ESSO sold and 3^rd gas supplier would be welcome

It was revealed in the Legislative Assembly on Wed (29) that Exxon Mobil –ESSO has been sold to Simpson Oil Ltd (SOL). No notification had been given to government prior to the sale.

This follows the sale of the Texaco brand to Rubis that has seen the Rubis sign going up on their stations late last year.

The government minister whose portfolio gas and oil comes under, Kurt Tibbetts, said government would be ‘earnestly’ looking at a third supplier as they felt this was the best solution to stabilizing and hopefully dropping down the price of fuel.

As Cayman’s utility supplier CUC used the most fuel they were prepared to allow the company to purchase their fuel elsewhere.

Cayman Islands joins regional agriculture institute

From iwn

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) says it is pleased that the Cayman Islands is now a member of the CARDI family.

“This is an exciting time for the agriculture sector here in the Cayman Islands. Becoming a member of the CARDI family will certainly enhance our ability to grow our agri-tourism business and will go a long way to assist our farming community, enabling them to produce better quality products for our ever growing market,” Minister of Agriculture in the Cayman Island, D. Kurt Tibbetts said.

Tibbetts said viewed from a more holistic perspective, the agricultural sector is very important, contributing significantly to food and nutrition security, culinary tourism,; and cultural preservation.

“Accordingly, agriculture needs to continue to be nurtured, supported and further developed to its full potential building on these key areas of contribution.”

He said that the fact that government has resuscitated efforts to join CARDI also speaks volumes.

“This government recognizes that the Department of Agriculture needs additional support to further develop the agricultural sector in these islands. In these times when budgetary constraints are the norm, Government views this as an opportunity of obtaining such support, through partnership with a regional organization of excellence,” he said.

CARDI, which was established in 1975, aims to contribute to agricultural development by conducting research and by exposing farmers and other persons involved in agriculture to appropriate technologies.

CARDI’s Membership comprises all members of the Caribbean Community Common Market as well the Associate Members of CARICOM.

The Institute has its headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago with branches/units in all CARICOM Member States.

For more: http://www.iwnsvg.com/2014/01/29/cayman-islands-joins-regional-agriculture-institute/

Premier is voting against Private Member’s Motion for a minimum wage

Although Premier Alden McLaughlin supports a minimum wage for Cayman he has said he will not be voting ‘Yes’ on the Private Member’s Motion for a minimum wage.

The Motion has been brought by Independent MLA’s Arden Mclean and Ezzard Miller who have said a minimum wage has been debated long enough and it is time to act and implement it.

However, the Premier said, the motion “seeks without any expressed basis to implement a minimum wage at a particular rate.” He said he will support a minimum wage motion but not this one.

Overseas Scholarships Information Session

ATTENTION!

The deadline for submitting applications for an Overseas Education Council Scholarship to begin study in the 2014-2015 academic year is February 15th, 2014.  No overseas applications will be accepted after this date.

The Scholarship Secretariat will be holding an information session on Monday February 3rd, 2014 at 6:00pm at the George Town Public Library for those wishing to apply.  This session is for anyone who has not already attended one of the sessions held at the local high schools or at UCCI or ICCI.

This is a very informative session and it will provide all the details you need to apply for an overseas scholarship via the online application programme and there will also be a question and answer period.

Parents/Guardians are encouraged to attend and light refreshments will be served.

For more information please contact the Scholarship Secretariat by telephone on 244-2482 or by email at [email protected]

Ethics bill to be debated in LA

Following the Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick’s recent report regarding ethics and values government will be debating in the Legislative Assembly a Standards in Public Life Bill.

If the bill is passed it will mean all public officers holding the post of heads of departments, sections and units or more senior positions plus those acting in those positions, as well as board members of statutory authorities, government companies and constitutionally created commissions, candidates nominated for election, and both elected and official members will all need to declare their interests.

Cayman’s Premier Alden McLaughlin said, “This bill ensures that conflicts of interests are properly addressed. I think this is a very important piece of legislation and part of the infrastructure of good governance.”

New vehicles arrived to collect garbage

The Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has announced the arrival of three new garbage trucks.

The collection of Cayman’s garbage has been sporadic and of major concern to Cayman’s residents for a while as the existing DEH trucks have been breaking down with regular occurrence.

DEH hopes to the service can be brought back to near normal within the next two weeks after suitable training but warned the department uses eight trucks per week.

ERA former boss now admits to taking cocaine

Joey Ebanks, former boss of the Electricity Regulatory Authority, has now admitted consumption of cocaine and possessing a utensil that could be used in its consumption.

This follows his guilty plea last Friday (24) to 17 counts of fraud and deception after denying all charges last year.

Canada women’s roster for U.S. friendly unveiled

OTTAWA – Canada will field an experienced squad, when it visits the United States for a women’s international friendly on January 31 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Head coach John Herdman announced Saturday a 19-player roster that is highlighted by the inclusion of forward Christine Sinclair and midfielder Diana Matheson.

“The objective is to see if we can get a result,” said Herdman.  “It’s always the same end whether we can put that performance together that can upset the world number one.”

The Canadians are returning to play for the first time since defeating Scotland, 1-0, on December 22, 2013, in the match for third place at the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Brasilia, Brazil.

With the objective of increasing offensive production, Herdman recalled Josee Belanger and Jonelle Filigno at the forward position.

Belanger, who was a key element in Canada’s qualifying campaign for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, has five scored goals in 11 career games.  Due to an ankle injury, she has not pulled on the red jersey since 2010.

Filigno has won 55 caps and was recently allocated to Sky Blue FC of the National Women’s Soccer League.  The 23-year-old scored four goals in CONCACAF qualifying for the 2011 Women’s World Cup

“Both players are returning back from lengthy times out so we’ve just got to hope that the players are ready for that sort of intensity,” noted Herdman. “Because when you play the USA everyone knows it’s a different type of game: fast, physical, and another level to what you experience in your own training session.”

CANADA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
(International Friendly: January 29, 2014, away v United States at Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas)

GOALKEEPERS:  Stephanie Labbé (Örebro/Sweden), Karina LeBlanc (Chicago Red Stars/USA), Erin McLeod (Houston Dash/USA)

DEFENDERS:  Kadeisha Buchanan (West Virginia University/USA), Carmelina Moscato (Seattle Reign/USA), Marie-Eve Nault (Örebro/Sweden), Lauren Sesselmann (Houston Dash/USA), Rhian Wilkinson (no club), Sura Yekka (Brams United), Emily Zurrer (Jitex BK/Sweden)

MIDFIELDERS:  Kaylyn Kyle (Boston Breakers/USA), Diana Matheson (Washington Spirit/USA), Sophie Schmidt (Sky Blue FC/USA), Desiree Scott (FC Kansas City/USA), Brittany Baxter Timko (no club)

FORWARDS:  Josee Belanger (no club), Jonelle Filigno (Sky Blue FC/USA), Adriana Leon (Chicago Red Stars/USA), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns/USA)

UK Royals household reserves touches a historic low of £1 million

From Deccan Chronicle

London: British lawmakers on Tuesday took aim at Queen Elizabeth II’s household accountants, saying they must cut their costs and tackle a huge backlog of repairs to the monarch’s crumbling palaces.

Palace officials must also do more to boost the royal family’s income as they are dipping into reserve funds alarmingly often, parliament’s public accounts committee said in a report.
The queen’s reserves are down to a “historically low” £1 million, the report revealed.

Committee chairwom-an Margaret Hodge said lawmakers felt the queen had “not been served well” by her household accountants or by the Treasury, the finance ministry which is supposed to scrutinise royal spending.

“The household needs to get better at planning and managing its budgets for the longer term and the Treasury should be more actively involved in reviewing what the household is doing,” she said.

The report warned that palace officials were failing to invest in repairs, with nearly 40 per cent of the royal estate deemed to be in an unacceptable condition when assessments were made in March 2012.

For more:http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140129/news-current-affairs/article/uk-royals-household-reserves-touches-historic-low-£1-million