Archive for June, 2010
Opposition registers co-ordinated no vote on budget
(CNS): The four opposition members present in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday afternoon all voted an emphatic ‘no’ to the government’s budget as the appropriation’s bill was given its third and final reading. The leader of the opposition, Kurt Tibbetts, and his three colleagues, Anthony Eden, Arden McLean and Moses Kirkconnell, opted not to abstain but to register their objections with a no vote. Ezzard Miller, the independent representative, abstained from the vote, indicating that while he was not directly opposing the entire bill he had reservations about its passage. As the government has a majority, however, the four ‘no’ opposition votes counted for nothing more than a protest as the government was able to bring eight votes in favour of the appropriations bill, ensuring the passage of the budget. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)
Mac asks CUC to absorb tax
(CNS): The country’s premier has asked CUC and the pump operators not to pass on government’s 25 cent increase in gas tax to customers. McKeeva Bush told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday that the suppliers made enough profit on a gallon of fuel to absorb the new duty and pleaded with them not to make the people pay. He criticized the opposition for not supporting the levy, which he said was still small given the circumstances. Bush said they should be backing him in the plea to the fuel suppliers instead of criticising as, he warned, it could have been a property or income tax if he had not worked so hard to find an alternative.
Russians make bid for slice of financial pie
(BBC): Moscow has long seen itself as an international cultural and historical hub. Now the Russian government wants to turn it into a global financial centre. The initiative aims to make foreign investors feel welcome and to improve Russia’s image among international companies. "Our interest is obvious," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told St Petersburg International Economic Forum last week. "In order to modernise [our economy], we need a developed and globally competitive national financial system."
Cadets execute operation fundraiser
(CNS): Having lost over $130,000 in its contribution from government in this year’s budget the parents and members of the Cayman Islands Cadet Core (CICC) have come together to form the Parents’ Fundraising Committee (PFC) and recently began a campaign executed with military precision. During the donation request initiative cadets in full military fatigues marched out across Grand Cayman to offices and stores in uniformed synchronicity to execute the operation. On arrival at each target location cadets saluted and addressed the recipients with respect and authority before delivering an enveloped "message."
AK47 and shotgun seized in police operations
(CNS): Police say they are carrying out forensic tests to see if an AK-47 seized yesterday has been used in past crimes. The gun, along with a magazine for the weapon, was recovered in an intelligence led police operation on Wednesday, 23 June, from an outbuilding in the Lower Valley area.
No arrests have been made in relation to that operation and police enquiries are ongoing. However, a man and a woman were arrested on Sunday, 20 June, following the recovery of an unlicensed shotgun from a house in the East End area.
“The recovery of these guns underlines our commitment to continue to get unlicensed and illegal weapons off the streets,” said Chief Superintendent John Jones. “The amnesty was a golden opportunity for people to hand in guns – no questions asked. At the end of the amnesty we said that we would be taking a hard line with people who still owned unlicensed and illegal guns – the operations over the past few days proves that we’re doing just that! As has been reported previously, we suspect that an AK47 has been used in some of the gun crime on the islands in recent months. We are carrying out forensic testing on it to establish if this is, in fact, the weapon used in these previous crimes.”
Jones added, “We’re delighted that we’ve taken this weapon out of circulation – there’s no way to quantify how many lives have been saved now that the gun is off the streets. The bounty announced by the RCIPS and Cayman Crime Stoppers at the conclusion of the amnesty still stands. Up to CI$5,000 is available for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people who hold unlicensed and illegal guns. So, if you have any information at all either about those who hold guns, or about the location of the guns, then please pass it on to us now. Your phone call could save a life.”
Information can be passed to the police or to Cayman Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS).
Walkers’ bike riders raise $55k to fight Leukemia
(CNS): By completing the endurance challenge of riding 100 miles through the Sierra Nevada mountains around Lake Tahoe, a team of cyclists from Walkers have raised over US$55,000 for a charity to defeat blood cancer. The 13-strong team from Walkers took part in ‘America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride’ around Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on 6 June 2010. So far, Team Walkers have raised US$55,807.91 thanks to the generosity of many staff members at Walkers as well as family, friends and members of the community in Cayman. It was a real team effort by Walkers, who were riding in the event as part of a major client’s team, with senior partners of the firm riding alongside lawyers, managers and support staff.
Team Walkers consisted of Nancy Lewis (Team Captain), Grant Stein, Ian Ashman, Mark Lewis, Rolf Lindsay, Shelley Lindsay, Caroline Williams, Glen Inanga, Colette Wilkins, Victoria Hew, Sarah Priaulx, Donna Harding and Wade Tamasa.
"It was a truly fabulous experience which has left us feeling energised and inspired," commented Nancy Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Walkers Global Holdings. "We are delighted to have raised so much for such an important charity and I’d like to thank everyone in the firm and all our friends for their donations, support and encouragement. Many of us have friends or family members who have beenaffected by this dreadful disease or other forms of cancer and everyone on our team had their own personal reasons for taking part. It was a particularly incredible effort from those in our team who were doing this ride for the first time."
Three of the Walkers team, (Nancy Lewis, Grant Stein and Mark Lewis), took part in this event last year, however a number of the riders were considerably less experienced and they put in a huge effort in negotiating the steep hills and highways around Lake Tahoe, as well as the months of training beforehand. The team completed a number of long training rides in Cayman, however, these were in sharp contrast to the series of demanding peaks of the 100-mile course, where the altitude ranges between 6,300 feet and 7,100 feet above sea level, with numerous rolling ascents and descents adding up to over 4,400 vertical feet of elevation gain.
"For a first timer, it was very difficult to prepare for the hills, although some members of our team took spinning classes which would have helped," said Victoria Hew, Director of Human Resources at Walkers. "For me it was the fear of the unknown which made it quite daunting, but the altitude didn’t cause me too many problems. Completing the last 20-miles, where there were a succession of very steep hills, was just sheer determination and it really depends upon whether you are the type of person that just doesn’t give up or not."
The great spirit of camaraderie among the 3,000 people taking part in the event helped to encourage the Walkers riders, as did the cheering crowds from the sidelines, as well as the picturesque lake and mountain views. "The scenery around Lake Tahoe was so inspiring and the view was just unbelievable," said Wade Tamasa, Operations Assistant with Walkers. "For me, it wasn’t only about doing the ride but also being able to support such an important cause. I would love to do this again next year and I’d like to thank the partners of the firm for giving me the opportunity."
All of the members of Team Walkers managed to complete the 100-mile course, taking between 6.5 and twelve hours to do so. Some of the team had to battle through severe cramp in order to finish, while punctures were an annoyance for others. In addition to finding the stamina and strength required in their legs and core muscles, one of the challenges for the team was keeping together with so many other cyclists on the road. The members of Team Walkers stood out from the crowd, however, as each of them had a Cayman Islands Blue Iguana soft toy attached to their helmets as a mascot. "The iguanas sparked a lot of confused questions about Godzilla and dinosaurs which gave us the perfect opportunity to explain to our fellow riders about the Cayman Islands and the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme – everyone loved it," said Sarah Priaulx, Associate with Walkers.
The bike ride was organised by Team in Training (TNT) which puts on various endurance events each year, such as marathons and triathlons, providing specialist training programmes to help people raise money to beat blood cancers. There were 1,300 TNT riders taking part in the event, collectively raising over US$6 million for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Team Walkers believes that this is a worthy cause to support because should anyone in Cayman be unfortunate enough to require such treatment, in most cases the care they receive will be in the US. Over the past 13 years, nearly 18,000 people have taken part in the Lake Tahoe bike ride, raising total funds of US$62 million.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organisation dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. Its mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since being founded in 1949, the Society has awarded more than US$680 million in research funding.
Jesus did not die on cross, says Christian scholar
(The Telegraph): Jesus may not have died nailed to the cross because there is no evidence that the Romans crucified prisoners two thousand years ago, a scholar has claimed. The legend of his execution is based on the traditions of the Christian church and artistic illustrations rather than antique texts, according to theologian Gunnar Samuelsson. He claims the Bible has been misinterpreted as there are no explicit references the use of nails or to crucifixion – only that Jesus bore a "staurus" towards Calvary which is not necessarily a cross but can also mean a "pole". Samuelsson, who has written a 400-page thesis after studying the original texts, said: "The problem is descriptions of crucifixions are remarkably absent in the antique literature.
MLAs unite over armed cops
(CNS): There has been very little unity among the country’s legislators recently but the perceived need for more armed police officers brought government and opposition MLAs together. The deputy commissioner was questioned intensely during Finance Committee about the number of armed officers on Grand Cayman and why there wasn’t one in each and every patrol car. Members also asked about attaching Uniform Support Group (USG) officers to the districts. Stephen Brougham told members that the USG teams did patrol island-wide, despite being based in George Town and could respond quickly to incidents in the districts.
Tropical wave may churn up season’s first storm
(CNS): The Cayman Islands can expect heavy rains over the next two days. The National Hurricane Centre in Miami says that the tropical wave moving south of Cayman still has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical storm. According to the centre’s website the air force reserve unit reconnaissance aircraft mission to investigate the area today (Thursday) has been cancelled and upper-level winds are expected to become more conducive for development as it moves westward or west-northwestward around 10 mph over the next couple of days.
Local pharmacists win top regional award
(CNS): The Pharmacy of the Cayman Islands Hospital has received top honours at The Caribbean Association of Pharmacists annual awards. The local health service provider was presented with the regional award for upholding the highest ethical standards in pharmacy practice in the Caribbean, at the prestigious awards held in Dominica. The award was in one of the most coveted categories — a tribute for excellence in professional Pharmacy practice. In addition pharmacy staff received two other individual awards for excellence in their field. Dhal Seeram of Faith Hospital received the Boehringer-Ingelheim Professional Practice Award for outstanding contribution to hospital pharmacy practice and Angelline Shillingford was awarded the ACME Trophy for the Caribbean Pharmacy Spirit award.