One hundred and thirty-one persons are set to receive Dr Barry Wint Memorial Scholarships this year, pushing the total number of recipients to more than 800 since the programme began in 2024. The developmental scholarships are aimed at training persons to return to the healthcare sector and help in needed areas of a period of time.

The 2026 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) English language examination success of young grades 8 and 9 students Andrelissa Brown and Tegan Brown of St Thomas Technical High School continues to demonstrate how students adjudged to be ‘slow learners’ can shine as a result of strategic interventions.

Grace Baston, the lead implementer behind the Grade Seven Academy Reading initiative at Holy Trinity High School in Kingston, could not be more pleased with the latest findings from the third student-administered assessment of grade-eight students this year. Compared with the first assessment, the latest results show a 91.7 per cent improvement, while less than one per cent of students declined and 7.5 per cent remained at the same level. The findings are contained in the executive summary for the 2026 academic year.

New Falmouth Resorts Limited is facing a mounting $26.3-million tax bill on more than 260 acres of prime land, which is now at the centre of a public dispute between Coopers Pen residents and the company. Official Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) records obtained by The Gleaner reveal that the company, which acquired the land in March 2006, has failed to pay property taxes for six consecutive years since 2020, racking up more than $2 million in penalties. Tax on the land, currently valued at $390 million, amounts to $3.4 million annually.

WESTERN BUREAU: “Where are you, Mr Prime Minister? Where are you? We need help.” It was the anguished cry from Cooper’s Pen, on Saturday morning as residents, some already homeless and others fearful that their houses could be next, returned to the streets demanding intervention and relocation in the wake of a demolition exercise that has shaken the Trelawny community. Dressed in white and armed with placards, the residents gathered along the North Coast Highway from early morning, insisting that they are no longer looking merely for temporary assistance.

A St Catherine woman has been left worrying about the fate of her grandsons after she and the family was asked to find another school for the two cousins, who administrators at Enid Bennett High School have described as among the institution’s most problematic students.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP): It’s not all about short-legged speed when 150 corgis gather for an international race celebrating the little dogs. There’s a costume parade, the “smartest nose”, and – of course – the loudest bark.

UNITED NATIONS (AP): The United States has demanded that Cuba open up to private investment, and Cuba has passed sweeping reforms to encourage just that. So Cuba’s UN ambassador says he wants to know why Washington keeps piling on sanctions that stymie the very economic opening it has sought for decades. Ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, in an interview this week with The Associated Press, directed his question to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the main architect of the Trump administration’s Cuba policy.

For students starting at a new school, the first day holds many questions: Will they see any familiar faces? Who will they sit with at lunch? Who will they play with at recess? “I’m this much nervous,” said Iman Fair-Seldon, five, holding her hands about four inches (10 centimetres) apart. Iman will start first grade next month at a new school in southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia. Despite the nerves, she said she is excited to make new friends.

WESTERN BUREAU: “Where are you, Mr Prime Minister? Where are you? We need help.” It was the anguished cry from Cooper’s Pen, on Saturday morning as residents, some already homeless and others fearful that their houses could be next, returned to the streets demanding intervention and relocation in the wake of a demolition exercise that has shaken the Trelawny community. Dressed in white and armed with placards, the residents gathered along the North Coast Highway from early morning, insisting that they are no longer looking merely for temporary assistance.

A St Catherine woman has been left worrying about the fate of her grandsons after she and the family was asked to find another school for the two cousins, who administrators at Enid Bennett High School have described as among the institution’s most problematic students.

WESTERN BUREAU: They started with mathematics. Then students wanted Spanish, English, science, information technology and social studies. Soon, four weekdays were not enough. “Miss, we’re ready,” they told their educators. Saturday was added. Then Sunday.

People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding has embraced democratic socialism, the political philosophy championed by former PNP leader and Prime Minister Michael Manley in the 1970s, declaring that changing times are creating renewed interest in the ideology. Golding, addressing the PNP’s Greendale Divisional Conference on Thursday night, said the philosophy was gaining traction even in the United States (US), where, he argued, there was growing recognition of the need for governments to put people’s interests ahead of those of powerful individuals and groups.

For Charna-Kay McLauren of Arlington, St Elizabeth, the journey from heartbreak to hope has been defined by resilience, faith and determination. After Hurricane Melissa destroyed the home she shared with her family, the mother of three, two biological children and one adopted, faced an uncertain future. Nearly everything they owned was lost, leaving them with about nine garbage bags of salvaged belongings. McLauren still recalls the devastation left by the hurricane that made landfall on October 28 last year.

WESTERN BUREAU: Executive director of the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS), Roshane Reid-Koomson, is urging Jamaicans, particularly employers and healthcare workers, to show greater compassion towards cancer patients and address concerns about discrimination because of their illness. She made the call in an interview with The Gleaner on Thursday, following the media launch of the 17th staging of the Kiwanis Club of Providence Montego Bay Breast Cancer Awareness 5K Run/Walk/Wheelchair event at Grand-A-View Events Place in St James.

Jamaica’s Judiciary is aiming to launch an integrated electronic case management system (IECMS) on October 1, 2027, as the government and the courts prepare to invest millions of US dollars in modernising the administration of justice. Chief Justice Bryan Sykes made the disclosure at the opening of the Judiciary of Jamaica’s eighth Strategic Management Retreat at the AC Hotel by Marriott in Kingston on Monday. “So, just in case anybody doesn’t know the timeline, we are scheduled to go live October 1, 2027. So, that’s just over 12 months away,” Sykes said.

WESTERN BUREAU: They started with mathematics. Then students wanted Spanish, English, science, information technology and social studies. Soon, four weekdays were not enough. “Miss, we’re ready,” they told their educators. Saturday was added. Then Sunday.

People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding has embraced democratic socialism, the political philosophy championed by former PNP leader and Prime Minister Michael Manley in the 1970s, declaring that changing times are creating renewed interest in the ideology. Golding, addressing the PNP’s Greendale Divisional Conference on Thursday night, said the philosophy was gaining traction even in the United States (US), where, he argued, there was growing recognition of the need for governments to put people’s interests ahead of those of powerful individuals and groups.

Kemoy Blake, the technical drawing teacher at Winston Jones High School in Manchester, is used to his students achieving high passes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination. But in his eight years at the school, this was the first time all his students scored grade ones in the subject area, with some earning distinctions. “I am extremely proud and grateful. For me as a teacher, it is a very ... moment,” he told The Gleaner, failing to find the right word. “I will always cherish this moment.”

WESTERN BUREAU: Travellers trying to get between Jamaica and Florida in the United States are facing airfares exceeding US$3,000, sold-out flights, and limited alternatives as a severe summer squeeze on airline seats takes hold. The crunch, particularly acute during July and August, has made getting to South Florida – normally less than two hours by air from Jamaica – an expensive and, in some cases, near-impossible exercise.

WESTERN BUREAU: Amid the complaints of residents, Opposition Leader Mark Golding has given the Government a failing grade for its response to the impact of Hurricane Melissa in Hanover. “I think the Government’s response to this disaster called Melissa is shockingly bad. It is really atrocious,” said Golding, while addressing a recent town hall meeting at the Hopewell Sports Complex in Hanover.

WESTERN BUREAU: Natalie Neita Garvey, the opposition spokesperson on local government, says the Government’s post-Melissa recovery is too slow and is calling for the decentralisation of its implementation to make it more effective. “Where is the recovery, who is recovering, and where is the recovery money going?” asked Neita Garvey while addressing a recent community consultation in Hopewell, Hanover.

A former Rubis Energy Jamaica driver is fighting to be reinstated after claiming that he was forced to sign a resignation letter following allegations that he was involved in the theft of gas from company trucks. Aduke Walker, 48, who has worked with Rubis since 2023 and has received multiple awards, including two ‘Driver of the Year ’ awards, is insisting that he did not voluntarily resign on June 16 but was pressured into doing so. Asked why he complied and resigned if he was innocent, Walker said, “That’s the question everybody is asking.”

Kemoy Blake, the technical drawing teacher at Winston Jones High School in Manchester, is used to his students achieving high passes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination. But in his eight years at the school, this was the first time all his students scored grade ones in the subject area, with some earning distinctions. “I am extremely proud and grateful. For me as a teacher, it is a very ... moment,” he told The Gleaner, failing to find the right word. “I will always cherish this moment.”

WESTERN BUREAU: Travellers trying to get between Jamaica and Florida in the United States are facing airfares exceeding US$3,000, sold-out flights, and limited alternatives as a severe summer squeeze on airline seats takes hold. The crunch, particularly acute during July and August, has made getting to South Florida – normally less than two hours by air from Jamaica – an expensive and, in some cases, near-impossible exercise.

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President La Sonja Harrison says the association is waiting patiently to see the revised Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Bill before they are tabled, following assurances from Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon that the Government has accepted and acted on several of the teachers’ concerns. Morris Dixon said the Government’s legal teams are now finalising the amendments after she personally reviewed the JTA’s submission.

WESTERN BUREAU: Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has dismissed concerns that there is a need to remove what some have labelled ‘political influence’ from school boards. According to Morris Dixon, the key issue should be the qualifications and experience of board members and chairpersons. “I wouldn’t call it that [political influence]. I am ambivalent to a certain extent in terms of who nominates the chair on the board. I think the key thing is the qualification of the persons and their experience,” Morris Dixon said.

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President La Sonja Harrison says she cannot change, declaring that she will continue to challenge the status quo and ask uncomfortable questions on behalf of teachers, even as she acknowledges that her outspoken approach has come at a cost. “I can’t change who I am. I really try not to be a hypocrite, I am a disruptor of the status quo,” Harrison said while addressing the eighth session of the 62nd JTA Conference, which was also attended by Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon on Wednesday.

WESTERN BUREAU: Ahead of the start of the September school term, Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon is urging school administrators to ensure that students obey stipulated dress and grooming guidelines, while also imploring parents to encourage their children to follow the rules set by their schools.

WESTERN BUREAU: Before Beverley Feare could prepare her students for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, she first had to find them. Hurricane Melissa had torn through the communities served by Maud McLeod High School in eastern Westmoreland, damaging the school, displacing families, and cutting communication with students at a critical point in their preparation for the examinations.

Cattle farmers in Colbeck, St Catherine, are living in fear as thieves repeatedly enter the community under the cover of darkness, steal their animals and slaughter them in nearby bushes in what the police suspect could be part of an illicit ‘meat for guns’ trade. The latest attacks have left small farmers counting losses in the millions of dollars and accusing the thieves of becoming increasingly bold and sophisticated in their operations.

Students preparing for next year’s Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations will be able to take up to four subjects under the newest qualification, the Caribbean Targeted Education Certificate (CTEC). Following a successful pilot of the CTEC mathematics in this year’s May-June examinations, three additional core subjects –English language, English literature, and integrated science – will be offered next year. The programme is expected to expand to nine subjects during the 2027-2028 academic year.

WESTERN BUREAU: Unresolved issues surrounding their uniform allowance and a graduate policy for educators pursuing further studies were among the main concerns raised by delegates on Tuesday as the Jamaica Teachers’ Association rejected the Government’s wage offer. The rejection was confirmed on Tuesday after delegates voted at the JTA’s 62nd annual conference at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny. Of the 213 delegates, 155 voted against the offer while 54 supported it. There was one spoiled ballot and three rejected ballots.

Jamaica’s economy contracted 2.9 per cent in the April to June quarter, but the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has shortened its projected recovery timeline to two years, from three. “Given the pace of recovery so far, the current expected timeline for attaining pre-Melissa output levels is now within one and a half to two years of the event, that is, as early as the April to June quarter of 2027,” PIOJ Director General Dr Wayne Henry said at the organisation’s quarterly media briefing yesterday.

Jamaica-born and Florida-based businessman Ricky Wade has expanded his holdings of McDonald’s franchises. Wade told The Gleaner that his company has acquired an additional five franchises in central and western Florida, bringing his total holdings to 33 McDonald’s stores. Additionally, his daughter, Devon-Ashley Wade, has also acquired her own McDonald’s franchise in Delray Beach, Florida. The younger Wade acquired her franchise store on June 15, and one month later, the family business closed on the five new stores.