(CNS): The police have confirmed that a 63-year-old man who was visiting Cayman on a cruise ship died Thursday after a snorkelling trip off Eden Rock. The US tourist was swimming with friends at around 10am on 16 May when he got into difficulty. The man was brought to shore by his friends where CPR was administered by emergency staff. He was then taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. A spokesperson for the RCIPS said that the matter is now under investigation by the Joint Marine Unit.

(CNS): Neil Lavis, who has 30 years corrections experience in Britain, has been appointed as the Cayman Islands new prison director. Lavis is currently serving as the governor of HMP Swansea in Wales. Appointed because of key achievements during his three-year tenure there which have direct relevance for the HMCIPS, the new prison boss will start next month at a very challenge time of change for the local prison. HMP Swansea currently houses over 435 prisoners with 400 staff and a £9.5 million budget. Eric Bush, chief officer in the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, said he was confident Lavis would play a central role in efforts to improve the state of the local prison system.

(CNS): The leader of the UDP and former premier has denied any knowledge of a $1 million donation given to the University College of the Caribbean in connection with the honorary doctorate that the college was to bestow on him before his untimely arrest last December. In a statement released to the media in the wake of CNS' headline story on Thursday night revealing the details of the donation and the police investigation now underway, McKeeva Bush said he knew nothing of the donation and this was the first he had ever heard of it. He said that it was no coincidence that he was arrested just before he was due to go to Jamaica to receive this award and the report was part of a continuing campaign by the Cayman governor, the opposition and others to influence the outcome of the election.

(CNS) Updated: The police have confirmed that they have finally received a report regarding the allegations of theft at the Pines Retirement Home in George Town. The home released a statement more than two weeks ago stating that the board had dismissed its manager, Sue Nicholson, and was working with KPMG to prepare a report for the authorities. However, it is understood that Nicholson is no longer on Grand Cayman and the police said learlier this week that no report had yet been made to them about the missing money. But on Friday morning an RCIPS spokesperson confirmed that a report had now been filled with the Financial Crimes Unit.

(CNS): The various groups opposed to the West Bay Road closure are continuing on with their fight, despite the recent disappointment regarding one of the legal challenges. The judicial review application filed by Rupert Ackermon, one of the leading activists in the Truly4Cayman group, was thrown out by  Justice Charles Quin as a result of the time line, and the legal questions surrounding the deal were therefore never aired. However, a second legal action filed by four West Bay women who are also part of a broader group of activists opposing the Dart-NRA deal with government are awaiting a court date for their writ of summons to be heard.

(CNS): The group of district activists fighting to prevent the relocation of the George Town dump in Bodden Town are asking voters to pick from all of the PPM candidates and some independents on polling day as they have committed to keeping the district dump free. Alain Beiner, chairman of the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free, said his group had made the proposal by Dart Realty Cayman Ltd to place a new landfill in Midland Acres a major campaign issue but not all of the candidates had been clear about their opposition to the plan.  In order to protect the district, he urged voters to only vote for candidates who have unequivocally committed to keeping the district dump-free.

(CNS): The police and the Anti-Corruption Commission are currently investigating a money transfer made to the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) of US$1 million in relation to the honorary doctorate that the former Cayman Islands premier was scheduled to receive before he was arrested last December. The UCC chancellor confirmed this week that a donation was received in relation to the special degree that was to be given to McKeeva Bush but it was returned after the college deferred awarding the honour. When asked about the transfer, which is understood to have been made from a bank in New York, local officials confirmed that a joint investigation was underway.

(CNS): Over the last few months the community affairs ministry has been urging those people who collect veterans' or seamen's benefits as a result of past service at sea to contact the ministry so it can verify that the people concerned are still alive and living here in Cayman. Speaking at Thursday’s press briefing, the current Cabinet said that, contrary to rumours, the monthly payments from government were not at risk. Meanwhile, on the campaign trail the PNA members of the minority Cabinet have been hammering home the message that these and all other social  payments come from central government coffers and are not dependent on McKeeva Bush being in office.

(CNS): With the General Election less than one week away, the Elections Office is reminding all liquor licence holders that no alcohol can be sold or given away until 7pm in the evening on Polling Day, an hour after the polls close. This includes bars, restaurants, hotels, duty free stores, as well as local liquor shops. Elections Supervisor Kearney Gomez also reminded employers that they must allow all staff members who are registered voters time off to go to the polls and that all political advertisements and banners and other inducements to vote for a particular candidate or party must be removed by midnight on Tuesday 21 May.

(CNS): With the country’s attention firmly focused on the political storms, the impending arrival of the Atlantic Hurricane Season on 1 June has taken a back seat for many people. However, local officials are urging everyone to begin their preparations during the forthcoming holiday weekend. Monday 20 May is the National Day of Preparedness, with this year’s theme focusing on things people need to survive a major storm. The theme "Get your preparedness kit together!" urges residents to consider what they need and get stocked up before the season starts.

(CNS): All fourteen PPM candidates running with party leader Alden McLaughlin have declared their unreserved support for him following accusations made by the C4C on Wednesday that some of them were disloyal, and asked voters not to fall for the claims. In a statement signed by the PPM team released Thursday afternoon, the candidates said the C4C was causing “political mischief” but had not named a leader of its own, as the Progressives pointed out that McLaughlin was elected leader by the party membership. The candidates said they would not be sidetracked by the “spurious claims” of the coalition, which has failed to gain a broad base of support from the electorate.

(CNS): The former premier, who is the target of much of the criticisms regarding the lack of integrity in the local political landscape, has questioned the honesty of some of the Coalition for Cayman candidates. Appearing as a guest on the local TV network’s talk show Tuesday, alongside Oposition Leader Alden McLaughlin and Roy McTaggart, who is emerging as the C4C’s leader, McKeeva Bush suggested that members of the C4C running for office were guilty of professional dishonesty. Without naming anyone, Bush said that as part of Cabinet he had learned about the “skeletons” in their closets but investigations were not instigated to protect Cayman from the UK.

(CNS): The Coalition for Cayman candidates, who still insist they are not a political party, have released a national plan, which they insist is not a manifesto. However, the ‘non- manifesto' lists the collective agreed policy positions of the seven candidates on six key areas, from education to political reform. The candidates say that manifestos are long documents containing ‘big, lofty promises’ but their plan outlines their top priorities for the country, based on discussions and feedback from the people, that they say they will tackle f they are elected and able to form a government.  The C4C said that if they are elected, they will not implement any new initiatives without consultation.

(CNS): A 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm following a house raid in East End in the early hours of Wednesday morning. An RCIPS spokesperson said that police made the arrest at around 5.45am today (Wednesday, 15 May) when officers searched a house in John McLean Drive, in the heart of the district. During the search the police recovered a flare gun, mask and bayonet. The man remained in police custody Wednesday evening while enquiries continued.
 

(CNS): The Coalition for Cayman has accused unnamed Progressive candidates of betraying their leader. In a statement released Wednesday, the C4C claimed that some PPM hopefuls have approached them, unhappy about their party’s management. In the collective statement the group, which still insists it is not a political party, all rejected working with former premier McKeeva Bush if they are returned in the general election next week and made it clear that they would be happy to include disgruntled PPM members in the coalition government they believe will be formed after the result is in.  Rejecting their claims, the PPM leader said the comment reflected their desperation following a failed campaign.