50 per litre each week. It will be replaced by a new three-tiered system which will see petroleum prices being more closely aligned to global price movements, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz disclosed yesterday.

Onion farmers in Bernard Lodge, St Catherine are facing millions of dollars in losses as a glut in local production collides with continued imports, leaving acres of mature crops at risk of spoilage. More than 15 farmers in the area are now under pressure to slash prices in a bid to recover costs, even as they call for stronger protection for local agriculture.

Angella Allen was filled with excitement when she learnt during a ceremony in February that she was one of several persons selected for a $500,000 grant under a special Government-funded initiative, the Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS) programme. The initiative, which falls under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), is a $10-billion programme to repair homes that were damaged by Melissa, the powerful Category 5 hurricane that made landfall in Jamaica last October.

After several failed attempts to unearth who was at the centre of a myriad procurement breaches, missing contract documents and the misuse of the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) tax-exempt status, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the institution’s former principals. At a meeting of the PAC yesterday in Gordon House, a request from Chairman Julian Robinson was approved for the substantive CEO Fitzgerald Mitchell, former CEO Kevin Allen, and ex-board chairman Wayne Chai Chong to be summoned to the next meeting of the committee later this month.

Economist Keenan Falconer says the more than $40 billion in tax, interest, penalties and surcharges for which the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is liable represents approximately 15 per cent of the total stock of arrears due to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ). At the same time, Damion Gordon, lecturer in the Department of Government at The University of the West Indies (UWI), says the tax liability issue at the UHWI points to broader concerns about oversight and accountability at the level of hospital administration, also the parent ministry.

The financial standing of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is now under scrutiny following revelations yesterday that the teaching institution has a ballooning tax debt amounting to tens of billions of dollars. Acting chief executive officer of the UHWI, Eric Hosin, told members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday that the hospital owed Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) more than $40 billion in taxes. He said $18 billion of this amount is the principal sum owed and the balance represents interest and penalties.

For more than two decades, Shelley Wong has quietly but decisively shaped the teaching of French in Jamaica. Her commitment to rigour in the classroom, openness to innovation and sustained focus on student achievement have now been recognised with a French national distinction: appointment as a Knight in the Order of the Palmes Académiques.

WESTERN BUREAU: While most of the public health centres in western Jamaica have been returned to full service since the passage of Hurricane Melissa six months ago, residents of Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, St James, are appealing to the authority to speed up the restoration of their facility, which remains out of service. “The health centre is quite an important part of the community, because health is the only wealth some of us will ever have,” said Carlton Smith, a resident. “Anything involving health should always get priority attention.”

Still grappling with the physical and psychological toll of Hurricane Mellissa, schools across the worst-affected parishes are racing to ready grade-six students for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams, now just days away.