iNews Briefs, More & Community Events
Community Events
8th Annual CISPA Gala “Back to the Future-Celebrating 45 years of excellence”
Date: 10/10/2015
Time: 6:30 PM
Ritz Carlton Seven Mile Beach
Phone: 749 3360
Register
Event Description: The 8th Annual CISPA Gala “Back to the Future-Celebrating 45 years of excellence” is a time to celebrate Caymanians who recently attained their professional accounting designations as well as a chance to celebrate the past and look to the future
Directions: The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman
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.
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 AUG 27
Thursday High School Orientation
The orientation meetings for high schools students start on Thursday (27 Aug.) New Transfer students Years 7 — 11 for Clifton Hunter will be meeting from 930am until 11am. These are for new students and they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Thursday Primary School Orientation
The orientation for George Town Primary School is Thursday (27 Aug) from 8 to 10am. Red Bay Primary School is from 9am until noon. Prospect Primary School is from 9 until 1030am. Edna Moyle Primary School is from 9 until 10am. West End Primary School is from 9am until 12pm and Creek and Spot Bay Primary schools are from 10am until 11. These are for new students and they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
FRI AUG 28
Friday Primary School Orientations
The orientation for Sir John A Cumber Primary School is Friday (28 Aug) from 830 to 1230pm. Lighthouse school is from 9 until 10am and Savannah Primary is from 9am until 1030pm. Bodden Town Primary School is from 9am until 11am. East End Primary is from 9 until 12pm.These are for new students and they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Friday High School Orientations
The orientation meetings for high schools students continue on Friday (28 Aug.) Year 7 students at John Gray High School will be meeting from 8am until 1215pm. New transfer students not in year 7 will be meeting from 930 until 11am. Year 7 and 11 students at Clifton Hunter High School will be meeting from 8am until 2:50pm. These are for new students and they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
SAT AUG 29
East End church of Christ Fun Day
On Saturday (29 Aug) the East End church of Christ will host a church fun day at the East End Civic Center. The event will run from 12:00noon to 3:00pm. For further information www.eechurchofchrist.org.
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
Clifton Hunter High School Uniform Shop Open
The Clifton Hunter High School Uniform Shop will be open Saturday (29 Aug) from 10am until 12pm.
Financial Assistance Meeting West Bay
There will be a financial assistance meeting in West Bay on Saturday (29 Aug) at 7pm. The location will be announced later.
REUNION OF ALL FORMER SECONDARY MODERN SCHOOL STUDENTS
A REUNION OF ALL FORMER SECONDARY MODERN SCHOOL STUDENTS IS PLANNED FOR THE 29TH AUGUST AT GRAND OLD HOUSE RESTAURANT TO CELEBRATE 55 YEARS SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS. THIS CELEBRATION WILL BE PRECEDED WITH A TEACHER HONOURING CHURCH SERVICE AT THE CHAPEL CHURCH OF GOD CHURCH, WALKERS ROAD ON THE 23ND AUGUST AT 4:00 PM.
MON AUG 31
Rehoboth Ministries
Rehoboth after school enrichment program re-opens Monday 31st August, 2015
HOURS: 2.30 PM – 6.00 PM
Pick up from schools available at no charge
FEE: $150.00 PER MONTH (DISCOUNTED PRICE FOR MORE THAN ONE CHILD.) Spaces allocated on first come first served basis
The children do get a snack which is included
More information- registration CALL 345-949-3905
2015 Orientation Dates for Cayman Islands Government Schools
Released on behalf of the Education Ministry.
French man pleads guilty to ‘alien smuggling’ in the C’bean
From Jamaica Observer
ST THOMAS (CMC) – A French man will be sentenced on December 4 after he pleaded guilty to “alien smuggling”.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said that Alain Rene Leichtnam, 71, was arrested on April 29 when US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Coast Guard agents intercepted a sailing vessel heading towards Coral Bay in St John, Virgin Islands.
ICE said CBP agents observed Leichtnam operating the vessel and identified 38 Cubans and one St Lucian onboard the vessel.
It said Leichtnam admitted that he transported the Cubans to the United States for financial gain knowing that such conduct was illegal.
“HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) continues to be committed to putting an end to the practice of profiting from the illegal transportation of aliens across our borders and throughout our country,” said Angel Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
“We will continue to vigorously enforce the federal laws which punish the many manifestations of the complex problem of smuggling, trafficking and harboring illegal aliens. Tragically, many have lost their lives while attempting this illegal and treacherous trip.”
Leichtnam has been remanded to the custody of the US Marshals Service to await sentencing slated for December 4.
ICE said it has embarked on an “ambitious strategy to dismantle organized human smuggling networks”.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/French-man-pleads-guilty-to–alien-smuggling–in-the-C-bean
Former JP Morgan analyst charged with insider trading
By David Ruiz, From The Recorder
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former J.P. Morgan analyst on Tuesday with insider trading for tipping a college friend to imminent deals, including Salesforce.com’s $2.5 billion acquisition of ExactTarget.
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges that Ashish Aggarwal, who worked for J.P. Morgan in San Francisco, passed along information to a college friend, Shahriyar Bolandian, who in turn shared the information with his coworker and childhood friend Kevan Sadigh. Bolandian and Sadigh used the information for a series of trades that made them more than $672,000, according to lawyers for the SEC.
Aggarwal, 27, is represented by Goodwin Procter partner Grant Fondo. In an emailed statement, Fondo said that Aggarwal denies the charges against him and that he “intends to vigorously defend himself against these allegations.”
Bolandian and Sadigh, both of Los Angeles, are represented by Mark Byrne of Byrne & Nixon and Ariel Neuman of Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow. Byrne and Neuman did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Washington, D.C.-based attorneys David Mendel and Matthew Cohen are leading the litigation for the SEC. Mendel referred questions to the SEC’s communications department.
The charges involve two tech industry acquisitions where J.P. Morgan was an advisor: the 2013 Salesforce.com deal and Integrated Device Technology Inc.’s planned purchase of PLX Technology Inc. for $330 million in 2012, which later fell apart.
According to the complaint, Aggarwal shared information that he learned about the deals with Bolandian. The two graduated from UC Berkeley in 2010, but kept a strong friendship after moving to different parts of the state, SEC lawyers wrote. Bolandian worked for Greek Life Threads, a college fraternity- and sorority-themed clothing site that Sadigh founded in 2009.
Bolandian allegedly made several purchases of PLX stock before the sale to IDT was announced and within minutes of phone calls between him and Aggarwal. Bolandian used an offshore account in the Bahamas to make some of his trades, lawyers for the SEC wrote, and for others, used brokerage accounts that belonged to his father and sister.
The U.S. Department of Justice has also filed criminal charges against Aggarwal, Bolandian and Sadigh.
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will host Caribbean Maxi regatta
Porto Cervo, Italy (August 25, 2015) – The first Maxi Yacht World Championship was organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in 1980. Since then the event has grown into the quintessential annual competition for Maxi yachts with boats and yachtsmen from around the world racing each September in the Costa Smeralda and enjoying the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s hospitality ashore. With the announcement of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Caribbean Cup, YCCS and their historic partner Rolex intend to extend the event’s renowned competitive spirit to the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, where it will be hosted at the Club’s winter home in Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands) from April 4 – 9, 2016.
A new Caribbean diving partnership
By Dana Niland From Caribbean Journal
A major Caribbean dive shop is coming to Dominica.
The Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire has launched a partnership with the Fort Young Hotel in Dominica, bringing Bonaire’s famous dive experience to the Nature Island.
Buddy Dive on Dominica has now set sail on its first voyage, marking the launch of a new complete dive experience in the Caribbean.
Buddy Dive on Dominica represents a new partnership between operator Buddy Dive Resort and the Fort Young Hotel, which is known as Dominica’s premium dive hotel due to its location and onsite facilities.
The new dive facilities – set along a private jetty just 15 minutes away from a variety of world-famous dive spots – feature a full stocked dive retail shop, teaching facilities, rental gear room, lockers, rinse tanks, and showers.
Buddy Dive on Dominica is also offering whale watching trips, as Dominica is home and host to two thirds of all known whale species either resident or visiting the waters around the island each year.
For more: http://caribjournal.com/2015/08/25/a-new-caribbean-diving-partnership/
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s new model
By Dana Niland From Caribbean Journal
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Industry is eyeing a new approach in its interaction with the region: the “hub and spoke” model,” according to Emil Lee, the CHTA’s president.
Lee said he was pleased with regional efforts towards strengthening the National Hotel and Tourism Associations in the Caribbean, and cited a new era of public-private sector collaboration between the CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, representing point of optimism for the future of the industry.
“CHTA is actively working to strengthen the national associations, facilitating and empowering them and improving their effectiveness and efficiency,” Lee said. “The CHTA is in the process of fundamentally restructuring by evolving from a traditional top down hierarchy to a hub and spoke model where the CHTA becomes the hub for the Caribbean’s National Associations allowing the easy sharing of information especially on the best and worst practices in the region.”
The transformation comes as the CHTA prepares the launch of CHIEF (the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum), a new annual event that will bring together tourism industry leaders, hotels, and allied members to educate attendees on strategies to increase revenue, save money, and improve efficiency.
“CHIEF has ignited a renewed excitement among the membership as both independent hoteliers and chain hotels around the region are viewing this as an opportunity to network with industry colleagues and learn about best practices that both small and large hotels are using to become more successful,” Lee said.
The event will take place in Puerto Rico from October 2-4, and, according to Lee, will foster the continuation of a solid relationship between the private and public sectors through the hotel industry and government tourism agencies.
In a statement, the CHTA said that Lee and the organizations other officers and executives are “very happy” with this dialogue on tourism across the region.
“It is the beginning of the future,” added Lee.
For more: http://caribjournal.com/2015/08/25/the-caribbean-hotel-and-tourism-associations-new-model/
US safety agency probes Honda Accord air bag failures
From Business Insider
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating reports that air bags on some older Honda Accords may not inflate in a crash.
The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers about 384,000 cars from the 2008 model year.
The agency says in documents posted Friday that it received 19 consumer complaints that the air bag control computer failed in the Accord, which then was Honda’s top-selling model.
A driver in Belleview, Florida, was injured when his car hit a concrete wall at 50 miles per hour and the air bags didn’t inflate, according to a complaint filed with the agency. Several others complained that the computer had to be replaced to fix the problem and they were charged around $500.
“This also means that the safety of the vehicle passengers and operators are in jeopardy and potentially face serious injury or death,” another complainant wrote. People filing complaints are not identified in the agency’s database.
The agency says the malfunction causes the air bag warning light to illuminate on the dashboard and disables the air bags until repairs are made. Investigators will look into how often the problem happens and decide if a recall is needed.
Honda said it is cooperating with the investigation and will continue an internal review. The investigation is based on a small number of complaints, the company said in a statement.
Unicorns are becoming so common, maybe we should just call them ‘horses’
By Matt Rosoff From Business Insider
This week, messaging startup Kik became the latest privately held tech company to join the “unicorn” club of companies worth more than $1 billion.
These days, that’s hardly news. At this chart from Statista shows, the number of unicorns has almost tripled since the beginning of 2014. Investors and entrepreneurs love to argue whether this indicates another tech bubble like we saw in 1999 and 2000, but the amount of money flowing into tech companies is less than half of what it was in 1999. The difference: companies are staying private a lot longer, so the only way investors can capture a big chunk of their rise in value is by investing in late stage funding rounds, leading to huge valuations. If they waited for an IPO, they might be waiting forever.
For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/unicorns-3x-since-2013-2015-8#ixzz3jsZdx8Hu
Police: Florida woman lied about kidnapping to skip work
From The Tribune
PANAMA CITY, FLA. — A Florida Panhandle woman is accused of making up a lie about being kidnapped so she wouldn’t have to return to her job as a night shift nursing assistant.
In a news release, the Panama City Police Department said its officers and other agencies spent several hours Monday morning looking for 43-year-old Beverly F. Brooks.
The News Herald of Panama City (http://bit.ly/1MCj3sJ ) reports a concerned co-worker noticed Brooks didn’t return from a break and called to see if she needed a ride back to work. Brooks told her she was being held against her will by her boyfriend.
Police found Brooks. She told them she’d made up the story because she didn’t want to go back to work.
She was arrested. It’s not known whether she’s hired a lawyer.
Good news for airline passengers on delayed flights
By Jessica Plautz
Europe isn’t letting fine print get in the way of airline passengers’ legal rights.
Manchester County Court, in the UK, ruled against Ryanair on Friday, finding that the airline could not limit the time European passengers have to claim compensation for flight delays by adding language to the fine print on ticket contracts.
The budget carrier had sought to shorten the limit for claiming compensation, from the European Union-mandated six years to just two years.
Legal firm Bott & Company told the BBC said the decision could lead to as much as £610 million ($957 million) in past claims against the airline.
But Ryanair isn’t done yet.
“We note this ruling which reverses Lower Court orders that a 2 year time limit for claims is reasonable,” a Ryanair spokesperson told Mashable. “Since we believe a 6 year time limit for submitting such claims is both unnecessary and unreasonable, we have instructed our lawyers to immediately appeal this ruling.”
Ryanair today rubbished the absurd claims about its potential liability under the Manchester Court judgement. Firstly, since less than 1% of Ryanair flights are delayed over 3 hours and since more than 90% of passengers make a valid claim within Ryanair’s contractual 2 year period, there is a tiny potential group of passengers who may wish to submit a claim between 2 and 6 years after the date of their flight delay.
Accordingly, Ryanair estimates that even if its appeal in this matter is ultimately unsuccessful, its potential liability will not be material and is likely to be less than €5m.
Airline passengers in Europe can claim between £180 and £440 ($282-$690) for flight delays of at least three hours. The compensation amount depends on the total wait time, and the distance of the scheduled flight.
Europe has some of the best regulations for delayed and canceled flight compensation for passengers.
The lawsuit was brought by six passengers who had a 10-hour delay on a Ryanair flight from Spain to Britain in 2008.
Bott & Company’s Kevin Clarke told the BBC his team was delighted by the court’s dismissal.
“We fully expect the airlines to continue to fight these cases,” he said, “but we are prepared to hold them to account in each and every instance where the law says compensation is payable.”
CDB finances training for Caribbean water sector professionals
Senior Water Sector professionals from across the Caribbean met on August 23 – 24 to identify better ways of planning for the impact of climate change on the region’s water supply and systems.
The meeting, co-hosted by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), took the form of a workshop entitled “Building a Climate Resilient Water Sector in the Caribbean: Strategies for Water Utilities.” It will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, Florida, USA.
Some 50 water utility professionals, field personnel and experts explored climate change impacts on the Caribbean water sector and strategies to strengthen resiliency. In addition, participants worked together to create action plans to protect their countries’ water resources in the face of these impacts.
“Climate crisis presents a threat to water security in the Caribbean. This reality demands that water sector professionals and policymakers be better prepared to create and implement solutions that help Caribbean nations better safeguard their water resources. CDB is pleased to continue supporting dialogue among senior-level representatives of our Borrowing Member Countries and facilitating further exposure to best practices in building resiliency to handle climate change impacts.” Andrew Dupigny, Director, Projects (acting).
Experts have noted that sea-level rise, longer periods of drought, higher-intensity rainfall events, and increased temperatures directly impact the availability and sustainability of the region’s water resources and how water infrastructure is designed and operated.
CDB has invested approximately US$160 million in the Water Sector in the Caribbean and has collaborated with a wide range of development partners to advance its mandate to strengthen and modernize the region’s water infrastructure and water resource management.
The Bank financed the participation of attendees from Anguilla; Antigua; Barbados; Belize; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Dominica; Grenada; Jamaica; Montserrat; St. Kitts & Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent & the Grenadines; Trinidad & Tobago; and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
CDB is collaborating with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association and the Global Water Operators’ Partnership Alliance to present the training event. The climate resiliency workshop precedes the 24th Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association Conference, which takes place August 24-28, 2015 in Miami.
SOURCE: http://www.anguillanews.com/enews/index.php/permalink/5224.html
Tianjin blast: dead fish raise water-contamination fears
By Philip Wen China correspondent for Fairfax Media From The Canberra Times
Tianjin resident: ‘Would my neck still exist?’
Wang Jiaming returns to his apartment about a 1.5 kilometres from the centre of the Tianjin blasts, and discovers smashed glass throughout. Video by: Sanghee Liu.
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Tianjin: Large numbers of dead fish have washed ashore in Tianjin, causing fresh public alarm over the extent of environmental contamination after last week’s deadly chemical-fuelled explosions.
Environmental officials struggled to explain the thousands of dead fish found along the Haihe River about six kilometres from the blast site, saying they did not detect toxic levels of cyanide from the river during an analysis on Thursday afternoon.
Deng Xiaowen, director of Tianjin’s environmental monitoring bureau, said at a press conference that experts were investigating the dead fish but that such incidents were “not rare” during the summer.
The discovery coincided with reports that wastewater runoff near the site of the explosions contained concentrations of cyanide hundreds of times acceptable levels.
Authorities have said that the toxic runoff has been contained near the site and has not entered broader waters. Drinking water in Tianjin met national standards, they said.
Officials have confirmed that the warehouse at the centre of the explosions, owned by Rui Hai International Logistics, stored 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide among hundreds of tonnes of other toxic chemicals.
Sodium cyanide, a compound used in gold mining, can be toxic to humans even in small quantities.
The blasts killed at least 114 people, with another 65 listed as missing and presumed dead.
Crowds of curious onlookers gathered on the banks of the Haihe River to take pictures of the grim scene of dead fish, as environmental activists took samples of the water.
The Communist party’s anti-graft watchdog promised to crack down both on corruption and on those responsible for violating laws and regulations which had led to the explosions but stressed the importance of maintaining political stability, according to a statement on the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection website on Thursday.
AshleyMadison data breach sparks suits
By Ross Todd, From The Recorder
SAN FRANCISCO — Infidelity website AshleyMadison.com and its parent company Avid Life Media Inc. have been hit with a pair of class actions in Los Angeles federal court stemming from the site’s recent data breach.
The suits on behalf of unidentified site users join a wave of litigation in the U.S. and Canada accusing the company of failing to secure the private financial and personal information of its 37 million users.
Although some plaintiffs lawyers demurred when asked to represent presumed philanderers in the aftermath of the hack, others have been less hesitant. On Friday, Baltimore’s HammondLaw sued Avid Life on behalf of a single John Doe plaintiff for negligence, emotional distress, invasion of privacy and breach of implied contract. The firm is seeking to certify a nationwide class of site users and a statewide class to pursue privacy claims under California state law.
“Defendants were aware or should have been aware of the need to secure users’ information, especially in light of the recent rise of massive security breaches on the Internet and the fact that the information contained on its servers is particularly sensitive,” wrote attorney Julian Hammond in the complaint. The site’s inadequate security, he wrote, led to users’ addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and credit card numbers being made public along with their photos and details of their sexual interests. That suit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez of the Central District of California.
On Monday, The Ball Law Firm in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City’s Federman & Sherwood sued Avid Life on behalf of a group of five “Doe” plaintiffs from California, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Minnesota. In addition to pursuing claims under various, consumer protection and data breach notification laws, the suit seeks to certify a subclass of users who paid a fee to erase their information from the site but still had their personal information leaked as a result of the breach.
Beyond the two suits filed in California, Avid Life also reportedly faces class actions in Missouri, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas, as well as a $578 million class action filed last week in Canada, where the company is based.
As of Tuesday morning, no defense firm had made an appearance in either case filed in Los Angeles. But as previously reported by The Am Law Daily, Avid Life has turned to a trio of firms to help deal with breach-related issues. DLA Piper represents the company on cybersecurity, data protection and privacy issues. Barnes & Thornburg is providing corporate, technology and IP counsel. Canadian firm Stikeman Elliott is providing communications, privacy, and cross-border advice.
Avid Life’s vice president and general counsel, Avi Weisman, didn’t immediately respond to an email message Tuesday morning.
For more: http://www.therecorder.com/id=1202735680774/AshleyMadison-Data-Breach-Sparks-Suits#ixzz3jvdE72WN
Michael Keaton not liable for box office flop ‘Merry Gentleman’
By Mike Sacks, From The National Law Journal
Seventh Circuit panel sides with actor in breach of contract case.
IMAGE: Michael Keaton in The Merry Gentleman. Credit: Samuel Goldwyn Films
A federal appeals court Tuesday sided with actor Michael Keaton in a breach of contract suit brought against him by the producers behind his box office flop “Merry Gentleman.”
Taking its name from the movie, Merry Gentleman LLC sued Keaton and his production company, George and Leona Productions Inc., in Chicago federal court to recover the $5.5 million spent on the film. The producers claimed Keaton sabotaged the film’s success by pushing his director’s cut to Sundance and theaters over the plaintiffs’ preferred edit. The movie, released in 2009, was Keaton’s directorial debut.
“Merry Gentleman entered the directing contract to have Keaton deliver a finished movie, and he delivered one that showed well at Sundance and won some critical praise. The breaches by Keaton that Merry Gentleman alleges cannot reasonably be said to have rendered the investment completely worthless,” Judge David Hamilton wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The panel upheld a trial judge’s ruling that favored Keaton.
Undercutting the plaintiffs’ assertion that Keaton pushed an inadequate cut to the public, the court noted that Roger Ebert gave the movie 3.5 stars out of four. (Ebert wrote that the film, a drama set in Chicago where Keaton plays a hitman, is “original, absorbing and curiously moving in ways that are far from expected.)
“Reimbursing Merry Gentleman for all $5.5 million it spent, even though it received from Keaton a finished film praised by critics, would put it in a better position than if the contract had not been made,” Hamilton wrote. More from the Seventh Circuit’s ruling:
Perhaps Merry Gentleman might have been able to present a genuine issue for trial on a more modest damages theory, but it decided to shoot for the moon and missed.
Merry Gentleman agreed to pay Keaton $100,000 to make his directorial debut with the movie.
“We’re very pleased with this victory,” said Keaton’s lawyer, Michael Kump of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert in Santa Monica, California. “Michael directed a film which received critical praise at both the Sundance Film Festival and in the national media when released, and he put his heart and soul into making this movie. We’re glad this is finally over.”
Attorneys for Merry Gentleman, represented by Michael Tanner of Tanner & Lehman, were not immediately available for comment.
Jamaica charities and youth projects get millions from Queen Diamond Jubilee Trust
From CARIBBEAN360
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is a charitable foundation established in 2012 to mark and celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the Throne and her contribution to the Commonwealth. Its mission is to enrich the lives of people from all backgrounds across the Commonwealth.
The Trust was launched in February 2012 and countries were encouraged to support the initiative and Jamaica contributed £15,000 (US$23,533) to the Fund through the Jamaican High Commission in London.
Under the Trust, grants are being awarded to organizations working with young people in selected countries in the Commonwealth, including Jamaica.
“Jamaica’s contribution to the Fund was £15,000; however, Jamaica stands to benefit from more than £2 million (US$3.1 million) in funding for a range of programmes and projects that support the development of youth entrepreneurship, young people, youth in agriculture and crime reduction in both rural and urban areas,” said High Commissioner Aloun Ndombet Assamba.
In addition to supporting youth development projects, a major focus of the Trust will be on tackling preventable blindness.
Jamaica will receive £370,000 (US$580,485) as part of the Diabetic Retinopathy Initiative, which will be coordinated by the Caribbean Council for the Blind and will be carried out in Belize, Dominica and St Lucia, as well as in Jamaica.
A total grant of £1.4 million (US$2.2 million) will be spent on the initiative over the next four years.
Jimmy Carter’s cancer spreads to brain, he is ‘at ease with whatever comes’
By Kathleen Foody, The Associated Press From Las Vegas Daily News
ATLANTA >> Former President Jimmy Carter announced Thursday that his cancer is on four small spots on his brain and he will immediately begin radiation treatment, saying he is “at ease with whatever comes.”
“I’m ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure,” said Carter, appearing upbeat and making jokes as he openly talked about his cancer during a news conference.
So far, the pain has been “very slight” and Carter said he hasn’t felt any weakness or debility. Still, he will dramatically cut back on his work with the Carter Center and will give the treatment regimen his “top priority.” His first radiation treatment was set for Thursday afternoon.
Carter, in a dark blazer, red tie and jeans and surrounded by friends and family, said at first he thought the cancer was confined to his liver. He thought an operation Aug. 3 had completely removed it, “so I was quite relieved.”
But that same afternoon, an MRI showed it was on his brain.
“I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease. I’ve had a wonderful life,” the 90-year-old Carter said. “It’s in God’s hands. I’ll be prepared for anything that comes.”
