Heading home with heavy heart Regarded as part of the ‘dream team’ of specialist ophthalmologists at St Joseph’s Hospital, Dr Roberto Mirales has spent years restoring sight to patients once condemned to darkness. Affectionately called ‘Dr Roberto’, the Cuban doctor has worked in Jamaica for the past nine years, breaking only to return home during the COVID-19 pandemic. When hospital officials later requested his return through the Cuban government, his answer was immediate. It was yes.
From power to prison Two of Jamaica’s most recent high-profile convicted killers, former policeman Noel Maitland and ex-parliamentarian Jolyan Silvera, are now housed under similar conditions inside the Tower Street Adult Correctional Facility, where both men have been placed in single cells, according to sources familiar with the details of their incarceration.
Mom in the margins Although she spends every school day assisting her seven-year-old son in class, Janice Tulloch Parkinson is not officially recognised as his “shadow”, a role defined and regulated by the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, and typically reserved for trained personnel rather than parents.
Cameron on interdiction The public dispute between Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake and Senior Superintendent of Police Wayne Cameron has taken a new turn, with the senior officer – who also heads the Police Officers Association (POA), the negotiating body for gazetted officers – now placed on interdiction. The move, which places Cameron on three-quarter pay, was announced in the Force Orders – the official communication of the commissioner – dated March 12 and took effect the same day.
Decades of distress Courtney Anderson would have been relieved when an assault case against him was dismissed in 1996, but little did he know that 30 years later he would still be experiencing the recurring nightmare of trying to get his police record cleared so he can move forward with his life unencumbered by the case. Jamaica’s expungement law allows eligible individuals to have certain criminal charges and/or convictions removed from their records, providing them with an opportunity for a fresh start.
Importer blames storage gap for leaving onion farmers in tears Onion importers are pushing back against suggestions that their business is killing local farmers, now experiencing a glut. Since the first round of reaping began following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa, local farmers have been howling about their inability to sell their produce, resulting in hundreds of pounds rotting in the field. From St Elizabeth to St Thomas, they have pointed the finger of blame at importers of foreign-produced onions.
The expungement process The Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Amendment Act, 2026 was passed in the Senate in January and signed by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen on February 20. In addition to the reform is the automatic expungement in certain older, non-custodial matters, where the sentence was imposed and completed prior to January 1, 2005, and the individual has not been convicted of another offence. Such individuals automatically benefits from expungement without being required to undergo the application process.
Inspectors on deck Future leaders in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) are being warned to rethink the popular view that “knowledge is power”, as approaching leadership in this way can be dangerous and risk failing those they are meant to serve. Instead, drawing on the wisdom of his father, a former policeman, Professor Densil Williams said knowledge should be seen as freedom.
Burnt out mom of 6 gets more than a Bible WESTERN BUREAU: Days after a devastating fire left Hanover mother Natalee Watson homeless and clinging only to her faith, the outpouring of support has begun to transform despair into hope. Watson, whose story of loss and her plea for a Bible, moved readers across the island, is now set to have her modest two-bedroom board house rebuilt through a coordinated effort involving Hanover Charities, her member of parliament, and private-sector support.
Mom of three renews appeal for help fighting colorectal cancer WESTERN BUREAU: Nickeisha Black, the 34-year-old mother of three children who is battling Stage-3 colorectal cancer, says she is placing her fate in the hands of God and the prospective kindness of others, as she continues to seek help amid mounting medical and financial challenges