Jamaica News Blog @newzblogz.com

DANVILLE, Calif. (AP) -- Terry McMillan is suing her former husband for $40 million, alleging that he tried to smear her reputation during their highly publicized 2005 divorce. McMillan, 55, filed the complaint Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court against Jonathan Plummer, 32, who inspired her best-selling 1996 novel, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." The book, later adapted into a movie starring Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs, chronicled the adventures of a 40-something woman who ...

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Natasha Ramen did nearly everything she could to stop the man who she said had hurt her from hurting her more.

She had trusted the man, Hemant Megnath, at first. She was 18 and looking for an apartment of her own when she met him through friends in May 2005. They shared a homeland; both had immigrated from Guyana, the former British colony on the northeast coast of South America. Mr. Megnath worked for a real estate office, and promised to help Ms. Ramen find a home. But instead he took her to his apartment in Brooklyn on a pretense, she would later tell the police, and raped her.

Eight months passed before Ms. Ramen stepped into a police station house and made the allegations. The next month, in February 2006, Mr. Megnath was arrested, charged with rape, and freed on $5,000 bail. An order of protection was issued against him, barring him from contacting Ms. Ramen, who planned to testify against him.

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This is my knee-jerk reaction to Terry Dennis? knee-jerk reactionary letter (?It?s business fest fussers who are causing stress,? The Daily News, March 10).

I was a participant in the downtown merchant, tenant, property owner meeting and can attest to the fact that a lot of good suggestions came out of the discussion.

This was a group of intelligent, concerned people who are searching for solutions to a myriad of situations that impact all of us.

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Forensic experts searched for evidence Wednesday in a Kingston, Jamaica, hotel room where Pakistan's cricket coach died under what police called suspicious circumstances.

Investigators also awaited a pathologist's findings on what killed Bob Woolmer, whose body was found a day after his team was upset by Ireland in the Cricket World Cup.

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DANVILLE, Calif. - Author Terry McMillan is suing her former husband for $40 million, alleging that he tried to smear her reputation during their highly publicized 2005 divorce.

McMillan, 55, filed the complaint Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court against Jonathan Plummer, 32, who inspired her best-selling 1996 novel, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." The book, later adapted into a movie starring Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs, chronicled the adventures of a 40-something woman who falls for a guy half her age.

The lawsuit claims Plummer, a Jamaica native, married McMillan in 1998 only to become a U.S. citizen. He later announced that he's gay.

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DANVILLE, Calif. - Author Terry McMillan filed a $40 million lawsuit Wednesday against her former husband, alleging that he tried to smear her reputation during their well-publicized 2005 divorce.

McMillan, 55, said 32-year-old Jonathan Plummer, who inspired her best-selling novel, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and then announced he is gay, wanted to force her to cancel a prenuptial agreement.

In her complaint, McMillan said Plummer married her in 1998 only to become an American citizen.

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Bella Zaritsky came for the warm weather and the soft sand beaches. But after watching a rising tide of property taxes and insurance rates, she's ready to bail out.

"It's been a big disappointment," said Zaritsky, 27, an office manager who moved to Plantation four years ago from the Northeast. "The housing market is becoming ridiculous. Property taxes are out of control. Insurance is out of control. It's not a fair system."

Now Zaritsky and her husband are selling their townhouse and moving to Georgia, where a dollar goes further and the job market is friendlier, she said.

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Tom Jones, the longtime Florida women's track and field coach who tutored a handful of Olympic athletes, died Wednesday after battling cancer, the school said. He was 62.

Jones' coaching career included 23 school records at Florida, including the American record in the 400 meter by future 1996 U.S. gold medal participant Maicel Malone. His team also broke the American record for the 1,600 meter relay while Jones coached at Arizona State in 1991.

He also coached at North Carolina State and Texas-El Paso.

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I have a memory from many years ago, as a fresh-faced young college student barely past legal drinking age, of sauntering into a bar with my friend, Michael, for the late-night happy hour.

Everyone has had a friend like Michael. It was with him that I sneaked an illicit pint into a movie, with which to spike our sodas (the innocent Rob Reiner film The Princess Bride, can you believe). With Michael, I graduated from girly strawberry daiquiris to 7-and-7s (ugh ? I shudder now at the memory). And it was Michael who found us this little tucked-away bar that night, where the late-night promotion combined two offers: 25-cent drinks and five-for-one happy hour.

Five for one, folks. For a quarter.

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Detectives are waiting for a pathologist's report on the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer.

Police revealed on Tuesday that they were treating the former England batsman's death in Jamaica at the weekend as "suspicious".

Mr Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious by staff at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Sunday morning, the day after Pakistan's shock defeat to cricketing minnows Ireland in the Cricket World Cup.

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(Created: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 9:13 PM CDT)

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* Exhibit: "C?sar Ch?vez and the Struggle for Farmworker Rights" can be seen during regular library hours through March 31 at the UTEP Library, second floor. Open to the public. 747-6725.

* Film presentation: "Legacy of Shame: Migrant Labor, An American Institution" at 5 p.m. today at the UTEP Union Cinema, Union East, first floor. Commentary about the film by Ignacio Ibarra, project coordinator, El Centro de los Trabajadores Agr?colas Fronterizos, after film presentation. Open to the public. 747-5462.

* 'Doing Social Justice Work In El Paso': A guided tour of community agencies will take place from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. today. Seating is limited to 20 people. Sponsored by the Student Development Center, UTEP. 747-5670.

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GALVESTON ? epresentatives of a federal agency said Wednesday they would investigate the unusual number of dead dolphins ? now at nearly 70 ? that have washed up on Galveston County shores since February.

Representatives of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, which monitors the condition of the oceans and atmosphere, will examine the dolphins and try to determine why they died, said Blair Mase, NOAA?s Southeast Region stranding and disentanglement coordinator.

?We will do the best we can to identify the reason, but the animals coming in are in a decomposed state that will limit the information we can get,? she said.

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Amy DeSchaaf of St. Joseph, Mich. and Justin Gilles, of Holland, Mich., were married in a 4 p.m. ceremony, Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Couples Swept Away Resort in Negril, Jamaica.

The bride is the daughter of Bruce and Gayle DeSchaaf of St. Joseph. The groom is the son of John and LaVonne Thornton of Hart.

The bride?s gown was an organza halter trumpet gown with ribbon trim on bodice and skirt. The back featured organza covered buttons and sweep train. She wore an organza and ribbon veil.

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DANVILLE -- Author Terry McMillan filed a $40 million lawsuit today against her former husband, alleging that he tried to smear her reputation during their well-publicized 2005 divorce.

McMillan, 55, said 32-year-old Jonathan Plummer, who inspired her best-selling novel, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and then announced that he is gay, wanted to force her to cancel a prenuptial agreement.

In her complaint, McMillan said Plummer married her in 1998 only to become an American citizen.

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CAMDEN, N.J. - Tre'Shawn Mitchell savors big stacks of pancakes. It's the batter that sends him fleeing, drawing deep breaths to fight back the old memories.

"As soon as I see the pancake batter, I turn around and go right up to my room and stand there a few seconds," said Mitchell, a lanky 17-year-old with muscular biceps. "I can't stand the sight of batter."

Mitchell used to be Keith Jackson, second-oldest of the four starving brothers discovered in a Collingswood, N.J., adoptive home in 2003. Raw pancake batter is one of the few foods that kept him and his brothers alive.

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With less than 24 hours before he was to hop a plane to Mexico for his

cousin's wedding, Michael Howe Jr. added an extra stop to his itinerary--the

long line at the passport agency in the Loop.

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One of the top coaches in the world, Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room less than 24 hours after their World Cup defeat by Ireland and pronounced dead in hospital later that day.Wednesday, March 21, 2007

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's death at the World Cup on Sunday is now being treated as "suspicious" by Jamaican police, the deputy commissioner Mark Shields told a news conference on Tuesday.

"Having met the pathologist, medical personnel and other investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Woolmer which we are now treating as suspicious," Shields said, reading a short statement.

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KINGSTON, Jamaica - The death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer is being treated as "suspicious" by police.

During a late-night news conference at the team's hotel Tuesday night, deputy police commissioner Mark Shields read a statement which said, "Having met with the pathologist, other medical personnel and investigators there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious."

Asked if Jamaica police were pursuing a murder investigation, Shield said: "No, we are not saying that."

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The American crocodile, whose population has swollen about sevenfold in the past 30 years, no longer is an endangered species.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Tuesday eased restrictions on crocodiles, downgrading their protection status from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

When crocodiles were listed as endangered in 1975, the population in Florida was estimated to be between 200 and 300. Today, there are an estimated 1,400 to 2,000 crocodiles, not including hatchlings, according to the federal agency.

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Yes, I?ve had some bananas and now I have a freezer full of loaves of banana bread. A generous neighbor brought me several bananas and being frugal I was determined to use them. The result: bananas Foster, banana pancakes, banana muffins and those loaves of fragrant, sweet banana bread.

The banana has played an important part in the history and advancement of mankind. According to the Romans, it wasn?t the apple that was numero uno fruit in the Garden of Eden. The banana was purported to be the ?source of knowledge of good and evil?. The botanical name of the common banana is ?musa sapietum?, which means ?fruit of the Wise Men?, from a legend that the sages of India reposed in the shade of a banana tree and ate its fruit. The name ?banana? originated much later in Africa.

The Hindus were the first to immortalize the banana and recognize its importance, not only in the food chain, but to mankind. Known as tala or pala, there are numerous references throughout the sacred books of ancient India. In modern times the Hindus still revere the banana and is a valued offering to all the gods in Hindu heaven particularly to Lord Shiva, creator of the universe, and to Kali, goddess of fertility and earth.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday recovery efforts are making it possible to reclassify the American crocodile in Florida from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

"Crocodiles were a part of Florida's history for hundreds of years until human activities such as urban development, agricultural conversion, and over-hunting decimated their populations," said Sam D. Hamilton, the service's Southeast Regional Director. "However, in the past 30 years, we have made great strides in protecting this species and conserving its habitat."

The service's final reclassification decision comes after the completion of its five-year review required under the ESA for all endangered and threatened species.

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Los paname?os Luis Moreno y Gabriel G?mez

no podr?n jugar el pr?ximo domingo con su equipo, Santa Fe, cuando

se enfrente con el Huila, en la octava jornada del Torneo Apertura

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TEGUCIGALPA --El presidente del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), Luis Alberto Moreno, realizará el miércoles una visita oficial de seis horas a Honduras.

La Casa Presidencial dijo el martes que Moreno arribará a la base aérea de Toncontín para entrevistarse con el mandatario hondureño Manuel Zelaya.

Asimismo, inaugurará las nuevas oficinas de su institución en esta capital.

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES! Just last year, the Broncos were looking at the draft as a possible solution for the depleted wide receiver corps.

The thinking was the Broncos needed a young wide receiver to groom to one day replace the aging but still productive Rod Smith and one day start along side Ashley Lelie.

Well, the Broncos did solve the problem with replacing Smith in the draft trading a draft pick for veteran wide receiver Javon Walker.

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* Exhibit: C?sar Ch?vez and the Struggle for Farmworker Rights can be seen during regular library hours through March 31 at the UTEP Library, second floor. Open to the public. 747-6725.

* Film presentation: "Legacy of Shame: Migrant Labor, An American Institution" at 5 p.m. today at the UTEP Union Cinema, Union East, first floor. Commentary about the film by Ignacio Ibarra, project coordinator, El Centro de los Trabajadores Agr?colas Fronterizos, after film presentation. Open to the public. 747-5462.

* 'Doing Social Justice Work In El Paso': A guided tour of community agencies will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Seating is limited to 20 people. Sponsored by the Student Development Center, UTEP. 747-5670.

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Monday marked the four years since America's march into Iraq.

I can remember where I was when we started the air campaign. I was in my AP History class in high school, trying not to vomit because I was effectively watching people be killed in real time and havoc being wreaked across an entire country.

But everyone probably remembers where they were, or how they felt, and I think everyone is getting too bogged down in sentiment and emotion to be rational about it anymore.

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Long-awaited $500,000 face lift will usher in new standards, director says

Brighter colors, more common space and additional vendors are just a few things customers can expect when the Farmers Market is renovated in May.Buzz about changes to the market began in 2005 when market director Jeff Themm, formerly manager at The Mall at Green Hills and of Hickory Hollow mall, was brought on board.

Then and now, Themm's goal was to tap into the growing trend of people moving downtown.Then and now, some vendors feared gentrification and the possibility of being priced out of the facility."We have to step up to the plate,'' said Themm of the need for change. "The way things are changing just in Germantown the way things are going up we're bringing in more clientele, and standards are new. We've got to keep up," Themm said.There are currently seven vendors inside the interior market, includ...

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Dianna Sanderson always saw her Jamaican parents striving to better themselves, so she carried the same mentality into the classroom.

That attitude took her all the way to Cornell University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1998.

"There was just a strong value for education and a strong value for perseverance that was reinforced in my home," said the Jamaican-born Sanderson, now a health project director at the Urban League of Palm Beach County.

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They all were in Iraq and Afghanistan for different reasons. Many were attracted to the armed forces since childhood.

Families often told stories about youngsters marching in much-loved, pint-size uniforms, singing military songs or playing with toy guns and plastic soldiers. Some saw it as a higher calling, and embraced what they saw as their duty to protect loved ones at home and liberate people abroad.

Others saw opportunity - the chance to see the world, to taste adventure and be a hero, or to get enough experience to join a hometown police force. Still others saw it as the only way to earn enough money to pay for college or to support a family.

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GROS ISLET, St Lucia (Reuters) - South Africa and New Zealand seem destined for the Super Eights but they are taking nothing for granted against outsiders Scotland and Kenya on Tuesday.

Saturday's shock wins by Bangladesh and Ireland over India and Pakistan respectively have turned the form book upside down, while New Zealand are still smarting from their defeat by Bangladesh in the warm-ups.

``The upsets have kept every one of the top teams on their toes,'' South Africa captain Graeme Smith said.

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For three weeks, the Herald has highlighted air quality issues.

The largest portion of particulate matter in the region's air comes from incomplete burning of fossil fuels to operate cars and generate electricity.

Xcel Energy has installed low nitric oxide burners over fire air ducts that reignite gases before they are released into the air, low sulfuric oxide burners and dry sorbent injection, which controls sulfur oxide surges, said Tom Henley, spokesman for Xcel.

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(Family Features) The sports world is about to seize spring once again. With baseball teams in spring training, cars firing up their engines and hoops teams working on their strategies for the tourney, sports-lovin' hosts are busy with their sports party plans. Sports parties are fun and can be a breeze to pull off. The on-screen action provides the entertainment, you simply provide the venue and festive finger foods to munch. So pick the event date and invite your friends over for some rousing ...

Some hosts like to make their parties an annual event. To keep food for such a party fresh and inviting, do what top caterers do - add a fabulous new food to the selection you've served in past years. Keep some old favorites like pizza and nachos, while adding in some new selections. Consider serving up Jerk Pork Sandwiches from exotic Jamaica as a new addition. The recipe calls for lively jerk seasoning (a blend of ground chiles, black pepper, onions, garlic, thyme, cinnamon and ginger) added ...

Place the prepared party tray on the table, then toss together the bottled ingredients using the recipe found at hormel.com. Pizza is a party favorite because the prep is so simple. Use a refrigerated crust, canned pizza sauce and your choice of turkey pepperoni or original pepperoni. It's so good, you'll want to have an extra crust on hand for a second batch. For warp-speed nachos, use canned chili and s

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Lincoln Berean Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, was the setting for the September 22, 2006, wedding of Asha King and Jason Cooper, both of Lincoln. Their parents are Gary and Joyce King of Bennet, Nebraska, and Pastor Loren and Diane Cooper of Hampton, Nebraska.

Parents of the couple are Pastor Loren and Diane Cooper and Gary and Asha King.

Asha graduated cum laude with high distinction in 2004 from Hastings College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a health/intervention focus and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology with a criminal justice emphasis. She is currently employed with Madonna ProActive Health and Fitness as a membership services assistant.

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The first time I heard Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, I think I was riding on a bus with the members of my high-school cross-country team. When our squad won, we would typically celebrate with good music and bad dancing. This was around 1982: Rap was new to most people, but it was already familiar to many of us. I memorized the lyrics to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" soon after I heard it. (Listen: Real | Windows Media) Years later, I don't remember much about w...

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Earlier this week, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first rap act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. They were part of a class of inductees that included alternative-music godfathers REM and rockers Van Halen; the old-school rappers are now enshrined alongside such Hall of Famers as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly. "Every break dancer, every graffiti artist, every MC, every deejay -- we're here!" Grandmaster Flash shouted from the podium as he was inducted. For hip-hop, it was a long trip from the mean streets to the halls of glory.

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March 20, 2007 -- THE sign in neat large letters yesterday read: "Detective Oliver 31shots is murder."

Councilman Charles Barron - a very articulate but bitter man who once said: "I sometimes wanna go up to some white guy and slap him in the face and say, 'This is a black thing,' " - stood nearby.

"This is not manslaughter," Barron said outside the Queens courthouse. "This is a set-up so they will get an acquittal. This is murder."

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Una mujer camina por el lecho seco de un río en el estado de Kerala, en el sur de la India. Según informes de la ONU, actualmente 1,100 millones de personas no tienen acceso al agua potable y 2,600 millones --cerca de la mitad de la población mundial-- al agua para higiene personal.

El Parlamento Europeo está realizando la primera Asamblea Mundial de los Representantes Electos y los Ciudadanos por el Agua (AMECE), donde se estudia crear una comisión internacional para pedir a la ONU que reconozca el acceso al agua como un derecho fundamental.

Las cifras son abrumadoras. En Kenia, la Coca-Cola es más barata que el agua potable, pero la mayoría de la población no tiene dinero para comprar el refresco. El 20% de los hogares más pobres de El Salvador, Jamaica y Nicaragua, gastan en promedio más del 10% de sus ingresos en agua. Resolver la crisis y evitar que en el futuro se libren guerras por el agua es una misión ineludible.

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Ask how he's doing and his answer isn't just "practically perfect in every way," as the character said in the film. He'll tell you this: "I'm perfect. There's damn few of us left."

Don't think he's full of himself. He just likes a big laugh.

Right now, he's a tweener - between major dates in his life.

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Staffers at a posh London hotel are buzzing about what a diva Michael Jackson has been during a recent stay there - and how he went incognito by registering as a woman.

"Jacko would certainly give J. Lo a good run for her money on the diva stakes by bringing a team of 10 security guards to look after him and his two kids - Prince, 10, and 9-year-old Paris Michael - on their whistle-stop visit to London," reports the London Evening Standard, which says Jackson has placed two "scary bouncers" by the elevator doors on the floor he's booked for him and his entourage to make sure that no one can get any access to him. No word on the whereabouts of little Blanket.

Slide show

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* FREE -- Andy Schneider: Guitarist Andy Schneider will perform from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cactus Caf? & Bookshop, 7500 N Mesa, Suite 107. 833-2233 or www.cactuscafeandbookshop.

* Crash Kennedy: Crash Kennedy will play at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Uncle Paulie's, 106 Shadow Mountain, free; 9 p.m. Thursday at Chic's Bar & Billiards, 9809 Montana, $3; and at 10 p.m. Friday at Zeppelin's, 111 E. Robinson, $5. 21 and older. 867-2023.

* FREE -- Jazz guitar: Tim Kilpatrick will perform from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Cactus Caf? & Bookshop, 7500 N Mesa, Suite 107. No cover. 833-2233 or www.cactuscafeandbookshop.

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Good morning, Citrus Park! When I was in Jamaica, they had a couple of unique ways to get everyone loose and relaxed. They would say "no problem," especially if there was a problem. And when the steel drum music was particularly good, the Bob Marley types would say, "I be jamming." Well, I be jamming these days trying to fit all the fun I possibly can into the last few weeks, days, hours and minutes. Citrus Park is jamming with fun, frenzy and activity as the frozen tundra begins to pull the snowbirds? northward.

The Second Wind Band will be playing before the Gray 90?s spring show, "The Golden Age of Television," on Saturday night as well as Sunday afternoon. These talented residents are providing listening pleasure and from the looks of things are thoroughly enjoying playing together. If you ever played an instrument, bring it down with you next season and join in the fun.

Don?t forget to pick up your tickets for "The Golden Age of Television" at the Rec Hall from 9 to 11 a.m. As Ed Sullivan used to say, "we?ve got two really big shows" that will take us back to those first days of TV. Performances are scheduled Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Remember your first color television? What was your favorite TV show? Put it in your jamming schedule, and get your tickets. You don?t want to miss out.

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Bob Woolmer lived for his work, spreading his cricket philosophies to some of the sport's most far-flung outposts.

As coach of the Pakistan team, and one of the most respected coaches in the world, he had anything but a low-profle, laid-back job.

LocalLinks

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Every time a guest checks in at a Scottsdale, Ariz., hotel, a Kansas City area firm takes note.

Hotels and resorts in Scottsdale share their combined booking records with Ruf Strategic Solutions, a database marketing company in Olathe. Ruf studies the information, then uses its database of more than 210 million American households to find profiles of people who match the lifestyle characteristics of those who have already visited Scottsdale.

That approach helps the Scottsdale

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Hans Koeplon reported that someone stole his GPS unit from his boat between 1 p.m. Feb. 17 and 2 p.m. March 11. The vessel was docked at his residence at 391 Waterleaf Court. The estimated value of the stolen property is $300.

DUI arrests

? A Marco Island Police Department officer observed a vehicle moving erratically at North Bald Eagle Drive and East Elkcam Circle at 2:11 a.m. March 12. When the officer conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol. The driver, identified as Nicholas Bowman Donatelli, 24, of 813 Buttonwood Court, Marco Island, was asked to perform a field sobriety test and failed. Donatelli was arrested and charged with DUI. He was taken to the Naples Jail Center.

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What: "Is Religion a Constitutionally Legitimate Basis of Lawmaking in the United States" lecture.Who: The speaker is Michael Perry, professor of law at Emory University.

When: noon.Where: Vanderbilt University Law School, Renaissance Room.Why: The presentation is part of Vanderbilt's "Democracy and Moral Conviction" lecture series.How: Visit law.vanderbilt.edu.

Templeton lecture

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Donna Yanick, aunt of the bride, was maid of honor. Charles Mills III, brother of the groom, was best man. Jordan Campbell, niece of the groom, was flower girl. George Campbell, nephew of the groom, was ring bearer. Kristen Bocco, friend of the bride, served as a bridesmaid, and ushers were Francis Kulick, uncle of the bride, and Jimmy Hamnmel, nephew of the groom.

The reception was held at the Harrisburg Holiday Inn East and the couple honeymooned in Jamaica.

The bride is a 1999 graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Coal Township, and a 2003 graduate of Villanova University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in psychology. The groom attended Council Rock High School and was a 1995 graduate of Middle Bucks County Vo-Tech. He is employed as a service technician at Faulkner Nissan in Harrisburg.

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CHICAGO - Thirteen-year-old Eli Rogatz applied months ago for a passport so that he could fly to Israel with his family for his bar mitzvah. It finally came through on Friday, with just days to spare.

?Everybody has a passport except my son, the bar mitzvah boy,? Mitch Rogatz, a book publisher from the Chicago suburb of Glencoe, grumbled as he camped out in a federal office building for at least four hours. ?Given what else is being spent, we want to make sure he?s there.?

Similar waiting games are being played out at passport processing sites across the country as the State Department wades through an unprecedented crush of passport applications. They are pouring in at more than 1 million per month.

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What?s in store: Readers have been asking about progress at Bay Colony Town Center, northwest corner of Interstate 45 and FM 646. So here?s some news.

The second phase will be anchored by an 87,000-square-foot department store, developer New-Quest Properties said. No word on the identity of that department store, however.

H-E-B occupies 100,000 square feet in Bay Colony Town Center. A 36,000-square-foot 24-Hour Fitness also is muscling into a spot at the center.

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* FREE -- Andy Schneider: Guitarist Andy Schneider will perform from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Cactus Caf? & Bookshop, 7500 N Mesa, Suite 107. 833-2233 or www.cactuscafeandbookshop.

* Crash Kennedy: Crash Kennedy will play at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Uncle Paulie's, 106 Shadow Mountain, free; 9 p.m. Thursday at Chic's Bar & Billiards, 9809 Montana, $3; and at 10 p.m. Friday at Zeppelin's, 111 E. Robinson, $5. 21 and older. 867-2023.

* FREE -- Jazz guitar: Tim Kilpatrick will perform from 8 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Cactus Caf? & Bookshop, 7500 N Mesa, Suite 107. No cover. 833-2233 or www.cactuscafeandbookshop.

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Music and a spring-break atmosphere draw younger crowd to cruises

Dan Levin

The New York Times

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Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer died at the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean, a day after the country suffered one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history. He was 58.

Woolmer, who played 19 Tests for England, was found unconscious in his hotel room in Jamaica at about 10:45 a.m. Sunday and was taken to a hospital in Kingston, where he never regained consciousness. A coroner's inquest and autopsy will be conducted in accordance with Jamaican law.

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President Bush’s repeated claim during his weeklong Latin American tour that the United States feels “compassion” toward the region stroked the wrong chord at the wrong time: It was seen in many countries as a condescending remark, which on top of that was not backed by a significant financial commitment.

By my own count, Bush repeated at least 15 times in his tour-related news conferences that the United States is a “compassionate” country.

It sounded weird to many in the region, not only because Bush had virtually forgotten about Latin America after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and is supporting a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, but also because Venezuela’s petro-populist President Hugo Chavez was simultaneously making headlines promising much more economic aid than the U.S. president.

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SBPR Corp., Fort Lauderdale, has been named to two accounts for public relations services. They are Holiday Inn SunSpree Resorts Aruba & Jamaica, and Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA.

O'Connell & Goldberg Inc., Hollywood, has been named for P.R. services for Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, and will produce its multisensory "DreamWalk Creations" sales center at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

The Rick Case Luxe Collection, Davie, is a sponsor of NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus' Wednesday segment of The Kenny and Bo Morning Show on WQAM 560-AM.

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When members of the Sunshine Cathedral heard reports that gays and lesbians were being abused in Jamaica, they extended their reach from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean island.

The church at 1480 SW Ninth Ave. now has a branch in Jamaica 83 members strong, church leaders said.

The congregation established the Jamaican church in December in response to a 2004 Human Rights Watch report that alleged police and citizens were persecuting gays, sex workers and people with HIV/AIDS, according to the church pastor, the Rev. Grant Lynn Ford.

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