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Where are you from? From Yard! Urban drama traces the true-life story of Jamaica Born Dave G Heron

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Shevrado Oliver (left) and Joe Herrera in From Yard. Photo credit- Nick Whatley

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Producers of the new TV series “From Yard” have announced a prominent lineup of celebrity hosts for the much-anticipated Jamaican and New York World Premiere screenings of the show’s pilot episode.

“From Yard” is an immigrant urban drama directed by Leland Benford that traces the true-life story of Jamaican born Dave G Heron (not to be confused with the David Heron), from his humble childhood beginnings in Maverley, Kingston through his subsequent emigration to the USA, and his turbulent adolescence and young adulthood on the streets of New York City. The series is the first ever television production to portray the pursuit of the American dream through the eyes of a Jamaican family.

The largely Jamaican cast includes: Shevrado Oliver as series lead, Dave G Heron, Glen ‘Titus’ Campbell, Joe Herrera, Darron Donaldson, Claire Dennison, Ashanti Harris and Adam Christian, making his professional acting debut as young Dave G, seen in flashback scenes of the character’s childhood in Jamaica and the USA.

Co-host of the Jamaican Premiere, David Heron (not to be confused with Dave G Heron), also appears in the production as Samuel Heron, father of series protagonist Dave G.

Last week, I had an opportunity to sit down with Dave G Heron, the visionary behind “From Yard.” David Heron is a playwright, producer and actor, who began his career in Jamaica as the writer of such critically and commercially successful plays as: Ecstasy, Intermission, Against His Will and Love and Marriage and New York City.

His work has subsequently been performed Off Broadway and on several continents to thousands of theatergoers throughout the diaspora. Emigrating to the USA, as an actor he has appeared Off Broadway, regionally and internationally in a diverse range of roles. One of a select few Caribbean born actors performing Shakespeare at the highest level across the USA, he recently earned stellar reviews for his work in the Colonial Theater of Rhode Island’s Shakespeare in The Park production of The Tempest.

In addition to his latest role in From Yard, he is collaborating with actor-producer Malik Yoba (Cool Runnings, New York Undercover) to bring his courtroom drama Against His Will to the New York stage.

During our discussion, he shared with me exactly how this project came to be. “I went on vacation and some crazy things started to happen. I had an out of body experience during that time, and I started keeping a journal.

When I came back to the states, I had planned to go on a trip to Mexico, and during that trip I had a chance to reread the journal. I was like, this could be a book. I also got some feedback from family members, and they also thought it could be a book.”

Instead of a book, his journal became a screenplay, one that ended up on Phedra Benford’s desk. “I am a script reader, so my job is to analyze scripts. David’s script was passed on to me, and I really liked the voice behind it. It had legs, heart. We were like, let’s jump on board.”

David had another producer who wanted to use American actors to play Jamaican and he was not about that. “I was like no way. We were not on the same page. The universe was working in my favour because I had a chance to meet Leeland.”

Director Leeland Benford (Detroit native) instantly stepped up to the plate after the script was approved by his wife Phedra. “David and I were on another set talking and he introduced it to me. We were like, let’s shoot in Jamaica. It was refreshing to me. Detroit gets a rough rap, all the movies from their hype the stereotype. David’s movie was more wholesome, about the working man’s plight.           

In 2018 while I was in film school, I told my classmates that I was going to shoot a film in Jamaica, and I manifested. One aspect of creating the film that was difficult was finding that cultural balance. How do we do this? Do we make this a completely Jamaican experience? We wanted it so that everyone could watch it and feel the authenticity of the story. I wanted people who have gone through this experience of moving to another country to be able to relate. 

We had a casting call for kids, and we came across Adam. He was so professional, bubbly; he came prepared with sticky notes ready to do his part. It was great working with our entire cast. We had casting calls in Atlanta and in Jamaica.

We had an investor who pulled out at the last minute; so, we had to put our money where our mouth was. He pulled out the day before we went to Jamaica. We considered shutting down production, but we all worked together and figured it out.”

Actor Nick Creegan, songstress Nadine Sutherland, actor, playwright David Heron and broadcaster and media personality Paula-Anne Porter-Jones will share hosting responsibilities for the two-star studded premiere events, which take place one week apart in September. Porter-Jones and Heron will co-host the Jamaican Premiere Screening on Monday September 18th, 2023, at 8:30 pm at Palace Cineplex, Sovereign Centre in Kingston. Creegan and Sutherland will step into the spotlight to host the Gala World Premiere at the Langston Hughes Auditorium, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York, one week later on Monday September 25th, 2023, at 8pm.

The Jamaican Premiere Screening will be a charity fundraiser for The BAM MOMS Club while New York’s Gala World Premiere will benefit The Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA) Inc. (UJAA) UJAAbotics programme.

For tickets and further information on both premieres, please see also www.bammomsclub.com and www.ujaausa.org.

We, as humans are guaranteed certain things in life: stressors, taxes, bills and death are the first thoughts that pop to mind. It is not uncommon that many people find a hard time dealing with these daily life stressors, and at times will find themselves losing control over their lives. Simone Jennifer Smith’s great passion is using the gifts that have been given to her, to help educate her clients on how to live meaningful lives. The Hear to Help Team consists of powerfully motivated individuals, who like Simone, see that there is a need in this world; a need for real connection. As the founder and Director of Hear 2 Help, Simone leads a team that goes out into the community day to day, servicing families with their educational, legal and mental health needs.Her dedication shows in her Toronto Caribbean newspaper articles, and in her role as a host on the TCN TV Network.

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Are citizens the ones causing harm to the environment, or is it our world leaders?

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BY MICHAEL THOMAS

For many years now, we the public have been hounded by the climate change hoaxers in government and climate zahrs who have lied to us, lectured us, and now have subjected us to punitive financial steps to make us comply with their climate change lies. In this piece, we shall first look at, and then reveal who the real climate vampires are.

A recent study published by PubMed has revealed what many others have long suspected, which is that wireless radiation emitted by cell towers and other wireless technology harms both human health and the environment.

All these mentioned in the paragraph above fall under electromagnetic fields (EMF), which seriously affect many different life forms, from plants and animals to insects and bacteria.

This is exceptionally serious considering that from the depths of the soil to the highest layers of the atmosphere imbalances caused by this wireless radiation emitted by cell towers can affect the universe in ways that we as humans never thought possible; here is how this is happening.

It is important to note here that as recently as August 2021, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of Children’s Health Defense (CHD) in its landmark case against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), challenging the FCC’s decision not to review its health and safety guidelines regarding 5G and wireless technology.

This happened because the court recognized that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) did not fully disclose the harmful effects of these radiations upon the public. This ruling also made it clear that the FCC was arbitrary and capricious in its failure to respond to comments concerning environmental harm caused by RF radiation.

Here are the findings of this study about what, how, and who is affected.

As mentioned earlier studies have shown that radiofrequency EMFs can have detrimental impacts on plant species, some of these impacts include: A shorter lifespan in certain plant species and trees that are exposed to cell towers being damaged on the exposed side which over time spreads to the entire tree.

In animals the effects are devastating; here is how. Radiofrequency EMFs have also been shown to adversely affect several animals such as: birds, frogs, rats, and mice.

These studies show that electromagnetic pollution from wireless telecommunications may be a factor in reducing certain mammal populations. There has been a notable decline in the number of babies and irreversible infertility in mice due to radiofrequency radiation.

Cell towers can cause developmental problems and death to the tadpoles exposed to them. Then there is the inability for birds to navigate their path safely because of electromagnetic noise, which blocks out their magnetic compass.

Even rats that come into contact with the waves from these cell towers give birth to babies with altered genetic expression in the brain. Insects experience changes in their: behavior, physiology, and morphology because of the trauma of these 5G networks and their towers.

This study revealed that even bacteria are not exempt from the harmful effects of EMF sources such as Wi-Fi, which have also been shown to have significantly altered their growth rate.

Studies have shown that even the extremely low-frequency EMFs from power lines can produce changing effects in the magnetosphere, the region of space around the earth.

As promised in paragraph one, we looked at and explained the damage caused by these: cell towers, WIFI, radiofrequency EMF, and 5G radiation. In closing, we will examine who is responsible. I will be concise in my answer by saying that it is those mentioned in the same paragraph.

Imagine hypocrites and liars like: Al Gore, Tony Blair, John Kerry, Justin Trudeau, and the little WEF climate actress Greta Thunberg lecturing us on climate change.

These are the liars who use private jets to circle the globe religiously, while climate taxing us and attempting to shame us for using our little cars.

Finally, we must follow the money. Who owns and benefits from the 5G rollout? Readers, I am sure your surname is not BlackRock or Vanguard, is it? Now we know who is controlling these greedy climate puppets mentioned above.

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Public Service Alliance of Canada calls on government to ensure pension surplus goes to workers and not o federal coffers

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BY PAUL JUNOR

The issue of what to do with the federal public service pension surplus of $9.3 billion is of significant concern to more than 700,000 federal public service workers, retirees, and territorial government employees. The federal government has expressed an interest in utilizing the surplus and this has prompted the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) to launch a national campaign to bring awareness of the government’s plan. PSAC released information in a press release on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, to express its concerns about the government’s planned actions.

Sharon DeSousa, National President of the PSAC states, “This is a betrayal of trust. Workers and the government contribute equally to this pension fund, but now the government is taking a break while workers are left to shoulder the burden.” PSAC believes that the government’s desire to put its hands on the surplus pensions would be a precedent-setting move. It could prompt private and public employers to do the same thing to their employees’ pension plans. This is an essential issue for the largest public sector union in Canada. “This is more than a fight for public sector workers; it is a fight for everyone who believes in: fairness, accountability, and the retirement security of workers.” National President Dsouza notes further, “If the federal government (the largest employer in the country) can raid its own workers’ pensions, what stops other employers from doing the same thing?”

PSAC is optimistic and hopeful that the federal government will reverse its course of action as it is still early. They have presented three possible solutions to protect retirement security and tackle the pension surplus. These include:

  • Reverse the two-tier system:

Reverse the two-tier system introduced by the Harper government in 2012. Under the Harper changes, federal workers who started their jobs on, or after January 1st, 2013, must work five years longer to reach full retirement. This inequality is fundamentally unjust.

  • Equitable retirement options for frontline workers:

Follow through on the government’s commitment to provide equitable retirement benefits for frontline public safety workers.

  • Suspend employee contributions:

If the government gives itself a contribution holiday, workers who equally pay into the pension plan should get one too, ensuring fairness and equality.

DeSousa states, “This isn’t about pensions; it’s about fairness, accountability, and doing the right thing for the workers who serve Canada every day.”

In a press release on Monday, November 25th, 2024, issued after the federal government’s announcement of a multi-billion-dollar surplus, PSAC notes that “This represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in the future of Canada’s public service, and righting the wrongs of the Harper era.” The press release referred to a report by the independent Chief Actuary of Canada, which acknowledged that there was a $1.9 billion surplus in the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) that is more than the optimal surplus allowed according to prescribed legislation. These funds will be transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund by the government.

PSAC is not pleased that federal workers who commenced on, or after January 1st, 2023, have to wait five years later to get a full pension. For PSAC, “This inequality is fundamentally unjust.” President DeSousa notes, “Federal workers built this pension surplus through their hard-earned contributions, and taking these funds is a betrayal of their trust. It also sets a dangerous precedent for all Canadian employers who may now be eying the pension contributions of other public sector workers.”

PSAC believes that the transfer of these funds into general government revenues rather than to alleviate the unfair two-tier pension system is inherently unfair. PSAC has offered a cost-neutral policy to the government to undo the policies introduced by Harper and will continue its fight to ensure these funds are allocated equitably. “PSAC is determined to express opposition to any actions by the federal government to divert these funds,” DeSousa notes. “A two-tier system is inherently unfair, especially for: racialized, Black, Indigenous, and young workers who make up the majority of recent hires-the same workers this government has confirmed to support and recruit into the public service. If the government is serious about equity and inclusion, we need fair retirement benefits for everyone.”

In an email on Friday, November 29th, 2024, PSAC announced that government’s actuaries revealed that $7.4 billion will be taken from the PSPP as it suspends employer contributions. The government has tabled measures indicating that it will pass the surplus to its coffers. President DeSousa states, “The decision by the government to put itself ahead of workers is wrong. They’re suspending employer contributions for the plan, but not investing in fairer pensions, or a contribution break for workers. That is a betrayal.”

PSAC is disappointed that the government did not engage in consultations with them and hid their true intentions hoping that they would not be found out. DeSousa notes, “The government could have given much-needed financial relief to some of the lowest paid workers in the federal government and make a fairer pension system in a revenue-neutral way, at no cost at all to taxpayers. The question is, why didn’t they?”

DeSousa expressed disappointment at the failure of the government to table pension reform legislation and ensure that frontline public safety and law enforcement workers have access to future equitable retirement benefits. “I spoke with the Prime Minister earlier this week. He must do right by these workers. It’s not too late.”

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Vegetable Pancakes: Wintertime delicious

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BY STEVEN KASZAB

Zucchini Pancakes: A flexible vegetarian meal that allows you to add whatever you desire to it, feeding your family a nutritious main for breakfast, or lunch. The main ingredients need not be zucchini, but perhaps squash, or any other fleshy fiber laden veggie. Also, you can top the pancake with just about whatever you desire be it: hot peppers, fried eggs, jam or even delicious maple syrup.

Family instructions: You will prepare this just as you would a regular pancake.

  • Shred three small zucchini’s and add a teaspoon of salt to draw out the moisture, leaving it to breathe for about 10-15 minutes.
  • While you’re waiting, chop green onions, or scallions finely. You will need 3 – 4 eggs to blend into the zucchini. If you wish to replace eggs with another substitute that will bind the shredded zucchini such as: flax, or chia seeds in water, mashed bananas, or applesauce do so.
  • Mix together and add if you so desire a cheese such as parmesan cheese to your distinctive taste, along with fruit, or berries. Add one cup of flour (more if you want the pancake to be denser).
  • Using a large spoon add to a hot pan, frying to your desired consistency. Flip and add some cheese to melt if you wish.

Another less costly ingredient may be the ever-present Mexican Avocado diced and added to the mix. The Germans often add fried onions with diced mushrooms and in Southern Italy don’t be surprised to find fried anchovies with pitted olives added.

Cooking is limited only by your imagination, so be creative, experiment and enjoy.

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