High of 86 Low of 74 Slight to moderate with wave heights 2 to 4 feet. Weather geek app Imagine having this information at your fingertips B10 Fashion Special event Technology ■ special event The rhythm of Get in the spirit this weekend. B6 – PHOTO: STePHen Clarke What’s trending Spring/ Summer 2015 fashions cover many themes B12 Countdown to Rundown Spicy, satirical show starts its run on May 7 B8 Friday May 1, 2015 • Cayman Compass May 2nd, 2015 Contact Logic today so you can get access to the most highly anticipated fight of the year! | 745-5555 | www.logic.ky $99.95 RESIDENTS $199.00 BARS & RESTAURANTS Batabano Delightful Dory Dory is sweet- tempered, curious and very happy, with lots of love to give. Do you have room in your home for her? B11 Cayman weekender The rhythm of Batabano Editorial | pagE 4 In newspapers and courthouses, deadlInes matter eSTaBLISHed 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 75 CENTS – FrIday may 1, 2015 STARTING EARLY! Jam night 6-9pm Dj Jonesian 9pm -1am $4 cuervo shots - $4 coronas $7 corona AND a cuervo Quesadilla and taco specials til 10pmFU LL M O O N CINCO DE ��NO Overall crime down, speeding tickets up Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Total crime reports made to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service decreased by nearly 24 percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same quarter last year. Crime and traffic statistics for Jan. 1 through March 31, released by the RCIPS on Thursday, showed most categories of crime monitored by local police had decreased. Offenses considered “serious” crimes by police stayed about the same compared to the first three months of 2014. Reported bur- glaries, a trouble spot for the department in recent years, numbered 147 in the first quarter this year; there were 146 cases during the same period last year. According to police statistics for the quarter, robberies increased from three to six, attempted burglaries increased from 15 to 20, and murders increased from one to two cases, all in the first quarter of 2015. Reports of abductions, rapes, attempted robberies, wounding and defilement all went down in first quarter of 2015. The big decrease in reported crimes came in the area of lesser offenses, often called “volume crimes” by police. Thefts, damage to property reports, threats and common assault cases all declined signif- icantly in the first quarter of 2015. Theft re- ports in first quarter 2014 were 190, compared to 123 this year. Similarly, damage to property fell from 99 reports to 58 reports. Domestic violence reports went up by two during the quarter, but police generally view an increase in this category as an indication that more cases are being reported rather than as an indication of an increase in do- mestic violence cases. Other crimes reported to police, often de- scribed as “public nuisance” crimes, dropped by a total of 38 percent in the first quarter. Harassment, disorderly conduct, gambling, fe- rocious dogs offenses and “common nuisance” offenses all dropped sharply. The number of drugs-related arrests made by the RCIPS in the first three months of this year fell by about 26 percent from last year. Districts on opposite enDs of voting Debate Bodden Towners skeptical of government intention Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Separate public meetings this week showed that two large voting districts on Grand Cayman are at opposite ends of the “one man, one vote” debate. When it comes to changing the Cayman Islands general election system, Bodden Town residents remained doubtful about the gov- ernment’s true intentions. A number of speakers at Wednesday’s public meeting with the Electoral Boundary Commission at Bodden Town Primary School expressed concern that “something” would happen to prevent government from imple- menting single-member voting districts in time for the May 2017 elections. “[There is] skepticism about the concept of one man, one vote and single-member constit- uencies coming into effect in the 2017 elec- tions,” said local talk radio show host Orrett Connor, the retired government Cabinet Secretary who has previously said he is con- sidering a run for office himself in two years. “Any government that fails to [implement single-member voting districts] runs a high risk of defeat at the polls in 2017.” Electoral Boundary Commission Chair Lisa Handley, an American political scientist, told a crowd of about 40 Cayman Islands residents that from a technical standpoint, redrawing the current multi-member voting district map Developer can create 16-acre lake James whIttaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A developer has been granted permission to create a 16-acre, 30-foot-deep lake as part of a planned housing project in South Sound. Infrastructure and excava- tion work is under way on the Adagio community – a 23-lot lakeside subdivision. The Water Authority ap- proved a quarry permit for the lake earlier this month, despite objections from the Protect South Sound environmental group. The permit allows the de- veloper, Rene Hislop, to exca- vate below a depth of 20 feet, something that protesters say creates a risk of ground- water contamination. They say the decision is also contrary to the recommendations of the Department of Environment and the Water Authority itself, when plans for the Adagio proposal first came before the Central Planning Authority. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » Steel band competition hits high note Hundreds of residents turned out Wednesday evening to hear some of Cayman’s finest young steel pan players at Mary Miller Memorial Hall. The pan players were performing at the National Children’s Festival of the Arts’ Amin Mohammed Memorial Steel Band Competition. Nine bands competed in three school-level categories, and in solos, pan duets and group. For more, see page 12. - pHoto: JeWeL LevY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL NEWS Friday May 1, 2015 • Cayman Compass Cayman’s Original, International Award-Winning Restaurant. Taste why we’re Voted “Best”! of Cayman Cookin’ over a Wood Fire! Now Comin’ on TWENTY-TWO (22) Years Shabbat Candle Lighting time on Friday, May 1 6:30pm Chabad Jewish Center of the Cayman Islands jewishcayman.com-345.516.4474 LOWER VALLEY DUPLEX 4 x 2bed units, 5222s/f Large detached 3 storey 4 self contained units Built as a duplex l l l l Reduced! CI$520,000 Member CIREBA MLS#403140 345-945-4411 info@cirealty.ky caymanislandsrealty.com Call 949-2231 or email: thewharf@candw.ky Salsa Tuesdays TONIGHT! 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Call: ALVIN SLUCHINSKI t: 525-8850 Burglary in tourist area nets 40 months Third liquor store robbed in week CORRECTIONS Repeat offender admits two burglaries, two thefts Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A burglary at a condo along Seven Mile Beach has the potential to damage the island’s reputation as a safe tourist destination, Magistrate Valdis Foldats pointed out when he handed down a sentence of 40 months for the offense. Harry Dwayne Bush, 49, received four sentences on Monday, but the magistrate made them concurrent to re- flect Bush’s early guilty pleas and apology to his victims. The first burglary occurred in July 2013, when Bush en- tered a George Town residence as a trespasser and stole a flat-screen TV and vehicle keys. He admitted driving the vehicle with the TV in it to an- other area of George Town. When he returned, the vehicle and TV were gone. Bush said he had consumed cocaine and liquor that night. Acknowledging a problem with addiction to co- caine, he entered the Drug Rehabilitation Court two months later. In February 2014, he re- moved a 42-inch TV and re- mote control from a yard in West Bay and pleaded not guilty to theft; he said he thought the set had been thrown away. He admitted selling it for $250. Later the same month, he stole a compressor from an air-conditioning unit at a West Bay business prem- ises. The compressor was valued at $1,000. The burglary of the tourist accommodation took place in the early hours of Feb. 27, 2015. A woman was awakened by the presence of someone in the bedroom and thought it was her daughter. But when she opened her eyes, she saw a man by her bedside standing over her backpack. She screamed and the person fled through a rear sliding door. CCTV at the premises showed a man going from patio to patio after 4 a.m. The male was identified as Bush. His drug court order was revoked and he was sent to the regular criminal court. The magistrate pointed to sentencing guidelines that call for higher tariffs in the case of repeat burglaries. Aggravating factors in this case included the facts that this was a burglary at night, of a residence, and the oc- cupants were present at the time. Additionally, Bush had been on bail at the time for the other offenses. The magistrate said res- idential burglaries violate one of a person’s most basic rights – the right to be se- cure in one’s own home. That security is shattered when a victim comes face to face with an intruder in the dead of night in the sanctity of his or her own bedroom. Left un- checked, burglaries change the face of a community be- cause burglar bars, secu- rity officers, guard dogs and gated communities become the norm, he pointed out. The starting sentence was five years, but the mag- istrate gave a full one-third discount for the guilty plea, arriving at 40 months. Sentence for the 2013 burglary was 32 months and for each of the thefts, three months. All were made concurrent. Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Another nighttime liquor store robbery has been re- ported, this time Tuesday eve- ning in West Bay. It’s the third late night liquor store heist to occur on Grand Cayman since April 21. According to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, a man armed with a handgun entered the Pop-A-Top store on Powell Smith Road around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. He ran away on foot after the holdup. No one was hurt and no arrests were immediately reported. The suspect was de- scribed as about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, wearing a grey and white T-shirt, khaki pants and a black baseball cap. A bandana partially covered the suspect’s face. Five days earlier, a lone robber armed with a machete entered the Blackbeard’s liquor store in Grand Harbour just be- fore 9 p.m., taking some cash. Closed circuit tele- vision cameras inside the store captured video of the man, who was wearing sunglasses and a hoodie during the heist. No one was hurt. The suspect escaped, running to- ward the back of the shop- ping center. A similar incident, also involving a machete-toting suspect, occurred at Tortuga Liquors in the Greenery shopping center along Seven Mile Beach on April 21. According to police, a 5 feet, 5 inch tall male en- tered the store around 9:20 p.m. and demanded cash from the two employees there. No customers were in the store at the time, Tortuga President Robert Hamaty said, and the em- ployees were not physically hurt. After getting “the day’s takings,” the suspect left on foot. No arrests were imme- diately reported. The memorial walk for Marcia Donaldson is scheduled for Saturday morning at 4:45 a.m., not Sunday as printed in the final sentence of a story on page 5 of Thursday’s Compass. Participants are asked to meet at the entrance to South Sound Road at 4:45 a.m., wear a white T-shirt and bring a flower of their choice. In another story, titled “Edna Moyle primary gets new laptops,” Paul Young of Savill’s, who appeared in the photograph accom- panying the article, was misidentified. The Cayman Compass strives for accuracy and is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. Those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can email the editor at newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com. The magistrate said residential burglaries violate one of a person’s most basic rights – the right to be secure in one’s own home.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 Cayman Compass • Friday May 1, 2015 PRESENTING SPONSOR OF PRESENTING SPONSOR OF 4918 - LIME - Batabano2015 - COMPASS - Full Page Ad (10.333 x 15.97) - Huawei PrePaid Offer - CMYK - 16 Apr 2015 Y330 SMARTPHONE HUAWEI 49 $ JUMP UP TO 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. 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” “Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.” — Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish satirist and author All too often, the execution of justice in the Cayman Islands is less “swift” than it is “Swiftian.” Case in point: Wednesday’s news from the courts that no fewer than 107 charges against Island Builders Ltd., relating to allegations of unpaid overtime work, were being dismissed by Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez. The magistrate made no determination regarding the merits of the charges themselves, which involved amounts ranging from $20 to $5,000, but said she was forced to dismiss them because Director of Labour and Pensions Mario Ebanks had exceeded the legally prescribed time frame of six months in which to file the action. In other words, Mr. Ebanks’s Depart- ment of Labour and Pensions took too long. Nearly all of the 107 claims (106 of them, to be precise) rested on an audit of Island Builders the depart- ment began in February 2013. The magistrate observed that the launching of the probe was sufficient to initiate legal action right then and there, but nothing was done until March 2014, a delay of 13 months. Because these are Summary Court matters, charges must be laid within “six months from the date on which evidence sufficient to justify proceed- ings came to the actual or constructive knowledge of a competent complainant,” according to Cayman’s Criminal Procedure Code. The magistrate offered a scathing criticism of the department: “It is evident from these matters that the department requires a complete re-education of its responsibilities and its obligations under the law.” Now, more than two years after the original offense allegedly occurred, here is the situation: Island Builders walks away, without a determination of guilt or inno- cence; the workers, who claim they are owed money, get nothing at all; and the department escapes with a few harsh words and little else. What happens next? We contacted Mr. Ebanks and Employment Minister Tara Rivers. They said the department is appealing the magis- trate’s decision, based on a disagreement over when the department had gathered “sufficient evidence” in order to file charges, and when that six-month clock started to tick. They said public consultation on revising the Labour Law was due “in short order,” with one item on the agenda to be consideration of the relevant statute of limitations. Neither so much as mentioned the 107 workers, nor spoke directly to any immediate relief. While hopes and promises figured prominently, neither addressed sub- stantively Magistrate Hernandez’s admonition to the department for “a complete re-education of its respon- sibilities and its obligations under the law.” Mr. Ebanks referred to the limited resources of his department (a plea that, legally speaking, carries no weight in court). Ms. Rivers, on the other hand, said that the current Labour Law’s lack of any explicit statute of limitations “does not, however, in any way lessen the expectation and mandate that both the Department of Labour and Pensions and the Depart- ment of Public Prosecutions must act expeditiously and within the framework of the law to ensure that justice can be served for employees who have been subjected to breaches of the law.” While Ms. Rivers’s statement is less “understanding” than Mr. Ebanks’s of the department’s shortcomings, we imagine neither is of much consolation to the 107 workers who say they have been shortchanged. In newspapers and courthouses, deadlines matter Clive Crook Bloomberg View The British election on May 7 is too interesting for the country’s good. Neither the Conservatives nor Labour expect to win a ma- jority of seats in Parliament. Everything will depend on deals struck after the vote – an idea to which other coun- tries are accustomed, but not Britain. Never have the elec- tion promises of the two big parties seemed so irrelevant. Even allowing for this dy- namic, the offers of Labour and the Conservatives are weirdly thin in one respect. This was supposed to be an election about Europe. To dent the popularity of the U.K. Independence Party and deal with a long-standing rift in his own team, Prime Minister David Cameron has promised that if he’s re- elected he will negotiate new terms for the country’s mem- bership in the European Union, then put the result to a stay-or-go referendum. You might therefore ex- pect detailed back-and-forth about what Britain wants from the EU, and what its op- tions outside the union would be. This hasn’t happened. Labour calls Brexit unthink- able, without saying why it’s unthinkable. And Cameron hasn’t said how the current terms would need to change for him to recommend voting yes in the referendum. Cameron’s officials have compiled reports on the “bal- ance of competences” between the EU and national govern- ments, but these are mainly compendiums of opinions and anecdotes, no more than a prologue to what’s required. The government has offered no blueprint – nothing that even suggests a coherent ne- gotiating position. What then should the Tories be saying? I agree with most of what Janan Ganesh recommends in his Open Europe memo to the prime minister. He’s right, in partic- ular, to note that Britain has no good choices: “There is a very strong argument that the EU is a complacent, hide- bound organization in a stag- nant continent in the wrong part of the world and on the wrong side of history. There is a less strong argument for ac- tually leaving it. It is possible to be fervently eurosceptic and reluctantly pro-mem- bership at the same time, for sheer want of better options.” Sad but true. Britain is a medium-sized country off the coast of Europe. It’s no use wishing it were some- where else. Ganesh is also right to be cynical about Europe’s re- sponse to Brexit, if it hap- pens. Sure, it would be in the EU’s interests to negotiate a friendly divorce of the kind that appeals to British euro- skeptics, one that maintains full British access to EU mar- kets and vice versa, a deal like the one Canada has with the U.S. Friendly divorces are generally in the interests of both partners – yet aren’t so common. If Europe decided to take revenge on its ex- partner, it could inflict real economic damage. Guided by the principle “more Europe where neces- sary, less where possible,” Britain could and should argue for more “subsidiarity” – the idea that decisions should be made by national govern- ments unless (as Americans might put it) there’s a com- pelling interest that requires action at the EU level to ad- vance. There’s support for this approach in other countries. Europe recognizes the no- tion, but hasn’t applied it as though it matters. The Treaty of Lisbon, signed in 2007, introduced a “yellow card” procedure: If a third or more of national parliaments declare that a proposal from the European Commission (the EU’s execu- tive arm) violates the prin- ciple of subsidiarity, the EC is obliged to pause. That’s not good enough: In that case, the plan should be scrapped. A similar procedure should be established for repealing laws already passed. This change, and others pushing the same way, could go into effect without a new treaty: The EC would be told, thank you for complying vol- untarily. This matters be- cause many EU governments are reluctant to start a new round of treaty changes. Britain would be right, nonetheless, to press for a new treaty, even if with no great expectation of success. Why? My main disagreement with Ganesh concerns his view on the EU’s formal commitment to “ever closer union.” Purging that is important – and doing so requires a new treaty. “The idea of rewriting the commitment to ‘ever closer union’ to something less mes- sianic would make us feel more at ease in the project, perhaps, but it would not make any tangible difference. The EU is integrationist be- cause its members want it to be, not because a legal clause mandates it,” Ganesh wrote. In the past, the EU has been integrationist for both reasons. Regarding what the members want, I’m not sure they’re any longer convinced that ever closer union makes sense. One or two may have noticed what the single cur- rency – once justified as a vital step toward ever closer union – has done for their economies, not to mention their domestic politics. Be that as it may, en- shrining perpetual integra- tion in the EU’s constitution has made a tangible differ- ence. It’s a principle that is flatly at odds with sub- sidiarity, and one that in- structs the European Court of Justice, supposedly the ju- dicial guarantor of subsid- iarity, to give that interest less weight. In practice, the court has given subsidiarity almost no weight. To change that, you have to change the EU’s constitution. Cameron has promised momentous decisions on an impossibly rapid schedule if he wins next month – and that’s as much as he’s saying. Labour, for its part, also wants the subject to go away. Let dysfunction and indeci- sion reign. Maybe Britain be- longs in Europe after all. Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist and a member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. © 2015, Bloomberg News Friday May 1, 2015 • Cayman COmpass Uk’s strange silence on eU’s futureThe islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Cayman Compass • Friday May 1, 2015 6 LOCAL NEWS Friday May 1, 2015 • Cayman Compass www .ogier .com British Virgin Islands . Cayman Islands . Guernsey Hong Kong . 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As one of the world’s leading providers of international legal services, Ogier is committed to supporting Caymanians in their pursuit of a legal career. Applications for the August 2015 intake should be submitted to caymanlegal.recruitment@ogier.com no later than 31 May 2015. 25% of Caymanians not registered to vote Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Conservative estimates by the Cayman Islands 2015 Electoral Boundary Commission indicate that about one-quarter of voting age Caymanians have not registered to cast their ballots in the May 2017 general election. “We understand there are somewhere around 5,000 people who are eligible but not registered to vote,” com- mission member Steve McField said Wednesday. According to numbers produced by the Cayman Islands Elections Office and as part of the government’s annual labor force survey for 2014, the boundary commis- sion’s estimates regarding the number of unregistered voters may be a bit low. According to the reg- ister of electors, updated as of April 22, the total number of registered voters in Cayman was 18,296. That’s down about 260 people from the number who were eligible to participate in the 2013 general election, mainly due to voter deaths since the election. The 2009 Constitution Order changed the require- ment to vote in Cayman Islands elections, al- lowing anyone who holds Caymanian status, regardless of citizenship rights in other countries, to cast ballots in a local election. The 2014 Labor Force Survey, the latest data avail- able, puts the total number of Caymanians age 20 and older at 23,623. The number of Caymanians between ages 15 and 19 is listed at 2,090. Those in the group who are 18 and older would be eli- gible to vote as well, so it’s quite possible that Cayman has more than 24,000 eligible voters. Total numbers uncertain The unknown data about eligible voters may signif- icantly skew the drawing of electoral boundaries, Commission Chair Lisa Handley said. The issue was raised by Chris Saunders, a Cayman Islands Democratic Party committee chairman and former candidate for public office in Bodden Town. “If a Caymanian is not registered to vote, they are still entitled to repre- sentation,” Mr. Saunders said. “Should we not be looking at population? I think going forward, it’s better to include the voting age Caymanian population within the district.” Ms. Handley agreed that the boundary commis- sion, which is in the process of drawing single-member voting districts ahead of the Cayman Islands next elec- tion, would like to consider the general voting age popu- lation in its work. However, there is a problem finding information on people who haven’t registered. “We are trying to get hold of that information,” Ms. Handley said. An increase in the number of registered voters would significantly im- pact how Cayman’s single- district voting boundaries were drawn. If the com- mission decides to draw 18 single-member districts, the average number per dis- trict – with the exception of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman – would be about 1,080 voters. However, if there were 24,000 registered voters, again subtracting Cayman Brac and Little Cayman – which are constitutionally- guaranteed two Legislative Assembly seats – the total number of voters per district would be around 1,437. Copyright update means changes for government too Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com With new copyright rules coming to Cayman sometime this fall, bootleg DVDs, “bor- rowing” music for a radio commercial without permis- sion, even pinching a photo from online for a newsletter, will be illegal. The new rules will force some changes to the way gov- ernment, especially its tele- vision and graphics units, do business, according to the government’s chief of- ficer for marketing and communications. Cayman’s new copyright law is adapted from the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1988. It is meant to modernize Cayman’s intel- lectual property protections, bringing the rules more in line with the realities of the Internet and digital piracy. Suzette Ebanks, chief in- formation officer with Government Information Services, said, “Copyright will change the way we work, some sections more than others.” The government televi- sion service – CIG TV – and the graphics section, she said, will feel the biggest impact. Both sections regu- larly use copyrighted works, including music and im- ages, which will be protected under the new law. The U.K. Privy Council passed the Copyright (Cayman Islands) Order 2015 on March 19. Until the new law goes into effect later this year, Cayman is still under the U.K.’s 1956 copy- right law. Sophie Davies, an intellec- tual property attorney with HSM IP, said copyright in Cayman has essentially been ignored for years. “No one, including government, really understands it or thinks it’s that important,” she said. Ms. Ebanks said now that the new copyright law will be coming into effect, she plans to “develop hard and fast policies and procedures” to address copyright violations in government. “We need to change the way we work and make sure we’re thinking about copyright,” she said. Ms. Davies said a modern copyright regime is about more than paying people for their creative work. Protecting intellectual prop- erty will help “make sure this country is taken seriously internationally.” Recently, Commerce Minister Wayne Panton said the new copyright rules will help Cayman attract new business and make it easier for businesses to operate here. “Intellectual property rights are featuring very sig- nificantly now as assets of businesses,” he said. In a statement, Mr. Panton said the U.K.’s 1956 Copyright Act is an outdated way to handle intellectual property. “To put this into per- spective, let’s look at copy- righting for music alone, and think about how music is made and distributed today. There was nothing like dig- ital sampling, or digital music downloading to mo- bile phones and tablets, back in 1956,” he said. Mr. Panton said once a date is set to implement the new copyright law, there will be a six-month window for public education and training to make people and compa- nies aware of the new rules.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Friday May 1, 2015 The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Friday May 1, 2015 • Cayman Compass In Loving Memory of Donley Woods 14th February 1945 – 3rd May 2005 In Loving Memory of 14th February 1945 – 3rd May 200514th February 1945 – 3rd May 2005 We know you are listening from the heavens above. There’s nothing that we value more than your love. No matter where we are or what we are doing, our memories will always Keep us smiling…. From your loving wife Kinsey Wood, children & grandchildren To sign the Guest Book visit: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com We have been asked to announce the passing of A wake will be held at 110 Hawkins Drive, Windsor Park on May 2, 2015 at 8 p.m. Mrs. Sylvena Nugent affectionately known as “Mama Sylvena” who passed away on Tuesday, April 14, 2015. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Sunday, May 3, 2015 at The George Town Seventh Day Adventist Church, Smith Road at 2:00 p.m. Viewing: 1:00 p.m. -1:45 p.m. Interment: Prospect Cemetery Happy 1st Birthday in Heaven Mama Rita Rankine 1st May, 2015 Today is full of memories and tears, of birthday celebrations we shared throughout the years. Oh but those memories of happy times are still with us, in our hearts. We’ll treasure them each day, until we meet again. We miss you so much. Rest Peacefully, Alice & Jovannie Mclaughlin,Kenroy & Keron Watler into single-member dis- tricts is “not a particularly difficult exercise.” Ms. Handley said Monday that she had set a June dead- line for the redistricting map or maps to be com- pleted. Commission member Steve McField, a local at- torney, said Wednesday that the task should be completed “before August.” “As to how long the Legislative Assembly might sit on this, that adds com- plications to it,” Ms. Handley said. “But in terms of the technical process, it’s not difficult.” The political wran- gling over the idea of split- ting Cayman into single- member constituencies has gone on for nearly 50 years. During Wednesday’s meeting, former government minister Gilbert McLean read sections of a 1971 report by Cayman Islands Constitutional Commissioner Julian Edward George Asquith, the second Earl of Oxford and Asquith, which recommended forming single-member districts ahead of the adoption of Cayman’s 1972 Constitution Order. Forty-four years and two new constitutions later, the British Overseas Territory is still debating the same voting change, Mr. McLean said. Mr. McLean said he had a “premonition” that the cur- rent Progressives-led gov- ernment would back away from the changes prior to the next election. “We’re going to hear that it needs more time, it needs more input … the redrawing is going to take more time and we need to educate the populace,” Mr. McLean said. Three members of the government were present at Wednesday night’s meeting, including Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton, who assured those present that the Progressives had a “clear mandate” to im- plement single-member constituencies. “We cannot exclude the possibility that something may put that aside, but I can tell you the government and my party is committed to that,” Mr. Panton said. “This process is under way … we are moving forward.” Additional LA seat The concept of adding a 19th, or even a 20th and 21st representative seat to the Legislative Assembly, was discussed at some length during Wednesday’s public hearing. Bodden Town resi- dents who attended, with a few exceptions, did not seem opposed to the idea. However, attendees did note that they were not sure a new legislative position – if one was formed – should go in George Town. “I’m not prepared to give George Town anything,” said former Speaker of the House and Bodden Town resident Mary Lawrence. “The popu- lation is moving out to this area. People are moving out of George Town and West Bay. So, if anyone is going to get another member, it should be us.” Boundary commission member Mr. McField said the issue is a thorny one for the three-person commission. Although the vast majority of Caymanian voters still live in the George Town area, the rapid growth on the islands seems to be mainly in three areas: Prospect, Newlands and Savannah. Two of those areas are in Bodden Town district. “The Prospect area alone [has] over 3,000 people regis- tered to vote in that area,” Mr. McField said. “If that trend continues, we would not be able to fix the [voter] num- bers properly in that area and the only solution would be to carve out another single-member constituency.” Mr. McField was re- ferring to the goal of the boundary commission to have single-member districts maintain the same popula- tion, as closely as possible. The exception to that rule will be in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which have a combined voting popu- lation of about 1,000, and which must be split into two districts because of constitutional requirements. West Bayers split West Bay residents re- main deeply divided over the proposed change in Cayman’s voting system, based on discussions at Tuesday’s Electoral Boundary Commission meeting. The meeting, which drew the largest crowd of all the public hearings so far – about 75 attended – was peppered with debate over whether Cayman should switch to a one man, one vote system with the formation of single-member voting dis- tricts, rather than how those single-member districts might be drawn. Electoral Boundary Commission member Adriannie Webb told the audience at the Sir John A. Cumber Primary School Hall that the political decision on one man, one vote had already been made. “It’s really only about the boundaries and distribu- tion of the population,” Ms. Webb said. “When it comes to single-member constituen- cies … that has already been decided upon by the govern- ment, by the members of the Legislative Assembly. We have no say in that; we are here to discuss the boundaries. “The electoral system has already been decided upon. We’re not having that discus- sion now.” “Well, what are you having the meeting for?” asked West Bay resident Denny Ebanks. Mr. Ebanks opined that rather than drawing an ac- tual single-member voting district system, it appeared the government was trying to create “carve-outs” for the much smaller districts of East End, North Side and Cayman Brac-Little Cayman instead of trying to draw each district with a roughly equal number of voters. As they have explained in previous meetings, boundary commission members noted that the Cayman Islands Constitution Order, 2009, sets certain guidelines on the for- mation of new single-member constituencies. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are con- stitutionally guaranteed two representatives in the Legislative Assembly. The constitution also advises that commission members “shall have regard” to already ex- isting voting districts. Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush, long an oppo- nent of single-member voting districts, said he understood the remit of the boundary commission, but nonetheless urged the government to re- think its current proposal. “I remain opposed to this system because it cannot do this country any good other than to divide us more than we are divided already … with my back door against yours and a line between us,” Mr. Bush said. “There won’t be any more community.” Several other West Bay residents spoke up in favor of the voting change, which aims to be in place in time for the May 2017 general election. Dalkeith Bothwell urged voters not to be afraid of change. “I wholly endorse it and I don’t think we should be fearful of it,” Mr. Bothwell said. “Anybody in this day and age running for a dis- trict … has to represent the people on a whole.” Mr. Ebanks argued with commission members that the government was ignoring the results of a 2012 refer- endum on one man, one vote, which failed on the basis that 50 percent-plus-one regis- tered voters in the Cayman Islands did not turn out to support it. Of the voters who did participate in the referendum, far more sup- ported single-member dis- tricts and one man, one vote, but the numbers did not meet the constitutionally required threshold. “We are going to super- sede the referendum by this?” Mr. Ebanks said. “[The referendum] did not suc- ceed. Referendum is direct democracy.” Mr. McField said Mr. Ebanks should take up his issues with the Cayman Islands elected leaders. “Don’t row with me!” Mr. McField said. “It’s not my game. My game is only to make a report and make recommendations.” Districts on opposite ends of voting debate West Bay Road to close foR BataBano paRade West Bay Road will be closed to motorists on Saturday between 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to make way for the Batabano carnival parade, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service advise. The busy road will be closed from Public Beach on Seven Mile Beach to the National Museum on Harbour Drive, as dancers and floats make their way along the route. Arterial roads at junc- tions with West Bay Road will also be closed, police said. Motorists are advised to use the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, which runs parallel to West Bay Road. “The road will be re- opened in a staged pro- cess running from north to south, giving local access to residences and commercial properties once the parade crosses each section,” police said in a statement. Uniform officers will be on hand to assist the public. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “[There is] skepticism about the concept of one man, one vote and single-member constituencies coming into effect in the 2017 elections.” Orrett COnnOrThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY MAY 1, 2015 We regret to announce the passing of Dr. Edlin Merren Who departed this life On Tuesday, 28 April, 2015. Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com Service arrangements will be announced at a later date. We regret to announce the passing of Anne L. Pasold Who departed this life On Monday,27 April, 2015. Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com Service arrangements are private. We regret to announce the passing of Kimberly Bush Who departed this life On Wednesday,15 April, 2015. Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page Interment will follow in Prospect Cemetery. Funeral services will be held at Kings Seventh Day Adventist Church, Sunday, 3 May 2015 at 3:00 PM. Viewing will be held from 2:00 PM one hour prior to the service. Traffic enforcement For the first time in sev- eral years, certain traffic offenses in the Cayman Islands saw citations spike, according to first quarter 2015 numbers released by the police. Overall, recorded traffic of- fenses jumped 37 percent, due mostly to an increase in speeding tickets and un- licensed driving offenses. Speeding citations were up 114 percent compared to first quarter 2014. Police of- ficers issued 341 speeding tickets in the first three months of 2015, compared to 159 in the same period last year. Driving a vehicle without a license offenses increased 482 percent, up to 221 citations this year compared to 38 last year. Other traffic offenses declined in the first quarter, including citations for drunk driving (down 42 percent), cellphone driving (down 33 percent) and failing to wearing a seat- belt (down 30 percent). There was also an overall decline in traffic ac- cidents. Cayman saw 208 traffic accidents in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 279 during first quarter 2014. However, the number of fatal accidents in- creased, with four reported between January and March this year vs, none during first quarter 2014. Three more fatal crashes have occurred since March. Snack time: Shark feeds on lionfish in East End JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A photograph of a shark eating a lionfish taken in East End this month may be an indication that sharks are be- ginning to hunt the invasive species in Cayman’s waters. However, experts caution that this is likely a rare ex- ception to the rule. Lionfish populations have exploded on Caribbean reefs, threatening the en- tire marine ecosystem be- cause of their voracious ap- petite for juvenile reef fish. They have no natural preda- tors in the Atlantic, although divers have recorded grouper, sharks and eels occasionally feeding on lionfish. Simon Morley, who took the photograph, said the shark ap- peared to be hunting the lion- fish at a time when no culling was going on in the vicinity. Bradley Johnson, envi- ronment officer with the Department of Environment, said the image provided fur- ther proof that predators were occasionally preying on lion- fish without direct human in- tervention. But he said it was likely that the shark had been conditioned by human culling on that site. He said it was not realistic to believe that lionfish were currently a frequent source of food for reef sharks in Cayman’s waters. “It is interesting, but we have to wait and see what happens. A couple of inci- dents don’t make it a rule,” he said. “If sharks were eating li- onfish on a regular basis, we wouldn’t see so many of them on the reefs.” Steve Broadbelt of dive operation Ocean Frontiers, which organizes regular culls on the reefs around East End, believes lionfish are actually more abundant on reefs fre- quented by sharks, partially because interest from sharks in the culling activity makes the job more difficult. He said diver culls are the only proven way to keep lion- fish numbers in check. “Something is eating the lionfish, but I don’t agree that it is the sharks,” he said. “We are seeing a lot less lionfish than ever before. What we are doing with culling is working, but now is not a time to take our foot off the gas. I look at lionfish as weeds and no matter how nice your garden looks, if you ignore it, the weeds will come back. “Ocean Frontiers has culled over 10,000 lionfish and we serve lionfish tacos at our bar and grill. The sizes are getting smaller and the numbers much less. “The Department of Environment is continuing to do a fantastic job in sup- porting the volunteers. The time has come not to rely so heavily on volunteers and a longer term strategy needs to be looked at next,” he said. “We consider the deci- sion of the Water Authority to be very irresponsible given the potential risks which this project entails,” said Katrina Jurn of Protect South Sound. The protest group did not object to a depth of 20 feet. When the Central Planning Authority ini- tially approved the housing project in 2012, the Department of Environment warned that excavated depths greater than 14 feet risked cre- ating water quality issues, including frequent fish kills, objectionable odors and algal blooms. The Water Authority said any- thing deeper than 20 feet risked contamination of the water from nearby waste disposal wells. Hendrik van Genderen of the Water Authority said it granted the permit after approving a mitigation plan proposed by the de- veloper to deal with those concerns. He said excava- tion to 30 feet would be outside the 1,000 feet ra- dius of existing effluent disposal wells, and any new wells associated with the housing project would be at a depth of 60 feet or below. Protect South Sound has also raised concerns about the blasting required to create the lake, and the potential impact on neigh- boring homes. Stephen Hislop, one of the developers, said all blasting on site was strictly monitored and in accordance with guidelines set down by the National Roads Authority. He said the lake man- agement plan had consid- ered water quality concerns and adopted numerous measures to comply with Water Authority guidelines. Excavation of the lake has already begun, though the developer says the project is still several years from completion. “The project will even- tually be a mix of residen- tial offerings – exactly what will depend on market de- mand closer to that time. We are at the initial stages of site infrastructure works, excavating the ap- proved lake and filling the property,” Mr. Hislop said. Visitor allowed to leave country after trial delayed CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtf.com A visitor from the Dominican Republic was al- lowed to leave Cayman after his trial, set for Wednesday, did not go ahead. Adolfo Fijildo Rodriquez Gill was ordered to return to Cayman for a new trial date, set for Nov. 23. He was to have been tried for uttering forged documents and obtaining prop- erty by deception. Gill, 29, is accused of pre- senting two checks at a local bank; the checks were said to be forged documents. He also faces five charges of obtaining watches, perfumes, colognes and sunglasses from duty free stores by deception. Total value of the goods was approximately US$2,700. Crown counsel Neil Kumar asked Magistrate Grace Donalds to adjourn the trial because the main prosecution witness had not been served with a summons to appear in court and was off island. Defense attorney Fiona Robertson opposed the adjourn- ment. She explained that the de- fendant had been obligated to remain on island since his ar- rest in November. He had suf- fered financially because as a visitor, he did not have a work permit and had not been able to work. In the Dominican Republic, he is employed as a lawyer and has businesses which have suffered because of his absence, Ms. Robertson said. It was for these reasons that the relatively early date was set. Referring to the absence of the prosecution witness, she told the court, “It is, unfortu- nately, another administrative error we seem to be seeing with alarming frequency.” The magistrate granted the application for adjournment, but also agreed to change Gill’s conditions of bail. He will be al- lowed to leave the jurisdiction on production of a cash secu- rity of $10,000. He was permitted to post the money himself after Ms. Robertson pointed out that as a visitor he was not in a position to produce a local surety. The magistrate set trial for Nov. 23 and directed that Gill’s passport be returned to him after the $10,000 is produced, for the period he is away from the jurisdiction. A shark chomps on a lionfish on an East End reef. - PHOTO: SIMON MORLEY Developer can create 16-acre lake CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Overall crime down, speeding tickets upNext >