Archive for May, 2014
Cayman sailors take 3rd place in J22 Worlds
(CISC): Brothers, Mike and Simon Farrington have returned from South Africa where they successfully clinched a podium finish in the J22 World Championships. Although they sail against each other on different boats here in Cayman, they teamed up and sailed a great regatta clinching three second place finishes in the 11 race competition.This is the 4th World Championships in which Mike Farrington has represented Cayman and the results have shown a steady increase. “After competing in two championships in the USA we came fourth last year in France and now we have got in on the medals” explained a very happy skipper. “Who knows, perhaps next year in Germany we can do even better.”
Brother Simon was equally upbeat. “We had hoped to have Coach Raph on the team this year and with his skills we might have taken second place. Our substitute crew Ilianna did a great job and the winds were light. Next year the Baltic Sea in Germany might be a bit of a challenge temperature wise!”
Sailing club manager Rick Caley was full of praise. “They are both very successful sailors here at home but to go out and put yourself up against the best of the world in a very competitive sailing fleet is a great achievement for local sailors. Our youth sailors are off to China this summer to represent Cayman in the Youth Olympic Games and so it has been a very successful year and shows that we have a lot of talent on our small island.”
Lionfish sting Wahoos in dramatic touch encounter
(CTA):Thelma and Louise, Cagney and Lacey, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, Pussy Riot, George Michael and Elton John. There have been some famous female duos over the past thirty years. But here in Cayman we have a new partnership emerging that is setting the world of Women’s Touch on fire. Nicky Keogh and Emma Santiago. Faster than a puff adder, and deadlier than a Taipan, both play for LIONFISH and have developed over the course of the Women’s Touch League into a two-headed hydra capable of felling their opposition with such speed of attack that there is rarely any antidote on hand.
In matches against SHARKS and WAHOOS, Keogh and Santiago and shared the MVP awards across both games. Keogh has the ability to score long range tries through shear speed and with a nose to sniff an opportunity she can create scores from seemingly unpromising situations. Santiago uses a combination of agility and speed to score her tries and she posted a double in both games.
In their first game against SHARKS, LIONFISH took control of the game through their use of “arrows” attack and utilized all six touches to advance up the pitch. However, SHARKS are not prone to panic and managed to claw their way back into the game with tries from Michelle Bailey, Roz Glanfield and Wiki Hitchman. Using the wrap around to great effect through the Hitchman/Bailey combo they came back to secure a well-earned 3-3 draw.
Against WAHOOS, the LIONFISH showed their defensive mettle and were able to bottle up the dangerous Lisa Kehoe, and with good control of the ball and running good arrows they released Nicky Keogh for a long run to score. Santiago managed to break out and notch up two tries again with a combination of good foot work and speed. Coach Neil Ainscow said, “What is most impressive from both games was our ability for the team to utilize all six of their touches without giving up possession. We are progressing nicely and feel we can beat anyone at the moment.”
The SHARKS returned from the day with a win and a draw but it was not their most fluid of performances. It is said that the sign of a good team is one that wins whilst not playing well and the SHARKS know they can trouble every team on their day. After their 3-3 draw against LIONFISH they defeated an understrength STINGRAYS, Michelle Bailey getting the winning score. Their defence was severely tested against LIONFISH and Tanya Potiyenko once again stood out continuously shutting down the LIONFISH strike runners.
WAHOOS stay top of the table courtesy of a forfeited game against STINGRAYS. Their only competitive run-out was against the emergent LIONFISH and they couldn’t handle the double-barreled assault of Keogh and Santiago. Whilst LIONFISH strike from distance, WAHOOS have their own deadly duo who prefer to do their damage at close quarters. More Muay Thai than Mai Tai, the pairing of Sharlee Henshaw and Lisa Kehoe might look as fruity as a Polynesian cocktail but from 5 metres out the damage they can do is like a sharp dig in the ribs for the opposition, usually resulting in try-time. Kehoe, quicker to the “dump” than a ramped-up Scania Front-Loader, often catches the defence on its heels bursting through to offload to Henshaw for the touchdown – difficult to execute, but even harder to defend against when done well. It was good, but ultimately not enough to sink LIONFISH on the day.
STINGRAYS had to default both games due to a lack of players but played their games for experience. Shout-outs must go to Jenna Blake who improved hugely by coming off the wing and getting involved in the middle. She grew in confidence and shut down a lot of plays on defence. Meylys Swaby has also improved game on game by initiating the touch and therefore dictating the pace of the game.
LIONFISH 3 v. SHARKS 3
LIONFISH 3 v. WAHOOS 2
STINGRAY v. WAHOOS (WAHOOS win due to STINGRAY forfeit)
SHARKS v. STINGRAY (SHARKS win due to STINGRAY forfeit)
Judge deports gun suspect after dismissing case
(CNS): An illegal immigrant from Jamaica who appeared to have been in Cayman to sell drugs was deported by a Grand Court judge Monday after he dismissed gun charges against him. Efforts by the crown to prosecute Joseph St Aubryn Hill for possession of an unlicensed firearm and wounding as part of a joint enterprise with a suspect who remains at large and known only as 'JR' failed when the judge said there was no evidence to support the case. Hill admitted being present at Powell Smith Drive, West Bay in August last year when Charles Ebanks was shot and wounded by someone call JR but Hill said, he was there under duress and had no idea who the shooter was or who he was shooting.
The case against Hill in which no witnesses at all appeared before the court, including the man who was shot, depended entirely on the account of Hill who had volunteered the information to police. He told them that he had been ordered to go with JR by a man called ‘Mr Biggs’ with whom he was staying when he arrived in Cayman two days before and said his life was threatened. Hill said he was told if he kept his mouth shut he would live.
When the men arrived at an address which turned out to be Powell Smith Drive hill told police that JR produced a gun, threatened him and told him to go knock on a door. As he did JR started shooting and warned Hill to get out of the way otherwise he would get shot too.
The defendant who said he had been drinking earlier that night was taken from the scene by JR and then dropped off somewhere he didn’t know with the warning that if he talked he would die here. Hill said that JR was a young, slim-brown skinned Caymanian who had made it clear his life was under threat and whatever he had done at Ebanks’ house was under duress.
With no other witnesses and nothing to undermine Hill’s position the judge who heard the case without a jury, Justice Charles Quin said the crown had failed to show that Hill was part of the joint enterprise or any agreement that the men were acting together. There was no evidence he said that the defendant knew or had ever even met JR before the incident or had any idea until he was threatened with it that JR had a gun.
“There is an absence of evidence to show that there was common intention and agreement over the gun and the use of the gun,” he said. Pointing to what evidence there was which came only from Hill JR always had care and control of the firearm and Hill knew nothing of it until JR produced it and threatened him with it. The judge said there was no evidence before the court that Hill knew who JR planned to shoot and the crown had not presented any evidence to contradict Hill’s account.
The judge said the evidence against Hill was so “intrinsically weak and so discredited it could not conceivably support a guilty verdict” as he discharged the defendant.
However, the judge said that there was no record of Hill ever landing legally in Cayman. In light of his guilty plea before the summary court for drug charges as well as his own admission of a staying in houses with people he knew only by aliases and driving around a strange country in a drunken stupor the judge said his presence in Cayman was extremely suspicious. As a result the court recommended his immediate deportation.
The judge, however, did note that at least Hill unlike many others had cooperated with the police over the shooting at Powell Smith Drive. He said the case had been frustrated by the lack of willing witnesses to give evidence, which he described as deeply regrettable. Despite seven witnesses in the case, including Ebanks who was shot, only two gave statements leaving five people who knew about the events of the night in question and the identity of the shooter but who had refused to assist the police.
The judge said the court had some sympathy with witnesses who are intimidated but people had to find the courage to come forward and help the police identify the shooter.
“The entire community must support the police to rid this country of the menace and danger of illegal firearms,” the judge added.
Report of NSA spying unnerves wider Caribbean
(CNS): A story in the specialist media publication The Intercept, created to report on the documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, about NSA spying on the Bahamas telephone network has unnerved the wider region and fuelled existing concerns about the covert operations of the region’s mighty neighbour. According to the report, Snowden’s documents reveal that the US authorities have been engaged in a mass surveillance operation in which they are listening to virtually all mobile calls coming in and out of the islands. The local government has described the allegations as “startling”.
The National Security Agency recorded the audio of the calls in a top secret phone surveillance, which was reportedly implemented without the knowledge or consent of The Bahamas government, even though the islands do not present a terrorism or national security threat to the US by its own admission. The State Department has described The Bahamas as a “stable democracy that shares democratic principles, personal freedoms, and rule of law with the United States" and said in its own report about the country, that "there is little to no threat facing Americans from domestic (Bahamian) terrorism, war, or civil unrest.”
However, it appears that the US used its relationship with the country regarding the issue of drug trafficking to engage in the covert snooping. Spies have been listening in to calls looking for ammunition in the so-called “war on drugs” and this has prompted the question about where else the US is eavesdropping illegally in the region.
The Bahamas government said it was looking for some explanation or comment from the US regarding the authenticity of the allegations.
“The news that there is spying and the collecting of the audio of mobile phone calls of Bahamians by agencies of another country is clearly startling,” the Bahamian Foreign Ministry said in the statement. “The facts must be determined. Otherwise, the behaviour described would be clearly illegal and on the face of it an abuse of powers. It would also represent a great moral failing on the part of its perpetrators, in addition to illegality which challenges the founding principles of the rule of law. It would also be an invasion of the privacy of the individual, a cherished democratic value and a legal right.”
According to media reports, NSA has not denied the allegations and has claimed that by working “with other nations, under specific and regulated conditions, mutually strengthens the security of all.” However, it is clear that in this case the US authorities were not ‘working with’ the Bahmas government, as they had no clue.
“Every day, NSA provides valuable intelligence on issues of concern to all Americans – such as international terrorism, cybercrime, international narcotics trafficking, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” NSA said. “NSA’s efforts are focused on ensuring the protection of the national security of the United States, its citizens, and our allies through the pursuit of valid foreign intelligence targets.”
Drivers warned over burst water pipe on major road
(CNS): Updated 3-30pm — The Water Authority have now fixed the burst pipe which was diverting traffic travelling east on Shamrock Road near Hurley’s Grand Harbour area just past the roundabout this morning. Traffic had been diverted through the supermarket car park as a result of the burst main. The water was flowing across both sides of the road and impacted traffic in both directions and added to the difficulties of the morning commute for workers heading into town. The Water Authority aid service to customers in the area had been interrupted.
"The Water Authority Operations crew is diligently working to identify the exact location of the leak and as soon as the leak is identified and damage assessed, repairs will begin," a spokesperson stated, as it apologized for the inconvenience caused.
State of the art ambulance now on the road
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) has bought a new customized ambulance which is already on the road responding to emergency call outs. The US$151,000 Chevy 4500 Traumahawk was described by officials as the ‘best fit’ for local needs and it will also allow an older ambulance to act as a spare when one of the more modern units is undergoing maintenance or out of action for any other reason. The state of the art ambulance means Cayman now has four emergency vehicles on the road and Stephen Duval, Manager of the HSA’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) said it will greatly enhance the team’s capabilities in emergency situations.
“The ambulance is a Chevy 4500 Traumahawk series which is similar to our other two models that we currently have operational. The exterior features more lights which are maintenance-free LEDs, as well as additional high visibility graphics. Inside there is improved access for patients entering and exiting the vehicle and better ergonomics for patients and staff as well as mounted and secured equipment. There are also console navigational and communication systems, as well as a reverse camera. We were able to customize this vehicle to meet our needs, making this ambulance the best fit for our EMS unit,” Duval explained in a release from the HSA.
Lizzette Yearwood, CEO of the Health Services Authority said the new ambulance would help the authority improve the overall operational and patient experience.
Meanwhile, Osbourne Bodden the health minister said Grand Cayman would now be better covered from the emergency medical stations in West Bay, George Town and North Side.
“This new ambulance will allow one of the older vehicles to now serve as a spare during required maintenance or when additional resources are needed. This means that emergency responders can be on the scene within as short a time frame as possible, which is vital in an emergency situation,” he said.
CNS has contacted the HSA for a price tag on the vehicle and is awaiting a response. For more information about the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, visit www.hsa.ky
Cuts not just privatization
(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson were both keen to press home the message Friday that the review of the civil service currently being conducted by local management consultants Ernst and Young (EY) is not just about selling off or privatizing government assets. McLaughlin said that this 'Rationalization' process would examine how government can merge or amalgamate departments and services to help bring down the cost of government. He said the exercise was to determine how best services can be provided and the premier expected that EY will make recommendations about areas that can be restructured and not just sold.
“I want to make it clear that rationalization is not privatization,” the premier said. “A rather simplistic view has been taken by some that we can just sell of this agency or that company.”
McLaughlin said the process was about how best to deliver government services generally and EY is expected to make recommendations about restructuring, amalgamation, consolidation, streamlining, outsourcing and possibly privatization via this strategic overview.
Government has not identified any specific services or departments that would be the most obvious to sell off, as the premier said there were no preconceived ideas about what EY might find.
Manderson explained that the civil service had already done what it could so far without engaging the expertise now contracted to help make the next changes. He said this phase of rationalization would transform government.
Dan Scott, the regional partner of EY, said he was taking a particular interest in the project and it was critically important to get this right. He said the public sector has grown hand in hand with the private sector but it was time to pause and see if it can be more effective. Scott said that would also help the civilservice attract the right talent and warned that it was time to embrace change.
“I have taken a personal interest in it and will be very involved in the process because ultimately, while we can deliver solutions, it needs to be about delivering solutions that have an understanding of the local market place and not just solutions that come out of a text book,” he said, adding that EY had assembled a talented team.
Leading that team is Larni de Courtenay, an EY expert from Australia who has spent several years working with the government there on the same sort of rationalization of the public sector. She said she would be bringing that experience to the table here in Cayman. She said that in Australia they had adopted a number of different rationalisation strategies that were not just privatization and they were hoping to capture ideas from those inside the civil service.
New Customs Tariff Law (2012)
Even in the best of times, clearing merchandise through the Cayman Islands Customs was like a bad dream. The newly introduced Customs Tariff Law 2012 has turned that bad dream into a major real-life nightmare. The new tariff codes require 8-digit codes with various import duty rates to be input into Customs entry forms. There are 5,000 different item codes which are contained in a 230 page PDF document.
This means that a small business importer bringing, say, 150 different small items for resale must first find the correct code and import duty rate for each of these items from the list of 5,000 possible codes. This task takes a day or more to categorize the items, then for each item the specific freight on that item must be calculated so as to include the amount of duties to be paid on both the cost of the merchandise and the freight.
Even before full implementation people clearing Customs are now finding out that it takes 4-7 hours waiting in line at Customs to pay import duties that are at best exorbitant. Then hours more are needed for Customs to check that the codes, duty rates, freight on each item and import duty calculations are correct.
The implications of this will be felt by every man, woman and child in the Cayman Islands in more ways than one. While it is true that the average person does not ever have to go to Customs or directly pay import duties, everyone who buys products locally that are imported is paying the total costs that importers pay, plus the profit added by those importers. We can all therefore expect a substantial price increase that will result from the increased labour costs by merchants which this new and improved law will bring.
The present number of employees of the Customs is insufficient to meet the new demands of implementing this law. Unless of course the government expects that the public will be satisfied to wait in line for a few days each time they need to pay customs duties. This means increased labor expenses for Customs and a bigger chunk out of the net amount collected by Customs in order to pay for additional labor expenses.
We all know that government gets substantial funds from collecting import duties for everything consumed by every man woman and child in the Cayman Islands. So, in addition to increased prices locally, the public can also expect that this will be financed by increased taxes (or fees or import duties, since we don’t like the word ‘tax’ and claim to be a tax-free country).
For some small local businesses this Customs Tariff Law 2012 will be the final nail in the coffin. For the general public we have higher prices to pay, since both large businesses and small businesses will need to spend more for the total costs of importing, and therefore pass the higher prices and their profit on to the public.
I don’t recall any politician having this law on their manifesto in any election, so who imposed this law on the people of the Cayman Islands? What are the benefits to the people of the Cayman Islands, or to anyone in the world for that matter? And why do we have to pay the price?
Who in the world will benefit by knowing, for example, how many light bulbs we import and whether they are sealed beam lamp units, whether they are halogen, or exceed 200 watts, whether they are fluorescent, or mercury, whether they are ultraviolet, or other, or even parts for a light bulb? Yes, these 8 examples each have their own 8 digit code and are required to be listed separately on our customs entry forms.
So. Who do we blame for this abomination? The previous government for imposing the law of course, but even more so we must to lay final blame where it belongs: at the foot of the PPM government, for implementing it!
Anglin killed Bise, jury finds
(CNS): Ten women and two men took just under three hours to convict 34-year-old Chad Anglin of the murder of Swiss banker, Fredrick Bise. Anglin remained impassive as he stood in the dock when the foreman read the jury's guilty verdict Tuesday. The West Bay man was then handed a mandatory life sentence by the presiding judge, Justice Alex Henderson. Bise's body was found in the back of his own burned out SUV in the Mount Pleasant area of West Bay in February 2008, and despite Anglin's arrest in the immediate wake of the killing, it was not until 2013 that he along with another West Bay man, who will be tried later this year, were charged. Anglin's defence team said they were unable to comment on any potential appeal until they had taken a closer look at the case.
There were no family or friends in the court of either the victim or the defendantwhen the verdict on the Cold Case Unit's first case was delivered, some six years after the killing, which the prosecution presented as a likely hate crime.
Anglin, who was already serving a five year sentence for a violent sexual attack on a woman, was charged with the murder last year following the re-opening of the case by the new specialist unit formed in 2010.
Related article on CNS:
Watersports high school option, not a career choice
(CNS Business Video): Reef Divers Cayman Brac has been working with the high school on the island since 2007 to provide a watersports vocational course as an introduction to the diving industry. Over the last seven years more than 30 students have been through the course but not one of them has chosen diving as a career. Talking to CNS Business in this week’s video interview, Dive Operations Manager Mick Maher says that diving offers a good living on the island and is a lot of fun, but young people just aren’t entering the industry. Reef Divers took over the high school programme on the Brac after the Divi Tiara closed down in 2006, and they teach courses through to Rescue Diver to students who choose it as an option in Years 11 and 12.
The only working locally born divemaster on the island, BJ Walton (26), went through the programme at high school and then worked with the Divi dive operation to gain his divemasters certification.
Maher says the job is not just about safety and leading a dive but about entertaining, and for local divemasters it’s about representing your island.
Watch interview on CNS Business
The interview with Maher continues tomorrow.
Later this week, CNS Business talks to Cayman Islands Diving Hall of Fame member, Cornell Burke, a former dive manager with Brac Aquatics.