A coalition of Broward County citizens, the Broward Citizens for Fair Districts, has announced their lawsuit recently against the Broward County Commission over the approved re-districting of the 2011 Broward County voting map. The group argues that the new map is unconstitutional towards Black voters, violating the Federal Voting Rights Act.

Broward Citizens for Fair Districts are joined in their suit by State Senator Christopher Smith, State Representative Perry Thurston, Mayor Eric H. Jones, Jr., the T.J. Reddick Bar Association, and representatives from the Broward Black Elected Officials organization.

But how does the new district map change the way Blacks can vote in Broward County? Are black voters really being disenfranchised? The National Weekly looks at the numbers, and how the Black vote and Black local government representation could change under the controversial district map.

Disputes over the Jamaica 50th independence anniversary celebrations are brewing in Jamaica, as new Minister of Youth and Culture, Lisa Hanna, calls for an audit into the funds being used by the Jamaica 50 Secretariat, the organization overseeing this year's celebrations.

Consul General of Jamaica in Miami, Sandra Grant Griffiths, however assures that funding for the independence celebrations for the Jamaica Diaspora in South Florida will not be affected by the audit. Although the official Florida celebrations are registered with the Jamaica 50 Secretariat, the events are not funded by either the Secretariat or the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in Jamaica.

"The projects in Florida will be funded by private sponsors and community partnerships," the Consul General confirmed to the National Weekly.

Less than two months after Air Jamaica, operated by Trinidadian-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL), resumed flights from the Miami International Airport (MIA) to Jamaica on December 5, Caribbean airlines has announced that they will again be suspended effective February 1.

Kay Chong, Air Jamaica/Caribbean Airlines representative in South Florida confirmed the suspension of the service. She informed the National Weekly that the airline confirmed that the suspension of the Miami/Jamaica route was an operational adjustment, to maximize the route's future effectiveness and viability.

Staffers at the Miami International Airport however said they were not surprised by the cancellation, as the passenger load remained "extremely poor" since the service resumed in December.

South Florida schools earned high placements for 2011, in Florida's initial school ranking report in five categories: elementary, middle, high, combination elementary/middle and combination middle/high.

In Miami-Dade, Archimedean Middle Conservatory, a charter middle school specializing in mathematics and Greek in West Kendall, was named the state's best middle school. George Washington Carver Middle in Coral Gables and Herbert A. Ammons Middle in southwest Miami-Dade were also included among the 10 best middle schools in the state.

State rankings for the Magnet School category included four Miami-Dade schools: Maritime and Science Technology Academy in Virginia Key, the Design and Architecture Senior High School in Miami's Design District, the Coral Reef Senior High in southwest Miami-Dade, and the New World School of the Arts in downtown Miami.