Archive for January, 2012
‘Elvis’ to make heart felt performance on Valentines
(CNS): Cayman Heart Fund (CHF) is hoping to make this year’s annual fundraiser a real heart stopper as it collects money to save hearts in the future. Ron Adams, famed Elvis impersonator will be the headline act at the annual Red Dress Gala on Feb. 10 at the Marriott. The best dressed couple will win 3 nights in Miami courtesy of the Cayman Airways and the Marriott. In addition, there will be silent auction items to bid on, an exquisite dinner by Chef Le Pape, great music, prizes and dancing all night long.
The Cayman Heart Fund is a non-profit, non-governmental, charitable organization which was established to strengthen Cayman’s health. Its aim is to alert, reduce and help prevent Cardiovascular Disease – Cayman’s #1 killer. This is achieved through education, services to the public like FREE medical screenings and by providing medical equipment and training.
For tickets please contact caymanheartfund@gmail.com or 345-916-6324.
Chefs turning up the heat on Lionfish
(CNS): The invasive lionfish will be on the chopping block at this year’s Taste of Cayman food festival on Saturday as chefs demonstrate how to clean, prepare and cook this ocean pest which is threatening Cayman’s reefs. Local firm Home Gas will be sponsoring Lionfish Cooking Demonstrations at the Bon Vivant Kitchen during the festival where four local chefs will show safe handling procedures and how to prepare delicious dishes with the tasty but unwelcome fish. As the biggest threat to our beautiful reefs, organisers said it is important that the public learn how they can help keep the lionfish at bay, not just through culling efforts but by eating them as well.
The Home Gas Lionfish Cooking Demonstrations will run from 5:30-8:00pm with the help of emcee Derek Bollingbroke, the demonstrations will be not just educational, but also an entertaining featured area at the festival. Recipes featured at the Bon Vivant kitchen by the chefs at the festival will be available to the public at www.tasteofcayman.org and samples of the lionfish can be tasted at the Home Gas booth.
For more information about the festival, visit www.tasteofcayman.org.
Kid’s generosity earns visit to cop chopper
(CNS): An 11-year-old boy who donated his birthday cash to a diving charity was given a tour of the RCIPS helicopter recently to mark his special birthday. Trey Milgate, who had his 11th birthday on the 11th day of the 11th month in 2011 decided to mark the occasion by throwing a birthday party for around 80 of his friends and classmates who were asked not to buy him presents but instead give donations for the ‘Stay Focused‘ diving charity for teens and young adults. Trey, who is a keen diver collected $1350 for his charity. The police commissioner, who was present when Trey delivered the cheque to ‘Stay focused was so impressed he invited him to visit the Air Operations Unit.
On arrival last Wednesday (rey was presented with his own Air Operations shirt before being briefed by the crew. He then hopped into the pilot’s seat and took control but only on the ground.
“Trey is remarkable young man and a real credit to his family and his community,” said David Baines. “He forfeited his birthday presents to ensure that those less fortunate than himself have an opportunity to enjoy a sport that he loves – diving. This is our way of making sure that we made his birthday extra special by arranging a visit to see the helicopter and meet the crew. He had a great time and, although he didn’t fly, he very quickly mastered some of the controls. Who knows, his day as an Air Operations recruit might just persuade him that he has a future in the RCIPS.”
UK agrees to re-open air passenger tax talks
(CNS): The UK has agreed to re-open the dialogue with Caribbean countries on issues relating to the Air Passenger Duty (APD) which is threatening the region’s tourism sector. The UK agreed “in the spirit of cooperation and in the context of the importance of tourism to the economic development of the Caribbean,” at this weekend’s forum to continue dialogue with a view to assisting the region in mitigating any deleterious effects the tax may have on its economies. At the end of the seventh UK-Caribbean Forum in Grenada the Caribbean and the United Kingdom have also agreed on a new strategic partnership to promote prosperity growth and development within both regions.
The partnership is reflected in a 31-point action plan (below) which was issued at the end of the two-day political dialogue on Sunday afternoon. The action plan outlines four major areas of cooperation: economic resilience, security, climate change and sustainable development and foreign policy.
According to a release from the FCO the Foreign Ministers agreed to build economic resilience through development of practical mechanisms that will boost growth in investment, employment, production and trade opportunities that would benefit both regions. The UK agreed to support the efforts of the Caribbean in improving their food security through efficient production and distribution measures.
The Foreign Ministers also agreed to develop effective coordination mechanisms to help advance the fight against drugs and international crime as well as tackling pressing socio-political and security issues which threaten international peace and security.
In the area of climate change and sustainable development the UK noted that the Caribbean already had a very strong voice in the international community and is poised to “give value for money.” Foreign Ministers agreed on the urgency of closing mitigation gaps to bring global temperatures well below 2oC.
“When I became Foreign Secretary I was determined to reinvigorate the UK’s relationships with its partners across the Caribbean,” the Foreign Secretary William Hague said. “This year’s Forum has afforded me my first opportunity to demonstrate this commitment in concrete terms, by hearing first hand the value of our relationships and how we can improve them.”
He noted that the UK and the Caribbean already work together on a broad range of issues such as counter-narcotics operations and criminal justice and the UK has committed to increasing aid to the region by fifty per cent over the next four years
“We want to strengthen and deepen our cooperation on these and other issues,” Hague added.
“Historically the UK and Caribbean have close ties, but there has been a sense on both sides that the relationship is not delivering. I now want to see a new era beginning, where both sides can share knowledge and expertise and which is characterised by stronger trade relations. This should be a modern partnership based on prosperity and cooperation, and we will continue to work towards this aim.”
Around one and a half million British tourists visited the Caribbean in 2010, and tourism is a key plank of the economy.
The UK is a major investor in the Caribbean and recent large investments have included those of BG in Trinidad & Tobago, and Pinewood Studios in the Dominican Republic.
See action plan posted below
Oil rig arrives in Cuba to begin exploration
(BBC): A large oil rig has arrived off the coast of Cuba to begin searching for offshore oil deposits. Several international companies will use the rig to drill exploratory wells in deep water in the Florida Strait, which separates Cuba from the US. Cuba is hoping to confirm estimates that it has billions of barrels of oil in offshore fields. But there is concern in the US that a deep water spill could devastate the coast of Florida. The Chinese-built rig – known as Scarabeo 9 – could be seen from the Cuban capital Havana as it moved slowly west. First to use it will be the Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, which plans to drill an exploratory well around 100km (62 miles) from the Florida Keys.
Other foreign companies are also planning to hire the rig.
Cuba already produces some oil from small onshore and coastal deposits, but depends for most of its fuel on subsidised imports from its ally, Venezuela.
If confirmed, the estimated offshore deposits could turn Cuba into an oil exporter and transform its troubled socialist economy.
But the project has caused anxiety in the US, particularly following the 2010 leak at BP's Deepwater Horizon rig, which dumped millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Scarabeo-9 will be drilling in even deeper waters, and sea currents mean that any spill would threaten the Florida coast.
PPM Bodden Town MLA to host meeting over landfill
(CNS): While members of the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free await their opportunity to express their concerns to their government representatives, the opposition MLA for the district, Anthony Eden, will be hosting a public meeting Tuesday evening to give residents and others affected by the proposed move an opportunity to offer their opinion and input on the plan. Although the coalition is not a politically affiliated movement, organisers said they welcomed the meeting as an opportunity to add additional names to the list of MLAs already supporting the campaign against moving the George Town landfill as part of government’s proposed investment deal with the Dart Group.
Representatives from the coalition said they welcomed another opportunity to present the views of its members to the public. Representatives from North Side and East End as well as the opposition leader will be attending the meeting.
Alain Beiner,one of the leaders of the single issue movement, said the meeting reflects the growing opposition among people to the relocation of the GT dump and the pressure on MLAs to speak out and give voice to this opposition. “Dart wants the dump ‘out of its backyard’ and wants to dump it on us, with no concern for the consequences,” he said.
The coalition is currently using the freedom of information law to gather information regarding the proposal but so far has not been able to find any reports about the decision to move the dump, the selection of Bodden Town as the new location or the impact it will have on the district.
The group is still waiting for the government MLAs in the district to answer the questions it has asked and has raised its concerns about continued lack of consultation with the people of the district.
Vincent Frederick said he hopes that people will show up to speak their mind at this latest district meeting as he said government’s failure to consult and lack of openness has intensified fears. “We still don’t know who chose Bodden Town, how or why,” he said.
Greg Anderson, who will be one of the speakers at the meeting, pointed out that the residents of Bodden town have not been told if there will be an Environmental Impact Assessment or a public rezoning process for Midland Acres, as required by law.
“Government seems completely unconcerned about due process and about the consequences for our people and our environment, and we call on government once again to abandon the planned relocation of the George Town dump. Let’s fix the problem where it is instead of contaminating a new site,” he said.
The meeting is set for Tuesday, 24 January at 8:00pm at the Bodden Town Civic Centre.
Mother sent to jail over bank theft
(CNS): A former bank teller with Cayman National Bank has been sent to jail for 12 months on her first offense, despite having a one-year-old child. The sentence was handed down on Friday morning by the chief justice, who explained that in cases of theft regarding positions of trust with an employer the law requires a custodial sentence. Takeisha McLean had pleaded guilty to several counts of theft while she worked at the Cayman Brac branch of the bank. When McLean pleaded guilty to the crime she had just given birth and as a result her sentencing was postponed to provide an opportunity for bonding, the judge said.
Crown counsel John Masters told the judge that McLean's crimes had come to light when customers complained thatthe deposits to their bank accounts were different to those in their deposit books. McLean had been falsifying the deposits and cheques in order to give money to a man who she said she was afraid of and to buy groceries for her other children.
McLean’s attorney, Lucy Organ, noted that she had already made repayments of $1809 so far as she had managed to get a job with the Port Authority. Although the lawyer said her client had made child care arrangements for her very young child, she hoped the judge would find a way to suspend the sentence.
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie pointed out that the law called for a custodial sentence and incarceration was inevitable. He said McLean had deliberately stolen from bank but noted that this was a first offense and the defendant did not present a serious risk of reoffending, as he handed down a 12 month sentence for each of the twelve counts, to run concurrently.
Shetty says he will partner with American hospital
(CNS): The Indian heart surgeon with plans to set up a medical city in the Cayman Islands has told the Indian press that he intends to tie up with a US hospital chain that will be the investor in the project. Dr Devi Shetty told the Business Standard said that the American firm’s doctors would treat the patients at the hospital while his Narayana Group would partner and provide the low-cost model of running a health care system. “We have a model to demonstrate — that with only a fraction of their total cost, we can get the same outcome that they achieve with huge investment,” Shetty told India’s leading business paper.
“(The) Cayman Islands is close to the US. We want to change the way the US deals with health care,” the renowned surgeon added.
He pointed out that the Cayman Islands is the only country that recognises an Indian medical degree as a result of the recent changes to the health practitioners’ law. “So, we can take Indian doctors there,” added Shetty when he explained that there would be opportunities for ordinary Indians to train and learn medicine.
In the interview Dr Shetty talks again about the way the current system of training doctors and medical staff around the world increases the price of health care because it creates a shortage of staff.
“It is time for the world to come together and tackle this problem,” he said as he spoke about his idea for global health training. “We are proposing a medical education system outside India, using the best from curricula across the world, and trying for recognition from global universities. There is no Indian way of removing pain and a French way of removing pain. There is only one way. So, there is no conflict.”
Shetty recently visited Cayman to push forward with his goal to develop a medical centre in Cayman starting with a 140 bed hospital on the site in East End. He said at the press briefing that he would now be focusing on patients from the regional market and Latin American market. His local partners said the first phase would start this summer if the planning applications, re-zoning requirements and other processes all went according to plan.
Meanwhile, a 74-year-old man from the United States is recovery in one of Shetty’s hospital after he became the first American to undergo heart surgery at the Narayana Hrudayalaya without a blood transfusion.
Although the man opted for the bloodless surgery because of his faith (he is a Jehovah’s Witness) the surgery has advantages. One of the members of the medial team, Dr Praveen Kumar, said it is cheaper and it diminishes the possibility of infections that occur during transfusion. However the doctor from Shetty’s group said the challenges are immense. "While operating, we use heparin, a medication that prevents blood clotting. And during the surgery, we have to be immensely watchful of the patient losing blood."
See full Shetty interview here
Dart to get 3700ft of WB road
(CNS): Despite claims that government is swapping 2,500 feet of the West Bay Road with Dart Realty, the three groups trying to preserve the public road say the people of Cayman will actually be giving up over 3,700 feet of crown land when the road closure goes through. At a West Bay meeting on Thursday evening hosted by local activists, measurements taken by members from Governors Way to Yacht Drive show that the length of road that will be given to the developer is well in excess of the amount claimed. Alice Mae Coe from the Concerned Citizens Group along with Dr Edward Caudeiron used a wheel-measure and discovered that Dart, in contradiction to claims, will be getting 3,731ft in the swap with governments. (Activists measure the length of the West Bay Road due for closure)
“So who is misleading whom?” Coe asked, saying that the entire population of the Cayman Islands had been misled as she pointed to the undisclosed road length.
The developer has stated consistently in its documentation and at various meetings and presentations that around 2,500 feet of road will be closed to vehicular traffic as part of its planned redevelopment of the former Courtyard Marriott site into a four or five star beachfront resort. This crown land will be given to the developer in exchange for land in Barkers, the development of the extension and related roads, a cash donation of around $20 milllion and the redevelopment of the Seven Mile public beach.
According to the proposed plans in the ForCayman Alliance deal between the Dart Group and the Cayman Islands Government, the road will be closed at Governor’s Way, where clearance work has now started, and traffic will be diverted on to the Esterley Tibbetts extension. The existing West Bay coast road will then be closed to traffic until beyond Yacht Drive, where drivers will have the first opportunity to return to the West Bay Road, more than 1,200 feet further than has been claimed.
Dart has recently began work on preparing the land for the extension following an agreement with the National Roads Authority. This coupled with comments by the premier indicate that the opposition to the road closure has not yet had any impact on government’s intention to move to the full ForCayman Alliance deal. The crown land has not yet been handed over, however, and the activists are hoping that they can still stop this part of the deal.
Although disappointed that their petition given to the governor in December which contained over 4,100 signatures was immediately passed to the premier by Duncan Taylor and then dismissed, the activist are now planning a full scale demonstration.
During Thursday’s meeting the groups began organising a rally in Heroes Square, where they intend to have at least five hundred supporters present.
Bolstered by analysis of the petition to government, the groups also revealed to the audience of more than one hundred people at the meeting that more than 2,300 signatures belonged to registered voters. The activists denied that they mislead people who signed or that there were significant anomalies in the petition, as had been reported in a local newspaper. Given the revelations regarding the length of the road, Coe said it was not the activists that were misleading anyone.
During the meeting she explained that all of the duplicates were accounted for and in the final analysis there were exactly 4,116 unique signatures. Only 8 belong to children under the age of 18 and 1,652 of those who signed lived in the premier’s constituency of West Bay, while 1,223 signators lived in George Town and 873 were from the other districts.
Only 368 signatures were from visitors to the island, though the activists said they believed those people had a right to express their opinion on the issue as well, especially owners and frequent vacationers to the island.
Dr Caudeiron gave an impassioned speech to the audience about the need to fight to preserve the road and to oppose the deal until “the bitter end”, as he described what was happening as a disgrace. He said that despite the premier’s comments that the signatures were “idiots”, the petitioners were simply voicing their opposition to the closure of the road and a deal that was fantastic for the developer but not for them. “You must not insult the people,” he told the premier as he warned that would only rile them up more.
Captain Bryan Ebanks, one of the leaders of the Save Cayman group, asked the people of West Bay what they were prepared to do now the petition had been ignored. He said that the only power the premier has is that given to him by the people. “We are taught to wait four years to express our feelings, but we cannot afford that," he warned. “Until you use the power that you have, you serve the politicians,” and not the other way round, which is how it should be, he said, adding that politicians were meant to work for the people.
As the meeting drew to a close, the activists managed to extract commitments from more than fifty people who said they would bring at least ten people to the rally when the Legislative Assembly is in session. Capt Ebanks said that “warm bodies on the street” was the only thing he believed the premier might take some notice of.
Cayman tops Scuba mag’s destinations list
(CNS): The Cayman Islands has bagged itself a clutch of accolades in a leading scuba magazine’s annual awards. In the Top 100 and Gold List by Scuba Diving Magazine Cayman tied for the top spot with Bonaire for best destination overall. For the past 19 years, the Cayman Islands have placed at or near the top in several categories and this year it grabbed top-five awards in eight categories. Individual dive shops and dive resorts were also recognized in the Gold List with Grand Cayman's Ocean Frontiers rated as the best dive shop in the Cayman Islands, followed by Divetech. Sunset House rounded out Cayman's success ranked as the best Dive Bar with their much loved 'My Bar'.
Cayman's Dive Resorts also made the list with Compass Point Dive Resort, followed by Little Cayman Beach Resort taking the top spots as best dive resorts in the Cayman Islands.
Other accolades on the Gold List include Best Wreck dive with the Capt. Keith Tibbetts in Cayman Brac, Best Animal Encounter with Stingray City, Best Family Destination, Best Beaches, Best Night Life and Best Wall Diving were all credited to the Cayman Islands. Cayman also took top honors for Best Photography.
Since 1994, Scuba Diving Magazine has asked readers to rate dozens of destinations to determine Scuba Diving’s exclusive Top 100 Readers’ Choice Awards and Gold List. Thousands of their readers and subscribers took trips to their favourite destinations to reveal what they think is the best the dive world has to offer today.
The 2012 awards
1- Best Destination Overall = Cayman Islands #1 (Tie with Bonaire)
2- Best Macro Diving = Cayman didn't place
3- Best Advanced Diving = Cayman Islands #2
4- Best Big Animals = Cayman didn't place
5- Best Beginner Diving = Cayman didn't place
6- Best Wreck Diving = Cayman didn't place
7- Best Photography = Cayman Islands #1
8- Best Shore Diving = Cayman Islands #5
9- Best Marine Environment = Cayman Islands #3
10- Best Marine Life = Cayman Islands #4
11- Best Wall Diving = Cayman Islands #2
12- Best Destination for Diving = Cayman Islands #4
A full list of all the awards can be found in the January / February 2012 double issue or online here