Vaz wins apology and settlement as Black River recovery lags and Manchester family mourns

Government Minister Daryl Vaz says a public apology and out-of-court settlement have cleared his name after People’s National Party General Secretary Dr. Dayton Campbell resolved a defamation lawsuit filed in 2023. The claim arose from remarks Campbell made at a political meeting in Clarendon. Campbell withdrew the comments, accepted they were false, and agreed to pay $1.5 million in legal costs. Vaz called the outcome vindication against what he described as a false political smear. Political commentator Jeremiah Barrett said the case should remind candidates to put facts above rhetoric, though he doubted one settlement alone would transform national political talk.

Nearly nine months after Hurricane Melissa, former Black River Chamber of Commerce president Kadian Myers Brown says commercial recovery in St. Elizabeth’s capital remains painfully slow, with many businesses still under rubble. She and other operators want urgent government reassurance, financial help and a clear short-term revival plan. Jamaica Chamber of Commerce president Emil Liber backed calls for faster support, citing a recent Black River business survey that found employment and income down 87 per cent. The JCC has been issuing grants and working with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association on joint private-sector funding, with more grants expected soon.

Along Collis Smith Drive in Trenchtown, residents and shopkeepers say months of unfinished road works have left dust, mud, uneven surfaces and stagnant sewage that hurt trade and health. St. Andrew South MP Mark Golding said sewer damage under the road forced extra contracting, and that China Harbour planned to mobilise a subcontractor the following week to fix the National Water Commission problem. Community advocate Dr. Henley Morgan said the project is meant eventually to cover the central gully and create a promenade.

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency reported a 32.4 per cent rise in bullying cases logged with the National Children’s Registry between January and March 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. CPFSA communications manager Kristen Lang urged children to tell a trusted adult or call 211, and said parents and schools must treat every report seriously.

Jamaica Public Service director of corporate communications Winona Callum said electricity rates have not gone up; higher summer bills mainly reflect heavier use, at about $54 per kilowatt-hour. She advised shorter air-conditioning runs and other conservation steps.

The JN Foundation and Lutheran World Relief donated more than US$415,000 in emergency supplies—including quilts, educational materials, baby and personal-care items—to the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development for distribution through Poor Relief. Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said the gift eases pressure as infirmary work nears 85 per cent completion.

In Manchester, landscaper Andrew Williams was found about 11 a.m. Thursday at his home in Trinity District near Porus with what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body. Relatives, including brother Gerald and sister Dorothy, described the father of three as kind and family-centred, and said they are arranging another relative’s funeral while mourning this loss.