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| | =GoToCayman.com - News from Cayman (ISSN: 1744-7690)= | | =GoToCayman.com - News from Cayman (ISSN: 1744-7690)= |
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| - | ==May 2007== | + | ==May 2008== |
| - | With the Hurricane Season about to start, experts at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center are projecting a 75 percent chance that the Atlantic Hurricane Season will be above normal this year. They predict 13-17 named storms, 7-10 hurricanes ov which 3-5 will be major of Category 3 strength or higher. Their full report is available at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml.
| + | A third of the breeding stock of the Blue Iguana Recovery Program have been killed. See http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews01.cgi?ID=1030451 for a press report. |
| - | The team at Colorado State University have released their final predictions before teh start of the hurricane season. They expect 17 named storms, of which 9 will turn into hurricanes and five intense hurricanes. This continues to indicate that the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season will be much more active than the average 1950-2000 season. Their full report is available at http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/2007/june2007/
| + | http://www.gotocayman.com/TryingToSaveJessica.jpg |
| | + | http://www.gotocayman.com/YellowSaraEldemireandDiggerRIP.jpg |
| | + | There is an official press release at http://www.gotocayman.com/PressRelease.doc |
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| - | Here are the names to look out for:
| + | ==January 2008== |
| - | Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dean, Erin, Felix, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Noel, Olga, Pablo, Rebeka, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.
| + | In the 2008 New Year's Honours conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, two prominent members of the Caymanian community have been recognised. list. |
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| - | The Public Works Department has issued its updated list of public hurricane shelters and emergency medical centres (EMCs) for 2007. Hurricane shelters are provided in each district. They are for persons whose homes are not hurricane resistant or who live in a location which is considered to be especially at risk in a particular storm and who do not have an alternate safe shelter. Emergency medical centres provide shelter for chronically ill persons, the elderly and women in the last three months of pregnancy. Medical personnel and equipment are provided at EMCs.
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| - | Grand Cayman will start the 2007 season with 4010 hurricane shelter spaces, and the Sister Islands with 810. Another 325 shelter spaces will be added to Grand Cayman's stock with the completion of the West Bay John Gray Memorial Church Hall scheduled for the beginning of July.
| + | John Bryan Bothwell and Rex Herbert Crighton are made Members of the Order of the British Empire. Mr. Bothwell is honoured for his services to the community and the financial industry in the Cayman Islands. M r. Crighton is honoured for his services to the development of the Cayman Islands and charitable interests. |
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| - | Approved hurricane shelters for the 2007 hurricane season in Grand Cayman are:
| + | In addition, Governor Stuart Jack has named two Caymanians to be awarded the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour. Dr. Alfred Benjamin is honoured for his service to agriculture for his nearly 20 years as Chief Agricultural and Veterinary Officer; Sarah Alice Mae Coe is honoured for her service to the community. Mrs. Coe, who is the community liaison officer for Walkers, volunteers on numerous committees regarding the environment, youth development, heritage, education and justice. |
| - | John Gray High School Assembly Hall, George Hicks High School Multipurpose Hall, George Town Primary School Assembly Hall, University College of the Cayman Islands Hall, Red Cross Building,
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| - | Prospect Primary School (EMC), John A. Cumber (West Bay) Primary School Assembly Hall (EMC),
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| - | John A. Cumber (West Bay) Primary School - some classrooms, West Bay John Gray Memorial Church Hall (available 1st July 2007), East End Primary School - some classrooms, Gun Bay Community Hall, East End Civic Centre (EMC), North Side Civic Centre (EMC), Breakers Community Hall, Bodden Town Primary School Multipurpose Hall (EMC), Savannah Primary School Assembly Hall (EMC).
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| - | Shelters for Cayman Brac are: Aston Rutty Centre (EMC), West End Primary School, New Day Care Centre.
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| - | The hurricane shelter for Little Cayman is: The Public Works Department Building (EMC). | + | The National Trust is starting work on their latest acquisition; a 3.5 acre site in West Bay that includes a small fresh water feature known as Uncle Sammy’s Pond in West Bay. |
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| - | Further details can be found on the CaymanPrepared website at http://www.caymanprepared.ky
| + | The 1.3 acre pond is surrounded by a seasonally–flooded fresh water wetland, and is named in honour of Sam Parsons of Mount Pleasant, whose descendants still live in West Bay. |
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| - | | + | Uncle Sammy's Pond is in the middle of a residential community and the Trust's intention is to keep the pond as an oasis for wildlife but also a sanctuary for neighborhood residents and visitors. In 2008 the Trust will begin improvements to the site and plan to include a small parking area and a boardwalk leading to a bird watching blind. Much of the site will also be replanted with native vegetation. The site will also be fenced to exclude pets that could interfere with the safety of the wildlife and visitors. |
| - | It's over two years since Hurrican Ivan, but the clean up is still going on. Speaking in a debate at the Legislative Assembly, Minister of Works and Infrastructure, Hon. Arden McLean said the company that government contracted for disposal of solid waste stemming from Hurricane Ivan recently sent off two shipments totalling approximately 5,000 metric tons of solid waste comprising 10,000 vehicle batteries, 4,000 cars, 900 tons of scrap metal, and five 40-foot containers of baled cardboard. The minister estimated it will take about 30 shipments before all the discarded material is shipped out. Interestingly the government is making some money out of this. The contractor has to pay $1.2 million for the scrap metal. On top of this, the firm
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| - | is paying a rental of $190 per hour for using government's metal bailer to press the metal into compact sizes.
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| - | Mr McLean also said that Grand Cayman produces 460 tons of waste daily, Cayman Brac six tons, and Little Cayman one ton. He commented "Waste generation in this country is the worst in the Caribbean. It shows how we live in this country." The minister is also chairman of a Solid Waste Management Committee, charged with reviewing Cayman's waste disposal practices, researching to find other disposal methods, and making recommendations. The committee will shortly be visiting the North American Waste Disposal Council of Florida to see how discarded material is got rid of in that state.
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| - | Government and the Port Authority have reinstated the ban on all cruise ships anchoring at the Spotts Dock in Savannah. "Because of damage to the living coral reefs caused by ships' anchors at Spotts, cruise ships are no longer allowed to anchor at this location," said Port Authority Director Paul Hurlston. However, it is possible for ships to stay in Spotts Bay without anchoring, said the Department of Environment's Research Officer John Bothwell. "Modern technology enables cruise ships to stay in position on engines when in harbour. The ships can simply hold position and the tenders can come to them."
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| - | "Over the years the Department of Environment has documented the damage to reefs by cruise-ship anchors and chains in the Spotts area," Mr Bothwell noted. "Because cruise ships are the biggest vessels to use the area regularly, their chains tend to cause a lot of the damage. We have recorded that one cruise ship anchoring for one day destroys 3150m² (0.8 of an acre) of previously intact reef."
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| - | The National Archive and Public Records Law has now been passed stipulating that every government agency shall store and arrange its records to allow for quick and timely access.
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| - | This law gives to the National Archives overall supervisory authority of public records and provides for creation, management and disposal of the public records of every public agency.
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| - | "Every public agency shall make and maintain full and accurate public records of its business and affairs, and such public records shall be managed and maintained in accordance with this Law," the new law reads in part. It calls for the National Archivist to issue record-keeping standards and to inspect files and the manner in which they are stored.
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| - | The freedom of information bill soon to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly specifies a time-frame of 30 days in which government entities must respond to public information requests. | + | |
| - | The new law's quick retrieval provision will make finding information easier for civil servants, thereby ensuring prompt service for members of the public making freedom of information requests.
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| - | The National Archive and Public Records Law also prohibits unauthorised destruction of records and allows for disciplinary measures - including dismissal.
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| - | The CARICOM Special Visa, which was issued to accommodate travellers during World Cup Cricket, enabled all citizens of CARICOM member states to travel to member countries without visas. Now that the World Cup is over, all Cayman Islands passport holders are required to apply for a visa if travelling to Jamaica.
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| - | Jamaican Consulate officials remind the public that the processing time for the visa is 24 hours. "All applications should be submitted to the Jamaican Consulate office at the Dot Com Centre on Dorcy Drive, Industrial Park," said Honorary Vice Consul to the Jamaican Consulate Elaine Harris.
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| - | He added that more funding has been proposed in the 2007/08 Budget for a continued reorganising of the Grand Cayman landfill.
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In the 2008 New Year's Honours conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, two prominent members of the Caymanian community have been recognised. list.
John Bryan Bothwell and Rex Herbert Crighton are made Members of the Order of the British Empire. Mr. Bothwell is honoured for his services to the community and the financial industry in the Cayman Islands. M r. Crighton is honoured for his services to the development of the Cayman Islands and charitable interests.
In addition, Governor Stuart Jack has named two Caymanians to be awarded the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour. Dr. Alfred Benjamin is honoured for his service to agriculture for his nearly 20 years as Chief Agricultural and Veterinary Officer; Sarah Alice Mae Coe is honoured for her service to the community. Mrs. Coe, who is the community liaison officer for Walkers, volunteers on numerous committees regarding the environment, youth development, heritage, education and justice.
The 1.3 acre pond is surrounded by a seasonally–flooded fresh water wetland, and is named in honour of Sam Parsons of Mount Pleasant, whose descendants still live in West Bay.
Uncle Sammy's Pond is in the middle of a residential community and the Trust's intention is to keep the pond as an oasis for wildlife but also a sanctuary for neighborhood residents and visitors. In 2008 the Trust will begin improvements to the site and plan to include a small parking area and a boardwalk leading to a bird watching blind. Much of the site will also be replanted with native vegetation. The site will also be fenced to exclude pets that could interfere with the safety of the wildlife and visitors.
There is an official press release at http://www.gotocayman.com/PressRelease.doc
