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ST.ANN, JAMAICA: Students protest Police attack on principal, Marcia Grant at the Steer Town Academy...."I put my hand on the handle of the car when the officer pushed me and that was when the students started to retaliate," Grant said.

Tuesday, April 01, 2014 | 9:26 PM RENAE DIXON OBSERVER STAFF REPORTER   
Steer Town, St Ann - Students at the Steer Town Academy staged a protest at the institution on Tuesday, April 1 after the school's principal was reportedly assaulted by one of three Police officers who went to the school and arrested two students.
The principal, Marcia Grant had reportedly gone to the officers after she was informed that the Police had arrested and handcuffed two students, and removed them from the school compound without the knowledge of any member of staff.
Grant told Observer Online that she was speaking to one of the Police officers about the removal of the students without informing the administration. According to the principal while talking to the Police she placed her hand on the car which the officers drove to the school. At that point she was shoved. This she claimed happened in full view of many students. 
"I put my hand on the handle of the car when the officer pushed me and that was when the students started to retaliate," Grant said.
This led to a standoff between the police officers and the students of the institution.
One of the police officers who visited the school is said to be a parent of a child who attends the  school who the Jamaica Observer found out had been in trouble several times at the institution and was in an altercation only last week, during which he was injured. That last incident reportedly took place off campus.
Only one of the police officers was wearing uniform on Tuesday.
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is investigating the matter. more

Glenn Beck Sued For Defamation By Boston Marathon Victim..... Alharbi has been called a "murderer, child killer and terrorist" based on Beck's statements, the suit says.

AP Posted: 04/01/2014 8:21 am EDT Updated: 04/01/2014 2:19 pm EDT
BOSTON (AP) — A Saudi Arabian man injured in the Boston Marathon bombings has filed a defamation lawsuit against Glenn Beck, accusing the conservative commentator of calling him "the money man" behind the attack.
GLENN BECK WOLF BLITZER ATHEIST
Glen Beck
Abdulrahman Alharbi, 20, said in the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston that his reputation was "substantially and severely damaged" as a result of Beck's statements on the air linking him to the bombings.
The lawsuit, which also names the broadcast companies connected to Beck's show, seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.
In the days after the explosions that killed three people and injured more than 260, Beck "repeatedly and falsely identified Mr. Alharbi as an active participant in the crimes that were committed on April 15, 2013, repeatedly questioned the motives of federal officials in failing to pursue or detain Alharbi and repeatedly and falsely accused Mr. Alharbi of being a criminal who had funded the attacks at the Boston Marathon," the lawsuit alleges.
Alharbi has been called a "murderer, child killer and terrorist" based on Beck's statements, the suit says. Neither Beck nor his representatives immediately responded Tuesday to emails and telephone messages seeking comment.
Alharbi, who attends college in the Boston area, was a spectator near the marathon finish line when the bombs went off. He was injured and was questioned by authorities who searched his Revere apartment before determining he had no connection to the attack, according to the lawsuit. more

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Tessanne Chin spurs JA$3.9 Million (C$40,000.00) bidding war between Lee-Chin, Raymond Chang for UWI scholarships....For the record, that’s JA$1.3 Million ($13,333) per song," The Toronto Star reported. Chin obliged, saying, “I hope you don’t mind if I sing acappella”.

Tuesday, April 01, 2014 | 10:51 AM    
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Tessanne Chin, winner of NBC’s season 5 of The Voice competition, on her first visit to Canada managed to raise C$40,000 for a 'worthy cause' with an impromptu three-song performance.
Chin's appearance spurred a bidding war between Jamaican/Canadian philanthropists Michael Lee-Chin and Raymond Chang while she was being honoured recently by the University of the West Indies (UWI) at a fundraising banquet at the Ritz Carlton in Toronto.
The Toronto Star reported that the star was not scheduled to sing at the UWI function. But some spur-of-the-moment bidding at the end of the evening generated excitement for her fans.
Lee-Chin and Chang reportedly got into the impromptu bidding war to persuade Chin to sing, with the bidding starting at $1000 by auctioneer Gordon Cressy.
The report said the bidding seemed to stall briefly at the $4,000 mark after which Cressy then asked Lee-Chin why he wasn’t joining in.
The billionaire reportedly responded “It’s too low,” before bidding $10,000 for Chin to sing just one song.
Chang, who was the patron of the ball, reportedly matched Lee-Chin's amount, adding that Chin should consent to singing a second song.
"This was topped by Lee-Chin who offered another $20,000 if Chin would sing a third song, for a total of $40,000. For the record, that’s $13,333 per song," The Toronto Star reported. 
Chin obliged, saying, “I hope you don’t mind if I sing acappella”. more
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Obamacare on target to hit 7 million sign-ups target.....New Poll 49% like the new law.....At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov,

by Associated Press | April 1, 2014 at 12:22 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) —President Barack Obama‘s health care overhaul was on track to beat expectations with more than 7 million Americans signing up for health insurance by deadline day Monday, government officials told The Associated Press.
The 7 million target, thought to be out of reach by most experts, was in sight on a day that saw surging consumer interest as well as vexing computer glitches that slowed sign-ups on the HealthCare.gov website.
President Barack Obama speaks on the Affordable Care Act in the White House briefing room November 14, 2013 in Washington, DC. The president announced that canceled insurance plans would be renewed for a year. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Two government officials confirmed the milestone, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter ahead of an official announcement.
Seven million was the original target set by the Congressional Budget Office for enrollment in private health insurance plans offered through new online federal and state market places created under Obama’s signature legislation.
That was scaled back to 6 million after the disastrous launch of HealthCare.gov last fall. Several state-run websites also had crippling problems. Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rushed to apply for health insurance Monday faced long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills on deadline day.
At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later. The 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act has been the No. 1 legislative achievement of Obama’s presidency. more 

IN JAMAICA: Conflicts with the Chinese revisited.....There have been reports of increasing criminal insurgency against Chinese immigrants in Jamaica.....Just recently, four appropriately dressed 'deadlocks' went into a Chinese restaurant. The operator, suspicious of the four men, called his private security to stand by until they finished their dinner.

 by Louis MOYSTON  Tuesday, April 01, 2014    
This article aims to respond to recent matters concerning the new Chinese immigrants and black Jamaicans. Some of these incidents occurred on construction sites and at the business establishments of these newly arrived migrants.
THE story of the Chinese and issue with those children in Black River, St Elizabeth, late last year, could have provoked ugly atrocities of the past. There have been reports of increasing criminal insurgency against Chinese immigrants in Jamaica. The newspaper reports, 'St James police urge Chinese businessmen to report crimes' (Jamaica Observer, November 28, 2013). However, the problem goes beyond crimes. Both groups have mutual suspicion of the other, and this attitude has to be carefully treated. Just recently, four appropriately dressed 'deadlocks' went into a Chinese restaurant. The operator, suspicious of the four men, called his private security to stand by until they finished their dinner. How could this action affect this business if the story went out? Black people must ensure to minimise or completely stop unnecessary provocation of the Chinese immigrants. Ominous signs are on the horizons. Let history be our guide to prevent the return to an ugly past.
There are some frameworks that have been used to explain the anti-Chinese sentiments that have erupted in Jamaica over the years. There is a thought that black people are jealous of their accumulation of wealth; there is the idea of the wave of anti-foreigner sentiments at times of harsh economic setting; and lastly the school of thinking that these attacks took place at the heights of black conscious agitation. The racist nature of the plantation system made the integration of the Chinese migrants a major challenge for both majority blacks and minority whites. According to a newspaper report (31 March 1934) on "pernicious drugs" in Jamaica, the issue concerning opium became one of the early roots of xenophobic attitudes against the new Chinese immigrants of the early 1900s. The white elites became intolerable of this new wave of Chinese migrants coming in large numbers as shopkeepers. The newspaper editorial (10 June 1913) made the distinction between the earlier Chinese migrants and their present "poverty stricken, ignorant fellow countrymen", who were blamed for the 'opium scare' in Jamaica now that the "natives are succumbing to the vile and deadly habit". This first anti-Chinese thrust was rooted in the opium drug trade. The foundation was set for the first and a massive anti-Chinese riot in 1918. more 

JAMAICA Entertainment : Paul Campbell to get Caribbean Heritage Award, to be presented during the inaugural Oracabessa Festival, at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York, on May 26.

Tuesday, April 01, 2014
ACTOR Paul Campbell is one of two recipients of the Caribbean Heritage Award, to be presented during the inaugural Oracabessa Festival, at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York, on May 26.
Irwin Clare, a stalwart in New York City's Jamaican community, will also receive an award.
Paul Campbell
Campbell first came to prominence as Priest in the 1997 movie Dancehall Queen. He has had leading roles in films such as The Lunatic, Shottas and Third World Cop.
Last year, he appeared in the low-budget film Home Again, which looks at the plight of Jamaicans deported from Canada, the United Kingdom and United States, to their birthplace.
Later this year, Campbell will co-star in the urban drama Jamaican Mafia.

IN JAMAICA: Senior cops murder suspects......Kevin Adams has been charged with four murders....officers had been arrested for two murders that had initially been reported as homicides committed by civilians.

BY KARYL WALKER Editor — Crime/Court Desk walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, April 01, 2014 
01SENIOR police officers are being investigated by the Independent Commission of Investigation (INDECOM) for their alleged roles in extra-judicial killings.
INDECOM Commissioner Terrence Williams made the revelation during a press conference at the commission’s Dumfries Road headquarters in Kingston yesterday.
Williams also said officers from Area Three — which comprises Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth — had been arrested for two murders that had initially been reported as homicides committed by civilians.
“The commission intends to consider carefully whether any senior officer permitted, ordered or acquiesced in the activities which led to these killings, and if there is evidence that shows that they did so, to ensure that those matters are put before the proper tribunal for a determination,” he said.
“We do not intend to stop at the police officer on the ground. We intend to take the investigation wherever it leads,” he added.

INDECOM Commissioner Terrence Williams
So far, four cops — constables Collin ‘Chuckie’ Brown, Carl Bucknor, Jerome Whyte, and Detective Corporal Kevin Adams — are charged with murder relating to killings that took place in Clarendon.
Adams has been charged with four murders — Asif Washington in January last year; Andrew Bissoon in September 2011; Sylvester Gallimore in May 2011; and Andrew Trought in February 2012.
Bucknor has also been charged with Bissoon’s murder, while Whyte has also been charged with Trought’s murder. more

Washington, DC teen Avery Coffey sought by 5 different Ivy League schools.....The 17-year-old has maintained a 4.3 grade point average....Now, he has recently been accepted to all five Ivy League schools he applied to for college: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown......Coffey was raised by a single mother in one of the poorest wards in our nation’s capital.

by theGrio | March 31, 2014 at 10:35 AM
To say that Washington, D.C. native Avery Coffey has a bright future ahead of him would be a huge understatement.
The 17-year-old has maintained a 4.3 grade point average at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, he plays four different team sports and he even built a robot at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory while doing an internship.
Now, he has recently been accepted to all five Ivy League schools he applied to for college: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brown.
Avery Coffey (courtesy of Fox 5)
Avery Coffey (courtesy of Fox 5)
The local Fox affiliate recently asked this remarkable young man what he wants to do next.
“I guess probably the CEO of an investment (or management consulting) firm. I guess pretty much overseeing acquisitions or transactions between large companies. Hopefully, Fortune 500 companies,” he said.
Coffey was raised by a single mother in one of the poorest wards in our nation’s capital. His mother works as a technician at the local children’s hospital. He offers this advice to aspiring young people: ”You can go anywhere you want to, pursue any career that you want to, and you shouldn’t let anybody hinder you from trying to reach your goals.” more

Move over, Lisa Hanna! 11-y-o Sherika Mundell wants to be JAMAICA's next female Prime Minister....."I want to encourage you to stay focused, and who knows, if you work hard you could become the country's next female prime minister," said Simpson Miller. Sherika is now driven.

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, March 31, 2014    
ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD Sherika Mundell was always an ambitious child who wasn't sure of a career path. Now, the student of Greenwich Town Primary is certain of what she wants to become: Jamaica's next female prime minister.
The grade 5 student came to the decision on Wednesday after meeting Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller during the ground-breaking ceremony for the Majesty Gardens Housing Development in Kingston.
Sherika was asked to represent her school and present a token to Simpson Miller.
During her presentation, the prime minister took time out to encourage Sherika, a resident of Caribbean Palm Estate, to work hard at achieving her dreams.
"I want to encourage you to stay focused, and who knows, if you work hard you could become the country's next female prime minister," said Simpson Miller. Sherika is now driven.
"I was very inspired by what the prime minister said to me and as a result I will continue to work hard in school," said Sherika, who is the youngest of five children for her parents. Representatives from Greenwich Town Primary have since reported that Sherika has been working harder in class and has been a role model to her classmates.
The Majesty Gardens Housing Development will provide jobs for persons living in and around Majesty Gardens and those trained under YUTE Build, a construction-training programme, the prime minister said. more

New Michael Jackson album slated for release in May 13, 2014.... Eight (8) unreleased songs will make up Xscape, featuring producers such as Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins and Stargate • Timbaland to produce new Michael Jackson music



Michael Jackson'Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting,' says Epic Records CEO LA Reid. Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
A new Michael Jackson album will be released in May, entitled Xscape and featuring eight unreleased recordings.
The posthumous album is scheduled for release worldwide on 13 May by Epic Records and will include material that has been reworked by producers such as Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, Jerome 'Jroc' Harmon and John McClain. It will be executive produced by Epic Records chairman and CEO LA Reid. more

Obamacare has led to health coverage for millions more people.... At least 9.5 million previously uninsured people have gotten health insurance since Obamacare started, surveys and reports show.


WASHINGTON — President Obama's healthcare law, despite a rocky rollout and determined opposition from critics, already has spurred the largest expansion in health coverage in America in half a century, national surveys and enrollment data show.

ObamaAs the law's initial enrollment period closes, at least 9.5 million previously uninsured people have gained coverage. Some have done so through marketplaces created by the law, some through other private insurance and others through Medicaid, which has expanded under the law in about half the states.
The tally draws from a review of state and federal enrollment reports, surveys and interviews with insurance executives and government officials nationwide.
The Affordable Care Act still faces major challenges, particularly the risk of premium hikes next year that could drive away newly insured customers. But the increased coverage so far amounts to substantial progress toward one of the law's principal goals and is the most significant expansion since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
The millions of newly insured also create a politically important constituency that may complicate any future Republican repeal efforts.
Precise figures on national health coverage will not be available for months. But available data indicate: more


 

IN JAMAICA: 'Stop prosecuting people with ganja, burning fields' ....."Please, Mr Government, ask you police and the army to stop digging down the world number one brand ganja," Ras Arthur Newland shouted out emphatically.

BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, March 31, 2014    
AS Government contemplates the decriminalisation of ganja, some pro-weed advocates want the authorities to immediately end the practice of arresting people for having ganja and destroying ganja fields.
These were among a number of concerns and questions raised at yesterday's preparatory meeting for the Ganja Future Growers and Producers Association (GFGPA) at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica auditorium on Trafalgar Road in Kingston.
International Rastafarian Ambassador Rasta Irie Lion (right)
 makes a point during Sunday's preparatory meeting
 for the Ganja Future Growers and Producers Association
 at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica auditorium
 on Trafalgar Road in Kingston. Seated at left (front row)
 is reggae icon Bunny Livingstone Wailer.
 (PHOTO: JOSEPH WELLINGTON)
"Please, Mr Government, ask you police and the army to stop digging down the world number one brand ganja," Ras Arthur Newland shouted out emphatically.
"We believe the persecution and the lock up for ganja must stop immediately," he declared during the well attended meeting which heralds the formal launch of the association set for April 5, 2014 at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.
Another Rastafarian, Brother Trevor, who bemoaned the arrest of his friend, Ras Puddler of Westmoreland, who was arrested after he publicly declared in the Jamaica Observer that he planted ganja, was also of the opinion that individuals should not be persecuted for the weed while Government moved toward decriminalisation.
"How we can go forward knowing that the Jamaican Government is still funding and aiding the destruction of ganja fields, locking up people and burning ganja?" he asked. "How we can go forward with decriminalisation, much more legalisation, when we still accepting all these aids?".
But Paul Burke, programmes director for the association, while agreeing with the move for the enforcers not to persecute individuals for ganja said he was not in support of the call for them to leave the ganja fields. more

IN JAMAICA: Death Haunts Family - Tivoli Committee Collects Testimonies Ahead Of Enquiry....Sutherland claims that another nephew, who now lives overseas, has vowed never to eat meat again because of atrocities he saw inflicted upon humans during the 2010 police-military operation.

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
Published: Monday | March 31, 2014 
Tivoli resident Nadine Sutherland yesterday recounted the horror of two nephews being killed by members of the security forces, she claims, during May 2010, when policemen and soldiers went into the community in search of then fugitive Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
Marjorie Hinds telling her story while tears stream down her face yesterday. - Rudolph Brown/Photographer
Marjorie Hinds telling her story while
 tears stream down her face
 yesterday. - Rudolph Brown/Photographer
Thirteen years earlier, her son, Conrad Francis, who had just turned 18 years old, was among five persons killed by members of the security forces during an operation in the west Kingston community.
Sutherland claims that another nephew, who now lives overseas, has vowed never to eat meat again because of atrocities he saw inflicted upon humans during the 2010 police-military operation.
Sutherland and Marjorie Hinds, whose 13-year-old daughter reportedly watched as members of the security forces shot her father in cold blood in 2010, were recounting their tales of horror during a public forum hosted by the Tivoli Committee at the Council of Voluntary Social Services on South Camp Road in Kingston yesterday.
Hinds claimed to have been injured in a mortar blast, which she said ripped open the left side of her face and partially paralysed her right hand, rendering her unfit to hold a steady job. She broke down in tears, while recounting the events and admitted to still being traumatised. more 

IN JAMAICA: No murders reported over busy Champs weekend..... However, the CCN reported two fatal road crashes which claimed the lives of three people, and the seizure of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

Monday, March 31, 2014    
THERE were no reports of murder in the island over the busy Boys' and Girls' Championship weekend, police said.
Checks made with the communication arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Constabulary Communications Unit, up to press time yesterday revealed that police blotters were not showing any recorded reports of murder between Friday and Saturday.
However, the CCN reported two fatal road crashes which claimed the lives of three people, and the seizure of an illegal firearm and ammunition.
In the first accident which occurred in St Mary on Saturday, sometime after 9:00 pm, two people were killed on the Prospect main road when the driver reportedly lost control of his vehicle. The deceased were identified as 45-year-old Caswell Baylis of Donhead Avenue and 35-year-old Marsha Singh of Honeyhill Close, both of St Andrew.
The other accident occurred along Retreat main road, shortly after 6:00 am on Sunday after the driver also reportedly lost control of the motor car and crashed into a utility pole. The dead man has been identified as 20-year-old Delano McFarlane of Bessie Baker district, Hanover.
Two other passengers who were also in the vehicle were admitted to hospital in serious condition.
The police also seized a Browning 9mm pistol with a magazine containing one 9mm round over the weekend and arrsted one man. more

IN JAMAICA: PALAS Scholarship recipient and Medical student at UWI, Nicole Nation Disabilities Awareness Activist -...Wins Autism Foundation Award....Tops NSWMA All-Island Essay Competition

The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation is happy to announce that 18-year-old Nicole Nation is the overall winner of the inaugural Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors competition. The competition is one of the main efforts of the Foundation to help heighten awareness of autism and other disabilities. The competition was staged between January and April, global autism month.
Ms Nation won for her efforts in lifting the awareness of autism through writing letters to the newspaper, published in the Jamaica Observer, calling for more tolerance for the disabled and for writing poems about the plight of the disabled, published in The Sunday Gleanermore

PALAS SPRING FLING DANCE FUNDRAISER EVENT at KOZY COVE , 4654 HOPE SPRING ROAD, STONE MOUNTAIN GA 30083. Admission is $15.00 (Includes Dinner)

Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS), 100 scholarships &
100 computers for 2014. Please donate at www.PALAS1.org or send a 
check payable to PALAS. PO Box 5461, Alpharetta GA 30023.

HANOVER, JAMAICA: Settle those differences, PNP official tells members.....supporters demonstrating in Lucea on Wednesday, calling on their Member of Parliament Ian Hayles to step down.

BY MARK CUMMINGS Editor-at-Large Western Bureau cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, March 30, 2014
LUCEA, Hanover — Hyacinth Shakes-Warren, the People's National Party (PNP) Hanover West constituency chairman, has called for an amicable resolution to the bitter conflict that she said could destroy the governing party's machinery in the constituency.
People's National Party (PNP) supporters demonstrating
 in Lucea on Wednesday, calling on their Member of
 Parliament Ian Hayles to step down.
"I hope that for the party's sake the matter will be resolved amicably and they will stop this whole foolishness which is not good for the party," Shakes-Warren told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.
She was referring to a slew of charges and counter charges between supporters loyal to Member of Parliament for the area, Ian Hayles and Lucea Mayor Shernett Haughton, who is also the chairman of the PNP-controlled Hanover Parish Council.
Haughton, who represents the Green Island Division, has for several weeks been under pressure from the majority of councillors at the council to step down as chairman.
The councillors, who seemingly have the support of Hayles, have said that they are dissatisfied with Haughton's leadership of the local authority and have vowed to unseat her.
Three weeks ago, the monthly general meeting of the Hanover Parish Council fell through due to the lack of a quorum, as the controversy surrounding Haughton's leadership of the local authority appeared to be deepening.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am. However, just over an hour later, the mayor entered the chambers and thanked members of various State-run agencies, Parish Development Committee representatives and members of the media for coming out. She latter stated that the meeting had fallen through because of the lack of a quorum.
Then, just over a week ago at a workers meeting at the Green Island High School, Hayles made several pronouncements -- deemed by many to be disrespectful to the mayor- as he sought to explain the reasons for the impasse between the councillors and the mayor.
The MP's pronouncements have since been condemned by the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), as well as the Association of Local Government Authorities (ALGA), who have called on Hayles to apologise to the embattled Mayor. more

Champs To The Caribbean - Promising Regional Athletes Head To Jamaican Schools And Dominating Marquee Event.....Zharnell Hughes & Delano Williams 2 examples....at most track and field championships, the men's 100m, has been quietly erased at the premier high school track event in the world. Is this good or bad for the sport in JAMAICA?

Published Sunday March 30, 2014. Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter
Kingston College's Zharnel Hughes. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
KC's Anguillan, Zharnel Hughes
Jamaica's dominance in the marquee event at most track and field championships, the men's 100m, has been quietly erased at the premier high school track event in the world.
The ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championship is widely accepted as the best meet of its kind in the world, but for the past three years the marquee event, the Class One 100m, has not had a Jamaican champion.
The latest winner was Kingston College's Anguillan, Zharnel Hughes, who won last Friday with a 10.12-second clocking to better the old record of 10.21 set by Yohan Blake in 2007.
In 2012 and 2013, the races were won by Delano Williams of the Turks and Caicos Islands, who was representing Munro College.
Williams, who now represents Great Britain, went on to win the sprint double, as he captured the 200m on both occasions.
He has remained in Jamaica to train at the Glen Mills-led Racers Track Club, home of World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt and Blake. It is also the training base for Hughes.
Both Williams and Hughes have local connections as their mothers are Jamaican, but that is not the only thing that pulled them to the island to compete in the world-renowned 'Champs'.
ISSA General Secretary Garth Gayle, who has also been an official at Champs for the past 36 years and assistant meet manager for the last 15 years, believes that given the global environment, we are likely to see more youngsters coming here to attend schools and take part in the meet. more

IN JAMAICA: Careers & Education Grace Kennedy puts over $52 million into education.....Executive Director of the GraceKennedy Foundation, Caroline Mahfood said "I wish we could do more, because the need is so great."

Sunday, March 30, 2014    
DESPITE the tough economic climate which existed in 2013, GraceKennedy, through its GraceKennedy Foundation and Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation, invested over $52 million in education and education-related expenses last year.
GraceKennedy Foundation bursary recipients listen intently
 to pharmacist and former GraceKennedy Foundation bursary
 recipient Dr Tonoya Toyloy-Williams at the 2013
 ceremony where they were officially awarded.
Of that sum, the Grace Kennedy Foundation, established in 1982 to mark the company's 60th anniversary, invested some $32.6 million in scholarships and bursaries at the University of the West Indies, University of Technology and the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, among other institutions. The foundation also provided grants to several schools as part of refurbishment or improvement projects. Listed also among its major expenses was its public Annual lecture series. Ten million dollars was also allotted for the two chairs funded by the foundation at the University of the West Indies in Environmental Development and Management Studies.
Through the assistance given at the tertiary and secondary levels, skills training, student support, student medical and its five homework centres, the company's community outreach arm, the Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation, invested some $19.54 million. Unlike the GraceKennedy Foundation which is corporate-endowed, Grace and Staff's expenses are covered by voluntary contributions from GraceKennedy staff members, which are then matched two to one by the company. The Foundation also stages its annual Education Run, with proceeds going to the furtherance of inner-city education programmes. Grace and Staff was established in 1979 in response to the social and economic conditions existing in inner-city communities.
"We are happy to make a difference," said Executive Director of the GraceKennedy Foundation, Caroline Mahfood. "I wish we could do more, because the need is so great." more

JAMAICA Centenarian: Christiana Elizabeth Rose,101, strict and loved to beat....."She took care of us and every other woman's children in the community,"...."We just sit down and counsel them. If you counsel your children they will behave good,"

By DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Sunday Observer Staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaoserver.com  Sunday, March 30, 2014    
She is loved and fondly spoken of by her children.
But one thing is foremost on the top of the list when describing the cheerful Christiana Elizabeth Rose, who turned 101 on March 24, is that she was strict and loved to beat.
"Lawd Jesus she loved to beat!" Catherine Rose, postmistress at the Spanish Town Post Office and one of Rose's 10 remaining children said when asked about her mother.
Christiana Rose, 101, is surrounded by a number of her
grandchildren and great-grandchildren last Friday.
"She love beat! She love beat! And you couldn't outrun her! When she say she want to beat you, you better run. And if you run she going to catch you. She could run!" the centenarian's daughter recalled with a broad smile.
"She was very disciplined. She grew us really good. She said that one person came to court her daughter and when she asked why he didn't look elsewhere, he said because he heard she grew the best children," she said.
The postmistress described her mother as a blessed and God-fearing woman for as long as she can remember.
"She had been going to her church until when she finally couldn't go, but she still praise her God and she encourages people along the way," she said.
"She took very good care of us. And she could cook! She never used seasoning so she used to say is like her hand has in seasoning because whatever she had, she cooked it and it tasted real good. And she always liked to share with neighbours and friends," the youngest of the siblings said.
Her sentiments were echoed by some of her brothers.
"She was a nice mother, strict, but I mean she would never eat and don't give anybody none," the centenarian's 66-year-old son Joseph said.
"In those days when we were growing up, we couldn't think 'bout carrying girls to the house. We couldn't think 'bout that. And we couldn't go road," he recalled. "When the big brothers going show (movie), man, they had to beg her to let me go, mi couldn't come out of the yard. All when mi big, mi couldn't go road like youths now. When you looking a little girlfriend a pure hiding, man. A mussa when mi reach 'bout 21 mi start get girl," he laughed.
But despite her strict nature, Rose's 56-year-old son, James, described her as the best mother anyone could ever have, especially since her strictness was for their own good.
"She took care of us and every other woman's children in the community," James said.
A laughing Rose agreed that she was in fact strict and that if they did anything wrong she would 'cut their skin'.
"They grew up under rule. But them father stricter than me," she said. "My children don't grow up at dance. And they don't keep company with others who never good. If you a woman and you nuh live nuh life, don't come a mi yard because my husband would run you. And if you don't grow up you pickney dem good, you can't come," she said.
Rose admitted to growing 15 great grandchildren and one great, great grandchild along with her 12 children, two of whom are now deceased. She said however, that they never argued with each other.
"We just sit down and counsel them. If you counsel your children they will behave good," she told the Jamaica Observer from her Kellits, Clarendon home on Friday.
She said that if her children went out, even when they were adults and were told that they could not come in after a particular time, which was set at 9 o'clock, they had to sleep outside, as the door would not be opened.
So strict was her mode of discipline that it was transferred to her children. more

BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth : Unite against crime, Governor General urges Jamaicans ... as Beryl Rochester installed as custos of St Elizabeth... "making an unprecedented appeal to all residents of this country... to come together, under God, and beat back this scourge of crime". .

 BY GARFIELD MYERS Editor-at-Large South Central Bureau  Sunday, March 30, 2014    
BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — There was plenty of pomp, colour and ceremony as Beryl Rochester was formally installed as Custos Rotulorum last Thursday at this historic coastal town's Independence Park.
The new custos of St Elizabeth, with husband
 Derrick Rochester (centre) and governor general
 Sir Patrick Allen. In back row, from left are
Members of Parliament Richard Parchment
and Raymond Pryce.
But also, there was much substance, as Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke and Rochester,
who is St Elizabeth's first woman custos, delivered sober messages relating to national development.
Speaking to an audience of leading citizens of St Elizabeth and the wider Jamaica, including custodes, scores of justices of the peace, and political representatives, Sir Patrick underlined the threat posed by criminals among the nation's top priorities.
He urged Jamaicans to overcome "fear" and turn their faces firmly against criminals whom he said were seemingly "bent on destroying our homeland" and "who have no qualms about wrecking the prospects of honest people, snuffing out the lives of our people, including innocent infants and children".
Daesharae Arthurs of Santa Cruz
 Primary provides light
entertainment with a cultural item.
Sir Patrick said that "law-abiding citizens... should not remain so fearful that we even refrain from reporting crimes or giving the police useful information. Each of us should be willing to do whatever we can, within our power, to reverse the tide of crime".
He reminded residents that last month, the prime minister and the opposition leader joined with him in "making an unprecedented appeal to all residents of this country... to come together, under God, and beat back this scourge of crime". He instructed custodes and justices of the peace, to "always give leadership at the community and parish levels to secure peace and tranquility across Jamaica". more

Ex-Christie Aide's Attorney Rips 'Venomous' Report....Bridget Anne Kelly's Lawyer Responds To 'Venomous' Gov. Christie Report... "The report's venomous, gratuitous, and inappropriate sexist remarks concerning Ms. Kelly have no place in what is alleged to be a professional and independent report."

The lawyer for Bridget Anne Kelly, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's former deputy chief of staff, issued a fierce defense of Kelly in a report on the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.
Christie KellyIn a statement obtained by the Newark-based Star-Ledger newspaper, Kelly's attorney Michael Critchley, condemned the Christie-commissioned report released on Thursday, saying "The report's venomous, gratuitous, and inappropriate sexist remarks concerning Ms. Kelly have no place in what is alleged to be a professional and independent report."
The report cleared the Republican governor of wrongdoing in the Bridgegate scandal that closed Fort Lee, N.J.'s, access roads to the George Washington Bridge from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12. The report blamed the closure on Kelly and former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Official David Wildstein. The report also mentioned that Kelly was involved in a relationship with former Christie campaign manager Bill Stepien.
Christie fired Kelly from her job in January after emails came to light connecting her to the closures. more

CHAMPS IN JAMAICA: Wolmer's' Jaheel Hyde, KC's Zharnell Hughes (10.12 secs) in blistering record runs....Scintillating 16-year-old St Jago star, Raheem Chambers, smashed Yohan Blake's Class Two 100m record of 10.34 secs and lowered it to an amazing 10.29 seconds.

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walker@jamaicaobserver.com  Saturday, March 29, 2014   
Kingston College’s Zharnel Hughes (left) reacts after
establishing a new record in the Class One 100m
 final ahead of Jevaughn Minzie of Bog Walk High.
Hughes won in 10.12 seconds, with Minzie stopping
 the clock at 10.16 seconds.
(PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)
DEFENDING champions Calabar High surged impressively to the top of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Athletics Championships with 83 points despite early mishaps to hold a 13.5-point advantage on a day that local fans witnessed three unbelievable records at the National Stadium yesterday.
Calabar rebounded in style after 15 finals and lead KC on 70.5 points and JC with 70 points going into the final day.
It was an amazing day and KC's Zharnel Hughes took schoolboy sprinting to another level with a jaw-dropping 10.12 seconds to smash Yohan Blake's record of 10.21 seconds done in 2007.
Hughes easily confirmed that he was the fastest junior in the region showing great top-end speed to catch Jevaughn Minzie, who also went below the previous record with 10.16 seconds.
Just minutes earlier, fans were left in awe as 16-year-old St Jago star, Raheem Chambers, smashed Yohan Blake's Class Two 100m record of 10.34 and lowered it to an amazing 10.29 seconds.
Chambers pulled the talented 15-year-old Jhevaughn Matherson of KC to 10.37 seconds. The lanky Akeem Bloomfield of KC limped in at eighth.
Wolmer’s Boys’ Jaheel Hyde clears a
 hurdle on his way to a smashing
 new 49.49-second record in the
 Class One 400m hurdles.
The irrepressible Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer's — the World Youth 110m hurdles champion — stepped up to the 400m hurdles and decimated the field in a National Junior record of 49.49 seconds, lowering Omar McLeod's 49.98 done last year.
The smooth-hurdling Hyde left Marvin Williams, the World Youth 400m hurdles champion, in his wake and in the process turned in the performance of the meet to date.
Tyreke Wilson and Dejour Russell gave Calabar maximum 16 points placing first and second in the Class Three 100m. Wilson just missed Matherson's record of 10.85, stopping the clock at 10.91 seconds. more