Archive for January, 2010
Appointments made to three new commissions
(CNS): Pastor Al Ebanks (left), the head of the Cayman Ministers Association committee that helped negotiate the new Constitution and stood in strong opposition to an unqualified bill of rights, has been appointed Chairman of the Constitutional Commission. Chairing the new Human Rights Commission is former Attorney General Richard Coles, while Karin Thompson, a local attorney and member of the Sexual Harassment and Stalking Taskforce, will chair the Commission for Standards in Public Life, according to a release from the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs.
The Constitutional Commission is a three-person commission established under section 118 of the new Constitution. Also appointed by Acting Governor Donovan Ebanks along with Pastor Al are community activist and former Deputy Clerk of the Courts Julene Banks and CEO of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce Wil Pineau.
Under the Constitution, this commission has a threefold remit of advising government on questions concerning constitutional status and development, promoting public understanding and awareness of the constitution and its values, and publishing reports, papers and other documents on any constitutional matters affecting the Cayman Islands. In broad terms, this commission may be said to combine the functions of an advisory body with those of a think tank on constitutional matters, the portfolio explained.
The five-member Human Rights Commission replaces the Human Rights Committee and is established under section 116 of the constitution. The newly appointed members are Richard Coles (Chairman), who was attorney general for the Cayman Islands from 1992 to 1999; local attorneys Sara Collins (who was chair of the Human Right Committee) and Alistair Walters; Cathy Frazier, a member of the Planning the Future for Persons with Disabilities Steering Committee, and the Reverend Nicholas Sykes, a member of Negotiating Team for the Constitutional Negotiations.
The primary responsibility of the commission is to promote understanding and observance of human rights in the Cayman Islands. This remit includes educating the public about the Bill of Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities (Part 1 of the constitution), most of which are scheduled to come into effect on 6 November 2012. The Human Rights Commission has powers to establish mechanisms to hear and investigate public complaints about potential breaches of human rights, to provide a forum for mediation or conciliation, to give advice and guidance to enquirers of all kinds in relation to their human rights, and to publish reports on its own initiative on human rights issues.
Appointments to the Constitutional Commission and the Human Rights Commission will be for renewable terms of between two to four years, with members serving for different periods, so that new appointments or re-appointments can take place in a staggered fashion.
Five people have been appointed to serve on the Commission for Standards in Public Life: along with the chair Karin Thompson, Managing Partner for KPMG, Roy McTaggart; Pastor Winston Rose, a former member of the Public Service Commission; former Chief Education Officer Nyda-Mae Flatley; and local architect, Hedley Robinson.
Established under sections 117 and 121 of the Constitution, this commission has a broad remit but also specific responsibilities. Its overall function is to promote “the highest standards of integrity and competence in public life in order to ensure the prevention of corruption or conflicts of interest”. As such, it is entrusted with the specific responsibility for developing and maintaining up-to-date registers of interest for those employed in public life. In conjunction with its primary role of promoting standards in public life, it has powers to monitor compliance with such standards and to investigate breaches of them. In addition, it has powers to review and strengthen procedures for awarding public contracts and making public appointments. In broad terms, it acts as a watchdog, it responds to citizens’ concerns, and it promotes public trust in public servants and elected members. Under the constitution, its commissioners serve a four year term.
Administrative support for these three new commissions will be provided by a joint Commissions Secretariat, consisting of a Manager and up to five staff. The Secretariat is being established under the aegis of the Deputy Governor’s Office. A “joint services” approach to supporting the new commissions is considered prudent in the current fiscal climate.
The Commissions Secretariat will also support a fourth commission, the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, which will advise the governor on all judicial and legal appointments and will develop a code of conduct for the judiciary and a procedure for dealing with complaints. It is anticipated that appointments to the Judicial and Legal Services Commission will be made within the next two to three months.
The portfolio saidthese commissions would broaden citizen involvement in constitutional governance and strengthen our democratic way of life. For more on the commissions, see Institutions Supporting Democracy.
Protest the South Sound development
I read with amazement on Sunday night an article detailing the re-emergence of the Emerald Sound development in South Sound. Perhaps I should have expected to see this project again, given the track record of indiscriminate physical development in Cayman and our government’s historical disregard for any factor beyond the short term economic.
I did, however, expect better from the developers following the outpouring of sentiment and objection from the people of South Sound and generally of Cayman in April 2007 when this project first became public.
The South Sound Community Centre was literally overflowing with people, desperate to do something, anything, to ensure that this travesty did not occur. In the crowd there was equal representation from just about every group in the community—South Sounders whose families have lived there for 10 generations, those from more Northern origins who made it their home in the 1970s and ‘80s, the newly arrived, and everyone in-between. Our objections varied from matters of community safety to unjustifiable environmental impacts, but all were equally forceful in our expression that we as individuals and as a collective strongly believed that this development was not in the best interest of the community, and that we would absolutely fight against this development.
I write from the UK where I am completing my studies, tempted to get on the next flight home, to encourage you, South Sounders, Caymanians, members of the Cayman community, to please again let your thoughts on this project be known.
We are tired of and exhausted from seeing our beautiful island ransacked into a concrete jungle, with no consideration given to us or our children, or any current or future inhabitants of these islands. Over 55% of canal lots in Grand Cayman still sit vacant—why then do these developers believe that there is genuine demand, beyond speculative, for more high-end residential lots? The majority of the mangrove wetlands of the western half of the island have been destroyed. Culturally, we have increasingly fewer reminders left of the simple yet precious aesthetic of scenic and architectural Cayman at its best.
On Seven Mile Beach we prepare to bid the Beach Club a heavy-hearted farewell as the latest in a long list of small, rustic hotels exchanged for seven storey, million-dollar money makers. Other losses include Fort George, Dr Roy’s House, Old Galleon Beach, the original Holiday Inn, the freshwater pond in South Sound, the original Seven Mile Beach road which ran closer to the beach with unobstructed views of the ocean.
South Sound Road is one of these community treasures we still have. It is a place where we go for jogs and walk our dogs, a place where we played as children on the beach or in the mangroves. And we love it exactly as it is and was: unpolished, rough around the edges, natural, breathtaking. We do not want St Tropez in South Sound, as the spokesperson for this development has told us it will be. Legitimate concern has been raised about the flooding of neighbouring properties that this development may cause, not to mention the possible scenarios of water surge in a hurricane or tropical storm or the bridge collapsing and thus cutting off access for inhabitants.
Reasons to object:
1) The majority of the community very strongly oppose the development
2) Environmental destruction of the Sound from dredging (the surrounding coral reef system, the young marine life for who the Sound acts as a nursery, water quality and clarity, coastal erosion)
3) The canal and the cutting of the road would bring open water further inland, increasing exposure of all inland properties in the area to tidal inundation in storms and hurricanes
4) Safety concerns for resident boaters in the Sound with forced increase in traffic through the channel, which is dangerous to navigate
5) The aesthetic appeal and cultural landscape of South Sound will be forever changed. Do we want SouthSound to look like St Tropez or to remain a Caymanian gem?
While some may prefer to not see the project go through at all, I do recognize the right of the owner of the land to benefit from their property, and this is entirely possible to do in a way that would be acceptable to the community. If the developer meets the community halfway and removes the marina element of the development (ie no canals and instead creates a non-canal/non-marina luxury South Sound property development), does not significantly alter the main South Sound road and creates the development in a tasteful and discrete way which does not alter the current look of South Sound road, they would find little to no objections with their development.
Despite our fatigue from past heartbreaks, I plead with you, with us, as a community: Let us speak out and put an end to this indiscriminate destruction of our home.
There will be a meeting tomorrow night, Thursday 14 January, about this development at the South Sound Community Centre, starting at 7pm.
Rooster axes Walling’s afternoon chat
(CNS): After less than two months on the air, the afternoon version of the radio phone-in show, Crosstalk, has been axed. Hosted by former DER director and political candidate Walling Whittaker, the show had promised solutions and not just complaints. However, the programme had little time to solve anything and radio officials confirmed the cutting of the show for commercial reasons. Austin Harris, the host of the morning’s version of the show, told CNS that the advertising revenue was not measuring up.
“Rooster 101.9FM operates to make a profit from the services and programmes it provides, and often in business when a profit is not immediately achievable we seek to recover, at minimum, the costs of providing such services,” Harris said.
Rooster did not say whether existing revenue had declined or whether the show had simply been given a very short window of opportunity to increase revenue. Harris said, however, that the advertising revenue from Crosstalk PM simply did not meet the criteria of covering costs or making a profit and was no longer economically feasible, despite having only aired for around eight weeks.
“In this recession, businesses have to be creative and seek to maximize its revenue from all available resources,” Harris added. “Our decision to present an afternoon talk show, built on the success of our morning program, was largely a speculative venture on behalf of Hurley’s Entertainment. We believe it may still work again in the future. However, in this economy it did not. The decision therefore to cancel the Crosstalk PM talk segment was simply a business decision, in the best interest of Rooster 101.9FM.”
Although Harris said it was a speculative venture, at the time of its announcement the radio station appeared to have considerable expectations for the show. Randy Merren, owner of Hurleys Entertainment, said whatever lack of experience Whittaker had as a broadcaster he made up for with his knowledge of government, politics and business in Cayman.
Whittaker had said his afternoon show would be different, as he would be focusing on resolving problems. "I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to expand social commentary and explore contemporary issues from a different perspective," said Whittaker at the time of the announcement. "Crosstalk PM will not only examine current issues but more importantly we will also try to look for solutions to problems."
The show was broadcast in the slot previously taken by the Big Kahuna but Hurley’s did not comment on whether the local comedian would return to the airwaves.
MP pushes for overseas territories to be remembered
(BBC): A UK MP is making efforts to ensure crown dependencies and overseas territories are represented at the Cenotaph each Remembrance Sunday. The move calls for people from those areas who have served in the forces to be acknowledged in the service. Andrew Rosindell said they should be recognised in exactly the same way as those they fought alongside. The UK Ministry of Justice said it would give proper consideration to any representations made. Each year the Queen lays a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of the whole nation. Mr Rosindell, vice-chairman of the British Channel Islands All-Parliamentary Group, said: "
Martin faces critical evidence
(CNS): Confronted with phone records that directly contradicted his earlier testimony, the man on trial for the murder of Sabrina Schirn had no explanation when his case resumed on Tuesday morning. During the prosecution’s cross examination, Solicitor General Cheryll Richards asked Randy Martin how he could possibly have met Schirn at the farm at 10:38 on the morning of March 11, as he claimed, when 12 seconds earlier the records proved that she was in the Savannah-Bodden Town area, and Martin had no answers.
During careful and detailed cross examination, Richards questioned the plausibility of Martin’s account and accused him of lying and fabricating his testimony to detract away from the fact that he was responsible for the killing of Schirn. She suggested he had carefully planned the murder and that his evidence made no sense.
From his claims that Schirn made a phone call to another man while they were sharing an intimate moment to the three phone calls he said were made between them as he supposedly made his rapid getaway back his post at the farm, Richards said he was making things up to try and explain away evidence which pointed to his guilt. The solicitor general said Martin’s explanation would not be possible based on the records.
“I can’t explain, I don’t understand this,” Martin told the court as the details of the phone records and the cell locations were shown to him.
Pressing him about his behaviour after the 11 March, Richard asked him why he did not call Schirn, between whom he said there was nothing but love, once he knew she was missing. As he claimed he had no reason to do so as they had arranged to meet, Richards exclaimed that he did not call Schirn because he already knew she was dead.
She queried why, if his account was true, instead of assisting the police by telling them he had seen her on the 11 March and left her alive that he had lied about even knowing her.
Claiming that he had already been singled out as a suspect because of rumours in the prison even before the police came, Martin said he did not want to say anything until he knew what was happening. Richards, however, said it was evidence of a guilty mind.
Faced with the contradicting evidence regarding the phone records, Martin still denied his involvement in the crime and insisted he had no reason to hurt Schirn.
Richards said the phone records indicated that she arrived in High Rock at around 10:59 and between then and 11:27, when her phone suddenly went off the air, was when he was with Sabrina, which, she said, matched with the evidence given by one of the prison officers that he was absent from the farm for some time.
Richards suggested he met Schirn not where he claimed but where her body was found, and after killing her he placed the glove he had acquired from an inmate and drove her car to where it was later discovered. Throwing away the glove and the car keys he took off his shirt and then made his way back to the farm, following what she said was a planned murder.
Martin continued to repeat, “No ma’am, nothing like that ever occurred,” and that he had “no reason to kill Sabrina,” as Richards probed his account of the morning in question.
Returning to what the prosecution said was his motive, that he believed Sabrina Schirn was the woman involved in the shooting of his brother Fernando Martin, he continued to deny this and said he had always known which Sabrina it was that had been involved and he knew it was not Sabrina Schirn.
In redirection David Evans QC, his defence attorney, asked Martin why he knew that Sabrina Schirn was not involved. Martin said he had statements from the Sheldon Brown trial regarding the involvement of a Sabrina Powell and that he had always known it was that girl and not Schirn.
Following his counsel’s re-examination, Justice Charles Quinn, who is trying Martin without a jury, asked him a number of questions regarding the calls that Martin claimed were made between him and Sabrina after they parted, as he said he hurried back to the farm. The judge also asked how Schirn had come to make a phone call while they were, as Martin had said, having sex. The judge also asked Martin about the tools he used and where they were kept on the farm.
The defence then told the court that it would not be calling further witnesses and therefore counsel would be moving to closing statements on Thursday morning.
Prison farm to be transformed into weather radar
(CNS): Wilderness Farm in East End, formerly home to the prison agricultural facility, has been earmarked as the site for the new Doppler weather radar station planned for Cayman. The prison farm was closed last year following the discovery of the body of Sabrina Schirn nearby and the subsequent arrest of an inmate on the farm detail for her murder. Revealed as a security risk in a special government report and more so with the mounting revelations in the current trial of Randy Martin for Schirn’s killing, the farm could now be transformed to play a crucial part in the Caribbean’s early warning weather system.
Plans to site the specialist radar station in the Cayman Islands were announced in July last year and a specialist committee has been seeking a suitable location for several months. The two-acre site earmarked at the Wilderness Farm was one of seven locations considered for housing the radar, John Tibbetts, Deputy Head of the
“This was deemed the best site; we looked at accessibility, power supply in the area; elevation; the fact that the site was inland, and also that it was far away from homes,” he added, pointing out that locations near the sea were avoided as the ocean movement tended to corrupt radar readings.
The station will serve the northern Caribbean, filling a hole in regional radar coverage, and will be linked to other radar stations in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. “This means that Cayman will get more accurate, timely and up-to-date information when a severe weather system is in our area, and as such our population can better prepare,” he noted.
The proposed location comprises two acres of the current farm, and pending a survey completion and site report, it is proving to be a promising choice.
In March 2009, the Cayman Islands Airport Authority and the European Commission signed a €4.16 million contract providing Cayman with grant funding to construct the early warning radar.
Speaking at a media briefing at the time, the then Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush and Works Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly both cited the importance of the radar in boosting the islands’ early warning capability. They also announced that government would provide €500,000 as an in-kind contribution.
Early morning blaze destroys local shops
(CNS): A fire which started in a property on the waterfront in George Town at around 6:00 this morning has destroyed three local businesses. The blaze broke out at the Cayman One Building, next to the Burger King and has caused extensive damage to the building structure. According to reports on News 27 the whole first floor of the building was destroyed. The upper floor only received smoke damage but the owner of clothing store Cayman Jam said the contents in the building were not insured and she is devastated by the losses. Fire and police officers are currently investigating the cause of the fire.
Cayman’s chilly spell breaks no records
(CNS): Despite the chilly temperatures in the Cayman Islands over the last few days, the mercury has still not reached record lows. Even though unofficial weather stations were registering daytime temperatures lower than 61°F on Monday, it was still some way from the country’s lowest official temperature. “The record coldest temperature at the Owen Roberts International Airport is 52° F measured in February 1968,” said Chief Meteorologist John Tibbetts, who said that the official measuring and recording of temperatures started in 1962.
However, regardless of what the official thermometers say about the mercury, with sweaters, coats and woollies appearing on the streets over the last few days, Caymanians were clearly feeling the chill. And temperatures are certainly below average for this time of year. On Monday the lowest officially recorded temperature at Owen Roberts International Airport weather Station was 62 °F
While January and February are the coldest months in the Cayman Islands, the long term average is still over 71°F, considerably higher than Monday’s average temperatures, in the mid °60s which, with the cool winds, often felt considerably colder.
Of course, compared to the United States, where our chilly front has come from, and Europe, Cayman’s slight mercury dip was hardly noticeable and things are predicted to improve over the coming days when the northeast winds calm down and turn towards the southeast as the weekend approaches. However, Cayman can expect at least another two days of cloudy cool weather and a small craft warning is still in effect.
Families request privacy
(CNS): Update Tuesday 11pm — The families of the five people who have been missing since they failed to return from a fishing trip on Sunday are appealing for privacy to allow them to come to terms with the incident and the fact that their loved ones are still missing. Following extensive searches by the RCIPS and many members of the public on Tuesday, police said they had recovered a number of life vests that could have been on the boat, in the Patrick’s Island area, but there were no other signs of the people or their possessions. The search stopped at dusk but will continue again at first light and police are asking local divers if they can assist in the continuing operation.
Police press officer, Janet Dougall, said Tuesday night that the RCIPS had been asked to convey the message that, while the family members are very appreciative of the public’s continued interest in the ongoing search and the support shown time at this very difficult time, they are being ‘bombarded’ by questions and calls from concerned members of the public. Many of these calls relate to rumours which are circulating suggesting that bodies have been found. However, the RCIPS stated that the search for all five missing people would continue Wednesday and nothing of significance has been found as of Tuesday night.
“We will make the media aware of any developments as and when they occur,” Dougall said. Member of the public who have a pressing desire to pass on messages of support to the family may contact the duty inspector at George Town police office on 949-4222.
Chief Inspector Courtney Miles of the RCIPS Marine Unit said Tuesday evening that more than 50 officers at sea and along the coast were joined by many private boaters and divers who helped with the extensive search.
Thanking all those who had helped in the effort so far, Miles said that aside from the use of Cayman Helicopters, the RCIPS Marine Unit had assistance from Paul Allen, whose super-yacht Octopus is currently anchored off Grand Cayman and which has a helicopter on board. The Ritz Carlton also added its fixed wing aircraft to the air search.
Although the weather has proved challenging, Miles stated that with so much manpower the search covered a considerable area before it was called off when the light faded this evening. Miles said the search will continue at first light on Wednesday but the chances of finding the five people alive had now faded further.
Raynell Wood (36) of Prospect (the owner of the boat), his 13-year-old daughter Michelle Wood, Astor Range (36) of Spotts, Joshua Gilman (28) of North Sound, and Jeamie Avila (19) of Prospect set off on a fishing trip on Sunday morning. The alarm was raised on Sunday evening when they group did not return and family members were unable to contact anyone on the boat.
The 26 foot canoe in which the group had gone fishing was found partly submerged east of the Sandbar/Rum point Channel on Monday afternoon and a number of personal possessions of those on board as well as the boats fuel tank have also been recovered.
“With each day that passes we have to accept that the likelihood of finding the five missing people alive reduces,” he said. “We will continue with extensive searches on land, air and sea in an effort to trace them or their property.”
Police have asked that anyone who wishes to assist in the search should contact the incident command centre on 814-7811 so that they can liaise directly with the police to ensure that the best use of the resources is made. “Anyone that can help we will give them something to do,” he added.
Tsunami threat called off
(CNS): Updated Tuesday 11:40pm. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of Haiti at around 5pm Tuesday evening is feared to have caused major loss of life in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince and has been described as "a catastrophe of major proportions", the BBC reports. However, the tsunami threat triggered by the earthquake was called off at 6:45pm. The watch was issued for Haiti, parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake was centered about 10 miles off the coast and about 6 miles underground, according to the USGS.
A Reuters reporter in Port-au-Prince said he had seen "dozens of dead and injured people" in the rubble of fallen buildings. The Associated Press is reporting the collapse of a hospital and other reports say that tremors associated with that earthquake were felt in the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica.
According to the BBC the quake was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. Henry Bahn, a visiting official from the US Department of Agriculture, told the BBC that he had seen houses which had tumbled into a ravine. "Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken," said Bahn.
While a tsunami watch was in place for parts of the Eastern Caribbean "a destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," said officials from the tsunami warning centre. However, the centre warned of the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located around a hundred kilometres from the earthquake epicentre.