Farmer accused of stealing from other man’s farm

Saturday, October 18, 2014 | 4:14 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica—A farmer is to be tried in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on November 4 on a charge of praedial larceny.

The date was set when farmer Omar Brown appeared in court on Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty and his bail was extended.

Brown was reportedly caught by the complainant before daybreak, on September 23, uprooting scallion from his St Andrew farm.

On Wednesday, the court ordered that Brown be fingerprinted.

Racquel Porter

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Farmer accused of stealing from other man’s farm

The "other Caite Upton"

Move over Kate Upton, there’s another Caite Upton in town.

Former Miss Teen South Carolina Lauren Caitlin Upton, who shortened her name to Caite, is best known for beauty pageant blunder in 2007 when she gave one of the most memorable pageant answers.

When asked, “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?” Upton responded, 

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some, uh, people out there in our nation don’t have maps and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future [for our children].

Now the 25-year-old model is hoping to make a comeback after her embarrassing moment went viral. She will be co-hosting a new show on the Back9 Network called “Off Par” with comedian Matt Blake.

WATCH: Four4Four: When Internet porn stars … you?

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The "other Caite Upton"

One Love reggae festival to feature Freddie McGregor and other top acts

Faith Evans – File

The famous Niagara Falls tourist spot on the Canada-United States border is bracing for the inaugural staging of the concert, One Love at the Border.

The reggae-soul-funk festival will feature a diverse mix of acts such as Freddie McGregor, Errol Dunkley, Lakeside and Con Funk Shun.

The three-day show kicks off July 4 and will be headlined by singer Faith Evans, who emerged during the neo-soul movement of the 1990s.

The show is the brainchild of Jamaican Andrew Stephens, a senior partner in the Real Music Group, promoter of One Love at the Border. The Niagara Falls attraction will be transformed into a mighty moving stream of red, green and gold, using strategically placed lights to give a decidedly Rastafarian feel to the event.

“The idea for this is to not only celebrate past and present multi-genre music legends and create a stage for uprising local artistes, but to bring everyone together from different backgrounds, cultures and communities from both sides of the border,” he said.

Stephens has promoted numerous shows in Canada and the United Kingdom through his Unison Entertainment Enterprise. Last year, he joined with Thomas Tripodi and Tony D’Ambrogio to form RMG.

One Love at the Border is the company’s first major promotion. Stephens said they have received support from the Niagara Parks service, which runs Niagara Falls, but RMG is footing most of the bill for the debut event.

Freddie McGregor – File

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One Love reggae festival to feature Freddie McGregor and other top acts

Latin Americans cheering for each other, for now

Sunday, June 22, 2014 | 2:35 PM    

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Latin Americans are cheering for each other at the World Cup. But that camaraderie will disappear in a few days when the knockout games arrive.

For now, there’s Latin fusion.

Brazilian Samba is drowned out by Mexican Mariachi or by Cumbias from Colombia. Mexicans roam around in giant, drooping sombreros. Argentines wear masks depicting Maradona, Lionel Messi or Pope Francis. Uruguayans lug around thermos bottles of hot water for their famous herbal tea, called mate.

Latin Americans have felt at home in Brazil, and the results show.

Four have already clinched a spot in the knockout stage — Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. And four more have a chance to make the final 16: Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador and host Brazil.

Fans from neighbouring countries have swarmed into Brazil — in buses, vans, and at least one on a bicycle all the way from Mexico.

Argentines blanketed Rio’s Copacabana beach, spilling out of trucks and motor-homes parked from one end to the other along the 4-kilometer-long (2.5-mile) promenade. Most arrived without tickets. About 50,000 were encamped in Rio, and the Argentine embassy expects 100,000 for the final group match against Nigeria on Wednesday in Porto Alegre.

Fans have hugged, drank, danced in costumes and belted out a cappella renditions of national anthems at the kickoff. Stadiums have been deafening, driven partly by passionate Latinos.

“The influx of Latin American supporters is above our expectations,” said Roberto Alzir, a top Rio de Janeiro state security official in charge of policing the World Cup.

There have also been a few ugly street scenes, one with Brazilians and Argentines in Belo Horizonte hurling beer bottles and insults at each other. In Rio, about 100 Chileans fans rampaged through the Maracana media area, and at least 10 Argentine fans were detained after jumping fences at the famous stadium to see their team play Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“When they said the World Cup would be in Brazil, we started packing,” said Argentine Juan Jose Martinez, who drove 36 hours in a van non-stop from Cordoba, Argentina, with friend Pedro Luis Esquivel and two others.

It’s been costly. Argentina’s recent debt crisis has seen the peso plunge in value against Brazil’s real.

Munching on a fast-food burger and fries, the two estimated the price for the meal in Brazil was four times that in Argentina.

“It’s not Brazil’s fault,” said Martinez, who works as a casino croupier. “It’s the fault of Argentina with the wrecked economy we have. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so you do it.”

The next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar will be too far away, not to mention language problems. Though Brazilians speak Portuguese, Spanish speakers can usually communicate with them- or guess what’s being said.

“I feel very at home here,” said Cristhian Recalde, who travelled from Guayaquil, Ecuador, with his brother Roger.

“I spent 1 1/2 years in Europe — in Spain. They speak Spanish, but I did not feel as welcome there.”

The World Cup is a double treat for many — football and vacation.

Roger Recalde called the World Cup one of South America’s “natural wonders.” He listed it with Iguazu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina; Machu Picchu in Peru; and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.

“I had a list of the places I wanted to go in South America, and I can check Brazil and the World Cup off the list,” he said.

Unless they are playing against another Latin team, everyone seems to be cheering for neighbours.

“This is a cup where we want the South American continent to win,” Roger said.

The charity may end when the knockout round starts Saturday.

Mexico or Brazil could face Chile. Colombia could get Uruguay or Costa Rica. Argentina might play Ecuador.

In 2010, three of the four semi-finalists were European. In 2006, all four were. But Latin fans can be encouraged. All previous six World Cups held in Latin America have been won by Latin Americans.

Many Argentines say, if eliminated, they would root for any Latin American team, except Chile, which sided with Britain during the 1982 Falklands War.

Other Latin Americans are willing to cheer for others — but not Argentina.

“We know the reputation of Argentines is not to so good around Latin America,” said Martinez, the casino croupier. He blamed that on residents of the capital Buenos Aires, who like big-city dwellers in New York or Paris, can be disliked in the rest of the country.

Pedro Astudillo and his wife Paola Zuleta traveled from Antofagasta in the far north of Chile with son Nicolas and daughter Valentina.

The boys took in a game.

“And the girls went shopping,” Pedro said.

The trip cost 6 million Chilean pesos, or US$11,000.

Mexican brothers Francisco Sanchez and Alfredo Machuca, from the U.S.-Mexico border city of Matamoros, said they would support any Latin American team if Mexico were eliminated.

“But to be honest, we identify more with people in Colombia than others from the south like Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil,” Sanchez said.

His brother, wearing a green Mexico shirt, chimed in.

“We have our tequila, and Colombians have guaro — or aguardiente — which we love.”

The United States and England are often described as two countries separated by a common language. Sanchez said Spanish-speakers face the same problem.

The Spanish word “buey” can be one source of confusion. The word, pronounced like “whey,” means ox or, specifically, a castrated bull. Mexicans toss it out as a jestful insult to such an extent it’s become equivalent to the American slang “dude.”

Non-Mexicans are puzzled when they hear themselves being spoken to as cattle.

“That confuses for sure,” Sanchez said. “It would sound like you’re calling someone an animal.”

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Latin Americans cheering for each other, for now

Latin Americans cheering for each other, for now

Sunday, June 22, 2014 | 2:35 PM    

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Latin Americans are cheering for each other at the World Cup. But that camaraderie will disappear in a few days when the knockout games arrive.

For now, there’s Latin fusion.

Brazilian Samba is drowned out by Mexican Mariachi or by Cumbias from Colombia. Mexicans roam around in giant, drooping sombreros. Argentines wear masks depicting Maradona, Lionel Messi or Pope Francis. Uruguayans lug around thermos bottles of hot water for their famous herbal tea, called mate.

Latin Americans have felt at home in Brazil, and the results show.

Four have already clinched a spot in the knockout stage — Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica. And four more have a chance to make the final 16: Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador and host Brazil.

Fans from neighbouring countries have swarmed into Brazil — in buses, vans, and at least one on a bicycle all the way from Mexico.

Argentines blanketed Rio’s Copacabana beach, spilling out of trucks and motor-homes parked from one end to the other along the 4-kilometer-long (2.5-mile) promenade. Most arrived without tickets. About 50,000 were encamped in Rio, and the Argentine embassy expects 100,000 for the final group match against Nigeria on Wednesday in Porto Alegre.

Fans have hugged, drank, danced in costumes and belted out a cappella renditions of national anthems at the kickoff. Stadiums have been deafening, driven partly by passionate Latinos.

“The influx of Latin American supporters is above our expectations,” said Roberto Alzir, a top Rio de Janeiro state security official in charge of policing the World Cup.

There have also been a few ugly street scenes, one with Brazilians and Argentines in Belo Horizonte hurling beer bottles and insults at each other. In Rio, about 100 Chileans fans rampaged through the Maracana media area, and at least 10 Argentine fans were detained after jumping fences at the famous stadium to see their team play Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“When they said the World Cup would be in Brazil, we started packing,” said Argentine Juan Jose Martinez, who drove 36 hours in a van non-stop from Cordoba, Argentina, with friend Pedro Luis Esquivel and two others.

It’s been costly. Argentina’s recent debt crisis has seen the peso plunge in value against Brazil’s real.

Munching on a fast-food burger and fries, the two estimated the price for the meal in Brazil was four times that in Argentina.

“It’s not Brazil’s fault,” said Martinez, who works as a casino croupier. “It’s the fault of Argentina with the wrecked economy we have. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so you do it.”

The next two World Cups in Russia and Qatar will be too far away, not to mention language problems. Though Brazilians speak Portuguese, Spanish speakers can usually communicate with them- or guess what’s being said.

“I feel very at home here,” said Cristhian Recalde, who travelled from Guayaquil, Ecuador, with his brother Roger.

“I spent 1 1/2 years in Europe — in Spain. They speak Spanish, but I did not feel as welcome there.”

The World Cup is a double treat for many — football and vacation.

Roger Recalde called the World Cup one of South America’s “natural wonders.” He listed it with Iguazu Falls on the border between Brazil and Argentina; Machu Picchu in Peru; and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador.

“I had a list of the places I wanted to go in South America, and I can check Brazil and the World Cup off the list,” he said.

Unless they are playing against another Latin team, everyone seems to be cheering for neighbours.

“This is a cup where we want the South American continent to win,” Roger said.

The charity may end when the knockout round starts Saturday.

Mexico or Brazil could face Chile. Colombia could get Uruguay or Costa Rica. Argentina might play Ecuador.

In 2010, three of the four semi-finalists were European. In 2006, all four were. But Latin fans can be encouraged. All previous six World Cups held in Latin America have been won by Latin Americans.

Many Argentines say, if eliminated, they would root for any Latin American team, except Chile, which sided with Britain during the 1982 Falklands War.

Other Latin Americans are willing to cheer for others — but not Argentina.

“We know the reputation of Argentines is not to so good around Latin America,” said Martinez, the casino croupier. He blamed that on residents of the capital Buenos Aires, who like big-city dwellers in New York or Paris, can be disliked in the rest of the country.

Pedro Astudillo and his wife Paola Zuleta traveled from Antofagasta in the far north of Chile with son Nicolas and daughter Valentina.

The boys took in a game.

“And the girls went shopping,” Pedro said.

The trip cost 6 million Chilean pesos, or US$11,000.

Mexican brothers Francisco Sanchez and Alfredo Machuca, from the U.S.-Mexico border city of Matamoros, said they would support any Latin American team if Mexico were eliminated.

“But to be honest, we identify more with people in Colombia than others from the south like Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil,” Sanchez said.

His brother, wearing a green Mexico shirt, chimed in.

“We have our tequila, and Colombians have guaro — or aguardiente — which we love.”

The United States and England are often described as two countries separated by a common language. Sanchez said Spanish-speakers face the same problem.

The Spanish word “buey” can be one source of confusion. The word, pronounced like “whey,” means ox or, specifically, a castrated bull. Mexicans toss it out as a jestful insult to such an extent it’s become equivalent to the American slang “dude.”

Non-Mexicans are puzzled when they hear themselves being spoken to as cattle.

“That confuses for sure,” Sanchez said. “It would sound like you’re calling someone an animal.”

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Latin Americans cheering for each other, for now

Omnibus, other reforms to bring in $4b more taxes in new fiscal year

BY CAMILO THAME Business Co-ordinator thamec@jamaicaobserver.com

Friday, February 14, 2014    

THE Government plans to implement further tax reform — including the removal of most exemptions and all zero rated items for GCT — in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins April 1.

But an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study shows that the new omnibus legislation and other measures already put in place should conservatively bring in an additional US$38million ($3.9 billion) in tax revenue next fiscal year (FY2014/15).

The full impact of the reform measures is estimated to be US$125 million, but the multilateral lender projected that just 30 per cent would be realized in FY 2014/15, and that the benefits would gradually increase over the next few years until they are fully realized in 2016/17.

The bulk of the increased revenue from existing tax reform measures in the upcoming fiscal year is expected to come from corporate tax — US$11 million — followed by GCT, US$10.9million and changes to tax incentive laws, which is expected to claw back US$6.9 million from businesses next year alone.

IDB documents accompanying recently approved funding an US$80 million loan for fiscal structural programme for economic growth stated that broader tax reform will become effective at the start of FY2014/15.

“The tax reform should include legislation to modernise income tax, customs tariffs, and social security contributions, including the administration of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS),”said IDB documents, which add that tax and tariff exemptions in all major taxes, excepting for a limited number of specific goods and services, would be greatly reduced.

Changes to GCT include the removal of Government purchases from the GCT zero rate list and a broadening of the the tax base by limiting the zero rate to exports and reducing the number of exempted goods and services.

The IDB document also reiterated that an evaluation of the possibility of further broadening the GCT tax base by including petroleum products within the GCT taxable base is being done.

“Including petroleum products in the GCT requires adjustment of the SCT to ensure consumer prices of petroleum products and its derivatives do not change significantly,” said IDB documents.

On the other hand, depending on the improvements in revenue associated with these reforms, the Government will consider a phased reduction of the statutory rates of the main taxes.

“The Government is considering a prudent reduction in tax rates after FY 2014/15,” the document continued. “This reduction will be subject to improvements in revenue associated with the initial reforms implemented in FY 2013/14 and FY 2014/15.

The IDB study was prepared to estimate the financial benefits generated by the introduction of a set of fiscal reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s fiscal position as well as at achieving the sustainability of public financing and of economic growth.

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Omnibus, other reforms to bring in $4b more taxes in new fiscal year

Digicel joins other sponsors for AISK Sportsfeva

BY RUDDY ALLEN OBSERVER WRITER

Tuesday, January 28, 2014    

Digicel is now partnering with the American International School of Kingston (AISK) for the first time as an associate sponsor to host the fourth staging of the 2014 Lasco Food Drink AISK Sportsfeva which is presented by Gatorade, it was announced at a press conference yesterday at AISK in Kingston.

Jacqueline Burrell Clarke, public relations manager at Digicel said that her company is a huge supporter of sports and they are always happy to assist with the development of young people.

“We are very excited to be a part of this event for the first time. We are a huge supporter of sports and what the AISK programme is offering to the youth. We are really pleased to be on board to aid in the development of youngsters,” Burrell Clarke said.

Sherianne Thompson, brand representative of Lasco food drink, the main sponsors of Sportsfeva said that her company’s continued involvement with the AISK’s youth development programme was never in doubt.

“It is truly a pleasure to be here today as the students express themselves through sports. I am pleased to announce my company’s commitment in sponsoring this event as it is a programme that is building our youth,” Thompson said.

Also at the launch, Mitchell Watson of Pepsi Cola Jamaica, representing the presenting sponsor, Gatorade said that they are happy to be on the team sponsoring SportsFeva.

“Gatorade is an iconic energy drink that gives the athletes proper energy to take part in sports and we are honoured to provide our product,” he said.

Kelly Jarrett, the chairperson of the SportsFeva committee said that the school is very excited to be staging the event and to have participants from various schools in Jamaica and the Bahamas taking part. “Each year the event gets bigger and bigger and we are looking forward to the future and continued growth of the event.”

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Digicel joins other sponsors for AISK Sportsfeva

Pre-trial dates set for Asafa, Sherone and 3 other athletes

PRE-TRIAL dates were yesterday set for five Jamaican athletes who were said to have returned adverse analytical findings at the National Senior and Junior Championships in June.

They include former 100-metre world record holder and Olympian Asafa Powell, and 2004 Olympic relay gold medallist Sherone Simpson.The others are national record holder in the men’s discus, Traves Smikle; discus thrower Allison Randall; and triple jumper Demar Robinson.The athletes, with the exception of Randall, who currently resides overseas, faced members of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) disciplinary panel, during a mentioning of the disciplinary hearing held yesterday at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, where the pre-trial dates were set.The date for Smikle, Randall, and Robinson, who are all represented by a team of attorneys led by Dr Lloyd Barnett, William Panton and Sabrina Cross, has been set for Friday, September 20 at 10:00 am at the Jamaica Conference Centre.Smikle will face a four-member pre-trial panel comprising former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Chairman of the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel Kent Pantry; Deputy DPP and Second Vice-Chairman Jeremy Taylor; physician Ivor Crandon; and Olympian Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.Additionally, a four-member panel consisting of Pantry; Taylor; physician Dr Archie McDonald; and FIFA referee Peter Prendergast will head the pre-trial hearing for Robinson.Randall will sit before a four-member panel, which includes Pantry, Taylor, Dr McDonald and Cuthbert-Flynn.As regards Powell and Simpson, who are being represented by attorneys Kwame Gordon and Danielle Chai, a pre-trial hearing has been set for Friday, September 27 at 10:00 am at the Jamaica Conference Centre.A three-member panel, led by attorney-at-law and Vice-Chairman of the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel Lennox Gayle; physician Dr Jephthah Ford and Prendergast will preside over both Simpson and Powell’s pre-trial hearings.Both Powell and Simpson tested positive for the stimulant oxilofrine at the national trials in June. Powell has blamed his positive test on a range of new nutritional supplements prescribed to him by a physiotherapist.Pantry, who led the proceedings, informed that the matters concerning all five athletes would not be heard during the pre-trial hearings.“The pre-trial is really where certain orders will be made for documentation and other things and then a (disciplinary) hearing date will be agreed on (for each athlete) on that day,” he stated.Representing JADCO at yesterday’s mentioning were Chairman Dr Herbert Elliot, and attorney-at-law Lackston Robinson.Meanwhile, JADCO has informed that B samples for all five athletes have confirmed the prohibited substances, which were found in the A-sample analyses in June. The B samples were tested at a Montreal-based lab accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.Asafa Powell (left), along with Bruce James (centre), MVP president, and Sherone Simpson as they exited a room at the Jamaica Conference Centre yesterday, where pre-trial dates were set for them to answer to charges of doping violation. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)

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Pre-trial dates set for Asafa, Sherone and 3 other athletes

Drama as wife catches husband with other woman

DRAMA unfolded in the Corporate Area Court last week, after a woman who suspected that her husband was cheating, told the court that she got a vision confirming that he was cheating and caught him with the woman after a voice told her to visit him in Kingston.

The woman, Kimberly Scott, 21, appeared in court alongside Noel Saunders, 44, for assaulting the complainant on the night she obeyed the voice and caught them together in Kingston.According to the complainant, who lives in Old Harbour, St Catherine, her husband came to Kingston in search of work and got involved with another woman but kept denying that he was cheating.“I started to see changes in my husband and then I got a vision and I asked him if he was cheating and he said ‘no’, and I turn to him and say you know that my vision don’t lie,” the complainant said.But she said her husband got angry and nearly killed her in front of their children.“Him buss up me head and mash me up bad,” she said.The complainant, who had the full attention of those in the courtroom, said that sometime later she was at home when a voice spoke to her and told her go to Liguanea in St Andrew, where her husband was staying.“It was about 10 minutes after 4:00 am, me hear a voice say get up and go straight up there, you going to know the truth,” she said.When she got there, she said she did not want to wake the occupants of the house and stayed outside until morning broke when she saw a man who showed her where her husband was staying.“When a knock a see him and a girl and a baby, when I see him I drop down, I start crying. Me do everything for this man,” she told the court.Despite all that, the complainant said that she returned home and tried to work things out with her husband, but he returned to Kingston and the situation started to get the best of her.As a result, the complainant said that she returned to Liguanea with two of her children, which Saunders fathered, and confronted Scott.While there, she said that she was assaulted by Scott who kicked her and hit her in her back, while her husband pushed her down and held onto her throat.Saunders, however told the court that he was “fed up” with his wife and wants a divorce as she was disrespectful to him and treats him as if he had never done anything for her, when he took her up with five children and helped care for them.But Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey cautioned him to be careful about his decision “as the grass is not always greener on the other side”.She told him that he should try to work things out with his wife as it is likely that his relationship with Scott will not last.Saunders, who was reluctant to work with his wife, half-heartedly agreed to attend counselling sessions.Pusey then told Scott to move on with her life and to let them try to fix their marriage.“If he is for you he will come back,” she said.The matter was then scheduled for them to return to court on October 1.Husband gets prison sentence for burning wife with clothes ironAnother husband also appeared before the court for abusing his wife, but in this case he was imprisoned.Alphanso Barrette, a 42-year-old farmer, who burned his wife with a clothes iron on one of her breasts and arm during a domestic dispute, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after he showed no remorse.The Jack’s Hill, St Andrew resident was slapped with a custodial sentence on Thursday, despite his lawyer’s plea for leniency when they appeared in court before Senior RM Pusey.Barrett’s wife, suffered five per cent burns during the incident which occurred at the couple’s home on February 28 last year, the court heard.But before the sentence was passed, Barrett’s lawyer told the court that Barrett was willing to accept the judgment of the court, as he is currently unemployed and has no money to make restitution to his wife, but nonetheless was asking the magistrate to be merciful.The lawyer asked Pusey to take into account that Barrett had served three months in prison before he was released on bail.Pusey, however, in handing down the sentence, said that based on Barrett’s demeanor and the reports from his wife, indicating that she has been suffering grave domestic abuse, she had no choice but to send him to prison.“I don’t get the impression that he feels he ought to make restitution or is sorry for what he has done,” she said.Additionally, the magistrate pointed out that she did not believe in giving a custodial sentence for the offence, but that Barrett’s act warrants a two-year sentence, although she would reduce it considering that he had already served some time.“Mr Barrett has got to understand that this level of cruelty cannot be tolerated in society and the court has to frown on these sort of things,” Pusey said, before Barrett was carted off to prison.Following the sentence, the complainant told the court that Barrett was threatening her and her family and was advised by the judge to report it to the police.Man gets six months for driving away woman’s carA man who claimed he was only protecting a car by driving it to the police station ended up with a six-month prison sentence after he was hauled before the court for driving away the car without the owner’s consent.Omar Malcolm, who told the court that he lives on the roof of a church on Mona Road in Kingston, was taken into custody on August 3 after he drove away the complainant’s Toyota Corolla motor car and crashed it, damaging the front bumper.The complainant had parked her car at her gate at Oak Road in Mona, and left it open with the key inside as she was packing items in it to take to the Denbigh Agricultural Show in Clarendon.She was however alerted by screams from her daughter that someone was driving away her car, the court heard further.Neighbours came to the complainant’s assistance and chased the car which collided with another car.On the arrival of the police, Malcolm was found behind the wheels.But on Monday when he appeared in court, he said that he had no intention of stealing the car.Malcolm said that he saw the car with the doors open and it looked ransacked and as a result he felt he should safeguard it by taking it to the police station.“I was trying to protect it and I was going to drive it to the Matilda’s Corner Police Station,” he said.“Protect it from what,” Pusey asked. “You see someone’s car unattended and you feel you must protect it by driving it away.”“I didn’t tek anything from it,” Malcolm said in his defence before complaining about being treated badly.“A bare injustice a reach me, dem put me against bare gay guys and one a dem spit on me, dem beat me and every time dem put me in a bad situation,” he said.Added to that, Malcolm also complained that since he was discharged from the Bellevue Hospital, his family had abandoned him and he has to be living on the roof of a church.The magistrate, who seemed to have believed his story that he had no intention of stealing the vehicle, rescheduled the matter and instructed an officer to check with his relatives to see if they would accommodate him.But when the matter was mentioned on Thursday, the police told the court that he was informed by relatives that Malcolm was a troublemaker and that was the reason why his family had put him out of the house.Pusey after hearing the report then sentenced Malcolm to six months in prison for driving away the woman’s car without her permission.

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Drama as wife catches husband with other woman

Sandals continues to expand while other operators falter

THE financial and economic downturn of 2008 heralded a precipitous decline for many hotel operators in the Caribbean.

The once revered SuperClubs has dramatically retreated from its home market, Jamaica; in the Bahamas, Atlantis continues to experience difficulties and has had to cut its room rates to as low as US$70; the Almond hotel in Barbados has been sold; the Four Seasons in Exuma sold out to Sandals; the Ritz Carlton in Jamaica was forced to sell out after faltering performances over recent years; in the highest-value real estate auction ever held in the Cayman Islands, the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman hotel property was sold to an American private equity company for around US$180 million.Boldness in bad timesOver the last five years, 2008 to 2013, Sandals has maintained a relentless expansion exercise during the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1920s. It has also upgraded all its properties, adding the Balmoral wing to the Royal Bahamian in the Bahamas.During the said period, Sandals Whitehouse became fully operational; the Four Seasons in Exuma was acquired, the Veranda hotel in Turks& Caicos was bought for around US$100 million and the LaSource hotel in Grenada was purchased for an undisclosed sum.All this underscores the Sandals Group’s unwavering faith in Caribbean tourism. In all the Caribbean countries it operates in, tourism is a leading economic driver and the main earner of foreign exchange.The hotel group led by Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart may well be seeing something that many Caribbean governments may do well to take note of — a glorious future for Caribbean tourism.Encouraging numbersCaribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) figures for 2012 and forecasts for 2013 bears this out.According to Beverly Nicholson-Doty, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and US Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner, Caribbean destinations are on pace for a strong 2013 following a 2012 season that saw a 5.4 per cent region-wide increase in tourists.In a wide-ranging statement issued on February 13, Nicholson-Doty said Caribbean tourism growth “outpaced the rest of the world” in 2012, which saw 25 million visitors that year. She further expects international visitor traffic to the Caribbean to grow by “another four to five per cent” in 2013.Tourist arrivals to the Caribbean from the US increased 4.1 per cent in 2012 compared with 2011, “holding steady with the pre-recession levels of five years earlier,” said Nicholson-Doty. US arrivals increased in all of the reporting Caribbean countries, she added.In addition, Caribbean hotels are generating stronger results, with regional properties reporting improvement in four key performance indicators for the second consecutive year.“The overall occupancy for the Caribbean increased by 7.1 per cent; average daily rate went up 4.8 per cent and total room revenues by 8.9 per cent,” said Nicholson-Doty. Revenue per available room also rose by 12.4 pe rcent in 2012. “Should these trends continue, it certainly augurs well for 2013,” she added.Canada is the fastest-growing Caribbean travel market, according to Nicholson-Doty, posting a 5.9 per cent arrivals increase in 2012, marking the country’s fifth straight year of growth. In an “encouraging sign” visitor spending in CTO-member countries totalled US$27.5 billion in 2012, a 3.6 percent increase over 2011 and the third consecutive year of growth.“This marks a return of aggregate spending by visitors to the pre-recession level,” Nicholson-Doty said.Allowing Caribbean tourism to prosperDespite this rosy forecast, many Caribbean governments continue to impose even more taxes on tourism operators as their economies contract, thus killing the goose that lays the golden egg.Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the former tourism minister of The Bahamas and also former head of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), recently produced an important paper on Caribbean tourism in which he pointed out the following: “Hotel occupancies across the region average 60 per cent annually and tourism represents some 15 per cent of regional GDP. In some Caribbean countries, the tourism contribution to GDP is as high as 80 per cent. It does not take much arithmetic to see that if occupancies could be advanced to 90 per cent, the tourism contribution could be increased by some 50 per cent.”ConundrumIt is a conundrum that whilst tourism continues to be a potent economic force in the Caribbean and is projected to continue to be so, many operators are failing.This is a testament to the Sandals brand and its operational abilities. It has placed much stock in marketing and exceeding the visitor’s expectations – a mantra that has served it well since 1981.The test of timeThe test of time has really brought its rewards and St Lucia stands as a prime example.When Sandals acquired the Hyatt Regency over twenty years ago, the group met with a negative backlash that almost saw it being ignominiously sent away.It had to see its way through a political maelstrom and much resentment from many local business leaders who stood firm in their opposition to Sandals.After twenty years, Sandals has played a major role in transforming St. Lucia’s visitor profile, attracting more visitors from the United States and marketing it as a top destination – a jewel in the Caribbean’s crown.The current Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony can now allow himself a rueful smile, knowing that his fateful decision to stand firm behind Sandals and support its acquisition of the Hyatt Regency helped to foster growth of the country’s tourism product, providing much needed foreign exchange and helping to make it one of the best performing economies in the Caribbean over that twenty-year period.The endurance of Sandals and its inexorable expansion cannot be put down to fortuity.In St Lucia a number of projects over that period have got no further than ambitious renderings – dreams that failed to become a lasting reality.Also many hotel operators have had to sell their assets and face the ogre that is receivership, including the once reputable Smuggler’s Cove. It truly is a game called survival of the fittest; being able to stand tall with the big dogs and make them take notice.In 2013, over 20 years later, Dr Kenny Anthony who is once again the Prime Minister has to make a decision that will see Sandals once again enhance his country’s tourism product.Having repaid its faith in St Lucia , Sandals now is looking to add additional 200 rooms and introduce over-the-water suites akin to those found in such exotic locations such as Bali. Here, some 700 jobs will be created and this project will cost over US$100 million, a fillip for the economy.This is the next step in the evolution of Caribbean tourism and one that can be boldly taken by a far-sighted political leader.The author Richard Bach once said: ” Listen to what you know instead of what you fear.”More than twenty years later, Dr Kenny Anthony well knows what Sandals can deliver and how it has endured to become the leading Caribbean resort operator in the world.

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Sandals continues to expand while other operators falter