YIR November & December

And now we turn to the last two months of the year as we round off our review of the year that was 20-17. Tonight we look into the top stories of November and December.
November kicked off with Cayman being thrust into the international spotlight with the paradise papers leak. Cayman’s name appear in the data, financial services Minister Tara Rivers said Cayman did nothing wrong and is working to strengthen regulatory obligations.

Closer to home, on the morning of November 9th, parents of East End Primary School pulled their children out of school for two days protesting the absence of a full time fifth grade teacher for three weeks, the teacher was pulled out of school after allegations involving a student, the teacher later returned to the school.

Also in November, Operation Tempura, the multi-million dollar probe that lasted almost a decade was closed, with no criminal prosecutions.

On November 26th the dirt bikers issue came to a head with police and riders, hundreds of riders took to the streets, police tried to stop them and in the end only one rider was arrested. Middle ground was later achieved between police and the riders, who now have an off road location to ride their dirt bikes legally.

In December, Cayman’s constitution was launched in braille and in audio formats, the new versions of the constitution were created by the Human Rights and Constitution Commission.

Also in December, residents faced a bulk waste pile-up compounded by delays in garbage collection, the Department of Environmental Health partnered with private companies to clear the waste before Christmas day.

Celebrations abound in December as missing boater Thomas Robert Owen Bush, was found off the coast of Honduras. He was lost at sea for more than a month, he was stuck in Honduras because of political unrest there, and government later extracted him.

The holiday season started on a somber note, when two men were found dead on December 23rd in unconnected incidences in George Town.

On December 27th, a woman was severely burnt on an arson attack at her home behind Shedden road. 10 people left homeless in that incident, two others also suffered burns.