Archive for July, 2010

Chad Anglin arrested

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): A three-week manhunt is over for Chad Anglin, who was wanted for questioning in regards to a brutal attack on a young woman. The RCIPS announced this afternoon that he is now in police custody following his arrest sometime yesterday (Thursday 8 July). Unofficial sources told CNS that Anglin was arrested last night in West Bay, the area he is said to be from. His arrest marks the end of a police operation to find 30-year-old Anglin following the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday 17 June. Just before 2:00 am that morning two officers from the RCIPS Uniform Support Group on patrol in Garvin Road, West Bay, approached a parked vehicle and interrupted the attack taking place inside the car.

The victim sustained bruising to her face and a cut to her throat. The offender ran off into the bushes as the officers approached the car. Police said she was bleeding heavily and the officers immediately called for assistance from other officers while they rendered first aid.

The RCIPS launched a search for Anglin, which included releasing his picture to the media. Police say that during the operation officers searched a number of premises, executed a number of warrants and interviewed family, friends and associates of Anglin in an attempt to trace him.

“The police would like to express their thanks to everyone who assisted in this successful outcome,” an RCIPS spokesperson said.

Gov to access unclaimed cash

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 98 Comments

(CNS): Government could soon receive as much as $US10 million as a result of a new law passed in the Legislative Assembly this morning (Friday 9 July). The Dormant Accounts Bill 2010 gives government a legal and transparent mechanism to seize money from accounts that have laid dormant for six years or more. The law requires the relevant financial institutions to take all reasonable measures to contact the legal holders of account that have not been active for this period but if the money is not claimed within a given period the bank or financial institution will be required to write a report and hand the money to the public purse.

The law also provides a way by which a legal account holder can reclaim seized funds from government even after an account has been closed and removes any legal responsibility from the financial institution in which the money was held.

Bringing the law to the House in his capacity as Minister of Finance, McKeeva Bush said many of the accounts in question had been dormant for many years. He noted, however, that while the law provided a way for government to obtain the funds, it also created a route for the rightful owners to also be reunited with their assets.

Bush explained that financial institutions that identified accounts as dormant with no activity by the legal owner for the last six years should take all steps to locate the rightful owner. Following that, it was required to publish notice in the gazette, newspapers and other relevant media notifying the intended closure and seizure of the cash by July of the given year. If the legal owner had not made contact by the end of that year, the financial institution was required to hand the funds over to the public purse and a report to the ministry and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).

The law also requires that Cayman Islands financial institutions keep a register of all dormant accounts.
A government official estimated that among the numerous accounts that have lain dormant for many years there is around US$10 million in unclaimed cash, which government can now take steps to begin to recover.

Following the premier’s presentation of the new legislation the opposition benches offered their support for the intent of the law but raised concerns about the speedwith which the bill was brought to parliament.

Alden McLaughlin asked if the financial sector had been consulted on the legislation. Given that the opposition only saw the bill for the first time yesterday, they had not been able to seek opinion from their contacts in the industry to ensure that it would not cause them any problems or raise any alarm over the power government now had.

Bush dismissed the opposition’s concerns and said they were doing what they always did, which was to try to stop government getting on with what needed to be done. The premier denied the fact that the opposition had only received the bill on short notice and said they had had plenty of time to read the new law.

Teenagers ‘risk premature babies’

Guest Writer | 09/07/2010 | 0 Comments

(BBC): Pregnant teenagers are more likely to give birth prematurely and have a small baby than women in their 20s, says an Irish research team. Fourteen to 17-year-olds were also more likely to give birth early if they were having a second child, a study of more than 50,000 women in England found. The findings, reported in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, highlighted the importance of routine medical checks. The team said more studies were needed to find out why the young were at risk. The study included all women aged between 14 and 29 who had given birth in north-west England over a two-year period.

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Young women increasingly addicted to Facebook

Guest Writer | 09/07/2010 | 0 Comments

(The Telegraph): One third of women aged 18 to 34 check Facebook when they first wake up, before even going to the toilet, according to new research. Young women are becoming increasingly addicted and dependent upon social networks according to the study. 21% of women aged between 18 to 34 check Facebook in the middle of the night, while 42% of the same group think it is fine to post drunken photos of themselves onto the social network. 79%are also happy to be seen kissing in photographs posted on Facebook. 58% of those polled use Facebook to track their ‘frenemies’ (people they are ‘friends’ on the site but do not like in real life).

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Jamaica-Cayman cooperation opportunity

Guest Writer | 09/07/2010 | 35 Comments

(Jamaica Gleaner): We are happy that the Cayman Islands authorities, as has been reported by the territory’s premier, Mr McKeeva Bush, are trying to think of ways to ease the visa restrictions they placed on Jamaican travellers. But while Mr Bush’s suggestion of opening entry to Jamaicans who already hold US visas can only be considered a first step, we assume that it is proffered in a genuine spirit of cooperation while both sides pursue a more practical fix.

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Manufacturers pull more pain killing meds

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): McNeil Consumer Healthcare have recalled another batch of over the counter drugs following complaints of a musty or moldy odor, which has been linked to the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA). As a result Foster’s said this morning that it is pulling all the products from its shelves and they will no longer be available in any of its stores. In total McNeil has pulled some 21 medicines recently and the latest products affected are Tylenol pain killing medicines including those for children.

McNeil said the risk of serious adverse medical events is remote but the recall, conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is a precautionary measure after an internal review determined that some packaging materials used in the lots had been shipped and stored on the same type of wooden pallet that was tied to the presence of TBA in earlier recalled lots.

All lots involved in the recall were produced before the January 15, 2010 recall, after which McNeil stopped accepting shipments of materials from its suppliers on that type of pallet.

Consumers who have purchased this product should stop using it immediately and report any adverse reactions to a physician.

The latest products include Children’s Tylenol Meltaways Bubblegum 30 count, Motrin IB Caplet 24 count, Tylenol Extra Strength EZ TABLET 50 count, Tylenol Extra Strength COOL CAPLET 24 count, Tylenol Extra Strength CAPLET 50 count, Tylenol Extra Strength RAPID RELEASE GELCAP 24 count, Tylenol PM CAPLET 24 count, and Tylenol PM CAPLET 24 count

Legislators get back to work

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 5 Comments

(CNS): The country’s political representatives will return to the Legislative Assembly this morning (9 July) in order to resume work on the mounting legislative changes and new policies government plans to introduce. The premier indicated at the last meeting that changes to the planning and immigration laws would be coming to the House at the next sitting. Followingthe budget debate and the completion of Finance Committee, the LA is now working through a number of amendments to existing laws as well as introducing a number of new bills, from the charities law to the new national honours bill passed during the last sitting. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)

Legislators have also amended the custom’s tariff bill to add the duty increase of 25 cents per gallon on fuel, and the Public Management Service Law was amended to enable government to take back the 3.2% cost of living allowance from civil servants.The MLAs will also be working for 3.2% less from now on after amendments were made during the budget session to reduce their salaries from 1 July. The premier and opposition leader have had their earnings cut by ten percent.

Check back to CNS later for details of today’s proceedings.

No sign of fake records, say immigration officials

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 16 Comments

(CNS): The chief immigration says there is no intelligence to suggest or evidence revealing that any fraudulent police clearance reports have made their way to Cayman. Linda Evans said the Immigration Department had a close relationship with the office in Jamaica and she told News 27 that the local immigration department would be keeping a close eye on the situation. Concerns have been raised following reports from Jamaica of an investigation concerning a former senior police officer and several other members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and possible fake documents.

Meanwhile, the immigration department has also confirmed six people have taken advantage of it. Four were over-stayers and two were working by operation of law which had expired.

The amnesty offers an opportunity for people who are currently on island illegally to leave the country without fear of prosecution before 31 July. Evans said that the department expects to see more people will make use of the amnesty as the month draws to a close.

It is estimated that there are around 250 people overstaying in Cayman and those who do not take advantage of the opportunity to leave this month will face a clamp down in August and risk a fine of $20,000 and imprisonment of up to 5-years. The penalties for work permit offences range from fines between $5,000 and $15,000 and imprisonment for up to 1-year.

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Crime Stoppers send message with cops’ calling cards

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 2 Comments

(CNS): New business cards used by RCIPS officers have been sponsored by the local arm of Crime Stoppers and now show the relevant police officer’s contact details on one side and the Crime Stoppers confidential tip-line number on the other. The first batch of 27,000 cards was presented to DCP Stephen Brougham by Eric Bush, Chairman of Cayman Crime Stoppers, on Thursday 8 July 2010. The cards will be used by 54 officers from the Neighbourhood Policing and the Criminal Investigation Departments. Over the coming months all public facing members of the RCIPS will be given the new-lookcards.

“We are delighted to be working with the RCIPS on this project,” said Bush. “This is yet another great way to get the message out to the communities of the Cayman Islands that there is a way to give information about crime to police anonymously. This initiative, combined with the new decals on police cars we unveiled last month, will make sure that people see the 800-TIPS number frequently – and we hope that if they do have any information they will be encouraged to pick up the phone and pass it on.”

He reminded the public that anyone who passes information via the tip line could be eligible for a cash reward.

DCP Stephen Brougham echoed the comments of the Crime Stoppers Chair.

“It’s important to us that we make our officers much more accessible to the communities we serve,” said the senior cop. “What better way to do that than make sure that the people we meet on a daily basis are given direct contact details for our officers on a card that can be kept in a safe, but accessible place. That could be in a wallet, on a fridge door or even placed right next to the phone.”

He added that the partnership gives people choices about how they pass on information. “They can either call the officer direct with information or,if they prefer, they can use the confidential tip-line number displayed on the other side of the card to pass on information anonymously,” he said.

UCCI gets top marks

Cayman News | 09/07/2010 | 40 Comments

(CNS): A recent study conducted by the UCCI has found that 91% of those who graduated from the university in the last four years received pay raises, promotions or new job offers as a result of obtaining a UCCI degree. 93 percent said their education has made a positive impact on their careers and well over half (58%) had gone on to do post graduate study. The results were revealed by the president of UCCI, who added that none of the respondents had encountered difficulties gaining entrance into respected graduate schools in the USA, Canada or the UK. Speaking at this year’s graduation evening, Roy Bodden said the college was regaining its intellectual credibility.

“Among the albeit few employers of UCCI graduates who consented to interviews for the study, the majority indicated that they found the career competency sets of UCCI-educated employees to be relevant and useful to their businesses,” he said at Thursday UCCI graduation ceremony.

He added that the study confirmed his own belief that there has been a resurgence of support for UCCI among the private sector.

Bodden also announced that for the last year he had been donating one tenth of his salary into a fund to develop music and the performing arts at UCCI and a new course will be introduced in the coming academic year.

Another new course for the next academic year would be an Associate Degree in Engineering Technology (ASET). Also, beginning September UCCI would offer a new one-year course, called the Certificate of Pre-College Studies, he said. The course is targeted at raising skills, as necessary, to college entrance level, helping to strengthen our college entrance requirements.

He said a feasibility study was underway to gauge interest in a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing with clinicals arranged through the Cayman Islands Hospital and with a new state-of-the-art language laboratory. Bodden said the university would be offering courses in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese as a second language. The president further revealed the hope of adding Mandarin or Cantonese to the list, given the growing global interest in China.

Over on Cayman Brac, Bodden said that next summer the college was introducing a Microsoft Boot Camp for recertification of IT practitioners and announced plans for a new marine biology course.

Besides academic study, the UCCI president said he was also concerned about the much more basic needs of our students as some could derail student achievement.

“Some of our students quite often come to the learning environment without money to buy lunch, or even without breakfast,” he said. “To fill this need, I have begun a lunch fund, with an initial $1,000 from my personal funds. I hope that others will join me in this, as we really must reach out to address these essentials if our students are to achieve up to their potential. UCCI will begin discreetly disbursing vouchers in the new school year on the basis of an unobtrusive needs assessment.”

He also pointed out that students have dropped out of their studies because they have no transport to get to the college. “I have been able to bring aboard the Public Transport Board, which is organising safe and reliable transportation, to be paid for by the students themselves, in an arrangement administered by the university,” he said.

Bodden noted that over the last year there had been an increased consciousness among students about the way they dress. “I really think that it is important for us, in these small islands, to respect the expectations of the larger society,” he said “As a result of that, upon my assuming the presidency, a dress code has been established, and female students are expected to dress modestly; for males, the dress code is acceptable casual or office-type dress.”

Talking about support from the business community, Bodden said that O2Micro, the software entertainment and solutions provider gave UCCI a grant of $50,000 to equip the natural science laboratories. Dr Bill Hrudey, a retired neurosurgeon, philanthropist and engineering hobbyist who now lives in Cayman, gave a 12.5-inch Newtonian telescope. “It will come complete with a special-purpose observatory with a retractable roof,” he added.

Bodden revealed that First Caribbean International Bank scholarship money for UCCI students has increased by $20,000 and the college had signed MOUs with a number of companies for targeted industry training and preparation.

“We are also forging relationships with other universities, beginning with Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and Elon University, in North Carolina,” he said. “Negotiations are also underway with the local consulate of a non-English-speaking country for an exchange programme involving our students and those of that consulate’s home country.”

Bodden said that over the year work had been done, with the support of the board of governors, to boost the confidence and integrity of the university.

“We are well on the way to re-establishing the intellectual integrity of this institution,” he added.