Sport | page 17 Cribb passes on skills Kids get chance to learn High of 83 Low of 74 Rough with wave heights 4 to 6 feet. Small craft should exercise caution over the open waters. editorial | page 4 port politiCs: ‘the CounCil’ Comes to life ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – tuesday november 24, 2015 back to back wins www.butterfieldgroup.com Proud winner of The Banker’s prestigious Cayman Islands Bank of the Year award for 2013 and 2014. Bank of the year... Again! Car damages arthur Bodden house Crown: Watson, Webb used company to defraud public sector A car smashed into the historic Arthur Bodden house in George Town early Saturday, causing extensive damage to the home – the seventh time the owners say this has occurred. For more on this story, see page 3. – PHOTO: KELSEY JUKAM Court hears of CarePay cash envelopes ‘handed out’ to Webb brent fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Islands businessman Canover Watson, with help from his friend Jeffrey Webb and former personal assistant Miriam Rodriguez, used a company he and Webb set up to “defraud public bodies of large amounts of money” jurors heard in the first day of what’s likely to be a two-month-long corruption trial involving the 2010 awarding of a public hospital contract. The alleged fraudulent activities took place over a three-year period between December 2010 and late 2013 and involve the transfer of large sums paid by the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority and the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company to a company, AIS Cayman Ltd., which prosecutors alleged Watson controlled while he served as chairman of the Health Services Authority board of directors. It was further alleged that Watson and Webb worked together to create AIS Cayman Ltd. as the Caymanian-owned subsidiary that would receive profits from what became known as the CarePay swipe card system used by the public hospitals. The AIS Cayman com- pany was created just a few months before the CALL fOr grEATEr OwnErSHiP OPPOrTUniTY fOr CAYMAniAnS James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Caymanians are being prevented from get- ting to the top in the best paying professions in the country, MLA Winston Connolly claimed as he proposed changes to legislation governing busi- ness in the territory. Mr. Connolly put forward a private members’ motion in the Legislative Assembly on Monday re- questing that government consider removing ex- emptions from the Trade and Business Law and the Local Companies (Control) Law. The changes, he said, would aid capable Caymanians in getting top jobs and progressing to ownership in the most lucrative professions in the country. Law firms and some financial services firms are among those currently regulated under different legislation. The Trade and Business Law currently stip- ulates that any company doing business in the Cayman Islands must be at least 60 per- cent Cayman owned and operated. The Local Companies (Control) Law allows exemptions to that under certain circumstances, for example when significant capital or expertise that cannot be found on the island is required. Companies, such as The Ritz-Carlton hotel, have been granted exemptions under the LCCL, which are assessed on a case-by-case basis and can carry conditions, including requirements to train Caymanians and progress them up the ladder at the company. The George Town legislator did not explain, in detail, the exemptions that he is targeting through PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 10 » Premier, human rights body clash on same-sex unions kelsey Jukam kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com The government cannot con- sider any request to recognize same sex unions, Premier Alden McLaughlin said in a letter to the Human Rights Commission that was made public on Monday. The letter, dated Oct. 21, 2015, was the premier’s response to one sent by Cayman Islands Human Rights Commission Chairman James Austin-Smith’s on Aug. 19, 2015, which was prompted by a Legislative Assembly debate on a private members’ motion on “the preser- vation of traditional marriages” on Aug. 13. Mr. Austin-Smith requested that the premier re- spond to the debate, and invited him to denounce “in the stron- gest terms” statements that tar- geted homosexuals, subjected them to ridicule or even poten- tial abuse in the community. Mr. Austin-Smith also recom- mended that the government im- mediately introduce legislation to recognize same-sex unions and outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The premier’s letter con- tained no mention of specific re- marks made during the debate over the marriage motion, which was made by Bodden Town MLA Anthony Eden and seconded by Bodden Town MLA Alva Suckoo. “This is an issue which has evoked great passion on both sides of the debate … there should be no surprise that the matter locally has had the debate that it has,” Mr. McLaughlin wrote. “The issue is not made any easier given that the government, even if it was minded to, currently has no mandate to alter the status quo was we have come to know it in the Cayman Islands.” Mr. McLaughlin wrote that the government would consider from rugby sevens squads PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 10 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL TUESDAY NOVEMBER 24, 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. © y x *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - TUESDAY - $8.00 HUNGER GAMES: MOCKING JAY PART 2 (PG13) 12:20 I 12:45 I 3:25 I 3:50 I 6:30 7:00 I 9:40 BY THE SEA (R) 12:30 I 6:45 THE 33 (PG13) 3:30 I 9:50 SECRET IN THEIR EYES (PG13) 1:30 I 4:10 I 6:50 I 10:05 SPECTRE (PG13) 12:45 I 4:15 I 7:30 I 9:30 PEANUTS 3D (G) 1:00 I 4:00 2D I 7:15 I 10:00 2D www.tonymosleylifeinsurance.com ALAN MARKOFF amarkoff@pinnaclemedialtd.com James Bond is noto- rious for blowing things up, and he does not disappoint in “Spectre,” the latest installment in the long-running film fran- chise, which set the Guinness World Record for the largest film stunt explosion ever. However, thanks to a com- bined effort of Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits and Grand Old House Restaurant, James Bond is helping to build Cayman HospiceCare’s new facility. The Bollinger Spectre dinner held Nov. 7 included a free-flowing Bollinger Champagne reception, entry for a private screening of the new James Bond film at Regal Theatre Stadium 6 at Camana Bay, followed by a four-course dinner with more Champagne, Belvedere martinis, Heineken beer and theme-appropriate wines. The guests were asked to dress either in elegant black- tie attire, or as their favorite Bond character, bringing out a variety of costumes. Fifty dollars from each event ticket purchase was donated to Cayman HospiceCare, earmarked spe- cifically to help raise funds for a new $3 million facility. On Nov. 20, Cayman HospiceCare champion Derek Haines, who single-handedly raised over US$1 million for the facility by getting sponsorships for his efforts in running six marathons last year, collected a check for $4,050 from Grand Old House Head of Operations Luciano De Riso and Jacques Scott Wine Marketing Manager Lee Royle last week. Mr. Haines said the donation took the total raised for the Cayman HospiceCare building to more than US$1.7 million. Mr. Haines, who attended the event dressed in a black tuxedo, was joined by a slightly larger-then-life-size cardboard cutout of himself, dressed in a white tuxedo, leading to some humorous photo opportunities. A ceremonial ground breaking for the new HospiceCare building is ex- pected to take place before the end of this year with con- struction to start in early 2016. Mr. Haines said if all goes as planned, the new fa- cility would open by the end of next year. This was the second time Jacques Scott has hosted a Bollinger event timed with the release of a new James Bond film. Bollinger is the long-standing official Champagne of the film fran- chise. In 2012, Jacques Scott had a similar event at Luca Restaurant when “Skyfall” opened in Cayman. Mr. Royle said he sees no reason not to continue the events when the next James Bond movie comes out. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “It’s great for us; we get three different brands cov- ered with the events.” James Bond event helps HospiceCare Grand Old House Head of Operations Luciano De Riso, left, presents a check for $4,050 to Derek Haines for the benefit of the new Cayman HospiceCare facility, and is joined by Lee Royle, the wine marketing manager for Jacque Scott, which sponsored the James Bond-themed fundraising event. - PHOTOS: ALAN MARKOFF Helen Haines had her choice of Dereks at the Bollinger ‘Spectre’ Dinner at Grand Old House, which raised money for Cayman HospiceCare. Sole practitioner was also popular musician CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com In Grand Court on Monday morning, Justice Charles Quin led a moment of silence to mark the passing of attorney Irvin Banks, whose death he said occurred late last week. Mr. Banks had been ill for some time. Justice Quin said Mr. Banks was a hard-working, dedicated man who never spared himself in repre- senting his clients and who enjoyed the respect of all his colleagues. Mr. Banks, who was called to the bar in 2003, worked with Stuarts Hersant Walker until 2011. He then left the firm to es- tablish his own practice, explaining that there was a need for attorneys who could be more flexible with hourly rates because of lower overhead costs. Before he became an at- torney, Mr. Banks was well known in the local hospi- tality and entertainment in- dustry as a guitarist and lead singer, performing in clubs and special event concerts. He was best know for playing in two bands – QSMFA (Quality Sounds Music For All) and Mainstream, the latter of which he formed in the early 1980s with Ed ‘Solly’ Solomon and Leonard Bodden. “It really broke my heart when I heard [he had passed],” said Mr. Solomon, explaining that Mr. Banks had played with Mainstream at a weekly gig at Hemmingways restau- rant up until last year. Justice Quin expressed condolences to Mr. Banks’s wife and family. Prosecuting attorney Andrew Radcliffe spoke on behalf of the bar. Moment of silence observed for attorney Irvin Banks Irvin ‘Irv’ Banks, right, in 2008 with other members of the music group ‘Mainstream’, from left, Edward ‘Solly’ Solomon, Hubert Campbell and Leonard Bodden. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – A torrent of mud unleashed by a dam burst at an iron ore mine in southeastern Brazil is contaminating the Atlantic Ocean. The deadly stain of red mud, water and debris from the Nov. 5 burst at the Samarco mine in the Minas Gerais state all but erased a hamlet there, killing eight people, with another four bodies still unidentified and 11 missing. The mud flowed down- stream into the Doce River, where it devastated wildlife and compromised the drinking water source for hundreds of thou- sands of people. The stain flowed through the neighboring Espirito Santo state, reaching the Atlantic over the weekend. A report Monday in O Estado de S. Paulo daily said the mud had reached a sensitive nature reserve frequented by endan- gered turtles. BRAZIL MINING DISASTER MUD REACHES ATLANTIC3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Tuesday November 24, 2015 Retrial for child’s murder under way Devon Anglin accused of 2010 fatal shooting CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Crown is expected to open its case on Tuesday against Devon Anglin, who is accused of murdering 4-year-old Jeremiah Barnes on Feb. 15, 2010 at the Hell service station in West Bay. The child was in the back seat of a car being driven by his father at the time. Anglin, now 29, was found not guilty of the murder after trial by judge alone in August 2011. Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards appealed that verdict and the Court of Appeal heard argu- ments in April 2013. The court’s decision was announced in November 2014 by president Sir John Chadwick, who apologized for the delay and accepted responsibility for it. The ac- quittal was overturned and a retrial was ordered. In December 2014, Anglin entered not guilty pleas to a new indict- ment, with three counts: the murder of Jeremiah; the attempted murder of his father, Andy Barnes; and possession of an unli- censed firearm. The Crown’s case has been based on the assump- tion that the shooter’s in- tention was to kill or seri- ously injure Mr. Barnes, but the bullet went past him and struck the boy. Anglin wanted the same lead defense counsel he had for his first trial, John Ryder, but Mr. Ryder had commitments in other courts in the U.K. The Grand Court initially agreed to a trial in 2016, but it then became apparent that Mr. Ryder could not guarantee that he would be available. Local attorney Lucy Organ had instructed Mr. Ryder, and arrangements were made for her to return to Cayman for the retrial so that she was available to in- struct a new lead counsel, David Paul Fisher. Pre-trial discussions and submissions took place last week and continued on Monday. The prosecu- tion is being conducted by Andrew Radcliffe, assisted by senior crown counsel Elisabeth Lees. Anglin again elected to be tried by judge alone. Justice Charles Quin is hearing the matter. Anglin, now 29, was found not guilty of the murder after trial by judge alone in August 2011. Car smashes into historic house KELSEY JUKAM kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com A car crashed into the historic Arthur Bodden house in George Town Saturday morning, dam- aging the fence and part of the building that holds the old printing press. Around 3:22 a.m. Saturday, police responded to the crash on North Church Street, which in- volved one vehicle. The Honda Civic had been trav- eling southbound when the driver lost control and smashed into the wooden house, police reported. The driver and a pas- senger were taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and police said Monday they were still in- vestigating the accident. The house’s owner, Truman Bodden, and his daughter, Alexandra Bodden, who just moved into the historic home about a week ago, were assessing the damage to the house on Monday. Mr. Bodden said the house has been hit by cars seven times, but he said this time the driver “ripped off more than I’ve ever seen.” The front of a building beside the house was com- pletely destroyed, and a con- crete column attached to the fence was dragged about 75 feet up the road. The driver and a passenger were taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The old print shop and the fence at the Arthur Bodden house were wrecked in the crash. - PHOTO: KELSEY JUKAM The National Conservation Council, a year-old council formed under the National Conservation Law, an- nounced Monday that while the public is welcome to at- tend the meetings, video re- cording and photography will not be allowed. In an email to Cayman’s media houses, council chair Christine Rose-Smyth said the new prohibition on re- cording and a request for reporters to sign in at meet- ings are intended “to en- courage frank discussion by members and most im- portantly to respect the pri- vacy of any members of the public who may attend.” She said requests to re- cord and report on the meetings should be made in writing to the Council. “The Council is not re- quired by legislation to permit the recording or broadcasting of its meetings by sound, video, film, pho- tograph or any other means (this includes blogging or tweeting, posts on social media sites such as Facebook or publishing on video sharing sites),” she said. The Council has, since its first meeting, been one of the only public bodies to allow reporters to at- tend regular meetings. The meetings, the chairwoman writes, “are open to atten- dance by the public and media coverage of the issues discussed at the meeting is always welcome.” The council is imple- menting the National Conservation Law, in- cluding new rules gov- erning endangered species and a new marine parks proposal. The next National Conservation Council will be Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. in Room 2038 at the Government Administration Building. COnSErvATiOn COUnCiL bAnS vidEO rECOrding, PHOTOgrAPHY AT PUbLiC MEETingS Michelle Knight, a woman who was kid- napped and held captive in a Cleveland house for more than 11 years, will be coming to the Cayman Islands in May in sup- port of the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre. The Crisis Centre will host a luncheon event on May 27, 2016, where Ms. Knight will discuss her har- rowing story of captivity and abuse, her escape, and how she healed and rebuilt her life after the ordeal. Ms. Knight is one of three women who were held captive by Ariel Castro in his Cleveland, Ohio house. Their story made in- ternational headlines when Ms. Knight and two other kidnapping victims held with her – Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus – es- caped in 2013. Castro was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years in prison without the chance of parole. He committed suicide one month into his sentence. After her escape, Ms. Knight wrote a best- selling memoir called “Finding Me.” “Michelle’s story is hor- rifying,” Crisis Centre board chairperson Denise Gower said. “It is difficult to imagine what she and the others lived through, but she is a true inspira- tion. Her message is pow- erful and important for all the women and men in Cayman who have expe- rienced violence – that a good and peaceful life is possible for everyone.” The Crisis Centre is cur- rently seeking sponsors for this event. For more in- formation, contact Denise Gower at denise.gower@ fountainhead.ky or at 945-8188. Ms. Knight is one of three women who were held captive by Ariel Castro in his Cleveland, Ohio house. US kidnapping victim to speak in Cayman Michelle KnightThe 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” Tuesday November 24, 2015 • Cayman COmpass Flexing its muscles against its creator, the National Conservation Council is attempting to impede the Pro- gressives government’s pursuit of the cruise berthing project downtown. In the run-up to the passage of the National Con- servation Law in late 2013, we warned readers that the legislation would grant tremendous authority to the Council, arguably making it the second-most powerful governmental body in Cayman, next to Cabinet. We predicted that the Council would emerge as a force against development, yet would do little to promote actual environmental conservation. Two years later, the Council has been rather short on actual results, for example, designating protected areas to conserve protected species, or funding significant projects from the $50 million-or-so Environmental Pro- tection Fund (outside of its allocation of $200,000 for, of all things, green iguana eradication efforts). The Council has, however, found time to inject itself into government’s evaluation process for cruise berthing, raising objections that appear designed to delay the project, perhaps to death. On Monday, we reported that the Council is finding fault with the Ministry of Tourism’s leadership of the project and is protesting the usurpation of the role of the Environ- mental Assessment Board, which includes two depart- mental representatives who also happen to serve on the Council. Generally speaking, what we have here is an unelected special interest group, empowered with authority, that is in active opposition to the stated policy of Cayman’s elected government. Remember that the 13-member Council includes five civil servants, including Director of Environment Gina Ebanks-Petrie, setting up a conflict between the civil service and the elected government. Remember, too, that Minister of Environment Wayne Panton can be viewed as the Council’s patron and champion, setting up an intra-Cabinet conflict with Minister of Tourism Moses Kirkconnell. And don’t forget who’s footing the bill for both sides of the argument, for the port and against it: Cayman’s taxpayers. Last December, we outlined the various powers of the Council, saying, “That’s the nature of the beast that Cayman has created for itself. We have yet to learn of its temperament.” In light of our statement, consider the Council’s announcement (which appears in today’s Compass) that it is restricting the ability of journalists to record the proceedings of their heretofore “public” meetings. The Council is also instructing members of the media to sign in (i.e. register so that “they” know who “we” are) before attending their meetings. As reason for its inter- fering with the press, the Council resorts to the tired canard that it is attempting “to respect the privacy of any members of the public who may attend …” The Council’s action against the media is, of course, ludicrous — and has nothing to do with ensuring the “privacy” of people who are attending a public meeting in a public space with the opportunity of influ- encing public policy, and has everything to do with “control” over what journalists (not just the Compass) are able to report or photograph about the Council’s doings to the wider public at large. In summary, in just about a year the Council has added the following items to Cayman’s “endangered list”: the divisions of power between elected minis- ters, appointed civil servants and unelected activists; the Westminster tenet of “Cabinet collective responsi- bility”; freedom of the press; and, open government in the sunshine. And they’ve barely gotten started. Port politics: ‘The Council’ comes to life Bad news for savers RichaRd W. Rahn Do not expect to get a higher real rate of interest on your savings – ever. Traditionally, people could expect to receive 2 or 3 per- cent more than the rate of inflation on their savings or money market accounts. For instance, if inflation was 2 percent, many people re- ceived 5 percent interest per year on their government-in- sured savings accounts. The Internal Revenue Service would then tax the entire amount of interest received (even the portion due only to inflation, which is obviously not income, but who expects the IRS to be ethical?). So, even after inflation and taxes, most received a small, 1.5 to 2 percent real positive rate of return on their savings. Contrast the current situ- ation with what people tra- ditionally expected. Now, if you are lucky, you may be re- ceiving a half percent or so in- terest rate, about equal to the rate of inflation, yet the IRS still taxes you on this meager amount even though you have had no real interest income. So, at the end of the year, you are worse off – a negative re- turn – because you did the re- sponsible thing, and that was to save for your retirement or for various emergencies that come along with life. The following is a simpli- fied but accurate description of how we got into the mess and why the situation will not get better. Back in 2009 during the Great Recession, the gov- ernment greatly increased spending, all of which was borrowed. At the same time, the Federal Reserve decided it needed to strengthen the bal- ance sheets of the big banks. Without going through all of the mechanics, to accom- plish those two operations, – large banks bought bonds from the U.S. Treasury (at re- stricted auctions) and then sold many of these U.S. gov- ernment bonds to the Fed at a small profit. Using this mech- anism, the U.S. Treasury was able to sell more than a tril- lion of dollars of debt at very low interest rates. The Fed earns interest on the U.S. government bonds that it holds, but at the end of the year it remits its interest earnings – after deducting a couple of billion dollars to pay for its own opera- tions – back to the Treasury. Currently, it is remitting back more than US$100 billion a year, making the govern- ment’s cost of debt service very low. Again, it is impor- tant to understand that Fed and the Treasury are running an unsustainable scheme – whereby the Fed creates an artificial demand for gov- ernment debt, driving down the interest rates, and then remits most of the interest earned back to the Treasury. If a private party engaged in such activities, it would be called “money laundering,” and the participants might well go to jail. The reason this monetary game has not resulted in in- flation up to now is that even though the Fed is buying the bonds from the banks with money created out of thin air, the banks are increasingly subject to greater regulatory restraints on what they can do with the money. The big banks have “bank accounts” with the Fed. The Fed started paying a small amount of in- terest on these accounts to the banks. So the big banks, in essence, get free money from the government on which the government pays them in- terest. If the banks lend the money to private parties who are willing to pay a higher interest rate, the banks risk fines, or worse, if the loans happen to go bad. As a re- sult, the banks increasingly restrict their lending to big companies and the politically favored where the risks are perceived to be lower – rather than to small business and entrepreneurial enterprises that create most of real jobs. Because of all of the new financial regulatory restric- tions that make it more diffi- cult to borrow, the demand for loans is artificially depressed. At the same time, the popu- lation pyramid is changing. Young people typically are borrowers – for education, homes and autos. As people get older, they tend to increase their savings rates to prepare for old age and borrow less. As a result of the decline in birth rates and an aging pop- ulation, there are fewer bor- rowers and more savers. As the real return on savings de- clines, many save more, as the Japanese have been doing for the last few decades, to make up for the lower rate of return on the savings. The Fed has no costless way to wind down its mas- sive holdings of U.S. govern- ment debt and its holdings of government-backed mort- gages that it bought from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Who would buy all of this stuff if the Fed decided to sell, and at what price? If the Fed interest rate subsidy to the Treasury stops – the cost of debt service will soar, either crowding out other spending or forcing massive tax increases or inflation. Rapid economic growth is the only real solution to the government debt problem and negative interest rates for savers. Such growth will require large cuts in regu- latory costs, a far less dam- aging tax system, and major real cuts in government spending. Which politician is going to deliver that? Richard W. Rahn, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth, is on the Editorial Board of Cayman Financial Review. © 2015, The Washington Times A Library of Congress for the digital age BloomBerg View editorial Board For 215 years, the Library of Congress has been col- lecting and organizing the world’s knowledge for the benefit of Americans. Now its longtime leader is ex- iting amid acrimony, its mis- sion is increasingly mud- dled and – no small matter – Americans have Google. Is the world’s largest library still necessary? The answer is yes. But as with every institution in the digital age, it needs to evolve. Its next leader, the 14th Librarian of Congress, will face three big challenges. The first is boring but critical. The library – with more than 100 million books and manuscripts, a US$630 million budget and a staff of more than 3,000 – is sprawling, chaotic and in- creasingly archaic. As a with- ering report from the General Accounting Office found ear- lier this year, its technology is outdated, duplicative and dis- organized. Hundreds of new flat- screen monitors have been sitting in a warehouse for years. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted. The library churned through five temporary chief information officers in three years before a permanent one was appointed in September. Its next leader should appre- ciate that modernizing the library’s technology – and hiring better IT staff – is a prerequisite for subsequent reforms, such as digitizing more of its archives and opening more of its research to the public. The second challenge is more daunting, but poten- tially more edifying. With many of the nation’s 16,000 public libraries shrinking, closing or morphing into so- cial-service centers, it’s ap- propriate to ask whether such institutions are still es- sential to a 21st-century de- mocracy. The next librarian should have a ready answer – they are – and be able to ar- ticulate a vision for libraries in the digital age. That doesn’t mean awk- wardly chasing Silicon Valley trends (the library’s mysti- fying attempt to collect ev- erything on Twitter comes to mind). But it does mean ap- plying the values that librar- ians have long upheld to a new era when they’re by no means assured. Simply pre- serving knowledge, for in- stance, is shockingly difficult online: Most Web pages dis- appear within months of their creation. The free exchange of information is diminished when citizens are tracked and prodded by marketers as they journey across the Web, and when much of what they find is dubious or corrupted. Helping ensure that authori- tative scholarship and reliable information remain free to the public online should be an overriding priority. Leading an effort to sensibly coordi- nate– and preserve – the dig- ital collections of public and university libraries would be a good start. Finally, the next librarian will have to confront the be- deviling issue of copyright re- form. The U.S. Copyright Office, a part of the library since 1897, is a crucial component of the global digital economy. But its computer systems are dysfunctional, its staff is over- whelmed, and its decisions too often seem arbitrary. There’s a strong case it would be better off as an independent agency. Although it’s a question for Congress, the broader issue of copyright – and its tension with free speech in the age of the remix– will require some clear and creative thinking from the next librarian. All told, these challenges require a person who com- bines administrative compe- tence with imaginative lead- ership – someone, in other words, suited to an institu- tion built on the library of Thomas Jefferson. © 2015, Bloomberg View5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Tuesday November 24, 2015 Welcome to the annual Convention of the Church of God (Universal) 83 Walkers Road, George Town Tuesday, November 24 – Sunday November 29, 2015 General Services Daily: 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM Tuesday & Thursday Afternoon Services 2:30pm Special Young People’s Service Sunday 29th 2:30pm Visiting Ministers and Singers will join the Local Congregations for these Special Services. Bro. James Arch – Pastor 946-4007 (office) 946-4008 (Fax) Email: coguni@candw.ky PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND Court dismisses appeal against murder conviction Trial judge believed Marlon Dillon’s evidence that Brian Borden confessed to shooting Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Court of Appeal on Friday rejected argu- ments on behalf of Brian Emmanuel Borden, who was convicted last year of mur- dering Robert Mackford Bush on the night of Sept. 13, 2011 in West Bay. After upholding the con- viction, court president Sir John Chadwick affirmed the sentence of life imprison- ment, noting it was the only sentence the judge hearing the matter could pass. Lead counsel Trevor Burke had argued the ap- peal last Wednesday. His first argument concerned the Crown’s failure to dis- close documents concerning Marlon Dillon, the man who said Borden had confessed shooting Mr. Bush. By the time Dillon gave evidence against Borden, he had already confessed to his roles in the 2012 robberies at Cayman National Bank and WestStar Television Centre, but he had not yet been sen- tenced. Mr. Burke said Dillon lied about Borden in order to get a reduced sentence: the documents the Crown had not disclosed showed that Dillon was seeking help from authorities so that he could serve his sentence in another country and be pro- vided with a new identity. In reading the appeal court’s decision, Justice Alan Moses pointed out that the Crown is required to dis- close relevant evidence that might help a defendant throughout proceedings. The test for the appeal court to consider was whether, as a result of documents not being disclosed, there was a real possibility of a different outcome of Borden’s trial. The court found that, while specific documents had not been disclosed, the information in them had been available to the de- fense from police notes of interviews with Dillon in 2012. There was ample ev- idence of Dillon’s wish for himself and his family to be relocated; he had told an officer how frightened he was that his wife and baby would be killed. By the time Borden’s trial started in July 2014, the Crown did disclose the offer to Dillon’s family of finan- cial assistance for airfare and three months rent. Dillon apparently be- lieved that authorities had broken promises to get him relocated. But whether that was true or only a belief, it would not have helped Borden at his trial, Justice Moses pointed out – any be- lief that authorities were going back on their word would have reduced Dillon’s inducement to help them. Borden had chosen to be tried by judge alone. Justice Alexander Henderson had said he could not convict Borden unless he was sure that Dillon was telling the truth. He indicated it would be dangerous to accept the Dillon’s evidence of Borden’s confession unless there was supporting evidence. The trial judge could have accepted all or part or none of Dillon’s evidence, the appeal court noted. Justice Henderson ac- cepted Dillon’s evidence that Borden said he had approached Mr. Bush’s car along with another man and both of them had guns. Court of appeal welcomes new sentencing guidelines Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A sentence of three years and seven months was not manifestly excessive even after a guilty plea to the of- fense of defilement, the Court of Appeal ruled last week. The court dismissed the appeal of Shankino Ebanks, who was sentenced in November 2014 by Justice Charles Quin. Attorney Michael Snape argued that the judge did not give enough credit for Ebanks’s guilty plea and failed to give sufficient con- sideration to his difficult background. Justice Sir Alan Moses delivered the court’s ruling, noting, “The facts were all too familiar of a man substan- tially older than the victim, who was under 16.” The girl was 15 years and seven months old and Ebanks was 29. “It is just that disparity in age, across which the relationship occurs, that this law is designed to pre- vent,” Justice Moses said. The court accepted that Ebanks had a background of being abused himself and was in a difficult relationship with a woman with whom he had three children. Despite these difficulties, he had never been accused of any sexual offense before. It was accepted by all par- ties that the girl had entered into the relationship will- ingly. The first time she and Ebanks were intimate, he did not know she was under 16. By the second time, however, he knew her true age. The court said Justice Quin referred to Cayman guidelines and a starting point of five years “for of- fenses of this sort which are, understandably and right- fully, regarded as more se- rious than they might be re- garded in other jurisdictions.” He emphasized that the court welcomed recently an- nounced sentencing guide- lines that will take the same form as U.K. guidelines. “We would underline their im- portance in future consid- eration of sentences. We have no doubt they will not be applied in a mechanical, rigid way and will always allow for flexibility so that appropriate sentences, ei- ther higher or lower than given starting points, of course will apply.” The court rejected the submission that Justice Quin had been too rigid in his approach. He had re- duced his starting point to four years and explained why. The reduction for a guilty plea was small be- cause the plea came on the day the trial was to start. The appeal court pointed out that Ebanks himself knew better than anyone else what the true facts were and that he had no answer to the charge against him. It was agreed that the age difference was the most ag- gravating factor. Ebanks’s offending did not involve targeting or aggression or se- duction as these cases some- times do, Justice Moses com- mented during submissions. Defilement sentence not excessive, court says Police vehicle in accident A Royal Cayman Islands Police Service ve- hicle collided with a pri- vate passenger vehicle while responding to a call on Sunday night just be- fore 9 p.m. Police said the acci- dent occurred at the junc- tion of Smith Road and Bobby Thompson Way when the police vehicle, a white Ford Explorer, hit a silver Toyota Hilux pickup truck carrying three people. Those in the Hilux were taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and later released. The accident is under investigation. Borden had named the other man. The judge referred to cellphone records showing Borden’s phone to be in the area of the shooting. Phone records also showed commu- nications between Borden’s and the other man’s phones. These were facts Dillon could not have been aware of when he told police about Borden’s confession to him, Justice Henderson noted. Borden did not give evi- dence, and the judge said he was entitled to draw an ad- verse inference from this si- lence. Borden was well rep- resented and well advised, Justice Henderson pointed out; he was satisfied that Borden’s silence was because he had no answer to the charge, or none that could stand up to cross-examina- tion. That adverse inference plus the evidence he accepted as factual made him sure that Dillon was telling the truth about the confession he attributed to Borden. Justice Moses referred to the Privy Council judg- ment earlier this month that reversed a decision of Cayman’s Court of Appeal and reinstated the conviction of Robert Aaron Crawford, who was found guilty by Justice Charles Quin after a judge-alone trial. The judg- ment pointed out that the trial judge assesses the credi- bility and reliability of a wit- ness he sees and hears, while an appeal court sees only findings on paper. In order to reverse a deci- sion, the appeal court had to be convinced it was wrong, and not merely entertain doubts whether it was right. Mr. Burke had also ar- gued that there was con- siderable evidence to impli- cate two other members of the “Birch Tree Hill gang” for Mr. Bush’s murder, saying it was at least as cred- ible as the evidence against Borden, but the trial judge did not give it serious con- sideration. The appeal court rejected this argument also as well as a complaint that Justice Henderson had been inconsistent in the way he treated Dillon and the way he treated a defense witness. Mr. Burke’s submissions were replied to by prose- cutor Andrew Radcliffe, as- sisted by senior Crown counsel Tricia Hutchinson. Commenting in Justice Henderson’s consideration of Marlon Dillon’s evidence, Mr. Radcliffe said, “We submit this is a textbook ex- ample of how a judge sitting alone should direct himself.”Tuesday November 24, 2015 • Cayman Compass 6 DISTRICT DAYS Paddle Inn for the community BasIa McGuIre bmcguire@pinnaclemedialtd.com For nearly a decade, a modest eatery tucked away on Stadium Drive in the heart of West Bay has been a favorite for diners. The Paddle Inn Restaurant, the brainchild of Lorraine and Thomas Ebanks, has been serving delicious family food for seven years and is still going strong. A typical weekday menu boasts enticing items like oxtail, chili, pork chops, salt beef and beans, along with baked, stew and bar- becue chicken. Prepared by the deft hand of chef Nathan Johnson, a master of Cayman traditional cooking, the menu changes from day to day, with a wide range of hot dishes and a daily soup. But perhaps the worst kept se- cret that keeps customers coming back is the restaurant’s affordable prices. Indeed, the cost of a lunch or diner merits a double take. Lorraine Ebanks proudly draws attention to the establish- ment’s prices. “Our prices are very low - $3 for the small dinner and $8 for the large,” she said. Ms. Ebanks explained the couple’s motivation to offer low prices was deliberate as a way for them to help the community, with a particular focus on helping single mothers feed their children. “It was very hurtful to hear they were not getting any help from anyone, including the fa- thers of the babies, and that they couldn’t feed their children prop- erly, that it’s so hard for them,” she said. “Now all they do is thank us for what we are doing to help them and the community. Everyone is so grateful for what we are doing.” She added, “The people of West Bay have always supported us, and mostly they are greatly ap- preciative that our prices are so low that they can afford to buy lunches for themselves and their children. And now we get support from the whole island.” Indeed, the Paddle Inn devel- oped such a loyal following that the owners had a second location in Industrial Park for a while. “We were blessed to help West Bay, and we got a lot of requests from friends that work in town to open a restaurant in town. Due to expenses, unfortunately, we had to close that one down,” said Ms. Ebanks. “Everyone that bought food from us in town are always asking us to reopen in town,” she added, but noted that there are no plans to open another location. Asked how the Paddle Inn man- ages to stay in business and keep prices low, Ms. Ebanks responded with optimism. “All we can say is that we have never received any assistance from anyone, but the help of God keeps us in business. We are blessed to be able to feed the community. The proprietors’ motivation to offer low prices was a way for them to help the community, with a particular focus on helping single mothers feed their children. In the Nov. 24, 1965 edition of the Caymanian Weekly, a predecessor of the Cayman Compass, West Bay correspondent Leila Yates wrote about what is was like get- ting from place to place on Grand Cayman be- fore there were taxis: “‘How are you going to town tomorrow?’ “‘I’m going on Uncle Feetie canoe,’ would be the answer. That meant he was walking it. “These were the days before we had our first taxi service pioneered by the late Hermon Jackson and John Smith, followed by the late Hopkin Ebanks in 1923. “The present generation knows nothing of the difficulty experienced in those days as they sit in their cars and drive into town on an asphalted road in a few minutes. “We had only a narrow path infested with burs that would so often get into our feet. It was usual to walk without shoes to avoid sand getting in and blistering our feet. Feet were washed and shoes put on at Mr. Gratson Parsons’ home which stood where the Pageant Beach Hotel is now built. If the tide was low it would be fine walking along the beach as the sand would be hard, almost like marl road. “A crowd would get together and appoint a day to go into town. The journey would not seem tiresome as we would chat and pick co- coplums along they way. No one feared being knocked down by a car – cats and rabbits were the only things to be seen on the road. “There were times when a passage could be obtained on a boat and this would be a very enjoyable trip if the sea was not rough. “I do not think anybody walks these days and I don’t blame them. Thanks goodness for better days.” 50 years ago Before we had taxis Lorriane ebanks mans the counter at the Paddle Inn. - Photo: Jewel levy District Days West BayCayman Compass • Tuesday November 24, 2015 7 DISTRICT DAYS District Days West Bay The West Bay Pirates Week winning babies, from left, are Naelami Clarke, Skyler Rivers, Lacie Akers, Onella Gould, Isabel Swaby and the winning boy in the foreground is Mikal McLaughlin. West Bay Heritage Day Billy Banker and Marlena Anglin prepare to twist rope. - Photo: Jewel levy Crafter Rose May Ebanks sews a thatch purse. - Photo: Jewel levy Langley Ebanks and Kaylee Ebanks sell jewelry designed by Mr. Ebanks. - Photo: Jewel levy Pirates Week 2015 Festival Queen Anika Conolly of West Bay with West Bay Heritage Committee Chair Eziethamae Bodden. West Bay residents and visitors explored the district’s rich history and culture as part of Pirates Week District Heritage Day last Wednesday in events including rope making with indigenous Cayman Silver Thatch, enjoying local delicacies and visiting popular destinations. Jeffery Seymour with a plate of fritters and fried plantain. - Photo: Jewel levy People line up to purchase local food.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 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. Tuesday November 24, 2015 • Cayman Compass TUESDAY, NOV. 24 SISTER ISLANDS POST OFFICES: All post offices on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman will be closed for staff training today. All post offices will re-open tomorrow. WORKFORCE AGENCY: Representatives from the National Workforce Development Agency will be available to meet with employers and job seekers at the Cayman Brac DLP office, 256 Creek Road. Today 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 945-3114 for an appointment. Walk-ins welcome. DRAWING CLASSES: Visual Arts Society offers life drawing classes tonight, Dec. 1 and 8 at Watler House on the grounds of Pedro Castle. $25 per session, $35 for non-members. Contact visualartcayman@ yahoo.com. FREE HOLIDAY MOVIE: 7 p.m. “The Nightmare before Christmas” (PG, 1993) Gardenia Court, Camana Bay. Families can gather in the courtyard to enjoy their favorite Christmas films on a giant outdoor screen. Tuesdays through Dec. 22. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 25 WORKFORCE AGENCY: Representatives from the National Workforce Development Agency will be at the Cayman Brac DLP office, 256 Creek Road. Workshop on Time management, 2-5 p.m. To register, call 945-3114 or email nwda.training@gov.ky. CERAMIC OPEN STUDIO: The Visual Arts Society offers the studio to adults who want to work independently. 9 a.m. to noon at Watler House, Pedro Castle. $15 members, $25 non-members. Contact visualartcayman@ yahoo.com. NOSOTROS: Spanish Floetry at Books & Books, Camana Bay. 6:30-7:30 p.m. All are invited. Free admission. THURSDAY, NOV. 26 WORKFORCE AGENCY: Representatives from the National Workforce Development Agency will be at the Cayman Brac DLP office, 256 Creek Road. Workshop on interviewing strategies, 9 a.m. to noon. To register, call 945-3114 or email nwda.training@gov.ky. FRIDAY, NOV. 27 PLAYHOUSE FAMILY CHRISTMAS: Cayman Drama Society presents a one-hour Christmas variety show for the entire family. Tonight and tomorrow, doors open at 6:30 p.m. with curtain at 7:30 p.m. Matinee Sunday at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5:15 p.m. Final shows weekend of Dec. 4-6. Adults $15, children under 12, $10. Purchase tickets online at www.cds.ky or call 938-1998. OUTDOOR GOSPEL CONCERT: Red Bay Church of God (Holiness) holds Outdoor Gospel Concert featuring the Red Bay Gospel Band. 7:30 p.m. Airport Park. Free admission. Food and drinks on sale. SATURDAY, NOV. 28 MUSEUM STREET PARTY: All are invited to a street party – Looky Ya! - and the opening of a special new exhibit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Cayman’s National Museum. The party takes place on Harbour Drive and Goring Avenue 2-9 p.m. and features music, crafts, storytelling, museum tours, singing, dancing and more. Admission is free. There will be a Christmas bazaar with local crafters and artists, as well as food vendors representing some of the cultures that make up the Cayman community. GRADUATION CEREMONY: The public is invited to attend the graduation ceremony for students of the Canadian International Chaplaincy Association. 7 p.m. Mary Miller Memorial Hall. PINK LADIES CHRISTMAS BAzAAR: 2-5 p.m. The Arts & Recreation Centre, Camana Bay. The annual fundraiser features homemade tea, handmade crafts, white elephant sale, silent auction, special performances. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from any Pink Lady or at the gate. LITTLE CAYMAN: Pirates Week Little Cayman weekend. Contact pirates@ candw.ky. SINGING CHRISTMAS TREE: 6:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. On the grounds of First Assembly of God Church. 195 Old Crewe Road. Free admission. All are invited. Call 929-5380 or 945-2182 for further information. FESTIVAL OF THE SEAS: The Central Caribbean Marine Institute invites everyone to join a night of adventure at The Ritz- Carlton, Grand Cayman to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Little Cayman Research Centre. For more information about purchasing sponsor tables and tickets, contact Brittainy at bslade@reefresearch.org. SUNDAY, NOV. 29 TREE LIGHTING: The Northward Road Park annual tree lighting takes place at 6 p.m. with a carols by candlelight service. All are invited. MONDAY, NOV. 30 GRAND COURT JURORS: All Grand Court Jurors in the Oct. 7 – Dec. 31 session who are not currently selected to sit on a trial should report for jury duty today at 9:45 a.m. Call the Jury Information line at 945- 5072 for the most up-to- date information. SATURDAY, DEC. 5 CAR BOOT SALE: At George Town Yacht Club to benefit national council of voluntary organizations. 6-8:30 a.m. $50 per registration. NCVO will accept any clothes or household items donated after the sale. Contact Cara at chennessy@dms.com.ky. GENERAL INTEREST SOLID WASTE: Members of the public can help shape the direction of solid waste management in the Cayman Islands by taking a survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ solidwastestrategy before Nov. 30. The survey allows the public to state what they are already doing to reduce waste, and to share their feedback on key aspects of the draft national solid waste management strategy. IMMIGRATION DEPT.: Due to an inflow of members of the public at the Department of Immigration Cayman Centre Office on Owen Roberts Drive, visitors will be accommodated at this venue only by way of a scheduled appointment. All queries and other transactions, including customers without appointments, will be received and handled at Immigration Headquarters on Elgin Avenue. Customers may contact the Call Centre on 949-8344 and speak with a communications officer. 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. 2016 CALENDARS: Sale benefits NCVO and Cayman HospiceCare. Local artwork, recipes and events. Call 949-2124. $15 includes envelope for mailing. 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 at 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.-4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-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. to 2 p.m. and 5–7 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Red Cross headquarters on Thomas Russell Way. Book bargain every Thursday and Friday, a bagful for $5. 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. NCVO VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Volunteers needed for the National Council of Voluntary Organisations’ Children’s 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. 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. PINK LADIES: Coffee Shop at Cayman Islands Hospital is open Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks. Takeout orders welcome, call 244-2661. Funds are donated back to the community. Contact pinkladiescayman@ gmail.com. DEMENTIA/ALzHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at the Catboat Club clubhouse, North Church Street. All are invited to attend. For more information, call 924-4170 or email info@adacayman.com. Santa and his reindeer perform a musical number at last year’s Playhouse Family Christmas. Cayman Drama Society will present its one-hour Christmas variety show on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28. Call 938-1998 for details.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Tuesday November 24, 2015 Crown: Watson, Webb used company to defraud public sector award of the CarePay con- tract in December 2010, ju- rors were told Monday. Sums said to be profits from the CarePay contract were paid in both large checks and in cash enve- lopes that prosecutors allege were handled by Rodriguez. Prosecutors said the cash en- velopes Rodriguez handled “appeared were to be handed out to Jeff Webb.” Webb, a former FIFA offi- cial facing an unrelated crim- inal case in the U.S., will not be tried in this matter before the Cayman Islands Grand Court even though he has been charged in connection with it. However, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Patrick Moran told the court Monday that Webb’s involvement may be a matter for “another jury on another day.” Calling the events sur- rounding the award and im- plementation of the CarePay contract a “sorry saga,” Mr. Moran said “numerous” other individuals had been in- volved in the award and im- plementation of the hospital swipe card contract, but that jurors were not being asked to determine whether their activities fell outside the law at this stage either. “Well over $3 million in public money was paid out by HSA and CINICO as a result of [the CarePay] contract,” Mr. Moran said. “The tale which followed the signing of that contract is not a happy tale.” Early days Making an opening speech, which Mr. Moran ex- pected could last up to three days, he laid out the devel- opments in the early days that led to the creation of AIS Cayman Ltd. and another company in which Watson and Webb were allegedly in- volved, the W Group. The Crown highlighted the close business and per- sonal relationship that ex- isted between Watson and Webb in their dealings. Mr. Moran said the two “were like brothers.” The W Group, which was to “feature heavily in the CarePay contract investigation,” was established following a March 2010 Memorandum of Understanding agreed by Watson and a Delaware Corporation known as Turner International. “The W Group was lined up to receive a large portion of money paid out by the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority and CINCIO on the back of the CarePay scheme,” Mr. Moran said. AIS Cayman Mr. Moran detailed dis- cussions of a meeting held between Cayman Islands public health officials on Aug. 11, 2010 during which Jamaican businessman Douglas Halsall and other representatives of a company known as AIS [Advanced Integrated Systems] Jamaica made a presentation of their hospital swipe-card system. The system was touted as a “real-time” patient in- formation system that could track charges for health ser- vices at the point which they were made. To participate in the system, hospital patients needed to obtain a swipe card, similar to a credit card, they could use at public health facilities. A week after that meeting, Webb and Watson both par- ticipated in email discussions that referred to the creation and incorporation of a local company that was to be de- veloped as the partner for AIS Jamaica in the swipe-card system, prosecutors said. In addition, Watson sent a letter to then-Cayman Islands Health Minister Mark Scotland on Aug. 18, 2010 asking the minister to approve the cre- ation of a technical committee to evaluate the Jamaican com- pany’s proposals for the swipe card system. Mr. Watson proposed he would chair that committee along with several other prominent local health offi- cials. Mr. Scotland approved the proposal, prosecutors said. There was no evidence, prosecutors said, that other members of the evaluation committee or former Minister Scotland knew of Watson’s interests or activities in set- ting up AIS Cayman Ltd. at that time. The overall course of con- duct revealed two important points, Mr. Moran said. First, that Webb “in- tended to personally ben- efit” from any business given to AIS. Second, and more importantly, that Watson, the chairman of the Health Services Authority at that time, “was well aware of it.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Social media helps drive historic Cuban exodus to US PENAS BLANCAS, Costa Rica (AP) – As summer began to bake the central Cuban city of Sancti Spiritus, Elio Alvarez and Lideisy Hernandez sold their tiny apartment and ev- erything in it for $5,000 and joined the largest migra- tion from their homeland in decades. Buying two smartphones for $160 apiece on a layover on their way to Ecuador, they plugged themselves into a highly organized, well-funded and increasingly successful homebrewed effort to make human traffickers obsolete by using smartphones and mes- saging apps on much of the 3,400-mile overland journey that was become Cubans’ main route to the U.S. Some 45,000 Cubans are expected to move by bus, boat, taxi and on foot from Ecuador and other South and Central American countries to the Texas and California borders this year, afraid that the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba will mean an imminent end to special immigration privi- leges that date to the opening of the Cold War. With thou- sands more taking rafts across the Florida Straits, 2015 may witness the big- gest outflow of Cubans since the 1980 Mariel boatlift that hauled 125,000 people across the Florida Straits. The overland exodus has caused a border crisis in Central America, set off ten- sions in the newly friendly U.S.-Cuban relationship and sparked rising calls in the U.S. to end Cubans’ auto- matic right to legal residency once they touch U.S. soil. At the heart of it all is Cubans’ ability to cross some of the world’s most dangerous territory relatively unscathed by the corrupt border guards, criminal gangs and human traffickers known as coy- otes who make life hell for so many other Latin American migrants. Key to that ability is the constant flow of in- formation between migrants starting the journey and those who have just completed it. “Those who’ve arrived have gotten in touch with their acquaintances, their friends, and tell them how the route is. That means that no one needs a coyote,” said Hernandez, a 32-year-old psy- chologist. “You go making friends along the way. I myself have 70, 80-something friends on Facebook who’ve already gotten to the United States.” Cuban migrants start with an advantage others can only dream of: Many countries along the route grant Cubans free passage because their government does not respond to most requests for informa- tion about illegal migrants that would allow them to be deported. And many Cubans who run out of money along the way have access to hun- dreds or thousands of dollars in backup funds sent by rel- atives who belong to one of the United States’ most pros- perous immigrant groups. Once they reach the U.S. border, they can just show up at an established U.S. port of entry and declare their na- tionality, avoiding the dan- gerous desert crossings that confront many migrants who try to avoid U.S. Border Patrol. Federal data shows 45,000 Cubans appeared at U.S. land border points in the 12 months ending Sept. 20, and at least as many are ex- pected in the coming year. But along the way, Cubans still must navigate jungles, rivers, at least seven interna- tional borders and countries in the grip of gangs respon- sible for some of the world’s highest homicide rates. Asked their secret, Cubans interviewed in shel- ters along Costa Rica’s northern border with Nicaragua almost uni- versally pointed to cheap smartphones, data plans and Facebook. “We’re completely, al- ways, alert to our phones,” Alvarez said, gesturing to his Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini outside a border station in northern Costa Rica, where he and some 2,000 other Cuban migrants were stuck waiting for resolution of a regional conflict set off by Nicaragua’s closure of the crossing. “This is our best friend, the phone. It’s always on, always ready.” While many move across large swathes of territory in- dependent of coyotes, others still depend on traffickers, most commonly when they need to get across compli- cated borders. On Nov. 10, a U.S.-backed Costa Rican task force on human trafficking arrested 12 people suspected of helping run an international ring that charged Cubans be- tween $7,000 and $15,000 to be smuggled from South America to the U.S. border, or $400 to be moved safely across Costa Rica. Alongside the anti-traf- ficking operation, Costa Rica began holding Cubans in the town of Paso Canoas on the Panamanian border. Their numbers grew to around 1,600 until Costa Rica an- nounced on Nov. 13 that it would allow them to transit the country to Nicaragua. Complaining that it was not consulted, Nicaragua dispatched soldiers to the border to block the Cubans’ passage, setting off minor clashes at the Penas Blancas crossing on Nov. 15. The dispute has left some 2,000 Cubans stranded in shelters in Guanacaste prov- ince on the Nicaraguan border, with dozens more ar- riving daily. The local sales office for telecommunica- tions company Movistar has increased the number of sales vans along the border from two to seven, most sta- tioned permanently outside the Cubans’ temporary en- campments in schools and churches, selling 2-for-1 $3-per-megabyte data pack- ages to a steady stream of Cuban migrants. Central America govern- ments have called an emer- gency meeting on the crisis in El Salvador on Tuesday. Nicaragua, a close socialist ally of Cuba, has not pub- licly responded to a Costa Rican proposal to create a “humanitarian corridor” for Cubans to move unhindered toward the U.S. Cuba, meanwhile, has made a series of public state- ments blaming U.S. emigra- tion policies for drawing so many from their home- land, draining the country of badly needed professionals and working-age adults. Ironically, the Cuban gov- ernment has been joined by an increasing number of Cuban-American legislators in the U.S. who say the Cold War-era Cuban Adjustment Act that grants new mi- grants special privileges is being abused by economic migrants instead of granting asylum to political refugees as originally intended. Outside observers say Cuba’s own policies also fuel emigration, which si- phons dissatisfied Cubans away from the island and in- creases the number of people injecting badly needed re- mittances into Cuba’s cash- starved economy. The com- munist government did away with a hated exit permit three years ago and also began al- lowing Cubans to establish permanent residence in the U.S. while maintaining their property rights and access to social services in Cuba. Geny Machado worked as a private shopkeeper in the Havana neighborhood of Guanabacoa before he hop- scotched from Trinidad and Tobago to Venezuela, where he started a months-long journey north with stops to work and earn money for the next stages. Other Cubans interviewed in Costa Rica were making their way from as far south as Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Cuban migrants use their cellphones outside the border control building in Penas Blancas, Costa Rica, at the border with Nicaragua. - PHOTO: APNext >