Republican, Peter King Says Eric Garner Would Not Have Died From Chokehold Were He Not Obese

The Huffington Post | By Sam Levine Email Posted: 12/03/2014 9:23 pm EST 

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said on Wednesday that if Eric Garner had been healthier, he would not have died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold.

"If he had not had asthma, and a heart condition and was so obese, almost definitely he would not have died from this," King told CNN's Wolf Blitzer during an interview.

Even though video captured Garner saying that he couldn't breathe as officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold and wrestled him to the ground, King said that "police had no reason to know that he was in serious condition."..."The fact is if you can't breathe, you can't talk," King said. "If you've ever seen anyone resisting arrest, I've seen it, and it's been white guys, and they're always saying, 'You're breaking my arm, you're choking me, you're doing this,' police hear this all the time." more

STRANGLER COPS WALKS FREE: Grand Jury Declines To Indict NYPD Officer In Chokehold Death Of Eric Garner

A grand jury voted Wednesday not to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, multiple sources confirm.

Pantaleo put 47-year-old Garner into a chokehold during an arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes on July 17. In a viral video of the arrest, Garner can be seen screaming “I can’t breathe!” multiple times until his body goes limp. A medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide.

Chokeholds are banned by NYPD guidelines, and Garner’s death prompted large protests across the city.

The grand jury’s decision Wednedsay comes just over a week after a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri declined to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

This is a developing story…

Who will make the cut? NOMINATIONS for the 57th Grammy Awards will be announced tomorrow. In the runnings are Lee Scratch Perry, Maxi Priest, Ziggy Marley, Sean Paul, Shaggy & SOJA, Shaggy

BY KEVIN JACKSON Observer writer  Wednesday, December 03, 2014    

NOMINATIONS for the 57th Grammy Awards will be announced tomorrow. The Best Reggae Album category (formerly Best Reggae Recording) was instituted in 1985 and saw reggae group Black Uhuru winning the first with Anthem, produced by Sly and Robbie.

Lee Scratch Perry

Maxi Priest & Ziggy Marley

Over the years, the category has been dominated by the Marley family, Bunny Wailer and to a lesser extent Jimmy Cliff and Burning Spear. Here are my predictions as to who will be nominees for the 2015 Best Reggae Album Grammy.

Shaggy -- Out of Many, One Music (Ranch Entertainment)

SOJA

Released on October 1, 2013, this is Shaggy's 11th studio effort. Produced by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, it features collaborations with Tarrus Riley, Tessanne Chin, Beres Hammond, Chronixx, Cocoa Tea, Damian Marley, Konshens and Peetah Morgan.

The set opened at number three on the Billboard Reggae Album chart with first-week sales of over 741 copies. Shaggy has been nominated for Best Reggae Album four times. He won in 1996 for Boombastic.

Sean Paul & Shaggy

Sean Paul - Full Frequency (VP/Atlantic)

Full Frequency, Sean Paul's sixth album, was released in February. Although he has been the most prolific dancehall act in mainstream America for the past 12 years, he has won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album once, in 2004 for Dutty Rock. He has four nominations under his belt. more

55 y-o Woman, Judy Huth files lawsuit Claims Bill Cosby Sexually Assaulted Her When She Was 15 in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974

AP | By ANTHONY McCARTNEY Posted: 12/02/2014 9:13 pm EST 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bill Cosby was sued Tuesday by a Southern California woman who claims the comedian molested her in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974 when she was 15 years old.

Bill Cosby

Judy Huth's sexual battery lawsuit does not specify how much she is seeking from Cosby, who has in recent weeks faced renewed accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted more than a dozen women for many years.

Huth's lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, however, is the first time a woman has gone public claiming Cosby abused her when she was underage. A second woman told Pittsburgh television station KDKA last month that Cosby drugged her to the point of unconsciousness in the 1980s when she was 15. Huth's lawsuit states that she and a 16-year-old friend first met Cosby at a Los Angeles-area film shoot and the comedian gave the girls drinks a week later at a tennis club.

The lawsuit states that Cosby took them to the Playboy Mansion after several drinks, and told the teenagers to lie and say they were 19 years old if asked. Her lawsuit states Cosby forced her to perform a sex act on him with her hand. An email message sent to Cosby's attorney Martin Singer was not immediately returned. Singer has denied previous accusations or said the women raising the claims in interviews had been discredited.

Singer's statement does not apply to a lawsuit brought in 2005 by Andrea Constand, who claimed Cosby drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. Constand, who worked for the women's basketball team at Temple University, and Cosby settled the case before trial. more

Digicel fibre network to help create 'smart cities' in Jamaica...."We're looking to redevelop downtown Kingston, and having this fibre network will definitely play a key role in making this work."

Wednesday, December 03, 2014    

DIGICEL yesterday said that its underground fibre network will help create 'smart cities' in Jamaica.

According to the telecommunications company, its recently installed advanced fibre-optic technology boosts Jamaica's ability to handle large quantities of data at high speeds.

General manager of Digicel Business Jason Corrigan points
out key areas of the Digicel fibre network route in Kingston to
 (from second left) Town Clerk Robert Hill; chairman of the
ARC Group of Companies Norman Horne; Mayor of Kingston
Senator Angela Brown-Burke; and CEO of Digicel Jamaica
Barry O’Brien, during a briefing at the Kingston and St Andrew
Corporation earlier this year.

"Smart cities generate insights from big data to improve efficiency of physical infrastructure use and enhances decision-making as it engages e-participation with its citizens," Digicel said, adding that these cities are regarded as major growth drivers, as close to 50 per cent of the global GDP comes from urban centres.

Earlier this year, Senator Angela Brown-Burke, who is also the mayor of Kingston, noted the importance of the fibre network.

"This investment in fibre by Digicel Business will certainly help us to achieve some of the broader objectives of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, as well as some of our ICT development plans," she said. "We're looking to redevelop downtown Kingston, and having this fibre network will definitely play a key role in making this work."

The Government has already started implementing smart city projects, such as the Tablets in Schools initiative. "Kids are going to go home with their tablets," said Brown-Burke. "So once they're in a Wi-Fi area, they can pick up and continue their work." more

Voice Of Reason: 11-Year-Old Boy, MARQUIS GOVAN Perfectly Sums Up The Issues In Ferguson!

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SHOCKING & APALLING: Exam results from the Paterson School District in New Jersey revealed that only 19 out of 600 students scored enough to get into college...Just over 3 per cent of students from Paterson deemed 'college-ready'...Education officials have alleged the administration of 'hiding something' after they gave optimistic projections of test results

Shocking exams results from a New Jersey school district have revealed that only 19 out of 600 students could get into college.

Just over 3 per cent of pupils from Paterson were deemed 'college ready' based on their SAT scores, meaning they achieved at least 1,500 out of 2,400 points.

The average score obtained by a student in the area was just 1,200. It is a decrease on the 26 (4.2 per cent) who reached the benchmark last year. Despite the worrying results, some education officials have insisted they are not concerned and have criticized exam boards for fielding questions that hurt minorities and female students. 

However others agreed that there was a problem and that the administration may have been 'hiding something'.  

Corey Teague, a school board member, told the Paterson Press suggest optimistic estimates of improved student scores may be inaccurate.

'That's a sign that they're hiding something,' he said. 'They like to brag that the scores are up when they're not.'

Terry Corall, a spokeswoman for the district, said the numbers are 'flat not down', in reference to last year's scores.

She said the difference in the total number of students who reached college-ready score was 'not much different from past years.'

'More importantly, this chart was referring to SAT's being used as a college-readiness benchmark,' Corallo added. 'But as we have discussed, there are many factors that play a part in college readiness.'  more

 

 

THE VERY BEST: 8-year-old Madison Reid of Cleveland is quickly becoming an Internet star after being interviewed by WKYC Channel 3 at a November grand opening for a new Little Free Library.

Eight-year-old Madison Reid might just be the new unofficial spokesperson for child literacy.

The third-grader took the Internet by storm last week with her impassioned speech about the value of books, as part of a WKYC Channel 3 broadcast covering one of Cleveland's new Little Free Libraries.

The Little Free Library movement encourages reading and literacy by providing small “libraries,” or wooden boxes in communities so that people can exchange books. Undoubtedly, Madison got her enthusiasm for the campaign from her mom Tracy, who is a steward for one of the five Little Free Libraries in the Cleveland area, according to WKYC.

During her interview with WKYC, Madison shares her excitement about the new Little Free Library, before launching into her fervent monologue. "The world needs books!" she declares. "What would the world be like without books? They fuel our mind like cars and gas. The cars can't go without gas, our brains can't go without books. The world needs books! We need books."

The world needs more book enthusiasts like Madison!

BROWN'S TOWN, St Ann: Cops arrest man, Errol Nisbeth for taking their photo..."Hey bwoy, delete mi picture out a yuh phone," was the response of the policeman.

Tuesday, December 02, 2014    

BROWN'S TOWN, St Ann — Errol Nisbeth, an information technology professional and founder of the St Ann 360 advocacy group which operates a website and Facebook page that highlight happenings in the parish, said he was recently arrested after taking a photograph of a group of policemen talking to a handcart vendor in this town.

The offending photograph taken by Errol Nisbeth that landed
him in trouble.

Nisbeth said that on Saturday, November 22 he was in the town, where he has lived for several years, when the police who were carrying out their duties 'caught his eyes' and he decided to take a photograph for his page. However, immediately after taking the photograph with his cellphone one of the policemen demanded that it be deleted.

"One of the policemen walk over to me and ask if mi just take a picture," Nisbeth recalled. He said he answered in the affirmative and asked if it was illegal to do so. "Hey bwoy, delete mi picture out a yuh phone," was the response of the policeman. Nisbeth said by then he had started to record the exchange on the same phone. He was subsequently searched, apparently for weapons, placed in a police vehicle and whisked away to the police station.

A photograph that Errol Nisbeth captured
of himself while in police custody

"When I reached to the police station they handcuffed my hands to an overhead shelf," he said, adding that he was kept in that position for about three hours after which he was granted bail on a charge of 'obstruction of justice'.

Nisbeth told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that the policeman told others at the station that he was taking a photograph of them while they were carrying out an operation. A policeman at the station, he said, told him that: 'Bwoy yuh out of order fi a take picture a police'. more

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The St Ann police are confirming that several pellets have been removed from the body of late roots play actor Cleve 'Chu Chu' Warren....Warren, known for his cross-dressing character Chu Chu, appeared in several local productions including Man Fi Get Bun, Delilah, School Boy, Passa Passa and Passa Passa 2.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The St Ann police are confirming that several pellets have been removed from the body of late roots play actor Cleve 'Chu Chu' Warren.

Warren, 46, was pronounced dead at the St Ann's Bay Hospital last Thursday after complaining he was feeling dizzy. He was e nroute to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

"Information reaching us is that 57 pellets were removed from his body. They will be sent to the lab for testing to determine what they are," said Senior Superintendent of Police Yvonne Martin-Daley.

Cleve 'Chu Chu' Warren (Facebook Pic)

SSP Martin-Daley said investigations are continuing.

Mytania 'Sambo' Samuels was the last person to see the actor alive.

"He stopped by me in Ocho Rios, on his way to the airport and complained of feeling dizzy. I saw he had some food in the car and wondered if it was that was making him sick, so I went to get some Andrews (antacid) to settle his stomach. When I came back to his car, he fell on the ground and started kicking. I thought he was choking and some people came around and told me he was having a fit," Samuels recalled.

Warren reportedly revived and wanted to continue his journey to the airport but Samuels insisted that he come to his house and rest before taking on the journey.

Cleve 'Chu Chu' Warren (Facebook Pic)

"When we get to Fern Gully, he started telling me that he was going to die. I encouraged him to pray. He began shaking violently. When we got to my house he began to vomit so I went for some Epsom salts to help him bring up. When I got back to the car, I realised he was bringing up blood and I rushed him to the hospital where he died."

Warren, known for his cross-dressing character Chu Chu, appeared in several local productions including Man Fi Get Bun, Delilah, School Boy, Passa Passa and Passa Passa 2....SOURCE JAMAICA OBSERVER

This Video of Officer Darren Wilson Standing Over Michael Brown’s Body Could Offer Important Evidence to the Case

DID BOYCOTTING OF BLACK FRIDAY WORK? SURPRISE! SHOPPING SLIDES as a RESPONSE TO FERGUSON...Black Friday Weekend Slows Down As Allure Fades....down 5.2 percent from last year, according to a survey of 4,631 people

AP | By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO Posted: 12/01/2014 12:10 am EST 

NEW YORK (AP) — Black Friday fatigue is setting in. Early discounting, more online shopping and a mixed economy meant fewer people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.

Overall, 133.7 million people shopped in stores and online over the four-day weekend, down 5.2 percent from last year, according to a survey of 4,631 people conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the trade group. Total spending for the weekend is expected to fall 11 percent to $50.9 billion from an estimated $57.4 billion last year, the trade group estimated.

Shopping No More....Did Ferguson cause impact?

Part of the reason is that Target, J.C. Penney, Macy's, Wal-Mart and other major retailers pushed fat discounts as early as Halloween. Some opened stores even earlier on Thanksgiving. All that stole some thunder from Black Friday and the rest of the weekend.

Still, the preliminary data makes retailers worried that shoppers remain frugal despite improving employment and falling gas prices.

Matt Shay, the trade group's CEO, said he thinks people benefiting from the recovery may not feel the need to fight crowds to get the deepest discount on a TV or toaster. And those who feel like the recession never ended may not have the money and will stretch out what they spend through Christmas. more

St. JAMES, JAMAICA: Norwood tragedy - 5-y-o boy, Jonathan Ward dies in mysterious car fire...The boy's death was particularly painful for his grandmother, Linnette Perry, as she was attending her brother's funeral at the time of the tragedy.

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 01, 2014    

NORWOOD, St James — A St James family is now in mourning after a five-year-old boy died in a fire that engulfed a parked motor car in his yard Saturday afternoon.

The fire, which claimed the life of Jonathan Ward, also called Rushie, has left family members puzzled.

5-y-o boy, Jonathan Ward and sad grieving grandmother

According to them, shortly after midday Jonathan and one of his cousins were in the house at Nelly Lane in Norwood playing video games before they went outdoors.

Uchema Hemmings, a young family member, said she was inside the house when the car burst into flames. She said that efforts to rescue the boy from the blazing motor vehicle proved futile as the heat was unbearable.

Family and community members eventually managed to smash one of the windows after they brought the blaze under control using buckets of water and sand.

Yesterday, when the Jamaica Observer visited the scene, family members theorised that the boy locked himself inside the vehicle before it was gutted by the fire.

The boy's death was particularly painful for his grandmother, Linnette Perry, as she was attending her brother's funeral at the time of the tragedy.

"The death has left the family stranded. Is a little boy who give a lot of trouble, but otherwise he is helpful. He is missed by family and missed by strangers because is a loving little boy," Perry moaned. "Mi caan believe. Mi caan eat, mi caan drink, mi caan sleep. It is sad."

Her granddaughter, Uchema, was equally distraught. more

St. Mary, Jamaica: Mom, ANNMARIE Karram makes desperate plea after women snatch infant from her arms, ‘Bring back my baby’

BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk co-ordinator henryp@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 01, 2014   

 ANNMARIE Karram would cradle her newborn baby, Akeem, tenderly stroke his plump face, and speak to him in a loving, soft tone as she promises to keep him safe.

Annmarie Karram is disconsolate as she reflects on how
 her baby, Akeem (right) was stolen from her arms.
 (PHOTOS: PAUL HENRY)

“You are the youngest baby I have and I don’t want anything to happen to you,” the 36-year-old mother of five children would tell her son.

“Just like how the others survive, you will survive too.” Often, she would rock Akeem to sleep, cradling him in her bosom long after he had closed his eyes, and stare at his face, a picture of tranquility.

At times her mother would make a fuss, telling her not to allow the baby to sleep in her arms because “it will spoil him”. But it was her baby to hold and to keep safe.

However, just seven weeks after his birth, on October 8 at home in Content/Retreat, St Mary, Akeem would be snatched from the loving arms of his mother on Monday, November 24, by two women in the neighbouring parish of St Ann.

The incident has devastated Karram, who now feels that she has failed in her duty to protect her newborn from the savagery of the world, and left the extended family and police puzzled.

“Anywhere you have him, I want you to carry him back,” Karram pleaded to her baby’s abductors during an interview with the Jamaica Observer on the weekend. more

Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, Tivoli Gardens enquiry opens today: THE commission of enquiry into the 2010 Tivoli Gardens operation, which left scores of civilians and two members of the security forces dead, is set to begin today.

Monday, December 01, 2014 BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk co-ordinator     

THE commission of enquiry into the 2010 Tivoli Gardens operation, which left scores of civilians and two members of the security forces dead, is set to begin today.

The hearing is to take place at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

The commission is expected to conduct hearings in the first two weeks of December and then break until the New Year.

Jamaica Defence Force soldiers attend to a colleague
 who was shot by gunmen who sought to resist the security
 forces’ attempt to arrest former Tivoli Gardens strongman
Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke during the Tivoli Gardens operation
 in May 2010. (PHOTO: JAMAICA OBSERVER)

The commissioners are expected to compile a report and recommendations concerning the events surrounding the May 2010 West Kingston operation and submit them to the governor general within two months after concluding the enquiry.

In 2013, the Government announced that it had accepted a recommendation to establish a Commission of Enquiry into the conduct of the 2010 operation, during which more than 70 people died as the security forces tried to capture fugitive Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, who was wanted in the United States on drug and gun-running charges.

The operation was launched on May 24, 2010 after repeated appeals by the authorities for the dismantling of blockades mounted at the entrances to Tivoli Gardens were ignored.

But police and soldiers met resistance from gunmen loyal to Coke, resulting in the fatalities. During the fighting, Coke fled Tivoli Gardens, but was captured weeks later, on June 22, 2010, and waived his right to an extradition hearing.

On June 24, 2010, he was flown to New York and was eventually sentenced to a 23-year prison term in June 2012 after pleading guilty to racketeering.

Sticking to the sentencing guidelines under a plea bargaining arrangement reached between Coke’s defence team and prosecutors in August 2011, Judge Robert P Patterson imposed the maximum sentence, despite last-minute pleas for leniency by Coke himself and his attorney Stephen H Rosen. more

SOUTH AFRICANS: Africa Umoja Dancing at Hosea Feed The Hunger in Atlanta, GA on Thanksgiving Day for the Homeless, recorded for RulaBrownNetwork

Mr Vegas elated with Beyonce's remix "Standing in the Sun", will be featured on her upcoming album Platinum Edition...."This can only be a good look for reggae music. I am on the album of the most powerful woman in music"

Sunday, November 30, 2014

DANCEHALL artiste Mr Vegas said he is overjoyed that the remix with Beyonce, Standing in the Sun, will be featured on her upcoming album Platinum Edition.

Mr Vegas and Beyoncé

According to Mr Vegas, this could be considered as one of his most major musical achievement since the launch of his career more than a decade ago.

"This can only be a good look for reggae music. I am on the album of the most powerful woman in music. Her fans will now know Mr Vegas and will start checking out my music," said Vegas.

Last year, Mr Vegas -- whose given name is Clifford Smith -- received word that the American pop star wanted to have him on her remix. After receiving her vocals, he teamed up with producers Danny and Cleveland 'Clevie' Browne.

Mr Vegas is no stranger to international collabs. He has worked with the likes of Wyclef Jean and DMX. He was also featured on Snoop Dogg's 2013 Reincarnated album.

Earlier this year, he also collaborated with Jason Derulo on the dancehall remix Talk Dirty. more

IN JAMAICA (CONGRATULATIONS): CSEC top three, SLEEPLESS nights, extra work and a zeal to make their parents proud was the formula Fitzroy Wickham, Anicia McFarlane and Jhanel Garwood used that earned them top scores overall in the 2014 CSEC

 By KIMBERLEY HIBBERT Career & Education reporter hibbertk@jamaicaobsrever.com  Sunday, November 30, 2014    

SLEEPLESS nights, extra work and a zeal to make their parents proud was the formula Fitzroy Wickham, Anicia McFarlane and Jhanel Garwood used that earned them top scores overall in the 2014 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

The three took the time to share with Career & Education details of their journey.

Fitzroy Wickham, first place

Wickham, 16, who was raised in Orange Hill, St Ann, said from a tender age his mother instilled in him the value of education, and it is a lesson that he intends to take with him throughout life.

Anicia McFarlane (left), Fitzroy Wickham and Jhanel
Garwood smile proudly with their awards received at the
 Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools
 national CXC awards ceremony last week.
 (PHOTO: Lionel Rookwood)

"My mother encouraged us to read at a very young age and the Bible was one of the first books I read. From there on she allowed us to join the public library and reading became second nature for my sibling and I," Wickham said.

The younger of two children, Wickham said he grew up in a single-parent home as his father died when he was two years old. His mother, a teacher, would be the driving force in his life from there on.

The young man, who is also head boy of York Castle High, said studying for him involves putting in hard work right before an examination.

"When I'm under pressure I find that I work better. The strategy that works best is what I employ," he said. Wickham has hopes of one day becoming a neurosurgeon and explained that the different wonders of the brain fascinate him.

"I read books by Dr Ben Carson and in other medical books I've read, the complexity of the brain, how the organs work, and their various capabilities are beyond human imagination. If we could just tap into all its resources, we would do wonders," he said. more

IN JAMAICA (FRIGHTENING & SAD STORY): Mom says police aware suspect using her murdered son, 18 y-o Rashidi Samuda's phone — even replacing victim's WhatsApp photo with his...."I went to KPH right away, and when I asked the nurse what happen, she said 'don't ask me any question',"

 Sunday, November 30, 2014 

IT'S been five months since Maureen Brown's 18-year-old son Rashidi Samuda was brutally slaughtered by a bunch of thugs in Jones Town.

The criminals, he told her before he died, said they wanted his cellphone.

Mom's sadness

But, as if the savagery of their actions was not painful enough, Brown — who said she is still receiving counselling — has been trying to control the anger she is feeling from knowing that the police have a photo of a suspect in her son's murder, but have done nothing to apprehend him.

According to the distraught mother, the suspect is still using her son's phone, and doesn't seem to be fearful about doing so, as he has replaced Rashidi's WhatsApp profile photo with his.

Even worse is Brown's complaint that a female detective sergeant at the Half-Way-Tree Police Station admitted to her sister that she knows the suspect because she had arrested him before for stealing.

The Jamaica Observer tried repeatedly to get in touch with the detective sergeant, but phones at the police station were either busy or rang unanswered.

At first glance, Brown's face seems expressionless. But on closer examination one can see that she is hurting. It's not difficult to understand why after one hears her heart-rending story.

Her quiet life was disrupted on the night of May 18 when, on returning home from watching a play at Little Theatre, Brown noticed that her son was not in the house.

That was approximately 9:00 pm.

18-year-old son Rashidi Samuda

"I asked his nephew for him and he said he (Rashidi) went to buy ice cream," Brown told the Sunday Observer. "Shortly after, when I turned the phone on, I received another call; it was from my son who said, 'Maureen, dem stab me up'," she related.

The young man told her he was at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and she left home immediately to get there.

"I went to KPH right away, and when I asked the nurse what happen, she said 'don't ask me any question'," Brown alleged.

 more

ST. JAMES, JAMAICA: 36 y-o MoBay businessman, Antonio McKoy helping to improve lives at Barnett Lane...."The needs in the community are great," McKoy has embarked on a mission to educate residents, starting with the children.

BY MARK CUMMINGS Editor-at-Large Western Bureau cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, November 30, 2014  

MONTEGO BAY, St James — For many years businessman Antonio McKoy had been hearing about the plight of residents living in several inner-city communities in St James.

Nola Williams, a director at Le-Antonio’s Homework and
Development Centre, helps a student from the Barnett
 Lane community with his homework earlier this year.

But he only became aware of the extent of the slew of social and economic ills that beset some of these communities after he relocated the offices of his construction company -- Le-Antonio's Roofing and Construction Ltd -- a few years ago, from the upscale Ironshore area to Barnett Lane, one of several inner-city communities in Montego Bay.

"The needs in the community are great," McKoy told the Jamaica Observer.

"The residents don't have a lot; there are a lot of idle hands, there are a vast number of uneducated persons and there are a lot of kids roaming the streets and not getting the help they need at home."

The savvy 36-year-old businessman has since started to play his part in improving the social and economic conditions of residents in Barnett Lane, as well as the surrounding communities.

MCKOY… the needs in the community
 are great

Cognisant that literacy is an essential skill in today's world, McKoy has embarked on a mission to educate residents, starting with the children.

Earlier this year, the businessman, through his Le-Antonio Foundation, which was established last year, opened a homework centre in a section of his business establishment, which now accommodates 75 registered children between the ages of six and 16 from Barnett Lane and its environs. more

Two die in crash on Old Hope Road : UWI medical student, 19-year-old Danielle Hanson, of Mandeville, Manchester and 19-year-old Mikhail Campbell of Patrick Gardens, Kingston 20

Saturday, November 29, 2014 | 10:03 AM 

KINGSTON, Jamaica – A medical student, 19-year-old Danielle Hanson, of Mandeville, Manchester and 19-year-old Mikhail Campbell of Patrick Gardens, Kingston 20, died as a result of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision along Old Hope Road, St Andrew early Saturday, November 29.

19-year-old Danielle Hanson

The Matilda’s Corner Police report that about 1:00 am, Hanson was driving a BMW motorcar in which Campbell was a passenger heading in the direction of Papine.

Upon reaching a section of the roadway Hanson reportedly hit the curb and lost control of the vehicle, colliding with Toyota Prado motor vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.

Hanson and Campbell were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead. The driver of the Toyota Prado was treated and released. more

IN JAMAICA: Grief in Roehampton, Two crushed Grief in Roehampton by truck in St James community....The two have been identified as 68-year-old bar operator Sadie Kerr, also called 'Neva', and Junior Lawrence.

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Saturday, November 29, 2014

ROEHAMPTON, St James — Up to late yesterday evening, residents of this normally quiet farming community were still grappling with the death of two community members who were crushed by a truck that slammed into a bar where they were Thursday night.

The wreckage

The two have been identified as 68-year-old bar operator Sadie Kerr, also called 'Neva', and Junior Lawrence.

Four other people — the truck driver and his two sons and another patron at the bar -- were seriously injured and taken to hospital.

Reports are that about 7:00 pm Thursday, the driver who had just used the truck to deliver water to residents in the community, was descending a hill when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle slammed into the concrete building which housed the bar before overturning.

The impact of the collision caused the building to collapse. Kerr and Lawrence were pinned under the ruins of the flattened structure. A wrecker was used to remove the bodies from under the ruins.

The Jamaica Observer was told that the patron who was injured suffered two fractured legs after he jumped from the building in an attempt to save his life.

Yesterday, distraught residents directed their anger at the National Water Commission, arguing that the incident was as a result of the water company's failure to provide the company with water.

"We need water. He (truck driver) was taking water in the community. It is because of the water problem why this happen. It is a disgrace, because of water. We need water. We are decent citizens living here, we need water," the residents cried. more

Pregnant Ferguson Woman, Dornella Conners Loses Eye After Cops Shoot Car With Bean Bag

 The Huffington Post | By Simon McCormack Email Posted: 11/28/2014 4:15

A Ferguson woman lost her left eye when police officers in Ferguson shot a bean bag round at the car she was in. Dornella Conners is now blind in one eye and can barely see with the other, she told KMOV.

Dornella Conners

She said she and her boyfriend pulled into a Ferguson gas station on Tuesday morning, hours after the decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown was announced. As she and her boyfriend were driving away from the station, Conners said St. Louis County police surrounded their car.

Conners said her boyfriend was trying to avoid interfering with the police while trying to drive away from the gas station. But police said the car was heading right for them. That's when police shot a bean bag round at the car, shattering the passenger window and injuring Conners."I’m very upset, very disappointed with tactics that they used trying to get control of situation,” Donnell Conners, Dornella’s father told the station.

The story comes as #BlackoutBlackFriday protests spread across Ferguson and the nation in an effort to call attention to what supporters say was an unjust outcome in Wilson's case and to bring an end to the consumption-based day after Thanksgiving.

"In the wake of #Ferguson, it's become painfully clear that people of color, and Black people in particular, are still unjustly targeted by law enforcement and the criminal justice system," reads a statement on BlackoutBlackFriday.org. more

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BLACK FRIDAY FRENZY : Ferguson Protests Move To Stores... Chaos In Britain... Walmart Wo rkers Plan Strikes... TOYS R US MADNESS... Crowd Control... One Of The Biggest Days Of The Year For Gun Sales... More Stores Open On Thanksgiving... Does Little To Boost Sales... Growing Backlash... Best Deals Aren't Actually On Black Friday...

Shoppers head into Target just after thei doors opened at midnight on Black Friday, Nov. 28, 2014, in South Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

NEW YORK (AP) — Black Friday was already well underway before many awoke this morning.

The traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season has become a two-day affair, with more stores opening before people put down their turkey legs on Thanksgiving. There's good reason for the creep; businesses know shoppers will only spend so much, and they want the first crack at those holiday budgets.

Still, millions of Americans are expected to head out in search of steep discounts today. The National Retail Federation forecasts holiday sales will grow 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion — the biggest jump since 2011.

It's a make-or-break time for many retailers, which on average get 20 percent of their annual sales during the holiday shopping season. Already, retailers have resorted to steep discounting to lure shoppers.Here's a look at what's happening this Black Friday.

Ferguson Protests Hit Stores

Dozens of protesters interrupted holiday shopping to speak out about a grand jury's decision not to indict the white officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, a black teenager.  more

IN JAMAICA: Court orders THE Urban Development Corporation (UDC) public access to Winnifred Beach in Portland ending a five-year legal battle between the residents and the entity.

Friday, November 28, 2014    

THE Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has been ordered by the court to grant public access to Winnifred Beach in Portland, ending a five-year legal battle between the residents and the entity.

People crowd the Winnifred Beach in Portland in this file photo.

The ruling, which was handed down in the Port Antonio Resident Magistrate's Court in the parish last month by Resident Magistrate Marjorie Moyston, said UDC has 90 days to create on a new title an easement for the right of the public to access the beach for bathing and recreation purposes.

Four members of the Free Winnifred Beach Benevolent Society took the matter to court five years ago, seeking a declaration of the public's absolute and indefeasible right to access the beach.

This, after news broke that the UDC intended to develop the lands on which the beach is located, under Fairy Hill Phase 2. The features of Fairy Hill Phase 2, according to the 2006 environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the proposed development, included not only the construction of beach cottages and residential lots, but also a Fairy Hill Beach Park.

"The beach park would feature, at minimum, the following amenities: a ticket office, guard post, business offices and family-oriented recreational facilities, as well as sanitary conveniences," noted the EIA report done by consultants Technological and Environmental Management Network.

"The main feature of this development will be the 29 residential lots ranging in size from 821 to 1,505 metres-square. Beach cottages will also be constructed to provide temporary dwelling opportunities for beach patrons and other visitors to Portland who are desirous of extending their length of stay," the EIA report added. more

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THE Jamaica Observer last Wednesday lauded teachers from the eastern side of the island for their contribution to the country's education system

Andrea Givans (second right), Teacher of the Year for sales
of the Jamaica Observer’s Learning Corner/Jr Study Centre,
 collects her award from Seprod Promotions and Marketing
Co-ordinator Orville Warren (second left). Sharing the
 moment are Omar Spence of Scotiabank and Nicole
 Campbell from cable company Flow.
(PHOTOS: JOSEPH WELLINGTON)

BY DONISHA WILLIAMS Observer writer donishaw@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, November 27, 2014 

THE Jamaica Observer last Wednesday lauded teachers from the eastern side of the island for their contribution to the country's education system at a special luncheon at the newspaper's headquarters in Kingston.

Danville Walker, managing director of the Observer, congratulated the awardees and thanked the teachers for supporting the newspaper's TeenAge, Study Centre, Learning Corner and Junior Learning Corner publications.

"...You, the teachers, are the key to these initiatives and we applaud your efforts. Our programmes -- Show Us Your School, Meet the School and TeenAge Expression Tours -- have been very successful since their inception. The students have enjoyed them and we have also enjoyed putting them on," Walker said.

(From left) The Jamaica Observer’s
Danville Walker and Circulation
 Manager Valerie Smith with
Oberlin High’s Audrey Francis
 and Ivy Green. The school was
 recognised for selling the
most copies of the TeenAge
 Observer in the island.

Nicole Campbell, public relations executive at Flow, took the opportunity to report on the company's activities which involve the nation's schools. Among those highlighted was the 'Building Leaders Through Technology' programme, which provides primary and secondary schools with free Internet to enhance the learning environment. She also said Flow was able, for the first time, to stream the TeenAge Expression Tour live for the benefit of teachers and students who could not attend.

Guest speaker Howard Campbell, lecturer and CEO of Howard Campbell and Associates, commended the teachers for their daily contribution to student achievement and success. more