ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Thursday OcTOber 15, 2015 sports | page 16 cayman fOund The perfecT TOuch Touch rugby team win big U.S. tournament High of 88 Low of 78 Moderate with wave heights 3 to 5 feet. editorial | page 4 pr granTs: The number is sTill zerO HomeOptions Shop around and pay less for more insurance! $250 gift certificate can be used to purchase BritCay motor insurance Home Insurance with BritCay offers convenient, interest-free monthly payments, flexible cover, fast claims, competitive premiums and deductibles. Ask for a quote. 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 $250* CERTIFICATE WITH BUILDINGS INSURANCE *applies to new buildings policies cgigrp Gov’t accepts 19-seat voting map brenT fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Barring a major legislative revolt against Premier Alden McLaughlin’s government in the next day or so, Cayman’s 2017 general election will go forward under the principle of “one man, one vote.” Premier McLaughlin made public on Wednesday the legislative order for 19 single- member constituent districts, anticipating that debate on the motion to accept the 2015 Electoral Boundary Commission’s dis- trict maps would commence later Wednesday or on Thursday. “There are no modifications proposed by me on behalf of the government in re- spect to the report of the Electoral Boundary Commission,” Mr. McLaughlin said. Lawmakers still must formally ap- prove the commission’s report and the at- tached voting maps. The Electoral Boundary Commission’s draft proposal for the new voting maps adds one more representative seat to the Legislative Assembly, for a total of 19 legislators. The single-member constituencies pro- posal creates seven voting districts in George Town, four each in Bodden Town and West Bay, two on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and one apiece for East End and North Side. All of the new single-member constituen- cies in the larger districts of George Town, US inveStorS bUy SUnShine SUiteS James WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A private, U.S.-based investment group has bought the 132-room Sunshine Suites resort and is in the process of finalizing a deal to buy the 343-room Westin Grand Cayman resort on Seven Mile Beach. The deals for the two properties, on oppo- site sides of West Bay Road, would immediately make the anonymous investors one of the big- gest players in Cayman’s hotel industry. Morty Valldejuli, general manager of the Westin, said the takeover involves plans for renovations to guest rooms, corridors and lobby. A second phase of renovations will include upgrading the elevators, expanding the ballroom and potentially adding Port PredictionS differ dramatically James WhiTTaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Estimates of the potential economic impact of Grand Cayman’s cruise port project have varied widely during the planning phase of the project. At almost every point in the process, PwC, gov- ernment’s consultant on the project, has cautioned that an absence of data has made it difficult to make precise predictions. PwC’s conclusions, in two additions to its Outline Business Case for new piers in George Town harbor, indicate potential economic im- pacts based on numerous scenarios that vary by as much as $500 million. The differing outcomes depend largely on con- trasting assumptions where hard data is absent, PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Premier Alden McLaughlin, left, hands the legislative order authorizing the acceptance of a boundary commission report recommending 19 single-member voting districts to the Legislative Assembly’s Serjeant-at-Arms J. Kim Evans as House Speaker Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and Clerk Zena Merren-Chin look on. - Photo: brent fUller Sunshine Suites is now under new ownership. - Photo: JeWel levy2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Thursday OcTOber 15, 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. *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - THURSDAY - $8.00 * UPCOMING RUGBY MATCHES AT THE CINEMA * VISIT WWW.BIGSCREEN.KY FOR MORE INFORMATION. 18 YEARS & OVER KNOCK KNOCK (R) 1:20 I 3:40 I 7:20 I 9:40 THE MARTIAN 3D (PG13) 12:20 I 3:25 2D I 6:30 I 9:35 2D HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 3D (PG) 1:00 2D I 3:45 I 6:50 2D I 9:10 EVEREST (PG13) 4:10 I 10:00 THE WALK 3D (PG) 12:45 I 3:30 2D I 7:00 I 9:45 2D WAR ROOM (PG) 1:10 I 7:10 THE INTERN (PG13) 1:05 I 4:00 I 6:55 I 9:50 www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com Voices unite to support hospice care Voices in the Cayman Islands joined in harmony with thousands around the world on Oct. 9 and 10 to support hospice care with a special musical event. Every two years, musical events are held globally on the same day to mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, which aims to raise awareness and promote un- derstanding of the needs of people living with a life-lim- iting illness, and to raise money to support and de- velop hospice and palliative care services worldwide. This year, Cayman HospiceCare held “An Evening on Broadway” at the Prospect Playhouse. Performers performed pop- ular tunes from shows in- cluding “Chicago,” “South Pacific” and “Les Miserables.” The cast of local talent under the direction of Jackie Balls “delighted packed houses with the diverse pro- gram and the audience re- sponded in return with tre- mendous applause and standing ovations on both nights,” said Kerrie McMillan. Ms. McMillan, the opera- tions and fundraising assis- tant for Cayman HospiceCare, also led the production team for the event. “I was absolutely de- lighted with how it went,” Ms. McMillan said. “I knew with Miss Jackie’s help it would be a superb show, and it all came together. The cast was fan- tastic. They really embraced it and had so much fun.” All proceeds from the shows, which also included a raffle, will go toward en- suring that the special- ized services of Cayman HospiceCare remain avail- able at no cost to patients and families of patients. Brac to offer stop-smoking program Starting next year, Faith Hospital in Cayman Brac will be offering a seven-week smoking cessation program. Called “I Can Quit,” the program will be offered twice a year, the Public Health Department said in a press release. “Smoking remains the pri- mary cause of premature death, preventable death and preventable ill health causing pain and misery to hun- dreds and thousands of fam- ilies globally. The reality re- mains the same for us here in the Cayman islands, and this places a huge health burden on healthcare and so- cial services,” said Dr. Samuel Williams, acting medical of- ficer of health. “The best way to address this concern is by investing in and supporting those in our community to stop smoking …. That being said, I am pleased that the staff at Faith Hospital is working to trial this new approach which has had great success in Grand Cayman.” Staff at the hospital are being trained to offer the pro- gram. A similar smoking ces- sation program is in place at the Cayman Islands Hospital on Grand Cayman. To register for the program, call 244-2632. Attorney to stAnd triAl in hit-And-run cAse Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Cayman Islands at- torney whose car struck and injured two tourists will stand trial in Grand Court on charges of dan- gerous driving, leaving the scene of the accident and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm. Magistrate Philippa McFarlane on Wednesday set a Grand Court date of Oct. 30 for Simon Courtney’s next appearance. The incident that led to the charges happened a little after 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25 on West Bay Road. The court heard that Courtney lost control of his Ford Mustang Cobra when it hydroplaned and went off the road, hitting the American tourists, a hus- band and wife, who were walking on the sidewalk in front of Villas of the Galleon. Courtney is ac- cused of leaving the scene following the collision. Miss Jackie’s company dancers perform ‘Candyman.’ Juliet Fenn and Keith Carter are paired for ‘I Remember It Well’ from ‘Gigi.’ Jogger sexuAlly AssAulted in West BAy Police are hunting for a man who indecently as- saulted a female jogger in West Bay early Tuesday. The woman was on Bonneville Drive by the entrance to The Shores when a man, who was barefoot, attacked her, throwing her to the ground and assaulting her, at about 5:30 a.m. and then ran off when she screamed, according to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. “The RCIPS would like to encourage anyone out exercising early in the morning to be very vig- ilant of their surround- ings and if possible ex- ercise with another person,” Chief Inspector Brad Ebanks said in a press statement. Police have previously warned women in West Bay against exercising alone after a series of in- cidents between May and July involving a man on a bicycle who had grabbed and molested women, usually in the early hours of the morning as they were walking or run- ning. Inspector Ebanks said those cases are still under investigation. From left, Dr. Ngozi Onah-Ezema; Rose Marie Bailey, pharmacist; Dhal Seeram, pharmacist; Dana Scott, infection control officer; Therese Prehay, health promotion officer; Paula Moore-Simpson, public health nurse; Elerius Ohcon, behavioral health nurse; Dr. Samuel Williams, acting medical officer of health; Dr. Orette Thane; and Jose Salazar, registered nurse.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 Cayman Compass • Thursday OcTOber 15, 2015 Today, shares in Intertrust N.V., a leading global provider of high-value trust and corporate services, began trading on Euronext Amsterdam. This listing enables us to further build on our market-leading position and increase brand recognition among clients and business partners. It also allows for exciting new opportunities for our talented staff, both locally and globally. With our ambition to further grow Intertrust, we will continue to invest in the development of our Cayman team and further strengthen our commitment to the Cayman community. Intertrust N.V. listed on Euronext Amsterdam www.intertrustgroup.com This announcement is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities issued by Intertrust N.V. This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia), Canada, Australia or Japan and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. There is no intention to register any securities referred to herein in the United States or to make a public offering of the securities in the United States. INT_CorporateAd_10,333x15,8975-inch_D02.indd 112-10-15 17:29The 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. PR grants: The number is still zero Thursday OCTOber 15, 2015 • Cayman COmpass More than 500 people have applied for permanent residence status under the new Cayman Islands Immigra- tion Law in the past two years. This is how many people have been granted PR status under the new law: Zero. We hope the Progressives’ approach to immigration isn’t going precisely according to plan. For those who might cheer the lack of new permanent residents as an indication that the country is becoming more “Caymanian,” or at least, less “foreign,” we regret to inform you that, at last count, there are 22,618 people here in Cayman on active work permits — an increase of about 10 percent since September 2013, before the new law went into effect. We, when it comes to population figures, welcome increases across the board, in any category — Cayma- nian, non-Caymanian, residents, visitors — so long as they translate to better employment numbers, and most importantly, a higher standard of living for everyone in these islands. To put it another way, we are unabashedly pro-growth and pro-development. To those who decry the disappearance of the “Cayman of yesteryear,” lament the loss of pristine vistas and rue the hurrying-up of our country’s beloved laid- back lifestyle … we hear you. Those are all problems associated with growth and development. And who wouldn’t, in an ideal word, prefer a Cayman with secluded beaches, open roads and an easygoing business environ- ment? That, after all, is what brought many of us here in the first place, and what has encouraged many of us born here to stay. But Cayman, sadly, already has had a metastasizing growth problem — of the civil service, whose salaries, pensions and healthcare have to be paid for by somebody (meaning everyone else). There are two solutions to this problem: dramatically reduce the size, and cost, of the civil service (which we will believe when we see); or increase the stream of revenue to the public sector’s pro- verbial trough. Duty rates and fees can only be hiked so much before they begin to have a downward impact on the total amounts being collected, so the surest way to increase tax revenues, in the long term, is to increase the tax base — i.e., the number of taxpayers, that is, residents, workers and visitors — and to facilitate the conduct of business in the country. In the absence of a reduction in the size of the government payroll — and government spending on important (if not essential) services and capital projects — growth is the only way to go if we want to keep Cayman’s economy watertight. That is why we disagree fundamentally with the view, practiced if not openly preached by the Progressives, that having fewer new residents is better for Caymanians. What we find even more troubling than the recent 11 PR applications being denied by the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board is the fact that hundreds more remain stuck in the gears of the bureau- cracy and so haven’t yet been considered. In addition to the apparent lack of respect being shown by government officials for those people whose only offense is wishing to live in Cayman forever, we also observe potential fodder for challenges in court, following the scathing August ruling by Chief Justice Anthony Smellie. In his judgment, the chief justice blasted the Immi- gration Appeals Tribunal for perpetrating a “miscarriage of justice” in two instances he reviewed, and then more generally stated “immediate and obvious concerns” about the Immigration Law’s “points system” for perma- nent residence. Ironically, if the government makes an effort to alter the system in order to conform to Justice Smellie’s guidance, that may result in even further delays for the PR appli- cants, potentially generating more reason to appeal the future rejections that now seem to be predestined. Putting a draconian immigration policy in place is not the best economic strategy, but if done transparently, and in line with constitutional and international laws, it’s per- fectly fair. Cloaking policy intentions in bureaucratic red tape, on the other hand, is not. Don’t be the patsy in fantasy sports Barry ritholtz “As they say in poker, if you’ve been in the game 30 minutes and don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.” – Warren Buffett By now, you may have heard about the insider trading scandal at the two biggest fantasy sports com- panies. DraftKings employees, based on the bets they saw laid down by their clients, made a killing at competitor site FanDuel. Let’s get one thing out of the way: This isn’t insider trading, at least as it’s com- monly understood. These aren’t trades based on ma- terial nonpublic inside in- formation about publicly traded companies. These look to my eyes more akin to one bookie laying off bets on another. This black eye aside, fan- tasy sports is becoming a very big business. Family friendly Walt Disney Co. in- vested US$250 million in DraftKings earlier this year; the fantasy sports site then raised another US$300 mil- lion, led by Twenty-First Century Fox. There is now a Fantasy Sports Trade Association, and that means lobbying dollars are not very far behind. Here’s how I look at it. There are two big issues: 1) Is this gambling?, and 2) Is this a sucker’s bet? There is a technical debate about the former question; there is no debate about the latter. Let’s try to answer whether fantasy sports (pro- fessional football dominates the business) is a game of skill or chance? The answer is somewhat nuanced, as we will see below. There are some consistent winners, and that implies there is some skill involved. But there’s a counterargument, based on a simple question: “Can you lose on purpose?” If you can’t, then it’s a game of chance and not skill. Just by way of back- ground, if you thought on- line gambling was illegal in the U.S., you are correct. The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) did away with on- line poker, and other such games. But a technical loop- hole created an opening for a fantasy sports exemption. In short, the way the companies get around it is that partici- pants don’t bet on the out- comes of real games; instead, participants assemble imag- inary teams made up of real players whose actual statis- tical performance is crunched to come up with a point total. Timothy Fong, associate clinical professor at the University of California-Los Angeles Gambling Studies Program is one of America’s foremost researchers on fantasy sports. Fong scoffs at “the notion that fantasy football is a skill-based game and thus exempt from larger gambling concerns.” It’s not, he tells The Kernal, in a recent interview, where he observed: “Very simply, it’s gam- bling … It’s putting money on an event with a certain outcome in the hopes of win- ning more money. “To call it anything else is really just not accurate. That link hasn’t really been made by the players and the public – that what I’m doing is no different than playing black- jack or craps or betting on sports in Vegas casinos.” Although the legal issue about whether these games should be allowed to exist was settled by statute, per- haps the better question is, Should you bother playing? The simple reality is that for the vast majority of par- ticipants, it’s a losing deal. But that doesn’t mean ev- eryone loses. There is a small dedicated group of players who consistently win: An analysis by Rotogrinders – which bills itself as “The Daily Fantasy Authority” – conducted for Bloomberg Businessweek “shows that the top 100 ranked players enter 330 winning lineups per day, and the top 10 players combine to win an average of 873 times daily. The re- maining field of approxi- mately 20,000 players tracked by Rotogrinders wins just 13 times per day, on average.” In other words, 99 per- cent of the participants in fantasy sports are the patsy at the table. In some ways, most players aren’t all that dif- ferent from amateur stock- market traders. Almost all of them get their clocks cleaned by the professionals. Between the high-frequency outfits and better capitalized and more knowledgeable traders, virtually all the rookies get walloped. But here’s why people keep trying: A minus- cule percentage manage to go on to have terrific, lucrative trading careers. If you are interested in wagering on fantasy sports, I have one piece of advice for you: Don’t kid yourself about who you probably are. Barry Ritholtz, a Bloomberg View columnist, is the founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management. He is a consultant at and former chief executive officer for FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. © 2015, Bloomberg View In some ways, most players aren’t all that different from amateur stock-market traders. Almost all of them get their clocks cleaned by the professionals. In this Sept. 29 photo, Jason Robins, center, CEO of DraftKings fantasy sports website, speaks on a panel at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. His company’s rising visibility is spawning debate about the definition of gambling and whether all sports betting should be legalized. - Photo: AP 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 OcTOber 15, 2015 Protesters demand lower gas prices, present petition KELSEY JUKAM kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com The government will soon introduce legislation to ad- dress complaints about high gas prices, Premier Alden McLaughlin told demonstra- tors outside the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Around 30 demonstrators marched from the former government administration building, the Glass House, to the Legislative Assembly to present a petition demanding that government take action to lower gas prices. Event or- ganizer George R. Ebanks said about 14,000 people had signed the petition by Wednesday morning. Shamika Bartley said she helped get signatures for the petition and joined the march because she is frustrated that gas prices seem so much higher in the Cayman Islands than elsewhere. She said she spends more than $100 a week on gas. “I’m out here because Cayman really needs a change,” Ms. Bartley said. “I’m a mother of five and it’s really difficult having to pay these high gas prices and know that we still have to feed our kids at the end of the day.” Ms. Bartley and other demonstrators said they were surprised that more people did not show up for the march. “We’re paying too much for fuel and it affects us all,” Kenneth Ebanks said. “More people should have been out here, but those who are here stand for the majority.” According to George Ebanks, wet weather kept many people from coming out to the demonstration, but he was happy to have the op- portunity to present people’s grievances and support the government’s plans to ad- dress the issue. Premier McLaughlin told the demonstrators outside the Legislative Assembly, “We know you are concerned, we are happy for your support, and the government shares your concerns about fuel prices in Cayman.” He told them that as early as Thursday morning the government would be introducing legislation to make amendments to the Dangerous Substances Law that would force companies to disclose to the government what they pay for fuel so that government can know what profits the companies are making on the sale of fuel. “Based on the findings from that, we will consider what other steps we have to take,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “As we’ve said before, if it does require us to in- troduce price controls with respect to fuel, that’s not something that we’re going to shrink from.” He said the next step would be the introduction of a Public Utilities Commission so that government would have a means of dealing with the price setting, should that be required. Minister for Infrastructure Kurt Tibbetts, who also spoke to demonstrators, said the commission would be opera- tional “by the first quarter of next year.” Questions about whether there would be any relief at the gas pump in the short term were not directly an- swered, but Mr. Ebanks discerned from what Mr. Tibbetts said “it might take some time” to see change. However, he was optimistic. “Once we get the cost prices, I think that will be enough to embarrass the importers into acting in a very reasonable way,” Mr. Ebanks said. Despite a lower turnout than he had hoped for, Mr. Ebanks thought the demon- stration went well and said the government’s proposals were a good first step toward lowering gas prices. “We’re trying to awaken the minds of the Caymanian people to show them that people’s power does exist and this is an idea that could de- velop into a template … and we can use it to address other social ills which plague us as a society,” Mr. Ebanks said. “There’s strength in numbers, and this idea was to really get people to re- alize that if we come together and stand up against injus- tice, we can have a positive effect together.” Petition leads to Mortgage Law proposal BrEnt FULLEr bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A public push to lobby banks for leniency on home mortgages has led to a leg- islative effort to change Cayman’s lending rules. North Side MLA Ezzard Miller said Wednesday that he would bring a pri- vate members’ motion in the current meeting of the Legislative Assembly seeking to create a Mortgage Law that would regulate a number of issues related to home loans in Cayman. Andrea Martinez- Calderon, chairwoman of the group Caymanians Against Economic Injustice, on Wednesday presented her or- ganization’s petition to Mr. Miller, who said he planned to use that document while debating his motion on the proposed Mortgage Law. The group’s petition has seven signatures, far fewer than re- quired to force a referendum. Ms. Martinez-Calderon said her organization had been trying since last year to raise awareness about a number of home loans going into default that involved in- stances where foreclosures occurred after 90 days of payments in arrears. In addition, she said a number of homeowners lost equity in those properties when the banks seized them and sold them at well below market value. Ms. Martinez- Calderon is among those whose home has lost hun- dreds of thousands of dollars in equity since 2012. “The issue is that once un- fortunate circumstances hit you, they don’t know you, de- spite all your good payments in the past,” Ms. Martinez- Calderon said. “It’s hor- rible to lose your home that you’ve been paying into for 13, 15 years.” Government records revealed a sharp spike in home and busi- ness loan foreclosures in 2013 and again this year. Since January, banks have issued demand notices on 39 local properties that hold a total of $8.45 million in loans. At the time the notices were issued, nearly $840,000 in loan payments were in ar- rears for more than 90 days. The government reported 17 home and business fore- closures in the first three months of this year, a signifi- cant increase over 2014. Since 2008, the territory has recorded 192 completed foreclosures – properties that were foreclosed on and later sold. Another 180 “histor- ical” foreclosure cases involve Cayman properties that have not been sold. Mr. Miller’s private mem- bers’ motion, which is ad- visery to the government and not legally binding, seeks to set specific rules regarding how long a lending institu- tion must wait before fore- closing on a property that is in arrears. Current regula- tions state that foreclosure proceedings may be under- taken 90 days after a home or business loan is not paid. In addition, Mr. Miller said he envisions legisla- tion that would help protect the equity of homeowners, in particular. He lamented var- ious situations where higher- value homes have been seized during foreclosures and then sold at $200,000 or $300,000 less than the original pur- chase price. “These homes must be sold at proper market value,” he said. The ruling Progressives-led government has not commented on Mr. Miller’s motion, but two gov- ernment ministers have indi- cated they are investigating the mortgage arrears issue. Finance Minister Marco Archer said earlier this year that the number one reason given by families who lost their homes in foreclo- sure was the breakup of the family unit, generally through divorce. The second most common cause was loss of employment. Mr. Archer and Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton have embarked on a series of public informational meetings in recent months aimed at assisting residents with financial planning. Mr. Panton said he believes local banks will work with local homeowners if they truly fall on hard times and are other- wise acting in a fiscally re- sponsible manner. Demonstrators march from the Glass House to the Legislative Assembly Wednesday morning to protest high gas prices. - Photos: Kelsey JuKam Protest organizer George R. Ebanks, right, presents a petition against high gas prices to Premier Alden McLaughlin. North Side MLA Ezzard Miller accepts a petition from Andrea Martinez- Calderon, chairwoman of Caymanians Against Economic Injustice, asking government to change the rules regarding home and business loans. - Photo: BReNt FulleR “We’re tr ying to awaken the minds of the Caymanian people to show them that people’s power does exist and this is an idea that could develop into a template … ” GeorGe r. ebanksThe 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 OcTOber 15, 2015 • Cayman Compass THURSDAY, OCT. 15 OLDER PERSONS MONTH: 5-8 p.m. Seniors will be special guests at the opening of a National Museum exhibition, “60+ and Shining.” FRIDAY, OCT. 16 TiDaL SHifT ExHibiTiON: Late night at the National Gallery brought to you by the NGCI Young Patron’s Circle. 5–10 p.m. Featuring “Salty Kisses,” written and performed by Elina Zavala in collaboration with DJs Marcelle da Funky Marsupial and John Smrekar at 8 p.m. Free admission, live entertainment, canapes and more. Visit nationalgallery. org.ky/exhibitions for more information. SATURDAY, OCT. 17 baTS aND bONfiRE: Celebrate Cayman’s native bats with the National Trust. Participants can use echo locators to hear the inaudible signals bats use to locate their prey and get up close to the nocturnal animals as they fly out of a bat house. Afterward, roast marshmallows over the campfire to the accompaniment of live drum music. Singing, dancing and storytelling are welcome. Prospect Youth Centre, Old Prospect Road, 5:30 p.m. $10 per person, kids 7 and under are free. Registration is required and space is limited. Contact education@ nationaltrust.org.ky for more information. GaRaGE SaLE: St. Alban’s Church, 461 Shedden Road. From 7 a.m. Children’s, women’s and men’s clothes, household items, books, toys and more. Phone 949-2757. CULL LiONfiSH TOURNaMENT: The Cayman United Lionfish League (CULL) is calling all cullers. Help solve the lionfish invasion and win cash prizes for most lionfish, biggest lionfish, most overall weight and smallest lionfish. Great Lionfish Cook-off hosted by KARoo. Afterward, at 7 p.m., tournament winners will be announced. Registration Thursday at KARoo. For more information, contact Mark Orr at mark.orr@gov.ky. SUNDAY, OCT. 18 Sky WaTCH: Cayman Islands Astronomical Society meeting. Pedro’s Castle, 7:30 p.m. All are welcome and no charge for visitors and first timers. Please park outside and walk in. In the event of more than 50 percent cloudy cover, the meeting will be canceled. For more information, call Chris on 925-7657. MONDAY, OCT. 19 SiLENT WiTNESS MaRCH: Business and Professional Women’s Club Grand Cayman hosts the 15th annual Silent Witness March, 5:30 p.m., to remember and honor those who have suffered as a result of domestic violence and bullying. Start at the Government Administration Building, along Elgin Avenue toward town, proceed to Edward Street and finish at Celebration Park behind the courthouse. A short ceremony will follow. TUESDAY, OCT. 20 GEORGE TOWN REViTaLiZaTiON: George Town Revitalization Plan public meeting, 5:30-8:30 p.m. George Town Town Hall. The evening will include presentations from the consultants and government representatives spearheading the project, and time for questions. Refreshments will be provided. OLDER PERSONS MONTH: Eastern District Day takes place at the Bodden Town Civic Centre 5:30-8:30 p.m. bOOk SiGNiNG: 6 p.m. at Books & Books. Ellen Kanner will sign her book, “Feeding the Hungry Ghost.” This free event includes a presentation and group discussion. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21 SMaLL bUSiNESS WORkSHOP: “Strategies for Effective Debt Collection” for micro-, small- and medium- sized enterprises. The one- hour free workshop will be presented by attorney Kerrie Cox, an associate with Diamond Law Attorneys. 5:30 p.m. Seating is limited to the first 20 people. Chamber of Commerce conference room, Governors Square. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky or call 743-9123. fLOETRy: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Books & Books. Join some of Cayman’s poets and performers who share their work during an open mic night of poetry and readings. Share your own work, gain creative inspiration or simply enjoy the show. Free and open to the public. THURSDAY, OCT. 22 bRaC COURT: Aston Rutty Center today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. POP CONCERT: Triple C School Music Department presents a pop Concert featuring Erica Assai and Yung Fusion. The public is invited. Triple C School Multipurpose Hall, 6:30 p.m. Free admission. Refreshments on sale. For more information, contact the school office, 949-6022. biNGO & MiNGLE: At Craft F&B. Tickets $15 each. Includes welcome drink and complimentary raffle ticket. Tickets available at Craft or through BPW members. Adults only. Bingo cards sold separately, $5 per card, 5-pack for $20, 15-pack $50. Prizes from Cayman’s best restaurants, hotels and more. For more information, email info@ bpwgcm.org. FRIDAY, OCT. 23 OCTObER ODySSEy: Festival of music, dance, poetry readings and more to raise funds for Nurse Leila’s House, presented by the National Trust West Bay District Committee. Doors open at 6 p.m., show starts 7 p.m. Performers include Rico Rolando, Nasaria Suckoo Chollette, Curtis Barnett, Anika Conolly, Rupert Ackermon and Xhalecia Grayson as they tell Nurse Leila Yates’s life story through contemporary song and poetry. Adults $25, children 17 and under $15. For more information, email marketing@nationaltrust. org.ky/amcoe@candw.ky or call 749-1121/925-2482. SATURDAY, OCT. 24 fiLiPiNO CELEbRaTiON: Cayman Outreach Association dinner concert. Triple C School Auditorium, 7:15 p.m. Admission $15. For details, call Raphael Bodden at 925-7798. fUN RUN: Save Our Youth Monster Dash 5K. 7 a.m. Camana Bay Town Center. For more details and registration costs, visit www.soyfoundation.com. fUNDRaiSER bbQ: St. Ignatius Church’s Confirmation Group Fundraiser. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. School Canteen. Tickets $10. Phone 949-6797 for information. NCVO RaDiO/TELETHON: Fundraiser for National Council of Voluntary Organisations, 7 p.m. till midnight at Prospect Playhouse. Live entertainment. Come by or call in to make a donation. To donate prior to the event, contact Janice Wilson at ncvo@ncvo.org.ky or 949-2124. bRaC fESTiVaL: Miss Cayman Brac Festival Queen, 7 p.m., Aston Rutty Civic Centre. Contact bracpiratesweek@gmail.com. SUNDAY, OCT. 25 OLDER PERSONS MONTH: On Little Cayman, a church service and luncheon takes place at the Little Cayman Baptist Church at 11 a.m. MONDAY, OCT. 26 MiD-TERM RUGby CaMP: Hosted by Cayman Rugby Football Union, for children ages 8-16, Oct. 26-Oct 30, 8 a.m. to noon, $125 per child for the week. Coaching by members of the Cayman national rugby team. Skills, strength and conditioning, and games. Contact Edward Westin at 927-1337 or cme_westin@hotmail.com. TUESDAY, OCT. 27 bRaC SENiORS: An island tour takes place 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28 bRaC SENiORS: Celebrating Older Persons Month, a social for Brac seniors will be at the Aston Rutty Civic Center 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. THURSDAY, OCT. 29 UCCi COMMENCEMENT CEREMONy: Commencement speaker will be Dr. Greg Weisenstein, president of West Chester University. bRaC THaTCH PLaiTiNG: 7-9 p.m., Heritage House. Cost $5. Contact simones@candw.ky. OLDER PERSONS MONTH: The Seniors Bash takes place at the Westin Casuarina Resort 6:30-10 p.m. FRIDAY, OCT. 30 OLDER PERSONS MONTH: Cayman National Cultural Foundation invites seniors to a special performance 8 p.m. at the Harquail Theatre. Limited spaces available. For more information, contact 949-0290. SATURDAY, OCT. 31 RUN2ZERO 5 & 10k: Cayman AIDS Foundation walk/ run, Holiday Inn Resort, SafeHaven. Registration $30. Free breakfast and post-run prizes. Group rates available of $25.00 per adults and $10.00 per child if submitted by Oct. 15. Register online at www.cayamanactive.com/ run2zero. GENERAL INTEREST bUSiNESS LiCENSiNG: The Department of Commerce and Investment has extended its Business Licensing Counter hours in Grand Cayman from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays to Fridays, for people to submit trade and business, liquor, tobacco, and Special Economic Zone license applications. SPECiaL OLyMPiCS: Volunteers are needed. Tuesdays at the Truman Bodden Complex at 5:30 p.m. for Track/Field, football and bocce. No experience necessary, just a smile and patience. Wednesdays at Lions Pool 10:15–11 a.m. You do not have to swim, just be able to walk in water chest-deep. Thursdays at First Baptist Church for basketball, 5:30–7 p.m. Saturdays, volunteers needed for Adult Special Olympic swim conditioning at CIS pool 9:30–10:30 a.m. Deck support and in-water swimming assistance needed. For more information, contact Penny McDowall 516-2578 or pjmcdowall@gmail.com. LOST DOGS: The Department of Agriculture and veterinary students of St. Matthew’s University provide an online list of dogs housed at the Department of Agriculture Animal Rescue Shelter in Lower Valley. Anyone missing a dog can check www.smustudents.webs.com. 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, Thursday 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. RED CROSS THRifT SHOP: Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5–7 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Red Cross headquarters on Thomas Russell Way. Book bargain every Thursday and Friday, a bagful for $5. 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 and times are listed under Events, for volunteers to check and sign up. NCVO VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Volunteers needed for the National Council of Voluntary Organisations Children Services programs. Contact Alta Solomon at 949-2124 or ncvocoordinator@ncvo.org.ky. bETHESDa COUNSELLiNG CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 68 Mary St. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Center is owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. PERiPHERaL SPaCES: Tuesday to Saturday. Noon to 8 p.m. (closed by 3 p.m. on Saturdays). Market Street across from Bay Market. Pop up working studio/art gallery with local artists’ works displayed for sale. Art classes Tuesday and Thursday, 6-8 p.m., plus other special events. For more information, email marymccallum@candw.ky. aRTiSaNS MaRkET: Camana Bay Artisans Market every Wednesday. Visual Arts Society artists display arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand- crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale between noon and 8 p.m. near KARoo restaurant. For more information on displaying your work, email info@visualartcayman.com. 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. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.compasscayman. com/caycompass/portal/ community-calendar.7 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Thursday OcTOber 15, 2015 healthcareconference.ky | /CaymanHealthcareConference It’s open to all and free to attend. CME Certificates will be available. Caring People. Quality Service. HEALTH SERVICES AUTHORITY CA YMA N ISLANDS Allied Health | Alternative Therapies | Mental Health Cancer | Cardiovascular Care | End of Life Decisions Palliative Care | Planning Healthy Communities MINISTRY OF HEALTH & CULTURE Embracing Emerging Trends The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman 29th – 31st October 2015 Embracing Emerging Trends The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman 29th – 31st October 2015 Embracing Emerging Trends Adrian Legaspi, MD, FACS Medical Director, Advanced Surgical Oncology Network, Tenet Marc Lockhart, MD Chair of the Cayman Islands Mental Health Commission Robert Piotrowski, MD and team Cardiologist, The Heart Health Centre Dr Amanda C de C Williams Reader in Clinical Health Psychology, University College London James (Jim) Cleary, MD, FAChPM Physician, Palliative Care Program, UW Health Here is a selection of our local and international speakers: Bleaching hits Cayman corals Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Coral bleaching around Grand Cayman has become so dramatic that last week the police helicopter crew called the Department of Environment, concerned about what was going on in the water just off South Sound. The world is in the midst of its third global bleaching event. Caused by warm wa- ters from El Nino in the Pacific, corals are bleaching from Hawaii to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and across the Caribbean. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts warm waters will impact 38 percent of the world’s corals this year. The Cayman Islands Department of Environment is monitoring corals around the islands and watching water temperatures, hoping for stormy skies and cool water temperatures to take pressure off the reefs. “It’s been a gradual event this year rather than a sudden thing like the 1998 event,” said Tim Austin, deputy director of the Department of Environment. With El Nino in the Pacific, Mr. Austin said, “We knew it was likely.” Shallow corals that get a lot of sunlight are at the greatest risk, he said. “The west side is looking pretty rough,” he noted, and DOE teams have seen some bad spots off of East End. Lois Hatcher, with Ocean Frontiers, said she saw the bleaching begin in August. But, she noted, “It’s re- ally accelerated in the past couple of weeks.” Ms. Hatcher, also one of the lead organizers for the Cayman Magic Reef Recovery group, said the coral re- covered in the restoration project off George Town has been bleaching at about the same rate as other coral in the area. Bleaching happens when the waters warm to over 87.5 degrees for extended periods and the algae that was living in the coral leaves. Corals de- pend on the algae for food; without it, the corals bleach and can die if their main food source is gone for too long. Corals can recover from bleaching, but even if they do, research shows that they are much more susceptible to other pressures, such as dredging or disease. Scientists and environ- mental officials measure heat stress on corals in what are called “degree heating weeks.” For every degree above 87.5 degrees Fahrenheit for a week, that is one degree heating week, Mr. Austin explained. If the water temperature is 89.5 degrees for a week, 2 degrees above the threshold, that is two degree heating weeks. If the temperature is 88.5 de- grees for three weeks, that is three degree heating weeks. The threshold is eight de- gree heating weeks before coral death becomes likely. Anywhere above four de- gree heating weeks makes bleaching likely. According to NOAA data, the Cayman Islands are hov- ering right around eight de- gree heating weeks, but water temperatures are starting to come down. “The coral bleaching and disease, brought on by cli- mate change and coupled with events like the current El Nino, are the largest and most pervasive threats to coral reefs around the world,” Mark Eakin of NOAA said in a press statement last week. Mr. Austin said bleaching issues are getting worse over time. “This will happen more and more every year,” he said. “Corals in better health will recover better,” Mr. Austin said. He explained that reefs in protected areas and without overfishing are less likely to experience bleaching and recover better if they do. NOAA reports that the global bleaching could reach into 2016, which could re- sult in serious coral die-offs around the world. Caused by warm waters from El Nino in the Pacific, corals are bleaching from Hawaii to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and across the Caribbean. Before and after photos of coral bleaching off North Side at a Department of Environment monitoring site.- Photos courtesy of the DePartment of environmentThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Thursday OcTOber 15, 2015 • Cayman Compass Bodden Town and West Bay will maintain approx- imately the same number of voters – roughly 1,000 to 1,100 each. The Sister Islands’ two voting dis- tricts, as well as East End and North Side, will main- tain between 500 and 600 voters in each. The change will take away the current ability of voters in larger mul- timember voting dis- tricts to elect more than one representative to the Legislative Assembly. Government’s accep- tance of the commission’s report marks the final step in a process that began as a grass-roots voter-initiated petition for one man, one vote in 2011, and which led to a failed referendum on the issue in July 2012. New ‘districts’ The biggest change the 2015 boundary commis- sion made, compared to the single-member constit- uencies proposal released in 2010, is in George Town, which will be divided into seven constituencies, from George Town North in the northwest to Prospect in the east. One new constit- uency, George Town East, has been added. Bodden Town dis- trict will be divided into four constituencies, from Savannah in the farthest west to Bodden Town East at the district’s eastern end. West Bay district was redrawn from the 2010 proposal but still maintains four voting constituencies. Cayman Brac will be divided between Cayman Brac West and Cayman Brac East. East End and North Side districts were left untouched by the re- districting proposal. new rooms. Sunshine Suites will be renovated at a later stage, said Mr. Valldejuli, who is also area managing director for Boston-based Pyramid Hotel Group, which runs the Westin and has now been retained to oversee Sunshine Suites. He said Greg Wray would remain as general manager of Sunshine Suites, and Pyramid would work with his “stellar team” to ensure minimal disruption after the sale. He said the investors wish to remain anonymous. “The new owners are thrilled to have an opportu- nity to continue the success of Sunshine Suites and will work with existing property leadership to do so,” he said. “The Cayman Islands have proven to be a resil- ient tourism destination and will continue with ad- ditional government invest- ment in airport infrastruc- ture and private investment island-wide.” He said due diligence is still going on before the Westin sale is finalized. The two takeover deals are the latest in a series of changes or planned changes of ownership of hotels on Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach strip. Treasure Island has been on and off the market, with a mooted takeover involving a Canadian company still being finalized. The Marriott went on the market earlier this year and a sale is un- derstood to be in the pro- cess of being finalized. principally around the im- pact of the loss of George Town reefs on scuba divers’ spending, but also in other key areas, including the likely impact of the port on passenger numbers. The addition of new data, updating figures on cruise passenger spending in Cayman, also impacted PwC’s analysis. The original draft Outline Business Case, published in 2013 at the outset of the process, forecast an eco- nomic gain for the country of around $250 million over 20 years, based on an assump- tion that new piers would lead to a 1 percent annual in- crease in passengers, while continuing to use tenders would lead to a 1 percent an- nual decrease in passengers. That could rise to more than $1 billion, it said, if the piers brought a 3 percent in- crease in passenger volume. That report said the as- sumptions were based on in- formation gleaned from the cruise industry and general trends elsewhere. Future analyses by PwC built on the more conser- vative assumption of 1 per- cent growth, with the con- sultants noting “The poor quality of the data currently available means that this up- side scenario should not be relied upon for the overall assessment of the costs and benefits of the Cruise Berthing Facility.” Following the environ- mental impact assessment’s analysis of the economic im- pact associated with the loss of George Town reefs, PwC was asked to crunch the numbers again. The EIA estimated signifi- cant losses in direct spending to water sports businesses in the harbor as a result of the loss of the reefs. PwC, in its analysis of that estimate, questioned the basis for that prediction, par- ticularly the EIA’s assump- tion that nearly 50 percent of all diving in Cayman takes place in George Town. If that were true, and the divers who used the harbor reefs stopped coming to Cayman – a worst case sce- nario envisaged in one of PwC’s statistical models – the downside of building the port would outweigh the benefits. The report also puts for- ward an alternative sce- nario where the economic impact of losing the reefs is almost nothing if the divers who use George Town harbor simply choose to dive else- where on island. It states, “Essentially, the level of impact is driven by the number of visitors to the Cayman Islands who partici- pate in ‘diving’ and their be- haviour in response to any damage to the reefs in George Town harbor,” ■■ The report says there are several unanswered questions, including: How many visitors to George Town harbor par- ticipate in “diving?” ■■ Will they choose to “dive” elsewhere in Grand Cayman? ■■ Will they engage in other activities, such as shopping, which will partly compensate for lost spend on diving? ■■ Or will they choose not to come to the Cayman Islands (in the case of overnight air visitors) or choose not to dis- embark from the cruise ship (in the case of cruise passengers)? At that point, depending on how those questions were answered, PwC put the eco- nomic impact of the project at anywhere from a $72 million loss to a $213 million gain to the economy over 20 years. In its July analysis, PwC noted, it would “be valuable to develop a more detailed understanding of the scale of the impacts put at risk by the Cruse Berthing Facility and the anticipated behavior of ‘divers’ in response to loss of parts of the George Town harbor reefs. This could be conducted through a detailed survey of tourists, com- bined with questionnaires/ interviews with dive, water sports and other leisure industry operators.” It is not clear whether any such survey was commis- sioned. However, PwC was asked to factor in another re- port, produced by Business Research & Economic Associates, updating data on passenger spending. The report shows a higher passenger spend than origi- nally predicted in PwC’s first outline business case, causing PwC to scale up its predic- tion for the impact of the pier to $112 million to $439 mil- lion. If, as the BREA report suggests, passenger spending increases further with more time on shore, the impacts could be higher, PwC notes. For example, it says, a 15 percent increase in pas- senger spend would increase the total economic impact to about $749 million. Government will now at- tempt to negotiate with cruise lines to come up with a funding model for con- structing the piers. The orig- inal Outline Business Case suggested government should partner with the cruise lines to build the piers, paying off the cost through a mix of fees that currently go to tender operators and a share of the per-passenger head tax that currently goes to government. “The Ministry of Tourism is engaging in discussions with cruise lines to arrive at a funding model that will de- liver the best possible out- come for the country while ensuring that the berthing facility is owned by the people of the Cayman Islands in 20 years,” the ministry said in a statement. “The installation of the proposed cruise piers will finally and effectively bring the Cayman Islands on par with the expected norms of modern cruising and will allow us to pro- vide a safer, standardized and more enjoyable experi- ence to the passengers who visit our shores.” www.CaymanLuxuryProperty.com | 945.6000 | 7 Mile Beach & Cayman Kai Offices | Buying & Selling Real Estate, Contact Us. Personalised, not franchised. M ember of CIREBA Port predictions differ dramatically The government proposes to build a cruise ship berthing dock in George Town harbor. Gov’t accepts 19-seat voting map US investors buy Sunshine Suites CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Czech political rivals make huge bet Miroslav Kalousek, former finance minister, bet US$421,000 that current Finance Minister Andrej Babis’s allegation that he was investigated by police over his 2008 decision to allow betting on the Internet was not true. Cayman Compass • Thursday OcTOber 15, 2015 We Miss And Love You Belinda Thompson-Lamont 13 Aug 1981 – 15 Oct 2014 One year Memorial No one knows how much we miss you, No one knows the bitter pain, we suffered since we lost you, life has never been the same. In our hearts your memory lingers, sweetly tender, fond and true. There is not a day that we do not think of you. You're not forgotten, nor ever shall you be As long as life and memory last, we will remember you. No one knows the silent heartaches, Only those who have lost can tell of the grief that's borne in silence. Missed by your family Devonte, Demitri, Honesty, Garnet Thompson, Clive “Chris Scatta” Lamont, Natasha & Errolyn Thompson, George Rivers, Sasha, Makayla, Jarvis, Jared, Ethan, Ashley EU lashes members for falling short on refugee pledges BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union lashed out at member countries for failing to come up with funds and experts they promised to help cope with the refugee emergency, with the crisis set to take center stage at Thursday’s summit of EU leaders. The European Commission complained Wednesday that only three of 28 nations have pledged a total of just 12 million euros (US$13.7 million) to a fund to help African nations better manage their borders. The pot is meant to total 1.8 billion euros (about US$2 billion) over two years. The EU’s border agency and asylum office have ap- pealed for a total of around 1,000 officers to help fin- gerprint people and decide whether they are eligible for asylum. So far, about a dozen of the 28 EU nations have of- fered around 130 personnel. “Words need to be matched with action,” European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told reporters, in a message timed to reach the heads of state and gov- ernment ahead of the summit in Brussels. More than 500,000 people fleeing war or poverty have entered Europe this year, most of them via Greece and Italy, overwhelming border authorities and re- ception facilities. Under the media spotlight, EU leaders pledged last month to pro- vide hundreds of millions of euros in aid for Syrian refugees and to tackle the problem at its roots, in Africa and Turkey. In an effort to spur countries into action, the European Commission last month also sent 40 warning letters to mem- bers over their failure to properly implement EU asylum laws and proce- dures. None have replied. At their summit – the fourth this year focused on the migration challenge – the leaders will debate ways to strengthen Europe’s bor- ders to the outside world, including a possible EU border guard. They will discuss whether to abandon the rules that require people to apply for asylum in the first EU country of arrival – a system that is a cornerstone of EU policy but which has virtually collapsed under migrant pressures this year. The leaders will also ex- amine Turkey’s request for a safe zone in northern Syria, from where most mi- grants are leaving. Almost 2 million Syrian refugees are living in Turkey, and hundreds of thousands have already left there this year to cross into Greece. While the EU desperately needs Ankara’s coopera- tion to ease the migrant flow, there is very little that Europe can do in Syria itself. “Creating a solution which is direly needed for Syria will happen at the U.N. level, in the Security Council, or it will probably not happen,” Timmermans said. The summit chairman, EU Council President Donald Tusk, warned the leaders not to be lulled into thinking the migrant challenge will ease as winter approaches. “We must be ready for spring and the threat of bigger waves flowing into Europe,” he wrote in his in- vitation letter to the leaders. “We must ask ourselves if the decisions we have taken so far, and the ones we are going to take on Thursday, are sufficient.” The European Commission complained Wednesday that only three of 28 nations have pledged a total of just 12 million euros (US$13.7 million) to a fund to help African nations better manage their borders. European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday called on EU nations to deliver on their pledges to step up funding and provide resources to help manage Europe’s refugee emergency. - Photo: AP LISA LERER LAS VEGAS (AP) – Forceful and confident in her first 2016 debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton may have heartened jittery Democrats who have spent the summer worrying that her mishandling of the email controversy demon- strates fundamental prob- lems with her campaign and political skills. And her strong perfor- mance Tuesday night just might be enough to spark second thoughts among one of her biggest potential threats: Vice President Joe Biden, who continued delib- erating whether to enter the race as he watched the de- bate at his home at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Perhaps conscious of the threat Biden could pose, Clinton sought to de- fuse questions about her re- cord by portraying herself as President Barack Obama’s natural successor, the person he turned to when looking for his first secretary of state. When asked how she’d differ from Obama, Clinton noted she would be the first woman president if elected. Much of the forum amounted to a referendum on Clinton’s near-quarter- century in politics: her Senate vote for the Iraq war, shifts to the left on issues like trade, the private email server she used while secre- tary of state and her foreign policy judgment. She vigor- ously defended herself while asserting that everyone on stage had “changed a posi- tion or two” during their po- litical careers. One of the most notable moments came when Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her most formidable oppo- nent, rose to her defense on her much-criticized use of a private email server as secre- tary of state. “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails,” said Sanders. “Enough of emails.” “Thank you Bernie,” said Clinton, as the two shook hands – a moment that im- mediately ricocheted across the Internet. But Sanders’ kind re- marks did not buy him a pass from Clinton, who en- tered the debate ready to undercut his message. When Sanders said the U.S. should look to coun- tries like Denmark, Sweden and Norway on the economy, Clinton bitingly replied that America was different. “We are not Denmark. I love Denmark, but we are the United States of America,” Clinton said. A veteran of 25 presi- dential debates in the 2008 race, Clinton cut a practiced figure on the stage, seeking to create the kinds of mem- orable moments that can set electoral narratives. Analysis: Clinton’s strong debate may comfort supporters Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Rodham Clinton during the CNN Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday. - Photo: APNext >