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Coopers Pen tax tangle - $26-million bill due to TAJ over disputed land

August 24, 2026 | News
New Falmouth Resorts Limited is facing a mounting $26.3-million tax bill on more than 260 acres of prime land, which is now at the centre of a public dispute between Coopers Pen residents and the company. Official Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) records obtained by The Gleaner reveal that the company, which acquired the land in March 2006, has failed to pay property taxes for six consecutive years since 2020, racking up more than $2 million in penalties. Tax on the land, currently valued at $390 million, amounts to $3.4 million annually.
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Chapelton hopeful after new move

After cutting ties with the Clarendon Football Association and re-establishing their alliance with the St Ann Football Association, Chapelton Maroons are eyeing what club president Kaycie Butler believes could be their best season yet in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL). Chapelton were forced to abandon their original home at Turners Oval after Cavalier purchased the property. Butler admitted that moving the club from the community it has represented for more than 40 years was a difficult decision. Nevertheless, she believes the move will have a positive impact.
Sports

Bicknell better prepared for round two

National tennis player Blaise Bicknell says he is well prepared for today’s match against Spanish opponent Ivan Curbelo in the Kingston Open, an ATP Challenger tournament being staged at the Liguanea Club in Kingston. Match time is 7 p.m. Bicknell, ranked 373rd in the world, will take on the 354th-ranked Curbelo in what is expected to be an exciting encounter. The 24-year-old Jamaican is coming off a three-set defeat to Australia’s Max Purcell in the round of 32 during last week’s first staging of the tournament.
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CUMBERLAND WINDFALL

Carlon Pitt, principal of Cumberland High School, says the institution’s merger with Hydel High School next month is expected to provide a significant boost to Cumberland’s sporting programmes. Hydel has been among the dominant schools at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships in recent years, winning the girls’ title in 2023 and 2025 under head coach Corey Bennett. The school has also enjoyed success at the Central Championships and Penn Relays, and has made its mark in the ISSA Manning Cup competition, reaching the quarter-finals last year.

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Published 2 hours ago

Children abandoned

Four of the five children abandoned at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine have spent their entire lives at the facility, a situation Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Ellis says is unacceptable. The latest child – a male who is one and a half years old – has remained at the hospital 11 months after being discharged. Hospital records show that four of the children – whose ages range from 10 months to two and a half years old – were left by their parents shortly after birth to be adopted. The other child was left there for “care and protection”.

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Members of the Hydel High School girls track and field team celebrating their ISSA GraceKennedy Girls’ Champs success.
Published 2 hours ago

CUMBERLAND WINDFALL

Carlon Pitt, principal of Cumberland High School, says the institution’s merger with Hydel High School next month is expected to provide a significant boost to Cumberland’s sporting programmes. Hydel has been among the dominant schools at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships in recent years, winning the girls’ title in 2023 and 2025 under head coach Corey Bennett. The school has also enjoyed success at the Central Championships and Penn Relays, and has made its mark in the ISSA Manning Cup competition, reaching the quarter-finals last year.

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Miss Universe Jamaica 2026 Celene Hall.
Published 2 hours ago

‘Surreal’ Miss Universe Jamaica win for Portlander Celene Hall

With Celene Hall being crowned Miss Universe Jamaica 2026 on Sunday, the parish of Portland was flung into the pageant spotlight for the second time in August, and both times were historic. When 25-year-old Celene Hall was crowned, she became the first woman from Portland to win the title in the pageant’s history. Earlier in August, 28-year-old Miss Portland, Christina Williams, was crowned Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2026, making her the first Portland queen to win the title in 27 years. Williams was present on Sunday to cheer on her “parisheen” and savour her victory.

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Contributed Harro Ten Wolde, of Boehringer Ingelheim’s corporate communications division.
August 23, 2026

Jardiance drug searches spike 50% amid Usain Bolt campaign

The makers of the chronic kidney disease (CKD) drug Jardiance say that enlisting retired sprinter Usain Bolt as the face of their latest campaign has raised awareness, amid a spike in online searches. The campaign draws on the contrast between Bolt’s reputation as the world’s fastest man and Jardiance’s message about slowing the progression of kidney disease. The drug is co-owned by German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim and American drugmaker Eli Lilly.

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Introducing Mr and Mrs Johnson.
Published 2 hours ago

Island Wedding | Love is right on time for Dexter and Tamalcia

Dexter Johnson and Tamalcia Johnson first met while working together in February 2024, but romance was far from Tamalcia’s mind at the time. Although Dexter was more familiar in Christian circles, he wasn’t someone she had taken much notice of — until she needed a master of ceremonies for an event.

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This file photo shows contraband of cocaine confiscated in Kingston.
Published 2 hours ago

Editorial | The legitimate war on drugs

The Gleaner shares National Security Minister Horace Chang’s concern over the surge of cocaine seizures in Jamaica, which suggests a resurgence in the use of the island as a transshipment hub for drugs. There is logic, too, in the minister’s argument for wider hemispheric cooperation to neutralise what he sees as a potential threat to the gains made against domestic crime, as well as Jamaica’s broader national security.

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