Norma Connolly

1 week ago | caymancompass.com | Norma Connolly

A dive instructor and a student of marine biology are currently waiting to find out if a sponge they’ve photographed on Cayman reefs is a previously undocumented species. Indepth Watersports dive instructor Dan Schofield and recently graduated Madelaine Cronier had separately captured photos of the sponge, and uploaded them to a citizen scientist website, inaturalist.org. The sponge is now being studied by a US-based researcher to determine if, as thought, it’s a never-before-documented species.

1 week ago | caymancompass.com | Norma Connolly

The largest donor to a political party or individual candidate reported in this year’s general election was DMS, which donated $200,000 to the People’s Progressive Movement. According to records and receipts filed by the candidates and parties with the Elections Office, which were viewed by the Compass, the PPM received $487,868 in total donations, which included the single $200,000 donation from DMS.

1 week ago | caymancompass.com | Norma Connolly

The People’s Progressive Movement party spent almost $700,000 on its election campaign – nearly $220,000 more than legally allowed, the Elections Office has reported. The party spent $699,751 in the two-month period between Nomination Day on 3 March and Election Day on 30 April, rather than the maximum of $480,000 ($40,000 per candidate) stipulated by the Elections Act.

1 week ago | caymancompass.com | Norma Connolly

A hurricane-shutter fitter who was jailed for five years for defrauding nine clients out of $15,400 will serve three years instead, after the Court of Appeal reduced his sentence. Garfield Antonio Robb was convicted in September 2023 of nine counts of obtaining money by deception over a period of nearly seven years, and was sentenced in March last year by Acting Justice Frank Williams to five years behind bars.

1 week ago | caymancompass.com | Norma Connolly

Police say they are still waiting reports from overseas specialists who were brought in to help in the investigation into the death of Judiann Myles, whose body was found in a burning car more than two months ago. In response to a request for an update, a police spokesperson on Friday told the Compass that the investigation was “still ongoing” into the circumstances surrounding the death of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority anti-money-laundering unit head.