Portland has produced its fair share of outstanding Jamaicans, and one of them was laid to rest on Saturday last, in the church yard in his native district of Friendship. A prior engagement kept this writer form attending the service, but it had been the talk of the area all that week, and no doubt will remain so for a while.

“I will rise like an eagle, I will move mountains. I am preserved. I am a miracle." -Words of Portland’s own Heavy Weight Champion Trevor Berbick.

The Jewish community in Kingston Jamaica is flourishing under its new leader, Rabbi Dana Evans Kaplan, the synagogue's first ordained rabbi in 40 years.

IT WAS fun and excitement at Bay View Villas and Spa recently as dozens of Portlanders were told tales of the parish's history, including how several communities got their names.

There still seems to be a misunderstanding of the role that Kumina played in the fight against slavery several centuries ago. Introduced to Jamaica some time in the 18th century by indentured Africans from central regions of the African continent, Kumina comprises several features, including dance, music, spiritual possession, and the art of healing by using herbs.

THE PORT Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) has recovered a piece of Portland's treasure and heritage - an anchor - believed to be centuries old at its marina facility in Port Antonio.

AS fierce red and orange flames raged in the streets of London last month, gutting businesses, homes, and rekindling in one's mind the nursery rhyme London's Burning, Patrick Vernon, consumed with a different type of burning, was combing Jamaica's hills and valleys.

WHEN Port Antonio Mayor Floyd Patterson correctly halted the reckless dismantling of the abandoned railroad equipment in his city, he inadvertently exposed some continuing deficiencies in the social, political and economic culture of Jamaica.