iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands Governor involved in car crash
From RCIPS Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 4:47 PM
Approximately 1:35pm Wednesday 5th November 2014, RCIPS were informed of a motor vehicle collision along the West Bay Road in the vicinity of 7 Mile Shops involving two vehicles.
A Chevrolet Impala travelling south, along the West Bay Road towards George Town collided, into the rear end of a Lincoln Continental of which Her Excellency the Governor was a passenger. The vehicles were travelling in the same direction at the time of the accident.
No injuries were received.
Both vehicles sustained minor damages and the collision is under investigation by uniform officers from the GTPS.
Cayman Islands Per Diem rates should be published says local lawyer
Local Cayman lawyer, Peter Polack, has sent us a small article titled “The Per Diem”.
A recent FOI response by the Commissioner of Police to attend the hearing of Martin Bridger in May 2014 showed that in addition to expenses for airfare, hotel and taxi he received a daily allowance of CI$150 per day for 5 days which is nearly US$1,000.
The total claim for his hotel was almost US$1400 which approximates to almost US$300 per day for a 5 day stay but the report stated that he was away from Cayman for ten days.
The UK Revenue allows a claim up to CI$208 for a hotel and a per diem of CI$115 for the Cayman Islands.
Perhaps the COP will exceed the Attorney-General record of 58 days off island on government business in 2010.
It would be useful for the government to publish per diem rates so that not only civil servants but the public can provide input for a possible review.
A novel idea would be the cutting of upper echelon per diem rates to try and save a few civil service jobs.
India adamant over West Indies demands
From BBC
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is adamant it will pursue the £26.2m demanded from the West Indies Cricket Board.
The BCCI is asking for compensation after West Indies players abandoned a tour of India in October in a dispute with their own board over pay.
“There has been a direct and disastrous impact to India,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said.
“The collateral damage to the BCCI and its stakeholders is irreparable.”
West Indies left India four matches into a five-game one-day international series, with a Twenty20 and three Tests still to play.
“BCCI has always believed that all the fellow members of the cricketing fraternity are interdependent to grow this glorious game and West Indies in particular has been an integral part of our fabric,” Patel added.
“We tried our level best to survive the series and I had to personally dash to Kochi before the first ODI to intervene and ensure that the match took place.
“Unfortunately, WICB chose to ignore the consequences at that stage and created an avoidable situation.”
For more: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/29915312
Cayman Islands near the first step towards OMOV
The Cayman Islands Governor, Helen Kilpatrick is considering a minute from the Legislative Assembly to create a boundary commission.
The governor and a member selected by the opposition and one by government will undertake an assessment of the local political landscape. The governor will appoint the chair.
The 3 person panel will examine the proposed boundaries for single member constituencies. The commission will follow on from the work of the 2010 team and prepare Cayman for the new voting system – One man One Vote – in time for the 2017 national poll.
US mid-terms: Republicans win control of the Senate
From BBC
The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
The party won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.
And it is expected to post more gains as votes are counted in other states.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, poised to lead the chamber, said the result was a vote against “a government that people can no longer trust”.
In the mid-terms, so-called because they fell half way into Mr Obama’s second four-year term in office, about one-third of the Senate, the entire House of Representatives, 36 of 50 state governors, and countless state and local offices were up for election.
Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Mr Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.
As the first results came in late on Tuesday, it became clear they had made convincing gains in the chamber.
For more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29910542
Cayman Drama Society presents An Evening of Readings
The Cayman Drama Society will hold its 2nd annual An Evening Of Readings on Saturday, 21 February at 7:30pm. The evening will consist of 6 twenty minute segments. The readings will be selected by the Readers. The Readers will be selected by the Directors at an Audition to be held on Sunday 16 November 2014 from 2pm to 4pm. The selection criteria is: (not in any particular order):
Reader’s skill at presenting the written word
Material selected (whilst the evening will be for adults, no obscene, salacious, nor hateful works will be considered).
The Length – goal is 20 minutes per piece
Reading must be in English, or a translation to English.
Special weight will be given to a Reader selecting material by the current year’s Literature Nobel Prize Winner.
The variety offered by the material.
AEOR seeks to offer its audience a variety of materials whether they be prose or poetry, dramatic or humorous, fiction or historical, suspenseful or whimsical, Caribbean or foreign, inspirational or motivational, self-written (as long as it is published) or someone else’s, classical or modern, nursery rhyme or a well presented mathematical proof, hmm, perhaps not the math proof!
The set will be as last year: a comfortable chair on a small rug, before the red curtain. There will be a side table and a table lamp. An MC will introduce each reader and reading. The Reader will remain seated; the Reader will read, not recite.
If you have any questions, please contact Phil Pace [email protected]
This is the best island in the Caribbean for doing business
From Caribbean Journal
What’s the best island in the Caribbean for ease of doing business?
According to the newest edition of the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report, it’s Puerto Rico — again.
Puerto Rico ranked 47th in the world for the ease of doing business, just ahead of Romania and behind Rwanda.
The Doing Business project, which first launched in 2002, provides what it calls “objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 189 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level.”
The top-ranked CARICOM country for doing business was Jamaica, which showed significant improvement following a number of reforms this year to jump to 58th in the world. It had been ranked 94th last year.
The island seeing the biggest drop-off was St Lucia. The Eastern Caribbean island had been the top-ranked CARICOM country last year, ranked 64th in the world.
This year, however, St Lucia fell all the way to 100th overall in the world.
For the full rankings, see attached chart.
Cayman Drama Society announces a Family Christmas
The Cayman Drama Society has announced THE one hour “A Playhouse Family Christmas” you won’t want to miss with Grizz and Frizz and others. Six shows only.
Tickets: $15 adults $10 12 and under
Dates:
November 28, 29, Dec 5, 6 at 7:30PM
Matinees on: Nov 30, Dec 7 at 6:00PM
All shows at the Prospect Playhouse
Call Box office on 938-1998
Or Book online at www.cds.ky
See attached flyer for more details
Companies can celebrate Caribbean diversity by giving employees and clients access to this exciting Broward 100 event , ONE Caribbean Music Fest
- LAUDERDALE – Broward County’s Centennial celebration welcomes the inaugural ONE Caribbean Music Festival, set for Dec. 13 & 14 inside Central Broward Regional Park, Ft. Lauderdale. Top performers from Reggae, Soca, Ska, Compas, Jazz and Salsa will create a fusion of Caribbean culture to reflect Broward’s multiplicity. As an official BROWARD 100 event, companies, local governments and business leaders are encouraged to reward employees, clients and customers by purchasing bulk festival tickets now.
For more than 20 years, festival founder Walter Elmore of Art of Music Productions has been producing and co-producing world-class events, from Montego Bay’s renowned Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival to St. Lucia Jazz Festival and Turks & Caicos Jazz & Blues. “This festival,” Elmore says, “will bring cultures and community together with music, food, art, craft, and an opportunity to give back through its ONE Toy campaign.”
ONE Caribbean Music Festival will present legendary Jamaica Reggae stars Sean Paul, Maxi Priest, Ritchie Stephens, and Queen of Reggae Marcia Griffiths, who will be honored for her 50 years of singing and performing; Puerto Rico’s Nestor Torres and Kat DeLuna; Haiti’s Kompa duo T-Vice with the legendary Tabou Combo; and Trinidad’s Ragga Soca King Bunji Garlin and his Soca star-wife Fay-Ann Lyons, and many more.
Scotchies, well known throughout Jamaica for its succulent Jerk chicken, pork, fish, and roast yam, is the festival’s title sponsor. Just in time for the holidays, patrons are being asked to bring one new, unwrapped toy for the ONE Toy Drive to benefit SOS Children’s Villages in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
For Bulk Ticket information and purchase, contact M. Peggy Quattro at 305.491.4884 or [email protected].
Man pleads ‘Not Guilty’ to Cayman Islands resort theft of safe
Brandon Liberal (27), pleaded not guilty last Friday (31 Oct) to charges of trespassing and stealing a safe at Treasure Island Resort on Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman on 6th May 2012. The safe contained over $100,000.
The court heard that Liberal was not alone when the safe was robbed but no other arrests have been made and the police do not know how many other persons were involved.
The safe was removed from the premises at the time of the robbery between 4-5am.
Food inflation increases in Latin America, Caribbean
(Prensa Latina) Food inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean has registered a continuous rise since June, reaching 1.2 percent in September, one of the highest annual values, FAO stated.
The Monthly Food Price Index of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the increase since August was 0.4 percent.
In the Central American and Caribbean region, Guatemala (0.2 percent), Mexico (1.0 percent), Panama and Dominican Republic (0.7 percent), presented rises in food prices.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica and El Salvador (-0.5 percent), Honduras (-0.2) and Nicaragua (-0.7) registered a fall in food costs.
For South America, prices fell in Bolivia (-1.6 percent) and Paraguay (-0.6 percent).
On the other hand, Ecuador showed no change, while Argentina (1.1 percent), Brazil (0.8 percent), Chile (2.1 percent), Colombia (0.2 percent), Peru (0.4 percent) and Uruguay (1.8 percent) reported an increase.
For more: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3240221&Itemid=1
Cayman Islands ex-premier’s wife suffers fall
Kerry Bush, wife of Cayman Islands ex-premier and now Leader of the Opposition, McKeeva Bush, fell down the stairs of their West Bay home last Friday (31 Oct) and shattered her elbow and broke her foot.
We understand the dear lady has had hip surgery and is in a Ft. Lauderdale (Florida US) hospital awaiting treatment on her elbow.
iNews Cayman wishes her a swift and complete recovery. Her husband is with her.
Alchemy has set sail
By Sailing Dad from Sailing With Kids
Mini-pirates scour the Caribbean with stops for ice cream and Legos
It’s been an intense and challenging few days. Only fours days before the start of the Caribbean 1500 rally to Tortola, BVI, we discovered a fracture in our headstay chainplate. Somewhat important, as it keeps the mast up.
After heroic efforts by the crew, Scott, Jere, Rick and Jim, we have five new chainplates fitted and a well-found boat ready for offshore.
As the sun starts sinking towards the horizon, we chase the fleet, past Navy aircraft carriers and out of the Chesapeake Bay.
We are ready for offshore, and excited for the 1400 mile passage to Tortola in the BVI’s.
Alchemy
For more: http://sailingwithkids.net/alchemy-has-set-sail/
Cayman Islands Minimum Wage Board chairman disappointed at low turnout
The Cayman islands Minimum Wage Advisory Group Chairman, Lemuel Hurlston said he is disappointed at the low turnouts at the recent sessions.
In the New Year the sessions will be held at the District Town Halls.
Hurlston said the minimum wage issue is “going to affect the public from an employee perspective as well as an employer perspective so we would like to hear from both sides.”
Burrell expects best ‘Caribbean Cup ever’
From Digicel Sportsmax
CONCACAF Vice President Captain Horace Burrell expects the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Cup to be one of the most exciting ever, due largely to the high level of talent expected to be on display.
Unlike previous editions of the tournament that typically see mostly regional players represent the participating nations, the CFU teams are expected to have a slightly different look this time around.
The changes will stem from the fact that the competition is being played, unusually, during an official FIFA international break, which will allow teams access to the top international players.
“Since the tournament falls within the FIFA window countries will be able to select all the international players from various leagues all over the world,” Burrell explained.
“Teams like Haiti and Martinique, for example, can try to get players from the French league perhaps just on the fringes of that team. We expect that with so many options available, the level of competition will be much higher than in recent years. We expect it to be the best Caribbean Cup ever,” he added.
The footballing executive pointed out that the tournament would also have a lot more at stake than usual.
Teams will, not only, have the opportunity to qualify for next year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, but also the Centennial Cup, a tournament that will feature the region’s best teams, in 2016. The tournament will feature mostly South American teams with six expected to represent the CONCACAF region.
“Outside of the World Cup this is expected to be one of the biggest tournaments in the world and all these teams are hoping to take part in it,” Burrell said.
The 12-team tournament is expected to kick off on November 10 and will see the teams placed into two groups advancing to a semi-final and final.
For more: http://www.sportsmax.tv/?q=articles/2014/11/01/burrell-expects-best-‘caribbean-cup-ever’
Warning: #BearSelfies are a dumb idea
By Cherise Udell from Care2
Just because someone owns a smart phone doesn’t make them “smart.” Could this be any more apparent than in Lake Tahoe, California, where a disturbingly stupid trend to rush toward wild bears in an effort to get a selfie has become popular? With hashtag names like #BearPhotobomb and #BearSelfie it is only a matter of time before photobombing this huge carnivore goes terribly wrong.
Lisa Herron, spokesperson for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, recently told the Reno Gazette-Journal, ”We’ve had mobs of people that are actually rushing toward the bears trying to get a ‘selfie’ photo. It is presenting a safety issue. We are afraid someone is going to get attacked.”
This fall season the abundant kokanee salmon run has drawn in bears and tourists alike to the Lake Tahoe region and when hungry bears and people collide, an accident is often just waiting to happen. Park officials in South Lake Tahoe in California are warning visitors that they should not try to take selfies with wildlife. So along with DO NOT FEED THE BEAR signs, guests are now also greeting by staff saying NO SELFIES WITH BEARS.
This seems like the type of advisory warning that should not have to be mentioned. Indeed, if you are the type of person that needs such a warning, then maybe you deserve to be remembered in the annuals of the Darwin Award.
If smartphone users continue to rush bears to get that selfie, park officials have warned they will have no choice but to close the Taylor Creek area to visitors so the bears can dine in peace
For more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/warning-bearselfies-are-a-dumb-idea.html#ixzz3IA1kpNHI
Music we hear: Whirlwinds of change
By Paul McGowan From PS Audio
We’ve moved from the holistic curated system approach, popular with dealers in the late 70’s and early 80’s, towards the DIY approach of today. But let’s not ignore the middle years of system building where we transitioned from the original to what we have today.
During the grand years of high end’s history, where dealers were revered kings (think Mike Kay of Lyric), we relied primarily on those dealers to curate our systems, as opposed to what we do today, building our own. But why the change? I think it’s important to remember the environment back then. No, not the Vietnam war, the Hippies, peace, love and dope, but the changes. Let’s remember what change was taking place and review the upheavals of the day. Here’s a partial list:
The rise of the two most popular high end magazines, Stereophile and TAS
The decimation of the former magazine kings, Stereo Review and Audio magazines
The introduction of solid state electronics attempting to dethrone vacuum tubes
The compact disc attempting to dethrone vinyl
The introduction of the separate D to A Converter
The Japanese receiver invasion trying to eliminate the need for separates altogether
Quadraphonic Sound
The first stereo catalog sales channels (Warehouse Sound among others) threatening to dethrone the smaller retailers
The rise of the mega stereo store (Pacific Stereo comes to mind) threatening to dethrone the smaller retailers
The introduction of the personal computer (the PC)
… and no, there still wasn’t an internet
Stuck in the middle of this melee of change were you and me just wanting to kick back and enjoy our tunes.
When we begin to look at today’s patterns of hand assembling our own high end music systems and how we got here, I think it’s instructive to remember where we came from.
It really helps with understanding where we’re going.
For more: http://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/whirlwinds-of-change/
David Christian fighting climate change in the Caribbean
By Amy Westlake Frpm Rochdale online
Since returning from his volunteer work in Zambia, David Christian has started a new programme at Richmond Vale Academy (RVA), a college in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The programme, which started in 2012, is a 10 year project which aims to make the Caribbean country one of the first in the world to be climate compliant by 2021.
As part of the programme, David will spend six months with other volunteer’s encouraging the people of Saint Vincent to tackle the issues of global warming and climate change.
He said: “People, not just in Saint Vincent, but worldwide need to understand what damage we are doing to this planet, whether we realise this or not and to know what we can do to change this for the better.
“It can be actions like recycling tyres, growing organic vegetables, using solar energy, or even knowing what damage can be done to our planet by just leaving a light switch on overnight.”
As David and his new team will be reaching and teaching people, they too will learn more about environmental issues and the solutions that can be adopted to everyday life, even giving presentations at schools, community centres, fundraising, making newsletters, radio and TV broadcasts.
David added: “These possibilities are endless, it’s just a matter of actions speak louder than words.”
