Harvey to release new documentaries

Artist, researcher and marine conservationist Guy Harvey, who has fascinated audiences with the award-winning “Portraits from the Deep” documentary series and recently received a lifetime achievement award celebrating his environmental advocacy, is launching two new film projects this year.

The first documentary, titled “Panama Paradise: Edge of Conservation”, is due out this spring.

The second documentary, due out later this year, will deal with the migration patterns of tiger sharks, a threatened species.

In “Panama Paradise: Edge of Conservation”, Harvey and two-time Emmy Award winning producer George C. Schellenger take an expedition to where the jungle meets the sea in Panama, capturing unforgettable imagery of the surrounding waters. The film chronicles how scientists are working against the clock to protect a land and sea paradise popular with visitors from around the world.

“A critical part of the mission of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation is education and film is a superb way to deliver the messages of science and conservation,” Harvey said. “Only through understanding the issues can we hope to save our seas for future generations.

Cayman leads FOI charge

Although it continues to be a somewhat controversial issue locally three years after passage, other countries in the Caribbean and around the world are beginning to take notice of the Cayman Islands’ Freedom of Information Law and the relative success the legislation has enjoyed.

Some current and former British territories, including Bermuda, Bahamas and Guernsey have drawn extensively upon Cayman’s Freedom of Information Law (2007) in creating their own legislation or in preparing to take steps toward a more open and transparent government.

Former director of information at the UK’s Ministry of Justice Belinda Crowe said she was “quite impressed” with Cayman’s open records legislation. Crowe performed some research on a number of smaller countries’ open records regimes in preparing an information strategy for the States of Guernsey last year. Although Guernsey won’t be looking to adopt anything like FOI laws for at least another three years, Crowe said she thought Cayman’s “practical approach to making FOI work well” offered “much that similar jurisdictions could learn from”.

Safety campaign nets 62 drink drivers

During the annual Christmas road safety campaign, three people died in car collisions, police arrested 62 drivers for drink driving and ticketed another 140 for speeding.

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service described the results of the six weeks of Operation Christmas Cracker from 28 November to 4 January as “shocking”.

Three people died in separate accidents during that period and police said that while investigations into all three collisions were ongoing, early indications showed that alcohol and/or speed were contributing factors.

As well as three fatal collisions, police dealt with another 146 crashes during Operation Christmas Cracker – more than three a day. However, the number of road collisions during this year’s road safety campaign is far lower than those seen during last year’s police crackdown when police responded to 298 accidents in six weeks.

Local college hosts graduation

More than 70 students earned degrees from the International College of the Cayman Islands and a graduation ceremony was held 5 January at the Family Life Centre to honour those achievements.

With 40 individuals receiving associate’s degrees, 20 receiving bachelor’s degrees and 12 collecting master’s degrees, Education Minister Rolston Anglin said the numbers were “impressive for a small community” and even more encouraging coming from such a small institution.

Shetty: New medical school opening

Cardiologist Dr. Devi Shetty has announced plans to open his own medical school within an existing facility in Cayman this year.

Dr. Shetty and his team from India made a four-day visit to Grand Cayman earlier this month and said they were expediting plans to create a medical school as part of the proposed medical tourism project by basing the school in another institution. Dr. Shetty did not disclose in which institution the medical school would be based. He said the team has received offers, but the deal had not been “tied down”.

Dr. A. Raghuvanshi, managing director of Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals, the group behind the project, said: “By the end of this year, the coming academic year, we should start a medical school that will take about 100 students.” The group also announced plans to break ground in August on the medical tourism project in East End.