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The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) is advising shoppers to be vigilant when purchasing toys, especially with recent recalls of several Chinese-made products. Speaking with JIS News, Communication Specialist at the CAC, Dorothy Campbell, informed that more than 20 million toys have been recalled by Fisher-Price, Mattel, and Marvel, because of high lead content in paint used in the manufacturing process....

The members of the Portland Parish Council were sworn into office earlier this week, with Councillors Floyd Patterson of the St. Margaret's Bay division elected as Mayor of Port Antonio and Councillor Derron Wood of the Fairy Hill division, as Deputy Mayor. The swearing in ceremony, which was held in the Council Chamber at 1Gideon Avenue, Port Antonio, was presided...

Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government, Robert Montague, has said that $100,000 will be allocated to each parish councillor for the annual Christmas clean-up programme. "From my Ministry, I have issued instructions that every councillor, every division in Jamaica, should have $100,000 to start their Christmas programme," he said, while addressing the swearing in ceremony for the mayor...

Tourism Minister, Ed Bartlett, has said that the 2007/08 winter tourist season holds "great prospects" and called on Jamaicans to lend their full support in making the season one of the country's best. Minister Bartlett, who was speaking at a reception held yesterday (Dec. 15) at the Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay, to mark the start of the season,...

The Sheep Farmers Development Project has been reaping real rewards for Jamaican farmers. One such farmer is Howard Hill, who is also the Public Relations Officer for the Sheep Farmers' Association. Mr. Hill tells JIS News that his entry into the field was purely coincidental as his original trade was that of a fish farmer. However, his need to reduce...

Jamaicans in the United States now have more access to Caribbean television programmes, with the official launch on December 4 of the Irie TV Network (ITVN), in New York City. The service, which will have a decidedly Jamaican flavour in management and content, was unveiled to a wide cross-section of New Yorkers, including business and community leaders, the media and...

Special Advisor on Early Childhood Education and Parenting in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Rebecca Tortello, has reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to the development of the country's early childhood education system. Dr. Tortello said the Ministry's new policy thrust was borne out of the recognition that the early childhood sector represented a "partnership between the government and the wider community,...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Donovan Stanberry, has urged the island's beekeepers to get organized and become more business-like to benefit from available funding for the growth and sustainability of the sector. Mr. Stanberry, who was addressing the annual general meeting of the All Island Bee Farmers Association (AIBFA) at the Jamaica Conference Centre on (Dec. 12), said...

Deputy Chairman of the Possibility Programme, Robert Gibbs, said that the initiative has been "very successful" in improving the lives of at-risk young men by providing them with the skills to gain employment. "We have had a very good success rate in terms of the placement of these boys because some of them have been successfully placed in (various) organizations,"...

The St. Mary Parish Council will be beautifying the public sanitary convenience in Port Maria, as part of a general effort to instill civic pride and to improve the appearance of that town for the Christmas season. Cherrie Chambers, Secretary/Manager of the St. Mary Parish Council, told JIS News that the initiative would be carried out in collaboration with a...

Former Consul General to New York, Dr. Basil K. Bryan, was on Saturday (Dec. 8) honoured by Caribbean Food Delights/Royal Caribbean Bakery (CFD/RCB) for outstanding community service. Dr. Bryan, who retired from the post of Consul General in September, having served since 1998, was one of five persons recognized by the Jamaican pastry manufacturing outlet, at the company's annual end...

Information, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister, Olivia Grange, has called on the society to join in the effort to ensure that the county's youth, especially those at-risk, are provided with the necessary opportunities to become productive and responsible citizens. "If we agree that the future of our nation rest with our young people, then it must mean all of our...