When mom Kerrine Blair realised that she could do no more to influence her son’s career choice, she admitted defeat and decided to fully support him in his quest to become a pilot. The fact that she had just bought a house in Montego Bay, St James, hardly mattered then. She packed up and headed east to enable him to attend Wolmer’s Boys’ School after he got his first choice in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations. Today, she has no regrets as her son, Mikhail Grey, is a pilot at just 19.

Night-time garbage collection is being used in some sections of the island to beat the punishing heat, but workers say the approach comes with its own risks, including poor visibility, parked vehicles, and the danger of injury from improperly discarded items. National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Executive Director Audley Gordon said the agency has adjusted collection schedules in some areas because of the heat, allowing workers to operate at night where possible.

WESTERN BUREAU: Senator Marlon Morgan is urging school administrators to exercise greater care in preparing book lists, arguing that parents are sometimes asked to purchase textbooks and workbooks that end up not being used in the classroom. Morgan, the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education, made the appeal while addressing a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) meeting in St Elizabeth on Sunday.

Years after retiring from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), two former district constables say they are still without their full pensions, leaving them in financial distress and demanding answers. Derrick Foster told The Gleaner he spent 36 years in the JCF working at the Pedro Plains Police Station in St Elizabeth before retiring. Two years after his retirement, he said, he received an interim payment of about $800,000, which was intended to suffice until his final pension payment.

Four of the five children abandoned at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine have spent their entire lives at the facility, a situation Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Ellis says is unacceptable. The latest child – a male who is one and a half years old – has remained at the hospital 11 months after being discharged. Hospital records show that four of the children – whose ages range from 10 months to two and a half years old – were left by their parents shortly after birth to be adopted. The other child was left there for “care and protection”.

More than two decades after they met in high school in Jamaica and became friends, Rene Myrie and Francine Forbes have combined their professional knowledge to create Choobi, an artificial intelligence-powered mental wellness companion.

“What is a community without a library to help the kids with assignments and things to print?” That is the question a 15-year-old St Mary student is asking as the Oracabessa Branch Library faces closure, leaving students and residents uncertain about where they will turn for books, Internet access, printing, and a place to study. The Jamaica Library Service (JLS) says the branch was temporarily closed on August 15 because of concerns about the safety and condition of the building. The closure came ahead of the August 31 expiration of its tenancy arrangement.

WESTERN BUREAU: While J.C. Hutchinson will be stepping down as the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) deputy leader in charge of Area Council Four come October, he has made it clear that he plans to remain active to help secure a fourth consecutive term for the party. In reminding party supporters that he has served as an officer of the area council for more than two decades, Hutchinson said he intends to use his retirement from the position to focus even more on helping the JLP secure victories at the municipal and parliamentary levels.

The late Cambridge professor Jason Arday was set to deliver a message of hope to Jamaican parents of autistic children before his untimely death, organisers of the Hope, Tools and Tomorrow Autism Summit have revealed.

Four of the five children abandoned at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine have spent their entire lives at the facility, a situation Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Ellis says is unacceptable. The latest child – a male who is one and a half years old – has remained at the hospital 11 months after being discharged. Hospital records show that four of the children – whose ages range from 10 months to two and a half years old – were left by their parents shortly after birth to be adopted. The other child was left there for “care and protection”.

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.

Three passengers counting their blessings, a wrecked Mitsubishi Pajero and a dead cow were the grim remnants of a frightening late-night collision last week on the May Pen-to-Mandeville leg of the toll highway. Stray cattle had breached the fencing and wandered onto the dark roadway, where vehicles travel at speeds of up to 110 mph.

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.