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Double death witness appeal
(CNS): Detectives piecing together the events leading up to the suspected murder-suicide on Sunday are appealing for witnesses who may have seen a grey Toyota Corolla (licence plate # 141 871) parked near farmland in Passion Crescent to come forward. Jamaica nationals Nichelle Anna-Kay Thomas (21) and Devon Roy Campbell (39) were found dead at an address in Lookout Gardens, Bodden Town, at about 8:25 on Sunday morning, 9 February. Police are now asking that anyone who saw the vehicle (left) parked at that location between 6am and 8.25am on Sunday to contact Detective Inspector Dennis Walkington on 325-8161. DI Walkington is also keen to speak to anyone who saw Devon Campbell, who was well-known locally, with the car or in farmland nearby.
The RCIPS confirmed that, at this time, they are not looking for anyone else in connection with this enquiry.
Small businesses ‘just trying to stay afloat’
(CNS Business): The cost of doing business is the main issue for small business owners and most are just trying to stay afloat until things get better, according to Joel Scott, the president of the Small Business Association, in this week’s video interviews for CNS Business. A new government has brought renewed hope but issues such as immigration, especially work permits, and the high cost of electricity remain problematic. Though there are some businesses that "don’t do the right thing" in terms of hiring locals, he said, “We try to focus on Caymanians where possible but at the end of the day, without a doubt, there is still a need for work permits.” Read more and comment on CNS Business
Elderly US visitor dies after snorkelling off West Bay
(CNS): A 64-year-old American tourist died on Wednesday afternoonafter getting into difficulty while he was snorkelling with friends off Cemetery Beach, West Bay. A spokesperson from the RCIPS said that Richard Chaput, from Libertyville, Illinois, was snorkelling with two friends while his wife stayed on the beach. At about 2:15pm he seemed to be having some difficulty and he and his friends headed back to shore, but before he reached the beach he apparently lost consciousness. Chaput's friends shouted for help and several people who were on the beachcame into the water to help. He was brought ashore where members of the public and two fire officers from the West Bay station administered CPR until the arrival of the paramedics.
Chaput, who was vacationing in the Cayman Islands with his wife and friends, was conveyed by ambulance to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police enquiries are ongoing but there would appear to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
Mrs Chaput is anxious that the RCIPS should pass on her thanks to the many people who assisted her and her husband on the beach on Wednesday.
CUC increased profits by $2.7M in 2013
(CNS Business): Grand Cayman’s power provider had a profitable 2013, according to results released this week. CUC said its net earnings for the twelve months ending 31 December were $20.4 million – a $2.7 million increase on 2012 earnings. A 1% increase in sales, lower general and administration and maintenance costs and an increase in the base rate paid by its customers all went to boosting the firm’s coffers. With positive results in the last quarter of the year in particular, CUC president and CEO Richard Hew was also looking ahead to the future. He said with the onset of renewable power generation combined with the replacement of older diesel generators by more efficient ones, customers could look forward to price, reliability and environmental benefits. Read more on CNS Business
Safeguarding 7MB priority for dock development
(CNS Business): The PPM campaigned on building a cruise dock and the revitalization of George Town, Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell said in Thursday’s video clip for CNS Business, but he reiterated previous statements that the piers would not be built if they presented too much of a danger to the environment, with Seven Mile Beach a priority. Deputy Premier Kirkconnell said that the George Town area was “Old Town” and said government believed there was a cultural and heritage reason to revitalize it, both for the economy and the opportunity of making it a vibrant city centre. “The piers themselves play into that,” he said. Read more and watch the video on CNS Business
Piers would allow cruise visitors to take more tours
(CNS Business): Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell told CNS Business on today’s video clip that if Grand Cayman had cruise ship piers, this would give visitors time to take more than one tour when they stop here. The economic benefit for the Caymanian people would be “very huge” because they would allow the cruise ships to stay longer in George Town. “This coming year we will have 1.7 million people arrive. That means you have 1.7 million people who want one tour. If you have the piers, because they stay longer, we’ll have 1.7 million people that can purchase two tours per day. So the piers actually allow you to double the income that’s available from tours that come into the country.” Read more and comment on CNS Business
Corruption not just offshore issue, says premier
(CNS Business): Addressing an international conference on global corruption, Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin indicated that offshore centres are unfairly targeted. While Cayman has benefited in many ways from the spotlight, the country “is review fatigued”, he said, emphasising that in order to effectively tackle the issue, every country – onshore and offshore – must be subject to the same scrutiny because if the focus remains on select jurisdictions, the financial criminals will simply move elsewhere. This truth, he suggested, was inconvenient for “political candidates who are looking for a scapegoat for mismanaged public finances" and for some news media "that operate more as entertainers than purveyors of the truth”. Read more on CNS Business
Senior staff exit airport
(CNS): After a career of almost 40 years, theformer acting CEO of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA), Kerith McCoy, has retired in the face of a major shake-up of operations at the airport. Caren Thompson-Palacio, CIAA Business Development & Marketing Manager and Information Manager, has also resigned. McCoy formally departs on 14 February and Thompson-Palacio, who said she is pursuing other interests, will depart at the end of February. This latest news comes after a year of scandal at the authority, which began with the suspension and eventual sacking of the pervious airport boss, Jeremy Jackson, and the dismissal of the financial controller, Shelly Ware.
A report given to the previous board last year suggested that money was being misspent and the authority mismanaged. The board itself also became embroiled in the scandal when the extent of the conflicts among the membership was revealed. Since then, Ware has filed a law suit in an effort to get her job back. A new board has now been appointed, which announced a review of the entire operations at the facility ahead of plans for the redevelopment and expansion of Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman, refurbishment at the airport on Cayman Brac and the possibility of a new runway and airport terminal on Little Cayman.
The former financial controller is seeking a finding from the courts that not only was there no misconduct on her part but that she was an exemplary employee. In addition, it is understood that Jackson is also planning some form of legal action regarding his treatment. When both Ware and Jackson were dismissed, McCoy was appointed by the former board as the new CEO. Shortly afterwards details of the extent of the conflicts of interest facing several of the board members were revealed and when the PPM took office it was one of the first statutory authority boards to be overhauled.
The new board then set about reviewing the operations. During that time they reshuffled the staff, moving McCoy, who had taken extended leave as a result or accumulated vacation, from the top job into another position and replacing him with Andrew McLaughlin.
In an email sent to friends, colleagues and business associates on 29 January McCoy announced his decision to retire from the Cayman Islands Airports Authority. “I’ve thought hard about this and must admit that after a controversial and demanding 2013 coming shortly after illness,” he said, adding that he had decided that retirement was an "attractive route at this time in my life.” Thompson also stated that her departure was nothing more than a coincidence and had nothing to do with the current review of operations.
The authority is now seeking a full time CEO, a business development manager and a human resource manager after a previous recruitment attempt also caused further controversy.
Although a number of Caymanians had applied for the post, including at least once qualified candidate, the CIAA opted for an expatriate, who was ultimately refused a work permit. As a result the post was re-advertised and a new selection process started.
Mac slams FACTA agreements with US and UK
(CNS Business): The former premier of the Cayman Islands has said that he would not have signed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement with the United States or the similar deal which the Cayman government has signed with the UK had he retained power. McKeeva Bush, now the opposition leader, said that the deals extend the tax laws of both the US and the UK to other countries and that cannot be right. He said both the agreements that the current administration has signed give no benefits to Cayman, which already complies with all international treaties. Bush said that he had told the UK treasury officials when he was in London in 2012 that he would not sign the deals and warned that these agreements would “come back to bite us”. Read more on CNS Business
CNS Business launches video
(CNS Business): In our next step in bringing news to as broad a cross-section of the people of the Cayman Islands as possible, Cayman News Service's business website today launches video 'talking heads'. Each week CNS Business will be interviewing a person from the business community about the issues that they encounter in their own sector, or a politician, focusing on the business aspects of their ministry. The interview will be posted in five segments, one each day Monday to Friday. Each segment will be one to two minutes long, making business news accessible and digestible for busy people. We started this week with an interview with Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell, who will discuss cruise ship dock facilities. Read more on CNS Business