Caribbean faces
heat wave
Continued from cover
Suriname and Guyana on South America’s
northern coast to as far as Belize in
Central America. Belize is a member of
the CARICOM bloc of nations.
The drought has caused severe water
shortages in many countries, forcing
authorities to provide potable water by
trucks and tankers to bring relief. Bush
and grass fires have broken out daily
with fire services officials in Suriname
and Guyana especially complaining of
attending to up to 30 incidents daily.
Last weekend, the Caribbean Institute
for Meteorology and Hydrology
(CIMH) said that the unusual dry season
that started late last year will likely
run into July so authorities had better
beware and prepare.
In Trinidad for example, the most
southerly in the Caribbean island chain,
the Express Newspaper has been reporting
on the destruction of crops mostly
in South Trinidad and the deaths of
poultry and livestock both because of
prolonged drought conditions and also
because WASA, the local water authority,
has been unable to properly supply
residents. The authority is itself blaming
drought conditions for its inability
to supply potable water.
“I lost ducks, chickens and goats
because there isn’t enough water to
take care of them,” said farmer Narenda
Maharaj. “The pond where I get water
from has dried up.”
In Jamaica, authorities there are
praying for a normal rain season after
April as the island has largely been
dry since last yearend Met Chief, Evan
Thompson told The Gleaner newspaper
on Thursday, April 25.
“We are in the dry season and March is
traditionally the driest month of the year.
April is where it starts to pick up with a
little bit more rain, then we would see a
secondary peak in May. We are officially
still in the dry season, and that season
started in December. We don’t normally
get much rainfall between December and
April,” the Met Service head said.
The CIMH said this week that the
Guianas that also include Suriname
and French Guiana, could get some rain
as part of their normal mid-year blessings
but officials should brace for dry
periods during this cluster.
“More fre quent wet spells are ex pected
through out the re gion, ex cept in
the ABC Is lands — Aru ba, Bonaire and
Cu ra cao-Is lands. These spells may bring
some lev el of drought re lief, but al so
con cern for flood ing po ten tial. Heat
sen sa tion will in crease. Heat waves may
oc cur from May in Be lize and Trinidad
and To ba go, and else where from Ju ly
on wards,” it warned.
The institute talked about severe
drought conditions in several island
nations including Antigua, Aruba,
Barbados as well as Hispaniola where
accounts for the Dominican Republic
and Haiti.
SpecialGift Ideas
Mother’s Day
LOOK FOR OUR CIRCULAR
IN TODAY’S PAPER!
VISIT PCRICHARD.COM FOR A STORE NEAREST YOU
Caribbean L 16 ife, May 3–9, 2019 BQ
Drivers license benefits economy
Continued from cover
Against a backdrop of flags from
around the world, as part of Brooklyn’s
special observance of Immigrant Day
of Friendship and in honor of the City’s
celebration of Immigrant Heritage Week,
Adams joined immigrant New Yorkers
in highlighting the importance of the
Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act,
“as a matter of immigrant rights.”
“Today, across New York, there are
so many fronts on which we are standing
tall in support of our immigrant
community and its rights, including
the push to expand access to driver’s
licenses,” Adams said.
“As a matter of public safety, as well
as social justice and economic benefit,
the time is now to pass this legislation
in Albany,” he added. “I thank the sponsors
of the Driver’s License Access and
Privacy Act, and I pledge my full support
in any way I can be helpful to green
light the righteous campaign of Green
Light NY.”
Yaritza Mendez, lead organizer at Make
the Road New York, said: “We applaud
Borough President Adams in taking a
stand to support driver’s licenses for all,
regardless of immigration status.
“Restoring access to driver’s licenses
is critical to help protect our communities,”
she said. “New Yorkers
should be able to take their children to
school and drive to work without fear
of being detained and separated from
their loved ones.
“We look forward to working with
Borough President Adams to make
sure all qualified drivers are able to
follow the process of applying for a
license, taking a road test, and ultimately
obtaining a driver’s license,”
Mendez continued.
“The time has come for our elected
officials to pass this vital legislation
without delay,” said Murad Awawdeh,
vice president of advocacy for NYIC.
“Our neighbors in Utah, Wisconsin, District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 11
other states have already passed similar
measures that put public safety first.
“When our legislators take up and
pass the drivers licenses bill into law,
it will result in an estimated 57 million
dollars in revenue to NY State
and could help to lower insurance
premiums for all drivers,” he added.
We thank Brooklyn Borough President
Adams and Assembly Member Simon
for their support of #GreenLightNY
and call on our state legislature and
Governor Cuomo to get the job done
for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”
Adams noted that, currently,
752,000 undocumented immigrant
New Yorkers over the age of 16 are
barred from obtaining driver’s licenses
due to their immigration status, and
more than 70,000 additional residents
who currently have Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) or Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals are at risk of
losing access to their driver’s licenses.
/PCRICHARD.COM