ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 Community policing makes immediate impact CAYMAN ANNOUNCES CARIFTA ORGANIZING TEAM President of the Cayman Islands Ath- letic Association Lance Barnes and the as- sistant chief officer in the Ministry of Sports, Joel Francis, will head up the 11-member Local Organizing Committee for next year’s CARIFTA Games, which will be held in the Cayman Islands for the third time. The games will take place over the Easter weekend and are expected to attract some 500 athletes and delegates from across the Caribbean. For more on this story, see 17. Eastern districts get more officers BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com On March 21, a suspected cockfighting ring in New- lands was broken up and 80 roosters seized. On April 13 in West Bay, an illegal lottery parlor in West Bay was put out of business. On July 2 in George Town, an elderly woman who had fallen after having difficulty breathing was rescued by po- lice who knew the neighbor- hood well enough to find her, even though she could not tell 911 her exact address. One thing these disparate events have in common is that Royal Cayman Islands Police community beat officers played a role in all of them. “[The community] said something, they were heard and it was acted upon,” RCIPS Com- missioner Derek Byrne told the Cayman Compass Monday. Mr. Byrne, who launched the revamped community po- lice service in February, said the specialized force had now been expanded to 35 officers, including a supervising in- spector and four police ser- geants. The department has also staffed up police stations in East End and North Side dis- tricts – each of which has four officers – supervised by Police Sergeant Davis Scott. Police cautioned that it could be some time before the public saw the effectiveness PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » New murals add blast of color to island SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com The commute along West Bay Road is turning into an artist’s paradise. The site of the former Mitzi’s Fine Jewelry store was transformed into a giant tropical green canvas last week by Ian Ross and Amandalynn in advance of next February’s KAABOO festival. Amandalynn, the artistic director for KAABOO, has been painting murals all around town to pre- pare for the first Caribbean edition of the arts, music and culinary festival. First, she painted a pastoral scene of butter- flies on the side of the Camana Bay underpass, and she assisted in Jet Martinez’s floral work across from the Bay Market. Then came the giant geometric jungle patterns designed by Mr. Ross, a work that took a full week to take shape. “Everything I do is spontaneous,” Mr. Ross said. “That way, I can make decisions on the fly and react to variables that occur in the location. It’s always a learning process, and each piece I The artists estimated that they used 15 gallons of paint and 50 or 60 spray cans in creating their mural on this building on West Bay Road. Jet Martinez, assisted by Amandalynn, created this mural in Camana Bay across from the Bay Market. Amandalynn created this work of foliage and butterflies on the side of the Camana Bay underpass. – PHOTOS: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 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) HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 (PG) 12:20 3D I 2:40 I 5:00 3D I 7:20 ESCAPE PLAN 2 (R) 12:40 I 3:00 I 5:20 I 10:05 ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (PG13) 1:30 3D I 3:50 VIP I 7:00 I 9:20 VIP I 9:40 THE FIRST PURGE (R) 4:20 I 9:30 SKYSCRAPER (PG13) 1:20 VIP I 4:25 I 6:45 VIP I 7:40 3D 9:50 3D INCREDIBLES 2 (PG) 1:20 I 6:40 JURASSIC WORLD: THE FALLEN KINGDOM (PG13) 1:00 I 3:55 I 6:50 I 9:40 Cayman documentary on sexual abuse to feature at international conference A documentary about child sexual abuse made in the Cayman Islands will be featured at the In- ternational Society for the Pre- vention of Child Abuse and Ne- glect’s congressbeing held in Prague this September. The documentary, “Unspeakable: Confronting Child Sexual Abuse in the Cayman Islands,” is one of only four media theater presentations that were accepted for this year’s con- gress. Other entries accepted were from the United States, and two sub- missions from the United Kingdom, including one from Scotland. “We are thrilled and humbled to have been accepted to be a part of this global congress,” said Red Cross Deputy Director Carolina Ferreira in a press release. “There is so much to be gained when people from around the world come together to discuss their efforts, share their research and experiences, and broaden their net- work of professional support and expertise. That Cayman will make a contribution to this global discus- sion makes us really proud.” “Unspeakable” was the second major output of the Protection Starts Here multi-agency child abuse prevention project, which is spearheaded by the Cayman Islands Red Cross working in partnership with the Employee Assistance Pro- gramme, the Health Services Au- thority, the Ministry of Education, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Sands Creative Film Studio, and the Special Needs Foundation, with funding support from Hedge Funds Care Cayman Islands. The project was launched in 2012 with a series of public service an- nouncements. Since then, the work has expanded to include multiple prevention and education outputs which include the production of the local educational documentary. The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Ne- glect was formed in 1977 and its mis- sion is to prevent cruelty to children in every nation, in every form. The or- ganization’s international congress is held every two years, and 2018 marks its 22nd such undertaking. “One of ISPCAN’s stated goals is their commitment to increasing public awareness of child abuse, which is very much in line with the work of the Protection Starts Here group here in Cayman,” said Cayman Islands Red Cross Di- rector Jondo Obi. “Since 2012, the PSH working group has been doing really tremendous things to raise public awareness on the issue of child abuse in general and child sexual abuse specifically. “They have really helped to shape conversations that we are having now because even six years ago these topics were not receiving this level of consistent awareness and attention.” “Unspeakable” has been widely used by the working group during awareness sessions. It is available free of cost to the public in hard copy and online via the CIRed- CrossTV channel on YouTube. “I am extremely proud of ‘Un- speakable’ and the way which Mari Abe and Ben Hud were able to help us put together such a high-quality documentary,” Ms. Ferreira said. “When we presented at the National Child Advocacy Center’s annual con- ference in Alabama earlier this year, the participants were blown away by the film, so we know that we have something that holds up to in- ternational standards.” The media presentation in Prague will involve not only the screening of the film, but also an interactive presentation with attendees. For more information on the Protection Starts Here project or how to get involved in child abuse prevention in Cayman, contact deputy@redcross.org.ky or 916-1742. Protection Starts Here working group members: From left, Brandy Darby, Sophia Chandler-Alleyne, Nancy Davey, Suzanne Seagraves, Carolina Ferreira, Cindy Blekaitis, Kevin Ashworth, Laura Elniski and Mari Abe. Not pictured: Camila Ferreira. New Rotary Central president installed Rotary Central Cayman Islands has installed its new president, William Inniss. Mr. Inniss, 34, began his year-long term as the club’s 32nd president on July 1. He was installed as president in an official ceremony on June 22 at the Wharf Restaurant, which was attended by more than 100 Rotarians, guests and officials from other ser- vice clubs in Grand Cayman. Outgoing President of Ro- tary Central Susie Bodden de- livered a report of her Rotary year, highlighting the various milestones of achievement the club had seen over the past 12 months. The President’s Instal- lation Oath was adminis- tered by incoming Assis- tant District Governor, and Past President of the Ro- tary Club, Grand Cayman, David Kirkaldy, followed by a change of regalia and pins and the presentation of the gavel ceremony, guided by Ms. Bodden. Other officers in the Ro- tary Central for the coming year are: President Elect Colin Fawkes, 1st Vice Presi- dent David Downes, 2nd Vice President Steve Tippetts, Sec- retary Jennifer Leach-Tip- petts, Treasurer Paul Arbo and Sergeant-At-Arms Cor- leen Goodman. The direc- tors for 2018-2019 are: Past President Sandy Cram, club service; Sue Holmes, com- munity service; Marzeta Bodden, international ser- vice; Bob Donohue, mem- bership; Johnae Moss, vo- cational service; Khalesiah Barboram, youth service; and Carl Brown, public image. “Members of Rotary Cen- tral bring value to our club by leveraging our wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise in our respective fields, to the benefit of our projects and the community we assist,” Mr. Inniss said. “We strive to reflect the di- versity of our community and encourage inclusiveness with respect to age, gender, orientation, ethnicity, heri- tage, religious beliefs, po- litical beliefs and our voca- tions. All are welcome. If this sounds of interest to you, please reach out to us – we have much to do.” Argentine airport evacuated due to discarded, grenade-like pot grinder BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – It looked like a grenade and triggered the evacuation of an Argentine airport. But it turns out that it was just a marijuana grinder. The head of Argentina’s national airport police se- curity said Tuesday that the grenade-shaped object found at Astor Piazzolla airport in the coastal city of Mar del Plata was actually used to break pot into smaller pieces for smoking. “Someone must have discarded the artifact be- fore boarding on a plane,” Alejandro Itzcovich told local TV. Photographs showed an officer in a bomb suit holding the grinder in his hand while colleagues looked at it and smiled. Several flights were delayed due to the evacuation in Mar del Plata, about 250 miles southeast of the Ar- gentine capital. In 2016, flights were also delayed at Bellingham In- ternational Airport in Wash- ington state after a mari- juana grinder designed to resemble a grenade was found in a man’s carry-on luggage. Something similar happened earlier that year at California’s Sacramento In- ternational Airport. This picture released by Airport Police of Argentina shows a pot grinder that looks similar to a grenade in the airport of Mar del Plata city, Argentina, Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 189608-Ad-JrPage-101-2018.indd 17/9/18 3:20 PM Cayman team preps for ‘robotic Olympics’ A team of students from Cayman will travel to Mexico City next month to take part in what is billed as the “ro- botic Olympics.” This is the first time a Cayman team will at- tend the annual FIRST Global Challenge. The team includes Cayman Prep and High School student Adrian Phillips-Hernaez, St. Ig- natius Catholic School student Ethan Cronier and Cayman International School student Joe Allom Perez. The students were selected for their com- mitment to and recognition in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathe- matics) learning, as well as their passion for engineering, mechanics and robotics, ac- cording to a press release. St. Ignatius physics teacher Von Ryan Abrantes, who is the technical mentor for the team, will assist the students with the con- struction and programming of their robot. The competition takes place on Aug. 16-18 at the Arena Ciudad de México. The theme for the 2018 event is “Energy Impact.” FIRST Global is a not-for- profit organization focused on helping nations build the STEM skills needed to work on global challenges together. According to the FIRST Global website, teams from more than 189 nations across the world are tasked with as- sembling their own robots to compete in competitions. The team is being spon- sored by Dart Minds In- spired, and Dart Education Programmes Manager Glenda McTaggart is the robotics team manager. “We are thrilled to see some of Cayman’s brightest minds compete in the Challenge,” she said. The 2019 Cayman team will be chosen through a competition open to all students from all schools in the Cayman Islands. To learn more about the team, visit their Facebook page at Cayman Islands Robotics. The Cayman Islands robotics team: From left, Adrian Phillips-Hernaez, technical mentor Von Ryan Abrantes and Joe Allom Perez. Not pictured: Ethan Cronier. The Cayman Islands gov- ernment is spending $60,000 to train 100 workers to be better at recognizing viable projects its various minis- tries should pursue. The civil servants will be trained in certificated courses for either busi- ness case development or project management. The skills they glean from the five-month programs are expected to allow them to more effectively assess whether a proposed project has merit and, once imple- mented, to make sure it op- erates in an efficient manner, according to a press release. U.K.-based CITI is pro- viding the training, which is being coordinated by the Strategic Reforms Implemen- tation Unit under the Office of the Deputy Governor. Participants are required to pass an external exam after the training course in order to receive their in- ternationally recognized certificates. Thirty government de- partments are participating, including the Cabinet Office, the Cayman Islands Fire Service, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, the Department of Education, the Needs Assessment Unit and Government Informa- tion Services. The program also includes workshops for political and stra- tegic leaders. Officials said the program will support the effective im- plementation of the Procure- ment Law and its require- ments for business cases. TRAINING DESIGNED TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY CAYMAN CONNECTION UK TO HOLD SUMMER RECEPTION The Cayman Islands Government London Of- fice will host its fifth an- nual summer reception of Cayman Connection U.K. in Cayman on Wednesday, July 18, at the South Sound Com- munity Centre. There will be a drop-in session for students and par- ents from noon to 3 p.m., a workshop on culture and et- iquette from 5-6 p.m., and an anniversary reception from 6-8 p.m. “The event enables stu- dents going to study this year in the U.K. and those who are planning to study there in the future to attend individu- ally or with their parents to get advice and news about life in the U.K., as well as an- swers to queries. Students already studying in the U.K. can also attend to network and take part in the celebra- tions,” organizers said in a press release. For more information, visit www.caymanconnection.org.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” WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS At long last, officials seem to be taking as seriously as the disgruntled public the issues at Cayman’s Solid Waste Services. Some problems, of course, cannot be hidden or, to employ an inexact metaphor, “swept under the rug.” Garbage collection is one of them. Therefore, our day became a bit brighter last week when it was announced that Richard Simms, director of the Department of Vehicle and Equipment Services, and Mark Bothwell, who manages the Public Works Department’s Recreation, Parks and Cemeteries Unit, will be leading the Department of Environmental Health for the next three to six months. During that time, keeping garbage collection on schedule will be their top priority. Leaving aside for a moment the question of why it took so long for the DEH to assign these responsibili- ties and announce an action plan to an increasingly – and justifiably – frustrated public (and the politicians who represent them) the move is a good one. Perhaps now we will see relief from the deficiencies that have led to exorbitantly high overtime expenditures and unreliable (and, at times, nonexistent) trash pickup that have plagued Grand Cayman since late last year. Already, we are told, Acting Director Mr. Simms has reintroduced twice-daily inspections for collection vehicles to ensure they are in good working order. He says he will work to maximize the vehicles’ useful life by fully utilizing warranties and service agreements. Readers will well remember that equipment deficien- cies are one of the many vague “explanations” that have been offered in response to questions about per- sistently unsatisfactory garbage collection services. Officials say that Mr. Bothwell, acting as assistant director for DEH, will focus on personnel issues – which have also been targeted as the cause of the depart- ment’s woes. It is said he will build upon work that began early this summer, with disciplinary action taken against chronically absent employees and other poor performers, along with “emergency appointments” of solid waste drivers and assistants. If employee absenteeism and poor performance persist in the department, Mr. Bothwell should waste no time in showing the offenders the door. As noted entrepreneur and performance coach Tony Robbins has observed, the surest way to improve your life is to raise your standards – a motto that should be inscribed on the wall of every civil service manager’s office. Concurrently with these initiatives, officials say the department will undergo a review of trash collection routes to ensure they are efficient and effective. All told, the strategy seems sufficiently comprehensive to identify the department’s weak links and deficiencies, thus setting the stage for a highly functioning (or, at minimum, a functioning) solid waste collection system. Of course, assurances are one thing; execution is what really matters. Given past failures to address this simple and fundamental issue, we will limit our applause until the system is truly fixed. Importantly, even the best-laid plan for improving trash collection does not absolve government of its duty to clarify the status of Environmental Health Director Roydell Carter, who has been on unspecified leave since late last year. In a free, open, and presumably transparent society, government does not have the luxury – or the right – to withhold information of this nature from the governed. The trashman cometh? DEH offers some hopeful news The rule of law requires that no one be subject to conflicting laws, anywhere Increasing numbers of people find themselves in legal never-never land, where they cannot follow the law of their home country without violating the law of another country for which they can be prosecuted. Intelligence agents of all countries have always faced such risks. However, now more and more business people, and even government foreign policy and statistics officials, find themselves being charged and convicted of felonies, no matter what they do. This past week, the U.S. government indicted 12 Rus- sian military intelligence of- ficers for hacking into Dem- ocratic National Committee computers and other related attempted political interfer- ence in the U.S. 2016 elec- tion. Assume these people are guilty as charged and they were operating under legal instructions from their own government. They are now trapped in Russia and other countries that do not have an extradition treaty with the U.S., particularly given that it would be too risky for them to come to the U.S. to wage a legal defense, even if they are innocent. Attempting to inter- fere with another coun- try’s elections is something that many countries do all of the time, including the United States. When Rus- sian President Boris Yeltsin ran for re-election in 1996, the United States and other countries engaged in ac- tions to help Mr. Yeltsin and to thwart the communists. As is well known, President Obama and his administra- tion took a number of ac- tions (all of which failed) to try to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- yahu from being re-elected in 2015. What do you think the reaction would be if the Israeli government indicted a number of officials of the Obama administration for electoral interference? Also this last week, the Greek Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Andreas Georgiou, former head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority, for the crime of reporting the “correct” numbers of the size of the Greek debt in 2009 to the European Union Euro- stat agency, as he was sup- posed to do. His numbers were vetted by Eurostat, the European Central Bank and the IMF, and deemed to be correct. These correct num- bers, however, were not po- litically convenient for the Greek government at the time, which was trying to paint a much rosier picture of the fiscal health of Greece than was the case. For telling the truth, Mr. Georgiou was accused of bringing harm to Greece and dereliction of duty for refusing to falsify the fig- ures. If he had done so, he would have been in violation of EU regulations. Mr. Geor- giou was originally charged with his alleged violation of duty for not subjecting the 2009 deficit figures to a vote within the government. (What kind of mentality thinks that it is appropriate to vote on financial statements ac- cording to political prefer- ence rather than standard ac- counting procedures?) Mr. Georgiou was found guilty and given a two-year suspended sentence, which has now been upheld by the Greek Supreme Court. This case illustrates the neces- sity of appointing judges who are sworn to and actu- ally uphold the Constitution and laws as written, and not what the political preferences of the day are. Private business people are increasingly caught in legal crosshairs of govern- ments with conflicting laws. Environmental laws and reg- ulations sharply vary from country to country, and what is mandated in one country can be illegal in another. The same is true with food preparation and labeling, and product safety laws and regulations. Financial and tax laws and regulations differ greatly from country to country. The United States taxes world- wide income, while most countries only tax in-country income – which leads to end- less disputes about where taxes ought to be paid. In Switzerland, up to a few years ago, bankers were pro- hibited by law from revealing their account holders. The law was originally passed in the 1930s to pro- tect the assets of German Jews and other refugees from the Nazis, communists, etc. The United States’ IRS be- came increasingly aggressive in demanding the names of Americans who had foreign bank accounts – which put some Swiss bank officials in an impossible situation. If they traveled to a country that had an extradition treaty with the United States, they could be snatched and taken to the United States and even jailed, although they had been in total compliance with their own country’s law. The United States is per- haps the most aggressive country when it comes to trying to apply its laws to both Americans and non- Americans living outside the United States. This leads to charges of hypocrisy and re- sentment by foreigners and their governments – which is likely to backfire on the United States. It would not be surprising if more and more Americans find themselves languishing in foreign jails, because they did something that would not be illegal in the United States but perhaps unbeknownst to them was illegal in another country. For instance, the U.K. has far stricter libel laws than the United States. If an American writes something in the United States very crit- ical of Muslims in the U.K., he could be convicted of libel if he travels to the U.K. The solution is, in part, to demand that governments stop the extra-territorial ap- plication of their laws, and require dual criminality (that is, the action has to be illegal in both countries) for felonies. The rule of law is neces- sary for both civil society and economic growth, and requires that people not be subject to conflicting laws wherever they may reside. Richard W. Rahn is chairman of Improbable Success Productions and on the board of the American Council for Capital Formation. © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. Whose law do you follow? RICHARD W. RAHN RICHARD 5 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 The Insurance Broker for all your Insurance needs Unit# 10B Cayman Falls | P.O. Box 11118 Grand Cayman KY1-1008 Tel: 345-943-2475 | Fax: 345-943-2472 Email: info@cipil.net www.cipil.net Relax You’re with us. 180406-Ad-Compass-QrtPg.indd 11/24/18 4:07:09 PM Realtor runs great distances for a good cause SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com Local realtor Kerri Kanuga is pushing her body beyond the limits of human endurance. On July 23, Ms. Kanuga will embark on her third run- ning of the Badwater 135, a 135-mile road race that will take her through Califor- nia’s Death Valley and three mountain ranges. The temperatures in Death Valley can top 125 degrees fahrenheit, adding a climate-based challenge stacked on top of the incred- ible distance. Ms. Kanuga, who covered the distance in 36 hours last year and fin- ished in sixth place among women, will be running to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity that raises funds to help find cures for chil- dren with cancer. “Nobody really under- stands. I don’t think I re- ally understand,” she said Monday of the physical chal- lenge laid in front of her. “But I do it for charity, which takes a little bit of the crazy away.” Ms. Kanuga’s main inspi- ration for the run is 11-year- old childhood cancer survivor Hannah Meeson, and she hopes to raise awareness of the plight of childhood cancer victims around the world. A decade ago, the con- cept of running 135 miles would have seemed abso- lutely impossible for Ms. Kanuga, but she said she has learned what the human body is capable of by running ultramarathons. “I didn’t run my first mar- athon until about eight years ago. When I finished, I re- alized I still had gas left in my tank,” she said. “I never thought I’d run a marathon, let alone anything beyond. Around the same time, I was reading running books, and I stumbled across an ultra- running book. I was like, ‘This is crazy!’ But what’s really interesting is now I’m running races with the people I used to read about.” Ms. Kanuga, the owner of Trident Properties, has raised more than $40,000 since 2015 by her physical endeavors, which have included a 160- mile race in Brazil and a six-mile swim followed by a 106-mile run here in Cayman. There will be another event aiding young Hannah Meeson on Friday, Sept. 28, when people will have their heads shaved to participate in Hannah’s Big Shave, raising money for St. Baldrick’s. As Ms. Kanuga prepares for her third time running Badwater, she hopes to break the top five or even work her way to a top-three finish. How does she measure the difference in heat between Cayman and Death Valley? “They talk about how you have to run on the white line or your shoes will melt, and that’s not an exaggera- tion. You can fry an egg on it,” she said of Death Valley. “I think you can fry an egg on the road here, but I haven’t tried yet. Some of the training runs I’ve done have been ex- tremely warm. And humidity here plays such a huge factor. “There, at least, it sounds funny, but it’s a dry heat. It feels like somebody is taking a blow dryer and blowing it in your face, but you’re just not dripping wet. When I come home from a run some days here, it’s hard to tell whether I’ve been running or swimming.” While she runs, Ms. Kanuga will be assisted by team members Terri Sawyer, Jared Struck and Tyson Rich, who will make sure she has supplies of water and food to make it through the race. Combatting heat exhaustion will be a factor, and so will finding the appropriate time and place to take a rest. Ms. Kanuga said tread- mills allow her to simulate the uphill portions of the run, but the downhills can be tougher to manage. She has worked her way up to 60- mile weekend runs here in Cayman while she gets ready for the race, but the ultimate challenges of Badwater will be mental as well as physical. “There’s at least one point in the race where all I can think about is sleep,” said Ms. Kanuga. “I’ll usually be able to talk my crew into letting me lie down for 10 minutes. Once I do that, I’m recharged and ready to go again. If all you can think about is sleep, you have to sleep or you’ll make yourself crazy.” The New Self-Help Com- munity Foundation chose The Pines Retirement Home as the 2018 beneficiary of its annual community de- velopment fund. For the last 17 years, the New Self-Help Community Foundation has raised funds through its flagship program, the “Talent Xposition of the Arts.” Part of the proceeds of each show are then donated to a worthy cause. This year, New Self-Help Community Foundation do- nated $2,000 to Pines Retire- ment Home to assist with the purchase of a new vehicle to transport residents of the home who suffer from mo- bility issues. The New Self-Help Com- munity Foundation focuses on the betterment of so- ciety by empowering Cay- man’s youth through the cre- ative arts. The organization’s founder and CEO J.C. Connor said in a press release that he believes this year’s recipient is a worthy charity that often goes overlooked. “Cayman’s elderly set a solid foundation on which we as a county must continue to build, and as we continue to progress, let us not forget our elderly, many of whom are in need of support and without a voice,” he said. “This is the second time The Pines Retirement Home has been selected as the recip- ient of our annual grant, and I believe their goal is a worthy one that should be supported by the wider community.” Lynda Mitchell, The Pines Retirement Home’s man- ager, said in the release that the donation is an impor- tant first step in securing a custom-built vehicle to trans- port the residents of the re- tirement home. “Our current vehicle is not able to accommodate all the extra equipment, such as wheelchairs and other mo- bility devices needed by the residents of the home. The Pines Retirement Home is seeking to purchase a new handicap vehicle that will better accommodate our resi- dents’ needs.” For more information about the New Self-Help Community Foundation, call 927-7273 or email tnshcommunityfoundation@candw.ky. Funds from youth talent show go to Pines Lynda Mitchell, manager of the Pines Retirement Home, center, accepts a donation from members of the Self-Help Community Foundation, from left, Jason DaCosta, Vincent Frederick and J.C. Connor, with host of the Talent Xposition of the Arts 2018 Andrel Harris, far right. Kerri Kanuga is all smiles after completing last year’s Badwater race. Kerri Kanuga was inspired to start her fundraising efforts after hearing the story of childhood cancer survivor Hannah Meeson.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 feel is more original if I don’t know what it’s going to look like when it’s done. That’s an integral part of what I do, and everything kind of con- nects from one to the next. It’s all continuous stream of consciousness.” The muralists estimated that they went through about 15 gallons of paint plus 50 or 60 spray cans to complete the design. First, they re- moved all the building’s aw- nings and signage, and then they blasted in the base color green and began freehanding the swirling lines and inter- secting patterns. They needed a giant in- dustrial vehicle to reach some of the higher spots on the building’s façade, and Mr. Ross joked that you need “bigger tools” when you’re going to paint “bigger walls.” “Even if you know what you’re doing, it’s tough. Es- pecially with the heat,” Mr. Ross said. “The mosquitoes in the evening can be really rough. But I guess the sun has been the toughest factor. This wall is never shaded during the day, and if you’re up high, that adds an ele- ment of concentration. You find yourself sweating more and expending more en- ergy when you’re up high in the full sun.” Amandalynn said she will not return to Cayman until December, when she will begin work on a group of gi- gantic murals that will deco- rate the stage and structures of KAABOO’s concert sets. Another group of mu- ralists have also begun painting walls around Cayman, including a recent work done at Morritt’s and at Margaritaville. For Aman- dalynn, that is the perfect example of artists inspiring each other, and she said she has met many like-minded painters on location. “I explained this to my boss,” she said. “If you stand outside and paint a wall, these artists will attract to you. It’s been really won- derful. I really started a lot over at my tunnel mural. I taught a little class on mural arts and did a lecture. And this whole-time, we’ve had two or three artists come by per day. It’s been inspiring to learn about other parts of the world and the work that ev- erybody’s doing.” For Mr. Ross, who is based out of the Bay Area in California, the work brings satisfaction in multiple di- mensions. The building art can last decades, he said, and it can help transform the entire neighborhood by giving artists ideas that they can recycle and take in new directions. “When you put energy into the community in a somewhat derelict space, that can be contagious,” said Mr. Ross, who has been painting murals for 15 years. “It can inspire other people to do something similar in their neck of the woods. It can be a chain re- action of good vibes coming out of that.” WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Amandalynn and Ian Ross pose in front of their giant mural on a West Bay Road building before finishing it. - PHOTO: ALVARO SEREY of community policing – embedding select officers within certain defined areas to be the “point of contact” for residents and, hopefully, building their trust. In practice, it has not taken that long for results to occur. Another cock-fighting ring was busted on June 6 at North Sound Road, George Town. An arrest was made on Bodden Town’s Coe Wood Public Beach on April 21 for suspected money laundering. “Community officers [are] interacting with the public and providing a positive face for the organization. That is just one aspect of what they do,” said RCIPS Superinten- dent Robbie Graham. “Of- fenses such as cock-fighting and other illegal gambling often lead to other, more serious crimes. “One of the major goals of the Community Policing Department is to put a stop to these kinds of activities before they have a chance to take root.” When these operations occur, it is not community beat officers going out and acting alone, Mr. Byrne said. In the case of the cockfighting investigations, tips received by community officers were passed along to police patrol operations, which then devel- oped a plan of attack. That plan included the involvement of animal-control staff from the Department of Agriculture. “It’s a bit of everything,” Mr. Byrne said. “The [com- munity police] sergeants tell us what’s going on … they pass it along to the com- mand structure, who decides how to act on a certain sit- uation. Certainly in the case of the cock-fighting, that’s what happened.” The difference, from the police chief’s perspective, is that there is now a “struc- ture” in place to commu- nity policing. Officers who find out information know where to go with it, and the RCIPS command staff is kept constantly informed about what the street-level offi- cers are up to. Information received by officers must be kept confi- dential, but perhaps just as importantly, it must be acted upon, Mr. Byrne said. “If we don’t close that cycle, what’s the point of somebody coming back and saying something else?” he said. “We hear this all the time from the public. ‘I’m not prepared to tell you some- thing if you’re not going to do something about it.’” Outer districts One constant refrain com- munity police are hearing from the public is the need for more officers in Cayman’s less-populated districts, where vacant vacation prop- erties and clear roads have served as invitations to bur- glars and illegal motorbikers in the past few years. The RCIPS had already opened both the North Side and East End district sta- tions, staffing them with two police officers apiece as of last year. That staffing has now been doubled, with a total of four officers in each district. It still will not be enough to run a full-time, 24-hour po- lice station in each area, how- ever, because the officers will be out patrolling for most of their shifts. “That’s where they should be – out on the road, telling us what’s happening,” Mr. Byrne said. The two stations will be staffed during clearly posted hours, probably no more than two or three hours at a time. At some point, a cler- ical staff worker may be brought in to answer the phones during the daytime hours, but that decision has not been made yet. Smartphones The community policing officers have also received a donation of 22 smartphones, purchased by Cayman Crime Stoppers. At the moment, many community officers do not have the devices, which means they cannot commu- nicate with various neigh- borhood watch groups and other chat groups using the WhatsApp function. “Officers are excited to ex- plore the use of smartphones specifically as tools for com- munity policing, which means better communication with residents, but also the ability to receive photos and information quickly,” said In- spector Courtney Myles, who heads the community po- licing department. Mr. Byrne said this is be- coming a critical law en- forcement tool, because indi- viduals generally feel secure giving information to po- lice over an encrypted mes- saging service. “This now makes those officers more acces- sible,” he said. The 22 phones will not cover all the community po- licing officers, but Mr. Byrne said the RCIPS will pur- chase the rest. New murals add blast of color to island Community policing makes immediate impact CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Shooting erupts as Nicaraguan forces move into symbolic city MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) – Nicaraguan national police and armed pro-government civilians laid siege Tuesday to a symbolically important neighborhood that has re- cently become a center of re- sistance to President Daniel Ortega’s government. Government forces began advancing on Ma- saya’s Monimbo neighbor- hood before dawn. The same neighborhood’s residents rose up against strongman Anastasio So- moza in the late 1970s as part of the Nicaraguan Rev- olution led in part by Ortega himself. But since protests against cuts to the social se- curity system in mid-April became a broader call for Ortega to leave office, Mon- imbo has again become a center of the opposition. Ortega’s government has dismissed the opposition as delinquents attempting a coup d’etat and wants to quell unrest in Masaya be- fore Thursday’s three-month anniversary of the start of protests across Nicaragua. Thursday is also the 39th an- niversary of Liberation Day, which marks the overthrow of the Somoza regime in 1979 by the Sandinistas. Nicaraguan Vice Presi- dent Rosario Murillo, who is also Ortega’s wife, said Monday it was necessary to “clean” Monimbo and Ma- saya. She described the op- position as “coup plotters, few in number, malignant, sinister, diabolical, satanic and terrorists.” Masaya’s police commis- sioner struck a similarly combative tone. “The population of Ma- saya, the population of Mon- imbo, has asked us to free them from the delinquents and terrorists that have them trapped with their deadly barricades, and we’re going to do it at any cost,” said com- missioner Ramon Avellan. Gangs of armed men dressed as civilians appear to be working in coordination with police to remove road- blocks set up by the oppo- sition that have snarled the country’s traffic for months. Last weekend, government- allied forces retook the Na- tional Autonomous Univer- sity of Nicaragua campus in Managua, where students had been holed up. With gunshots echoing in the background Tuesday, a woman who asked only to be identified as Silvia out of safety concerns said she treated wounded victims in a makeshift field clinic. Silvia, a member of Mon- imbo’s April 19 resistance movement, said youth are fighting with homemade mor- tars to defend the roadblocks erected at the neighborhood’s perimeter, but government forces were heavily armed. “We need the (Organiza- tion of American States), the international organizations to stop this massacre,” Silvia said. “We’re fighting for de- mocracy, for freedom.” Managua’s auxiliary Roman Catholic bishop Silvio Jose Baez said via Twitter that bullets in Monimbo en- tered the Maria Magdalena parish where a priest was sheltering inside. The government says more than 200 people have been killed since the un- rest began, but indepen- dent rights groups say the number is higher. On Tuesday, the United Nations human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said, “The appalling loss of life must stop – now.” “The violence is all more horrific as armed elements loyal to the government are operating with the active or tacit support of the po- lice and other state authori- ties,” he said. On Monday, Nicara- gua’s National Assembly, which is controlled by Orte- ga’s party, approved a law against terrorism. Colville said that the loosely worded legisla- tion could be used to target people “who are simply exer- cising their right to protest.” Francisco Palmieri, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, said via Twitter that the U.S. strongly urges Ortega to not attack Masaya. “Con- tinued gov’t-instigated vio- lence and bloodshed in #Nica- ragua must end immediately. The world is watching.” Nicaraguan political ana- lyst Oscar Rene Vargas said that if the government suc- ceeds in taking control of Masaya “it would be a tac- tical victory, but not a stra- tegic one because the re- bellion is going to continue internally and on an inter- national level.”The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 Growing your business starts with the right relationships. Contact RBC’s Business Banking team at 949-4600 plus their extension or visit rbc.com/caribbean. At RBC Royal Bank, our Relationship Managers are committed to the long-term success of your business. They’ll work closely with you to understand your specific needs and offer appropriate, realistic and effective solutions to help your business grow. Our team of Relationship Managers look forward to working with you. Call us today! Your business is important to us. ® /™ Trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Shane Storr Ext: 69050 Peter Letko Ext: 69041 Samuel Jacques-Cloutier Ext: 69049 Denise Campell Ext: 69030 Sary Menjivar Ext: 69048 Laura Ramoon Ext: 69039 Shamal Williams Ext: 69047 Jameal Welcome Ext: 69038The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Millions in UK face water restrictions Millions of people in northern England are facing a ban on using garden hoses or sprinklers amid one of the longest spells of hot, dry weather in years. The United Utilities water company said the temporary ban, will help ‘safeguard essential water supplies for longer.’ Trump corrects his quote, says misspoke on Russian meddling HONG KONG (AP) – Authori- ties on Tuesday told a polit- ical party that independence advocates for Hong Kong might be banned on national security grounds, in one of the most severe steps against separatist voices since the territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997. In a letter to the leader of the Hong Kong National Party, 27-year-old Andy Chan, the territory’s secu- rity bureau said the group has three weeks to make a case for why it should be al- lowed to operate. An official believes the party should be dissolved “in the interests of national security or public safety, public order or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others,” the letter said. It cited a national secu- rity law that has not been in- voked since 1997. The bespectacled Chan, who wore a crew-neck T- shirt and black wristwatch as he fielded phone calls on Tuesday, told The Associated Press that police approached him with documents de- tailing his speeches and ac- tivities since the party’s for- mation in 2016. The party was founded in response to frustration about Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong. Despite a promise of autonomy, activists com- plain mainland influence over its democratic elections is increasing. “Hong Kong National Party has always been an enemy of China,” Chan said. He said the group has never registered with police be- cause they do not want to disclose all their information. Chan said he suspected the proposed ban is related to a trip he made to Taiwan earlier this month, when he held a news conference with politicians there to talk about the human rights situation in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s security sec- retary, John Lee, said po- lice recommended ban- ning the group. “Hong Kong has freedom of association, but that right is not without restriction,” Lee said at a news confer- ence. He said national secu- rity “means safeguarding the territorial integrity and inde- pendence of the People’s Re- public of China.” Chan and other pro-in- dependence candidates were disqualified from 2016 elec- tions to the Hong Kong leg- islature after they refused to sign a pledge saying Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. The Hong Kong Na- tional Party has never held any seats on the council. A statement on the par- ty’s Facebook page called Tuesday’s letter an effort to “pelt pebbles at the Hong Kong people and indepen- dence movement.” “For what is their ‘na- tional security,’ their ‘laws,’ and their banning of oper- ations but a purely polit- ical decision to silence those who dare to represent the true interests of the Hong Kong people and nation?” the party wrote. Amnesty International condemned the proposed ban. “The authorities must stop using vague laws to in- timidate people who hold dif- ferent political views,” the human rights group said. WASHINGTON (AP) – Blis- tered by bipartisan condem- nation of his embrace of a longtime U.S. enemy, Presi- dent Donald Trump sought Tuesday to “clarify” his public undermining of American in- telligence agencies, saying he had misspoken when he said he saw no reason to believe Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. “The sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t, or why it wouldn’t be Russia” instead of “why it would,” Trump said, in a rare admission of error by the bombastic U.S. leader. His comment came – amid rising rebuke by his own party – about 27 hours after his original, widely re- ported statement, which he made at a Monday summit in Helsinki standing along- side Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place,” Trump said Tuesday. But he added, as he usually does, “It could be other people also. A lot of people out there. There was no collusion at all.” Moments earlier, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell issued a public reassurance to U.S. al- lies in NATO and Europe with whom Trump clashed during his frenzied Europe trip last week. “The European coun- tries are our friends, and the Russians are not,” McConnell said. The scripted cleanup dealt with only the latest of Trump’s problematic state- ments during his week-long trip, in which he sent the NATO alliance into emer- gency session and assailed British Prime Minister The- resa May as she was hosting him for an official visit. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was trying to “squirm away” from his comments along- side Putin. “It’s 24 hours too late and in the wrong place,” he said. Trump still main- tained that his meetings with NATO allies went well and his summit with Putin “even better.” This reference to diplo- matic success carried an edge, too, since the barrage of criticism and insults he deliv- ered in Brussels and London was hardly well-received. And the reaction back home has been immediate and visceral, among fellow Republicans as well as usual Trump critics. “Shameful,” “disgraceful,” “weak,” were a few of the comments. Makes the U.S. “look like a pushover,” said GOP Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee. On Capitol Hill, top Re- publican leaders said they were open to slapping fresh sanctions on Russia but showed no signs of acting any time soon. “Let’s be very clear, just so everybody knows: Russia did meddle with our elections,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan. “What we intend to do is make sure they don’t get away with it again and also to help our allies.” In the Senate, Schumer called for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top officials to appear be- fore Congress and tell ex- actly what happened during Trump’s two-hour private session with Putin. Schumer also urged the Senate to take up legislation to boost security for U.S. elec- tions and to revive a measure passed earlier by the Judi- ciary Committee to protect Special Counsel Robert Muel- ler’s investigation into Rus- sian election interference. But minority Demo- crats have few tools to push their priorities. In the House, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi planned a vote Tuesday in support of the intelligence committee’s findings that Russia inter- fered in the 2016 election. Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Com- mittee, said the first step was to get Pompeo to appear, “hopefully” next week. Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki was his first time sharing the inter- national stage with a man he has described as an im- portant U.S. competitor – but whom he has also praised a strong, effective leader. His remarks, siding with a foe on foreign soil over his own government, was a stark illustration of Trump’s will- ingness to upend decades of U.S. foreign policy and rattle Western allies in service of his political concerns. A wary and robust stance toward Russia has been a bedrock of his party’s world view. But Trump made clear he feels that any acknowledgement of Russia’s election involvement would undermine the legiti- macy of his election. Standing alongside Putin, Trump steered clear of any confrontation with the Rus- sian, going so far as to ques- tion American intelligence and last week’s federal in- dictments that accused 12 Russians of hacking into Democratic email accounts to hurt Hillary Clinton in 2016. “I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that Pres- ident Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. “He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Trump said. That’s the part he corrected on Tuesday. His Monday statement drew a quick rebuttal from his director of national Intel- ligence, Dan Coats. “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 elec- tion and their ongoing, perva- sive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will con- tinue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national secu- rity,” Coats said. After his walkback on Tuesday, Trump said his ad- ministration will “move aggressively” to repel efforts to interfere in Amer- ican elections. “We are doing every- thing in our power to pre- vent Russian interference in 2018,” he said. “And we have a lot of power.” Fellow GOP politicians have generally stuck with Trump during a year and a half of turmoil, but he was assailed as seldom be- fore as he returned home Monday night from what he had hoped would be a proud summit with Putin. Sen. John McCain of Ar- izona was most outspoken, declaring that Trump made a “conscious choice to defend a tyrant” and achieved “one of the most disgraceful perfor- mances by an American pres- ident in memory.” U.S. President Donald Trump, left, smiles beside Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday. - PHOTO: AP Leader of the Hong Kong National Party Andy Chan walks after an interview in Hong Kong, Tuesday. The territory’s security bureau sent a letter to Chan Tuesday saying the party has three weeks to make a case for why it should not be banned. - PHOTO: AP Pro-independence Hong Kong party faces possible ban9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 2018 Bored of the SAME ROUTINE? GLOBAL RESOURCES | LOCAL EXPERTS CALL TODAY! www.personnel2000.com NEW JOBS AVAILABL E NOW! NEW JOBS AVAILABL E NOW! US judge temporarily halts deportation of reunified families SAN DIEGO (AP) – A federal judge on Monday ordered a temporary halt to deporta- tions of immigrant families reunited after being sepa- rated at the border, as the Trump administration races to meet a July 26 dead- line for putting more than 2,500 children back in their parents’ arms. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw imposed a delay of at least a week after a request from the American Civil Lib- erties Union, which cited “persistent and increasing rumors … that mass depor- tations may be carried out imminently and immediately upon reunification.” Justice Department at- torney Scott Stewart opposed the delay but did not address the rumors in court. The ACLU requested that parents have at least one week to decide whether to pursue asylum in the U.S. after they are reunited with their children. The judge held off on deciding that issue until the government out- lines its objections in writing by next Monday. ACLU attorney Lee Gel- ernt told reporters that he was “extremely pleased” by the halt and that parents need time to think over with their children and advisers whether to seek asylum. “It’s hard to imagine a more profound or momen- tous decision,” he said. The hearing in San Diego occurred as the government accelerated reunifications at eight unidentified U.S. Im- migration and Customs En- forcement locations. The fam- ilies are scattered around the country, the adults at immi- gration detention centers, the children at shelters overseen by the government. Annunciation House, a shelter in El Paso, said the government has begun trans- porting children in a “tre- mendous amount of airline flights” to El Paso and else- where. Director Ruben Garcia said he is preparing to take in as many as 100 reunified families a day. Late last month, Sabraw ordered the government to reunite the thousands of children and parents who were forcibly separated at the border by the Trump ad- ministration this spring. He set a deadline of July 10 for children under 5 and gave the government until July 26 to reunite 2,551 youngsters ages 5 to 17. On Monday, the judge commended the government for a revised plan submitted over the weekend to reunify the older children. The plan calls for DNA testing and other screening measures if red flags are raised during background checks. Jonathan White of the Office of Refugee Resettle- ment, who is overseeing the government’s effort, assured the judge that some reunifi- cations of older children al- ready occurred, and “it is our intent to reunify chil- dren promptly.” He went into detail on how the pro- cess was working. The judge praised White’s testimony, saying, “What is in place is a great start to making a large number of reunifications happen very, very quickly.” “I have every confidence that you are the right person to do this,” he told White. It was a sharp change from Friday, when the gov- ernment submitted a plan for “truncated” vetting that ex- cluded DNA testing and other procedures used for children under 5. The government offi- cial said the abbreviated vet- ting was necessary to meet the court-imposed dead- line but put children at sig- nificant risk. Sabraw said late Friday that he was having second thoughts about his belief that the government was acting in good faith. In a hastily ar- ranged conference call, he told administration officials that its plan misrepresented his instructions and showed “a very grudging reluctance to do things.” Sabraw said in court Monday that the initial plan was “exasperating,” “com- pletely unhelpful,” and “written in a manner that seemed wholly divorced from the context of this case.” “This is not hard stuff,” he said. “It’s laborious, but it’s not difficult to do.” Sabraw has scheduled three more hearings over the next two weeks to ensure compliance with his order. Also Monday, advocates said in federal court in Los Angeles that immigrant chil- dren in government custody are being given poor food, kept in unsanitary conditions and face insults and threats. The allegations came amid a long-running effort by attorneys to have a court-ap- pointed monitor oversee the U.S. government’s compliance with a decades-old settle- ment governing the treatment of immigrant children caught on the border. Attorneys interviewed im- migrant parents and chil- dren in June and July about their experiences in Border Patrol facilities, family de- tention and a youth shelter. They described much of the testimony as “shocking and atrocious.” Families described meals of frozen sandwiches and spoiled food, overflowing toilets and guards yelling at them and kicking them while they slept. Children said they were hungry and scared when their parents were taken away. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told reporters that he was “extremely pleased” by the halt and that parents need time to think over with their children and advisers whether to seek asylum. Allison, 6, and her mother Cindy Madrid share a moment during a news conference in Houston Friday, where the mother and daughter spoke about the month and one day they were separated under the Trump administration’s immigration policy. - PHOTO: AP LONDON (AP) — The official group that campaigned to take Britain out of the Euro- pean Union in the 2016 refer- endum has been fined and re- ferred to police for breaking electoral law, Britain’s elec- toral watchdog said Tuesday. The Electoral Commission said the “Vote Leave” group, backed by senior politicians including former foreign sec- retary Boris Johnson, failed to declare 675,000 pounds ($894,000) it spent with Ca- nadian data firm Aggregate IQ. The commission said it found significant evidence that Vote Leave did this by funneling cash to a small, un- registered pro-Brexit youth group, BeLeave. “Vote Leave has resisted our investigation from the start. ... It has refused to co- operate, refused our requests to put forward a representa- tive for interview, and forced us to use our legal powers to compel it to provide evi- dence,” said Bob Posner, who oversees political finance at the commission. “Nevertheless, the evi- dence we have found is clear and substantial.” Those who wanted Britain to leave the EU narrowly won the June 2016 referendum, with 52 percent of voters supporting Brexit. The election fraud probe became entangled with in- quiries into Facebook’s use of private data, because Aggre- gate IQ had links with Cam- bridge Analytica, the British consultancy accused of using data from tens of millions of Facebook accounts to help Donald Trump win the 2016 U.S. election. Whistleblowers had al- leged that Brexit cam- paigners paid Aggregate IQ to send targeted ads and that their actions may have un- fairly influenced the referen- dum’s outcome. Vote Leave was fined 61,000 pounds. BeLeave founder Darren Grimes, a student at the time, was fined 20,000 pounds. The commis- sion said Grimes and an of- ficial from Vote Leave have both been referred to police “in relation to false declara- tions of campaign spending.” Grimes and Vote Leave deny wrongdoing. Another pro-Brexit orga- nization, Leave.EU, was fined 70,000 pounds in May for overspending and filing inac- curate records. The undeclared spending meant the campaign group exceeded the 7-million-pound legal spending limit by almost 500,000 pounds. Brexit campaign group fined for breaking electoral lawNext >