More

The Percy Junor Hospital in Manchester is putting measures in place, through which it hopes to collect some $77 million in outstanding user fees. "It is actually more than that now because the figure is from our last report in October," Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Joan Tomlinson told JIS News, noting that the latest figure was not yet available....

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, in her capacity as Minister of Defence has announced the appointment of two new Colonels in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). Those promoted are Lieutenant Colonel George Reynolds and Lieutenant Colonel Antony Anderson. Both appointments became effective yesterday, August 02, 2006. Colonel Anderson joined the JDF in 1984, after completing his secondary...

Jamaicans in Palm Beach County, South Florida, will observe the nation's 44th anniversary of independence with a weekend of activities, beginning on Saturday (August 5). Jamaicans of Palm Beaches, a charitable organization, will host the annual Independence Ball to be held at the Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach. On Sunday (August 6), beginning at 10:00 a.m., a...

A service of thanksgiving will highlight activities being held in Washington DC to mark Jamaica's 44th anniversary of Independence. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Anthony Hilton; Education and Youth Minister, Maxine Henry Wilson; and Ambassador to the United States Professor Gordon Shirley, will head the list of dignitaries at the event, which will be held at Howard...

Mayor of Toronto, His Worship David Miller, has paid tribute to the late Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou), Jamaica's Ambassador of Culture, describing her as a "Jamaican folk performer who was instrumental in giving voice to the intellectual and cultural identities of the Jamaican peasantry for over 40 years". In a message of condolence, Mayor Miller said the members of...

Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States, Professor Gordon Shirley has said that the island could rise and take its rightful place among the group of great nations, if the people continued to work hard and move the country forward. Speaking at the Grand Independence Ball last Saturday (July 29), at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Miami, the Ambassador urged the...

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) will be conducting a textbook survey this month, which will provide the public with a price list of books available in stores across the island. The aim is to help parents better plan their budget for back to school shopping. "The Consumer Affairs Commission conducts a text book survey each year, where we publish the...

Jamaica's economy is highly energy intensive and heavily dependent on the use of imported oil. In light of the country's escalating oil bill, it is imperative that the nation explores alternative sources of energy and put measures in place to reduce consumption. The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) has been mandated by the Government to develop and facilitate private sector...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Alvin McIntosh, has issued an order calling on the developers of the Bahia Principe Hotel, at Pear Tree Bottom in St. Ann, to suspend construction until investigations into the accident, which has resulted in the death of one worker and injuries to some 15 employees, are completed. The death and...

When mining operations began in Lime Tree Garden, St. Ann decades ago, life in the small, farming community changed forever.Expansive lands in the rural hilly region, once used for agricultural production, were claimed by the Kaiser Bauxite Company, which built haul roads to the deposits and relocated persons, who lived in the immediate mining area. Residents, who once depended on...

Agriculture and Lands Minister, Roger Clarke has encouraged farmers to get into ackee farming, noting that foreign exchange earnings from ackee production have reached some US$30 million. "There is money to be made from ackee. The Diaspora is making strong demand for the fruit and tourists, who have visited the island and tasted the national dish, are also demanding it...

Agriculture and Lands Minister, Roger Clarke, has called on organizers of food festivals to collaborate with the Ministry in the planning process, in order to reduce costs and ensure a greater level of success. The Minister, who was speaking at the second staging of the Ackee Festival at the Dinthill Technical High School in Linstead, St. Catherine, on August 1,...