Archive for July, 2009
Bamboo Bikes
(BBC): On the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, next year’s crop of bicycles is being watered by Benjamin Banda. "We planted this bamboo last year," he says, "and now the stems are taller than me. When it’s ready we’ll cut it, cure it and then turn it into frames." Mr Banda, is the caretaker for Zambikes, a company set up by two Californians and two Zambians which aimed to build bikes tough enough to handle the local terrain. Co-founder Vaughn Spethmann, 24, recalls how it all started with a game of football.
Money laundering risk to football
(BBC): Football is being used as a vehicle for money laundering, according to an agency responsible for tracking the proceeds of crime. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report warns football is at risk from criminals buying clubs, transferring players, and betting on the sport. It also provides a rare insight into tax evasion in British football. The report also raises concerns over human trafficking, corruption, drug trafficking and tax crime in the sport.
Alexander Hotel opens
(CNS): Cayman Brac tourism has been given a lifeline with the soft opening of the new 32-room Alexander Hotel on 12 June (to be followed bythe Grand Opening 31 July) and can now accept large groups for the first time since category 4 Hurricane Paloma hit the island in November. Built to boost tourism on the island by Bracker Cleveland Dilbert, the Alexander will be the only operating hotel on the Brac until the Brac Reef Beach Resort, which needs to be partially rebuilt, is reopened.
The resort, named after Dilbert’s father, was completed less than 18 months after submitting plans to the Planning Department, and suffered little damage in the hurricane. Dilbert noted that its opening provides economic stimulus for the whole island, especially businesses directly related to tourism such as car rental companies. The hotel was sold out the weekend of the Cayman Brac High School graduation on 20 June and 60% full the following week, he said.
Dilbert is hoping to attract both local and international visitors and challenges the notion that the Brac’s only attraction is diving or that anything on the islands needs to be substandard. “Cayman Brac is the best place in the world. It’s peaceful, safe, clean and perfect for people who just want to get away from it all, but we need to lift the standards up in the Brac,” he said. (Photo: Receptionist Tanika Wright and Assistant Manager Saskia Edwards-right – at the reception desk)
Leading by example, Dilbert has gone to great lengths to add elegance to his hotel, with raised mahogany panelling throughout the lobby, conference and dining areas and custom built mahogany furniture throughout the property. This includes a solid 20-foot conference table, which can seat 17 comfortably but is made up of six sections that can be separated into smaller (up to six) tables that can also be removed for functions and dances. The conference room is available for $250 per day or $150 for a half day and because of the flexibility of the table, can be used for wide range of functions.
The u-shaped hotel overlooks Salt Water Pond in the West End, an area of protected wetland with a healthy population of the endangered West Indian Whistling-duck, and Dilbert said he intends to provide kayaks for guests to enjoy the wildlife and natural surroundings. The pond is only a few feet deep, so this will be very safe, he noted. A tikki bar sits on the water’s edge and Dilbert has installed a fountain on the pond, which is lit up at night. There are some interesting walks close to the hotel to look at the island’s wetland sanctuaries and a beach right opposite, he noted.
The hotel is designed so that each room has a view of the ocean from either the front or the back. The 30 one-bedroom suits and 2 two-bedroom suits each has a kitchenette and a bathroom. Regular prices are CI$125 for a standard room, CI$145 for a double queen and CI$175 for a suit. However, the Alexander is offering a special price for the Fourth of July holiday weekend of CI$279 special per room for a three-night stay.
The dining facility and bar, which is leased to Casa Bracca, owned by Buck Grizzel, will also be offering a special menu for the 4 July dinner. The restaurant serves international cuisine and offers five separate menus daily – breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar and room service – and guests also have the option of alfresco dining on the upstairs balcony overlooking the pond and the ocean. The gift shop, which will be operated by Yvonne Walton, is expected to open shortly.
“The Alexander is making history for Cayman Brac,” said hotel manager, Jackie Ebanks. “It’s fantastic for the island and I’m so glad to be part of this. It’s exhilarating to be the manager – challenging but I’m up to it,” he added.
US pushes USB on secrets
The US Justice Department said on Tuesday it was pressing ahead with its five-month-old lawsuit against UBS AG to force the Swiss bank to identify thousands of U.S. clients with secret UBS accounts. Despite recent media speculation about a possible settlement of the case, the Justice Department said in a brief filed with a Florida court that it was seeking to enforce tax compliance with the full weight of U.S. law.
Dr Frank spends most on election campaign
(CNS): According to the summary of returns on election expenses published by the Elections Office for the 20 May General Election, Dr Frank McField, who stood as a an independent candidate for George Town, spent some $37,500 on his election, the highest spending of any candidate in the race. The United Democratic Party spent just short of $30,000 per candidate and the PPM just over $31,000. Of the 43 candidates that contested the race, thirty candidates including all of the elected members have complied with the law and declared their campaign spending.
According to the Elections Law, however, there are no sanctions against those who have yet to reveal the money they spent on their campaigns ifthey are not elected to office. Of the independents that have declared, campaign costs have differed widely, with former UDP member and minister McField declaring $37,500 at the top end and Sandra Catron, in contrast, spending a mere $9,500.
It is also apparent from the returns that big money did not necessarily equate to big results. The People’s Progressive Movement fielded ten candidates and spent just under $31,140 on each of their candidates but only returned half of them. The United Democratic Party, on the other hand, returned nine of their eleven candidates on a budget of $29,460 per head.
Ezzard Miller, independent candidate for North Side spent a modest $19,850 on his campaign and received more than 50% of the vote and was returned to the Legislative Assembly.
Meanwhile, McField’s significant investment of $37,500 returned les than 5% of the vote, losing him his deposit. According to the summary, Burns Connolly also spent more than $35,000 but did return a significant number of votes for his first attempt and retained his deposit with over 17% of the electorate supporting him.
Bernie Bush, who only spent $13,500 on his campaign in the district of West Bay, actually received almost 40% of the vote in his constituency a greater percentage than Dwayne Seymour who was returned to office in his district of Bodden Town who received only 36.5% of the vote.
Cost cuts sought on schools
(CNS): The new education minister, Rolston Anglin, has said that he will be seeking ways to cut the government’s bill for the total costs of the two new high schools. He told CNS that as the construction costs could not really be reduced he would be seeking a way to find significant savings in the fit-out and interiors. Billed as state-of-the-art facilities by the previous minister, Anglin has described many of the features as “extravagances". He said there were several examples that he was hearing about where the design is calling for unnecessary and extremely expensive features that are not even practical.
Anglin said that while the buildings themselves might have been expensive, the biggest costs will come in the fit-outs and the interior, and he noted that were several things that could be addressed and he intended to do his best to save money for the public purse. “I have not gotten to grips fully with all of the challenges we face with the schools yet but we intend to look very closely at all the features and make sure we are getting value for money,” he said.
Speaking on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, Anglin had said the government had absolutely no choice but to continue with the schools, particularly on the John Gray Campus as the existing school was already suffering as a result of the onsite construction. He said, however, that there were issues that could be addressed and costs cut.
He noted that he had been told the design at the Clifton Hunter School in Frank Sound calls for a recording studio and he questioned if that was necessary. He said there were two studios on island already that could be utilized. And he also noted he wanted to see what this “open space learning” was really going to look like.
Speaking to CNS after Monday’s debate, Anglin explained that he would be examining the school features in detail and removing what he said were extravagances. He also said that the government was likely to face increased costs because of plan changes. Contradicting what the former minister, Alden McLaughlin, had said about the alleged $17 million overruns, Anglin said there had been many changes. He said there were many smaller ones and at least three more major changes. “One change alone could be as much as $3 million,” he said, adding that the former minister’s staff must not have briefed him properly if he did not think there were any significant changes.
Anglin did state that a legal team was involved, but he said the dispute was not over the fact that significant changes had been made but the actual costs of those change orders made by the previous administration.
Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush said in his statement on 12 June that there could be as much as $17 million in overruns on the schools, a figure which developer Hunter Jones, of Tom Jones International, said was the worst case scenario but certainly possible. McLaughlin has said, however, that there is no way that changes of such magnitude had been made and just because the developer says so it does not mean it is true.
Drug education needed
There isn’t enough support and education in schools for drug and alcohol abuse prevention. In this modern day support and information is what is needed in our teenagers’ life. Drinking is a big problem here in the Cayman Islands that has tarnished the reputation of the young people today.
I could give you a list of atleast 20 people that aren’t even 18 yet that drink alcohol on a daily basis. Drinking at such a young stage in your life is basically suicide. There are safer ways to deal with problems. You’d just be creating another dilemma for yourself by going down this path.
Now I know the whole story about why people drink and do drugs. “Oh, I was so stressed!” or, “I was pressured.” The truth is it is you who makes decisions for yourself. You weren’t pressured. You decided to take drugs and drink liquor because you thought you would appear “cool” by the standards of today’s media, which seems to always be right.
The media has had a massive influence on how the life of teenagers in these times is lived. Smoking makes you look tough and drinking makes you look cool. It is shown every day and sadly some of the teens today are brainwashed by it all. We need something in our lives to guide us and keep us on the right track.
Schools should enforce the prevention of use of drugs and alcohol. Here in Cayman Brac I can count only one assembly where they talked to us about drugs and alcohol. In the life skills class they just touch on the topic of drugs and alcohol. I also went to school in Grand Cayman as well and, I must say, not too much was done there either. Sure the D.A.R.E. program helped kids who already knew what to do, but honestly those who already were introduced to such things weren’t affected. I can count about 10 students I used to go to school with who are or have been in run-ins with the law because of drugs and alcohol. There just isn’t enough support for the teens. We need an in depth program that has the full support of the government and the schools. Something that serves not only as a guide, but also as a reference, something that students can come back to and something they can actually use.
In the end, I believe it all comes down to morals and home training. Teens need guidance nowadays. Teens who have parents who drink and do drugs themselves and far more likely to do drugs and drink than those who don’t. Parents need to guide their children and teach them right from wrong. With such negative examples shown in the media today it is, understandably, hard at times to prevent such things, but with the right amount of perseverance it is possible.
It might be a sensitive subject to talk about, but in this day and age it is necessary. Parents need to know everything. If this issue isn’t controlled, slowly but surely we’ll be breeding a new generation comprised of addicts and alcoholics.
I feel that drugs and alcohol should never be associated with teenagers. I understand there are hardships that many of us must go through. Peer pressure, stress, phobias, worries about your future; they can all be overwhelming at times, but using drugs and turning to alcohol all seems very pointless to me. To me you would be slowly killing yourself bit by bit.
Malcolm Hurlston is a Year 11 student at the Cayman Brac High School
Governor’s office confirms prisoner release legitimate
(CNS): Rumours of a mass release of prisoners was clarified by the Governor’s Office this evening in a release which stated that seven men had been released on parole on Friday from HMP Northward. The head of the Governor’s Office, Steve Moore, confirmed that the men were released last Friday, 26 June, on the advice of the parole board and all seven had, according to Attorney General Sam Bulgin completed their sentences.
Concerns in the community that some twenty men had been released, some of whom were sex offenders, led the Governor’s Office to clarify that the seven men were eligible for parole. “The Governor’s Office makes decisions on the parole of inmates based on the advice of the Parole Board and in consultation with the Attorney General’s Office,” the statement from Moore said. “Following recent legal advice from the Attorney General’s Chambers the decision was taken on Friday 26 June, release date. The release of the men followed the determination by the Attorney General’s office that they had all completed their sentences and were eligible for release.”
The rumour was further fuelled in the wake of a police report that a woman had been attacked by an intruder in her home in West Bay.