Interview with Daun Ferguson on the “For the Love of You” Jamaica project This week we interview leading South Floirda hairstylist and makeup expert Daun Ferguson. Each summer, since 2006, she travels to Jamaica where she donates her time to mentor the young ladies at the Windsor Girls Home in Ocho Rios. Last year she donated over $10K US worth of hair and feminine products to these young ladies. Here is our conversation with Daun Ferguson

Review - Kingston Pon Di River Festival: Jamaica’s Latest Cultural Festival This year’s Kingston Pon Di  River Literary, Arts, and Music Festival boasted a mesmerizing weekend of performances and is yet another great reason to pack your bags and hop on a flight to Kingston, Jamaica!

New Blog: Kate and Kayla … We are pleased to announce a new Jamaicans.com blog "Kate and Kayla ". The blog is about two Canadian girls who quit their jobs, sold everything and moved to Jamaica in pursuit of sunshine, adventure and happiness!

Please explain how they come up with these charges on goods I am to collect at the Jamaica post office? Before I go out of my mind, please help me to understand how they come up with taxes and charges on things I get from abroad AT THE POST OFFICE of all places. I asked for an explanation, but because I was so upset I was not really listening.

Interview: The Tennors Ride Again after 35 years Interview with The Tennors, Jamaica's Premier Rock-Steady Group, featuring George "Clive" Murphy, Ronnie Davis and newest member Sadiki Buckley as the group re-forms after a 35-year hiatus. It was in the midst of the memorable Ska era, or more precisely 1962, that George Murphy aka “Clive Tennors” and Alvin (Cheng Cheng) formed a vocal duet called “The Tennor Twins”. Both singers performed together at numerous Ska venues on many occasions and recorded their first songs for Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label with The Skatalites as session musicians.

Book Review: No Pit Too Deep This novel, though not based on actual events, depicts real life experiences. It is the hard-hitting, graphic story of Julienne, a young girl who experiences rejection, sexual abuse and the consequences of her choices. Her journey takes her on a downward spiral, deep into a pit of pain, hatred, and bitterness. Through all of this, God’s hand is evident in her life, though at first she does not recognize this. She eventually cries out to Him in desperation and reaches for His hand to help pull her out of the pit

Can I get back my Jamaica land that executor, lawyer sold? Imagine my dilemma and see if you can help me. I was left property in Manchester, by my father who died. I could not come out, to Jamaica, to deal with it, but, kept in touch with the executor. I came out, to Jamaica, the other day to see persons living on the land. 

Clarity-on-charity begins at home? Upon arrival back from Kingston,Jamaica the immigration officer said “Why where you in Kingston? There’s nothing there. Lots of poverty…” He was somewhat bemused at my insistence of millionaire mansions, private jets, sushi and jazz clubs. There’s a LOT of money in Jamaica! As well as a poverty.

Review: Jamaican Comedy Comes to Brooklyn - Ity and Fancy Cat comedy show 'Jamaican Laughter" On Saturday March 14th, 2012 unquestionably the best of Jamaican comedy in the shape of Roza Roze aka Noel Ellis, Ian “Ity” Ellis, Alton “Fancy Cat” Hardware, Winston “Blakka Ellis and Kathy Grant also known as ‘The Country Helper’ took over Wingate High School in Brooklyn with their own brand of comedic madness and mayhem in their aptly entitled “Jamaican Laughter” show.

Immigration: "Green Card" Permanent Residence (Frequently Asked Questions) For this month we will be discussing some common questions that we receive from prospective clients who are getting ready to pursue their permanent residence "green card' through their spouse.

Can I get back monies for repairs, rent from Jamaican ' landlord'? I would like to know if I have any rights on which to sue the landlord? Also if he is not the legal owner of the property can I still sue this person claiming to be the landlord for the repairs I have made? I also would like to know if there are any laws that would also me to try to claim ownership of the property if no relatives make claim?

Welcome to America ...Jamaicans, it’s a sad reality in America that if your sons immigrate here, they will become the hunted/profiled. What do I mean by that? Your sons, particularly those with dreads (or what they called ‘nappy hair’) will be targeted by people, institutions and systems because they are black and male. They will be seen or treated as criminal suspects or potential criminal recruits even before they have the chance to prove otherwise. Of course, there is an exception to everything, but profiling of black males happens in America; and it is worth addressing at this time.

I got a gift from US, why am I being charged high 'custom duty' in Jamaica? A Jamaican reader questions the high charges he has to pay at the post office for a Blackberry phone somebody sent to him as a gift from the USA collect. Read more on why!

Book Review: The Misadventures of Saucy and Her Mama Saucy’s Journey begins in Kingston, Jamaica and takes her to hustling, bustling Brooklyn, New York in the 1970’s. Share her experiences with her promiscuous, overbearing, distasteful mother, and her tentative, beautiful venture into a teenage love affair.

The Importance of Social Media in Reggae Social Media are internet based applications that are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue, it is a form of communication that is proving to be pivotal for the advancement of careers and the constant relevance of various communication, of which the music industry is not exempt – in essence, based on how this method is used, social media may influence what is deemed as irrelevant, and make it relevant and/or seem relevant.  

My grandmom pays the taxes, how can we run squatters away from land? My grandmother has been paying the taxes and recently surveyed the land also, in pursuit of the title.  How can we remove the squatters from the land?

Review: Jazz in The Gardens 2012 Mayor Shirley Gibson knows how to throw a party, with a few (20.000-40,000 depending on who’s reporting) of her closest family and friends! She orders up the perfect cool weather, chiding the few raindrops that dared make an appearance; she calls on the elegant and sophisticated MC Lyte (she hast changed! From back in tha day :o) to coordinate the evening’s events, and then she taps a few performers to grace her stage, and throws in a gazillion food and merchandise vendors. Aah evening delight!

Will my son spend time in Jamaica jail for just a seatbelt ticket? My son who lives in Saint Andrew, telephoned me to ask for a lot of money. He is worried that he will go to jail in Jamaica. He says he did not pay his seat belt ticket, nor go to court because he misplaced the ticket. Will he go to jail?

Jamaica Emergency EXPORT programme needed! We have tried Crash Programmes for 50 years! Time to try real development. It is past time that Jamaica used the best tasting coconut water in the world to maximize a potential that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations identified over a decade ago.  How do I know that Jamaica has the best tasting coconut water in the world?

Interview with Jamaican actor and film director Shelley Thunder This week we interview Shelley Thunder a Jamaican actor and film director living in Norway. She  made her first short film, Brother Man, in 2011.  She is currently working on her second project “A Jamaican Love Story”. Here is our conversation with Shelley Thunder.

I want to buy Portland beauty, but I need a good legal advisor, help!

Jamaica Photo Essay - Vendors We added the "The Vendors" photo essay showing vendors in Jamaica selling their "wares" on the road. The photos were taken in 2011 by Alyson Robinson. Check it out today!!

Interview with Jamaican swimwear and fashion designer Keva J Keva J is a fresh force in the design industry. Her swimwear and fashion designs are influenced by her life in New York City and Miami, and her Jamaican heritage. Designing from a young age, her talent has been appreciated by the likes of Ungaro and Baby Phat, and dozens
of fashion-minded media including BRAVO TV's Project Runway. With an aptitude for unit ing vivid hues, resilient texture and elaborately cut shapes, the bold and luxurious pieces of KEVA by Keva J are the preference of style-setters and can be found in boutiques nation wide. Here is our conversation with Keva J.

My Jamaican exgirlfriend wont leave my house, I need to evict her... I live in Spanish Town, Jamaica. I found you on the internet. I have a woman in my room I am trying to get out, but the police says I have to take her to court. She used to be my girlfriend... I dated her one year and then she moved in for three (3) years. In almost two (2) years, after those 3 years, I have been doing everything to get her out.

Immigration: Permanent Residence For Eb-1a, "Alien With Extraordinary Abilities. Under Immigration law individuals can acquire permanent residence through family, their employer, and other specific categories that are too many to list in this present article. The main thing to know is that acquiring permanent residence under the EB-1A category is considered to be an employer-based green card process.

Whose side are we on? Before we all descend on the police, let us look a little deeper.  Let us examine the surroundings of those distressed mothers and girlfriends on TV news, as they grieve the loss of their loved ones during those recent police operations.  Their environment is run down and dilapidated with dusty paths posing as roads.  It is broad daylight and young men are milling about, obviously with no gainful employment

Book Review: The Dark Side of Darkness - Some family secrets must remain that way. The Dark Side of Darkness is a story woven around time as it takes the reader on a journey through and into the dark side of the human psyche. It explores hidden passions and secret places that perhaps should be left alone. Written as a series of flashbacks, the book embraces issues that transcend culture, gender, and race, and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.

Do I have a contract with this Jamaican builder? I made an agreement with a builder. The agreement is that the builder will build a house for me, and I give him a piece of land after its completion. At this point, the house is not competed and the builder is using my money for his purpose. Is our agreement binding?

Jamaican Food Photo Gallery We are pleased to announce the addition of our Jamaican Food Photo Gallery. This gallery includes over 200 pictures of Jamaican food and fruits. We will continue to add photos to this gallery to make it the largest Jamaican Food Photo Gallery online. Check it out today.

Wi Caah Lie Dung An’ Dead As boys, (about ten of us) we did not think of more sophisticated dreams than roaming. We were certain of death and we didn’t ponder the idea of leaving autobiographies or eminent inventions behind. We were content with eating mangoes and catching birds, with running full-speed down hillocks until the wind drained our eyes of our tears or with corrupting the colour of rivulets with our wildrooting, mud-flinging and splashing.

Welcome to America! So you went to the interview and the long awaited immigrant visa is a reality, and now you cannot wait to go and live the American dream that you fantasized about. And why wouldn’t you when letters or, in today’s technologically advanced world, e-mails, Facebook posts and Twitter tweets show your relatives living a life that proclaims that the grass is truly greener in America...

Book Review: The Right To Belong Bothered by not knowing his father, thirty-eight-year old Pete Mitchell is prompted to start a search after watching a television show about single parents and developing a belief that a father must take care of the child he helps bring into the world. His search, however, would be easier if the family members who know the whereabouts of his father would help.

Jamaica Photo Essay - Men at work We added the "National Works Agency workmen" photo essay showing Jamaican men building a road. The photos were taken in 2011 by Alyson Robinson. Check it out today!!

Good Jamaican: Agriculture in St. Elizabeth I had intended this article to be about the future of Agriculture in Jamaica.  You see, last week Wednesday my brother and his family and me and mine made a 2 vehicle trek to Malvern, St. Elizabeth to visit my friend and colleague Kingsley.  Kingsley has been a farmer for decades and in recent times, Kingsley has added to his agricultural endeavours in a really high-tech way.  You see, Kingsley now cultivates crops in what we (ahem!) agriculturists refer to as a "controlled environment".