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A long-time South Florida resident with Jamaican roots, attorney Tamar N Hamilton has officially thrown her hat in the ring for the Broward County Circuit Court Judge seat in Group 52. Her announcement comes on the heels of the recent retirement of Michael G. Kaplan, who held the position for 24 years, leaving the vacancy that three candidates now seek to fill.

The upcoming election, scheduled for August 18, is a statewide judicial contest in Florida that will see voters select 20 new Circuit Court judges across the state. Originally hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, Hamilton has built her life and career in Florida over the past 25 years, establishing deep roots in the local legal and community landscape. Currently serving as a special magistrate, she maintains dual office locations in Cutler Ridge and Lauderhill, and previously held the role of president of the Jamaican American Bar Association. Interestingly, a run for the judicial seat was already on her agenda six years ago, when she first considered challenging the incumbent Kaplan.

Hamilton shared her motivations for entering the race in an interview with Observer Online, noting that her first serious consideration of a judicial run came in 2020, when she observed a growing gap in community engagement and public understanding of the U.S. legal system. “Through my work educating and supporting residents across Broward County, I developed a deep passion for serving from the bench, where I can ensure that every person who enters the courtroom is heard, respected and treated fairly,” she explained. Hamilton pointed to her multi-faceted professional background — spanning work as a special magistrate, adjunct law professor, practicing attorney, and community advocate — as comprehensive preparation for the demands of the judgeship.

Her academic journey began at Jamaica’s St. Andrew Technical High School, before she pursued higher education in Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary arts and humanities from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, followed by a Juris Doctorate degree with honors from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, where she still teaches as an adjunct professor today.

In Florida, Circuit Court judges are elected to six-year terms, with no term limits imposed on this non-partisan public office. These judicial positions carry broad responsibility, as judges preside over a wide range of legal matters including criminal proceedings, civil disputes, and family law cases. Hamilton emphasized that her decades of legal work have given her direct experience across all these core practice areas.

Outlining what she believes makes an effective judicial leader, Hamilton noted: “An effective Circuit Court judge is experienced, fair and committed to listening. It requires a strong understanding of the law, sound judgment, patience, and the ability to remain impartial in every case. Equally important is the ability to ensure that all parties feel heard and that decisions are made thoughtfully and respectfully, in accordance with the law.” As election day approaches, Hamilton will join the two other candidates in vying for voter support to claim the open Group 52 seat.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A sitting Jamaican member of parliament has launched a scathing rebuke of the national government’s flagship road improvement initiative, accusing the administration of failing to deliver critical infrastructure upgrades to his coastal constituency, leaving thousands of residents trapped in a cycle of unsafe and impassable road conditions.

Kenneth Russell, who represents St Ann South East, laid out his damning indictment of the Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) Programme during a dedicated press briefing Tuesday, branded “Uncovering the Facts on the SPARK Road Programme”. The event was organized to draw public and government attention to what Russell calls systemic failure and disrespect for local communities.

First launched to align with the Jamaican government’s broader economic growth and inclusive social development targets, SPARK organizes national infrastructure upgrades into four large-scale construction packages designed to overhaul the island’s aging road network. For St Ann South East, nine roads were formally added to the SPARK project roster with a total projected investment of $2.3 billion. But according to Russell, only $315 million – less than 15% of the required funding – has been allocated to date, with just three of the nine roads marked for any work. Shockingly, only one of those three projects has broken ground, while the remaining two have been given at least six separate announced start dates that have all come and gone with no construction activity whatsoever.

The constituency faces uniquely pressing infrastructure needs: Russell reports St Ann South East has roughly 225 kilometers of roads managed by Jamaica’s National Works Agency, more than any other parliamentary constituency in the country, with 80% of that network assessed as needing full rehabilitation. Decades of underinvestment have left almost no stretch of road in the area free of damaging potholes, according to the MP, and many communities face daily life-threatening hazards that disrupt access to work, school, and emergency services.

Russell pointed to Johnny Spring Road in Higgin Town as a prime example of the government’s broken promises. “There was a promise sold to the country that under SPARK, this road would be rehabilitated. They were given dates before the hurricane and since the hurricane, we have had not just one or two, not three…[but] at least six start dates,” he said, noting that every deadline has passed without any official explanation for the delays to local residents.

This pattern of unmet commitments has left local communities increasingly frustrated, a sentiment Russell says amounts to “the height of disrespect” for constituents who rely on functional roads for their daily livelihoods. Poor conditions affect communities across the constituency, including Dunnsville, White Hall, and Nine Mile, where residents report major difficulties entering and exiting their neighborhoods. Russell also highlighted the road adjacent to Golden Grove Primary School, calling it one of the most dangerous stretches in the area: “When it rains, it’s treacherous,” he said.

Beyond potholes and surface damage, Russell warned that several sections of road in White Hall and Nine Mile are at risk of complete breakaway, and that urgent intervention is required to prevent fatal accidents. “I would hate if it would have to come to someone losing their lives for action to be taken,” he emphasized.

Even if the government completes all nine SPARK projects currently allocated for St Ann South East, Russell added, the upgrades would only address less than 40% of the constituency’s NWA-managed road network, leaving the majority of the area’s infrastructure still in dire need of repair. The criticism puts renewed pressure on the Jamaican government to address funding gaps and delivery delays in its signature infrastructure programme, as opposition from local representatives grows over unfulfilled campaign and policy commitments.

In a dramatic late-night display that has reignited questions about his fitness for office, 79-year-old U.S. President Donald Trump flooded his Truth Social platform with more than 50 posts over three hours just after midnight Monday, pushing unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and vitriolic content targeting political opponents as he prepares for a high-stakes diplomatic trip to China and manages a tense economic standoff with Iran.

Nearly all of the overnight posts were reshared content from allied supporter accounts, including a number of AI-generated crude memes attacking political rivals. Two of the posts, one labeling former Democratic President Barack Obama a “traitor” and another calling him a “DEMONIC FORCE”, joined a slate of other posts openly demanding the arrest of Obama and other prominent critics of the sitting president.

Multiple posts calling for accelerated legal action against Trump’s opponents directly tagged Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal criminal defense attorney who was recently appointed acting U.S. Attorney General. Reports have already linked Blanche to plans to speed up prosecutions of figures who have publicly opposed Trump, a move that has raised alarm across political circles over the independence of the Department of Justice.

The outburst also centered on one of Trump’s long-debunked falsehoods: his repeated insistence that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen from him. He amplified baseless claims that voting machine manufacturers intentionally switched votes from him to Joe Biden, the election’s actual winner, and repeated an unproven assertion that the Central Intelligence Agency concealed knowledge of the alleged manipulation to influence the election’s outcome. “The CIA knew what these machines were capable of and brushed it under the rug to control election outcomes,” one reshared post on his account read.

Along with reshared content, Trump shared two original posts attributed to “President DJT”. One offered a cryptic teaser that the U.S. “was going to talk” with Cuba, offering no additional context for the potential diplomatic shift. The second, a 400-plus word entry, served as a defense of the pricey taxpayer-funded renovation project he spearheaded for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a project that has drawn criticism for its ballooning costs.

The overnight social media spree comes as public doubts over Trump’s physical and mental fitness for the presidency continue to climb. A recent joint poll conducted by the Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos found that 59% of surveyed Americans believe Trump lacks the mental capacity to effectively lead the nation, while 55% said he is not physically fit to hold the country’s highest office. As the oldest person ever elected to the U.S. presidency, Trump has repeatedly pushed back on these concerns, insisting he remains in peak condition. “I feel the same as I did 50 years ago. It’s crazy,” he claimed in a public statement Monday.

In an announcement released Monday, the White House confirmed that Trump will undergo a full medical and dental examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, located just outside Washington D.C., on May 26. The examination will mark his third routine full check-up since he returned to the White House 18 months ago following his 2024 election win.