ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 BUSINESS | PAGE 10 EU AUTHORITY DELAYS DECISION ON PASSPORTING High of 89 Low of 78 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 DRESSING UP OUR ILLEGAL BEACH VENDORS Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter Discover the adventure at the Join us with our resident rates CI $10 Adults CI $ 4 Children 786 Northwest Point Road, West Bay, Grand Cayman info@turtle.ky | www.turtle.ky | +1 345 949 2894 +1 345 949 2894 / Cayman Turtle Premier: Residency review ‘not intended’ for publication BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A consultant’s review of the Cayman Is- lands Immigration Law completed earlier this year is “not intended” for publication, ac- cording to Premier Alden McLaughlin. However, the premier said Monday that the public will know shortly what his administra- tion intends to do with the advice from David Ritch, one of Cayman’s foremost immigration attorneys and former chairman of the Work Permit Board. The fate of more than 600 non-Caymanians who have applied for permanent residence under the territory’s Immigration Law hang in the balance. “I do understand and am deeply concerned about resolving this issue urgently,” Mr. McLaughlin said. As far as Mr. Ritch’s review, which was presented to the premier and Attorney General Sam Bulgin in the late spring, Mr. McLaughlin said, in his view, the report constitutes legally privileged advice. “Government is considering and will act on the advice, but it should be understood that this advice is subject to legal professional privilege,” he said. “As such, the advice is not intended for publication.” The Cayman Compass has filed an open records request for the consultant’s report under the Freedom of Information Law. Mr. McLaughlin said his announcement about what changes government would make to the process of permanent residence ap- plications and approvals would be made be- fore the start of the next Legislative Assembly meeting, tentatively set for September. Cayman lawmakers have been facing pres- sure on immigration issues since August 2015, when a landmark ruling by Chief Jus- tice Anthony Smellie cited two major areas JUDGE: GM MOSQUITO PROJECT CAN PROCEED KELSEY JUKAM kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com The release of millions of genetically modi- fied mosquitoes in West Bay can proceed, after a Grand Court judge on Tuesday refused an application for another stay of the project. As of press time, the Mosquito Research and Control Unit and U.K. biotechnology com- pany Oxitec – collaborators on the project – had not announced when the release will begin. Kerrie Cox of HSM Chambers, a lawyer for the applicant, applied for a stay of the project pending an application for an appeal of Jus- tice Ingrid Mangatal’s decision to refuse an application for judicial review, which she an- nounced in court Monday. Judge Mangatal said she did not believe the application for a judicial review was a “frivo- lous claim” and did not think applicant Dwene Ebanks had acted unreasonably in bringing it to court, and therefore would not give an order requiring him to pay for the respondent’s costs. However, she said she did not believe there was a “real prospect” of an appeal succeeding. “I am of the view that when the facts and circumstances of the case are viewed closely, there are greater risks … if I were to grant a stay at this time than if I were to refuse it,” the judge said. MRCU Director Bill Petrie said he was “re- lieved” by the court’s decisions to refuse the application for judicial review and the stay. “We need to get on with the job,” Mr. Petrie said. “This is quite urgent from a public health perspective, so … what we need to do now is get the project back on track.” Water park planned for George Town JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Plans have been submitted for a water park, bar and cafe- teria-style restaurant in down- town George Town. Drawings submitted to the Central Planning Authority show at least two large water slides, five smaller “animal slides,” two pools and a “Nerf field.” So- called Nerf battles, increasingly popular in North America, are a gentler version of paintball, in- volving brightly colored, plastic foam-firing guns. There is no written submis- sion with the plans, submitted through architect Robert Towell. Mr. Towell said his client did not wish to comment at this early stage in the process. The drawings indicate the water park is planned for a 3.2- acre site between Bodden Road and North Church Street, close Hyatt staff reunite for 30th anniversary Former staff of the Hyatt Regency Hotel gather around the Beach Suites pool on Seven Mile Beach on Monday as part of an ongoing 30th anniversary reunion. The glitzy Hyatt Regency, which opened in 1986, shut down in 2004 after being badly damaged in Hurricane Ivan. The reunion brings together former staffers from all over the world and others who have remained on island. – PHOTO: MAGGIE JACKSON PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. y x *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - WEDNESDAY - STAR TREK BEYOND 3D (PG13) 1:00 I 4:00 2D I 7:00 I 9:45 2D THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 3D (PG) 1:10 2D I 3:15 I 7:10 2D I 9:30 GHOSTBUSTERS 3D (PG13) 12:30 I 3:30 2D I 6:45 I 9:45 2D ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE 3D (PG) 2:00 I 4:30 2D I 7:20 I 9:40 2D THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR (R) 1:30 I 4:00 I 6:55 I 10:00 THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (PG13) 12:50 I 3:45 I 6:50 I 9:50 Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 640-FILM (640-3456) (AP) – The Obama ad- ministration will soon ex- pand efforts to help Cen- tral American families and children legally immi- grate to the United States amid another surge of mi- grants caught crossing the border illegally. White House Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Amy Pope said Tuesday that the administration will expand in-country ref- ugee processing for fami- lies coming from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and launch an effort to temporarily relocate some families to Costa Rica. The government is also broadening a nearly two- year-old program to allow some Central American chil- dren to reunite with par- ents already legally living in the United States. Deputy Homeland Se- curity Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that pro- gram will now allow some unmarried siblings, in- country parents and other caregivers to move to the U.S. with a child approved for the program. The efforts are de- signed in part to combat the crush of tens of thou- sands of families and unac- companied children caught crossing the border illegally this year. But it is unclear how quickly the expanded efforts may impact the flow of immigrants trying to make their way to the United States illegally. Since the state of the budget year in October, more than 51,100 people traveling as families and more than 43,000 unaccom- panied children have been caught illegally crossing the Mexican border. The number of such immigrants has been steadily rising this year after significant de- creases between the 2014 and 2015 budget years. The Obama administra- tion first launched the ef- fort to allow child immi- grants to legally come to the U.S. in December 2014. More than 600 have moved to the United States since then. Mayorkas said 2,884 kids have been approved for the program and more than 9,500 applications are pending. In January, the admin- istration first announced that the U.N. High Com- missioner for Refugees would pre-screen would- be refugee families. U.S. of- ficials will now handle more in-country processing for those families. Pope said refugee pro- grams in Central America are being expanded because “current efforts to date haven’t been sufficient.” The new programs, she said, are designed to help “promote safe and orderly immigra- tion and border security.” Pope said it is unclear how many families and children may benefit from the enhanced programs. Of- ficials expect requests for help to increase as the pro- grams get under way. OBAMA EXPANDING REFUGEE PROGRAM FOR CENTRAL AMERICANS Student ‘overjoyed’ to be attending Princeton ALMA CHOLLETTE achollette@pinnaclemedialtd.com Eighteen-year-old Ethan Whittaker will be packing his bags soon to at- tend Princeton University, one of eight Ivy League schools in the United States. The “Ivy League” generally connotes prestigious universities with selec- tivity in admissions and known for ac- ademic excellence. Mr. Whittaker, one of very few Cay- manians to attend Princeton, will begin his bachelor studies this fall in physics at the private university in Princeton, New Jersey, south of New York City. After receiving his letter of accep- tance, he said he was “just overjoyed really.” “My parents were crying. It was a very emotional experience,” he added. Princeton is typically ranked at or near the top of published lists of in- stitutions of higher learning in the U.S. and worldwide. Mr. Whittaker, of Savannah, also re- ceived offers from Imperial College London, Durham University in north- east England, and Duke University and Swarthmore College, both in the U.S. He narrowed his choices down to Swarth- more and Princeton. “I was really focusing on liberal arts education,” he said. “It’s something to give me the freedom to pick courses from different departments and it’s re- ally to follow my passion.” Swarthmore, a Forbes top 10 liberal arts school, was the first to send him an acceptance letter. “I was really excited,” he said. “I was, like, if none of the other ones work out, I’m going here.” He said he applied to Princeton on a whim. “I didn’t really expect to get an offer. I didn’t believe it at first. And I still don’t believe it,” he said. Last month, he completed his A-levels in math, chemistry, French and physics at Cayman Prep. In 2014, he earned 12 IGCSEs at A and A* at the high school. He is also an accomplished musi- cian who plays several instruments, and in 2014 he was named Butterfield Young Musician of the Year for his musical skills on the steel pan. At university, Mr. Whittaker will focus on studying his favorite subject, physics, which he said was inspired by his former Cayman Prep A-level physics teacher, Jason Nehra, who was also the faculty head of science. “Going through Prep, I really didn’t know what I would study later on. And [Mr. Nehra] was the only science teacher that I had Year 10 through Year 13 who really started my passion for physics,” said Mr. Whittaker. “And it’s really be- cause of him that I started to enjoy physics as a subject.” He said it’s a bit “frightening” to con- template studying at Princeton, “but very exciting.” “A lot of the programs in the Ivy League schools are really similar, and it’s really the way Princeton teaches lib- eral arts education that moved me to- wards Princeton and away from the other schools.” He also said Princeton was his final choice because of its campus. “When it came down to it, it was visiting the campus and seeing the student body they had and the kind of life that was there around Princeton,” he said. “It’s still a really big school but looks like a close-knit community. Like a family, and like Cayman,” he added. While visiting Princeton, he toured the campus and heard from professors. Fascinated by the fields of astro- physics and psychology, Mr. Whittaker hopes to take a gap year following his bachelor studies to become fluent in French, and to intern with CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Re- search, in Geneva, Switzerland. And some day, he hopes to teach physics. But for the time being, “I keep checking the acceptance letter to make sure it’s ac- tually addressed to me,” he said. “I didn’t really expect to get an offer. I didn’t believe it at first. And I still don’t believe it.” ETHAN WHITTAKER, on being accepted to Princeton Ethan Whittaker - PHOTO: MATT LAMERS FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Stephanie White clutched a stack of photos while sitting in a chair in her home. The tele- vision was on, loud, and turned to the local news. A story came on about the mass shooting at a nightclub that took her baby’s life. “My son,” said White, tired and de- jected Monday afternoon. She waved a hand at the television. “There’s another picture of him.” Her son was one of two teenagers killed early Monday at Club Blu, the latest in a string of mass shootings across the nation this summer. With the Orlando massacre at the Pulse night- club still fresh on her mind, White had advised her 18-year-old on what to do if there was a shooting: “Hit the floor; find a table.” But when gunfire erupted in the parking lot of the Fort Myers club, 18-year-old Stef’an Strawder did not have anywhere to hide. He was killed along with a 14-year-old boy. Sev- enteen people ranging in age from 12 to 27 were wounded during the swimsuit-themed party for teens. “I told him to look for all the exits if any kind of shooting would go off, to hit the floor, find a table and get out of the way … because I thought about the people in Orlando. That was a big thing,” White told The Associated Press. Because the shooting happened in the parking lot, “he didn’t have that chance,” she said. Florida is again reeling from a mass shooting at a nightclub, but instead of being committed by an extremist spouting Islamist ideology, this ram- page may have started with an argument about a rap performance. Police have not yet released a motive. Monday’s shooting was followed by a visit from the governor, makeshift me- morials of flowers and prayer vigils. Mom: Warning did not keep slain son safe at Florida nightclub Officials investigate the scene of a shooting outside of the Club Blu nightclub on Monday. Two teens were killed. – PHOTO: APThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 It’s All About You Our Business Bankers are called Relationship Managers For more information, call: Rolan Heeralal, Area Vice President, Business Banking - 914-8274 Shane Storr, Senior Relationship Manager, Business Banking - 914-8222 Samuel Jacques-Cloutier, Relationship Manager, Business Banking - 914-8273 Peter Letko, Relationship Manager, Business Banking - 914-8228 Sary Menjivar, Associate Relationship Manager - 914-8238 Lana Cranston, Merchant Sales Officer - 914-8221 Sherry Ebanks, Sales Support Officer - 914-8272 The people who work for your business should be loyal, dependable and knowledgeable... and that includes your banker. At RBC Royal Bank, our Relationship Managers are committed to the long term success of your business. They’ll work closely with you to understand your specific challenges and find appropriate, realistic and effective solutions to help your business progress. Let us assign a Relationship Manager to partner with your business today!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. WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS As regular readers of this editorial column are aware, we don’t normally advocate for the nationalization of a private sector industry. But hear us out … In Tuesday’s Cayman Compass, we published the newest installment of the lengthening saga involving the motley troop of vendors who have ensconced themselves on Public Beach, selling and renting everything from beach chairs to Jet Skis. The beach vendors have several fundamental problems. One is they’re not supposed to be oper- ating businesses on Crown land. Another is they don’t have valid trade and business licenses. A third is their increasing, and increasingly high-profile, presence has attracted the attention (and the ire) of many residents and visitors, whose complaints goaded government into action. Well, sort of … Government’s version of action involved creating a five-page “Policy for Public Beach and other beach suppliers,” including mandates such as government “customer service training” (Ponder that for a moment!), heritage and culture training, Department of Tourism inspections, swimming and CPR tests, a dress code, a code of conduct and all sorts of other requirements. It is, in brief, a classic example of a public sector approach to the private sector. However, despite the government’s training and dressing of the beach vendors, the initiative does little to address the following key matter: All trade and business license holders (even “sole traders”) must, according to the Labour Law, have pension plans and health insurance — which, for so-called “micro-entrepreneurs,” can be so expensive as to be cost-prohibitive. As we wrote in Tuesday’s news story, “In the past it was not known whether vendors were paying pension or healthcare costs because none was legally licensed. The new proposed operating code should resolve that problem, Department of Commerce and Investment Director Ryan Rajkumarsingh said.” Knowing may be half the battle, but enforcement is the other. And the issue of enforcement, rather non- enforcement, is integral. Don’t be mistaken: We support all of the country’s entrepreneurs, large and up-and-coming. We believe the Labour Law’s lack of consideration for contract workers, part-time workers, laborers-for-hire and, yes, vendors, constitutes a fatal flaw that should have been rectified when lawmakers recently revamped the legislation. But the law, even a flawed one, is the law. If the trained and uniformed beach vendors cannot fund their own healthcare and pensions, then they aren’t following the law, and government cannot allow them to operate. Indeed, officials predict that the new requirements will force at least some of the vendors out of business alto- gether. We suspect others may continue to operate in spite of the government’s warnings and guidelines. Can either of those outcomes be deemed as accept- able? We think not. Which brings us to where we began. If the govern- ment is already training, dressing and dictating the behavior of the beach vendors, why not finish the job and bring them into the public sector fold? In other words, turn the private vendors into public servants? We’ll tell you why not — because neither the vendors nor the government would ever do that. The vendors wouldn’t because the accompanying costs, rules and restrictions would effectively destroy their relatively free and potentially lucrative livelihoods as entrepreneurs. The government wouldn’t because it would never recoup its expenses; managing the enterprise would be far more trouble than it’s worth; and the vendors wouldn’t like it anyway. So in lieu of our modest proposal, how about an elegant solution: Lawmakers should amend the defective Labour Law to liberate the beach vendors from overly onerous pension and health requirements, along with the hundreds or maybe thousands of part-time, contract and occasional workers who are in the same situation of “noncompliance.” Dressing up our illegal beach vendors PR fiasco could harm real estate environment JAMES BOVELL We have some impor- tant topics to deal with in this country in the coming months, and if we don’t ap- proach them correctly, I fear that Cayman might be heading towards a dan- gerous environment, and when it comes, the real es- tate industry, which has shown pleasing growth over the past two and a half years, may falter as a result. It’s very simple: The real estate industry benefits from those who become perma- nent residents. As part of their residency application, the requirements stipulate having invested in real es- tate. As expatriates coming to a foreign land in the hopes of establishing long- term ties and a life for them and their family members, it is essential to have a very clear understanding of their rights and potential rights and the process of what needs to be done to arrive at this result. The issue of granting people permanent resi- dency has been a problem for the Cayman Islands over the past two years, with grants stalling as govern- ment awaits a review of the problems identified with the points system for PR appli- cations. This report, which saw government commis- sioning local attorney David Ritch to investigate the issue, is now apparently complete. I fear that the two years that it has taken to commission and complete the report are two years too late, and the uncertainty which this delay has caused individuals has done irrepa- rable harm to the real estate industry, because, in the long run, people are less likely to want to move here. It creates conflict in the marketplace and another devaluing of the marketplace because the uncertainty forces people to sell who wouldn’t normally. The issue has been brought into sharp focus, with good people now de- ciding to leave the Cayman Islands along with their families. This means people will start to sell their homes for the wrong reasons – not because they want to up- grade, but because they want to leave, in effect, having to sell not because of true market forces but be- cause they don’t have sta- bility. This therefore leads to people selling at lower prices than the true value of the market, which is a detriment to the real estate industry as a whole. It is absolutely vital that government gets back on track with granting PR im- mediately because people are deciding right now whether to book their children into school for the upcoming school year, usually begin- ning in September, or to move their families and ul- timately themselves back to their home countries in time for the school year there. I believe that the hun- dreds of people currently awaiting a decision on their PR applications have effec- tively been misled by gov- ernment, having already bought property here in the belief that this will se- cure their residency rights. If their PR applications are turned down, their hopes and dreams of becoming part of the community are effectively trashed, with a damaging knock-on ef- fect on the rest of the com- munity. And as everyone knows, people with good news may tell one or two people; people with bad news tell 10 or 20. Cayman can ill afford negative press internally or, even more im- portantly, externally, be- cause negativity could go a long way to stalling Cay- man’s future growth. The administrative side to Cayman’s financial ser- vices industry is also cur- rently taking a downward trajectory, as I fear Cayman is currently pricing itself out of the market when it comes to these services. Financial services firms have left the island as a result. Young ac- countants are brought here by the “big four” firms and once they have undergone their initial two years, they often look to other entities to further their careers. These are well-educated people with whom real estate bro- kers have begun to develop a relationship and who we simply cannot afford to lose. But because of a number of financial service providers deciding to relocate else- where, they are looking to leave the island. Lastly, I believe the U.S. election will have ramifi- cations across the board when it comes to Cayman’s economy, with U.S. compa- nies operating on a “wait and see” policy when it comes to the new American president’s impact on the economy. Because we rely so heavily on the U.S. market for our tourism, financial services, inward investment and real estate, I believe the effects started to be felt in Cayman from the second quarter of 2016 and will go through to 2017. The above issues can con- tribute to a real estate en- vironment which could in turn lead to a stall in the market. We have worked ex- tremely hard to ensure Cay- man’s real estate industry is well on track, and so I would hope that government takes heed of these words. James Bovell is broker/ owner of local real estate firm RE/MAX Cayman Islands. Real estate broker James Bovell says uncertainty over permanent residence may have a negative impact on the Cayman Islands property market. 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 EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” James Bovell This means people will start to sell their homes for the wrong reasons – not because they want to upgrade, but because they want to leave, in effect, having to sell not because of true market forces but because they don’t have stability.5 LOCAL NEWS ‘Election fever’ likely to bring higher numbers BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The number of registered voters in the Cayman Islands has not changed much in the last three years, but Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell ex- pects that to change when “election fever” starts to hit the islands ahead of the next general election. The election is currently set for May 24, 2017. The offi- cial voter list for the May 2013 election was 18,492 people. As of July 21, 2016 there were 18,457 registered voters. “When the Electoral Boundary Commission did their work [in 2015], the list was at 18,297. So to have the list where it is now, sub- tracting deaths, folks sen- tenced to more than 12 months [in prison], while adding new voters is actually a good sign before most candidates de- clare,” Mr. Howell said. “We projected to have our highest level of voter regis- tration by the time registra- tion closes before the May 2017 general elections.” Voter registration for the next election closes as of Dec. 31, 2016. There is a potential complication re- garding registration with the uncertainty over whether an early election could be called toward the end of this year, which Premier Alden McLaughlin has noted is still a possibility. On Monday, Mr. Howell said elections office workers and volunteers started training for the process of going door-to-door with reg- istration and voter change- of-information forms. Can- vassing is expected to start in a few weeks. “To say the voters list has not grown at all is a slant,” Mr. Howell said. “In non-election years, the list shrinks as voters are re- moved faster than they are added. Typically, we would still have declining numbers at this point in the cycle, be- fore the candidates hit the road, and the voter registra- tion kicks into high gear.” There is precedent for big voter increases just prior to Cayman general elections. The list of registered voters stood at 15,386 in May 2009 and dropped to 15,136 prior to a referendum on the one man, one vote/single- member constituencies issue held in July 2012. By May 2013’s general election vote – less than a year after the referendum – the number of electors soared to 18,492. Cayman-made it easier for prospective voters to reg- ister following constitutional changes that took effect in November 2009. Those al- lowed anyone holding Cay- manian status to register to vote, regardless of citizenship in other countries. Still, members of the 2015 Electoral Boundary Commis- sion noted in their own esti- mates that some 25 percent of Caymanians who were el- igible to vote simply had not registered. “We understand there are somewhere around 5,000 people who are eligible but not registered to vote,” com- mission member Steve Mc- Field reported in May 2015. According to numbers pro- duced by the government’s Compendium of Statistics for last year, the boundary com- mission’s estimates regarding the number of unregistered voters may be a bit low. The compendium puts the total number of Cayma- nians age 15 and older at 25,906. Conservative esti- mates are that at least 24,000 of those individuals are 18 or older and, therefore, can legally vote. While government estimates state that the total Caymanian population has grown by about 4 percent between 2013 and 2015, the corresponding growth in registered voters has been zero during the same period. Meanwhile, the territory’s overall population, including Caymanians and non-Cayma- nians, was estimated at more than 60,000 people during 2015 – the highest it has ever been, based on govern- ment statistical surveys. That means about 30.5 percent of the legal resident population is now eligible to vote. CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 WE GO FURTHER FOR YOU At NCB we recognise that you accomplish more when you give everything. We go the extra mile to provide personalised private banking services and investment management for professional advisors and their clients. NCB has over 170 years’ experience in private banking and is one of the most stable and trusted financial institutions in the Caribbean. Call today - and put us to work. Investment Management | Corporate Services | International Private Banking | Trust Services NCB Capital Markets (Cayman) Limited is licensed to provide investment advice in and from the Cayman Islands. NCB (Cayman) Limited is licensed to accept business from non-residents only. Record voter registration expected New books for old In exchange for used books, DHL Express Cayman is offering to hand over up to 700 new composition books to students. As part of the “Go Green & Back to School” initiative, on Saturday, Aug. 13, DHL will be collecting compo- sition and children’s story books that are no longer in use, and the public is invited to participate. Beginning at 9 a.m., the free exchange event will take place at DHL’s Mary Street lo- cation, the company said in a press release announcing the initiative. According to DHL, all used composition books collected will be recycled, while donated story books for children will be given to the Ministry of Education. The trade event will continue until all new 700 books last. There is a limit of five books per adult, organizers said. DHL’s Allan Blake, “DHL Express Cayman is com- mitted in doing our part in protecting the environment as well as contributing to the future of education in the Cayman Islands. This oc- casion combines both pas- sions and we look forward to making this an annual event.” For more information, email dhlkysales@dhl.com. Cayman’s registered voter numbers reached 18,457 as of July 21 this year.DISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Sister Islands WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS Brac kids take a trip to ancient Egypt Sixty children from the Cayman Brac commu- nity recently took a voyage back in time at Vaca- tion Bible School to learn all about the unique cul- ture of ancient Egypt and the journey of Joseph. Held at the Church of God (Holiness) loca- tions in Spot Bay and Wa- tering Place, about 30 workers devoted much time and effort to make it a successful event. Church Pastor David Woods said Vacation Bible School provided an exciting way for the children to learn about Joseph’s journey from prison to palace, and to ex- plore ancient Egypt, while learning about God. “The church’s most important job is to communicate God’s love in action to our community, and Vacation Bible School gives us an opportunity to do this,” said Zenia Woods, director of the Brac bible school program. With the church deco- rated in an Egyptian theme, participants dressed up in costumes and had lots of fun taking part in ac- tivities like painting a sar- cophagus, the type of stone coffin typically adorned with a sculpture or inscrip- tion and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece, and making mud bricks from play dough. Each day of the five-day camp touched on the story of Joseph, who was impris- oned and visited by vivid dreams, then taken under the Pharaoh’s wing, and later helped Egypt survive a famine and eventually set- tled his family there. The story was used to illustrate some concepts about the gifts that God bestows, like hope, spe- cial abilities, wisdom, for- giveness and family, un- derscored by relevant Bible verses. “The church’s most important job is to communicate God’s love in action to our community, and Vacation Bible School gives us an opportunity to do this.” ZENIA WOODS, program director In the July 27, 1966 edition of the Cay- manian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, Cayman Brac correspondent Lilian Ritch wrote: “Mr. and Mrs. Carl E. Scott of Spot Bay are happy in the recent successes of their children. “Blossom, their fourth child and second daughter, graduated on June 6 to Associate of Arts degree after six years of study in the Hagerstown Institutes, Maryland, U.S.A. In September, she is to enter Shepherds- dale College in West Virginia to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree … “Roosevelt, better known as ‘Dinks’ is their youngest son. Beginning his sea ca- reer with National Bulk Carriers he has been working his way up in the engine room. Three years ago he joined the Bulk Oceanic as fireman and progressed to oiler, wiper. He studied meanwhile and left to attend the company’s school in New York. “His mother received the good news that he has obtained his third engineers licence and joined the S.S. Petro Emperor in that capacity in Montreal, Canada on the 29th of June. “Capt. Mabry, organising executive of the Kirkconnell companies … wishes to announce that the Kirk Trader Co. Ltd. will be chartering the Motor Vessel Kirk Pride for the Cayman Islands run, embracing Miami as well as Tampa in the U.S. ports. This is to supplement the service of the Kirk Trader. “Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Lawrence of North East Bay enjoyed a weeklong visit from their son, Mr. Lascelles Lawrence, who is charge clerk for Arthur Gray’s electrical store, Jamaica. Lascelles grew up in Cayman Brac and was glad to be home. He took back with him his little daughter, Arlene, who had been with her grandparents for the last 18 months. “Recently returned home is Mr. Fred Scott of Watering Place, off the Universe Leader. He is one of the three Cayman Bracers who hold the office of Chief Mate with the com- pany, and is studying to sit for his Liberian Master’s Licence. “Capt. and Mrs. Clyde Scott of the West End had the privilege and joy of all their nine children being with them on the weekend of the 16th. Ever since they have grown up and migrated to the U.S. they have kept in close touch with home. Last summer, Mrs. Scott had the privilege of being with them together on a lake holiday, this year the happy occasion of the nuptials of Dervyn brought mother and father and children to- gether for a wonderful reunion … The sons and daughters of the family are Coley, Boyce, Morrill, Maxine, Kirby, Mervyn, Dervyn, Glo- rine and Paul. “Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Foster of the West End became the parents of a second son on Friday morning, the 22nd, at nurse Petrona Bodden’s home, (9 1/2 pounds). His name is Tex. “Another family reunion took place last week, this for Uncle Freddie and Mrs. Gen- evieve Kirkwood of the Creek. On Sunday 17th their son, Capt. Oliver Kirkwood of Baton Rouge, Louisiana accompanied by his wife Iris (formerly Chisholm of Grand Cayman) and granddaughter Olivia arrived from Kingston, Jamaica en route to Grand Cayman. They are on vacation. Capt. Oliver has been away from the island 29 years having visited in 1952 and calling by on his ships. He and his family lived in Jamaica and immigrated to the U.S. in 1952. “He is captain of an offshore rig tender for Continental Oil Co. with HQ in Houston, Texas. Mrs. Iris is in the laundry business.” 50 years ago: Scott children mark some milestones Vacation Bible School youngsters work on Egyptian-themed crafts. Pastor David Woods and wife Zenia embraced the Egyptian theme.Monaliza Christian looking mysterious behind her Egyptian veil. Leaders and youngsters have a fun time.DISTRICT DAYS 7 District Days Sister Islands CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 Shedding light on Little Cayman’s iguanas This summer, Little Cay- man’s native iguanas are the stars of a research project being led by Jen Moss of Mississippi State Univer- sity’s Department of Bio- logical Sciences. The team led by Ms. Moss, who is a Ph.D. stu- dent, is studying Little Cay- man’s Sister Islands Rock Iguana population, which numbers between 1,200- 1,500 mature individuals. Among other things, the re- searchers are examining the animals’ nesting habits and genetic makeup. Dr. Glenn Gerber of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, and Matthias Goetz of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust both spent time studying the iguanas in the early ‘90s and from 2007-11, respec- tively, inspiring the current research project. “Thanks to their ef- forts, many details of these animals’ natural his- tory and ecology came to light, including major sites where nesting occurs,” said Ms. Moss. She said that renewed ef- forts to monitor trends and identify major threats to the animals arose recently when it was suspected the population was declining in the face of human devel- opment. Development has already reduced the Brac population to critical num- bers, where it is thought there are not more than 100- 200 adult iguanas left. Ms. Moss noted that be- cause of these imminent conservation concerns, Cay- man’s Department of Envi- ronment has been a strong supporter of Sister Islands Rock Iguana research. “Outside of obvious human threats such as hab- itat loss, predators, and road traffic, my conservation ques- tions are also focused on other aspects of long-term population maintenance,” said Ms. Moss. “My Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Mark Welch, is a researcher of evolutionary and conser- vation genetics, and the chief focus of our lab in studying Caribbean populations is the unique evolutionary mecha- nisms that govern small, iso- lated populations. Little Cay- man’s Sister Islands rock iguana population, which is still relatively robust and healthy but facing recent de- clines, offers an ideal system to investigate early symptoms of inbreeding depression and possible evolved mechanisms to combat it.” She says the hope is her work, which is funded by the International Iguana Founda- tion and the Rufford Foun- dation, will help incorporate genetic health into the spe- cies action plan, and to better predict losses in genetic di- versity, which could impact the animals’ numbers later on down the road. Unique population Ms. Moss said the Little Cayman iguanas make for a unique study subject group for evolutionary ge- netics because of their high level of isolation. “Any island population is going to be isolated to a de- gree and be unique because of it, but the Sister Islands are especially interesting to evolutionary biologists be- cause they are each less than 15 square miles in size and at least 60 miles from the next land mass.” The Sister Islands rock iguana is officially listed as a subspecies of Cuban iguana, and it is thought to be closer on the evolutionary tree to Cuban iguanas (Cyclura nu- bila) than the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana (Cyclura lewisi). “Even so, this ‘subspecies’ has a very restricted range compared to rock iguanas on other island chains or on very large islands, which means it has likely had to had to evolve some traits to make it resilient to extinc- tion,” said Ms. Moss. “It is also important to note just how pristine Little Cayman is. Cayman Brac, only slightly larger, is com- paratively much more devel- oped, and its natural popu- lations have dwindled as a result,” she continued. “I am awestruck every time I fly over Little Cayman by just how much of the tiny landmass is untouched, wild forest. I think that makes these iguanas a little spe- cial. While the residents of Blossom Village’s mu- seum barely flinch at the ap- proaching human anymore, the true “bush” iguanas and the East Enders impart a special kind of wildness when you see them. It is re- ally amazing to me to think that on an island as small as Little Cayman, there are still wild lizards running around that have never en- countered a human.” Tracking nesters To track their subjects, the team is marking adult and hatchling iguanas with tran- sponder (PIT) tags, similar to a microchip for a dog or cat, “This allows us to scan an animal’s tail and immediately identify it by its unique serial number,” said Ms. Moss. The team is also marking the iguanas with a unique combination of colored glass beads. These are threaded with a fishing line through the crest spines, similar to an ear piercing, and makes them easy to identify by sight. “Marking animals is ex- tremely useful for the study of individual move- ments, behaviors, and growth,” she said. The nesting surveys are being done along the coastal West End of Little Cayman, where most of the island’s iguanas live. The hab- itat has deep, sandy soils ideal for digging nests, and sparse shade vegetation like palms and shrubs. “Since they are under- ground, iguana nests can be very tricky to identify once they have been sealed,” said Ms. Moss. “We visit our sites at least twice daily to note any disturbances to the soil or, if we are lucky, catch an iguana in the act of digging.” Once a nest has been closed and the guarding pe- riod, which can be up to four weeks, has ended, the re- searchers carefully excavate it to locate the egg chamber and take egg counts. Ms. Moss said by chance researchers noticed that some females at communal nest sites are taking advan- tage of the digging efforts of other iguanas by reusing al- ready dug nesting burrows. “I am hoping to learn more about this kind of be- havior, including how often it occurs and what kind of effects it has on the original nests,” said Ms. Moss. The researchers are tracking iguanas with radio transmitters, both on foot and by using drones. It seems that many females choose the same nest sites year after year, traveling sometimes long distances to sites which are not necessarily close to, or most easily accessed from, their home territory. “This lends support to the idea that site selection by females may be more gov- erned by behavioral ecology than by habitat suitability or proximity,” said Ms. Moss. “It also underscores the fact that nesting season is a particularly dangerous time for nesting females, as many of them are coming from deep in the interior of the island where they never encounter humans and spending a dis- proportionate amount of time crossing roads.” A memorable experience Ms. Moss says that con- ducting the research on Little Cayman since May has been a truly enjoyable experience. “I love working on Little Cayman. When I first started everyone was wishing me ‘Good luck,’ warning me about the heat and how it was going to be so utterly boring there that it would drive me insane,” she laughed. “But beyond the price of vegetables, I wouldn’t have it any other way. People are so incredibly friendly – in a way that friendliness only evolves when there are fewer than 200 people and the speed limit across the whole island is 25 miles per hour. The pace of life is so relaxed and ‘hakuna matata,’ which relieves the what would otherwise be maddeningly hectic pace of fieldwork,” she said. That being said, she con- ceded that iguana chasing is tough work. “I would not recom- mend any recreational bush- whacking or lizard wran- gling, as they are very wild animals with very sharp teeth, and eight-nine hour days in the Little Cayman heat are not without their de- lirious moments,” she said. “However, if you are able to acclimate to some sweat and discomfort, it becomes much easier to appreciate the natural beauty of the place.” Ms. Moss plans to re- turn to Little Cayman for the month of August when the hatchlings will be emerging. The researchers will return to the nests they marked in May and June to sample and tag hatchlings for some of the project’s ongoing studies of growth and dispersal. Ms. Moss says she is also hoping to examine whole clutches to assess genetic di- versity and determine par- entage, and next year, the hope is to track hatchlings to see where they go, which will provide insight on gene flow, as well as on mortality rates and the ideal habitat charac- teristics for survival. Field assistants Mikey Kartje and Tanja Laaser extract an egg during a nest excavation. Field assistant Mikey Kartje and researcher Jen Moss use a radio and antenna to locate one of the tagged iguanas. The Rock Iguanas of Little Cayman are the subject of a study this summer.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 of concern in the Immigra- tion Law. As a result of that ruling, two women who waited nearly a decade for a decision on their cases, were recently granted permanent residence by the Immigration Appeals Tribunal. Justice Smellie’s decision dealt with the actions of the appeals tribunal in the two cases in which the non-Cay- manian workers had applied for residence. The actions, said the judge, amounted to a “miscarriage of justice” and required a rehearing of the case. The matter was reheard in June and the women were awarded permanent resi- dence on July 12. The second issue involved the awarding of points to- ward permanent residence that the court said caused “immediate and obvious con- cerns” about how applicants’ occupations were scored. “It is difficult to imagine a policy that could be more opaque, uncertain and prone to arbitrariness than one by which points are to be allocated to occupations based upon merely subjec- tive assessment of their im- portance in the context of the local economy,” Mr. Smellie wrote in his judgment. In all of 2015 and the first half of this year, no per- manent residence applica- tions were decided – either approved or denied – under the revised Immigration Law that took effect in October 2013. The two women who challenged their cases be- fore the court, leading to Jus- tice Smellie’s ruling, had ap- plied for residency under earlier versions of the Im- migration Law. Before 2015, a total of 12 applications filed under the revised Immigration Law were denied. The de- nials were issued in late 2013 and 2014. No one has been awarded permanent residence under the revised legislation since Oct. 26, 2013. WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS FIND YOUR BEST DEALS DREAM CAR AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE OVER 10,000 CARS IN STOCK Tel : +81 42 440 3440 | Email : top@beforward.jp www.beforward.jp Shipped to George Town Cayman Islands DREAM CAR AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE DREAM CAR AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE to Casanova Restaurant at the northern end of the George Town waterfront. The plans also include space for an “inflatables park,” with a 125-foot wa- terslide along with a second slide, labeled “large slide.” There is also a two-story bar area with an ordering window and outdoor seating, a toilet block and parking area. The planned water park is close to a site that was slated in 2015 for a plan to build a 6,300-seat ice stadium, which developers said would be ca- pable of hosting concerts and events as well as a regular Cirque de Soleil-style ice show. The ice stadium plans were announced at a Chamber of Commerce lun- cheon in May last year. At the time, Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts said the devel- opment would be the first key project in the redevelop- ment of the capital, and Tim Best, the Canadian entrepre- neur behind the plan, indi- cated that plans would be submitted imminently. The project, which is not linked to the water park, does not appear to have pro- gressed since that time, but Mr. Best said this week it was still moving forward be- hind the scenes. He said, “I am 100 percent committed to the revital- ization of George Town and plans for a multipurpose event center for downtown are moving ahead. “New and exciting ideas have emerged after input from local stakeholders that will make this a commu- nity first project. Although the process has taken a little longer than initially expected, the results will far outweigh any delay.” Britain to expand post-Brexit offices in US Premier: Residency review ‘not intended’ for publication Water park planned for George Town Sanders supporters unmoved by plea to support Clinton CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The British government is to add three offices in the U.S. in an effort to boost commerce with its second- largest trading partner fol- lowing the Brexit vote. The offices, in Minneap- olis, Raleigh and San Diego, will each have one staffer, re- cruited locally on behalf of the U.K. government, the De- partment for International Trade said in a statement Tuesday. Britain has offices in Seattle and Denver, with the former supporting $11 million (8 million pounds) in capital investment and 1,000 British jobs in the past year, it said. “Our ambitious vision for an open and outward- looking U.K. economy in- cludes growing our foot- print in the most important markets around the world and these three cities offer exciting opportunities to boost trade and invest- ment,” Trade Secretary Liam Fox told a business audi- ence in Chicago. Trade between the U.K. and U.S. amounted to about $115 billion last year, ac- cording to data compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said after talks with U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson last week that no trade deal could be signed until Britain com- pletes its exit from the Euro- pean Union. Britain has also sent trade delegations to China and India to negotiate new relationships since the June 23 referendum. © 2016, Bloomberg News “I do understand and am deeply concerned about resolving this issue urgently.” PREMIER ALDEN MCLAUGHLIN Premier Alden McLaughlin Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders gather during a rally near City Hall in Philadelphia on Tuesday. – PHOTO: AP PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Un- moved by Bernie Sanders’s plea for party unity be- hind Hillary Clinton, sev- eral hundred Sanders sup- porters chanting “Bernie or bust!” took to the streets under the hot sun Tuesday for another round of pro- tests on Day 2 of the Demo- cratic convention. They held a midday rally at City Hall with plans to link up later in the afternoon with groups de- crying police brutality and economic injustice. They all planned to make their way down Broad Street to the convention site 4 miles from City Hall. Speakers at the rally charged that Sanders was cheated out of the nomina- tion by Clinton. Demonstrators said they were not swayed by Sand- ers’s speech at the con- vention Monday night, in which he said: “Based on her ideas and her leader- ship, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States. The choice is not even close.” “He persuaded no one to vote for Hillary,” said Greg Gregg, a retired 69-year- old nurse from Salem, Or- egon. He said he intends to cast his ballot for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, quoting the turn-of-the- last-century socialist labor leader Eugene Debs as saying, “I’d rather vote for what I want and lose than what I don’t want and win.” Late Tuesday afternoon, “Bernie or bust” demon- strators who set out for the convention site by subway were forced by police to get off one stop short of their destination. In a crowd- control measure that was also used the night be- fore, only passengers with media or convention cre- dentials were allowed to ride all the way to the Wells Fargo Center. On Monday evening, po- lice cited 54 people for dis- orderly conduct for trying to climb the barricades out- side the convention center during a pro-Sanders pro- test that reflected the ten- sions inside the hall be- tween the Vermont senator’s supporters and Clinton’s. The Sanders camp was angered when a trove of hacked emails released over the weekend showed that officials at the suppos- edly neutral Democratic Na- tional Committee played fa- vorites during the primaries and worked to undermine Sanders’ campaign.9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 27, 2016 House Lots For Sale Located off Shamrock Road, only a few lots remain in this new subdivision • Summer Special: Developer Pays Stamp Duty • 10,000 sft lots • Very high land, 15+ feet above sea level • Great location CI$65,000 for first time Caymanian buyers Call or Whatsapp Josephine for full plans & details. 926-6102 CI$70,000 Normandy church attacker was on watch list, officials say SAINT-ETIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France – Two attackers backing the Is- lamic State stormed a village church during Mass in northern France on Tuesday, taking hostages and slit- ting the throat of an 86-year-old priest before police commandos shot and killed the assailants, au- thorities said. The Islamic State’s Amaq news agency described the attackers as “soldiers” of the militant group, ac- cording to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorist ac- tivity. But it was not immediately clear whether the assailants had di- rect contact with the Islamic State. At least one of the attackers ap- peared to be on a watch list, which required him to wear an elec- tronic tag to allow security offi- cials to track his movements, said a police official cited by The As- sociated Press. The AP said the official spoke on condition of anonymity to dis- close information about the case. A French news channel, BFM- TV, carried a similar report, adding that the attacker tried to reach Syria, but was turned back at the Turkish border and was then jailed by French authorities. He was released in March, the report said. French President François Hol- lande – who traveled to the church near the city of Rouen in the Nor- mandy region – said the at- tackers had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. The assault also will likely put further pressure on European se- curity officials less than two weeks after 84 people were killed in a ter- rorist attack, apparently inspired by the Islamic State, in Nice, France. In addition, the Islamic State claimed a connection with two attackers in Germany who wounded 20 people this month. Two other attacks in Ger- many that killed 10 people in the past week had no evident connection with the group. Authorities in Europe had pre- viously concentrated on suspected militants who returned from Is- lamic State-held territory in Syria or Iraq. But many recent attacks appear to have been carried out by individuals radicalized by Islamic State propaganda and who pledged loyalty on their own. In Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, about 35 miles southeast of the port of Le Havre, French soldiers patrolled the narrow streets and mourners gathered in the main square. Police cordoned off the area around the church, whose main entrance is an arched wooden door under a stone tower capped by a peaked roof. Another person held by the hos- tage-takers at the church suffered life-threatening injuries, said In- terior Ministry spokesman Pierre- Henry Brandet. Alexandre Joly, 44, described the slain priest – identified by church of- ficials as Jacques Hamel – as “like an attentive grandfather” in the village, on the banks of the Seine as it begins to snake toward the English Channel. “He loved marrying young people,” said Joly. “He saw a pur- pose in it, and he had so much wisdom to impart.” The area also reflected the mul- ticultural side of France. A mosque in a nearby town was built for Muslims in the region, including families that moved from North Africa decades ago. Fatima, 58, an Algerian-born woman who said she lived in the vil- lage for 40 years, joined the crowds in the main square to pay homage “for the memory of the priest.” “We are with him,” said Fatima, who only gave her first name. “All Muslims are with him.” France remains under an ex- tended state of emergency after a truck rampage through Bastille Day crowds in the Riviera city of Nice on July 14, killing 84 people and in- juring more than 300. Hollande said the country needed to use “all means” against the Islamic State, but gave no de- tails on possible new crackdowns or expansion of French support to the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the militants’ strongholds in Iraq and Syria. A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, de- nounced the “barbarous killing” of the French priest. Lombardi said Pope Francis was shaken by “the pain and horror of this absurd violence” and “con- demned, in the most radical way, any form of hate.” The Islamic State has carried out systematic persecution and abuses against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, including Yazidi villages and Christian communities that date back to the early centuries of the faiths. In some areas, groups of Ya- zidi women have been forced into slavery by the militants. Last year, the Vatican’s top dip- lomat at the United Nations in Ge- neva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, de- cried “genocide” against Christians and other religious minorities at the hands of the Islamic State. The militants also have destroyed pre-Islamic temples and other an- cient sites in Syria and Iraq. © 2016, The Washington Post French President François Hollande – who traveled to the church near the city of Rouen in the Normandy region – said the attackers had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. French soldiers stand guard near the scene of the terror attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, on Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP There’s another doping scandal brewing at the Rio Olympics and this time it has nothing to do with Russia. Drug dealers in the city have started peddling cocaine in Olympic pack- aging, HuffPost Brasil re- ports. The package features the Rio Olympic logo, the five Olympic rings and some helpful instructions: “Keep away from children.” Police discovered the Olympic-branded cocaine baggies on Monday night among a cache of 93 bags of the drug that they seized earlier that evening in the tourist-friendly neighbor- hood of Lapa, according to Brazil’s Globo newspaper. Drug crime in Rio is se- rious. Homicides in Rio were up 15 percent in the first four months of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015. “Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world with a national homicide rate of 27.1 per 100,000 inhabit- ants,” Paula Miraglia wrote in a recent report for the Brook- ings Institute. “A large part of this violence and criminality can be linked to arms and drug trafficking operations by organized crime groups.” Increased security presence Olympic organizers re- cently upped the number of security officers set to patrol the Games to 88,000 individuals. That total includes 21,000 soldiers and 47,000 police of- ficers to patrol the streets of Rio, and another 20,000 soldiers to secure the five cities set to host the Olympic soccer tournaments. Those cities are Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Salvador and Sao Paulo. But even police in Rio have been subject to criti- cism, including just this week when a New Zealand jiu-jitsu fighter, who lives in Rio but will not be competing in the Olympics, claimed the city’s police held him for ransom. “I’m not sure what’s more depressing, the fact this stuff is happening to foreigners so close to the Olympic Games or the fact that Bra- zilians have to live in a so- ciety that enables this ab- solute [malarkey] on a daily basis,” wrote Jason Lee in New Zealand’s Stuff maga- zine this week. “This place is well and truly [messed up] in every sense of the word imaginable.” © 2016, The Washington Post Rio drug traffickers capitalize on Olympic feverNext >