Acting Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Richard Thompson, says islandwide shelter preparation activities got under way last year in readiness for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. “In preparing for the 2021 hurricane season, ODPEM conducted a series of shelter management training across the island where our shelter...

The Victim Services Division (VSD) is slated to reach more than a thousand Jamaicans through virtual sensitisation efforts on matters relating to Child Abuse and Domestic Violence. Special emphasis is being placed on highlighting the vulnerability of persons who become victims of abuse and crime during childhood, as a form of preventative action. Executive Director of the VSD, Osbourne Bailey,...

Chairman of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA), LeVaughn Flynn, says Jamaica must better position itself to capitalise on the growing global market for cannabis, as more countries are permitting its use for medicinal, scientific and therapeutic purposes. “Specifically, we need to get to a place where we are producing more cannabis by-products like nutraceutical pills, tinctures and cannabidiol (CBD) water....

The National Codex Committee (NCC) is recognising World Food Safety Day, which is globally celebrated on June 7, with a week of activities. The week of activities, held under the theme ‘Safe Food Now for a Healthy Jamaica’, began on May 31 and will culminate on Monday, June 7 with two webinars. The first webinar will be from 10:00 a.m....

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams (fourth left), cuts ribbon to officially open the newly built parking lot at the Mona Heights Primary School in Kingston, recently. Sharing the moment (from left) are Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Dasmine Kennedy; Mona Heights Primary students, Alex Hepburn Jr., and Diandra-Michellè Schrouter; Acting Principal, Mona Heights Primary, Alex Hepburn; and...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn, says that the Government is working quickly to overhaul the interim regulations governing the cannabis industry. He said that the measures, enacted in 2015, are no longer appropriate for the fast-growing industry. “They require a complete rework and we are now set at the Ministry to work assiduously...

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, says ground is to be broken for 3,000 hotel rooms over the next few months. Speaking at a virtual ground-breaking ceremony for the new Sandals Dunn’s River Resort in St. Ann, on May 26, the Minister also noted that he recently concluded, in Spain, arrangements for another 1,000 rooms. He said that of the 1,000...