iNews Briefs & Community Events
Cayman Airways to lease four 737 MAX 8s
By Alan Dron From Air Transport World
IMAGE: From left: Boeing VP-Africa, Latin America & Caribbean sales Van Rex Gallard, ALC executive chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy and Cayman Airways president and CEO Fabian Whorms
Cayman Airways is to lease four Boeing 737 MAX 8s as it embarks on a fleet renewal program.
The Caribbean carrier, a long-time Boeing customer, will replace four 737-300s that are approaching 25 years of age.
The new aircraft, which will come from lessor Air Lease Corp. (ALC), will begin arriving in December 2018 through 2020.
To help bridge the gap, ALC will lease a single Boeing 737-800 from December 2016 for around two years.
After retiring the -300s, “the logical progression would have been to go to 737NGs,” Cayman Airways’ president and CEO Fabian Whorms said, but the lease structure put together by ALC swayed them to go with the newer design. The leases will run for a minimum of nine years.
Going from a -300 to a MAX 8 will save the airline 20% in fuel costs alone. “In fact, it will be more than that,” Whorms said. “Fuel is very expensive in the Caymans. With the new aircraft we will be able to tanker from outside the islands.” The airline was also looking forward to the maintenance holiday that the new aircraft would bring, he said.
The MAX 8s will also be able to carry 40 more passengers than the existing aircraft and their faster cruising speed will save 15-20 minutes on the four-hour flight to New York.
For more: http://atwonline.com/airframes/cayman-airways-lease-four-737-max-8s
Cayman Islands youth arrested along West Bay Road last Friday, 9 July, during proactive patrol
Neighborhood officers and other units were out in force over the weekend, visiting bars, nightclubs and other key locations around the island, as part of higher visibility proactive patrols.
During one such patrol, just after 9PM on Friday, 9 July, four youths in the parking lot of one location in Seven Mile Beach fled on foot when police appeared at the location. They were pursued to West Bay Road. A quantity of vegetable matter resembling ganja was found on the person of one of the juveniles, who was arrested on suspicion of Consumption and Possession of Ganja. He is on Police Bail.
“Patrols at key locations throughout the island have been launched to increase visible policing and address lower-level crimes like these that nonetheless affect public confidence,” said Robert Graham, Superintendent of District Operations. “We want this to become the new normal.”
Italy train crash: ‘Twenty-three killed’ near Bari in collision
From BBC
The trains collided on a single track near the town of Andria, northwest of Bari
Twenty-three people have been killed and dozens hurt in a head-on collision involving two passenger trains in southern Italy, officials say.
The two trains were on a single-track line at the time of the crash, between the coastal towns of Bari and Barletta.
The emergency services have been trying to free passengers from the shattered carriages, near the town of Andria.
One of those pulled from the wreckage was a small child, who was airlifted to hospital.
The local authorities have appealed for blood donors to come forward.
Several carriages were completely destroyed in the collision on a single-track line near Andria
It was unclear what led to the collision, which happened in good weather at 11:30 local time (09:30 GMT) in the southern region of Puglia.
A local prosecutor in nearby Trani said it was too early to speculate on the cause, although human error was likely to have been a factor.
Italian reports said one of the trains had come from Andria, and the other from Corato, a short distance to the south-east. Both were travelling at high speed.
“Surely one of the two trains shouldn’t have been there. And surely there was an error. We need to determine the cause of the error,” Commander Giancarlo Conticchio from the railway police said.
‘Worst scene of my life’
Both trains had four carriages and images from the fire service showed wreckage strewn across a large area. Some of the carriages were so badly damaged there was little left but debris.
Corato Mayor Massimo Mazzilli said the damage was so extensive it was as if a plane had crashed.
“I saw dead people, others who were begging for help, people crying. The worst scene of my life,” one policeman told journalists.
Rescuers set up a field hospital at the scene to help care for the large number of wounded passengers.
“The situation is dramatic,” Antonio Nunziante, from the local civil defence, told Ansa news agency.
In total, about 200 were involved in the rescue operation, working in temperatures up to 40C (104F).
Image copyright EPA
Image caption Firefighters are trying to free trapped passengers
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi interrupted a trip to Milan and returned to Rome, after ordering an investigation into the crash.
“I want to express my condolences to the families and I have ordered, with no holding-back, [an inquiry] to find who is responsible,” he said.
“I think we must have absolute clarity on this. We will not stop until we understand what happened.”
Pope Francis has also sent condolences. In a telegram to the archbishop of Bari, Monsignor Fracnesco Cacucci, he said he was mourning those who died and praying for the injured to recover quickly.
Transport Minister Graziano Delrio was at the scene with ministry inspectors and local prosecutors to survey the wreckage.
The line, managed by Ferrotramviaria, is used by thousands of people daily on about 200 trains. Work is under way to make it a double-track line.
For more and video: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36774059
Divers rescued from sunken vessel in USVI
From Caribbean News Now
Marine Units are always ready to assist those in distress at sea
ST THOMAS, USVI — Marine Interdiction Agents with US Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO), recently rescued 11 divers from a sunken vessel off the coast of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.
“Our agents remain vigilant in detecting smuggling threats to the homeland, but when we encounter individuals in distress, that becomes our first priority,” said Edgar Santiago, deputy director, Air Operations, at the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch.
On the morning of July 3, an AMO Midnight Express interceptor vessel crew assigned to the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch, St Thomas Marine Unit, received a distress call from US Coast Guard (USCG) Sector San Juan communicating that a dive vessel was sinking one nautical mile from Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas.
The AMO crew immediately responded to the area and observed several people in the water near the mostly submerged hull of their vessel. The sunken vessel’s dive master informed the AMO crew that all 11 passengers onboard were accounted for.
AMO rescued all the divers from the water and transported them to USCG Station St Thomas, where they were turned over to USCG care.
Guyanese woman found murdered in Maryland; neighbour arrested and charged
By News Source Guyana From St Lucia News Online
NEWS SOURCE GUYANA – Police investigators in the U.S State of Maryland, have arrested and charged the 61-year-old neighbour of a Guyanese woman who was found murdered in her Maryland home last Friday.
The body of 62-year-old Guyanese, Lenise Fredericks, was discovered in her house with trauma to her head after she had not been heard from by relatives and a welfare check was carried out.
Her husband who was at work all day, got worried after she did not turn up to pick him up. When he rushed home after all calls went unanswered, his worst fears were realised.
Police investigators recognised that the home had been broken into and arrested the 61-year-old neighbour, Robert James Crosby.
It is believed that he broke into the home, thinking that no one was at home but killed the woman after coming face to face with her.
Boy, 8, died of accidental drowning on cruise ship off New Jersey coast
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS From New York Daily News
An 8-year-old boy fell into this pool on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas cruise ship June 30.
The city Medical Examiner’s office said an 8-year-old boy who was critically injured after falling into a pool on a cruise ship off the coast of New Jersey died of accidental drowning.
Staten Island University hospital told the Staten Island Advance the boy, identified as Prince Adepoju, of Maryland, died July 2.
Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas left New York Harbor and was heading to the Caribbean when the accident happened June 30.
The ship was five to 10 miles offshore when Prince was found in the pool. The Coast Guard said the boy had been in the water for eight to 10 minutes. The Medical Examiner on Monday also said “seizure disorder” was a contributing condition in the boy’s death.
Child who nearly drowned aboard cruise ship identified
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying they were “heartbroken” and their “thoughts and prayers were with the child’s family.”
Increase of seismic activity in the Caribbean reported
Port Spain (Prensa Latina) The University of the West Indies has reported an increase in seismic activity in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea, after three earthquakes were registered on several islands in the region in the last 48 hours.
The Unit of Seismologic Control of the University of the West Indies said on Monday that a quake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale shook the island of Dominica early this morning, after two earthquakes impacted Trinidad and Tobago at the weekend.
Although non of the affected islands reported damage, there still exists a danger of landslides and sea movements. Specialists have warned of the potential risk of similar events in the following hours.
The earthquake registered in Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday of a magnitude of 3.6 degrees was followed by another one, on Sunday, with magnitude of 4.2 degrees. The epicenter of the earthquake in Dominica was located 58 kilometers northeast of Roseau, the capital of the island.
For many years, experts have warned of the possibility of intense earthquakes and their subsequent tsunamis, impacting the Caribbean, because of the existence of important telluric movements.
For more: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5055381&Itemid=1
Is Mt. Everest melting?
From Carbon Wars
When you think of the tallest mountain in the world, Everest, snow, ice, blizzards and cold come to mind. Global warming and its impacts are likely not part of the thought process. Nearly two years after the devastating 2014 earthquake that triggered massive avalanches and killed scores in Tibet, signs of change likely due to earth’s warming have cropped up.
“It is shrinking,” Dr. Nima Namgyal Sherpa, an Everest expedition organizer. “It’s melting every year.”
While climbers and expedition organizers have long said there are good years and bad years, lucky seasons and unlucky ones, scientists and locals alike now say the mountain’s environmental conditions have been irrevocably altered.
Norbu Tenzing Norgay, son of the first man known to have summited alongside Sir Edmund Hillary, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, says some glaciers in the region have undergone such extensive melting that crevasses are nearly too wide to traverse.
“My brother was on a mountain recently where it was normally full of snow, and he said he wasn’t going back because there wasn’t enough,” said Norgay. “He had to use more ladders to cross those crevasses.”
“Last year around this time, it was much colder, but this year it is unusually warm,” said Dr. Nima Namgyal Sherpa, who has spent time on the mountain for each of the past six seasons. “Usually we have these streams coming down in the end of May, but now it comes quite early for the season.”
Satellite data
Joseph Shea, senior glacier hydrologist at the Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, says satellite data that measures glacial volume shows at least one square meter of annual shrinkage.Last year, an international research team lead by Shea predicted that 70 to 99 percent of Everest glaciers would disappear by 2100, and that the melting has reached an unstoppable point.
“The glaciers there are in retreat, so we’re losing area every year,” he said.“But more importantly, we are losing volumes.
“Even if you stop emitting all the greenhouse gas and climate stops changing today, you’ll still have glacier losses because the system is now out of balance, it’s out of equilibrium,” he added. “So, even for the next 150 years, the glacial retreat will continue without any additional forcing.”
Long term, far-reaching consequences
With Chinese scientists reporting temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau rising at a pace of four times the global average, researchers expect glacial runoff to cause widespread regional flooding, followed by long-term droughts, as ancient bodies of ice disappear or become drastically reduced.
Sherpas and other Himalayan communities will be the most vulnerable to such disasters.
“If lakes burst above the villages in the Everest areas between 12,000 to 13,000 feet, there are villages all the way down the streams that will be wiped out,” said Norgay, describing high-altitude lakes of glacial runoff appearing throughout the region.“The danger is very real.”
According to the Chinese Academy of Science, an estimated 1,100 glacial lakes have appeared since the institute’s first regional inventory of inland bodies of water, which took place in 1990.While most runoff lakes are dammed by unstable mountain slope debris, small outbursts have occurred, most notably in June 2015, when a small earthquake in India triggered an outburst in Bhutan.
“Our glaciers are melting, causing flash floods and landslides, which in turn cause disaster and widespread destruction in our country,” said Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in his March TED Talk.
For more: http://www.thecarbonwars.com/is-mt-everest-melting/
Jamaica: Person of interest’ in custody over brutal murder of 3-y-o
By Jamaica Observer From St Lucia Online news
JAMAICA OBSERVER – A man who was named by the police as a ‘person of interest’ in the death of a three-year-old child in St Ann turned himself in yesterday and was taken into custody for questioning.
The mother and stepfather of the three-year-old girl were yesterday detained by the police.
The couple was taken into custody following allegations that the child, Nevalesia Campbell, and her twin brother were left at home alone when the little girl was snatched from her bed between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.
Her body was found with chop wounds later in the day. Police said residents alleged that the children’s mother was seen at a party on the same night that the child was believed to have gone missing.
According to the police, the mother and her lover could be charged with breaches of the Child Care Protection Act.
See iNews Cayman story: Jamaica: Body of Missing 3-y-o Girl found butchered in St Ann at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/jamaica-body-of-missing-3-y-o-girl-found-butchered-in-st-ann/
British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce welcomes new UK Prime Minister
JULY 12TH, 2016 POLITICS & GOVERNMENT, PRESS RELEASES
The British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the announcement that The Right Honourable Theresa May MP will assume office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Wednesday evening.
Mrs May has made an unequivocal statement, for the avoidance of doubt, that her policy is that “BREXIT means BREXIT”. She has indicated that she will negotiate a fair arrangement for both the United Kingdom and the European Union, recognising the outcome of the Referendum in Britain last month. So the UK now has stable leadership with a strong message and a clear mandate for a properly negotiated and well-ordered exit from the political structures of the European Union.
The Chamber believes that as well as challenges, new opportunities lie ahead for our traditional trading partners in the Caribbean, with whom there are long-standing and historic links. BCCC is looking forward to working with business and political leaders in the region in determining these.
The caution of OECS regional leaders in assessing what significant changes in the European political structure may mean in terms of the short, medium and long-term is understandable. But the Chamber is confident that it is within the grasp of European governments to embrace the challenge of BREXIT in a well ordered manner with no reason for any of us to take a pessimistic view of the future.
Our essential message is that Britain is not going away and British tourists will continue to see the Caribbean as an attractive and desirable destination. It is the essential quality of the Caribbean tourist industry, based on targeting those with higher than average disposable incomes, which is its greatest strength. It will continue to have a bright future.
Cayman Islands Humane Society: Raine
Raine is looking for a foster home, or even better, a forever home. He was surrendered a week ago when his owner moved home and couldn’t take him with them. Raine is in poor shape and needs a patient and caring owner. We know that he would make an awesome pet for the right person or family. This gentle guy deserves a second chance. Can you help him?
For more: http://www.caymanislandshumanesociety.com/pet/raine/
Red Bay Summer Roadworks Cayman Islands
Roadworks continue in the Prospect and Red Bay areas; to reconfigure the Red Bay roundabout and enhance the east-west arterial.
Most work is being done during off-peak times to avoid disruptions to traffic.
While work is being done, one of the lanes will be open for traffic as usual, but drivers may also use an alternate lane, as directed.
Please drive carefully, and pay attention to signs indicating lane closures or diversions.
Work in this area is to be completed before the end of August.
Click on images to enlarge.
COMMUNITY EVENTS (Date Order)
THU JULY 14
Release of 2016 Half-Yearly Crime Statistics
The Half-Yearly Crime Statistics for 2016, indicating the incidence of crime in the Cayman Islands from January-June 2016, will be released
FRI JULY 15
Submissions sought for Grant for the Arts
The Cayman National Cultural Foundation (CNCF) is set to recognise and promote arts and culture in the Cayman Islands through the Grants for the Arts.
As part of the CNCF’s mission to facilitate and preserve all forms of artistic expression in the Cayman Islands a grant programme was created. The grant can be used to bring projects to fruition or support ongoing programmes. In the past the grant has be awarded for training, productions, publications, festivals and special projects.
CNCF is accepting application for the grant. Application forms and guidelines can be found online at www.artscayman.org/grants-for-the-arts. Applications are due Friday 15 July.
SAT JULY 16
Lookya with Mango Season at the Museum
“DATS A MANGO STAIN?!”
In Cayman, mango season is highly anticipated, and the sweet, unique flavor of the mango is enjoyed by all. Locals reminisce on diving up mangoes in the sea and going in the land to find the perfect tree to climb, whether it be for a long, round, or a Julie mango. The maiden plum and cockspur weren’t any match for anyone with mangoes on their mind.
Join us on Saturday, 16th July 2016, from 3−8pm at our first annual Mango Season at the Museum on the Waterfront. Admission is free to the public. Enjoy food and mango products, a mango peeling/eating competition, music by local artists, and arts & crafts and fun for the kids and entire family in a family-friendly environment.
Use the hashtag #DatsAMangoStain on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to create conversation and to share your experiences.
MON JULY 18
Vacation Bible School
The Churches of God Holiness Spot Bay and Watering Place are hosting Vacation Bible School Monday — Friday (18 — 22 Jul) from 6-8pm daily at the Watering Place location. Call 948-0214 for more information
TUE JULY 19
Cayman Islands Seafarers Association
“The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association wishes to inform all Members that there will be a General Meeting, on Tuesday 19 July 2016 at 7:30 PM. in the Seafarer’s Hall, 11 Victory Ave. Prospect. THU JULY 21
Basic Writing and Grammar Skills Part 1
The Chamber of Commerce is hosting a seminar on Basic Writing and Grammar Skills Part 1 at their offices in Governor’s Square on Thursday (21 Jul) at 9am. Sign up at caymanchamber.ky.
THU JULY 28
Basic Writing and Grammar Skills Part 2
The Chamber of Commerce is hosting a seminar on Basic Writing and Grammar Skills Part 2 at their offices in Governor’s Square on Thursday (28 Jul) at 9am. Sign up at caymanchamber.ky.
World Hepatitis Day
Thursday (28 Jul) is World Hepatitis Day under the theme ‘It’s Up To You.’ Log on to caymanactive.com for information about local events.
July Events at Camana Bay
Next month’s public holiday on Monday, 4 July will have a fireworks extravaganza not to be missed. Kids won’t be bored this summer with a variety of camps for all ages, outdoor movies shown under the stars every Tuesday and a summer splash party with prizes to be won. Grownups will enjoy summer savings as the shops mark down prices for one day only and ladies will have the chance to enjoy a ‘healthified’ three-course menu. Moviegoers are also in for a real treat as Regal Cinemas shows the ballet classic, One Man, Two Guvnors.
For more details on our summer festivities, camps and offers; visit camanabay.com/summer.
Here is a quick look at our summer camps:
6th Annual Multi-Sport Camp
5 through 8 July (Week 1), 11 through 15 July (Week 2) and
25 through 29 July (Week 3)
8am-12pm
Camana Bay Sports Complex
Starfish Village Summer Camp
5 July through 25 August
8am-3pm
Starfish Village
Shutterbugs Photography Camp
Mondays, 11 July through 15 August (Ages 8-11) and
Fridays, 15 July through 19 August (Ages 11-16)
9am-12pm,
Picture This Studios
Budding Chef Summer Camp
11 through 15 July
12-1pm
Bon Vivant
8th Annual Basketball Camp
18 through 22 July
8:30am-4pm
The Arts & Recreation Centre
Here is a quick look at our special events:
End-of-School Kids Disco Party
Moonlight & Movies
Tuesdays, July through August
7pm
Gardenia Court
Patriotic Festival
Monday 4 July
5-8pm
The Crescent
Summer Sidewalk Sale
Saturday 9 July
11am
Town Centre
Abacus Restaurant Takeover with Nadine Dumas
Tuesday 12 July
5:30-7:30pm
Abacus
The Bookends Club
Wednesday 13 July
6:30-7:30pm
Books & Books
Ross Tibbetts Book Signing
Friday 15 July
6:30pm
Books & Books
Culture at the Cinema: One Man, Two Guvnors
Saturday 16 July
7pm
Regal Cinemas
Floetry
Wednesday 20 July
6:30-7:30pm
Books & Books
Summer Splash
Saturday 23 July
2-7pm
The Crescent
