THE PORTMORE WEBSITE NEWSLETTER =============================== Newsletter: Number 19 for 2003 Publication Date: December 30, 2003 Editor: Kennedy Reid Subscribers: 695 Contact: webmaster@portmore.org Alternate Contact: kennedyreid@yahoo.com Web site: http://www.portmore.org Phone: 876-320-REID Note: Please read notices at end of newsletter CONTENTS ======== 1. Editors Desk 2. Sting & Noise in Portmore 3. The Advisory Council - Deputy Mayor Colin Fagan 4. Café Aubergine - Mediterranean-Caribbean Cuisine ############################################################ 1. Editors Desk ############################################################ Hello everyone! This is the last publication for 2003, so have a great 2004. I enjoyed 2003, didn't you? Yes, there were challenges and setbacks, but did you see the opportunity as well? Did you see the beauty around us and in our fellow Jamaicans too? Let's resolve to turn every lime into lemon juice. And if you think Jamaica is bad... have you checked our Cuba, Haiti and Santo Domingo lately? God Bless Jamaica our home sweet home! Have a Great 2004 everyone!!!! ############################################################ 2. Sting & Noise in Portmore ############################################################ The annual STING concert held in Portmore stung this year! The traditional stage brawl between performers and the bottle throwing were taken to new heights... it ended the show. Thankfully no one was injured! The event was the talk of the town. One man reported hearing gun shots as he ran for cover. The morning news papers reported that Mayor Lee, the Councillors, and police are planning to draft new rules for the concert. I don't know much about Sting... but I do know that the level of night noise in Portmore has gone up in the last few months! Much to my dismay. I want the Police to be more proactive on this matter. There is much the police can do because it is the SAME businesses that make the night noises everytime! The Police can write letters to theses businesses, they can call them just before sending out patrol cars to stop the noise if it continues. The sad thing is that much of the music goes on well beyond 2:00 a.m. legal limit! It appears the Police can not hear it! At 4:30 a.m. one can still hear pounding noise coming from Newland road, Naggo Head Square, Old Braeton Road, and Port Henderson. The sad thing is that if you drive by these street and rooftop sets you will see thhat they are "entertaining" only a few persons while disturbing many thousands. One of the problems I have is to explain to people how sound works. The Bass music travels not only through the air but through the solid earth. In the open air the noise sounds dispersed and even muted, but once the waves reach inside little our box homes it reverberated and amplifies! If you drive around in a car, like the police do, the same sound is almost not heard! I know because I have tried it several times. What we need the Police to do is to STOP all amplified sound after 2:00 a.m. and to not allow night noise on week days (including Fridays). Is this too much to ask? Frankly, I would love to see the law changed to have all outdoor amplified sounds off at 10:00 p.m. and all Town Crying limited to public service announcements, political rallies, and charities only! ############################################################ 3. The Advisory Council - Deputy Mayor Colin Fagan ############################################################ From: colin fagan Date: Fri, December 26, 2003 11:49 am To: rhouse@cybervale.com Dear Mr Reid I was going through your website today and actually read yours.I would like to congratulate you for your effort to keep the municipality informed over the years and in particular over 2003 ,the year when municipality was granted. Many people may not know the role you played and the tremendous contribution you made towards the establisment of what is now to be a model municipality. i know whenyou entered politics it was in an effort to futher contribute from inside, but that was not to be.. Nevertheless you have a great opportunity as editor of this website to keep the leaders of the municpality focused. I am not sure i can agree with you that the advisory council works to govern the municpal council ......Please be reminded that the municipal council is made up of 11 Elected Councillors in addition to a mayor who was direcly elected they are the ones who shall governed until the people of portmore go to the polls again not the advisory council sir The advisory council is a "watch Dog" group that seeks to keep the council on check and also provides as the name suggests. Yes i understand its relivants and supports its purpose but not to govern. Best wishes for you and your family for good health and a great 2004 and beyond. Cllr. Colin Fagan Deputy Mayor - Portmore Municipal Council ::::::::::::::::: Webmaster's Reply ::::::::::::::::: Dear Deputy Mayor Fagon, Glad to hear from you! Thanks for the recognition. Like so many of us, you also played an important part in the effort to establish the municipality. You continue to make an important contribution to our community as the Deputy Mayor and a businessman . I want to address the matter of the Advisory Council. This Council consist of none-elected persons form the Portmore community and forms part of the municipal governance structure. I am sorry that the last newsletter made it seem as though the Advisory Council (which consist of none-elected individuals) was the supreme political authority of Portmore! Indeed, it is the elected Municipal Council and Mayor who are the legitimate leaders of Portmore. This is one reason why I ran for office... in order to speak legitimately on behalf of the people. I believe in the democratic process! But let us look beyond that... may we? Truthfully, most of us (JLP, PNP, etc) were chosen to run for municipal office as nominees of our political parties. And most of us would not have gotten much votes as a nominee of a Citizens Association! So, notice how few persons dared to run as independents! This great influence of the political parties has caused the vast majority of Jamaicans to believe that us politician are more responsive to party pressures than LOCAL interest... Consequently, this is part of the reason Jamaicans are disenchanted with politics. They are not contributing to Nations Building through the political process. Jamaicans are now voting for politicians and then sitting by and using them to get benefits. Then they blame the opposition for every unsolved problem. They divide into warring camps... like the Mobs of ancient Rome! Is this what we want for our city? The Advisory Council was conceived to harness the energies of the people to help build the Municipality! On the Advisory Council should be School Principals, Church Leaders, Business persons, Vendors, Police, etc. all working to enrich the community in a non-partisan way. Once constituted, the Advisory Council should have real power because no one wants to be part of a talk shop! The Advisory Council should be like the Senate... with the "power" to approve and delay legislation (ordinances). Members should sit on Municipal Council committees. etc. The Advisory Council should be a secondary tier of governance... HELPING the politicians to Govern the ' Municipality. Let's pray and work together for a better city in 2004! God Bless you and your lovely family, and have a Great 2004! Kennedy ############################################################ 4. Café Aubergine - Mediterranean-Caribbean Cuisine ############################################################ Below, I received the New Years menu from Cafe Aubergine. I suppose I have to publish it like I did for the Pegasus! I hope you enjoy it! From: "Cafe Aubergine" Date: Fri, December 26, 2003 7:35 pm Café Aubergine Mediterranean-Caribbean Cuisine 11 mls from Ocho Rios on the Kingston Highway Open: Wednesday to Sunday for Lunch and Dinner Tel: 973-0527 e-Mail café_aubergine@mail.infochan.com English, French, Italian and German spoken New Years Eve Dinner 31st, December 2003 I. Veloute of Pumpkin and Zucchini II. Pate of Red Snapper and Aubergine III. Roulades of Beef in Mushroom Sauce with Stuffed Lobster Tail in Balsamic Wine Sauce IV. Crème Brulee with Fruit Sorbet Parfait Price per Person $ 1,900 (+ GCT), Dinner will be served starting at 8.30 p.m. R.S.V P. [--------------------------THE END--------------------------------] Legal Notices - Please read 1. 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