Reading revival Less than a year after a literacy crisis at Pembroke Hall High School drew national attention, the institution has reported a landmark academic turnaround. Internal assessments have shown that 76 per cent of grade-seven students have advanced by two or more grade levels in reading, a success attributed to reduced class sizes, a specialised Grade 7 Academy model, and intensive remedial collaboration, principal Reverend Claude Ellis said.
‘I gave them all away’ If donating a pint of blood can save the lives of three persons, then Sonya Binns-Lawrence, the country’s leading blood donor, is just 10 shy of perhaps saving the lives of 400 of her fellow Jamaicans. The phlebotomist, who is celebrating her 60th birthday, decided to twin the occasion with her 130th donation of blood to the cause of helping someone in dire need. The selfless blood donor understands too well the need to give the precious life-giving substance, having worked as an expert in drawing blood for more than 35 years.
From pain to purpose Born out of an ever-increasing need for emotional and mental healing from gun crimes, the mission of the Pamella’s Sunrise Foundation is to close these deeply inflicted psychosocial wounds, by taking people through their pain towards their purpose. Turning around what’s traumatic can be torturous as often serious scars remain ... and Denise Johnston, founder of Pamella’s Sunrise Foundation, readily admittted that hers was a long journey towards purpose because her pain was not properly dealt with. Her grief ... is gripping.
COLD, DARK CUSTODY The conditions inside the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in the United States will bring even a seasoned military veteran to tears, and for 65-year-old Godfrey Wade, the decorated US ex-soldier deported to Jamaica a week ago, for almost six months tears came nightly.
Church alliance urges caution as casino regulations advance WESTERN BUREAU: A coalition of church leaders is urging lawmakers to proceed cautiously as Parliament advances the Casino Gaming (General) Regulations, 2025, warning that Jamaica must be fully prepared to manage the potential social risks of expanded casino operations. The Watchman Church Leaders Alliance (WCLA) said it has been monitoring the parliamentary discussions surrounding the regulations tied to integrated resort developments (IRDs), which the Government has positioned as catalysts for tourism expansion and foreign investment.
JCAA pushes back on general aviation ‘collapse’ claims WESTERN BUREAU: The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) has pushed back against claims that Jamaica’s general aviation sector is in collapse, outlining legislative reforms, licensing growth and ongoing infrastructure interventions it says signal an evolving, not dying, industry.
Students in limbo Caught between failing infrastructure in Cuba and what they described as a wall of diplomatic silence at home, Jamaican medical students are urging the Government to establish a formal bridge to local universities to safeguard their academic futures. Tightened United States sanctions and the cessation of Venezuelan oil shipments have plunged the Spanish-speaking nation into a deepening crisis, leaving its power grid and essential services close to collapse.
WALKING GAMBLE WESTERN BUREAU: Savanna-la-Mar is not a town you stroll through for leisure. You move because you must. The capital of Westmoreland, home to an estimated 13,930 people across 3,980 households, has long depended on foot traffic. In this low-lying coastal town, walking is not a lifestyle choice – it is survival. To get to school, to work, to the hospital, to the market, residents walk. Now, in the wake of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, that daily necessity has turned into a daily gamble. The storm did not create Sav’s infrastructure problems. It exposed them.
Stalled! John Brown* was trying to pick up passengers in downtown Kingston on a busy Thursday afternoon last month when inspectors from the Transport Authority (TA) blocked his Toyota Probox motor car with red plates affixed. The TA was established by law in 1987 to regulate and monitor the public transportation sector in Jamaica. All the documents for Brown’s vehicle were up to date, including the hackney carriage licence that he was issued by the regulatory body, he recounted during an interview with The Sunday Gleaner last Friday.
STORM RECOVERY SQUEEZE A shortage of labourers, building materials, and shrinking cash flow is slowing repairs to public institutions hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa. Suppliers and contractors are scrambling to prioritise projects and compete for limited resources as they race to finish jobs. Three months after the storm, the sound of hammers and saws still echoes across several schools and state-owned buildings in St Elizabeth – perhaps most noticeably at the Black River Hospital, where workers from at least three companies were on site just over a week ago.