ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – Monday october 26, 2015 High of 89 Low of 80 Slight to moderate with wave heights 2 to 4 feet. Worst Week Rep. Paul Ryan 3 Politics How Biden decided not to run 4 Science Helping coral reefs evolve 17 5 Myths Weight loss 23 The epic quest for a ‘female Viagra’ and why it is far from over. PAGE 12 ABCDE NATIONAL WEEKLY The pink pill is here. Who wants it? THE WEEK OF SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2015. IN COLLABORATION WITH THE WASHINGTON POST The pink pill is here. Who wants it? Editorial | pagE 4 Fingerprinting and ‘Fine print’: $663k wasted SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA Ministry pursuing millions in garbage fees brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Millions of dollars in previously owed gov- ernment fees for trash collection were not ac- counted for in financial statements that were eventually disclaimed upon review by the au- ditor general’s office, a report from the former Ministry of District Administration indicates. According to the report, which covers the 2012/13 government financial year, money due for the garbage fees was not included, resulting in an $8.2 million difference on the government’s books. “A significant portion of the garbage fees receivable balance dates back to 2004/05,” the ministry statements noted. “The ministry con- tinues to pursue these sums, albeit with min- imal success.” A disclaimer of opinion by auditors, as was given to the former Ministry of District Administration in 2013, indicates that the entity’s financial statements did not contain enough information for a proper audit to be conducted, essentially providing no outside assurance that the financial statements could be relied upon. Revelations regarding the government’s unpaid trash fees, dating back a decade, were first revealed by the Cayman Compass in early 2013. A report from February 2013 noted that more than two years after the Cayman Islands government stopped requiring the collection of garbage fees from local home- owners, the government admitted that some $1.76 million in unpaid garbage fees was still owed by various ratepayers. The $1.76 million was owed in 689 “debts,” according to records obtained by a Compass reader under the Freedom of Information Law, 2007. The outstanding fees work out to an av- erage of more than $2,500 per debt. Consultants defend Controversial sChool design JaMes whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The consultants behind the controversial layout of Grand Cayman’s Clifton Hunter High School have defended the futuristic design of the $110 million facility. An inspection report criticized the “open plan” layout of the school, saying it was creating noise pollution and limiting teaching styles. Now, two consultants who worked on the design say it was effectively set up to fail. Stephen Heppell, one of the key proponents of the new school design, said the original de- sign was supposed to be accompanied by a fundamental shift in teaching style. He said political changes meant teachers did not get the support and training they needed to use the space effectively. He took issue with the term “open plan” and said similar school designs featuring “modern agile spaces” in place of traditional class- rooms had been extremely effective elsewhere. “By not using the Clifton Hunter school buildings to their potential, children have in- evitably not shown the kind of dramatic gains that should and would have occurred if the buildings had been used the way they were designed.” Prakash Nair, president of Fielding Nair International, which was also involved in the design concept, said the building’s design could only work “within the context of a com- prehensive transformation of the entire educa- tional system in the Cayman Islands.” He added, “It is hardly surprising that the design as built failed to deliver as promised PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » Football legend Dan Marino inspires with insights on leadership kelsey JukaM kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com Lead by example and success will follow, says American football legend Dan Marino, who shared his insights about leadership to about 150 people at an event at The Ritz- Carlton, Grand Cayman on Friday. “If you have credibility and lead by ex- ample, the majority of people will follow you,” Mr. Marino said. Few are as qualified to talk about suc- cess and leadership as the famous former Miami Dolphins quarterback, whose record speaks for itself. During his nearly two de- cade-career in the NFL, Mr. Marino com- pleted 4,697 passes and covered 61,361 passing yards. He holds numerous NFL re- cords and has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an adviser to his former team. Mr. Marino has been recognized for his success off the field, as well, from chari- table work to a career in broadcast and roles in popular films like “Ace Ventura” and “Bad Boys II.” He said he encourages professional football players to pursue their interests off the field because careers in the sport are temporary. “Build relationships with your commu- nity,” Mr. Marino said. “Whatever it is you have a passion for that is outside of foot- ball, learn about that. Do off-season work in that field, whatever it may be … because you’re not going to be playing football for long, so you might as well educate yourself.” Mr. Marino also stressed the importance PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » Dan Marino greets youngsters on Governors Beach on Saturday. The former Miami Dolphins quarterback helped raise money for the Cayman Islands Red Cross at the beach event and also gave a motivational speech on Friday. - Photo: taneos ramsay PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Monday october 26, 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. - MONDAY - $8.00 * UPCOMING RUGBY MATCHES AT THE CINEMA * VISIT WWW.BIGSCREEN.KY FOR MORE INFORMATION. 18 YEARS & OVER GOOSEBUMPS 3D (PG) 1:30 I 4:00 2D I 7:00 I 9:35 CRIMSON PEAK (R) 1:10 I 3:50 I 7:05 I 9:45 THE MARTIAN 3D (PG13) 1:00 I 3:00 2D I 6:50 I 9:30 2D LAST WITCH HUNTER (PG13) 1:40 I 4:30 I 7:20 I 10:00 PAN 3D (PG) 1:20 I 4:20 2D I 7:15 I 9:50 2D HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 3D (PG) 12:45 2D I 4:10 I 7:10 2D I 9:55 Shots fired in Di Kit-Chin robbery James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Armed robbers burst into a takeaway restaurant Friday night and pointed a gun at the cashier, telling her she had two minutes to empty the till before they pulled the trigger. Anthony Chin Jr., whose family own Di Kit-Chin res- taurant in Prospect, said staff had been left shaken by the terrifying raid. Three masked men, one carrying a pistol and two armed with machetes, car- ried out the robbery just be- fore midnight. The men en- tered the property through a side door, firing a warning shot into an open attic space. “They went to the cashier, which is my aunt, and told her to open the register. She was nervous and kept for- getting the password. The guy told her she had two minutes or they were going to kill her,” said Mr. Chin. He said the man with the gun had ordered one of his accomplices to empty the register and the men had es- caped with the cash, spilling notes across the floor as they ran away.As the men were leaving, they fired another shot into the air, he said. Staff first noticed the three men, moving in the shadows close to the store, just before closing time on Friday. “One of our workers saw three figures near the hedges. At first he thought it was someone playing around,” he said. Nobody was injured and the robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from the till in Cayman and U.S. currency. The three robbers ran off in the direc- tion of Mahogany Way fol- lowing the raid, according to a police statement. The man who carried the gun was described as approxi- mately 5’10” tall with a fair complexion. The two men with machetes were both de- scribed as having light com- plexions and being 5’2” tall. Anyone with information about the robbery can contact George Town CID at 949-422 or Crime Stoppers 800-8477 (TIPS). Megastorm Patricia inflicts little damage on Mexican coast CHAMELA, Mexico (AP) – Just a day after menacing Mexico as one of history’s strongest storms, Hurricane Patricia left surprisingly little damage in its wake Saturday and quickly dissipated into a low-pressure system that posed little threat beyond heavy rain. The hurricane’s most powerful punch landed on a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico’s Pacific Coast be- fore the system crashed into mountains that sapped its potentially catastrophic force. The popular beach city of Puerto Vallarta and the port of Manzanillo were spared the brunt of the vio- lent weather. Authorities were still checking on some isolated areas, where roads had been blocked by downed trees, but the devastation appeared to be far less than feared. There were no reports of deaths or injuries, said Roberto Lopez Lara, inte- rior secretary for the state of Jalisco. Later, President Enrique Pena Nieto reported that between 3,000 and 3,500 homes had been damaged and the storm also affected about 8,650 acres of farm- land. He said 235,000 people had lost electricity when the storm hit, and about half had power restored by Saturday. It was a remarkable out- come, considering that Patricia had once been a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 200 mph before coming ashore with slightly less power in an area dotted with sleepy villages and a few upscale hotels. As the storm spun inland, it collapsed into fast-moving bands of rain aimed at al- ready sodden Texas. Residents of towns nearest the strike described enduring a terrifying night. “Those were the longest five hours of my life,” said Sergio Reyna Ruiz, who took cover between the shaking concrete walls of a neigh- bor’s home when Patricia passed over the hamlet of La Fortuna, about 2 miles from the ocean. “Five hours riding the monster.” Before the storm hit, Reyna tried to secure the shingles of his roof with metal cables. But looking up from the in- side Saturday, the ceiling was a patchwork of old tile and blue sky. He and family mem- bers next door tried to clean up, sawing through a downed tree and putting waterlogged mattresses and books into the sun to dry. All were thankful that ev- eryone survived: “It’s some- thing to tell the grandchil- dren,” Reyna said. Down the road in Chamela, people picked through boards, tree limbs and other refuse for anything salvageable. All 40 families that live there rode out the storm at a shelter in nearby San Mateo. When they re- turned, they found little that was recognizable. Arturo Morfin Garcia wielded a machete trying to clear debris from around his home, which was reduced to a jumble of bricks and beams. The only part left standing was a concrete bathroom at one end. “It wasn’t hard to leave. It was hard to come back and find this,” Morfin Garcia said. “So much work to build something. It makes me very sad, but what can we do with these natural phenomena?” In Manzanillo, high winds and waves blew out windows and damaged some build- ings. Trees and utility poles were toppled. An enraged sea battered the Hotel Barra de Navidad in a nearby town, scooping sand away from the foundations. Puerto Vallarta, home to some 200,000 people, in- cluding thousands of U.S. residents and visitors, was largely unscathed. After the storm passed, people snapped selfies next to a sea- side sculpture, and business owners swept sidewalks as they would on any morning. Puddles dotted the down- town district, but no more than a passing thunderstorm might leave. Jury report date changed Grand Court jurors who are in the Oct. 7–Dec. 31 session are now to report on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 9:45 a.m. Please call the Jury Information line at 945-5072 for the most up-to-date information. People stand at the edge of a collapsed bridge overlooking the Ameca River in Cofradia, Mexico on Saturday. - photo: ap Orlando area, Florida Panhandle close after first day of bear hunt FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida wildlife officials closed two regions after the first day of bear hunting after the areas met the limit on the number of bears allowed to be killed during the first statewide hunt in more than 20 years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission closed the east Panhandle and central Florida region after 99 bears were killed in central Florida and 81 in the Panhandle. That figure was more than double the Panhandle’s limit of 40. Hunters must record each kill within 12 hours at one of 33 stations. “Bears are still coming into the check station sup- posedly so the number will be more,” said Laura Bevan, southern regional director of The Humane Society of the United States. Slightly more than 200 bears were killed around the state in the first day. The agency capped the number of bears that hunters can kill at 320 statewide. Wildlife officials said in a statement that the number killed on the first day is “well within the allowable range of a conservative hunt.” More than 3,200 hunters purchased permits to partic- ipate, including 1970s rocker Ted Nugent and Liesa Priddy, a rancher and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission member who voted to ap- prove the new hunts. “The harvest success in the east Panhandle [region], while higher than expectations, is an indicator of the region’s increasing bear population. FWC took a conservative ap- proach to setting harvest ob- jectives, building in buffers so the number of bears harvested will stabilize growing popula- tions while ensuring healthy bear numbers,” the agency said in a statement. The controversial hunt was approved by the com- mission earlier this year after much debate.3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday october 26, 2015 180308-Ad-CompJR.indd 110/23/15 11:16 AM Lively beach crowd supports Feed Our Future Despite buckets of rain on Saturday evening, sup- porters of Feed Our Future enjoyed an island paradise feast and dug their toes into the sand for late-night dancing at Camana Bay beach to raise money for the local charity. The annual Island Roast benefit raises funds for Feed Our Future, which was set up to provide a direct way to minimize child hunger, improve health and assist educational development through funding nutritional school meals. In 2014/15, it supported more than 300 pu- pils with a balanced school meal. Feed Our Future also offers shopping smart and healthy, low-cost cooking workshops for the families it assists. Its summer food pro- gram is in its second year, helping more than 50 fami- lies with weekly groceries. Saturday’s beach roast featured a variety of Caribbean fare, prepared and served by some of the leading restaurants’ finest chefs. This year, Feed Our Future also of- fered a vegan station and a Cuban-style roasted pig with all the trimmings. Steel Attitude and Ironshore Muzik Group enter- tained, as attendees danced and partied all evening long. Cayman Compass journalist Elphina Jones contributed to this report. Ally Manning, Charmane Black and Claire Scott offer Kombucha at one of the many stations at Saturday’s Island Roast. - Photo: Maggie Jackson Pharmacist donates $5k to museum Donald McLean, phar- macist and owner of Health Care Pharmacy in Grand Harbour, has donated $5,000 to the Cayman Islands National Museum. The East End resident made the donation because he believes the history and preservation of Cayman’s rich culture is important. Growing up in East End, Mr. McLean vividly remembers men going to sea and women working hard to keep their kids in school and put food on the table. “When this offer came along to donate to the National Museum, I knew I wanted to do my part in keeping our heritage and memories alive,” he said. Museum Director Peggy Leshikar-Denton said the do- nations will be used exclu- sively for the ongoing care, conservation and curation of the museum’s collection. Alfonso Wright, the mu- seum’s board chairman, thanked Mr. McLean for his contribution, adding that donations play a vital part in keeping Cayman’s history alive. In November the museum will begin a year of celebra- tions to mark its 25th an- niversary, with exhibitions, events and publications. A commemorative stamp and silver coin will also be issued to mark the milestone. Alfonso Wright, left, receives the donation from Donald McLean, owner of Health Care Pharmacy. Also pictured are Museum Director Peggy Leshikar-Denton and Omar McLean.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. 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” Monday oCTober 26, 2015 • Cayman COmpass Who would spend $663,000 on a product — and then never use it? Here’s a clue: The matter in question has government’s fingerprints all over it. Our story (as we related in Thursday’s Compass) begins seven years ago, in 2008, when Cayman Islands lawmakers approved changes to the country’s Immigration Law, with the intent of recording elec- tronically the fingerprints of the tens of thousands of non-Caymanians in the islands, starting with work permit applicants. That’s when the delays started. Two years later, government got around to ear- marking $900,000 for fingerprinting systems in the 2010-2011 budget. In June 2010, then-Governor Duncan Taylor said, “The fingerprinting of all work permit holders will begin in late 2010.” In December of that year, the government did not begin fingerprinting work permit holders — but officials did award the contract for fingerprinting systems to a well-known U.S.-based contractor. In January 2011, then-Police Chief Superintendent John Jones pushed the deadline for implementation back until June 2011. That deadline, in turn, also passed. The next year, in March 2012, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said the fingerprinting equipment had been received and inspected, but “it was found that we required some slight change in the legislation.” That means, you guessed it, further delay. Two years later, in June 2014, Premier Alden McLaughlin told his fellow MLAs that “Consideration is also being given to enhancing fingerprinting require- ments inclusive of the collection [and] the manage- ment of fingerprints in immigration legislation …” “Consideration”? That’s a far cry from Gov. Taylor’s 2010 declaration that fingerprinting “will begin,” and completes govern- ment’s retrograde journey in fingerprinting from the finish line to the starting blocks. The apparent abandonment of the fingerprinting program was announced, not in boldfaced letters, but in the “fine print” — i.e., a footnote in an auditor’s report on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ budget for 2013-2014. The text of the auditors’ “postmortem” is as follows: “Software for the biometric project costing $663k for immigration purposes … has not been used since its procurement and there are currently no docu- mented plans to commission the software.” Those may be the final utterances on the finger- printing project from Cayman officials. A Compass journalist has sought responses from various public personae (including Mr. Manderson, Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer Eric Bush and immigra- tion officials) but was shunted off to an individual — acting Chief Immigration Officer Bruce Smith — who happened to be “off island” (that mysterious place beyond the reach of email and cell`phones). Our reporter is still waiting to hear back from Mr. Smith. We don’t know whether Cayman residents are better or worse off for government’s failure to use the $663,000 software for the fingerprinting system. We do know, however, that, since officials did not end up using the software, we would have been $663,000 better off with government not squandering taxpayer money on it in the first place. Haste, as they say, makes waste. But so does inordinate indecision and delay. Fingerprinting and ‘fine print’: $663k wasted Cameron sells out Washington Post Editorial Board Chinese President Xi Jinping treated himself to a strutting military parade in Beijing last month featuring 12,000 troops and shiny new missile systems. A few weeks later he was honored by President Obama with a 21- gun salute and a state dinner at the White House. But for a ruler who revels in pomp and symbolic tributes, nothing quite matches the glittering – and frequently fawning – re- ception arranged for him in Britain this week by the gov- ernment of David Cameron. Xi was accompanied by Queen Elizabeth II in a horse-drawn carriage to Buckingham Palace for a white-tie dinner. Authorities ensured that his route was lined with a rent-a-crowd orchestrated by the Chinese Embassy, while relegating protesters for free speech and Tibet to the outskirts. The Chinese president was given the rare honor of ad- dressing a joint session of Parliament. He was invited to Chequers, the prime min- ister’s country home. Though Xi is presiding over the biggest crackdown on political dissent and civil rights China has seen in de- cades, not a word about human rights appeared in the joint statement he is- sued with Cameron. Instead it proclaimed a “golden era” in U.K.-Chinese relations and the construction of “a global comprehensive strategic part- nership for the 21st century.” For some time there has been cause for wonder about the direction of British for- eign policy under Cameron, who in five-and-a-half years in office has overseen big cuts in the military and a broad retreat from global engagement. A country that once prized its place as the closest U.S. strategic ally and its ability to “punch above its weight” has taken a back seat in matters ranging from the fight against the Islamic State and the Syrian civil war to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now Cameron appears to have hit upon a strategy: to make Britain China’s fore- most Western partner – and thereby become a favored client for trade and invest- ment. The first payoff of this new special relation- ship came in the announce- ment that a Chinese firm would invest US$9 billion in a new British nuclear plant. But Cameron and his chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, hope for much more. They see London becoming a platform for Beijing’s financial initiatives and British companies win- ning a growing share of the Chinese market. There’s nothing wrong with courting Chinese in- vestment or seeking a pro- ductive relationship with Xi’s regime, of course; countries around the world are doing it. But the unprincipled zeal of Cameron’s campaign, seen in the context of the broader international retrenchment he has led, can only be trou- bling. It raises the ques- tion of whether Britain will stand with the United States when it resists China’s bul- lying of its neighbors, its at- tempt to claim most of the South China Sea as territo- rial waters or its retreat from the promise of political au- tonomy and democracy it made when it took control of the former British colony of Hong Kong. British officials said Cameron raised the subject of Hong Kong in his talks with Xi. But nothing during the Chinese ruler’s visit sug- gested that there will be a place in the “golden era” for the democratic values that Britain once championed. For Cameron, gold seems to be enough. © 2015, The Washington Post Chinese President Xi Jinping drinks a pint of beer with British Prime Minister David Cameron at a pub near Chequers on Thursday. - Photo: AP5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday october 26, 2015 is a member of the RSM network and trades as RSM. RSM is the trading name used by the members of the RSM network. Each member of the RSM network is an independent accounting and consulting firm each of which practices in its own right. The RSM network is not itself a separate legal entity of any description in any jurisdiction. The RSM network is administered by RSM International Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 4040598) whose registered office is at 11 Old Jewry, London EC2R 8DU. The brand and trademark RSM and other intellectual property rights used by members of the network are owned by RSM International Association, an association governed by article 60 et seq of the Civil Code of Switzerland whose seat is in Zug. RSM ayman Ltd.C We’re up to speed, so you can go full speed. To make confident decisions about the future, an entrepreneurial, growing business needs a different kind of adviser. One who starts by understanding where you want to go and then brings the ideas and insights of an experienced global team to help get you there. We are excited to announce that now called RSM. Together with our fellow RSM firms, we have united under one name – RSM. Experience the power of being understood. Experience RSM. is a member of the RSM network and trades as RSM. RSM is the trading name used by the members of the RSM network. Each member of the RSM network is an independent accounting and consulting firm each of which practices in its own right. The RSM network is not itself a separate legal entity of any description in any jurisdiction. The RSM network is administered by RSM International Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 4040598) whose registered office is at 11 Old Jewry, London EC2R 8DU. The brand and trademark RSM and other intellectual property rights used by members of the network are owned by RSM International Association, an association governed by article 60 et seq of the Civil Code of Switzerland whose seat is in Zug. RSM ayman Ltd.C We’re up to speed, so you can go full speed. To make confident decisions about the future, an entrepreneurial, growing business needs a different kind of adviser. One who starts by understanding where you want to go and then brings the ideas and insights of an experienced global team to help get you there. We are excited to announce that now called RSM. Together with our fellow RSM firms, we have united under one name – RSM. Experience the power of being understood. Experience RSM. Minister: Glass House cannot be reused Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The former Cayman Islands government admin- istration building, known as the “Glass House,” would cost more to refurbish and reuse for government of- fice space than it will to de- molish, Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts said Friday. Mr. Tibbetts’s statement came in response to a parlia- mentary question asked by Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush, who wondered why the 1970s-era office building on Elgin Avenue could not be used for overflow office space for government, which he said was “still paying rent for various departments,” de- spite the new administra- tion building’s opening in early 2011. Mr. Bush also questioned whether the old Glass House could not be used as the new operations headquarters for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, whose current central police station is in a dilapidated state and needs to be replaced. “The Glass House is an in- efficient building by modern standards as it is some 45 years old,” Mr. Tibbetts said in response. “It would cost more to refurbish it than what it’s worth.” For instance, the building has a number of building code violations that would be costly to fix. The worst example is the placement of the building’s elevators and staircases in the cen- tral core of the structure. Additional staircases would have to be built, reducing the available office space area, Mr. Tibbetts said. When it was still being used, the average monthly power bill for the Glass House was about $55,000, Mr. Tibbetts said. The average monthly bill for the new Government Administration Building is $85,000 per month, but the new adminis- tration building is about six times larger than the old one. “Even with major renova- tion, it would not be able to match the energy efficiency and seismic and hurricane resistance of … the new [government] administration building,” Mr. Tibbetts said. The government’s cur- rent plan is to demolish the old office building and create a park in the area now bounded by the new ad- ministration building, Radio Cayman and the George Town Police Station. Nearly a decade ago, a quantity surveyor estimated it would cost nearly $10 mil- lion to renovate the Glass House to an acceptable stan- dard. In 2009, a further re- view put those renovation costs even higher – between $13 million and $16 million. Mr. Bush, the former pre- mier, had plans at one stage to turn the building into of- fices for his Ministry of Financial Services, but that never happened. That put the question of using it for the new police station site out of the ques- tion, Mr. Tibbetts said. “In light of the findings in the 2006 and 2009 reports … it is not considered practical or value for money to reno- vate the Glass House for any other use,” Mr. Tibbetts said. The planning minister said the current government administration building is now 86 percent occupied. As more agencies move into the building, the govern- ment is expected to save money on annual lease costs in other buildings, which are still costing millions each budget year. The Glass House, Cayman’s 1970s-era government administration building, cannot be saved, officials said Friday. - PHOTO: CHris COurT Burns victim laid to rest in Jamaica Jessie Perry, who died following a car accident in Grand Cayman, was laid to rest in front of more than 200 mourners in her home country, Jamaica, last weekend. Ms. Perry, 21, suffered devastating burn injuries in the crash in West Bay on Sept. 14. She died a week later in hospital in Jamaica. The domestic worker and mother of a 3-year-old son was buried in St. Catherine’s parish on Oct. 17. Her aunt Jacqueline Ebanks said the service had gone well, but it had been a mournful occasion. Jessie Perry’s father Osmond Perry and cousin Marcus Tulloch carry her coffin into the church.6 LOCAL NEWS Monday october 26, 2015 • Cayman Compass www.CaymanLuxuryProperty.com | 945.6000 | 7 Mile Beach & Cayman Kai Offices | Buying & Selling Real Estate, Contact Us. Personalised, not franchised. M ember of CIREBA Cayman’s geo-attractions millions of years in the making Charles DunCan cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman has a unique position in geology, sitting on the edge of the tectonic plates for North America and the Caribbean. The islands’ formation and geologic his- tory are of special interest to Brian Jones, a Canadian pro- fessor who has visited the country numerous times over the past 30 years to study the rocks that make up the Cayman Islands. He was on island earlier this month to mark Geology Week and share his new book with teachers, officials and the public. Ironshore Despite its name, iron- shore is actually the softest rock in the Cayman Islands. The rock at Hell is white on the inside, and the most sim- ilar rock formation found elsewhere is the Stone Forest in China’s Yunnan Province. Sometime between the 1990s and today, boulders in East End weighing up to 10 tons moved 328 feet or more in- land, most likely a demon- stration of just how strong Hurricane Ivan was. At Hell, there are a number of tall tales about how the unique jagged rocks got their form. Volcanoes and earthquakes had nothing to do with it. Microbes have been eating away at the limestone and dolomite, ex- creting acid as they bore into the rock, for millions of years, leaving the pinnacles and caverns that give Hell its characteristically craggy form. The black, sooty color comes from what’s left when the microscopic organisms die, along with deposits from plants growing in the rock. Cayman’s unique geology has been included in a new textbook by Professor Jones from the University of Alberta and Professor Noel James from Queen’s University. Mr. Jones, who has done research and worked with the Water Authority in Cayman for de- cades, recently shared “Origin of Carbonate Sedimentary Rocks” with teachers and students to improve geology education. Mr. Jones gave a lecture on what he calls “geotourism” while he was on Grand Cayman this month and ex- plained some of his favorite geologic features around the islands. Talking about Hell, Mr. Jones said, “It’s difficult to date.” He estimates the for- mation is 10 million to 15 million years old, but the stone is so soft that ge- ologists can’t take a core sample to try to figure out a better date. People touring the East End of the Brac might no- tice, high up on the rock bluffs, a notch in the rock, jutting in like a triangle. That notch actually shows where the sea level used to be, Mr. Jones said. That same wave- cut notch is visible around most high points around the islands. Fossils Looking down into the ironshore covering much of the islands’ coasts, a close observer can see much of the black rock covered in fos- sils. One of the best fossil outcrops in the world, Mr. Jones said, is on the north- west coast just south of the Cayman Turtle Farm. He said researchers have identified 14 coral species dating back 125 million years. Over by Pedro Castle, there are lots of coral fos- sils, dating to about 5 mil- lion years ago. The fossils there are from standalone coral species that lived in the sand. The modern equiv- alent is no longer found in the Caribbean, Mr. Jones said, but is seen around the Pacific Ocean. Boulders Near the blowholes is another strange feature of Cayman geology. There are 52 boulders, weighing as much as 10 tons, sitting on the ground as it slopes up away from the coast. Mr. Jones dated one of the boulders, based on relatively modern coral found embedded in the rock, to between 1625 and 1688. Mr. Jones and his team’s theory is that a hur- ricane or tsunami picked up the rocks from the sea floor and dropped them in the bush. One important feature of the area, the professor noted, is that it is one of the few areas with no reef pro- tecting the coast. Mr. Jones and his team mapped these boulders in the early 1990s. He went back to check on them re- cently, but none were where they were supposed to be according to the map. The mammoth rocks had all moved between 300 feet and 500 feet away from the coast, climbing another 20 feet up from sea level. “It was as if someone had taken the boulders and scraped them over the rock,” he said, and he could even see the tracks leading from down the hill. Mr. Jones said the only possible explanation is that the wind and waves of Hurricane Ivan pushed the boulders even further. Ancient coral and shell fossils dot the shoreline around St. Pedro Castle. - Photo: Charles DunCan Near the blowholes is another strange feature of Cayman geology. There are 52 boulders, weighing as much as 10 tons, sitting on the ground as it slopes up away from the coast.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Monday october 26, 2015 PremierHealth BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE AGENCIES LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town.Tel. 949-8699 12 Kirkconnell Street, Stake Bay, Cayman BracTel. 948-1760 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life British Caymanian Insurance Agencies Ltd. acts solely as an agent on behalf of various insurers; it does not act as an insurance broker on behalf of its customers. More claims get an automatic green light with BritCay. 57% of your claims were auto-adjudicated first* with BritCay. *2014 You said you need instant answers with health plan data - you get them first with BritCay. Local providers have free access to our health plan portal. 1 in 3 online visits are by providers, helping 51% of claims to be submitted electronically. 96% of claims are settled in 5 days. BritCay budgets for high volumes of claims. We pay more claims, more accurately and quicker than any other local health insurance provider. CALL 949-8699 or visit www.britcay.ky cgigrp In 1984, BritCay joined Colonial Group International (CGI). In 1990, BritCay was the first company to offer Cayman residents an overseas network option with world class centres of excellence. It was the first of many changes to come.notable firsts! Garbage fees, as of 2010, are no longer collected for in- dividual homes. However, pre- vious charges owed are still payable to the government. Also, strata corporations that manage condominium and apartments owned by indi- viduals are still required to pay for trash fees for dump- ster maintenance. Commercial properties are also charged for their dumpsters. In addition to the non- collection of household trash fees since 2010, it was re- vealed last year that hundreds of businesses and strata-gov- erned condominium com- plexes did not pay govern- ment fees for trash collection in 2014, and may not have paid those fees dating back to 2010, according to an internal audit report. “During the January-June 2014 billing period, 289 cus- tomers categorized as ‘busi- ness’ customer[s] were not billed,” the Internal Audit re- port, made public through a Freedom of Information re- quest, stated. The issue was noted during a follow-up audit by the unit last year, after rev- elations in 2010 that dupli- cate bills for trash fees were sent out and unauthorized fee waivers were granted to churches and schools. In 2010, the government made changes to the system used to track garbage fees – known as EVMAS – to waive the fees on selected trash ser- vice routes. Department of Environmental Health man- agers said the changes made at the time were related to the government’s decision to stop billing residential homes for trash pickup. The waiver applied only to stand- alone properties, or was in- tended to do so at the time, internal auditors noted. “However, upon our review, there were several service codes [in the EVMAS system] not related to residential units that were also assigned with zero fees,” the 2014 audit stated. “This includes hotels, offices, small businesses and rental containers.” Trash fee collection A private consultant re- view of the government, completed last year, recom- mended the outsourcing of waste collection and landfill services to the private sector. However, in order to do that, it was proposed that waste dis- posal fees be reinstated for all system users. “Current waste collec- tion fee arrangements in the Cayman Islands are inef- fective with most residents and many commercial enti- ties not paying for services,” the consultant’s report by accounting firm Ernst & Young stated. To realize the estimated $2 million cost savings it identi- fied, the EY consultant report makes it clear that the initia- tive would require the enforced collection of waste disposal fees. “In order to successfully outsource waste collection, it is a necessary preceding step to implement a collection fee structure and system.” In addition to fees for waste collection, the report states, charges should be intro- duced for those bringing waste to the landfill site “for both pri- vate garbage collection compa- nies and private citizens.” of family, and that when it comes to being successful, whether on or off the field, it helps to have a strong sup- port network. “Be around the people who you love,” Mr. Marino said. While the focus of the event was “Leadership in Sports,” devoted fans also had the chance to ask Mr. Marino questions about the game today, and how it was during his years with the Dolphins. His football hero? Joe Namath, another NFL legend who was the quar- terback for the New York Jets. Opinion on “deflate- gate” (in which air was re- leased from footballs be- fore the game)? Disdain for the Patriots aside, Mr. Marino was diplomatic. He doesn’t think quarterback Tom Brady was trying to cheat, and he doesn’t think it was as big of a deal as the media made it out to be. One attendee wondered: Is there any chance that the U.K. will get a franchise? “I do think they can have a franchise, and I do think the league actually wants them to have a franchise,” Mr. Marino said. “When that’s going to happen, I don’t know … I think the fan base there is awesome.” Mr. Marino also took the time to take photos with fans and autograph Dolphins memorabilia. The event was part of the Thrive leadership workshop series, organized by Gamut Global events. Shomari Scott of Health City Cayman Islands and local runner Derek Larner also spoke at the event, describing to the crowd their keys to success. Event organizer Jesse Sergios said he was thrilled with Mr. Marino’s talk and would continue to focus on bringing informative and engaging speakers to the Cayman Islands. On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Marino was at Governors Beach for an informal gath- ering and spent time tossing a football around to young- sters and others who stopped by to see him. because the process was, for all intents and purposes, de- signed to fail.” The original plan for both Clifton Hunter High School and the as-yet unfin- ished John Gray High School was for an open layout with no traditional classrooms and no dividing walls be- tween learning spaces. The concept changed when a new government took over in 2009 and sanc- tioned design changes, in- cluding the addition of acoustic partitions between learning spaces. Mr. Nair said this ap- proach hampered the project and left the school caught between two approaches. The result, he said, was “completely dysfunctional and fit neither for a 20th nor a 21st century educa- tional model.” The Independent Schools Inspection report on Clifton Hunter described the school design as a “barrier to prog- ress” and warned “there is no strategy to address the urgent problem caused by the open-plan class layout, which limits the range of teaching styles and ad- versely affects students’ concentration.” Mr. Heppell said the term “open plan” was inap- propriate for what he de- scribes as “agile multifac- eted spaces.” He said a lot of “mis- leading nonsense” had been discussed about the layout. Similarly designed schools had been effective all over the world, he said. “These spaces allow a proper diversity of teaching and learning strategies in a way that traditional ‘cells and bells’ classrooms cannot,” he said. But he emphasized that a shift from “stand and de- liver” teaching to a more modern approach is needed. With greater student en- gagement, he claimed, con- cerns over noise levels would fall away. “Staff needed the cor- rect support from people who know how these spaces work,” he said. Mr. Heppell, who helped write a teaching guide for a similarly designed school in Perth, Australia, said lesson planning, collabor- ative teaching and longer timetable blocks were key to making effective use of the spaces. He said the school came out of an ambition for world-class education in Cayman. “That dream can still be achieved, but it won’t be achieved by retrenching the old methods that weren’t working before anyway.” Football legend Dan Marino inspires with insights on leadership CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mr. Marino also stressed the importance of family, and that when it comes to being successful, whether on or off the field, it helps to have a strong support network. Consultants defend controversial school design CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Ministry pursuing millions in garbage fees CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Monday october 26, 2015 • Cayman Compass Obama: Cap standardized tests Addressing one of education’s most divisive issues, President Barack Obama has called for capping standardized testing at 2 percent of classroom time and said the government shares responsibility for turning tests into the be-all and end-all of American schools. Blair: Iraq war contributed to rise of IS, but was justified LONDON (AP) – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the U.S.-led in- vasion of Iraq was partly re- sponsible for the emergence of the Islamic State militant group in the Middle East. But he insisted that toppling dic- tator Saddam Hussein had been the right thing to do. Blair told CNN that “there are elements of truth” in the assertion that the war caused the rise of IS. “Of course you can’t say those of us who removed Saddam in 2003 bear no re- sponsibility for the situa- tion in 2015,” he said in the interview to be broadcast Sunday. He added that the Arab Spring had also played a role in creating instability that allowed the Islamic fundamentalist militant group to flourish. Blair’s decision to take Britain into the Iraq war – based on what turned out to be false claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction – remains hugely divisive, and contributed to his Labour Party’s loss of power in 2010. Blair said he did not be- lieve the world would be a better place if Saddam were still in power. But he apolo- gized, as he has before, for failures in post-war planning. “I apologize for the fact that the intelligence we re- ceived was wrong,” he said in clips released by CNN before the broadcast. “I also apologize for some of the mistakes in planning and, certainly, our mistake in our understanding of what would happen once you re- moved the regime.” Some 179 British per- sonnel died in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. A public in- quiry into decisions and mistakes in Britain’s plan- ning and execution of the war began in 2009 but has yet to issue its findings. The process has been held up while people criticized in the report are given a chance to respond. Critics of the war hope the inquiry will conclude that Blair was determined to back President George W. Bush in his invasion plans, whether or not it was supported by the public, Parliament or legal opinion. Then-Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks to the media with new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in 2006. - Photo: AP Carson, Trump are dominating, but their chummy rapport turns cool The two men could not be more different: One grew up poor and black in Detroit, the other rich and white in Queens. One is soft-spoken and spiritual, the other loud and caustic. Each epitomizes American success, though in vastly different arenas: one as a brain surgeon, the other as a celebrity deal-maker. But together, Ben Carson and Donald Trump stand as the dom- inant Republican candidates for president. Their rise and dura- bility – polls show that combined they have the support of 50 per- cent or more of GOP voters – have befuddled political elites and be- come the defining dynamic heading into the next debate, Wednesday in Boulder, Colorado. For months, such rivals as Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have assumed that voters eventually will get serious, the outsiders’ stars will flicker out and the real politi- cians will assume control. Yet, it is late October and that has not hap- pened. By delivering sharp, visceral messages that galvanize the angry electorate, Carson and Trump today are monopolizing the race more than ever. “The two outsiders have put a blanket over everybody else,” said Doug Gross, a Republican establish- ment figure in Iowa. “Nobody else can even get oxygen.” The relationship between Carson, 64, and Trump, 69, has zig- zagged from cordial to chummy to cool. They see themselves as kindred spirits, so much so that Trump has said he would consider Carson as his vice president. Each has resisted bludgeoning the other, but with tensions rising as the kickoff Iowa caucuses draw near, they are starting to take each other on. After fresh polls last week showed Carson leapfrogging Trump for the lead in Iowa, Trump went on the attack. “We have a breaking story: Donald Trump has fallen to second place behind Ben Carson,” Trump announced Friday night at a rowdy Miami rally. Pausing for dramatic effect, he added, “We informed Ben, but he was sleeping.” Carson is “super low energy. We need tremendous energy,” Trump thundered, prompting his sup- porters to break into chants of “USA! USA!” He also said Carson could not create jobs and negotiate trade deals. Carson shot back, saying at a Saturday event in Iowa: “My energy levels are perfectly fine. . . . There have been many times where I’ve operated 12, 15, 20 hours, and that requires a lot of energy. Doesn’t re- quire a lot of jumping up and down and screaming, but it does require a lot of concentration.” Trump made the same low-energy attack over and over against Bush this summer, and it was a devastating blow to the former Florida governor and one- time establishment front-runner. The retired neurosurgeon is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. “I’m Presbyterian. Boy, that’s down the middle of the road, folks, in all fairness,” Trump said. “I mean, Seventh-day Adventist I don’t know about. I just don’t know about.” Carson is prepared for an on- slaught from Trump, his advisers said. “It’s a presidential campaign in the United States of America – yes, we expect it,” Carson spokesman Doug Watts said. “We look forward to him making his point of view with the public, and if he does stir it up, we’re all outsiders and anti- Washington, anti-establishment, so I think there’s going to be a com- monality there.” Carson plans to take a delib- erately gentle approach to his flamboyant foe, said Armstrong Williams, Carson’s confidant and business manager. “Think about it: Parents, chil- dren, employees – they don’t want a boss or a president who is going to fly off the handle and throw insults at people,” Williams said. “People ex- pect you to have a certain level of class and dignity. Wealth does not give you class; it does not give you temperament or discipline.” The other candidates have seemed hapless, however, in taking on Trump. At first, many refused to criticize him. Now, they regularly take potshots at Trump but risk coming across as desperate. Attacking Carson could also prove difficult, for Trump or any other candidate. In last week’s Washington Post-ABC News poll, 64 percent of Republicans nationally said that the more they heard about Carson, the more they liked him – a higher percentage than for any other candidate in the survey. In Iowa, a Des Moines Register-Bloomberg Politics poll re- leased Friday found Carson with the highest favorability: 84 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. The same poll had Carson surging past Trump, 28 percent to 19 percent. “Carson is kind of an unassail- able candidate,” said Steve Deace, a conservative radio host who is supporting Cruz, the Texas senator. “Even if people don’t think Carson is ready to lead, they still see him as a symbol of what we once were and should be again – the kind of country that produces Ben Carsons.” In the media, Carson has come under fire for controversial com- ments, including his remarks that Muslims should not be allowed to serve as president, and that Adolf Hitler might have been stopped had the German public been armed. But the Iowa poll showed voters agreeing on these points. “What we’ve found is that he’s not pop- ular in spite of these vivid things he’s said; he’s popular because of them,” said J. Ann Selzer, who con- ducted the survey. © 2015, The Washington Post Ben Carson and Donald Trump stand as the dominant Republican candidates for U.S. president. Their rise and durability have befuddled political elites and become the defining dynamic heading into the next debate on Wednesday. - Photo: the WAshington Post9 WORLD&REGIONAL Cayman Compass • Monday october 26, 2015 Dr. Wayne R. Porter MD F.A.A.D. Dermatologist CALL : 946-9020 BETWEEN 9AM TO 5PM Dees Plaza #282 on Crewe Road, GT He will be in of ce from Oct. 26th - 30th, 2015 Airbnb battles hostile ballot measure in San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Travelers worldwide may love using Airbnb to book va- cation stays, but the company that revolutionized home- sharing faces a hostile ballot measure in the city where it was founded. Proposition F on the Nov. 3 San Francisco ballot would limit short-term rentals to 75 days a year and require hosting companies such as Airbnb to yank listings that violate the limit. The city would be re- quired to notify neighbors when a person registers to host. The measure would en- able pricey lawsuit damages against violators, including the hosting platform. Current city law limits un-hosted rentals to 90 days. There are no limits on hosted rentals. Airbnb, by far the largest home-share platform in the city and in the world, has do- nated $8 million and counting to defeat the proposed ordi- nance. It has saturated televi- sion with ads, even trying to sway voters last week with a botched billboard campaign reminding people of the hotel taxes its service collects. Backers of the mea- sure say the demand for vacation stays is sucking up scarce housing, adding to the city’s unafford- ability and destroying what makes San Francisco neigh- borhoods unique. Landlords, they say, have a financial incentive to rent short-term rather than take on long-term tenants, espe- cially in popular neighbor- hoods such as the Mission District. Proponents have re- ported raising $350,000. Airbnb and other oppo- nents argue the measure will pit neighbor against neighbor and drive out residents who can stay in the city only by sharing their homes short- term. Ads feature warm shots of happy families – suppos- edly home-sharers – as well as cartoons of an elderly man snooping on his neighbors and calling a “snitch hotline.” Both sides say they are fighting for the soul of San Francisco, a diverse place that is now a national symbol of income inequality amid sky-high housing costs driven in part by a tech- nology boom. A one-bedroom without parking rents for over $3,000 a month. In September, a decrepit 1,100-square foot house in which a mummi- fied corpse was found ear- lier this year sold for more than $1.5 million. “This is definitely a fight that’s representative of the anxiety that exists here due to an economy that’s been so dynamic,” said Sam Lauter, a San Francisco lobbyist not affiliated with the measure. The measure has deeply divided the city’s Democratic leadership, with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in favor and Mayor Ed Lee and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom op- posed. Feinstein and Newsom are former mayors. Cities large and small around the world are trying to balance home-sharing’s popularity with livability for residents. In New York City, it’s gen- erally unlawful to rent an apartment for less than 30 days unless the apartment’s resident also stays there, but people do anyway. In May, the city council of Santa Monica, California, legalized home sharing – the rental of an extra room or couch – but banned un-hosted rentals for less than 30 days. San Francisco had pro- hibited rentals of less than 30 days, but in February ap- proved an ordinance to le- galize and regulate the prac- tice. Hosts must register with the city and report how many nights they rent their unit. The coalition behind the measure, which includes landlord and tenant associa- tions, says the current law is unenforceable. They point to skimpy registration numbers for hosts: About 700 of an estimated 5,500 listings on Airbnb alone. The ballot measure would require platforms, along with hosts, to file quarterly reports on how many nights a unit is rented. Airbnb and other platforms can be fined up to $1,000 a day if they list il- legal units. Neighbors could sue hosts as well as hosting platforms, collecting up to $1,000 a day in special damages. Airbnb says the mea- sure would encourage frivo- lous lawsuits by neighbors motivated by money. Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty said the measure it- self does nothing to address housing affordability. On Wednesday, Airbnb rolled out billboard and bus stop ads around San Francisco cheekily suggesting ways the city could use the $12 million it has collected in hotel taxes: “Keep the li- brary open later” and “build more bike lanes.” Annoyed tax-paying citizens took to social media. The backlash was so strong the company was forced to apologize for its “wrong tone.” Michael Rouppet was evicted from his rent-con- trolled home in September 2012, after a new owner bought the 1909 building. He learned from former neigh- bors that his place near the Painted Ladies Victorians had been turned into a short-term rental. In June, he sued the owner, alleging violations of rent laws. “I would ask how many San Francisco residents have to be evicted to see the wisdom in regulating the in- dustry,” he said. The land- lord’s lawyer did not re- turn phone calls and email for comment. On the flip side is Bruce Bennett, who rents out a room in the 3-bedroom midcen- tury modern he owns with his husband. The money allows the couple to pay for emer- gency expenses, and guests are able to enjoy a neighbor- hood far from tourist centers. Michael Rouppet poses for photos at Alamo Square Park across the street from the home he was evicted from in San Francisco. He sued the owner, alleging violations of rent laws.- Photos: AP Bruce Bennett on the deck of his home in San Francisco. Bennett and his husband, Lawrence Gordon, have been renting out one of their three bedrooms in a 1957 midcentury modern in the Sunnyside neighborhood since February 2014. Airbnb, by far the largest home- share platform in the city and in the world, has donated $8 million and counting to defeat the proposed ordinance. Next >