Morning Bites: 5 things to know for Friday; Teachers wage offer; Child seat law; Clovis Toon; Breaking News and more

Morning Bites: 5 things to know for Friday, February 3, 2023 JTA delegates meet to decide response to Govt's wage offer The 25,000-strong Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) will today [host a special delegates' meeting]( to craft a response to the latest wage offer from the Government. President of the JTA, La Sonja Harrison, says the special delegates' meeting is crucial for the teachers to decide on a position. "We have gone around the island and spoken to the teachers in the 14 parishes and the teachers will come on Friday (today) of this week to make a decision as to what they will vote. The delegates of the association will vote as to what it is they are saying to the Government about what is on offer," said Harrison earlier this week. While she did not point to specific issues facing teachers, she noted that there are [several challenges about which the JTA is in dialogue with the Government](. “There are things we certainly continue to have negotiations and talks with the Government about if it is that we are serious about retention of experienced and quality teachers. If we are serious about the sustenance of an education system driven by Jamaican educators, then our Government really needs to rethink and come again," Harrison added. Teachers and the police are the two major group of public sector employees for which negotiations under the Government's new compensation scheme have not yet been finalised. Gov’t to review child restraint systems under new Road Traffic Act Following outcry from taxi operators, the Government has indicated that the requirement for public transport operators to equip their vehicles with appropriate child restraint systems under section 73 of the new Road Traffic Act (RTA) [is to be reviewed]( at the next meeting of the National Road Safety Council on February 9. Minister with responsibility for information, Robert Morgan, writing on his Twitter page, said the Government has taken note of the concerns regarding the provision in the RTA which [took effect on Wednesday](. Morgan pointed out that the provision was first incorporated in the Road Traffic Act in 2001 and was specifically deliberated by the Joint Select Committee chaired by former transport minister in the then People's National Party administration, Dr Omar Davies in 2015. Based on the new Road Traffic Act with its more punitive fines for breaches, motorists will be fined $5,000 for transporting a child in a motor vehicle without a proper restraint system. For his part, Opposition Spokesman on Transport Mikael Phillips is urging the Government to exempt hackney contract and route taxi services from the law on child-restraint systems under the Act until better arrangements are made to transport children, particularly in rural Jamaica. Phillips said application of the provision to public passenger vehicles (PPV) is impractical and burdensome on taxi operators. He said although the provision was not new, successive governments by convention never enforced the rule on public transport operators. Police searching for ganja bus driver The police will today intensify their search for the driver of a red Honda Step Wagon after he allegedly [fled the vehicle leaving behind US$1.4 million J$210 million worth of ganja](. According to reports, about 8:30 pm Wednesday, the Step Wagon which was travelling from the direction of Clarendon and heading towards Kingston, was signalled to stop by the police as it approached the Portmore exit. The driver of the vehicle disobeyed the instructions of the police and sped away. During a pursuit, the driver reportedly abandoned the vehicle along the roadway near the Ackee Walk filter road and escaped on foot in the nearby mangroves. A search of the vehicle revealed over 1,100 pounds of compressed ganja with a street value of approximately US$1.4 million. Investigators from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Narcotics Division are asking the driver of the vehicle to turn himself in. Advertisement Ally claims Bolsonaro plotted coup to block Lula presidency A Brazilian magazine on Thursday released audio of a senator claiming then [President Jair Bolsonaro]( sought help in a plot to annul the October elections and keep himself in power. In the recording, Senator Marcos do Val tells the magazine Veja that the idea was discussed when he met with Bolsonaro and lawmaker Daniel Silveira on December 9 at the presidential residence, three weeks before leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was set to take office. Do Val, who was an ally during Bolsonaro’s four-year term, said the far-right leader gave him the “mission” of recording Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice who also heads Brazil’s electoral authority, while trying to get the judge to admit he overstepped his powers under the constitution. “‘I annul the election, Lula isn’t sworn in, I stay in the presidency and arrest Alexandre de Moraes because of his comments,’” do Val quotes Bolsonaro as saying. Veja released the audio in response to denials the senator issued following the magazine’s report Thursday morning about the purported plot, which had not cited him as its source. Do Val told reporters after the magazine published its story that the plot had been Silveira’s idea and that the former president hadn’t said a word during the meeting. As James nears record, Tuesday's Lakers game moved to TNT The NBA has further adjusted the schedule of nationally televised games with LeBron James closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the league’s scoring record. James is [on pace to break the record Tuesday]( at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That game will now be shown on TNT, a change that forced a reworking of that night’s entire schedule on the network. TNT was supposed to show Atlanta at New Orleans, followed by Minnesota at Denver. Instead, it’ll show Phoenix at Brooklyn first, followed by the Thunder-Lakers game. It’s a move that follows the NBA making similar adjustments earlier this week to show James and the Lakers nationally on Saturday, as he presumably moves closer to Abdul-Jabbar. That game was moved up two hours to a 6 p.m. Eastern start. The Lakers-Pelicans game was moved to ESPN2, preceding a national broadcast between Dallas and Golden State at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. James entered Thursday needing 89 points to pass Abdul-Jabbar, who has been the league’s leading scorer since 1984. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month in Paris that the league would ensure James’ record-breaking game is shown nationally, as well as making it globally available. ICYMI: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING WATCH: Sanchez rocks Ranny Williams centre Sanchez was the headliner for Thursday evening's[free concert at Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre]( in St Andrew. Taxi driver gunned down in Portmore A taxi operator was [shot dead in the Silverstone community in Greater Portmore]( on Thursday evening. Holness condemns 'evil' murder of 9-y-o in Hanover Prime Minister Andrew Holness [has expressed outrage at the gruesome murder of nine-year-old Nikita Noel]( in Hanover on Wednesday. CLOVIS TOON TODAY IN HISTORY 'The Day the Music Died' [On this day]( in 1959, a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, claims the lives of rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J P "The Big Bopper" Richardson. For more stories, visit our website at www.jamaicaobserver.com or [sign up for our e-paper](. [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Website]( Copyright © 2023 Jamaica Observer, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 40 - 42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue Kingston 5 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.