Archive for October 10th, 2009
Jazz for charity
(CNS): Well know local jazz musician Gary Ebanks and the Free 2 Be Ensemble, vocalist Kimerbly Fellman, and pianist Jeff Japal, as well as a big band set featuring swing tunes will form the line up for "Jazz Under The Stars" an evening of music, food and fun hosted by the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman in support of their Community Service Projects . The fundraiser will take place on Thursday, 5 November at the Grand Old House at 6:30pm.
Rotary said the ticket price is a recession busting CI$30 which includes a pasta station and a glass of wine (provided with the kind compliments of Jacques Scott). There will also be a full cash bar available. The Mansion, Island Companies premier store located at Camana Bay has generously donated three wonderful prizes which every ticket holder has a chance to win, drawings will be held three times during the evening to add excitement.
For tickets sales please contact, Sheridan on 916-8708 or John on 926-4138, or ask a Rotarian.
The Rotary Club of Grand Cayman meets weekly on Thursdays at 12:30 at the Westin Casuarina Hotel. For more information visit www.rotary.org .
Burglaries continue in islands’ capital
(CNS): On Thursday, 8 October, another four businesses in George Town fell victim to the islands’ continuing crime wave. The RCIPS said it had received three reports of businesses being broken into and one of attempted burglary. One man was arrested and investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department are underway to establish if he is linked to all four incidents. Cops said they were alerted to the first incident at approximately 2:45am when a report of an alarm going off at the National Building Society, Trinity Square, was reported to the 911 Emergency Communications Centre.
When officers arrived they discovered that glass from a window had been removed. It appears that the alarm scared off the would-be burglar as no entry was gained to the building. At approximately 3:45am another report of alarm activation was made to 911. Police attended Parker’s Pay Less on Eastern Avenue and found the front glass door had been broken in. At this time it is understood that a Makita angle grinder was stolen but police said further investigations continue.
An employee arriving to work at Larry’s Tires & Batteries, Shedden Road found the building had been entered and 6 tires stolen. The culprit managed to gain entry by removing part of a wooden structured wall.
Whilst on patrol on Eastern Avenue police officers observed a man running from the vicinity of Cayman Glass, further enquires established that the business premises had been broken into by way of the door lock being forced open. A 25-year-old man, who was seen running from the scene, was apprehended and arrested for suspicion of burglary.
The RCIPS said that burglar alarms are the first step to securing businesses against intrusion and theft. “With an audible alarm that notifies intruders that they have been detected, it reduces the amount of time they have to steal your property or damage your business. Alarms are also an effective tool to give owners, employees and customer’s peace of mind,” a police spokesperson said.
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.
LA erupts over Op Tempura
(CNS): The work of the Special Police Investigation Team(SPIT) dominated proceedings during the Legislative Assembly’s Finance Committee meeting on Friday following the disclosure of the auditor general’s special report to MLAs (a document which becomes public on Monday). From the pointed probing of the attorney general’s role in the ill-founded prosecutions to a proposal to sue the Foreign Office and the governor, Operation Tempura was uniting the House in indignation until the LoGB accused the opposition of supporting the UK police probe and warned people about “finger-pointing". Photo: SPIT during Op Tempura at Rum Point.
The accusation was greeted by utter and complete outrage by the remaining members of the opposition, in particular MLAs Arden McLean and Alden McLaughlin, who were both quick not only to point to their continued, sustained and vocal criticism of SPIT, but pointed out that Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush had himself played a part in triggering the investigation when he approached the former commissioner, Stuart Kernohan, about the information he had regarding Desmond Seales and Anthony Ennis, as revealed during former UDP MLA Lyndon Martin’s trial.
“I am appalled and stunned at what was just said,” McLean told the House before a huge shouting match between the government and opposition benches ensued.
The outburst across the floor came on the heels of a proposal by the independent MLA for North Side, Ezzard Miller, that the elected government sue the UK over the entire affair. Raising the idea as members were asked to vote on the $365,942 appropriation for the Chief Secretary’s Office for the continued “Special Police Investigations” in this year’s austerity budget, Miller stated:
“I ask the government to consider a lawsuit in London against the FCO, the Metropolitan Police, UK government and the governor for misfeance and/or malfeasance in office to recover the cost and possible damages of Operation Tempura, SPIT, Cealt and any other investigations that were or are being conducted in these Cayman islands and report the finding/results to this honourable House in the November meeting."
The motion was immediately seconded by Arden McLean, and even members of the government backbench also rushed to say they wanted to second it and argued about who should. Bush then acknowledged Miller’s suggestion but asked him to bring his motion to the Legislative Assembly as a private member’s bill instead of in finance committee as he said he did not think it fit with the committee’s standing orders.
Miller was, however, hesitant as he noted his concerns about elected officials being restricted in criticisms of the Queen’s representative in the LA and the limits that would set on the debate. Bush reassured the member that the governor’s actions could be called into question and a private member’s motion would allow for more scope in the discourse. Miller agreed and said he would table the motion on Monday and asked the House to get to it in the October sitting as waiting until November ran the risk of “the bird flying the coop.”
It was then that, through the chair of Finance Committee, Bush stated that lessons needed to be learned from Operation Tempura but that he recalled the leader of the opposition ,who was LoGB at the time, offering his support to the investigation when it was announced.
“The leader should have given greater thought to his support,” Bush said to the shock of the members, and added that the then administration should have “consulted the public” more widely about the investigation. He also said the whole investigation gave a lesson about accusations and finger pointing. “We have learned something about the creature we are dealing with — with the British government,” he added.
McLaughlin asked for an official transcript of the actual words Bush had just used to accuse the PPM leader, who was not present in the Chamber, and said that the outrageous accusation would be addressed. Miller then asked for a division as the members voted on the special investigation appropriation. Despite Bush’s accusations hurled at the opposition about their support for SPIT, he and all members of the government benches proceeded to vote to give SPIT more money, while Miller and the three members of the PPM in the committee meeting voted with an emphatic ‘No’.
The PPM government had started what eventually became an extremely vocal campaign against Operation Tempura as early as April 2008, which ended in their demand to have Bridger sent back to the UK. Only a few weeks after the presence of SPIT in Cayman was made public, the then leader of government business, Kurt Tibbetts, was already hinting at his concerns at a press briefing, where he said the elected officials were asking question but were being told very little.
By September 2008, even before Sir Peter Cresswell had revealed his concerns about the investigation during his ruling on Justice Alex Henderson’s unlawful arrest, Alden McLaughlin told the press that the entire operation was a gross over-reaction and was damaging to the Cayman Islands. He said that, based on the information that the elected Cabinet members were receiving, something just wasn’t right.
“I have expressed grave doubts and concerns,” said McLaughlin. “This just doesn’t feel right to me.”
Jamaicans face increased tax burden in Cayman
(Jamaica Observer): Jamaicans living in the Cayman Islands will have to find an additional CI$8.1 million (J$891 million) to pay out to the state over the next eight months, as the cash-strapped government slaps them with new taxes – in the form of fees – that it expects will go towards plugging a CI$85 million ($9.4 billion) wide hole in the budget. In 2008, 11,459, or 43 per cent of all the work permits issued were granted to Jamaicans, while traditionally around half of all remittances leaving the island is destined for Jamaica.
Civil Servants asked to do their bit
(CNS): The president of the Cayman Islands Civil Service Association has called on his members to go way beyond the call of duty to do their bit to help fight the economic crisis. In a letter distributed to the membership this week, James Watler encourages civil servants to face the challenge, keep focused and stay the course. He asked them not to throw up their hands in despair but to fight on to defeat what he described as a tempest. Despite threats to both their pensions and salaries, in the end the 2009/10 budget did not cut pay or jobs within the public service.
“You and I as civil servants need to recharge our batteries and be prepared to pitch in and do our part in helping make this a reality. You and I have a vital role to play in embracing the opportunities afforded us as we join hearts and hands together in reaching the goals set before us,” Watlerwrote to the members. “The severity of this global economic and financial crisis has only hardened our resolve as committed and dedicated Civil Servants who are prepared to persevere as we face this challenge head on and not let down our guard for even a moment. As we brace ourselves no doubt there will be many economic and financial tribulations, despite this we need not fear as we will transform this challenge into a golden opportunity to refortify the Cayman Islands economy and attain financial strength.”
He noted that public sector workers were no strangers to hard work and reminded them that they had been through many challenges, difficulties and problems of all sorts in the past.
“Do not let down your guard, persevere and give it your very best. Prepare yourselves to go way beyond the call of duty in ensuring that your efforts produce the fruits intended to propel us forward and therefore out of the clutches of the financial and economic storm,” Watler said in his letter.
He said these were exceptional times as the world’s financial and economic systems have begun to crumble but despite that he asked the membership to persevere.
“As true Civil Servants we will be the bridge that will build a sustainable path to recovery with the help of Almighty God who we must depend upon for wisdom, knowledge, understanding and strength to accomplish this task,” he added.
Although in the beginning the civil service was targeted for cuts firstly to employee pensions and then to their actual salaries, in the end workers were spared either imposition.
There has actually been considerable criticism since the budget was tabled that the service has not been cut while so many fees have been increased instead in order to balance the budget.
Cayman’s gets its own top of the pops
(CNS): A local radio station is introducing a top forty count down of Cayman’s favourite weekly hits. The new show KY-T40 will air on Sunday mornings on X107.1’s and Dylan Riggs will begin the countdown at 10am continuing through until 2pm. The KY-T40 will be generated using a combination of local listeners’ requests, industry data and current chart positioning worldwide. Dylan who also hosts the 10 AM to 3 PM daily show on X107.1 said it will give listeners a say in what the station plays. “Keeping our loyal listeners happy, this show will allow the people of Cayman to really have a voice about what they want to hear – it is Cayman’s Top 40,” he said.
He added that listeners can call in to the show or visit the website and make requests at www.x1071.ky
X107.1 Programme Director Matt Nasby, said that radio stations around the world offer official countdowns for their respective countries. “We figure Cayman should not be the exception,” Nasby observed. “With Cayman’s diverse influx of nationalities it should make for an interesting list. We are confident that taking research from different countries and compiling data to match local demographics willhelp to create the most unique and enticing countdown show in the world – make sure to tune in! Better than that – make sure to call in and make requests to ensure your favourites are featured.”