The National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) maintains a high level of quality assurance as it continues to oversee the building of Highway 2000, providing oversight for the rigorous certification process in the construction of tolled highways. Senior Manager for Technical Services at NROCC, George Nicholson, tells JIS News that this is a part of the mechanism that the...

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) will, over the next three years, upgrade 10 beaches across the island as part of its Beach Development Programme, which is aimed at enhancing the facilities at public beaches for greater enjoyment. They are Watson Taylor Park in Hanover; Success, St. James; Priory, St. Ann; Rio Nuevo, St. Mary; Murdock Beach, St. Mary; Winnifred Beach,...

In the last four years, Vanesia Reid repeatedly walked to her community’s St. Andrew South Constituency Office to ask for assistance in getting a house, which she was in dire need of. Her persistence paid off, as on February 11, she received the keys to her new two-bedroom house, which was constructed under the National Social Housing Programme (NSHP), at...

Volunteers in the recently established COVID-19 Mental Health Response Programme say the training they have received will enable them to assist persons facing mental challenges to get some relief. The programme has commenced with 30 community volunteers, and will shorty expand to 150 persons trained by the Jamaica Red Cross and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), to reach persons,...

Head of the Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB) in St. James, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Yvonne Whyte-Powell, says the relationship between the police and residents in sections of Salt Spring, St. James, has seen a vast improvement. She says police-citizen relations are being repaired through social intervention programmes, including a breakfast feeding programme, an annual youth summer camp started...

While the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the island, charities such as the One Hart Hill Foundation, from the coastal district of Hart Hill, Portland, remain shining examples and inspiration to many. Founded in April 2020 by Hart Hill resident, Michael Coombs, the community-based non-profit organisation, whose members predominantly reside overseas, has been a model of consistency,...

Coping with cancer is undoubtedly a stressful experience for any individual so afflicted. But the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) Cancer Support Group in St. James has, for several years, been helping many persons stricken with the disease to cope emotionally and spiritually in their everyday life. Since its establishment in 2004, the group has been providing a safe space for...

Nakeba Brown was only 10 years old when her mother died at age 29, leaving nine children who had to be rescued by the then Child Development Agency (CDA), now the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA). The trauma of losing her mother at a tender age, being separated from her brothers and sisters and living with strangers, took...

Capital improvement works are proceeding apace at the Sangster International Airport (SIA) despite the fallout in the global airline industry resulting from the downturn in activity due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The projects, which represent investment of approximately US$170 million, include expansion works under a master plan programme and a runway expansion project. President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)...