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One week after a damaging audio recording became public, in which the voices of two alleged People’s National Party (PNP) officials could be heard discussing ways to discredit Major General Antony Anderson in his role as head of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), the party has broken its silence on the matter. The issue was the first item on the agenda at a meeting of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) on Sunday. The meeting is usually the last such gathering before the party’s annual conference in September, provided there is a conference.
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WESTERN BUREAU: The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is preparing students for “a world that no longer exists”, by scrapping traditional School-Based Assessments (SBA) over artificial intelligence, says AI expert Christopher Christie, who argues that the move takes Caribbean education backwards. For nearly half a century, the SBA has been a cornerstone of Caribbean secondary education, challenging students to research, analyse and apply what they have learnt beyond the confines of an examination room.
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WESTERN BUREAU: Nine months after Hurricane Melissa destroyed several homes in Flanker, St James, a United States-based philanthropic organisation has stepped forward, investing thousands of US dollars to help vulnerable residents rebuild their homes. One of the beneficiaries of the GrassROOTS Community Foundation’s generosity is Theodore Notise, who became a single father raising twin boys after their mother died. Earlier this year, he received the keys to a one-bedroom, concrete studio apartment, replacing the one-room board house he lost to the Category 5 hurricane.
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CMC: A Jamaican woman who was on the United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Most Wanted Fraudster list has been extradited from Jamaica to face charges arising from an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain more than US$32 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Forty-one-year-old Elaine Angene Escoe was returned to South Florida on Saturday after being apprehended in Jamaica following a joint investigation by US and Jamaican law-enforcement authorities.
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Just moments after relinquishing her crown as LASCO/NAJ Nurse of the Year, Fione Collins revealed her next ambition — to one day lead the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ). The announcement drew a standing ovation and thunderous applause from nurses in attendance, many of whom appeared to embrace the possibility of seeing her at the helm of the organisation. The deputy director of nursing services at Percy Junor Hospital made the declaration during her outgoing address last Thursday.
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Against a sea of pink and the familiar strains of Great is Thy Faithfulness, family, friends, classmates and teachers on Sunday bid a tearful and emotional farewell to 13-year-old Kemelia Paul, whose tragic death after trying to intervene in a fight touched hearts across Jamaica. The thanksgiving service, held at the Excelsior High School Auditorium, celebrated the life of a teenager remembered not for the violence that claimed her life, but for the joy, kindness and compassion she shared with everyone around her.
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Rather than scrapping traditional School-Based Assessments, Christopher Christie believes CXC should modernise them through what he calls an AI-Transparent SBA. His proposal includes: Declare AI use: Students should disclose whether they used AI, identify the platform and explain how it assisted their work. Using AI should not be considered cheating; concealing its use should. Show the process: Students would submit research notes, outlines, early drafts, teacher feedback and reflections to demonstrate how the assignment evolved over time.
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Mary Jane’s* 12-year-old daughter has Down’s syndrome, is autistic and cognitively delayed, and will require medical care for the rest of her life. Determined to provide for her daughter’s future, the retired Jamaican entrepreneur, now living in the United States, had built a US$80,000 nest egg by 2021 to cover her future medical needs. She began exploring short-term investments as a way to increase her savings and that’s when a friend introduced her to Delta Capital Partners, Jane recounted during an interview with The Sunday Gleaner last Wednesday.
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WESTERN BUREAU: The neatly made bed occupies one side of the kitchen at the Mt Matthews Church of the Nazarene in Logwood, Shrewsbury, Westmoreland. On the other are cupboards, pots and cooking utensils. It is an unlikely bedroom, but for the past nine months, it has been home to 71-year-old Edgar Bruce, whose house collapsed during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
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Police in western Jamaica say they are preparing for the anticipated deportation of a once-reputed area leader from Flanker in Montego Bay, St James, insisting that his expected return to the island will not derail the significant gains made in reducing violent crime across Area One over the past decade.