Archive for June 18th, 2010

Have you seen this man?

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 68 Comments

(CNS): Chad Anglin, aged 30, from the West Bay area (photo left) is wanted by police for questioning in connection with a violent assault on a woman in the early hours of Thursday morning (17 June). The RCIPS says the woman was rescued by two patrolling officers who approached the car in which the attack took place but she sustained bruising to her face and a cut to her throat. The police are calling on the public to assist in tracing Anglin and released a photograph of him Friday. According to the RCIPS, just before 2:00 am that morning two officers from the RCIPS Uniform Support Group were on patrol in Garvin Road, West Bay. They approached a parked vehicle and interrupted a savage attack which was taking place on a young woman in the car. The offender ran off into the bushes as the officers approached.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kennett said, “The victim had sustained bruising to her face and a cut to her throat. She was bleeding heavily. Officers immediately called for assistance from other officers while they rendered first aid. An extensive police operation followed but as yet no arrests have been made. The officers, by going about their normal patrolling duty, clearly prevented what could have been an even worse attack. It’s imperative that we locate Chad Anglin as soon as possible. If anyone knows where he is they should contact police immediately.

“We hope the release of this photograph today will alert the public to the fact that we need to trace this individual urgently – butit also underlines our commitment in the RCIPS to use every means available to apprehend those suspected of violent crime as quickly as possible.”

Anyone with any information about this crime or the whereabouts of Anglin should inform the police immediately. Calls can also be made to Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS).

Spaghetti O’s with Meatballs recalled

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 2 Comments

(CNS): Foster’s Food Fair IGA has pulled “Campbell Spaghetti O’s with Meatballs” off their shelvesfollowing the voluntary recall of the product by Campbell Soup Supply Company, LLC. The proactive measure was taken, says Fosters, to ensure the safety and well-being of customers. Approximately 15,000,000 pounds of the canned product has been recalled due to possible under-processing, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The problem was discovered through a routine warehouse inspection by the company and its subsequent investigation. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses from consumption of these products.

Fosters said consumers who have purchased this product should stop using it immediately, and until Foster’s Food Fair IGA has a further correspondence from the manufacture on this affected product, moving forward, it will not be available. “We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, however the safety of our customers is our top priority,” a release said and urged all customers who have purchased this product to return the affected product to their Foster’s Food Fair IGA of purchase for a full refund.

As more information is available from Food Safety Inspection on the affected Campbell Spaghetti O’s product and the circumstances of this recalled item, Foster’s Food Fair IGA will make the information available via further communication with the media.

Tibbetts says no to fuel duty

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 42 Comments

(CNS): – Full story update-: Although the leader of the opposition said he was reluctant to vote no to the budget he told the Legislative Assembly on Friday that he could not support it while it contained the 25 cent rise in fuel duty. Kurt Tibbetts stated that the increase on a gallon of fuel would have a serious impact on everyone’s electricity bills and on the cost of living in general when business passed the increase on to customers. In his response to the premier’s budget presentation the opposition leader said he and his colleagues were relieved to see the three year plan, which they had advocated, even if it was vague, but criticized the budget statement for being short on detail and overly optimistic. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

Tibbetts said the opposition agreed with a lot of things the premier had said in his statement but had concerns over the statistics. The PPM leader warned that government’s previous predictions were woefully in accurate. He reminded the House that in October the government had brought a budget which not only balanced but was expected to deliver a surplus of $5 million dollars but which had turned out to be a deficit of $50 million.

Tibbetts spoke for less than two hours in his response to McKeeva Bush’s budget presentation delivered to the House on Tuesday, when he asked the government to drop the fuel increases. The PPM leader also asked the premier to roll back the heavy business and work permit fees imposed on the private sector in the last budget whic had undermined the volume of business. He also called for action on public sector and pointed out that in an 88 page address the premier had dedicated a mere three paragraphs to address one of the country’s major concerns – the increase in violent crime.

The real cost of the proposed private finance initiatives such as the cargo port on the community, the dangers of a rising cost of living and the lack of specifics were the opposition leader’s main criticism as he delivered his response to a budget presentation which he said was full of inconsistencies and which would burden the community without addressing the burning issues.

Talking about the need for more consultation and offering support to government to improve the country’s future fortunes together, the leader of the opposition told the premier that the fuel increase was a dangerous and inflationary measure which he should reconsider.Tibbetts reminded the premier that the UDP had championed the interests of the average man and woman during the election but almost immediately had lost its concern. Government had already re-imposed the 20 cent gallon duty on diesel fuel used by CUC which had been removed by the PPM administration.

“Now a year later, the same government is proposing to further increase the cost of electricity by adding another 25 cents duty per gallon to the cost of diesel fuel. It will therefore cost the consumer 45 cents more for every gallon of diesel used to generate the electricity they consume than it did a year ago,” he said adding that this would translate to an increase in fuel bills of more then 10 percent.

The opposition leader also questioned the capital projects which the premier had cited as playing a key part in the governments economic recovery plans. He warned that private finance initiatives for public sector projects always cost the people in the end.

“The Premier talks about PFIs as though they solve the problem and make these projects affordable. Of course you can keep the cost of the project off the government’s balance sheet if you can find private investors to put up the money. But that does not make the cost disappear. The country must pay sooner or later, one way or another. The cargo dock and related facilities would be paid for by increased costs of everything landed there, everything we import by sea. The country would pay. It would pay not only for the cost of the project, but also for the profit made by the private financiers,” Tibbetts said.

He also queried the premier’s claim the projects would not require supporting infrastructure from government as it was already in place or would be built by the private investors. “How can a cargo facility be located at the East End of the Island without requiring a lot of work on roads and setting up additional operations and facilities for the Port Authority and Customs? How can Dr Shetty’s hospital project require no infrastructure? If it brings in great numbers of people to work and be treated there, will they not require all the usual range of government services? ” he asked.

When it came to the need for public sector reform, Tibbetts said the opposition agreed that it is crucial to the long term solution for controlling government spending but was disappointed to see so little detail. “We have been saying for some time that hacking at jobs and salaries is not the solution, so we are pleased to see the premier making remarks to the same effect,” Tibbetts noted. “But there is nothing in the premier’s address about other ways of reducing the cost of government, and nothing about the need for effective oversight of the public service by the governor or his delegates – which was the fundamental cause of government’s ballooning operational costs.

“After more than a full year in office and after having had the benefit of the Miller-Shaw Report….for some four months, the government should be able to say with some specificity what it is proposing to do about the fundamentals of government’s expenditure. But it hasn’t.”

He told the Legislative Assembly that government claims of cutting over 10% of the appropriations initially planned for 2010/2011 was an exercise common before very budget and nothing of consequence appears to have been done on Miller’s recommendations, much more needed to be said by government, than announcing its commitment to public sector reform.

“This late in the day the government should be telling us what exactly it proposes to do to secure a sustainable reduction in government’s operational expenditures. Surely the time for vague statements and nice sounding rhetoric on this issue must be past,” Tibbetts added.

Although the opposition leader said he recognised the premier’s statement was about the budget he was still disappointed to hear so little about crime as it was not possible to separate it from the economy. “Violent crime is already doing serious harm to our economy, and it is getting worse,” he said. “Let us put the crime problem front and centre in the country’s economic recovery plan. As long as crime remains a major national concern and there are persistent media images portraying Cayman as the new Wild West to the rest of the world, our economic fortunes will take a beating. Tourists will not feel comfortable here if our own people do not feel safe and secure. The same applies to investors whose support we need…”

Tibbetts also called on the premier to adopt a more consultative approach and proposed a national conference to discuss in detail the future options for Cayman.

“This conference should bring together key stakeholder groups and the best brains in the country – economists, sociologists, crime fighters, etc. — to engage in in-depth discussion and analysis of national problems over at least two days and agree on what needs to be done,” said Tibbetts. “Human history is essentially the history of ideas. Ideas have always served as the seeds of change for a better world.”

He said the Cayman Islands could benefit from an infusion of new ideas and challenging times call for visionary and inspiring leadership. “Caymanians are counting on us as legislators to make a difference,” Tibbetts reminded the members of the LA before he wound up his contribution to the debate.

Dive Pirates invade Cayman Brac

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 3 Comments

(CNS): A group of adaptive divers who make an annual week-long trip to Cayman Brac are returning tomorrow (Saturday 19 June), this time with a total of 83 people. The Dive Pirates, a non-profit organization based in Texas, gives people with disabilities and their dive buddies diving lessons and scuba gear, and then sponsors a vacation for them and their support teams at the Brac Reef Beach Resort. The DPF is funding nine new divers this year, including those who have suffered combat injuries, car accidents or illness, while six adaptive divers and their companions are self-funded.

The adaptive divers in this year’s group include 2 paraplegics, 5 quadriplegic, 4 amputees, one with partial paralysis, one closed head injury, one with burns and fused ankles, and one diver with an injured back. DPS says that this year the group will learn underwater photography with David Haas, enter various contests, and concoct “acts of piracy” during the week.

The Dive Pirates have been making annual trips to the Brac since 2004, bringing larger groups each year. The 2010 group of 83, which fills the resort to capacity, is the largest so far and the DPF may bring two groups next year, they say. The Brac Reef hotel, which was rebuilt after it was demolished in Hurricane Paloma, now has three rooms that are fully wheelchair accessible from the poolside, with all furniture, fixtures and fittings designed to accommodate wheelchairs, and boardwalks in the old property have been replaced with wheelchair-friendly concrete walkways. All dive staff at the resort’s dive operation, Reef Divers, are certified SSI Adaptive Specialty Instructors.

Last year, even though the resort was still in the construction process, the Dive Pirates made their annual trip, this time with 63 divers, 15 of whom were divers with disabilities. The group stayed at the new Alexander Hotel and at Breakers condominiums and dived with Reef Divers.

While the Brac Reef’s efforts to accommodate adaptive divers had been driven by their association with the Dive Pirates, Viers said they were also beginning to get other disabled guests who had heard of them through the DPF.

Bermuda-based KeyTech to acquire WestTel

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 3 Comments

(The Royal Gazette): KeyTech Ltd. is set to acquire a 33 percent stake in Cayman-based WestTel Ltd. giving it complete control of the company, it was revealed yesterday. WestStar TV Ltd, the sister company of telecommunications provider WestTel Ltd. has agreed to transfer its remaining shares in the company to KeyTech, pending approval by the country’s Information, Communication and Technology Authority. KeyTech already owns 67 per cent of the shares in WestTel and following the completion of the transaction would hold all of the company’s shares. KeyTech plans to expand WestTel’s fibre-optic cable network in Cayman.

A general commercial notice posted in the Cayman Islands gazette in May noted: "As part of this application, WestTel also requested an amendment to…its ICT licence in order to delete the requirement that at least 25 per cent of its equity be held by Caymanians."

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Opposition leader to respond to budget

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): The debate on the premier’s budget presentation, his first as minister of finance, opens this morning with the opposition’s response. The leader of the PPM, Kurt Tibbetts, will be the first member of the House to comment on McKeeva Bush’s over three hour budget speech presented to the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. Tibbetts is likely to question the reliability of government’s earnings forecast given the recent prediction inaccuracies. Not only did the PPM face a massive shortfall after predictions from the Financial Secretary’s Office proved inaccurate in 08/09, in the last budget in October the UDP had predicted a $5million plus surplus for the end of this financial year, which will now be close to a $50million deficit. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

The failure of the government’s significant fee increases, such as work permit and business fees, to generate anything like the revenue hoped for and the absence of comment by the premier on the significant rise in violent crime in the country are also likely to be addressed by the opposition leader. The opposition is also probably going to request more details on planned divestments and the government’s plans for the two high schools, as it appears from the budget presentation that it will be placing the Clifton Hunter campus on hold.

Ezzard Miller, the only independent member in the House and the representative for North Side, is likely to make the most of his allotted time. With a reputation for scrutinizing the financial element and paying close attention to detail, Miller is likely to raise a number of questions for government regarding the budget and in particular how it will benefit or disadvantage his constituents.

The budget debate could last several days as all members of the legislature are allowed two hours to add their comments and suggestions for improving the government’s fiscal plans for 2010/11 or, in the case of ministers, give the House, and by extension the public, an overview of what they will be doing with the money appropriate to their respective ministries for this year.

Once the contributions are all made, the premier will exercise his right to reply and consider any proposals that have been made to improve the country’s fiscal plans before the members adjourn the sitting and move into Finance Committee, where they will scrutinise the allocations for government departments and agencies.

With spending cuts across the public sector of around 11 percent this year, the committee is expected to question how this will impact government departments, agencies, statutory authorities and government companies, and the services they provide.

Check back to CNS later today for more on the budget debate.

Big Mac’s little gamble

Guest Writer | 18/06/2010 | 65 Comments

It may go down as McKeeva Bush’s slickest political maneuver yet. He is artfully allowing a referendum to decide whether or not Cayman will legalize gambling. If all goes according to plan and the people vote the way he hopes, West Bay’s smooth operator can still play the pious churchman while finally getting that casino he’s been salivating for all these years.

“It’s the will of the people,” he will say. “I am simply respecting the democratic process. My hands are clean. Now let’s play some Black Jack!”

What is this whole gambling-government connection anyway? Put simply, it’s a creative way to tax mathematically challenged citizens as well as those who are prone to unrealistic fantasies. The worse you measure up on those two scales, the more money you are likely to gamble away. To some people, however, gambling is far more sinister than simply a way of squeezing money out of the rubes.

The Cayman Ministers Association (CMA) has stormed to the front of this issue. Armed with “research” (cut and pasted from Wikipedia, no doubt), they are making the case that a national lottery and a casino will increase crime and pretty much lead to every other Caymanian selling their children for one more turn at the craps table. I know that the CMA folks speak to God every night but I think they are wrong about this, nonetheless. Gambling does not necessarily lead to social decay. It can, of course, but so too can incompetent politicians and we certainly don’t seem to have any problem accepting them in Cayman, now do we?

The CMA’s claim that legalized gambling will lead us to runaway crime is difficult to take seriously because we’re already there. Serious crime is here; it didn’t wait on the grand opening of our first casino. Just this month, for example, we had a streak of daily armed robberies striking nearly every gas station in Grand Cayman. What, if gambling is legalized we will have two gas stations robbed per day rather than just one per day? Our murders-to-population ratio is already close to or ahead of Detroit and Kingston. Are a few slot machines really going to make it any worse? Maybe, but I doubt it.

Could some Caymanians throw away their lives gambling? Sure, but very few would. It’s a minor issue that might impact a tiny handful of people at most. Most Caymanians are not total morons with no understanding of near impossible odds. Virtually everyone here who chooses to gamble would still keep enough cash in their pocket to buy baby food on the way home. If the preachers are so terrified of Caymanians being hypnotised by roulette-wheels then they should devote their energies to making sure our schools do a better job of teaching mathematics. Anyone who has taken a basic statistics course, for example, would find it nearly impossible to place extravagant bets on the long-shot games casinos offer. Generally, only the very wealthy and the very stupid spend large sums of money gambling. It would be no different in Cayman.

By the way, morality and crime aside, would a Cayman Islands lottery even be profitable here? Has anyone crunched the numbers? Cayman is not Florida with a population of 18 million. We only have about 50,000 people. How many out of that will buy lottery tickets every week? How many will they buy? Assuming tickets would be $1, it’s difficult to see where the money will come from for big prizes. If we are talking about nothing more than a $50,000 or so payoff, I can’t see much excitement being generated. It would feel like just another Rotary Club raffle. No big deal. Maybe tourists would buy large numbers of tickets, but that’s far from certain.

There is also the cost of printing the tickets, distribution and sales, advertising, salaries for managers and bean-counters and, don’t forget, security guards to prevent winners from being shot by a criminal when they show up at the lottery office with their winning tickets. Considering all that, our government could end up losing money.

Speaking on a radio talk show, CMA’s anti-gambling point man Reverend Nicholas Sykes described gambling as a dishonest means of making money. He’s right; gambling is a scam. It’s taking money from people while promising them the chance of a very unlikely payoff. Like Sykes says, gambling is immoral. It’s almost as bad as taking money from people while promising them the chance of a big payoff in the sky after they die.

Ironically, in the end, I must agree with the Cayman Ministers Association. I say vote “No” because gambling would be a disaster for the Cayman Islands. Why do I think this? Not because gambling is inherently evil or because it will make all of us start beating our children and smoking crack. The only reason I’m against legalized gambling in Cayman is because Caymanian politicians would control it. That alone pretty much guarantees that it would turn sour fast. Gambling revenue could be a fine addition to our economy, no doubt. But given the quality of the people we keep electing to run things, it surely wouldn’t work out like we might hope.

First of all, more money in the hands of our politicians—UDP or PPM, it doesn’t matter—would not be used to pay off debt or actually improve education or anything else that matters. Have no doubt, the budget would be shuffled around so that our politicians had more to spend on tourist “attractions” that nobody goes to and other mysterious black holes that always seem to emerge in Cayman. They would spend away new wealth on pay raises and pay offs. And if some crime or social problems did bubble up directly due to gambling, they would ignore it or be so slow to react that the entire country really could end up being dragged to hell—just like the preachers are warning.

So, the bottom line is thatgambling may be stupid but it’s not evil. It would not condemn us to certain and absolute destruction. However, given the realities of Cayman politics, the safe vote is a definite “No”. We aren’t ready for the additional responsibility.

Reward posted for arrest of ‘Dudus’

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 6 Comments

(Jamaica Observer): The police have placed a US$20,000 bounty on the head of fugitive Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, who is wanted in the United States to answer charges related to drugs and gun-running, the Jamaican police have said. The reward is the latest effort on the part of the police and the Jamaica Defence Force to capture Coke, 42, who fled his West Kingston community base of Tivoli Gardens on May 24 when law enforcers moved in to capture him. "The police would like to find Coke to execute a warrant of arrest issued by the Courts of Jamaica for him to face extradition proceedings," read the statement from the constabulary’s director of the communication Karl Angell.

The statement also called on persons who knew where Coke was hiding to contact Operation Kingfish at 811, Crime Stop at 311 and Police Control at 119 with the relevant information.

The arrest warrant was issued a month ago, but Coke has been successful in eluding a tight dragnet set up by the security forces, although those close to him, including his brother Leighton ‘Livity’ Coke, sister Sandra ‘Sandie’ Coke, along with business partner and confidante Justin O’Gilvie have all turned themselves in, something that several prominent Jamaicans have appealed to the fugitive to do.

Cayman’s coral in crisis

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 18 Comments

(CNS): Following a major bleaching event in local waters during 2009, corals around the Cayman Islands have since fallen victim to disease, which is now advancing through some of the oldest types of coral. Andy Bruckner, a well respected coral reef scientist who has done considerable work on coral disease, has been in Cayman for the last few weeks examining the situation and to hold disease workshops to assist the Department of Environment and others working in research and management. The goal is to find out more about what he called the “white plague”, the disease that is destroying the coral, and find ways to contain its progress and slow down the damage which is already quite significant.

The Disease Response Training was organized by the Coral Disease Health Consortium to give scientists and resource managers from the region classroom and in water training on the identification of coral diseases and approaches to characterise a disease outbreak, as well as better determine the causes and links with various stressors. The goal of the training is to help the Department of Environment, dive operators and others respond to the disease and find out what is causing it. Scientists from St. Matthews University also took part in the workshop.

Bruckner has warned that the damage is already quite bad on Grand Cayman and it is now affecting coral around the north of the island, which had survived the actually bleaching but is now succumbing to disease. The coral expertexplained to the media this week that the disease probably began attacking the local coral because it was weakened by the major bleaching event in the area last year but other stressors are now adding to its spread.

Although the bleaching made the coral more susceptible to the disease, Bruckner warned that the bacteria causing the disease itself was probably coming from human impacts on the environment, in particular sewage runoff. He warned that over development on canals and the waterfront without natural barriers, such as mangroves, would add to the problems.

The assessments he has conducted on the status of Cayman Islands reefs revealing the threats affecting them and the resilience, including the ability for these reefs to survive and recover from major disturbances, will help the Department of Environment determine how to manage the situation. Bruckner’s work will reveal how the reefs have changed since the last Cayman-wide AGGRA assessments (in 1999) and patterns of recovery from the 2005 Caribbean wide bleaching event as well as the massive 2009 bleaching event.

After two weeks Bruckner said he has seen a lot of white plague on the coral along the reefs around the islands and said the concern was that the disease was eating the type of coral that takes the longest to grow. He also warned that it is not possible to recover the coral which is already dead but the goal was to try and limit the damage to healthy coral and encourage new coral, by rescuing broken coral from the sea bed in the wake of storms or other damage and put it back on the reef.

Although the DoE has had a reef project monitoring the sate of the local coral for many years, the spread of the disease is causing further challenges at a time when the department’s budget has been severely cut and it hopes the workshop will help support its work.

Coral plays a crucial role in Cayman’s marine eco-system, in particular forming the feeding grounds for the islands’ diverse fish populations, including those we eat as well as the one’s tourists come to look at. Without it the country’s fish stocks could be severely impacted and dive tourism threatened. Bruckner also noted that healthy coral reefs offer protection from hurricanes.

Mixed signals on environment

Cayman News | 18/06/2010 | 37 Comments

(CNS): As government continues with the consultation on the proposed national conservation law, the recent message it is sending on its policy for the environment is mixed. While on the one hand government says it intends to pass the law, improve public transport and promote environmental awareness in tourism and development, on the other it says it intends to go ahead with the North Sound channel and a commercial cargo port, suggesting the natural environment is still under threat. Premier McKeeva Bush has confirmed that a private sector plan to develop a cargo facility in East End is going to Cabinet for discussion and that he is seeking investors for the channel project to attract yachts to the country.

Bush told the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, “A channel for the North Sound is an absolute necessity if the country is going to ever get business from the mega yacht industry. Bearing this in mind, government will be seeking investors to do a necessary channel. Public discussion will take place, environmental impact adhered to so that any agreed work can keep damage to the minimum.”

The long waited National Conservation Law that could ensure the protection of the country’s natural resources in the face of this kind of development, which has already gone through extensive consultation and revision, is currently being reviewed again. There is hope, however, that this latest round of consultation could see the law back on track.

The minister with responsibility for the environment, Mark Scotland, has said since taking office that he would bring the legislation to the Legislative Assembly but it needed to be revised, which has raised concern in the community that the provisions in the bill to protect the country’s threatened natural resources could be undermined.

However, the ministry instructed the Department of Environment (DOE) to undertake further consultations some time ago and those consultations are now open to the wider public. At the beginning of next month the DoE will also organise public meetings and this latest period of consultation is set to close on 16 July.

“National conservation legislation for the Cayman Islands is a topical issue and we have been receiving a steady stream of public enquiries on the proposed draft National Conservation Law,” said DOE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie, who has stated on a number of occasions the desperate need in Cayman for this law. “To help people understand the proposed legislation, we have prepared a summary guide on the proposed law to explain what it means and how it might change things,” she added.

Ebanks-Petrie pointed out that people can submit written comments detailing any issues they may have with the proposed National Conservation Law and, equally important, they can voice their support for the legislation as it currently is.

Meanwhile, until the law is passed the ongoing developments on Grand Cayman, as well as the planned proposals, are taking place in an environment that has no legal protection. While the premier made various comments about the environment throughout his budget presentation on Tuesday, he sent a mixed message when it came to protecting the country’s resources.

Bush talked about projects that will have a major impact on the environment, such as the North Sound channel and the cargo port, but he also spoke about involving environmental experts to mitigate the negative impacts and about pursuing more environmentally friendly practises in the tourism sector, with partnerships between the Department of Tourism and the DoE.

He also raised the question of a public transport plan, as he said the country could no longer keep building roads and questioned the need for every family to have two cars. He said the country had to discuss a sensible plan of public transport that involved those who are now the operators of the business. “This could be a chance for us to set the future right. Can we afford to build as many roads? Does everyone here need to own two cars? Does every maid need to have a car?” he asked rhetorically.

And although government has added 25 cents a gallon to fuel, which may encourage drivers to think about more environmentally friendly vehicles and alternative energy for their homes, there were no incentives mentioned in either the governor’s throne speech or Bush’s budget presentation regarding alternative energy. Bush talked about a review of duty tariffs across the board but did not say if he was considering concessions on solar panels or other materials associated with reducing energy use or conservation.

Nor was there any news on changes to the legislation to facilitate electric vehicles. Although the governor in his throne speech said that the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture would be reviewing the laws governing traffic and roads, there was no indication from Duncan Taylorthat the review included changes to enable and encourage electric cars on Cayman’s roads.

Comments regarding the National Conservation Law can be submitted by email to DoE@gov.ky, faxed to 949 4020, or mailed to NCL Comment, c/o Department of Environment, P.O. Box 486, Grand Cayman, KY1-1006. If the law is not redrafted it will be subject to another mandated 21 days of public notice and additional comment before it can be taken to the LA for a vote.

This guide to the law can be downloaded at http://www.doe.ky/laws/national-conservation-law.