Stunning Sabita Caymom Chronicles Teaching kids to cook, a lifelong skill B4 Fashion Technology Parenting ■ Art & Culture ‘Plastic in Paradise’ New exhibit at the National Gallery B12 Cayman Islands Fashion Week App of the week Visualize yourself losing 50 pounds in five seconds B9 Friday april 17, 2015 • Cayman Compass Sabita is enthusiastic and interested in everything. Can you offer her a loving home? B5 Designers reveal their Fashion Week collections B11 ‘Plastic in Paradise’ cayman weekender Smooth to slight with wave heights less than 3 feet. High of 88 Low of 74 Editorial | pagE 4 Current issues: When the poWer goes out in Cayman eSTaBLISHed 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 75 CENTS – Friday april 17, 2015 Cost of Brac flights ‘commercially sensitive’ Cannot be disclosed, deputy premier says Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The cost of operating new, larger Cayman Airways flights between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac cannot be disclosed because it is considered commercially sensitive informa- tion, Cayman Islands Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell said Thursday. Mr. Kirkconnell made the statement in re- sponse to a parliamentary question from North Side MLA Ezzard Miller, who asked government how much it was costing, per day, to operate Embraer turboprop flights to Cayman Brac, how many “paying passengers” were required for the airline to break even on each flight, and the average number of passen- gers per flight since operations began. The deputy premier said that re- sponding to Mr. Miller’s questions in a public forum would put Cayman Airways “at a competitive disadvantage.” The new flights with the larger, 30-seat Embraer aircraft, began in October 2014. The larger planes offer flight attendant service and have lavatory facilities, unlike the smaller Twin Otter aircraft, Cayman Airways Chief Executive Fabian Whorms said at the time. The introduction of the larger planes was expected to allow the smaller turboprops to be used for service between Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. No other airline in the world flies between Grand Cayman and its two smaller Sister Islands, a fact that left East End MLA Arden McLean wondering at Mr. Kirkconnell’s re- sponse to the question. “What is commercially sensitive ... when we do not have any competition in that arena?” Mr. McLean asked. Mr. Kirkconnell rose to respond, but was cut off by Speaker of the House Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who noted that under Legislative Assembly Standing Orders, the Premier: electric bills droP 27% since sePt. Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The average Cayman Islands household’s electricity bill is projected, by May, to fall nearly $100 per month compared to September 2014, when local petrol prices peaked, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Wednesday. The premier attributed that drop, in part, to his Progressives-led government’s decision to reduce import duties on diesel fuel used by Caribbean Utilities Company. The reduction, which took effect last July, took the duty rate from 75 cents per gallon to 50 cents per gallon. “Next month, consumers should be able to compare their September 2014 electricity bills, when the average household’s electricity bill caledonian: shortfalls to creditors outlined miChael Klein mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com The former directors of Caledonian Bank estimate only 40 percent to 70 percent of most of the bank’s loans will be recovered. While one single $93 million loan, which makes up more than half of Caledonian’s outstanding loans, is fully cash collateral- ized, the directors believe that for the re- maining 63 loans, only 40 cents to 70 cents on the dollar are recoverable. Fixed assets, including Caledonian House in George Town, were valued by the directors at $10 million – $3 million less than their book value. The statement of affairs, which sets out James WhittaKer jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A series of tests are under way to de- termine the impact of the George Town Landfill site on the surrounding environ- ment, including the North Sound. A multinational engineering company is carrying out environmental testing at the site. Concerns have been raised for sev- eral years about the threat of contaminants from the unlined dump potentially leaching into the sound. Consultants AMEC Foster Wheeler have been installing monitoring wells and carrying out groundwater sampling since April 6. They are also carrying out tests at the landfills on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. As part of the two-week research visit, the group will also look at sediment sam- ples from the north canal in George Town and out into the North Sound. The gases produced at the landfill, known locally as Mount Trashmore, will also be tested. “Other plans include water and biolog- ical sampling, as well as landfill gas, hy- drogen sulfide and dust sampling,” ac- cording to a government statement. The findings of the study will be made public in a Landfill Site Environmental Review Report, according to Jim Schubert, project manager for the Integrated Solid Waste Management study. Mr. Schubert did not respond to re- quests for further comment on Wednesday. Martin Edelenbos, an engineering coor- dinator for waste management at the Dart group, said the tests would provide valu- able data on the extent of any contamina- tion issues from the landfill site. He said the work being carried out is similar in nature to what Dart had pro- posed to do as part of the remediation of the George Town site under a deal with the previous government to move the landfill to Bodden Town. He said the work would likely help fill a data gap on the environmental impacts of the site and help determine how to handle them. Tests examine dump’s impact on North Sound PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Simon Howard and Jim Schubert set up a dust monitoring station at the landfill. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL NEWS Friday april 17, 2015 • Cayman Compass Mobile: 345-323-8573 Office: 345-943-8573 / Fax: 345-949-9753 heather.richards@remax.ky / www.remax.ky Heather Richards DREAM WITH YOUR EYES OPEN! Cayman Islands Member of CIREBA READY TO BUILD! Whispering Waters Lot 0.3086 acres New Sub-division off Hirst Road, Savannah includes underground utilities, cleared and ready to build. Easy access to all amenities. MLS 403439 Priced to Sell - CI $76,000 CARIBBEANCAFEA til 3pm Saturdays & Sundays! 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April 24th (Finally The last Friday of the month is almost here) NEXT WEEK Saturday April. 25th Barefoot Man and Sea N’B Starting live at 8:00pm Come for dinner Stay for Dancing No Cover with DJ Flex Free lessons with Kirk starting 9.30pm Every Tuesday Salsa Tuesdays 345.623.1400 • SALES & RENTALS • PROPERTY MANAGEMENT • COMMERCIAL LEASES • capitalrealty.com.ky THIS WEEK’S NEW LISTINGS CENTRAL SEVEN MILE BEACH AREA US$349,000 MLS 404357 Great for a rental unit, 2 bed 2 bath. Great investment, always rented! Walk to the beach, heated pool, 2 tennis courts and access to boating in the North Sound! Call George Davidson t: 345.516.2000 GEORGE TOWN APARTMENT CI$89,000 MLS 404358 CHARMING 1 bed apartment located in Central George Town. Fully furnished. Granite counter tops and other upgrades. Call Michael Mighty t: 345.329.3532 OCEAN CLUB RENT/SALE 2 bed 2.5 bath Remodeled Pools Gym,Tennis, Ocean views RENT $1450 SALE CI $179,000 Call 548 0000 Police name tourist in fatal Jet Ski crash Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Police on Thursday named the man killed in Wednesday’s Jet Ski ac- cident off the Westin on Seven Mile Beach as Robert Cole from Virgilina, Virginia. Three cruise ship pas- sengers, all from the U.S., were involved in the colli- sion between two Jet Skis, one driven by Mr. Cole, 31, and the other by a 15-year-old boy. Emergency services re- ceived a report of the acci- dent just before 1 p.m. Mr. Cole died from his injuries. He was riding a Jet Ski with Amy Comer, 37, also from Virginia. She was taken to Cayman Islands Hospital and later released. Police say the teenager, from New York, suffered minor injuries to his nose from the accident and was not taken to the hospital. Reached by phone in Virginia, Ms. Comer’s father Ricky Comer said, “We really don’t know what happened. We’re waiting to hear from down there.” Police Chief Inspector Harlan Powery said the investigation was con- tinuing, and he would not comment on the circum- stances of the accident. Mr. Cole and Ms. Comer were passengers on the Carnival Conquest cruise ship. According to Rod McDowall with Red Sail Sports, the couple rented a Jet Ski from another com- pany at Public Beach. Mr. McDowall said his com- pany rented the Jet Ski to the 15-year-old from the Red Sail shop at the Westin. Police said the boy was Jet Skiing with his father and three brothers. The boy and his family were pas- sengers on the Carnival Paradise cruise ship. In a press release, police said Mr. Cole was taken to shore after the accident and received CPR. “Emergency Services responded shortly and transported both the male rider and a female passenger to the hospital,” said Inspector Powery. Police said everyone in- volved in the accident stayed in Cayman to assist in the investigation. RCIPS and Joint Marine Unit offi- cers are investigating. High school drama teacher jailed for three years Delroy James indecently assaulted three students James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A high school drama teacher has been sentenced to three years behind bars for indecently assaulting three of his male students. Delroy James, 33, admitted to a string of sexual offenses, including convincing two of the boys to let him measure their private parts and per- suading one pupil to send him a picture of his penis. Passing sentence on Wednesday, Justice Charles Quin, asked for a psychi- atric evaluation of James and raised concerns about the lack of provision in the Cayman Islands for dealing with sexual offenders. He said, “It is regrettable that the Cayman Islands does not have an interven- tion program for sexual of- fenses and the victims of such offenses, which would significantly assist in the work that must be done with offenders to deter them from recommitting these offenses. “It is a matter of some ur- gency that such programs are introduced and made available to the inmates of Northward Prison,” he added. Justice Quin said James had breached the trust that was supposed to exist be- tween teacher and student. He said the teacher, who admitted showing pornog- raphy to two pupils and in- structing one boy to expose himself and demonstrate how to put on a condom, had groomed the boys over a pe- riod of several months. “The offenses took place in the confines of the school environment, a place that should be a safe haven for students,” he added. He said James was in a position of authority and the children initially would have believed his instructions should be obeyed. Justice Quin added, “While this court acknowledges that these offenses cannot be said to be among the most extreme of their kind, the court must take into account the possible long-term effects on the lives of the three boys.” He said James, who is married with a young son, should have been aware of the damaging affect his actions could have. He said he had given the teacher credit for entering guilty pleas to the of- fenses, one count of gross in- decency, three counts of inde- cent assault of a male and one of possession of an indecent photograph of a child. James was sentenced to two years in prison for the indecent assaults, three years for the gross indecency and one year for the photo- graph, with the sentences to run concurrently. The judge added, “I order that while in custody the de- fendant has psychiatric anal- ysis in relation to these of- fenses and recommendations, if there are any, in relation to treatment be carried out.” James has been re- manded in custody since June last year. The deceased, Robert Cole, 31, and Amy Comer, 37, were visiting Cayman on a cruise. - Photo from mr. Cole’s faCebook PageThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 Cayman Compass • Friday april 17, 2015 PRESENTING SPONSOR OF 4918 - LIME - Batabano2015 - COMPASS - Full Page Ad (10.333 x 15.97) - Competition - CMYK - 16 Apr 2015 YOUR MOVES TO WIN THE ULTIMATE CARNIVAL PACKAGE SHOW US SNAP CAPTURE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS IN THE RUN UP TO CARNIVAL Terms & Conditions Apply We’ll announce the winner on April 28. Check lime.com for details TAG HASHTAG YOUR PHOTOS WITH #LIMEbatabano WIN THE NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 PLUS LIME GEAR AND A SELFIE STICKThe 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. Noah Smith Bloomberg View Does finance create value? Does it just siphon money from some people and give it to others? Does it destroy value? I see people asking these questions all the time for a pretty obvious reason: there has been broad public suspicion of finance for as long as the industry has been around. But if we want to try answering these questions, there are some tricky issues we need to think about. First, “finance” is actu- ally a lot of different things. There’s retail banking, invest- ment banking, money man- agement, mortgage lending, consumer finance, venture capital, private equity and a whole host of other pieces of the finance industry. Asking whether finance creates value is a little like asking whether people in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are nice. Some probably are, some prob- ably aren’t. (Apologies to Albuquerque for using you in this example!) There’s another big problem with the question, though. “Creating value” isn’t a well-defined concept. There are different notions of value. In this case, the biggest distinction is be- tween total and marginal. Asking whether finance creates total value is the same as asking whether we’d be better off with no finan- cial industry whatsoever. When you put it that way, it’s pretty clear that finance does create total value. Without some kind of financial in- dustry, our rich, modern, in- dustrial civilization simply couldn’t exist. Some form of finance is needed to get cap- ital from those who have it to those who can put it to use. So when critics charac- terize the financial industry as nothing more than a rent- seeking, parasitic enterprise, they are telling us to ditch modernity itself. Bad idea. But the more interesting question is whether finance creates value on the margin. Basically, it’s the question of whether the financial in- dustry – or any of its var- ious pieces – is too big or too small. And that’s a really tough question. Believing in capi- talism means believing that economies are basically natural systems – that if someone finds a lasting way to make money, they are usu- ally doing something of value. That means that if we want to look at a durably profitable industry and say “There’s too much of this,” we need some compelling reason, especially if we’re going to use the inev- itably inefficient tools of gov- ernment power to curb that activity. (The narcotics trade might be such an activity.) In the case of finance, there are definitely cer- tain pieces of the industry that seem like they might be wasteful. Take high-fre- quency trading. Companies make their capital budgeting decisions on long time scales. Do securities trades that cancel each other out over the course of a millisecond really do anything to change corpo- rate budgeting decisions? There are theoretical rea- sons to think that this ac- tivity really just consists of a bunch of investors racing to beat each other to the punch. In 1971, the famed econo- mist Jack Hirshleifer wrote a paper spelling out how in- vestors can waste resources trying to grab information quickly. If they just waited, the information would come out anyway, and they could have saved all that effort with no economic cost. Think of all the math and science Ph.D.s who have dedi- cated their lives and their pow- erful intellects to HFT. Think of the miles of fiber-optic cable that have been laid, the com- puter infrastructure that has been built. If HFT is just a Hirshleifer-type tournament, then those brains and those computers represent wasted resources. The case isn’t open- and-shut – some researchers claim HFT adds value by im- proving markets in subtle ways – but it certainly makes HFT look suspicious. Another example is the pri- vate-equity industry. A number of studies have shown that private equity, in the past at least, has created big produc- tivity improvements at the companies it acquires. But some allege that much of pri- vate equity’s profit survives only because of tax breaks. Private-equity tax breaks mean that in many cases, investors can receive higher returns from owning a company indirectly, through a private-equity firm, than directly, by owning its shares. That means that some of the resources – intelligence, time, effort – that we put into the private-equity industry might only be ways to get around taxes. From a social point of view, it would be better to either close the loopholes, or just cut the tax rates and find the revenue elsewhere. So there are two examples of pieces of the financial industry that, for very different reasons, seem like they might be too big on the margin. But the real point here is how complicated and difficult the question is. Don’t just assume that finance is a worthless activity. If you want to prune it, you need to do the hard work of checking it piece by piece. And the case for using government power to shrink one of the pieces needs to be a pretty solid one. Noah Smith is an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University and a freelance writer for a number of finance and business publications. © 2015, Bloomberg News Most people in Grand Cayman think about elec- tricity provider Caribbean Utilities Company when one of two things happens: 1) their monthly bill arrives in the mail, or 2) the power goes out. Their thoughts are not likely to be loving. CUC might well counter that being taken for granted on every other day is a positive testament to its track record of reliability, and that the company continues to rank atop the Caribbean in terms of metrics such as “average service availability index,” a measure of how often the power is on, compared to how often it is out. (According to CUC’s 2014 annual report, the provider’s ASAI last year was 99.96 percent.) One could even say that Grand Cayman’s decades- long boom in economic development — enabled by devices such as telephones, computers, airplanes and air-conditioning — has been fueled by CUC’s diesel- powered electricity plant. CUC has been, in a word, essential to Grand Cayman’s progression from an insular turtling enclave to a global magnet for finance and tourism. That being said, all it takes is one instance (or, in the case of Tuesday morning’s island-wide power failure, one “fault within the protection system for the generating facilities,” according to CUC) to return Cayman to its former condition as “the islands that time forgot.” When the TVs go out, the digital clocks start blinking, the fans stop spinning and the traffic lights go dark, Grand Cayman — in the perception of whatever tourists happen to be visiting at the time — plunges from first-world aspirant to third-world backwater. An extremely high percentage of Cayman’s busi- nesses are dependent on the availability of uninter- rupted power, and many are not fortunate enough to be located in Class A office accommodations with backup generators. (For many businesses that do have generators, such as the Compass, blackouts still result in operating inefficiencies and production limitations.) When the electricity goes out for a prolonged period of time, it effectively puts Cayman businesses out of business. On Tuesday, it also put our children out of school — which, of course, had the knock-on consequence of putting parents out of work for the day, as they rushed to their darkened homes to care for their children removed from darkened classrooms. Put another way, when the power goes out in Cayman, bad things happen. The coming months may provide some welcome public relations relief for CUC, in the form of reduced electricity bills to Cayman customers. Premier Alden McLaughlin said the average household can expect a bill of about $257 this May, compared to an average of $351 last September. The lion’s share of that drop can be attributed to the worldwide fall in oil prices; however, the Progressives government’s 25-cent reduction in import duty on diesel fuel can be credited with saving each household about $15 per month. Nevertheless, the approaching summer months will bring higher temperatures, more power consump- tion and, consequently, a higher risk of power outages — and, when the air-conditioning goes out in August, as opposed to April, people tend to perspire more, and complain more. CUC has a virtual monopoly on Grand Cayman’s energy market and, therefore, presents an inviting target for criticism when things go awry. It behooves our utility company to be on its game this summer — with real-time information updates and, of course, expeditious technical solutions (which have always been CUC’s greatest strength). Whether it’s fair or not — when the power goes off in Grand Cayman, customers aren’t thinking about how wonderful CUC is for all of its community good works or for having kept the electricity on 99.96 percent of the time. No, what they are thinking, we would surmise, may not be printable in the pages of a family newspaper. Current issues: When the power goes out in Cayman Friday apriL 17, 2015 • Cayman COmpass What is the ‘right size’ for the financial industry? 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”The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Cayman Compass • Friday april 17, 2015 6 LOCAL NEWS Friday april 17, 2015 • Cayman Compass ON SATURDAY, April 18th from 11am - 4pm Visit Parfumerie II and receive complimentary engraving plus this LIMITED EDITION Burberry Pouch* with the purchase of a 90ml My Burberry Fragrance as well as a chance to win an authentic Burberry Scarf with a retail value of $325USD!** Just in time for er’ RAFFLES! FREE hors d’ oeuvres Many Greast Prizes! Cayman to dump current trademarks law Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com In an effort to drum up in- ternational business oppor- tunities and potentially earn greater revenue for govern- ment, the Cayman Islands will seek to replace its cur- rent Patents and Trademarks Law with two separate pieces of legislation, Commerce Minister Wayne Panton said Wednesday. Mr. Panton said the new Trademarks Bill will in- troduce a local register for trademarks – symbols or words used to represent a business or a product – that now must be registered first in the United Kingdom and then extended to Cayman. Local attorney Huw Moses, whose firm HSM Chambers specializes in copy- right law, said the current law causes Cayman’s government to lose out on registration fees if certain international com- panies register through the U.K. and also do business in the Cayman Islands. Often, he said, those companies will wait “until there’s a problem” in Cayman before registering their trademarks here. Mr. Panton also said Wednesday that the U.K. trademark regime may not be the best fit for Cayman. “There are … costly re- quirements to use a trade- mark in the U.K. which serve to prevent a challenge to a trademark,” he said. In ad- dition, local individuals and companies will find it easier to access trademark protec- tions in Cayman. “Caribbean Utilities Company’s ‘Sparky’ [the turtle] logo, is registered in the U.K. Does CUC do busi- ness in the U.K.? I don’t think so,” Mr. Moses said. To extend local trademark rights internationally, Mr. Panton said Cayman would likely have to sign on to “sev- eral international treaties and conventions.” While quite a bit of re- form may be needed on the new Trademarks Bill, the re- vamped Patents Bill will re- quire only a “few small changes,” Mr. Panton said. A patent is typically referred to as a set period, defined in legislation, in which other in- dividuals are excluded from making, selling or using someone’s invention. “The focus is … to allow access by local persons to the international patent system,” the minister said. “This ac- cess, through what is known as the Patents Cooperation Treaty, would allow entities in the Cayman Islands to apply for patent protection in more than 140 countries,” Mr. Panton said. Copyrights Upgrades to local copy- right legislation have al- ready been dealt with via the extension last month of the copyright portion of the U.K.’s 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act to the Cayman Islands. However, Mr. Panton said the new copyright re- gime will not take effect for at least another six months to allow the government to conduct a public edu- cation campaign about what is required under the new legislation. Previously, enforcement of alleged copyright infringe- ments in Cayman was based on a version of the U.K. 1956 Copyright Act extended to the Cayman Islands and written at a time when the Internet, computer software develop- ment, and international tele- vision broadcasting, among other things, did not exist. There have been recent consequences for Cayman not having a modern copy- right and intellectual prop- erty rights regime, Minister Panton gave one example in which U.S.-based cable net- work Home Box Office had filed a complaint with the U.S. trade representative con- cerning what the broadcaster alleged was theft of some of its channels by a Cayman Islands cable broadcaster. Mr. Panton said that com- plaint could affect Cayman’s application to be accepted as one of the Caribbean Basin Initiative countries by the U.S. That initiative, which is essentially a trade agree- ment, would allow – among other things – U.S. citizens who visit Cayman for busi- ness conferences to get tax write-offs for the trip. Mr. Panton said many companies registered and op- erating in Cayman use sub- sidiary companies in other jurisdictions to protect in- tellectual property rights. “We’re losing the opportunity to provide that service here,” he said. “And if they have to go elsewhere, they’re exposed to other jurisdictions and what they may have to offer.” “By modernizing Cayman’s intellectual property stan- dards, our economy will be- come even more attractive to foreign investment,” Mr. Panton said. “We have an op- portunity to see technology- based businesses flourish in Cayman.” “We have an opportunity to see technology-based businesses flourish in Cayman.” Wanye Panton, commerce minister CUC’s ‘Sparky’ logo is registered in the United Kingdom.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Friday april 17, 2015 The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Friday april 17, 2015 • Cayman Compass We have been asked to announce the passing of Mrs. Doreen Rose Marie Clemmings affectionately known as “Patsy” who passed away on April 1, 2015. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at George Town New Testament Church of God, North Sound Way at 3:00 p.m. Viewing: 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Interment: West Bay Cemetery An offering will be accepted at the Service, in aid of the Church Building Fund. To sign the Guest Book visit: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com We have been asked to announce the passing of Mrs. Doreen Rose Marie Clemmings affectionately known as “Patsy” who passed away on April 1, 2015. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at George Town New Testament Church of God, North Sound Way at 3:00 p.m. Viewing: 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Interment: West Bay Cemetery An offering will be accepted at the Service, in aid of the Church Building Fund. To sign the Guest Book visit: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com To sign the Guest Book visit: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com To sign the Guest Book visit: To sign the Guest Book visit: We regret to announce the passing of Lilly Tibbetts Who departed this life on Monday, 6 April, 2015. Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com and Bodden Funeral Facebook page Interment will follow in Creek Cemetery. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held at 3:00 PM on Saturday, 18 April, 2015,at Bethel Baptist Church, Cayman Brac. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Kirkconnell Rest Home on Cayman Brac. We regret to announce the passing of Darley Solomon Who departed this life on Sunday, 29 March, 2015. Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com and Bodden Funeral Facebook page Interment will follow in Dixie Cemetery. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, 19 April, 2015,at the Georgetown Seventh Day Adventist Church, Smith Rd. Viewing will be held from 6:00-9:00 PM Saturday 18 April, 2015 at Bodden Funeral Service, Walkers Rd. was approximately $350.70, to their May [2015] bill, when the average house- hold’s CUC bill is projected to be about $256.70,” Mr. McLaughlin said. Businesses would also benefit from the reduction, Mr. McLaughlin said. Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush inferred, in questioning Mr. McLaughlin about the electric bills, that the premier was basically taking credit for the world- wide drop in petroleum prices since last fall. During his statement to the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday about CUC bills, Mr. McLaughlin noted that the government’s duty reduction was respon- sible for about $15 worth of the reduction. “Had there been no duty reduction, the average resi- dential bill for May 2015 is projected at approximately $271.50,” the premier said. Mr. Bush has urged gov- ernment previously, and did so again Wednesday, to use its savings from the CUC diesel duty rate reduction to significantly reduce elec- tric bills for lower-income Caymanian households. The opposition leader noted last year in a pri- vate members’ motion filed in the House that the reduction in diesel duty otherwise had to be sig- nificant enough to en- courage a real reduction for utility customers. “Reducing $6 mil- lion or $7 million [on CUC’s import bill] would only [save] about $20 per household,” Mr. Bush said. “This is negligible.” While the import duty and the reduction in petrol prices worldwide have led to lower consumer bills, Mr. McLaughlin said re- cords had shown no change in CUC’s base price for electricity, which makes up about one-third of the charge on electric bills. “There are measures [consumers] can take in their own homes and busi- nesses to help further re- duce the cost of power,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “Simple things such as unplug- ging chargers for elec- tronic devices when not in use, raising your air con- ditioning thermostat by one degree, unplugging your water heater when not in use … can go a long way in reducing your power consumption.” the directors’ view of the company’s assets and liabil- ities at the day of the liqui- dation, was presented by the bank’s liquidators at the first meeting of creditors at the Marriott resort on Thursday. “Overall, based on the statement of affairs, there will be a shortfall to credi- tors of $27 million before any costs of the liquidation are included,” said liquidator Claire Loebell. Because they had received the report only a day earlier, neither Ms. Loebell nor her co- liquidator Keiran Hutchison commented on whether they believed that the directors’ es- timates were accurate. Most of the bespoke loans are related to real estate de- velopments in a number of jurisdictions, but it is not a typical bank’s mortgage book, Mr. Hutchison said. “We are working through that in order to ascertain how best to deal with it.” Caledonian Bank has cash or cash equivalent assets of $290 million, which are in the process of being repatriated, and bond assets of $92 mil- lion, which can be realized as cash within three days. To bring the money back to Cayman, the liquida- tors have started proceed- ings in the United States and Australia which recog- nized the liquidation pro- cess in the Cayman Islands and prevented creditors from bringing legal action against the bank in these countries. Similar recognition pro- ceedings are under way in the U.K. and Ireland. However, the repatriation of U.S. funds is still held up by the U.S. courts because a group of investors ob- jected to the money being moved out of the country. This group has now with- drawn its objection and the liquidators hope to receive the court’s approval to repa- triate the funds to Cayman at a hearing next week. For smaller amounts held in Switzerland and Canada, the return of funds will de- pend on a cost-benefit as- sessment and the trade-off between legal costs and the amount of money held abroad. Distribution to creditors The liquidators outlined that the bank’s 1,284 deposi- tors from 90 jurisdictions will be paid in several phases. The distribution process is due to start in six to eight weeks and most significant distributions will be paid out within a matter of months, Mr. Hutchison said. However, several loans are long term and could take longer to recover, although every effort will be made to renegotiate repayments or to sell the loan book. This is likely to mean in both cases that discounts need to be given and the full value cannot be realized. Depositors and creditors will be treated equally, except that eligible depositors have a right to priority distribu- tion of up to CI$20,000 under Cayman law. Any amount over CI$20,000 will be paid out subject to the extent of the asset recovery. In their attempts to max- imize the bank’s assets for creditors, the liquidators have received 40 inquiries and four firm bids from parties inter- ested in buying the banking assets of Caledonian. A deci- sion on the sale will be made in the next four to six weeks. Intervention by regulators questioned Mr. Hutchison said ef- forts had been made to settle the lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to avoid extensive litigation costs, but the U.S. regulator indicated it would be diffi- cult to reach an alternative resolution process. The liquidators ruled out the option of suing the SEC, which directly contributed to the failure of the bank with a large freezing order of $76 million that was later reduced to $7 million. Mr. Hutchison said regulators such as the SEC enjoy a de- gree of immunity, and suc- cessful litigation would re- quire proving an act of malice by the regulator. Based on legal advice he has received, Mr. Hutchison said, “this is a high bar to jump over.” The liquidators were also confronted by creditors with the question of whether the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority had acted appro- priately and in the interest of depositors, given its knowl- edge of the lengthy U.S. in- vestigation into the affairs of Caledonian Bank and Caledonian Securities. Mr. Hutchison said, from his experience dealing with regulators in several coun- tries and “given the circum- stances of what happened, it is not surprising to me CIMA took the action it did in ap- pointing controllers.” He added that the bank’s troubles were due to its small size rather than an issue of Cayman bank regu- lation. “A very large portion of the bank’s assets was ac- tually held in cash. I am not sure that the banking opera- tions themselves were neces- sarily risky,” he noted. However, in the busi- ness of international secu- rities trading and banking, “you are at the risk of a reg- ulator taking action.” He said, similar action had been taken against many major banks worldwide, but these banks were larger and there- fore better able to absorb the risks of litigation and the effects of temporary re- straining orders. Another issue raised by creditors at the meeting was the treatment of foreign ex- change risk as a result of the translation of all assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at the beginning of the liquida- tion process on Feb. 10. The liquidators noted that they are conscious of the currency risk for depos- itors but said this was an issue for the depositors to address. Active hedging of the foreign exchange risk would entail costs, and the priority – and the bigger challenge – for the liquida- tors is to bring the funds back to Cayman, convert them into U.S. dollars and distribute them to creditors. Premier: Electric bills drop 27% since Sept. “The average household’s electricity bill [in September 2014] was approximately $350.70, [compared] to their May [2015] bill, when the average household’s CUC bill is projected to be about $256.70.” PremIer AlDen mclAughlIn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Caledonian: Shortfalls to creditors outlined CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Merren sentencing put back again Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Caymanian busi- nessman who has been held in U.S. federal prison since December after pleading guilty in an international drug trafficking conspiracy will now have to wait until late June to hear his sentence. Sentencing was delayed Wednesday for Gilroy Bryce Merren in the U.S. court case until June 25, following an earlier sentencing date of May 1. That date had been put back from March 2015. Federal court records in- dicated the delay was at least partly due to personal problems of Merren’s Puerto Rican attorney. Merren was arrested in March 2014 in Puerto Rico on allegations that he tried to persuade undercover U.S. Homeland Security agents he thought were drug dealers to cooperate with him in a scheme to smuggle drugs through the U.S. unincor- porated territory and later launder the proceeds of the proposed transactions. He pleaded guilty last December to conspiring with other individuals to possess cocaine, one of the three charges against him. The other two charges were held in abeyance until Merren’s sentencing. U.S. court records have not stated who conspired with Merren in the alleged scheme, but statements from federal prosecutors indicated that the probe had not ended with Merren’s arrest and guilty plea. The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Friday april 17, 2015 Previous ISDHF videos can be viewed at: http://www.scubahalloffame.com/videobios.html Invitation to Tender CAYMAN ISLANDS GOVERNMENT On behalf of the Government of the Cayman Islands, the Department of Tourism invites tenders for the provision of video production for the 2015 International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame (ISDHF) to be submitted to the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism. The purpose of the videos is to provide a two minute digital biography for each of the 2015 International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductees including the pioneer award, plus an introduction video for the ISDHF event which will be featured during a live ceremony and then posted on the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame website in perpetuity. These videos will be used for advertising and promotion of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame and they will be the property of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (CIDOT). Objectives for the Vendor: w Produce a two minute video biography for each Inductee (usually 4 - 6 persons). w Produce a two minute video biography for each pioneer awardee (usually 1 or 2 persons). w Produce a two minute video biography for each local awardee (usually 2 persons). w Produce a video introduction for the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame event. w Videos must include narration and can also include music and special effects. w Videos must be high definition for the live ceremony and then in mpeg-4 or MOV format for website use. w Videos must be completed by September 4, 2015. The proposal should include: w Links or electronic copies of previous videos produced. Criteria for selecting the successful tender will be on the following basis: w Understanding of ISDHF & CIDOT objectives. w Relevant prior experience. w Quality of video production work and creativity. w Pricing/budgeting of project. Tender Documents to be submitted to the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism. Interested parties should obtain and download the Full Invitation to Tender document at web address: www.caymanislands.ky/ISDHFRFP from April 7, 2015. All tenders and queries to be submitted by email to gdominguez@caymanislands.ky and will be answered by email only. Tenders must be received by 12:00 PM EST on May 1, 2015. Sarabande Something beautiful you can own We invite you to hear an outstanding stereo system designed for the discerning audiophile / music lover Only one pair of Sarabands is currently available in Cayman "No other stereo system I have heard, presents as much ambient air, atmosphere and sense of enveloping spaciousness.” "...the most accurate I have ever heard in terms of depth, width and height." "The Sarabands allow the listener to hear 'through' the music, not 'at the music', embracing a myriad of accurate timbres and textures..." "It's re-creation is voluptuous, spacious, 3-dimensional and bathed in an incredible volume of air." "Lovingly hand-crafted for the sensualists amongst us." Attributes: 4-way active stereo system with 8 internally integrated amplifiers Height 40" - Diameter 16" www.lenardaudio.com Google: Lenard Audio Sarabande review By appointment only; Gretchen Allen 926-1898 / John Burnett 924-2060 Sarabande Something beautiful you can own Only one pair of Sarabands is currently "No other stereo system I have heard, "...the most accurate I have ever heard music', embracing a myriad of accurate "It's re-creation is voluptuous, spacious, Attributes: 4-way active stereo system Google: Lenard Audio Sarabande review Come hear what a CI$15,950 stereo system sounds like R.S.V.P. Gretchen Allen 926-1898 / John Burnett 924-2060 deputy premier had deter- mined the question could not be answered in open parliament and did not have to explain himself further. Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush asked if Mr. Kirkconnell could brief leg- islators in private about the flight costs, if he did not want to discuss the matter openly. Mr. Kirkconnell said he would be willing to re- lease a copy of the business plan for the Embraer planes. Mr. Bush said he also wanted information about the lease agreement for the planes. However, Mr. Miller de- clined any offer to be briefed in private by government members about the cost and passenger loads on the flights because “somebody [is] going to be accused of leaking [the information] out.” “I don’t want [there] to be a party of us going behind locked doors and sharing in- formation that is to be kept confidential,” Mr. Miller said. Deputy Premier Kirkconnell said in October that the larger Embraer planes would increase avail- able seats going to and from the Brac, boosting not only the local tourism product but also the island’s general economy. “Cayman Airways has been able to time the flights of the 30-seater to also con- nect with Little Cayman flights on the Twin Otter and many other interna- tional flights into and out of Grand Cayman,” Mr. Kirkconnell said. The Embraer 120 air- craft were initially sched- uled to fly twice a day to and from Cayman Brac, ex- cept Tuesdays when they are down for routine mainte- nance. Additional flights will be added on heavier demand days, the airline said. Earth Day cleanup Saturday Earth Day is Wednesday, but this weekend several events are scheduled for the annual worldwide environ- mental celebration. The Chamber of Commerce’s annual Earth Day Island Wide Clean-Up is Saturday on Grand Cayman. The group hopes to find more than 1,500 people to help with the roadside cleanup from West Bay to East End. The Chamber roadside cleanup runs from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. In addition to the Chamber’s cleanup Saturday, DiveTech will host a lionfish culling course and a separate cleanup effort at Barkers. On Sunday, the Cayman Islands Tourism Association will host Reef Watch, an an- nual event to survey Cayman’s reefs and get a snapshot of reef health. DiveTech and Ocean Frontiers will host trips for the surveys. Also Sunday is the Back to Nature Family Fun Day at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Garden. Also on Saturday, world leaders will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to mark Earth Day. Organizers expect United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and dignitaries from Malawi to Sweden to attend and speak during the event. There is a free concert in the evening featuring Fall Out Boy and Usher, among others. The 45th annual Earth Day celebration will have events in 192 countries, according to the Earth Day Network, the organization started by Earth Day founders in 1970. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Cost of Brac flights ‘commercially sensitive’ Islamic State pushes toward Ramadi BAGHDAD (AP) — Clashes between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants pressing their offensive for Ramadi, the capital of western Anbar province, has forced more than 2,000 fami- lies to flee from their homes in the area, an Iraqi official said Thursday. The Sunni militants’ push on Ramadi, launched Wednesday when the Islamic State group cap- tured three villages on the city’s eastern outskirts, has become the most significant threat so far to the provincial capital of Anbar. It is seen as an attempt by IS to stage a counteroffen- sive after suffering a major blow earlier this month when Iraqi troops routed the group from Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown. Sattar Nowruz, from the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, said that the over 2,000 families that fled Ramadi were in a “diffi- cult situation” and have set- tled in southern and western Baghdad suburbs. Tents, food and other aid are being sent to them, he said. The ministry is as- sessing the situation with the provincial government in order “to provide the dis- placed people, who are un- dergoing difficult conditions, with better services and help,” Nowruz added. On Thursday, sporadic clashes were still under way, according to security offi- cials in Ramadi. The center of the city has been firmly in the hands of Baghdad govern- ment forces, though some of the suburbs had fallen to the Islamic State, which last year captured large swaths of terri- tory in western and northern Iraq, along with about a third of neighboring Syria. That blitz stunned the Baghdad govern- ment and pushed the country into its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops. U.S.-led coalition airstrikes were backing the Iraqi troops in Ramadi on Thursday and were targeting the three vil- lages – Sjariyah, Albu-Ghanim and Soufiya – captured Wednesday by the extremists, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity be- cause they were not allowed to talk to the media. They described Ramadi as a ghost town with empty streets and closed shops after most of the residents had deserted it. Ramadi and the city of Fallujah were major al- Qaida strongholds during the eight-year U.S.-led inva- sion, and fighting in Anbar was especially costly for Americans troops. Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, second from right, and other officials at the launch of the Embraer turboprop flights in October last year.Next >