Archive for June, 2011
Cops call for car phone ban
(CNS): The Royal Cayman Islands Police service is still calling for a legislative ban on the use of cell phones while driving as concerns mount that their use is fuelling the islands’ high road accident rates. As police prepare to join forces with Streetskill to encourage the community to put down the pone when driving, Chief Inspector Angelique Howell has said the police have made recommendations to the ministry for legislation. However, so far no ban has been introduced leaving cops to depend on careless driving laws to try and deter people from using their phones while on the road.
Although the new traffic law is expected to come before legislatures when the country’s parliament meets sometime this month, it is understood there is no prohibition on phone use in the new law.
While ideally the police would like to see all cell or mobile phone use while driving, entirely prohibited, CI Howell said that a realistic proposition would be to have a law that provides for their use with a ‘hands free kit.’ This would at least allow people to talk on their phones while driving more safely as they would have both hands free. “We have to be realistic and realize it is going to take time to change behaviour,” Howell added.
The RCIPS don’t yet have statistics on how many local accidents are caused by cell phone use; the Chief inspector said that the system is being changed in order to capture that information in all traffic investigations. She said that evidence had been collected indicating a driver was using a cell phone when at least one collision occurred. According to international research drivers are five times more likely to crash while using the phone and are 9% slower at hitting the break.
At present the police can draw on laws relating to dangerous or careless driving, or driving without due care and attention. If police can show evidence that the drivers were careless or dangerous at the time of an accident because a driver was texting or on the phone then that person can be liable under the traffic law depending on the circumstances. However, the police cannot stop drivers and give them a ticket before an accident happens because they are on the phone.
With a number of unofficial complains and criticisms that police officers themselves can often be seen driving and using their phones in patrol cars, Howell said a policy has now been introduce to banning officers from using their phones while driving police vehicles.
This weekend officers will be joining the Steetskill team, a combination of agencies campaigning against bad driving, to sign a pledge against cell phone use and to encourage people across the driving community to put down the phone when they are behind the wheel. The officers will be at Kirk’s Supermarket on Saturday from 11:30am.
Meanwhile, new research from the World Health Organisation is again warning that radiation from cell phones could cause cancer. Although the research is controversial, WHO experts say radiation levels emitted from cell phones could put them in the same category with other cancer-causing agents such as lead and chloroform — otherwise known as carcinogens. As mobile phone technology is still new however, it may be many years before the effects from them is known.
Rotaract Blue seeks nominations for caregivers
(CNS): Rotaract Blue Cayman Islands will host its 4th Annual Open Arms Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 2 July, at Ristorante Pappagallo at 7:00pm. The ceremony will be a heartwarming event which will honour caretakers, teachers and others throughout the Cayman Islands who have assisted individuals with special needs. The event will also recognize persons who have excelled in their lives despite their disability. The Open Arms Program has been created to build awareness and education about various forms of disabilities while helping to integrate those who are differently able into the community.
The Rotaract Blue Open Arms Program is founded on the belief that people who are differently able deserve equal opportunities to learn, grow and be respected within our society.
Members of the public who know someone who has gone above and beyond with assisting disabled persons in our community and should be recognised for their hard work and dedication, can complete the nomination form and submit to rotaractblue@gmail.com. Nomination forms are now available on www.rotaractblue.org. The deadline for submission is 17 June.
Tickets for the award ceremony cost $50 and includes a 3-course dinner, entry for the drawing for fantastic raffle prizes. Proceeds will benefit organisations such as Lighthouse School, Sunrise Adult Training Center, Maple House, Special Olympics and other Rotaract Blue Open Arms initiatives.
“The Open Arms Program is a unique program in the Cayman Islands. Rotaract Blue is passionate about highlighting the needs and celebrating the success of persons in our community living with disabilities as well as those who make a difference in their lives on a daily basis.” says Director of Community Service Marzeta Bodden. She continued, “I hope that the Cayman Islands community will embrace the cause of this program and support Rotaract Blue by attending the Open Arms Ceremony.”
For additional information on the Rotaract Blue Open Arms Program or if you wish to purchase a ticket, become a sponsor or volunteer, email rotaractblue@gmail.com or communityservice.rb@gmail.com. Your generosity will allow the club to focus on making a difference in people’s lives.
Nicole wins Miss Teen Cayman Brac
(CNS): Sixteen-year old Nicole Martin was crowned Miss Teen Cayman Brac 2011/12 in front of a cheering crowd at the Aston Rutty Civic Center on Saturday 14 May, while Josanda Scott took the title of 1st runner- up, Caitlin Connor was 2nd runner-up and Evelyn Ebanks was 3rd runner–up. The judges made their final decisions based on the night’s show and points awarded in the categories of Talent, Awareness, Casual Wear, Costume, Gown, Photogenic, Stage Presentation and response to the Interview question during the formal wear. The show included the sections, casual wear, costumes depicting the four elements of nature, swimwear, talent, formal wear and an interview question.
A pre-show interview also took place where the girls were asked questions testing their knowledge and awareness of current local and global issues as well as their ability to communicate clearly and effectively. According to committee chair Lion Ventisha Conolly, the Talent segment seemed to have been quite a challenge for the judges. “There was quite an array of talents ranging from poetry, vocal music, instrumental music and dance”, she said.
Appearances throughout the night were also made by the newly crowned Little Miss Cayman Brac Kassandra DaCosta and Junior Miss Cayman Brac Lori Parchman, as well as Miss Teen Cayman Islands 2010, Leanne Ritch, who entertained the audience with her rendition of Miley Cyrus’ The Climb. MCs were National Gallery’s Mona Lisa Tatum-Watler and Deputy District Commissioner, Lion Mark Tibbetts. Nicholas DaCosta, Derri Dacres, La Femme and Koalition Dance groups, brothers Tushaun and Tafari Young, and Deandra Watson also provided entertainment which had the crowd of some 400 Brackers cheering throughout the show.
According to Conolly, “The girls all performed well and provided a challenge for judges Derri Dacres (Deputy Chairperson of Miss Cayman Islands Committee and former Miss Teen Cayman Brac), Chantal Whittaker, Alta Solomon and Melissa McLaughlin”.
In the end, Caitlin Connor took home the Cecily Rose Community Spirit Award and $1000 tertiaryeducation scholarship courtesy of Cleveland and Celina Dilbert. She also received the People’s Choice Award, Miss Congeniality and Most Aware. Josanda Scott walked away with the Best Talent, Best Costume and Best Gown awards while Nicole Martin took Miss Photogenic.
The Miss Teen Cayman Brac committee noted that the not all sectional prizes contributed to the final points used for selecting the winner and runners up. People’s Choice award was voted on by patrons at the show and did not count towards the final points. Likewise, the girls decided on Miss Congeniality through a voting process and this too was not used towards the final points.
The Cecily Rose-Conolly Community Spirit Award was introduced a few years ago in honour of the late Cecilly Rose-Connolly who was a stalwart in community service. The recipient is decided on by the Miss Teen Committee based on the girl’s contribution to the community through various groups or institutions. This sectional prize is also excluded from the final points used for selecting Miss Teen and runners up.
The Miss Teen Committee along with the board of directors and other members of the Lions Club of Cayman Brac wishes to express sincere gratitude to all the sponsors, judges, entertainers, the MCs,parents of the girls, members of the Leos Club of Cayman Brac, patrons who attended the show, all others who helped in one way or the other and the general community for their support. Committee Chair Lion Ventisha said, “Together, we can make a difference in our community and the Miss Teen Contest is just one way in which we help to build that positive image among our young ladies”.
For more information on Lions Clubs service activities or information on how to get involved, visit our blog at www.braclions.blogspot.com or email us at cblions@candw.ky. (Photo below: Miss Teen Cayman Brac Nicole Martin seated, standing L-R Evelyn Ebanks, Josanda Scott, Caitlin Connor and Miss Teen Cayman Islands 2010 Leanne Ritch)
GOAB hits roof trouble
(CNS): The government’s brand new office accommodation building, which began taking its first public sector tenants only two months ago, is reportedly leaking. As the remaining government workers finally move from the Glass House into the brand new state of the art office accommodation, sources from inside the civil service say that there are some significant problems with the roof. Although the details of the problems have not yet been revealed, a spokesperson from the relevant ministry confirmed Thursday evening that issues had arisen regarding the roof finish system which "is the subject of discussions between the parties.”
With hurricane season now upon us, CNS understands that officials from the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands & Agriculture are now facing a difficult decision of whether or not to give the go ahead for the necessary repairs. How extensive those repairs will be have not yet been disclosed but government did confirm that as the office accommodation project was a design-build contract between government and McAlpine Ltd, the contractor “is wholly liable for the construction and any matters which arise under the design build delivery method.”
However, the danger that government now faces is removing and replacing what is believed to be a defective roof system during hurricane season with the risk of the work being interrupted by a storm and the obvious implications for the whole building, or on the other hand leaving the project until the season comes to a close exposing that reportedly defective roof, and by implication the building, to whatever weather the season brings over the next six months.
The new building, which is located on Elgin Avenue in George Town only yards away from the original government office – the Glass House, which has been plagued with problems for many years, from sick building syndrome to fire safety issues – has not yet had its official opening ceremony. There are still a number of departments that have not yet made the transfer into the brand new space.
Once it is full it will house over 1000 government workers in around 240,000 sq ft on five floors, with each floor comprising around 35,000 sq.ft — equal to the entire size of the old Glass House.
The project cost the public purse around $85 million to build but it is expected to save government more than $10 million per annum in rent and even more in utility savings due to its “green” credentials. The building has been touted as a model in energy-efficiency, environmental-friendliness and functionality with enhanced hurricane and earthquake resistance, upgraded security against theft and intrusion and superior energy efficiency and resource conservation.
Energy saving aspects are a key feature of the building, including the use of geothermal water to drive air-conditioning chillers, under-floor air supply, heat recovery from exhaust systems and efficient electrical systems that maximize the use of LED technology, the project manager revealed last year.
Air arrivals soar but cruisers start to dip
(CNS): Despite high tourist arrival figures over the last six months at both the port and the airport, April saw a decline in cruise passengers while stay-over visitors continued to show a marked improvement. According to this month’s Department of Tourism statistics air passenger arrival numbers were the highest for April since 2004 with 30,824 people visiting the island. This was an impressive 12.7 percent increase on air arrivals in April 2010 which was again fuelled by a significant increase in passengers from Canada. However, arrivals from across the United States and Europe were also up, even visitors from UK and Ireland showed a 29.2% increase on 2010.
Meanwhile, however, in keeping with recent complaints by tour operators, taxi drivers and business owners in down town George Town, cruise arrivals fell last month. Following a number of warnings that the cruise figures would begin to decline as the new class of mega cruise ships now plying the Caribbean are dropping Cayman from the schedules cruise arrivals fell by 8.7%. Less than 147, 000 people were on board the ships which docked in Cayman throughout April compared to almost 161,000 last year.
However as January, February and March saw higher cruise arrivals this year when compared to 2010 the year to date figure at the George Town port is still better than last up 3.9%.
However, arrivals at the airport are up over 8% so far this year with the arrivals from Canada up by 41% as a result of the new direct flight service by WestJet between Grand Cayman and Toronto. Canada now accounts for more than 10% of the passengers flying into the Cayman Islands. While the new airline has helped boost the figures from Canada flight arrivals from the US are still up more than 6% and from Europe by more than 11%.
April also saw occupancy rates in apartments improve and although hotel occupancy remained lower in April than last year apartments and condos had an increase of over 8% in their occupancy rates.
There are currently 4564 beds across 274 different properties. The average length of stay has also increase slightly among visitors this year, especially among those staying in apartments and condos. The Department of Tourism statistics reveal that the average length of stay has increased this year by a one full day with guests staying for average of 7.8 days.
Blues to star in new nature tourism attraction
(CNS): With the help of a European Union grant of E550,000 over three years, work is now well underway on the creation of a second reserve for Cayman’s iconic and unique blue iguana, which is also earmarked to become a natural tourist attraction. The Colliers Wilderness Reserve in East End will eventually become a place where visitors will be able to see a population of blues, which are already being introduced to the area, living in the wild. Located east of the existing Salina Reserve, this new wilderness reserve will be accessible to visitors and become a self-sustaining nature tourism and educational centre.
A Protected Area Planning Team has already been established for the reserve that has been working steadily behind the scenes. Made up of experts from the National Trust, Department of Environment, the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme and several other local specialists the team has been working on concepts for the reserve’s visitor centre.
“We intend to develop a model environmentally sensitive and sustainable centre,” Fred Burton, the director of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, explained “We hope to operate it entirely on solar power, with zero waste discharge on site, and exemplary custodianship of the pure groundwater in the area.”
He said that underlying the work of the Protected Area Planning Team is a mandate to ensure that the reserve, including the restored population of Blue Iguanas, will be financially and ecologically self sustaining, once established and operating.
The creation of the reserve has been made possible as part of a specialist European Union project focused on the management of protected areas in three overseas territories in the region – Cayman, Turks and Caicos and BVI.
In the Cayman Islands the goal is to create the Colliers Wilderness Reserve which will not only provide another home for a second population of blue iguanas, but will also provide for a range of human activities which are compatible with the preservation of the wilderness, so that the protected area is a real asset to the local community, as well as a significant tourism attraction.
When the new protected area was leased to the National Trust by the Cayman Islands Government last year, there was no access either for pedestrians or cars.It was also affected by two gazetted road corridors which threatened the viability of the area as a nature reserve.
Burton explained that since then the access has been resolved by the realignment of a minor road originally gazetted to run all along and within the east boundary of the Reserve, to connect instead to an existing subdivision road under construction from the main coast road at the very east end of the island which was gazetted on 23 May. Although the issue of any future extension to the East-West arterial still remains in question Burton is hopeful that the NRA will be able to curve the road around the reserve leaving it undisturbed.
Burton and National Trust Chair Carla Reid, recently visited the British Virgin Islands for a meeting of the third Project Steering Committee and in the wake of that meeting the project’s Technical Assistant for finance and administration, David Elizondo Gimenez, is visiting Grand Cayman this week. The expert is holding workshop and other meetings to assist the local agencies involved with implementing the Cayman Islands component of this project. This week’s meetings with the technical assistant will prepare the National Trust to proceed with administrative aspects of the project and progress on several early project goals.
A land purchase, key to completion of the Salina Reserve, is also included in the EU project and is an immediate target for completion. This year the Trust also expects to go to tender for provision of the solar power equipment which will be installed as soon as planning permission has been secured and access has been constructed. A grant from the AALL Foundation is already in hand towards this goal.
The Colliers Wilderness Reserve will not be open to the public during the careful development of the sustainable nature tourism infrastructure. However, once phase 1 is complete there will be a formal opening — perhaps in 2013 or 2014 when the reserve will begin welcoming residents and visitors.
Meanwhile, a recent press article in the Czech Republic suggesting that a blue iguana had been acquired by the Prague zoo has set Burton and the recovery team something of a detective challenge. Burton told CNS that the zoo officials have been very co-operative and have agreed to send blood and dna samples from the iguana which will be sent to partners of the recovery programme in San Diego to be processed before being passed on to other experts in Puerto Rico for analysis.
Once he has a dna profile of the iguana Burton said the team may be able to work out ‘who his daddy is’ and possible single out its relatives. Once the team has some ancestry they may be able to get to the bottom of how the blue, if it is in fact a genuine blue, wound up in the Czech Republic.
Cayman entrepreneur designer loved in Montserrat
(Yes Caibbean): A new word was coined this week Caymanserratian as Cayman Island entrepreneurs Luigi Moxam and Susan Barnes brought their energy and ideas to YES Caribbean, a conference for entrepreneurs held on Montserrat last week May 25 -28, 2011. Fashion Designer Luigi Moxam shared his entrepreneurial story during various sessions over the four-day event and got local teens to model some of his gear as part of his presentation. Moxam showcased how he merged his love for the Cayman Islands, his passion for social and humanitarian causes with his fashion label One Tree Four Five Collection.
By the end of the four days, Moxam and Montserratian-born actress Dionne Audain had coined a new word Caymanserratian to define the new found connections and passion that was being shared and spread.
“I really felt the love and at home,” Moxam said. “I’m definitely coming back and want to see how we can collaborate more with the young people here.”
Volunteers needed to manage emergency shelters
(CNS): Government is looking for volunteer shelter managers for the 2011 hurricane season in all of the districts of Grand Cayman. Officials said people willing to take on the role must be responsible,dependable, mature and service-oriented with an interest in serving the community. Previous experience is not necessary as training sessions will be held next week. Shelter Operations, a Sub-Committee of the Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI), is the agency responsible for managing shelters as well as coordinating assistance in the districts. There are currently 14 hurricane shelters and approximately 55 volunteers. Shelter Managers manage the shelter with a team of other volunteers.
Chairperson of the Shelter Operations Sub-committee, Deanna Look said, “Our Wardens are vital in meeting arange of safety and other basic human needs before, during and after hurricanes. While some of our previous managers have indicated a willingness to continue to serve their communities, there still remains a need for greater numbers of volunteers.”
Hurricane season officially started on Wednesday continues through to 30 November and experts are predicting an active season this year. (See
If you are willing to volunteer your time during this hurricane season, please contact Mrs. Lynda Mitchell, Department of Children and Family Services, on 949-0290 or 925-5346. Training takes place on 6 & 7 June at the Prospect Primary School Hall, commencing at 6:00 p.m. All participants will be certified.
Swiss need to share more info, says OECD
(Reuters): Switzerland still has "a big problem" when it comes to meeting international standards aimed at helping other countries crack down on tax evaders, the OECD said on Wednesday. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, which was set up under the auspices of Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has credited Switzerland with making significant progress in the fight against taxcheats since it eased its strict bank secrecy in 2009. But at the conclusion of a three-day meeting in Bermuda on Wednesday, the Forum noted that some Swiss requirements governing the implementation of tax information agreements still hindered the effective sharing of information.
Switzerland is the world's biggest offshore banking center and has long been known for putting a premium on privacy laws and bank secrecy. Among other issues, Switzerland has been criticized for being too restrictive and demanding too much detail, including the name and address of suspected tax cheats, from countries making requests for tax information under some agreements.
"There is a big problem which needs to be fixed," said Pascal Saint-Amans, chief of the Global Forum's secretariat.
Ridley defends offshore business at industry forum
(CNS): Offshore financial centres were to blame for the financial crisis, the movement of various dictators’ monies out of their countries and the US government’s ever-deepening budget deficit, according to speakers at this year’s OffshoreAlert Conference. Some of the biggest names for and against offshore financial centres came head to head during a panel discussion debating OFCs’ pros and cons, with Cayman’s own former Cayman Islands Monetary Authority chairman Tim Ridley up against the likes of Jack Blum, Chairman of the Tax Justice Network and long-time lobbyist against OFCs, as well as Nicholas Shaxson, the author of the OFC-bashingbook, Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and The Men Who Stole the World.
Blum said that OFCs had developed an industry which helped organised crime take advantage of the tax benefits they offered. He pointed to the monies suddenly revealed as embezzled by Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s current leader Colonel Gadhafi and wondered how such monies could have been moved out of these countries and where it went. He wondered who set up these structures in the first place and said that there was a need to break such structures down.
Fellow panellist Tim Ridley said in response that there was no doubt that everyone was in agreement that no one supported corrupt dictators and that there would be no objection by OFCs when it came to attempts to trace the proceeds of these ill-gotten gains.
The idea, however, of nailing jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands as where the problem lies was “flat wrong” in Ridley’s eyes and he said that the problem was a global one and that crime needed to be rooted out wherever it was found.
“To suggest that small OFCs are a critical part of the problem and that can be dealt with by getting rid of them is a bit like saying if we never have any transactions globally we will never have any problems. To shut everything down so that you have walls around countries and eliminate the benefits OFCs provide to the global community purely to deal with these specific problems will end up making the world worse off,” he stated. “Turning the clock back would take you back to the bad old days.”
In response to Ridley arguments that, far from causing the financial meltdown OFCs played an important role in facilitating the movement of global funds, panellist Nicholas Shaxson said that this argument was “fallacious” and that big financial institutions were able to go offshore when they didn’t like regulations onshore, which was part of the reason financial institutions became so big that in the end they were “too big to fail”. Shaxson said that this was why such institutions now dominated the world.
Ridley urged panellists Blum, Shaxson and Robert Roach, Counsel & Chief Investigator of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, to listen and read a bit more carefully, quoting an Oxford University study discussing the financial crisis which stated that the fact that many of these entities were located in OFCs created confusion about the role of tax havens in the financial crisis.
The study acknowledged that while off balance sheet vehicles in offshore jurisdictions did not contribute to the transparency of the system, the problems experienced by structured investment vehicles (known as SIVs) during the crisis were not due to their offshore location, but due to their off balance sheet status.
“Their business model was flawed,” Ridley argued, “i.e. they borrowed short and lent long. That’s got nothing to do with offshore, that’s the business model. Learn from it and move on. But don’t say the flawed business model is the responsibility of the OFCs!”