Randy Ebanks (second right, front) shakes the hand of Douglas Orane, retired business executive, who, along with Food For The Poor, funded the construction of a new house for Ebanks recently. Other persons who helped to build the house are also captured in the photo.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Food For The Poor Jamaica, in partnership with Douglas Orane, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GraceKennedy Group, will be constructing a two-bedroom house for 64-year-old Castie Anderson, who has been sleeping on the sidewalk of the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) for more than 20 years.

During a visit to KPH by a team from Food For The Poor Jamaica, a security officer and an elderly woman informed them that Castie had been sleeping on cardboard boxes for approximately 20 years and washed her clothing on North Street in downtown Kingston.

According to an advisory from Food For the Poor, Castie said she was living in the Stony Hill area with family members and left because she felt they were taking advantage of her. She gave birth to four children, three of whom were taken by their father.

The fourth child was placed in a foster home after her father died when she was four years old. Castie was unable to prove to the state that she could care for the child, the advisory added.

Source: http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/64-y-o-woman-who-slept-on-KPH-sidewalk-for-20-years-to-get-house#disqus_thread

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Castries, 7 March 2017

#CPL17
Hero CPL’s St. Lucia team announces its new brand identity

The Hero Caribbean Premier League’s St. Lucia Zouks has launched a new visual and brand identity known as St. Lucia Stars with a logo that is inspired from the home country of the team, St. Lucia.

The new logo and the identity is meant to give the team, St. Lucia Stars, a new bold and vibrant identity. The decision comes from the franchise owners and management who decided to rebrand the name, keeping in mind the line-up of the team’s superstars.

The Chairman of the franchise, Jay Pandya, who leads this change said, “We wanted the identity to represent St. Lucia and anyone who supports the team associates with the traits of being St. Lucian. When we were making the decision to bring this change and we were looking for inspiration, we just had to look within and bring out the spirit of St. Lucia. They are stars in every might and proud to be Born Lucians.” He feels positive and looks forward to this year’s CPL.

The design of the logo stems from the home country of the team. Three core elements that form the logo are The World Heritage Pitons, the colour of the flag and the cheer – Born Lucian. The Pitons signify the height this team can achieve and the impact it can have on the people of Saint Lucia. The colours of the flag are splashed on the logo which everyone around the globe associates with St. Lucia.

St. Lucians are warm, welcoming and are deeply connected to their roots which is what makes them ideal global citizens of this world. They take pride in what they do and make sure they are the best while playing the sport in the right spirit. They also enjoy these moments to the fullest just like every proud St. Lucian does. The cheer – “Born Lucian” – captures this and the team represents these traits making them one of the most likeable teams in the Hero Caribbean Premier League.

The captain of the team, Daren Sammy, is excited about this new identity. He said, “We definitely want to live up to what the logo represents and play like stars as we look to win the CPL this season. Hopefully, this change will bring in good luck for us. To be “Born Lucian” means we take pride in what we do and we do it wholeheartedly. And we want this to resonate with our fans and make them feel proud.”

-ENDS-

For further information:

Anuradha Maiya (Anu)

Media Relations Manager

anu@stluciastars.com

OR

Peter Breen
Head of PR and Communications
Caribbean Premier League
Mobile: +1-758-7287500 (Caribbean)
Mobile: +353-85-7205752 (Ireland)
Skype: pbreen67

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, 6 March 2017

Click HERE to access the audio interview with Ron Parikh ahead of the Player Draft on Friday

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2017 Player Draft takes place this Friday and the Jamaica Tallawahs will be plotting to defend the title they won in dramatic fashion in 2016. Tallawahs owner Mr. Ron Parikh reflected on his memories of the 2016 campaign and looks forward to the journey of recapturing the Hero CPL 2017 title.

“This year’s squad is going to be younger, leaner and hungrier than last year as the road back to the championship is going to be tougher. Our boys are ready to take on the challenge to show people that we are still the champions and hopeful at the end of the Hero CPL 2017, we will still be the champions”.

Click HERE for more.

ABOUT THE HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE:

The HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. Over 149 million fans watched the 2016 season, combining broadcast and digital viewership, to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket. Jamaica Tallawahs are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Lucia Zouks, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders.

-END-

For further information please contact:

Peter Breen
Head of PR and Communications
Caribbean Premier League
Mobile: +353-85-7205752
Skype: pbreen67

Wray and Nephew’s popular Contender series, will start on Wednesday, with the first of three road shows, which the promoters have stated will be an exciting build-up to the start of the regular series which kicks off on Wednesday, April 5 at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Old Hope Road in Kingston.

The first of the road shows will see veteran boxer Anthony Osbourne, who has appeared in the Contender series on a couple of occasions, going up against Patrick Miller, who himself is a Contender “graduate”, at Colonel’S Cove in Morant Bay. The second show will take place at Island Village in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Friday, March 10, featuring Kevin ‘Bus Boy’ Hylton and Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford, and the third show on Friday March 17, at Breds Sport Park in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, will have a showdown between hometown boxer Jermaine Vassell and popular Miguel ‘Iron Dog’ Raye.

HIGH ENERGY

Commenting on the road shows to The Gleaner, Wray and Nephew’s Marketing Manager Pietro Gramegna said that he was “enthusiastic and excited about the new series which we are calling ‘the Best of the Best’, as several former champions will be back this year. We are starting with this high-energy series of road shows because we want our loyal and enthusiastic rural supporters to see some live action, and I am sure that they will enjoy themselves”.

Boxing Board President Stephen “Bomber” Jones has praised the idea of taking the show on the road, and said that it showed that sponsors Wray and Nephew fully supported the Board’s idea of having live boxing shows outside of Kingston. “Taking the experience of the live boxing matches outside of Kingston is something that we suggested to the sponsors and we are very happy that they have made a start this year. We are sure that our fans outside of Kingston will support the move wholeheartedly.”

Mark Kenny, who promotes the series, told The Gleaner that he wanted this year’s competition to be the best ever and was optimistic that the road shows would be a popular innovation. He said that former champions such as Devon Moncrieffe and Sakima Mullings are expected to participate and that the Jamaicans will this year be going up against boxers from Canada. “The competition this year should be very exciting”, he added.

There will be delayed broadcasts of the three road shows on Television Jamaica and the weekly shows will be broadcast live each Wednesday night.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170306/contender-series-hits-road-wednesday

Fish is a rich source of nutrients needed for young bodies and play an important role in helping to prevent many diseases later in life. As part of ongoing efforts to encourage Jamaicans to include more fish in their diet, Rainforest Seafoods has continued providing more of the healthy protein to Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students at the Iris Gelly Primary School in Kingston.

Fish helps build strong, healthy muscles and bones, and helps repair scrapes and scratches that are part of growing up.

Through this effort, Rainforest Seafoods is ensuring that all the students at the school registered for the GSAT examinations in March will have the proper nutrition they need.

“While growing up we were told that fish is good for the brain. No doubt children need healthy food and protein is an essential part of this process. These students will be sitting their GSAT examinations soon and we want to ensure that they are healthy before and during the process,” said Roger Lyn, marketing manager at Rainforest Seafoods.

Corporate chef, Evrol Ebanks and his team worked with the school’s canteen staff to prepare child-friendly meals including pineapple fish with coconut and vegetable rice. “We think healthy and child-friendly when it comes to preparing meals for children. Instead of ketchup we use fruit punch, and with the fish we used a light coating of seasoned flour to add a little bit of crunch to the fish,” Ebanks said.

Overwhelming Experience

Veronica Gaynor, principal at Iris Gelly Primary, said she was elated that Rainforest Seafoods has once again chosen her GSAT students for this initiative. “The school is in an environment where persons cannot really afford some of the food that the children need for good nutrition. I don’t know how to say thanks to Rainforest for all that they have been doing at the school. It has been an overwhelming experience for the students,” Gaynor said.

More than 180 GSAT students at the institution will benefit from the efforts of Rainforest Seafoods.

Twelve-year-old Alliah McLeod who said she wants to attend Immaculate Conception High School said she is working hard to make this dream a reality. “I am thankful and grateful for what Rainforest Seafoods is doing for us. Many of our parents can’t afford the food we need and we are grateful to them for helping us,” McLeod said.

Lyn explained that the company is further committed to assisting the school by giving the kitchen a facelift so that the staff can function more effectively and efficiently.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170303/rainforest-seafoods-promotes-healthy-lifestyle-iris-gelly

Western Bureau: While other acts might have struggled to connect with the audience of adults and children, it was all smooth sailing for veteran crooner Cocoa Tea at Wednesday night’s Rainforest Seafood Festival in Montego Bay, St James.

While new female voice Shenseea, the action-packed Tifa, Ding Dong, Grampa Entertain, promising Jahmiel, gospel singer Kevin Downswell, Romain Virgo (who brought on Busy Signal as a surprise guest and also got some ‘strength’ from Cocoa Tea) and Bounty Killer all had their moments, Cocoa Tea was dazzling.

Sounding as crisp as a new compact disc, the singer churned out hits as, in addition to his catalogue’s gems, he also dipped generously into those of reggae greats such as Bob Marley, Sanchez and Gregory Isaacs.

The audience responded with glee to Rastaman Chant, Rikers Island, Love Me Truly, Good Life, Holy Mount Zion, Bob Marley’s Waiting in Vain, Gregory Isaac’s Number One and Tune In; plus Sanchez’s version of Here I Am.

When Cocoa Tea ended his assigned 30 minutes, the happy audience demanded an encore, and he responded with Sonia and 18 and Over.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20170303/cocoa-tea-sweetens-seafood-fest

Ding Dong and his Ravers Clavers dancers in performance at Rainforest Seafoods.

At Wednesday’s Rainforest Seafood Festival in the Catherine Hall Centre in Montego Bay, St James, it was a ‘wifie’ and ‘matie’ delight as Tifa, with her trademark confidence, not only sang her hot songs, but also bubbled and gyrated seductively while making it clear that, “no gal no hotter dan me”.

Ding Dong and the Ravers Clavers brought a lot of excitement to centre stage, and in addition to unleashing compelling dance moves, spoke about some of the ills plaguing the society, including the killing of children. A girl who is probably no more than five years old, joined them on stage and showed amazing raw talent.

Jamiel was spot on in delivering from his growing catalogue, especially with his single, True Colours. He also encouraged good family values, urging fathers to be there for their children, especially sons.

Bounty Killer and Romain Virgo did well, but probably lacked real potency. Romain was fairly decent, especially on Rain is Falling, Love Doctor and Buju’s Wanna Be Loved. The performance got a boost from Busy Signal’s Jamaica Love and Cocoa Tea’s delivery of Here I Am.

With the children around, Bounty Killer, who closed the show, decided against being cross, finding creative ways of addressing recommendations of banning Vybez Kartel’s music, bleaching and deviant sexual practices. He was good on songs like Look, Sufferer and ever-popular Another Level.

Shenseea and Grampa Entertain came close to the edge lyrically, but did not go overboard and were both well received. The affable Shenseea had the younger fans enthralled, especially when in demonstrating the dance to Jiggle Jingle. Grampa Entertain could do no wrong, getting the fans really moving with Frowzy Taxi Man.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20170303/entertainment-social-commentary-catherine-hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, 1 March 2017

Tom Moody hails “growing international appeal” of the biggest party in sport

Australian contingency reaches 28; 17 New Zealanders gunning for selection

England’s T20 typhoon Tymal Mills aiming to make Hero CPL debut

Pakistan list swells to 46 as Afghanistan contingent eye tournament bows

A record number of local and international stars have been officially registered for the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Player Draft which takes place on Friday, 10 March in Barbados.

In all, 258 players from across the Caribbean and most of the leading cricketing nations are in the frame to secure a coveted place in the tournament, which is this year scheduled to take place between 1 August and 9 September, with fixtures and dates to be announced in due course.

Commenting on this year’s list of applicants both in the West Indies and across the world, Director of International Cricket for CPL, Tom Moody said: “T20 is capturing the world of cricket by storm, and with the huge numbers of talented players from across the cricketing world eager to sign up to the biggest party in sport, I’ve no doubt that the 2017 season will be our best yet.

“In attracting the cream of international talent from a healthy blend of established and fast-developing nations, it extends the growing international appeal of the sport and of the Hero CPL itself, and I have no doubt that we are going to see a hugely contested Player Draft in Barbados on March 10^th.”

There’s a strong list of West Indies talent who were both drafted and undrafted in 2016, including former Antigua Hawksbills and St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots star all-rounder Marlon Samuels who was the man of the match for the West Indies in their ICC World T20 final victory over England last year.

There will be 28 players from Australia in the Draft, an increase of six from the 2016 campaign, including a blend of experience in Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus and Brad Hogg allied to a crop of up-and-coming talent which includes leg-spinner Adam Zampa who was a star for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2016 season. A further 17 New Zealanders, including the likes of Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott and Jimmy Neesham, are also in the mix.

England have four players and included is T20 specialist fast bowler Tymal Mills, who made his T20 international debut for England against Sri Lanka last summer, and is an eye-catching addition amongst the contenders who will be aiming to secure a place in the Hero CPL for the first time. Ireland will have three representatives in the Draft.

Pakistan will have the highest representation in the Draft after increasing last year’s tally from 38 players to 46. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s rise in the shortest format of the game sees Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi named in a five-strong contingent who will also be hoping to make their tournament bows.

With the high-profile transfers of Chris Gayle (Jamaica Tallawahs to St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots) and Dwayne Smith (Guyana Amazon Warriors to Barbados Tridents) already confirmed, the list does not include those players who have been retained by their franchises. They, like the marquee players, will be announced at the Player Draft on March 10^th.

Players Registered for 2017 Hero CPL Draft (253):

AFGHANISTAN (5): Rashid Khan, Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai, Najibullah Zadran

AUSTRALIA (28): Sean Abbott, Fawad Ahmed, Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Doug Bollinger, Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Ureshen Chinia, Tom Cooper, Ben Cutting, Ben Dunk, Cameron Gannon, Chris Green, Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, Ben Laughlin, Jake Lehmann, Nic Maddinson, Ben McDermott, Shaun Marsh, Ben Rohrer, Alex Ross, D’Arcy Short, Mark Steketee, Jake Weatherald, Adam Zampa

BANGLADESH (4): Tuskin Ahmed, Anamul Haque, Tamim Iqbal (St. Lucia Zouks), Mahmudullah Riad

CANADA (2): Rizwan Cheema, Ruvindu Gunasekera

ENGLAND (4): Recordo Gordon, Tymal Mills, Monty Panesar, Ashar Zaidi

IRELAND (3): George Dockrell (T&T Red Steel), Kevin O’Brien (T&T Red Steel), Niall O’Brien

NEW ZEALAND (17): Corey Anderson, Hamish Bennett, Tom Bruce, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Anton Devcich (Trinbago Knight Riders), Grant Elliott (St. Lucia Zouks), Lachlan Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Narun Nethula, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Hamish Rutherford, Jesse Ryder, Ish Sodhi, Anurag Verma, Ben Wheeler

OMAN (1): Sufyan Mehmood

PAKISTAN (46): Ehsan Adil, Tanwir Afzal, Iftikhar Ahmad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Adnan Akmal, Kamran Akmal (T&T Red Steel), Umar Akmal (Trinbago Knight Riders), Fawad Alam, Anwar Ali, Hassan Ali, Rahat Ali, Umar Amin, Yasir Arafat, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Zulfiqar Babar, Bilawal Bhatti, Salman Butt, Asghar Durrani, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Mir Hamza, Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Irfan, Imran Khalid, Imran Khan, Jr., Junaid Khan, Shadab Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Sohail Khan, Ahsan Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Ghulam Mudassar, Mohammed Nawaz, Sikandar Raza, Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Yasir Shah, Ahmad Shahzad (Jamaica Tallawahs & Barbados Tridents), Mohammad Shahzad, Hussain Talat, Misbah-ul-Haq, Amir Yamin

SOUTH AFRICA (16): Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, Dillon du Preez, Rob Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, Eddie Leie, George Linde, Aiden Markram, Justin Ontong, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander (Jamaica Tallawahs), Dwaine Pretorius, Jon Jon Smuts (St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Grant Thomson, Shadley van Schalkwyk

SRI LANKA (19): Dushmantha Chameera, Niroshan Dickwella, Anuk Fernando, Danushka Gunathilaka, Lahiru Kamara, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Farveez Maharoof, Jeevan Mendis (Barbados Tridents), Kausal Mendis, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ramith Rambukwelle, Gihan Rupasinghe, Sachithra Senanayake, Dusan Shanaka, Kaushal Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Jeffrey Vandersay

USA (1): Zishawn Querishi

WEST INDIES – drafted in 2016 (26): Christopher Barnwell (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Sulieman Benn (Trinbago Knight Riders), Devendra Bishoo (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Nkrumah Bonner (Jamaica Tallawahs), Anthony Bramble (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Yannic Cariah (Trinbago Knight Riders), Derone Davis (T&T Red Steel & St. Lucia Zouks), Shannon Gabriel (St. Lucia Zouks), Kyle Hope (Barbados Tridents), Delorn Johnson (St. Lucia Zouks), Alzarri Joseph (St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Jeremiah Louis, Kyle Mayers (St. Lucia Zouks), Andre McCarthy (Jamaica Tallawahs), Ashley Nurse (Barbados Tridents), Orlando Peters (Antigua Hawksbills, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots & Guyana Amazon Warriors), Anderson Phillip (Trinbago Knight Riders), Gidron Pope (St. Lucia Zouks), Christopher Powell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Kristopher Ramsarran (St. Lucia Zouks), Krishmar Santokie (Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs & St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Lendl Simmons (Guyana Amazon Warriors & St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Navin Stewart (Guyana Amazon Warriors & Barbados Tridents), Steven Taylor (Barbados Tridents), Chadwick Walton (Jamaica Tallawahs), Paul Wintz (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

WEST INDIES – undrafted in 2016 (81): Nicholas Alexis, Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris (St. Lucia Zouks), Justin Athanaze (Antigua Hawksbills), Jonathan Augustus, Robin Bacchus, Tino Best (St. Lucia Zouks), Ansil Bhagan, Jermaine Blackwood (Jamaica Tallawahs), Travis Blyden, Justin Brathwaite, Gavan Brown, Odean Brown (Jamaica Tallawahs), John Campbell, Jon-Ross Campbell, Kellon Carmichael, Keacy Carty, Stephan Casey, Rajendra Chandrika, Derwin Christian, Rahkeem Cornwall (Antigua Hawksbills), Keron Cottoy (St. Lucia Zouks), Dane Currency, Marvin Darlington, Narsingh Deonarine (Jamaica Tallawahs), Akeem Dewar, Mark Deyal, Javelle Glen, Jyd Goolie, Nicholson Gordon, Derval Green, Trevon Griffith (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Jahmar Hamilton, Keon Harding, Jermain Harrison, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Alcindo Holder, Danza Hyatt, Damian Jacobs, Ricky Jaipaul, Amir Jangoo, Ray Jordan (St. Lucia Zouks), Keon Joseph, Kavesh Kantasingh, Richard Kelly, Brandon King, Christopher Lamont, Yannick Leonard, Reynard Leveridge, Kennar Lewis, Xavier Marshall, Marquino Mindley, Vikash Mohan, Gudakesh Motie, Raj Nannan, Ewart Nicholson, Ryan Nurse, Kjorn Ottley, Keemo Paul, Amit Persaud, Adelvin Phillip, Omar Phillips, Khary Pierre, Roshan Primus, Isaiah Rajah, Marlon Richards, Kemar Roach, Peat Salmon, Marlon Samuels (Antigua Hawksbills & St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots), Liam Sebastian (St. Lucia Zouks), Damani Sewell, Romario Shepherd, Gajanand Singh, Odean Smith, Kevin Stoute, Jacques Taylor, Gavin Tonge (Antigua Hawksbills), Ryan Wiggins, Tonito Willett, Gavin Williams, Oraine Williams

ZIMBABWE (4): Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Malcolm Waller

ABOUT THE HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE:
The HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. Over 149 million fans watched the 2016 season, combining broadcast and digital viewership, to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket. Jamaica Tallawahs are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Lucia Zouks, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders.

-END-

For further information please contact:

Peter Breen
Head of PR and Communications
Caribbean Premier League
Mobile: +353-85-7205752
Skype: pbreen67

Patrons were out in their numbers yesterday at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay for the fourth staging of the Rainforest Seafood Festival.

Organisers are hoping to raise more than $10 million from this year’s staging for donation to the We Care Foundation, which provides financial support to the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

In addition to the rich entertainment package, patrons were treated to an array of seafood by more than 20 vendors from across the island, including Little Ochi Seafood, Gloria’s, and Sharkies, as well as lionfish dishes courtesy of the Montego Bay Marine Park and the Fish Pot Truck.

Below are highlights from the event.

Errol Whyte from Sweet Spice preparing escoveitched fish.

Patrons Dionna Lindo (left) and Tamieka Lindo having a seafood meal at the festival yesterday. (Photos:Aceion Cunningham)

Sacha Gaye Johnson enjoying Rainforest Seafood saltfish fritter.

Little Ochi was a big hit with patrons at the festival.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/westernnews/Rainforest-Seafood-Festival-four_91127