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Stories by Ryon Jones

Cops to target Half-Way Tree taxis - Unruly operators making driving a nightmare in busy commercial centre

Published:Saturday | August 19, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Unruly taxi operators are continuing to run riot across the Corporate Area, with the Half-Way Tree square underscoring the problem.Among the more common practices of the taxi operators is their use of the two outer lanes of Hope Road in the vicinity...

FLA's folly! - Convicted criminals, friends of board members granted gun licences under questionable circumstances

Published:Saturday | August 19, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

As the probe deepens into the questionable granting of gun permits by the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA), there are more indications emerging that the stench of corruption has engulfed the entity for many years.Late last week, a letter allegedly...

Speedier service - Sharp cut in waiting time convinces health ministry to add more private pharmacies to public DrugServe scheme

Published:Thursday | August 3, 2017 | 8:01 AMRyon Jones

Thirty-three more pharmacies are to be added to the Ministry of Health 'Public Private Pharmacy (PPP) Partner Programme' by March of next year after a successful seven-month pilot.The pilot programme, which has so far cost the government $11.3...

Bogus Beggar - Disabled at day, able-bodied at nights, man cons motorists out of money

Published:Wednesday | August 9, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Scores of Jamaicans are being duped by an able-bodied man who pretends to be disabled as he begs motorists in the Half-Way Tree area of St Andrew daily.The man, who identified himself as 26-year-old Ricardo Allen, has been begging in the vicinity of...

No stickup - Manchester High denies that students are being turned away if fee is not paid

Published:Saturday | August 12, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The administration of Manchester High School has moved to clear its name following allegations that it is among the institutions breaching government policy and sticking up parents to pay fees.Last week, reports surfaced of a parent who was turned...

Nine restaurants ordered closed in Mandeville

Published:Tuesday | August 8, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The Manchester Public Health Department has ordered closed a total of nine food establishments in the parish between last week and yesterday as they were deemed to be putting the public at risk.Among those closed are all five located at the...

No to the inked! - Scores of qualified persons denied jobs because of visible tattoos

Published:Thursday | July 27, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Several young Jamaicans in search of jobs are being rejected by potential employers because of bad decisions they made in the past. These include youngsters who have opted for large visible tattoos, others with vulgar and crude social-media posts,...

US eyes on Ja's drugs links - New deputy American Navy officer for the region to aim at more than seizures

Published:Friday | August 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Stephanie Keck, rear admiral of the United States Navy, has warned that Jamaica remains on the Americans radar as a transit point for narcotics in the Western Hemisphere.In its latest International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the US State...

Firm on gay rights - US Embassy says LGBT equality still big on its agenda

Published:Tuesday | August 1, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The Kingston-based United States Embassy has no plans to relent in its push for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons to be given due recognition in Jamaica.Following the departure of former ambassador to the island,...

Kinder cops - High Command moves to improve how police interact with children

Published:Thursday | July 27, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Aware that not all its members have treated children with the dignity and respect they deserve, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is moving to standardise its approach to minors who come in contact with the law.Among the first steps, the JCF will...

Assault on child sexual abuse in Waterhouse

Published:Friday | July 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The danger of having sex too early was one of the messages that resonated with the children who attended a just-concluded summer camp in the Corporate Area community of Waterhouse, which has been red-flagged as a hotspot for child sexual abuse....

Buggery splits Church! - Rift over anal sex law forces Council of Churches to call for special sitting

Published:Friday | July 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The 13-member Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) will be holding a special sitting in the coming weeks to hopefully arrive at a uniformed position on the repeal or retention of the buggery law.The special sitting was deemed necessary after The Sunday...

Roper under fire - Buggery stance could cost prominent churchman his place in Evangelicals group

Published:Saturday | July 29, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The Reverend Garnett Roper, president of the Jamaica Theological Seminary, has found himself in trouble over his decision to declare his support for the decriminalisation...

Pastor troubled by bishop's position on buggery law

Published:Sunday | July 23, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

"Sad" is how pastor of the Richmond Park Church of the Nazarene, the Reverend Andrew Henry, has described the recommendation made by head of the Anglican Church in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands, Bishop Howard Gregory, for buggery to be...

Checking on the dollars! - STATIN survey to show how Jamaicans are spending their money

Published:Friday | July 21, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The household expenditure survey (HES) now being undertaken by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) could impact the importance given to the items now being used to calculate the country's Consumer Price Index (CPI).The CPI is the metric...

Help for hurting children stalls - Cash crunch impacting programme designed to help children affected by violence in St James

Published:Friday | July 21, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

CAMP Cornwall, a project aimed at helping children affected by violence in the troubled parish of St James, is struggling to achieve its full potential due to insufficient funds.Designed to focus at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, CAMP Cornwall is...

PNP in a pickle - Comrades draw battle lines as fight for SW St Andrew heats up

Published:Saturday | July 22, 2017 | 3:39 PMRyon Jones

A last-ditch effort by the campaign team of councillor for the Payne Land division, Audrey Smith-Facey, to avoid a run-off with Angela Brown Burke, councillor for the Norman Gardens division, for the right to represent the People's National Party (...

Emotional hell - Will the next patient be my child?

Published:Friday | July 14, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The sirens blare, the porters get busy and the commotion starts.These are the usual indicators that a next person in need of medical treatment is headed to the Accident and Emergency (A...

KPH staff sitting ducks - Criminals target doctors, nurses using public transport

Published:Friday | July 14, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Criminals in the vicinity of Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) are preying on medical practitioners who have to take public transportation just outside the gates of the facility at nights.There have also been reports of doctors being robbed in the...

Rampant violence affecting STATIN’s critical survey

Published:Thursday | July 13, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The violence which has been sweeping the country has negatively impacted the work of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), which is undertaking a household expenditure survey (HES).The criminals have forced STATIN to have its data...

STATIN's plea - Institute urges greater support for household expenditure survey

Published:Friday | July 14, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is urging Jamaicans to participate fully in the household expenditure survey (HES) which is now under way as it will directly influence decisions that will impact their lives.The survey, which is...

Trauma toll! - Doctors, nurses' personal lives impacted by daily dose of blood at KPH

Published:Friday | July 14, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

The high number of trauma cases being seen by medical personnel at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) has left many doctors and nurses numb, operating on autopilot just to maintain their sanity."Once you work in the emergency rooms there is no way...

More channels to be cut - Broadcasting Commission negotiating with United States content providers

Published:Saturday | July 8, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

Jamaicans are set to lose more of their favourite cable channels as the Broadcasting Commission plans to direct local cable licensees to remove additional unauthorised stations from their subscriber packages.In 2015, the commission issued directives...

Going after the $$$! - Tax authorities targeting online vendors

Published:Thursday | July 6, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

With more Jamaicans getting involved in online shopping, the Ministry of Finance, through Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), is taking steps to capture the persons selling products and services online in the tax net.The drift from the brick and...

Under the Gun! - Fear and panic across the Corporate Area as gangsters run riot in several communities

Published:Friday | July 7, 2017 | 12:00 AMRyon Jones

From Rockfort in the east to Trench Town in the west, from Maverley in the north to Payne Land in the south, residents of sections of the Corporate Area were under the cosh last week as gangsters ran riot in the streets.Unofficial reports put the...

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