The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport is pleased to announce the results from the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Grand Coronation, held on Thursday, August 1at the National Arena:

ATLANTA –  It was not an endorsement, but Ambassador Andrew Young celebrated U.S. Presidential Candidate, Senator Kamala Harris, (D), as he accepted the Marcus Garvey Leadership Award at the 2019 Caribbean American Cultural Arts Foundation, Inc., Captains of Industry Awards & Gala on June 29th.

KINGSTON, Jamaica– The Jamaica government says it is moving “rapidly” to complete the Data Protection Bill, which would provide citizens with the requisite safeguards to control their personal information online.

Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, has challenged Jamaican green card holders living in America to embrace dual citizenship as a potential foil against the four pillars of immigration reform enunciated by US President Donald Trump in his 2018 State of the Union address.

MIAMI-DADE – The Board of County Commissioners Health Care and County Operations Committee voted unanimously on July 17 to move forward legislation supporting the start of hemp production in Miami-Dade County, positioning South Florida to lead on this booming new agricultural sector.

Philadelphia-based banker Christopher Chaplin is Jamaica’s new honorary consul for Pennsylvania.

Rye, NY: Veteran sprinter Byron LaBeach, a distinguished member of Jamaica's 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games will be honored with a 'Brand Jamaica Living Legend Award' at Jamaica's 57th Independence Black Tie Gala, slated for the Hilton Hotel, Rye New York on Saturday, August 10, 2019. Emmy and Golden Globe nominated American/Jamaican actress Kerry Washington will also be honored at the event.

Miramar, FL – The annual Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival presented in association with Publix will be staged at a new venue on Sunday, November 10th. The announcement was made on Wednesday, June 26th at a media reception held at the Miramar Amphitheater. Festival organizers unveiled plans for this year’s event to a group consisting of elected officials, corporate executives, community influencers and festival supporters, who were treated to an evening of culinary delights, music, and networking.  The evening was topped with a performance from reggae performer Dre Island.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands– Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness is confident that his administration will drastically reduce murders in his country, even as he acknowledged that the island has a “very complicated social construct.”

Florida Memorial University, Miami Gardens, FL- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Gamma Zeta Omega Chapter hosted approximately 200 women at their 7th annual Frederica S. Wilson’s Pumps, Pearls and Politics™ event.

NEW YORK – A Street in Brooklyn, New York has been co-named in honor the late Grenada Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus.

Jamaican artist Paul Blackwood, right, explains his work to Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States Audrey Marks, center, and fellow artist Courtney Morgan at the “Open House” exhibition which was put on display last month at the Jamaican Embassy in Washington, D.C. Nearly 100 oil-on-canvas paintings and prints depictingslices of Jamaican life, from urban and rural landscapes, human forms, still life items to abstract images, were part of the exhibition.