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DVDL deputy is new acting director at DVES
(CNS): Richard Simms has been appointed as Acting Director of the Department of Vehicle and Equipment Services (DVES), effective 1 January 2014, following the departure of John Carey from the post as Director on 31 December. Simms has been seconded from Department of Vehicle and Driver’s License (DVDL) where he has been Deputy Director, and his position there has been temporarily filled by Mario M. Ebanks, who has been appointed as Acting Deputy Director of DVDL, effective 1 January 2014. Both appointments have been approved by the chief officer of the Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, Alan Jones.
A release from DVES said that Simms brings a wealth of leadership, knowledge and experience to the post and it is envisioned that he will be a valuable asset to the DVES during this secondment. He will be assisted by the Deputy Director Stephen Quinland.
Ebanks is the current Finance Manager at DVDL, according to a release from that department. During his tenure at DVDL he has been involved in a number of projects assisting the Deputy Director and Director. He has a wealth of experience in financial and other related human resources matters that will greatly assist the department during Simms's absence.
Two serious road accidents early New Year’s Day
(CNS): A young man has been airlifted off-island in critical condition and another is in hospital in George Town as a result of two road crashes in the early hours of Wednesday 1 January. Police say that at 3:08am yesterday the RCIPS responded to a report of a serious accident involving one vehicle that had collided with a utility pole in the vicinity of 1290 Bodden Town Road. The 21-year-old driver was transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town in critical condition and airlifted off island for treatment the same day (1 January 2014). And a two-vehicle accident on Crew Road, George Town, which involved a Ford Ranger and a Honda car, was reported to the police at 4:22 Wednesday morning.
The 48-year-old driver of the Ford Ranger was not admitted to hospital. However, a 39-year-old man who was driving the Honda is said to be in stable condition and undergoing treatment at the George Town hospital.
Burglar wore ankle monitor
(CNS): A man who had reportedly burgled a condo in the Prospect area was spotted breaking into a car at a condo complex in the area at around 8pm Monday night, sources have told CNS. However, he was disturbed by the owners of the complex and hid in some bushes, where he remained while they and other residents kept an eye on him until the police arrived. But when they got there, the suspect, who was seen wearing an ankle monitor, fled and eluded capture by jumping into a canal and swimming away. The officers and police dogs searched the streets adjacent to the canal for the suspect without finding him but the search revealed that a condo, the owners of which are currently off-island, had been “completely ramshackled”, according to one source.
The source told CNS that near to the car that the suspect was seen breaking into was a pile of items thought to be from the burgled condo and it was believed that the suspect was trying to steal a car to transport the stolen items.
The RCIPS has confirmed that police officers responded to a report of a burglary in Prospect last night and that the K-9 Unit was also deployed to assist in the search for the suspect, who remains at large.
Staff shake-up at Airports Authority
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) Board has announced plans for a major shake-up and has confirmed that Kerith McCoy is no longer the authority's acting chief executive officer. CNS sent enquiries to the board, the minister responsible and senior staff at the beginning of December about staffing changes and speculation that McCoy had been removed from his post, and we were informed by Board Chair Kirkland Nixon on 2 December that McCoy was on annual leave. On Tuesday, the new acting CEO, Andrew McLaughlin, released a statement on behalf of the CIAA confirming that McCoy was still on leave but that he would be returning to a new post in the New Year. Read more on CNS Business
No bombs found after threats
(CNS): Police have confirmed that there were bomb threats at both the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman and Caribbean Club this afternoon. Both resorts were searched but nothing suspicious was discovered, the RCIPS reported Saturday evening. At 4:15pm police, fire and other emergency personnel responded to the bomb threats at both locations. Traffic diversions and other precautionary measures were put in place and the two resorts were searched. It is not clear if the incident has yet been officially declared a hoax, like all previous bomb threats on Grand Cayman. Section 206 of the penal Code (2010 Revision) states that a “Bomb Hoax” is an offence, and on conviction a person can be sentenced up to ten years imprisonment and a fine of ten thousand dollars.
New regulator for auditors appointed
(CNS Business): The body responsible for overseeing inspections of Cayman-based firms that audit market-traded companies has appointed its first managing director. Donald Cockburn will manage the daily activities of the Auditors Oversight Authority (AOA) and facilitate discussions with his foreign counterparts in order to have Cayman-based auditors assessed and confirmed as having equivalent quality assurance systems to those of other countries. This oversight body lines up with the requirements under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) that came into effect in July, and gaining recognition from EU member states will be very important to the offshore sector. Read more on CNS Business
Noland grab clause in NCL
(CNS): At a presentation on Cayman Brac Saturday on the proposed National Conservation Law, Environment Minister Wayne Panton and Department of Environment Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie addressed once again the lies and misinformation being spread about the NCL, and stressed that government will not be able to forcibly purchase land under the proposed law, nor will it give the Environment Council, which will be created under the law, power to dictate policy. The council’s role, they said, will be 95% advisory. Planning decisions will continue to be made by the Central Planning Authority (CPA) in Grand Cayman, the Development Control Board (DCB) in the Sister Islands, and Cabinet for coastal works licences.
The law simply states that these bodies must consider the advice of the council, along with all the other advisory bodies, such as the roads and water authorities, when weighing the pros and cons of a planning application, Ebanks-Petrie explained. The council, which will be a technical advisory board, will offer non-binding input on planning applications in the same way that the DoE does now. While the CPA, the DCB and Cabinet are not compelled to accept the advice of the council about environmental concerns, the new law does, for the first time, require them to consider it.
Only crown land can be designated as a “protected area” under the new law and the NCL does not include provisions for compulsory acquisition of private land. Government can offer to buy private land in order to protect it but thy owners can refuse, the DoE director told around 40 Brac residents at the meeting, noting that Compulsory Acquisition Law and the National Roads Authority Law already give government the power to forcibly buy land. The NCL will not make any difference to that, she pointed out.
“If the council or a private body suggests that a piece of land has environmental importance, and if the council decides that it’s worth it, it will advise Cabinet to buy the land,” the DoE director said. Negotiations to purchase the land at a fair market price will then begin, “but if the owners are not willing to sell, that is the end of it.”
Just because a protected species lives on private land does not mean that the land cannot be developed, Ebanks-Petrie stated. “That is not what the law says,” she said and explained that what it did mean is that after taking note of the Environmental Council’s advice, the decision-making bodies may add conditions to the planning approval in order to protect endangered species.
Some plants and animals are endemic to the Cayman Islands, which means that they live here and nowhere else on the planet, she said. Some of these species, but not all, require a specific area of land so that it does not become extinct, and this will be the critical habitat designation. However, the council will not have the power to impose this on any land, the DoE director explained. The proposal will be presented for public consultation and then go to Cabinet, which is the body that will make the decision.
The council, which in all other ways in entirely advisory, will have the authority to impose protection of species only in protected areas and critical habitat — both of which were designated by Cabinet — and the council’s decisions can be appealed to Cabinet.
Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not make the planning decisions, Ebanks-Petrie explained. They are another tool that the DCB, the CPA and Cabinet will use to ensure that they have all the necessary information to make their decisions.
“The current process is arbitrarily applied by the planning boards,” she said, noting that responsible developers find it “astonishing” that Cayman does not have set EIA regulations, which they are used to in other jurisdictions. The NCL will outline the EIA process for the first time and, far from deterring development, it will ensure the “clear, fair process” that is set out everywhere else, which is what developers want.
“Contrary to claims that this risks slowing development, good developers will be happy knowing that they will be treated the same as everyone else who walks in the door,” she said.
Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, first elected MLA for the Sister Islands, who has responsibility for the cruise dock development, explained how, regarding that project, the EIA was one tool to be considered as they accumulated all the relevant information, including public reaction and input at the public meetings.
Nola Bodden, a businesswoman and land owner on the Brac, asked if the government could afford all the possible land purchases that may result from the enactment of the law. The Environmental Protection Fund, which is a departure tax on all visitors and residents, was created for this, Ebanks-Petrie explained. “We believe we have a good handle oncosts,” she said. “We don’t think there will be any need to impose new fees.”
Tim Dilbert asked if the members of the council would be required to register their interests. This will be covered by the Standards in Public Life law which is currently in the process of public consultation, Minister Panton said, and will require this of all members of public boards and committees.
Dilbert also asked for a provision in the law that the Sister Islands must have representation on the Environmental Council. This provision was included in an earlier draft of the law, Minister Panton said, but then all the other districts wanted the same consideration and it was decided that this would be difficult to enforce since the council is technical in nature and it may not be possible to find people from all districts with the right technical skills.
However, he pointed out that the ultimate decision-makers for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman planning applications were the members of the DCB, who were all from the Sister Islands, or Cabinet, where they were represented by the deputy premier. And, he added, he felt sure that Kirkconnell would make sure that one of the seven Cabinet-appointed members would be from the Sister Islands.
Asked about waste management in regards to the law, Panton pointed out that this was a separate issue and was being addressed by Minister Osbourne Bodden, who has responsibility for Environmental Health and has committed to finding a solution to the landfill problem.
“This law will not address all the environmental ills of this country but it’s a start,” Ebanks-Petrie said.
Driver arrested after morning crash in Lower Valley
(CNS): One man was injured, having been trapped inside his car, and another man arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after a collision shortly after 9:00 this morning on Discovery Drive, Lower Valley in Bodden Town. Police say that a Chevy TrailBlazer was seen travelling at high speed, heading east. When it reached the vicinity of the Discovery Drive entrance, the driver attempted to turn into the road when he lost control and collided with a Hyundai H10, which was at the entrance of Discovery Drive waiting to exit onto Shamrock Road. The impact caused the Hyundai to be pushed in the bushes and male occupant trapped inside. He was freed by fire officers using the jaws of life and transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital by ambulance.
The driver of the TrailBlazer was arrested at the scene on suspicion of dangerous driving at a speed.
Anyone who may have witnessed this collision are asked to please contact Bodden Town Police Station or any of the police stations or crime stoppers at 800TIPS (8477)
Samanth J to perform at tonight’s Music Fest
(CNS): After weeks of anticipation, the Cayman Islands International Music Fest (CIIMF) will light the skies over Grand Harbour tonight, Friday 6 December (gates open at 7 pm). Comparable to the Department of Tourism’s Jazz Fest, CIIMF has created a massive buzz with its line-up of artists such as Percy Sledge, Ginuwine, Verse Simmonds, Omi and a host of well-known local acts. Fulfilling its promise of having a surprise artist, Mogul Entertainment has invited 17-year-old Jamaican singer-songwriter Samantha J to be part of the event. A combination of youth, beauty and talent has made Samantha J an overnight ‘hot ticket’.
In just a few weeks, Samantha J has erupted onto the Jamaican music scene with her still unreleased first single "Tight Skirt," her debut song that has gone from the pages of her notebook to the airwaves of Jamaica and beyond in lightning speed.
As part of CIIMF, the event’s promoters held the Xposure talent show at Beaches restaurant. The winner Terry Williams, and runner-up, Dexter Ebanks, will both perform at the main event on Friday night.
People who purchased early bird tickets and early concertgoers can enjoy the concert from a special area, courtesy of Cayman Airways, which they can access between 7 pm to 10 pm.
With a theme of “celestial decadence", there will also be a luxury VIP lounge with a posh cigar and cognac retreat, décor by Celebrations and food by Mise en Place, ‘top-shelf’ wines and spirits by Cayman Distributors, as well as divas clad in magnificent costumes by Caymanian designer, Reba Dilbert.
Visit ciimf.ky for more information.
Motorbike rider in hospital after GT crash
(CNS) Update Thursday 2:12pm: Police say that the 27-year-old man who sustained serious injuries as a result of the crash near Red Bay Primary School last night has been airlifted to Miami for treatment. At 8:10pm yesterday, police and other emergency services were called to the scene of a collision involving a Toyota Highlander and a motorbike on Shamrock Road, George Town. The two vehicles were travelling in opposite directions when the crash happened. The bike rider was transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital by ambulance. The accident is being investigated by PC Kenval Holder of the George Town Police Station at 949-4222. (Photo courtesy of Cayman 27)
The RCIPS is seeking any person(s) that may have witnessed this collision or have any information relative to this collision to please contact the George Town Police Station at 949-4222 or any of the police station in Grand Cayman.