ST.JAMES, JAMAICA: Gruesome murder of a helpful teacher, 31 y-o Simone Grossett.....Allegedly stabbed to death by her common-law husband

Monday, May 05, 2014 | 5:31 PM    
ST JAMES, Jamaica – Helping journalist  Huntley Medley prepare for his mother's funeral some three weeks ago Simone Grossett never thought that her family would now be arranging her burial.Allegedly stabbed to death by her common-law husband on Friday, May 2, 31-year-old Grossett was a teacher at the Cambridge Infant School in St James.

Simone Grossett at the funeral service three weeks ago

Reports reaching OBSERVER ONLINE are that Grossett was involved in a dispute with her common-law husband about 9:30 pm when a knife was brought into play and she was stabbed several times. It is further reported that lawmen were called to the location and saw Grossett's body at the back of the house covered with banana leaves.

Her common-law husband has since been taken into police custody but his identity is being withheld pending further investigations.

Struck by Grossett’s tragic death Medley turned to Facebook to offer condolences to her family, friends and co-workers, one of which is his sister Andrea.

He recalled how just three weeks ago, the teacher, whom he met for the first time, offered to prepare a slide show of photos capturing some of the “glorious moments” he shared with his mother to be shown at her thanksgiving service.

Medley also shared a photograph of Grossett as she sat in the church during his mother's funeral service.

“This is a monumental loss. My heart goes out to the Grosset family at this time,” he said. more

WEST KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Coronation Market Burns! Some vendors say they lost everything...."Ah sleep mi a sleep when mi hear the calls for fire and mi jump up and see people a rush out," said Damion Blackwood

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, May 05, 2014    

MILLIONS of dollars in goods and equipment were destroyed last night by a fire which razed more than 30 stalls at Coronation Market, West Kingston.

Two firefighters were also injured as they suffered electric shock from several live power wires while they fought to put out the blaze.

Firemen at Coronation Market

Police said that about 5:00 pm, vendors saw smoke coming from the Chapel Lane end of the market facility and raised an alarm.

"I was in the market to carry out some work when I see the smoke and start call out fire, fire!" vendor Horace Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.

Campbell made the comment while standing among a large group of vendors who gathered at the location and watched in shock and anger as firefighters fought for more than an hour to put out the blaze.

Firefighters said that they received the call minutes after 5:00 pm but, despite quick action, they were not able to save several stalls. However, they said that they were able to ensure that the inferno did not spread to other areas.

"We received a call about the fire around minutes after 5:00 pm and were able to respond shortly after", said Assistant Superintendent Lawrence Campbell of the York Park Fire Station.

"Four units, from Rollington Town, Trench Town and York Park, were used to bring the fire under control," Campbell told the Observer.

"Two of our men were shocked by loose electric wires while they were putting out the blaze," another fireman said, while sighing with relief that their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

As firemen and police worked to bring the blaze under control, vendors wept openly as they grappled with the sight of their goods being destroyed.

"Ah sleep mi a sleep when mi hear the calls for fire and mi jump up and see people a rush out," said Damion Blackwood, a vendor who said that he lost everything. more

IN JAMAICA: Non-native plant species threaten Black River eco-system......Wild Ginger and Australian paperbark could eradicate endemics — scientists....The Black River is home to the famed American crocodile

BY GARFIELD MYERS Editor-at-large South/Central Bureau myersg@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, May 05, 2014    

BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — The problem is not yet at crisis proportions, but scientists are voicing increasing concern at the invasion of alien plant species in the ecologically priceless Black River Lower Morass.

Black River

Alpinia Allughas, colloquially referred to as wild ginger, and the Australian paperbark tree, which carries the scientific name Melaleuca Quinquenervia, are the species attracting the most attention.

According to Dr Kurt McLaren, senior lecturer, Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies such “invasives” have the potential to destroy the ecology of the Black River Morass.

Seen as a “natural sponge” crucial to soaking up excess water and mitigating flooding on the St Elizabeth plains, the 15,600-hectare Black River Lower Morass is classified and protected under the Ramsar Convention. Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the convention provides for the conservation and sustainable use of important wetlands.

The lower morass is also of direct economic importance, partly because of its plentiful fish and shrimp, but increasingly for its attractiveness to tourists.

On a daily basis, many boatloads of tourists travel up and down the Black River to experience the largest freshwater wetland in Jamaica and the islands of the English-speaking Caribbean.

The Black River is home to the famed American crocodile and numerous species of endemic birds and plants. more

'Don't worry!'- Usain Bolt tells fans delayed start to season is by design What's the time? - Bolt says he ran 400m PB in training but won't tell.... Bolt, 27, the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting

By Howard Walker Observer senior reporter walker@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, May 05, 2014  

Despite not making his seasonal debut with a quarter of the year elapsed, Usain Bolt has reassured fans that things are going to plan and that they have absolutely nothing to worry about.

"There is never anything to worry about," he told the Jamaica Observer at the press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel last Thursday to announce the Caribbean broadcast rights for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

BOLT

"For me, I take my time throughout my seasons and you know the season is never perfect — niggles here, niggles there, but the coach will decide when I start and hopefully I'll start very soon," he noted.

Bolt, 27, the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting and is deemed a living legend with mind boggling world record times of 9.58 and 19.19 seconds for the 100m and 200m, respectively, said the next two years will be crucial in his already glittering career.

"I am just taking my time and going through the season because in the Commonwealth year, I try to take it as easy as possible. I want to run less races because the next couple of years will be very important," said Bolt.

He has constantly set goals for himself throughout his brilliant athletics career and went into the 2012 London Olympics aiming to acquire legendary status by becoming the first runner to win back to back 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles. And that he did.

 A repeat of those performances at the Rio Olympics in Brazil will more than likely put him among the immortals of track and field and hence, he is trying to preserve that body for the extra push when he will be 29 years old, going on 30.

Meanwhile, the inaugural World Relays in The Bahamas are just three weeks away to be held on May 24 and 25, and Jamaica are expected to make their mark in the 4X100m, 4X200m, 4X400m, 4X800m and 4X1,500m.  more

Jamaica men's won their first ever World Table Tennis Championship in Tokyo, Japan, yesterday..... Jamaica defeated South Africa 3-2 in one of the most thrilling divisional finals in the overall 2014 World Championships.

Monday, May 05, 2014 by Hurbun Williams   

JAMAICA men's table tennis team lead by coach Barney Reed and team captain Michael Hyatt won their first ever World Table Tennis Championship in Tokyo, Japan, yesterday.

Playing unbeaten in Division Five of the competition, Jamaica defeated South Africa 3-2 in one of the most thrilling divisional finals in the overall 2014 World Championships.

Playing sumptuous table tennis, the Jamaica team of Chris Marsh, Michael Hyatt, Kane Watson and Simon Tomlinson ended the World Championships as one of the only unbeaten teams in the Men's Team competition, after posting a record eight wins and no loss to be crowned Division Five champions.

And in typical Jamaican team fashion, Hyatt, Tomlinson and Watson each won a match in the final to lead Team Jamaica to a historic first ever World Championship title.

In the last match of the final, Watson defeated his South Africa opponent 3-2 (11-9 in the 5th) to carve the emphatic win for Jamaica.

Jamaica will now move up to Division Three to rub shoulders with the Dominican Republic with regional heavyweights Cuba campaigning in Division Two.

Based on the unprecedented feat, it is said movie producers have begun to enquire about making a film called Pong Runnings. more

The ABC of life presented at a graduation ceremony

Post by Mad Ratchet.

IN JAMAICA: 100 Years, 100 Murders - Growing Up In The Killing Fields Of Denham Town...."I know about 20 persons right 'round here who have been killed," one 12-year-old girl said...."I ask God to protect me from all the perils and danger. Anytime I hear the gunshots, anywhere I am, I get flat, and I pray while I am flat,"....For another 13-year-old boy, the guidance counsellor at his school encouraged him to talk about the more than 25 violent deaths he knows of.

Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer Published: Sunday | May 4, 2014 

Hundreds of children on Easter holiday break were out in the streets of Denham Town, one of Kingston's many violent inner-city communities.

The decibel level of the noise from their play can do serious damage to the eardrum.

Corporal Fitz Ridge holds the hand of a
child in Denham Town recently. - File

The streets are their playground. That is when they get a break from the trigger-happy, gun-toting criminals firing high-powered weapons in a community where nearly everyone is hustling or unemployed.

Beneath the laughter, however, the children carry the heavy burden of violence in their youthful days. Emotional scars which will mark them for life.

In one small area, less than a quarter of an acre, eight children with a combined age of 100 years - the youngest at nine and the oldest 14 - told The Sunday Gleaner that they have already seen, or have knowledge of, more violent crimes than their years combined.

The violence involved neighbours, close family members and even friends, who have been injured or killed by the gun, knives or machetes.

REGULAR OUTBREAKS OF VIOLENCE

Violence, to them, is as common as breathing, and "getting flat" (lying on the ground quickly) at the sound of gunfire is like a game for nearly all of them. The sound of police sirens is the signal of normality.

"I know about 20 persons right 'round here who have been killed," one 12-year-old girl said.

The nonchalance with which the information was reported was as 'normal' as playing with friends, and appears to be the new normal for children in violent inner-city communities.

For one 14-year-old high-school student, who also knows more than 20 persons who have been killed, her best friend is numbered among the victims.

"I ask God to protect me from all the perils and danger. Anytime I hear the gunshots, anywhere I am, I get flat, and I pray while I am flat," said the 14-year-old, with her eyes reflecting pain, which one so young should not be shouldering.

"I don't think they are really after children, because children are in their houses at nights and the shootings mostly happen at nights when the adults are out. I believe it's a big-people war that children get caught in," she added.

The presence of the police is her only comfort - most times.

One 13-year-old high-school boy counted more than 10 persons he knew who have been killed. more

IN JAMAICA: Education, Top 10 finalists in the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston's 12th annual Little Bee Competition will be held on May 28.

Sunday, May 04, 2014    
The top 10 finalists in the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston's 12th annual Little Bee Competition pose with, from left, Pam Lowe, Dianne Harris, Kathleen Beckford and Joy Wong, judges from the club. The finals of the competition will be held on May 28. On April 26, children between the ages of four and five from basic and preparatory schools in Kingston and St Andrew squared off in the first round of the competition, held at St Andrew High School. more

IN JAMAICA: Dr Debbie Tyghter, a consultant anaesthesiologist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay shot.... the medical doctor was shot by one of two men who pounced on her at her gate in West Gate Hills.....Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson condemns attack

BY HORACE HINES Sunday Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, May 04, 2014    

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Members of the medical fraternity in western Jamaica were up to yesterday reeling in shock and dismay in the aftermath of the shooting and injuring of Dr Debbie Tyghter, a consultant anaesthesiologist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH).

FERGUSON... we simply cannot allow
 them to get away with this

Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson, in a response, condemned the incident and urged the police to do whatever was possible to catch her attackers.

Ironically, the anaesthesiologist was on the same table which, just an hour earlier, she administered to a patient who underwent surgery at the hospital.

She has since been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at CRH where she remained last night in a critical, but stable condition.

Police reports are that about 8:30 the medical doctor was shot by one of two men who pounced on her at her gate in West Gate Hills, a swanky community in Montego Bay.

The men reportedly attempted to rob the female medic, who put up a struggle before she was shot in the left shoulder, the bullet travelling in a downward direction damaging her ribs and lungs.

The gunmen allegedly made a hasty retreat after they were challenged and shot at by a law enforcement officer who lives in close proximity to the anaesthesiologist.

Dr Fenton Ferguson yesterday urged well-thinking Jamaicans to speak out against criminal elements in the society, following the shooting.

"Time and time again criminals try to disrupt our lives and we simply cannot allow them to get away with this. Anyone who knows anything about what happened should make a report to the police," Dr Ferguson said, adding that Dr Tyghter had saved numerous lives during the course of her career, and it was unfortunate that she was attacked by persons who may require her services in the future or may even have already benefited. more

Son meets his father after 28yrs....grab ya tissues.

Post by Threat Williams.

15 Reasons to Use Apple Cider Vinegar Every Day.....1) Apple cider vinegar can detoxify your home. 2) It can make your hair shine. 3) Natural apple cider vinegar regulates the pH of your skin. 4) Apple cider vinegar can aid in weight loss. 5) Apple cider vinegar will balance your entire inner body system & more.....

BY LISA MITCHELL
May  4, 2012 1:08 PM EDT

Apple cider vinegar is my new obsession. I recently began taking apple cider vinegar shots a few times a day for a quick and effective energy burst. However, I've since discovered so many other useful ways to incorporate apple cider vinegar (ACV) into my daily routine.

It's effective for pretty much anything—your skin, your hair, your house, and even your pets can benefit from its qualities. Raw, organic, unfiltered and unpasteurized, apple cider vinegar is so much more than a salad dressing!

1. Apple cider vinegar can detoxify your home.

It's made from apple juice and is fermented to hard apple cider. It's then fermented a second time to become apple cider vinegar. By using ACV in lieu of other products, we instantly decrease the consumption of unnatural chemicals in our homes and daily lives.

2. It can make your hair shine.

Apple cider vinegar can be used as a rinse for your hair after shampooing, and will boost your hair's body and shine. I recommend recycling an old shampoo bottle, then filling it with 1/2 a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a cup of cold water. Pour the solution through your hair after shampooing several times a week for dramatic results.

3. Natural apple cider vinegar regulates the pH of your skin.

Dilute ACV with two parts water, and spread the concoction over your face with a cotton ball to replace your current toner. You can do this at night after washing, and in the morning before you apply your moisturizer. A dab of apple cider vinegar can also be left on the skin overnight to fade age spots or acne scars. It's also a recommended agent for warts. For warts, soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, then fasten the cotton ball over the wart with a Band-Aid overnight. The skin may swell some as it reacts with the solution. However, the wart will fall off. Once it falls off, the treatment should be continued for a few more days, to make sure the wart doesn't return. more

APPLICATION OPENS April 1 - May 15, 2014: PALAS goal is to award 100 scholarships & computers in 2014 to high school and tertiary level students residing in the Caribbean region for the 2014-2015 academic year. Apply online at www.PALAS1.org . PALAS awarded 60 scholarships in 2013. Please spread the word by SHARING.

Please make a donation online at www.PALAS1.org.

Deadline to donate is June 15th. Thank you.

TRACK & FIELD in JAMAICA: Santos upstages Merritt over 400m; Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce wins JII 200m in 22.53 secs & Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare (11.19) took the Women’s 100 metre

Saturday, May 03, 2014 | 11:13 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- World 400 metre champion LaShawn Merritt was upstaged by Luguelín Santos of the Dominican Republic over the distance in the Jamaica International Invitational meet held at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

In a close finish Santos (44.82) the World Championship bronze medallist edged Merritt (44.86).

Santos (right) displays his 400m bronze
 medal on the World Champs podium in
 Moscow 2013 along with silver medallist
Tony McQuay (left) and Merritt, both of
the United States.

Meanwhile, double World and Olympic champion Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce (22.53) took the 200 metre from American champion Kimberly Duncan (22.61) with Jeneba Tarmoh also of the US in third on 22.69 seconds.

World indoor champion Francina McCrory of the US won the Women’s 400 metre in 50.24 from Jamaicans Stephanie McPherson (50.58) and Novlene Williams Mills in 50.90 seconds.

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare (11.19) took the Women’s 100 metre from Kerron Stewart with the Men’s equivalent won by Justin Gatlin in 10.08 seconds. more 

MICHAEL JACKSON DANCES TO JAMAICAN DANCEHALL MUSIC

Post by Angel.

MARTIN COBB, 8-year-old boy beaten to death as he tried to protecting his 12-year-old sister from a brutal rapist.....“He was a lovely little boy. He didn’t deserve this,” said the children’s aunt, Geraldine Pitchford

Eight-year-old Martin Cobb (Image via WWBT, from Cobb's family)

by Katie Wall, NBC News | May 2, 2014 at 4:06 PM

The family of an 8-year-old boy beaten to death as he tried to defend his 12-year-old sister from a brutal rape gathered outside their home Friday, grappling with the details of the vicious attack.

They leaned on one another, crying, shaking and struggling to understand the loss of little Martin Cobb.

“He was a lovely little boy. He didn’t deserve this,” said the children’s aunt, Geraldine Pitchford, choking back tears in front of the family’s home in Richmond’s working-class Southside. Martin’s mother was too distraught to come outside.

The neighborhood’s calm was shattered Thursday, when police rushed to the home at 6:30 p.m. The brother and sister had been playing on train tracks behind the family home’s backyard.

The suspect approached the pair, who often played together, and attempted to sexually assault the girl, police said.

Martin tried to help his sister, and the suspect struck him in the head with a brick, reported NBC affiliate WWBT. He died at the scene. more

13.5 inches PENIS man Jonah Falcon To Become Penis Museum's Most Outstanding Member.....The largest penis in the world.

 (NSFW) HuffPost  | by  Buck Wolf Posted: 05/02/2014 2:08 pm EDT Updated: 05/02/2014 7:59 pm EDT

Inner Circle ‘Happy’ with Pharrell’s monster hit.....Last year, American singer/producer Pharrell joined the list of artistes to record at the facility, owned by the Inner Circle band....Jay Z, Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Drake, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Sean Paul and Shaggy are some of the big names who have recorded at Circle House.

Friday, May 02, 2014 | 10:00 AM 

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Since its launch 15 years ago, the Circle House recording studio in north Miami has been used by a number of major acts. Last year, American singer/producer Pharrell joined the list of artistes to record at the facility, owned by the Inner Circle band.

One of the songs he did was a dance number called Happy which turned out to be a monster hit, topping charts in the United States, the United Kingdom and 20 other countries.

Pharrell and Ian Lewis of Inner Circle

Roger Lewis, founding member and guitarist of Inner Circle, told OBSERVER ONLINE that Pharrell spent considerable time at Circle House working on G I R L, his second album which was released this year.

He says Happy's runaway success is another shot in the arm for Circle House.

"It brings so much credibility to the studio because it's such an international smash record. And the fact that it was recorded at Circle House makes more legitimate producers want to come there and work to try to capture that same creative vibe," Lewis said.

Circle House opened nearly 30 years after Lewis and his younger brother and Inner Circle bassist Ian, re-located to South Florida.

It came in wake of Bad Boys and Sweat (A La-La-La-La Long), two massive hit songs that revived the band's fortunes.

Jay Z, Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Drake, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Sean Paul and Shaggy are some of the big names who have recorded at Circle House. more

IN JAMAICA: Police vigilant after removing Gaza murals.... High alert following an operation in Portmore, St Catherine, which saw them removing murals of incarcerated entertainer Vybz Kartel from walls in the Waterford community.

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Saturday, May 03, 2014  

THE St Catherine South Police are on high alert as they continue to receive threats while executing their duties aimed at returning law and order to the division.

The section of wall prior to the ‘makeover’.

The police made the revelation yesterday following an operation in Portmore, St Catherine, which saw them removing murals of incarcerated entertainer Vybz Kartel from walls in the Waterford community.

"For the past month, police in divisions across the island have been on alert as the police high command has raised the threat levels to extreme," Senior Superintendent of policeNoel Christie, head of the St Catherine South Police, told the Jamaica Observer.

According to SSP Christie, the division has been on high alert since Kartel's March 13 murder conviction for his role in the disappearance of Clive 'Lizard' Williams. Kartel, whose given name is Adidja Palmer, will serve 35 years in prison before he will be eligible for parole. The entertainer's three associates -- Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John -- were also found guilty.

"After the conviction, police have received a number of threats and, at one point, we were told that the station in the division would be attacked," he said.

SSP Christie said the recent shooting death of another man, believed to be an "influential person" in the Portmore community, was another reason why authorities remained on the lookout. more

TORONTO, CANADA: Jamaican patois interpreter shortage causes mistrial, leaving alleged drug smugglers in legal limbo....One of the most glaring examples was a misuse of the Patois term “dash wey,” a Jamaicanized version of the English term “dash away.”

Exactly three years after they were arrested at Toronto’s Pearson airport, a pair of accused Jamaican drug smugglers remain unable to stand trial because of a critical shortage of Jamaican Patois interpreters.

With more than 170,000 Jamaican-Canadians in the Toronto area, the region is a Canadian hotspot of linguists able to negotiate their way through the occasional “irie” and “ya nuh see?”

Even Toronto Mayor Rob Ford appears to have an adept grasp of the Caribbean dialect, as per a secretly taped rant released in January.

Related

• Translator error sinks woman’s refugee hearing
• ‘I took the small knife and then the big knife’: Interpreter haunted by alleged honour killer Peer Khairi’s words

Nevertheless, just last week a long-delayed trial of the two accused smugglers ended in a mistrial because the interpreter found by the court in Brampton, Ont., was deemed to be incompetent.

“I am shocked that, in a jurisdiction like Brampton, with the diverse population and the criminal caseload including narcotics matters involving Pearson International Airport, the availability of accredited Jamaican Patois interpreters is so slim,” wrote Ontario Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan in the April 24 decision to end the trial.

One of the most glaring examples was a misuse of the Patois term “dash wey,” a Jamaicanized version of the English term “dash away.”

In testimony, a defendant had used the term to refer to a lethal threat made against his family; a gangster had threatened to “dash wey” (kill) his father. more

The Fruits And Veggies With The Most Pesticides.....EWG's Dirty Dozen Report Lists The Most Pesticide-Heavy Fruits And Veggies Of 2014

AThe Huffington Post  | by  Sarah Klein

An apple a day usually keeps the doctor away -- unless it's ridden with pesticides.

For the 10th year in a row, nonprofit advocacy agency the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released its list of the most pesticide-contaminated produce, and once again apples top the Dirty Dozen. The Dirty Dozen, part of the EWG's yearly Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, is compiled from U.S. Department of Agriculture data on 48 fruits and veggies with pesticide residue data. About 65 percent of the produce samples test positive.

That's bad news for a few reasons: Pesticides have been linked to developmental problems in children, and may act as carcinogens or throw off the endocrine system, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"For decades, various toxic pesticides were claimed to be 'safe' -- until they weren't, and either banned or phased out because they posed risks to people," Sonya Lunder, EWG's senior analyst and author of the Shopper's Guide report said in a statement. "While regulators and scientists debate these and other controversies about pesticide safety, EWG will continue drawing attention to the fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide loads."

For the third year, the EWG has also included two runners up with traces of some of the more dangerous pesticides that don't quite fit into the Dirty Dozen. This year, that prestigious honor goes to leafy greens (which include kale and collards, according to the EWG) and hot peppers, which ranked 12th on last year's list.

But the Dirty Dozen, listed below, doesn't give us permissions to skip the produce with high loads. Rather, consider purchasing organic varieties of these fruits and veggies, and be sure to pick plenty of produce from the Clean 15. more

U.S. Creates 288,000 Jobs In April, Unemployment Rate Falls To 6.3% from 6.7%....The number of long-term unemployed fell 300,000, the sharpest drop in 2½ years, to 3.5 million.

Posted: 05/02/2014 8:31 am EDT Updated: 05/02/2014 1:59 pm EDT

The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, as the unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a robust 288,000 jobs in April, the most in two years, the strongest evidence to date that the economy is picking up after a brutal winter slowed growth.

The Labor Department also said Friday that the unemployment rate sank to 6.3 percent, its lowest level since September 2008, from 6.7 percent in March. But the drop occurred because the number of people working or seeking work fell sharply. People aren't counted as unemployed if they're not looking for a job.

Many of those who stopped looking for work last month had been among the long-term unemployed — people out of work for six months or more. The number of long-term unemployed fell 300,000, the sharpest drop in 2½ years, to 3.5 million. Economists said most of them likely gave up looking for work rather than found jobs. more

MICHAEL JACKSON - "Love Never Felt So Good" (New Music May 2014) #RulaBrownNetwork

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St. Mary & Portland, JAMAICA: Eastern Schools Welcome Food For The Poor Furniture Donations.... Under its School Furniture Campaign, Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica aims to distribute no fewer than 15,000 desks and chairs by the end of the academic year in July 2014.

Gleaner Published: Friday | May 2, 2014 0 Comments

It was the same cry that resonated throughout several schools across St Mary and Portland which recently received timely donations of much-needed furniture. "Thank you, Food For The Poor for making a difference!"

These students of Jacks River Primary School
 in St Mary are far more comfortable and
happy having received new desks
and chairs from Food For The Poor.

The charity organisation's team has, over the last few weeks, been travelling to schools across the parishes as it seeks to alleviate the discomfort experienced by many students, some of whom have had to stand during lessons or share a desk with a fellow student. Under its School Furniture Campaign, Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica aims to distribute no fewer than 15,000 desks and chairs by the end of the academic year in July 2014.

Executive director of FFP Jamaica, Jacqueline Johnson, said the charity organisation has been working since January this year to ensure that as many students as possible are comfortable while learning. "In some of the schools visited by our teams, the conditions under which the students had to learn were appalling. Some of the furniture were termite infested while others were broken. We have a duty to assist our students in their educational development and to fulfil their dreams and aspirations." more

Chikungunya declared an epidemic in the Caribbean....“By definition this is an epidemic since it represents an unusual number of cases of this problem where we would never have it before,” Dr Hospedales told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)

Chikungunya Is the New Virus to Be Spread by Mosquitoes

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, Thursday May 1, 2014, CMC – The head of the Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA), Dr James Hospedales, has declared the Chikungunya virus has reached epidemic proportions in the Caribbean. “By definition this is an epidemic since it represents an unusual number of cases of this problem where we would never have it before,” Dr Hospedales told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

The mosquito-borne illness was first detected in the Caribbean in December 2013, in St Martin, and last week Antigua and St Vincent and the Grenadines became the latest countries to declare an outbreak.According to Dr Hospedales, as of April 28, there were 4,108 probable cases in 14 countries across the region. He also stated that Caribbean countries have been putting measures in place to address the spread of the virus.

“PAHO (the Pan American Health Organisation) since 2012 had done a preparatory briefing, in July of last year we convened a Caribbean-wide virtual meeting of the chief officers in the countries in the labs, to highlight this emerging threat and to adjust our surveillance protocols and laboratory testing to have early detection..  more 

'Cancer, other charities not sexy enough for corporate Jamaica'....So there are a lot of things working against us because of what we are about," she said of the organsiation established in 1955. Dr K'adawame K'nife, a director of the office of social entrepreneurship at the University of the West Indies, Mona,

Friday, May 02, 2014 Jamaica Observer    

CORPORATE Jamaica views the support of cancer initiatives as unsexy, which results in reduced project funding, according to the charity group, Jamaica Cancer Society.

"Cancer is not glamorous or fun," declared Yulit Gordon executive director at the Jamaica Cancer Society at the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI) discussion held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday. "So when we go into corporate organisations and ask for support of your programmes (by nature of what we do at the Jamaica Cancer Society and the product that we sell which is the fight against cancer) you find that there are companies out there (but not all) that would not want to align their brand with a cancer-fighting initiative because when they look at it they do not see the returns.

"It's not something that their customers will embrace."

Gordon added that ethical considerations also eliminate some large companies from being approached.

"You may think that it's only the tobacco companies but there is also alcohol, there are certain foods that when you look at the labelling it's a good cause for cancer diagnosis. So there are a lot of things working against us because of what we are about," she said of the organsiation established in 1955.

Dr K'adawame K'nife, a director of the office of social entrepreneurship at the University of the West Indies, Mona, urged the social enterprises to monetise their services by placing a value on their volunteerism.

"When I ask, 'where is your business plan', you hear, 'we do not operate a business'. But you are in the business of life, which is the most important business," said K'nife, who argued that replacing their services would come at a cost.

"People tend to undervalue your own worth. What if you were not doing the things you were doing, what would have been the situation." If you truly apply the counter-factual then you recognise just how much value you have created from the activities you are doing despite the fact that you do not have the resources you need to do it."

K'nife pointed out that monetising services would allow social enterprises to reduce the need for "begging" international donor support.

The discussion entitled 'Lets Talk-Social Economy Matters' was the first in a series of discussions to be hosted by SEBI, which is part of the JN Foundation. SEBI is designed to create an enabling business environment for non-governmental organisations. more

JAMPRO & EWI HOOKUP: Company with Jamaican connection offers to bail out Energy World Inyernationals (EWI) Jamaicans pay 42 US cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, and it is believed that when the project is fully implemented the cost will be reduced by approximately 30 per cent.....The total cost of financing the project is US$737 million

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, May 02, 2014 Jamaica Observer   

A Chinese company based here has approached the Government's investment company, Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro), with a view to assist with the fallout arising from Energy World International's (EWI's) failed bid to meet all the requirements to construct a booster energy plant on the island.

A usually reliable source told the Jamaica Observer that officials of the Chinese company met with executives of Jampro in New Kingston yesterday and offered to work with the island to get the project off the ground.

"During the meeting with Jampro, the Chinese suggested that they were willing to work with EWI, and vowed that they could secure the necessary financing from China's Ex-Im Bank to get the 381-megawatt project going," the source said.

"The Chinese have said that they were also willing to meet with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining as early as tomorrow (today) to get things started," the impeccable source said.

Hong Kong-based EWI missed its deadline to pay a performance bond of US$37 million last Thursday.

The total cost of financing the project is US$737 million, of which one per cent -- US$7.37 million -- had been paid over as part of the bond arrangement.

However, EWI was pushed against the wall after it emerged that the Inter-American Development Bank, upon which EWI was relying to provide non-equity financing for the project, had opted against doing so, citing breaches of Jamaica's procurement procedures in the award of the contract.

EWI was the preferred bidder to build a power plant that would bolster the national grid by supplying it with 381 megawatts of generating capacity. more

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) : Explosion Rocks Nigeria's Capital Abuja....EARLIER: 200 Schoolgirls Kidnapped... At Least 75 Dead In Attack...

AP  | by  BASHIR ADIGUN and MICHELLE FAUL Posted: 05/01/2014 4:40 pm EDT Updated: 05/01/2014 11:59 pm EDT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A car bomb exploded on a busy road in Nigeria's capital late Thursday, killing at least 12 people days before the city is to host a major international economic forum.

The bomb exploded near a checkpoint across the road from a busy bus station where a massive explosion on April 14 killed at least 75 people. That blast was claimed by the Islamic extremist Boko Hararm terrorist network.

Associated Press

Thursday's bomb comes days before Abuja is to host the World Economic Forum on Africa, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as an honored guest. The government is deploying 6,000 police to protect the May 7-9 event, which attracts world leaders, policymakers, philanthropists and business leaders to discuss Africa's economic growth prospects.

Civil Defense Corps spokesman Emmanuel Okeh said rescuers with ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene of the blast on May Day, a public holiday in the West African nation.

Twelve people have been killed and 19 wounded are in the hospitals, according to Superintendent Frank Mba, the national police spokesman. He said six cars were burnt up.

Witnesses said a car laden with explosives drove close to the checkpoint and a man jumped out and ran as it blew up. A deafening explosion was followed by smaller ones as other cars caught fire and fuel ignited, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety. Mba said six cars were burnt up.

Lines of traffic are normal at the checkpoint where soldiers and police search vehicles since the bombing two weeks ago. more

KINGSTON, Jamaica : Man sold stones for chicken, water for cooking oil for $5,000.00......How on earth can people be so unkind and wicked ? Is this a sign of more to come?

Thursday, May 01, 2014 | 8:32 PM 

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A woman, who thought she was purchasing chicken and cooking oil recently, instead ended up with a box of stones, a bottle of water, and $5,000 out of pocket.

The shifty 'salesman' is to be sentenced on May 21, having entered a guilty pleaded guilty when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court this week.

In entering the guilty plea, Leonard Finn admitted to also grabbing the complainant's $5000 after delivering a box containing stones and a five gallon bottle of water. He fled the scene but was subsequently held.

The woman was expecting 50 lbs of chicken and five gallons of cooking oil.

Resident Magistrate Simone Wolfe-Reece ordered the accused remanded into custody for sentencing. more