Dart wins planning approval for Camana Bay STEM centre
Central Planning Authority clears a new science and technology education facility, as new plant-pest import rules are set for January and a lottery review continues.
The Central Planning Authority has approved a planning application from Dart and the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation for a dedicated STEM education facility at Camana Bay, according to Cayman Marl Road. The same developer marked the graduation of 18 young Caymanians from its 2026 Dart Hospitality Training Programme at a ceremony in the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman ballroom on Thursday 15 October, the Cayman Compass reports.
Importers face new compliance requirements from 1 January, with regulations covering construction aggregate, used agricultural and construction equipment, and planting materials as part of an expanded effort to keep plant pests out of the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Compass reports. On workplace regulation, Health Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks told parliament the government has procured a centralised health, safety and environment management software solution, though Cayman News Service characterises progress as slow.
Two policy questions remain open. The Law Reform Commission is still conducting a wide-ranging review of the proposed national lottery, following April last year's referendum in which just over 51% of the electorate voted in favour, Cayman News Service reports. Separately, Deputy Opposition Leader Kenneth Bryan and government backbench MP Julie Hunter have jointly called for a constitutional change requiring ex officio members of Cabinet and parliament, including the attorney general, to meet the same requirements as elected members, also per Cayman News Service.
On Seven Mile Beach, government confirmed that two visitors suffered hand and finger lacerations from a fish bite south of Governor's Beach on Friday 16 October. The Cayman Compass reports both have been discharged from hospital and that the species involved has not been confirmed, though barracudas are known to follow baitfish into the shallows. Cayman Marl Road said emergency services received reports at about 11.30am.