Voting got underway this morning for 2009 General Election.
Polling stations across the Cayman Islands opened at 7 am and will close at 6 pm.
The country’s 15,361 registered voters are also voting in a referendum on constitutional reform, the first referendum ever held in the Cayman Islands.
The first returns will be announced at 9 pm, with updates every 2 hours after.
The Coe Wood Public Beach in Bodden Town was officially reopened yesterday by Charles Clifford, the Minister of Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce.
Mr Clifford announced further plans to enhance the beach under the government’s Go East initiative. These include a new fishing dock, public toilets, and several kiosks for small businesses.
The development work is expected to be finished by summer 2009.
The Cayman Islands has been placed on a ‘grey list’ of countries that need to substantially implement an internationally agreed tax standard.
The list was published at the end of the G20 meeting in London by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The ‘grey list’ comprised countries that had not signed Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) with at least 12 other countries.
It did, however, avoid being blacklisted and not committed to an internationally agreed tax standard.
The blacklisted countries were Malaysia, Costa Rica, Philippines, and Uruguay.
The other countries on the ‘grey list’ were Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cook Islands, Dominica, Gibraltar, Grenada, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Montserrat, Nauru, Antilles, Niue, Panama, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Vanuatu.
Minister of Tourism Charles Clifford has announced that construction work on the redevelopment of Owen Roberts International Airport is scheduled to commence in September and will be complete by 2012.
The project was first announced at the start of 2007 and should have been completed next year. Delays have meant that only a new staff parking lot and a reconfiguration of the long and short-term passenger parking areas have so far been finished.
The next stage will see the floor space at the main terminal grow from 80,000 to 220,000 square feet, an expanded ticketing and check-in hall, a new arrivals hall, a domestic arrivals and departures hall, a new international departures hall, a three additional aircraft parking slots.
The sale of alcohol on Election Day (May 20 2009) has been restricted by the Liquor Licensing Board of Grand Cayman.
Under the rules the sale of alcohol will be banned until 7 pm, one hour after the polls close.
Property developer Michael Ryan has unveiled plans for a 360 acre resort, incorporating the Ritz Carlton and the land at the former SafeHaven golf course.
The project, known as Dragon Bay, will include an 18-hole golf course, a marina, boutique hotel, private residences, and the existing Ritz Carlton hotel.
The Cayman Islands Orchid Society will hold its annual Orchid Show and Sale at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on March 7 and 8 2009.
The event will run from 8.30 am until 4.30 pm on both days. Admission is CI$8 (free for kids under 12).
Members of Cayman’s Legislative Assembly have voted unanimously to hold a referendum that would see a draft constitution become law.
The referendum will take place on May 20 2009 and requires the approval of more than 50 percent of voters taking part.
The proposed referendum question stated in the bill, requiring a simple yes or no vote, reads, ‘Do you approve the Draft Constitution, which was agreed by the Cayman Islands Constitution Delegation and the Government of the United Kingdom on 5 February 2009, and tabled in the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands on 11 February 2009?’
The proposed constitution gives the people of the Cayman Islands a greater say in international relations, government finances, the police, and the judiciary. It also includes a Bill of Rights.
Air Jamaica is to cease flights to Grand Cayman next month.
The company yesterday released its 2009 Business Plan, designed to stem its losses and face the current global economic crisis.
Under the plan the airline will halt flights from Jamaica to Grand Cayman on February 26 2009. Flights to other destination such as Los Angeles and Miami will also cease.
The company is also reducing its fleet from 15 to 9 aircraft.
The Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, will visit the Cayman Islands next month.
He will arrive in Cayman Brac on February 5 and inspect the damage caused by Hurricane Paloma and travel to Grand Cayman in the afternoon to present Duke of Edinburgh Awards at Government House.
The visit is part of a 7-day trip to the Caribbean that also includes calls in the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados.