Editorial | pagE 4 Lines in the sand: Cartography or skuLLduggery? Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. High of 86 Low of 74 Is our love affair with baseball unraveling? The WashingTon posT Worst Week Mayor Rawlings- Blake 3 Politics High court may create a mess 6 Essay Baltimore boiling over 23 In a quickly changing society, the sport is striking out with kids PAGE 12 Science Battery- powered homes? 16 ABCDE NATIONAL WEEKLY Is our love affair with baseball unraveling? THE WEEK OF SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2015. IN COLLABORA TION WITH esTaBLisheD 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Monday May 4, 2015 FOUR LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER: SEVEN MILE BEACH, WATERFRONT, WALKERS ROAD, TOWN CENTRE PLAZA Premier mclAUGHliN: deFAmATiON lAWSUiT mOViNG FOrWArd Brent FuLLer bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The war of words between Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin and the territory’s Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush intensified as the premier threatened to file a lawsuit this week against Mr. Bush over alleged defama- tory comments contained in a parliamentary motion released to the local press. Mr. McLaughlin said Saturday that nei- ther he nor his attorneys had received any re- sponse to a letter delivered to Mr. Bush last Tuesday evening, demanding that Mr. Bush apologize to the premier over the private mem- bers’ motion filed in the Legislative Assembly on April 14. The motion alleged a “conspiracy” to influ- ence the results of the May 2013 general elec- tion in the Cayman Islands. The correspon- dence delivered Tuesday sought an apology from Mr. Bush by close of business Friday. “We haven’t heard a word,” Mr. McLaughlin said, indicating that he was intending to pro- ceed with the defamation lawsuit against Mr. Bush within the week. Contacted Saturday for comment, Mr. Bush New princess for royal family LONDON (AP) — Princess Charlotte has a certain ring to it. Or how about Princess Alice? Britain’s newborn princess has spent her first night at home in London’s Kensington Palace, but the guessing game continues over what her name will be. By Sunday afternoon, the new daughter of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge had not been named. Meanwhile, Britain’s legal bookmakers have been busy taking in thousands of bets for the baby’s name. For weeks, they have been saying that Alice is the clear favorite. But in recent days Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, has become the front runner. Other top possibilities in- cluded Olivia, Victoria, Elizabeth, Alexandra and Diana, the name of William’s late mother. The newborn may herald a new generation in the monarchy, ‘tOP HEAVY WItH SENIOR OFFICERS’ Scathing Fire Service report Brent FuLLer bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Major staffing, operational and training deficiencies within the Cayman Islands Fire Service were exposed in a report is- sued last year which has since been kept under wraps until a Cayman Compass open re- cords request forced government to produce it. The review, done by England’s Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor Peter Holland at the request of the Cayman Islands Ministry of Home Affairs, questioned basic competencies of fire service of- ficers and management, leading to observations that the de- partment is overstaffed to meet the Cayman community’s fire- fighting needs. Meanwhile, key areas such as building safety in- spections and emergency med- ical services have gone begging for resources. “This review discovered a pervading view that firefighters are ‘well paid to do nothing,’” Mr. Holland stated in his 22- page report. The senior U.K. fire- fighter said, on a more positive note, that Cayman Islands Fire Service staff members wanted to improve both in their own professional development and to better assist local communi- ties, but were being held up by paraders jump into the spirit of Batabano Jumpers get ready for the annual Batabano street parade at Seven Mile Public Beach. thousands gathered along the route from Public Beach into George town to join the Saturday afternoon revelry. Masquerade bands danced their way along the 4-mile route, competing for the Spirit of Batabano and best overall band prizes. For more, see pages 6 and 7. - PHOTO: STePHeN clArKe Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, hold their newborn daughter as they pose for the media on Saturday outside the St. Mary’s Hospital’s exclusive Lindo Wing, in London. - PHOTO: AP PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL NEWS Monday May 4, 2015 • Cayman Compass www. REGmovies.com SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. © Warner Bros. Pictures y x AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 3D (PG13) 12:30 I 1:00 2D I 3:35 I 4:10 2D I 6:40 I 7:20 2D I 9:45 FURIOUS 7 3D (PG13) 12:45 I 3:45 2D I 6:45 I 9:45 2D AGE OF ADELINE (PGI3) 1:20 I 4:20 I 7:00 I 9:40 UNFRIENDED (R) 7:30 I 9:50 PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 (PG) 1:00 I 4:00 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - MONDAY - $8.00 www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com Happy Birthday Amber Rebecca Smith “Baby Sugar” From your loving mum Flora and your two brothers Reshawn & Don LOOK WHO’S 18 MONDAY MAY 4 Manslaughter charge after cyclist’s death Bail granted with strict conditions Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Nicholas Patrick Tibbetts, 24, appeared in Summary Court late Friday afternoon charged with three offenses arising from the death of cyclist Donnie Ray Connor along the Linford Pierson Highway in the early hours of Thursday, April 23. Tibbetts, an immigration officer, is charged with man- slaughter, causing death by careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. The first two charges are triable in Grand Court only and Magistrate Valdis Foldats transmitted them to the higher court, bailing Tibbetts to appear there on Friday, May 8. Crown Counsel Scott Wainwright said the vehicle involved was a Honda Torneo. Mr. Connor, 59, worked along the George Town wa- terfront selling coconuts to tourists. He was found on the side of the road by another cyclist, who phoned 911. The day after the inci- dent, officers appealed to the public to help locate a silver car, with a damaged front fender and smashed headlight, that may have been involved. Mr. Wainwright said po- lice received anonymous in- formation and, as a result, went to Tibbetts’s Bodden Town residence on April 26. He was subsequently arrested. Summarizing the evidence in the case, Mr. Wainwright said the Crown objected to bail. He added that two people have been arrested for being accessories after the fact. Defense attorney Lee Halliday-Davis accepted that the allegations were se- rious, but said bail condi- tions could be imposed that would alleviate concerns. She said Tibbetts had no previous convictions and his father would guarantee that he at- tends court. The magistrate said he was satisfied that the usual grounds for withholding bail did not exist in this case – fear that the defendant would abscond or commit further offenses. He granted bail, but with conditions that include a recognizance (a promise to attend court) with a surety in the sum of $25,000. He also ordered Tibbetts to surrender his passport, not contact Crown witnesses, live and sleep at his home, be fitted with an electronic monitor and report to the Bodden Town police Station three times per week be- tween 5-6 p.m. The magistrate asked whether Tibbetts would be doing shift work, but after Ms. Halliday-Davis said Tibbetts would probably be suspended while this case is pending, he imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. He also noted that the Traffic Law allows interim disqualification from driving and he imposed this condi- tion as well. Cox Lumber opens in Bodden Town JeWel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com After seven years in the works, Cox Lumber Ltd. opened the doors to its new store in Bodden Town Friday. Kyle Hooker, grandson of company founder Linton Tibbetts, dedicated the grand opening to his grandfather. “What we are cele- brating here today has re- quired skilled leadership, vision, foresight and plan- ning and we have to believe that my grandfather Linton Tibbetts is looking down today with the ultimate sense of Caymanian pride and ex- citement as this was one of the two projects he wanted to see come to fruition before he passed away in October of 2011,” said Mr. Hooker. He invited officials and guests at the grand opening to tour the new store and building on Lake Destiny Drive. The groundbreaking at the site was done in October 2013. “My grandfather always had the vision to expand to Bodden Town. However, it was only in 2007 that the idea of a store in Bodden Town surfaced. Grandpa al- ways felt that Grand Cayman and its economy would ac- tively and steadily move to Bodden Town and East End in the coming years,” Mr. Hooker said. The property was se- cured in 2008 and immedi- ately cleared and de-mucked and the surrounding swamp filled in to be ready for con- struction when Mr. Tibbetts and the board felt the timing was right. The new facility has two warehouses, including an in- terior and exterior door shop, an asphalt paved lumber yard and a state-of-the-art 11,000-square-foot retail store. Speaking at the opening, Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell said, “Uncle Linton was the face of the family. If he was here today, you would not miss him sporting his red shirt, white shoes and white belt and he did that whenever he was opening the store or selling 2x4’s on Saturday mornings.” Bodden Town representa- tive and Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden congratulated the family on its accomplishments and for bringing work to people in the area. Commerce Minister Wayne Panton, who is also a Bodden Town MLA, thanked the Tibbetts family for bringing the facility to the district, which he said repre- sented the forward-looking, prescient approach that Mr. Tibbetts took to a lot of his businesses dealings. Premier Alden McLaughlin said he had passed by the site for many years and wondered when it would every come to fruition and he was delighted to be there for the opening of the fa- cility. He said it was a huge step forward not just for Cayman but for employment opportunities for the people in the area. “I knew Mr. Linton,” he said, “and I know he is up there in Heaven looking down and saying, ‘Well done, Kyle and the rest of the family, you have made my vision come true.’” PAWS kennel Stolen AgAin A kennel that serves as a feeding station and shelter for feral cats has been stolen. The kennel, which has “PAWS, do no remove” embossed on the roof, was chained to a tree near Frank Sound dock and would have taken at least three people to move, according to Giuseppe Gatta of animal welfare charity PAWS. He said the charity would not press charges if the thieves returned the kennel. “There is a colony there that we have been feeding for the past few years. The kennel is a safe haven for them,” he said. It is the second time a kennel, donated by a member of the public, has been taken from the site. Mr. Gatta said PAWS was willing to assist dog owners who could not af- ford a kennel. Anyone with information can reach Mr. Gatta on 916-1731. one injured in gun rAnge Shooting Accident A man suffered minor injuries after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at the Cayman Islands Sport Shooting Association range near the airport Saturday afternoon. In a statement, the club said this was its first ac- cident of this kind since it started 35 years ago. “As with other sporting orga- nizations, we are not im- mune to accidents but this proved to be an exception in our circumstance. We still retain one of the safest sporting records and re- gret any anxiety this may have caused the public,” the club said. The members-only club, which also serves as a practice range for armed police, is the only shooting range on Grand Cayman. The kennel had been chained to a tree at the Frank Sound dock. Cox Lumber Ltd. opened its doors in Bodden Town Friday. Among those in attendance for the grand opening were, seated, Polly Tibbetts and Parker Tibbets; standing from left, Kyle Hooker, Premier Alden McLaughlin, premier’s assistant Frank Cornwall, Minister Osbourne Bodden, Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, Councilor Winston Connolly, Donna Hooker, Traci Hallenbeck, Nancy Oyer and Adrienne Hooker. - Photo: jeWel leVY3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday May 4, 2015 Business Insurance BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, Grand Cayman KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 12 Kirkconnell Street, Stake Bay, P.O. Box 254, Cayman Brac KY2-2101 Tel. 948-1760 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International insurance, health, pensions, life Pay less for more service and benefits with BritCay. insurance, health, pensions, life Efficient business solutions cost less with BritCay! All employee benefits plans with BritCay are rich in benefits and deliver accurate and comprehensive reports very quickly. Employers can expect up to date information on demand and member service that demonstrates how much your business values your employees. Flexible office and business insurance. Market leading group health insurance. Excellent pensions investment returns. Low cost group life. Affordable individual health insurance. CALL 949-8699 or visit www.britcay.ky Cayman national double Charged some Cards Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Merchants using Cayman National Bank terminals to process credit card pay- ments double billed some customers, because of what’s been called “a technical problem” with the bank, be- tween April 25 and 27. Banks say they are working with CNB to refund the money and urge customers to check their statements. The double-billing glitch hit customers at Butterfield Bank and First Caribbean International Bank, and po- tentially others. Cayman National did not return requests for comment. In a message to cus- tomers, First Caribbean states that it is working with CNB to refund the charges as quickly as possible. In a sep- arate statement to customers, Butterfield said it was also working with CNB to reverse the changes and the bank said it would refund any overdraft or declined card fees resulting from the error. Butterfield called the issue a “technical problem” with CNB. At least one cus- tomer who called Butterfield Friday was told that the bank didn’t know when the money would be refunded. As of press time Sunday, the money had not been reimbursed. Turtle-shaped ice rink planned to help revitalize George Town James WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com An ice-stadium with a roof made entirely of solar panels in the shape of a turtle shell is being backed by govern- ment as the first key project in the planned revitalization of George Town. The concept of a 6,300- seat stadium, exhibition center and National Hockey League-sized ice-rink in the Caribbean was first floated by Canadian entrepreneur Tim Best for a site on West Bay Road last year. Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts announced on Thursday that the project would now be located on the George Town waterfront and would be a central plank in the redevelopment of the capital. He said it was a “won- derful idea” that would at- tract visitors to George Town on a daily basis and be capable of hosting hockey games, basketball and boxing matches, as well as a Cirque de Soleil-style ice show, fea- turing Olympic and world champion skaters. Details of how the pri- vately funded project will be financed and an analysis of the likely demand for such a facility in Cayman have yet to be revealed and a plan- ning application has yet to be made to the Central Planning Authority. Mr. Best, of Canadian company Hard Set Sports and Entertainment, said in a statement on Thursday that detailed plans and a time line for construc- tion would be revealed in the next 30 days. “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received so far from the Cayman Islands Government on this ex- citing project,” he said. “The George Town entertainment district, anchored by the Cayman Ice Palace, has the potential to contribute to the country’s future by di- versifying Cayman’s tourism product and improving the island’s livability.” Mr. Tibbetts suggested the project would be a “huge” game-changer for George Town. Speaking to Chamber members at the Wharf last week, during a lunch briefing on the revitalization of the capital, he said the unusual project was the first big pri- vate-sector development. “While we know that nothing is real until it be- comes real, the govern- ment has every confidence that this will become a re- ality,” he said. “Cayman will then be- come separate and apart from any other country in the Caribbean. I dare say this will be a unique project un- like any other in the region – we are happy that the in- vestors and the developers of this project have chosen the Cayman Islands to be its home,” he added. A striking feature of the rough design, which Mr. Tibbetts exhibited to Chamber members, is a 160,000-square-foot solar panel roof, which he said would resemble the shell of a Cayman green sea turtle. An artist’s impression of an aerial view of the development shows the turtle-like structure on the George Town waterfront. Chamber members were shown slides of how the ice rink may look.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Practically speaking, divvying up the Cayman Islands into 18 (or is it 19?) single-member electoral districts is a simple and straightforward operation. Politically speaking, it’s anything but. The process of “redistricting” is the crucible where practical and political considerations collide. While the fundamental idea of Cayman’s “one man, one vote” endeavor is that each person’s vote ought to count roughly equally, the reality is that the shape of a voting district is often a predictor of a particular politician’s destiny (and, in the accumulation, that of the country as a whole). As the saying goes, “Elections are when voters choose their representatives, but redistricting is when representatives choose their voters.” Purposefully drawing a district to optimize the political fortunes of a particular representative (or party) is not a new phenomenon; indeed, a term for the practice was coined more than 200 years ago – “gerrymandering” – a portmanteau of the last name of then-Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry and the word “salamander,” which is what the oddly shaped district looked like to contempora- neous wags at the Boston Gazette newspaper. In a place as small as Cayman, whether a voting district includes Luxury Apartment Complex A on one block, or Affordable Housing Development B on the next block over, could very well be the difference between the larger district being represented by Politician A or Politi- cian B. And because Cayman has a parliamentary democ- racy, the placement of that single line could conceivably determine which party gains power over government’s legislative branch and who becomes premier, head of the executive branch. All told, redistricting is an insiders’ game of minutiae with major ramifications to the public as a whole. It is, in a word, complicated … in many cases, it can get downright messy. In the worst instances, the topic of redis- tricting comes to dominate the agenda of lawmakers (and becomes a primary weapon to crush political opposition), at the expense of the formulation of useful public policy. As a longtime veteran of the redistricting process in the U.S. and other countries, Cayman’s Electoral Boundary Commission Chair Lisa Handley is well aware of all of this. In fact, she’s an expert. A week ago, Ms. Handley said that from a technical standpoint, redrawing Cayman’s multi-member voting district map into single- member districts is “not a particularly difficult exercise.” She continued, “As to how long the Legislative Assembly might sit on this, that adds complications to it. But in terms of the technical process, it’s not difficult.” The sorts of “complications” to which Ms. Handley refers have already begun to emerge since the Boundary Commission started its work about two months ago. For example: • North Side MLA Ezzard Miller and East End MLA Arden McLean vehemently oppose the idea of merging their small districts, though each contains about half as many voters as the other single-member districts would • Initially, Ms. Handley said the Boundary Commis- sion would draw a map with 18 districts. Since then, she has said the commission is “taking into account” adding a 19th seat, or perhaps offering multiple maps for lawmakers to consider • With the 2017 election still two years off, about 25 percent of voting age Caymanians have not registered to vote – a significant information gap that may skew the drawing of electoral boundaries • Champing at the bit for possible 2017 campaigns, potential candidates – such as retired Cabinet Secre- tary Orrett Connor, who is now a talk show host on gov- ernment radio and TV – are pressuring lawmakers into going one way or the other on “one man, one vote.” Remember: This has all arisen in a relatively brief period of time, two years before the next election, before any maps have even been seen. We ask ourselves, and now our readers, is our current electoral system so deficient that it demands we open this Pandora’s box and risk the release of gerrymandering and, generally speaking, cartographical gamesmanship? Lines in the sand: Cartography or skullduggery? Monday May 4, 2015 • Cayman COmpass The mutual fund manager’s cut Noah SmiTh When I open an account at a bank, I get charged the same fee whether I put in $100 or $10,000. This makes sense, since it doesn’t really cost the bank much more to hold $100 for me than to hold $10,000. But if I invest $10 million in a mutual fund, I’m typically going to pay 10 times more than if I invest only $1 million. This is because the mutual fund charges a percentage fee. Part of that fee goes to pay for the fund’s administrative and marketing expenses. But part of it is simply called a manage- ment fee or an investment advi- sory fee. It is just a percentage cut that the fund takes out of my investment every year. Typically, this fee is about 0.5 percent to 1 percent. Financial advisers also typically charge a percentage fee based on the assets they oversee. When money managers charge percentage fees, it means that the price you pay for having your money man- aged goes up when you have more money to manage. Why does this happen? Does the cost of managing money re- ally scale linearly with the amount of assets under man- agement, so that it costs 10 times as much to manage $10 million as it does to manage $1 million? For hedge funds, highly active mutual funds, pri- vate equity and venture cap- ital, this might actually be the case. Many hedge fund strategies show dramatic out- performance with small po- sitions, but when the posi- tions get large, transaction costs quickly overwhelm the “alpha” (market outperfor- mance). Similarly, it may be difficult for private equity and venture capital firms to find more than a certain number of high quality deals. For man- agers like this, whose strate- gies don’t scale up, it might make a lot of sense to charge percentage fees. But most mutual funds, asset managers and finan- cial advisers don’t use these high-alpha strategies. Most are very diversified, and they in- vest your money in broad asset classes and in many different stocks or bonds. For these low- alpha money managers, whose main services are risk man- agement, diversification and convenience instead of alpha, costs almost certainly don’t go up by a factor of 10 when the amount of assets under man- agement gets 10 times bigger. (Although big clients do often get discounts, especially from financial advisers.) So why the percentage fee? I have a theory. I think it’s a form of price discrimination. Here’s the basic economics. Every customer has a max- imum amount that she is willing to pay for some good or service. This is called her will- ingness to pay, or WTP. If the price of a washing machine is $500 and your WTP is $1,000, you got a great deal, while if your WTP is only $510, you didn’t get much of a break. Merchants and sellers would love to know everyone’s WTP. If they did, they could simply charge every customer the maximum she was willing to pay. In fact, some merchants, such as car salesmen and real estate agents, try to talk to cus- tomers to figure out how much they are willing to pay, so that they can charge higher prices to people who will pay them. E-commerce websites try to do this by looking at your elec- tronic data. This is called first- degree price discrimination. For many merchants, this just isn’t feasible. An alterna- tive way to do price discrimi- nation is to charge different prices for different groups, based on how rich you think those groups are. This is why movie theaters have discounts for seniors and students, who tend to be poorer. This is called third-degree price discrimination. Money management is a very special business. An asset manager typically knows how wealthy his clients are, be- cause, well, he’s managing their money. A financial adviser may be able to get a more per- fect idea of a client’s net worth than a mutual fund, which only receives a part of the investor’s assets. But most money man- agers can get a general idea. So for money managers, third-degree price discrimina- tion is easy – just charge a per- centage fee. The people with more money automatically pay more! Of course, you would think that wealthier and larger in- vestors would realize that this is happening, and demand that money managers charge them flat fees, or a combination of a flat fee and a lower percentage. Why hasn’t this happened? Perhaps it’s because the per- centages involved are usually small numbers. This means they can easily fly under the radar, especially if the stock market is returning 8 or 10 percent a year, or if interest rates are 5 percent. But interest rates are near zero now, and seem likely to stay low for a while. That makes it a lot harder for even an inattentive investor to ig- nore a 1 percent fee. Already, investors are starting to de- mand lower percentage fees from their managers and ad- visers. If this process goes on long enough, people may start to wonder why they are paying a percentage in the first place, instead of a flat fee. That would probably be a good deal for many investors, especially big ones who would get much larger discounts. But it would definitely put the squeeze on much of the money-manage- ment industry. Noah Smith is an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University and a freelance writer for finance and business publications. © 2015, Bloomberg News 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”5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday May 4, 2015 MEN’S EDITION June 2015 CONTACT: 949-5111 or email whatshotsales@pinnaclemedialtd.com AD SPACE & ARTWORK DEADLINE: Tuesday, May 12 Book your space today In road fatality, a call to action Hundreds gather to remember Marcia Donaldson Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com They gathered at the Hurley’s roundabout before dawn, a sea of hundreds of white T-shirts, to walk the route where, one week earlier, a Prospect woman was killed during her regular morning walk. The entire group, of more than 400, stopped in si- lence at the spot where Marcia Donaldson was struck by a suspected drunk driver just before 5 a.m. Saturday, April 25. The family and close friends came to the front; she left a husband, two daugh- ters, a granddaughter and many friends. A cross made of blue flowers marked the spot where she was hit. Some walkers cried, some stood stoic. After the family paid their respects, the hundreds behind them stopped one by one and two by two to lay flowers where the 46-year-old became the seventh road ca- sualty in Cayman this year. Saturday’s show of sup- port was also a show of force. Ms. Donaldson’s loved ones have decided that she should not be just another fatality statistic and they do not want her death to be in vain. They plan to create a non- profit foundation in her name to push for safer roads and help fund the work of easy fixes to make the roads safer – reflective lane markings, clearing shoulders so walkers and joggers don’t have to be in the street, preventing drunk driving and advocating for safer driving. Each walker was asked to bring a single flower of their choosing, which were piled around the cross. Police and emergency workers, who were as surprised by the large turnout as the orga- nizers were, closed the road on either side of the walk. The participants walked to Red Bay Dock and back to the roundabout, following Ms. Donaldson’s usual morning walk. Errington Webster, a friend of Ms. Donaldson who helped organize the walk, said Cayman’s roads are get- ting more dangerous. “If we don’t check it, it will keep getting worse,” he said. To put it another way, he used an old seafarer’s meta- phor: “You have to change the rope before it breaks.” Mr. Webster, along with his wife Millicent who de- scribed Ms. Donaldson as her best friend for 20 years, and other friends, family and supporters, plan to create the new foundation. Walking along South Sound Road as the sun rose Saturday morning, Mr. Webster pointed to dark areas, places where joggers and walkers have to step into the street to get around un- tended brush, that make the road more dangerous. “There’s a lot that can be done to make these roads safer,” he said. Government can only do so much, he noted, and the idea behind the foundation is to partner with the National Roads Authority and pick up where government leaves off. The sun had risen by the time the last of the hundreds returned to the roundabout. Organizers collected contact information for people to get involved in the foundation. Ms. Webster hopes the walk can become an annual or bi- annual event to remember Ms. Donaldson and push for safer roads in Cayman. Friends also hosted an or- chid sale Sunday afternoon to help raise money for Ms. Donaldson’s funeral expenses. Services for Marcia Donaldson will be held Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. at the Calvary Baptist Church on Walkers Road. A blue flower cross marks the spot where a suspected drunk driver killed Marcia Donaldson early on the morning of April 25. Before dawn Saturday, hundreds of people laid single flowers at the site during a memorial walk along Ms. Donaldson’s regular execise route. – Photo: Charles DunCan Saturday’s show of support was also a show of force.6 Monday May 4, 2015 • Cayman Compass BATABANO Batabano brings out thousands Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Calypso and soca – the rhythms that turn a street pa- rade into Carnival – pulsed down West Bay Road Saturday afternoon, as colorfully clad dancers made their way into George Town in the last and main event of the annual Batabano festival. Trucks were stacked with speakers, pushing music out to the dancers who followed. Forecast rain stayed away for the afternoon as thousands lined the route from Public Beach to Harbour Drive to see the spectacle and join in the dancing. Costumes, both skimpy and ornate, in azure blues, vibrant purples, brilliant greens, and sunny yellows and oranges, were topped with elaborate plumed headdresses and back- pieces. The dancers, drunk on music and perhaps a little rum, celebrated just for the sake of celebration. That idea of celebration was at the top of the mind of perhaps Batabano 2015’s most popular guest, soca legend Machel Montano. On Friday morning, before he played to a packed Camana Bay crowd that night, Montano said spreading the Carnival spirit has become one of his missions in life. “It’s the best of Caribbean culture,” he said. He’s headed to the Bahamas next, for Nassau’s Junkanoo Carnival. Despite the day-to-day worries of paying bills and mortgages and everything else, Montano said, “we are here to bring joy.” Grammy award winner Angela Hunte traveled with Montano to Cayman, her first time on the island. Best known for her songwriting for the likes of Jay-Z in the U.S., she said she joined Montano’s mission to bring Caribbean music to a global audience. “Musically, we have a place in the world,” she said, “and that starts with Carnival.” Hunte said she and Montano are traveling through Caribbean countries and want to “help them bring it up to a certain level with Carnival.” There was no shortage of Carnival music Saturday, with the party starting at 1 p.m. at Public Beach on Seven Mile Beach and winding its way into George Town where the cel- ebrations continued until midnight. Photos by taneos ramsay, stephen Clarke and Maggie Jackson. Machel Montano in concert on Friday.7 Cayman Compass • Monday May 4, 2015 BATABANO Angela Hunte performs on Friday night at Festival Green in Camana Bay.8 LOCAL NEWS Monday May 4, 2015 • Cayman Compass Cut $250* from your motor premium with BritCay home insurance! Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE COMPANY LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, Grand Cayman KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky 12 Kirkconnell St. Stake Bay, P.O. Box 254 SPO, Cayman Brac KY2-2101 Tel.948-1760 A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life $250* CERTIFICATE WITH BUILDINGS INSURANCE *Each new buildings insurance policy with BritCay comes with a $250 gift certificate which you can use with BritCay Motor Insurance. *conditions apply Boundary commission invites more input North Siders criticize emphasis on combining districts Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Electoral Boundary Commission wrapped up two weeks of public meet- ings on Thursday night, when they met with 45 residents of North Side at the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre. Having visited every dis- trict, including separate trips to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, the commissioners are still inviting comments and opinions. Steve McField told North Siders what fellow commissioner Adriannie Webb had announced in East End – that they will have per- sonal meetings with people who want to make appoint- ments and express their views privately. Chairman Lisa Handley later confirmed that the commission will hold “open house” meetings on May 19, 20 and 21 from 2-4 p.m. at the Elections Office, which is serving as their base. Ms. Handley began dis- cussion in North Side by asking for ideas and com- ments as Cayman moves from a multi-district system to a single member district system in which each voter will have one vote and each district will return one rep- resentative. She pointed out that the commission’s man- date is to prepare a report with suggested boundaries; it will be up to the Legislative Assembly to accept the re- port, amend it, “or vote it down altogether.” Mr. McField addressed the apprehension some people had expressed about the in- dependence of the commis- sion. He quoted directly from the 2009 Constitution, which says that the Electoral Boundary Commission “shall not be subject to the direc- tion or control of any other person or authority.” He also reminded the gathering that the Constitution dictates how the Governor appoints the com- mission; the chairman (Ms. Handley) was chosen by the Governor acting in her own discretion; one member was appointed on the advice of the Premier (Ms. Webb); and one member appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. McField). The chairman then asked what people in the audience thought should happen to North Side and the system as a whole. Bill McLaughlin and Maxine Bodden Robertson said North Side should be left as it is. Mr. McLaughlin said the premier and the Speaker of the House should be elected by all the voters. Ms. Robertson said the beauty of the Cayman Islands was that each district was very distinct. Later in the dis- cussion, she suggested that all the commissioners had to do was fix the districts that have three, four or six votes. “We already have one man, one vote,” she pointed out. Mr. McField commented, “We haven’t seen any con- vincing case yet to combine East End and North Side.” (There have been some sug- gestions that the two dis- tricts could be combined to form one constituency be- cause their numbers of reg- istered voters, 632 and 586 respectively, would ap- proximately total the num- bers in other districts or polling divisions.) North Side MLA Ezzard Miller asked that the words “district” and “constituency” not be confused. Cayman has six geographical dis- tricts with different cultures and traditions, settled by different people, he pointed out. In contrast, a constitu- ency is an area with a de- termined number of voters for election purposes. The government motion that had led to the appointment of the Electoral Boundary Commission had used the term “single-member elec- toral districts,” he pointed out, but he preferred “single- member constituencies.” Resident Jay Ebanks said he had the impression that the commissioners were bi- ased because they weren’t mentioning any combina- tions except North Side and East End. He asked why East End could not be com- bined with Breakers [which is presently part of Bodden Town district). Jerris Miller asked why commissioners were not pro- posing to extend East End to Midland Acres [further west in Bodden Town]. He said he had written to suggest that North Side be extended to the North Sound, which would take it into George Town and include some of the voter numbers there. Ms. Webb noted that, during the meeting in Bodden Town, “we were told we could move part of Bodden town further into George Town.” One suggestion was to move it down to Hurley’s round- about, she said, referring to the supermarket in Grand Harbour at the eastern end of South Sound Road. Pat Ebanks pointed out that voter numbers would be higher because there were people who should be regis- tered to vote; but they would not register “and we can’t make them.” Teddie Ebanks asked if the commissioners had de- mographics to show what percentage of voters were under the age of 45. Told no, he suggested that they take into consideration whether younger people are disen- gaged or disillusioned with the process. Ms. Webb said the elec- toral system was not part of the boundary commis- sion’s mandate. She noted that a majority of the people at the Bodden Town meeting appeared to be under 45 and there were “quite a lot” in George Town as well. Everyone had been invited to come to meetings and have a say, she pointed out. Derrington “Bo” Miller asked for a show of hands by people who wanted to “re- main as we are.” Observing the response, he concluded “That’s all of us.” He asked what would protect the people from the powers-that-be who might go against the wishes of the people. Mr. McField explained that the commissioners will do their report, making rec- ommendations, and then give it to the governor. The gov- ernor will give it to the pre- mier, who will put it on an order paper at the Legislative Assembly. If the vote there is affirmative, it will be put into law; if the vote is negative, that will be end of it. “It’s a political decision,” he said. This map, on display at the public meetings, shows the 18 single-member constituencies proposed by a previous Electoral Boundary Commission in 2010. - Photo: Carol Winker No Miss Cayman in this year’s Miss World pageant JeWel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman won’t have a Miss Cayman entrant in the Miss World pageant this year, as both the reigning Miss Cayman Islands Tonie Chisholm and first runner-up Adrianna Christian are older than the required age. According to the rules of the Miss World pageant, contestants must be be- tween the ages of 17 and 25. Both Ms. Chisholm and Ms. Christian are 27. Ms. Chisholm will, how- ever be entering the Miss Universe pageant, as the upper age limit for that con- test is 27. For the next Miss Cayman pageant, the upper age of its potential contestants has been lowered to 24. In pre- vious years, the age require- ment was 18 to 26. Under the new rules, contestants who have reached the age of 25 by Jan. 1, 2016 will be ineligible to enter. Meanwhile, although the next Miss Cayman is- lands pageant is still eight months away, the Miss Cayman Committee is al- ready seeking contestants to enter the competition. A meet and greet event planned for interested per- sons will take place on Friday, June 5, at the Lobster Pot restaurant in George Town at 6.30 p.m. Committee chairperson Derri Lee said, “If you are in- terested in becoming the next Miss Cayman Islands, with a whole new world of opportu- nities awaiting you, including a chance to represent your Islands in the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants, this is your chance to find out more.” Ms. Chisholm said en- tering the Miss Cayman pag- eant was one of the best deci- sion she had taken in her life. “The Miss Cayman Islands pageant was not something that I had planned on doing – it was not something I spent my younger years dreaming of – but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. “No matter your age, or gender, we all want to better ourselves and the only way to do that is to know who you are. The pageant is not only glitz and glam, it chal- lenges you on so many other levels that no matter where you place at the end, you will surely find yourself. I cannot wait to meet the next group of ladies who want to take this journey to self discovery,” she said. Applications will be available at the Meet and Greet event. Contact Ariana Seales on 926-7855 or email Ariana.seales@gmail.com or Dawn McLean-Sawney on 927-3360 or email 1caymangirl@ gmail.com for more information. Miss Cayman Tonie Chisholm with first runner-up Adrianna Christian and second runner-up Emily Bodden in the most recent competition. - Photo: taneos ramsay For the next Miss Cayman pageant, the upper age of its potential contestants has been lowered to 24.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY MAY 4, 2015 an often ineffective manage- ment regime. “Improvements and rec- ommendations detailed in this report are unlikely to be implemented successfully unless there is a significant improvement in the perfor- mance of the management team,” Mr. Holland said. A recruitment process for a new, full-time chief fire of- ficer last year ended without a successful candidate being hired. A second recruit- ment process is currently under way. Staffing The number of calls re- ceived for fire emergen- cies in the Cayman Islands “do not support the cur- rent crewing model of 24/7 staffing on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac,” the con- sultant review found. Emergency Communications Centre [911] statistics for the government’s 2012/13 budget year (the last full year for which those stats were available) re- vealed that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service re- sponded to 25,901 calls during the year, the emergency med- ical services [ambulance] re- sponded to 3,570 calls and the fire service responded to 867 calls for the year. That means the fire service received, on av- erage, fewer than three calls per day. “The level of demand for the fire service expressed in terms of fire calls and in- cidents attended is at con- sistently low levels,” the report stated. “The review team recommends restruc- turing of the fire service to reduce the numbers in the establishment at each rank, from deputy chief fire of- ficer down to and including station officer.” Mr. Holland described a fire service that was “top- heavy with senior officers,” while, in the meantime, local ambulance crews – of which there are three to cover all of Grand Cayman – were responding to nearly 10 calls for service per day. The report recommended the introduction of “alterna- tive duty systems” for fire- fighting staff, potentially to include on-call services and perhaps a volunteer element to the fire service. It also advocated for fire service crews to support emergency medical care in the islands. Training In order to provide those services, and others that the community re- quires, significant training must be provided. However, Mr. Holland’s 2014 review of the fire service found that it wasn’t. An operational training program had been developed for station officers, but it was never implemented, the report found. “This presents a signifi- cant concern to the review team,” Mr. Holland stated. “Operational crews are pre- sented as available for oper- ational duties, but their op- erational competence could not be confirmed.” For instance, a personal fitness program developed for staff members was ap- parently “rejected” by crews, according to the report. “It was explained to the review team that operational crews felt they could not undertake training exercises as they may ‘get a call’ and that re- sponse times would there- fore be compromised.” In addition, there was no evidence found of a training and development plan for se- nior fire officers. Particularly in the area of aerodrome [airport] fire ser- vices, the lack of training was noted as a potential problem to Cayman’s con- tinued economic develop- ment, as well as for public safety. “There are low num- bers of calls and low levels of training and activity being undertaken,” the re- view found. Mr. Holland was informed during a meeting with the Cayman Islands Airports Authority that the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office had been briefed on airport fire services and indi- cated they “were impressed.” “The review team have not been able to substantiate this claim,” he said. Inspections One area where greater fire service staffing was needed, according to the consultant’s review, was in building and safety inspections. Cayman has considerably more than 500 liquor stores, hotels and medical estab- lishments and “any number of schools and day care es- tablishments which would need an inspection regime.” The fire service’s stated goal is to inspect each hotel once per year. “This can clearly not be achieved by one inspecting officer,” Mr. Holland said, recommending that three would likely be required for the task. During its review, the U.K. inspection team came across “suggestions” that some reports on the newer structures and hotel refurbishments undertaken had been critical of fire safety measures. This was of concern to the reviewers, but they had no remit to in- vestigate further. “Threats to standards of hotels, which may compro- mise the safety of tourists, are of serious concern to the government of the islands,” Mr. Holland said, urging the government to investigate these claims further. Meanwhile, the review found no evidence of a “sys- tematic, risk-prioritized and planned” inspection program for liquor stores and night- clubs, although firefighters from local stations do assist the fire inspector with this task from time to time. Call delays Emergency calls to the Cayman Islands Fire Service were being unacceptably delayed by the depart- ment’s systems for handling calls, Mr. Holland’s review team found. When a 911 call for fire service is received by the 911 center, it is passed to the fire service control room at the airport fire station. The call is logged by hand and then the nearest fire station is mobilized to answer the call. For some reason, the fire service does not use the 911 computer aided dispatch system, as do the local police and ambulance services. “This is not only ineffi- cient, but also results in an unacceptable delay in pro- cessing an emergency call,” Mr. Holland said. “There is also the possibility of in- accuracies being intro- duced as information taken from the primary source is indirectly passed to operational crews.” did not state whether he in- tended to apologize as Mr. McLaughlin’s letter sought. “If [Mr. McLaughlin] takes the charges I have made so seriously, then I challenge him to step aside until the case is heard,” Mr. Bush said in a text message. The private members’ motion filed by Mr. Bush was accepted by Speaker of the House Juliana O’Connor- Connolly last month, but whether the Legislative Assembly’s Business Committee – controlled by the Progressives-led gov- ernment – would put it onto the governing body’s agenda was unknown. Also, pending litigation could have the ef- fect of delaying or making moot the issues raised by Mr. Bush. The motion, which makes various allegations against named and un- named individuals, has been called “libelous” by Premier McLaughlin. The premier warned of pending litigation in a letter sent recently to local press organizations. Generally, private mem- bers’ motions filed with the House are considered ab- solutely protected speech under what is known as parliamentary privilege. However, Mr. McLaughlin argues that the manner in which Mr. Bush’s motion was made public – in a press conference on April 14, the same date it was filed – ex- empts it from that privilege. Therefore, anything said in the motion and at the sub- sequent press conference is subject to claims of def- amation, Mr. McLaughlin said – defamation referring to untrue and damaging al- legations made publicly by one person against another. The letter sent to the local media advised that Mr. McLaughlin was asking the press to refrain from pub- lishing the details of Mr. Bush’s motion or subsequent statements about it. ‘Conspiracy’ Mr. Bush alleged in April that during 2011-2012, while he was under investigation in various criminal probes, certain meetings were held that discussed removing him as the then-premier from office, and who might form the “interim govern- ment” if he were replaced. Asked to clarify what “ir- refutable evidence” he pos- sessed of this claim, Mr. Bush said he had written correspondence between the various parties involved – citing a list of individ- uals, who cannot now be named for legal reasons – and pointing the finger ul- timately at the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Some of the correspondence may be considered legally privileged, Mr. Bush said, but he noted that would not prevent him from discussing it within the Legislative Assembly’s confines. Some of Mr. Bush’s al- legations are based on evi- dence that came out during his criminal trial on corrup- tion allegations last year. Mr. Bush was acquitted of charges relating to al- legations that he used his government-issued credit card to withdraw nearly US$50,000 in casinos in the U.S. and the Bahamas, using at least some of the cash withdrawn to gamble at slot machines. During the trial, a series of emails were read out by Mr. Bush’s defense team which lawyers suggested showed a conspiracy to “bring down” the former premier. Former Governor Taylor suggested in one email that a “quiet bottle of bubbly” would be in order if Mr. Bush was charged with criminal offenses. In one email, dated March 20, 2013, Mr. Taylor intimates to an official, named only as Tony, that Mr. Bush is about to be charged that afternoon. “I’m not opening any quiet bubbly until it is con- firmed,” he wrote. “When it is, there will be a huge sigh of relief across the Cayman Islands, including a loud one from this office.” He fol- lowed up with confirmation that the charges have been brought, writing “Good day for Cayman.” Visiting Judge Michael Mettyear, in summing up the trial evidence, said that it was possible the former gov- ernor’s comments could be taken in a less negative way. “If you think the former governor believed, rightly or wrongly, that [Mr. Bush] was corrupt and his ac- tions were to the detriment of the Cayman Islands, you may view his apparent enthusiasm to have Mr. Bush charged and his cel- ebratory attitude ... in a different light,” Justice Mettyear said. but it is customary for royals to look to their past for name ideas. The repeti- tion of names in each gen- eration is at least partly an effort to preserve the conti- nuity of one of the world’s oldest institutions. A princess called Charlotte – which is French in origin – would be a nod to her grandfather, Prince Charles. In royal his- tory, George IV named his only child Charlotte, but she died in childbirth at 21. George III’s wife was Queen Charlotte, who was born 1744. As for Alice: Queen Victoria named her second daughter Princess Alice, who was the great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II’s hus- band, Philip. Her grand- daughter, also called Alice, was Philip’s mother. Many think it is likely that William and Kate would use the name Diana – though probably as one of the ba- by’s middle names. Like most royals, the baby’s brother Prince George has more than one middle name (George Alexander Louis), and the same treatment is expected for her. When George was born in 2013, the royal couple took two days to reveal his name, waiting until after the queen had met her new great-grandson. William and Kate in- troduced the baby prin- cess Saturday evening to the world, just 12 hours after Kate checked into London’s St. Mary’s Hospital to give birth. The baby weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces (3.7 kilo- grams). The princess is fourth in line for the British throne, after her grandfather Charles, her father William and her older brother George. She will be known formally as Her Royal Highness, Princess (name) of Cambridge. William’s father and step- mother, Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, went to Kensington Palace on Sunday to visit the baby for the first time, joining Kate’s mother Carole Middleton and her sister Pippa. The royal couple is expected to spend several days at their London home before traveling to their country home on the queen’s sprawling Sandringham es- tate, 120 miles north of London. The family is likely to stay out of the public eye in the coming days. The princess’s birth has mesmerized much of Britain, eclipsing the country’s hard- fought election campaign on the front pages of British newspapers. A number of London landmarks including Tower Bridge were lit in pink overnight to commemorate her birth. ‘TOP HEAVY WITH SENIOR OFFICERS’ Scathing Fire Service report New princess for royal family Premier McLaughlin: Defamation lawsuit moving forward CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “If [Mr. McLaughlin] takes the charges I have made so seriously, then I challenge him to step aside until the case is heard.” MCKEEVA BUSH, opposition leader CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mr. BushNext >