It’s Read - It Reaches

As in the States, I try to read a newspaper every day, just to keep up with things. In a new (or foreign, if you will) place, it is a good way to learn what issues are important there, in both a local and global sense. Politics, of course, are very important here, and the papers each have their own opinions on the subject.

My daily read is the Gleaner, one of the oldest English dailies in the hemisphere (from 1834) and the preeminent national newspaper. Preeminent in their eye, at least. Full page ads with progressively larger cartoon newspapers routinely inform me that Gleaner readership far surpasses the readership of the other national daily, the Observer. The Observer, then, responds that they are the best read tabloid on the island, using the same data and lame cartoon newspaper graphics as the Gleaner ads. Both are correct, as the Observer is in tabloid format and the Gleaner is in the,... uh,... non-tabloid format.

Somewhat like the Tribune and the Sun Times, but only in that one is in the tabloid format and the other is in the,... uh,... non-tabloid format. I guess they are all English language dailies, as well,... sort of. The local rags oftentimes print statements made by locals in Patois.

Imagine if your local paper did the same with thick-accented eastern Europeans, or even thick accented-eastern United State-ians, in an attempt to express, in type, every lisp and slur and dropped consonant and deeply guttural G. Sometimes, I just assume that whatever statement was being made was pithy and appropriate and move on to the cricket scores.

And of course, the local papers are a great way to read about the latest match, to whit: “... and was caught by Jacobs for a well played 35. That was 120 for four, and when the left-handed Lance Kluesner went back, attempted to pull McGarrell and was leg before wicket at 126 for five, when Mark Boucher swung at McGarrell and was caught by Christopher Gayle at mid-on at 136 for six and when Gibbs, sweeping at offspinner Hooper, was brilliantly caught by Jacobs for 85 at 148 for seven after smashing two sixes and stroking 12 fours, South Africa were again in trouble.”

Then again, if Cricket is not your game, there is always netball.
Each of the two major papers has their own style; the Gleaner is a bit stodgier, with adequate doses of international and regional news. It rips on German men with impudence. The Observer is more flash, and keeps more of its focus on local events. Both cover the sensational - police murdered, police murders, large drug arrests, failed pyramid schemes, the latest in cassava based products - the usual. Both cover the darker aspects of Jamaican life as well. For example, a few recent Gleaner headlines:

• “More power cuts - JPSCo’s reserve margin eroded”

• “Fire sparks power cuts - Old Harbour Bay generator damaged”

• “Illegal wires down - JPSCo disconnects unregistered users” “No arrests were reported and some residents mounted new connections as soon as the JPSCo team left the area.”

• “Power cuts wreak havoc - Manufacturers said hardest hit” They say that the manufacturers were hit the hardest.

• “More dark times ahead”

Unfortunately, there is rarely a day when there is not a crisis of some sort. The power outages and rolling blackouts is just one of the current problems. A looming and increasingly larger problem at that.

Before we came down, we were informed that the power supply was less than stable. At home in Montego Bay, the power used to flash every day or so. You reset the microwave clock. So what.

At the highway camp, we got used to the power flashing a couple of times a week. Every few weeks, the power would be down for a few minutes or more. Rare was the time when outages would exceed an hour, and those occurrences were usually caused by the contractor’s jury-rigged internal distribution system, implemented by his poorly trained electricians.

We were at an agricultural show a few weeks ago (more on the order of the Lucas County Fair than the Iowa State Fair). It was mid-day or so, and an electrician was installing additional lighting over one of the green spaces. The additional lighting was a single halogen bulb, screwed into the most rudimentary of sockets, and attached to two loose wires. Up the shaky ladder he scrambled, propped against the power pole, then made the connections direct to the exposed feed wires, and left the bulb hanging. Since the light went on, and the electrician was not thrown to the ground in a shower of sparks, the installation was a success.

Sure, the electricians are saying, this is a common technique for temporary lighting. Sure, I am saying, but this was probably not temporary. Bare wires are everywhere, twisted connections left exposed to the elements, twelve gauge interior cable running hundreds and hundreds of meters up into the hills to feed a half dozen houses. Once, a shade tree mechanic tried to jump start the Dogwagon with a ratty old length of lamp cord.

It really comes as no surprise that there are occasional outages.
The first blackout we experienced happened months ago, just as we were finishing a meal at one of the restaurants on the Strip. We paid our bill in the dark, found the van, and joined the largest traffic jam I have ever seen here, as everyone else in Montego Bay left wherever dark place they were at simultaneously. Aggravating the situation was a disabled truck blocking half of the bridge over the Montego River. We had power at home by the time we got there. No problem.

This current spate of rolling blackouts, “power shedding” to the power company, are more of an annoyance. They occur a couple of times a week for a couple of hours and would not be necessary if only the equipment would have been maintained. Not surprising, as maintenance is the first to go when budgets are tight.

Unfortunately, budgets in all sectors have been tight here for decades.

Without upkeep, things fall apart. Some days, you can almost see it happening.
Unless there is a blackout. Read More......