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I wish to express my displeasure at the recent turn of events that have resulted in the absence of the students representing the nation’s capital Grand Turk, the HJ Robinson High School, from this years National Inter High School Track and Field Athletic meet.
Yesterday, I was appalled to see an argument between one of our senior, long serving Taxi drivers and an alleged jitney driver in the front of a resort. The argument was captured on video and shared on social media. It was a public display of a huge problem that this Government continues to ignore - that of the presence of illegal jitneys.
This is a symptom of a bigger problem which I raised only last week in Parliament. Taxi drivers who are legal road users and have to pay for licenses, TCIAA fees, NHIP and NIB should not have to compete with illegal public transportation. The Government must see how unfair this is and how frustrating this is and is becoming.
We are also informed that there is a practice of some front desk workers at different resorts/hotels calling illegal public transportation for hotel guests. We need not reiterate, but we will again address the risk this poses should tourists be hurt in any way. This practice if true, must cease forthwith and we are calling on those resorts/hotels where reports have been made to you to ensure that your guests are entering legal public transportation.
We continue to be baffled that this Government has not seen the loss in revenue with this unregulated industry as a catalyst to address this issue if nothing else motivates them to act. We continue to be equally baffled that this Government has not moved to protect legal road users, to provide safe and insured public transportation for the public. The excuse of the Constitution tying their hands or having no cash to address pressing issues does not apply to this situation, though not to any at all. We await a reason from the Government as to why this situation continues unaddressed.
We again publicly call on the Government to address this matter with haste and to see the risks to passengers and legal road users, unfairness to taxi drivers and loss of revenue that this situation left unresolved continues to bring. We are aware of the apparent "gray" area that exists as to which law enforcement arm should be policing these vehicles. We maintain that there is a joint role for Road Safety and the Police and if left much longer, we fear that people will begin to take matters in their own hands.
Nonetheless, we urge the Taxi Drivers who have been patient for long to remember our brand but to also see the importance in standing together resolutely to address this Government on this and other pressing issues.
Members of my Team will visit hotels to address the allegations against staff and will today address our concerns to the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association.
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos - Monday, February 29, 2016 - Last Thursday the crème de la crème of TCI's tourism and hospitality sector were honoured when Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association hosted its 8th annual Star Awards event. Each year the event which embodies the spirit of Turks and Caicos honours the achievements of the industry's top tourism, leisure and hospitality employees, businesses and partners, recognising their contribution to the industry and rewarding them for their continued commitment. A commitment and dedication which allows our destination to remain one of the best tourism destinations in the world.
The evening of splendour and entertainment celebrated achievements in an industry which is characterised by excellence and by an intensely guest-focused culture. Hosted by Stephen Wilson and Deandra Hamilton at Tropicana Dinner and Show Club, Star Awards recognised and rewarded individuals for their contribution to service excellence in tourism and for upholding the promise of quality assurance.
With over 130 nominees submitted to auditors KPMG patrons erupted in applause when the winners were announced:
TCHTA's Executive Director Stacy Cox who reminded all nominees that the night was about them, noted "We must all take the lead in putting TCI at the fore, ensuring it is at the forefront of what is one of the fast growing and most competitive industries in the world. We all play an integral part in the ongoing success of Turks and Caicos and as our tourism product continues to compete with the best of the best, we must all continue to work together to raise the bar, ensuring that the desire to experience the islands we call home grows from leaps and bounds."
To the winners of the various Awards Cox said, "Your win validates your hard work and commitment to excellence across the industry. You should all be proud of your win and the vital part you play in the destination's success as a leading visitor destination. You are the reason TCI is synonymous with quality."
Local, regional and international tourism partners answered the call and supported the event again this year, ensuring that all winners walked away with not only a trophy but also a Samsung Tab E. Star Awards Raffle winners Jasmine Pierre, Patrick Staples, Weston Bovell, Mary Forbes and McKia Jones also received prizes including return tickets on interCaribbean Airways, JetBlue and Delta to various regional destinations as well as hotel accommodation.
Sponsors:interCaribbean Airways, ScotiaBank, Beaches TCI, Gilley's Enterprises, CIBC FirstCaribbean, CSC Brokers, RBC , JetBlue, LIME, Delta, Do It Center, Graceway IGA, Viceroy, Atlantis Paradise, Scrub Island, Sun Newspaper, FortisTCI, Fedex, Caicos Dream Tours, Nick's Car Rentals, TCIAA, AIB, TCTB, Embassy Suites & DoubleTree by Hilton (Puerto Rico), KPMG, Caicos Express Airways, Hemingway's, Cargo Express Services Ltd, Caicos Express Airways, Air & Sea Agency, The Sands at Grace Bay, The Palms Turks & Caicos, Metropolitan by Como.
Please see the attached 2016 Register of Electors for the Turks and Caicos Islands. This includes:
The 2016 Register of Electors for ED 04 North and Middle Caicos is still under review by the adjudicators and thus, will be published at a later date.
In addition, see attached the 'Qualifying Date Votes' list.
Today PDM Leader wrote to the Minister of Border Control and the Premier in an attempt to have them reconsider the introduction of the Immigration and Turks and Caicos Islander Status Bill start date of April 1st. We have based this on what we can only term as a serious growing uneasiness because of the air of uncertainty on the final Bills and Regulations and also on the fact that we believe that the planned and budgeted public education should come before the introduction and not after the introduction of the Bills. This point was made during the Committee Stage of the Budget when the Hon Leader inquired about the wisdom of public education after the introduction.
The PDM has over the past three years called for Immigration Reform and it is much needed but we have not failed on stating clearly our basic position: the need for the Government to consult with the people of this country and also the wisdom in using the census figures to develop a population policy and then allow this to inform the Law and Policies.
In 2014, the PDM was able to halt the Bill based on a technical vote stopping it from going to its second reading. The effect of this was that the Bill could only be brought in its same form after the current session was prorogued and a new session started. The PNP Government did bring the Bill again in the new session and attempted to proceed without consultation. After much representation from the PDM consultations led by the Minister took place and was held on each major Island and carried live over RTC. Whilst we encouraged our people (even through social media) to attend official meetings that would record their comments and inform the Government directly, the PDM met with groups and individuals on its details and also used our Radio Show to discuss the Bills clause by clause. We called on the Government publicly to slow down its process and this voice was joined by members of the Clergy and even a sitting executive member of the PNP Government. The Bills were eventually passed and while distracting dialogue sought to focus on how many persons said no, with no real attention paid to the fact that the Bill was passed by a majority of the House and would have whether 8 persons shouted no or not, its passage occurred. The Bill now passed since late last year has been delayed in its introduction.
The PDM has spoken to these Bills on occasions following its passage and within the past few days, interests by Islanders have been heightened. While it is inconceivable that there are persons who are unaware of its content after years of on and off again dialogue, it is indeed possible and is so the case, having had a rushed consultations.
We have today written to the Minister asking him to delay its introduction and to engage the people of this country in the planned and budgeted for public education on the two Immigration Bills.
We encourage the people of this country to get involved and pay keen attention to the many important issues raised and discussed and to use its voice to ensure that we live in a country where people are indeed center to a Government's decision and development.
We await the Minister and his Government's response.
The Office of the Deputy Governor would firstly like to thank all of the Civil Servants across the Turks and Caicos Islands who attended the various debates and meetings held by the CSIA and candidates, and most importantly, the Civil Servants who casted their vote in this election process.
A special thanks goes out to the members of the Civil Service in Action Committee (CSIA) on a job well done in organizing and managing a very professional election process. We thank as well the moderators of the debates, Dr. Hugh Fulford and Mrs. Blythe Clare, the District Commissioners in our family Islands, the Elections Office and the various Ministries and Departments that assisted the process by allowing time off for staff and the use of their facilities.
Finally, we would like to congratulate all of the candidates for accepting the nominations and for running well-managed-professional campaigns.
The CSIA is very pleased to announce that 738 Civil Servants casted votes which included 9 in Salt Cay, 315 in Grand Turk, 79 in South Caicos, 42 in North and Middle Caicos and 293 in Providenciales.
With a total of 381 and 514 votes respectively, your next Civil Service Association President and Vice President is Mr. Patterson Williams and Mr. Temard Butterfield.
"Congratulations to our new CSA President and Vice President. Job well done and we look forward to working with you on the advancement of the Turks and Caicos Islands Civil Service!"
With the Bugatti Veyron’s top-speed records, a price tag over $1 million, and distinctive melted-scoop-of-ice-cream styling, it was an instant rolling superlative when it debuted in 2005. Its successor, the new Chiron, is even more of a record- and headline-grabbing show pony. Is it faster? A 310-mph (500 km/h) speedometer and Bugatti’s claim that it’ll do 261 mph say it is.
Never mind that there are few places in the world where anyone could achieve 261 mph, and even fewer owners who will ever attempt the feat, what could hypercars such as the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder, or McLaren P1 offer in retort? That their top speeds are lower, they’re less comfortable, or, critically, that they’re—gulp—cheaper? The Chiron’s game is to be so unattainable, so unimaginable, so magical as to reestablish Bugatti as the ultimate automotive accouterment for those who measure their cash reserves not by face value but with a yardstick.
Bugatti says the 4400-pound Chiron is “the world’s first production sports car with 1500 hp.” It’s best to simply shelve any expectations of modesty on Bugatti’s part. After all, when the car you’re replacing produced 1200 horsepower, hit 258 mph, and cost more than $2 million, adding an extra 300 horsepower, 3 mph of governed top speed, and half a million to the window sticker matters. Oh, and just 500 will be made, because nobody wants a mass-produced $2.6-million car.
Between Bugatti’s braggadocio and posturing, there are real improvements to the Veyron’s formula. Does it matter that, if every strand of carbon fiber in its new central tub were laid end to end, they’d “stretch nine times the distance between the earth and the moon”? No, and we pity the Bugatti employee charged with checking the arithmetic on that factoid. But it is indicative of a real effort to reduce—or at least hold the line on—the Chiron’s weight relative to that of the somewhat pudgy Veyron. All of that carbon fiber—the body panels also are made of the stuff—helps keep the Chiron right around the same weight as the 4486-pound Veyron, despite being 3.2 inches longer, 1.6 inches wider, and 0.3 inch taller. Bugatti further claims that the Chiron’s structure is as stiff as those underpinning LMP1 racing prototypes.
At the risk of sounding beguiled, the styling of the Chiron is notably more fetching than that of the Veyron. The C-shaped curve carved into each side of the body recalls Bugatti’s 1930s-era art-deco masterpieces, the Type 57 Atlantic and Atalante, as does the spear running down the car’s spine. The all-mesh tail appears to belong to a different car, but the surfaces bending and flowing beyond it are nearly beautiful. Up front, Bugatti’s horseshoe-shaped grille remains—stamped with a badge rendered from five ounces of silver—and is flanked by quad-LED headlights. Moving aerodynamic elements range from a hydraulically operated diffuser, front splitters, and a four-position rear spoiler/wing that can sit flush with the rear bodywork, extend slightly (the setting for top-speed runs), fully extend, or fully extend and tilt in its air-brake setting. The underbody is totally smooth save for NACA ducts that gulp air for cooling the engine, the transaxle, and the rear brakes.
When chasing top-speed honors, horsepower matters. Even so, there are diminishing returns in the fight against the atmosphere at higher speeds. The Chiron’s redesigned 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W-16 engine produces 1500 horsepower, 300 more than the outgoing Veyron Super Sport—and yet it tacks only another 3 mph onto that car’s top speed, and only eight more atop the 1001-hp Veyron 16.4’s 253-mph max. Bugatti has tuned the Chiron’s four turbochargers to work sequentially, with two operating at low engine speeds for better response before the other two take over above roughly 3800 rpm for maximum power. Down the line, there no doubt will be additional variations on the Chiron theme that add precious miles per hour to the top speed.
Exhaust is routed from the turbos to a new titanium exhaust that Bugatti claims weighs 44 pounds, which is “extremely light compared with similar [16-cylinder] units.” Perhaps the automaker is referring to the chrome stacks on semi trucks, because it also proudly describes two of the catalytic converters as being “six times as large as [those] fitted to a medium-sized car” and boasts that the total exhaust-scrubbing area of all six catalytic converters is greater than that of 30 soccer fields. This should give you some idea of the level of emissions produced by an 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine.
As in the Veyron, torque is routed to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Bugatti claims the clutches are the “largest, highest-performing” such components ever fitted to a car. They’d better be if they’re going to stand up to the 8.0-liter’s 1180 lb-ft of torque during sub-2.5-second rips to 62 mph. Also like the Veyron, the Chiron is a rolling heat-exchanger farm, with more than 13 gallons of coolant circulating through two separate cooling loops. The first loop holds 3.2 gallons of liquid and cools the turbochargers’ intercoolers; the larger loop services the engine and pumps 9.8 gallons of coolant through its veins into three radiators. There also are heat exchangers for the engine, transmission, rear-differential, and hydraulic oils, as well as those needed for cabin heat and air conditioning.
Bugatti has expanded the number of drive modes to five. There is a standard “EB” automatic mode, as well as Lift (for speed bumps and driveway entrances), Autobahn, Handling, and Top Speed. Moving among the settings alters the dampers, the ride-height actuators, the electrically assisted power-steering calibration, the electronically controlled rear differential, the active aerodynamics, and the stability control. The driver can select Lift, EB, Autobahn, and Handling modes using a dial on the steering wheel, but, as on the Veyron, Top Speed requires a separate “Speed Key” and unlocks the Chiron’s Vmax potential. The other drive modes limit top speed to 236 mph (Lift mode cancels out at 31 mph), still more than enough to get valet attendants in trouble. Anything past 112 mph automatically activates Autobahn mode, while in the Handling setting, the Chiron lowers itself, raises its rear wing to its highest position, and stiffens the dampers.
Bugatti claims the Chiron can pull 1.50 g’s in lateral acceleration; this probably has more to do with the car’s massive 20-inch 285/30 front and 21-inch 355/25 rear bespoke Michelin tires than outstanding chassis tuning or light weight. Those tires, by the way, also are said to boast a larger contact patch than the Veyron’s and will apparently be “easier to install and allow lower operating expenses.” Considering how the Veyron Super Sport’s tires cost $42,000 per set and required the replacement of all four wheels after three tire swaps ($69K), the change is welcome. Because the rear air brake alone won’t quickly shave big speed, the Chiron uses carbon-ceramic brake rotors that are all 0.8-inch larger in diameter and 0.1-inch thicker; the front rotors are 16.5 inches across and the rears are 15.7. The front brake calipers employ eight pistons, while the rears have six.
The Chiron’s interior has been completely redesigned and seems to have been given nearly as much thought as figuring out how to make a 4400-pound chunk of carbon fiber and metal hurtle through the atmosphere at more than 200 mph. The aesthetic is spare yet clearly upscale. A glowing rib echoing the external “spine” sweeps down the middle of the cabin and is said to be “the longest light conductor used in the automobile industry.” A waterfall of simple aluminum dials for the climate system pours down a gleaming aluminum strip supported by carbon-fiber ribbing, while infotainment and navigation duties are handled by a pair of screens flanking the analog speedometer. The entire gauge pod, in fact, is an incredible piece of sculpture that is milled from billet aluminum.
Whatever isn’t slathered in leather or hewn from aluminum is covered in carbon fiber. The audio system is provided by Accuton, and it can be tuned to account for any of the 31 different leather choices and eight microsuede options for the interior. (Have you ever heard the reverb produced by soft Corinthian leather? Ask Ricardo Montalban.) And whether or not Bugatti is lobbing a pun when it says that the one-carat diamond membrane in each of the four tweeters deliver “crystal-clear sound,” we’re pretty sure the point is that there are diamonds in the speakers. For Chiron customers with Louis Vuitton–brand tinfoil hats, Bugatti says the car has “an extremely high level of electromagnetic compatibility” borne out by tests of an unspecified military standard.
Awestruck yet? There’s little doubt that the Chiron trumps even the mighty Veyron in the jaw-slackening department. The Chiron is undoubtedly an engineering triumph and the pinnacle of immoderation; the masses should be properly enthralled. Most critically, so should those with the considerable means to purchase one.
