Local News

(CNS): A 47-year-old American tourist has died while diving off North West Point, police reported Friday morning. In the second dive related death of the year police said that around 9.30 am this morning the woman was diving at the Little Tunnel Dive site. As she ascended the female stay-over visitor appeared to get into difficulty and, on surfacing, lost consciousness. Staff from the dive company she was diving with, Red Sail Sports, administered C.P.R aboard the dive boat as they brought her to shore to meet with the emergency services. The woman was conveyed to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town, where she was found to be dead on arrival.

(CNS): After more than 36 years the civil service, Cayman’s first deputy governor retired this week. As the public sector and government welcomed Franz Manderson and several new senior officers to the new government administration team, Ebanks was given a fond farewell at Government House Wednesday. “Not bad for a North Side boy who didn’t wear shoes to school until I was 12, and whose family didn’t have electricity until I was in university,” Ebanks told the gathering as they spoke about his long career in public service. Senior officers, colleagues, relatives and friends celebrated his career  and spoke of the many milestones he had reached as well as the challenges he overcame – from budgets to hurricanes.

(CNS): As the new deputy governor officially took up his post Tuesday, along with a number of other senior civil servants starting new top jobs, the premier said the new team “must work most closely” with the elected government. In a message to all civil servants McKeeva Bush said that the challenge would be “how to best provide within available and earned resources, for the betterment of the common good.” Following his criticisms of "bureaucracy" and "too much good governance" at the recent CBO conference, Bush welcomed the new public sector bosses and said he believed that Franz Manderson’s tenure as deputy governor would be a “progressive one.” (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

(CNS): The rarely recognized challenges faced by the region’s postal services were the topic of discussion in Cayman recently when the local postal service hosted a workshop for senior staff in the Caribbean Postal Union. The aim was to raise awareness among postal authorities about the challenges confronting the Caribbean postal sector and for them to develop an action plan. The forum also focused on quality of service, market knowledge and customer needs; postal reform and sustainable development, cooperation and interaction with industry stakeholders, local officials said.

(CNS): In just one month’s time Cayman’s busiest government department will be clamping down on paperwork infringements. After 1 March officials at the Immigration office will no longer accept incomplete applications. This applies to applications in all three islands and for all kinds of permits and immigration issues from permanent residency to a temporary permit. The Department is urging the public to ensure all applications are properly completed. Officials said the move will mean better business practice because incomplete applications slow down the processing time for all applications.

(CNS): Leonard Dilbert, who had been acting as chief officer in the premier's ministry has now been appointed as the Chief of Staff  in charge of the premier’s office and will provide policy and administrative support to McKeeva Bush. The appointment was made by Deputy Governor Donovan Ebanks and announced on the eve of his retirement. Dilbert takes up the new post today (1 February), which was created in keeping with the 2009 Constitution. The job, officials stated, is to “enhance cross-ministry collaboration and cooperation, in support of the policy leadership of the premier.”

(CNS): Despite mounting opposition in their constituency over government’s decision to move the country’s waste-management facilities to Bodden Town, Dwayne Seymour and Mark Scotland have made it clear they are backing the move. The two government representatives have stated that the George Town dump is not being relocated to their district but that “a state-of-the-art 21st century waste management facility is being developed there,” although not everyone in their district is convinced. Accusing the opposition, the independent member and “their cohorts” of trying “to pit the good people of Bodden Town against other Caymanians”, the UDP MLAs said their government was committed to putting in place an effective solution to address the "dump debacle" that the former administration “couldn’t solve.” (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)

(CNS): As a pre curser to the agricultural show which takes place on Ash Wednesday a group of chefs and farmers will be getting together on Saturday morning for a Slow Food Day at Market at The Grounds at the Agriculture Pavilion in Lower Valley. Slow Food Day pairs local farmers with chefs who will give cooking demonstrations using the ingredients direct from the farms. A collaborative effort of the Cayman Islands Agricultural Society (CIAS), Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink and Slow Food Grand Cayman farmers the idea is to demonstrate the connections between the earth and the plate.

(CNS): Over 40 youth organizations, sports associations and schools exhibited at the Cayman Islands Youth Development Consortium’s (CIYDC) Celebrate Our Youth Day on Saturday. Described as “a national celebration of partnerships and opportunities”  guests at the event included various government officials and dignitaries. “So many times we look at what is wrong with our students,” said CIYDC Director Sylvia Wilks but she said Saturday was to focus on their successes and strengths. The event, which included a youth expo and awards ceremony, focused on the positive contributions made by young people, while also highlighting the many ways youth can become involved in their community. 

(CNS): A legal dispute between one of the acquitted defendants in the fraud case Cash4Titles and three local auditors has been settled outside of the courtroom, according to a statement released by Pinnacle Publishing on Friday. Lewis Rowe, who had been charged in connection with the famous fraud case and was acquitted at the end of the trial in 2005, had filed a law suit in February 2011 against government, Dan Scott, James Cleaver and Richard Fogerty, who acted as the original liquidators in the case. Although it is unclear on whose behalf the statement was officially issued, it said that none of the parties had accepted fault but the dispute was over.

(CNS): According to representatives of the local company that owns the land at Pageant Beach, the owner was very surprised to read the CNS article on 12 January about a proposal from a local consortium to develop a port on its property. CNS has learnt from the representatives of the owner that, until it read the article, it was unaware of any proposal to develop a port on its property and that since the article was published, it has not been approached by anyone regarding the development of a port on its property.  Representatives of the owner also stated that the property is not currently for sale.     

(BBBS): Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Cayman Islands’ (BBBS) fourth annual Soup-er Bowl is back on the front burner this coming weekend. Scheduled for noon to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, 4 February 2012, at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort on West Bay Road, the event promises to be just as great as or better than previous years. A friendly competition amongst local restaurants for bragging rights as Cayman’s best soup purveyor, top chefs will pull out their most appetising one-of-a-kind creations to wow the taste buds of the voting public.

(DoT): The winners of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (DOT) short film competition entitled Cayman...Through My Eyes were announced recently, during a special screening and awards ceremony held at the Harquail Theatre. Junior winner Jessica Johnson earned a one week scholarship for the Introductory Digital Filmmaking Camp for Tweens at the New York Film Academy and a Nikon Coolpix P500 Digital Video Camera.  First place senior winner Gerome also earned a one week scholarship to the New York Film Academy for the Digital Filmmaking Camp and a Nikon Coolpix P500 Digital Video Camera.