ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Thursday May 14, 2015 SportS | page 15 barcelona advances To final First Champions League final since 2011 High of 89 Low of 78 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. editorial | page 4 The direcTion of governMenT Tv: ‘cuT!’ Personal Insurance Pay less for more cover with BritCay! insurance, health, pensions, life Low deductibles and generous benefits are standard cover with BritCay. Ask for a quote and start paying less for more cover now! BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky Health City gains international accreditation charles duncan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Health City Cayman Islands has of- ficially received its international accred- itation, opening up the East End hos- pital to more medical tourists from North America and Europe. The hospital, which began accepting pa- tients a year ago, hopes to become a destina- tion for people in North and Latin America to have complicated surgical procedures such as knee replacements or open-heart operations at a fraction of the cost of their home countries. Health City head of medical services Dr. Chandry Abraham, at a press con- ference Wednesday, said the hospital “is now in an elite club of top-class hospitals around the world.” Premier Alden McLaughlin, on hand at Health City for the announcement, said the accreditation will help “push Cayman into the forefront of destination healthcare.” With the announcement, the premier said, “Overseas patients are safe in knowing they will receive quality healthcare.” The certificate comes from the Joint Commission International, the international arm of the accrediting organization for hos- pitals in the United States. Health City is now the second hospital in the Caribbean to re- ceive the international accreditation. The Doctors Hospital in the Bahamas received ac- creditation from JCI in 2010. The organization sent four surveyors, all doctors or other healthcare professionals, for an inspection last month to review ev- erything from sanitary procedures in oper- ating rooms to medical ethics to the hospi- tal’s supply chain and inventory. “Today is another in many milestones,” said John Doyle, a board member at Health City and the executive vice president of Ascension, a Catholic hospital chain in the U.S. and a partner in Health City. He said there is still a way to go for the hospital, but it reached the accreditation “in really record time.” ElEctric cars bound for cuba – from cayman islands Tad sToner tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com In the next two months, John Felder of Cayman Automotive, who introduced electric vehicles to much of the Caribbean, expects to ship the first electric cars to Cuba. The initial vehicles are bound for Cayo Largo, a tourist island with no permanent res- idents, located 50 miles south of Havana and a 22-minute flight north of Grand Cayman. The Cuban government will put the new electric vehicles into service at the destina- tion’s seven major hotels, moving visitors around the 32-square-mile island linked by a single paved road. The five to 10 vehicles for this first project” will be shipped all at once to save on ship- ping costs,” Mr. Felder said. “The[y] will be low-speed electric vehicles, with a maximum speed [of] 25 miles per hour. The plan is to use this method of transportation to take tourists to and from the hotel and beaches.” With 20 miles of pristine seashore, 34 dive sites and undisturbed forests and wildlife, the island draws thousands of visitors every year. “The vehicles will be used mostly by tourists, but key government officials are also expected to use these vehicles while on island,” he said. “The Cuban government would like Cayo Largo to be a fully eco-friendly tourist des- tination. They want to make it the first test market for electric vehicles,” Mr. Felder added. If the test proves a success, Havana will expand the project, first to three small neigh- boring islands, then, ultimately, nationwide. Painting brings back cherished memories Jewel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Emily Seymour has a keepsake that has quite the tale to tell. Officers from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service recently presented the 83-year-old Caymanian with a copy of a painting of the old downtown police station – the place where she was born. Ms. Seymour had spotted the painting hanging on the wall of the present day George Town police station on Elgin Avenue while conducting business at the station. She began relating to duty officers how she came to be born in the old building before the new one took its place on the same site. Her father Joseph Leopold Llewellyn was a police officer from St. Ann, Jamaica, who came to Cayman after being recruited by government. When he arrived in Grand Cayman, he moved into the living quarters of the police station. He met and married Elizabeth Louise Anderson, the daughter of Gifford and Odena Anderson of Anderson Square in George Town. Emily was born in the station in 1932. In those days, midwives delivered babies at home, as no medical facilities existed. Describing the old building as her mother told her, Ms. Seymour said the up- stairs was used as the police station and living quarters. Underneath the station, on the ground floor, was a storage area and a small prison. To the left of the police sta- tion, on the site of what is now the Glass House, was another two-story building where government business was carried out and where the commissioner lived. Ms. Seymour said Kirkland Nixon’s great-grandmother cooked the food for the prisoners at that time. “Prisoners never got what they get at Northward today. Prisoners in those days got stewed salt beef, breadfruit, cas- sava, sweet potatoes and dumplings,” she said. “If they did not eat it, they starved. In the morning, they got some bush tea and a flapjack.” Ms. Seymour’s mother also told her that her father would visit all the districts to take statements, patrol the streets, answer house calls on foot, make arrests, transport prisoners on his bike, by foot or canoe, and fill out paperwork. Emily Seymour, born at the old George Town Police Station, holds a framed copy of a painting of the old building, which was presented to her by officers. The old station was replaced by the exisiting police station on Elgin Avenue. - Photo: JEwEl lEvy PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Thursday May 14, 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 HOT PURSUIT (PG13) 12:40 I 2:50 I 5:00 I 7:30 I 9:50 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 3D (PG13) 12:30 2D I 1:00 I 3:35 2D I 4:10 6:40 2D I 7:20 I 9:45 2D FURIOUS 7 3D (PG13) 12:45 I 3:45 2D I 6:45 I 9:45 2D AGE OF ADELINE (PGI3) 7:00 I 9:40 PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 (PG) 1:10 I 4:00 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - THURSDAY - $8.00 www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com Minnesota orchestra Makes historic trip to cuba MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Members of the Minnesota Orchestra are on their way to Cuba – making a his- toric trip with political implications. The orchestra is the first from the U.S. to perform in Cuba since President Barack Obama revealed his desire in December to nor- malize relations after half a century. The nonstop flight to Cuba Wednesday is also the first from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The flight arrives in Havana on Wednesday af- ternoon. The orchestra will perform two concerts at Havana’s 2,000-seat Teatro Nacional on Friday and Saturday. The reper- toire includes Beethoven’s Third Symphony. Orchestra members will also visit a high school and a conservatory, where they will play alongside young musicians. Court visits scene of fatal shooting Armed police and helicopter provide surveillance CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Justice Charles Quin went to Miss Daisy Lane in West Bay on Wednesday morning to see for himself the place where Solomon David Webster was fatally shot on the night of Sept. 7, 2014. Jose Guadelupe Sanchez is accused of murdering Mr. Webster; he chose to be tried by judge alone and his trial began last Friday. The site visit was a formal court session, attended by a clerk, marshal, court reporter, defense and prosecuting attor- neys, the defendant in wrist and ankle cuffs, three prison officers, two Uniform Support Group officers carrying side- arms and what appeared to be tasers. Several detectives in plainclothes, who served as drivers for the eight-vehicle convoy, were also present. Street clothes were worn instead of gowns and wigs. No photographs of the scene were permitted, al- though a television camera was allowed to stay a speci- fied distance away. The police helicopter was in the area, close enough to keep watch but far enough away so that people who spoke at the scene could hear each other. As the group assembled in the narrow lane, several res- idents approached to ask if they could walk or drive past. They were immediately given permission. One neighbor of- fered her yard for parking. The police officer who had submitted photographs of the scene took the group around the yard where the shooting occurred and pointed out where various items had been recovered and where stains resembling blood had been seen after the shooting. The positions of street and yard lights were noted. Defense counsel Mark Heywood asked about lines of sight from various points. Three residents sat in the yard, quietly observing as the group walked around the 10 buildings in the compound. A second detective led the group to the rear of the compound and pointed out an area of bush from which he had recovered a firearm – the Colt Commander pistol from which the fatal bullet was fired. The group then pro- ceeded to a yard next door. Witnesses have told the court how a struggle between the defendant, Mr. Webster and a third man began in one yard and carried into the other. The group returned to the courthouse, where proceed- ings continued. Students rise to math challenge Cayman International School student Nikolas Wolfe was the overall champion of the Minds Inspired Mathematics Challenge last week. Thirty students from six high schools across Grand Cayman took on the challenge, in which the schools were en- couraged to enter up to six of their best mathematicians for the half-day event. Nikolas received a $200 Camana Bay gift card and his name will be permanently af- fixed to the Mathematics Challenge Trophy. The Years 11, 10 and 9 awards went to Erik Bjerkholt, also of Cayman International School, Charlotte Hodkin of Cayman Prep and High School, and Dominic Owens, of St. Ignatius Catholic School, respectively. The winners each received $100 Camana Bay gift cards. The winning trio in the team competition were Emma Turnbull, a Minds Inspired Scholar at Cayman Prep and High School, Kris Aleria, of John Gray High School, and Kimberly King, of Clifton Hunter High School, each of whom received Camana Bay gift cards valued at $50. Students were tested in a series of eight 10-minute indi- vidual rounds before being ran- domly selected and placed in teams for an hour-long compe- tition, moving from station to station and answering 10 chal- lenge questions. This year, a lightning tiebreaker round was held to determine the cham- pions of the team competition – a first for the Minds Inspired Mathematics Challenge, which is sponsored by Dart. “The students truly bought their A-game,” said Glenda McTaggart, manager of ed- ucation programs at Dart Enterprises Ltd. “The Mathematics Challenge encourages students to push their academic abili- ties and critical thinking skills while putting their under- standing of mathematics to the test. The students thoroughly enjoyed the individual rounds, as well as the team competition which provided them with the opportunity to collaborate with mathematics students from other schools,” she added. Ms. McTaggart said this year’s event included a wider cross-section of grade levels who showcased a high level of academic excellence. “The questions, and added pressure of a timed event, adds a level of difficulty, and students selected to partici- pate should be proud they were chosen to represent their school. We look forward to hosting this event next year and seeing what 2016 brings,” she said. This was the third year of the Minds Inspired event. It was held on May 8 at the University College of the Cayman Islands. For more information on the Minds Inspired Education Program, visit www.mindsinspired.ky. Organizers and student participants of the 2015 Minds Inspired Mathematics Challenge. Overall champion Nikolas Wolfe, a Year 11 Cayman International School student, with Glenda McTaggart, manager of education programs at Dart Enterprises, left, and Jackie Doak, CEO of Dart Enterprises and Dart Realty (Cayman) Ltd. The Minnesota Orchestra will be the first ensemble from the U.S. to perform in Cuba since President Barack Obama moved to re-establish ties and rebuild economic relations with the Communist-led country. - photo: ap3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday May 14, 2015 One-Day Workshop The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman June 8, 2015 America’s #1 Success Coach www.Thrive.ky | info@Thrive.ky (345) 945-1515 | (345) 525-7070 Founder of the book series Chicken Soup for the Soul Tickets Still Available! JACK CANFIELD JackCanfield 4X12_4x12 Jack Canfield 5/5/15 6:33 PM Page 1 Emergency operations center looks to open this summer Tad STonEr tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com A new dedicated emer- gency operations center to oversee Cayman’s response to hurricanes will open in late summer, capping a two- year delay for the facility. The center will be re- sponsible for coordinating government’s response to disasters, such as hurri- canes, air crashes, tsunamis, pandemics and port acci- dents, as well as making long-standing prepara- tions for earthquakes, secu- rity, environmental hazards and flooding. Tenders for building and outfitting the National Emergency Operations Centre, which will be on the second floor of the Government Administration Building, were sought in April this year, with May 4 as the deadline for responses. According to tender doc- uments, the facility will comprise a 425-square-foot communications center ad- joining a 925-square-foot operation room. Furniture and equipment costs for the facility are expected to reach $125,000. McCleary Frederick, director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands, said budget con- straints had delayed com- pletion of the center. “Funding was not avail- able,” he told the Cayman Compass, pegging “best estimate” for opening in “August, September.” Mr. Frederick said gov- ernment made the orig- inal decision to move the National Emergency Operations Centre in 2005 after Hurricane Ivan re- vealed shortcomings in the Central Fire Station headquarters, where the emergency facility is currently based. The emergency center at the fire station, which mea- sures approximately 600 square feet, has to accom- modate up to 40 people. “When the NEOC is acti- vated, the operations center and almost all of the fire de- partment administration of- fices [are] used for the re- sponse,” Mr. Frederick said. “This means that the fire department administration and operational staff is un- able to function.” In short, he said, “[the] department did not pro- vide adequate working space for the system that is currently employed for national emergency and disaster response.” In the wake of these lim- itations being highlighted, “the decision was taken to build a purpose-built NEOC that would accommodate HMCI [Hazard Management Cayman Islands] Office, the National Weather Service, OFTEL [Office of Telecommunications], 911 and the NEOC,” he said. Planners also considered expanding the fire station. Costs – and shrinking budgets – were paramount in the project, while re- building the fire station was determined not to be a prac- tical alternative because of its location, “considering that the building flooded during Ivan. Expansion of the fire department would also involve costly construc- tion,” Mr. Frederick said. Officials turned to the Government Administration Building about two years ago, he said, because “it is a better alternative to the fire department and does not re- quire new construction.” The communications center will have five work- stations for call-takers and a supervisor. Each station will have four monitors, two computers, a telephone and radio. The room will com- prise 16 mobile desks for 32 officials. Each desk will have six outlets for laptop computers, four net- work connections, two USB power connections, a cable-management system and five three-drawer mobile cabinets. Acknowledging the June 1 start to hurricane season, Mr. Frederick nonetheless minimized fears that the de- lays – and continuing limi- tations of the Central Fire Station – might compromise emergency operations. “If the need arises, then we will function to the best of our ability given the cir- cumstances,” he said. Acting Fire Chief John Bodden, also chairman of the search and rescue subcommittee under the National Hurricane Plan, echoed Mr. Frederick: “We will still use what we have here, and if neces- sary, we’ll expand into the other boardroom.” Mr. Frederick also allayed fears that between emergen- cies, the NEOC and its facil- ities would lie idle. “It was always the in- tention to use the NEOC for other needs, such as meet- ings and training. The dif- ference is that the main de- sign and function would be an NEOC that would have other uses and not the other way around,” he said. During Hurricane Ivan, the NEOC coordinated is- land-wide efforts at pre- storm preparation, security, evacuation, management and recovery. Staffers lived at the fire station, sharing space with families and even Radio Cayman as it became ap- parent it was among the few places on-island offering se- curity, electric power, clean water and food, although overflowing toilets created problems of their own. The new center, however, will be protected inside the Government Administration Building, rated for category five hurricane protection. “If the need arises, then we will function to the best of our ability given the circumstances.” Mccleary Frederick, director, Hazard Management Cayman Islands Mr. FrederickThe 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. Thursday May 14, 2015 • Cayman COmpass A gradual but irresistible force is moving to reshape the media landscape in the Cayman Islands. We’re not talking about crashing waves of new tech- nology, or greater trends toward globalization and digiti- zation. No, the ponderous behemoth to which we refer is, in fact, Cayman’s government. More so than in many Western democracies, Cayman’s government already has helped itself to multiple slices of media pie, in several varieties — spoken, visual and written. This did not occur overnight, but rather is the result of a process of evolution and entrenchment. A couple of government’s media players have been oper- ating for decades. The Cayman Islands Gazette, the official government “newspaper,” was first published in 1975. The government’s Radio Cayman went on the air in 1976. Predating them all was Olive Miller, who in January 1971 became Cayman’s first government information officer, a position that was the precursor to today’s Gov- ernment Information Service. The government bided its time before entering the world of television, but in 2012 it launched CIGTV, broad- casting meetings of the Legislative Assembly and govern- ment press conferences, in addition to other public events. We mention the above in order to illustrate our gov- ernment’s long-running tradition of not only “making” news — but packaging and presenting the news as well. Yet, despite the existing array of public sector media properties, the government’s telecommunication regu- lator seems concerned about a potential dearth of “local content” on Cayman television providers. In particular, the Information and Communications Technology Authority is contemplating the collection of fees from Cayman’s cable companies to help pay for the production of “public service broadcasting” — in case the private sector cannot sustain a commercially viable local television station. Since the idea for the “universal service fund” hasn’t yet advanced from speculation to proposal, we’ll reserve comment for now, aside from offering the basic tenet that, whenever possible, “the free market should decide.” We find the regulators’ focus on “local content” — solely as it relates to television — to be antiquated and ill-advised in the Internet Age, where consumers have nearly infinite choice when it comes to forms of media consumption. At this point, however, we are primarily interested in a statement made last December by ICTA Managing Director Alee Fa’amoe, who said that CIGTV would not qualify as “public service broadcasting” and that cable providers would not be able to meet their licensing obli- gations for local content by simply carrying CIGTV. Mr. Fa’amoe said, “CIGTV cannot be the only choice and would not meet the intention of public service broad- casting — it is the mouthpiece of the government in power on the day.” In other words, CIGTV is a tool for political propaganda — something that former Premier McKeeva Bush vehemently denied in a letter to the Compass in October 2012, writing, “while the channel will certainly provide a means by which the government can communicate directly with the public, the program content will be much wider than that. Program- ming will include informational, educational, cultural, sports and religious shows.” Nearly three years and two Cabinets later, we are still waiting for CIGTV to live up to its promised potential. If the government’s TV station cannot meet the government regu- lators’ definition of “public service broadcasting,” then why does it exist? Why are we paying for it? And why is gov- ernment considering levying an entirely new tax to pay for more public programming? Rather than creating a new fee to prop up a new system to create local content (that Cayman consumers will have determined they don’t want), government should consider opening up CIGTV to all residents. Turn the public channel into a public access channel, where anyone can sign up to air their own show on their own time slot. That seems, to us, to be about as “local” as “local content” can get. Better yet, public officials could withdraw from the TV industry entirely. There may be no business like show business, but it certainly shouldn’t be the business of government. The direction of government TV: ‘Cut!’ Depositors flee from Greece as recession returns Mark Gilbert Bloomberg View The cost of the stale- mate between Greece and its creditors is apparent in gross domestic product fig- ures Wednesday showing the Greek economy slumped back into recession even as many of its euro zone peers enjoy a burst of growth. Even more worrying for the na- tion (and any of its lenders who still hope to get repaid in full) is evidence that cap- ital is fleeing at an acceler- ating rate. Deposits at Greek banks look to have dropped by a staggering 20 percent since September; Bloomberg’s Athens bureau chief Nikos Chrysoloras reports that out- flows quickened to 7 billion euros (US$7.8 billion) last month, which would leave just 131.6 billion euros in the banking system. As a result, the European Central Bank has increased the emergency liquidity as- sistance it’s providing to Greek banks by 35 percent since the start of February. At some point, the ECB is likely to run out of patience that a contingency program designed to temporarily ease distress is instead the only thing standing between Greek banks and insolvency. The Greek economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, extending the 0.4 per- cent contraction in the pre- vious three months. Last week, the European Commission slashed its 2015 Greek GDP forecast to 0.5 percent from 2.5 percent previously. Greece’s relapse con- trasts with the 0.4 percent first-quarter expansion in the euro region as a whole, led by a jump of 0.9 percent in Spain and reinforced by France’s surprise 0.6 percent growth and Italy’s 0.3 per- cent showing. As I’ve written previously, a country with debts equal to almost 180 percent of GDP that’s strug- gling to grow is a country that’s unlikely to be able to pay its way. Some 6,000 miles from Athens, a banknote printing company called Fortress Paper in Vancouver, Canada, has seen its shares climb a staggering 67 percent this month on speculation it has a contract with the Greek government to turn on the printing presses if the country decides it needs a new currency. Fortress said Tuesday it doesn’t know why its shares are climbing, and Chief Executive Officer Chadwick Wasilenk declined to com- ment when a Bloomberg re- porter cornered him. But with Greek officials reduced to withdrawing money from the country’s account at the International Monetary Fund to pay their debts to the IMF – robbing Christine Lagarde to pay Christine Lagarde, if you will – the euro zone looks increasingly like a club Greece shouldn’t belong to. Mark Gilbert is a Bloomberg View columnist and a member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. © 2015, Bloomberg News An elderly man walks among shuttered shops early Wednesday morning in the shopping district of Monastiraki in central Athens. – Photo: AP China takes baby steps toward disaster WilliaM Pesek Bloomberg View The longer China’s economy stalls, the lonelier Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, is certain to get. There’s simply no playbook for a central banker facing so many com- peting challenges: deflation, excessive debt, chaotic global financial markets and vested interests resisting reform. Zhou seems to have little choice but to make things up as he goes along. But if Zhou is interested in consulting a cautionary tale, he might consider the decisions made by policy makers in Japan in 1998, when that country was on the precipice of deflation and bore an eerie resemblance to China’s present situation. Unfortunately, Zhou seems committed to repeating the mistakes made by Masaru Hayami, the former governor of the Bank of Japan. On Monday, Zhou cut the PBOC’s one-year lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.1 percent, his third cut in six months. That excited China’s stock traders. But, as Hayami’s experience shows, incremental moves of this sort aren’t a long-term fix. If Zhou hopes to avoid deflation in China, he should play par- ticular attention to three of Hayami’s missteps. First, Hayami should have been far more aggressive with monetary stimulus. Although Hayami is sometimes remem- bered as the father of quan- titative easing, which he pi- oneered in 2001, his initial attempts at monetary stim- ulus were far too timid. Part of the reason current BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is still pumping liquidity into the Japanese economy today is that 14 years ago Hayami only lowered rates hesitantly and incrementally. (The U.S. Federal Reserve, by contrast, is preparing an exit strategy from its more ambitious quantitative easing program after just six years.) The second thing Hayami should have done – and Zhou should do now – is take toxic assets off bank and local- government balance sheets. Hayami’s third failing was that he was too timid with his bully pulpit. He was right to insist that Japanese deflation was less about the supply of yen than growth-stifling regu- lations, monopolistic behavior and a dearth of policy imagi- nation in government. But he enabled Tokyo’s political pa- ralysis in ways Zhou would be wise to avoid. China can steer clear of these costly mistakes. Zhou could cut rates faster and by bigger increments as China’s deflation risks deepen. The PBOC could start taking loans that are destined to default off the books of big banks and municipalities. And Zhou could leverage his international gravitas to prod President Xi Jinping’s team to internationalize the coun- try’s financial system and foster greater competition in the economy. But until now Zhou has only initiated baby steps, just as Hayami did. And there’s no reason to expect the results this time will be any different. William Pesek, a Bloomberg View columnist based in Tokyo, writes on economics, markets and politics in the Asia-Pacific region. © 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 findtheirownway”5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday May 14, 2015 Rare Cayman ghost orchid in bloom Conservation Law aims to protect Cayman’s endangered flora and fauna ChaRles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com The subtle cream color of Cayman’s Ghost Orchid makes it hard to spot, dan- gling from a tree by a slender stem in its once-yearly bloom. The orchid, Dendrophylax fawcettii, is critically en- dangered and found only on Grand Cayman. Tucked into the back corner of the Turtle Farm, the Grand Cayman Ghost Orchid is in full bloom this week. The orchid didn’t start its life in West Bay. It first bloomed in the Ironwood Forest, but Orchid Society members res- cued it from land clearing there almost a decade ago. The Orchid Society do- nated two of the flowers to the Turtle Farm in late 2006. Both were affixed to trees overhanging the Blue Hole on the tourist spot’s nature trail. The orchids took a few years to make a home on the new trees above the sink- hole but have bloomed annu- ally in late April or early May since 2008. “All of the orchids on the [endangered] list are as- sociated with natural, un- developed habitat,” said Conservation Council chair and orchid specialist Christina Rose-Smyth. “Preserving areas of undevel- oped habitat saves not just orchids but trees, birds and frogs,” she added. The National Conservation Law, which is being adopted piece by piece by the new Conservation Council, creates legal protections for endan- gered or threatened species. The protections went into ef- fect on Earth Day, April 22. The new law gives the council the authority to re- view permit or license ap- plications for activities, including real estate de- velopment, which would threaten the habitat for en- dangered species. The council can’t prevent development, Ms. Rose-Smyth said, but if there’s an endangered spe- cies in the area, “the thrust from then on would be to find a way to minimize de- struction to the species.” In the case of the ghost or- chid, Ms. Rose-Smyth ex- plained, the best option is to preserve the land. The Conservation Law also calls for the council to develop conservation plans for threatened or endangered species included on the new endangered list. The law includes a new list of more than 200 pro- tected species in the Cayman Islands, about 50 of which are listed as endangered. The list covers a wide range of plants and animals, from blue iguanas and sea turtles to periwinkles and the swal- lowtail butterfly. There are four orchids listed as criti- cally endangered in the law. The Grand Cayman Ghost Orchid is one of those listed as critically endangered, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature states that as of 2008 there were 1,000 to 3,000 indi- vidual plants still in the wild. Real estate develop- ment in Bodden Town and the Red Bay area of George Town, according to the group, has destroyed much of the orchid’s natural hab- itat. The only remaining nat- ural populations are in the Mastic Forest and George Town’s Ironwood Forest. Department of Environment director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said some spe- cies, like iguanas, already had legal protection through the Animals Law or Marine Conservation Law. But, she said, “This is the first time that any of Cayman’s plant species have had any legal protection, and it is also the first time that many of our endemic animal species have had any legal protection.” It is now illegal to take or possess endangered orchids or any of the other plants and animals on the list. “We will eventually be producing a Conservation Plan for this orchid, along with others, which may include some ad- ditional protections, but this plan will have to go out for public consultation and be approved by Cabinet before it can be adopted,” she said. Ms. Ebanks-Petrie said, “Having a species on the schedule does not automati- cally protect its habitat. The only way that habitat can be protected under the law is for it to be made a protected area or for the land owner to enter into an agreement with the government.” The only way under the Conservation Law to pro- tect land, she said, would be if government bought the property to preserve as a natural area. International Union for Conservation of Nature re- searchers say the orchid’s population has dropped by 80 percent over the past three decades due to habitat loss. Some of the flowers saved from land clearing in 2006 were also moved to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park. Scientists don’t know ex- actly how the Grand Cayman Ghost Orchid reproduces, but suspect the large sphinx moth, which grows to the size of a small bird, may be the only pollinator that helps the flower reproduce. But if that hypothesis is correct, Ms. Rose-Smyth said, the or- chid could be in even more danger, because the plant the moth uses for breeding is it- self rarely found on Grand Cayman anymore. A Grand Cayman Ghost Orchid in bloom at the Turtle Farm. The critically endangered flower blooms just once a year. - Photo: Charles DunCanThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community Calendar ■ Community Calendar is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. Thursday May 14, 2015 • Cayman Compass THURSDAY, MAY 14 CONCACAF VOLUNTEERS: CONCACAF Under 15 Boys Youth Tournament organizers hold an informational meeting for volunteers and anyone interested in volunteering, at 5:30 p.m. in the Town Hall in George Town. Email volunteers@cifa.ky. PHOTOGRAPHY LECTURE: Free lecture by photographer Jaime Hahn on the history, process, how and why of photography, 6-7:30 p.m. at the National Gallery. All are invited. VAS OPEN STUDIO: The Visual Arts Society offers painting sessions today, May 21 and 28. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with instructor. $25 per session for members, $35 non-members. Sessions at 1-4 p.m. for intermediate artists, with no instructor, $10 for members, $15 non-members. Watler House Studio on the Pedro Castle grounds. Contact 546-9422 or visualartcayman@yahoo.com. FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS: The National Children’s Festival of the Arts invites the community to the final concert at the Harquail Theatre, 6 p.m. The program features award- winning performances in speech, drama, choral music, instrumental music and dance. Students of all ages will perform. BRAC WORKFORCE: National Workforce Development Agency representatives will be available to meet with employers and job seekers, and assist with online registrations, resume preparation and other job search activities 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Department of Labour and Pensions Office, 256 Creek Road. Appointments can be made by calling 945-3114, and walk-ins are welcome. Interested individuals may attend a workshop on “Employer Expectations” today 2-5 p.m. at the Labour and Pensions Office. To register, call 945-3114 or email nwda.training@gov.ky. FRIDAY, MAY 15 NATIONAL GALLERY INTERNS: The National Gallery is accepting applications for the 2015/16 yearlong NGCI Deutsche Bank Internship, in addition to their shorter NGCI Summer Internship program, which runs June through August. Today is the deadline for Summer Internship applications; May 31 for the 2015/16 NGCI Deutsche Bank Internship. For application forms, visit www.nationalgallery. org.ky and for additional information call 945- 8111 or email education@ nationalgallery.org.ky. RUNDOWN: The annual comedy show continues tonight at the Harquail Theatre, 8 p.m. Other shows May 16-17, 29-31. Shows Fridays and Saturdays start 8 p.m.; Sunday shows start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for youths and seniors. Available from Grand Harbour Health Care Pharmacy, Funky Tang’s, Foster’s at the Strand and the Cayman National Cultural Foundation offices. SATURDAY, MAY 16 HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS: Representatives of Hazard Management Cayman Islands will be at Kirk’s Home Centre this morning to meet with residents, answer questions and hand out disaster awareness information. Residents are encouraged to visit the store and enter a draw to win preparedness kits. DEALS ON WHEELS: The Red Cross mobile thrift shop will be in West Bay at the junction of the West Bay Town Hall, 6-10 a.m. TUESDAY, MAY 19 ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: The general public meeting is at Pedro Castle, 7:30 p.m. Everyone is asked to dim headlights on arrival, park outside the grounds and walk in. The evening will be canceled if there is any rain or the sky is more than 50 percent cloudy. Call (not text) 925-7657 to confirm, if necessary. VAS DRAWING: The Visual Arts Society offers life and still life drawing sessions on Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m., beginning tonight, and Saturdays, beginning May 23, 9 a.m.- noon. Classes at Watler House Studio on Pedro Castle grounds. Open to all levels. Six sessions, $125 for members, $145 non-members. Contact 546-9422 or visualartcayman@yahoo.com. WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 FLOETRY: Poets and performers share their work during an open mic night of poetry and readings. All are invited to share their own work or listen to others. Free and open to the public. 7-8:30 p.m., Books & Books. SATURDAY, MAY 23 HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS: Representatives of Hazard Management Cayman Islands will be at Cox Lumber Company this morning and Uncle Bill’s Home Improvement Centre this afternoon to meet with residents, answer questions and hand out disaster awareness information. Residents are encouraged to visit the stores and enter a drawing to win preparedness kits. GIRLS BRIGADE: West Bay Girls Brigade Company hosts a Talent/Spring Fashion Show at the John Gray Memorial Church Hall. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Showtime 7 p.m. Admission is $10; $5 under age 12 (includes light refreshments). Cupcakes will be on sale. Tickets available now or at the door. Call 926-3842 or 322-2212. CHALKFEST: Annual Chalkfest competition at Camana Bay along Market Street, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This family event includes a live DJ performance, face painting, balloon animals, a magician show and more. The competition is open to all ages and abilities. Registration fee $5 for kids, $10 for adults. Proceeds benefit the National Gallery Outreach Program. Prizes awarded. Entry categories are Primary (5-10 years old), Middle School (11-13), High School (14-17) and Adults (18+). Chalk provided free; participants are encouraged to bring rags, sponges and buckets to help with blending and covering large areas. Free water and sunscreen. SUNDAY, MAY 24 FUN RUN: Cayman Academy hosts a “Walk for a Child” 5K fun run from 6 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Resort, adjacent to the North Sound Golf Course. Registration is $10 for adults and $5 for under 12s and all Cayman Academy students. Register at the school, Kings Sports Centre gym, Funky Tangs or the Seventh-day Adventist conference office. Part proceeds to the Bethany Butler Art National Gallery Scholarship Fund. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 FOOD HANDLERS: Certification courses in basic food hygiene are offered by the Department of Environmental Health today, and June 10 and 24; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DEH conference room in the Environmental Centre, 580 North Sound Road. $15 per person covers all materials and fees; pay at DEH headquarters, 580 North Sound Road, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Call 949-6696. FRIDAY, MAY 29 PROPOSALS FOR ESTABLISHING CORAL NURSERIES: The Department of Environment invites proposals from those interested in establishing coral nurseries. Following Cabinet’s approval of a policy for managing coral nurseries, the department is accepting proposals through May 29, with projects to commence in October 2015 or later. Proposals should be for establishing nurseries for Acropora corals and eventual outplanting on Cayman’s reefs. Proposals or requests for information may be submitted to DoE@ gov.ky. SATURDAY, MAY 30 SELLING ART: Visual arts Society offers a half-day workshop on how to sell artwork. $25 members, $35 non-members. Contact 546- 9422 or visualartcayman@ yahoo.com. HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS: Representatives of Hazard Management Cayman Islands will be on hand at A.L. Thompson’s this morning and Progressive Distributors this afternoon to meet with residents, answer questions and hand out disaster awareness information. Residents are encouraged to visit the stores and enter a drawing to win preparedness kits. GENERAL INTEREST HIV TESTING: Free HIV testing is available every Tuesday year-round at the Cayman Islands Red Cross on Thomas Russell Way. Anyone wishing to get tested should arrive by 9 a.m. Testing will be available every Tuesday, 9-10 a.m. Contact HIV/AIDS Coordinator Laura Whitfield at 244-2631. REEF RESTORATION: Certified divers are invited to work on the Cayman Magic Reef restoration in George Town. A schedule of work dates and times is posted on Facebook under Cayman Magic Reef Recovery. Dates, times and places are listed under Events, for volunteers to check and sign up. MUSEUM TOURS: The National Museum provides guided tours for students and school groups free of cost. Students will gain an understanding of Cayman’s geological formation, flora and fauna, seafaring and rope-making heritage, political history and more. Contact the museum to book a tour in advance at 949-8368 or email info@ museum.ky. ART FOR STUDENTS: The National Gallery hosts free Active Learning Sessions for students of all ages. Part tour, part art activity, the tour takes students up-close with the National Collection – more than 50 years of Caymanian art history – providing links to literacy, mathematics, social studies and science. For information or to book a session, contact 945-8111 or education@nationalgallery. org.ky. FREE GALLERY TOURS: Free guided tours of the temporary exhibition Plastic In paradise: Scenes of Real Life Fictions by Heidi Bassett Blair are available for students of all ages at The National Gallery. Students will discuss the exhibition and get hands-on art activities that incorporate literacy and numeracy. Until July 3. For information or to book a tour contact 945-8111 or education@nationalgallery. org.ky. SCHOOL REGISTRATION: Registration of students enrolling in or transferring to government schools for the 2015/2016 school year is open through June 26 at the Department of Education Services and the Cayman Brac Teachers Centre. Registration forms available at government schools, the Department of Education Services at 130 Thomas Russell Way, George Town, or the Brac Teachers Centre. Registration for reception classes is open for qualifying children who are age 4 before Sept. 1, 2015. GRANTS FOR THE ARTS: Registration is open for grants from the Cayman National Cultural Foundation for art-related projects that need some financial help. CNCF hands out grants twice a year. Visit www. artscayman.org/grants-for- the-arts for guidelines and a registration form. Deadline is July 15. THRIFT SHOP SEEKS CLOTHING: The Humane Society Thrift Shop is desperately low on stock. Clothing, accessories, toys, small appliances, shoes, bric-a-brac and pictures are needed. Please bring donations to the Humane Society building on North Sound Road. BETHESDA COUNSELING CENTRE: At 68 Mary St. Caters to all who seek help. Call 946-6575. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Center is owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. PINK LADIES: Coffee Shop at Cayman Islands Hospital is open Monday- Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks. Takeout orders welcome, call 244-2661. Funds are donated back to the community. Contact pinkladiescayman@gmail. com. ARTISANS MARKET: Camana Bay Artisans Market every Wednesday. Visual Arts Society has artists displaying arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand-crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale between noon and 8 p.m. near KARoo. For more information about being a displaying artist, contact info@visualartcayman.com or 546-9422. MIND’S EYE: Guided tours for up to eight people are offered at Mind’s Eye – The Visionary World of Miss Lassie, Cayman’s intuitive artist. $8 per adult, $4 per child. Tours by appointment, 10-11 a.m., second and fourth Saturdays. Contact the Cayman National Cultural Foundation by email at admincncf@candw.ky or 949-5477. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also, Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Contact humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc. in good condition always needed. For more Community Calendar events, visit www. compasscayman.com/caycompass/ portal/community-calendar.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Thursday May 14, 2015 America’s #1 Success Coach JACK CANFIELD WIN $495 ticket One-Day Workshop June 8, 2015 ENTER AT caymancompass.com/competitions One winner each week for 5 weeks 6x4 Jack Canfield Competition_6X4 JACK CANFIELD COMPETITION 5/5/15 6:27 PM Page 1 Preschools closed in new push for standards James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two Cayman Islands pre- schools have been shut down as a result of new measures aimed at raising standards in early childhood care and edu- cation centers. Preschools are now re- quired to follow a new na- tional curriculum for young children and to meet guide- lines on health and safety and student-teacher ratios in order to be registered by the Education Council. Of the 48 centers under the council’s remit, two did not have their registrations renewed under the new cri- teria. At least three others have been given a “notice of improvement,” requiring them to raise standards in specific areas to maintain their registration. Officials declined to name the centers that were shut down, saying new placements had been found for all the af- fected children. They say they are doing everything they can to work with preschools to help them meet the new reg- istration requirements. Education Minister Tara Rivers said the regis- tration guidelines, along- side the new national cur- riculum, are driving up standards and helping to achieve a cultural shift from child minding toward more substantive education. “We are not looking for 3-year-olds to be doing quantum physics, but we do want to ensure our chil- dren are getting age-appro- priate developmental activi- ties,” she said. The curriculum, pro- duced with input from early childhood education centers, covers appropriate learning objectives and teaching methods for infants, toddlers and children under 5. Carol Bennett, policy ad- viser for early childhood care and education, said min- istry staff were involved in training preschool owners and staff in delivering the new curriculum and ful- filling the necessary ob- ligations under the new registration guidelines. This includes training on working with vulner- able young children, identi- fying the signs of abuse and their obligations under the Children Law to report suspi- cions of abuse. Ms. Bennett said the first year of the new regime had been the toughest for the pre- schools since many had to make changes to comply. “Some had too many chil- dren and not enough staff, some didn’t have fire safety up to date. They have had to catch up. “The most difficult period has passed. They have had to clean themselves up to meet these guidelines,” she said. Early childcare and edu- cation centers that don’t meet the registration criteria are given three months to make the necessary changes. If they are still not compliant, they get a cancellation notice, with a further three-month time limit before they are shut down. The curriculum, pub- lished this week and avail- able to parents on the Ministry of Education web- site, has been in production for the last several years. It was piloted in 2012 and has been adapted and redrafted based on feedback from centers themselves. April Tibbetts, formerly a policy adviser and now acting head of West End Primary School in Cayman Brac, said the document har- nessed information from the most effective early years ed- ucation programs around the world, as well as input from local preschools. The curriculum is built around four key focus areas of respect, exploration, com- munication and well-being and is designed as a frame- work for anyone involved in teaching young children. Ms. Rivers said the cur- riculum is flexible enough to mesh with existing philoso- phies such as the Montessori preschool program. Whatever crime was com- mitted – mostly petty crimes – the accused went to court, was tried by the Justice of the Peace and, if found guilty, was locked up in the little downstairs prison, she said. Her father was a po- liceman in the district during the 1920s, and from what she learned from her mother in later years, he was well liked and respected by all. In those times, there were few problems of any kind; doors were left unlocked, everyone helped one another and Cayman was very safe. “I am now 83. I saw many changes and was not sad- dened when the building was torn down but happy to see the island progressing,” she said. There were no vehicles, so most police duties were car- ried out by foot. The police commissioner also walked or rode a bicycle. She said the island had one doctor. The prison was mostly empty and no guards were needed as prisoners were let out during the day to exercise in the yard or clean the roads. The biggest crime her fa- ther processed was a murder in Cayman Brac and he had to go by boat to get a state- ment, she was told. In earlier years, she said officers got the chance to talk to people and see what was taking place. Even the Jamaica-appointed commis- sioner (precursor to today’s governor) walked, traveling around the island, meeting residents, all of whom he knew by name, she said. Times today are very dif- ferent. “I have lived on this property for 64 years and I have not seen a policeman patrol the area on foot, stop and talk to people and just find out how are things are going in the area,” she said. Ms. Seymour recalls a typical day on island as get- ting up early in the morning to do chores, cooking and housekeeping because there were no jobs at the time. Apart from that, there was nothing much else to do. The men went to sea and women stayed home to take care of the children. There was one school on the waterfront. As a child, she attended school, played and did chores, like most other children. In her teens, she started making floral arrangements for wed- dings. She left school at 16 and married Ferdinand Seymour, a seaman. Before that, she lived with her father and her mother and when her father died at age 42 from a heart condition when she was just 4 years old, her mother moved from the old station to live with her grand- mother, who helped raise her. Painting brings back cherished memories CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Vatican officially recognizes state of Palestine in new treaty VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects. The treaty, which con- cerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic rec- ognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine. The Vatican had wel- comed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is the first legal docu- ment negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and constitutes official diplomatic recognition. “Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists,” said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. The Israeli foreign ministry said it was “disappointed.” “This move does not pro- mote the peace process and distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct and bilateral negotia- tions,” the ministry said in a text message. The United States and Israel oppose recognition, arguing that it would un- dermine U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an Israeli- Palestinian deal on the terms of Palestinian statehood. Most countries in Western Europe have held off on rec- ognition, but some have hinted that their position could change if peace efforts remain deadlocked. The treaty was final- ized days before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Pope Francis at the Vatican. Abbas is heading to Rome to attend Francis’ can- onization Sunday of two new saints from the Holy Land. “This is a very important recognition as the Vatican has a very important political status that stems from its spiritual status,” said Abbas’ senior aide, Nabil Shaath. “We expect more EU coun- tries to follow.” The Vatican has been re- ferring unofficially to the state of Palestine for at least a year. During Pope Francis’s 2014 visit to the Holy Land, the Vatican’s official pro- gram referred to Abbas as the president of the “state of Palestine.” Education Minister Tara Rivers shows off the new curriculum. - PHoto: JaMes wHittaKerThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Thursday May 14, 2015 • Cayman Compass New patients Mr. McLaughlin said the international certification would help bring more pa- tients from abroad to Health City. The accreditation, he said, helps cement the poten- tial to make “medical tourism the third pillar in the Cayman Island economy.” Dr. Abraham said the hos- pital is already “receiving a fair amount of U.S. patients” but it is still operating well below capacity. The accred- itation, he said, “will push the number even higher.” He hopes to have the facility running at 75 percent to 80 percent capacity by the end of the year. Health City does not have any deals at this point with major U.S. insurance compa- nies. Instead, marketing di- rector Shomari Scott said, the hospital is first ap- proaching self-insured com- panies to offer less expensive operations than they could find in the U.S. He said Health City was also marketing to pa- tients in Canada who want to go outside of the public health system and to neigh- bors in Latin America and the Caribbean. “The phones are ringing,” he said, “with providers asking to partner with us.” Accreditation will make it easier for insurance com- panies to send patients to Cayman, Dr. Abraham said. Mr. Doyle, with Ascension, said the new hospital “does have to prove itself” be- fore it can make deals with big insurance com- panies who could signifi- cantly boost the number of patients visiting Cayman. “This is a new option in this hemisphere,” he said. As for Ascension’s pa- tients, Mr. Doyle said that some patients from the com- pany’s 130 hospitals “would look into this option.” He said at some point it will be among the choices for Ascension’s patients. “They already pretty much know” it will succeed, he said, “but they want to do the small islands first,” testing tourist demand and the cars’ roadworthiness. However, Havana is the “big prize” in the venture, he said. The country has about 37,000 miles of roads, both paved and unpaved, and 173,000 cars, at least 60,000 of them 1950s U.S. models. Those are outnumbered, however, by old Russian Ladas and other Eastern Bloc vehicles, including heavy trucks, South Korean Kias, French Peugeots, Chinese- built Geelys and a selection of Dutch buses. Transtur, a nationwide car rental and bus trans- port agency, also “looks after purchasing of vehicles for the Cuban government,” Mr. Felder said. “They have 10,000 vehicles and between 40 per- cent and 50 percent need to be retired.” The hope, of course, is that “eventually, they will get all electric vehicles,” he said, although “it’s difficult to say just how many vehicles will be purchased … once the project is off the ground.” In any case, his agreement is that “Cayman Automotive will be the principal sup- plier of all electric vehicles for Cuba. Mr. Felder said he didn’t anticipate any issues with the rollout of the electric ve- hicles in Cayo Largo. “We have completed our site in- spections and have our ac- tion plans ready to imple- ment. Of course, we always include ‘what if’ scenarios.” Indeed, Mr. Felder is careful to cover his bets. While looking to “early next year” for the experiment on Cayo Largo – and the three associated islands – to spill over to Havana, Mr. Felder is poised, as exclusive dealer for China’s Jianghuai Automobile Co., to provide a range of gas- and diesel-pow- ered heavy trucks. JAC operates throughout Central and South America, has a presence in Haiti, and last July signed a $270 mil- lion deal with Venezuela for more than 5,000 heavy-duty trucks. Deal signed last year Mr. Felder signed his Havana deal in March 2014, after a call from Cuba’s Ministry of Industry. “They called me, thanks to Google. That really is what happened. Cayman Automotive has had tons of press exposure in Cuba and has been in their newspa- pers,” he said. That exposure is boosted by a strong Internet pres- ence and sales of electric ve- hicles on eight Caribbean islands, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, where eight Felder-supplied cars operate on St. Thomas; in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and St. Lucia; in Bermuda (nine); the Bahamas; the Turks and Caicos; Barbados; and, of course, Cayman, where 25 now run. Most recently, in late March, he delivered a U.S.-built Wheego to Little Cayman, the island’s first electric car. How it all started Cayman Automotive opened in 2005 and Mr. Felder imported the first electric cars in 2009. He fought for seven years to change local traffic laws to allow the vehicles on the roads. Today the company offers electric cars, trucks, vans, motor scooters and mo- torcycles from half-a-dozen manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The Cuba deal, he said, took six months to complete, and now marks a new phase in his expansion. Mr. Felder is reluctant to discuss some of the propri- etary details of the electric- vehicle deal, saying only that the Cubans are looking at four electric-car models from the same manufacturer, and that each costs between $19,000 and $25,000. He is also reluctant to dis- cuss costs, saying that “hun- dreds of thousands of dollars” are at stake. The question remains of charging the cars’ lithium- ion batteries. While the tech- nology easily enables the cars’ 30-mile to 35-mile range, and electricity is still less ex- pensive than imported oil, charging stations are critical to the project. Cuba has long strug- gled with high oil prices, and has for years participated in Venezuela’s “Petrocaribe” discount program, started in 2005, selling oil to 13 Caribbean countries at dis- counts between 40 percent and 60 percent. The balance of the price, however, is still due, although financed at fa- vorable interest rates over 25 years. But the recent col- lapse in oil prices has left Venezuela, already economi- cally and politically troubled, grasping for cash. Cuba owes Caracas $14 billion. “The Cuban government is very vulnerable right now … [it is] totally dependent on Venezuela for the majority of their oil,” Mr. Felder said. “Renewable energy is the an- swer and they have an ac- tion plan to reduce their dependence.” The plan intimately in- volves solar energy, and Mr. Felder, in conjunction with Saskatchewan’s Sun Country Highway, his regional partner in charging stations, and which already owns 1,000 charging stations across Canada, will build – “one for now, and two stations, tops” – in Cayo Largo, then on the three smaller is- lands, followed, he hopes, by nationwide construction. Already, he owns eight sta- tions on Grand Cayman – two of them by Sun Country – and says a serviceable operation can be created in a matter of hours at modest cost. “There are a couple of types of charging stations,” he said: solar-assisted, with panels on a nearby rooftop, and one in which the panels form a roof, a canopy, over the station. A solar-assisted station costs $1,200, and, Mr. Felder said, “We will build a network. The panels used will be those that are manufac- tured in Cuba. This is part of our agreement.” Like the vehicles, he said, “all the charge stations will be purchased by the Cuban gov- ernment for cash.” Ultimately, he envisions “hundreds of charging stations” across the country. As he prepares to start shipments by mid- summer, Mr. Felder looks for- ward to a flurry of activity, boosted by increasing num- bers of U.S. tourists. Health City gains international accreditation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Electric cars bound for Cuba – from Cayman Islands CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 John Felder with one of his electric cars. He plans to introduce electric cars to Cuba within the next two months. “The phones are ringing with providers asking to partner with us.” SHomari Scott, Health City marketing director From left, Health City quality coordinator Vinit Raj, Ascension’s John Doyle, Premier Alden McLaughlin, Health City Head of Medical Services Dr. Chandy Abraham and marketing director Shomari Scott announce the new accreditation for the hospital. Gunmen storm AfGhAn Guesthouse hostinG pArty for foreiGners KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Gunmen stormed a guest- house in the Afghan capital as it hosted a party for for- eigners Wednesday night, with an eyewitness saying several dozen people, in- cluding Americans, likely were being held captive. Details about exactly how many people were held at Kabul’s Park Palace Hotel remained unclear into the night, as sporadic gunfire echoed around the guest- house in a central neigh- borhood, home to United Nations compounds and a foreign-run hospital. Two explosions were heard and four ambulances later ar- rived to the scene. Amin Habi, a U.S. cit- izen from Los Angeles, told The Associated Press that a party was going on at the hotel to honor a Canadian when the gunmen stormed the guesthouse. He said as many as 40 people, in- cluding foreigners and U.S. citizens, could still be inside the hotel. Amar Sinha, India’s am- bassador to Afghanistan, said he believed at least six people still held inside were Indian citizens. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account said he was “concerned about the situation (and) I pray for everyone’s safety.” Police officers ear- lier freed some 20 people trapped in the guesthouse, but others remained in- side, said Zia Massoud, an Afghan government official. He said at least one of those people was wounded. The hotel has both guest rooms for visitors and a res- idential area for those who live full time in Kabul, in- cluding foreign aid workers. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Taliban have at- tacked guesthouses before in Kabul. Earlier Wednesday, gunmen killed 12 people and wounded 12 in an at- tack on a government com- pound in the city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, authorities said.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Thursday May 14, 2015 Obama meets Saudi leaders President Barack Obama welcomed Saudi Arabian leaders to the White House for discussions on his overtures to Iran. Obama met in the Oval Office with the Saudi crown prince and deputy crown prince on Wednesday. Train was traveling 100 mph in 50-mph zone, sources say Seven dead, 200 injured in Amtrak derailment The Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia Tuesday night was traveling 100 miles an hour, twice the authorized speed as it curved around a sharp bend in the tracks, according to people close to the investigation. The accident occurred as the train made a hard left turn several miles north of the city’s 30 Street Station. Trains are allowed a max- imum speed of 50 miles an hour as they round that bend, The engineer, who was in- jured in the crash, was inter- viewed by the Philadelphia police. What he told them or other investigators was not release. The question of the train’s speed was unequivocally an- swered by a lab analysis of its data recorder on the train, which was sent to a lab for analysis. Trains are equipped with cameras and sensitive data recorders – akin to the so-called black boxes on air- craft – that measure factors such as speed. As the twisted wreckage that had been a passenger train rumbling toward New York was pored over by in- vestigators Wednesday, authorities notified fami- lies of seven people killed and tried to account for others who may have been on board. After the body of a sev- enth victim was pulled from the wreckage Wednesday, rail cars strewn helter- skelter beside the tracks in Philadelphia were being cleared by yellow front-end loaders. Though that was an indication that investi- gators were confident that no more passengers were trapped or lay dead in some parts of the crumpled after- math, firefighters continued to pick through sections of the crushed cars. Some relatives sought public help as they searched for missing passengers, and others went to hospi- tals where about 200 injured riders were taken. At least eight of them were reported in critical condition. The challenge for author- ities was in matching pas- senger records, determining whether people listed were actually on the train, and ac- counting for people who may have used 10-trip passes to board, bypassing the pas- senger manifest. “We have not completely matched the manifest from Amtrak with the patient and hospital information,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. “That is a very tedious process.” The wreck, which oc- curred about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, shut down train ser- vice along parts of the busy northeast corridor. Hundreds of would-be rail passengers rushed to airports instead. Award-winning AP video software architect Jim Gaines was among those killed. Gaines, a 48-year-old father of two who joined the news agency in 1998, had attended meetings in Washington and was returning home to Plainsboro, New Jersey. Also killed was Justin Zemser, a 20-year-old Naval Academy midshipman from New York City, according to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. Among those said to be missing is Rachel Jacobs, 39, chief execu- tive of Philadelphia-based ApprenNet, a technology firm specializing in teacher training. Officials said 243 passen- gers and five crew members were on the train when it jumped the tracks about two hours after it left D.C.’s Union Station bound for New York. The accident occurred minutes after the train de- parted Philadelphia’s 30th Street station at a place where the rail line takes a sharp left turn before starting on an unfettered open run to- ward northern New Jersey and New York. The conductor of the Amtrak train was injured, Nutter said, and was giving a statement to authorities. Train crew are required to undergo drug and alcohol testing immediately after any incident. Amtrak made several changes to its popular north- east regional train service after the derailment, in- cluding canceling service between Philadelphia and New York. Trains between Washington and Philadelphia were running on a modified schedule. Piecing together the pre- cise cause of the incident could take several months. “An absolute disastrous mess,” is how Philadelphia’s Nutter described the scene at a news conference late Tuesday. He said about 150 people “self-evacuated” from the train. The White House released a statement from President Obama on Wednesday. “Along with Americans across our country, Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the derailment aboard Amtrak Train 188,” the pres- ident said in the state- ment. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the fami- lies and friends of those we lost last night.” © 2015, The Washington Post Emergency personnel work early Wednesday at the scene of a deadly train wreck on Tuesday night. The front of the train was mangled, tearing the cars apart and killing several people. - Photo: AP UK publishes Prince Charles’s secret letters to officials LONDON (AP) — The British government has released previously secret letters written by Prince Charles to government officials – let- ters that were the subject of a lengthy legal battle that pitted Charles’s right to pri- vacy against the public’s right to know. The cache of 27 letters in- cludes letters written a de- cade ago to former Prime Minister Tony Blair and other top officials on topics that include agriculture, the status of the armed forces, badger culling, redevelop- ment in Northern Ireland and other matters. As the future king, Charles is expected to re- main neutral on political topics. The British govern- ment tried for years to keep the letters secret – fearing that publishing them might damage public perceptions of Charles’ neutrality – but eventually lost a Freedom of Information case brought by The Guardian newspaper. Charles’ press office is- sued a statement Wednesday defending the letters. “The letters published by the Government show The Prince of Wales expressing concern about issues that he has raised in public like the state of farming, the preser- vation and regeneration of historic buildings, the re-use of disused hospital build- ings, the professional devel- opment of schoolteachers, and others,” the Clarence House statement said. “In all these cases, The Prince of Wales is raising issues of public concern, and trying to find practical ways to ad- dress the issues.” Charles had earlier said he is unhappy his privacy was not protected. The government has also indicated it may tighten rules to protect future royal communications from release under the Freedom of Information rules. There were signs of ten- sion Wednesday as a se- nior press officer working for Charles tore the cover off the microphone being used by a TV reporter who asked Charles about the letters. The government was or- dered to release the letters in 2012 after losing its court case. But the attorney gen- eral vetoed the decision, ar- guing that Charles’s letters were part of his preparation to become king and should be kept private. That was upheld by one court, but then overturned in 2014 by the Court of Appeal, which decided there was no justification for overturning the earlier decision. Britain’s Supreme Court in March sup- ported that ruling, leading to Wednesday’s publication of the memos. The government was ex- pected to make some redac- tions in the memos.Next >