Three shot dead over weekend

Monday, September 29, 2014 | 8:28 AM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Three men were shot dead in separate incidents in the eastern section of the island over the weekend, the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) has confirmed.

Dead are 45-year-old Patrick Shand of a Tower Street address in Kingston, 19-year-old Tevaughn Henderson of 11 Miles Bull Bay, St Thomas and 33-year-old Randy Thompson of Norman Avenue, Kingston.

The police are investigating these murders.

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Three shot dead over weekend

New fire truck for St Elizabeth following weekend fires

Local Government Minister, Noel Arscott, says plans are in place to assign another response unit to the Junction Fire Station in the southern parish of St.Elizabeth following the massive fires in the parish over the weekend.

Arscott made the announcement at a conference in Junction in the parish late Sunday.

It has not yet been determined whether the station will receive a new fire truck or an existing one.  

A massive fire in the drought stricken community of  Malvern on Saturday destroyed hundreds of  acres of  farm land and damaged property as well as farm supplies.            

On Sunday, other fires occurred including one near Munro College.

And the Local Government Minister said he will be holding talks with the Office of  Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to ascertain how it can assist in reducing fires in St. Elizabeth.

“They will come in and work with the community and prepare a proper plan on how were can prevent the recurrence of fires t hat cause so much hardship for  the people,” he said.

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New fire truck for St Elizabeth following weekend fires

Dream Weekend pumps $1 billion into Jamaica

Leighton Levy, STAR Writer

One billion dollars! That is what the Smirnoff Dream Weekend means to the economy of Negril and, by extension, the Jamaican economy.

Ten parties – Beach Rave, Twisted Spiritz, Bere Vibes, Yush, Daydreams, Xtreme Wet and Wild, Dream Miami Jouvert, Xclusive, Dream Live and Igloo – have been around as a block as they continue to grow, so too will the value they bring to Jamaica.

Kamal Bankay, one of the promoters involved with the growing franchise that began in 2009, revealed at the recent launch of this year’s ‘weekend’, that tickets have been purchased from as far away as Samoa and Europe, and as close as Mexico. This broadening appeal, he said, has made Dream Weekend arguably the best party in the Caribbean.

It has not gone unnoticed. “The event has served us well over the years. At the event, you get the best of Jamaica’s music, the selectors and our ability to put on great parties,” said Clyde Harrison, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), in a ringing endorsement of the 10-party marathon, set for August 1-7.

“We are proud to be a part of that. The number of visitors that this event brings to Jamaica is significant. The man said Samoa, he said Europe, he said all over the world. Now, that’s our business. We bring tourists to Jamaica and if this event brings more visitors to Jamaica, we will always endorse it.”

Jermaine Bibbons of the title sponsor explained why his company, and other are willing partners: “One billion dollars, 10 amazing parties … who wouldn’t want that every year? So Smirnoff is absolutely proud to be a part of these larger-than-life experiences.”

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Dream Weekend pumps $1 billion into Jamaica

Wildcard Weekend takes centre stage as the NFL Play-offs begin

The table is set and so is the schedule for the play-offs. It is the week after the final games of the regular season and all the debates and permutations from the various experts as to which teams would make the play-offs have been put to rest.

The Seahawks, Patriots, Panthers and Broncos all have a bye this weekend as they wait to see who their respective opponents will be at the conclusion of the Wildcard round. Tomorrow the Chiefs play the Colts and the Saints take on the Eagles. On Sunday, it’s the Chargers facing the Bengals and the 49ers against the Packers. The winners will go on to the Divisional play-offs. The losers of course get to clean out their lockers and go home. I like this format because of its brutal simplicity.Winning on the road is never easy and in the post season it becomes even more difficult. That being the case it would seem to make sense to place your bets on the home teams. But in the NFL a lot of stuff that goes down just doesn’t make any sense at all. In this Saturday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts we have two teams who enter the play-offs under different circumstances. The home team (Colts) won their last three games convincingly, outscoring their opponents 78-20. The Chiefs on the other hand, go into the post season having lost five of their last seven games. They rested the majority of their starters last week in their game against the Chargers which they lost 23-7. It will be interesting to see whether or not the Chiefs’ much vaunted defence will keep out Andrew Luck and his Colts. The ace up their sleeve is head coach Andy Reid and the game plan he has drawn up for this game. But even this may not be enough to beat the Colts at home.In the next game the New Orleans Saints take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly. Now we all know that the Saints are hard to beat at home, and they finished the regular season with an 8-0 home record. On the road is a different story as they are just 3-5. This weekend they are on the road and up against a hot Philadelphia team coached by Chip Kelly and led by Nick Foles, who is one hot quarterback. A stat worth noting is that the Eagles had a dismal home record not having won a home game at Lincoln Financial Field in 14 months. But all that changed with the Eagles winning four consecutive games to finish the regular season. So, the question arises: can the Saints win on the road at Philadelphia? We will know the answer to this late Saturday night.On Sunday afternoon, the San Diego Chargers visit the Cincinnati Bengals and this one could be tricky to call. The Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers is fiercely competitive and his team went 4-1 to close out the regular season. Their defence is vastly improved from one that gave up 25 points six times in their first 11 games, to one that held opponents to an average of only 18 points in their last five regular season games. On the other hand the Bengals are hard to beat at home in Paul Brown Stadium where they have not lost a game this season (8-0). It promises to be a hard fought matchup, Phillip Rivers against Andy Dalton. The outcome of this one may very well go against the premise of home field advantage.The last game of the weekend will see the San Francisco 49ers visiting the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in cold Green Bay. This is the only one of the four match-ups in which JustBet sports betting has the road team (the 49ers) favoured to win. The weather may well play a role in the outcome as the boys from sunny California may find it somewhat uncomfortable and hostile. The 49ers are hot right now, having won six in a row in the regular season under quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who apparently has come into his own by posting a quarterback rating of 108 which is good. But – and this is a good but to take into consideration – he is up against a guy named Aaron Rodgers, who is back from an injury that sidelined him for six weeks. Returning also is dynamic Packers’ receiver Randall Cobb to the offence. All this and the notion that home field is key in play-offs makes me wonder if it’s wise to bet against Green Bay.As expected a number of head coaches had their positions terminated which is par for the course in the NFL. It’s a tough league and owners want the franchise to succeed and the yardstick that measures success is the number of games won. But don’t feel sorry for these guys who lost their jobs. They get paid big bucks and most of them will find jobs with other teams. Take for example the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Rob Chudzinski, he was sent packing with a cheque for $10.5 million. That ought to ease the pain. The Detroit Lions let go Jim Schwartz after a pathetic showing by a seemingly rudderless team. The Houston Texans were one of the teams touted at the start of the season to go all the way. Instead, they ended up with just two wins. Head coach Gary Kubiak was let go in light of this poor record. Other coaches who got the axe were the Minnesota Vikings’ Leslie Frazier, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Greg Schiano and the Washington Redskins’ Mike Shanahan. Redskins QB Robert Griffin III (RGIII) must be a happy guy. It will be interesting to see for how long.The regular season has come to an end and it was most interesting for my colleagues and me in our picks against the JustBet point spread. Kudos and congratulations go out to Andre Hutchinson for a late regular season surge, which allowed him to surpass me and hang on to prevail as the overall champion. Incidentally we all finished up the regular season picks on a very strong note, yours truly posting a 12-3 mark in week 17, Lindo and Roper each posting 11-4 marks and the champion Hutchinson going 10-5. Remember that at the time of writing last week’s article, we did not yet have odds for the Bears vs Packers game due to the uncertainty of Aaron Rodgers’ playing status. So as a result we didn’t make a pick for that game.Yes folks, the play-offs are here and now things REALLY get interesting. It’s win or go home, and we can’t ask for more than that. Enjoy the games this weekend and remember to place your NFL bets with JustBet, Jamaica’s number one sports betting game. Also, remember to give us a listen on HITZ 92FM at 6:05 pm this and every Friday, for the NFL Gameday Forecast. Have a Happy New year and remember, “Just Win baby, Just Win”.To find a JustBet location near you, visit: www.supremeventures.com/justbetlocations. To find out more about JustBet, and how to bet on the NFL and other sports, visit www.supremeventures.com/justbet, www.facebook.com/justbet, www.twitter.com/justbet_ja , or call 1-888-429-5785 (toll-free).NFL WILDCARD PLAYOFF SCHEDULE& JUSTBET HANDICAPS(*JustBet Handicaps for each game in bracket, Under/Over for each game listed)Saturday, January 4IND COL_S v KC CHIEFS (+2.5), UNDER/OVER 46.5PHI EAGLES v NO SAINTS (+1.5), UNDER/OVER 54.5Sunday, January 5CIN BENGALS v SD CHARGERS (+7.5), UNDER/OVER 46.5GB PACKERS (+2.5 ) v SF 49ERS, UNDER/OVER 48.5EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREADAndre Hutchinson’sWildcard Play-off PicksCOL_S v CHIEFSEAGLES v SAINTSBENGALS v CHARGERSPACKERS v 49ERSLast week’s record: 10-5Regular Season record: 136-119***REGULAR SEASON PICKS CHAMPION ***Tony Scott’sWildcard Play-off Picks COL_S v CHIEFSEAGLES v SAINTSBENGALS v CHARGERSPACKERS v 49ERSLast week’s record: 12-3Regular Season record: 132-123Peter Lindo’sWildcard Play-off PicksCOL_S v CHIEFSEAGLES v SAINTSBENGALS v CHARGERSPACKERS v 49ERSLast week’s record: 11-4Regular Season record: 129-126Andrei Roper’sWildcard Play-off Picks COL_S v CHIEFSEAGLES v SAINTSBENGALS v CHARGERSPACKERS v 49ERSLast week’s record: 11-4Regular Season record: 120-135

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Wildcard Weekend takes centre stage as the NFL Play-offs begin

Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie says his government will seek to “escalate the war on crime” after gunmen over the weekend shot and killed four people during a drive-by shooting.

Prime Minister Christie in a statement following the incident on Friday night, said that he and his Cabinet colleagues were “deeply distressed by the horri?c events” and the recent incidents of violent crime in the country, generally. “We must all join in a collective effort to beat back and bury this terrible scourge upon our land once and for all,” he said, noting that following talks with Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Cabinet would be meeting later on Monday “to strengthen and escalate the war on crime so that peace and a sense of security can be restored to our streets, our communities, and homes in the shortest possible time. Nothing is more fundamental than this. “The Bahamian people should feel assured, therefore, that my colleagues and I are absolutely resolute in our collective determination to bring crime ?rmly under control,” he said, noting that he had intended to use the cabinet meeting to formalize the deal reached with the British owned telecommunications giant, Cable and Wireless.“However, I have determined that nothing should distract us at this particular moment in time from the urgent need to escalate the war on crime. Accordingly, this crime-?ghting imperative will be the singular focus of Cabinet,” Christie said, adding that Cable & Wireless has agreed that “we should postpone the formalization of the new deal until January”.He said following the Cabinet meeting, he would be making a further statement outlining the speci?c measures “that will be implemented to battle and defeat crime in our country”.Police were continuing their search for the gunmen responsible for the drive by shootings at Fox Hill.Police Commissioner Greenslade has assured citizens that law enforcement officials were working tirelessly to capture those responsible for the crime.“We have recovered the vehicle which we believe was on the scene and occupied by those bad persons who left death…we are asking the public at large…who will certainly receive information about this to please call us as soon as you can, help us to take these dangerous people from our communities so that they kill no one else,” he added.Meanwhile, police said that a number of people will appear in court on Monday on charges ranging from murder to possession of weapons.They also said that a 29 year-old man who staged an armed robbery at the home of the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis last month, will also be making a court appearance.

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Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie says his government will seek to “escalate the war on crime” after gunmen over the weekend shot and killed four people during a drive-by shooting.

Prime Minister Christie in a statement following the incident on Friday night, said that he and his Cabinet colleagues were “deeply distressed by the horri?c events” and the recent incidents of violent crime in the country, generally. “We must all join in a collective effort to beat back and bury this terrible scourge upon our land once and for all,” he said, noting that following talks with Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Cabinet would be meeting later on Monday “to strengthen and escalate the war on crime so that peace and a sense of security can be restored to our streets, our communities, and homes in the shortest possible time. Nothing is more fundamental than this. “The Bahamian people should feel assured, therefore, that my colleagues and I are absolutely resolute in our collective determination to bring crime ?rmly under control,” he said, noting that he had intended to use the cabinet meeting to formalize the deal reached with the British owned telecommunications giant, Cable and Wireless.“However, I have determined that nothing should distract us at this particular moment in time from the urgent need to escalate the war on crime. Accordingly, this crime-?ghting imperative will be the singular focus of Cabinet,” Christie said, adding that Cable & Wireless has agreed that “we should postpone the formalization of the new deal until January”.He said following the Cabinet meeting, he would be making a further statement outlining the speci?c measures “that will be implemented to battle and defeat crime in our country”.Police were continuing their search for the gunmen responsible for the drive by shootings at Fox Hill.Police Commissioner Greenslade has assured citizens that law enforcement officials were working tirelessly to capture those responsible for the crime.“We have recovered the vehicle which we believe was on the scene and occupied by those bad persons who left death…we are asking the public at large…who will certainly receive information about this to please call us as soon as you can, help us to take these dangerous people from our communities so that they kill no one else,” he added.Meanwhile, police said that a number of people will appear in court on Monday on charges ranging from murder to possession of weapons.They also said that a 29 year-old man who staged an armed robbery at the home of the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis last month, will also be making a court appearance.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

Kipling Weekend gets the vote

SPOTLIGHTING the 10-race card at Caymanas Park today falls at the hooves of Overnight Allowance horses in the absence of a sponsored race.

Presented as the ninth and penultimate race on the card, the Overnight Allowance dash has attracted an ebullient field of 14 runners going 1,100 metres that is scheduled to go to post at approximately 5:00 pm, with first post at 1:00 pm.With the majority of the horses bred in Jamaica today being sprinters, the 1,100-metre dash has been churning out some really fast times. The collection of runners looks once again poised for an exciting finish by the inclusion of a healthy dearth of speedy American-bred runners, who without batting an eyelid, will just enjoy the longer version of the short sprint.With a purse of $715,000 up for grabs it will not be a cake walk, but it should not surprise any were the Philip Feanny-conditioned dasher Kipling Weekend to take the major share of the purse. Jockey Percy Williams, who has been a regular visitor to the winners’ enclosure of late, gets the call.Ideally, the four-year-old chestnut filly would have preferred the trip to be a trifle longer, and with the field appearing to be quite manageable and her well-being not in doubt, could deliver the bacon on this occasion and compensate for her two earlier failures over the trip in her last seven runs.A year or so ago Sir Von, another American import, would have been an automatic choice in a race such as this, but he now seems to be facing his demons and may have to settle for a minor share. However, with the leading trainer Wayne DaCosta engaging the services of Shane Ellis, the gelded son of Even The Score, who is quicker than any of these on his day, may still turn up to fight but probably for a minor share.Trainer DaCosta has four entries all of whom are quite pacy. His New Kingston even at age seven still packs enough power to brush this type of field aside. A knotty customer who can either lead or run on late, the winner of eight races from 73 career starts has been declared with top weight of 57.0kg, but is expected to be in the fray with 53.0kg from a decent pull by the presence of the 4.0kg-claim of apprentice Romario Saunders.Feanny’s other entry Runjohny Run partnered by Richard Mairs has been showing the quality of dash that should heavily work in his favour after the starter lets them go for the event.While Kipling Weekend is drawn perfectly on the outside for the event, the speedy Lashing Force has no such luxury, being drawn on the inside, and although he is expected to offer worthwhile challenge for the major share, it may just take the sting out of his effort to get in a really serious punch. Rayan Wilson gets the call.Ones To WatchRace 1 Princess Popstar (Percy Williams)Race 2 Jovoun The Master (Renardo McNaughton)Race 3 Exclusive Prince (Shamaree Muir)Race 4 Mr Traditionalist (P Parchment)Race 5 Dior (Jevvanne Erwin)Race 6 Flying Miracle (Clive Lynch)Race 7 Asia’s Dream (Ian Spence)Race 8 Touring With Rhea (Richard Lunan)Race 9 Kipling Weekend (Percy Williams)Race 10 Amicable (Kuri Powell)Kipling Weekend romping home to victory under Richard Mairs on last at Caymanas Park and will be gunning for win number three for the season in today’s Overnight Allowance highlighter. (PHOTO: HURBUN WILLIAMS)

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Kipling Weekend gets the vote

LIME Skool Aid this weekend

Entertainment

Saturday, August 24, 2013

THE fourth staging of the annual back-to-school fair, LIME Skool Aid is set to unfold today and tomorrow at the Jamworld Entertainment Centre in Portmore, St Catherine.This year, event organisers, telecommunications firm LIME, say it will be doubling the fun for students in attendance of the annual ‘final hurrah’ fair with a host of entertainment and fun activities for the two-day event.At the end of each day of shopping for books and back-to-school supplies, phones and internet specials, the attention will turn to live entertainment featuring performances from acts like QQ, Demarco, and Ity and Fancy Cat.Entertainer QQ is among the artistes at LIME Skool Aid.

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LIME Skool Aid this weekend

Powerball jackpot at US$400m after no weekend winner

Latest News

Sunday, August 04, 2013 | 2:54 PM

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No one hit the Powerball jackpot this weekend, so the money will roll over and create a roughly US$400 million prize for Wednesday’s drawing.The midweek jackpot remains below the record $590.5 million jackpot won in May by an 84-year-old Florida woman. But as it stands, it would be the third-largest Powerball jackpot ever and the fourth-largest lottery prize on record.Saturday’s winning numbers were 21, 24, 36, 42 and 45; the Powerball was 15.The changes Powerball organisers made to the game last year are coming to roost in the billowing jackpots, with Wednesday’s pushing into record territory less than three months after Gloria C Mackenzie of Zephyrhills claimed the biggest Powerball prize ever.Powerball tickets doubled in price to US$2 in January 2012 as part of a plan to help jackpots grow bigger, faster. And when the jackpots reach astronomical levels, ticket sales take off, with jackpots following close behind.If Wednesday’s jackpot doesn’t top US$400 million, a single winner choosing the cash option would collect US$230.3 million before taxes.No matter how many people play the game, the odds of matching all six numbers remains 1 in 175.2 million.Half of the US$2 cost of a Powerball ticket goes toward the prizes, the rest to the state lottery organisation.Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean.Each state that participates in the game decides how to use the money. Some states earmark the money for a specific purpose, such as education, while others use it in their general funds.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Powerball jackpot at US$400m after no weekend winner