CONGRATULATIONS TO 2016 PALAS UNIVERSITY GRADUATES In JAMAICA (16): 6 Lawyers, 5 Medical Doctors, 3 Liberal Arts and 2 Natural Science

PALAS News- July 6,2016
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CONGRATULATIONS TO 2016 PALAS UNIVERSITY GRADUATES in JAMAICA: 6 Lawyers, 5 Medical Doctors, 3 Liberal Arts and 2 Natural Science....PALAS Goal is to award 100 new scholarships for 2016-17. Funds shortfall will support 90. An additional 56 who met criteria will not be afforded a scholarship due to insufficient funds.....FUNDS URGENTLY NEEDED. PLEASE DONATE TODAY at www.PALAS1.org
#PALAS

2016-17 PALAS Top Performers (1 of 5) : Shanae T. Christian, Gold Star Awardee tops all applicants....PALAS Goal is to award 100 new scholarships. Funds shortfall will support 90. An additional 56 who met criteria will not be afforded a scholarship. Seventy (70) learning institutions in Jamaica participated from all parishes.... PLEASE DONATE TODAY

Shanae Christian, 2016-17 PALAS Gold Star Recipient

PALAS News, July 1, 2016

The Peace and Love Academic Scholarship, Inc. (PALAS, Inc.) Board of Directors selected the recipients of the next set of new scholarships which will be presented in Kingston, Jamaica at the Pegasus Hotel in August 2016. The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness and Attorney Patrick Campbell of Washington D.C will give the keynote speaking addresses.

This year PALAS received a record number of applications from seventy (70) learning institutions in Jamaica/Caribbean. All the parishes were represented. At the end of this years' presentation PALAS, Inc. the Atlanta, Georgia based organization will have awarded 385 scholarships totaling over JA$21.15 Million (approx. US$175,000.00). PALAS goal is to award 100 scholarships.

It has been quite challenging to raise the funds to support these scholarships each year. In 2011-12, PALAS awarded thirteen (13) scholarships and in 2015, ninety-five (95) were awarded. For the 2016 campaign, over 200 applications were received and 146 students met the basic requirement as stipulated by PALAS.

After analyzing the number of funds collected, 56 students who met the criteria will not be credited with a scholarship due to the lack of funds. We would like to raise additional funds in the next two weeks to bring the 2016-17 scholarship count to 100.

Each year PALAS selects two Gold Star recipients based on their overall performance during the evaluation process. This year the awardees are Shanae T. Christian of Wolmer's Trust High School in Kingston, Jamaica. Shanae received the most points of 29/30 to finish first. The second Gold Star winner is aspiring Lawyer, Ashleigh-Ann Dussard of the University of the West Indies who finished second in the overall ranking.
95 PALAS Awardees in 2015

We desperately need funds to cover expenses for an additional ten (10) scholarships and to support our awards presentation on August 13th. PALAS, "preserving Young Minds for Posterity". All applicants will be contacted of the results by email on July 14, 2016.

Please make a donation online at www.PALAS1.org or send a check Payable to PALAS, P.O. Box 5461 Alhahretta, GA 30023. USA. Thank you very much in advance for the kind donation to the Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS) Program. 

PALAS is a registered non-profit, 501 (c) (3) Tax exempt organization in the State of Georgia. Any contributions made to PALAS, Inc. is tax deductible.

DENNIS EMMANUEL BROWN, Died July 1st, 1999 (aged 42) Kingston, Jamaica. RulaBrownNetwork (RBN) Radio Show is Dedicated To The Crowned Prince July 1, 2016.

DENNIS EMMANUEL BROWN, Died July 1st, 1999 (aged 42)
Kingston, Jamaica. RulaBrownNetwork (RBN) Radio Show is Dedicated To The Crowned Prince July 1, 2016. Listen for a huge number D. Brown chunes today right her on Facebook. ‪#‎RulaBrownNetwork‬

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Shot 13 y-o schoolgirl’s parents pray she’ll survive.... Shooting of schoolgirl sparks fiery protest downtown.

BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, July 01, 2016    
The mother of the 13-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the head when men, believed to be police, opened fire on an illegal taxi in downtown Kingston yesterday morning, said she was leaving everything in God’s hands after she and her co-workers prayed and sang outside Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) where her only child was said to be recovering after emergency surgery.
Ruby McKoy, a teacher at Duhaney Park Primary School, was surprisingly calm when she spoke with the Jamaica Observer.
However, she admitted that earlier yesterday she was not unruffled.
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Group Prayer for the victim
“I wasn’t like this this morning. When I heard that she was in an accident, my knees gave way, everything went, and I found a colleague and cried and cried,” McKoy said. “[But] when I remembered that I had prayed this morning, and I had asked for coverage from accident, both seen and unseen, I said to myself, ‘Why should I take this on when I am leaving it in His hands?’ “So what you see right now is not my own strength.”
Her husband, Harry McKoy, however, was very emotional.
Appearing to be in daze and on the brink of tears he said: “This is something you wouldn’t mind if you wake up and it is a dream.”
He said he was at home when he received the unfortunate news, but said he was hoping for the best as he was told that, although there was swelling to his daughter’s brain, no tissue was damaged.
When asked to describe his daughter, a grade eight Convent of Mercy Academy (Alpha) student, he simply said, “Zoey is the world,” while noting that she is the president of block two at her school and will celebrate her 14th birthday today (July 1).
The tragic incident occurred at the corner of Mark Lane and North Street.
Firemen from York Park Fire Station putting out one of
 the fires behind Central Police Station on East Street 
in downtown Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Karl McLarty) 
According to the driver of the taxi, sometime after 7:00 am he was transporting four students, three from Alpha and one from St George’s College, when men whom he said were dressed in blue denim and vests marked police, subjected him to what he termed “bad driving”.
The driver said he responded by hurling expletives at the men, which angered them.
As a result, the driver said after he drove off he heard gunshots and heard the schoolgirl screaming out that she had been shot.
The girl, who was the only passenger injured, was rushed to the hospital by the driver.
In the aftermath of the shooting, several taxi drivers parked their cars in protest and demonstrated by blocking roads and setting fire to tyres in the streets.
Fires were lit behind Central Police Station on East Street, as well as on Church, Duke and North streets.

IN JAMAICA (MONEY WORRIES): OPPOSITION Leader Portia Simpson Miller seeks release of reports to Integrity Commission

OPPOSITION Leader Portia Simpson Miller has written to chairman of the Integrity Commission of Parliament Justice Paul Harrison asking him to release to her certified and signed copies of integrity reports which she submitted to the commission for the years 2006 to 2015.
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Portia Simpson
“Mrs Simpson Miller has further requested that the commission indicates to her in writing the dates the reports were received and whether or not she has ever been reported for any breaches,” said a release issued yesterday by former information minister Sandrea Falconer.
“Once the reports are received the Opposition leader will release the documents to the media appropriately redacted to remove sensitive details,” the short statement said.
Since Prime Minister Andrew Holness released details of his personal assets to the public earlier this week there have been calls for Simpson Miller to do the same, with critics insisting that the former prime minister should show her hands as well as it was her party during the fiery lead-up to the 2016 general election which called for Holness to release his information.The prime minister has since said that he plans to table legislation in Parliament to ensure that those who head the four major political offices in the island declare and make public their personal assets ever year. These are the prime minister, the minister of finance, leader of the Opposition, and the Opposition’s spokesperson on finance.
Speaking to the press at Jamaica House on June 17, after releasing information on his assets, Holness said the standards must be raised on the importance of reassuring the public about the integrity of political leaders. He said it was also important for public officials to declare their assets to the commission in a timely manner.
Julian Robinson, another politician who some have mooted as a possible candidate for leadership of the People’s National Party, also released details of his financials that have been filed with the Integrity Commission.
Robinson, member of Parliament for St Andrew South East, released the filings after questions were raised about his plans to buy a multi-million dollar property.
The Integrity Commission has oversight responsibility in ensuring that public officials file annual reports disclosing their income, assets, and liabilities. Officials are required to file documentation verifying their income, assets and liabilities. This is to be done at the start of each parliamentary term. The commission is authorised to made independent enquiries and investigate matters related to a statutory declaration.