We are very hot here in Kingston. Yesterday, I ascended to the beautiful Blue Mountains, where it was at least three degrees cooler. Down here in the city, we have settled into the 30s for the remainder of the summer, it seems. We already know that Kingston is the second city globally predicted to have “climate departure” by last year. That means we are quite possibly now in the “new normal,” as far as weather is concerned. The Mona Geoinformatics Institute at the University of the West Indies explains: A city hits climate departure when the average temperature of its coolest year from then o ..read more

First of all, a confession: I was not there. I should have been, and I know I missed something quite special. Following the great success of last year’s “birding with kids” session organised by Birdlife Jamaica, the plan was to celebrate Global Big Day (May 11) in similar fashion. Once again, it was busy, fun – and the parents were most likely more tired than their offspring, by the end of the morning in Hope Botanical Gardens, Kingston. Before I go any further, let me tell you that a “Part Two” will take place next Sunday, May 19, 2024. May is Child Month, after all! Sign up here. Spaces are ..read more

Today is Mother’s Day in Jamaica. Jamaicans take this day very seriously. Happy Mother’s Day memes flood social media. Sentimental music floats across the gardens of Upper St. Andrew and down through the narrow streets and lanes of downtown Kingston. There is a roaring trade in teddy bears, imported roses wrapped in cellophane, and more. Or, am I getting mixed up with that other big commercial event on our calendar – Valentine’s Day? Anyway… We all love Mother’s Day. I think about my mother and miss her, but in that respect every day is Mother’s Day. The same for my dear mother-in-law, who pas ..read more

I wrote earlier this week about the plight of Haitian refugees, including those who are requesting asylum, and their uncaring treatment by the Jamaican authorities. A planeload of Indians, which raised eyebrows, was also returned to Dubai – with strong signs suggesting this was some kind of human smuggling operation. Both of these situations, although hugely different, may be regarded as security issues. Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Coincidentally, I received the following information regarding our Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade’s ..read more

Last month, the Caribbean Tourism Organization held its Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development in St. George’s, Grenada. Its theme was: The 5 P’s for a Legacy of Caribbean Tourism Sustainability: People, Planet, Prosperity, Purpose, Partnership Was it all just “blah blah blah” with the latest catch phrases thrown in; or are those who attend these annual conferences really looking at the core issue: the ongoing (and future) impact of the climate crisis on tourism. Moreover, are they seeking realistic solutions? Perhaps no one mentioned the destructive high tide that hit western Jamaica i ..read more

“Exodus! Movement of Jah people!” I often find when I am considering a “big issue” a Bob Marley song comes to mind. Now, this big issue is migration. Jah People have always been on the move – it’s nothing new. These days, however, some are legal people, and they are good. Others are illegal, and anything can (and does) happen to them. One brave and determined Jamaican woman, human rights lawyer Malene Alleyne of Freedom Imaginaries is working pro bono on behalf of Haitian asylum seekers, who are in arbitrary detention in deplorable conditions in Jamaica. Does our Government have any justificat ..read more

Jamaican sculptor Raymond Watson says a block of wood does not give him the creative spark he needs to start working on a sculpture. However, a tree trunk is a different matter; it gives him the required inspiration. This explains the elemental, almost forceful energy that infuses the works in Mr. Watson’s new exhibition; there is nothing artificial or restrained in the expression here. The exhibit will open to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at CreativSpace – a young, unpretentious space in Downtown Kingston on the corner of Laws Street and Mark Lane which has been showing so ..read more

Digging Up Dirt On Lady Musgrave Road I am sharing Professor Carolyn Cooper’s recent blog post (and column in the Sunday Gleaner) – not only because it refers to an area in our “neck of the woods” on the outskirts of Jamaica’s capital city. As she has done in previous articles, Professor Cooper touches on what has been, for some time, a great irritant in the discussion and debate over urban development: the lack of planning for people, rather than private motor cars. Why should this road, where there are still many residences but also commercial properties, become a highway? And the wr ..read more

Although I had wanted to include it in my last post, I couldn’t locate this Statement from the Press Association of Jamaica. However, I thought it important to add as a postscript, now that I have found it. It touches on some important issues for our island’s democracy. Milton Walker, President, Press Association of Jamaica and Group Head of News, Sports and Current Affairs at the RJR/Gleaner Communications Group  May 3, 2024  WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY – PAJ  On World Press Freedom Day, The Press Association of Jamaica pays tribute to journalists across the island and the world fo ..read more

Today (May 3) was World Press Freedom Day. We are delighted that Jamaica has moved up a number of places in the annual index, according to Reporters Without Borders. Jamaica is now 24th on the index of 180 countries, up eight places from 2023 and the highest in the Caribbean region. We must be doing something right. Our (currently somewhat beleaguered) Government was quick to embrace and announce the good news. Information Minister Robert Morgan shared this chart on social media: This year’s theme is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis.” Stories on the ..read more