When a rare but deadly rodent-borne virus struck passengers on a cruise ship and seemed to be spreading, there were no treatments for those who fell ill and no vaccines to protect others. That was the case even though it wasn’t a novel germ that the world had never seen before, like the virus that caused the coronavirus pandemic.

Across Jamaica, service stations are increasingly serving as social gathering spots and informal taxi hubs, attracting crowds far beyond their intended purpose and raising concerns about public safety. As people congregate to socialise, await transportation or conduct business amid fuel pumps and heavy vehicular traffic, safety advocates warn that the combination of large crowds, moving vehicles and flammable fuels creates risks with potentially serious consequences.

A motorist who fled the scene of a deadly accident in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Saturday morning was handed over to the police hours later. Reports are that the motorist was driving along Main Street about 6:10 a.m., when he lost control of the white 2014 Toyota Mark X, which ran across the roadway, mounted the sidewalk and mowed down a pedestrian before slamming into a utility pole.

A grieving family is demanding answers and the release of a post-mortem report following the death of their relative, 62-year-old Michael Neita, at Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, on May 25. Neita, a tour bus operator from Tucker, Irwin in St James, was reportedly sitting on a chair in the hospital’s waiting area from May 24, when he went there complaining of abdominal pains, up to his death the following day.

WESTERN BUREAU: La Sonja Harrison, the president-elect of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), is urging teachers to prepare themselves for renewed opposition to the proposed Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Bill, which she has described as “an ever-present danger”. 

With fraudulent social media accounts increasingly advertising homes and even purporting to offer National Housing Trust (NHT) houses for sale, members of the public are being urged to verify agents and property listings before parting with money or personal information.

Councillors at Thursday's general meeting of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation renewed calls for the construction of a new municipal building, arguing that the current facility is no longer suitable for effective governance and poses serious health risks.

WESTERN BUREAU: Andrea Purkiss, the opposition spokesman on tourism, is accusing the Government of presiding over a decline in Jamaica’s cruise tourism sector, arguing that the island is losing market share while competing Caribbean destinations enjoy record growth in passenger arrivals.

Residents of Cross Keys and more than a dozen surrounding districts are celebrating the return of their post office to the rural Manchester town after a temporary relocation to Knockpatrick left many struggling with increased travel costs and inconvenience. The facility has a long history in Cross Keys. It originally occupied a prominent position in the centre of the town square, a location that offered sweeping views of sections of Clarendon and nearby cays on clear days. 

WESTERN BUREAU: LaSonja Harrison, the president-elect of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), on Thursday expressed disappointment with the current state of some of the schools in western Jamaica, which were impacted by Hurricane Melissa. "When I go around to the schools in the west, we still have colleagues who, when rainfall comes, are getting wet all over again, and education is expected to take place in those settings,” she said, while addressing the JTA’s St James Parish Association Annual General Meeting in Montego Bay.

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Dr Wayne Henry is suggesting that flexible, hybrid, and remote-work arrangements could help to manage fuel price shocks, reduce pressure on imports, and strengthen Jamaica’s economic resilience by reducing commuting activity and lowering fuel demand.

Residents of Retirement, in St James, wept openly yesterday morning as they angrily rubbished the police claim that four men who were shot and killed in an operation in the community had engaged them in a shootout.

A senior Government official has made an urgent appeal for a restart of the drawn out constitutional reform process that would remove the British Monarch as Jamaica’s head of state and urged lawmakers on the Opposition side to nudge their leader back to the negotiating table.

When the FIFA World Cup kicks off later today in Mexico, many Jamaicans in the Diaspora will be seated in front of their television sets watching the games rather than attending matches. The main reason, they say, is the high price of tickets. Allan Cunningham told The Gleaner that he would love to attend some of the matches being played in South Florida, where he lives, but the price of tickets makes that an impossibility.

Seven men were fatally shot in separate police operations across St Catherine, St Andrew and Clarendon on Tuesday, while a policeman was injured and at least five firearms were reportedly seized, in what appeared to be one of the deadliest days involving the security forces so far in 2026. The bloodiest incident unfolded shortly after 1:40 p.m. in the Bog Walk Gorge area of St Catherine, where police reported that officers came under attack and engaged armed men in a shootout. 

A performance audit has unmasked severe structural and financial challenges at the National Water Commission (NWC), revealing that the utility provider is buckling under a staggering $33-billion debt while failing to execute critical water and sewerage infrastructure upgrades.

NEW YORK: As the Caribbean communities across several states celebrate Caribbean Heritage Month, a number of planned events have been spread across the United States for June. But absent for the second straight year is a proclamation from the Trump Administration to herald the month.

Jamaicans who take over Government lands with a view to becoming owners are being warned that effective June 9, 2026, those  who squat on Crown lands will no longer be considered for a settlement programme.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said yesterday that he was awaiting a report about what transpired with an aircraft operated by the largest airline in Venezuela which was “forced” to land in Jamaica on Saturday.

WESTERN BUREAU: Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness wants the beneficiaries of the National Housing Trust's (NHT) Malvern service lot development in St Elizabeth to build their homes within their financial means, arguing that sustainable wealth is created gradually through responsible homeownership and careful financial planning.

Western Bureau: Hundreds of cannabis [ganja] farmers from communities across Westmoreland Western gathered in Orange Hill last Thursday for a registration drive aimed at helping them transition from the informal market into Jamaica's regulated cannabis industry.

Outgoing Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS) President Linvern Wright has been widely praised as a fearless advocate for education, but he says his six-year tenure was marked by major disruptions and persistent systemic challenges.

A Jamaican man is among 17 naturalised United States (US) citizens targeted by the Trump administration for denaturalisation proceedings. According to the US Department of Justice, the Jamaican national, who has not been identified, was convicted of wire fraud. The administration is seeking to revoke the citizenship of the 17 individuals, who also include persons originally from Haiti, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, the former Yugoslavia, and the Philippines.

Another cohort of 20 celebrated a milestone after successfully completing the Conversations for Greatness (CFG) Online Programme, an eight-week course delivered by the JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation. Designed to empower individuals to unlock their full potential, Conversations for Greatness is a signature initiative of the Foundation that equips participants with practical tools to transform limiting beliefs, strengthen emotional intelligence, and lead values-based lives.

WESTERN BUREAU: Residents of the Estuary Meadows housing scheme in Irwin, St James, are up in arms over a sewage problem plaguing the community that has worsened since the passage of the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa seven months ago. Estuary Meadows, also known as The Estuary (Phase 2), is a sister scheme to the Estuary Housing Development in Friendship, St James. It was built in 2021 by construction company West Indies Home Contractors (WIHCON) and the National Housing Trust (NHT).

More than a year after their contracts were not renewed, two former University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC) lecturers who believe they were unfairly dismissed are pressing the institution to reach a reasonable settlement and pay what they say they are owed.

WESTERN BUREAU:  Growing frustration over the protracted delay in carrying out infrastructure repairs at Godfrey Stewart High School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, boiled over late last week as parents, school administrators and stakeholders staged a protest calling for the resumption of work on damaged buildings. The concerns centre on repair and reconstruction works being led by the National Education Trust (NET) following damage caused by Hurricane Melissa. 

For Richard Byles, the night was not simply about recognition. It was a moment of reflection on a lifetime spent helping to steer Jamaica through some of its most challenging economic periods. The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) governor was named the 2025 RJRGLEANER Platinum Awardee, receiving both the prestigious Platinum Award and the Public Service Award during a glittering ceremony at the RJRGLEANER studios on Lyndhurst Road.

Government officials and the top executive at Jamaica’s electricity distribution monopoly were still stumped yesterday as to why a series of “significant lightning activities” near critical power plants triggered a “cascading effect” that plunged the entire country into darkness for several hours on Friday into early Saturday. Hugh Grant, CEO of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo), acknowledged that a total collapse of the electricity grid “is not something we expect to happen.”

Winston Watson knows the communities between Negril, Westmoreland, and Montego Bay, St James, better than he ever wanted to. For more than two weeks, he and his relatives have criss-crossed western Jamaica chasing reported sightings of his missing father, Winston Watson Sr – a retired tour bus driver with dementia who disappeared from his Hanover home and has not been seen by his family since.

WESTERN BUREAU: Heart disease remains one of Jamaica's leading causes of death, and many of its victims may not realize they are at risk until it is too late. That is the warning from interventional cardiologist Dr Victor Elliott, who says cardiovascular disease continues to exact a heavy toll on Jamaicans despite advances in treatment and prevention. 

WESTERN BUREAU: For decades, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang has lived a life dictated by public service. From student leadership at Cornwall College and The University of the West Indies to medicine, politics and national security, he has spent much of his adult life making decisions, solving problems and carrying responsibility. But after open-heart surgery forced him to step away from the daily demands of public life last year, Chang found himself confronting something he rarely had time to consider. Himself.

WESTERN BUREAU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang had just completed another gruelling election campaign. The veteran politician, known for his demanding schedule and relentless work ethic, felt well. There was no chest pain, no shortness of breath, and no warning signs that anything was seriously wrong. Then a routine medical examination revealed a reality that would force one of Jamaica's most seasoned public figures to confront his own mortality. Three blocked arteries. Open-heart surgery. And months of recovery.

Western Bureau: Sergeant Darral Ellis, sub-officer in charge of traffic in Hanover, has expressed concern about the failure of road users to obey traffic regulations, which he says is a major contributor to road crashes in the parish, particularly fatal accidents. “My biggest concern is that motorists are not adhering to requirements of the Road Traffic Act – the rules of the road – and it is that failure to comply with these laws why we are having those accidents,” said Ellis.

If the spring season has brought an urge to scrub your living space from top to bottom, why not clear out the digital detritus cluttering your electronic devices and online accounts at the same time? Carrying out the digital equivalent of spring cleaning a home isn't just an opportunity to tidy up our online lives. Eliminating dust bunnies like dormant accounts and forgotten files can help protect personal data, according to cybersecurity experts.