High of 86 Low of 74 Slight with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. Fabulous Foxy Store-cupboard remedies Art & Culture Leisure Health and Beauty ■ Fashion Isy B. Designer to feature in Cayman on April 25. B11 Cayman art in Canada Randy Chollette’s painting will represent Cayman at the Pan Am Games B9 Solo dining A wealth of local dining options for the single to mingle B10 Friday april 10, 2015 • Cayman Compass The Cayman Islands Humane Society is looking for a very special foster home for Foxy. B4 The answer to many beauty woes can be found in your kitchen cupboards B8 fashion cayman weekender Isy B. fashion Editorial | pagE 4 MiniMuM wage: what it is ... and what it isn’t eSTaBLISHed 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 75 CENTS – Friday april 10, 2015 Gov’t committee calls for $6 minimum waGe Almost 6,000 could get raises, but 600 could face layoffs Charles dunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com A committee, after studying wages for more than a year, has recommended a $6 hourly minimum wage for Cayman. The Minimum Wage Advisory Committee report makes exceptions for live-in domestic workers and service workers who get tips. The committee recommended allowing that addi- tional income to make up $1.50 of the hourly wage. Effectively, live-in household workers, bartenders, wait staff and anyone else who re- ceives tips would have a $4.50 minimum wage. At a press conference Thursday announcing the report, Premier Alden McLaughlin said he supports the recommendations and hopes to be able to present more information about how the Legislative Assembly could take up the proposal next month. “Social justice re- quires that we pay a minimum wage,” he said. A person working 40 hours a week at $6 a hour would make $12,480 per year. Under the proposal more than 5,960 people – almost 16 percent of Cayman’s workforce – would see a pay increase, according to the obama on Goodwill trip to jamaica KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — President Barack Obama’s arrival Wednesday evening in Kingston, Jamaica, was low-key compared to the excitement he stirred in the Caribbean upon his election in 2008. Greeted on the air- port tarmac by dignitaries including Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Obama slipped into a motorcade that ran through mostly quiet, empty streets. The visit comes amid a perception that Obama’s interest in the region has failed to materialize. Yet his travels – first to Jamaica, then to the Summit of the Americas in Panama – follow a year of increased attention to the region by the U.S. president. His immigra- tion executive orders, his efforts to slow the influx of Central American minors to the U.S. border, and his diplomatic outreach to Cuba have put a foreign policy spotlight on U.S. Brac’s Divi Tiara awaits economic, tourism upturn tad stoner tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Brac’s Divi Tiara Beach Resort, closed for nearly a decade, continues to de- teriorate while the Legal Department con- templates court action against the North Carolina owners who failed to comply with a 2014 abatement order. The Department of Environmental Health order came on Jan. 14 last year, ac- cording to Thomas Augustine, environ- mental health officer for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. “We sent it by post to the U.S.,” he said, “and I affixed copies to each of the buildings.” He numbered the structures at “six or seven,” while the site itself, which includes approximately 600 feet of prime waterfront, has been pegged between 4 and 5 acres. “They received [the notice],” Mr. Augustine said, “and they gave responsi- bility to a gentleman here in the Brac, but the work was only partially completed.” The department granted a five-week ex- tension on April 24, but when the work re- mained incomplete by May 31, the matter went to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Augustine said. “We have done our part, and are just now waiting on the Legal Department.” Director of Environmental Health Roydell Carter described the work on the hotel, timeshare buildings and grounds as “some minor clearing, but it did not The Divi Tiara hotel closed its doors in 2006 and was later badly damaged in 2008’s Hurricane Paloma. - pHoto: ed beatY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Friday april 10, 2015 • Cayman Compass CARIBBEANCAFEA til 3pm Saturdays & Sundays! 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Friday Happy Hour 5pm-7pm with FREE Hors d’oeuvres + Drink Specials Salsa Tuesdays with DJ Flex Free lessons with Kirk starting 9.30pm Every Tuesday 7:30pm & 9:00pm Nightly7:30pm & 9:00pm Nightly TOMORROW Saturday April 11th Barefoot Man and Sea N’B Starting live at 8:00pm Come for dinner Stay for Dancing No Cover Call 949-2231 or email: thewharf@candw.ky Tuesdays Salsa Free lessons with Kirk starting 345.623.1400 • SALES & RENTALS • PROPERTY MANAGEMENT • COMMERCIAL LEASES • capitalrealty.com.ky THIS WEEK’S NEW LISTINGS LOWER VALLEY $265,000 CI MLS # 404327 Only 2 years young! Well priced and ready to go. 152 Lemuell Circle Lower Valley 3 bed 2 bath Home. MICHAEL MIGHTY t: 329 3532 NORTHSIDE $429,000 US MLS # 404303 Unit #: 312 Breathtaking views from this beachfront 2 bed 2 bath condo located on the quiet North side, On The Bay. FABIO or GEORGE t: 926 0915 or 516 2000 BUYING, SELLING, RENTING Call Lin 548 0000 Cayman Realty Group “Your HouseSold Name” Defendant in shooting case to be tried in Grand Court CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A 34-year-old man charged in connection with a shooting in George Town late last month was remanded in custody after appearing in Summary Court on Thursday. Randy James Parchment elected to be tried in Grand Court on charges relating to the shooting incident at McField Square in the early hours of March 28. Parchment is charged with possession of an unlicensed handgun and the unlawful and malicious wounding of one named female. The matter was adjourned from Tuesday and Wednesday because defense attorney Prathna Bodden had intended to apply for bail. On Thursday, however, she informed Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn that she had not received all the papers in the case and so would not apply at that time. On Tuesday, Ms. Bodden had noted that the charges against her client were Category B, as distinct from Category A, which would have had to be transmitted imme- diately to the Grand Court. After Parchment made his election, Ms. Bodden said the required preliminary inquiry would probably be long form, meaning that a magistrate will have to hear the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient to send the matter to the higher court. Crown counsel Kenneth Ferguson asked for three weeks to prepare the papers for the case. The magistrate then set April 30 for the pre- liminary inquiry. Parchment, a resident of George Town, was remanded in custody until then. News releases issued by police indicated that the in- cident occurred around 4 a.m. when two masked men approached and fired shots into a crowd of people. Three Caymanian women were wounded, one in the chest and abdomen, and one in the arm. The injury to the third woman was not specified, but she was released from hos- pital later the same day. A later news release said three men had been arrested in connection with the inci- dent. Parchment was charged and brought to court. Two other men were released on police bail while investiga- tions continued. PANAMA CITY (AP) — Hundreds of activists from across Latin America were preparing their agenda for the Summit of the Americas on Thursday, gathering be- hind closed doors one day after a rocky encounter that saw a group of Cuban dis- sidents being aggressively heckled by supporters of President Raul Castro. The activists were put- ting together proposals to present to President Barack Obama, Castro and some 30 other hemispheric leaders at the summit starting Friday on topics ranging from pro- tection for the environment to support for democracy in the region. Organizers fear the grass- roots groups’ work is being politicized after dissidents from the communist-run is- land attending Wednesday’s opening session were pushed around to shouts of “mer- cenaries” and “terrorists” by government supporters from Cuba and its ally Venezuela. But with emotions run- ning high over Cuba’s first- ever presence at the re- gional gathering and recent U.S. sanctions on top-level Venezuelan officials for human rights abuses, shut- ting out the political noise will be difficult. The U.S. State Department condemned what it said was “harassment” and “use of vi- olence” against participants. But the pro-government groups from Cuba and so- cialist ally Venezuela say they’re more representative of the aspirations of their populations than many of the opposition groups present. Separately, a group of 25 mostly conservative former Spanish and Latin American presidents issued a state- ment in Panama calling for the immediate release of Venezuelan opposition leaders it considers political prisoners and which the gov- ernment accuses of trying to violently oust President Nicolas Maduro barely two years into his term. They are also seeking guarantees that parliamen- tary elections expected to take place later this year are fair and free. “In some distinct situ- ations silence isn’t an op- tion, it’s tantamount to com- plicity,” said former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. They were accom- panied by the wives of the country’s two-most prom- inent jailed opposition leaders, Leopoldo Lopez and deposed Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Twelve suspects have been arrested on charges of child pornography across Puerto Rico in the largest such operation in the U.S. territory, federal authorities said Thursday. Among those arrested were a former police of- ficer, a high school teacher and an Internal Revenue Service employee, said Angel Melendez, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Juan. Agents are analyzing nearly 1,000 computers, tablets, smart phones and other computing devices seized while executing 20 search warrants in 13 mu- nicipalities as part of an operation dubbed “Friend Zone,” he said, adding there could be more arrests. “We are seeing an alarming increase” of child pornography cases in Puerto Rico, he said. Nearly 40 people have been arrested on suspicion of child exploitation in the last year, more than the total number of suspects arrested in 2014, Melendez said. “That is a fraction of the number of people in Puerto Rico who are downloading child pornography,” he said. The most recent suspects range from 26 to 64 years old. Rocky start to activist meeting at Americas Summit in Panama 12 arrested in largest child pornography case in puerto rico Protestors demonstrate outside the Vasco Nunes De Balboa Convention Center in Panama City. - photo: apThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 Cayman Compass • Friday april 10, 2015 UPGRADE TO 4923 - LIME - NEW Broadband Offer (w/Apple TV) - Full Page Ad - CMYK - 10.33 x 15.97 - 8 Apr 2015 SUPERFAST BROADBAND SIGN UP OR UPGRADE TO SUPERFAST BROADBAND AND GET AN APPLE TV ONLY $ 49 BROADBAND LIME Terms & Conditions ApplyThe 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. Friday apriL 10, 2015 • Cayman COmpass According to American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The value of a dollar is social, as it is created by society.” According to the Cayman Islands government, the value of a dollar approximates to 10 months of effort by a 19-member committee. We are able to assert this with empirical certainty because that ($1) is the difference between what Cayman’s Minimum Wage Advisory Com- mittee is recommending as the base national salary ($6 per hour) and what North Side MLA Ezzard Miller, unaided by anything except his own common sense, has been sug- gesting over the past several years ($5 per hour). We are not, at this juncture, going to explore the question of whether Cayman should have a minimum wage, nor if $6 per hour is too high a figure, or too low. For the moment, we will allow the report to speak for itself. Indeed, thumbing through the 221 pages produced by the committee on the topic of a possible minimum wage for Cayman, we are reminded of social media theorist Clay Shirky’s succinct assessment of the journalistic autopsy performed by Columbia University investigators on the retracted Rolling Stone article on campus rape: “The Columbia report is thorough, but a distraction.” Our opinion is that being so “thorough” was thoroughly unnecessary. In reality, the nearly yearlong process that the com- mittee dutifully carried out has not brought Cayman one step closer to the goal that instituting a national minimum wage will supposedly accomplish. The only thing that will is for lawmakers to, well, make a law, and then for authorities to see that it is enforced. Large insti- tutions, including our government, are generally very adept at generating reports — but far less so at acting on them. Until Cayman institutes, and enforces, a minimum wage, Cayman does not have a minimum wage. Since we don’t have one yet, let us take a moment to discuss what a minimum wage can be expected to do, and what it will not. On Thursday, Premier Alden McLaughlin mentioned the two primary reasons that people in Cayman usually give for wanting a minimum wage. First, he said, “Social justice demands, requires; Christian principles demand that you treat people fairly.” Fair enough. For the relative handful of workers who will receive a pay raise to $6 per hour, the minimum wage will indeed promote a certain measure of “social justice” and fairness. Mr. McLaughlin then went on to speculate, though, that instituting a minimum wage may create more jobs for Caymanians — the idea being, for example, that a Caymanian may not be willing to take a dishwashing job for $4 per hour (the position then being filled by a less- fastidious expatriate), but that same Caymanian may be willing to take that job for $6 per hour. We do not believe that is a realistic description of human behavior. The committee didn’t either and rec- ommended that government drop the objective of “improv[ing] employment opportunities for Cayman- ians in relation to decreasing the demand for imported workers” as it concerns the minimum wage. The establishment of a minimum wage is not an act of economic creation; it is an act of economic redistribution. But how to generate wealth for a society? Toward that point, we’ll leave you with additional thoughts from Mr. Emerson’s essay on the subject: “Wealth brings with it its own checks and balances. The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws. Give no bounties: make equal laws: secure life and property, and you need not give alms. Open the doors of opportunity to talent and virtue, and they will do themselves justice, and property will not be in bad hands. In a free and just commonwealth, property rushes from the idle and imbecile, to the industrious, brave, and persevering.” Now that we have thoroughly inspected the floor of Cayman’s economy, perhaps we can realign our gaze to the ceiling. Minimum wage: What it is ... And what it isn’t When everything is a crime in America WASHINGTON – What began as a trickle has become a stream that could become a cleansing torrent. Criticisms of the overcriminalization of American life might catalyze an appreciation of the toll the administrative state is taking on the criminal justice system, and liberty generally. In 2007, professor Tim Wu of Columbia Law School re- counted a game played by some prosecutors. One would name a famous person – “say, Mother Teresa or John Lennon” – and other prosecu- tors would try to imagine “a plausible crime for which to indict him or her,” usually a felony plucked from “the in- credibly broad yet obscure crimes that populate the U.S. Code like a kind of jurispru- dential minefield.” Did the person make “false pretenses on the high seas”? Is he guilty of “injuring a mailbag”? In 2009, Harvey Silverglate’s book Three Felonies a Day demonstrated how almost any American could be unwittingly guilty of various crimes be- tween breakfast and bed- time. Silverglate, a defense lawyer and civil libertarian, demonstrated the dangers posed by the intersection of prosecutorial ingenuity with the expansion of the regulatory state. In 2013, Glenn Harlan Reynolds, University of Tennessee law professor and creator of Instapundit, pub- lished in the Columbia Law Review “Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime.” Given the axiom that a competent prosecutor can persuade a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, and given the pro- liferation of criminal statutes and regulations backed by criminal penalties, what be- comes of the mens rea prin- ciple that people deserve criminal punishment only if they engage in conduct that is inherently wrong or that they know to be illegal? Now comes “Rethinking Presumed Knowledge of the Law in the Regulatory Age” (Tennessee Law Review) by Michael Cottone, a federal ju- dicial clerk. Cottone warns that as the mens rea require- ment withers when the quan- tity and complexity of laws increase, the doctrine of ig- norantia legis neminem ex- cusat – ignorance of the law does not excuse – becomes problematic. The regulatory state is rendering unrealistic the presumption that a re- sponsible citizen should be presumed to have knowledge of the law. There are an estimated 4,500 federal criminal stat- utes – and innumerable reg- ulations backed by criminal penalties that include in- carceration. Even if none of these were arcane, which many are, their sheer number would mean that Americans would not have clear no- tice of what behavior is pro- scribed or prescribed. The presumption of knowledge of the law is refuted by the mere fact that estimates of the number of federal stat- utes vary by hundreds. If you are sent to prison for exca- vating arrowheads on federal land without a permit, your cellmate might have acciden- tally driven his snowmobile onto land protected by the Wilderness Act. Regulatory crimes, Cottone observes, often are not patently discordant with our culture as are murder, rape and robbery. Rather than implicating funda- mental moral values, many regulatory offenses derive their moral significance, such as it is, from their relation to the promotion of some gov- ernmental goal. The presumption of knowledge of the law is, Cottone argues, useful as an incentive for citizens to become informed of their legal duties. Complete elim- ination of the presumption would be a perverse incen- tive to remain in an igno- rance that might immunize a person from culpability. But “there can be no moral obli- gation to do something im- possible, such as know every criminal law,” let alone all the even more numerous – per- haps tens of thousands – reg- ulations with criminal sanc- tions. The morality of law, Cottone argues, requires laws to be, among other things, publicized, understandable and not subject to constant changes. Otherwise everyone would have to be a talented lawyer, “a result hardly fea- sible or even desirable.” Overcriminalization, says professor Reynolds, deepens the dangers of “a dynamic in which those charged with crimes have a lot at risk, while those doing the charging have very little ‘skin in the game.’” With a vast menu of crimes from which to choose, prosecutors can “overcharge” a target, presenting him or her with the choice between capitula- tion-through-plea-bargain or a trial with a potentially se- vere sentence. Given the principle – which itself should be re- considered – of prosecutorial immunity, we have a crim- inal justice system with too many opportunities for gen- erating defendants, too few inhibitions on prosecutors, and ongoing corrosion of the rule and morality of law. Congress, the ultimate cause of all this, has work to undo. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2015, Washington Post Writers Group 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 find their own way” GEORGE F. WILLThe islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Cayman Compass • Friday april 10, 2015 6 LOCAL NEWS Friday april 10, 2015 • Cayman Compass Colorado State scientists predict inactive hurricane season William Gray announces decision to step down AlAn MArkoff amarkoff@pinnaclemedialtd.com Colorado State University atmospheric scientists Phil Klotzbach and William Gray have predicted less than av- erage tropical cyclone ac- tivity during the 2015 hur- ricane season, forecasting only seven named storms, three hurricanes and one major hurricane. “We anticipate that the 2015 Atlantic basin hurri- cane season will be one of the least active seasons since the middle of the 20th century,” they said in their forecast re- port, noting that it was likely that an El Niño of at least moderate strength would de- velop this summer and fall. El Niño, which is caused by an anomalous warming of the equatorial waters of the cen- tral and east central Pacific Ocean, is known to cause in- creased wind shear in the Atlantic basin, something that inhibits hurricane formation. In addition to the likely El Niño, Mr. Klotzbach and Mr. Gray noted that sea surface temperatures in the trop- ical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean were currently cooler than normal, something which, if it persists during the hurricane season, would also tend to inhibit the for- mation and strengthening of tropical cyclones. The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. The median numbers of storms and hur- ricanes in the 30-year period between 1981 and 2010 is 12 named storms, 6.5 hurricanes and two major hurricanes. Because of the predicted reduced activity during the upcoming hurricane season, the scientists said they also anticipated a below-average probability for major hur- ricanes making landfall along the U.S. coastline and in the Caribbean. “Despite the forecast for below-average activity, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them,” the report said. “They should prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted,” The 85-year-old Mr. Gray has been associated with the Colorado State Department of Atmospheric Science sea- sonal hurricane forecasts since 1984. Mr. Klotzbach joined the project in 2000 and became the lead author of the reports in 2006. “Phil has been making all the final forecast decision in recent years,” Mr. Gray said in a special note included in Thursday’s report, “He has, nevertheless, appointed me to serve in the important role of taking the blame for any and all forecast busts, with all credit for successful forecasts going to him. I have fully embraced this special arrangement!” However, Mr. Gray said that while he still comes to the office every working day and remains quite active, he is now devoting his research efforts to climate change and global warming issues. “For this reason, I will be discontinuing my formal as- sociation with these seasonal hurricane forecasts at the end of this year,” he said. “But I will remain as a special per- sonal advisor to Phil in all of his CSU hurricane forecasts as long as I am able.” Mr. Gray said he expected Mr. Klotzbach to carry on making Colorado State’s sea- sonal hurricane forecasts “with his ever-improving hur- ricane-climate understanding and continuous forecast skill improvement.” “There is no one, in my view, better able to do this than Phil,” he said. This year, however, Mr. Gray will continue to work with Mr. Klotzbach in pro- ducing the seasonal updates of the 2015 Atlantic basin hurricane forecast. Additional updates will be issued on June 1, July 1 and Aug. 3, and there will also be two-week forecasts of Atlantic trop- ical cyclone activity during the climatological peak of the season from August through October. In addition, Colorado State will issue a verification and discussion of all 2015 forecasts in late November 2015. Part of the report an- swers the question about why Colorado State issues the ex- tended-range forecasts, espe- cially when the scientists ac- knowledge that the Atlantic basin has the largest year-to- year variability of any of the global tropical cyclone basins. “People are curious to know how active the up- coming season is likely to be, particularly if you can show hindcast skill improvement over climatology for many past years,” the report states. “Everyone should realize that it is impossible to precisely predict this season’s hurri- cane activity in early April. “There is, however, much curiosity as to how global ocean and atmosphere fea- tures are presently arranged as regards to the probability of an active or inactive hur- ricane season for the coming year. Our new early April sta- tistical forecast methodology shows strong evidence over 29 past years that significant improvement over clima- tology can be attained. “We would never issue a seasonal hurricane fore- cast unless we had a statis- tical model developed over a long hindcast period which showed significant skill over climatology.” Mr. GrayMr. Klotzbach Police investigate travel complaints Some customers confirm repayments JAMeS WhittAker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Police are investigating complaints from passengers who claim they paid for air tickets to Jamaica but were turned away at the check- in desk after being told the travel company had not com- pleted thier booking. Detective Chief Inspector Raymond Christian of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Financial Crime Unit said there had been a number of complaints this week from passengers who bought tickets from Cayman 123 Travel. Police say there have been a total of 12 complaints about the same issue since December last year. A crowd of angry cus- tomers gathered outside the travel company on Eastern Avenue on Tuesday morning, waving receipts and de- manding to be reimbursed. Eventually a representative from the company showed up and told the passengers they would be repaid. Karissa Cameron, who said she was one of a number of passengers who were turned away from the Tuesday morning flight to Kingston, confirmed in a phone call from Jamaica that she had been reimbursed for the cost of the ticket after waiting all day at the agency. She said she booked a new ticket directly from Cayman Airways and flew to Jamaica on Wednesday morning. She said other passengers who had waited with her had also been reimbursed and had been able to make their flights on Wednesday. It was not clear on Thursday whether all af- fected passengers had been repaid. The business owner, Theresa Chin, again de- clined to make any comment on the situation. The business was closed Thursday morning and the Cayman 123 Travel logo and branding had been re- moved from the storefront window, though the tele- phone number and other de- tails remained. A sign tacked to the door advised of a “temporary clo- sure” until April 13 and apol- ogized for any inconvenience. Police say they received a complaint last Thursday from a passenger who had pur- chased a ticket through the company. But the issue was resolved between the person and the company, and the complaint was withdrawn. Chief Inspector Christian said further complaints had been made this week and an investigation had been launched. He said he was li- aising with other depart- ments to determine exactly how many passengers had made reports to the police. In an official press re- lease later on Thursday, the RCIPS, said “Since December 2014, 12 com- plaints have been received by RCIPS concerning a named Travel Agency, on Eastern Avenue, receiving cash from customers for ticket pur- chases. However when trav- elers show up at the Owen Roberts International Airport to check in, no transactions for the airline tickets have been recorded on the airline reservation database.” Anyone affected may call the Financial Crime Unit on 949-8797. Sabra recalls hummus products The makers of Sabra hummus are recalling 30,000 cases of its Classic Hummus due to pos- sible contamination by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Sabra Dipping Co., LLC announced the volun- tarily recall of the product in the United States on Wednesday. Foster’s Food Fair IGA issued a press release on Thursday morning stating that none of the affected containers of hummus had been shipped to its supplier. While Foster’s Strand and Republix stores carry Sabra Classic Humus 10 ounce package, the stores did not have any of the affected products, which have use-by dates of May 11 and May 15. To date, there have been no reports of hummus with the bacterium making anyone ill. According to the man- ufacturer, the potential for contamination was dis- covered when a routine, random sample collected at a retail location on March 30 by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. For full details of the affected products, visit www.fda.gov/ Safety/Recalls/ucm441863.htm. A sign pasted on the door of the Cayman 123 Travel company informs customers that the office will reopen on April 13. - PHOTO: JAMES WHITTAKER Some containers of Classic Hummus are being recalled.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Friday april 10, 2015 The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Friday april 10, 2015 • Cayman Compass Tel: 949-5211 209 Dorcy Drive, Industrial Park www.brandsourcecayman.com inspire design install meet compliance [with the order],” he said, ‘and there has been no further work on the property.” He declined comment on the schedule or intentions of DPP lawyers, saying only that any outcome “would be something up to the court.” “The DEH has certainly been waiting, trying to get something,” he said, ac- knowledging that “it will take some time.” While he did not rule out a possible move by the Cayman Islands government to repossess the property, regulations remain unclear and the Office of the DPP had not responded to queries by press time. At the Chapel Hill head- quarters of Divi Resorts – a name derived from the na- tive-Caribbean “Divi Divi tree” – Chief Operating Officer Marco Galaverna was reluc- tant to comment, saying only that “we still own the prop- erty and the buildings and the land. “We are watching devel- opments on the island,” Mr. Galaverna said, observing “huge development on Grand Cayman,” including hotel re- furbishment, rising tourist arrivals and growing condo- minium construction, “but there is no development going on in Cayman Brac.” Minister for Tourism, Sister Islands MLA and Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell acknowledged the resort needed “major work to bring it back,” but said “we should encourage Divi to improve,” and, seeking to boost Brac tourism, ad- dressed concerns about the island’s economy and local resorts’ viability. “One of the things they had said,” Mr. Kirkconnell re- called after Divi shut its hotel doors in 2006, leaving only a handful of timeshare apart- ments, “was about airlift.” Hotel executives had cited in- sufficient international flights to the Brac as a primary ob- stacle to guest arrivals. “We have addressed air- lift with the ‘right-sizing’ of the fleet, 30-seater aircraft and international flights,” en- abled by recent expansion of the Brac airport terminal, Mr. Kirkconnell said. “Arrivals have increased 20 percent per month since we put on more flights in October, and in June we will start return flights to Miami,” he said. Rebuilding dam- aged structures post-2008 Hurricane Paloma is “pretty much complete, and the cruise ship has called every week since the improve- ments,” he said. “What we are looking for now is private-sector invest- ment,” he said. “It’s a lovely island and I think there is great potential over there,” Mr. Galaverna said. “We are watching and still trying to decide.” Meanwhile, Cayman Brac RCIPS Inspector Harold Forte said the overgrown grounds had not created po- licing issues. “I am not aware of any problems,” he said. “I think the last time we were there was at the end of 2014. “I’ve seen it, of course, but we’ve had no reports and no reason to investigate. I think no one has been charged [with overseeing] the property itself, but there have been no reports of trespassing so we have had no reason to enter.” Two years ago, in May 2013, filmmaker Jordan Liles posted to YouTube a 40-minute video, “The Abandoned Resort in Cayman Brac,” exploring the grounds, buildings, offices, guest rooms, dining room and even walkways at the Divi Tiara, observing in acute detail the deterioration of the facilities. “It sure is an eyesore, a di- lapidated site,” said Brac MLA Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. Economic problems cited When the 71-room Divi Tiara closed, its owners cited economic problems led by insufficient airlift from the U.S. Six of its 12 timeshare units continued to operate. However, after Hurricane Paloma, the corporation ended all operations, al- though the group loaned the facility to government to house Brac reconstruc- tion workers in the wake of the storm. “Originally, it was in pretty good condition, but Paloma really did some major damage,” Mr. Carter said. In 2009, former Divi re- sorts CEO E.J. Schanfarber said he was studying re- development of the site to broaden its appeal beyond a dive destination. “Prior to Hurricane Paloma, we were reviewing several scenarios per- taining to the redevelopment of the Divi Tiara site,” Mr. Schanfarber said at the time, linking the plans to regular airlift from Miami and Texas. “Airlift from a major Texas city and direct from Miami to the Brac is es- sential for us to sustain a new development,” he said. “We dedicated a signifi- cant amount of resources to studying the potential of the destination and believe a new resort is viable if airlift [were] in place.” report. Businesses employ about 3,360 of the affected people, while households employ the other 2,600. About a quarter of the workers earning less than $6 an hour are Caymanian. Lemuel Hurlston, chairman of the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, said the group “unani- mously agreed to recom- mend that the minimum wage should be a national minimum wage that is ap- plied across the board to all sectors.” The report cites the pos- sible loss of 545 to 600 jobs – about 1.5 percent of the labor force in Cayman – if the wage proposal is im- plemented. Roughly 190 job cuts could come from household employers and 380 from businesses. Addressing the poten- tial for layoffs, the premier said he would expect that any job losses would have a minimal impact and most likely would affect work permit holders and not Caymanians. Mr. Hurlston said, “Small businesses, firms with less than five employees, will be most impacted.” He said those small companies, most of which would be Caymanian-owned, would be required to give raises to more than 1,200 employees. The minimum wage does not apply to those who are self-employed. The other impact cited in the report is that busi- nesses could pass the added costs on to con- sumers, further inflating prices for goods and ser- vices. The report states that if businesses pass on the entire cost of the in- crease, prices could go up by 0.85 percent. The big- gest impacts would be felt in housing and utility costs, with a projected increase of almost a third of a percent, according to the commit- tee’s report. The sectors that could feel the most impact are wholesale and retail trade, car repair shops, restau- rants, administration and support services, which in- cludes security guards, and households that employ do- mestic workers. Mr. Hurlston said the committee, with the help of an adviser from the United Nations International Labour Organization, iden- tified pay levels for low wage, defined as people making less than $9.23 an hour, and very low wage, those making $4.61 or less an hour. Seven percent of workers in Cayman, ac- cording to the Economics and Statistics Office Labour Force Survey, are currently in that “very low wage” category. There are 2,683 Caymanians in the two lowest pay categories. Any minimum wage would require changes to several laws and govern- ment departments. The Labor and Pension and Immigration departments would see the biggest changes, said Minister Tara Rivers, whose Ministry of Education, Employment and Gender Affairs over- sees labor issues. The report calls for whistle-blower provisions in the Labour Law to pro- tect employees who com- plain about minimum wage violations. The report recommends doubling the fines in the Labour Law, which are cur- rently $2,500 for the first offense and $5,000 for ad- ditional violations, and a further $100 a day for an ongoing offense like paying someone below what was promised. The committee’s report also pushes for stricter re- cord-keeping by employers and changes the defini- tions of households that employ domestic workers, churches and nonprofits to bring them under Labour Law regulations. Brac’s Divi Tiara awaits economic, tourism upturn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gov’t committee calls for $6 minimum wage CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 neighbors to the south. The president said Thursday that he will soon decide whether to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of ter- rorism now that the State Department has finished a re- view on the question as part of the move to reopen diplo- matic relations with the is- land nation. Obama’s remarks came as he opened his three-day trip to the Caribbean and Central America, where he is expected to attend a re- gional summit with Cuban President Raul Castro. Havana has eagerly sought removal from the list, and Obama for months has signaled he’s prepared to take the step once he received a formal recommendation. Obama, speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Simpson Miller in Kingston, said U.S. agencies are now poring over the State Department’s review but that he’s yet to receive the actual recommendation. Obama is expected to act quickly to for- malize Cuba’s removal from the list – potentially as soon as later this week when he travels to Panama for the Summit of the Americas. “Throughout this pro- cess, our emphasis has been on the facts,” Obama said. “We want to make sure that given this is a powerful tool to isolate those countries that genuinely do support ter- rorism, that when we make those designations, we’ve got strong evidence that’s the case and as circumstance change, that list will change as well.” Cuba is one of just four countries still on the U.S. list of countries accused of re- peatedly supporting global terrorism; Iran, Sudan and Syria round out the list. Cuba’s continuing pres- ence on the list has been a sticking point in the effort to restore ties between the two countries. The designation that not only offends Cuba’s pride but also restricts Havana’s access to credit and financial systems. Obama’s comments came on the first full day of his trip to Jamaica and Panama, where he is hoping to make inroads in the face of ex- panding Chinese influence and weakening power by Venezuela, once the energy juggernaut of the Americas. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Obama on goodwill trip to JamaicaThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Friday april 10, 2015 Next >