Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

Dr Garfield Badal (right), a consultant paediatric surgeon at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, collects a cheque from Dwight Crawford, deputy mayor of Montego Bay, and Barbara Grizzle, president of the Kiwanis Club of Providence, Montego Bay, valued at $2.7
Published 9 hours ago by Albert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

Kiwanis Club of Providence comes good for western cancer patients

WESTERN BUREAU: The Montego Bay Cancer Support Group, the Oncology Ward at the Cornwall Regional Hospital and the Jamaica Cancer Society were among the major beneficiaries at Wednesday’s award ceremony for the Kiwanis Club of Providence Montego Bay’s 15th Breast Cancer Awareness 5K Run/Walk, which raised some $15 million. Nadine Spence, president of the Kiwanis Club, hailed the club’s milestone fundraiser as a significant achievement in the club’s 15 years of sustained cancer support and awareness.

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The statue of of retired track and field superstar Usain Bolt in Water Square in Falmouth, Trelawny.
April 9, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Grange: Bolt statue ready, dedication date to be announced

WESTERN BUREAU: Sport Minister Olivia Grange says the official dedication of the statue honouring Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt in Falmouth will take place once a new date is finalised. Speaking…
Shantell Hill-Afonso (right), marketing manager at Sunshine Snacks, presents an assortment of snacks to Audley Feare, principal of Aberdeen High School in St Elizabeth. Sharing the moment are (from left) Marilyn McDonald, manager of community renewal at th
April 9, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

JPS powers $10m extra-lessons programme for western students

WESTERN BUREAU: The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has launched a $10-million extra-lessons initiative to assist students who will begin sitting the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and the Caribbean…
William Knibb Principal Linvern Wright.
April 8, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

‘SHAMELESS’

WESTERN BUREAU: Linvern Wright, the principal of William Knibb High School, says governments over the years have failed to provide adequate sports facilities for athletes in western Jamaica, leaving…
Culture Minister Olivia Grange.
April 7, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Jamaica rejects St Kitts’ claim of first legal recognition of Rastafari

WESTERN BUREAU: The Government of Jamaica has pushed back against claims that St Kitts and Nevis is the first Caribbean nation to recognise Rastafarianism in law, insisting that Jamaica has long…
Delano Seiveright.
April 7, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Students urged to embrace financial readiness for a changing Jamaica

WESTERN BUREAU: Delano Seiveright, state minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, has called on Jamaican students to embrace financial readiness as a fundamental life skill,…
Dr Marcia Johnson-Campbell, regional coordinator for priority non-communicable diseases at the Western Regional Health Authority.
April 6, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Jamaica’s bittersweet reckoning

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica is facing a bitter truth about its sweetest habit. From vending machines on university campuses to roadside coolers and taxi stands, sugary drinks have become the nation’s…
Fayval Williams, minister of finance and the public service, speaking at the University of Technology Western Campus Business Seminar.
April 4, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Williams bats for reformed SLB, saying it’s not a burden

WESTERN BUREAU: Finance Minister Fayval Williams is urging tertiary students to become ambassadors for Jamaica’s student loan programme, saying outdated perceptions about the scheme could be…
Jason Russell (left), president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Dwight Crawford, deputy mayor of Montego Bay, in conversation during the University of Technology, Western Jamaica Campus School of Business Administration annual semi
April 5, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Cash over claims

WESTERN BUREAU: Warning that insurance alone is not enough to safeguard businesses from disaster, Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Jason Russell is urging entrepreneurs to…
Mark Hart, chairman of the Montego Bay Free Zone Company.
April 2, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

MoBay Free Zone chair backs Holness’ plan to relocate BPO facilities inland

WESTERN BUREAU: Mark Hart, chairman of the Montego Bay Free Zone Company, has endorsed the Government’s long-term plan to relocate business process outsourcing (BPO) operations from the coastal…