iNews Briefs, More & Community Events
Community Events
Grand Court Jurors Report Date Changed
The Grand Court jury report date has been changed.
Grand Court Jurors who are in the 1 July – 6 October 2015 session, the report date of Monday, 31 August, 2015 has been changed back to Thursday 20 August, 2015. Jurors are now to return tomorrow Thursday, 20 August 2015, at 9:45 a.m.
Please call the Jury Information line at 945-5072 for the most up to date information.
Official Public Holidays in 2016 Confirmed
The Deputy Governor’s Office has confirmed Cayman Islands Public Holidays in 2016, with the exception of the Queen’s Birthday holiday in June 2016.
That holiday is listed for Monday, 13 June for which official confirmation is awaited.
Also, since Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, Monday, 26 December 2016 will be observed as the official Christmas Day public holiday. Consequently, the official observance of Boxing Day (26 December) as a public holiday will be on Tuesday, 27 December 2016.
The full list of public holidays for 2016 is:
- Friday, 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Monday, 25 January – National Heroes Day
- Wednesday, 10 February – Ash Wednesday
- Friday, 25 March – Good Friday
- Monday, 28 March – Easter Monday
- Monday, 16 May – Discovery Day
- Monday, 13 June – Queen’s Birthday (unconfirmed)
- Monday, 4 July – Constitution Day
- Monday, 14 November – Remembrance Day
- Monday, 26 December – Christmas Day (observed, since 25 December is a Sunday)
- Tuesday, 27 December – Boxing Day (observed, since Monday, 26 December is designated as the Christmas Day holiday)
Managing Personal Finances Programme
The second session of the Managing Personal Finances programme will be at the Bodden Town PPM office on Saturday, 22 August, from 7pm.
The George Town PPM office holds the second round of seminars next week, on 25 August and 29 August. The John Gray Memorial Church Hall will stage the West Bay meetings on 1 September and 5 September. The George Town and West Bay sessions will start at 7pm.
The programme, which is free to the public and features retired local banking professionals, aims to provide personal financial advice to residents.
Refreshments will be provided at each meeting. Anyone interested in attending the seminars should contact the following persons: Heather or Kerry Ann on 943-7652 for Bodden Town, and Sharon on 945-1776 or 945-8292 for both George Town and West Bay.
Immigration Department closure on Friday 21st August 2015
The Department of Immigration Headquarters, including Passport & Corporate Services, Visa Office and Front Counter, will be closed to the public for all but essential services on Friday 21, August 2015. Only work permit and permanent residence applications (including applications for permission to continue to work (PCW)) that must be submitted prior to 21 August in order to allow continued employment will be accepted.
Time sensitive applications for visitor extensions will also be accepted.
The Passport & Corporate Services Office will not accept any applications, but passports and visa waivers may be collected at the Immigration main counter location.
Persons are reminded to take advantage of the extended opening on Wednesday evenings to conduct business. Front counter is opened until 7:00pm every Wednesday.
Normal operations in all sections of the Department will resume on Monday 24 August.
The Department apologizes for any inconvenience the closure on 21 August may cause.
Annual Meals on Wheels Dress Down Day
SAVE THE DATE
Dress Down Day Friday, 20th November, 2015
Help feed our Seniors we believe no-one in Cayman should go hungry.
Individuals can help by purchasing an orange ribbon for $5.00 or a tee shirt for $15.00 and wearing them on Dress Down Day, we are encouraging companies to match employee donations.
For more information or to sign up to participate please feel free to contact us via email at [email protected] or via telephone at 949-3905.
The Lions Club of Tropical Gardens Presents a Diabetes Health Fair
Free A1C Testing
By the Cayman Islands Diabetic Association (CIDA) For Persons with diabetes and a
strong family history of Diabetes.
Where: Church of God of Prophecy, Eastern Avenue, George Town
When: Saturday 29th August , 2015
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
CARE announces Cayman Islands 5th Annual Paws for wine
Sat Sept 26th Ristorante Pappagallo
Lions Club of Tropical Gardens Brenda Tibbetts-Lund Memorial 5K Walk/Run5K
Sunday October 3, 2015 in North Side at 6am
THU 20 AUG
Pirates Week: Sights…Sounds…and Taste in Cayman
Experience the Sights…Sounds…and Taste in Cayman at the “Cardinal Avenue Street Fair” this Thursday, 20th August, 2015 starting from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.
Cardinal Avenue comes alive with festivities representing Caymanian Heritage with traditional arts and crafts, local food from Chef John’s BBQ and Caribbean Kitchen, and Steel Pan music by Pan N Riddm.
The street will be closed from 7.00 am to 4:00 pm starting from the Harbor Drive entrance to Albert Panton exit.
For more information, contact John Jefferson Jr. on 928-3729.
Grand Court Jurors Notice
Grand Court jurors in the current session must now report on Thursday (20 Aug) at 945am.
Clifton Hunter High School Uniform Shop Open
The Clifton Hunter High School Uniform Shop will be open Thursday (20 Aug) from 4pm until 6pm.
National Gallery Summer Arts Drop Ins
The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands is thrilled to be hosting a Summer of Art, free programming that allows kids to utilise their creativity by participating in a range of imaginative activities. Drop-in sessions will take place in the National Gallery Education Centre every Thursday afternoon from 2:00 PM — 4:00 PM Each Summer Camp Drop-in session is different and gives kids ages 6 to 14 multiple opportunities to take part in a range of art-related activities including stenciling, creative group activities, painting, drawing and more.
FRI 21 AUG
Immigration Closures
The Department of Immigration Headquarters, including Passport & Corporate Services, Visa Office and Front Counter, will be closed to the public for all but essential services on Friday (21 Aug.)
2015 Orientation Dates for Cayman Islands Government Schools
Released on behalf of the Education Ministry.
Cayman Islands squash player makes finals of Caribbean Area Squash Association Senior Championships
Cameron Stafford of the Cayman Islands has made it to the finals of the Caribbean Area Squash Association Senior Championships (CASA).
Stafford is Cayman’s top male squash player and he defeated Jamaica’s second-seeded Lewis Walters on Monday (17).
The Caribbean Area Squash Association Senior Championships is being hosted this year in the Cayman Islands at the South Sound Squash Club, Grand Cayman.
The tournament is considered the region’s most prestigious squash event, and has attracted 116 of the top male and female squash players from across the Caribbean and Bermuda.
Matches run through Sunday 23rd August.
Day 3 Results:
In the Women’s CASA Individual Final, number two seed Runa Reta was defeated by the number one seed Karen Meakins from Barbados in four games.
Meakins won the first game 11-7, she then won the second game 11-8, but Reta won game three 11-5 to make the score 2 – 1, but Meakins closed out the match winning the fourth game 11-8.
Micah Franklin and Noah Brown faced off against each other in the Men’s Consolation Semi-Finals. Franklin needed four games to get the better of Browne, Franklin defeated Browne 11-6, 13-15, 11-1, 11-3. Franklin won the Consolation Final after defeating Julian Morrison from Jamaica 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3.
The Caribbean will need 120 million dollars to fight sargazo [sargassum]
(Prensa Latina) The Caribbean countries will need 120 million dollars to clean up the beaches affected by sargazo algae, whose expansion threatens tourism and, consequently, the regional economy.
According to the Vice Rector of the University of the West Indies, Hilary Beckles, with that capital and the hiring of 100 000 people would be enough to remove tons of the plant that lie off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, Barbados, among other islands.
She also suggested to create a fund for support and an emergency agency in the area to coordinate and implement actions against this phenomenon.
Similarly, the Rector Eudine Barriteau said the University is willing to work with international experts and conduct research to solve the problem.
Both scholars discussed the issue at a symposium that brought together ministers, environmentalists and private entrepreneurs yesterday at the Cave Hill campus in Barbados.
The event took place hoping to set a plan to control the phenomenon, which gets worse every year and in recent weeks left clusters of up to three meters from the ground in the Caribbean coasts.
Sargazo algae invasion forced the cancellation of many reservations for foreign visitors in the coming months, when it will pass the peak tourist season.
The Caribbean is considered one of the areas of the world more dependent on so-called smokeless industry, which contributed 49 billion dollars to the regional economy in 2013, which is the 14 percent of GDP.
For more: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4081791&Itemid=1
See related iNews Cayman story with links “Statement by the Caribbean Tourism Organization on the influx of Sargassum seaweed” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/statement-by-the-caribbean-tourism-organization-on-the-influx-of-sargassum-seaweed/
Cayman Islands issues request for case study for mental health facility
The Cayman Islands Government has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a consultant to execute an outline business case for a local mental health facility.
The RFP exercise should be completed by September or October.
Premier, Alden McLaughlin made the announcement last week in the Legislative Assembly.
“We must facilitate early recognition and treatment of common mental illnesses by enhancing access to mental healthcare through an integrated approach,” the Premier said.
Trinidadian appears in US court on murder charge after 16 years on the run
From CARIBBEAN360
IMAGE: BALKUMAR SINGH PLEADED GUILTY TO ALL CHARGES.
NEW YORK, United States, Monday August 17, 2015 – A Trinidadian man who allegedly killed a 19-year-old outside a wedding 16 years ago pleaded not guilty to murder, assault, weapons and other charges when he finally appeared in court this morning.
Balkumar Singh, who was nabbed in his homeland in March, did not have an attorney when he faced the charges in the Nassau County court.
According to prosecutors, Singh got into an argument with 19-year-old Queens resident Abzal Khan outside a wedding in June 1999 and shot him several times.
He then fled the scene, and the country. Ten years later, he was featured on “America’s Most Wanted” but was not captured until this year in Trinidad after entering the twin-island republic under a false name.
According to the country’s National Security Ministry, he was detained on March 27 for violating the country’s immigration laws.
He had five other aliases.
But he was positively identified as the man being sought by US authorities and subsequently appeared in the court in Trinidad on a provisional arrest warrant before being extradited.
Is this the first flower?
From pnas
Montsechia, an ancient aquatic angiosperm
Bernard Gomeza,1, Véronique Daviero-Gomeza, Clément Coiffardb, Carles Martín-Closasc, and David L. Dilcherd,1
Author Affiliations
Contributed by David L. Dilcher, July 3, 2015 (sent for review May 20, 2015; reviewed by Donald H. Les and Gregory Retallack)
AbstractAuthors & InfoSIMetricsRelated ContentPDFPDF + SI
Significance
The importance of very early aquatic flowering plants is not well understood currently and is poorly documented. Here we present details of the morphology and reproductive biology of Montsechia, an extremely early fossil angiosperm that, because it is so ancient and is totally aquatic, raises questions centered on the very early evolutionary history of flowering plants. This paper challenges the paradigm of how we view the early evolution of basal angiosperms and particularly the role of aquatic habitats in the very early evolution and diversification of flowering plants.
For more: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/08/12/1509241112
OxySure (OXYS) reports second quarter 2015 results with stellar growth and solid balance sheet improvements
Revenues up 62%; Assets up 110%. Read the entire report HERE
Oxysure Systems Inc (OTCQB:OXYS)
Also, Oxysure Systems Inc (OXYS) announced yesterday that it has grabbed a position in top five in the “Fast Tech” list 2015. The list is compiled by TravisWolff and Comerica Bank and honors the fastest developing tech firms in North Texas.
OxySure Systems, Inc. (OXYS) is a medical technology company that focuses on the design, manufacture and distribution of specialty respiratory and medical solutions.
The company pioneered a safe and easy to use solution to produce medically pure (USP) oxygen from inert powders. The company owns numerous issued patents and patents pending on this technology which makes the provision of emergency oxygen safer, more accessible and easier to use than traditional oxygen provision systems.
CTFF2015 announces Queer Caribbean program
From Bahama islands info
TORONTO, Ontario — CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF), for the fourth consecutive year, is proud to present QUEER CARIBBEAN, an exploration of contemporary Queer Caribbean experience. A total of seven films (three features and four shorts) in this years 10-day festival, will throw a spotlight on issues of sexuality and gender from a Caribbean perspective. This year’s QUEER CARIBBEAN is co-presented by MasQUEERade, Toronto’s premier Caribbean and diaspora LGBTQQIA+ community organisation.
“CaribbeanTales continues to have its finger on the pulse of a dynamic movement of evolving film expression across the region and its Diaspora,” says founder and filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon. “In just ten years, a very short period of time, our film stories have matured to become stunningly assured, explosive, transgressive, probing, beautiful and urgent. And this is what we see represented on screen in this year’s selections.”
The QUEER CARIBBEAN films include: feature “Pelo Malo,” a provocative Venezuelan film about a young boy’s search for beauty, short film “You. Me. Bathroom. S*x. Now.”, and the Canadian Premier of the extraordinary and moving documentary about the Peurto Rican trans community, “Mala Mala.”
Jamea Zuberi, founder of MasQUEERade, says “It’s great to have the opportunity to use film as a medium to educate and celebrate Caribbean arts, culture and experiences to the MasQUEERade community and beyond.”
CTFF 2015 kicks off its 10th Anniversary with a Gala Caribbean Reception and Screening on Wednesday September 9th, at the Royal Cinema, 608 College Street in Toronto.
Festival screenings will continue at The Royal Cinema, Sunday – Friday, September 13 – 18 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. daily. On Closing Night, Saturday September 19, there will be three screenings at 3:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
Click for: Schedule at a glance at: http://www.caribbeantales.ca/CTFF/schedule-2-2/
View the 2015 Festival Trailer at: https://vimeo.com/132915717
Jamaican released from Qatar prison finally heads home
From CARIBBEAN360
IMAGE: PAUL STEPHENS AT THE AIRPORT IN QATAR. (PHOTO: JAMAICA OBSERVER)
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Monday August 17, 2015 – A Jamaican man who was waiting for several weeks to get back to his homeland after being released from a Qatar jail is finally on his way back home, according to Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Edmund Bartlett.
Bartlett, who had been lobbying government to make haste in getting the man his needed travel documents, reported to the local media that Paul Stephens had boarded a flight from Qatar yesterday evening.
He did not give any estimated time for Stephens’ arrival in Jamaica, but indicated the flight had to transit through London and Miami before reaching the island.
“This development is the culmination of the efforts of many, particularly his family and friends, who have stuck with him, come to his assistance and made representation on his behalf throughout what has been a most difficult experience,” Bartlett said.
Stephens, who was jailed for mistrust of a minor after originally being charged with molesting a minor, was pardoned on July 7. He was released five days later and taken to a deportation centre where he had been awaiting a passport.
Bartlett had repeatedly questioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ delay in providing Stephens with the necessary documentation. But in a statement issued on August 4, the ministry said it had “timely processed” an application for a passport and Emergency Certificate received on July 26 and sent the needed documents but
Stephens needed to honour “an outstanding obligation” before he could leave the Middle Eastern country.
“While Paul Stephens’ return to Jamaica is long overdue and has been subjected to undue delays and marred by considerable controversy, we can breathe a collective sigh of relief on his behalf and take comfort in the fact that his nightmare and suffering are now over,” Bartlett said.
“If nothing else, what the Paul Stephens case highlights is the critical importance of proactive engagement on the part of our consular services in ensuring the safety and well-being of Jamaicans abroad.”
Stephens was one of several Jamaican pilots who went to Qatar in 2010 after the merger of Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines.
He began serving a five-year prison sentence in January 2013 and after two appeals were unsuccessful, the Jamaica government, through its Embassy in Kuwait, formally submitted a request for Stephens to be pardoned.
Gun amnesty programme to launch September 1 in Guyana
From GINA
Georgetown, GINA, August 14, 2015
Government is on track with its preparations to launch a Gun Amnesty Programme (GAP) on September 1. This is in keeping with an initial plan announced by Vice President and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan.
The Minister stated that the move, which will be twinned with a “Buy Back programme” is one of several strategies being implemented to address the crime situation.
The issue was raised and discussed during at the first meeting of the high-level team on security. The Administration was brought up to date with several measures that could be utilised to encourage persons to hand over illegal firearms to authorities.
Initial feedback from the Guyana Police Force suggest that members of the public may not want to hand over illegal firearms to police ranks and as such alternative methods to collect the firearms are being explored. This may see a civic or an independent organization being used to facilitate the process.
There has been an influx of illegal weapons and firearms in Guyana, over the years via various means, and Government has signaled its intention to address this important matter, as many of these weapons are used to commit violent crimes.
You’ve been drying your hands all wrong — here’s the most efficient way to do it
By Chris Weller From Business Insider
Think back to the last time you washed your hands: When it came time to wipe them dry, how many paper towels did you use?
According to Joe Smith, if it’s more than one, you’re doing it wrong.
Smith, a lawyer from Oregon, gave a lightning-quick TEDx talk in 2012 where he demonstrated his fool-proof method for using just one paper towel to dry your hands.
Around the world, humans use roughly 13 billion paper towels a year. If everyone managed to use one fewer paper towel per day, Smith says, we could cut our yearly paper towel consumption by 571 million pounds.
It’s not that hard.
Step one: Shake your hands 12 times to get the excess water off.
Step two: Fold one paper towel in half. It allows for interstitial suspension, a fancy way of saying it absorbs better.
Step three: Use one side of the towel to dry one hand, and the flip side for the other.
Shake and fold, it’s that simple.
“You will for the rest of your life remember those words every time you pick up a paper towel,” Smith says, before hinting at the next practice he plans to conquer: “Toilet paper.”
For more and video: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-to-dry-your-hands-and-reduce-waste-2015-8
New York is the latest state to ban powdered alcohol
IMAGE: A clear alcoholic beverage
Powdered alcohol has faced an uphill battle for legitimacy in the US, with 20 states having banned it up until now… and a new, 21st ban could represent its biggest defeat to date. New York Governor Cuomo has signed legislation banning the sale of Palcohol and other forms of crystallized or powdered alcoholic beverages in the state. According to him, it’s a “public health disaster waiting to happen” — it’s too easy to create a dangerous mix (or worse, ingest it directly), and underage drinkers can sneak it around largely unnoticed. While there’s no national ban yet, it’s hard to imagine the tide turning in Palcohol’s favor.
[Image credit: Gavin Schaefer, Flickr]
AT&T gave the US government access to ‘billions’ of customer emails
By Molly Mulshine, Tech Insider From Business Insider
New documents reveal that the NSA has had a “unique and especially productive” relationship with AT&T, the New York Times reports.
From 2003 to 2013, AT&T gave the NSA access to “billions of emails,” the Times says, and even helped wiretap all of the Internet communications at the United Nations. The NSA documents characterize the relationship as being “highly collaborative.”
Most major US telecommunications companies have aided the NSA in the past.
NSA surveillance equipment has been installed in at least 17 AT&T Internet hubs in the U.S., “far more than its similarly sized competitor, Verizon,” the Times reports. It’s unclear where AT&T and the NSA stand today, as the documents cover a span of time that ended two years ago.
These revelations, reported by the Times and ProPublica on Saturday, are based on information leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Read the full New York Times report here at: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/us/politics/att-helped-nsa-spy-on-an-array-of-internet-traffic.html?_r=0
AT&T spokesperson Brad Burns provided the following statement to Tech Insider Saturday afternoon:
“We do not provide information to any investigating authorities without a court order or other mandatory process other than if a person’s life is in danger and time is of the essence. For example, in a kidnapping situation we could provide help tracking down called numbers to assist law enforcement.”
For more: http://www.techinsider.io/nsa-and-att-had-special-relationship-2015-8#ixzz3jHCYI100
Puerto Rico residents face water rationing that lasts up to 48 hours amid historic drought
By Heather Janssen, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
Many locals are faced with extreme water shortages amid one of Puerto Rico’s worst droughts in history.
With little rain over the past several months, government officials have water rationing programs in effect on the eastern side of the island, including the city and neighborhoods of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Pagan Zunania, press director of the Water and Sewer Authority (AAA), stated that approximately 400,000 people are currently affected by the rationing plans on the island with a total of 1,230,000 customers under AAA services.
This June 19, 2015, aerial photo shows the drought-affected lakeshore of La Plata reservoir in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Some residents on the island have water turned off for 48 hours and then back on for 24 hours, while others are going without water in 24-hour and 12-hour cycles.
This has led locals to find creative ways/solutions to preserve water when water is turned off.
More than 2 million people are currently affected by the drought so far, the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center said.
“Typically, the Caribbean sees the most rain from June through November due to robust tropical waves that originate from Africa and produce tropical rainfall,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said.
From June 1 to Aug. 10, San Juan, Puerto Rico, has received only 36 percent of normal rainfall.
Antigua-Barbuda ambassador calls for Cuba to return to the OAS
From Caribbean News Now
WASHINGTON, USA — Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) Sir Ronald Sanders on Friday called for Cuba to “take its rightful seat in the Councils of the Organization” and said his country would do all in its power to encourage Cuba to do so.
The Antigua and Barbuda diplomat was delivering his inaugural statement to a fully-attended Permanent Council of the OAS in Washington.
Sanders said his government “looks forward to the universality of hemispheric representation in this body by the return of Cuba to our councils”. He told the gathering, which included the ambassadors of the United States, Canada and all Latin American and Caribbean states, that he is “proud that, apart from Canada and Mexico, the countries of the Caribbean were the first to end the isolation of Cuba in this Hemisphere in 1972”.
The Antigua and Barbuda representative said, “While it took 42 years since 1972 ‘to cut loose the anchor of failed policies of the past’, today Cuba enjoys diplomatic relations with every member state of this Organisation.”
“Cuba,” he said, “must not now isolate itself from this body of which it is a founding member. My government calls on the Cuban government to take its rightful seat in the Council of the OAS.”
Sanders’ sentiments were supported by the ambassador of the United States, whose Secretary of State, John Kerry, was in Cuba to raise the American flag at the opening of the first embassy for five decades.
Cuba was suspended from the OAS in 1962 largely at the initiative of the US government that was pursuing a policy of isolating the Caribbean island. In June 2009, the OAS lifted the ban on Cuba but, so far, Cuba has not acted to re-join the Organisation.
Woman says she found human tooth in Lay’s bag, freaked out
By Laura Northrup From Consumerist
A woman in Texas claims that she received a free prize in her bag of Lay’s potato chips. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the a fun prize: it was the kind of prize that makes you want to barf. She was munching on the cheddar bacon mac and cheese flavored chips when she found something that wasn’t bacon in her mouth. It appeared to be a human tooth with a crown on it.
I’m the person who writes about live potentially poisonous beetles and dead frogs that people find in their food, but somehow these photos have me gagging more than any of them.
She shared her story with a local radio station in Houston, explaining that she at first thought there was a more reasonable explanation, such as not noticing that her own teeth were falling out.
“At first my daughter and I thought it may have been my tooth, but after thoroughly checking my mouth and seeing all my teeth still there, I realized the tooth came from the bag of chips!” she told KHM. “I felt sick.”
She says that she contacted Frito-Lay, which asked her to send the chips and the tooth back to theme. She hasn’t yet decided what he will do. We contacted Frito-Lay for their comments, and will update this post when we hear something back.
For more: http://consumerist.com/2015/08/13/woman-says-she-found-human-tooth-in-lays-bag-freaked-out/
Texas Attorney General still seeks RadioShack gift card justice
By Laura Northrup From Consumerist
RadioShack still says that they can’t identify the purchasers or the holders of the estimated $46 million worth of gift cards that are still out there for the chain. While there are still RadioShack stores, those are owned by a different company and won’t accept the old gift cards. The Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, wants to make sure that gift card holders know that the Shack owes them money.
The AG now estimates that there’s 2.9 million unredeemed RadioShack gift cards out there, worth an estimated $46 million. That’s a lot of money: remember that the RadioShack brand, domain names, and intellectual property sold for only $26 million.
RadioShack is fine with letting gift card holders file a claim as creditors in the bankruptcy and get in line behind the creditors that kept the electronics retailer afloat in its last few years.
The request that the AG has made is pretty simple: they want RadioShack to notify people who have or who might have purchased RadioShack gift cards about the bankruptcy proceedings. Or, in lawyer-talk:
Due process requires that these gift card purchasers are entitled to actual notice of
the confirmation proceedings so that they receive all required information and are given a reasonable time for a response in order to meaningfully participate in the confirmation process in this case.
Some of the missing gift card holders may have lost or destroyed those cards, and they’re now unable to claim them, which would make that cash part of the interest-earning funds of the respective state attorneys general. We don’t doubt that the AG’s office wants to make sure that RadioShack makes every effort to get money back to consumers before their lenders, but remember that AGs benefit from this arrangement.
For more: http://consumerist.com/2015/08/11/texas-attorney-general-still-seeks-radioshack-gift-card-justice/
Genetically-modified yeast yields cheap painkillers
By Indo Asian News Service | IANS From Yahoo news
Washington, Aug 14 (IANS) Researchers from Stanford University have genetically engineered yeast to make painkilling medicines, a breakthrough that heralds a faster and potentially less expensive way to produce many different types of plant-based medicines.
For thousands of years, people have used yeast to ferment wine, brew beer and leaven bread.
Now, the engineers describe how they reprogrammed the genetic machinery of baker’s yeast so that these fast-growing cells could convert sugar into hydrocodone (a form of opioid) in just three to five days.
“This is only the beginning. The techniques we developed and demonstrate for opioid pain relievers can be adapted to produce many plant-derived compounds to fight cancers, infectious diseases and chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and arthritis,” said senior author Christina Smolke, associate professor of bio-engineering.
Hydrocodone and its chemical relatives such as morphine and oxycodone are opioids, members of a family of painkilling drugs sourced from the opium poppy.
It can take more than a year to produce a batch of medicine, starting from the farms in Australia, Europe and elsewhere that are licensed to grow opium poppies.
Plant material must then be harvested, processed and shipped to pharmaceutical factories, where the active drug molecules are extracted and refined into medicines.
Though the output is small – it would take 4,400 gallons of bioengineered yeast to produce a single dose of pain relief – the experiment proves that bioengineered yeast can make complex plant-based medicines.
An important predecessor to this work has been the use of genetically-engineered yeast to produce the anti-malarial drug artemisinin.
The artemisinin experiments proved that yeast biosynthesis was possible, but involved adding only six genes.
The Stanford team had to engineer 23 genes into yeast to create their cellular assembly line for opioids.
“This is the most complicated chemical synthesis ever engineered in yeast,” Smolke noted in a paper appeared in the journal Science.
The authors, however, acknowledged that the new process to make opioid painkillers could increase concerns about the potential for opioid abuse.
“We need options to help ensure that the bio-based production of medicinal compounds is developed in the most responsible way,” they added.
For more: https://in.news.yahoo.com//genetically-modified-yeast-yields-cheap-painkillers-053216345.html
