News

Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton and Tasheka Anderson, a parent who will benefit from the Family Caregivers' Pilot Programme sign the caregiver agreement form as the programme is officially launched at the Bustamante Hospital for
January 19, 2026

Health Ministry launches programme allowing parents longer stays with children at Bustamante Hospital

Parents of children admitted to the Bustamante Hospital for Children can now remain with them until 10 p.m. daily under a pilot programme launched by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The ministry…
The roof of St Thomas Anglican Church in Lacovia, St Elizabeth was decimated by Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.
January 19, 2026

More than 170 applications received for $75m church clean-up programme, says SDC

More than 170 applications are currently being processed by the Social Development Commission (SDC) under the Government’s Community Church Clean‑Up and Restoration Initiative, the agency says. The…
January 20, 2026

Trial of 6 cops accused of murder in case that drew international scrutiny starts in Kingston

The murder trial of six policemen charged with killing three men in 2013 has started in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston. The prosecution's main witness, a senior politician, started giving…
News
January 19, 2026

Don’t lose your head, use it!

A recent news item indicated that two brothers lost their heads – one figuratively and the other literally at the hands of his machete-wielding brother. As I waited to share insights at a school…
Daniel Goulbourne, a RADA-registered farmer for 15 years, farms two and a half acres at Parnassus, paying $20,000 per acre annually in lease fees. Despite this, he said there is no verification of storm damage to his farm and no meaningful assistance.
January 18, 2026 by Erica Virtue

‘Food soldiers’ struggle

With climate resilience and national food security at the heart of Jamaica’s agricultural policy, farmers at the Parnassus, Spring Plains, and Ebony Park agro parks in Clarendon say they are relied on…
The Mandeville Regional Hospital in Manchester.
January 18, 2026 by Corey Robinson

Mandeville Hospital under pressure

What began as a temporary emergency response to Hurricane Melissa has evolved into a sustained healthcare crisis at Mandeville Regional Hospital, where patient numbers now far exceed capacity and…
Sweet potato farmers in the Spring Plains agro park in Clarendon check on their crop during a visit by The Sunday Gleaner.
January 18, 2026

Sweet potato’s bitter battle

The sweet potato, long designated a “good carbohydrate”, commands premium prices on the local market and carries major value-added potential, from flour and chips for the fast-food industry to salads,…
Annette Graham, weeds out sweetcorn on ESL farm in Spring Plains, Clarendon, during a recent Sunday Gleaner visit to agro parks in Clarendon.
January 18, 2026

Remembering Spring Plains’ ‘M-16 tomatoes’

Forty-three years after then Prime Minister Edward Seaga announced that Spring Plains in rural Clarendon would become a high-tech agricultural investment, the property remains a central pillar of…
Third-generation farmer Carlington McCook, who is also a police officer with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, told The Sunday Gleaner that he lost approximately $1 million worth of lettuce, pak choi, and cabbage to Melissa’s fierce winds and flood rains.
January 18, 2026 by Karen Madden

Bog Hole’s green basket under strain

If you enjoy green, leafy vegetables, chances are some of what is on your plate came from Bog Hole, a farming community near the St Ann-Clarendon border, home to farmers spanning generations. Located…