ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 High of 77 Low of 72 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 OWEN ROBERTS REMODEL: GIVING A NEW ‘WING’ TO CAYMAN AIR TRAVEL LOCAL NEWS | PAGE 6 NEW ROUND OF SCHOOL INSPECTIONS PLANNED HOTEL WOULD BE LARGEST IN CAYMAN Pageant Beach site bought for $25M JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A project to bring a $300-mil- lion five-star hotel to the southern end of Seven Mile Beach has moved a step closer after the developer fi- nalized a US$25-million deal to buy the property. The Howard Hospitality Group, which opened the Margaritaville re- sort earlier this year, has partnered with New Jersey-based Madison Hill Properties for the project, which is planned for the site of the old Pageant Beach hotel. The developer obtained plan- ning permission for the project in October and hopes to open a new luxury resort at the site in late 2020. Michael Wilkings of HHG con- firmed that the joint company, Pageant Beach Hotel Ltd., had completed the purchase of the land on Dec. 7. He said the resort will include 30,000 square feet of conference space, five pools, seven bars and restaurants, a private screening room, spa and gym, and approxi- mately 400 guest rooms and suites. He said the developer was com- mitted to a “high ratio” of Cay- manian employees and would use Cayman contractors and sup- pliers where possible during the building phase. He said the resort would even- tually employ a permanent staff of around 500 people. According to plans submitted to the Central Planning Authority in October, the resort will include two 10-story buildings. Kim Lund of RE/Max, who bro- kered the sale for the seven-acre parcel next to The Wharf Restau- rant, said the project would be good for Cayman. He said a second five-star branded resort was needed on the island and would provide a long- term boost for the tourism sector. Mr. Lund said the purchase was a clear statement of intent from the developer that this was a project that would get done. “This makes it real, for sure. This is significant because it will be the largest hotel property in Grand Cayman, completely modern and contemporary,” he said. The sale price was US$25 mil- lion, according to documents filed at the Land Registry Office. At the CPA meeting in Oc- tober, several neighboring property owners characterized the plan as overdevelopment and called for it to be scaled back. The National Conservation Council has not called for an envi- ronmental impact assessment on the site. Director of the Department of Environment Gina Ebanks-Petrie said in June that the “magnitude and scope of the potential impacts really don’t warrant an EIA.” Mr. Wilkings said the property would be designed by an interna- tional team of resort experts and would be environmentally friendly. CPA explains Dart tunnel denial Separate application to move beach access is approved JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Dart group failed to demonstrate sufficient reason to justify extending the underpass it is building on West Bay Road, the Cen- tral Planning Authority wrote in a single-line expla- nation of its decision to re- ject the application. The CPA turned down the request from Dart to add another 195 feet to the 406- foot underpass at its Nov. 21 meeting. The written reasons for that decision were re- leased last week. The deadline for Dart to appeal that decision has now passed and no appeal has been filed. It is still open to the developer to resubmit a modified application at a later date. The main sticking point for the planning authority appears to have been the lack of solid information about what Dart plans to build on top of the road and why that would necessitate such a wide underpass. The developer has al- ready built one overpass, bridging the Esterley Tib- betts Highway and is midway through construction on the West Bay Road tunnel. The two projects will essentially extend Camana Bay over both roads, connecting the town center to Seven Mile Beach. Dart previously an- nounced outline plans that included a hotel on the beach side but did not in- clude details of its plans with the tunnel application and told board members during the meeting it was still developing its master plan for the area. The National Roads Au- thority argues in its sub- mission to the CPA that there was no need for the extension. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Developer Pageant Beach Hotel Ltd. finalized the purchase of this stretch of land on Seven Mile Beach Thursday, paving the way for a $300 million five-star hotel development. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY RCIPS INSPECTOR CHARGED IN HIT-AND-RUN BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Inspector who formerly ran the Traffic Management Unit has been charged with a number of offenses in relation to a June 10 hit-and-run crash that occurred near Hur- ley’s Supermarket. Adrian Barnett, 53, has been charged with dan- gerous driving, driving while impaired and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the wreck on Crewe Road in George Town. Mr. Bar- nett has also been charged with misleading the po- lice in relation to the June 10 accident. Misleading police is an offense under the Police Law section 123 [g] which states: “A person who wil- fully misleads or attempts to mislead a police officer by giving false informa- tion with intent to defeat or delay the ends of justice commits an offence...” “The incident occurred when he was off duty,” ac- cording to an RCIPS state- ment on the charges, in which the department did not name the officer in- volved. “He has been on suspension since June 13 as a result of this incident.” The officer, identi- fied as Mr. Barnett previ- ously in the Cayman Com- pass which cited multiple sources naming him as the inspector involved, is due to appear in court Jan. 8. A police statement re- leased on June 12 indicated that the driver of a white SUV, a police inspector, left the scene of the crash. The accident was re- ported at the Hurley’s roundabout where a white Pontiac SUV rear-ended a silver Land Rover. No one was hurt in the crash. Police were unable to locate the Pontiac SUV’s driver until 48 hours after the crash.2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Daily Matinees Every Day • $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 • Additional charges will apply per 3D/VIP ticket requested 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. - WEDNESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE STAR (PG) 2:40 I 5:00 I 7:20 I 9:40 COCO 3D (PG) 12:55 2D I 3:40 I 6:35 2D I 9:15 WONDER (PG) 1:05 I 4:00 JUSTICE LEAGUE 3D (PG13) 12:40 2D I 3:55 2D VIP I 6:40 2D I 9:40 DARKEST HOUR (PG13) 1:00 VIP I 3:35 I 6:40 VIP I 9:40 VIP DADDY’S HOME 2 (PG13) 1:40 I 4:20 I 7:00 I 9:40 TIL DEATH US DO PART (PG13) 7:15 I 10:00 UN assesses response for Puerto Rico hurricane victims SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – A United Nations expert on extreme poverty and human rights met Monday with hur- ricane victims in Puerto Rico as complaints grow about the U.S. government’s response to a Category 4 storm. U.N. envoy Philip Alston toured one of the hardest hit areas in the capital of San Juan, marking the first time such an envoy has visited the U.S. territory in recent history. Alston told The Associ- ated Press that there is a disproportionate number of Puerto Ricans living in pov- erty and that he’s trying to assess, among other things, the effectiveness of measures taken by the federal govern- ment after the storm hit on Sept. 20, killing dozens of people and destroying tens of thousands of homes. Ten of the island’s 78 municipal- ities are still without power, and thousands of businesses remain closed. “I’ve visited areas that are still completely without power. I’ve seen areas that have lots of damage that hasn’t been removed, and that must be very distressing after three months,” he said. He walked past homes with no roofs and a woman still washing sheets by hand three months after Hurricane Maria hit, raising hopes that his visit could help speed up the long recovery process. Roughly 45 percent of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million people were already living below the poverty line before the hurricane hit. Alston said he was im- pressed how local nonprofit organizations have helped Puerto Ricans recover from the storm, adding that one of the challenges is how the government can har- ness their power. “There is more resiliency and potential self-sufficiency here than has been acknowl- edged,” he said. Alston declined further comment, noting that he will present a full report of his observations and a list of priorities on Friday fol- lowing a two-week trip that also included visits to sev- eral U.S. states. “There are a number of issues I want to take up,” he said. His visit comes more than a month after a group of U.N. experts criticized the U.S. government for what they said was a lack of urgency and priority in helping Puerto Rico, compared with U.S. states affected by hurricanes. The U.S. approved nearly $5 billion in aid for Puerto Rico in late October, but local officials say they have not yet received any of those funds. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers an- nounced on Monday that it has collected 1 million cubic yards of debris in Puerto Rico and FEMA said it has separately approved more than $1 billion in assistance for people on the island. However, Puerto Rico community leaders said that people living around the contaminated Martin Pena Channel, which was visited by Alston, did not receive any help from the U.S. Fed- eral Emergency Management Agency until a month after the hurricane hit. “We’re not living. We’re surviving on what little aid we receive,” said com- munity leader and resi- dent Mario Nunez. “We have human rights.” By the time FEMA crews reached the house of one of his neighbors, 59-year-old Margarita Carino, she had already gone to the dollar store to buy a tarp and scav- enged a nearby contaminated waterway for pieces of zinc and wood that neighbors used to help rebuild her roof. Carino then used tar and paper towels to patch holes in some areas. “This has been a di- saster … I’ve fallen into a depression,” she said as she used both hands to wipe away tears. A resident sits on a small table in his house after it was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 5, 2017. - PHOTO: AP Four teens arrested in George Town assault Royal Cayman Islands Po- lice have arrested three men and a juvenile male in con- nection with a wounding and theft that happened in the predawn hours of Saturday in central George Town. Police said Monday that three men, an 18-year-old and two 19-year-olds, were ar- rested, along with one juve- nile male in connection with the wounding. All four have been released on police bail pending further investigation. Police said a woman and a man were attacked around 3:30 a.m. Saturday along Eastern Avenue near the intersection with Godfrey Nixon Way. The victims were arguing with someone in the parking lot when an unknown man attacked them, causing cuts to the male victim’s head and cuts to the female victim’s arm, police said. Both victims were treated and released from the Cayman Islands Hospital. “The victims reportedly ran away from the location and as a result the vehicle key and the woman’s hand bag containing cash and other valuables were stolen,” an RCIPS statement read. Mexican journalist fears death if deported from US HOUSTON (AP) – Advocates for a Mexican journalist de- tained in a remote West Texas facility asked the U.S. govern- ment to grant him asylum in- stead of deporting him to a country where he believes he will be killed. Emilio Gutierrez Soto fled to the United States a decade ago after articles he wrote al- leging corruption in the Mex- ican military caused his name to end up on a hit list. Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous places for jour- nalism, likened to countries such as Syria and Iraq. At least 11 journalists have been killed in Mexico this year. After coming within hours of possible deportation, Guti- errez, 54, is now appealing that denial. The National Press Club and other press freedom advocates held an event Monday highlighting Gutierrez’s case and those of other reporters whose lives were in danger. Speaking by phone from a U.S. Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement detention center in Sierra Blanca, Texas, Gutierrez accused Mexican leaders of being complicit in the violence of drug cartels and the murders of journal- ists, though he did not make specific allegations. “The biggest criminal or- ganization is the govern- ment,” Gutierrez said. “I’m afraid to take one step into Mexico.” The U.S. government his- torically rejects most asylum claims. Over a five-year pe- riod ending in September 2016, the U.S. received about 267,000 asylum claims and granted 46,000. It has granted asylum in recent years to a number of Mexican journalists. But Eduardo Beckett, Gutier- rez’s lawyer, accused the U.S. of turning a blind eye to corruption and violence in Mexico, and blamed the Trump administration for changing how it deals with asylum seekers. “There is no more hu- manity,” Beckett said. “The new tactic is, we’ll pressure you, we’ll keep you detained, in hopes you’ll give up.” Another Mexican jour- nalist did just that earlier this year. After spending nearly four months in an immigra- tion facility, reporter Martin Mendez Pineda returned to Mexico and went into hiding. Mexico has created a fed- eral protection program for journalists, with about 600 enrollees nationwide. But one reporter in the program was killed earlier this year, and others question whether the federal government has the power or the will to protect them. Meanwhile, high-pro- file killings have continued, including the death of Javier Valdez, a legendary reporter who covered drug trafficking in Sinaloa state. Gutierrez worked for El Diario del Noroeste, a news- paper in the state of Chi- huahua. He said his problems began after he wrote articles that alleged military forces were robbing and extorting local people in Chihuahua, which borders New Mexico and part of West Texas. After receiving what his advocates called veiled threats, Gutierrez discovered his name had been placed on a hit list. So he fled north with his teenage son and entered the U.S. in 2008, seeking asylum. He spent seven months in detention before his re- lease in January 2009, while his application for asylum re- mained pending. Beckett said that Guti- errez was no longer working in journalism while living in the West Texas border city of El Paso. Instead, he sup- ported himself by operating a food truck, Beckett said. His son, now 24, works in a restaurant. But while in the United States, Gutierrez heard from people back in Mexico that if he returned, he would end up like other jour- nalists who were killed. After nine years, a judge denied his asylum request in July, and the U.S. Board of Im- migration Appeals dismissed his appeal in November. His advocates say he came close to being sent back to Mexico before the appeals board on Thursday issued a stay of his deportation. Emilio Gutierrez Soto The U.S. government historically rejects most asylum claims. Over a five-year period ending in September 2016, the U.S. received about 267,000 asylum claims and granted 46,000.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 VIP package for two includes: • Round-tripairtravelandaccommodation • ProfessionalmakeoverbeforetheGRAMMYAwards® •Ticketstoattendthe60thGRAMMYAwards® • PrivatetourofNewYorkCity • Andmore! 186904-Ad-CompassJRpg-4colx12-MC-60th-Grammys.indd 111/7/17 5:57 PM Cayman Crime Stoppers expands focus BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Crime Stoppers will expand the subjects of its various crime “tips” to include things like illegal dumping, neighborhood nui- sances, immigration offenses and even matters concerning illegal importation. During a relaunch of the 25-year-old agency last week, Crime Stoppers Chairman Sebastien Guilbard said he believes the group’s 800- 8477 [TIPS] hotline and website crime tips service could be used as a resource for many different govern- ment agencies. “Crime Stoppers has helped the police fight crime in the Cayman Islands for a number of years, but we felt it was time for a relaunch to help raise our profile,” Mr. Guilbard said. “Working closely with the other law en- forcement agencies will also significantly help deal with different types of crime.” Mr. Guilbard said agen- cies which agreed to receive tips from the Florida-based Crime Stoppers hotline in- cluded the police, the Agri- culture Department, the De- partment of Environment, the Department of Environ- mental Health, Immigration Department, the customs ser- vice and the prisons service. “Crime Stoppers offers a trusted mechanism for the public to share sensitive in- formation anonymously and the value of this cannot be overstated for a small com- munity like the Cayman Is- lands,” Royal Cayman Islands Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said. “Crime Stoppers’ extension of its partnership to other agencies on-island is good news for the RCIPS, since we work jointly with these agencies to strengthen public safety in all areas, and curtail crime in all its forms.” Mr. Byrne has pointed to several combined operations of police, customs and immi- gration officers which led to a number of arrests this year for things like illegal landing, importation of drugs and firearms offenses. The most recent arrest in a joint operation came last week at Owen Roberts In- ternational Airport, when a 30-year-old man was arrested in possession of about two pounds of cocaine. The sus- pect was arrested during a morning flight from Cayman Brac, Customs Collector Charles Clifford said. “We have once again seen the advantage of our strategy to significantly increase joint operations with our partner law enforcement agencies such as the RCIPS and Im- migration Department,” Mr. Clifford said. All calls to the Miami- based phone center of Crime Stoppers are anony- mous and tipsters who re- port crimes are assigned a number, so their name is not known. The number is used later to provide re- wards, if their information leads to arrest and convic- tion of any offenders. Cash rewards can range from $1,000 to $50,000, de- pending on the nature of the matter reported. ONLINE COURT RECORDS NOW EXPECTED IN JANUARY SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands court system has made progress in its efforts to digitize its court records, and online reg- istries are expected to be in place at some point in Jan- uary of next year. The court system had originally hoped to have the digitized records available to the public by the end of December. Court administrator Su- zanne Bothwell said Tuesday that the court system hopes to have the digitiza- tion done by January, and people will not need a user name or password to see the register online. “Our intention is that the registers will be publicly available for viewing,” said Ms. Bothwell of bringing Cayman’s court records into the digital age. “This will be a free service. Payment [is] only required for purchasing of documents. This purchase ar- rangement will be subject to approval by Cabinet.” The idea for digital access to court records came in the aftermath of a dispute about which records should be available to the public. The Cayman court system noti- fied the public earlier this year that only handwritten notes could be taken when inspecting court records in person, and the court briefly dictated that photocopying records would be prohibited without permission from the clerk of court. That policy was short- lived, and the court aired concerns about outside pub- lications making a profit by publishing court registries for their paying customers. The courts no longer ap- pear to be concerned about copyright of court registries, though, and aim to increase the public’s access to records. “Members of the public will have free viewing ac- cess to daily postings of the court registers for the years 2017-2009, on the open part of the site,” said Ms. Both- well of the court’s website at www.judicial.ky. “This forms part of the Court’s initiative [to] provide wider access of court records to the public.” Visitors to the court’s website are already able to access cause lists, court rules and court hours and loca- tions, and Ms. Bothwell said Cayman is following the lead of several other jurisdic- tions that have made their court records available online in recent years. Publishing court records online may also allow the court to cut down on the amount of paper it uses to publish daily cause lists during the year. “Moving forward, we can focus on providing electronic registers for public consump- tion,” said Ms. Bothwell of improving the court’s effi- ciency. “Our goal is also to make the registers view- able at a kiosk at the court office…, if members of the public do not have access to a computer at home.” CAYMAN PORT ANNOUNCES HOLIDAY HOURS The Cayman Port will follow holiday hours from Dec. 12-22. The billing office will open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The warehouse will serve customers on week- days from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Night operations for the container yard will re- main as normal. The port will main- tain its regular hours, 8:30 a.m. to noon, on Saturdays from Dec. 16-30.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS DAVID R. LEGGE AND VICKI L. LEGGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAVID R. LEGGE EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” Cayman’s air travelers have received an early Christmas present with the opening of Owen Roberts International Airport’s new check-in area. The modern, spacious addition is the first public opening of many planned upgrades, part of a much- needed $55 million airport renovation that will greatly enhance visitors’ experience entering and leaving Grand Cayman. We applaud Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell’s efforts and his assurance that the ongoing airport reno- vation is progressing on time and within the budget – two critical considerations that too often are overlooked when government undertakes a major building project. If Cayman is to continue building stayover tourism, and it should, we must ensure that our airport is well- equipped to handle the increased capacity and that the airport facilities – which are the first and last thing those visitors will experience – create a welcoming and positive impression. The new wing offers a foreshadowing of the com- pleted facility, which will be able to accommodate up to 2.5 million passengers per year – double the number who now arrive and depart from the airport each year. As Mr. Kirkconnell told the Compass this week, “It is a great feeling to walk in here and see the difference. It is the first time the country really sees what this airport is going to be. You really start understanding how much bigger, how much more current it is going to be.” And it is a milestone that should quickly be followed by other “grand openings” as subsequent portions of the project are unveiled: The new arrivals area in January; the dismantling of the temporary departure area the following month; demolition of the wall between the departure lounge and the current customs and immigration zone – and so on, until the entire project is completed by next Christmas. Such regular progress will help boost the spirits of frequent travelers (not to mention airport vendors and employees) who may be growing weary of life in a construction zone. The end result, we have no doubt, will be worth the current inconvenience, with Cayman finally able to say “au revoir,” “adieu” or “adios” to airport overcrowding and congestion. Despite our accolades and applause for our airport improvements, we do, however, have one “nit” to pick. We refer, of course, to the airport parking problems that continue to frustrate even the most patient among us. For years, airport officials have introduced a variety of fixes to its broken parking apparatus. None of them work, have worked, or will ever work. They have installed such devices as “change- making vending machines” (that too often don’t make change), exit “arms” that seem to prefer “down” to “up,” and those devilish receipt readers that, frankly, deserve an “F” for their lack of reading skills. Too often airport staff must be called in to sort out these mechanical snafus and deal with frustrated, if not outright angry, travelers. Here’s an idea: Why not turn an intractable negative into a public relations positive simply by offering free parking – no vending machines, no gates, no receipts, no attendants – to the traveling public? What a nice complement that would be to our sparkling new airport. The public, no doubt, would love it, and perhaps even TripAdvisor would award Cayman “extra points” for our congeniality and hospitality. Owen Roberts remodel: Giving a new ‘wing’ to Cayman air travel WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS LETTER TO THE EDITOR The contributions of Nick Duggan I am pleased to see men- tion of Nick Duggan, one of Cayman’s pioneer bankers, who was immensely appre- ciated by businessmen in the early 70s and thereafter. The emergence of Butter- field Bank as a major Cayman bank is an interesting story. Whilst they came to Cayman in the late 60s, it was as a Class B bank. At the same time Washington Bank was a retail Class A bank managed by Nick, with a sister com- pany in the Bahamas both being owned by a U.S. group. At that time both Wash- ington Bank and Butterfield Bank were audited by Coo- pers and Lybrand. Hence I got to know Nick very well. As time went by, he felt that the business he was managing really required a stronger presence and owner. Arising from that, Nick and I discussed for hours as to the suitability of a new owner, and having looked at a list of over 300 Cayman banks, finally settled on two con- tenders with Butterfield being the front runner. Sub- sequently we suggested a merger of the two banks to the senior partner of Coo- pers and Lybrand, Bermuda, Kirk Cooper and the rest, as they say, is history. Nick was one of Cay- man’s finest bankers, whose foresight led to Butterfield’s playing such a major role in the progress of the Cayman Islands and its residents. The recent 50th anniversary of the bank is a reminder of this gentleman, and one of Cay- man’s finest citizens. Chris Johnson BLOOMBERG VIEW EDITORIAL Puerto Rico’s post-hurri- cane plight has drawn atten- tion to the Jones Act, the 1920 law that compels all mari- time commerce between U.S. ports to be carried on ships built, owned and crewed by Americans. The law is adding to the island’s problems, and should be set aside for that reason alone – but the Jones Act was, or should have been, a scandal well before the hurricane hit. Jones Act-compliant ships cost more to build and sail than their foreign-flagged counterparts, so Puerto Ri- cans have to pay more for everything from oil and ma- chinery to food, medicine and clothing. (Adding insult to injury, Jones Act ship- ping lines servicing the is- land have been found guilty of price fixing.) As a territory worse off than any U.S. state even before an epic natural disaster, Puerto Ricans de- serve a break. But so does the rest of U.S. The act hits all U.S. consumers with higher shipping bills. The law’s advocates counter that since no for- eign-flag ships have been al- lowed to carry coastal U.S. cargo, you cannot compare costs on an apples-to-ap- ples basis. This is true, but ignores straightforward evi- dence compiled by the U.S. International Trade Commis- sion, the U.S. Government Ac- countability Office, the Con- gressional Research Service, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and disgrun- tled communities from San Juan to Honolulu. Even the U.S. Department of Trans- portation Maritime Adminis- tration, the act’s official de- fender, has reported that the operating costs of U.S. ships on international routes are nearly three times those of foreign-flag vessels. Consider the impact on U.S. energy markets. Shipping oil from Texas to East Coast refineries on a U.S.-flag ship, for instance, costs several times more than sending it further (to Canada) on a for- eign one – so those refineries get their oil from Europe. The U.S. has plentiful nat- ural gas, but no Jones Act- qualified carriers – so Mas- sachusetts imports LNG from Trinidad and Tobago, while U.S. gas is sent overseas on foreign-flag ships. When pipeline breaches disrupt the national gasoline supply, the small fleet of Jones Act tankers means a bigger spike at the pumps. Maybe you care about cutting greenhouse-gas emis- sions. If so, here’s some bad news. Coastal shipping is more carbon-efficient than trucks and trains – but the tonnage it carries has steadily declined, leading to dirtier air and more con- gested roads. Want to build a wind turbine farm off the coast? Good luck finding specialized Jones Act-quali- fied ships to help you install and operate it. And this is to say nothing of all the other economic dis- tortions the act creates in tourism, agricultural trade and construction. The U.S. In- ternational Trade Commis- sion once labeled the act the country’s second costliest form of protectionism. Recent research estimates nearly $2 billion worth of savings in shipping costs if the law were repealed. Congress is thinking about giving Puerto Rico a new five- year exemption from the law. That is the least it should do. Then it should go on to con- sider a permanent exemption for the whole country. © 2017 Bloomberg View It is time to scrap the Jones Act The law is adding to the island’s problems, and should be set aside for that reason alone – but the Jones Act was, or should have been, a scandal well before the hurricane hit.5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 *Limited time only. Conditions apply. ®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. Apply at your nearest branch today! Make your dreams a reality this holiday season 100% FINANCING* MONTHS TO PAY* UP 84 TO INTEREST RATE* 5.75% Defense: Crown’s case is ‘speculation’ Attorneys question aspects of assaults/ shootings outside nightclub CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Lead counsel Jacob Hallam set the tone for three other defense attorneys when he spoke on behalf of Malik Mothen and called the Crown’s case speculation and theory about what happened on the night of Feb. 3-4 when two men were assaulted and shots fired outside a West Bay Road nightclub. Mr. Hallam asked the jury of five men and two women to remember that the prose- cution had to prove the case and nothing less than being sure would do. “‘Maybe’ doesn’t get you to a guilty verdict,” he reminded them. Mothen has pleaded not guilty to charges that include possession of an unlicensed firearm, assault causing ac- tual bodily harm, two counts of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. His wife, Tashika Mothen, has pleaded not guilty to making a threat to kill, assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Kashwayne Hewitt has pleaded guilty to possession of the unlicensed firearm used in the shootings but has denied a charge of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Daniella Tibbetts has pleaded not guilty to pos- sessing the firearm, with Hewitt, at her residence in West Bay six days after the shooting. Mr. Hallam, instructed by attorney Prathna Bodden, described the evidence the Crown had put before the jury as two witnesses whose accounts did not add up, sci- entific evidence that did not help and CCTV that did not show what had happened. The two witnesses he re- ferred to were Daniel Alex- ander Bennett, one of the men assaulted and shot at, but the bullet missed him; and Carlney Campbell, who was assaulted and shot in his shoulder. Mr. Bennett had said that Malik Mothen was the shooter, who had left the area outside the Fete night- club and come back while Ta- shika Mothen kept his atten- tion. The witness had had a fleeting glance of the gun and the man behind it. He said the bullet missed him be- cause he ducked. Mr. Hallam said even if the jury accepted that ac- count, it did not add up to at- tempted murder because the gunman would have had the opportunity to shoot again if he had wanted to kill. He reminded jurors that Mr. Bennett had been out cel- ebrating his birthday and was intoxicated, which affected his recollection. He had given no evidence at all of being hit with anything metallic. The attorney pointed out that only Hewitt’s DNA was found on the gun. Malik Mothen had said in his interview that he had left the scene and returned with a knuckle duster because he had felt intimidated, fearful and provoked. His case regarding Carlney Campbell was that Mr. Campbell was making a mistake when looking back on an incident that had been dramatic and traumatic. As to the second charge of at- tempted murder, whoever shot Mr. Campbell, it was not Malik Mothen, Mr. Hallam asserted, because Mr. Camp- bell himself had said he saw Mothen’s hands were empty just before he was shot. Lead counsel Icah Peart, instructed by attorney Amelia Fosuhene, spoke on behalf of Tashika Mothen, who faced one charge on her own and other charges with other defendants. She was alleged to have threatened to kill the man she believed had shot her a year earlier and she had made that threat to Mr. Ben- nett. But they both knew that the man was in England, “on the run from the law in the Cayman Islands and wouldn’t be back any time soon.” In those circumstances, how could anyone believe that she was threatening to kill him? Mr. Peart asked. And even if she did threaten, how could anyone possibly be sure that she intended to cause fear in anyone? As to the shooting, if Mothen had come up be- hind her as Mr. Bennett said, she could not have known about it until it happened. If the gun was fired close to her head, she would have been deafened and her face would have been burned, Mr. Peart argued. As to the as- sault on Mr. Campbell, there was no physical evidence on her shoes that they had been in contact with him when he was on the ground. Lead counsel Paul Hynes, instructed by attorney John Meghoo, spoke for Hewitt, 20, who had arrived from Ja- maica on Dec. 26, 2016. He had proved himself to be a man making very bad decisions in his short time on the island, the attorney said. He sug- gested that Hewitt had lied to police in his first two inter- views because he was afraid. Hewitt was not involved in anything to do with Mr. Ben- nett, Mr. Hynes pointed out. As to the argument that Malik Mothen had passed the gun to Hewitt, who had then shot Mr. Campbell, that was not a safe conclusion, Mr. Hynes said. Mr. Campbell had said he did not see anything in Mothen’s hands but, “You don’t know where the gun went.” Hewitt had told police he took it from Mothen after Mr. Campbell was shot be- cause he did not want him to get shot again. He ad- mitted taking the gun to Tib- betts’s residence when he went home with her after the shooting and he ad- mitted hiding it in the cistern of the toilet. That was the point em- phasized by attorney Crister Brady, who spoke for Tibbetts. She and Hewitt were the only people in the apartment, so who else would he be hiding the gun from, he wondered. Possession requires cus- tody, control and knowledge, he pointed out. Possession without knowledge was not enough. Jurors could not find her guilty because of what they thought Tibbetts knew or what she should have known, he said. He wondered when jurors had last looked in their toilet cistern. Unless something is broken, there is no need to check: “It’s not the kind of place you would look unless you have a reason.” Mr. Brady said Tibbetts admitted in an interview that she had initially lied to police about even knowing what had happened outside the night- club because she wanted to protect a relative. She had also lied about Hewitt staying with her. He was a recently married man and maybe she was ashamed, but the lies must not be over-interpreted, Mr. Brady said. Just because Hewitt was there did not mean she knew about the gun, he argued; if she had known, why would she not blame Hewitt when police came to her apartment? He expressed confidence that jurors’ an- swers to his questions would lead to a not guilty verdict. Justice Roger Chapple was scheduled to begin his summing up and directions to the jury on Tuesday. The trial for the Fete Night Club incident continues.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman schools are going under the microscope again. Three years after a com- prehensive set of inspections found only two of Cayman’s 15 public schools performing at a “good” level – 10 were deemed “unsatisfactory” – a new round of inspections is under way. This time there are some key differences. The inspections are being conducted by the recently formed Office of Education Standards, which is not part of the Ministry of Education, but is within the Portfolio of the Civil Service. Peter Car- penter is the director of the office. The new structure, he said, gives inspectors the ability to have more impact on schools that fail to ade- quately perform. But he does not neces- sarily want to wield a heavy hand. The approach to as- sessing the schools this time – the office will be looking at both public and private schools – will be a more col- laborative process, he said. “Inspections can be a pro- cess of something being done to you,” Mr. Carpenter said, referring to the previous evaluations. “We want it to be more of a partnership, so when we go in to do an in- spection, the school will have already started the process.” The model is similar to accreditation processes prac- ticed in the United States and in international settings. Be- fore the arrival of inspectors, school administrators do a self-assessment. Inspectors critique that assessment, as well as doing their own eval- uation of the school. The final report is meant to show ad- ministrators in what areas their understanding of their school’s performance is ac- curate as well as calling at- tention to problems they may not recognize. Mr. Carpenter, who arrived in Cayman in October, said he began visiting schools in No- vember to assess the progress that has been made since the last round of inspections. He expects the new inspections to begin in mid to late February. Before that time, he said, the framework for the inspections has to be approved. Part of the process is soliciting input from the public. The first version of the inspection framework is now in the hands of offi- cials of the civil service and the education ministry. Fol- lowing their input, a re- vised version will be issued to school administrators. As early as mid-January, it will be made public so that the community can weigh in on the document. “The goal is that we’ll be able to get a framework that everyone agrees is aspira- tional,” Mr. Carpenter said. “We want students to be leaving school with the very best qualifications. To do that we’ve got a ways to go.” Getting there, he said, will require “a strong inspection program and getting schools to raise their game.” Mr. Carpenter, 57, has a background as a teacher, ad- ministrator and inspector in the United Kingdom. He spent the last 10 years in Dubai as an inspector, tack- ling some of the same issues he believes need to be ad- dressed in Cayman. He said an effective inspection pro- gram in Dubai was able to produce rapid results and he thinks similar progress can be made here. “I believe an inspection is a very powerful and forma- tive tool for school improve- ment,” he said. The education bill passed in 2016, shifting the inspec- tion office from the Ministry of Education to the civil ser- vice department and giving it more power. “It gives us the authority to visit schools whenever we like,” Mr. Carpenter said of the law. “It requires schools to act upon any decision made by the inspectors. In the long run, there can be pu- nitive measures. In extreme circumstances, [such as with health and safety violations], we can recommend imme- diate action.” Inspectors do not have direct authority to force changes and cannot fire per- sonnel. But, Mr. Carpenter said, his office can apply pressure. If a school is un- derperforming, standards of- ficials will continue to visit the site and do follow-up in- spections at least every six months. Persistent problems, he said, will not be allowed to go on indefinitely. “We will hold the min- istry and the school account- able,” he said. At the same time, he added, he wants to avoid an adversarial relationship. “I know there’s a lot of good work being undertaken,” he said. “There’s been a lot of hard work that I think, in collaboration with the in- spectors, will lead to a lot of improvements.” John Gray High School Principal Jon Clark said he thinks the new approach is a positive shift. “I’d welcome any focus that is more about collabo- ration and cooperation,” Mr. Clark said. “I’m optimistic that’s going to happen here.” Cetonya Cacho, deputy chief officer of education policy and planning for the Ministry of Education, said there has been a “high level of collaboration” between administrators and educa- tors in recent years and she thinks the inspection process fits in as part of that. “When the inspections were finished in 2014-2015, we started working with the departments and schools to address those recommenda- tions,” Ms. Cacho said. “We’ve seen a lot of improvement in the last few years.” The new inspections, she said, will be part of the on- going efforts to achieve better student outcomes. Mr. Carpenter said that will only happen if educators feel they are part of the process. “We want to see school leaders be more evaluative about their schools,” he said. “We don’t want to see schools stagnating. We want to em- power leaders to make de- cisions about their schools. That’s what allows schools to be more forward looking and make changes.” Ultimately the CPA con- cluded, “The applicant failed to demonstrate suf- ficient reason for extending the underpass.” The issue of beach ac- cess, another point raised by objectors, does not ap- pear to have factored into the decision. In fact, a separate appli- cation from Dart to move a beach access, blocked by the tunnel, was approved by the CPA at its Dec. 6 meeting. The developer success- fully applied to consolidate two mandatory six-feet wide beach access paths along its property into a single 12-foot access path. The planning au- thority ruled that the path, which borders the Royal Palms, must go directly from the road to the sea and re- main unobstructed. Dart said in a statement, “Dart Real Estate has re- ceived confirmation the Cen- tral Planning Authority ap- proved the relocation of two 6-foot rights of way that exist on the Royal Palms and Coral Caymanian prop- erties. The consolidated 12- foot right of way will be on the southern boundary of the Royal Palms property, providing direct access for all from West Bay Road to Seven Mile Beach.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 East End Primary School was one of 10 schools evaluated as unsatisfactory in the last round of school inspections. Office of Education Standards Director Peter Carpenter New round of inspections for Cayman schools CPA explains Dart tunnel denial Vehicles pass through the new tunnel at the overpass along a stretch of West Bay Road. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Trump signs $700 billion military budget into law WASHINGTON (AP) – Pres- ident Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law a sweeping defense policy bill that authorizes a $700 billion budget for the mili- tary, including additional spending on missile defense programs to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons threat. But there’s a catch. The $700 billion budget will not become reality until law- makers agree to roll back a 2011 law that set strict limits on federal spending, including by the Defense Department – and they have not yet. The law caps 2018 defense spending at $549 billion. Before he signed the bill at the White House, Trump called on Congress to “finish the job” and eliminate the cap on defense spending. “I think it’s going to happen,” said the president, joined by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jo- seph Dunford and other se- nior military leaders. “We need our military. It’s got to be perfecto.” He urged Democrats in Congress to quit threat- ening to shut down the government and “send clean funding and a clean funding bill to my desk that fully funds our great military. Protecting our country should always be a bipartisan issue, just like today’s legislation.” Temporary govern- ment funding is set to run out on Dec. 22, the dead- line for lawmakers to send the White House a broader government funding bill or risk a partial govern- ment shutdown. Many Republicans favor easing the caps for defense spending only. Democrats also want increases in other government spending. Trump released a lengthy statement after signing the bill in which he complained that multiple provisions amounted to congressional overreach that he argued infringed upon his execu- tive authority. Trump used the signing ceremony to address a sep- arate threat, repeating his call to overhaul U.S. immi- gration law following Mon- day’s blast in a New York City subway passageway. It was the second incident au- thorities have described as terrorism in New York City since late October. The president noted that the individual involved in October’s deadly incident came to the U.S. through the visa lottery program, and that the individual in this week’s attack arrived based on a family connection to an American citizen. Trump vowed to end both immigration programs quickly. “The lottery system and chain migration, we’re going to end them fast,” he said, calling on Congress to “get involved immediately.” The 2018 defense bill allots about $634 billion for core Pentagon opera- tions and nearly $66 bil- lion for wartime missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. The funding boost pays for more troops, jet fighters, ships and other weapons needed to halt an erosion of the military’s combat readiness, according to the bill’s backers. The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 LET US STAY WITH YOU. Enjoy a special golf fee of $80 for the day at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Friday, December 15th. All proceeds of this day will be donated to Meals on Wheels of the Cayman Islands, The Cayman Islands Crisis Center and Save Our Youth. If you can’t play on the 15th, you may also purchase a voucher for the same price for a future round of golf and it will also be donated. In addition, visit The Bunker for our annual retail sale with most items at least 50% off. For more information, contact The Golf Shop at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman at 815-6500. Challenge yourself on a world-class golf course surrounded by emerald views. Russia shuts its embassy in Yemen A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that the embassy in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, has been temporarily closed due to the security situation in the country, and the ambassador and other diplomats will fulfill their duties from the Saudi capital, Riyadh. NATO extends chief Stoltenberg’s term for two more years BRUSSELS (AP) – NATO ex- tended Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s tenure for two more years at the head of the world’s biggest military alliance on Tuesday. Stoltenberg has held the post since 2014 and his term has been marked by a spike in security chal- lenges, including a resurgent Russia and foreign fighters returning to Europe from Syria and Iraq. NATO said in a statement that the 29 NATO nations de- cided to prolong the former Norwegian prime minister’s term until Sept. 30, 2020. It said the allies “con- gratulate the Secretary-Gen- eral and have full confidence in his ability to continue his dedicated work to advance NATO’s adaptation to the security challenges of the 21st century.” British Prime Minister Theresa May lauded Stolten- berg as a “true champion of the NATO alliance.” She said “he has made sure that NATO has stood strong but not stood still, meeting Russian aggression in eastern Europe while re- forming to face developing threats such as cyberattacks and hybrid-warfare.” Last week, the German government backed a two- year extension of Stol- tenberg’s term. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Stolten- berg had “the full support of Germany,” adding that he had “done excellent work mod- ernizing NATO and adapting its structures to a changed security situation.” Stoltenberg took up the position just after Russia had annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and the Islamic State group had seized cities in Syria and Iraq, inspiring a new, more brutal form of terrorism that would wreak havoc in European capitals. For the NATO secretary- general “2014 was a turning point,” he told The Associated Press during a trip to Poland in late August for talks with top officials and to thank some of about 4,000 NATO troops stationed in eastern Europe to deter an increas- ingly aggressive Moscow. “Suddenly the world really changed,” Stoltenberg said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrives for a media conference in November at NATO headquarters in Brussels. - PHOTO: AP SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Mayor Ed Lee, who oversaw a tech- nology-driven economic boom in the city that brought with it sky-high housing prices, died suddenly early Tuesday at age 65. A statement from the Lee’s office said the city’s first Asian-American mayor died at 1:11 a.m. at Zuck- erberg San Francisco Gen- eral Hospital. “It is with profound sad- ness and terrible grief that we confirm that Mayor Edwin M. Lee passed away,” the statement said. Lee was surrounded by family, friends and col- leagues. No cause of death of reported. San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed became acting mayor and planned a late morning news conference. Supervisors and other public officials were stunned and saddened by his sudden death. They praised the low- key mustachioed mayor better known as a former civil rights lawyer and long- time city bureaucrat than a flashy politician. Former Mayor Willie Brown and the late polit- ical power broker Rose Pak talked Lee into filling out the rest of Gavin Newsom’s term when he was elected California’s lieutenant gov- ernor in 2010. “We won based on our po- litical shenanigans and our political skill sets. He got el- evated to our mayor-ship under our charter and got re- elected twice,” Brown said. Brown said Lee will be known as the man who “stepped up and made it pos- sible for Silicon Valley to al- most re-locate to our city. Lee was appointed mayor by the Board of Supervisors in 2011. He won a four-year term in 2011 and was re- elected in 2015. He was an advocate for the needy, but in 2015, he ran against a slate of little-known candidates who criticized him as doing more for tech leaders than for poor people. Detractors claimed he ca- tered too much to Silicon Valley, citing his brokering of a tax break in 2011 to benefit Twitter as part of a remake of the city’s downtown. Mean- while, housing prices have surged in San Francisco with modest homes now topping $1.5 million. SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR EDWIN LEE DIES SUDDENLY AT 65 San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee speaks during a meeting at City Hall in San Francisco in November 2016. - PHOTO: AP8 WORLD&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS The family of Frances A. Black regrets to announce her death on Saturday, 9 December , 2017. A funeral service will take place 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 15, 2017 at the Elmslie Memorial United Church. Interment will follow in West Bay Cemetery . Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. Prosecutors say suspect taunted Trump before subway bombing NEW YORK (AP) – A Bangla- deshi immigrant arrested in a New York subway bombing blamed President Donald Trump for the botched sui- cide mission that he said he carried out for the Is- lamic State group, authorities said as they brought federal charges against him Tuesday. Akayed Ullah posted a statement on his Face- book account on his way to the Monday morning attack stating: “Trump you failed to protect your nation,” the criminal complaint said. He also told law enforce- ment officers at the hospital where he was taken with burn injuries to the body and hands: “I did it for the Islamic State,” according to the complaint. His rush-hour attack fiz- zled in a long walkway used by commuters moving be- tween trains in the city’s busiest subway station at Times Square. Three pedes- trians complained of harmed hearing and headaches after the bomb went off. Ullah, 27, was expected to appear before a magistrate judge, though it was not im- mediately clear if he was well enough to go to court. During a search of his Brooklyn apartment, investi- gators recovered a passport with the words “O America, die in rage” scrawled in it, the complaint says. He hoped to “terrorize as many people as pos- sible” with a bomb filled with metal screws that he believed would cause maximum damage, the complaint said. The complaint charged Ullah with providing mate- rial support to a terrorist group, use of a weapon of mass destruction and three bomb-related counts. It was not immediately clear who would represent Ullah in court. A news conference was planned for later Tuesday. According to the com- plaint, Ullah began re- searching how to build bomb after he had “viewed pro-ISIS materials online, including a video instructing, in sub- stance, that if supporters of ISIS were unable to travel overseas to join ISIS, they should carry out attacks in their homelands.” Overseas, Bangladesh counterterrorism officers were questioning Ullah’s wife and other relatives, officials there said Tuesday. Relatives and police said Ullah last visited Bangladesh in Sep- tember to see his wife and newborn son before leaving them behind to return the United States. Hours after Monday’s ex- plosion, Trump cited the background of the bomber in renewing his call for closer scrutiny of foreigners who come to the country and less immigration based on family ties. Ullah – who told investi- gators he wanted to retaliate for American action against Islamic State extremists – came to the U.S. from Bangla- desh in 2011 on a visa avail- able to certain relatives of U.S. citizens. “Today’s terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain mi- gration, which is incompat- ible with national security,” Trump said in a statement that called for various changes to the immigration system. Earlier, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huck- abee Sanders said Trump’s proposed policies “could have prevented this.” On his last visit to Ban- gladesh, the suspect mostly remained inside a small apartment in Dhaka’s Haz- ribagh area, said his uncle, Abdul Ahad. His nephew ar- rived in Bangladesh on Sept. 8 and returned to New York on Oct. 22, he said. “He went out of his resi- dence to offer prayers at a nearby mosque,” Ahad told The Associated Press. In a scenario New York had dreaded for years, Ullah strapped on a crude pipe bomb with Velcro and plastic ties, slipped unnoticed into the nation’s busiest subway system and set off the device, authorities said. The device did not work as intended; authorities said Ullah was the only person se- riously wounded. But the at- tack sent frightened com- muters fleeing through a smoky passageway. Ullah’s low-tech bomb used explosive powder, a nine-volt battery, a Christmas light and matches, officials said. Investigators said the suspect was seen on surveil- lance footage igniting the bomb. In the end, it was not powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel, the officials said. Law enforcement officials said Ullah looked at IS pro- paganda online but is not known to have any direct contact with the militants and probably acted alone. The attack came less than two months after eight people died near the World Trade Center in a truck at- tack that authorities said, was carried out by an Uzbek immigrant who admired the Islamic State group. Ullah lived with his fa- ther, mother and brother in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Bangladeshi commu- nity, residents said. He was licensed to drive a livery cab between 2012 and 2015, but the license was allowed to lapse, according to law en- forcement officials and New York City’s Taxi and Limou- sine Commission. John Miller, NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism, said Tuesday on CBS “This Morning” that Ullah didn’t seem to have any ob- vious problems. He “was living here, went through number of jobs, was not particularly strug- gling financially or had any known pressures,” Miller said, adding Ullah “was not on our radar at NYPD, not on the FBI radar.” Security cameras cap- tured the attacker walking casually through a crowded passageway when the bomb went off around 7:20 a.m. A plume of white smoke cleared to show the man sprawled on the ground and commuters scattering. Port Authority police said officers found the man injured on the ground, with wires protruding from his jacket and the device strapped to his torso. They said he was reaching for a cellphone and they grabbed his hands. Akayed Ullah EU TO LINK VISA, CRIME DATABASES TO BOOST TERROR FIGHT BRUSSELS (AP) – The Euro- pean Union is planning to link together its border, visa and fingerprint databases to plug information gaps and better combat terrorism and international crime. The European Com- mission proposed Tuesday to upgrade the 28-nation bloc’s information systems so that border officers or the Europol police agency can have fast access to more reliable data. EU Migration Commis- sioner Dimitris Avramo- poulos says the plan aims “to close gaps and remove blind spots in our informa- tion systems.” It would allow visa, police, customs or jus- tice authorities to use one search portal with access to all various databases they currently have per- mission to use. The European Commis- sion says the move would not compromise data pro- tection safeguards while making it easier to cross- check information or catch criminals using multiple or fake identities. Austria: 1 dead, 21 hurt in explosion at natural gas plant BERLIN (AP) – An explosion Tuesday at a major natural gas facility near Austria’s border with Slovakia left one person dead and 21 injured, and caused some gas flow disruptions to other coun- tries, authorities said. One person was seriously injured and 20 others slightly hurt in the morning blast at the plant in Baumgarten an der March, east of Vienna, police said. No one was in a life-threatening condition. The facility’s operator said all the victims were Austrian. The explosion set off a fire, which operator Gas Con- nect said was quickly con- tained and completely extin- guished by mid-afternoon. The facility was “shut down in a controlled state and is offline,” the company said. Police wrote on Twitter that the explosion was trig- gered by a “technical cause,” but didn’t elaborate and said that local authorities are investigating. Gas Con- nect said it also suspects an unspecified technical fault. Gas Connect describes the Baumgarten plant, where pipelines bringing gas from Russia, Norway and other countries connect and gas is compressed and cooled, as one of Europe’s most impor- tant gas supply hubs. “Austria’s natural gas supply can be covered for the foreseeable future,” the company said on its web- site. However, “transit through Austria to the south and southeast regions is currently negatively im- pacted,” it added. Neighboring Italy’s Eco- nomic Development Ministry declared an emergency after the explosion interrupted the flow of natural gas to the country, but said Italy’s supply of gas would be en- sured by existing stockpiles. Italy’s SNAM natural gas transport network said flows could resume in the course of the day if it is confirmed that no transport infrastruc- ture was damaged. This photo provided by the Red Cross in Gaenserndorf shows a firefighter in the gas facility in Baumgarten an der March, Austria, near the Slovakian border, Tuesday, after an explosion occurred. - PHOTO: AP During a search of his Brooklyn apartment, investigators recovered a passport with the words “O America, die in rage” scrawled in it, the complaint says.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Business CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13, 2017 SALE We do a whole lot more that cover your floor! 3436 Spot Bay Road | Cayman Brac | Tel 948 2665 15% OFF ALL OTHER ITEMS 75% $ 5 $ 5 75% $ 5 $ 5 OFF SELECT TILES AND CARPET PER BOX SELECT FLOOR & WALL TILES PER PAIR UNIVERSAL MATS December 15th & 16th Closed for the Holiday Season from December 22 through January 2, 2018. Happy Holidays! Children’s Christmas Party @ Spot Bay December 16th, 2017 - 3:30pm - 6:00pm German union calls for strike at Ryanair A union called Tuesday on German-based pilots at budget airline Ryanair to strike in a dispute over pay and conditions, though it says there will be no walkouts in the days around Christmas. The union said it was giving Ryanair ‘a last chance’ to avoid strikes by declaring its readiness to negotiate. DART CLOSES SAN DIEGO NEUROSCIENCE OPERATIONS MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com Dart NeuroScience, a de- veloper of memory-improving drugs, is closing its opera- tions in San Diego, laying off about 265 employees. Dart in- formed staff on Dec. 7 that company founder and owner Ken Dart had decided to stop funding the company. Dart NeuroScience’s mis- sion was to become the leading specialized pharma- ceutical company for memory disorders by focusing on the discovery and develop- ment of innovative drugs and new methods to improve memory function. In a statement, Dart blamed the lack of research progress for the closure of the pharma business. “Despite an investment in excess of $700 million dol- lars over the past decade and despite the stellar effort of a capable and dedicated team of highly qualified sci- entists, Dart NeuroScience has not generated adequate signs of any human memory improvement or motor re- habilitation,” said Dart CEO Mark VanDevelde. “The investment required to continue even some of these programs would run into several billion dollars, with questionable odds of success. As it is clear the in- vestment is not viable, the board made the pragmatic decision to wind up opera- tions,” Mr. VanDevelde said. Dart NeuroScience CEO Ken Johns has advised em- ployees and every effort will be made to support and as- sist staff as they seek new opportunities, he added. The company will close operations on Feb. 9, 2018. While Dart is mainly known in the Cayman Islands as a real estate developer, the company operates in mul- tiple industries and countries with Cayman as its global headquarters. Outside of the Cayman Islands, Dart has an exten- sive global investment port- folio covering real estate, biotechnology, finance and land holdings. Captive insurance adds $100 million to economy Cayman’s captive insur- ance industry generated US$100 million for the is- lands’ economy in 2016, ac- cording to an economic impact survey by the In- surance Managers Associa- tion of Cayman. “Over the summer our research and development committee conducted re- search on precisely how the captive insurance in- dustry benefits the Cayman Islands,” said IMAC Chair Erin Brosnihan. “We are now very pleased to share these positive re- sults with the government and local community.” IMAC’s economic survey reported that the captive industry generated US$72 million in revenue for Cay- man’s service providers, and currently provides employ- ment for approximately 300 staff, of which nearly half are Caymanian. The Cayman Islands gov- ernment and its regulatory bodies also saw a signifi- cant contribution from the industry, with US$11 million in fees paid to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and Registrar of Companies. The third quarter re- sults from the Cayman Is- lands Monetary Authority show Cayman’s insurance sector accounted for $12.4 billion in premiums written and $61 billion in assets under management. “We’re delighted with 2017 results so far, and are projecting total premiums to rise to around $16 bil- lion by year end,” said Ms. Brosnihan. The outlook for captive formations is equally opti- mistic. Adrian Lynch, mar- keting committee chair of the Insurance Managers Associa- tion of Cayman, predicts cap- tive formations similar to this year, if not greater in 2018. “We are beginning to see a hardening in reinsurance rates, which means clients will revisit their captives in terms of their deductible spend and the attachment of their reinsurance. A hard market in 2018 will mean a greater number of forma- tions for Cayman,” he said. In addition to industry and government revenue, the insurance industry also contributes to Cayman’s tourism sector. “Captive business con- ducted in Cayman gener- ated US$16 million for the hospitality industry,” Ms. Brosnihan said. The Cayman Captive Forum, the world’s largest captive insurance confer- ence, hosted by IMAC, is one of the factors as it attracts more than 1,400 delegates each November. The Cayman Captive Forum also assists with the funding of IMAC’s Scholar- ship Foundation. Since inception the Foun- dation generated US$3.4 million from donations and surpluses from the Cayman Captive Forum. So far, the Founda- tion has helped 42 young Caymanians achieve higher education. In addition, IMAC pro- vides philanthropic assis- tance to the Cayman Hos- piceCare, the Cayman Islands Crisis Center and the Cayman Islands Cancer Society. IMAC’s economic survey reported that the captive industry generated US$72 million in revenue for Cayman’s service providers.Next >