iNews Briefs
60% of Adolescents in Cayman say they have drunk alcohol
The National Drug Council (the NDC) 2012 survey shows 60 percent of adolescents in the Cayman Islands have reported having at least one drink in their lifetime.
Although the NDC said over half the students surveyed said their parents had discussed alcohol and drugs with them they warn that all parents must be proactive in doing this.
See our lead story today “NekNomination deadly drinking craze sweeping Britain”.
NRA speed limit proposals ready for government
Less than 250 public responses were received by the National Roads Authority during its public consultation on proposed speed limit changes on several roads on Grand Cayman. The NRA said they were expecting more but the ones received were mainly in favour of the proposed changes.
These changes include reducing the speed limit on West Bay Road between the RBC Coutts building and Eastern Avenue in George Town to 30 miles per hour, and increasing the speed limit on North Sound Road from 25 to 35 miles per hour.
The NRA proposals with the public responses will now go to Cabinet.
Cayman Islands capital to be “revitalised”
Cayman Islands Premier, Alden McLaughlin, said last week government ere reviewing “a range of proposals” in an effort to revitalise the islands’ capital, George Town.
The changes will include traffic and pedestrian flows, beautification, mixed-use planning permission to allow commercial and residential activities in the same building and protection and preservation of historic areas and landmarks.
The premier said a team of government technicians, with input from the Chamber of Commerce and tourism-related businesses, were looking at the best way to maximize the effect of a new cruise berthing terminal planned for George Town. The team is expected to complete its recommendations in March.
Keep away from visiting pelicans says Trust
The National Trust of the Cayman Islands is telling everyone to keep away from the three visiting Brown Pelicans near the George Town harbour.
If anyone spots any injury to any of the birds they are to report it immediately to the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Environment.
Royal Caribbean: The Rich Get Richer, the Poor Get Poorer
By Jim Walker From Jim Walker’s Cruise Law News
Royal Caribbean Cruises President and CEO Adam Goldstein sold 44,256 shares of Royal Caribbean stock yesterday. Zolimax News reports that Mr. Goldstein sold his stock at an average price of $52.96, for a total transaction of $2,343,797.76.
After the sale, Mr. Goldstein’s stocks total 358,804 shares, valued at approximately $19,002,260.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) has a 52-week low of $31.35 and a 52-week high of $53.42.
We last reported on the cruise president’s stock sales in October of last year when he sold 7,855 shares of RCL stock at an average price of $43.22, for a total value of $339,493.10. At that time, he reportedly owned 335,654 shares of Royal Caribbean stock, valued at approximately $14,506,966.
It looks like the cruise executive’s net worth has increased by over $7,000,000.
Royal Caribbean pays a salary to its waiters and cabin attendants of only $50 a month; the cruise passengers pay tips to the waiters and stewards but Royal Caribbean is scooping up much of the tips to pay other crew member’s salaries. Employees like utility cleaners earn a pittance of around $550 a month (with no tips) working around 11-12 hours a day, every day of the month during contracts that are 6-8 months long.
In September of last year, Royal Caribbean fired over one-hundred employees in its corporate offices in order to increase profits. You can read about that here: Loyal to Royal? Royal Caribbean Axes 100 Jobs in Corporate Headquarters.
Cayman in Kuala Lumpar to play cricket
The Cayman Islands cricket team will be in Kuala Lumpar to play in the ICC World Cricket League Division Five.
Cayman Islands Squad
Ronald Ebanks*, O Bryan, D Cato, KR Ebanks, SC Gordon, AE Hall, A Morris, RN Roach, IR Rotsey, RA Sealy, N Sellars, T Taylor, OR Willis, C Wright
Their first two matches are:
Malaysia v Cayman Islands at Kuala Lumpur, Mar 7, 2014
Malaysia Squad
Ahmed Faiz*, SK Alagaratnam, Anwar Arudin, Anwar Rahman, KH Durrani, Fikri Rosdi, HG Mohammed, Pavandeep Singh, HB Ralalage, Shafiq Sharif
Cayman Islands v Jersey at Kuala Lumpur, Mar 10, 2014
Jersey Squad
PW Gough*, C Bisson, C Bodenstein, PC Connolly, ASJ Dewhurst, EJ Farley, LE Gallichan, AW Hawkins-Kay, J Jenner, TE Minty, DA Morrison, N Watkins, C Perchard, BDH Stevens
Related to above story – Smith Road Oval under water from construction site next door
Water has flooded the local cricket ground, the Smith Road Oval, from a construction site next door being developed by the NCB group and has halted the training by Cayman’s National Cricket team prior to leaving for Kuala Lumpur.
The Cayman Islands Airport Authority owns the land on which the Oval lies. In a statement, a spokesperson wrote:
“The land under construction is not CIAA property and the construction is in accordance with the Authority’s setback rules to protect aircraft operations and navigational aids. We are aware that water is running off the property onto the Cricket Field and creating flooding in some areas and this is being addressed by the CIAA as it relates to protection of our nearby equipment.
“It would be prudent for the Cricket Association members to liaise with the company that is constructing the building to determine how they can best work out the impact the works are having on their ability to play at this location. Alternatively, it is our understanding that the Jimmy Powell field in West Bay was developed for use by the Association and perhaps in the interim it could be utilized for preparation for their upcoming tournament.
“I am sure the construction site manager can better present a timeline for completion of the works that are impacting the Association’s endeavours.”
California couple finds buried treasure in their own backyard
By Halle Kiefer from new York Magazine
Buried treasure, not really old Pringles.
If you’ve ever fantasized about accidentally discovering a fortune large enough to retire on, be prepared to feel consumed with helpless rage now that it’s actually happened to someone else. While walking their dog, a middle-aged Northern California couple stumbled upon millions in uncirculated American currency buried on their property. The pair, who want to remain anonymous, found over 1,400 gold coins dating from 1847 to 1894 in six corroded metal containers. While the coins themselves only add up to roughly $27,000, their age and mint condition could bring in approximately $1 million per piece.
“I don’t like to say once-in-a-lifetime for anything, but you don’t get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever. It’s like they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” said numismatist Don Kagin, who is working with the unnamed discoverers and suspects the haul might be the largest in U.S. history.
The couple found the canisters when the female partner bent over to inspect what she believed to be a “rusty can” poking out of the earth, reminding all of us of the numerous times we saw a rusty can on the ground and foolishly assumed it contained nothing but a few moldy Pringles.
Amnesty: Jamaica panel needs to be strengthened
By David Mcfadden From Boston.com
Kingston, Jamaica (AP) — Amnesty International said Wednesday that Jamaica must strengthen a recently appointed fact-finding panel if it’s to provide conclusive answers about a deadly 2010 security operation and deliver justice to people who lost relatives.
Earlier this week, Jamaica’s government created a commission of inquiry to examine a May 2010 operation by security forces that killed one soldier and at least 76 civilians during a state of emergency. They said the long-sought panel will conduct a ‘‘fair and impartial’’ look at the effort to catch the island’s biggest gang boss and exert legal authority over gang-controlled slums in volatile West Kingston.
But the London-based human rights group asserted that the three-member commission’s mandate ‘‘falls short of what is needed to obtain truth, justice and reparation’’ for survivors.
‘‘Victims have waited nearly four years for this commission, but regrettably the terms of reference that establish its mandate are seriously flawed and could prejudice the effectiveness of the inquiry,’’ said Chiara Liguori, the group’s Caribbean researcher.
Basic details of the 2010 security offensive in inner-city West Kingston and other areas remain murky. There have been numerous allegations of indiscriminate shootings, unlawful killings and many arbitrary arrests in the barricaded housing complex of Tivoli Gardens and other slums. Public Defender Earl Witter’s office has been looking into complaints that 44 of the 76 civilian deaths could have been unjustifiable.
Amnesty said an imbalance in how the commission’s terms of reference are framed could give an appearance of a ‘‘predetermined outcome.’’ It also said the government should specify the need for the investigative panel to refer matters to prosecutors should it gather information about criminal wrongdoing.
Health City will be cash flow positive in 6 months says project director
Gene Thompson, Health City Project Director, expects the mega-hospital to be “cash flow positive” in about six months time.
Between now and September, his team will look for patients a bit closer to home, he said on CITN/Cayman27. “We expect the next two to three months to slowly ramp up and after that period in time it will get pretty busy. So by May, June, July it will start to significantly ramp up. Our initial patients we expect will come from the primary region and then we’ll ramp up our more regional based patients as the year goes on.”
The first operation is scheduled for the 10 March.
To watch the opening ceremony go to Cayman27 website at: http://www.cayman27.com.ky/grand-opening-health-city-cayman-islands
FCO OT Director arrives in Cayman Monday (3) for 2 day visit
According to a statement from the governor’s office Peter Hayes, the director for the overseas territories at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, will be arrive in Grand Cayman on Monday 3 March and then will leave the following day. The purpose of the visit is to promote the shared agendas between Britain and Cayman.
“The visit follows on from the premier’s visit to London earlier this month and will focus on enhancing the relationship between the UK and Cayman Islands and promoting our shared agendas,” said a spokesperson for the governor’s office which is hosting Hayes.
The OT Director will have meetings with the premier, the attorney general and the police commissioner and will call in on the Cabinet meeting. Other engagements will include a meeting with opposition MLAs, a visit to Shetty’s Health City, as well as Northward prison. The FCO bureaucrat will also be taking a tour of the Mission House in Bodden Town with the National Trust.
The premier will also host a reception and Hayes will attend a dinner hosted by Cayman Finance.
“I am delighted to be visiting the Cayman Islands again,” said Hayes. “I am particularly looking forward to discussions with the Premier and to visiting the Shetty Health City, a welcome indicator of the diversification of the Cayman Islands’ economy.”
Newfoundland-run company in Caribbean expanding
From VICM
A team of Newfoundlanders, running a billion dollar company in the Caribbean and Central America, has just negotiated a 145-Million dollar acquisition.
Columbus International is expanding in Columbia with a $145-million (US) acquisition of a telecom business that has 3,500 kilometers of fibre optic network. The company, Lazus S.A.S., services the 10 largest cities in Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica with a combined population base of over 50-million people. With the acquisition, Columbus International will likely surpass the 3,000 employee mark.
Columbus International is a privately held diversified communications company based in Barbados, and founded by Brendan Paddick of Grand Falls-Windsor in 2005. The company has invested well over $1.5-billion deploying its fibre optic network that now reaches 42 countries and serves over 650,000 customers.
Paddick says Columbus employs more than a dozen Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, including its management team of John Reid of Gander, Michele English of St. John’s, Max Parsons of Gander, Doug Northover from Clarenville, Gerry Smith from the Goulds, Winston Parsons from Stephenville, and Angus Glavine from Bishop’s Falls.
For more: http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=43809&popular=1
Commonwealth Day Observance Service: Sunday, 9 March 2014
Plans are currently being prepared to celebrate the annual observance of Commonwealth Day.
The Church Service will be held at the St. George’s Anglican Church, 64 Courts Road, George Town, on Sunday, 9 March 2014, commencing at 4:00 p.m.
There will be a March Past by small contingents of uniformed groups and students outside the Church, followed by the presenting of the flags of all Commonwealth countries at the altar at the commencement.
Her Excellency the Governor will read the message from Her Majesty the Queen.
Tesla plans ‘Gigafactory’ in USA that will employ 6,500
From Moneynews
Electric carmaker Tesla Motors said Wednesday it’s considering sites in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas for a massive battery factory that would employ around 6,500 people.
The company didn’t immediately name the locations it’s considering in those states. Tesla plans to start construction this year and complete the factory — which it dubs its “Gigafactory” — in 2017.
Tesla’s share rose nearly 3 percent to $259.90 in after-hours trading.
The factory would supply lithium-ion batteries to Tesla’s Fremont, Calif., assembly plant.
Palo Alto-based Tesla says it will invest $2 billion in the 10 million square foot factory, which will cost between $4 billion and $5 billion. Its partners will invest the rest. The company didn’t identify those partners Wednesday, but its current battery supplier, Japan’s Panasonic Corp., is expected to be among the investors.
Panasonic signed a deal last fall to supply Tesla with 2 billion battery cells over the next four years. But Tesla has fretted that current battery supplies won’t meet its future demands.
The new factory will provide enough batteries to supply 500,000 vehicles by 2020, Tesla said. Tesla expects to produce 35,000 vehicles this year.
Tesla currently sells just one vehicle, the Model S sedan, which starts around $70,000. But it plans to begin making a crossover, the Model X, later this year, and wants to bring a lower cost, mass market vehicle to market in 2017. Tesla said the factory would help lower its battery costs by around 30 percent.
Tesla also announced Wednesday it plans to raise $1.6 billion in a debt offering. The proceeds would help finance the new factory and the lower cost vehicle.
For more: http://www.moneynews.com/Companies/US-Tesla-Battery-Factory/2014/02/26/id/554985#ixzz2uY4Hb7Zw
Red Sky at Night tickets – early bird prices still available
Have you got your tickets for Cayfest’s Red Sky At Night yet?
Saturday 1st March
4pm-Midnight, Harquail Cultural Centre
Early bird tickets still available.
Save $5 per ticket!
Purchase your tickets from the CNCF office located at the F.J. Harquail Culture Centre, Funky Tangs or Airport Fosters.
Tickets from $5.00 to $15.00
Why not audition for Rundown when you are at Red Sky At Night?
See us at the Studio Theatre at 4.00pm on March 1st
For more info: www.artscayman.org | [email protected]
Tel: (345) 949 5477
