Our Mosquitoes Get a Shock, The Cop/Robber, and Obama Day Draws Nigh: Sunday, April 5, 2015

The Easter weekend has been breathtakingly quiet in Kingston. Our neighbors have all flitted off to the country, leaving us to wander around the yard in peace and quiet, listening to the birds, enjoying light rain showers, and admiring the few orchids we possess, which seem to be indulging our wishes and actually blossoming, for once. Better than sitting on a crowded beach, seems to me. But, it is a little like the calm before the storm, because…

Sweeping, cutting, cleaning… Wish our city could always be so well cared for! JEEP at work ahead of President Obama’s visit.

The President is coming! Our favorite U.S. President will be visiting Jamaica for almost one entire day, arriving Tuesday evening en route to the Summit of the Americas in Panama (a short hop from here). The residents of this fair city continue to be amused by the frenzied road works, sweeping and cleaning (no doubt creating some quick temporary jobs under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Program – JEEP. Remember JEEP?) We have been warned that there will be lots of planes etc flying around over the city in the next few days (but we “should not be alarmed” says the Jamaica Information Service). There will be a lot of roads closed too, nearer to Obama Day. In other words, between Tuesday and Thursday it will be gridlock in the city and police escort sirens going off night and day along our streets. Yay! Some Jamaicans are saying they simply don’t care about the presidential visit (the first since the Reagan era; but I sense growing excitement, especially among those who will be attending a town hall meeting with him at the University of the West Indies on Wednesday.

The Obamas’ Easter photo, shared on social media. (White House pic)

Mosquitoes got a surprise, too: To our amazement, our street actually got a fogging (for mosquitoes) yesterday evening. Actually, the first we have had for about a year, I would say. One suspects this has something to do with… Yes, I’m sure it does! Even the Riverton dump will be on its best behavior…won’t it? Environmental activist Diana McCaulay wants the President to visit the dump; then we might get it fixed.

In denial: Meanwhile, the National Works Agency and other government officials are insisting that all this is part of a regular road works program. Yeah, right!

And the National Solid Waste Management Agency (NSWMA) board debacle is becoming another dreary tale of partisan political meddling and sheer incompetence, à la National Housing Trust. Except in so many ways it’s more serious, because the health of thousands has been jeopardized (again) over a longer period than ever before. Local Government Minister Noel Arscott gave a disconcerting performance at the post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday (the matter apparently didn’t warrant a separate briefing on its own). He veered from one non sequitur to another, with a sour look on his face. The next day, the board chairman Steve Ashley (also a “comrade” and member of the People’s National Party executive) resigned and the Minister announced there would be a new board at the press briefing. What about plans – detailed  plans, please – for improvements to the Riverton Dump, Minister? Don’t tell us it will never happen again; you said that last time! (P.S. Approximate cost of outing the latest fire: a mere J$235 million).

Local Government Minister Noel Arscott.  Well, whatever happens, we have established that Ms. Edwards didn’t light that fire. Good to know. (Photo: Gleaner)

Question: Is the Minister more concerned about fixing Riverton – or about how to engineer Jennifer Edwards’ return to the NSWMA? And will she return? She withdrew her lawsuit seeking an injunction against the non-renewal of her contract. Minister Arscott seems rather upset that Mr. Ashley did something wrong in his absence (he was away in Japan for most of the Riverton disaster, you will recall). Curiously, Mr. Ashley also mentioned he had only spoken to Minister Arscott once on the phone about the whole thing, and that after that the Minister’s phone seemed to be out of order? Those interviews sounded slightly surreal, actually. I wondered if I heard correctly, a couple of times.

“Jamaica is politics. Politics is Jamaica”: This was an “aside” by the now ex-chairman Ashley during one of his rambling, contradictory radio interviews. Ashley also remarked that if two equally well qualified people applied for a government job, the “comrade” (PNP supporter/member) would automatically get the job. Sigh.

National Housing Trust (NHT) Chairman, Easton Douglas (centre) at a media briefing last November at the height of the Outameni scandal. Has Mr. Douglas been re-appointed?

Talking of government agencies… Remember the National Housing Trust of Outameni fame? Well, the chair’s tenure expired, it’s reported, on April 2. Will it be renewed, in light of all that’s happened? And what is the situation now with Outameni? Is it now in operation? Are houses being built there? We’ve heard nothing…

Cops AND robbers? An incident this weekend has cast a shadow over the Jamaica Constabulary Force and reminded us all that its fight against corruption in its midst is far from over. A young policeman from Westmoreland took it upon himself to rob a bar in Hanover (some distance away) which happened to be owned by another policeman. During the attempted robbery, the cop/robber was shot dead, and the owner and a woman patron injured.

The rider of this motorbike was killed, this weekend, on the Bustamante Highway in Clarendon. (Photo: Loop Jamaica)

92 Jamaicans have died on our roads this year to date: So Lucien Jones of the National Road Safety Council tells me. This includes 25 motorcyclists; by the end of the weekend the toll will likely have risen. It is absolute madness. Most motorcyclists don’t wear helmets, although this is against the law; they dodge and weave in traffic and fly down any straight stretch of road. The police really need to start some kind of crackdown.

Loan sharks setting up shop: We’ve noticed a number of entities appearing around town offering same-day loans (of course at terrifying interest rates) and I wonder if these are regulated in any way. These places prey on people desperate for cash and this appears to be a fairly recent – and worrying – phenomenon.

Yes, we heard all about Michael O’Hara and we are still hearing about him. But do you know about Ayesha Champagnie’s achievements at Girls’ Champs? The St Andrew Technical High School student won the heptathlon open, the Class One javelin and shot put, the latter in a new record. She was named the Overall Champion Athlete of Girls’ Champs. (Photo: SportsMax)

I still maintain that our young women athletes did not get the attention they deserved during Boys’ and Girls’ Champs. How many Jamaicans have heard of Ayesha Champagnie?  I wrote about this issue in my weekly blog on the Gleaner’s page here: http://gleanerblogs.com/socialimpact/?p=2590

Big ups to some awesome young Jamaicans…

Randy McLaren (at the top) was a huge hit at the Trench Town Reading Centre’s 20th Anniversary party. (My photo)

Good luck to the exciting young dub poet and “edutainer” Randy McLaren, who departs tomorrow for the Summit of the Americas in Panama. He says he is going to “build a vibe” for President Obama and the other regional leaders. I know he will blow them all away!

The vibrant former beauty queen Terri-Karelle Reid is much more than just a pretty face. (Photo: Dexter Communications)

Glamorous media girl Terri-Karelle Reid, who visits a school every week to talk to girls, empower and inspire them. Keep up the good work young lady. You are on the right track! All these efforts help. Both Terri-Karelle and Randy are terrific role models for young Jamaicans.

Gleaner columnist and human rights activist Jaevion Nelson. (My photo)

Jaevion Nelson consistently writes thought-provoking and challenging columns in the Gleaner once a week. This past week he tackled the issue of homophobic bullying in schools. Bullying in general (and also, increasingly cyber-bullying, as many kids seem to have smartphones) appears to be growing among our young people, and given the tendencies in our society this is especially disturbing. We ignore this issue at our peril. You can read Jaevion’s article here: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20150402/zero-tolerance-homophobic-bullying 

A sign of summer: Oh, I did hear a Grey Kingbird (or “Petchary”) for the first time in our yard yesterday. His strident call means summer is on its way…

On a sad note, it seems almost every week a child is murdered. This time it was a boy in rural Clarendon, who was shot dead as he stepped out of a shop. There seems to have been little shock about this boy’s incomprehensible death. Why? Indeed, I send condolences to all the families who mourned this Easter weekend.

Mark Brown, 40, Blount Street/Denham Town, Kingston (killed by police?)

Derron Rolando Whittaker, 35, Ziadie Avenue/Ziadie Gardens, Kingston

Orane Blair, Tivoli Gardens, Kingston

Nicholas Foster, Nain, St. Elizabeth

Donald Jacobs, Nain, St. Elizabeth

Constable Kemar Beckford, 25, Hopewell, Hanover

Steven Williams, 11, New Bowen, Clarendon

Morkeno Craig, 25, Woodhall, Clarendon

Otis Kirlew, Georges Plain, Westmoreland

Kerisha Hamilton, 30, Flanker, St. James

The bar where Constable Kemar Beckford was shot dead during an attempted robbery – yes, by him, the policeman. (Photo: Philip Lemonte/Jamaica Observer)