News

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…
Alesha pumping gas at at Willis Gas Station in Cave Valley, St Ann, last week. She recalled that days after the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October, all she could see was water when she looked down at the town.
January 18, 2026 by Karen Madden

Mentally draining, but Cave Valley rebounds from Melissa

It is a fight that has exacted physical, mental, and emotional pain, but business operators in Cave Valley, St Ann, are clawing their way back following devastation when Hurricane Melissa dumped…
Reverend Derrick Ashmeade makes remarks at the appreciation service held at Foursquare Gospel Church in Annotto Bay, St Mary.
January 18, 2026

Foursquare Gospel Church recognises long‑serving ministers

Six clergy members were honoured Sunday during an appreciation service at the Foursquare Gospel Church in Annotto Bay, St Mary. Those recognised included Reverend Stanley Brown, Reverend Jasmine…
Brittney Hall
January 18, 2026

MoBay woman charged for death of spouse in St Andrew

A St James woman who was apprehended after being listed as wanted in connection with the death of her partner at a house in St Andrew has been charged with murder. She is 25-year-old Brittney Hall,…