Rockfort drink billboard removed within a day; Watson sought in Melissa Sam Nath probe; McKenzie and Vaz clash on hurricane housing; taxi operator jailed; veteran track technician McDonald dies

The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation said last week that municipal staff had cleared a prominent roadside panel in Rockfort, eastern Kingston, less than a full day after a directive was issued, after the graphic drew sustained community complaints. The notice promoted Rude Boy Original; the artwork showed a bottle framed by upright legs clad in black fishnets and tall boots, a layout residents widely condemned as obscene.

Separately, investigators regard Dane Watson as a person of interest as they probe the alleged murder of Melissa Sam Nath, aged 35, who holds United States nationality and Jamaican birth ties. Detectives say she landed in Montego Bay last month to mark her birthday with Watson and note an internal working theory that the two wed in December 2025; members of her family have publicly rejected that marriage account.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie and Dwayne Vaz, who represents central Westmoreland, remain at odds over resettlement after Hurricane Melissa. McKenzie asserts the state emptied school halls used as shelters by his ministry's 8 May cutoff, whereas Vaz insists displaced families still lack either lasting homes or tolerable stopgap rooms.

Hubert Fletcher, a 65-year-old taxi proprietor from Central Village in St Catherine, learned on Friday that a court had sentenced him to more than 24 years in prison for abducting and raping a nineteen-year-old student.

The domestic athletics community is mourning Hugh Oneil McDonald, a veteran technical officer of J3's, who died Monday after years supporting island meets, among them the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships.

At midday, one United States dollar was selling for J$158.65, one pound sterling for J$218.35, and one Canadian dollar for J$117.76. Tuesday is expected to be mainly fair.