Good morning from Kingston, where the road march is already louder than the news.
IT’S ROAD MARCH SUNDAY
Jamaica Carnival hits its peak today — Road March Sunday, April 12 — and Kingston belongs to the masqueraders. Bacchanal Jamaica, Xodus, and a few thousand people in very little sequin are making their way through the streets. The soca is up. The sun is out. The coolers are stocked. For one Sunday in April, the city forgets itself and dances. We endorse this fully.
NEGRIL HAS NO WORKING AMBULANCE. A TOURIST DIED.
The resort town of Negril has been without a functioning ambulance for several months. A tourist died during this period. The authorities have now announced that a repaired ambulance is on its way. It is good that the ambulance is coming. It would have been better if it had never left. Negril handles thousands of foreign visitors every week. The idea that a medical emergency in one of Jamaica’s premier resort towns would require waiting on a broken vehicle to be fixed should alarm more people than it apparently has.
JAMAICAN REFEREE GOING TO THE FIFA WORLD CUP
Oshane Nation, Jamaica’s top football referee, has been named by FIFA to officiate at this year’s Men’s World Cup as part of the record-breaking “FIFA Team One.” He joins Trinidad and Tobago’s Caleb Wales in Caribbean representation at the tournament. Nation says he was not surprised by his selection. Yard Report is slightly surprised, but very pleased. This is the kind of excellence that doesn’t make enough front pages.
THE BUDGET ASSUMED OIL AT US$60. IT’S AT US$115.
Jamaica’s 2026/27 budget was built on an oil price assumption of approximately US$60 per barrel. Oil is currently trading at US$115. The country was already absorbing the impact of Hurricane Melissa six months ago. Columnists are using words like “near-catastrophic.” Finance Minister Fayval Williams has not yet held a press conference about the gap, but the mathematics are doing their own press conference whether she likes it or not. Caribbean Airlines already slapped a fuel surcharge on all tickets this week.
SCHOOL HAIR POLICY DEBATE HEATS UP
The Gleaner is reporting a growing movement in Jamaican schools to challenge grooming policies that tightly regulate how boys — particularly boys of African descent — wear their hair. Girls have gained more flexibility over the years; boys remain tightly regulated. Parents, students, and some educators are pushing back. The Ministry of Education has not issued a formal position. The principals have plenty of positions, many of them unwritten.
MANCHESTER MURDER SPIKE: DOMESTIC AND GANG
Domestic disputes and gang conflicts are driving a surge in murders in Manchester. Three people are in police custody following a chopping death in Cobbla district. The violence in Manchester has been trending in the wrong direction for months.
FOOTBALL COACHES TO BE REAPPOINTED
Head coach Rodolph Speid and assistant Miguel Coley are expected to be reappointed to their roles by the Jamaica Football Federation after a technical committee meeting on April 19. This is good news for anyone who appreciated the Reggae Girlz win on Friday and would like continuity in the programme building that produced it.
Yard Report is satirical news commentary covering Jamaica. For real news, try the Jamaica Observer or Jamaica Gleaner.