Nickolas DaCosta (CNS): Nickolas DaCosta has resigned from his government position as the current administration’s caucus secretary, paving the way for the public servant to enter the political fray. Although DaCosta has not yet made a formal declaration, it is understood that he will be campaigning for the Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman seat currently held by Moses Kirkconnell, who is believed to be retiring after twenty years as an MP. DaCosta intended to run for political office in 2017 when he was just 26 years old, but a court ruling prevented him from doing so because he also had American citizenship. That year, another candidate, Tara Rivers, who was ultimately successful in her bid for the West Bay South constituency, was also challenged because of her dual citizenship. That challenge failed. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ruled that DaCosta was not qualified in accordance with section 62 of the...

Road Safety Advocate writes: Being a road user in the Cayman Islands is becoming an increasingly dangerous activity. When I say “road user”, I am not just referring to drivers — I mean pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, scooter riders and electric bike users too. Far too many tragic deaths have left families shattered, particularly in 2024. While it’s easy to place blame on individuals or circumstances, I believe we need to collectively examine the root causes of these incidents. There are several areas that demand urgent attention if we are to reduce road fatalities. Flashy advertisements from the RCIPS and NRA won’t solve the problem; here’s what needs to be addressed: Road Design and Signage The layout of our roads and roundabouts is deeply flawed. The NRA frequently installs bollards to curb overtaking and improper lane usage, but this only patches the problem. Poorly designed roads often contribute to accidents. For...

Minister Jay Ebanks at the Bodden Town Church of God Multi-Purpose Hall handover (CNS): What began as a church hurricane shelter project decades ago, which has since been largely funded by the public purse, was handed back to the congregation last week with a ceremony that attracted a huddle of MPs and government officials. Planning Minister Jay Ebanks made the official handover of the newly constructed Bodden Town Church of God Multi-Purpose Hall last week. The Cayman Islands Government subsidised the funding of the state-of-the-art facility by several million dollars because of the desperate need for more shelter space in the fastest-growing district. Prior to the completion of this facility, the Bodden Town Primary School was the only shelter in the area. This new hall, which will be used by the church except when it’s needed as a shelter, received around $1 million, its first cash supplement, from the controversial...

RCIPS roadblock during Operation Winter Guardian (from RCIPS social media) RCIPS roadblock during Operation Winter Guardian (from RCIPS social media) (CNS): Even though drinking and driving is one of the main causes of accidents on local roads, overnight on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, police arrested only four people for DUI and just 23 in total during the holiday safety campaign Operation Winter Guardian. Reflecting on the road safety element of the holiday campaign, which ended last week, Chief Superintendent Brad Ebanks said police officers witnessed “truly bad driving”, especially drunk driving and speeding. Ebanks said that most road users understand the importance of safe driving, but there “are many who engage in truly bad driving cultures, particularly with regards to drinking and driving and excessive speeding”. He said that during the campaign, the police arrested at least one driver who was more than three times over the...

The area in East End where the murder of Sven Connor unfolded (CNS): The men accused of killing Sven Brett Connor when they opened fire into his bedroom window at his home in East End, on Fiddlers Way, in December 2023, carried out the plan and execution with “ruthless efficiency”, Barnaby Jameson KC told a jury on Wednesday, as he opened the crown’s case against them. Prosecutors say that Antascio Rankine (30) and Roland Welcome (34), who are on trial for conspiracy to murder, entered into an agreement with two unidentified men who have never been apprehended to kill Connor using two different guns. Roland Welcome (left) and Antascio Rankine The crown says that twenty minutes after Connor had a heated altercation with Rankine at a neighbour’s house in the community where both the men lived, close to the Hi-Lo Mini Mart, he was shot multiple times through his bedroom...

Minister Dwayne Seymour answers questions in Parliament (file photo) (CNS): More than two weeks after the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency gazetted the National Conservation Amendment Bill and began a public consultation, which will close in less than two weeks, Dwayne Seymour, the minister responsible, has claimed that the process represents “inclusive and transparent governance”. However, this bill was drafted behind closed doors with no input from the government’s own environmental scientists, the National Conservation Council’s district representatives or any of Cayman’s local environmental non-profit groups. CNS has asked the sustainability ministry a number of questions about the controversial amendments to the legislation, which will effectively gut the law, but we are still awaiting answers to those questions. The changes would remove what limited powers the law provided to curtail some of the most egregious development that has taken a terrible toll on Cayman’s natural resources over the last...

McKeeva Bush addresses attendees at the ACT meeting (CNS): McKeeva Bush MP has made an unabashed appeal to PPM Leader Joey Hew and other opposition members to attend the parliamentary Business Committee meetings ahead of the scheduled session this month and help get the referendum bill and changes to the conservation law on the order paper for debate. Speaking at a meeting in his district of West Bay, Bush said that initially, he hadn’t agreed with the referendum because he believed the government should just go ahead and build the piers, but he now wants the opposition to support the bill because of that commitment to build a pier. Bush was one of several current, former and hopeful MPs who attended the meeting hosted by the Association for Cruise Tourism (ACT), which went to West Bay on Tuesday night to promote the idea of a cruise berthing facility on Grand...

The TCCP candidates (L-R) Wayne Panton, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, Heather Bodden, André Ebanks, Emily DeCou, Sabrina Turner and Osbourne Bodden (CNS): André Ebanks, the former deputy premier and minister for financial services and social development, is taking the lead of a newly formed party that is hoping to contest around ten seats in the April General Election. The Caymanian Community Party (TCCP) officially launched on Wednesday, 15 January, with an initial slate of seven candidates who say they are committed to putting Caymanians and their community first. Ebanks has been selected by the TCCP’s founding members as its leader and will be premier if they secure a majority. He said the party is promising to form an inclusive, accountable government and to take the country in a new direction. The party membership currently includes five incumbent MPs: former premier Wayne Panton (NEW), and the four who recently resigned from the UPM:...

(CNS): Earlier today, the last day for people to register if they want to vote in the 2025 General election on 30 April, the primary phone line at the Elections Office went down. As a result, anyone seeking help should call 244-5400. Anyone who has still not registered is urged to visit the office in person before 7pm this evening with the necessary documentation. The office is located at 68 West Bay Road, Bay Town Office Suites, George Town (across from The Wharf Restaurant). Later in the day the office also reported that a small number of errors had been encountered by some individuals attempting to register online using the online application form. “To immediately address this issue, the Elections Office has implemented improvements to the online application process. The public is also advised that applications may be submitted via email to [email protected].  All email applications must be submitted before midnight tonight...