Topic: Alden McLaughlin
Government accepts 19-seat voting map
Barring a major legislative revolt against Premier Alden McLaughlin’s government in the next day or so, Cayman’s 2017 general election will go forward under the principle of “one man, one vote.”
Premier McLaughlin made public on Wednesday the legislative order for 19 single-member constituent districts, anticipating that debate on the motion to accept the 2015 Electoral Boundary Commission’s district maps would commence later Wednesday or on Thursday.
Protesters demand lower gas prices, present petition
The government will soon introduce legislation to address complaints about high gas prices, Premier Alden McLaughlin told demonstrators outside the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
Petrol petitioners set to march on government
Protesters who say they are “fed up” with high gas and diesel prices at the pump plan to hold a peaceful march through downtown George Town on Wednesday morning.
Business in brief
KeyTech Ltd. and CellOne to combine operations; The Security Centre Ltd. celebrates new office opening; Cayman Finance’s student program a success; Harneys opens Bermuda office; Maples and Calder grants scholarships to six Caymanians; Caymanian seconded to Intertrust Hong Kong
Cruise ship dock business case predicts up to US$439 million benefit
The final business case for the cruise pier project estimates a potential economic upside of some US$439 million over 20 years for the Cayman Islands.
Even if the worst economic impacts associated with the loss of reefs in George Town harbor were realized, consultant PwC concluded in its report that the project would still deliver a net benefit to the economy of US$112 million.
Miss Cayman contestants receive sashes
Eight contestants vying for the title of Miss Cayman 2016 received sashes from sponsors on Saturday at Abacus restaurant in Camana Bay.
No PR grants yet under new law
More than 500 non-Caymanians have applied for permanent resident status in the Cayman Islands over the past two years under the revised Immigration Law, but so far none have been awarded that status.
Customs staffer is government's employee of the year
A Customs officer who nearly 30 years ago applied nine times for a job in the department before being accepted has been awarded the Cayman Islands government’s Employee of the Year.
Open-plan classrooms a problem at Clifton Hunter
School administrators are tailoring the timetable at Clifton Hunter High School to help cope with teaching problems caused by the open-plan classroom layout, described as an “urgent problem” by inspectors.
An inspection report on the school highlighted the experimental layout at the new $110 million facility as a barrier to improvement.
Key government posts in limbo
The senior ranks of Cayman's civil service are filled with "acting," but not the Hollywood kind.
Government mortgage program restarts this month
A government program to help first-time home buyers will restart this month after a three-year hiatus.
Missing links: New airport needs jetways
Last week, the premier announced that the government will forge ahead with the cruise dock project. Today, we’d like our readers to turn their attention to Grand Cayman’s “other” port project – the expansion of the Owen Roberts International Airport.
Premier: EY report 'review' almost complete
The Cayman Islands government has nearly completed its year-long review of a consulting report that sought to both downsize and improve efficiency of the public sector.
Smith Road work nearly done
Work to widen Smith Road through central George Town should be wrapped up by the end of this month, weather permitting.
Carnival cruise line could play role in port project
Carnival Cruise Lines says it is “open to playing a role” in the development of new piers in George Town harbor.
Cruise berthing: A promise kept
The members of the Progressives administration like to style themselves as “a government that gets things done.” On the subject of the George Town cruise dock, they have lived up to that promise.
Government IT systems open to 'threats from attack'
Auditors say Cayman's government put sensitive information and operations at risk by ignoring IT problems for years.
'One man, one vote' heads to legislature
Cayman's move to 'one man, one vote' for the 2017 general election could be cemented later this month.
Rights commission highlights healthcare, homelessness
Cayman's human rights watchdog reviews some ongoing mental health issues in the territory.
Auditor 'disappointed' in planning board reappointments
Cayman’s outgoing Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick said he was “disappointed” to learn the members of the Central Planning Authority and the Sister Islands Development Control Board were reappointed following a damning audit released by his office earlier this year.
Chamber of Commerce pans proposed labor legislation
The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce will not back the current draft of revamped labor legislation due to what the organization’s president described Wednesday as the “potential economic fallout” it could cause.
For the record: Does government support FOI?
Cayman Islands officials’ apparently equivocal attitude toward government transparency is troubling, perhaps even telling.
Frustration, confusion over cash transfers
Venting frustration and looking for solutions, hundreds of workers from overseas, mainly from Jamaica, packed into the town hall in George Town on Tuesday night, looking for solutions to the problem of sending cash home.
Government gives green light to George Town cruise dock
Plans for a new cruise port in George Town harbor will move forward, Premier Alden Mclaughlin announced Wednesday afternoon.
Mr. McLaughlin said government had considered the environmental and economic implications and agreed to allow the project to proceed to the next stage.
Report: Government stalling on FOI requests
More than half of the Freedom of Information requests filed with the Cayman Islands government during the last budget year were not answered within the legally required 30-day time frame.
Huge crowd bids farewell to Cayman's 'gentle hero'
Pioneer developer, seaman, grandfather of five and Cayman’s erstwhile “Santa Claus” Rex Herbert Hughes Crighton was laid to rest following a memorial service in George Town Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Crighton, who passed away at age 81 on Sept. 13, was known to many in Cayman as the man with the big house in Spotts who put up an impressive display of Christmas lights and decorations each holiday season.
Government: ‘Further work’ needed on Immigration Law
The Cayman Islands government will be delving back into certain areas of the territory’s Immigration Law to ensure legal issues raised by the chief justice last month are addressed.
Beach Bay hotel development agreement signed
Plans for a $200 million, 10-story hotel in Bodden Town moved a step closer to reality after the Cayman Islands government approved a $25 million concessions package for the project.
A development agreement was signed Thursday morning, paving the way for the five-star hotel and condo development at St. James Point, Beach Bay, to move forward.
Bill seeks move to two-year budgets
If legislative proposals made public Wednesday are adopted, the current government budget will be Cayman’s last one-year public sector budget cycle.
Culture shift necessary for e-government system to succeed
A renewed push by government to move more of its business online will require an internal shift in the civil service, as well as with the private sector and the public.
Third generation lawyer joins family firm
Travis Alan Ritch was called to the Bar of the Cayman Islands on Sept. 17 in a ceremony similar to one held 39 years earlier.
Scholarship offered to doctors for specialist training
The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association will sponsor two Caymanian doctors over the next four years as they train to become specialists.
Red Bay Primary's mystery illness: The 'unknowns'
We still don’t know why more than 100 children and staff fell ill after lunch at Red Bay Primary School two weeks ago. In fact, we may never know why. ... And it’s time for government officials to admit it outright.
Store manager suspects teens in overnight heist
Boys perhaps as young as 13 or 14 were likely responsible for an overnight armed robbery Friday at a central George Town business, the store’s manager said following a review of closed circuit television footage.
MLA: Lawyers law must address Caymanian hiring
The Legal Practitioners Bill must promote Caymanian hiring at law firms, a George Town lawmaker says.
Planning board reappointed after critical report
All members of the Cayman Islands Central Planning Authority have been reappointed in the wake of an audit report.
Bush: Permanent residence system ‘not helping’ Caymanians or expatriates
Cayman’s immigration system is helping neither local workers nor the economy, Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush said.
Government breaks ground on airport expansion
Officials broke ground Wednesday on the first phase of the $55-million airport expansion project.
Premier’s former aide takes radio role
The premier’s former political assistant, Kenneth Bryan, is back in the public eye and on the airwaves as the co-host of morning radio show “Cayman Crosstalk.”
Cayman community rallies around Dominica
For about three days last month, Martin Royer did not know what had happened to his mother, brother, sister and other relatives on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica.
EY reform plan: One year later
It
has been a year since the Cayman Islands government announced an
ambitious public sector reform plan to restructure the civil service,
amalgamate certain services, privatize others and sell off certain
public assets.
The reforms were based on a $155,000 consultant report done by EY, and although many of the recommendations were longer-term projects, Premier Alden McLaughlin said in April that six areas in particular had been identified as issues the government would pursue immediately.
One year later: Anyone remember the EY report?
Twelve months after the release of the EY report, we look up to see that the public sector has been downsized neither in size nor scope.
Airport upgrade to break ground this week
The initial stage of Grand Cayman's airport redevelopment will see shovels in the ground this week.
Cayman donates cash, volunteers planes for Dominica recovery
Cayman donates cash to tropical storm victims in Dominica.
Premier: Government taking permanent resident ruling ‘seriously’
Cayman's premier says his government is taking legal concerns about the local immigration system "very seriously."
Cayman issues poised for 'prime time'
From the standpoint of sheer numbers, we cannot recall another point in time where Cayman faced so many reputational threats of our own creation.
Agricultural pioneers sought for Heroes Day recognition
Premier Alden McLaughlin and Agriculture Minister Kurt Tibbetts will oversee nominations of Caymanian farmers who will be recognized as pioneers of agriculture in the 2016 National Heroes Day celebrations.
Gay couple challenge Immigration decision
A gay law professor and his husband are at the center of a possible test case, challenging the “unequal” treatment of homosexual couples in the Cayman Islands.
UK minister: 'More than one way' on beneficial ownership
Acting U.K. Overseas Territories Minister Grant Shapps said Thursday he is hopeful that Cayman and the Mother Country can reach some form of agreement on requirements to list the beneficial owners of companies registered here.
Kimpton hotel aims for November 2016 opening
Building work on the Kimpton hotel on Seven Mile Beach is on schedule, project managers say, and the hotel is poised to open on Nov. 1, 2016.
Cayman’s labor law history: Different decades, same arguments
Over the past 27 years, the same arguments have come up time and again about proposed labor laws.
Fallout spreads from Mr. Eden’s intemperate remarks
Anthony Eden’s remarks on the floor of the Legislative Assembly regarding homosexuality could not have been more ill-conceived – but they were also ill-timed.
MLA Suckoo denies 'hate speech,' apologizes
One Bodden Town MLA at the center over allegations of 'hate speech' against homosexuals speaks out.
Students bound for UK network at Gov't House
A reception drew 50 people, mostly current and former students, to the Governor’s House to mingle and network, joined by Premier Alden McLaughlin, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and Minister of Education Tara Rivers.
Marriage debate was 'hate speech,' rights commission says
The Human Rights Commission accused certain MLAs of using their elected positions to espouse “poisonous hate speech and threats of violence” against homosexual men and women.
New elections map goes to governor, assembly
Cayman's Electoral Boundary Commission has completed its work, leaving the fate of "one person, one vote" in the hands of lawmakers.
Government says marriage is between one man, one woman
The Cayman Islands government has passed a motion to maintain the definition of marriage as it is currently written in the law: a union between a man and a woman.
New plane sparks hope of Brac revival
Cayman Airways adds a new 34-seat turboprop plane to its fleet amid high hopes that it will help spark a tourism revival on Cayman Brac.
Premier, deputy governor support auditor's report
Premier Alden McLaughlin and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson both indicated that will fully implement the recommendations in the auditor general's report on the Nation Building Fund.
Officer: 'Bryan was protecting me'
A female police officer told a court Wednesday that Kenneth Bryan, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and assaulting police, was protecting her from her ex-boyfriend prior to his arrest.
Premier says conspiracy evidence fabricated, signatures forged
Evidence intended to be used to disprove Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin’s case during the course of an upcoming civil trial is fabricated and, in some cases, contains forged signatures, the premier alleged.
Report: Nearly 4,000 receive mental health services
The first report of Cayman’s newly formed Mental Health Commission states that nearly 4,000 people received some form of mental health-related services at public, private or overseas hospitals in 2013.
Auditor General Swarbrick resigns, to remain in job until October
Alastair Swarbrick, the Cayman Islands auditor general for the last five years, announced his resignation Wednesday morning just as he was on the receiving end of some sharp public criticism from Cayman’s political opposition leader.
Seaman's son dedicates his call to the Bar
Cayman’s newest attorney, an aeronautical communications engineer and son of a seaman, was called to the Bar of the Cayman Islands last week.
Trial starts for premier's former political assistant
Kenneth Bryan, former political assistant to Premier Alden McLaughlin, and a political candidate in the 2013 elections, appeared in court Wednesday, charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting police.
Jamaica Independence Day celebrations draw crowds
Revelers celebrated Jamaica Independence Day Friday with a cultural festival in downtown George Town.
Governor stages networking event for Cayman's UK students
When the governor’s reception kicks off on Friday evening, students and sponsors will mark the second and most ambitious effort yet for the Cayman Connection UK organization.
Special Olympics team resting
The Special Olympics delegation that returned to Cayman on Tuesday is taking a well earned break.
The governor's new ride: Uber, it ain't
The governor’s got a brand-new Jag. We refer, of course, to the new flag car for our governor, the chief representative of Mother England in the Cayman Islands.
Special Olympics team home in triumph
The Cayman Islands team returned from the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon clutching their 52 medals with pride.
Government paid 47 percent more for Cayman Brac land
The Cayman Islands government paid nearly 50 percent more for land purchased on Cayman Brac in 2012 than the same parcel sold for in November 2010.
Cruise berthing in Cayman: A history of starts, stops and controversy
A historical look at more than 12 years of starts, stops, controversy and failure in the effort to build cruise berthing facilities on Grand Cayman
