Archive for August, 2012
Restaurant reviews – an honest appraisal?
Have you ever walked out of a Cayman restaurant unsatisfied thinking you won’t be back in a hurry or not back at all? And yet in the review you read last week everything sounded perfect – why is that? Are Cayman restaurants offering value for money or is it just puffery? Living on such a small island, the reason could be that restaurant reviewers don’t want to offend anyone or don’t know much about food or the owners are well connected to the owners of the publication.
This does not improve the situation or do restaurant goers any favours. I’ve been living here for 8 years and I’ve never read a bad review, or even a slightly critical review, about any restaurant in any publication. Every review is always overflowing with praise for the food and the service. After a while, you come to believe, rightly or wrongly, that there are no objective restaurant critiques in Cayman.
I think people would sooner just appreciate an honest review than visit the restaurant with high expectations and walk out disappointed. You never read about the eggs that get served half cooked, the burnt lamb dinner, the server with the “well that’s how we serve it” attitude or the 15% gratuity that gets added onto your bill for take-out. Because restaurant reviews keep being written with it all sounding peachy, maybe some restaurant owners are not motivated to innovate or to raise their standards.
When a restaurant opens its doors typically the food tastes great, the service is excellent. But how long does it last? As time goes by things start slipping – the food doesn’t taste fresh, the staff are less motivated. Could it be that staff get bored cooking and serving the same thing over and over again? Or that the owner and investor has put too much emphasis on décor and not enough on food quality or staffing? Making renovations and changing a restaurant layout is not going to make the food taste better. And why do we find that restaurants don’t change their menus very often? The “mahi mahi” special might be new to the tourist but not very exciting for locals.
Perhaps some restaurants should focus on a decentchef, trained servers and fresh ingredients. To illustrate my point, whilst on a diving vacation in Sinai, I had dinner at the Sinai Star in El Fanar. The restaurant had plastic chairs, plastic tables and not much of anything else. But, they served a huge tray of fresh seafood for 5 quid and people were lining up out the door.
Another good experience was when I visited the island of Rhodes in Greece. Through trial and error, I now tend to avoid restaurants on a main square right in the middle of the hustle and bustle but am willing to walk a little further along the backstreets in search of a quieter restaurant setting. After a 5 minute stroll I found a lovely family run restaurant with outside seating and a grape vine overhead. I ordered something simple – a Greek salad and fried calamari. To this day, this was one of the best olive, feta and calamari meals I’ve ever eaten. When the owner came over to my table to ask if all was OK, I asked him where he’d found the olives. He replied that it took him about two years to find the quality he was looking for.
Certainly, there are a few restaurants in Grand Cayman that have a high standard and maintain that over time. We locals all know who they are. But this is my wish list for 95% of the other restaurants on this island:
1. Change up the menu once in a while
2. Bring in some talented overseas chefs with fresh ideas
3. Have special theme evenings
And perhaps just once we could read an honest review!
Stafford wins silver in Tobago
(CINSA): Cameron Stafford, 20, claimed a silver medal in the 20th Annual Caribbean Squash Championships in Trinidad, which ended Saturday. Part of a delegation of two representatives from the Cayman Islands, Stafford, who was ranked 5/8, dispatched the number 2 seed, Richard Chin of Guyana, in the quarterfinals. Having reached the semis, Stafford had already made a personal best at these games, advancing past the quarterfinals stage. In a nail-biting semi-final match against close friend Micah Franklin of Bermuda, Stafford, who was down by 2 games, roared back to triumph over the Bermudian in 5 games, winning 3-2.
In the finals, however, Stafford's ‘seeding busting’ came to an end as the tournament’s defending champion, Chris Binnie from Jamaica, overpowered Stafford in straight games to claim his gold medal for the third time. Stafford lost 11/7, 11/6, 11/4 but achieved his all-time highest Caribbean ranking in his career at #2.
Stafford is set to play in his next professional event in Caracas, Venezuela, in September against World #27 of Colombia, Miguel Angel Rodriguez. Stafford also hopes to step up his game by commencing an altitude training programme in Cartagena, Colombia, with former Caribbean and Canadian Squash National Champion, Maxim Weithers from Guyana.
2012 proved to be a successful year for Caymanian Squash. Julian Jervis claimed the first of many Caribbean Junior Championship titles in Kingston, Jamaica. And formidable Caymanian squash players, Eilidh Bridgeman and Kristina Myren rank at #3 and #4 respectively in the Caribbean Junior Rankings for U19.
Mac stripped of finance job
(CNS): The conditions imposed on the Cayman government’s 2012/13 budget by the UK have essentially removed most of the functions of the finance minister from the premier, the opposition leader has said. Speaking in the wake of news that the FCO had given conditional approval to the current administration’s final budget, Alden McLaughlin said that the four stringent conditions, in particular the establishment of a ‘budget board’ headed by the deputy governor, would mean that the role of the finance minister established by the Cayman Islands 2009 constitution has been handed back to theofficial rather than the elected arm of government.
Among the four conditions laid out by the Overseas Territories Minister Henry Bellingham was the creation of a board or committee that will manage and oversee future budgets, with the deputy governor, not the finance minister, at the helm.
Bellingham also required that the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR) agreement signed between himself and Premier McKeeva Bush last November be passed into law before the end of September; that the FCO’s economic advisor who established the framework for this budget (and who Bush complained about, claiming that he moved the goal posts throughout the process) be allowed to review the state of public finances every quarter; and that there be no supplementary budget.
The conditions will remain in place for the next three years when the Cayman government, according to the latest financial three year plan, should be back in line with the five principles of sound fiscal management as set out by the Public Management and Finance Law.
These changes have pushed the office of the Ministry of Finance to one side, McLaughlin said.
“It was inevitable, given what has transpired over the last four budget cycles,” the PPM leader added. “The UK gave the premier every opportunity to make a start on improving the fiscal situation but with every passing year things simply got worse.”
He said the government’s persistent failure to take any steps to address the fundamental issues and the decision to “keep presenting pretend budgets” have resulted in the present circumstances.
“It is going to be very difficult for any future minister as the UK have clawed back more power over the budget than they had with the old constitution. There was plenty of warning, but the warnings were ignored,” McLaughlin added. “The sad thing is that Cayman’s fiscal challenges were not insurmountable; they still aren’t but the problem is they can’t simply be ignored as they were by this government.”
The opposition leader said the impact of this move by the UK would see expenditure being reigned in over the last nine months of this administration. Not entirely convinced that the revenue raising measures in the budget are necessarily credible, McLaughlin said it was going to be a challenge for public servants to deliver government policy and without the possibility of a supplementary budget if the earnings don’t go according to plan.
The opposition leader said he believed that the enactment of the FFR agreement into law would make it “virtually impossible” for the premier to get some of the projects he has heralded as Cayman’s future economic saviours off the ground. The proposed cruise berthing facility in George Town in its current format would not be able to go forward, he said, adding that he believed it may force changes to the ForCayman Investment Alliance as well.
following recipt of the conditional nod, Bush congratulated himself for beginning the budget process without agreement.
Speaking at a limited press conference from which CNS was barred Friday, the premier said he was justified in having started without the agreement as he complained about the independent and opposition members’ criticisms of the decision. In the face of the stringent conditions, Bush blamed the opposition but admitted that the loss of economic sovereignty would put the country back on a sound economic footing.
Safehaven captains evicted
(CNS): The Port Authority has now issued an eviction notice effective from Friday evening (24 August) to the remaining boat captains and tour operators who still have boats moored at the Safehaven site, as developer Michael Ryan begins work on a new marina. Although several captains have raised concerns about the temporary location, the legality of the deal between Ryan and government, as well as the size of the new facility now being constructed, the Port Authority posted notices on cars and around the old site on Friday telling the captains they must move their boats or face legal action.
Several captains had remained at the site since a notice was posted in the local press and on at the old marina by the developer as they had a number of concerns.
In the first instance, they believed that the temporary site would not be able to accommodate all of the boats and the turning circle is too small for some vessels.
Secondly, there are concerns that there are no guarantees that the developer will complete the new public marina as promised, leaving them with nowhere to dock.
Thirdly, the original deal with the developer was between Fujigmo Ltd & Cesar Hotelco (Cayman) Ltd and the Port Authority. The captains say that the first company does not appear to be registered in Cayman and that Cesar is now owned by receivers as it was one of the firms owned by Ryan involved in the development of the Ritz-Carlton.
As a result, the captains question the legality of the entire deal, which was related to Ryan’s proposed development of Dragon Bay that involved government giving Ryan’s companies fill from the site, the excavation of canals for the hotel access and land swaps on Port Authority property in return for the development of a replacement public marina in which local operators could moor their vessels.
The majority of the local captains say they have been concerned that the marina would never materialise and if it does, based on the current plans, it would not be suitable.
However, last week Ryan began work at the site while several of the operators were still moored there and before the captains had received notice from the port. A number of captains did however choose to sign new licence agreements with Ryan and move to the temporary site.
On Friday the port issue a notice to those remaining captains stating that their concerns had been addressed and that there was still room at one of two temporary sites where the captains could move their vessels.
“The Authority believes that the current arrangements address the perceived concerns of those water sports operators who believe they may be negatively affected by the construction of the Proposed Marina, after having explored the legally remaining options with DBL. The Authority believes that all reasonable concerns have now been dealt with,” port officials said in a notice of eviction.
The port also believes that the deal is legal as Fujigmo Limited is now Dragon Bay Limited, which is a registered company of good standing and the company which is leasing the Port Authority land. The officials said the remaining boat operators needed to leave as they were now an impediment to the development of the new marina.
“With appropriate notifications having been posted on the Old Site since 13 August and published in the local newspaper, construction on the Proposed Marina is already underway, with major earthworks, including the use of demolitions to excavate the marina basin, scheduled to commence imminently,” the port stated.
“However, the continued presence of the remaining vessels on the Old Site, which now comprises property held by DBL … but also Authority property, have become an unlawful impediment to DBL's performance of its obligations under the Agreement resulting in considerable delay to the further progress of the Proposed Marina. Further, the Authority is becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of the public, including the visitors to the Island being catered to by the remaining tour operators who are being loaded and unloaded in what is becoming a hazardous construction site.”
Port officials added that owners of the boats still at the old site must move them to the interim sites provided or elsewhere, otherwise it would be considering all remedies available including legal proceedings.
After the notice was posted around the old Safehaven marina on Friday, North Side MLA Ezzard Miller encouraged the captains to remain at the old site until the legal issues and other problems were addressed as he still had real concerns about their rights. He said that he had approached the Attorney General’s Chambers for assistance in relation to the problems and had been asked to submit his concerns in writing, which he said he intended to do.
“The problem is that the process is not being properly followed here and the captains have a right to be concerned as there are no guarantees for their future and their livelihood is at stake,” he added.
On Saturday seven of the operators who have been using the site for more than 20 years remained at the old Safehaven dock. After contractors at the site cemented the gate closed and advised by their lawyer to stay, one of the captains told CNS that they would now have to swim to get to their boats.
See notice issued to captains below.
Defence queries crown evidence in murder case
(CNS): The defence attorney representing a 27-year-old West Bay man charged with the murder of Robert Mackford Bush questioned the source of the crown's evidence against his client. Nick Hoffman, representing Brian Borden, who was charged with murder earlier this month, asked the court Friday for further disclosure from the crown and in particular the circumstances under which a witness statement was given to police by a man who has now been convicted of armed bank robbery. Borden was originally arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Bush in West Bay almost a year ago but was later released.
Hoffman said he needed to see more details on why the police now believed his client was the killer. Warning that there were also legal issues with the wording of the indictment against Borden, Hoffman said that if the crown intended to build its case on a statement that has “appeared out of the blue” from an alleged witness who has admitted his part in a bank robbery, it needed to re-word the indictment.
Hoffman said that all of the other statements he had received relating to his client were more than nine months old and appeared to have been taken at the time of the shooting, which, he noted, the crown did not think had mounted to a case against Borden. Therefore, he needed to know what it was about this latest statement that had led to his client being charged.
Asking for all relevant material pertinent to the case to be served as soon as possible, Hoffman requested an adjournment until 7 September. Borden was remanded in custody to HMP Northward.
The West Bay man is accused of being one of two gunmen that the police believe shot Bush in a gang-related killing in September last year. He was sitting in his vehicle at the junction of Capt Joe and Osbert Road and Birch Tree Hill, West Bay, when two gunmen reportedly opened fire. The killing triggered a spate of gang-related killings, in which Andrew Baptist, Preston Rivers and Jason Christian also lost their lives.
Keith Montague, who was with Christian when he was killed off Crewe Road, was also shot multiple times but survived after he flagged down a passing police car and was taken to hospital.
CNS adds ‘troll’ button to comments
(CNS): In addition to the ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’ and ‘LOL’ voting buttons under each comment posted on CNS, we have now added a ‘troll’ button so that readers can help the moderator and other readers to identify internet trolls. These are people who post comments not to voice their personal opinion but in order to change or inflame the discussion or produce a particular emotional response. An internet troll will often assume a false identity, for example pretending to be a Caymanian when they clearly are not, and may post the same opinion multiple times to give the impression that many people hold a certain point of view when it is in fact just one person.
“Trolls are an issue on any website where anonymous comments are allowed and, since it is a subjective decision, they are very difficult to weed out,” said CNS moderator Nicky Watson. “A troll is a commenter who uses deception of some kind or another to sway opinions or divert the conversation, which can be for fun or malice, or for political or financial gain – for themselves or their paymasters — or to discredit a particular entity.
"As the political situation in the Cayman Islands heats up, especially as we get closer to election time, I am sure there will be an increase in comments by political operatives and public relations experts repeating the messages that politicians want to get out over and over. Some of these messages may be true and some may be outright lies, but politicians know that if they are repeated often enough, a certain section of the voting public will believe themanyway,” Watson said. "And the way the current political discourse is headed, I suspect there will be as many trolls out to discredit the media as to bash political opponents."
Anyone who frequently visits a variety of websites will be familiar with the term ‘internet troll’ but there may be some readers for whom this is a new concept. So, for the purposes of the CNS comments, we have defined a troll as a commenter who falls into one or more of the following categories:
- Someone who fakes an identity or pretends to be what they are clearly not. If the vernacular or vocabulary does not fit with their claimed identity, they are probably a troll.
- A person whose sole aim appears to be to inflame readers or misdirect the discussion.
- A commenter you suspect is a politician or a political operative or a PR professional whose aim is to garner support for a particular project or political message, rather than present a genuine personal viewpoint.
- Someone who posts multiple times as if they are different people. This does not include people who post multiple times using the same handle or pseudonym, but if there are numerous postings under “Anonymous” with the same message and in the same style, or someone who uses a variety of names but is clearly the same person, this is a troll.
- A liar – not someone who you think has made a genuine mistake or believes something that you know to be wrong (in which case other readers will hopefully react by correcting them) but when a false statement is made deliberately to achieve a particular reaction.
Some of the points above overlap but are set out separately for the sake of clarity. And some of these troll definitions might be known by other terms elsewhere on the internet but we want to limit the number of buttons and have generalized them under ‘troll’.
“A commenter is not a troll just because their postings are controversial,” Watson explained. “Whodatis, one of our frequent commenters, often irritates other commenters with his postings but I am always left with the impression that he genuinely believes what he writes. Therefore, I personally would not click the troll button on his comments but may click the thumbs up or the thumbs down.
“We have another regular commenter who calls himself ‘UDP Supporter’, who often posts extreme views. Now, some genuine UDP supporters may give him a ‘thumbs up’ vote, others may identify his comments as deliberately inflammatory and click the ‘troll’ button, while other readers see his comments as clever satire and may well click the ‘LOL’ button,” Watson said.
“If someone claims to be a high flying player in the financial services industry but is only semi-literate, they are probably a troll. If they claim not to be a supporter of a political party but then make a number of points firmly supporting one party while trashing the other, you may want to click the ‘troll’ button. If a commenter on another website (Sir Turtle) claims to have seen unpublished comments on CNS, he/she is a troll and a liar.”
However, Watson noted, “This does not mean that I will not delete obvious troll comments, since they are often malicious or repetitive. However, with the new ‘troll’ button I will be leaving it to our readers much more often to decide who are the trolls on our site.”
Police hunt hit and run driver
(CNS): A man who sustained head and facial injuries during a hit and run incident on Saturday night is in a serious but stable condition at the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town. A police spokesperson said that sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 pm on Saturday 25 August, the man was hit by a car in the vicinity of Seven Mile Public Beach. The victim was walking with other people when he was struck by the vehicle, which failed to stop. Anyone who may have been in that area around this time or may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact PC Meeks at the George Town Police Station on (345) 949-4222
Driver critical following early morning smash
(CNS): Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a single vehicle accident which happened in the early hours of Saturday morning. A police spokesperson said that a man is currently in a critical condition at the hospital following a single vehicle road crash in the vicinity of Barnes Laundromat which occurred at around 2 am. It is understood that a Toyota Corolla DX which was travelling on Agnes Way off Linford Pierson Highway crashed into a guinep tree, when the driver lost control of his vehicle. Trapped inside the car, the man was freed by Fire Rescue Officers using the Jaws of life, the RCIPS spokesman said.
New local swimming coach awarded gong in UK
(CIASA): Ian Armiger, the Cayman Islands’ new Technical Director for Swimming, recently received the prestigious Loughborough University Medal. The ward is in recognition of “…exceptional service in any field, whether distinguished by duration, distinction (although not necessarily high profile), impact on the life or spirit of the University, unstinting and caring service especially to others (staff, students or externally on behalf of the University) above and beyond what could reasonably be expected.” Armiger, formerly the Director of Swimming at Loughborough University, left his post after the London 2012 Olympic Games and will arrive in Grand Cayman to assume his full-time position on 1 September.
The Technical Director of Swimming is a new position in the Cayman Islands and one which has been made possible by support from the Cayman Islands Government's Ministry of Sports and leading local law firm, Maples and Calder.
With nearly 40 years’ experience as a professional swimming coach, Ian is fully committed to helping swimmers achieve their dreams. Under his guidance he created one of the finest swim teams, successfully dominating the British Universities Championships and winning many national and international honours.
Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) President, Peter MacKay said: “Ian Armiger’s legacy at Loughborough will live on even as he begins developing the Cayman Islands Swimming Programmes in the same way.
“He will be the Technical Director for Swimming and with his extensive experience, input and guidance we look forward to seeing the growth of swimming in our schools, our competitive programmes and our open water swims. We look forward to welcoming Ian to Cayman and to rolling up our sleeves and working alongside him so that the sport of swimming in the Cayman Islands can continue on the upward trajectory which Shaune and Brett Fraser’s recent success in London has set for us.”
Opening set for the first new high school
(CNS): The brand new but controversial Clifton Hunter High School has finally been given an official opening date. The state of the art facility which has been used as a political football for the last four years will open its doors to the first students on Monday 3 September. Education officials said Friday evening that special arrangements are being made for the new school which will begin with induction for Year 7 students from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Then on Tuesday, 4 September the School opens for Year 10 & 11 students with the school year starting for Year 7 on Wednesday, 5 September. On Thursday, 6 September Year 8 & 9 students begin the entry process.
There were no indications of any ribbon cuttings or special ceremonies, unlike the recent opening of the new block at George Town Primary, but the confirmation put pay to fears the building would not be ready in time for the new academic year.
Meanwhile, the students attending John Gray High School will do so at the old George Hicks Campus at 73 Academy Way, George Town. That school opens with induction for new students in year 7 on Tuesday 28 August from 8:00am to 12:00pm. The school will then open to all students on Wednesday 29 August.
At the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) which will now be located at the old John Gray campus, at 515 Walkers Road, will open on Monday August 27 for collection of exam results for 2011/12 CIFEC students then on Tuesday 28 August year 11 Students can collect their results. Induction takes place on Monday and Tuesday 3-4 September for all students with the rest of the week being set aside for workplace advice & guidance. The full timetable will begin for all students on the following Monday.
Over on Cayman Brac, students at the Layman E. Scott Senior High School will begin on Wednesday 29 August .
Across all three islands primary schools and reception classes open on Wednesday 29 August
For those students who utilize the school buses, collection points will remain the same for the 2012/2013 academic year, with the new Clifton Hunter Campus being added to the bus routes.
Parents can refer any questions on opening dates or other school issues to the Department of Education Services at 945-1199.
For the 2012/2013 School Calendar please visit the Ministry of Education’s website, www.education.gov.ky.