Archive for February 4th, 2009

Turks and Caicos probe wrapping up

Turks and Caicos probe wrapping up

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

(AP): With two private jets on call and a Hollywood wife, the Turks and Caicos prime minister lived like the rich and famous who have made the Caribbean island chain one of the hottest stops for celebrities. Michael Misick says his lifestyle allowed him to court high-end developers and helped put the British territory southeast of the Bahamas on the map. But his financial dealings are now the focus of a British investigative commission that is wrapping up hearings this week on the main island of Providenciales. The Turks and Caicos still answers to a London-appointed governor, who formed the commission last summer. (Left: Misick with estranged wife LisaRaye McCoy) Go to article

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Voters need to check election list

Voters need to check election list

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Following the record breaking number of voters now registered to place their ballot in the forthcoming General Election in May, registered voters are being invited to check through the new voters lists that now contains 15,117 names. (See CNS article). The new electoral roll will be posted at various locations throughout the three Cayman Islands from Sunday 8 and Monday 9 February. 

The elections office said these are the lists that have been revised to include everyone who has registered since the cut-off date for the last list, which was published in January.

Supervisor of Elections Kearney Gomez is urging voters to check the lists to determine whether all of their information is accurate. If corrections are necessary, a claim must be submitted to the Registering Officer for the district in which the voter is registered. The Elections Law provides 21 days for the lists to be publicly scrutinized. Therefore any claim must be submitted on or before Monday, 2 March. The law also provides for registered voters to object if they believe that someone included on the voters list is not entitled to be there. Objections must also be filed on or before 2 March.

Forms for both claims and objections are available at all post offices, the Elections Office and the website www.electionsoffice.ky

After a magistrate has settled the claims and objections, the final list, formally known as the Official Register of Electors, will come into force on 1 April. The office confirmed that this is the list that will be used for the General elections and proposed constitutional referendum on 20 May.

The voters lists may be viewed at the following locations:

West Bay: * West Bay Post Office, * Hell Service Station, Four Winds Esso, Clinic, * Republix, CNB, * Cost-U-Less                

George Town: *Seven Mile Beach Post Office, *Downtown Post Office, *CICSA Co-Op Credit Union, Airport Post Office, *The Strand (Foster’s Food Fair) *Kirk Supermarket, *George Town Hospital, *Govt. Admin. Building, *Hurley’s Supermarket,*Foster’s Food Fair, *Jose’s Esso, *Walkers Road Texaco,  McRuss Groceries, *A L Thompson Home Depot, *Smith Road Professional Centre

Bodden Town: Bodden Town Clinic, *Foster’s Food Fair (Country Side), *Lorna’s Texaco, *Post Office Savannah, *Post Office Bodden Town

East End: Clinic, *Foster’s Food Fair, *Post Office

North Side: Jack’s Esso, *Post Office, Chisholm’s Grocery

Cayman Brac and LC: *West End Post Office, Creek Sub post Office, Spot Bay Sub Post Office, Watering Place Sub Post Office, Stake Bay Sub Post Office, *Kirconnell’s Supermarket, *Market Place, Billy’s Supermarket, *Village Square, District Officer’s Office.

Locations marked with an asterisk (*) have lists for all six electoral districts. Other locations have lists for that district only.

 

 

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Cayman coral seized in NC

Cayman coral seized in NC

| 04/02/2009 | 1 Comment

(CNS): Agriculture specialists found 40 pieces of coral species in the luggage of a passenger landing in North Carolina from Grand Cayman on January 17, US Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday. This was one of three seizures of prohibited coral species at Charlotte Douglas International Airport during the month of January. Two days previously, two passengers arriving from Saint Maarten were found to have a total of 6 pieces of coral species in their baggage, the CBP said.

 In all three cases, the coral, which is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), were seized and turned over to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is the primary agency responsible for enforcing CITES in the United States.

CBP says that, as the nation’s border agency, it works closely with the US Fish and Wildlife to ensure CITES is enforced at every port of entry in the United States. The goal of the convention is to ensure that international trade in animals does not threaten their survival. Under CITES, both the exporter and importer need to comply with the convention’s requirements and be certified in the trade of any part of an animal covered by it.

“CBP at the ports of entry in the state of North Carolina have always maintained a very strong working relationship with the US Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Patty Fitzpatrick, area port director in Charlotte. “Through a cooperative effort, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has done an outstanding job of cross training CBP officers in order to enforce CITES trade permits properly. Together, we will continue to work diligently in an effort to ensure that international trade laws are protected.”
 

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Caribbean beaches get lonely

Caribbean beaches get lonely

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

(Economist): IT is the time of year when the Caribbean normally expects its hotels and beaches to be packed with sun-seekers. But this year, cash-strapped North Americans and Europeans are staying at home. Visitor numbers will fall by up to a third, reckons Harold Lovell, who chairs the Caribbean Tourism Organisation. The hotel association in Tobago says that only one bed in three is occupied. Atlantis, a mega-resort in the Bahamas, laid off 800 staff in November, while flights to Nassau,have been cut by a quarter. Go to article

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FCU cops seeking internet phone scam victims

FCU cops seeking internet phone scam victims

| 04/02/2009 | 3 Comments

(CNS): Officers for the Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) say they are looking for people who may have been duped into buying cell phones online by a company called Compucay. Detectives in the unit are investigating allegations of deception in relation to the firm which during 2008 advertised 3G iphones for sale online, and a number of Cayman residents responded by sending money to the company for the phones. The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service said that to date no phones have been received and it is now conducting an enquiry.

 

“So far, I have identified two people who have made payments through this company a long time ago, neither of which ever received their goods or a refund,” said Detective Constable Richard Clarke of the FCU. “I now need to hear from anyone else who has sent money and not received goods.”

 Anyone who can assist Detective Clarke should contact him on 949-8797.

Anyone with information about crime taking place in the Cayman Islands should contact their local police station or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS). All persons calling Crime Stoppers remain anonymous, and are eligible for a reward of up to $1000, should their information lead to an arrest or recovery of property/drugs.

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Lion’s push important reading message

Lion’s push important reading message

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

(CNS): As part of their extensive community work the Lions Club of Tropical Gardens recently hosted a ‘Reading Is Cool project’ for thirteen children aged between 6 and 8 years old where the kids had a day of reading, nutrition, craft, learning and fun. The day started with a nutritious breakfast of fruits, sandwiches and yogurt, before dental hygienist, Alice Jolley spoke to them about taking care of their teeth. 

During the day the youngsters enjoyed reading one-to-one with Lions and guests, making Valentines card for their parents and playing at the Dart Park in South Sound before visiting George Town Branch Library.  The librarian introduced the children to the different sections and each child had the chance to select books of interest and read to each other.  The students were encouraged to join the Library and many of them indicated that they would ask their parents to take them to join.  Each student was given a Reading Is Cool T-shirt and books before being taken home.

  

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Afghans beat Cayman Islands

Afghans beat Cayman Islands

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

(VideosFromIndia): Afghanistan’s national cricket team was welcomed home in Kabul on Tuesday by ecstatic crowd after reaching the final stage of the 2011 World Cup qualifiers.Last week the team reached the final qualifying stage by beating the Cayman Islands in Argentina. Among the fans were several members of Afghanistan’s parliament who had braved the cold weather to greet their national team. (Left: Norooz Mangal, Afghanistan’s cricket team captain, was carried on the shoulders of fans after returning to Kabul from Argentina — Musadeq Sadeq/AP) Go to video

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Contractor trouble slows Brac recovery

Contractor trouble slows Brac recovery

| 04/02/2009 | 5 Comments

(CNS): The National Recovery Fund says it has received over 200 applications from residents on Cayman Brac in need of repairs to their homes but has only managed to complete five projects so far. It has another 15 under construction and is assessing a further 100 projects, but says the lack of available contractors on the Brac is seriously hampering progress in the post Paloma reconstruction.

The NRF said it is working to get through all the applications as speedily as possible, and while work has been going well, the contractor situation is reminiscent of that on Grand Cayman in the wake of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.

“This is a similar situation to what we saw after Hurricane Ivan, where there was a higher need than available contractors to do the work,” said Dr Mark Laskin, Director of the NRF.

“We trust that very soon we will have a balance of contractors and work available so as many people can be helped at the earliest date.” 

With the arrival on Thursday of HRH Prince Edward, who will be visiting the island to see the situation for himself, Laskin said the NRF is certain that the visit will raise the awareness of the aim to “build back better” and will offer hope to those whose lives have been devastated by this natural disaster.

“The NRF welcomes HRH Prince Edward to the Cayman Islands and (we) are extremely grateful that he is able to increase the visibility of both the continuing needs and the work that is being done there,” Laskin added.

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Top Cop to meet the people

Top Cop to meet the people

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

(CNS): The Royal Cayman Islands Police has announced the dates for the next round of community meetings with the latest Acting Commissioner during February and March 2009. All residents of Grand Cayman will have the chance to meet with AC James Smith, senior police officers and the men and women who police their local neighbourhood.

The police said that these meetings allow officers to meet with the public face-to-face to discuss thoughts, issues and concerns about policing in the CaymanIslands.

All meetings will commence at 7pm and conclude by 9pm. Refreshments will be provided. The meetings will be held as follows:

West Bay Tuesday, 17 February John A Cumber Primary School Hall

George Town Thursday, 19 February South Sound Community Centre

Bodden Town Monday, 23 February Bodden Town Primary School Hall

North Side Thursday, 26 February North Side Civic Centre

East End Tuesday, 3 March East End United Church Hall

Dates for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are still being confirmed.

For more information on your local meeting please contact your local police station.

Anyone with information about crime taking place in the Cayman Islands should contact their local police station or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS). All persons calling crime

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Hypocrisy and the double standard

Hypocrisy and the double standard

| 04/02/2009 | 0 Comments

President Obama and his team are showing that their applied standards of ethics and legal compliance (not to mention their due diligence) when it comes to matters of tax are sorely lacking and continue the well trodden path of hypocrisy and double standards in government.

His appointment of Treasury Secretary (who has responsibility for the IRS tax collector and enforcer), Mr Geithner, has shown that it is acceptable to break the tax laws, to remedy the failing ex post facto without meaningful sanction and still to attain high Government office. His proposed healthcare Tsar, Mr Daschle, and proposed Tsarina, Ms Killefer, to oversee budget and spending reform (oxymorons right now) have sensibly concluded that it is better to withdraw rather than face further questioning and scrutiny on ‘limo’ and ‘nanny’ taxes.

There are various ways of looking at this conduct, none of them justifiable. The three were arrogant (i.e. we did not have to abide by the law as we are special), careless (i.e. we did not have the time to think about these de minimis matters) or just plain ignorant (i.e. we did not know). None of these are good defences under law, let alone under normal ethical standards. So, whatever the reason, none of them should even have been considered, let alone appointed, to high office in a democratic government that respects the rule of law. And certainly not the Treasury Secretary.

All this is particularly ironic as Mr Obama has on a number of very public occasions said that his administration will go after tax cheats and the offshore centres that he claims facilitate the behaviour of tax cheats and are perceived by him to be lightly and therefore inadequately regulated. That is his prerogative. He has also said he wants to close down the legitimate use of offshore centres by US taxpayers. That is his prerogative, even if it makes no sense from a long term US economic standpoint (there is a serious risk the US will deprive itself of much needed foreign investment and make its multinationals less competitive). But if he is really serious and genuine about the issues of tax cheats and lightly regulated jurisdictions he should look a lot closer to home in Washington DC and at Delaware, the home State of his Vice President, Joe Biden. Time for Matthew Chapter 7, verse 3 again?
 

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