Last Friday night, Mrs. Hussey seemed to be out a bit too late, seated close to the terrace outside of the Regency Bar and Lounge. The recruited, foreign bartender, Thomas’s eyes were peeled supervising the bar, back and forth. Staff including doormen were being monitored closely and it was said that even the DJ was instructed not to play Dancehall, but strictly EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and Soca. Suga smelled the rat that they would soon be filtering crowd access to the ‘high profile’ Bar and Lounge that was ‘high-profile’ no more after hours.
The Regency Bar and Lounge sent an advisory email out today to Loyalty card members, Frequent guests and Business partners.
They stated that from 9pm until closing time, access to the Regency Bar and Lounge will be limited to only those who were addressed in the notification and their friends.
They say it has always been their top objective to provide quality service to all guests, while ensuring that those who are regulars access at all times while fulfilling their obligations regarding Capacity regulations, Safety and a Carefree environment.
Challenges faced concerning the high demand and popularity of their Friday nights have forced them to review their capacity control polices, thus Friday night access adjustments.
The door staff will control access.
Suga advises not to head there tonight, elite or not elite, as it may be a bit chaotic upon entry. Care to check out the new spot on Hope Road, 100? Suga hears it is quite pricey for a cue of rum but will check it out soon!
TGIF! Enjoy the weekend and Keep reading or Follow Suga Lifestyle!
If you aren’t already aware, Suzanne Stanley has been appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Jamaica Environment Trust (J.E.T). So what? Why is this news? A change for the future is always news but this is positive news, as Suzanne Stanley is a woman who is young, vibrant and motivated. She has also proven that she has superb Project Management Skills from various successful endeavours with JET, where she joined and served as Programme Director from 2010.
With first-class honours in a BSc. of Geography from the University of the West Indies, Mona, a Master’s degree with distinction in Environmental change and Management from Linacre College and the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University in the UK, along with her experience, she is definitely well equipped for the job.
Suga got in touch with the busy Deputy CEO this week, where she was able to give us the 411 by just answering 5 questions.
Question 1:Â
At 30 years of age and as head of such an Organisation, you will interact with many older persons, in Government and the Private sector. What challenges do you think this will pose, and what are your general views on the average age of our Political and Private sector leadership?
Response:
‘I have the experience of working with all age groups, from the very young in schools to the very old and even retired members of society, for instance at Community workshops. So with that experience, I am very comfortable dealing with all ages.’
Stanley also stated that the challenges arise with donors and various fundraising efforts, as a lot of people may not know her, but know her boss, CEO Diana McCaulay because of McCaulay’s age. She then said she knows she has to get to know more people, old and young. She believes she is able to get along with people easily and does not think it will be too much of a challenge for her down the line.
You can tell she is a confident person that expresses herself well, which are good qualities to aid in facing any challenges.
With regards to general views on the average age of our Political and Private sector leadership, she is of the point of view that age brings wisdom. ‘Experience is important where leadership is concerned and thus a big part of the job. There are a lot of leaders that are old, not to say that young people can’t be leaders, but they are the exception rather than the rule,’ stated Stanley. She then went on to say that leadership takes a certain level of maturity and frame of mind that are not so common. She has even noticed a change in herself over the past 10 years.
Question 2:Â
There is an impending election, what Environmental issues stand out as urgent for a new Jamaican Government?
Response:
‘It is not just the environmental issues that are urgent, but also social and economic issues, which go hand in hand. For instance, Transparency and Accountability on a local level are essential with respect to situations concerning our Natural resources, Riverton City dump, Goat Islands, Harbour View Sewage plant etc. Environmental campaigns such as ‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’ all speak to transparency but there is a lot to tackle and improve upon with regards to social and economic issues,’ stated Stanley.
Question 3:Â
Do you agree that Jamaicans are apathetic to Environmental issues, and what direct strategies can a Government and an Organisation like yours employ to combat this apathy?
Response:
Suzanne stated that Environmental awareness and concern for the environment is not at the level it should be, but there are more people who exercise interest and the correct practises than you would think. Still, there are so many social and economic issues on the forefront that it gets drowned. This is why it is important for JET to keep current in the media and to keep people thinking about the environment and proper environmental practises.
She also said that JET is action oriented and leads by example, thus creating an appreciation for the environment and persons. People should be allowed nice places to see instead of the Government bulldozing areas close to the shoreline for hotels, ports and cruise ships. That actually creates further apathy amongst the people. Major decisions at the Government level and Private sector are important to promote concerns of the people.
Stanley continued to say that JET targets schools, working people and society at large. For example, once a person such as a Teacher or President of an Environmental club at a school is established, there is a chain reaction and further multiplier effect. Suzanne said it starts with just ONE person and persons involved can be people other than JET representatives that are effective Community leaders and Ambassadors for JET.
On that note, Suga would like to remind you that it only costs $1000JMD to sign up with JET to get updates on local, current environmental issues and projects and to see how you can assist to improve those issues and participate in various projects.
Question 4:
What impact has your alma mater, Immaculate Conception High School (ICHS) had on your career decision and work ethic?
Response:
Suzanne stated that Immaculate Conception High School definitely had an impact on her direction and no, it did not have anything to do with being in the popular club, ICE (Immaculate Conception Environmental Club). Imagine, she was not even a part of it. Some would think that is shocking, but if you knew Suzanne in high school or know her now, she pretty much just went to school to learn, make friends and go home when the bell rang. Extra curricular activities were never her thing, however she was actively involved in JMTC (Jamaica Musical Theatre Company) outside of school and still assists them with productions to this day.
So how did ICHS help? Her Geography teacher, Mrs. Arlene Hay who taught her practically throughout all of High school except for the year she was on leave, kept the subject interesting and was very structured and organized. Leading by that example has had an impact on Suzanne, influencing how she approaches work today.
ICHS in general also had a way of making students develop high expectations in terms of difficulty of exams. She shared memories of how many would receive low grades or even fail Mock Exams, but then excel in the actual exam. So Immaculate held them to a high standard and she is thankful for that.
Question 5:
After a very catchy and effective, ‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’ campaign, a huge team effort, which you mainly assisted with the Creative Production, such as PSAs, can you give us a hint as to what the next big project will be about or have to do with?
Response:
Suzanne informed Suga that the next big project will be launching Phase 2 of the Clean Coast Project and they are gearing up to deliver an extension and expansion of the ‘Nuh dutty up Jamaica’ campaign with great assistance from the Tourism Enhancement Fund.
In the past year, JET has had Marine-themed Field trips, Underwater Clean ups and Research Days at Secondary schools. They will now be implementing Debris Containment Booms on a large-scale. What are Booms? Haven’t heard that since Retired Senior Superintendent of Police, Reneto Adams said it on the news. No. Booms are nets at the end of gullies Suga Readers. Nets that JET has periodically emptied. Now isn’t that fantastic?! Most of our gullies are disgusting. They are currently monitoring the success of a trial run of a Boom at South Gully, Montego Bay, then will place more island-wide depending on its success.
Other than that, Stanley said the plan is to do additional Promotion, and have a more targeted approach in Communities to see how Solid Waste Management can be improved.
Outer Picture: L-R Deputy CEO of JET, Suzanne Stanley, CEO of JET Diana McCaulay Inner Picture: Some of the JET team, L-R Suzanne Stanley with Nazli Williams, Felicia Wong, Diana McCaulay, Lisa Russell and Tamoy Singh
Other Current Environmental Information:
Tomorrow will be the 30th Annual International Coastal Clean up Day.
Registration for the Popular Beach Clean Up at Fort Rocky on the Palisadoes, had to be closed ahead of schedule due to an overwhelming demand of volunteers! Wow. Definitely a good look for the future of JET.
Persons were reminded that there are 124 other Beach Clean ups across the island to participate in. See list at http://tinyurl.com/iccsites2015.
Please, as citizens of our country, play your part in keeping Jamaica as the Land of Beauty. Environmental conservation is important not only for our Country’s survival but for ours as well.
See Coastal Clean up Promo video here and have a great weekend cleaning up our beaches!Â
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Suga called it! Congratulations to Flavia Pennetta and Novak Djokovic, the 2015 US Open Champions!
The more experienced, Pennetta won her first singles Grand Slam title on Saturday in 2 sets, 7-6, 6-2, defeating the woman responsible for the upset of the year, Roberta Vince.
The Men’s Final with World no. 1, Novak Djokovic vs no. 2, Roger Federer was delayed by 3 hours because of rain but definitely worth the wait. Note that there will be no more delays next year because there will be indoor options.
Djokovic has won his 10th Grand Slam title and 2nd US Open. 3 this year except for the French, where he was a finalist! Amazing season. He won physically and mentally with the crowd against him in 4 sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Well deserved.
The match was epic! Both players were a bit nervous in the first set. Djokovic was the more relaxed player, but had a nasty fall in one of the early games, then lost his momentum. He got it back and played well to win the first set, where Federer was very tight. The commentators said it was a messy first set for Roger.
Roger looked more like himself in the 2nd set, using a lot of variety to even sets, 7-5. That set was an hour long!
Djokovic regained control and took the 3rd.
In the 4th set, Djokovic was up 5-2 to serve for the match, but Roger wasn’t finished just yet. Roger broke his serve and held for it to go to 5-4. Djokovic had some big serves in the last game and after 3 hours and 20 minutes, Djokovic hit a massive serve that Roger sent long to seal the deal for Djoko.
Roger is clearly the People’s Champion. Djoko had to hit deep to win most rallies or serve big to win points. A few well executed lobs worked in his favour as well. Roger said he is very pleased with where his game is at and we will see him next year.
After losing the 1st set, he was already at a disadvantage to make up physically in the 2nd, then try to overcome the excellence of Djokovic in the 3rd at his age and current fitness level. He looked fitter than Wimbledon but he has more work to do. Kudos to him though for helping to make the match so entertaining. You know it was epic when Djoko jumped up into the stands afterwards and shouted, ‘This is Spaaaaarta!’ with members of his box. Suga thinks this is probably his best and most meaningful win of his career so far. Well done Djoko.
BOXING
Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather has hung up his boxing gloves, going out with a win by a unanimous vote over Andre Berto to retire undefeated 49-0. It was a good fight. Much more entertaining than the most hyped and marketed fight in history, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight earlier this year. Props to the referee for denying Mayweather Barney hugs and there was less running, but more dancing. No joke. Mayweather actually did the running man during one of the rounds. He enjoyed himself. He displayed his quickness and agility off the ropes, as he is known for. Besides a very low, direct blow to Mayweather from Berto (for all the abused women out there!), it was a fairly clean fight. Finally we saw some upper cuts! Yes! Both boxers lost their footing during the fight, but it was in the last round that Mayweather piled on the right hooks and upper cuts, weakening the knees of Berto. But Berto recovered quickly and put up a good fight.
What did Mayweather and Berto say after the match? Well Mayweather explained why he was retiring. He said he is almost 40, been fighting for 19 years and has been a World Champion for 18 years. He believes he has accomplished everything, having broken every record there is, so there is not much left in the sport of Boxing for him. He is happy to leave the sport with all his faculties, something he has mentioned before, that clearly was a concern for him. He also mentioned that he has done a lot of charity work, which the media never mentions, for instance, feeding the homeless. He of course closed with, ‘Money don’t make me, I make money. I am the best at boxing’.
The defeated, Andre Berto said Mayweather was slippery. He had a lot of speed and was real crafty, using a lot of little things to keep him off his rhythm. He was asked about an exchange between them during one of the rounds and Berto explained that he basically said, ‘Here I come. I am here to fight.’ Berto said he pushed it to the limit but he fell short. He was asked if he thought Mayweather was the best ever. There was a pause and unclear shout from the crowd. Thankfully he kept it real and said Mayweather is ONE OF the best ever.
FOOTBALL: Barclay’s Premier League
It’s not looking like a good year for Chelsea. They continue to dig a deeper hole with a 3-1 loss to Everton. The other big sides, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United were all victorious. Arsenal with a 2-0 win over Stoke City, Man City beat Crystal Palace 1-0 and Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-1!
Huge upset on the Women’s side of the draw yesterday at the US Open. Last year it was on the Men’s side with Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori knocking out Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Semi Finals. Now, Novak Djokovic defeated the Defending Champion who has been plagued with an ankle injury during the tournament, Marin Cilic easily in 3 sets with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 victory. Federer defeated Stan Wawrinka easily with a  6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Wawrinka has not shown his usual fighting spirit this Open. So it will be a Djokovic-Federer final tomorrow at 4pm ET. It has been a few years that Roger has made it to the US Open final, but he surely looks better than how he was at Wimbledon this year. He has started to run more and looks fitter, but still 80% of the Roger Federer we know aka Fed Express so Suga has Djokovic for the win in an entertaining match.
Now for the ladies! It was expected to be a Williams-Halep final. First of all, Flavia Pennetta (26) upset young, world #2, ‘ jalepeño’ Simona Halep in 2 sets! 6-1, 6-3.  Suga did not see that match but one would think that after that marathon of a Quarterfinal with Victoria Azarenka, Halep would have been exhausted.
Then Serena’s quest for Grand slam history ended dramatically yesterday to an UNSEEDED 32-year-old that looks like 60, Roberta Vinci whose odds were 300 to 1! Wow. What an anti-climax! What happened?! Drake? No, just kidding. But you never know. Serena played relatively well, but was not consistent. With a 6-2 start in the 1st set she probably thought she was safe. She was crushed in the second and looked like she recovered in the 3rd, breaking Vince early, going up 2-0. But it all went downhill from there. She had a lot of unforced errors and just could not maintain focus and settle her emotions. Vinci capitalized on every opportunity she got. She played the match of her life and was pumped! After winning a long rally at a pivotal moment in the 3rd set, she put her hand to her ear to the crowd, then raised both hands saying something like yessss! Look at me! Applaud me! Check that moment out here.
I thought Serena would steam roll her for that but Serena just could not answer. Vinci had a flurry of powerful forehands setting up Serena for an open court and frequently went to the net with effective drop shots. Then the inevitable happened, Vince finishing Serena in a LOVE GAME, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Steffi Graf can prepare to hand over the Championship trophy to Serena another time. All preparations can go back into storage. It will be an all Italian final at 3pm ET today with the oldest players in a women’s major final combined, as Pennetta is 33.
Well done Roberta Vince for pulling off one of the BIGGEST upsets in history and showing that even towards the end of the road or your career, anything is possible if you keep fighting. She said it was the best moment of her life.
See Vinci’s hilarious post match interview here:
Pennetta with a lot of experience, has already won the Australian Open Doubles title in 2011 and is well rested after just a 2 set match vs Halep. After Vince used all the gas her tank, it is likely that Pennetta may win, but Suga supports Vince for the win. Afterall it’s sports. As we witnessed yesterday, anything can happen. Good luck to her in the final. With an upset victory like that, it would be even sweeter to go all the way.
SCHIPPERS, ELAINE, FELIX, all in the 200m women! It should be a cracker! Will Elaine Thompson get her revenge? The more experience she gets, the better she will be.
It’s that time again! The Heart Foundation of Jamaica’s fundraiser, Simply Red, will be Friday September 25th on the lawns of Jamaica house for $7000JMD, offering food and wine to your heart’s content. No pun intended. However, Pop-Up Gourmet Jamaica has Early Bird Tickets until this Friday, September 11th for $6300JMD, so get them while you can!
Call 876-807-5349 for your Early Bird tickets.Â
Need a remind
er of what this event has to offer? Check out Suga’s review from last year here:
With a goal in the 89th minute after many successful time-wasting tactics by Nicaragua, Simon Dawkins secured a place for Jamaica in the Semi Final round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying game with a final score of Jamaica 2: 0 Nicaragua. Thanks also to Darren Mattocks who scored a goal in the 13th minute, which started to get Jamaica out of debt. Mattocks displayed a valiant effort throughout the entire match. Jamaica needed 2 clear goals to win and the Reggae Boyz accomplished just that. Well done. I wish I could say the same about the commentators on FLOW Channel 100 though. They probably put Jamaica to sleep, making some miss the 2nd goal. The same thing was said about every 5 minutes in a different way, CNN style. Though debatable, for Suga, there were a lot of dull aka boring moments in the game, especially in the 2nd half where it looked for a moment like the Reggae Boyz gave up, but the commentators could have done better. They even closed the curtains on the Reggae Boyz until World Cup 2022 with about 15 minutes left in the game, which is A LOT in football time. Shame on them and extremely poor coverage.
They will now join Costa Rica, Panama and Haiti in Group B. Haiti, who was also in a knock out round, beat Grenada to advance. How does the rest of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying 4th round look?
Group A: Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Canada
Group C: United States, Trinidad & Tobago, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala
So the Road to Russia continues!
US Open
Serena Williams won 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 last night in a 98- minute long Quarterfinal versus her sister, Venus Williams. It seemed much longer for them and it wasn’t easy for Serena at all compared to their match up this year at Wimbledon, where it took Serena only 2 sets to win. Serena’s face looked like she was in emotional pain for the entire match. Since they are both power hitters and servers, rallies if any, only lasted about 3 or 4 hits and nobody knows Serena’s serve better than Venus.
Serena closed out the match with an ace and Venus whispered in Serena’s ear that she was very happy for her. Very sweet exchange and embrace afterwards.
Serena will move on to play the unseeded Italian, Roberta Vinci in the Semi Final this Thursday, continuing her quest to complete a Calendar Grand Slam and even Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slam titles in the open era.
Serena now leads Venus 16-11 in head to head Grand Slam matches and has won 7 of the last 8 meetings.
See why Venus says Serena is the ‘best ever’ here:
http://es.pn/1K7Ppem
The men’s side of the Quarterfinals was also pretty exciting yesterday with a 5 – setter from Cilic and Tsonga, where Defending Cham, Cilic prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4. Marin Cilic will meet Novak Djokovic in the Semi finals.
Djokovic who continues to look good defeated Feliciano Lopez in 4 sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. Do you know that he gets his sneaker company to shave down the bottom of his tennis shoes so that he can skid more. It has been noticed he gets to balls that are usually out of reach for most players, by skidding over to them during the open. Interesting stuff.
We will witness our favourite sibling rivalry in Sports again with ‘Sister Sister’ action between the Williams sisters at the Quarterfinals of the US Open at 7pm ET/6pm Jamaican time.Â
There is clearly a lot more on the line for Serena, but it would surely be nice to have Venus move on to the Semi Finals as well since she may not have this opportunity again. Bitter sweet, but as Serena said on Sunday, ‘At least one of us, a Williams, will be in the Semi Finals, so that’s good.’
May the best sister win!
Image: www.jamaicafootballfederation.com
The Reggae Boyz had a disappointing loss versus Nicaragua at the Office at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica last Friday night, with the final result of 3-2. The Reggae Boyz were behind by as much as 3-0 and fought hard in the end to score 2 goals. This now gives Nicaragua the edge over Jamaica on aggregate in the 2nd Leg tonight at 8:30pm, Jamaican time, which will also be a knock out round to continue on the Road to Russia. Jamaica will have to score 2 clear goals above Nicaragua in order to WIN and keep their dreams, as well as Jamaica’s dreams alive. If they score 1 goal above them, for a scoreline of 3-2, that would mean we have tied on aggregate, facing more than likely overtime and penalties if necessary. With a scoreline less than that, we can kiss our dreams of Russia goodbye.
The  Reggae Boyz will be without Giles Barnes, who due to previous joint and tendon issues, cannot play on Nicaragua’s artificial surface. Upston Edwards has taken his place. Jamaica’s Captain, Rodolph Austin is also questionable since he is dealing with personal priorities to access a visa to continue his professional career in Scandinavia. Can’t blame him. If unavailable, Coach Schaefer said Adrian Mariappa could Captain the team and Andre Clennon is a possible substitute for the game depending on how he performs in their training session.
So there is a lot of work to do and they have to stay completely focused.
*Flow Jamaica Limited will have live and exclusive broadcast of the match on FLOW 100.
The euphoria of how well the Reggae Boyz did in the Gold Cup is still in the air, but a clean slate starts tonight as they begin to dodge some pot holes, starting at 8pm in the National Stadium versus Nicaragua with the hope of a place in the World Cup Finals in Russia 2018 as their final destination.
So how do they move on after tonight’s match?
The return leg will be next Tuesday in Nicaragua with the hope that the Reggae Boyz will advance to the 4th round on aggregate and go into Group B with Costa Rica and Panama, as well as the winner of Haiti vs Grenada. The top 2 teams will then advance to the 5th and final round, where the top 3 teams will head to Russia! The team in 4th place will be entered into a Continental Play-off.
Good Luck Reggae Boyz! Keep playing with heart and pride!
