Archive for January, 2012
Courts to open own legal aid clinic
(CNS): The chief justice has announced plans to open a legal aid clinic under the administrationof the courts that can offer advice and pre-litigation services to those in the community who qualify for government funding of their legal disputes. Anthony Smellie said the clinic will also provide training opportunities for law students as he called on the profession to volunteer their services to support the clinic. Following the controversy surrounding the administration of Legal Aid when the premier moved the budget from the courts to his own ministry Smellie welcomed its return to the courts in the last budget.
As a result he stated that lawyers invoices far taking on the legal aid cases were now being processed on a more regular basis. Against the background of what he described as the misgivings surrounding the subject over the past few years, he said it was a “wise and appropriate decision” by government to relinquish the funding back to the courts.
He said the judicial administration was now in a position to advance the sort of legislative reform most suitable for Cayman and a draft bill had been prepared part of which included a Legal Aid Clinic which would be located at Kirk House.
“The Clinic will provide the dual benefit of advisory and pre-litigation service to persons who qualify on the means tested basis, as well as training for law students undertaking the legal practitioners’ course,” he told the profession as he gave his report at the opening of the Grand Court on Wednesday.
“The viability of the clinic will however, depend on the willingness of you, the practitioners, to give of your time to work with the lecturers in supervising the students, and overseeing and appraising their work with clients,” he added as he urged lawyers present to volunteer for service at the Clinic.
The chief justice said based on the experience in other jurisdictions in the region the legal aid clinic has proven to be a very successful way of achieving the dual objectives of practical training for lawyers and service to the public who can’t afford but need legal advice.
With more than 454 applications made each year more than half of which are not related to criminal cases it was clear there was a need for the service.
The issue of legal aid which costs the government around $1.8million per annum despite being comparatively low continues to cause controversy among politicians who are reluctant during times of economic hardship to appropriate money to a cause lacking popular support.
In an attempt to change the way the cash was managed and reduce the funding in its first budget in October 2009 the UDP administration announced that it would be establishing an independent legal aid office that would employ lawyers to represent people in the courts as well as offer free legal advice. The premier moved the budget into his own ministry and announced that local attorneys Theresa Pitcairn and Steve McField who be in charge of establishing the new office.
However, the then governor, Stuart Jack stepped in and ordered a review of the legal process and the premier’s decision to remove the budget from the independence of the judiciary.
A commission then produce a report which has never been made public in its entirety a hard redacted copy was released to CNS via an FOI request which revealed that the courts were providing value for money and that a clinic would be far more expensive.
The auditor general also conducted a value for money report which also found that while there were administrative issues with the accounting at the court the system provided value for money and all those in need of legal aid, especially in criminal matters, were provided with professional representation.
Missing woman’s husband told to leave island
(CNS): The immigration department is asking the husband of missing person Anna Ebanks Evans, who disappeared almost one year ago, to leave the Cayman Islands. Gary Evans, who is a Jamaican national, told the local television news channel that despite still being married to Anna, who is Caymanian, he has been told to leave the country. Evans is father to three Caymanian children and has been in the country since 1984. Although he was questioned in the wake of his wife’s disappearance from the George Town landfill January last year, he has never been charged with any crime relating to the whereabouts of Anna.
Speaking to Cayman 27, Evans said he has been told that he must leave Cayman because he has no rights to remain, but he believes that the department has not taken in consideration the fact that he has children that are Caymanian and he is still married to a Caymanian. He also said that his application for permanent residency had been blocked.
Anna was last seen at around noon Thursday 27 January 2011 by her cousin at the George Town landfill, where they both worked. The alarm was raised when Anna, a director of wagons at the landfill, did not meet up with her work colleagues at the end of her shift.
Despite extensive searches and the use of a specilly trained canine unit from the US, there have been no sightings of Anna since she disappeared.
New port proposal surfaces
(CNS): The government could have another proposal to consider alongside its current talks with the Chinese for cruise berthing facilities, this time in George Town. Although government has rejected the alternative put forward by local sea captains in South Sound, this third option keeps the facilities in the capital. CNS understands that a Caymanian led consortium has approached government with a plan to finance and construct the facilities in the Pageant beach area. The proposal would be an all-weather facility with no competing retail that would deliver passengers ashore around one mile north of the current terminals and shuttle them into the down town area.
Sources tell CNS that the proposal from the as yet unnamed group of local businessmen would reportedly involve a direct partnership with the cruise lines and would not depend on upland retail development at the site, which is currently in private hands.
It is understood that an offer has been made for the land that would facilitate this third option for government to consider.
Sources close to the consortium told CNS that this proposal would address all of the concerns that people have about the facility and would ensure that the cruise facilities remain safely in Caymanian hands. The project was described as “ideal” as it would mean the facilities would still be very close to the main retail area in down-town George Town but it would alleviate rather than add to the downtown traffic issues.
The group is said to be offering a guarantee that, with the exception of the marine engineering experts, the bulk of the work will go directly to Caymanian contractors and the group estimates that as many as 2,000 local people could be employed on the project.
The eleventh hour proposal is currently well under wraps but CNS understands that the plans will be submitted to government this week and details of them will be made public before the end of January.
Government is currently engaged in talks with the Beijing based firm China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) after the MOU between the premier, the Port Authority and the Chinese firm was renewed in November to extend talks until March.
The proposal with CHEC involves a 51-year lease on the upland element of the development, which would include a range of facilities, including a hotel, a proposal for a casino, restaurants and an extensive retail area with a two storey walkway from the ships.
Meanwhile, a group of local sea-captains have proposed that the facilities be developed in the Red Bay South Sound area, which they say presents a safe all-weather harbour with facilities for up to four piers and a marina, where passengers would be shuttled into George Town from the ships.
The premier, however, recently rejected the proposal as he said the cruise berthing facilities had to be in George Town because of the investment by local merchants in the capital.
Inmates on remand to use jail-court video link
(CNS): Government is hoping to cut down on costs and increase security with the advent of a video link at the prison that will allow inmates detained at HMP Northward and Fairbanks on remand to address the courts or consult with their lawyers without leaving the jail. The CCTV link is expected to go live within weeks to allow "virtual" remand hearings, removing the need to shuttle defendants from the prison to the George Town court house. "We transport some 100 Category-A and -B prisoners and persons on remand weekly, including those charged with capital crimes," said Prison Director Dwight Scott.
The move is also expected to save government significant sums by cutting down on the number of vans and officers needed to guard prisoners when they leave the security of the prison.
Scott said that normally at least three prison staff and two vehicles have been dedicated to processing and transporting remand prisoners each day. Royal Cayman Islands Police Service resources will also be saved as their officers will be relieved of transport and security duties, too.
The CCTV system uses two separate sound-proof rooms at Northward. One, with a 'dock', will enable the judiciary to confirm that the inmate is secured in custody and allow hearings and questioning from the courtroom. A separate room, also equipped with CCTV, will allow confidential conversations between persons on remand and their attorneys.
"Deploying this technology removes the need to transport dangerous persons outside the prison gates, thereby removing many risk factors,” said Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs' Deputy Chief Officer Eric Bush during a live test this week. “Many issues were taken into consideration, including the human rights of those detained."
The application of this "live" technology was coordinated by government's Computer Services Department and included input by Hazard Management Cayman Islands as well as private sector companies, Creative Tech and Aviation Communications. The system uses fibre-optic lines and secured microwave links to transmit the conversations, which are encrypted at both ends to prevent interference.
Backbench government MLA for George Town Ellio Solomon, who is chair of the E-Government Committee, said as well as enhancing security and access, the CCTV link will save government money, with the initial costs of $85,000 being recouped within eight months.
UN to erect slave trade memorial in New York
(CNS): The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution to construct a permanent memorial to those who suffered under the yoke of slavery and the transatlantic trade at its headquarters, UN officials confirmed Thursday. The assembly stressed the importance of educating and informing current and future generations about the causes, consequences and lessons of slavery, and requested the Secretary-General to continue organizing activities related to the commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which is held annually on 25 March.
During the assembly’s debate, several delegates added that adopting the resolution, and inturn completing the permanent memorial, were the “least the United Nations could do” to honour those who forcibly became part of the global African Diaspora.
The representative of Jamaica, which chairs the Permanent Memorial Committee, said that while some of the gravest historical wrongs against humankind had been addressed, others had not. Slavery and the transatlantic slave trade had not yet met the threshold of acknowledgement and redemption, which served as rationale for continued action at the United Nations. As the theme for the permanent memorial stated, he said, we are “acknowledging the tragedy, considering the legacy, lest we forget”.
The representative of Guyana, who introduced the resolution on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said the memorial would offer current and future generations the opportunity to contemplate and reflect on the horrors and indignity of the ignoble system of slavery. It would also serve as a source of inspiration, a symbol of the indomitable spirit of human beings and their capacity to triumph over the worst forms of oppression and bigotry.
The permanent memorial, first called for in General Assembly resolution 62/122, was slated to be completed by the end of 2012, and would be erected in a place of prominence at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
An international competition to select its design was launched in September, and a Trust Fund was established to support its construction. Numerous delegations today stressed the importance of contributing to that fund, which to date had raised over $1 million of the estimated $4.5 million needed to complete the project.
“We are magnanimous enough to forgive, but human enough not to forget,” said the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, speaking on behalf of the African Group of States. The transatlantic slave trade had torn millions of Africans from their homes, “dragged them in chains to the Americas and sold them as slaves”.
Its most salient outcome, he stressed, was the dehumanization of people of African descent, which led to a disturbing legacy of racism and racial discrimination in many countries. Referring to the annual International Day to commemorate victims of the slave trade, he said that event recognized the dearth of inquiry into the experience of enslaved Africans, as well as a continuing gap in literature regarding their individual and collective experiences.
More efforts were needed to promote research, education and outreach programmes to fill that gap, he emphasized, adding that it was “unacceptable” to continue to sweep the identities and contributions of enslaved Africans under the carpet.
Meanwhile, some speakers pointed out that the unjust legacy of slavery was still alive and well in the social life of many countries. The representative of Cuba, stressing that the people of his country were proud of their heritage – which included both Spanish and African blood – said that Africans would remain exploited as long as the “unsustainable and unjust” consumption patterns continued to exclude the majority of people around the world. Former colonial metropolises must “honour their debt” to slaves; it was impossible for them to “wash their hands of the past” and of their responsibilities in that regard.
Man gets 10yrs for wife attack
(CNS): A West Bay man was sentenced to ten years in prison on Thursday for attempting to kill his wife by setting her on fire. George Dexter Evans was found guilty of attempted murder and arson following a judge alone trial before Justice Charles Quin in August last year. As he handed down his sentence, the judge pointed to Evans' alcohol problems as the cause of his crime. Social enquiries, doctors reports and his family found that when sober Evans was a loving and hardworking husband and father but a completely different person when drunk. The judge told Evans he was lucky that in the end his wife was unharmed.
Evans, whose drinking had caused significant problems between himself and his wife at the time of the incident, turned up at Plantation Village on Seven Mile Beach, where his wife worked, on 12 December 2010.
The court heard that Evans had been drinking again when he arrived at the condos and attempted to lure his wife to his truck where he pulled out an H7 bottle. While she was in the reception area of the condo complex, Evans sprayed his wife with liquid from the bottle which turned out to be gasoline. Although the fuel went over her body and face, including her eyes, she and a colleague managed to close the door on Evans before he threw the lighted matches, saving her life as the door burst into flames.
Evans then got into his truck and crashed the vehicle into his wife’s car before driving it into the condo reception doors. He then proceeded to pour more petrol in the area before setting light to the building.
His wife — the intended victim — managed to escape the flames but Evans' arson attack caused some $200,000 worth of damage. As the area was engulfed in flames, Evans, who was said to be enraged at the time, was said to have shouted, “I am George Evans. I did it I did it!”
The judge said in his sentencing ruling that Evans had been found guilty of attempted murder as it was clear he had planned the arson attack on his wife because he had come with petrol and deliberately threw the fuel at his spouse. His wife escaped serious injury but the Justice Quin said it was clear she been put through a terrifying experience.
“This is a tragic case where the negative effects of alcohol added to uncontrolled jealousy have made this defendant behave in a manner in which he would otherwise not behave,” Justice Quin said.
As he handed down the ten year sentence in accordance with the guidelines, the judge said it was vital that Evans, who has been in prison since his arrest on the day of the crime, continues to receive medical care and continuing professional rehabilitation to address his alcohol abuse and deter him from violence in future.
“I strongly urge the defendant to continue working with the prison authorities in their rehabilitative programmes,” Justice Quin said. “This, together with regular visits from his wife and son, will hopefully ensure that he will never come before the court again for criminal behavior.”
The judge warned Evans that he could never drink alcohol again because when he did he became a different person.
Evans also received an eight year sentence for the arson attack and a further six months for the charge against him for damage to property but the judge ordered that they both run concurrently with the attempted murder sentence of ten years as the crimes were all committed at the same time.
CNCF offers grants for artistic endeavours
(CNS): The Cayman National Cultural foundation is inviting applications from individuals, groups and organisations who need financial assistance with artistic projects. The deadline for applying for one of the CNCF grants is Monday and the grants will be awarded in May. As part of its mission to facilitate and preserve artistic expression generally and Caymanian performing, visual and literary arts in particular, the Cultural Foundation awards financial grants to help further development, to assist in bringing a worthy project to fruition or in some cases to support an on-going project or programme.
The CNCF Grants and Awards Committee reviews the applications to determine if the application has merit and decides if the dollar amount applied for should be granted, or granted in a reduced amount. The committee members are Board Members Lorna Reid and Morgan DaCosta, and sculptor Horacio Esteban.
CNCF has awarded grants for training, productions, publications, attendance at festivals and special projects. Click on the link below to download a copy of the Grants for the Arts Guidelines & Application.
Interested individuals can download a copy of the CNCF Grants for the Arts Application and Guidelines fromwww.artscayman.org or collect a copy from the CNCF offices. Call 954-5477 or email projcncf@candw.ky for more information
Cayman runner makes bid for world championships
(CNS): Local middle distance runner Jon Rankin will be running a very important mile in his first competition of 2012 when he competes at the University of Washington Indoor Preview Meet on Saturday in effort to qualify for the Indoor World Championships in March in Turkey. Last year in Puerto Rico Rankin earned a bronze medal in the 1,500meter race at the the CACAC Senior Championships. In this Olympic year Rankin is hoping for even more success. “I truly believe it's going to be an exciting year this year because it's an Olympic year,” he said this week. Rankin hits the track on Saturday at 12:15 pm PST and the results will be available on the even website after the race.
Although Rankin was born in the United States and lives mostly in Seattle, both of his parents were born in George Town and he competes for the Cayman Islands. He is Cayman’s only middle distance competitive runner and is expected to be in the CI team heading to London this summer
To see results of the race next Saturday, click here.
Lions promote need for early glaucoma detection
(CNS):Local Lions are doing their best this month to raise awareness about the sight-stealing disease glaucoma and the importance of early detection and treatment, before it causes major vision loss. The Lions are helping to arrange comprehensive dilated eye exams for persons in need by eye care professionals upon request. They are also helping with the purchase of low vision devices and aids to help those with visual impairment maintain their independence. Glaucoma is called "the sneak thief of sight" since there are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it's permanent. As much as 40% of vision can be lost without a person noticing.
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can damage the eye's optic nerve and result in vision loss and blindness.
It is the second leading cause of blindness globally, and the blindness it causes is irreversible. At first, there are no symptoms of glaucoma. Vision stays normal, and there is no pain. Glaucoma occurs when the normal fluid pressure inside the eyes slowly rises. Without treatment, people will slowly lose their peripheral (side) vision. Over time, straight-ahead vision may decrease until no vision remains. Glaucoma can develop in one or both eyes.
Contact the Lions Club of Tropical Gardens at lctg1993@gmail.com for more information on their effort to educate the community about this disease.
Atlas documents state of Caribbean seabirds
(CNS): A new atlas compiled after an eleven month study in the Lesser Antilles has revealed the current state of endangered sea birds in the region. Environmental Protection in the Caribbean’s (EPIC) Seabird Breeding Atlas is the first of its kind to document the birds in the area as many existing records are based on anecdotal notes from the early 19th century. Globally, seabirds are among the most threatened of bird groups, with 80% of species in decline and 90-99% of seabirds lost from tropical islands. Prior to European contact, it is believed there were tens of millions of seabirds breeding in the Caribbean region, now there are under two million.
Stretching in a thin arc from Anguilla to Grenada, the Lesser Antilles are the final frontier between the Caribbean Sea and the vast expanses of the Atlantic Ocean. Over an eleven month study period, between 2009 and 2010, EPIC’s partners Katharine and David Lowrie, sailed 3,162 nautical miles, surveying by land and sea 200 islands above the high-tide level capable of supporting seabirds, surveying each island in the winter breeding season and again during the summer.
Surveying islands that few other sailors will venture near, the study was dubbed by the sailing community as, a survey of the worst anchorages of the Caribbean.
“The reason for such remote nesting sites is that seabirds have been pushed out from their previous breeding grounds by development. Being mostly ground-nesting, they also have no defences against voracious introduced predators such as cats and rats”, Katharine Lowrie explained in a release from the environmental organization.
The EPIC Seabird Breeding Atlas of the Lesser Antilles reveals that four of the 18 species recorded are present at globally significant levels, with a further 11 species considered significant within the Caribbean region. It also reports that Battowia, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, followed by Dog Island of Anguilla, are the most important individual islands for globally significant seabird colonies.
One of the distressing discoveries of the study, David Lowrie said was the extent to which egg collection and hunting of seabird chicks and adults still persist throughout the chain.
“We repeatedly encountered fishermen whose only reference to the species we were studying was their relative taste,” he said. “On one island during one day we were greeted by tens of decapitated Brown Booby heads representing 39% of that colony’s generation of chicks. On another island Sooty Terns are practically ‘farmed’ for their eggs, with ‘shoot outs’ being reported between rival hunters”.
The atlas provides vital data on this poorly studied group of birds. It includes species accounts for all eighteen species; island accounts including abundance and distribution of breeding colonies and threats; detailed methods and data analysis and discussion of the priority breeding sites and species of concern in the study area.
“The vision for the Atlas was born out of frustration with the huge gaps in information in the region for simple facts, such as the breeding locations for certain species or the main threats for each site,” Natalia Collier, EPIC President said. “It was crucial that the Atlas provided transparent, standardised methods and analysis, facilitating future seabird monitoring in the region to guide conservation priorities”.
EPIC’s Atlas is available from the CreateSpace online store. Purchases through CreateSpace return a percentage of royalties to EPIC to help cover expenses incurred during the project.