ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 High of 86 Low of 76 Seas: Rough with wave heights of 6 to 8 feet. A Small craft warning is in effect EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 RIDING THE RISING ECONOMIC TIDE IN THE CARIBBEAN LOCAL | PAGE 7 DG’S 5K TO BENEFIT 3 CHARITIES Cayman seeks to embrace tourism boom Five-year plan presented at public meetings JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Leveraging record tourism arrivals to create greater jobs and business opportunities for Caymanians is among the key aims of a new five-year plan for the industry, according to Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell. The plan, which tourism chiefs will present at a series of public meetings over the next few weeks, also looks at the demands the in- flux of new tourists is putting on the islands’ infrastructure and attractions. Mr. Kirkconnell told the Cayman Compass that arrival numbers were likely to continue to grow in the short term, with another new re- cord of 425,000 visitors forecast for 2018. “Part of our responsibility is to make sure our citizens see the opportunities taking place,” he said. “We are encouraging people to come here, we are encouraging people to build more rooms, to go east and do more in those out- lying areas. If we do all of that and we don’t put our people in a position to take advantage of those opportunities, then we have failed.” He said tourism jobs, including jobs at gov- ernment-owned companies like Cayman Air- ways, the Cayman Turtle Centre and the air- ports authority, were already the cornerstone of a strong middle class on the island. But he believes more can be done to link the next generation of Caymanians to careers in the industry. He said the tourism school was helping to prepare school-leavers for entry-level careers or further education. And the ministry is also partnering with U.S.-based Johnson & Wales University to offer hospitality scholarships. The plan also looks to develop a financial REPORT FINDS ISSUES WITH MOST BEACH ACCESS PATHS JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The vast majority of public access paths to Cayman Islands beaches are either blocked, neglected and overgrown with vegetation, or lacking proper signs, according to a compre- hensive survey. Of the 108 officially registered public rights of way in Grand Cayman, only 17 are listed as clear, with signs, in the report by government’s Lands and Survey department. The exhaustive study was commissioned amid public complaints that rights of access to the islands’ beaches were being blocked. The findings show that in many cases, beach accesses have been left neglected and overgrown. In some cases, poorly maintained paths lead to dead ends where beaches no longer exist. In a handful of incidences, property ap- pears to have been built across old ac- cess paths. Others have been blocked by locked gates. Of one access in West Bay, the survey team recorded, “This beach access is blocked by a 6 foot wire fence along Garvin Road. Overgrown vegetation and no sign of any footpath can be seen beyond the wire fence.” Another entry notes, “The access in this sit- uation is blocked by a 4 foot chain-link fence and passes through a concrete house.” Others are more subtle. One entry path to Seven Mile Beach is ob- structed “by decorative vegetation and gar- dening,” the report noted. The survey, an update of the 2003 Grant Vincent report, identified a total of 279 access Pirates Caves area gets face-lift JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A husband-and-wife team are breathing life back into the Pirates Caves site in Bodden Town to give tourists and locals a place to relax and have fun. Caymanian Kellian Aashikpelokhai, a paralegal by profession and currently at- tending law school while working at In- tertrust, and her husband Ikoghene, a Ni- gerian doctor who works at CINICO, have leased the property for the next 10 years. They say they have made it their mission to turn the site on Bodden Town Road into a family oriented, fun place that everyone can enjoy for free. While the caves themselves will not be open, the site surrounding them will in- clude food stalls, a play area, an art gallery and a mini-zoo. After being closed for more than a year and a half, the site reopens Friday, from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Legend has it that pirates came ashore there to hide their treasure and bury their dead. “We are going to have music, nothing loud, nothing lewd. Some Teddy Pend- ergrass, Peabo Bryson, Kenny Rogers … somewhere after a long week, where people can come, sit, relax and enjoy some healthy eating,” Mrs. Aashikpelokhai said. The reopened attraction will include a food stall where visitors can buy natural smoothies, coconut water and juices, as well as ice cream and cookie treats for the kids. There will also be a roasting pit, serving up roast jerk or barbecue along with roast yam, corn and potatoes. Also planned is a cultural art gallery featuring pictures of what Cayman was like back in the day, and a souvenir shop of- fering local gifts. The site already has swings under Northward Prison inmates help to restore the Bodden Town Pirates Caves site last weekend. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 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 15:17 TO PARIS (PG13) 1:25 VIP I 4:30 I 10:10 VIP MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE (PG13) 12:25 I 3:30 I 6:35 I 9:40 FIFTY SHADES FREED (R) 1:10 I 3:45 I 7:15 I 10:05 BLACK PANTHER (PG13) 1:25 I 3:50 VIP I 6:50 VIP I 7:00 I 9:45 I 10:00 EARLY MAN (PG) 12:45 I 3:00 I 5:15 I 7:30 JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (PG13) 1:00 I 4:00 I 7:10 I 9:55 Red Stripe comes to rescue for Jamaican bobsledders Olympic bobsleds cost a lot of money – tens of thou- sands of dollars. And teams spend so much time tinkering with their sleighs to make them faster that they some- times bring multiple sleighs to competition in case one performs better than another on a given track. And because teams bring multiple sleighs, if something should happen to yours and you do not have a backup, it’s pretty tough to find an- other one, let alone one that is as fast. All of that makes what happened to Jamaica’s bob- sled team a harrowing tale. When Sandra Kiri- asis suddenly quit during these Olympic Games in Py- eongchang, South Korea, she insisted that she had the rights to the team’s sleigh. Jamaica rented a sleigh for the Winter Games from a club in Winterberg, Germany, team spokeswoman Kath- leen Pulito told The Wash- ington Post. But Kiriasis signed the lease and thus claimed the sleigh when she left the team. Jamaica argued that Kiri- asis’ contention was moot because she rented the sleigh on behalf of Jamaica – “Sandra was working as an agent of Jamaica,” Pulito said – but that still left the team without a bobsled, even if it was technically right. From afar, Red Stripe, the Jamaican brewing com- pany, was watching the saga unfold and quickly cap- tured the internet. The com- pany’s human resources di- rector phoned the marketing team, company spokesman Bjorn Trowery said, who then drafted a message that made all of Twitter stop and stare: “No bobsled, no problem. If you need a new ride @Jam- bobsled, put it on @Red- Stripe’s tab. DM us and we’ll be in touch.” “Some of the best ideas start out as a crazy ‘what if?’ “ Trowery wrote to The Post in an email. “We did some initial research to under- stand the cost of a bobsled. As you can imagine, they’re not on Amazon, which made things trickier. “Once we felt comfort- able with the cost and were assured we were staying le- gally OK given Rule 40 [the Olympic rule that prohibits athlete marketing during the Games] guidelines, I drafted the tweet, we hit send and it’s been a whirlwind ever since.” Turns out, Trowery was right. Sleighs cost a lot of money. This one was almost $50,000, Trowery confirmed. The company wired the money to the Jamaican Bob- sleigh Federation on Friday. “My expense report this month will include a bob- sleigh on it,” Trowery said. The catch? It was not ac- tually a new sleigh rental. Jamaica just bought the sleigh outright. “Now we have title of the bobsled and we are very grateful to them,” Pulito said. All that is great, but it might not do much to help the Jamaican women’s team, which has some uphill – ahem – sledding ahead in the actual event. Sochi med- alists Elana Meyers Taylor (silver) and Jamie Greubel Poser (bronze), both of the United States, are the likely favorites. Canadian Kaillie Humphries is seeking her third straight gold medal. © 2018, The Washington Post Experts: Underwater archaeology site imperiled in Mexico MEXICO CITY (AP) – Pollution is threatening the recently mapped Sac Actun cave system in the Yucatan Penin- sula, a vast underground net- work that experts in Mexico say could be the most impor- tant underwater archaeolog- ical site in the world. Subaquatic archaeolo- gist Guillermo de Anda said the cave system’s histor- ical span is likely unrivaled. Some of the oldest human re- mains on the continent have been found there, dating back more than 12,000 years, and now-extinct animal remains push the horizon back to 15,000 years. He said researchers found a human skull that was al- ready covered in rainwater limestone deposits long be- fore the cave system flooded around 9,000 years ago. De Anda said over 120 sites with Maya-era pot- tery and bones in the caves suggest water levels may have briefly dropped in the 216-mile-long system during a drought about 1,000 A.D. and some artifacts have been found dating to the 1847- 1901 Maya uprising known as the War of the Castes. Humans there probably did not live in the caves, de Anda said, but rather went down to them “during pe- riods of great climate stress, to look for water.” Sac Actun is “probably the most important underwater archaeological site in the world,” he said. But de Anda said pollu- tion and development may threaten the caves’ crys- talline water. Some of the sinkhole lakes that today serve as entrances to the cave system are used by tourists to snorkel and swim. And the main highway in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo runs right over some parts of cave net- work. That roadway has been known to collapse into sinkholes. Also, the cave with the stone-encased skull has high acidity levels, suggesting acidic runoff from a nearby open-air dump could damage skeletal remains. The world’s other great underwater site, the sunken Egyptian city of Alexan- dria, is also threatened by pollution. TRAINING DAY AT GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS The Ministry of Community Affairs, Department of Chil- dren and Family Services and the Needs Assessment Unit will be closed throughout the morning of Thursday, Feb. 22, for training. Government Information Services advised that those de- partments will be closed from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Driver Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell of Jamaica start their first heat during the women’s two-man bobsled competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP This undated photo released by Mexico’s National Anthropology and History Institute shows divers from the Great Mayan Aquifer project exploring the Sac Actun underwater cave system where Mayan and Pleistocene bones and cultural artifacts have been found submerged, near Tulum, Mexico. - PHOTO: AP 13 YEARS GIVEN FOR RAPE CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Marlon Ricardo Porter, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday to 13 years’ im- prisonment for rape after a Grand Court jury found him guilty in October. A two-year sentence for assault causing actual bodily harm and a one-year sentence for causing alarm and distress were made to run concurrently. Justice Alastair Mal- colm imposed the term via video link, noting he had considered materials sub- mitted to him, including psychiatric and psycho- logical reports. After court, defense at- torney Amelia Fosuhene confirmed that the convic- tions will be appealed. Also attending the sen- tencing was Crown counsel Scott Wainwright, who had conducted the case for the prosecution. Justice Malcolm first summed up the facts of the incident, which oc- curred on the night of Jan. 22-23, 2016. Mr. Porter gave a lift to the complainant from a George Town bar to a gas station to get some food, but instead of taking her to the gas station, he drove to a secluded spot where he had oral sex and sexual intercourse with her without her consent. She had made it clear she was not consenting and tried to run away twice. While she resisted, he of- fered her $200. Afterward, he dragged her from the vehicle toward the sea and threatened to drown her. He then drove off. She was left par- tially clothed and started walking. She was subse- quently seen by a govern- ment truck driver. She was not wearing any shoes or trousers at the time and her blouse was torn; she told him she had been raped. She was taken to the hospital where injuries were noted – extensive bruising to her left but- tocks and abrasions to her left elbow. She said these had occurred while Mr. Porter was dragging her to- ward the water. Justice Malcolm noted that the starting point for rape is 12 years. Because of the aggravating features, he increased the sentence to 13 years. Time Mr. Porter has spent in custody before and after his conviction is to be taken into account.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 Each office independently owned and operated. RE/MAX Cayman Islands, 7 Mile Shops, Grand Cayman. CIREBA Member. MLS# 406232-406246 James Bovell (345) 945-4000 james.bovell@bovell.ky www.bovell.ky Kim Lund (345) 949-9772 kim.lund@remax.ky www.caymanlundteam.com L U X UR IO U S L I V I N G O N T HE W A T E R F RO N T W W W . S T O N EI S L A N D C A Y M A N . C O M Canal-front villas in the exclusive Yacht Club community, with 4500 square feet of open concept living and an amenity collection beyond expectation. OUTDOOR AMENITIES:AMENITY BUILDING: • Discreet 24-hour security • Expansive mosaic-tile infi nity edge pool & cabana • Tennis court • Boardwalk • Docking facilities • Lush landscaping • Barbecue pavilions • State-of-the-art fi tness studio • Private screening room • Waterside owner’s conservatory • Children’s center • Chef’s kitchen • Owner’s wine storage Open House SATURDAY • FEBRUARY 24TH • NOON – 2P. M . LOCATED ON YACHT DRIVE, JUST PAST VISTA DEL MAR. S HO W HOM E S NO W OP E NThe 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 FEBRUARY 21, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Bitcoin recently lost about two-thirds its value in seven weeks – the fifth such col- lapse in recent years. Severe volatility ruins its utility as an alternative to national currencies, and ordinary in- vestors who would prefer not to finance criminals, rogue states and terrorists should stay clear of it too. Advocates of bitcoin argue governments are tempted to print too much money to fi- nance spending, instead of taxing, and thereby fuel in- flation. They entrust control of their money supplies to in- dependent central banks, but devious politicians can still spend and issue bonds. Ul- timately, central banks must print money to finance those if investors will not purchase the bonds at desired interest rates. Uncle Sam did plenty of that during the financial crisis to bail out banks, GM and Chrysler. Bitcoin has no central bank. Instead its balances are recorded on a system of encrypted ledgers kept on large private computers. New bitcoin is created mostly by solving complex math- ematical problems, and the total number of bitcoin in circulation will be capped at 21 million. Individuals keep bitcoin in digital wallets and at com- mercial exchanges, and de- positors can lose their money if those are hacked or badly managed. Bitcoin has no FDIC to bail out depositors. Holding bitcoin is like putting your hard earned savings in a locker at a train station – if the lock gets picked, you are broke. Bitcoin does not per- form the essential func- tions of money. Virtually all businesses only accept dollars or an- other national currency for payment, as do governments to collect taxes. Holders of bitcoin or any other digital currency must convert those to national currencies to pur- chase groceries, plane tickets or the services of a sage econ- omist. (I do not take bitcoin, but I do take dollars and sev- eral foreign currencies.) Conversions are slow and costly – who would pay a $25 dollar conversion fee to pur- chase a $4 pound of bologna? Bitcoin’s value fluctu- ates so much and it can be quite slow to convert back to dollars to make large pur- chases – like a house or a re- tirement annuity – that it is a lousy store of value for your savings. That reduces the purposes of holding bitcoin to specula- tion and illicit purposes. In December, about 18 percent of buyers purchased bitcoin using credit cards and many said they would pay off their balances using profits from their invest- ment. Such buying on essen- tially zero margin puts banks that issue credit cards at sig- nificant risk of nonpayment. Consequently, Citibank, J.P. Morgan, Discover and many other big banks have decided to no longer permit card- holders to exchange dollars (or any other national cur- rency) for bitcoin. In an increasingly cash- less economy, those decisions make it even less likely that bitcoin will ever become a medium of exchange and no more than a derivative – a fi- nancial instrument whose price is determined by the value of an underlying asset. The goods producing ca- pacity of the U.S. economy ultimately is the asset be- hind the dollar. The full faith and credit of the U.S. govern- ment sounds lofty, but it’s the goods and services Ameri- cans can make that count. Bitcoin has no Bitland – or perhaps it does. Our friends in the gray economy and less desir- able types raising money for North Korea and drug lords like cash. The Federal Re- serve and Treasury can track money moving among banks quite easily but not cash – that is why the Treasury no longer issues bills in denomi- nations over $100. Bitcoin ledgers are kept on private computers theo- retically beyond the eyes of government officials; hence bitcoin has great utility for all things illicit. However, now governments in China and South Korea are cracking down, and the United States is not far behind. And if hackers can steal from the exchanges, the Trea- sury can surely spy on them. Sooner or later we are going to have enough drug busts thanks to such snooping (as necessary, done with war- rants) that drug lords and rogue states will have to lug around huge suitcases full of Jacksons and Ben- jamins for the lack of larger denominations. When bad actors start dumping bitcoin, its value will drop for good. Meanwhile, the ordinary investor who trades dollars for bitcoin is merely gam- bling that he can get out be- fore the bottom falls out and is helping finance some of the worst malefactors on the planet. Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist. © 2018, The Washington Times, LLC. The trajectory of the Caribbean economy has been a “good news” story for a good while now. The latest thread in this positive narrative is the recent statistical report from the Caribbean Development Bank, estimating that the region’s gross domestic product grew by 0.6 percent last year, and forecasting 2 percent growth this year. What is remarkable about last year isn’t the (rela- tively minor) amount of growth in the region – but that the region’s economy managed to grow at all, considering the devastating (and devastatingly expensive) impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Indeed, islands that suffered most from the storms, including the British Virgin Islands and Dominica, were among the few jurisdictions whose economies contracted rather than expanded last year. (As we in Cayman know all too well, the recovery period from a major hurricane will stretch far ahead into future months and years.) The sustained growth in the region continues to parallel the economic performance of the Cayman Islands. The development bank estimates that Cayman’s GDP grew by 2.7 percent last year and will grow by 3.2 percent this year. It isn’t exactly the rocket-like trajectory we have come to associate with the early heydays of the “Cayman Miracle,” but at this stage in our islands’ development, steady and predictable positive growth is a desirable pattern, particularly as our public and private sectors construct, enhance and expand Cayman’s infrastructure, in order to accommodate and facilitate future growth. Not surprisingly, the growth in the Caribbean’s general economy is also reflected in data on tourism, one of the region’s most fundamental industries. The Caribbean Tourism Organization recently announced record highs – again – in terms of visitor arrivals and expenditures for the region in 2017. Last year, an estimated 30.1 million people visited the Caribbean, spending US$37 billion. That marks eight years of con- secutive growth for the region. Amid this general buoyancy, the number of air arrivals in Cayman (more than 418,000) hit record levels in 2017 for the fourth consecutive year, while cruise arrivals grew to 1.73 million passengers. In January, Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell said officials expect cruise numbers to remain steady in 2018, but for air arrivals to increase by about 5 percent. Similar optimism reigns across the region, driven largely by expectations of continued economic strength in the United States – which of course is the primary source of “customers” for Caribbean isles, including Cayman. While some officials are inclined to champion local decisions and developments as “cause-and-effect” reasons for year-over-year success in Cayman’s tourism sector, we offer a slightly more nuanced perspective. Yes, we remain staunch proponents (even “cheerleaders”) of projects such as new hotels, the airport expansion and transportation enhancements, but we tend to view those efforts and investments as wise attempts to capitalize on demand that exists naturally within the greater tourism market, rather than as the genesis of that demand. Like it or not – and believe us, we’re firmly in the “like” camp – Cayman’s financial wagon is hitched to the star of North America … that is the U.S., which fortunately is the world’s most powerful economic engine. For the Caribbean and Cayman, the future growth potential for tourism is practically endless because what we lack in other natural resources is more than made up by our abundance of sunshine, sand and sea. The basic truth upon which our tourism model is founded is this: People hate cold weather. And North America gets very, very cold. Not everyone can escape from the cold permanently, but many can find temporary respite in our tropical climes. With that asset as our foundational bedrock, Cayman must focus on honing the distinct advantages that differentiate us from our similarly warm and beautiful neighboring competitors – that is, ensuring that our islands are safe, clean and welcoming, both for residents and our honored guests. Riding the rising economic tide in the Caribbean Why bitcoin is for gamblers and bad actors 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 find their own way” PETER MORICI5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K A excellent drafts Final letter sized.pdf 2 02/10/2015 11:57 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K A excellent drafts Final letter sized.pdf 2 02/10/2015 11:57 ...IN THE CARIBBEAN Rated A (Excellent) at A.M. 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T: +1 (345) 949-9744 E: Aleisha.Lalor@caribbeanalliance.com www.caribbeanalliance.com Our customers enjoy extensive coverage and competitive premiums on every personal and commercial insurance product. Home • Contents • Motor • Liability • Business • Marine Cayman hopes to aid cause of ailing teen The Cayman community is stepping up again in the effort to save Andy Reyes, the young heart patient who spent months hospitalized in Grand Cayman. Oddy Grullon and Jahayra Jackman are hosting a fun- draising dinner on Saturday evening, Feb. 24, at Icoa for the 13-year-old, who is cur- rently awaiting a heart trans- plant at a hospital in Gaines- ville, Florida. Andy has had four pre- vious operations on his heart, the most recent one being performed at Health City Cayman Islands in Sep- tember. After that proce- dure, Andy was kept on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) ma- chine for 134 days while his family searched for his next treatment. A major fundraising effort began in his name on Go- FundMe.com, and as of press time on Tuesday, his benefac- tors had raised $516,583 to provide for his medical costs. Andy was transferred from Grand Cayman to Gainesville on Jan. 27, and the doctors there are prepping him for his future transplant. Ms. Jackman and Ms. Grullon both hail from the Dominican Republic, like Andy, and they met his family at Health City before em- barking on their own fund- raising quest. Each plate at Saturday’s Icoa dinner costs $100, and contributors can also make cash donations and offer prizes for a raffle. Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, a senior cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at Health City, said last month that he believed Andy had set a world record by staying on an ECMO machine for four months, and he also said that the teenager had shown an indomitable will in his fight for survival. “He should do well. There’s no doubt about that” said Dr. Chattuparambil shortly after Andy had been transferred. “He’s a fighter. If he could fight for those four months, he’ll fight it out.” People interested in learning more and donating to the Andy Reyes cause can visit his page on GoFundMe.com. For more information about Saturday’s dinner, call Oddy Grullon at 917-7621 or Jahayra Jackman at 324-4218. Andy Reyes and his mother Karen, pictured at Health City Cayman Islands earlier this year. “He’s a fighter. If he could fight for those four months, he’ll fight it out.” DR. BINOY CHATTUPARAMBIL March is ‘Honouring Women Month’ A number of events have been scheduled for the an- nual “Honouring Women Month” in March. The Department of Counselling Services’ Family Resource Centre cel- ebrates the achievements of women and calls for greater equality in its annual ob- servance of the month. Honouring Women Month, also known as “Women’s History Month” across the rest of the world, high- lights the many contribu- tions of women. The observance began in the United States in 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project. Congress passed the resolution, and between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the presi- dent to proclaim March of each year as Women’s His- tory Month. Since 1988, U.S. presidents have issued an- nual proclamations desig- nating the month of March as Women’s History Month. On Thursday and Friday, March 1 and 2, there will be four separate, three-hour, free Gender Violence Pre- vention Leadership training sessions by leading gender rights advocate Jackson Katz at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort from 9 a.m. to noon and 2-5 p.m. Registration is required before the event. Thursday, March 8, is International Women’s Day around the world. The day will be celebrated with “Canvas and Mocktails” at Art Nest Creative Studio from 7:30-9 p.m. Tickets cost $38 and include refreshments. To mark Honouring Women Month, two “Colour Me Purple” 5K runs/walks will be held in Kaibo, North Side, and Smith Cove, South Sound, on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, respectively. This fundraiser sup- ports the empowerment programs for women and youth in the community. Entry costs $25. On Sunday, March 25, there will be a church ser- vice at the John Gray Me- morial Church in West Bay, starting at 10 a.m. For registration and more information, call the Family Resource Centre on 949-0006 or email frc@gov.ky.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS and mentoring model to in- centivize Caymanians to seek business opportuni- ties in tourism, as well as creating a better link be- tween scholarships and career paths in Cayman’s tourism industry. Mr. Kirkconnell said the perception of tourism jobs was changing. “The airlines need pi- lots, hotels need HR, legal advice, engineers for the plant, marketing. It is not just about checking in hotel guests,” he said. The National Tourism Plan, 2018-2022, was pro- duced by consulting firm Solimar International in col- laboration with the ministry and is designed to provide a framework for managing the development of tourism to achieve “greater inclusivity and greater sustainability.” Mr. Kirkconnell said that means ensuring the Cayman Islands is equipped to cater to the arriving hordes of tourists. “This process gave us a golden opportunity to look at how we grow arrivals in sync with the number of rooms available and the number of airplane seats and the quality of the in- frastructure and attrac- tions,” he said. “This doc- ument starts tying up all those elements and looks at trigger points for the next phases of development.” With a new Hyatt resort planned and the Dart group seeking to build at least two new hotels, the tourism minister believes the pres- ence of major brands in the islands will insulate Cayman against the poten- tial impact of a decline in the U.S. economy. “I think if the bricks and mortar are there, not only does that provide the plat- form for a number of jobs, it means there are devel- opers with hundreds of millions of dollars invested in room stock that they are going to be working ex- tremely hard to fill.” The tourism plan has been presented to caucus and to opposition mem- bers, as well as at com- munity meetings in the Sister Islands. Grand Cayman resi- dents will get their first op- portunity to see the pre- sentation and provide feedback in Bodden Town on Wednesday. shade trees, a resting area, picnic tables, local plants and a mini-zoo. Eventually, Mrs. Aashi- kpelokhai said, the couple hopes to make enough rev- enue from the sale of food and drinks to get liability in- surance and reopen access to the caves to the public. Over the years, the estab- lishment, which was a dream of the late Spencer Bodden who saw it as a cultural landmark and a way to high- light Cayman’s history, fell into neglect. Now the Aashikpelokhais want to see it restored to its original condition or better. They have been getting help from the local community, as well as some assistance from the inmates of Northward Prison. As it is considered a community project, the Prison Service agreed to help out. Help has also come from other local businesses, with Woody Foster of Foster’s Food Fair IGA donating pallet boards to be turned into seating, and Cayman Coating donating paint. It is an ambitious project that Mrs. Aashikpelokhai ad- mits has been a bit of an up- hill struggle. Since leasing the property, Mrs. Aashik- pelokhai said working on fixing up the site has been challenging but rewarding. “Mind you, we started off with $20,000 and thought we could make this dream come true. Oh, were we wrong,” she said. Already, she said, they have spent more than $85,000 getting the place up to standard. She hopes that once it re- opens, the site will become a place where the commu- nity can get together. “If no- body comes through the gate next week at the opening, I will still feel good because I know that the schools are al- ready calling for the children to come in, so they can really know about their heritage.” She remembers visiting the Pirates Caves when she was younger and having such a wonderful experi- ence, getting to see what a Cayman agouti or what cer- tain plants looked like. She said when she came behind the Pirates Caves and saw the rundown condition it was in, she knew that if the late Mr. Bodden had still been alive, it would not have fallen into such disrepair. When Mr. Bodden was alive, she said, he would clean the site every morning before heading to work at an insurance firm. Since leasing the prop- erty, she said, she has learned about the history of the place and how it was handed down to Mr. Bodden from his grandparents Fifi and Haig Bodden, and it is now owned by Mr. Bodden’s sons. “We want to bring back what Spencer Bodden had in a new era with a new flair,” she said. “We really don’t be- lieve that when tourists come here, they want to see the commercial part of Cayman. We want them to enjoy here, sitting on stones, seeing the culture and enjoying the way we do things.” She added, “Not only that we want to cater for the Bodden Town public. The district is a bit ‘still’ after 7 p.m., and I do really believe if we created a family friendly environment, everyone would enjoy it.” She said her husband told her the area reminded him of his home, with its nat- ural charm and beauty, and they hope to eventually turn it into a place where children can come and play. Around summer time, she said, her husband noticed a lot of children loitering on the streets, and his remarks were “Kellie, when you see children not having a place to channel their energies to, that’s why there are so many burglaries and petty thieves around.” “We need to give them a place to explore and some- thing to do and channel their energy. It can be a place for them to come and play on their iPads,” Mrs. Aashik- pelokhai said. “Kids come to the barber shop next door to get their haircut, their first place to come is out back, and they don’t want to leave. We see how their eyes lit up when they saw the animals, they started to play and explore the grounds; that is what we want to bring here.” paths in Grand Cayman. Of those, 108 were classed as “registered public rights of way to the sea,” and 91 of those rights of way were fully or partially blocked or missing signs. The surveyors identi- fied a further 112 “unregis- tered paths” – rights of way that have acquired legal status through consistent use over time. Of these, 94 were clear and 18 were blocked or overgrown. A further 59 paths were identified as “private ac- cesses” between neighboring property owners. The 1,174-page report, which includes details of every access path on all three islands, along with photographs and Lands and Survey maps, will be used by the new Public Lands Com- mission to help ensure beach access is maintained. The commission will be tasked with clearing over- grown paths on Crown land, erecting new signs for all registered rights of way, and taking action against private landowners who block regis- tered paths across their land. It will also use the re- port to bring actions in the Grand Court to register the prescriptive rights of way in cases where the public’s right of access is disputed. Alice Mae Coe of the Concerned Citizens Group, whose decades-long cam- paign to protect beach ac- cess was the catalyst for the report, said its pub- lication this week was a “positive step.” She urged the Public Lands Commission to take the document and use it to ensure registered paths were kept clear and well main- tained and to officially reg- ister the prescriptive paths, ensuring they would remain open to the public. “It is not just for us few Concerned Citizens that will benefit from this,” she said. “The reason we fought so hard for so long is for the public to enjoy access to the beach without restriction and without animosity. The ocean is one of the few nat- ural resources we have in the Cayman Islands.” In a statement to coin- cide with the release of the report, Lands and Survey of- ficials said it would be a key resource to protect and main- tain beach access. “The overall rapid coastal development in a relatively short period of time has un- derscored the need to openly and formally safeguard un- impeded public access to the beach for locals, residents, visitors and the next gener- ations to come,” they said in the statement. Minister for Lands Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the report provided a compre- hensive catalog of all rights of way on all three islands. “This report will assist the local population to locate public beach accesses, and to report complaints of any breach of access,” she added. Pirates Caves area gets face-lift CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE: ■■ Bodden Town: Feb. 21, Bodden Town Civic Centre ■■ George Town: Feb. 28, Mary Miller Hall ■■ East End: March 1, East End Civic Centre ■■ North Side: March 12, Clifton Hunter High School ■■ West Bay: March 13, Sir John A. Cumber School Hall All meetings begin at 6 p.m. Cayman seeks to embrace tourism boom BEACH ACCESS ON CAYMAN ISLANDS GRAND CAYMAN – 279 ACCESSES • Registered public rights of way to the sea – 108 - Clear, with sign – 17 - Partially or fully blocked and/or missing sign – 91 • Unregistered paths to the sea – 112 - Clear – 94 - Blocked/overgrown (identified in 2003 Beach Access Report) – 18 • Registered private rights of way to the sea – 59 CAYMAN BRAC – 58 ACCESSES • Registered public rights of way to the sea – 3 - Clear, with sign – 0 - Partially or fully blocked and/or missing sign – 3 • Unregistered paths to the sea – 25 • Registered private rights of way to the sea – 30 LITTLE CAYMAN – 48 ACCESSES • Registered public rights of way to the sea – 10 - Clear, with sign – 0 - Partially or fully blocked and/or missing sign – 10 • Unregistered paths to the sea – 30 This Seven Mile Beach access path was blocked twice, by a fence and a tree. Several access paths, including this South Sound one, were identified as blocked by gates. A photograph from the report shows a fence blocking an access path to Seven Mile Beach. Report finds issues with most beach access paths CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Pirates Caves manager Kellian Aashikpelokhai and local kids Alyssa and Gabriella Eccles and Tyrece Whittaker at the Pirates Caves. The caves remain closed, but the area around them reopens next weekend. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY7 LOCAL&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 ADULTS $5 STUDENTS $3 Plait a visual tapestry of beauty and harmony by dress- ing in your cultural clothing on Friday 23rd February and represent one of the 135 + nationalities here in the Cayman Islands. When you participate you help raise funds for the Cayman National Cultural Foundation's programming and you can win too! Prizes will be award- ed for the photos with the most likes in 3 categories: Company/Organisation, School and Individual. REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL OR BUSINESS TODAY. EMAIL OR CALL FOR FURTHER DETAILS. 345.949.5477 I cncf@artscayman.org Visit www.facebook.com/caymanculture WINS! THE “MOST LIKED” PHOTOS @caymanculture PRIZES PROVIDED BY: Cayman National Cultural Foundation Creativity : Heritage : Education Cayman National Cultural Foundation Creativity : Heritage : Education Business Done Right! CAYMAN ISLANDS NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS Est. 1995 DG’s 5K to benefit 3 charities JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com This year’s Deputy Gover- nor’s 5K challenge will sup- port three charitable ventures on Grand Cayman – Meals on Wheels, Feed Our Future and the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman’s “Buy a Kid Break- fast” program. Also, to mark the five- year milestone of the annual event, which will be held in April, a walk/run will be hosted in Little Cayman for the first time. Money raised in Little Cayman will go toward a “grow box” at the island’s school and the proceeds from the Brac event will be donated to the Kirkconnell Community Care Centre for meals. “This year, we want to look at charities who do a lot for our community by feeding those who are in need of nu- tritious meals,” said Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, who personally leads the 5K challenge. Mr. Manderson explained why he chose the charities. He said he once had the opportunity, along with other civil servants, to deliver food with Meals On Wheels, and found it an amazing opportu- nity to interact with people. He said it was also a delight to see the joy on recipients’ faces as the Meals on Wheels volunteers walked into their yards to deliver a hot meal. He also commended Feed Our Future and the Kiwanis “Buy A Kid Breakfast” pro- gram, which ensures that children have a meal during their school day. “We are at our best in our islands when we don’t com- plain, we just look for so- lutions, and we are at our best when we come together for a great cause, and I can’t think of anything better than to be giving to our children and our elderly … something good to eat and spending quality time with them,” Mr. Manderson said. The Deputy Governor’s 5K challenge brings together civil servants, private sector employees and members of the public in a fitness and fundraising challenge. It is also part of Mr. Man- derson’s vision to have a healthier, more active and more socially engaged civil service, while benefitting char- itable organizations and ini- tiatives in the Cayman Islands. Last year’s 5K chal- lenge raised $85,000 to build a rope challenge course for the YMCA. Stacey VanDevelde, chair- woman of Feed Our Future, said the organization was proud to have the support of the Deputy Governor’s 5K challenge this year. “Children are at the heart of the work that we do, [and] that relates to how they are fueled up. Food is also at the heart of what we do,” she said. Kiwanis president Nicola Murray explained that funds raised for the “Buy A Kid Breakfast” program go di- rectly to children in Cayman. “We support eight local primary schools with break- fast for the children. That re- ally stems from 2011 when we were contacted by many teachers in local schools that were providing food for many children and needed dona- tions to help them,” she said. Ms. Murray added that in the seven years the Kiwanis have been running the pro- gram, it has raised $200,000 toward purchasing break- fasts for children. Meals on Wheels general manager Erin Bodden said her charity serves 4,000 meals to the elderly and housebound across the island every month, at a monthly cost of $26,000. “Meals on Wheels con- tinues to do this through the generosity of the people,” Ms. Bodden said. Fundraising toward the 5K challenge target of $60,000 was given a jump start by plat- inum sponsor Appleby, which has already donated $15,000. Appleby managing partner Bryan Hunter said the com- pany was delighted to be on- board for the fourth year. “This event has sup- ported so many worthy causes over the years …. We [have] watched the event go from strength to strength over the time we have been involved, and we expect that trend to continue this year,” he said. As they did last year, But- terfield, Davenport and EY Cayman also confirmed they will be donating $5,000 each. The event on Grand Cayman takes place on Sunday, April 29. On Cayman Brac, it will be held on Sunday, April 15 and on Little Cayman on Sunday, April 22. From left, Jennifer Ahearn, chief officer, Ministry of Health; Feed our Future Chairwoman Stacey VanDevelde; Deputy Governor Franz Manderson; Appleby (Cayman) Ltd.’s Managing Partner Bryan Hunter; Mike McWatt, managing director of Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Ltd.; Kiwanis Club President Nicola Murray; and Meals on Wheels General Manager Erin Bodden support the Deputy Governor’s 5K challenge. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY COURT: PERU’S FUJIMORI CAN BE TRIED AGAIN LIMA, Peru (AP) – A court in Peru has ruled that former strongman Alberto Fujimori can be tried in connection with a 1992 massacre despite his recent pardon from a 25- year jail sentence. The decision Monday paves the way for Fujimori to stand trial again for crimes committed during his decade- long rule. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned Fujimori in December from a lengthy prison sentence for his role in the deaths of 25 Pe- ruvians and sanctioning the use of military death squads. The pardon sparked pro- tests and drew condemnation from human rights groups. The new case concerns a 1992 massacre in which six peasants were kidnapped, tortured and killed by a para- military group. Members of the group said they received orders from superiors. Fujimori was at the top of that chain of command.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Fire closes Malta airport A fire in the arrivals lounge has forced the temporary closure of Malta’s only airport. Incoming flights were diverted to Sicily, Italy and departing flights were delayed after the fire on Tuesday afternoon, which forced the evacuation of hundreds of passengers. Trump offers support for background checks on gun buys Activists: 98 dead in assault on rebel-held Damascus suburb BEIRUT (AP) – Intense Syrian government shelling and air- strikes on rebel-held Da- mascus suburbs killed at least 98 people in what was the deadliest day in the area in three years, a moni- toring group and paramedics said Tuesday. A day after Monday’s gov- ernment barrage, retalia- tory shells rained down on the capital Damascus, killing at least eight people on Tuesday. In the suburbs, op- position activists said that at least 15 more people were killed Tuesday. The targeted suburbs – scattered across an area known as eastern Ghouta – have been subjected to weeks-long bombardment that has killed and wounded hundreds of people. Oppo- sition activists say govern- ment forces have brought in more reinforcements in re- cent days, suggesting a major assault is imminent to re- capture the area that is the last main rebel stronghold near Damascus. Videos have surfaced from the eastern suburbs showing paramedics pulling out the injured from under the rubble while others are seen franticly digging through the debris in the dark, in search for survivors. Monday’s bombardment that killed nearly 100 people saw the use of warplanes, he- licopter gunships, missiles as well as artillery, in a major escalation of violence near President Bashar Assad’s seat of power. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was the dead- liest days in eastern Ghouta since 2015, adding that 20 children and 15 women were among those killed. The opposition-affiliated Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said the shelling and airstrikes killed 98 and that some people are still under the rubble. It said the dead included one of the rescue group’s mem- bers, Firas Jomaa. Both the Observatory and the White Helmets reported more airstrikes and shelling on Tuesday in eastern Gh- outa as rebels pounded Da- mascus with mortar shells. The White Helmets re- ported 15 deaths on Tuesday while the Observatory said 23 people were killed. Rebels retaliated by hit- ting some Damascus neigh- borhoods with mortar shells, killing eight persons, in- cluding three children, and wounding 15 people, ac- cording to the state news agency SANA. On Tuesday morning, Damascus residents reported shelling of areas in central Damascus. “Shells are falling like rain. We are hiding in the cor- ridor,” a Damascus resident told The Associated Press, asking that her name not be mentioned for her own safety. She spoke while hiding in the corridor of an office building. “It’s a bloody day,” said Abdelrahman Shahin, a 31-year-old resident of Da- mascus who was walking on the street when a shell landed on a nearby taxi, killing the driver and a pas- senger in front of his eyes. Syrian state TV later re- ported live from the streets of Damascus to show what it called the people’s “stead- fastness” despite the shelling. The TV reporter said resi- dents expressed hope that the Syrian army would retake eastern Ghouta. The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, issued a one-page statement of protest against the killings and carried a headline, saying: “Do those inflicting the suffering still have words to justify their barbaric acts?” The headline was followed by a blank space underneath. UNICEF said it issued this blank statement because “we no longer have the words to describe children’s suffering and our outrage.” The International Com- mittee of the Red Cross also issued a statement saying that “this cannot go on.” It added that “distressing re- ports” of dozens injured and killed every day in eastern Ghouta with “families trapped, with no safe place to hide from shelling. Dozens of mortars in Damascus cause civilian casualties and spread fear. We cannot let history repeat itself.” “The humanitarian sit- uation of civilians in East Ghouta is spiraling out of control,” said Panos Moum- tzis, the U.N. regional hu- manitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, in a state- ment late Monday. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – President Donald Trump supports a limited strength- ening of federal background checks on gun purchases, the White House said, as pres- sure mounts on Trump to take action after 17 students and teachers were killed in last week’s shooting at a Florida high school. One side of the renewed gun-control debate was em- bodied outside the White House on Monday as dozens of teens lay down in the street to symbolize the dead and call on the president to limit access to firearms. Trump was not in Wash- ington, but rather at his Florida club about 40 miles from the Parkland commu- nity grieving lost friends and loved ones. Trump gave a nod toward a specific policy action with the White House saying he had spoken Friday to Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, about a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers. Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders qualified the support, stressing that talks continue and “revisions are being con- sidered,” but said “the presi- dent is supportive of efforts to improve the federal back- ground check system.” The main action Trump has taken on guns has been to sign a resolution blocking an Obama-era rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of certain mentally disabled people. The president has voiced strong support for gun rights and the National Rifle Association. The bipartisan background check legislation would be aimed at ensuring that federal agencies and states accurately report relevant criminal infor- mation to the FBI. It was intro- duced after the Air Force failed to report the criminal history of the gunman who slaugh- tered more than two dozen people at a Texas church. The White House state- ment comes as shooting sur- vivors and other young people press for more gun control in a rising chorus of grief and activism. Their “March for Our Lives” is planned March 24 in Washington. Ella Fesler, 16-year-old high school student in Alexan- dria, Virginia, was among the students at the “lie-in” in front of the White House. She said it was time for change, adding: “Every day when I say ‘bye’ to my parents, I do acknowledge the fact that I could never see my parents again.” But previous gun tragedies have not led Congress to act. After the Las Vegas massacre in the fall, Republicans and Democrats in Congress talked about taking a rare step to tighten the nation’s gun laws. Four months later, the only gun legislation that has moved through Congress eases re- strictions for gun owners. Kristin Brown, co-presi- dent of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the measure Trump dis- cussed with Cornyn would help to enforce existing rules but would not close loopholes permitting loose private sales on the internet and at gun shows. She’s pressing for a ban on assault-type weapons and for laws enabling family members, guardians or po- lice to ask judges to strip gun rights temporarily from people who show warning signs of violence. “We need a comprehensive system,” Brown said. “One of these isn’t enough.” Trump, who visited first responders and some vic- tims Friday, has focused his comments on mental health, rather than guns. The White House says the president will host a “listening session” with students and teachers on Wednesday and will discuss school safety with state and local officials on Thursday. They have offered no further details on who will attend those sessions. Trump spent most of the weekend at his private Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago. White House aides advised against golfing too soon after the shooting. But on Presi- dents Day, the avid golfer headed to his nearby golf club. The White House did not answer questions about whether he was playing golf. President Barack Obama took heavy criticism in 2014 when he went golfing during a vacation just minutes after denouncing the militants who had beheaded an Amer- ican journalist. He later re- gretted playing golf so soon after the killing. Trump watched cable television news during the weekend and groused to club members and advisers about the investigation of Russian election meddling. In a marathon series of furious weekend tweets from Mar-a-Lago, Trump vented about Russia, raging at the FBI for what he perceived to be a fixation on the Russia investigation at the cost of failing to deter the Florida school attack. The bipartisan background check legislation would be aimed at ensuring that federal agencies and states accurately report relevant criminal information to the FBI. Demonstrators participate in a ‘lie-in’ during a protest in favor of gun control reform in front of the White House, Monday in Washington. - PHOTO: AP Members of the Syrian Civil Defense run to help survivors from a street that was attacked by airstrikes and shelling from the Syrian government forces, in Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2018 Trump urges Republicans to fight Pennsylvania’s congressional map HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pres- ident Donald Trump on Tuesday encouraged Re- publicans to fight Pennsyl- vania’s new court-imposed map of congressional dis- tricts, issued a day earlier in a move expected to improve Democrats’ chances at chip- ping away at the GOP’s U.S. House majority. Trump tweeted that Re- publicans should challenge the new map of Pennsylva- nia’s 18 congressional dis- tricts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. “Your Original was correct! Don’t let the Dems take elec- tions away from you so that they can raise taxes & waste money!” Trump tweeted. Republicans have already vowed to challenge it in fed- eral court, as early as Tuesday. The Democratic-majority state Supreme Court met its own deadline Monday to issue the new boundaries after it threw out a 6-year-old GOP-drawn map as uncon- stitutionally gerrymandered. The Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf did not pro- duce a consensus replace- ment map in the three weeks allotted by the court. The new map is to be in effect for the May 15 primary and substantially overhauls a Republican-drawn congres- sional map widely viewed as among the nation’s most gerrymandered. New boundaries will likely usher in changes to Pennsylvania’s predomi- nantly Republican delegation, which has provided a cru- cial pillar of support for GOP control of the U.S. House. Most significantly, the new map gives Democrats a better shot at winning a couple more seats, particularly in Philadel- phia’s heavily populated and moderate suburbs. There, Re- publicans have held seats in bizarrely contorted districts, including one described as “Goofy Kicking Donald Duck.” Republican Rep. Ryan Costello, whose suburban Philadelphia district was narrowly won by Demo- crat Hillary Clinton in 2016, is in even more dire straits now that his district adds the heavily Democratic city of Reading. The state’s delegation is al- ready facing big changes in a year with six open seats, the most in decades. Meanwhile, candidates finding themselves in a new political landscape are rethinking campaigns a week before they can start cir- culating petitions to run. The map removes the heart of one district from Philadelphia, where a crowd of candidates had assembled to replace the retiring Dem- ocratic Rep. Bob Brady, and moves it to suburban Mont- gomery County. The new map does not apply to the March 13 spe- cial congressional election in southwestern Pennsylva- nia’s 18th District to fill the remaining 10 months in the term of former Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, who re- signed amid a scandal. But it renders the special elec- tion virtually meaningless: the court’s map puts each candi- date’s homes in a district with a Pittsburgh-area incumbent. The court ruled last month that Republicans who redrew district boundaries in 2011 unconstitutionally put par- tisan interests above neutral line-drawing criteria. It was the first time any state court threw out congressional boundaries in a partisan ger- rymandering case, this one brought by registered Demo- cratic voters and the League of Women Voters last June. The new map repack- ages districts that had been stretched nearly halfway across Pennsylvania and re- unifies Democratic-heavy cities that had been split by Republican map drawers six years ago. Democrats cheered the new map, while Republi- cans blasted it. Independent analysts said the map should improve Democratic prospects while still favoring Republicans as a whole. An analysis con- ducted through PlanScore. org concluded the court’s re- drawn map eliminates “much of the partisan skew” fa- voring Republicans on the old Republican-drawn map, although not all of it. University of Florida po- litical science doctoral stu- dent Brian Amos said Clinton beat Republican Donald Trump in eight of 18 districts in the 2016 presidential elec- tion on the court’s map. That compared with six of 18 dis- tricts Clinton won in 2016 under the invalidated map. Republicans who con- trolled the Legislature and the governor’s office after the 2010 census crafted the now-inval- idated map to elect Republi- cans and succeeded in that aim: Republicans won 13 of 18 seats in three straight elections even though Pennsylvania’s registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans. The court overturned the existing boundaries in a gerrymandering case. – SOURCE: PENNSYLVANIA REDISTRICTING/APNext >