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Market Madness
Marketing in Montego Bay is chaotic and poorly coordinated, with stakeholders pushing conflicting messages, leading to a fragmented city brand and missed economic potential—essentially “mayhem” instead of a clear, unified strategy.
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Montego Bay United FC - Record vs University of the West Indies FC | Transfermarkt
source https://www.transfermarkt.com/vergleich/bilanzdetail/verein/3007/gegner_id/54108/sort/anzahl_zuschauer
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
MEADOWS OF IRWIN, MONTEGO, Montego Bay, St. James Parish House for Rent - realtor.com
source https://www.realtor.com/international/jm/meadows-of-irwin-montego-montego-bay-st-james-parish-310107646061/
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Lamborghini Huracan #lamborghinihuracan - YouTube
source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewefD47eKiE
Jamaica Takes Center Stage at New Orleans Jazz Fest 2026: Sandals Resorts Presents ...
source https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/jamaica-takes-center-stage-at-new-orleans-jazz-fest-2026-sandals-resorts-presents-cultural-pavilion-to-celebrate-music-cuisine-and-craftsmanship-by-booming-travel/
Monday, April 27, 2026
Rabbi Yaakov Raskin | My friend Hugh Hart: A legendary figure with a huge heart
source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20260428/rabbi-yaakov-raskin-my-friend-hugh-hart-legendary-figure-huge-heart
Montego Bay secure bye into JPL semis despite loss - Jamaica Observer
source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/04/27/montego-bay-secure-bye-jpl-semis-despite-loss/
Sunday, April 26, 2026
Tourism players cite global uncertainty and soft bookings amid recovery push - PressReader
source https://www.pressreader.com/jamaica/jamaica-gleaner/20260425/281573772290216
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Brazen Midday Gun Violence Leaves Woman Dead in Water Lane, MoBay!
Montego Bay High wins hackathon for hurricane‑response app | News - Jamaica Gleaner
source http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260425/montego-bay-high-wins-hackathon-hurricane-response-app
Friday, April 24, 2026
realtor.com
source https://www.realtor.com/international/jm/st-andrew-parish-st-andrew-parish-310102205045//
Transat reduces capacity on certain routes, extends Cuba flight suspension - TravelPress
source https://www.travelpress.com/transat-reduces-capacity-extends-cuba-flight-suspension/
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Lorna Rose Harding Obituary (2026) - Winter Haven, FL - Gentry-Morrison Funeral Homes
source https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/lorna-harding-obituary?id=61317425
Autopsy suite to get first case by June | News - Jamaica Star
source https://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20260423/autopsy-suite-get-first-case-june
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Pre-match Mount Pleasant vs Montego Bay United, Jamaica League Round 39
source https://www.besoccer.com/match/mount-pleasant-academy-fc/montego-bay-united/2026310991
Damion Thomas - Record against Chapelton Maroons - Transfermarkt
source https://www.transfermarkt.com/damion-thomas/bilanzdetails/spieler/882764/gegner/89613
'Diaspora ... one of our most important partners' - Johnsonsmith - PressReader
source https://www.pressreader.com/jamaica/jamaica-gleaner/20260421/281646786725398
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Property for Sale in Jamaica - realtor.com - Page 66
source https://www.realtor.com/international/jm/tara-estates-st-james-reading-reading-saint-james-reading-st-james-parish-120076293201/p66
Monday, April 20, 2026
Jahieme Gray - Stats - Transfermarkt
source https://www.transfermarkt.com/jahieme-gray/leistungsdaten/spieler/1509039
Water And Sewer Projects Among Reasons For Friday's Traffic | TVJ News - YouTube
source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayoyhBo6wxQ
Sunday, April 19, 2026
WATCH: 'Greybeard', beloved retired police detective, laid to rest - Jamaica Observer
source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/04/19/watch-greybeard-beloved-retired-police-detective-laid-rest/
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Rose Hall Great House Montego Bay Jamaica Ultimate Guide - AD HOC NEWS
source https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/ueberblick/rose-hall-great-house-montego-bay-jamaica-ultimate-guide/69199517
Live statistics Montego Bay United vs Spanish Town Police - Jamaica League 2025/26
source https://www.besoccer.com/match/montego-bay-united/spanish-town-police-fc/2026304808/events
Friday, April 17, 2026
Diaspora Conference Seeks to Strengthen Involvement of Jamaicans Overseas in Country's ...
source https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/2026/04/17/diaspora-conference-seeks-to-strengthen-involvement-of-jamaicans-overseas-in-countrys-resilience/
🚧 ROAD CLOSURE NOTICE: Miriam Way 🚧
The St. James Municipal Corporation is advising the public of a temporary road closure on Miriam Way to facilitate essential drainage works.
When: Saturday, April 18 (8 PM) – Sunday, April 19 (7 AM)
Closure Points:
Miriam Way & Dudley Cassin Drive (Golden Delight Bakery)
Miriam Way & Barnett to Adelphi Main Road (Westgate)
Reason: Removal and re-installation of drainage gratings.
Please plan your routes accordingly and follow all posted detour signs. Drive safely! 🚗💨
Apartments for Sale in Montego Bay, St. James Parish - realestate.com.au - Page 4
source https://www.realestate.com.au/international/jm/montego-bay-st-james-parish/p4/apartment///
Jamaica's NIRA Relocates to Savanna-la-Mar by May - ChietiToday
source https://www.chietitoday.it/attualita/cerimonia-consegna-medaglia-oro-chieti-citta-aperta.html?live-news-3516303-2026-04-15-photo-donald-de-la-hayeexecutive-director-of-the-national-identification-and-reg
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Jamaica League: Top goalscorer from the penalty spot by season - BeSoccer EN
source https://www.besoccer.com/competition/historical-season/premier_league_jamaica/penalty-goals/
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute Announce New Speakers and Agenda for ...
source https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/bloomberg-philanthropies-and-the-aspen-institute-announce-new-speakers-and-agenda-for-bloomberg-citylab-2026-in-madrid-spain-1036020094
Chinese community donates $1m to Howard Cooke Primary's recovery - Jamaica Gleaner
source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20260414/chinese-community-donates-1m-howard-cooke-primarys-recovery
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Eclipse hotel reopening - Travel And Tour World
source https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/tag/eclipse-hotel-reopening/
Market Mayhem & Marketing Montego Bay
No Roof, No Parking, and Three Sides to Every Story
A healthy respect for markets — and the messy truth about Charles Gordon Market
“A healthy respect for markets — for the tendency for human action to generate an 'order without design' — is key to a well-managed city.”
— Alain Bertaud (Urban Planner)
“Not even pigs would survive in this sort a mud and unsanitary condition. Mi deh a market wid mi mother from mi born, and this is the worst I have ever seen the market.”
— Vendor Mikey Sawyers
My grandmother had a saying I’ve come to appreciate more with each passing year: “Yannick, remember—there are always two sides to every story. And sometimes, there are three.” These days, as I navigate the daily chaos of downtown Montego Bay, I realise she wasn’t just being philosophical; she was preparing me for Charles Gordon Market.
Let me paint the scene. Hurricane Melissa tore through our city like a vexed spirit, and at the Charles Gordon Market, “the entire roof is gone, and much of the market infrastructure has been destroyed.” The resulting state of filth and disorder has escalated from “bad” to “lawd have mercy.” Meanwhile, the National Water Commission is digging up Railway Lane and River Bay Road to replace sewer mains, compounding our traffic nightmare. Add to that a roofless market and vendors who’ve spilled onto every available inch of asphalt, and you have a recipe for gridlock that would make a Kingston taxi driver weep.
It was against this backdrop that the St. James Municipal Corporation began the unenviable task of moving vendors off the road and back into the market proper. There’s just one small problem: the market has no roof. But in a moment of what I’ll charitably call “creative problem-solving,” the council suggested that the same tents and umbrellas vendors use on the roadside could simply be set up inside. So we’re moving them from the road into a building with no roof, where they’ll use the same tarpaulins they used outside. That is not a solution, my friends. That is a weather forecast with extra steps.
The Battle of Barnett Street
The conflict lines are drawn. On one side, legitimate business owners who pay taxes and can’t get proper access to their storefronts. Their customers have nowhere to park because vendors have effectively colonised the sidewalks. I’ve watched delivery trucks try to navigate streets that resemble an obstacle course designed by a sadist. These business owners have a point—they deserve their storefronts and their parking spaces.
On the other side, the vendors have their own legitimate grievances. They contend that business owners don’t care about their plight. After all, many of these vendors lost everything in the hurricane too. They argue the mayor is insensitive and only responds to the cries of businesses while ignoring their daily struggle for survival. And you know what? They’re not entirely wrong.
But here’s where the third side of the story comes in—the side my grandmother would call “reality.” Traffic is already a nightmare in Montego Bay. The ongoing sewage works on Railway Lane and River Bay Road have turned those arteries into one-lane nightmares. A chaotic, disorganised market exacerbates that problem. When vendors spill into the streets, when handcarts clog every available space, when pedestrians are forced to walk in the road because the pavement is occupied by yam stalls, we are all paying a price—in frustration, in lost productivity, and in the simple indignity of navigating our own city like an obstacle course.
A Tale of Two Markets
As a child, I thought all markets were this dirty. I assumed the smell of rotting produce, the sight of questionable drains, and the general air of organised chaos were just features of the market experience worldwide. Then I visited markets in Miami, New York, and even Trinidad in real. Then I did virtual walk throughs La Boqueria in Barcelona and the Mercado Central in Santiago. I saw the famous markets of Bangkok and the night markets of Taipei.
And I realised something that hit me like a bucket of cold water: our market is, by almost every objective measure, the worst I have ever seen.
Let’s be clear—I’m not talking about the people. The vendors at Charles Gordon Market are some of the hardest-working individuals in Montego Bay. Many rise before dawn, travel from as far as St Elizabeth and Trelawny, and work twelve-hour days just to put food on their tables. The problem isn’t the people; it’s the system. Or rather, the lack thereof.
In properly managed markets—from Seattle’s Pike Place to Cape Town’s Old Biscuit Mill—you find designated vending zones, regular waste collection, functioning sanitation facilities, and clear rules enforced consistently. You don’t find vendors urinating against structural columns until the concrete rots. And yet, that’s exactly what happened here, with a combination of urine and cleaning fluids eating away at nearly 35 columns that held up the roof. Let that sink in. The market was literally being dissolved by human waste.
The Marketing of Montego Bay
Now let me play with that word a bit: “market.” We use it to describe the physical space where produce changes hands, but we also use it to describe how we present ourselves to the world. Montego Bay is marketed as a world-class destination—a place of pristine beaches, luxury resorts, and warm hospitality. But what happens when the first thing a tourist sees after leaving the Sangster International Airport is a chaotic, unsanitary market district? What image are we projecting?
We cannot market Montego Bay as a modern, world-class city while operating our primary market like it’s still 1985. The two are fundamentally incompatible. As the city grows, as we welcome millions of visitors annually, we must operate by modern standards and best practices. That means enforcing vending regulations. That means providing proper infrastructure. That means holding everyone—vendors and business owners alike—to the same standards of cleanliness and order.
To their credit, the authorities are trying. Mayor Richard Vernon has announced a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Improvement Unit to bring order to street vending. The government has committed over $100 million to renovate the market. But money alone won’t solve this. We need a cultural shift.
A Path Forward
Here’s what I propose. First, complete the roof. Asking vendors to operate under tarpaulins inside a building is treating a symptom, not the disease. Second, establish clear, enforceable rules for hygiene and vending locations—and enforce them equally for everyone. Third, create designated loading zones and parking for business customers so legitimate enterprises can operate without having to fight through a maze of handcarts. Fourth, involve vendors in the decision-making process. As Minister Desmond McKenzie rightly noted, “nothing will be done without the input of vendors”. But input must be matched with accountability.
And finally, let’s be honest with ourselves. We can make excuses, or we can make progress. We can blame the hurricane, or we can use it as an opportunity to rebuild better. We can accept the status quo, or we can demand more for our city.
My grandmother used to say that the truth usually sits somewhere in the middle. The business owners deserve their storefronts. The vendors deserve a decent place to work. And Montego Bay deserves a market that doesn’t make us cringe every time a visitor asks, “So, where do locals shop?”
It’s time to stop marketing a dream and start building one. I close with the words of Alain Bertaud, Urban Planner and Author of Order Without Design: “Markets provide the indispensable mechanism for cities’ development.”
Frazsiers Whip beat Los Perfectos to stay perfect - Jamaica Observer
source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/04/12/frazsiers-whip-beat-los-perfectos-stay-perfect/
Saturday, April 11, 2026
The Economic impact of Carnival in Jamaica - YouTube
source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W39Fxq4n6uA
ICON MALL FAIRVIEW unit: A, Montego Bay, St. James Parish Other for Rent - Realestate
source https://www.realestate.com.au/international/jm/icon-mall-fairview-unit-a-montego-bay-st-james-parish-310107189309/
Thursday, April 09, 2026
Live statistics Molynes United vs Montego Bay United - Jamaica League 2025/26 - BeSoccer EN
source https://www.besoccer.com/match/molynes-united/montego-bay-united/2026293219/events
Canada Joins United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Australia, New ...
source https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/canada-joins-united-kingdom-south-africa-germany-japan-brazil-australia-new-zealand-and-more-among-eighty-six-visa-free-travel-countries-boosting-jamaican-tourism-sector-new-report-you-need-to/
st, catherine, Address available on request Property for Sale - realtor.com
source https://www.realtor.com/international/jm/lot-282-st-mark-close-green-acres-st-catherine-310100065940//
Alineaciones Chapelton Maroons vs Montego Bay United, Liga Jamaica Jornada 29
source https://es.besoccer.com/partido/chapelton-maroons-fc/montego-bay-united/2026293211/alineaciones
TERN Gallery at Expo Chicago 2026 - Artsy
source https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/tern-gallery-tern-gallery-at-expo-chicago-2026
Wednesday, April 08, 2026
Montego Bay United vs Molynes United Lineups - Jamaica League 2025/26 - BeSoccer EN
source https://www.besoccer.com/match/montego-bay-united/molynes-united/2026242370/lineups
MoBay Night Run 2026 delivers major boost for student scholarships, hurricane recovery
source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/04/08/mobay-night-run-2026-delivers-major-boost-student-scholarships-hurricane-recovery/
Tuesday, April 07, 2026
Tourism sector drives delinquent loans to record high | Business - Jamaica Gleaner
source http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20260408/tourism-sector-drives-delinquent-loans-record-high
Virgin Atlantic Drops a Game-Changer: Daily UK–Jamaica Flights Launch Summer 2026 ...
source https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/virgin-atlantic-drops-a-game-changer-daily-uk-jamaica-flights-launch-summer-2026-adding-15000-seats-in-a-tourism-boom-you-cant-ignore/
Monday, April 06, 2026
Pre-match Treasure Beach vs Arnett Gardens, Jamaica League Round 30 - BeSoccer EN
source https://www.besoccer.com/match/treasure-beach-fc/arnett-gardens/2026293223/preview/
Jamaica Joins Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Spain, and More in Air Canada's ...
source https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/jamaica-joins-mexico-dominican-republic-honduras-spain-and-more-in-air-canadas-expansive-winter-2026-27-non-stop-flight-launches-all-you-need-to-know/
Air Canada Expands Global Network for Winter 2026-2027: Tenerife Debuts as Star Destination
source https://aviacionaldia.com/en/2026/04/air-canada-expands-global-network-for-winter-2026-2027-tenerife-debuts-as-star-destination.html/amp
1080 TAYLOR ROAD 1, Montego Bay, St. James Parish House for Sale - Realtor.com
source https://www.realtor.com/international/jm/1080-taylor-road-1-montego-bay-st-james-parish-120074360615/?page=2//
Saturday, April 04, 2026
Jamaica U20 - squad, coach, injuries and positions - FotMob
source https://www.fotmob.com/teams/608073/squad/jamaica-u20
Jamaica Information Service
source https://jis.gov.jm/?view=article&catid=100%253Aeducation&id=28949%253Apublic-sector-workers-flock-to-procurement-course&format=pdf&Itemid=157%3Fcategory%3Dagriculture%3Fcategory%3Deducation%3Fcategory%3Dhealth&category=local-government
Jamaica Premier League - Bottom of the table (Detailed view) - Transfermarkt
source https://www.transfermarkt.com/jamaica-premier-league/tabellenletzter/wettbewerb/JPL1/spieltag/14/plus/1
Friday, April 03, 2026
Waterhouse FC Scores & Latest Results Today - LiveScore
source https://www.livescore.com/en/football/team/-/4244/overview/
Thursday, April 02, 2026
Mobay Free Zone chair backs Holness' plan to relocate BPO facilities inland - PressReader
source https://www.pressreader.com/jamaica/jamaica-gleaner/20260402/281522232637165
Call me, says NSWMA boss - Jamaica Observer
source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/04/01/call-says-nswma-boss/
Wednesday, April 01, 2026
Busby excited for Girlz homecoming | Sports - Jamaica Star
source https://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20260401/busby-excited-girlz-homecoming
The women who held the west together - PressReader
source https://www.pressreader.com/jamaica/jamaica-gleaner/20260401/281513642700374
N. Turner's career path - BeSoccer EN
source https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/n-turner-807171/
458 VALLEY VIEW CRESCENT B, Montego Bay, St. James Parish House for Rent
source https://www.realtor.com/international/jm/458-valley-view-crescent-b-montego-bay-st-james-parish-120072436358/?page=4///



