Staff WriterCHONG TO RECEIVE CARIBBEAN LEADERSHIP AWARD—11/08/14
Kaye Chong, a veteran of the Caribbean travel industry, will be awarded the Caribbean Media Exchange Leadership Awards for 2014. The honors will be presented at an awards ceremony during the Evenings of Excellence series on November 12, 2014. Chong, who is originally from Jamaica, in an account executive for Caribbean Airlines in South Florida. Chong is well respected in the Caribbean Diaspora in the United States.
JAMAICAN AUTHOR PRESENTS ONE-MAN PLAY TO SOLD-OUT AUDIENCES—11/09/14
Jamaican author Stefhen Bryan is providing that talent and perseverance can make the impossible happen. His one-man play “Doodu Boy,” has been playing to sold-out crowds in New York and other cities across the United States. He hopes to debut the play in Jamaica in March 2015.
RAIN FAILS TO DAMPEN SPIRITS AT JAMAICAN JERK FESTIVAL—11/10/14
The 13th Annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival held in Markham Park in South Florida gained the participation of at least 16,000 people, despite rainy weather. The festival featured musical acts, fashion shows, and Jamaican foods. In addition to many Jamaicans, there were attendees from first and second-generation Caribbean immigrant families from other nations in the region.
JAMAICAN MAN HELD ON ROBBERY CHARGES FREED IN NEW YORK—11/11/14
Claude Bird, 42, of Jamaica, was found not guilty of charges imposed for a 1993 bank robbery in Long Island, New York. Bird was acquitted of charges in what has been characterized as the largest robbery in Nassau County history. While prosecutors said Bird escaped from a jail in Jamaica, his attorney argued that a Caribbean judge had released him after the failure of U.S. authorities to set a date for extradition back to the U.S.
SOUTH AFRICA, JAMAICA BOND OVER COMMON PROBLEMS—11/12/14
Leaders of a South African city and Kingston, Jamaica, are joining together to address their common problems. Angela Brown Burke, the mayor of Kingston, and Kgosientso Ramokgopa, the executive mayor of Tshwane in South Africa, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) meant to create expertise and foster exchanges of information between the two cities in the areas of safety, security, inner city social programs, revenue collection, budget processes, and local economic development.
JAMPRO BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS WITH INVESTORS AT NEW YORK CONFERENCE—11/13/14
The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) joined with Citigroup to host an investor briefing and economic conference in New York City at the end of October 2014. Dr. Peter Phillips, Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and Planning, together with Diane Edwards, president of JAMPRO, told investors about improvements in the island’s economy, particularly focusing on opportunities for international media and corporate entities.
BARTLETT APPEALS AGAIN FOR GOVERNMENT TO HELP PILOT IN QATAR PRISON—11/14/14
Edmund Bartlett, Jamaican Opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, has again called for the government to help with the release of a Jamaican airline pilot held in a prison in Qatar since 2011. Paul Stephens is one of several Jamaican pilots who traveled to Qatar to work. He was arrested on charges of sexual molestation and was found guilty of betrayal of trust of a minor. He has been injured while in prison, and Bartlett asserts that the Jamaican government has not done enough to help him receive a pardon from authorities in Qatar.
JOHN HOLT TRIBUTE SCHEDULED FOR “GENUINE GOLD” EVENT—11/14/14
One of the feature attractions of the 2014 “Genuine Gold” Thanksgiving Reggae Showcase to be held in South Florida will be a tribute to John Holt. The 2014 concern will provide a “fitting tribute,” according to Sydney Roberts, the CEO of Jamaica Awareness Inc. Among the performers will be singer Tankia Roberts, who will represent reggae in the Jamaican Diaspora.
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