One Caribbean Weather, an affiliate of American network CBS, will air a half-hour special on Jamaica's 50th anniversary celebrations. A three-member crew was in the island this week working on the project.

Joey Stevens, chief forecaster for the Erie, Pennsylvania station, said he and his colleagues came to Jamaica at the invitation of the Jamaica Tourist Board. They tracked the progress of Tropical Storm Ernesto which threatened Jamaica, but also filmed a performance of the National Dance Theatre Company; triumphant scenes in Half-Way Tree after Usain Bolt won the 100 metres at the London Olympics; and the Jubilee which took place at the National Stadium.

Stevens told the Jamaica Observer that snippets of the events have already been shown on One Caribbean Weather, but the 30-minute special will be aired in late August.

One Caribbean Weather primarily covers the weather throughout the region but also works with tourism interests in the islands to promote their leisure industries.

'Foundation' gets revised

A revised edition of American author David Katz' Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae, will be released in November by Jawbone Press. The original was released in 2003 by Bloomsbury.

Katz says the updated 'Solid Foundation' will have two chapters on dancehall as well as "new information on the early days of the music industry." He added that there will be better photos.

Solid Foundation gives a detailed look at the history of grassroots reggae, going back to the 1950s and the advent of sound systems. It features numerous interviews conducted by Katz with pioneers and major players of ska, rock steady and roots-reggae.

Katz, who has lived in England for over 20 years, has written other critically-hailed books on reggae including People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, which was released in 2000.

World Chaos now on i-Tunes

World Chaos, the fourth album by roots singer Pucka Kayuba, has been released digitally on i-Tunes by American company Zojak, the largest digital distributor of reggae music.

Kayuba (real name Barry Liston) said he signed with Zojak in April. World Chaos was released on compact disc in March.

It is his second link with an American company. Kayuba's third album, Peace and Love, was distributed by Loud Dust Records.

World Chaos is the follow-up to Peace And Love, another message-strong album Kayuba released in 2003. His debut album, Impulse, came out in 1994 followed by Mission in 1998.

Drummer Sly Dunbar, guitarists Wayne Armond, Dalton Browne, Dwight Pinkney and Winston 'Bo Pee' Bowen and keyboardist Dennis 'Jah D' Fearon, are some of the musicians who worked on World Chaos.