News

Ten-year-old Enrique Aiken, who is enrolled in the literacy and numeracy programme funded by RIU Resorts at the Wested Educational Centre in Hart Street, Montego Bay in St James. 
April 28, 2026 by Janet Silvera

‘I get to learn more’

WESTERN BUREAU: Ten-year-old Enrique Aiken speaks with quiet confidence, the kind that comes from finally understanding the work in front of him. “I get to learn more stuff – things we did before and…
April 28, 2026 by Janet Silvera

Fear still rules Westgreen, Catherine Hall

WESTERN BUREAU: Six months after Hurricane Melissa, residents of Westgreen and Catherine Hall remain gripped by fear, fleeing at the first sign of rain as trauma persists and recovery challenges…
The ruined remains of the St Elizabeth Parish Court on High Street in Black River, six months after Hurricane Melissa made a destructive landfall in the parish on October 28, 2025.
April 28, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Black River recovery advances, but challenges remain

WESTERN BUREAU: Richard Solomon, chairman of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation and mayor of Black River, says the historic town is steadily recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane…
Rachel Donaldson
April 28, 2026 by Keisha Hill

New book explores self‑love beyond external validation

On Saturday, May 9, author Rachel Donaldson will celebrate both her birthday and the official launch of her deeply personal book, I Love the Version of Me That You Discovered, at 80 Half-Way Tree…
Denever Forbes, owner of Floyd’s Pelican Bar in Parottee, St Elizabeth.
April 28, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Pelican Bar stands once more amid Parottee’s struggle to recover

WESTERN BUREAU: When Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica’s southern coastline six months ago, the fishing village of Parottee in St Elizabeth was left reeling from heavy losses. Homes were damaged,…
Jason Henzell, chairman, Jakes Hotel Villas & Spa in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.
April 28, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Treasure Beach rises again

WESTERN BUREAU: Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth has mounted a remarkable recovery in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, with residents and tourism stakeholders crediting not only reconstruction efforts but…
Howard Moxam, a fisherman from Calabash Bay Beach in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, six months after Hurricane Melissa made a destructive landfall in the parish on October 28, 2025.
April 28, 2026 by Albert Ferguson

Fishermen slowly returning to sea as Mother Nature restores coastline

WESTERN BUREAU: Months after Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica’s south coast, fishermen at Calabash Bay Fishing Beach in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, are gradually returning to the sea, signalling…
Chantal McLean
April 28, 2026 by Keisha Hill

How Chantal McLean turned pain into a publishing platform for women

For Chantal McLean, the journey into publishing was not born in a classroom or corporate office; it was shaped in one of the most emotionally complex periods of her life. Today, through Dee D’s…
A section of the Claremont Market remains roofless months after Hurricane Melissa.
April 28, 2026 by Carl Gilchrist

Claremont Market still roofless

Vendors and customers who use the Claremont Market in St Ann continue to endure disruption as the building remains without a roof, six months after Hurricane Melissa tore through the parish in October…