it's Tuesday March 19 good afternoon I'm Herman green with your midday news a
special welcome to those of you watching online at one spot Mediacom chief
justice brandeis this morning refused the Director of Public Prosecutions
application for witnesses in the case against well-known Spanish stone gang
leader Tasha Miller to be allowed to testify via videolink prosecutors filed
the application citing safety concerns for two key prosecution witnesses but
Miller's attorney Bert son was challenged the application arguing that
his client or anyone related to him poses no threat to any of the witnesses
and therefore acts that the witness attend court to be cross-examined now
justice Sykes said he had no evidence on which to grant the Crone's application
and so the matter has been set for case management on April 24 Miller the leader
of the Klansmen gang is a standard trial for the 2008 murder of Managing Director
the Jamaica urban transit company J UTC Douglass chambers mr. chambers was
fatally shot at the Ju TC Depot in Spanish stones and Catherine another
fatal police shooting has again pitted residents and the police against each
other with both sides giving different account of the incident it unfolded in
Old Harbor st. Catherine in what residents contend was a love triangle
turned soul TV J's Christa Campbell has the details the pangs of death and loss
on display in the Old Harbor community of Island farms and Catherine Tuesday
morning the aftermath of what residents say was a birthday party turned tragic
about midnight Monday they say 29 year-old tax office auditor Nevada
Dennis had some kind of dispute with his girlfriend an aunt says persons started
to gather to prevent it from turning into a fight and that's when the
unthinkable happened I'm seeing when I talk to Imani
come on a mnemonic or through a demon come off the end say my trophy c'mon I'm
afraid so I dream I dream I draw away here woman in the top far away
Amana I'll tell him on some puppy nighttime but the police have a
different version of the incident head of the Jamaica Constabulary force
corporate communications unit Deputy Superintendent Delia Garrick says the
policeman says he shot mr. Dennis in self-defense
the policeman was walking along with the female when the female was attacked both
of them were attacked he was most of the time in the back hands and she says
residents reacted by damaging to service vehicles and the policeman had to seek
help from a team from the Old Harbor police station to get him out of the
area safely she says he's receiving treatment for his injuries but residents
say it didn't happen the way the policeman claimed in the walk with night
nativity week pinky
he never would have come like ragamuffin the security forces are maintaining a
presence in the community which is now tense
meanwhile the Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Independent
Commission of investigations are probing the incident Christa Campbell TVJ news
several licensed firearm holders in Western Jamaica could lose their guns in
short order as the firearm Licensing Authority questions alleged flaws in
their character and other disqualifying factors the decision
which will impact at least one popular politician and several small business
operators with questionable backgrounds was taken in the aftermath of a
high-level meeting between the top brass of the Fla and the area one police
hierarchy chief executive office of the Fla Shan darling says serious concerns
were raised about some persons with licensed firearms who are reportedly
involved in illegitimate activities he added that the issue is not taken
lightly so a decision has been made immediately to revoke some gun license
while others are being reviewed with similar actions possibly to be taken
fire last night destroyed the Red Cross building in st. Anne's Basin tan the
fire which started minutes after 7 o clock quickly engulfed the wooden
structure threatening the nearby st. Ann's Bay parish church and the church
hall two units from the st. Ann's Bay Fire Department fought the blaze with
over 20 men acting divisional head senior superintendent Windell Patterson
says all possible efforts were used to save a church hall with only minor
damage to the gutters on the roof an investigation is on the way and still in
scent and the bus driver who fatally hit a tourist that bullet point near Dunn's
River Falls last Monday is to return to the st. Ann's Bay parish court on April
4 51 year old never phillips was charged on the same day of the March 11 incident
he has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving mr. Phillips was
granted $500,000 bill with sureties when he appeared in court on Friday reports
were that 16 year old Mark Johnson of Californian the United States was
walking with his spouse along the sidewalk in bull Point when he was hit
by a passenger bus he died in hospital the captain of the boat which capsized
off the coast of Port Royal in December killing two women was yesterday find
$400 in the Kingston hands in tanjo Parish Court 57 year-old Herbert Joey
pleaded guilty to four charges under the harvest at of 1971 he pleaded guilty to
three counts of breaching the harbors rule and one count of operating an
unlicensed vessel the maximum fine of 100 dollars
was imposed on each count though his attorney Hensley Williams said given the
age of the legislation it would be an unnecessary waste of judicial time to
proceed with the matter and asked that his client be allowed to enter a plea
the two women who drowned during the mishap are 35 year old Jenelle the
caster's of Summit Heights and Andrew and 45 year old Edith petka of Evergreen
Drive in Hatfield Manchester they are among a group of 12 persons who were
being transported to Lyme key when the vessel in which they were travelling
encountered difficulties and capsized though he was later charged as the
vessel was not licensed to at the time to carry passengers the people's
National Party continues to bless the finance minister and the government
about its 2019-20 budget insisting that it perpetuates inequality in his budget
presentation earlier this month finance minister dr. Nigel Clark announced a 14
billion dollar tax cut however at its post budget press
briefing on Monday the opposition suggested that aside from not benefiting
the average Jamaican the inequality of the cut is most prominent in the
education sector because we have a veritable apartheid system in education
a small set of schools performing at high levels and a large number of
schools performing at substandard levels yet in this budget education has
received no real increase in the budget when you take account of inflation the
education budget is flat opposition spokesman on Finance mark golden
rubbished arguments which compared Jamaica's economy with that of the
United States to defend what he turned as trickle-down economic benefits we are
we are a post-colonial society where we have not seen adequate growth for a long
period of time where we have a very skewed income distribution in the
country and where there are structures in place which are perpetuating part
poverty in terms of land and in terms of the education system and
other things and we need to address those proactively we can't just wait on
wealth to be created at at the higher level and and see whether or not it
trickles down to benefit the majority we need a more proactive policy to address
those inequalities so that everybody has a fair chance of making it in life the
opposition is calling for a reduction in the general consumption tax as well as
the tax on energy as a means of not only increasing equality but also to
stimulate economic growth the Jamaica 4-h club is reporting that more of its
members are now venturing into agriculture this comes on the heels of
an urgent plea from the Agriculture Ministry for the nation's youth to look
to that sector TV Jaisal Shane masters reports agriculture is becoming more
attractive the nation's youth that's the word from head of the Jamaica 4-h club
is Ronald Blake while speaking to tbj news and sent elizabeth recently the
government in the last few years have been on a drive to get more young people
into the agricultural sector this as they say the agricultural sector will be
one of the main drivers to economic growth it has also led to the
Agriculture Ministry seeking to get more lands into production but for mr. Blake
he says what has sparked the younger generation into the sector is interest
rates by at least one financial institution to persons who wants to go
into agricultural production interest rates are falling you can now get as low
as 4% and I'm talking about 4% on reducing balance
he also says based on efforts from his organization more persons are looking to
agriculture as a way of life the effectiveness of the 4-h club has
resulted in a reduction of the average age of the Jamaican farm it is now at
forty eight point seven the 4-h clubs is also encouraging and pushing
of its of its members towards territory training in agriculture sir case is
seeing as much as 43 percent increase in enrollment in agriculture out of every
five farmers registered as farmers over the last three years three are actually
hewed formers in the meantime mr. blake is calling for greater research to be
done all the impacts of climate change this he says the vital importance as the
agriculture sector will be the one which is most affected they must find ways of
coexisting with the challenges that we are going to be experienced coming from
climate change higher levels of co2 higher temperatures when we have
rainfall we're gonna have you know more flooding and so and so we're gonna have
to know adapt our strategies to fit with those realities machine masters TVJ news
a medical collaboration between Cuba and Jamaica is expected to further boost
Jamaica's health care with Cuba also benefiting at a recent Caribbean medical
devices exhibition put on by medical linked co-organizer lanes birth Walker
explained that while Jamaica has long been benefitting from the expertise of
Cuban doctors Cuba's medical industry faces their own challenges in terms of
accessing medical equipment from North America he says with this collaboration
both countries can now benefit as Jamaica will be assisting Cuba with
their medical device needs Jamaica's athletes continues to produce
good performances at the Special Olympics World Games in the United Arab
Emirates copying several metals including gold on Sunday the nation's
metal talent now stands at 18 five gold seven silver and six bronze
rollerbladers del admin and sacani reed want separate gold medals and their 300
meter roller skating events odd-man one in division 7 and green in division 6
both admin and green were however disqualified in the two by 200 meter
relay no special Olympian Nigel Davis is the rollerblader coach
really no really you know I never really because we get disqualified and that
wraps up the midday news I'm Herman Greene please join us at 7:00 for the
prime time news package on behalf of the new sports and production teams good
afternoon