标签： Jamaica

The Ujima Natural Farmers Market in St. Andrew is emerging as a vibrant hub for fresh, locally-sourced produce, offering an impressive array of colorful and often uncommon vegetables. A recent weekend visit by Observer Online revealed a bustling marketplace where shoppers enthusiastically filled their bags with items such as Swiss chard, dinosaur kale, and Jamaican broccoli.

Shoppers expressed strong preferences for supporting local agriculture. One customer emphasized the importance of buying Jamaican produce, stating, ‘I like to eat Jamaican first. I do my best not to buy imported food—that’s the main reason why I am here.’ This sentiment highlights a growing consumer trend toward prioritizing locally grown, organic food sources.

The market’s pricing structure remains accessible, with items like escallion and tomato priced at $300 per pound, dinosaur kale at $400 per bunch, and celery at $600 per pound. Beyond shopping, the market experience was enhanced by a live culinary demonstration from Executive Chef Brian Lumley, who prepared a stir-fry noodle dish. Chef Lumley noted that Ujima ranks among his favorite markets specifically because of its commitment to being fully organic.

The market’s success underscores a broader movement toward sustainable agriculture and community-supported food systems, offering both nutritional benefits and economic support for local farmers.

FALMOUTH, Jamaica — The Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) is demonstrating remarkable resilience as it continues to provide essential public services despite operating from temporary facilities following the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa in October 2025. Mayor C Junior Gager, who serves as both Falmouth’s mayor and TMC chairman, acknowledged the ongoing challenges while affirming the corporation’s commitment to parish residents.

Addressing attendees during Thursday’s monthly council meeting at the Falmouth Artisan Village, Mayor Gager stated: ‘While our operations haven’t fully returned to normalcy, we remain dedicated to fulfilling our responsibilities and serving the citizens of this parish with the highest possible standards.’

The municipal corporation has been conducting its operations from alternative locations since the Category 5 hurricane severely damaged critical infrastructure, including the historic Falmouth Courthouse that previously housed the TMC’s administrative offices and the mayor’s official parlour. Current municipal services are being delivered from the roads and works office within the town, with the mayor’s office now operating from a retrofitted shipping container on the same premises.

Among the most significant recovery initiatives is the construction of a $150-million temporary facility to house displaced residents from the Trelawny Infirmary. These individuals have been temporarily accommodated at the Elleston Wakefield Community Center since the hurricane necessitated their evacuation. The new prefabricated structure, built from specially designed containers, will ultimately provide shelter for all 54 residents, with project completion anticipated in early 2026. Mayor Gager reported that construction is advancing satisfactorily.

The mayor concluded with a message of solidarity: ‘I encourage everyone to maintain positivity despite the current displacement and discomfort. Through collective effort and determination, we shall overcome these challenges and emerge stronger.’

KINGSTON, Jamaica—In an innovative approach to addressing menstrual health during disaster recovery, the HerFlow Foundation will leverage the platform of the 2026 Sagicor Sigma Run to distribute free menstrual products and provide essential education on period management. The annual charity road race, known for its significant community impact, will serve as a strategic venue for the foundation’s humanitarian efforts following Hurricane Melissa.

The organization announced through an official statement that its participation aligns with the Sigma Corporate Run’s broader mission to assist communities devastated by recent hurricane damage. HerFlow’s initiative, branded as the ‘Recover with Dignity’ campaign, specifically targets the often-overlooked challenge of period poverty in disaster scenarios.

Shelly-Ann Weeks, Executive Director of HerFlow, emphasized the comprehensive nature of true recovery: ‘Post-hurricane rehabilitation must extend beyond physical infrastructure to include the preservation of human dignity. Our campaign ensures women and girls maintain access to fundamental menstrual products during crises. Period poverty persists through disasters, and our commitment continues as communities rebuild collectively.’

The foundation is simultaneously advancing a broader societal message regarding menstrual health management. Challenging longstanding taboos, HerFlow positions menstrual health not as a personal inconvenience but as a matter requiring systemic public health solutions.

In a powerful statement ahead of Sunday’s event, the foundation declared: ‘A decade of activism has demonstrated that silence can be broken. The coming decade will test whether systems will adapt. When athletes line up this weekend, observe carefully. The red you might witness isn’t theatrical—it’s symbolic. Menstruation continues unabated—not for 5K races, not for anything.’

The Jamaican Court of Appeal has rejected former police constable Oshane Thompson’s application for conditional leave to appeal to the Privy Council in London, effectively blocking his attempt to challenge the court’s previous order for a retrial in a 2017 murder case.

Thompson’s legal journey began with his November 2021 conviction for the shooting death of Kriston Pearson at a Port Maria, St Mary party in May 2017. Originally sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 20 years and eight months by then-Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Tie-Powell, Thompson successfully appealed both his conviction and sentence. On July 31, 2025, the Appeal Court overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial.

In his motion to the Appeal Court, Thompson, represented by attorneys Jacqueline Samuels Brown, KC, and John Clarke, argued that the appellate court had erred in ordering a retrial without adequately considering evidentiary deficiencies from the original proceedings. The defense contended that the eight-year delay since the incident and associated fairness concerns should have precluded a new trial, asserting that the decision violated Thompson’s constitutional right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time.

The three-judge panel comprising Justice Frank Williams, Justice Nicole Foster-Pusey, and Justice Georgiana Fraser delivered a comprehensive rejection of Thompson’s application. The court determined that Thompson failed to establish proper grounds for appeal to the Privy Council, noting that the case involved neither novel legal issues nor unresolved constitutional questions.

In their analysis, the justices emphasized that the Privy Council should not function as a secondary criminal appellate court, particularly when established legal principles have been properly applied. The court found that Thompson’s complaints essentially challenged the Appeal Court’s discretionary judgment rather than raising genuine constitutional interpretation issues.

The case stems from an altercation at a social gathering where Thompson, then a police constable, allegedly touched Pearson’s partner on her arm or bottom, triggering a physical confrontation. Prosecution witnesses testified that Thompson shot an unarmed Pearson during this altercation. Thompson’s defense maintained he acted in self-defense, claiming Pearson attacked him with a broken drink bottle after initially striking him in the face.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – In a significant blow to Caribbean media diversity, Stabroek News, one of Guyana’s longstanding daily publications established in the 1960s, has announced its permanent closure. The shutdown marks the second major media outlet in the region to cease operations recently, following Trinidad and Tobago’s NEWSDAY.

The newspaper’s principal shareholders, Isabelle and Brendan de Caires, described the decision as “extraordinarily difficult and painful” in a comprehensive public statement. They revealed that the state-operated Department of Public Information (DPI) has accumulated an outstanding debt exceeding GUY$80,000,000 (approximately US$320,000) for unpaid advertisements over the past year.

Despite numerous private appeals and public calls for settlement, the government entity has persistently failed to clear its substantial debt. The shareholders characterized this pattern of non-payment as a deliberate strategy to deprive the publication of essential operating capital, effectively crippling its financial viability.

The statement further contextualized the challenges of operating a media enterprise in the Caribbean region, noting that “publishing has always been a precarious undertaking in Guyana and the Caribbean due to the modest size of the potential readership, and to other market constraints.” While emphasizing that profit was never the primary motivation, they stressed that any business must maintain financial sustainability to continue operations.

Additional obstacles cited include repeated denials of radio broadcasting licenses and significant competitive disadvantages compared to other local media entities. Although Stabroek News maintained a television subsidiary for several decades, the shareholders noted that competitors enjoyed “significant privileges” that created an unlevel playing field. This environment ultimately made the anticipated transition from print newspaper to multimedia broadcaster impossible, contributing to the publication’s eventual demise.