IN JAMAICA: Careers & Education, Workforce of the future....Students and Parents at Morris Knibb Preparatory School in St Andrew pull out all the stops for their Career Day exercise

Sunday, May 25, 2014 , excerpt from the Jamaica Observer   

Students and Parents at Morris Knibb Preparatory School in St Andrew pull out all the stops for their Career Day exercise on Friday, May 16, 2014. The day was also celebrated as Children's Appreciation Day. Student attended school dressed as the professionals of their choice, and were given talks by actual persons in various fields, including cops from the Duhaney Park Police Station.

For Children's Appreciation Day, a part of Child Month activities, students were also treated to cake and ice cream.

NEW YORK CITY: Al Sharpton Fights For Bronx Teen Pushed Through Window By NYPD Officer....14-year-old Javier Payne and his family joined Rev. Al Sharpton....

May 25, 2014 By NewsOne Staff

Appearing in public for the first time since allegedly being slammed through a window by a New York City police officer, 14-year-old Javier Payne and his family joined Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday for a National Action Network rally and demanded justice, reports the New York Post.

According to Payne’s family, the eighth-grader needed 50 stitches on his side and staples in his forehead. “All we can say is that nothing justifies these results,” Sharpton said.

Read more details from the NY Daily News:

The brutal encounter began May 17 when Javier and a 13-year-old friend were arrested in the Belmont section of the Bronx after allegedly assaulting a 39-year-old man they had asked for a cigarette.

The teens were handcuffed, and Javier began talking trash to Sgt. Eliezer Pabon of the 48th Precinct, sources said.

Surveillance video captured Pabon shoving Javier from behind, causing him to crash through the window of the Hookah Spot on Arthur Ave., according to sources. more

IN JAMAICA: Taxi driver, Chester Davis, drops pants at police in escape bid... In Court, "What you mean by indecent exposure?" the magistrate asked. "Him drop him pants, your honour," the liaison officer answered. "What happen, the pants belt gave way?" she jokingly asked Davis...."Your honour, I never expose myself, I was wearing a shorts," Davis said.

Sunday, May 25, 2014 Jamaica Observer   

A taxi driver faced the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court last week for reportedly dropping his pants and showing the police his buttocks when they tried to accost him for using indecent language.

The accused, Chester Davis, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure, resisting arrest and driving with no insurance coverage.

However, last Thursday when he appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate (RM) Judith Pusey he denied the allegations.

"What you mean by indecent exposure?" the magistrate asked.

"Him drop him pants, your honour," the liaison officer answered.

"What happen, the pants belt gave way?" she jokingly asked Davis.

"Your honour, I never expose myself, I was wearing a shorts," Davis said.

As a result, his bail was extended for him to return to court on June 26. He was also told to go to the Traffic Court on July 17 to answer to the traffic offence.

According to police reports, on May 16 police personnel were on their way to court when Davis, who was travelling in his motor car, swerved on the road in front of the court and uttered several expletives.

He was reportedly heard by the police who chased him to Molynes Road where he ran onto a business place, pulled down his pants and exposed himself to the lawmen to prevent them from arresting him.

However, the police called for back-up and he was taken into custody and charged.

Man admits to cheating

with his neighbour

There was laughter in the court on Tuesday after an accused man openly confessed that he was a cheater and that his cheating was the cause of the problem between him and his woman.

"All this is coming from cheating," he said. "I am a cheater, I go as near as next door."

Berchel Mayne was dragged before the court for hitting his common-law wife in her back, causing bruises and swelling and assaulting a police officer by tearing his shirt when he was being arrested

Interestingly, Mayne, before his confession, initially blamed the complainant for causing the problem between them.

"Your Honour, she is a very nice woman but she ignorant," he said while claiming that she always attacked him with a weapon.

"Your Honour, one time she run me down on the road in a tights and brassiere with a chopper, a stone and a cutlass," he said.

Mayne then told the court that he was a good man in his community, a good man to the complainant, and treated her well.

The magistrate then asked him if he did not hit the complainant and he admitted that he did but said he was innocent of the other charges of resisting arrest, assaulting a constable and malicious destruction of property.

However, the complainant who fathered three children by Mayne during their 14-year relationship, denied Mayne's report and told the court that he was an abusive man who had hit her several times, even during pregnancy.

"Your honour, that's not true, ask anybody in the community, I never hit her before. I am not a woman beater," he said.

Mayne then told the court that the complainant had thrown him out of the house since the incident and he was suffering. more

IN JAMAICA (Gays pressured UWI to fire Professor BAIN) : Pressure mounts on UWI as Bar Association criticises firing of Professor Group plans 'massive protest' for tomorrow Sunday, May 25, 2014

 Sunday, May 25, 2014    

OPPOSITION to the sacking of Professor Brendan Bain continued to mount Friday as the influential Jamaican Bar Association (Jambar) took the University of the West Indies (UWI) to task while expressing concern that the controversial decision could have an adverse impact on experts giving testimony in Jamaica.

BAIN… fired for testimony in Belize case

At the same time, a group that started an online petition in support of Professor Bain said it has planned "a massive protest" for tomorrow at the UWI's main gate starting at 8:00 am.

The group, which said that more than 1,900 persons have already signed the online petition that has been sent to UWI Vice Chancellor Professor Nigel Harris' e-mail address, stated that the protest was being staged because of Harris' silence in the face of mounting opposition to Professor Bain's dismissal as head of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training (CHART) Network.

"Stand up for what is right. We will not be silenced. Join thousands of other people from across Jamaica outside the vice chancellor's office (across from UWI Mona Campus main gate). This is not about your ideological background but about the principle of standing up for justice," the group said in an e-mail sent to petitioners and the media.

The UWI has been the target of heavy flak since last Tuesday when it announced that it had cashiered Bain because he has lost the confidence of the community that the CHART was established to serve.

CHART, which is funded by the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is designed to equip health care workers and counsellors with the skills to treat persons living with HIV. The programme also has an education component aimed at ending stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.

The UWI made its decision after being pressured by a coalition of 33 gay and human rights lobby groups from across the Caribbean to fire Bain because of expert testimony he gave in a constitutional challenge brought by a gay Belizean man against that country's criminal code.

The Belizean, Caleb Orozco, had argued in September 2010 that the code, which states that "every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or animal shall be liable to imprisonment for 10 years", violates his right to the recognition of human dignity, to personal privacy and the privacy of the home guaranteed by the Belize constitution. more

IN JAMAICA: A Manchester man's horrible St James mystery.....as a result of the severe burns he has gradually lost sight in both eyes; has hearing problems in his right ear and has trouble eating and talking.

BY ALICIA SUTHERLAND Sunday Observer staff reporter sutherlanda@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, May 25, 2014    

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — It's a horror story with no obvious explanation.

In August 2011 Alwayne Smith, who is now 27, woke up in the Cornwall Regional Hospital suffering from severe burns.

Smith after the incident showing
burns over face, back

Incredibly, he claims that he has no idea how or why he was injured. He told the Jamaica Observer that the last thing he remembers prior to waking up in hospital is going to bed at a house in Montego Bay.

Smith's badly maimed face greeted the Sunday Observer recently as he sat on the verandah of his mother's house in Oxford, deep rural North West Manchester.

He also bears scars to his neck, upper back and feet.

Apparently, as a result of the severe burns he has gradually lost sight in both eyes; has hearing problems in his right ear and has trouble eating and talking.

Without having to utter a word, Smith presented a horrid picture of pure trauma.

The way he tells it, he left Oxford for Montego Bay in July 2011 for a job interview in the hotel industry.

Short of money, he decided to stay at an unoccupied house owned by a friend in Long Bay while waiting to see if he would get the job.

Meantime, he took temporary work helping another friend who had a truck and a contract with a large western Jamaica company to distribute mainly food items to businesses.

On August 7, 2011 he was free for the day and went to visit yet another of his friends.

He remembers returning from that friend's house sometime after midnight and going to bed shortly after. He remembers smoking before retiring to bed and when he came out of a coma in hospital seven days later, he was told that he had been found severely burned and left for dead at a roadside. Smith insists he has no recollection of the presumed assault on him.

Smith before the incident

"The doctor did a sey if mi never wake up inna the next two day maybe dem woulda pass mi dead," Smith told the Sunday Observer.

When contacted, the Barrett Town Police in St James - that supports the Long Bay area - told the Sunday Observer that they were unable to find any information on the incident. Up to press time the Constabulary Communications Unit (CCU) had not provided promised feedback.

According to Smith, the conclusion of the police in the initial stages was that his injuries may have been the result of an acid attack. However, according to him, doctors said that it could have been caused by a fire torch. more

BREAKING NEWS: ELLIOT RODGER, MASS MURDERER in CALIFORNIA SHOOTING, UC Santa Barbara Drive-By Shooting Leaves Several Dead .....7 dead and 7 injured

AP  | by  RAQUEL MARIA DILLON

GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — A drive-by shooter went on a rampage near a Santa Barbara university campus that left seven people dead, including the attacker, and seven others wounded, authorities said Saturday.

The gunman got into two gun battles with deputies during Friday night's rampage in the beachside community of Isla Vista before crashing his black BMW into a parked car, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

Deputies found him dead with a gunshot wound to the head, but it wasn't immediately clear whether he was killed by gunfire or if he committed suicide, he said.

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the scene near the University of California, Santa Barbara. Investigators know the gunman's name, but Brown said he couldn't release it pending notification of relatives."We're analyzing both written and videotaped evidence that suggests that this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder," Brown said.

The rampage broke out around 9:30 p.m. in the student enclave reputed for parties, including an annual spring bash that turned into a violent blowout last month. Brown said the shootings occurred at several sites, resulting in nine crime scenes. more

Miracle Tabernacle Christmas Treat for The Children of Clarendon, JAMAICA

Miracle Tabernacle  

Freetown Church of God

Of Prophecy Outreach

Clarendon, Jamaica

Go to www.ShopSampars.com to send your support.

 

Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller to be awarded Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree....She will deliver the keynote address at the Lafayette College's 179th Commencement Ceremony in Pennsylvania, United States

Saturday, May 24, 2014    

PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller was scheduled to leave the island yesterday for Pennsylvania, United States, where she will deliver the keynote address at the Lafayette College's 179th Commencement Ceremony.

A Jamaica House statement said Simpson Miller will also receive an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from the institution.

Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller

Expressing delight at the decision of the Jamaican prime minister to address the graduates and parents, President of Lafayette College Alison Byerly said her visit was expected to provide an opportunity for discussion on ways in which Jamaica's quest to develop its economy and enhance its global connectedness might lead to new opportunities for Lafayette students and faculty.

The college president said consideration was also being given to strengthening Lafayette's academic community with outstanding and highly qualified Jamaican students who are interested in future leadership roles and in helping their country's efforts to transform its economy and civil society.

Lafayette College, at the same time, has decided to establish a scholarship fund to enroll future students from Jamaica. The scholarships will cover the full financial needs of the recipients for four years, in addition to a stipend for overseas study experience. The college has six Jamaicans among its alumni since 1997. more

Cops, West Kingston Residents Mend Fences...."We want to break away from the stigma of the police being seen as the aggressor. We want to work with the police to show that we can get things done," said Carlisle Brown, a Denham Town resident.

Published: Saturday | May 24, 2014

The Denham Town Police Station has often been the flashpoint of the tempestuous relationship that existed for decades between police and residents from that west Kingston community.

Residents of Denham Town in Kingston turned out in
their numbers to help give the police station a
 facelift yesterday.

Claims of extrajudicial killings and police brutality have triggered some explosive confrontations between the two sides, some of which resulted in heavy and sustained gunfire on the police station.

But all of that was a distant memory yesterday as scores of residents - armed with brooms, paintbrushes and machetes - joined employees from the West Kingston Power Partners to give the station house a complete makeover on Labour Day.

There were refreshments and plenty of laughter as they set about improving the working conditions for the police officers whose actions they have not always agreed with. For some who braved the heat, it was an opportunity to bury the hatchet.

"We want to break away from the stigma of the police being seen as the aggressor. We want to work with the police to show that we can get things done," said Carlisle Brown, a Denham Town resident.

Asserting that the police were there to help, Brown underscored that his community and the police can enjoy a good relationship.

"Everyone used to bash the police and the police used to bash us saying, 'Nutten good can't come out a Denham Town'. But this goes to show that we can work together," he noted.

POSITIVE STEP

It was a view shared by Senior Superintendent Steve McGregor, commanding officer for the Kingston West Police Division, who called the commingling of residents and police personnel "a new dawn" in the relationship.

West Kingston Energy Partners' chief executive officer, Wayne McKenzie, said this was one of the things that influenced his company to get involved in the project. more

QUEENS, N.Y: Gays block Queen Ifrica .....Artiste yanked from New York show after protest....According the New York Daily News, the protest is being led by openly gay City Councilman Daniel Dromm.

BY BRIAN BONITTO Associate Editor - Auto and Entertainment bonittob@jamaicaobserver.com Saturday, May 24, 2014   

REGGAE entertainer Queen Ifrica has been pulled as headliner at Amazura Concert Hall in Queens, New York, tonight, due to mounting pressure from the gay community.

Six other Jamaican female acts are also booked to perform.

QUEEN IFRICA

"She is not performing... everyone else will. The show will go on though," John Rios, manager of Amazura Concert Hall, told the Jamaica Observer.

The manager said his mega club is opened to everyone as "there's no discrimination".

"We're not prejudiced against anyone. I welcome the gay community and we get along with everybody," he said.

Yesterday, a 200-strong protest was held outside the club. The organisers called for a halt of the 'Invasion of the Queens' show, which they said contributes to violence against lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals and transgenders.

According the New York Daily News, the protest is being led by openly gay City Councilman Daniel Dromm.

"We don't need homophobic people like her coming to Queens to spread their message of hate," he was quoted as saying.

Queen Ifrica, 39, whose given name is Ventrice Morgan, is known for her strident lyrics, including Keep It To Yourself, Daddy and Times Like These.

The Rastafari entertainer expressed her disapproval of the homosexual lifestyle at last year's Independence Grand Gala celebrations in August which prompted culture minister Lisa Hanna to express regret at the utterances.

In her response, Ifrica's management team released a statement which, in part, read: "Queen Ifrica expresses that, while she remains grounded in her morals which espouses heterosexuality, she wants to make it abundantly and emphatically clear that she does not condone nor has ever supported or advocated violence against any group or community, whether implicitly or explicitly." more

ST. JAMES, JAMAICA: 14-year-old boy arrested & Teenage female becomes 2nd suspect in connection with the brutal killing of 9 y-o Romaine Robinson

ST JAMES, Jamaica -- A 14-year-old boy was Friday morning arrested in connection with the brutal killing of nine-year-old Romaine Robinson, whose body was found bound and gagged in bushes in Plantation Heights, St James, on Thursday.

Information reaching OBSERVER ONLINE is that the boy is likely to be charged for Romaine's murder.

Reports are that both boys had an altercation sometime shortly before the murder.

The police have denied earlier reports that the 14-year-old has confessed to murdering nine-year-old Romaine.

Gwendolyn Todd-Foster, grandmother of
nine-year-old Romaine Robinson, and
 Robert Anderson, a community member, reflect
 on the death of the little boy, Thursday.
(PHOTO: ALAN LEWIN)

A female has become the second suspect linked to yesterday’s murder of nine-year-old Romaine Robinson who was found stabbed to death in Plantation Heights in Cambridge, St James yesterday. 
 
Earlier today, the police reported that a 14-year-old Cambridge High School male student confessed to the killing. The teenage boy, who reportedly committed the murder, was arrested by the St James police this morning. It is reported that the teen who also resides in Plantation Heights fought with the nine-year-old boy before killing him. 

READ:Nine-year-old MoBay boy murdered ... body found in bushes with throat slashed 

The police say arrangements are being made for the teen to be questioned in the presence of his parents and attorneys. Romaine Robinson, a grade-three student at the Bickersteth Primary School, was found by a citizen who stumbled upon his bloodied body about 4:30 yesterday morning. Excerpted from the Observer and The Gleaner.

115 y-o, Jeralean Talley Is The Oldest Living American..... Has Some Perfectly Simple Advice Worth Following 1) Follow the Golden Rule 2) Always have a sense of humor 3) Keep active 4) But don't be afraid to occasionally indulge & more..... (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post  | by  Kate Abbey-Lambertz

Happy Birthday, Mother Talley!

Jeralean Talley is America's oldest living woman on record. And as she turns 115, we'd all do well to follow her example.

"Mother Talley," as she's sometimes called, celebrates her birthday Friday. Born in 1899, the supercentenarian has seen three centuries, and still seems to be going strong. According to the Associated Press, she's visiting the doctor Friday, but still feels healthy.

The Gerontology Research Group keeps a record of the validated longest-living people in the world. According to the GRG, Misao Okawa, who is 116 and lives in Japan, is the oldest living person. Talley is a close second.

Talley lives in Inkster, Mich. but was born Jeralean Kurtz in Montrose, Ga. She lived on a farm where she picked cotton and peanuts, according to Time. She moved to Michigan in 1935 and married her husband, Alfred Talley, in 1936. The two were together 52 years before he died. more

STERLINGS TO SELL THE BASKETBALL TEAM Los Angeles Clippers: Donald Sterling Agrees To Let Wife Negotiate Sale Of Clippers: REPORTS STORY DEVELOPING.

The NBA may be able to find new owners for the Los Angeles Clippers without a protracted legal battle with the current ones. Banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling has agreed to allow his wife, Shelly Sterling, to negotiate the sale of the team, according to TMZ and ESPN.

Donald Sterling & wife, Shelly Sterling,

The longtime owner of the Clippers, Sterling was banned from the NBA and hit with a $2.5 million fine over racist remarks heard in audio recordings that were made public in April. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made it clear when announcing the sanctions on April 29 that he would urge the league's other owners to force a sale of the Clippers.

Shelly Sterling is currently negotiating with the NBA to sell the team, reported TMZ on Friday.

Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN subsequently reported that Shelly and her legal team have been negotiatingwith the NBA since the ban was issued.

STORY DEVELOPING... more 

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What Should I Do If My Pastor Attempts to Sleep With Me?

BY MARIA IN CHRISTIAN NEWS · MAY 22, 2014 

The spirit of sëxual immorality has tormented so many that they do not even realize they are in bondage. It is such a sorry state to know that some men of God allow themselves to be the workshop of the devil and let the temple of the Lord get soiled with sins of sëxual lust. It is God’s will that He dwells in us and for us to be vessels of honor to Him alone. God, through Paul, in the book of 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 says that it is his will that we stay holy and away from sëxual sin. Each and every person should control himself and live in holiness and honor and not in lustful passions like pagans who do not know God and His ways.

Should anyone get caught in a situation where his or her pastor wants him to indulge in sëxual sin, he or she should not condemn him as he is also human and thus subject to temptation. The victim should not give in but firmly stand to his or her Christian values. The victim should without any fear whatsoever let the pastor know that he or she fears the wrath of God as his/her body is the Lord’s temple and defiling it with sëxual sin is too great a sin to commit.

Should the advances continue even after several attempts of warnings, the victim should not go straight ahead to air the pastor’s misconducts since he is neither without blemish. Instead, the victim should try and keep the matter very discreet and try to get the pastor help from the proper source by reporting the matter to the highest authority in church.

We should not let the desires of the flesh overwhelm us as Galatians 5: 19 warn us that when you follow the desires of your sinful nature the results are sëxual immorality, uncleanliness, and impurity which draw us away from God.......by Brian Skyz

CHIKUNGUNYA VIRUS: 'It is terrible'.... Painful and rapid spread of new virus in Caribbean....They suffer searing headaches, a burning fever and so much pain in their joints they can barely walk or use their hands. It's like having a terrible flu combined with an abrupt case of arthritis.

By EZEQUIEL ABIU LOPEZ  Friday, May 23, 2014    

SAN CRISTOBAL, Dominican Republic (AP) — They suffer searing headaches, a burning fever and so much pain in their joints they can barely walk or use their hands. It's like having a terrible flu combined with an abrupt case of arthritis.

In this May 15, 2014 photo, five-year-old Karla Sepulveda,
who suffers chikungunya fever symptoms, waits with her
 grandmother for treatment in the paediatric area of a public
 hospital in the coastal town of Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.
The mosquito-borne virus, common in Africa and Asia, arrived
in the Caribbean in late 2013 and has affected more than
 10,000 people in the Dominican Republic. (PHOTO: AP)

Hospitals and clinics throughout the Caribbean are seeing thousands of people with the same symptoms, victims of a virus with a long and unfamiliar name that has been spread rapidly by mosquitoes across the islands after the first locally transmitted case was confirmed in December.

"You feel it in your bones, your fingers and your hands. It's like everything is coming apart," said 34-year-old Sahira Francisco as she and her daughter waited for treatment at a hospital in San Cristobal, a town in the southern Dominican Republic that has seen a surge of the cases in recent days.

The virus is chikungunya, derived from an African word that loosely translates as "contorted with pain". People encountering it in the Caribbean for the first time say the description is fitting. While the virus is rarely fatal it is extremely debilitating.

"It is terrible, I have never in my life gotten such an illness," said Maria Norde, a 66-year-old woman confined to bed at her home on the lush eastern Caribbean island of Dominica. "All my joints are in pain."

Outbreaks of the virus have long made people miserable in Africa and Asia. But it is new to the Caribbean, with the first locally transmitted case documented in December in French St Martin, likely brought in by an infected air traveller. Health officials are now working feverishly to educate the public about the illness, knock down the mosquito population, and deal with an onslaught of cases. more

TESSANNE CHIN and The Dancing Junkanoo at Atlantis in CANADA (VIDEO).

After supper Tessanne was treated to some local form of entertainment as some 
of her fans, who also worked at the hotel got her involved in a little Junkanoo

Sweet 58th Celebration...This year's Sugar Minott's Day Tribute will be a day earlier than Minott's actual 58th birthday, which is on May 25.

Curtis Campbell, Gleaner Writer Published: Friday | May 23, 2014 

Sugar Minott

Minott Movements and Black Roots have collaborated to host the fourth staging of Sugar Minott's Day Tribute, in honour of the late dancehall godfather Lincoln 'Sugar' Minott, tomorrow. It will be held at Youth Man Promotions HQ, 1 Robert Crescent, Kingston 5.

This year's Sugar Minott's Day Tribute will be a day earlier than Minott's actual 58th birthday, which is on May 25.

The event, which started in the US, promises to deliver strong musical displays and performances from some of Jamaica's best entertainers. Minott, who died in 2010, was well known for songs such as Herbman Hustling, Good Thing Going, Mr DC, Buy Out The Bar and Never Gonna Give Jah Up, among many others.

The concert's theme this year is 'Unity is Strength' and Minott's daughter Pashon said it is relevant as Minott's offspring are now combining their efforts.

SPECIAL DAY

CAPLETON

"We are all working together to make the day special. Our father was a very peaceful man, so this is what he would have wanted. Patrons turning out will get a chance to see the Minott children performing. Blaw Minott, Blay Minott and myself will be giving performances, as well as his grandchildren, Destiny M and Swag J," she said.

The Minott family will also host a family and fans get-together on Sunday, May 25, where they will be showing videos of Sugar Minott's performances as well as playing music from his lengthy catalogue. That will also be held at Youth Man Promotions HQ. more

IN JAMAICA: Change The Law - Gov't Implored To Allow Squatters To Get On The Electricity Grid.....Kelly Tomblin, president and chief executive officer of JPS, is stressing that the path must be cleared for legitimate electricity supply to be made readily accessible to informal settlers

Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer Published: Friday | May 23, 2014

Shocked by the spate of electricity theft across the island, the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is urging the Government to amend local laws to empower informal settlers or squatters to apply for electricity service.

Squatters land

Kelly Tomblin, president and chief executive officer of JPS, is stressing that the path must be cleared for legitimate electricity supply to be made readily accessible to informal settlers who are without proof of home-ownership documents.

Persons who, for years, have squatted on lands are often without documents that grant them access to electricity under existing laws, leaving them with no option but to access electricity illegally.

It's not only squatters who stand to benefit from her proposal to remove the strictures requiring documentary proof of ownership to access legitimate electricity from JPS.

Scores of other Jamaicans who live in houses without the requisite documentary proof of ownership and are not able to legally access power supply would benefit as well.

KELLY TOMBLIN

Tomblin stressed yesterday in a Gleaner Editors' Forum that sought to shed light on the proliferation of electricity theft throughout the country that the "no document" obstacle must be removed forthwith.

In the ongoing fight against the scourge involving approximately 200,000 Jamaicans, Tomblin stressed that an administrative solution to the problem is needed. more

JAMAICANS to put work in Labour Day today.....DAHLIA Harris, principal director of culture and chair of the National Labour Day Committee, said she also added that so far she has seen projects from all 14 parishes across the island.

Friday, May 23, 2014    

DAHLIA Harris, principal director of culture and chair of the National Labour Day Committee, said she is satisfied with the level of participation and engagement of the Jamaican people, given the large number of projects registered for Labour Day today.

Corporal Melvin Smith (right) of the Manchester Police
 Division and others are busy painting Mandeville Regional
 Hospital on Labour Day. (PHOTOS: GREGORY BENNETT)

"The Labour Day Secretariat is quite pleased with the number of projects that have been registered so far. We are, however, still encouraging individuals, service clubs, schools, and other organisations that have not yet registered their projects to still do so," Harris said.

The types of projects, she said, include planting of trees, construction, erecting of fences, renovations, painting of pedestrian crossings, and raking and bushing. She also added that so far she has seen projects from all 14 parishes across the island. This, she said, speaks volumes to the emphasis Jamaicans place on improving lives and creating a better environment for their fellow citizens to live in.

The Ministry of Youth and Culture said several private sector companies have given financial support for the several Labour Day projects, the latest of which was VMBS, which on Monday donated $350,000 towards work to be carried out at the Portmore Climate Change Park.

In handing over the cheque to the Labour Day Secretariat, Janice McKenley, senior vice-president and group chief financial officer, said VMBS was excited to lend support to the national project, as it had a long relationship with the Portmore municipality. more

IN JAMAICA: Boy, 9, ROMAINE ROBINSON stabbed to death, hands and feet bound..... Police vow to find killer of 9-year-old boy who is a grade three student at Bickersteth Primary School here in St James....."Mi caan come to it," a female member of the community said, while another called for divine mercy. "Lord Jesus, have mercy, have mercy, God. Lord God, have mercy,"

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, May 23, 2014    

PLANTATION HEIGHTS, St James — Screams disturbed this normally quiet farming community early yesterday morning after the blood-soaked body of a nine-year-old boy was discovered in bushes with his hands and feet bound.

The murdered boy has been identified as Romaine Robinson, a grade three student at Bickersteth Primary School here in St James.

Family members of Romaine Robinson, who was found dead
 yesterday morning with a stab wound and his hands and feet
bound, mourn after receiving the sad news. (PHOTO: ALAN LEWIN)

There were expressions of anger from the deeply hurt residents who had gathered in various sections of the community to discuss the cruel murder of the little boy.

"Mi caan come to it," a female member of the community said, while another called for divine mercy. "Lord Jesus, have mercy, have mercy, God. Lord God, have mercy," the woman said.

"Mi have mi grandpickney and it could be my grandpickney, [killed]," said another female member of the community.

Residents described Romaine as "a very helpful and willing youth who does not give trouble".

Gwendolyn Todd-Foster, Romaine's grandmother, said that occasionally her grandson, who is left in her care, would sleep at the home of an elderly man who lives close by.

She told the Jamaica Observer that when her grandson did not come home by 10:00 Wednesday night, she assumed he was staying at the elderly man's house.

"Last night... me get up around after 10:00 and go look for him and never see him, so mi figure say a over the old man him deh, [so] me go back to bed. Mi never go over the old man because over deh dark," said the grieving Todd-Foster.

"...So mi say this morning (yesterday) him would come over because when him normally sleep a di old man him come over early a morning time," she said.

But Todd-Foster got the shock of her life when she was summoned early yesterday morning to nearby bushes where the gruesome discovery was made about 4:50 by a man who had gone to relieve himself.

"Mi nephew come knock me up and ask me weh Romaine deh. So mi say him over Nyah (the elderly man). He said Romaine dead. Romaine dead inna one bush over dere so," the grandmother said in a faint voice. She said she went in the bushes where she saw the body of her grandson. more