iNews Briefs
Dog left almost dead at Cayman Humane Society
On Friday (21) a dog was left close to death in a drop box outside the Cayman Islands Humane Society’s animal shelter near AL Thompson’s hardware store in George Town. The dog was in horrific condition – badly emaciated, riddled with hook and heart worms and with nasty cuts to his body.
The dog, a 4year old crossbreed was taken to Island vets where he was treated for his injuries.
The police have been contacted to try and find the owner responsible for allowing a dog to get into this shocking condition.
See also iNews Cayman story published February 18 2014 “Shocking animal cruelty in Grand Bahama” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/shocking-animal-cruelty-in-grand-bahama-warning-graphic-image/
East End event hailed as a success and will continue next year
Promoter Shane Edwards said although the 2014 East End Surf Challenge did not take place due to lack of rider turnout everything else, including the Flowers Bottled Water Fish Tea Cook-Off, went off as planned.
The cook-off winners were: first place – Hillside Crew (Huskwell Rankine and Alfonso Rankine), second – Millers Caboose (John Miller), and third – Cayman Cabana (Edsell Haylock). Haylock won the people’s choice award. The judging was done by three tasters who did a blind taste test and did their rating on 1 to 10 points. The team with the most points won. The people’s choice was selected based on the number of tickets placed in each contestant’s box. With the purchase of armbands for the cook-off, each person was allowed to cast their vote.
Edwards said he will focus on international competitors for next year’s East End Surf Challenge.
He thanked the sponsors: Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Tourism, Flowers Bottled Water, Cayman Power Sports and Marine, authorized dealers of Suzuki Marine, Tribe Tattoo Salon, ECO Rides, Red Bull, 2Frenzied and Pirates Cove Bar.
Government reiterates that Bank of Bahamas is safe
From Caribbean360
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas government has again sought to reassure nationals that it was not interfering in the operations of the Bank of Bahamas (BOB) in which it has 65 per cent majority share holding.
“The Government does not control or interfere in the management of BOB. The Government is aware, however, that the Bank has already made a number of positive changes to its policies, practices and management structure which will prove beneficial to the Bank as it moves forward.
“Moreover, additional improvements to the governance of the bank will be made in due course. In the meantime, however, all customers and the public alike can rest assured that the Bank of The Bahamas is sound, that its fundamentals remain strong, and that it has the full backing of the Government,” the Perry Christie administration said in a statement.
The statement comes less than a month after it issued a similar statement telling Bahamians that their funds were safe and that there was no need for fear or concern.
In the new statement, the government again told customers that they “have no reason to be concerned. “Their money is safe and secure. Indeed there is no greater support that any bank can have than the backing of the sovereign government of the country. The Bank of The Bahamas has that backing. Indeed the Government has just recently demonstrated that commitment and support,” it said.
Like the previous statement, the Office of the Prime Minister gave no reason why the statement had been issued about the Bank of the Bahamas, but last December, managing director Paul McWeeney in his report accompanying the finances for the quarter ending September 2013, noted that overall weakness in the economy, coupled with an “anaemic outlook” continues to negatively influence financial results.
400 People attend Fidelity conference
Speaking at the opening of the annual and rebranded Cayman Economic Outlook conference, Anwer Sunderji, the Fidelity Group chairman, said at least 400 people had attended making the conference a record-breaking event.
In his address he said the growing inequality gap between the rich and poor in the Cayman Islands as well as around the world was a serious issue. Even though the Caribbean had insufficient data to confirm the facts you only had to look and see for yourself.
Sunderji warned the world had been wasting the opportunities presented by a ‘good crisis’ but the long seven year global recession was not over yet and there were many challenges and changes still ahead. He thought the expectations of the public were too high and the future would be enormously competitive and tough.
Panama becomes latest country to adopt B.C.-developed HIV strategy
By Ian Austin, The Province
Panama has become the latest country to adopt B.C.’s HIV Treatment as Prevention strategy.
China, France and Brazil have already signed on to the made-in-B.C. strategy, and U.S. cities including New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. are adopting it as well.
“The momentum continues to build to implement the Treatment as Prevention strategy to save lives, prevent infections, and, in the long term, save money,” said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.
“I believe this represents a first step in other countries in Central America and the Caribbean adopting Treatment as Prevention and moving toward an HIV- and AIDS-free generation.”
Panama, with a population of 3.8 million, has an estimated 17,000 people living with HIV. Among B.C.’s 4.6 million people are approximately 12,000 people living with HIV.
Cayman “Looky Ya” Festival features local treats
The National Museum and the Pirates Week Office presented the “Looky ya” festival along Goring Avenue last Thursday (20) and attracted many tourists as well as locals.
On display was local food, coconut water and rum, steel pan music, a catboat display, and a host of vendors selling local arts and crafts.
“Looky Ya means “look at this”.
Puerto Rico investigates whether 4 harassed whales
From Boston.com
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in Puerto Rico are investigating four people recently videotaped pursuing a humpback whale and its calf with personal watercrafts.
Natural Resources Secretary Carmen Guerrero said Wednesday that U.S. and local officials have so far interviewed one of four people who appear to be yelling and chasing after the whales in a video made off the island’s northwest coast.
Government biologist Griselle Rodriguez says the whales’ behavior changed during the pursuit.
Local laws say endangered humpback whales can be observed from no closer than 100 meters (328 feet), and watercraft are supposed to stay even farther away if a calf is present. Harassment charges can bring jail time or a $25,000 penalty or both.
Humpback whales can be seen off Puerto Rico’s northwest coast from January to April.
UCCI impresses at CFA challenge in Dallas
Although the students representing the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) at the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) challenge in Dallas, Texas did not win the competition a statement from UCCI said the judges were impressed with their performance.
The team had to carry out five-month investigation into a company chosen for the contest, deliver a written report and make a formal presentation to a panel of judges at Southern Methodist University on 15th February.
The team from UCCI was the youngest team at the event that included MBA candidates and seasoned professionals in the field.
NT says “NO” to Cayman Brac marina project
The National Trust for the Cayman Islands (NT) has said a flat “No” to the proposal to construct a multimillion-dollar marina in Cayman Brac by the Alexander Hotel management.
The plans include excavating part of a saltwater pond and cutting a channel (approx. 200ft) through the reef, across a lagoon plus an existing road in order to allow boats to access the marina. The reef is inside a marine park and the pond, although declassified as an animal sanctuary by legislators in 2012 it is never-the-less the habitat of West Indian whistling ducks.
The NT said in a statement said, “The Trust is of the opinion that any economic benefit that the developers hope to derive from the proposed marina will be far outweighed by the economic losses for the already declining Brac economy.
The NT is worried the project further threatens an environmentally important habitat especially as less than one percent of land in the Brac is wetland.
The Alexander Hotel management said the project would create a safe harbour in the Sister Islands.
The Cayman Island government has to give final approval.
Two world’s best are Caribbean islands
NEWTON, USA — TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, has announced the winners of its Travelers’ Choice Islands, with the top two world’s best being Ambergris Caye, Belize, and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.
In its second year, the annual awards recognize more than 100 islands globally, including top ten lists for Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, the South Pacific, and the US.
“There is something transporting about an island vacation, and these Travelers’ Choice Islands winners will help travelers find their next escape,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. “From the coral reefs of Ambergris Caye to the beaches of Ko Tao, these winning islands have been highly rated from travelers around the globe.”
Travelers’ Choice Island winners are determined based on the quality and quantity of the most highly-rated hotels, restaurants, and attractions listed for each island on TripAdvisor gathered during a 12-month period.
Top ten islands in the world:
1. Ambergris Caye, Belize
2. Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
3. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
4. Marco Island, Florida
5. Lewis and Harris, Scotland
6. Naxos, Greece
7. Aitutaki, Cook Islands
8. Nosy Be, Madagascar
9. Easter Island, Chile
10. Ko Tao, Thailand
Cayman Rugby results from Sat Feb 15
From Cayman Rugby
Thank you to the Princeton Flying Tigers for a great afternoon of rugby, a great sing song in the club house, only sorry some of your team mates could not make it due to bad weather in the US – “Due to bad weather in the US some of the Flying Tigers flights were cancelled”.
Results from today’s games
2pm Storm/Iguanas 12 Flying Tigers 5
3pm Storm/iguanas 0 Bucs/
Pigs Trotters 26
4pm Bucs/Pigs Trotters 17 Flying Tigers 0
Postal service to charge for uncollected packages
Postal Service customers, who do not pick up their packages within 15 days of being notified, will have to face a charge of 10 cents per day until the item is collected, effective 1 March.
This fee, known as demurrage, is generally levied when customers exceed the standard time applicable to importing goods and the Cayman Islands Postal Service (CIPS) says it has been part of the Postal Regulations – section 60 (2) – though not previously enforced.
Postmaster General Sheena Glasgow said that the demurrage charge of ten cents per day per package is meant to encourage customers to collect their packages in a timely manner rather than be truly punitive.
“At ten cents per day per package, the demurrage fee could only be considered a token storage charge when a package has been uncollected for more than two weeks. The Airport Post Office now processes the incoming package traffic and even there, space is a finite commodity so long-term storage simply is not feasible,” she stated.
Customers should also note that if packages remain uncollected after 35 days of the addressee first being notified, they are classified as undeliverable and may be returned to the sender (if the item bears such instruction) or handed over to the Customs Department for disposal.
Scientist says Little Cayman perfect for renewable energy reliant
Cayman social scientist, Nicholas Robson, who attended the resent energy summit in the British Virgin Islands organised by Sir Richard Branson, said Little Cayman was already a green island for visitors and if it was completely off fossil fuel it could make it more saleable.
Government ministers, Wayne Panton and Marco Archer also attended the summit where Branson’s company ‘The Carbon War Room’ wants to take 10 regional countries off the fossil fuel map.
Caribbean Finance Ministers concerned about high energy costs
From PRIDE news
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad CMC – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says Caribbean finance ministers have expressed concern about the high energy costs in the Caribbean that “constrain living standards and growth.”
The region’s finance and planning ministers voiced their concern here at the just-concluded Third Annual Meeting of the IDB’s Caribbean Governors.
The IDB said it recently launched the Caribbean Energy Initiative, “which seeks to create a regional energy market that creates sufficient critical mass to enable countries to take advantage of the reduction in the cost of natural gas and its increased supply.”
The Caribbean Energy Initiative will be complemented by the IDB’s ongoing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, “which have proved to offer significant fiscal and foreign exchange benefits.”
“The region is looking for a new paradigm,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. “Both the larger, resource-based economies and the smaller, service-based economies face the same challenge.
“New products and new trading partners will have to be cultivated,” he urged. “This calls for a willingness to embrace change.”
The IDB said Caribbean Governors were also briefed on the progress of the proposed restructuring of the IDB’s private sector window, “which could increase development impact and mobilize additional resources from an expanded range of financial actors.
The conference also prepared Caribbean Governors and bank managrs for the “substantive deliberations” on the future direction of the bank that are anticipated at the institution’s annual general meeting to be held in Bahia, Brazil at the end of March.
For more: http://pridenews.ca/2014/02/19/caribbean-finance-ministers-concerned-about-high-energy-costs/
“Whale Sharks of the Yucatan” debuts in Cayman
Dr. Guy Harvey’s documentary about sharks, “Whale Sharks of the Yucatan” had its debut in Grand Cayman on Saturday (22) playing at Camana Bay as a benfit for the Guy Harvey Research Institute.
The film surrounds an expedition by Dr. Harvey and focuses on whale sharks – the gentle giants. He said it is a film for the whole family as well as a learning experience. It will become a part of the Harvey expedition series and will be made available in the future on television and DVD.
CNCF National Arts & Culture Awards 2013 recipients
Heritage Cross – Gold
Alva (Billy) M. D. Bodden, Ken Corsbie, Captain Paul Hurlston, Gaston Maloney
Star of Creativity – Gold
Sue Horrocks, Amina Blackwood Meeks, The Storycrafters
Star of Creativity – Silver
Quincy Brown, (Lady) Rabia Hakim, Twyla Vargas
Star of Creativity – Bronze
Priscilla Pouchie
Star of Creativity
David Bereaux, Louis McWilliams, Phillip Murray, Alisford Philips
Ewart Serrant, Samantha Pierre (Posthumously)
Certificates (Heritage)
Diana Scott- Driscoll, Felicia (Lisa) MacFarlane, Laurel Martin,
Vivine Elizabeth Watler
Certificates (Creativity) – Vinola Ebanks
Letter of Recommendation – Javaughine Ebanks
Volunteer of the Year – Ushani Abeynayke
Sponsor of the Year – Island Heritage
Chairman’s Award – Apex Video Solutions
Director of FCO to visit Cayman in March
Dr. Peter Hayes, Director of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), will be visiting Grand Cayman on the invitation of Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin.
Dr. Hayes will be here on March 3rd and it will be his second visit.
