THIS DAY IN OUR PAST

The following events took place on September 16 in the years identified:

1990:Portmore

minibus operators reject the average 20 per cent increase in fares granted by Government. So says president of the Portmore Minibus Service, Herbert Ross, who paints a grim picture of operators losing their buses and houses because of bad business. Ross, who is speaking to members at the Oceana Hotel, downtown Kingston, says prior to the last increase in fuel price, his organisation would have accepted a 45 per cent increase to offset operational costs. He says in light of the new increase in fuel prices, 20 per cent hardly represents a cost adjustment. Minibus operators cannot operate their buses profitably with the continued increases in cost, declared Ross. Citing the expected hike in the price of tyres and other inputs for buses, Ross discloses that buses are being repossessed by the banks at an alarming rate. He says many people on the Portmore route are also losing their houses, which they used as collateral to buy buses. 1999:Appeals

by the light and power company for customers to trim tall trees and shrubbery which may touch power lines have not been heeded and some communities are feeling the effects. High winds pushing trees on to power lines and intense lightning hitting transformers and fuses have thrown some communities into darkness during the recent period of unstable weather. Horizon Park and neighbouring communities in south St Catherine are affected when a tree fell on a power line along the Old Harbour main road. Recently, the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) asked its customers to trim trees and shrubbery on their premises, especially those close to power lines. “With the high winds, the problem of trees touching the lines has worsened, resulting in a high percentage of disruptions in supply,” says a JPSCo release.

– The Gleaner Archives

Today’s Gem

“Every second you spend thinking about someone else’s dreams you take time away from your own.” – Geoffrey F. Abert