Archive for August 23rd, 2010
Danielle’s weakening expected to be short lived
(CNS): Updated 4pm- The National Hurricane Centre says that although Danielle has been downgraded even further to a tropical storm environmental conditions are such that it is expected to become a hurricane again later tonight or early on Wednesday. At 5pm AST Danielle was about 895 miles east of the Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 70mph and moving west -northwest at 18 mph. Danielle is still expected to slow down and turn toward the northwest during the next couple of days when re-strengthening is forecast. Tropical storm force winds currently extend outward up to 140 miles.
DoE solves mystery of suspected pollutant
(CNS): Following a number of reports to the media and marine officers the Department of Environment has solved the mystery of what some believed was oil floating in the sea around the Seven Mile Public Beach. The material is in fact peat likely churned up by wave action from underneath the beach a phenomena which occurs from time to time and as it’s a natural substance local marine life is under no threat. Deputy Director, Scott Slaybaugh confirmed that officers had followed up on the reports and carried out a thorough investigation. He said the department was grateful to the public for bringing it to their attention so they were able to examine what it was and reassure everyone that it is safe. (Photo – Scott Slaybaugh, hand model – Tracy Galvin)
He said that peat is a common substance where the mangroves grow and there is a lot of this organic naturally forming, material, which is essential slowly decaying plant life, in the area around the public beach where it was sighted on this occasion. The Deputy Director of Operations & Enforcement said the material can get churned up from under the sand and be carried out into the ocean where it picks up all sorts of ocean detritus and as it gets tumbled around in the waves it takes on a smooth appearance making it look like a tar ball or oil. (Underwater shot by Chief Enforcement Officer, Mark Orr.)
Private school grows due to public school uncertainty
(CNS): One of thecountry’s private Christian schools says it has seen an increase in demand for places as a result of changes to the government high school. Triple C has added new sections to both grade 6 and 8 to meet the demand for students leaving year six in their district schools that don’t want to go to what it described as the huge “city” high school. Secondly, the private school claimed some year 8 students are still unsure how the demise of the middle school concept will affect them, and finally parents have expressed nervousness over their children in a huge school and are looking for a smaller and safer environment Triple C claimed in a statement.
Young Caymanian sailor battles on in Singapore
(CNS): Lizzy Wauchope continues to struggle on in the sailing competition of the Youth Olympic Games, according to reports from the CIOC. Day four of the event at the youth Olympics in Singapre brought rainy conditions with wind strength between 10-12 knots and in the first race of the day, Wauchope had a mediocre start and was not able to make any moves to get ahead of the rest of the fleet. She finished in 22nd place. In the second race of the day, won the start and rounded the first mark in seventh position. Unfortunately, a mistake caused her to capsize downwind and most of the boats passed her as she was unable to recover, finishing in 27th place out of 32 racers.
Racing was cancelled on day five as there was no wind leaving Wauchope in 26th position overall out of and disappointed with her performance so far. "I wish I could have the first six races back because I feel that my mistakes are easy to correct. But that’s sailboat racing and I’m going to try to forget about it and look forward to the rest of the regatta," she said.
Her coach, Mike Weber, is confident that things will improve. "In the last race Lizzy showed that her starts are getting better and she was able to execute the proper tactical game plan and sail fast with the
top sailors in thefleet. It is only a matter of time before she is more consistent in her sailing."
The regatta continues Monday and Tuesday before the final race on Wednesday.
Full results can be found at http://www.sailing.org/yog/results-2010.php.
George Towners in the dark after circuit trip
(CNS): Caribbean Utility Company has confirmed that George Town customers along North Sound Road, Walkers Road, Fairbanks and South Church Street were without electricity for just under an hour last night as a result technical failure. A spokes person for the electricity company said that he outage which occurred around 10:17 pm Sunday night was the result of the failure of a circuit tie breaker which caused two circuits serving the affected areas to trip.CUC crews were on the scene quickly however and were able to isolate the faulty device and restore power to all customers by 11:11pm. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
Tourism stakeholders to grill immigration
(CNS): The local tourism industry body says it has a number of concerns regarding the service it is receiving from the immigration department and that it could be getting a raw deal compared to other sectors when it comes to key employee. The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) has set up a meeting for its members with senior immigration staff to allow industry stakeholders to voice concerns get answers to a number of questions and try to address the numerous work-permit problems that the industry is facing. Harry Lalli, CITA president, who will be raising a number of common concerns expressed by members and the board said: “This is a crucial opportunity for CITA members to be heard and obtain guidance and answers by the Chief Immigration Officer and her team.”
Cayman women are Caribbean Rugby Champs
(Cayman RFU): The National Cayman Rugby women’s team won the Caribbean Rugby Championship with a stunning 49 – 0 display against Bahamas in the final of the week long competition. It is the first time that Cayman has won the tournament after finishing second in Barbados last year. The Bahamians were simply not able to stem the flow of nine tries scored by Cayman as Loletta Hanna (3), Lisa Bird (2), Lisa Kehoe, Rowena Lawrence & Emily Davies all crossed for Cayman scores. Lisa Kehoe controlled the game from fly half from the start and with the excellent ball produced by the forward pack she was able to set all Cayman back row players, as well as center Loletta Hanna on devastating runs through the Bahamians central defense time andtime again.
Cousin marriages cause genetic disabilities
(Telegraph): More than 700 children in the UK are born with genetic diseases every year as a result of cousin marriages, an investigation has found. The problem is worst among children born in Britain’s Pakistani community, where more than half of marriages are between first cousins, and children are 10 times more likely than the general population to suffer genetic disorders. As adults, the children born from first cousin marriages are at increased risk of miscarriage or infertility. A third of children affected die before their fifth birthday. The medical risks of first cousin marriages include higher rates of infant mortality, birth defects, learning difficulties, blindness, hearing problems and metabolic disorders.
Wyly brothers break slilence on SEC suit
(DallasNews.com): The billionaire Wyly brothers have broken their silence about the massive securities fraud suit against them. In the six years since the SEC started investigating Sam and his brother Charles, the pair have not spoken publicly about the business enterprises including a maze of 58 trusts and shell corporations based in the Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands. The brothers were silent when a Senate subcommittee released a report accusing them of using hundreds of millions in untaxed dollars to pay for business ventures and to acquire art and jewellery, including a $622,000 ruby. But after months of failed settlement talks the Wylys have decided to make the first jab in the fight over public perception.
Changes at Weststar means no bar football
(CNS): American football fans who enjoy watching the NFL in their local bar on Sundays may be disappointed this season as WestStar has confirmed it will not be offering the “NFL Sunday Ticket this year for technical reasons. The local cable TV company told CNS that last year it had fewer than 100 subscribers for the special season viewing ticket after a number of bar ownersand patrons had raised concerns that it could affect business. However foody fans and home decorators with the basic cable tier will get access to two new channels next month when the firm moves HGTV and the Food Netwrok to the digital classic package.
Regarding the loss of the NFL ticket a spokesperson for Weststar said a letter would be circulating to former subscribers explaining that a combination of programming changes and technical constraints would mean that it could not provide the service anymore but bar owners can still get the service through Direct TV.