iNews Briefs
Cayman Islanders arrested in US for money laundering
Documents on OffshoreAlert website show that Eric St-Cyr was arrested earlier this week along with his lawyer, Patrick Poulin, who is based in Turks and Caicos Islands, and Joshua Van Dyke. All three men are Canadian nationals. St-Cyr and Van Dyke all work in Grand Cayman with Clover Asset Management. St-Cyr is the managing director of Clover who set the company up in 2007.
Court documents accuse the men of soliciting clients and of hiding assets from the US government all part of a money laundering scheme.
Clover Asset Management in an approved company by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).
Cahill Energy to build $250M renewable energy plant to power Barbados
By Thomas Melville From Energy Digital
Waste to energy plant will provide an environmentally sound solution to two of Barbados’s most pressing challenges: waste management and energy security
The Caribbean island of Barbados will soon have 25 percent of its total energy needs provided by a renewable energy power plant.
Cahill Energy recently signed an agreement with the government of Barbados to build and operate a clean energy plant on the Caribbean island. Established to finance, build, own and operate utility-scale waste to energy plants in key markets, Cahill Energy plans to utilize the most innovative technology available to transform all kinds of waste on Barbados into clean, renewable energy.
Guernsey-based Cahill Energy plans to invest up to U.S. $240 million in the proposed plant, which is set to be built in Vaucluse, St. Thomas, creating up to 650 skilled labor jobs, and providing the government of Barbados with several hundred million dollars in estimated savings over the lifetime of the 30 year contract.
The plant will provide an environmentally sound solution to two of Barbados’s most pressing challenges: waste management and energy security. Using plasma gasification technology, the plant will transform up to 650 tonnes of solid waste per day into clean, renewable energy. As a result, the plant will eliminate environmental threats posed by the use of landfill. The energy generated will provide a new domestic source of power for Barbados, reducing the island’s reliance on imported fossil fuel.
“We are therefore confident that this investment represents a phenomenal business opportunity for our investors and offers even greater benefits to the people of Barbados,” said Clare Cowan, CEO of Cahill Energy.
“This waste to energy project is a major step to put Barbados firmly on the way to its initial target of replacing by 2029, 29 percent of its oil based electricity by generation from renewable and alternative energy,” said Senator the Hon. Darcy W. Boyce, Minister of Energy in the Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados.
Largest international skateboarding competition coming to Cayman
TopGrom, the the largest 13-and-under international skateboard competition series in the world, will be coming to the Cayman Islands on 26th April.
The competition will take place at Black Pearl Skate Park behind Hurley’s Supermarket.
The Cayman government has confirmed it is spending $10,000 on the programme to cover airfare, accommodations and event promotions.
Skateboarding clinics will take place from April 23 -25.
Propulsion Problem Forces Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship To Change Itinerary
By Ben Souza from Cruise Fever
Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas is having propulsion problems after an oil loss from the fixipod propulsion unit forced the cruise line to cancel two ports of call. This problem was first reported by Cruise Critic when they found out about the problem from a member of their message boards
The cruise ship was already scheduled to go into dry dock on March 30, 2014 and repairs will be made at that time. Royal Caribbean said that the next sailing should not be affected by the propulsion problem.
Cynthia Martinez, the manager of global corporate communications for Royal Caribbean, told Cruise Fever that oil booms were immediately placed around the ship to contain the oil. She also said that until permanent repairs can be made to the ship, the fixipod will remain offline.
The ship was delayed in St. Kitts while repairs were made which forced the cancellation of the stops in Aruba and Curacao. The ship will now call on the ports of Antigua, St. Maarten, and St. Croix before returning to San Juan on Sunday.
The change in ports is due to the reduced speeds of the cruise ship.
The Adventure of the Seas is currently on a 7 night cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico and originally had stops in the ports of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Basse-terre, St. Kitts; Oranjestad, Aruba; and Curacao.
Cruise Fever will continue to monitor this issue and will update this article if and when more information come becomes available.
For more: http://cruisefever.net/0319-royal-caribbean-cruise-ship/#sthash.NzkXy7lz.dpuf
Children’s author on book tour calls in on Cayman
Children’s author, Stephan Pastis, the creator of the Timmy Failures series, is on a book tour and called in on Grand Cayman to talk to Years 4 and 5 students from several schools here.
He said he hoped his books will inspire the students to read more.
Matthew Maynard to coach St Lucia Zouks in Caribbean Premier League
From BBC
Ex- Glamorgan head coach Matthew Maynard has been confirmed as coach of St Lucia Zouks for the 2014 Caribbean Premier League.
Maynard was assistant coach of the Zouks in the competition’s inaugural season in 2013.
The 47-year-old will be assisted by ex-West Indies batsman Stuart Williams and the side will include current Windies Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy.
The Caribbean Premier League will be held in in July and August.
Jamaica Tallawahs, who will be coached by former South African and Australian national team coach Mickey Arthur, will be defending the title they won in 2013.
For more: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/26652194
Cayman Government says road cannot be moved
Responding to the Cayman Islands National Trust options to the Ironwood $360M proposed development that shows the extension to the North East Arterial Road going through their land in the Mastic Reserve, Premier Alden McLaughlin, said the planned road has to stay where it is.
At a Press Conference McLaughlin said the whole project’s viability rests on the proposed route of the road staying as planned.
The National Trust has to date made no comment.
Teen fatally shoots 14-year-old Trinidad relative
From Caribbean360
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Thursday March 20, 2014, CMC – A 14 year old student of the Providence Girls College was shot and killed by a 15 year old relative late Wednesday.
The police report that Marchanna Lavia was sitting outside her home, reading a book while the male relative sat next to her, reportedly playing with a gun.
The police believe the gun was accidentally discharged. The bullet hit Marchanna once in the chest.
She died at the St. James Medical Complex.
The teenage relative has been detained by the police.
Jeep overturns into ditch near Cayman Islands Heritage roundabout
Because of early morning moisture on Wednesday (19) making road surfaces slippery a jeep after going around the Cayman Islands Heritage roundabout on Esterley Tibetts Highway spun out of control, flipped and ended upside down in a close by ditch.
The driver, Beto Anglin suffered no injuries and said the stretch of road was dangerous and he hoped something could be done to prevent future crashes.
A National Roads Authority spokesperson said they are looking into possible issues at the Island Heritage roundabout and are in the process of getting a friction testing machine to identify trouble spots.
Cuba Prepares Women”s Soccer Team for Caribbean Rounds PDF Imprimir E-Mail
Havana, Mar 20 (Prensa Latina) Cuba will hold today a National Women”s League as a first step in the preparation of its girls for the Caribbean qualifying rounds for Canada 2015 Women”s World Cup.
The League will be held at Havana’s stadium Pedro Marrero until March 25 and will consist of a three-day round robin including the participation of the country’s 64 topt female players over 17 years. These soccer players will be divided into four teams which will fight with each other in a single lap, distributed in Havana, West, Central and East groups.
According to the National Federation, the main goal of this tournament is to select the 23 players who will make up the national pre-selection for the Caribbean qualifying rounds, starting on April.
After this first round, three teams will advance to the finals of the Caribbean region, from October 16-26 in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where the three participants in Canada-2015 will be announced.
Cayman Brac vendors not happy with cruise ship visitors spending
Even though very few cruise ships have visited Cayman Brac the vendors there are not happy.
The 97 passengers that arrived last Tuesday (18) on the cruise ship Island Sky didn’t spend much money with the 10 vendors eagerly awaiting them at the cemetery Dock.
One vendor said the visitors didn’t have much time to even look at what was for sale as they were whisked away to a tour and when they came back it was straight back on the ship.
Ambitious new solar-energy plant could be hazardous to pilots
By Adario Strange From Mashable
Solar-energy solutions have become one of the most important modern components in making sustainable energy a reality, but an unforeseen issue at one massive solar thermal plant in California could put a damper on progress.
Based on reports from pilots flying over the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, glare from the plant’s massive heliostat mirror array has obstructed the vision of some pilots, presenting a potential hazard for aircrafts flying overhead.
Although one prominent air-traffic-controller complaint was filed last year, according to Quartz, the Aviation Safety Reporting System didn’t officially register the complaint until this month.
But if local officials think the plant’s owners –- a group that includes NRG, Google and BrightSource — are thinking of ditching the mirrors to enhance air-traffic safety, they’re likely in for a disappointment. The system’s mirror-based dynamic is central to its operation.
The heliostat mirror array focuses light from the sun back onto 459-foot towers, equivalent in height to a 33-story building. The reflections heat the tower up enough to produce steam, which powers its turbines, and in turn, generates energy.
Built by BrightSource Energy, the solar-energy plant — reportedly the largest such plant in the world — houses 347,000 mirrors on a landmass of 3,500 acres, or roughly four times the size of New York City’s Central Park. Combined, the facility is capable of producing 392 gross megawatts, and delivering power to 140,000 homes in California.
“[W]e take these concerns seriously,” NRG spokesperson Jeff Holland told Mashable.
“As to the recent report, which dates back to August when testing and calibration was still underway at Ivanpah, we will respond to it as requested and in accordance with the conditions of our permit.”
