作者： admin

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — A major regional business entity is stepping up to support community resilience and educational renewal in western Jamaica, with Liberty Business announced as an official partner for the 2025 Jill Stewart MoBay City Run. The sponsorship deepens the firm’s longstanding dedication to cross-sector collaboration, local community advancement, and sustainable growth across the western region of the island.

Scheduled for Sunday, May 3 at Montego Bay’s scenic Harmony Beach Park, the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run has grown from a local community gathering into one of Jamaica’s most high-profile annual charity road races. For years, the event has channeled public participation and fundraising into impactful philanthropic projects across the country, building a reputation for turning collective enthusiasm into tangible public good.

Unlike previous years, 2025’s iteration of the race will direct all generated proceeds to educational recovery efforts for schools across western Jamaica that suffered severe damage when Hurricane Melissa swept through the region. Funds raised will go toward repairing infrastructure, replacing damaged learning materials, and supporting students and educators as they work to rebuild stable, effective learning environments.

“Western Jamaica is a dynamic, core driver of our national economy, fueled by hardworking residents, tight-knit vibrant communities, and enormous untapped potential,” shared Charles Manus, Senior Director at Liberty Business, in a statement ahead of the event. “We are incredibly proud to stand behind the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run because it embodies the very best of Jamaican spirit: people uniting to overcome shared challenges, restore hope to vulnerable communities, and invest directly in the future of our children.”

Liberty Business has long framed expanded access to quality education as one of the most foundational catalysts for upward economic mobility and broad national progress. By supporting the recovery of hurricane-damaged campuses, the firm says it is helping guarantee that local students retain access to safe, functional learning spaces where they can build the critical skills needed to succeed, and ultimately contribute to the long-term economic growth of their home communities.

The company also offered public praise to the MoBay City Run organizing committee for building a durable, effective platform that consistently converts widespread public goodwill into measurable, life-changing impact for working families across western Jamaica. Event organizers note that the race’s community-focused model has allowed it to adapt to emerging local needs year after year, and this year’s focus on educational recovery resonates deeply with both long-time participants and new partners.

As the countdown to race day continues, Liberty Business is calling on Jamaicans across the island to get involved — whether by registering to run, making a direct donation to the recovery fund, or showing public solidarity with the schools and students working to rebuild after Hurricane Melissa. Organizers report that registration numbers are already tracking above last year’s levels, signaling strong public support for this year’s recovery-focused mission.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Adverse weather and early logistical hurdles failed to derail a much-anticipated community-focused autism event held this past weekend, as organizers and attendees pushed forward with the “Learn. Play. Connect.” Autism Awareness Workshop to build stronger support networks for neurodivergent residents and their families. The gathering united hundreds of stakeholders from across the island, including caregivers, classroom educators, and local community leaders, all gathered with a shared goal of deepening public understanding of autism spectrum disorder and expanding accessible local resources.

The event was spearheaded by Shanique Nelson, who holds the title of Intercontinental Queen of Jamaica. Nelson drew from her own lived experience as a parent raising a child on the autism spectrum to design the workshop’s program, prioritizing real-world guidance and peer connection over abstract discussion. Though unseasonably heavy rainfall pushed back the event’s start time and forced minor adjustments to the planned schedule, organizers quickly adapted, and the rest of the day’s activities unfolded with almost no further disruption.

Per an official press statement from the organizing team, attendees arrived continuously throughout the day, engaging actively with a lineup of educational sessions and open conversations. Two leading local experts led core presentations: Laren Hartley, who shares an autism diagnosis, offered personal insights into what it means to live with the condition, while Peta-Gaye Forbes Robinson centered her talk on boosting public autism awareness, expanding formal community support systems, and sharing actionable, everyday strategies for families new to navigating autism-related challenges. Both presentations filled critical information gaps, leaving many first-time attendees with clear, practical guidance they had struggled to find elsewhere.

One of the day’s most anticipated components was a candid panel discussion made up entirely of parents raising autistic children. Moderated by Deidre Ferguson, the panel featured three caregivers — Esther Waugh, Sheriece Blake, and Darrion Blake — who opened up about their personal journeys, the unexpected joys and unspoken struggles of caregiving, and the gaps in public support that Jamaican families still face. Their honest sharing resonated deeply with attendees, many of whom reported feeling less alone in their own experiences after the discussion.

Local organizations stepped up to make the event possible, with Transformational Worship Centre donating both event space and full technical support for the day’s activities. Additional sponsorship and in-kind contributions came from four other local groups: The Party Vault, DABS Creative Designs, McIntosh Photography, and Classic Queen International Ja. To accommodate attending families, organizers also set up a fully supervised, child-friendly play area, which let kids engage in age-appropriate games and activities while caregivers participated in adult-focused workshop sessions.

In post-event comments, organizers emphasized that the workshop was never intended to be a one-off gathering. Instead, the core mission is to spark long-term cultural change: encouraging greater public awareness of autism, challenging harmful stigmas, and fostering far more inclusive community approaches to neurodiversity across Jamaica. Early feedback from attendees has already led organizers to begin planning similar workshops for other parishes across the island in the coming year.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Law enforcement authorities have issued an update for motorists traveling across the island’s major transport corridor: the westbound lane of Mandela Highway, a key route connecting the capital to the populous municipalities of Spanish Town and Portmore, is now open to traffic again. The stretch had been closed off for forensic investigation and processing after a deadly shooting that left one man dead and a second person wounded.

The violent attack unfolded shortly after 7:15 a.m. on Friday, at the busy Caymanas intersection along the westbound corridor. According to initial police accounts, a Ford Transit work truck was moving through the junction when the driver pulled to a stop. That was when two armed suspects riding a motorcycle pulled alongside the right side of the vehicle, and fired multiple rounds through the truck’s right front window and windshield.

Both people inside the vehicle were hit by gunfire. Emergency responders rushed the injured pair to a local hospital for urgent care, but one of the occupants was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The second victim remains hospitalized for treatment of their injuries, as of the latest update.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police cordoned off the entire westbound lane to preserve the crime scene and allow investigators to collect evidence. The closure caused significant traffic disruptions for commuters traveling between Kingston and the heavily populated St. Catherine parishes, where both Spanish Town and Portmore are located. With the investigation’s on-site processing complete, authorities have confirmed the lane is once again accessible for regular traffic.