ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Thursday March 19, 2015 Editorial | pagE 4 The duMp is on fire: a poisonous porTenT froM JaMaica High of 86 Low of 73 Smooth to slight with wave heights less than 2 feet. SportS | pagE 15 creasey feels like doing irish Jig Newcomer breezes to 5K victory RoadUser BritCay’s car insurance travels with you. $40,000 overseas rental car cover*is free with BritCay motor insurance Low deductibles, fast track auto repairs and fast claims service are good reasons to ask BritCay for a quote. BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky FREE $10 Million ASSET PROT ECTIO N! with motor cover* *private motor insurance *Collision damage waiver Survey: Cayman’s population largest ever BrenT fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Last year the population of the Cayman Islands swelled to the largest number in its history, according to figures released in a labor survey by the government’s Economics and Statistics Office. The population estimate of 58,238 for 2014 as reported by the statistics office eclipsed the previous high of 57,009 recorded in 2008. The population estimates are based on a survey sample size of about 1,400 island residents. Since late 2008, population estimates in Cayman declined in the wake of the interna- tional financial crisis which, in part, led to fewer jobs and a drop in work permits held by non-Caymanian employees. Since 2010, the population had hovered around 55,000 prior to last year’s estimated increase of more than 2,500 people in the islands. According to the statistics office, the pop- ulation increase was mainly fueled by non- Caymanians – about an 8 percent increase be- tween 2013 and 2014. There were about 1,800 more non-Caymanians living in the islands last year than in 2013. The Caymanian population also increased, but by just 2 percent, from 32,798 in 2013 to 33,447 last year. Four of the five districts on Grand Cayman noted a population increase during 2014. Only East End had a decrease in the number of residents. The largest increase among the five dis- tricts was in North Side, where the popu- lation grew by nearly 43 percent between 2013 and 2014. The number of people living in the rural Mario rankin cleared on iMMigration charges JaMes WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Businessman Mario Rankin has been cleared of multiple immigration offenses, more than two years after being arrested fol- lowing a raid on his Grand Harbour restau- rant complex. Mr. Rankin was found not guilty of oper- ating without a Trade and Business License and multiple charges of employing people contrary to the conditions of their work per- mits. His company, Navitas Ltd., was also cleared on charges of employing people without work permits. Mr. Rankin’s case had been set for trial on Tuesday, but he was cleared after the Department of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges, based on new information from the Immigration Department that the relevant paperwork and fees had been completed and paid in December 2012. The businessman said Wednesday that the allegations had caused him two years of stress and financial hardship. He said he had been forced to give up the lease on the restaurants and bars, including the now defunct Dog House and Brick House, following the raid. Mr. Rankin said he was the victim of a po- litical witch-hunt because of his support for former premier McKeeva Bush, who at the time of the immigration raid was under inves- tigation by anti-corruption police. “After two years of much stress and signif- icant personal and financial costs to myself, my kids and my professional reputation as an local entrepreneur, I am relieved and thankful that I have been fully exonerated and found not guilty by the judicial system of the Cayman Islands on all charges,” said Mr. Rankin. “The past two-and-a-half years have been a living hell for me and my kids. I knew and PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Cuban family struggles to return loved one’s body BrenT fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The body of a Cuban man who drowned off the coast of Grand Cayman in early January has been kept at the local morgue for two-and-a-half months while negotiations stalled over how his remains might be sent home. Manuel Ramon Mariño- Vasquez, 51, was one of four Cuban migrants spotted in a makeshift 18-foot boat off Cayman Brac on Jan. 2. The men were escorted offshore by a Marine Unit patrol in the Brac and turned up in East End amid rough seas the next morning. Police said the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service helicopter spotted the migrants around 11 a.m. on Jan. 3 and that they had indicated “they were not in distress.” By sunset on Jan. 3, Mr. Mariño-Vasquez had died off South Sound, apparently by drowning. The three other Cuban men were rescued by surfers near Sand Quay after their craft capsized. Local police conducted an investigation, which has since been completed. The three irish Jog benefits Special olympics A record 1,300 joggers, walkers and runners – many decked out in green – took part in the annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K Irish Jog around the Britannia golf course on Tuesday. Elite athletes used it as a pleasant opportunity for a training run, but most turned up to support the fundraiser, now in its 23rd year. Newcomer to the island, Ben Creasey, finished first in 18 minutes, 29 seconds, and Conrad Proud was second. All money raised goes to help fund Cayman’s Special Olympics athletes’ trip to the World Summer Games in Los Angeles in July. For more, see page 15. – Photo: ron shillingFord PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL to attend the Summit of the Americas. That regional summit is scheduled for April 10-11. During his one-day visit to Jamaica, Simpson Miller says the island will host a meeting between Obama and heads of the Caribbean Community po- litical grouping for discus- sions on security, trade and other topics. She says her government is “delighted that President Obama will be visiting Jamaica at this time.” The last time a sitting U.S. president visited the Caribbean island was in 1982 when President Ronald Reagan traveled there. whether they had resolved any of the obstacles to re- opening embassies, which in- clude Cuba’s continuing pres- ence on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, and Cuba’s objections to U.S. dip- lomatic contact with dissi- dents on the island. The State Department said Friday that topics being discussed at the latest round would include lifting caps on Cuban and U.S. diplomatic staff and limits on their movements outside Havana and Washington. The secretive atmosphere was striking in contrast to previous discussions about U.S.-Cuban detente. After two earlier meetings, U.S. and Cuban diplomats engaged in wide-ranging exchanges with reporters from both na- tions that were broadcast on Cuban state television to rapt audiences on the island. Cuban state media dedi- cated virtually no coverage to Monday’s talks, focusing in- stead on statements of sup- port for Venezuela in the face of new sanctions by the United States, which declared last week that the South American country was a threat to U.S. national security. Cuban state television showed Raul Castro ar- riving in Caracas, Venezuela for a Tuesday summit of left- leaning Latin American coun- tries organized in response to the American sanctions. Cuban state newspapers published a relatively rare and strongly worded front-page letter from former president Fidel Castro, declaring that Venezuela, Cuba’s closest ally, “will never accept threats and imposi- tions” from the United States. Despite the rhetoric, Julia Sweig, an expert on U.S. relations with Cuba and Venezuela, said there was no sign that the increasingly strained U.S. relationship with Venezuela was affecting the warming of relations with Cuba. “What’s so interesting is that it doesn’t seem to de- railing the bilateral pro- cess, which is exactly as it should be,” said Sweig, a se- nior research fellow at LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. Thursday March 19, 2015 • Cayman Compass www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com www. REGmovies.com SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. © Warner Bros. Pictures © 21st Century Fox CINDERELLA (PG) 12:40 | 3:15 | 6:45 | 9:20 FOCUS (R) 1:30 | 4:10 | 7:20 | 10:00 LAZARUS EFFECT (PG13) 1:00 | 3:10 | 5:20 | 7:30 | 10:10 CHAPPIE (R) 12:50 | 3:40 | 7:00 | 9:45 THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (PG) 12:45 | 3:30 | 6:50 | 9:40 BLACK OR WHITE (PG13) 1:10 | 4:00 | 7:10 | 9:55 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - THURSDAY - Cuba, US end third round of diplomatic negotiations HAVANA (AP) — A third round of U.S.-Cuban nego- tiations over the restora- tion of full diplomatic rela- tions ended after a day of talks, Cuban and U.S. officials said Tuesday. They provided no details on whether prog- ress was made toward a deal on reopening embassies in Washington and Havana. The two countries have been trying to strike an agree- ment on embassies before presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro attend the Summit of the Americas in Panama on April 10-11. Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Relations said the talks took place “in a professional at- mosphere” and “the two del- egations agreed to maintain communication in the future as part of this process.” Jeff Rathke, a U.S. State Department spokesman, said “the discussion was positive and constructive and was held in an atmosphere of mu- tual respect.” Neither side said Tuesday The secretive atmosphere was striking in contrast to previous discussions about U.S.-Cuban detente. Magnets for sale, including one depicting President Obama, at a souvenir shop in Havana, Cuba. - Photo: AP UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Haiti is demanding a “pause” in a U.N. plan to nearly cut in half a peace- keeping force just as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is poised to enter a tense elec- tion period. Ambassador Denis Regis and several ally countries warned the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the withdrawal will jeopar- dize the country’s security situation. President Michel Martelly made the same plea in a letter to the U.N. this month. Under pressure from the U.N. and the United States, Haiti this month sched- uled its presidential elec- tion for October and set an August date for delayed leg- islative elections that have been a source of growing political friction. The current U.N. plan says the number of mul- tinational troops in Haiti will drop to 2,370 by June. TALAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — State Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda says she favors allowing guns on Florida university campuses because she once used her gun as a student to prevent being raped. The Democrat from Tallahassee told her story Wednesday in a state House committee as it ap- proved a contentious bill al- lowing concealed weapons permit holders to carry guns on Florida public university campuses. Vasilinda attended three Florida campuses as an un- dergraduate and law student and wouldn’t say whether the incident occurred while she was at New College, the University of Florida or the University of South Florida. She never reported it because she knew her attacker and didn’t want to disrupt the person’s life. She said the attack oc- curred in her off-campus apartment and was violent. The bill appears to be moving toward passage. KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica’s prime minister says President Barack Obama will visit the Caribbean country next month. Portia Simpson Miller told lawmakers Tuesday that Obama will pay a state visit to Jamaica on April 9 be- fore departing for Panama The last time a sitting U.S. president visited the Caribbean island was in 1982 when President Ronald Reagan traveled there. hAiti wAnts ‘PAuse’ in un PeAcekeePing cuts house member tells of using gun to Prevent rAPe Obama to visit Jamaica next month The names of people in a photograph taken at a 100 Women in Hedge Funds event that ran in Monday’s edition of the Cayman Compass ap- peared in the wrong order. The correct caption should read: From left, Cathlin Rossiter, Tammy Jennissen, Jenni Huys, and Elise Rosenberg. COrreCtiOn3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday March 19, 2015 Contemporary and Timeless... Window Treatments to help you create the balance between clean lines and soft contours, bright surfaces and dark accents. Treat yourself to window treatments that offer: • Motorization with remote • Top/Down-Bottom/Up • Cordless When you are ready for a new look within your living space, Marksons offers the latest in all styles of draperies, shades, blinds, verticals, and woven woods. 19 Compass Dr iv e • 949.6233 • e:arw ashbur n@mar ksons .k y • w:www .mar ksons .k y No solution in sight to dump tire mountain James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Government is hoping it will be a case of sixth time lucky as it again seeks to find someone to take the stockpile of used tires at the George Town Landfill off its hands. Estimates of how many tires are piled up at the land- fill vary wildly, from 500,000 to 2 million. They have been labeled a health hazard be- cause of the fumes they give off during fires – a frequent problem at the site. Government tried on four occasions, since 2011, to find a bidder willing to pay to take the tires, which can be used as fill or in road construction projects, but received no bids. A fifth request for pro- posals issued last May stated that “nominal bids” would be accepted, opening up the prospect of someone taking the tires for free. The Ministry of Health, which has responsibility for the landfill site, confirmed in August that it had two bid- ders for the tires, but those negotiations came to nothing. Sheila Alvarez, an admin- istrative officer in the min- istry, said, “The previous tender did not result in the award of a contract.” She declined to say what had happened with the two bids received in August. She added, “A new request for proposals for the used landfill tires will be pub- lished in a couple of weeks, but the date has not been de- termined as yet.” Developer Ironwood, which hopes to build a golf resort in the eastern districts, has previously stated that it would be willing to take the tires, shred them and use them as fill for the project, but no official bid has been made to take the tires through the RFP process. Under the terms of the RFP that went out last year, the successful bidder will be required, at its own cost, to process and remove tires from all three landfill sites at Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. The successful bidder will be entitled to any profit made from selling the tires. Government collects more than $1 million a year in envi- ronmental fees on the importa- tion of vehicles, tires and lead- acid batteries, but the revenue, including the $2 per tire im- port tax, is not earmarked for disposal of those items. Because of the haz- ards associated with scrap tires, most developed coun- tries regulate their dis- posal. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 38 states ban whole tires from landfills. Estimates of how many tires are piled up at the landfill vary wildly, from 500,000 to 2 million. Students collect items for Haitian children at Health City JeWel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A group of students is having an impact on the lives of children who travel from Haiti for heart procedures in Cayman. Over the past week, Impact 345, a charity club formed by students at Cayman International School, collected clothing, shoes, school supplies and toys for four Haitian children, ages 2, 5, 8 and 15, at Health City Cayman Islands. “It feels nice, being a part of something that makes a difference in the community and to the kids from Haiti, who I know are not as fortu- nate as we are,” said Janelle Woods, a member of the club. “I love seeing their faces when we give them all the bags of gifts and clothes that we received as donations. I love how nice it makes ev- eryone feel. It makes it all worth it.” In October 2014, the first Haitian charitable cases ar- rived at Health City to un- dergo cardiac procedures. These procedures are cov- ered by Health City with the assistance of Have A Heart, a philanthropic organization formed by Harry Chandi and Manu Chatlani. Flights for the patients, their chaperones and inter- preter were provided by Digicel. Impact 345 started when Holly Thompson, the teenage daughter of Health City devel- oper Gene Thompson, began spending time with a young patient from Jamaica and the first group of children from Haiti and learned of some of their needs. She then began to invite friends and classmates to go to Health City with her. As more joined, they decided to name their group Impact 345. “It’s definitely one of the best, if not the best expe- rience that I have person- ally witnessed,” she said. “It feels good when the kids are happy. Even seeing the kids smile makes me happy. “When they received the supplies that were collected by Impact 345, they were so happy, and I can’t even begin to express the absolute joy that I felt just helping them out. It’s just an amazing at- mosphere in general, and I am so happy I have the privilege to be a part of Impact 345 and to experience these things.” In the beginning, the group asked close friends and family members to help with dona- tions. The group also put its specific list of items on social media to get help from more people. A few toys were col- lected to entertain the chil- dren during their hospital stay, but the group mainly fo- cused on necessities such as clothing and school supplies. After gathering the items, the group packed backpacks and other bags and took them to the children when they were well enough to re- ceive visitors. The main focus of Impact 345 is visiting the children and assisting with some of their needs when they travel to Health City for car- diac procedures. When the group is not busy with its Health City project, the mem- bers volunteer with other charities in Cayman, such as Meals on Wheels and Cayman HospiceCare. “Impact 345 is an amazing way for us to start to make an impact on the Cayman Islands. Also, it’s a great way to meet new people around your age,” said Sofia Eldemire, 14. “We also go to Health City and interact with the kids there, and bring little toys that people have donated to us,” she said. “We pack them in little cute backpacks and travel there and give to them personally. I always love seeing their eyes go big when they see all the little toys; it warms my heart.” The mountain of tires is considered a health risk, due to the release of toxic fumes during fires. - PHOTO: CHRIS COURT Impact 345 volunteers with Haitian patients and their mothers.Holly Thompson and a young patient from Haiti.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Printed and Published by: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town send us yOur VieWs Or neWs: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com adVertise With us: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS daVid r. legge and Vicki l. legge EdITOR-In-CHIEf daVid r. legge A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” Thursday MarCh 19, 2015 • Cayman COmpass For the past week, considerable swathes of Jamaica have been awash in toxic smoke spewing from a massive fire at Kingston’s Riverton City Dump. The fumes forced hundreds upon hundreds of resi- dents to seek medical care for respiratory complaints, dozens of businesses to shutter their windows, and many schools to shut their doors — so many, in fact, that the government made the decision to postpone the country’s Grade Six Achievement Test by a week because an estimated 11,675 students (out of 38,470 who were to take the exam) were impacted by smoke from the landfill fire. According to the Jamaica Observer, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute calculated the economic costs of the landfill fire to be nearly CI$2 million — and that doesn’t include any reputational damage resulting from international news reports. The Riverton City blaze isn’t just some abstract, hyperbolic example of what could possibly happen in Grand Cayman under somewhat similar circumstances “if not for the grace of God.” In fact, it is a graphic illustration of what inevi- tably happens to poorly managed dumps, including Grand Cayman’s, according to the laws of chemical and thermal physics. In other words, an immense mountain of flam- mable material does not just happen to catch fire from time to time — combustion is the default outcome of its natural state. It takes a continual, conscientious and coordinated effort to keep it from spontaneously bursting into flames. As firefighters and dump officials in Jamaica and Grand Cayman well know, that is no easy task, with no certainty of success, in the absence of adequate finan- cial and physical resources. A couple of weeks ago in George Town, fire and landfill crews removed a large concrete slab buried in the dump they think may have been contributing to recurrent blazes, a discovery that highlighted the latent dangers of hidden pockets of incompatible waste sown throughout the dump like so many “landfill landmines.” In the May 2013 election, the Progressives took control of the Legislative Assembly after pledging to keep a waste management facility from being estab- lished in Bodden Town and promising to solve the problems at the existing landfill. So sure were they in the superior viability of their plans, they rejected a $60 million deal with Dart to remediate and close George Town’s Mount Trashmore, forever. The waste management issue (which, as we have said, is ultimately a health issue) is now in the most appropriate of hands — those belonging to Premier Alden McLaughlin, whose foundational office is MLA representing George Town. If a solution to the dump problem is to be identified and enacted under the current elected government, it will have to be under Premier McLaughlin’s direct supervision, authority and guidance. If the periodic blazes that flare up in our own front yard aren’t enough of a reminder that the George Town Landfill requires urgent resolution, perhaps enlightenment can be attained by turning toward Jamaica’s mephitic inferno in our colonial neighbor- hood — and breathing in a nice big lungful of Cayman’s impending future. The dump is on fire: A poisonous portent from Jamaica British voters face unpalatable choices BloomBerg View Pity the fiscally respon- sible, socially tolerant British voter, a believer in openness to the world and its markets, who is looking for a party to support in Britain’s national elections on May 7. There are no good options. Wednesday’s annual budget release marked the start of campaigning in ear- nest, pitting Conservative claims that without them economic recovery will col- lapse in a flood of deficit spending, against Labour’s warnings of impending doom for the nation’s health and other services. Both claims are familiar, but in this contest the usual cer- tainties of Britain’s ancient two-party democracy won’t apply. Many outcomes are plausible: Choose from a va- riety of coalition or minority governments led by either Labour or the incumbent Conservatives. All they have in common is that none of them is any good. The Conservatives, driven by their isolationist wing, have promised a ref- erendum by 2017 on leaving the European Union. Having cracked open the EU’s exit door, Prime Minister David Cameron has said he hopes to close it again by cam- paigning for Britain to stay – but only if he has first “re- formed” the EU. The trouble is, the EU may not want to be reformed at Britain’s direc- tion. Most business leaders think leaving the EU would be bad for the country, and they’re right. Worse, the Tories are un- likely to get enough votes to rule alone. They might have to cut a deal with the surging U.K. Independence Party. UKIP is fanatical about leaving the EU, as well as anti-immigrant to the point of paranoia. Its leader, Nigel Farage, has expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Enough said. The Labour Party’s leader, Ed Miliband, has resisted pressure to match the Conservatives’ referendum promise, saying that it would effectively hang a “Closed for Business” sign over the country. Labour is better than the Tories on Europe – but, despite that little concession to enterprise, not much use on economics. Miliband has displayed a hostility to market forces that harks to the pre-modern version of the party. When energy prices rose in 2013, he called for a price freeze – a policy guaranteed to halt investment in energy pro- duction. He’s promised to hire more public-sector staff, raise the top rate of income tax to 50 percent, and levy a new “mansion tax” that would hit relatively modest apartments in London’s in- flated property market while sparing more luxurious second homes elsewhere. If that isn’t discour- aging enough, a Labour vic- tory might cause a different kind of constitutional crisis. The Scottish National Party – which campaigns for in- dependence – is expected to wipe out Labour north of the border. The result could be a Labour-SNP coalition, giving Scottish members of Parliament a decisive voice on issues affecting England, while English MPs would have no say on the same is- sues in Scotland. Miliband has ruled out cabinet posts for the SNP but not an arrangement that would let a minority Labour government rely on SNP support to pass laws. Such a deal would poison relations between England and Scotland and reignite the issue of Scottish se- cession. It’s also worth re- membering that the last time the U.K. had a mi- nority Labour government was in the late 1970s. The country suffered an eco- nomic collapse and the in- dignity of being bailed out by the International Monetary Fund. The weakening of main- stream political parties and growth of insurgent pop- ulists and separatists is hardly unique to Britain – the phenomenon is sweeping Europe’s democracies, from France to Greece to Spain. That’s of little comfort to voters seeking modera- tion and common sense, or to businesses trying to in- vest for the future and re- vive the world’s sixth-largest economy. The splintering of British politics has given the country plenty of choices in May – all of them bad. © 2015, Bloomberg News Central bank autonomy under attack mark gilBert Current events in Cyprus and Turkey hammer home a point that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made in the memoirs he published in September 2007. Central bank independence, Greenspan said, is “not set in stone.” Left unsaid was the fact that it should be. Against an ever- shifting political backdrop, monetary policy can provide a bedrock of economic cer- tainty – but only if central bankers can discharge their duties without fear of gov- ernment interference. In Cyprus, President Nicos Anastasiades has begun the process of dismissing cen- tral bank Governor Chrystalla Georghadji. Her offense is failing to disclose the entan- glement of her estranged hus- band in a lawsuit about the failed institution Laiki Bank. This wouldn’t mark the first time the government has gotten rid of an interest-rate chief it didn’t like. One year ago, it engineered the resigna- tion of Panicos Demetriades who was also accused of mishandling his involve- ment in Laiki Bank’s collapse. Demetriades had been ap- pointed by the previous ad- ministration; once in office, Anastasiades made no secret of his desire to oust the cen- tral banker. Now he wants to dispense with the services of Georghadji, a former attorney general who’s being investi- gated by her successor. Cyprus, which needed a bailout from its euro part- ners two years ago, is only now easing the accompa- nying capital controls intro- duced to stop its economy from melting down. With its neighbor Greece teetering on the brink of having to exit the euro, Cyprus can’t af- ford a cavalier disregard for the autonomy of its national central bank. Turkey should provide a cautionary lesson in this re- gard. The harder the gov- ernment there has leaned on its central bank to cut interest rates, the lower in- vestors have driven the na- tion’s currency. Investors are understandably wary of keeping money in a country where politicians try to steal control of borrowing costs from the central bank. The lira got a brief respite this week from setting new re- cord lows against the dollar when Governor Erdem Basci, after a meeting last week with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, kept policy on hold for the first time in three months. Cyprus doesn’t have its own currency that investors can shun. But it still might find that capital will again start fleeing the country if its own central bank is made subject to the whims of the government. Moreover, cen- tral bank autonomy is en- shrined in the European Union treaty. Last year, the European Central Bank made a half- hearted intervention to safe- guard the independence of Cyprus’s central bank. It needs to do better this time. Earlier this week, the ECB warned the Cypriot presi- dent not to trample on the independence of its na- tional central bank. President Mario Draghi should go fur- ther, making it clear to the president of Cyprus that he won’t allow central bank au- tonomy to be the plaything of politicians. Mark Gilbert is a Bloomberg View columnist and a member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. © 2015, Bloomberg News Many outcomes are plausible: Choose from a variety of coalition or minority governments led by either Labour or the incumbent Conservatives. All they have in common is that none of them is any good.5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday March 19, 2015 POLICE COMMISSIONER DAVID BAINES IS PLEASED TO INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN For tickets, tables or sponsorship opportunities contact Kate Allenger on 925 4104 or email kallenger@pinnaclemedialtd.com AD SPONSORED BY 6:30pm UNTIL MIDNIGHT The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Price per person CI$150 Corporate Tables of 10 with company logo CI$1,500 Friday, March 27, 2015 THE ROYAL CAYMAN ISLANDS POLICE SERVICE OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARDS GALA COCKTAIL RECEPTION DINNER PRESENTATIONS DANCE PARTY Tourism success continues in 2015 James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com After a record year for tourism in 2014, arrival fig- ures continue to soar in the new year. Just over 34,000 tour- ists touched down at Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman in January, a 9.5 percent increase over the same month last year, which was at that point the best January on record. Cruise tourism has also continued to rebound in 2015. Just over 200,000 cruise tourists ar- rived in the Cayman Islands in January, up 7 percent from the same period last year. Air arrival figures – the key metric for the success of the industry – have been steadily rising since 2009. More than 380,000 tourists arrived on island by air last year, which was the best on record. The January figures suggest the trend is con- tinuing into 2015. Cruise tourism was also up last year, by 16 percent, with just over 1.6 million vis- itors arriving on Cayman’s shores. The positive figures represent a general trend for the industry across the Caribbean in 2014, as the U.S. – the main source of tourists for the region – continues to recover from the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. The Caribbean Tourism Organization has forecast a further 5 percent increase in tourist arrivals across the re- gion for 2015. Glimpse of apocalypse for STEM visitors James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com So this is how the world ends; with the sun consuming the Earth in a fiery inferno. Visitors to the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Carib con- ference Wednesday got a glimpse of what the death of the planet, some five bil- lion years into the future, will look like. Visiting astrophysics pro- fessor Ed Guinan charted the origins of the universe from the Big Bang to the likely end of the Earth. Speaking to a room of students and professors at the University College of the Cayman Islands, the pro- fessor described how the sun would ultimately develop into a “red giant” and engulf the Earth. The apocalyptic event would mean the end of life in our solar system, but Mr. Guinan, of Villanova University in Philadelphia, told the audience there is hope for humanity. “Any species that re- stricts itself to one planet is not going to last very long. If you’ve got multiple planets, you are covering your bases,” said Mr. Guinan, who believes interstellar space travel will be possible within the next 150 years. Mr. Guinan, who will outline those concepts fur- ther in a second talk at the conference on Thursday, fo- cused largely on the begin- nings of the universe in his lecture Wednesday. He explained how the uni- verse had expanded from the size of an atom following the Big Bang and how the ele- ments found on Earth and in the human body were created by exploding stars. “We are literally made from star dust. Those stars made it possible for us to be here. If they didn’t exist, we wouldn’t,” he said. Mr. Guinan also spoke about his life as a scientist and being part of the team that deduced that Pluto could no longer be classified as a planet. “I got a lot of threatening letters … from people about that, saying you’ve killed my favorite planet,” he said. Mr. Guinan was the opening speaker in a se- ries that will include talks on subjects as diverse as the extinction of dinosaurs and the development of a public water supply in the Cayman Islands. The STEM conference runs through Friday at UCCI. More than 34,000 tourists landed at Owen Roberts International Airport in January. The sun will eventually become a ‘red giant’ and engulf the Earth, visiting astrophysics professor Ed Guinan told students at the annual STEM conference at UCCI. Premier leads delegation to London Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin will lead a government delegation to London on Friday for a week’s worth of public ap- pearances and meetings. During the trip, Mr. McLaughlin has been in- vited to deliver the keynote message at the Caribbean Council’s annual reception on Tuesday by council pres- ident Lord George Foulkes of Cumnock. The yearly event is at- tended by a various members of the U.K. Parliament, House of Lords, business leaders and senior civil servants. Mr. McLaughlin said the gath- ering has become important for companies and investors interested in the Caribbean. “This gives us yet an- other opportunity to appear on the world stage to tell of the amazing opportuni- ties available to those who would consider investing in the Cayman Islands,” Mr. McLaughlin said. He added, “It also gives us a chance to highlight Cayman’s position as a major player in the world of in- ternational finance and the leading role we continue to play in support of the global agenda on fighting tax eva- sion and money laundering.” A series of meetings is scheduled with commu- nications consultants, the Friends of Cayman parlia- mentary group, London busi- ness leaders and U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth and Treasury officials concerning public reporting of benefi- cial ownership of companies and trusts. Accompanying the pre- mier on the week-long visit will be Financial Service Minister Wayne Panton, fi- nance ministry chief officer Dax Basdeo, a Cabinet policy analyst, the premier’s senior political advisor and the pre- mier’s press secretary. The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community Calendar ■ Community Calendar is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. Thursday March 19, 2015 • Cayman Compass THURSDAY, MARCH 19 ART AND MUSIC: Watler House at Pedro Castle. 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Visual Arts Society & Cayman Arts Festival offer a complimentary evening of art and music, with a wine and cheese reception. Live musical appearances and art exhibition featuring original artwork, jewelry, ceramics and more. Contact info@ visualartcayman.com or 546-9422. STEM CONFERENCE: Science Technology Engineering Math conference continues today and tomorrow at UCCI. Some events are free and open to the public. Full pass $150, students $100. One-day pass $50, students $35. Register online at www.stem.ky. PUB QUIZ: Fidel Murphy’s, 7 p.m. $10 per person, teams maximum of six people. All proceeds go toward transferring dogs to new homes in the U.S. Reserve a table by contacting 949- 5189 or sarah.dyer.81@ gmail.com. TOASTMASTERS: Grand Cayman Toastmasters Club meets at the George Town Public Library. 6 p.m. till 7:15 p.m. Contact George R. Ebanks on 916-0687/322-9369 or georger.ebanks@gmail.com for more information. FRIDAY, MARCH 20 FISH FRY: Fridays during Lent until March 27. St. Ignatius School canteen, 5-8 p.m. Dine in or carry out. Menu includes mahi- mahi, $10; or snapper, $12, with all the trimmings. Child portions $7. SATURDAY, MARCH 21 CAYMAN OUTREACH: Association dinner meeting takes place 7 p.m. at Triple C School Auditorium. Special presentation of the Extended After School Program, showcasing talents and special items from various schools. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students. For details, call Raphael Bodden on 925-7798. POETRY IS AN ISLAND: Documentary about Poet Laureate Derek Walcott with Q&A from director Ida Does. Harquail Theatre. 6:30 p.m. canapes; 7 p.m. start. $20 Email cayfest@candw.ky call 949-5477. LITTLE CAYMAN: Annual Exhibition Show, Blossom Village Park. Contact Debbi Truchan 925-6442 or debit@candw.ky. DRUM CIRCLE: Professional drummers of I Am Percussion Ensemble jam in Gardenia Court, 5-7 p.m. All are invited to join in or just enjoy the show. SUNDAY, MARCH 22 TENT MEETING: The New Testament Church of God, George Town, hosts a two- week tent meeting tonight through April 3, 7:30 p.m. Tent behind the church on North Sound Road. Speakers are Rev. Dennis Walton and Evangelist Arthur Grant from Jamaica. All are invited. MoNDAY, MARCH 23 JURY DUTY: The Grand Court jury report date has been changed. Grand Court jurors in the Jan. 14 – March 31 session who are not currently empaneled on a trial are to report today at 9:45 a.m. Call the jury information line at 945- 5072 for the most up-to- date information. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 FEAST OF ANNUNCIATION: St. George’s Anglican Church, Courts Road, off Eastern Avenue. 6 p.m. Dramatized readings, music, liturgical dance, choral singing. Organized by the Mothers Union. All are invited. GARDEN PICNIC: National Gallery Art Café offers set menu including soup, salad, sandwiches and vegetarian options between noon and 2:30 p.m. Lunch packs will be available for those on the go. Exhibition halls open to view the national art collection and exhibition Luminescent Forms: Art Under the Microscope. For menu details, reservations and pre-orders email events@nationalgallery. org.ky or call 945- 8111. Reservations are recommended for groups of four or more. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: Free presentation on occupational therapy for persons with mental health and intellectual challenges. Hibiscus Room, Cayman Islands Hospital, 8-9 a.m. THURSDAY, MARCH 26 BRAC COURT: Today and tomorrow, Aston Rutty Centre, from 10 a.m. FRIDAY, MARCH 27 FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Today is the last day of the Professional First Impressions clothing drive to collect gently used business attire, including shoes and accessories such as handbags, belts and fashion jewelry. Items needed to help women enter or rejoin the business world. Clothing drive organized through the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre and the Family Resource Centre. Email clothingdrivecayman@gmail. com or go to facebook.com/ professionalfirstimpressions. FREE YOUTH TOURS: Today is the final day for guided tours of the exhibition “Luminescent Forms: Art Under the Microscope” for students of all ages at the National Gallery. By appointment only. Students will discuss the exhibition and get hands-on in the Sand Lab. Topics covered include art, science, social studies, literacy and numeracy. For information or to book a tour, contact NGCI at 945-8111 or education@nationalgallery. org.ky. GOLF SCRAMBLE: St. Ignatius-sponsored event at the North Sound Golf Club; 1 p.m. shotgun start. Space for 22 teams of four. Phone 949-6797 for details. SATURDAY, MARCH 28 BRAC BIKEATHON: The Rotary Club of Cayman Brac holds its annual Bike-a-Thon. Contact Dhallchand Seeram 916-2143 or dhalls@candw. ky for further details. CAYWRITERS: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Books & Books. Anyone interested in writing is invited to join other local writers who share their journey, stories and writing resources. Ask advice and discuss challenges. Held on the last Saturday of every month, new members are always welcome. CAPT. MARVIN’S MEMORIAL RUN/WALK: Two-mile event starts at Tiki Beach, 6:45 a.m. For all age groups. $15 registration. Proceeds will help the Flashy Nation Sports Club with equipment and money to represent Cayman in international events. Register with Kendall Ebanks at Anytime Fitness, or contact 924- 2898 or flashynation@ hotmail.com. SUNDAY, MARCH 29 FAMILY EVENT: Cayman Islands Baptist Church invites all to a community worship service and family event at Sir John A Cumber Primary School Hall at 6:30 p.m. Contact church office at 946-2422 for more details. TUESDAY, MARCH 31 NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER: The National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving takes place noon to 12:50 p.m. on the grounds of the Glass House, George Town. Sponsored by the Cayman Ministers Association. LITTLE MISS: Cayman’s Our Little Miss Scholarship Pageant organizing committee is accepting applications for the pageant on April 25. Entry deadline is today. Six age divisions, from Baby Petite (0-2 years) to Miss (18-26). Talent required for ages seven and up. 327-9890 or caymanolm@gmail.com. GENERAL INTEREST FOOD HANDLERS: Certification courses in basic food hygiene are offered by the Department of Environmental Health. March 25; April 15, 29; May 13, 27; June 10, 24. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DEH conference room in the Environmental Centre, 580 North Sound Road. $15 per person covers all materials and fees; pay at DEH headquarters, 580 North Sound Road, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. For more information, call 949-6696. HIV TESTING: Free HIV testing is available every Tuesday year-round at the Cayman Islands Red Cross on Thomas Russell Way. Anyone wishing to get tested should arrive by 9 a.m. Testing will be available every Tuesday, 9-10 a.m. Contact HIV/AIDS Coordinator Laura Whitfield at 244-2631. BETHESDA COUNSELING CENTRE: At 68 Mary St., caters to all who seek help. Call 946-6575. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Center is owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. REEF RESTORATION: Certified divers are invited to work on the Cayman Magic Reef restoration in George Town. A schedule of work dates and times is posted on Facebook under Cayman Magic Reef Recovery. Dates, times and places are listed under Events for volunteers to check and sign up. OPEN CANVAS: Visual Arts Society supports this initiative at KARoo Restaurant located in Camana Bay. Wednesdays in March, 7 p.m. to close. No fee. Easels are provided for artists of all levels to enjoy painting and socializing with other artists. Participating artists receive 2 tickets for house wine or beer compliments of KARoo. For more information, contact info@visualartcayman. com or jr@cib.ky, or call 546-9422. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY: Painting open studio available Mondays 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Watler House, Pedro Castle. This is an opportunity for adult intermediate artists to work at their own pace on their own projects. To register, contact openstudio@ visualartcayman.com or 546-9422. $10 per day or $15 non-members. ART FOR STUDENTS: The National Gallery hosts free Active Learning Sessions for students of all ages. Part tour, part art activity, the tour takes students up-close with the National Collection – more than 50 years of Caymanian art history – providing links to literacy, mathematics, social studies and science. For information or to book a session, contact 945-8111 or education@ nationalgallery.org.ky. PINK LADIES: Coffee Shop at Cayman Islands Hospital is open Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks. Takeout orders welcome, call 244- 2661. Funds are donated back to the community. Contact pinkladiescayman@gmail.com. ARTISANS MARKET: Camana Bay Artisans Market every Wednesday. Visual Arts Society has artists displaying arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand-crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale between noon and 8 p.m. near KARoo. For more information about being a displaying artist, contact info@visualartcayman.com or 546-9422. MIND’S EYE: Free guided tours for up to eight people are offered at Mind’s Eye – The Visionary World of Miss Lassie, Cayman’s intuitive artist. Tours by appointment, 10-11 a.m., second and fourth Saturdays. Contact the Cayman National Cultural Foundation by email at admincncf@candw.ky or 949-5477. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also, Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Contact humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc in good condition always needed. SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Volunteers are needed on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:45 p.m. to assist with training athletes in track and field, bocce and football. Truman Bodden Sports Complex. Contact Penny McDowall, 516-2578, soci@candw.ky or pjmcdowall@gmail.com. LOST DOGS: The Department of Agriculture and veterinary students of St. Matthew’s University provide an online list of dogs housed at the Department of Agriculture Animal Rescue Shelter in Lower Valley. Anyone missing a dog can check www.smustudents.webs.com. RED CROSS THRIFT SHOP: Open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at RC headquarters on Thomas Russell Way. Book bargain every Thursday and Friday, a bagful for $5. ART TALK FOR SENIORS: This National Gallery program engages people age 60 and over in conversation about art by focusing on a particular piece from the gallery or special exhibition every other Thursday. Admission is free, refreshments provided. 2-2:45 p.m. For more information, contact education@nationalgallery. org.ky. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.compasscayman. com/caycompass/portal/ community-calendar.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Thursday March 19, 2015 survivors were repatriated to Cuba a few weeks ago, but the dead boater’s body was not sent home. Mr. Mariño-Vasquez was not initially known to the local Cuban community in Cayman, and local pastor Andres Ramos only learned the man’s name because one of his fellow migrants had written it in a page of his Bible and given the book to Mr. Ramos. Since then, Mr. Ramos’s wife Annie said, Mr. Mariño- Vasquez’s family in Miami and Cuba have made contact, pleading with the Cayman Islands government and anyone else who might help them to return the migrant’s body to Cuba. Another local pastor, Helbert Rodriquez of the Cayman Baptist Church, said a church volunteer went to see whether Mr. Mariño-Vasquez’s body was still in the morgue about two weeks ago and con- firmed it was still there. He has remained in contact with the family since then. “The family has been calling from Cuba and Miami, asking me if I can help,” said Pastor Rodriguez. “They don’t want him to be buried here.” The issue was money. Pastor Ramos said they were told it would cost $5,000 to send Mr. Mariño-Vasquez’s body back home. Local churches started up a collection about two weeks ago to try to raise the money for the man’s family. At one stage, Pastor Rodriguez said, the govern- ment told a church represen- tative that the migrant boater would be buried in Cayman. “The Cayman government said that since there’s no- body moving nothing, they will bury the body in Cayman. The family says ‘please, don’t make this happen.’” The repatriation of living Cuban migrants is a lengthy and costly task for the Cayman Islands government. Earlier this month, Ministry of Home Affairs Deputy Chief Officer Wesley Howell revealed that the government had spent nearly $1.6 million in 2014 on the detention, housing and repatriation of migrant boaters that arrive illegally on Cayman’s shores. That cost is far beyond any- thing the local government has spent in recent years, due mostly to a large increase in the number of migrants coming to Cayman and partly due to security improvements made last year at the Immigration Department’s detention center for migrants in George Town. Returning the bodies of mi- grant boaters to their fami- lies in Cuba is not an issue the Cayman Islands has been re- quired to deal with very often, if at all. In this case, the Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to pay the full cost for re- turning Mr. Mariño-Vasquez’s body to Cuba, Mr. Howell said. However, the government was still trying to work out the lo- gistics of when and how that would be done, he said. It was hoped the body could be re- turned sometime next week. The number of Cuban mi- grants in 2015 seems on course to exceed the arrivals in pre- vious years, with more than 115 having been spotted off the coast of Cayman Brac or Grand Cayman since January. That in- cludes a group of 37 migrants who landed in Cayman Brac last Friday. They were flown to Grand Cayman, where they are housed in the Immigration Detention Centre awaiting re- patriation. In 2014, a total of 143 Cuban migrant boaters ar- rived in Grand Cayman all year. Cuban family struggles to return loved one’s body have maintained from day one my position of being innocent against all charges that I faced in this political witch-hunt.” Immigration officers raided the Sail Inn, formerly known as the Brick House, in Grand Harbour in February 2013, bringing business to a halt and ejecting patrons. Mr. Rankin was subse- quently charged with em- ploying people in contra- vention of the terms of their work permits in November and December 2012, at the Brick House, Dog House, Brew House and Oar House. Mr. Rankin, who at the time of the raid had just taken over the lease on the restaurants, said the charges had cost him the business. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The group of four Cuban boaters was photographed from the RCIPS helicopter on Jan. 3. “The Cayman government said that since there’s nobody moving nothing, they will bury the body in Cayman. The family says ‘please, don’t make this happen.’” Helbert rodriguez, pastor, Cayman Baptist Church CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mario Rankin cleared on immigration charges Prince charles, camilla visit Washington WASHINGTON (AP) — Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited some of Washington’s monuments and memorials Wednesday. The royal couple spent about 20 minutes touring the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial. They paused briefly to read some of King’s quotations about the civil rights movement that are engraved in stone. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that,” read one quotation where the royal couple paused to see the slain civil rights leader’s words from 1963. Prince Charles and Camilla were joined by two civil rights leaders for their tour of the King memorial, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. They also greeted students and teachers from a high school in Virginia who had gathered to watch the visit. Joan Darby, who brought her U.S. history class from Virginia, to the King memo- rial said they were thrilled and surprised to meet Prince Charles, along with Lewis and Jackson. “To come here and have such a joyful event was just really incredible luck on our part,” she said. Harry Johnson, the presi- dent of the foundation that built the King memorial, said he gave the royal couple a stone from the memorial’s granite as a gift. Earlier, the royal couple visited the Lincoln Memorial, where they were greeted by his- torians Doris Kearns Godwin and Michael Beschloss. The couple is also vis- iting George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia and the National Archives, which holds the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and a copy of the English Magna Carta.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Thursday March 19, 2015 • Cayman Compass Erin Brockovich Luncheon | March 25, 2015 12pm - 3pm (followed by networking drinks) Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman To purchase tickets or become a sponsor please contact Alejandro Ruiz on 945 8188 or email alejandro.ruiz@fountainhead.ky. Silent Auction for Designer Handbags All proceeds go to support the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre. Tickets: US$150 per person (includes 3 course lunch and glass of wine) US$1350 per table of 10 Erin Brockovich is a name synonymous with tenacity, triumph and the power of an individual. Erin was the inspiration behind the Oscar Award winning movie Erin Brockovich and the impelling force behind the largest medical settlement lawsuit in history. Hear her incredible journey and become inspired to make a change. Sponsored by district, which encompasses most of Grand Cayman’s northern coast and a large portion of the island’s cen- tral interior, grew from an estimated 1,292 in 2013 to 1,845 in 2014. North Side also had the largest house- hold size among all the dis- tricts, averaging 3.3 people per household. The North Side district population grew so much, ac- cording to the statistics re- port, that it overtook the Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman as the fourth-largest district in the country. The combined pop- ulation of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac was estimated at 1,839 last year. Statistically, the populations of the Sister Islands and North Side are now the same. However, unlike the North Side, the population of the Sister Islands declined by more than 80 residents since 2013, the labor survey report showed. The combined popu- lation of the two small islands was estimated at around 2,500 in 2008. The steady population decline in the Sister Islands, which depend heavily on gov- ernment funding for jobs and daily operations, is a con- cern for local lawmakers and was noted by Premier Alden McLaughlin and Opposition Leader Mckeeva Bush at a Legislative Assembly meeting last year in Cayman Brac. “It is painfully obvious that Cayman Brac is at a cross- roads,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “Population figures are dwin- dling, businesses are strug- gling. Most of the students have little, if any, prospects of getting work on Cayman Brac, so there is a constant brain drain [as they move away].” “[Cayman Brac] is dying on its feet,” Mr. Bush said. “The last time I came here … you can tell where the economic downturn has occurred.” Big districts There was little percentage change between 2013 and 2014, among Grand Cayman’s three largest districts, al- though all three grew their populations during 2014. George Town maintained more than 50 percent of the is- lands’ overall population and surpassed 30,000 residents as its population increased by about 1,000. Bodden Town also main- tained its relatively new status as Cayman’s second-largest district with just fewer than 12,000 residents. West Bay dis- trict reversed a decline in its population, growing by about 500 in 2014 to 11,282 residents. Statistics office estimates show that West Bay held 19 percent of Cayman’s total pop- ulation, while Bodden Town housed about 20 percent. Survey: Cayman’s population largest ever Four of the five districts on Grand Cayman noted a population increase during 2014. Only East End had a decrease in the number of residents. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Chief justice to speak at insolvency conference Chief Justice Anthony Smellie will travel to San Francisco to speak at a mul- tinational judicial conference on cross-border insolvency on Sunday. In his absence, Justice Charles Quin will serve as acting chief justice until March 26, the Cayman Islands Judicial Administration said in a press release. Chief Justice Smellie is scheduled to address the 11th Joint Multinational Judicial Colloquium on Cross-Border Insolvency on March 21 and 22, ahead of the main INSOL San Francisco conference March 22 to 24. According to the Judicial Administration, the collo- quium is an educational ses- sion open only to judges, judicial administrators, and senior civil servants from relevant government ministries globally. The conference is spon- sored by INSOL International, the UN Commission on International Trade Law and the World Bank. INSOL is a worldwide federation of national asso- ciations for judges, accoun- tants, lawyers and other in- solvency professionals who specialize in corporate turn- around and insolvency, and is a global accrediting body for insolvency professionals. Supporting INSOL’s work is the Group of Thirty-Six, “some of the most promi- nent and influential firms within the insolvency and turnaround profession,” orga- nizers said, adding: “The aim of the Group of Thirty-Six is to work with INSOL to de- velop best practice guide- lines to enhance the ability of practitioners globally to save businesses throughout the world.” The aim of the session at which Chief Justice Smellie will speak is to “prepare par- ticipants to understand de- velopments in the handling of cross-border insolvency cases where there are assets in more than one jurisdiction, an increasing phenomenon with the growth of cross- border commerce,” the state- ment said. “The colloquium will com- pare judicial and related practices in dealing with practical and theoretical is- sues arising in cross-border insolvency cases in a number of jurisdictions representing all major legal systems,” Chief Justice Smellie said in the release. According to the Judicial Administration, the costs of attending the event in San Francisco are borne by the organizers. The aim of the addresses in the conference is to send “a clear message that Cayman’s courts recognize and adhere to international standards for resolving cross-border insol- vency problems and that the Cayman courts will give the necessary cooperation in en- suring that the principles that should govern interna- tional insolvencies are ap- plied,” the chief justice said. NATO intercepts Russian aircraft near European airspace MOSCOW — NATO said Wednesday that it had in- tercepted a large number of Russian aircraft flying close to European airspace in the past two days, in an “unusual” series of inci- dents that brought Russian bombers as far afield as Portugal. The aircraft – at least 19 in all – offered reminders of Russian air power at a time of the worst relations be- tween the West and Russia since the Cold War. Russian military aircraft have signifi- cantly increased their activity in Europe since the con- flict in Ukraine began earlier this year, with NATO scram- bling to intercept aircraft more than 100 times in 2014. But a NATO official said the scale of the latest incidents was the most provocative this year. Over the Atlantic Ocean and the North, Black and Baltic seas, Russian bombers, fighter jets and tanker air- craft were detected flying in international airspace, NATO said. There were no incur- sions into national airspace, a violation of sovereignty that would have significantly am- plified the seriousness of the four incidents, three of which took place on Wednesday. “We’re raising it as an unusual level of activity,” said Lt. Col. Jay Janzen, a spokesman for NATO’s mil- itary command in Mons, Belgium. “The flights we’ve seen in the last 24 hours, the size of those flights and some of the flight plans are defi- nitely unusual.” U.S. officials regard the flights as a show of force by the Putin government. “It’s concerning because it’s moving in the wrong direc- tion,” said one U.S. defense official, speaking on the con- dition of anonymity because he was not authorized to dis- cuss the air activity publicly. “It’s not helping to de-esca- late the situation in Ukraine. It’s not helping to improve relations between NATO and Russia. It’s not helping any- body.” Smaller-scale incidents have also increased this year, approximately tripling from the same period in 2013, Janzen said. In at least one of the four incidents, the aircraft had switched off their transpon- ders and had not filed flight plans with civilian air traffic controllers. That means that civilian air traffic control cannot track them, poten- tially creating a risk for ci- vilian planes. That incident took place around 3 a.m. in Western Europe on Wednesday, when four Tu-95 long-range stra- tegic nuclear bombers and four Il-78 tanker aircraft flew over the Norwegian Sea. Norwegian F-16 fighter jets scrambled to intercept them. Six of the planes re- turned to Russia, but two of the bombers skirted the Norwegian coast, flew past Britain – sending Typhoon fighter jets to scramble in response – and then fi- nally looped west of Spain and Portugal, attracting Portuguese F-16s. Then the two bombers appeared to re- turn to Russia, Janzen said. The Tu-95 bombers are not commonly seen close to Europe, Janzen said. Nor are the MiG-31 fighter jets that were intercepted along with other aircraft above the Baltic Sea in two sepa- rate incidents Tuesday and Wednesday. It was not imme- diately clear whether the two incidents above the Baltic represented the same group of seven planes entering and departing a Russian military base at Kaliningrad. Fighter jets from Norway, Britain, Portugal, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Finland and Sweden were involved in responding to the Russian aircraft, Janzen said. Finland and Sweden are not mem- bers of NATO, and they have long refrained from joining the defensive alliance, which was formed after World War II as a bulwark against the Soviet Union. But military incidents with Russia this year have caused both coun- tries to start to reevaluate their positions. © 2015, The Washington PostThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Thursday March 19, 2015 1st Anniversary in Heaven Anniversary in Heaven Anniversary in Heaven To Our Darling Gary There are no words to explain how hard it is to live without you. We can't believe it's been one year already since you took ight and went to heaven. Every day I'm waiting for you to walk through the door calling my name. I miss the coffee you would make for me every morning, I miss hearing you sing your favorite country songs, and I miss our shing trips and cookouts. I miss having you here when something needs to be xed; you were such a perfectionist when it came to repairs. I cried the day I had to call a guy to hang a door for me for the rst time in 30 years. Birthdays, Easter, Christmas, New Year's Eve, will never be the same without you. You were the life of the party and always managed to have us cracking up with laughter. Our boys miss you being here to help them repair their boats, cars, build them dog houses, chicken pens and anything they need help with. They miss the late night talks outside playing country music and telling jokes. There are so many more things we miss, I could just go on and on, but I will sum it up by simply saying, we miss you. I never thought that our time together would end so quickly. The 30 years we had together may seem like a long time but it wasn't long enough. I wish God could have lent you to us for a while longer but I am still very thankful for the time he gave us together and still today I know that you are with me. I feel your spirit around me every day. I feel you, hear you, smell you, I know you are there but I just can't see you. You brought happiness to our lives in so many ways. We wish we had the chance to say goodbye and tell you how much you are truly loved but God had different plans for you. Thank you for the many memories of love and laughter and for those three little boys we both had to chase after. They are grown men now and I see so much of you in them. I don't know if I could get through this without them because I know in them I will always have a part of you here. You were such a thoughtful and kind person. I will hold on to all the memories we made over the years and you will never, be forgotten. We Love & Miss you dearly. Until we meet again. Your loving wife Brenda, Mama Rosa, sons Dion, Derrin & Dariq,Brothers, Aunts and grandchildren, Dior, Destiny & Kai and all the rest of the family who loved you so! y Putin cites ‘historic roots’ in Crimea President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula as a move to regain the nation’s “historic roots.” WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration set a new record for more frequent censoring of government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new anal- ysis of federal data by The Associated Press. The government took longer to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly that it couldn’t find documents, and refused a re- cord number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. It also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were im- proper under the law – but only when it was challenged. Its backlog of unanswered requests at year’s end grew by a remarkable 55 percent to more than 200,000. It also cut by 375, or about 9 per- cent, the number of full-time employees across govern- ment paid to look for records. That was the fewest number of employees working on the issue in five years. The government’s new fig- ures, published Tuesday, cov- ered all requests to 100 fed- eral agencies during fiscal 2014 under the Freedom of Information law, which is her- alded globally as a model for transparent government. They showed that despite disap- pointments and failed promises by the White House to make meaningful improvements in the way it releases records, the law was more popular than ever. Citizens, journalists, businesses and others made a record 714,231 requests for information. The U.S. spent a record $434 million trying to keep up. It also spent about $28 million on lawyers’ fees to keep records secret. The government re- sponded to 647,142 requests, a 4 percent decrease over the previous year. It more often than ever censored materials it turned over or completely denied access to them, in 250,581 cases or 39 percent of all requests. Sometimes, the government censored only a few words or an em- ployee’s phone number, but other times it completely marked out nearly every paragraph on some pages. On 215,584 other occa- sions, the government said it couldn’t find records, a person refused to pay for copies or the government de- termined the request to be unreasonable or improper. The White House touted its success under its own analysis. It routinely ex- cludes from its assessment instances when it couldn’t find records, a person re- fused to pay for copies or the request was determined to be improper under the law, and said under this calcula- tion it released all or parts of records in 91 percent of requests – still a record low since President Barack Obama took office using the White House’s own math. “We actually do have a lot to brag about,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Separately, the Justice Department congratulated the Agriculture and State de- partments for finishing work on their oldest 10 requests, said the Pentagon responded to nearly all requests within three months and praised the Health and Human Services Department for disclosing information about the Ebola outbreak and immigrant chil- dren caught crossing U.S. borders illegally. The government’s respon- siveness under the open re- cords law is an important measure of its transpar- ency. Under the law, citizens and foreigners can compel the government to turn over copies of federal records for zero or little cost. Anyone who seeks information through the law is generally supposed to get it unless dis- closure would hurt national security, violate personal pri- vacy or expose business se- crets or confidential deci- sion-making in certain areas. It cited such exceptions a re- cord 554,969 times last year. The government also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law – but only when it was challenged. US sets new record for denying, censoring gov’t files TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party scored a re- sounding victory in Israel’s election, final results showed Wednesday, a stun- ning turnaround after a tight race that had put his lengthy rule in jeopardy. Netanyahu surged ahead after a last-minute lurch to the right in which he op- posed Palestinian statehood and vowed continued settle- ment construction, setting the stage for fresh confron- tations with the White House just weeks after criticizing U.S. talks with Iran in a divi- sive address to Congress. With nearly all votes counted, Likud appeared to have earned 30 out of parlia- ment’s 120 seats and was in a position to build with rela- tive ease a coalition govern- ment with its nationalist, re- ligious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies. On Wednesday, Netanyahu visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, a rem- nant of the biblical Jewish Temple and the holiest site where Jews can pray. “I’m touched by the weight of the responsibility that the people of Israel have put on my shoulders. I wish to say that I will do anything in my power to ensure the well- being and security of all the citizens of Israel,” he said. The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed for the past six years. Recent opinion polls indicated he was in trouble, giving chief rival Isaac Herzog’s center- left Zionist Union a slight lead. Exit polls Tuesday showed the two sides dead- locked but once the actual re- sults came pouring in early Wednesday, the Zionist Union dropped to just 24 seats. Given the final results, it is all but assured that Israel’s largely ceremonial President Reuven Rivlin will task Netanyahu with forming a new government. Netanyahu says he hopes to do so quickly, within two to three weeks. “Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud,” Netanyahu told supporters at his election night headquarters, declaring victory even before final re- sults were known. Netanyahu focused his campaign primarily on se- curity issues, while his op- ponents pledged to address the high cost of living and housing crisis while ac- cusing him of being out of touch. Netanyahu will likely look to battle that image now by adding to his govern- ment Moshe Kahlon, whose upstart Kulanu party cap- tured 10 seats with a cam- paign focused almost en- tirely on bread-and-butter economic issues. Kahlon is expected to be the next fi- nance minister. A union of four largely Arab-backed factions became Israel’s third largest party – with 14 seats – and gave Israel’s Arab minority signif- icant leverage in parliament for the first time. Ten parties in all made it into parliament. The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed for the past six years. Netanyahu surges to victory in Israel vote President Obama Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Wednesday after his right-wing Likud Party scored a resounding victory in Israel’s election. - Photo: APNext >