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Stories by Erica Virtue

Peter’s time to exhale - Phillips seeking to excite Comrades at public session of party’s annual conference today

Published:Saturday | September 16, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

When Peter David Phillips steps to the podium today to address his Comrades, and the nation, Jamaica's continuing high murder rate is expected to feature prominently in his presentation.No longer under the shadow of the charismatic Portia Simpson...

Thwaites backs laws for greater tobacco control

Published:Monday | September 11, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

The Ronald Thwaites-chaired Human Resources and Social Development Committee of Parliament last week called for urgency in the development of tobacco-control legislation which would, among other things, force companies to detail the perils of...

Shane ready to shine - Political neophyte looking to hang on to SE St Mary for the PNP

Published:Thursday | September 7, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

When Dr Shane Alexis returned to Jamaica after completing medical studies in Cuba, his first job was at Annotto Bay Hospital in St Mary.After careful consideration and having received permission from family and friends to go, Alexis has jumped into...

Brexit fears unfounded - UK has no plan to disrupt existing agreements after leaving EU says new high commissioner

Published:Friday | September 8, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

As the region prepares for any possible fallout after the United Kingdom (UK) pulls out of the European Union (EU), new British High Commissioner to Jamaica Asif Ahmad has sought to allay fears of disruption and chaos in the wake of Brexit.The...

Smoking dangers must be on billboards - House committee

Published:Wednesday | September 6, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Member of Parliament Juliet Cuthbert Flynn asked for data to show the number of deaths that can be directly traced to smoking, and guests at yesterday's Human Resources and Social Development Committee meeting of Parliament were happy to oblige with...

'Get used to Opposition' - Comrades baffled by Hanover East decision

Published:Monday | September 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

A decision on Sunday by the People's National Party (PNP) to keep a popular medical doctor out of the leadership of the party in Eastern Hanover has left some supporters and officials with their mouths agape.The Gleaner was told that the doctor went...

Citizens’ patrol - Residents of New Harbour Village policing their community themselves in the face of increase in crime

Published:Thursday | August 31, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Plagued by criminals, many believed to be from neighbouring communities, residents of New Harbour Village near old Harbour in St Catherine are looking inwards to ensure their safety.In recent weeks, licensed firearm holders, including members of the...

Touching send-off for an 'orange' Green - Hundreds mourn former South East St Mary MP

Published:Saturday | September 2, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

A capacity-filled St Andrew Parish Church in Half-Way Tree, with the crowd spilling into sections of the parking lot, the adjoining graveyard, and Hagley Park Road, yesterday said goodbye to Dr Winston Lloyd 'Owen' Green during a tribute-filled...

Hylton: Arbitration good for business

Published:Sunday | August 27, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) president Larry Watson says that the International Chamber of Commerce has been a leading instrument for arbitration - the private determination of a dispute - by an independent third party globally. He said that...

Editors' Forum | Development boost - New Arbitration Act a big pull factor for foreign investors

Published:Saturday | August 26, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Ahead of tomorrow's high-level arbitration conference in Kingston, recent amendments to the Arbitration Act of 1900 are being hailed as evidence of Jamaica's push towards economic development.Business and government officials, who were guests at a...

UHWI under threat! - Overcrowding could cost hospital its accreditation to train doctors and nurses

Published:Thursday | August 17, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Administrators at Jamaica's only teaching hospital, the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), are fearful that it may lose this designation because of the chronic overcrowding at the facility.The 579-bed facility is bursting at its seams,...

UHWI praying for peace in August Town

Published:Thursday | August 17, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Doctors at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), especially those based in the Accident and Emergency...

Abandoned bodies increase KPH woes - Hospital being forced to pay millions to private funeral homes

Published:Friday | August 18, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

The Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is making a desperate plea for relatives of deceased persons abandoned at the facility to collect the bodies."There is a list that's going to be published in The Sunday Gleaner of persons who die who we can't find...

Thieves prey on KPH - Wheelchairs scrapped minutes after being donated to the hospital

Published:Friday | August 18, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Unscrupulous individuals are endangering the lives of persons at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) as they steal the covers of manholes and parts of the wheelchairs used to transport patients.A fuming CEO of the hospital, Errol Greene, last...

Comrade mega clash - More at stake than just a seat when Audrey and Angela faceoff today

Published:Friday | July 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

It has been billed as a standard selection exercise where People's National Party (PNP) delegates indicate to the party's executive who they want to represent them in the next election, but from all indications it is more, much more.On the surface,...

A dream come true - Desperate mom gets new house from FFP

Published:Friday | July 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Semone Butler, the Redwood, St Catherine, mother who made the headlines after she was captured by a Gleaner photographer taking her 17-year-old daughter through floodwaters in May rains, is celebrating after Food For The Poor (FFP) made one of her...

Historic surgery! - Doctors perform first-ever blood transfusion operation on an unborn child at VJH

Published:Saturday | July 22, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

At six months, the tiny foetus does not have a voice, but if it did, it would probably be screaming thank you to medical personnel at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH).Last Thursday, specialists at the maternal hospital pulled off a possibly...

Public Hospitals losing an estimated $300M to insurance companies

Published:Wednesday | July 19, 2017 | 6:02 PMErica Virtue

Already struggling and under-resourced, public hospitals are losing an estimated $300 million to insurance companies from individuals with health coverage who are preying on public hospitals where services are 'free'.Under the no-user-fee policy,...

Minister excited at Diaspora conference prospects

Published:Monday | July 17, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith has described the 2017 Diaspora Conference which opens this weekend as one of the celebrated successes in public-private partnerships, and a key event of the ministry's...

Grenfell disaster unlikely in Jamaica - Strict local rules should prevent massive fire which took several lives in London apartment building

Published:Friday | July 14, 2017 | 10:05 AMErica Virtue

Jamaica's building codes, plus strict requirements by the fire service, which prohibit buildings from being built with flammable material, should prevent a local disaster similar to the one at the Grenfell Tower apartments in the United Kingdom,...

Ranking system for cable operators - Broadcasting Commission looking at new ways to reduce unauthorised use of content

Published:Saturday | July 8, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

The Broadcasting Commission is considering a ranking system for cable operators as part of its effort to clamp down on the illegal use of content by Jamaican providers.Members of the commission last Thursday underscored their new thrust as they...

Fear the floods! - Poor planning and bad practices leave much of the country at risk

Published:Friday | July 7, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

From Negril to Morant Point, scores of Jamaicans are living in flood-prone zones, and the actions of some persons are increasing the risks faced by many others."The domestic practices of some of our people are a danger to even their neighbour. The...

Digital switchover sooner rather than later, says Green - Broadcasting Commission says 2021 only an indicative date for change

Published:Saturday | July 8, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

High costs coupled with the possibility of adopting technology that could become obsolete in quick time are among the factors slowing Jamaica's plan to complete the analogue/digital switchover.Already, some players in the local communication service...

Praises for Portia - Professionals from former PM's constituency say 'superstar' MP was key to their success

Published:Friday | June 30, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

As the assessment continues of the near 40-year-long stewardship of Portia Simpson Miller in St Andrew South West, her critics often point to poor infrastructure in areas such as Payne Land and Majesty Gardens as signs of her failure.But for several...

End of an Era | Leaving from the left - Simpson Miller joins Seaga as former PMs to resign while on the opposition benches

Published:Thursday | June 29, 2017 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue

Following a painful defeat in the 2007 general election, Portia Simpson Miller faced another challenge for the leadership of the People's National Party (PNP). This time, a face-off with Dr Peter Phillips in 2008.Simpson Miller was to prevail, and...

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