Hope for return of beach after Royal Palms demolition
🔴 | The removal of the old Royal Palms building has led to hope for the return of a healthy beachfront along Seven Mile Beach, portions of which have been lost over time to erosion and battering by storms.
However, Tim Austin, Department of Environment deputy director, research and assessment, said it is not clear how soon this will happen.
“We’re going to get to see how that beach responds and I think it would be a good working example of what the future might look like without structures on the beach,” Austin told the Cayman Compass on Friday following the demolition of Royal Palms last week.
The popular bar, which had been closed following severe damage due to storms, erosion and wave action, was torn down to make way for a new establishment farther from the beachfront.
Caymanian businessman Handel Whittaker, the former owner of Calico Jack’s, and his team are leading the rebirth of the new establishment which will bear the same Royal Palms name. The demolition of the Dart-owned property began on 6 Jan.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: File
Couple rings in new year with first baby of 2025
🔴 | When expectant mum Vanessa Ebanks-Riley started feeling stomach pains on New Year’s Eve, at first she was not convinced she was going into labour, but by the following morning, she and husband Shadrack Chad Riley were welcoming Cayman’s first baby of 2025.
The couple ushered in the new year with the birth of their son, Caxsian Phoenix Adam Riley, just days before his 6 Jan. due date.
“ I just wanted to [have a] December baby … but he came when he came,” Ebanks-Riley laughed, as she cuddled her son during an interview with the Cayman Compass following their hospital discharge.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Reshma Ragoonath
Last minute voter applications pour into Elections Office
🔴 | Cayman’s Elections Office was flooded by applications on the final day of voter registration on Wednesday as hundreds sought to beat the midnight deadline to get on to the electoral roll for the 30 April general election.
“We’re getting applications in-person. We’re getting them by email and we’re getting them from the online submissions,” Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell said Wednesday afternoon as he spoke with the Cayman Compass before the close of registrations.
s he flipped through a thick stack of hundreds of forms, all of which had been collected by lunchtime Wednesday, Howell said his team has a task ahead of them to verify all applications, which range from new registrations to change of address forms.
“It’s gonna be a busy few days for us here,” Howell said.
By 1pm Wednesday, Howell said 146 applications had been received by email since midnight. A thousand online applications had been made since the beginning of voter registration.
He said hundreds of forms were also received between 9am and 2pm at the Elections Office headquarters at Bayshore Plaza in George Town.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Reshma Ragoonath
André Ebanks to lead new ‘Caymanian Community Party’ in battle for government
🔴 | Former deputy premier André Ebanks will lead a new political group – the Caymanian Community Party – into the next general election.
The party has announced seven candidates, including five sitting MPs – Ebanks, Wayne Panton Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, Sabrina Turner and Heather Bodden.
The two newcomers to the group are Emily DeCou, a sustainability advocate who ran as an independent last time, and Osbourne Bodden, a former Cabinet minister with the Progressives, who had been tipped to run with them again.
New candidates are expected to be added in the coming weeks with the party aiming to compete to win the majority 10 seats needed to form a government. The announcement today is the first big move in the race for the government with a general election looming in April.
Ebanks, who quit the independent coalition in October along with three other MPs, has moved fast to be one of the key figures in developing a party that will seek to be part of the political scene for years to come. He was unanimously elected leader at a founder’s meeting on Sunday.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Mark Westin
André Ebanks to lead new ‘Caymanian Community Party’
in battle for government
Shark chases fish to Samaritan anglers
🔴 | If you didn’t see it, it’d be hard to believe that angler Roshad Goff, without a hook or line, caught a 30-pound permit jack.
Maybe even more astounding: A hungry hammerhead shark chased the fish straight into his hands in a breathtaking encounter.
Goff and his partner Glenda Pino spent a weekend baiting their lines in the West Action Angling Tournament but on Sunday, 12 Jan., fishing gear wasn’t needed when they noticed splashing on the ocean’s surface, while on their way to Rum Point.
“We saw commotion in the water and initially we thought it was a shark after a stingray, so we decided to get closer,” Pino told the Compass.
With hopes of chronicling the disturbance, Pino began recording on her phone and was amazed – an adult hammerhead shark on the hunt.
Unfortunately for the shark it was outsmarted when his prey found a safe spot to hide..
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Supplied
Ready to rebuild Royal Palms team works toward reopening
🔴 | The iconic Royal Palms Beach Club is set for a rebirth, as the team members behind its new lease on life say they are rearing to get the hotspot up and running after the remnants of its former structure were demolished this week.
The Cayman Compass was on hand Thursday morning as Handel Whittaker, former Calico Jack’s owner, and his team oversaw clearing works and prepared to commence construction on the new establishment bearing the same name.
“We’re very excited about this particular time. As you can see, the building has been removed and it’s a new year. This is going to be a new start. The island has been waiting for a facility as such and we intend to make Royal Palms into a really nice restaurant/beach bar that tourists and locals alike can come and really hang out and enjoy the view, the sunset, and great food and entertainment,” Whittaker said as he surveyed the now-cleared property.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Reshma Ragoonath
‘Heightened vigilance’ after claims of voter registration fraud
🔴 | The Elections Office has said there will be “heightened vigilance” in verifying voter registration and change-of-circumstances forms following claims of attempts by some people to fraudulently vote in districts where they do not reside.
The office, in a statement on Tuesday morning, said it has received complaints and concerns about electors “intentionally or inadvertently” seeking to fraudulently vote in electoral districts where they do not reside either through false change-of-circumstances applications or false residential information on registrations forms.
Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell, in an emailed comment to the Cayman Compass, said his officers noticed “some questionable forms” and had received concerns directly, prompting the issuance of a warning against committing voter fraud.
“Currently, the Registering Officers are reviewing and processing voter registration and change of information applications; they are following up with applicants whose forms appear to be in question. If they still have concerns after contacting the applicant, they will raise the objections with the Revising Officer during the period for claims and objections. If fraud is suspected, the matter will be reported to the Police,” Howell explained.
The elections supervisor pointed out that an example of a questionable form is when a voter submits multiple change-of-address forms within a short period.
“While some persons are legitimately transient or relocating after a brief stay, some may be illegitimate; as such these applications are scrutinised closely,” he said.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Alvaro Serey
Hectic hurricane season makes Grand Cayman the wettest since 2005
🔴 | Grand Cayman had the wettest wet season in 19 years, according to the Cayman Islands National Weather Service.
The wet season, which runs between May and November, saw 67.7 inches of rain in total, making it the wettest since 2005 and the fifth highest on record. In comparison, the same period in 2023 saw only 38.5 inches of rain.
The excessive rainfall was, as residents will recall, thanks in part to a particularly busy Atlantic hurricane season, with 11 hurricanes – five of which were major hurricanes – and 18 named storms.
Of those, three storms – Hurricane Beryl, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Rafael – hit the Cayman Islands, the first time this has happened since Tropical Storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Paloma, made an impact in 2008.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: File
Electronic justice revolution planned for Cayman courts
🔴 | Cayman courts are to get a high-tech revamp in a bid to make the judicial system more efficient, the islands’ top judge signalled on Wednesday during the Grand Court opening.
Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale said she still hoped for a new courts complex, but, in the meantime, she planned to bring existing buildings up-to-date to boost court services and the administration of justice by “moving towards automation”.
Ramsay-Hale added she wanted to “harness technology for information services and access” and create resources that were “fit for purpose and which used technology effectively to improve court processes and improve delivery of services to court users”.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photos: Mark Westin
‘New year, new beginning’ for Royal Palms site, as old beach bar demolished
🔴 | The remnants of the iconic Royal Palms structure were demolished on Tuesday, paving the way for a new beach bar to be built in its place.
“It’s a new year, new beginning,” former Calico Jack’s owner Handel Whittaker, who is leading the return of the beach bar, told the Cayman Compass in a telephone interview following the start of the works.
The Compass was on scene as the old, sea-battered building on Seven Mile Beach was reduced to rubble by an excavator.
Although sad to see the former Royal Palms building go, Whittaker said he was invigorated to bring the beach bar back and was looking forward to the future.
“We’ve gotten planning permission to remove the structures so that we can start new construction speedily and get the project up and running,” he said.
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: Taneos Ramsay
New bus routes for Cayman promised alongside more efficient network
🔴 | Three long-awaited, new bus routes are to be introduced as part of government’s plans to improve public transport around Grand Cayman.
The routes, running from West Bay to George Town, George Town to the eastern districts and a George Town circular route, have long been flagged by government and will operate alongside the existing bus system, Planning Minister Johany Ebanks told Parliament in the last session of 2024.
New bus priority lanes and bus depots are also planned as well as an app, which would let passengers know when the next bus is due.
MPs approved the Public Transport Bill, 2024, which established a new Public Transport Unit and director of public transport, and paved the way for improvements in public transport on the islands as outlined in government’s transport green paper, also laid in front of Parliament.
Introducing a debate on the Public Transport Bill in Parliament in December, Planning Minister Johany Ebanks said, “As our population and economy have rapidly grown, our transportation system has struggled to keep pace, leading to increased congestion and safety risks. It is essential that we develop a modern public transport alternative that is both efficient and effective.”
He added, “By granting public transport its own standalone legislation, we are laying a solid foundation for improvements in efficiency and operations.”
🔗 Read the full story at www.caymancompass.com.
📸 Photo: File
Serving Cayman since 1965, the Cayman Compass is the islands’ most-trusted news source. The Cayman Compass is the islands’ most-trusted news source.
