iNews Briefs
Jamaican taxi operator gets life sentence for murder of Trinidad teacher
From Caribbean360
CMC – A Jamaican taxi operator, Ivan Taylor was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Trinidadian teacher Michelle Coudray Greaves.
Taylor, 46, who was found guilty of murder on May 22, will serve 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
Coudray-Greaves, 39, was due to start a teaching job in the western city of Montego Bay, when she went missing after returning from a trip to Trinidad on June 2, 2012.
Taylor, who provided her with taxi service, was arrested shortly after her burnt remains were found in cane field on the outskirts of Montego Bay. Forensic science was used to determine her identity.
Cayman Netballers are off to Calgary
The Cayman Islands National Netball Team will be off to the 2014 Americas Federation of Netball Association (AFNA) Championship taking place August 19-25
in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The trip was in doubt because of a lack of funding but the netballers put all their effort into big local fundraisers.
The netballers hit the streets and raised enough money to go, including $24,000 from a raffle.
They still need more and they will be holding more fundraisers.
Thousands of Barbadians march in protest against solid waste tax
From Caribbean360
CMC – Thousands of Barbadians took to the streets on Thursday (24) to protest against the imposition of the Municipal Solid Waste Tax.
The midday march, led by Mia Mottley – leader of the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) ended outside the office of Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart, where she delivered a letter of protest on behalf of people across the island.
“Today is about sending a message to the government about this bad Solid Waste Tax that they need to repeal and rethink,” Mottley said before proceeding to Prime Minister Stuart’s office.
“The people of Barbados have spoken across the length and breadth, that we’ve had 27 other taxes and fees imposed on us in the last six years. We can take no more.”
“This march is for the repeal of the Solid Waste Tax. This march is for a new government mechanism that allows us…as Bajans not to be surprised by a tax , not to be unfaired [sic] by a tax.
“But we say we know we are in trouble as a nation. Talk to your people Freundel, and let us work with you.
“And if you cannot talk to your people and let us work with you, do the decent thing and step one side.”
This new tax was announced last year with a sweeping .03 per cent charge on the site value of real estate property across the island, but there have been widespread complaints about the financial burden it places on residents.
Cayman’s Neighbourhood Policing to target at risk kids
The Cayman Islands Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) has announced a multi-agency project to target at risk kids and help find them employment.
The project is spearheaded by the Neighborhood Policing Department.
Police officers will become mentors to the kids and they believe that the major reason for an increase in youth crime is because of the shortage of paying jobs.
The RCIPS are hoping to begin the programme beginning with five at-risk kids now and then, if successful, expand it further.
Heroin antidote Naloxone offers US hope against overdose
From BBC
“To call heroin an epidemic is an understatement,” says Camden, New Jersey, Police Chief Scott Thomson.
“Our cops were out on the street and they didn’t have any tools to help the people there.”
But in recent years, Camden police officers have joined police in a growing number of cities across the US who carry a heroin “antidote” called Naloxone.
“Now, first responders when they get to the scene and there’s an individual there who is unresponsive, we’re able to administer it… and get them breathing,” Mr Thomson says.
Twenty-five states have approved the use of the drug Naloxone, either as an inhalant or an injection. Police officers use it on the street when they encounter an overdose, and family members of addicts have their own kits to try to prevent death in the home.
The new “antidote” works by reversing the effects of opioid drugs in the body. It lasts for 30-45 minutes, giving emergency medical workers enough time to reach an overdose victim.
Though some critics say the drug enables addicts, it has become adopted by cities and states as heroin use has surged in recent years. In the US, heroin overdoses increased 45% between 2006-2010, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The BBC’s Annie Waldman went to Camden to talk to community members who are promoting the use of Naloxone – and one mother who used the drug to save her daughter’s life.
For more: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28425144
Cayman to send 6 athletes and a young reporter to Youth Olympics in China
The Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, will be held from 16th August to 28th August and the Cayman Islands are sending six athletes to compete and a young journalist to take part in the Young Reporters Programme for the games.
Athletes Jamal Walton and Pearl Morgan willcompete in the 400 m and 200 m respectively, rider Polly Serpell will jump in the individual competition, Morgan Lloyd, the youngest athlete at 15, will participate in the individual all-around gymnastics, and sailors, Florence Allan and Pablo Bertan will compete in the one person dingy.
And Jade Webster, one of 31 young people around the world, has been selected to represent the Americas in the Young Reporters Programme. The Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees through a rigorous selection process selected the Young Reporters. Representing each of the five continents, they are between the ages of 18 and 24.
Cayman’s athletes will be in action from August 18, with Equestrian first up. All athletes and officials will be traveling to Nanjing early next month in time for the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at 8:00 pm Beijing time, (7 am Cayman time) on 16 August at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre stadium. The team will attend all cultural and education programs until the closing ceremony on August 28th.
Obama Meets Apollo 11 Astronauts to mark moon landing’s 45th anniversary
By Stan Schroeder From Mashable
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, U.S. President Barack Obama met with members of the crew on Tuesday (22), including Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Michael Collins and Carol Armstrong, the widow of Neil Armstrong.
On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. Spending about two hours and 31 minutes on its surface, the astronauts collected some 47 pounds of samples and conducted four experiments, before returning to their spacecraft.
This year’s White House meeting marks the first major anniversary without mission commander Armstrong, who died in 2012 at the age of 82, according to NBC News.
“The United States of America is stronger today thanks to the vision of President Kennedy, who set us on a course for the moon, the courage of Neil, Buzz and Michael, who made the journey, and the spirit of service of all who’ve worked not only on the Apollo program, but who’ve dared to push the very boundaries of space and scientific discovery for all humankind,” according to a White House statement.
NASA is set to take its next giant leap, as research is currently underway to send the first humans to Mars.
Colours to help LGBT community in Cayman
‘Colours’ is a project being launched in the Cayman Islands to encourage businesses to create a safe and welcoming environment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Businesses in George Town, Grand Cayman, are being encouraged to display a branded sticker to show they will not tolerate any abuse or discrimination towards the LGBT community.
It is hoped ‘Colours’ will expose and “create an environment for people to come out, be themselves without tolerating any harassment, getting any kind of drama or grief,” said campaign organiser Billie Bryan.
It turns out illegal downloads in the U.K. will remain illegal
By Chris Smith From BGR
After a report on Tuesday detailing a new legal initiative on online piracy in the U.K. claimed that the local government has decriminalized illegal downloads, TorrentFreak has set the record straight on the matter, saying that torrenting movies, music, games and any other kind of online content will be just as illegal in the future as it is now.
The new VCAP initiative will not change existing U.K.’s copyright infringement laws, and copyright holders will still be able to enforce their rights, and go after anyone caught downloading stuff online without paying for it.
Under the VCAP program, U.K. ISPs will inform users about their illegal download habits, and offer information about the sites where they can purchase their desired content and avoid piracy. But, as TorrentFreak puts it, “any of the copyright holders involved in VCAP can still file a lawsuit or seek police action against anyone engaged in illegal file-sharing.”
“Try this. Head off to your local Odeon, Showcase or UCI this coming weekend, set up a camcorder, and see if you can get a really sweet copy of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” TorrentFreak writes. “Begin uploading this to The Pirate Bay and while it’s seeding send an email to the Federation Against Copyright Theft containing your personal details.”
“VCAP friendly letter incoming or a police raid? Yeah, thought so.”
Cayman’s Human Society needs funds to stay open
The Cayman Islands Humane Society needs funds desperately otherwise it will not be able to operate.
Recently the Society announced it could not help any more cats and dogs because the shelter by A.L. Thompson Hardware Store, North Sound Road, George Town, Grand Cayman, is full to capacity.
However animals that are in such a terrible plight they would admit and one such dog named Lottie who was abandoned and starving they could not turn away.
However, funds are so low they will soon not be able to help the dogs and cats that are still at the shelter. They need funds to pay vet costs, air conditioning, electricity and water bills for the shelter and adoption rates are low.
If you can help Phone: (345) 949 -1461 or go to their website: http://www.caymanislandshumanesociety.com/
Women are already underrepresented on major film crews, and the numbers are getting worse
By Aaron Taube From Building Insider
Here’s How ‘The Walking Dead’ Creator Plans Out The TV Show And Comics For Years To Come
Though female participation in the overall labor force has increased over the past two decades, Hollywood is still the boys’ club it has always been.
In fact, there are actually fewer women working on major motion pictures today than there were in 1994, according to a new report compiled by the writer and film producer Stephen Follows.
Follows looked at the crews behind the top 100 grossing films in each of the past 20 years and found that female participation dropped from 22.7% in 1994 to 21.8% in 2013, without showing much fluctuation in either direction.
Another troubling fact from the report is that the major creative roles — writer, producer, and director — continue to be dominated by men. In 2013, women accounted for just 18% of producers, 7% of writers, and 2% of directors.
Neither of those numbers are much changed from what they were in 1994 — a sad commentary on how little control women have over a medium that is vital to our cultural discourse.
Female representation in technical jobs like editor and cinematographer was similarly dismal, at 11% and 2% in 2013, respectively.
The lone bright spot, if you can even call it that, came in the historically gendered fields of costume design and casting, where women made up the majority for 2013’s highest-grossing films.
For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/report-finds-no-growth-for-women-in-film-2014-7#ixzz38UhlBunu
Internet goes down in Cayman when competitor cuts other company’s cable
Last Thursday (24) around noon, Cayman’s largest telecommunications firm LIME, suffered an Internet crash when one of it competitor’s WestStar, reportedly cut through one of its cables whilst they were upgrading their own service.
A LIME spokesperson said, “As soon as we were made aware of the problem, our technicians worked diligently to repair the cable and to restore service. All services were restored at approximately 7:30pm. We are very sorry for the interruption to your service and are working with our competitors to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Grocery store runs on electricity generated by its own food waste
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist
It’s the ciiiiiiircle, the circle of life, but instead of a cartoon lion there’s a grocery store running on electricity generated by the same food waste that store creates. More recycling, fewer anthropomorphic talking animals, but it’s a circle… of science.
The Sainsbury superstore in Staffordshire, England is reportedly the first time a retailer in that country has come off the National Grid to power a store, reports the BBC.
The store already sends all its food waste to an anaerobic digestion plant, which basically feeds the garbage to bacteria that break down the food in many steps, producing primarily carbon dioxide and methane gas, explains Popular Science.
The methane is separated from the carbon dioxide and turned into biomethane gas, which is then used to generate electricity. A 1.5-kilometer-long cable carries the electricity back to the store.
“Sainsbury’s sends absolutely no waste to landfill and we’re always looking for new ways to re-use and recycle,” the head of sustainability at Sainsbury’s told the BBC. “We’re delighted to be the first business ever to make use of this link-up technology, allowing our Cannock store to be powered entirely by our food waste.”
Food waste is a big problem all over the world – 141 trillion calories food are wasted every year in just the United States, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
For more: http://consumerist.com/2014/07/23/grocery-store-runs-on-electricity-generated-by-its-own-food-waste/
MP from UK coming to Cayman to persuade visitors not to eat local turtle meat
Matthew Offord, the Conservative representative for Hendon in North London, England, will be here in Grand Cayman to host a reception and help with a United Kingdom (UK) based campaign to get the UK government to advise their travellers not to eat turtle meat because it is an endangered species.
The UK based charity, World Animal Protection (formerly the World Society for the Protection of Animals), has been spending their precious donations on a ferocious campaign to transition the Cayman Turtle Farm from a meat supplier into a purely conservation-based facility.
Eating turtle in the UK is illegal.
EDITOR: iNews Cayman has presented BOTH sides of the argument for and against Cayman’s turtle farming and we will continue to do so. We are meeting with a representative of WAP later this week. Watch this space.
Oregonians to vote to legalize recreational marijuana
By CNN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell
(CNN) – A citizen-led petition to place legalization of recreational marijuana on the November ballot in Oregon obtained enough signatures, making the Beaver State the next place pot could be legally sold, bought and consumed.
More than 88,500 people signed the petition, enough to place the initiative before voters on November 4.
If passed, Oregon would become the third state to legalize pot after Colorado and Washington to allow recreational use of marijuana. Another 21 states, including Oregon, allow the use of medicinal marijuana.
“This is our moment to be part of history and lead a movement,” said Dominic Lopez, metro regional organizer for New Approach Oregon, the group that organized the petition. “Treating marijuana use as a crime has failed, but together we can win a more sensible approach and better the lives of Oregonians.”
Oregon voters rejected a marijuana legalization measure in 2012, the year that Washington and Oregon passed theirs.
Alaska voters will also decide on similar legalization in November.
Reps from US Embassy in Jamaica visit Cayman
Representatives of the United States Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, were here on Thursday 17th for a very late celebration of their 4th July Independence from Great Britain in 1776.
American citizens, franchise/business interests, Caymanian government officials and various members of the wider Cayman community were invited to share in the afternoon’s event held at Rackam’s Waterfront Bar and Grill, which highlighted US – Cayman ties.
On Friday, July 18The US Embassy representatives hosted a meeting for American citizens at the George Town Hall, where they addressed hurricane preparation requirements, passport application and renewals, recording the birth of a US citizen child, and other services available to US citizens.
Rumoured St Vincent plane crash thought to be a metorite
From Caribbean360
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Friday July 25, 2014, CMC – A meteorite set social media ablaze and turned Deputy Director of Grenadines Affairs Herman Belmar’s phone into a hotline Thursday night, as people expressed fears that an aircraft may have crashed near Bequia, one of the Grenadine islands here.
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris, from such sources as asteroids or comets that originates in outer space and survives its impact with the earth’s surface.
Belmar told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that he had received numerous reports that a flaming object was seen falling towards land at around 10.05 pm (local time).
Some people assumed that it was a small aircraft that had crashed. But Belmar, however, said that checks with police and the Coast Guard showed that there were no reports of a missing aircraft.
He said the Coast Guard informed him that the flaming object is believed to be a meteorite and that they were investigating.
Belmar said he understood the fears that an aircraft might have crashed, in light of recent aviation disasters.
On Wednesday, TransAsia Airways passenger aircraft GE222 crashed on the island of Penghu, Taiwan, killing 48 of the 58 persons on board. Last week, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 fell to the ground in a ball of flames in Eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 persons.
On March 8, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared from radar screens over Indonesia and has not seen since.
There were 200 people on board.
Cayman Islands cancer hero Hannah has grant named after her
6 year old Hannah Meeson, who has been battling medulloblastoma, a fast growing high-grade cancer tumor from the age of 4, has had a research grant named after her by the Childhood cancer research charity – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
The “Heroes for Hannah Scholar’s Grant” was created to pay “tribute to Hannah’s battle against brain cancer and her quest to raise awareness and funding for all childhood cancers,” said Caylene Meeson, Hannah’s mother.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation is funding two years of medulloblastoma research.
Last year, the Heroes for Hannah shave event drew a crowd of hundreds and saw 35 people shave their heads to raise funds and awareness of childhood cancers.
A similar event will take place this year on Sept. 19th.
The Foundation has named the grant after Hannah’s supporters who raised significant funds for the charity.
At the moment, Hannah is cancer free. She spends most of her time at home with her dog Peanut.
The Caribbean is not all sunshine – crime impacting Canadian economy, more attention must be paid
TORONTO, July 25, 2014 /CNW/ – Canada’s national interests in the Caribbean are varied, historic and dynamic. Canadian businesses have major investments in the area, especially in the finance and resource sectors. There is a large Caribbean diaspora in Canada, especially in Toronto, where six per cent of the population is Caribbean in origin. And, Canadian tourism in the region is active and increasing, with the sandy beaches and warm temperatures drawing about three million Canadians to the region every winter. But because interaction is primarily with local citizens who work in hotels and bars, travelers are blind to what lies outside the safety of their vacation paradise: mass amounts of crime.
In light of Carabana Weekend, Toronto’s 48th annual summer festival celebrating Caribbean culture and traditions, The School of Public Policy invites media to a press conference where we will release findings of a report on crime in the Caribbean.
The report will look at what kind of crime is occurring in the region, specifically drug trade and money laundering and its impacts on the Canadian economy, including increased crime rates in many Toronto areas. Additionally, it will highlight policies that Canada must reinforce to better curb these trends, including development programming and the creation of a Canada-Caribbean institute. The author stresses that it’s time for Canada to step up, not just for the Caribbean’s sake, but ours as well.
SOURCE The School of Public Policy – University of Calgary
Coconut Bay staffer represents Caribbean in World’s Miss Tourism Pageant
Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa Boutique Manager, Leona Constable represented Saint Lucia and the Caribbean in the 2014 World’s Miss Tourism Pageant in Nashville Tennessee, over the w/e July 25th to July 27th, 2014.
Leona’s participation carried a historical significance as it would be the first time that the Caribbean will be represented in this pageant. The purpose of the World’s Miss Tourism Pageant is to recognize and promote the efforts of girls and ladies around the world, who exemplify the Ideal in their peer group and who wish to make a difference at the community level.
Main components of the pageant will comprise an Evening Wear appearance, Photogenic competition, Interview segment and appearance in State/Country 
Costume. The latter will be a costume and dramatic presentation providing information on where the contestant is from.
Other than these main aspects of the pageant the pageant will also feature side awards such as: Miss Tourism Humanitarian, Miss Tourism Cover Girl, Miss Tourism Fashion Model; and Miss Tourism Renowned Vocalist among others.
Coconut Bay is fully supportive of Leona’s historic participation in the 2014 World’s Miss Tourism Pageant. We are cognizant of the promotional opportunities and benefits for the Caribbean and Saint Lucia’s tourism product. Management and staff extend best wishes to Leona Constable as the Caribbean and Saint Lucia’s tourism Ambassador in the 2014 World’s Miss Tourism Pageant
