FlyJamaica Airlines, a new Jamaican airline, is set to launch as soon as next month. According to a report in the local news on March 21st, the new airline’s principals are Guyanese but the majority owners are Jamaicans. FlyJamaica will operate between Kingston, Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, New York’s JFK and Toronto. The announcement of this new airline comes days after REDjet, the Caribbean’s first budget airline, signaled that it...

REDjet, the Caribbean’s first budget airline, ended all flights last Friday, March 17th. The company announced that it would offer refunds to its passengers. It cited budget problems as the reason for shutting down. Ian Burns, REDjet’s CEO, said he hoped the airline would be able to receive subsidies from Caribbean governments and resume service. The budget airline, which began operating in May, was based in Barbados. It offer flights...

Prince Henry of Wales, popularly known as Prince Harry, arrived in Jamaica yesterday for a four-day visit, part of the international celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth II, his grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned queen on June 2, 1953. She is the queen regnant of Jamaica and several other Commonwealth countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and Malta. This year is also significant...

Last night, I heard the shocking news: Whitney Houston had died. I sat in total disbelief, glued to the television set, watching as the news scrolled across the ticker. Even after I saw the word was, as in Whitney Houston was….it didn’t feel real. No, Whitney Houston can’t be dead. But she was. In the footage that played over and over, she looked vibrant, alive. Nothing in these images predicted this...

Reggae icon, Bob Marley would have been 67 years old today. It’s interesting to see how many people Bob touched with the message of his music. When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I happened upon a link to an Earth Festival that was being put on by the Knysna Rasta Village. I called the village right away and made arrangements to visit. I looked forward to the tour and to...

I used to feel a little envious when my aunt would talk about the island hopping she and her friends did when they were at the University of the West Indies. Back then, the best way to travel among the islands was by boat. The trip she talks about often took place the year she graduated. She and some of her class mates decided to accompany those from different islands...

Yesterday, December 29th, Jamaicans went to the polls to elect a new prime minister. Former PM and Leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson-Miller and the People’s National Party won handily – 41 seats to 22. Only time will tell if the PNP will be any different than the outgoing Jamaica Labor Party (JLP). No better herring, no better barrel, is the Jamaican expression that comes to mind. There have been allegations...

Scores of people visit New York City everyday. Last Friday, one British couple, Craig and Lucy Johnson, got the surprise of their lives when they found out that the city had named them its 50 millionth visitor. According to the New York Times, the city’s tourism officials selected the couple because the U.K. is the largest source of visitors to New York and because of the Johnsons’ connection to the city...

Cape Verdian singer, Cesária Évora, died on Saturday, December 17th in Baptista de Sousa Hospital in Mindelo, on her native island of Sao Vicente. She was 70 years old. Évora was featured on Soulful Sundays in April. Take a listen to Petit Pays.

A few months ago, this Sears Roebuck Company building in Hackensack, NJ caught my eye. It looked like it would have done way back when. I was curious to know what year it was built and how it had missed being demolished for another more modern structure. I found the following reference to the building in the New York Times of November 17, 1931. “Sears, Roebuck & Co. buy Hackensack...