August, 2006
Our Top Story, from the JAMAICA OBSERVER- 8/20/06
Joseph Hill, the leader and lead vocalist of CULTURE, suddenly took ill
and passed away in Berlin, Germany yesterday, while in the middle of a
European tour. He was 57 years old.
Hill began his career at the legendary Studio One in 1972 as a percus-
sionist with the Soul Defenders. Along with his cousin Albert Walker and
Kenneth Dayes, the original CULTURE line-up was formed in 1976. Dayes
was later replaced by Telford Nelson. With almost 25 albums to his credit,
Hill was the voice behind the epochal hit "Two Sevens Clash" as well as
other roots staples- "Natty Never Get Weary", "Stop the Fussing and
Fighting", "Jah See Them A Come" and "Jah Alone"- to name but a few.
Hill enjoyed a lengthy career in Reggae and will be greatly missed by fans
and peers alike.
Leroy Sibbles of the Heptones stated: "Joseph Hill was THE culture of
the music business. It's a great loss to the music." Bongo Herman
attested: "Mi ah goh miss him. He is a great man whose steps is ordered
by God."
Reports are that the group plans to finish the tour with Hill's son
Kenyatta standing in on lead vocals as a tribute to his father.
In Other News:
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD (EXPRESS- 8/11/06)- Severe shortages and
inflated food prices are being anticipated in the months ahead. "When we
continue to depend on the importation of food, we must pay the price
every time oil prices increase", said Wendy Lee Yuen of the Association
of Professional Agricultural Scientists of Trinidad & Tobago. "We have
not done anything significant to produce more." Miss Yuen was speaking
at a farmers' interactive forum here.
Norris Deonarine of the National Foodcrop Farmer Association said
dependence on importation had discouraged the farming community and
decreased production levels. He noted the price of cabbage, tomatoes,
cauliflower and spinich had increased by $2 per pound.
Terrence Bedoe of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea said fewer fish were
being caught and the prices would continue to increase, as the govern-
ment was allocating more of the waters to oil companies. He said the fish
beds were being destroyed by this activity and fishermen were being
forced to go further into the sea to bring home a catch.
Workers have been asked not to demand higher wages as it would spiral
the inflation. However, without increased wages, there is no way most
people can afford the higher food prices.
ST. JOHN'S, ANTIGUA (BBC/CARIBBEAN-7/13/06)- A top official from
Antigua's financial services watchdog has accused the Bush administra-
tion of being hypocritical in seeking to put in place a partial ban on
internet gambling. Kaye McDonald said a bill passed in the U.S. legisla-
ture that seeks to stop banks and credit card companies from making
payments to gambling websites "is diametrically opposed" to a WTO
ruling against American restrictions on internet gaming.
Antigua, which has a thriving internet licensing and gaming industry,
would suffer an immense blow if the bill becomes law. The island nation
has already lost in excess of $80m in revenues since the U.S. began
tightening its rules several years ago.
McDonald said the U.S. has "a pervasive industry of land-based
gambling" and not all forms of internet gambling are being banned under
the bill which amounts to a double standard. She said tighter regulation,
instead of an outright ban is a better way of dealing with gambling
addiction.
ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS-8/2/06)- A rare
sight in the Virgin Islands- a seal- stunned and amazed onlookers at
Magens Bay Beach here for more than an hour before slipping back out
to open water.
Coral World's Peter Noah said it was likely a gray or juvenile harbor seal.
Neither is native to the area's warm waters. Estimated to be about 4 feet
long, the seal made at least 2 approaches to the beach and swam in waters
as shallow as 2 feet. One species it almost certainly could not be is the
Caribbean monk seal- not seen since 1952 and considered extinct.
Noah, who is VP of operations at Coral World said he worries for the
animal. "[It] doesn't do well in these waters without its normal food
source."
Gray seals and harbor seals live in cooler waters and rarely venture
further south than New Jersey. They feed on cold water crustaceans,
squid, fish and mollusks.
ST. THOMAS, USVI (VI DAILY NEWS-8/2/06)- Gov. Charles Turnbull
met with newly-appointed US Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne
to discuss a possible land swap on St. John to eventually build a con-
solidated school. The Dept. of Education currently operates Julius
Sprauve School(K-9) in Cruz Bay and Guy Benjamin Elementary School
(K-5) in Coral Bay on St. John.
The new school site would serve Grades K-12 and would be made avail-
able through a land exchange between the National Park Service, which
owns the majority of land on St. John and the VI government. The pro-
posed exchange would have the government trading to NPS several St.
John cays, which the park would then protect from future development.
The exchange also would provide space for a vocational complex and
sattelite classrooms for the University of the Virgin Islands.
ROSEAU, DOMINICA (BBC/CARIBBEAN-7/14/06)- Dominicans are
among the happiest people in the world according to a study compiled by
a British think tank. 178 countries took part in the survey by the UK-
based New Economic Foundation for its Happy Planet Index.
It measured happiness in terms of a country's natural resources, life ex-
pectancy and consumption levels rather than national and economic
measurements. Dominica is 4th in the rankings, the highest of all the
Caribbean countries. Cuba(!) and St. Vincent & The Grenadines also
made it into the top 10.
According to the foundation, the survey addresses the relative success
or failure of countries giving their citizens a good life while respecting
environmental resources. The Happy Planet Index describes itself as an
innovative new measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which
human well-being is delivered around the world.
The U.S. ranked 150th. The U.K. ranked 108th.
ST. THOMAS, USVI (VI DAILY NEWS-8/3/06)- Bands of rain swirling
around Tropical Storm Chris drenched the Virgin Islands, but the center
of the storm and the winds associated with it passed about 95 miles to the
north of St. Thomas.
Bill Young, director of emergency services for the Red Cross said, "We
are taking advantage of the adrenaline level people have gotten. We'll
need it to gear up for the rest of the season."
From the editorial desk:
Please people- let's not let our guard down! Although this hurricane
season is far from last year's record breaker (Praise Jah for that!), this is
actually a fairly typical season. We are just entering the peak period!
And with Debbie building out in the Atlantic and a depression forming
to the east of Barbados, we must stay alert! To view the latest weather
maps, including our new Tropical Atlantic map (praises to NOAA),
click on the "Virgin Islands Weather" icon on our homepage.
August, 2006