ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 High of 89 Low of 77 Smooth to slight with wave heights less than 2 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 THE HIGH COST OF LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS LOCAL | PAGE 3 CORNWALL CONSULTING TO MANAGE GREEN IGUANA CULL HomeOptions Do you think “if” or “when”? BritCay is the only insurance company with a $1 million disaster recovery facility. It means business as usual when power lines and phones are down. Ask for a home insurance quote. Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky cgigrp BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International Ltd: insurance, health, pensions, life Shortage of electronic ankle monitors taxes courts JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A shortage of electronic mon- itors risks causing more sus- pects to be held in custody as they await trial, putting addi- tional pressure on Cayman’s overcrowded prison system, de- fense lawyers have warned. The shortage also has impli- cations for justice, with some defendants being treated dif- ferently to others, based on the availability of the monitors, some lawyers claim. The monitors, which are strapped to a defendant’s ankle, allow officials in the Department of Public Safety Communications to ensure compliance with cur- fews and other bail conditions. In one case earlier this month, Magistrate Valdis Fol- dats indicated he felt unable to place a suspect, charged with a series of burglaries from the Hu- mane Society, on bail, because there was no monitor available. He said he would otherwise have granted bail. The man was re- manded to the police detention center, which is being used as overspill for the prison. He was bailed several days later when a monitor became available, ac- cording to his lawyer. Oliver Grimwood, the de- fense counsel in that case, said WONG SENTENCING DELAYED AGAIN KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com The sentencing of senior immigration of- ficer Garfield (Gary) Wong was delayed again on Wednesday for one week. Mr. Wong had been scheduled to be sen- tenced in relation to his August convictions for careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident in the early hours of Dec. 27, 2013, after his truck was in a collision with a car on Shamrock Road. Magistrate Grace Donalds acknowledged Wednesday that the matter had to be ad- journed administratively because an affidavit connected to the case had not been sworn, and she delayed the hearing until Oct. 31. At the last hearing in September, Mr. Wong’s attorney, Dennis Brady, said he had re- cently come across a recording that may con- tain evidence of perjury having been com- mitted during his client’s trial. Mr. Brady did not go into detail about the contents of the recording nor the allega- tions of perjury, but he asked for a three-week CAYMAN ISLANDS LEGAL ASSOCIATIONS TO MERGE The two legal professional associations, the Cayman Islands Law Society and the Cay- manian Bar Association, are completing a merger later this month following approval by both memberships in June. A new body called the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association will assume the functions of the two existing organizations. The establishment of the Legal Practitio- ners Association marks the first time that the entire legal profession in Cayman will be rep- resented by one association. The association will continue to support the set objectives of the Caymanian Bar Asso- ciation and the Law Society, including the pro- motion of legal education and the qualifica- tion of Caymanians as attorneys, according to a press release. The new association will also encourage the provision of reports to sup- port law reform. Alasdair Robertson, outgoing Law Society president, said the Law Society and the Bar PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Cayman Brac celebrates Autumn Festival Siyanna Maragh, left, and Zorina McCoon, second runner-up of Miss World Cayman, show off their traditional dresses as they enter the gates at the welcome booth of the Brac Heritage Autumn Festival last week. During the festival, attendees celebrated the Cayman Islands coat of arms as part of the 60th anniversary events being held on all three of the Cayman Islands. The coat of arms road show is currently in Little Cayman. For more on this story and more photos, see page 7. – PHOTO: PHOEBE SMITH PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 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. - THURSDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE HATE U GIVE (PG13) 12:35 I 3:35 I 6:40 I 9:45 VENOM (PG13) 12:45 VIP I 4:25 I 7:10 I 10:00 NIGHT SCHOOL (PG13) 2:15 I 4:50 I 7:25 I 10:00 GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN (PG) 4:45 I 7:00 FIRST MAN (PG13) 1:20 I 3:25 VIP I 6:30 VIP I 9:45 A STAR IS BORN (R) 12:45 I 3:50 I 7:00 I 9:40 VIP BLOCKBUSTER RE-RELEASE: AVENGERS INFINITY WAR (PG13) 1:30 I 9:15 Dr. Shetty named as chairman of management college Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health and founder of Health City Cayman Is- lands, has been appointed chairman of the Indian In- stitute of Management, Ban- galore Board of Governors. The school’s board of governors made the ap- pointment at its meeting on Oct. 9. Dr. Shetty as- sumed the four-year posi- tion Monday, according to a story on the New Delhi Television website. “It is a great privilege and an honor,” the story quoted Dr. Shetty as saying. “Over the years, IIMB has grown to become India’s leading management insti- tute that attracts the best and brightest students from across the country.” He said the alumni of the institution are sought after by leading companies from across the world, in- cluding his own. “Surgeons are like art- ists and we approach the world through feel, touch and instinct,” he told the TV station. “However, the world of business is more complicated than an open chest, and only the devo- tees of technology who can synthesize multiple data points will be able to make good decisions. “The companies of the future will invest more into digital assets than bricks or mortar and their man- agers will have to super- vise bots, not humans. So, the management curric- ulum must evolve to cope with a rapidly evolving dig- ital landscape.” Dr. Shetty founded Na- rayana Hrudayalaya, a hos- pital group with pan-India presence. The company manages 32 hospitals and performs approximately 12 percent of the total heart surgeries in India, about 40 percent of which are on children with heart disease. Dr. Shetty’s 104-bed Health City in East End, which opened in 2014, spe- cializes in cardiac care, with an emphasis on pedi- atric patients. Ministry: No mass tree removal in GT revitalization SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com Proponents of the George Town revitalization pro- gram say they plan on cut- ting back shrubs and eventu- ally adding more greenery to the town center, contrary to a recent report by a local news organization. The Ministry of Com- merce, Planning and Infra- structure issued a statement Tuesday afternoon refuting a recent report on Cayman News Service regarding the removal of trees in George Town. The ministry described that article as “driven by as- sumptions and opinions and not fact-based reporting.” The issue of George Town’s near future came into focus at a recent Road Safety Confer- ence hosted by the National Roads Authority, at which Tristan Hydes, the deputy chief officer of the Department of Planning, gave a presen- tation about the developing plan to make George Town more pedestrian friendly. That plan, chronicled in the Cayman Compass on Oct. 4, involved naming local archi- tect Colin Lumsden as George Town manager and crafting a strategy to narrow streets and restrict parking. Even- tually, said Mr. Hydes at the time, George Town would be a walkable downtown district, replete with sidewalk cafes. An article on that presen- tation run by the Cayman News Service website – with the headline “CIG plans to rip up trees in George Town” – inspired 124 comments im- ploring government to leave the local trees alone. In its statement Tuesday, the ministry said that mass tree removal was never part of the plan. “Creating more green spaces [has] always been a priority for government. The George Town Revitalization Project aims to create a bus- tling, vibrant town with lots of greenery, not less trees. We are disappointed that something so positive could be taken out of context and portrayed so negatively,” the statement read. The statement issued by the Ministry on Tuesday gave some background on the pre- sentation and said the future plans for George Town are guided by the principles of New Urbanism. “Trees, land- scaping, green/open spaces will all be an important and prominent aspect of the rede- sign,” it said. The ministry reiter- ated that plans for George Town will be hashed out through consultation with the community and stake- holders before any actions are taken. Sidewalks and landscaping may be altered, it said, but only in an ef- fort to provide more ample and safer walking space for pedestrians. A park in George Town will also be beautified as part of the overall revitalization plan, according to the minis- try’s statement, but in no way will there be a mass and ar- bitrary removal of trees. “Part of that beautification process would require trim- ming back shrubbery that is currently blocking one of the monuments in the park. The beautification efforts would not include the mass removal of trees and would not be done without purpose as implied by the Cayman News Service article,” the statement read. Cayman News Service re- sponded to the ministry’s statement with its own re- buttal on Wednesday in an article titled “Ministry still vague on fate of trees in GT revamp.” “Nowhere in the CNS re- port does it say that govern- ment was planning a ‘mass’ removal of tress, as govern- ment claimed in the state- ment circulated Tuesday evening. However, in the statement government failed, yet again, to answer the questions CNS had posed and gives very little infor- mation about the revitalisa- tion plan that was promised by the previous as well as the current PPM-led coalition.” In El Salvador, poverty and gangs drive migration MEXICO CITY (AP) – Al- though most of the 7,000 migrants in the caravan wending its way through far- southern Mexico are Hondu- rans, some Salvadorans have also joined. There is even a Facebook page and a What- sApp chat encouraging Sal- vadorans to form a caravan of their own, though it is not yet known whether one will materialize. It’s a small country both geographically and by popu- lation, home to 6.5 million in- habitants. The International Organization for Migration estimates that another 1.35 million Salvadorans live in the United States. El Salva- dor’s government puts the figure at as many as 2.5 mil- lion – but either way, Sal- vadorans make up the big- gest community of Central Americans living in the United States. El Salvador is the only country in the so-called Northern Triangle –which also includes Guatemala and Honduras – that experi- enced a reduction in migra- tion in 2017, something that the government has noted in recent days in response to vows by U.S. President Donald Trump to cut U.S. aid to the region. Even so, Salvadorans con- tinue to leave their country. Their tales of hardship back home are not dissim- ilar from those of their Hon- duran neighbors. Here’s a look at what is driving those who migrate. Gangs and violence El Salvador’s homicide rate was 60 per 100,000 in- habitants last year, down from a grisly record of 102 homicides per 100,000 inhab- itants in 2015 but still among the highest in the world. The two main street gangs, 18th Street and MS-13, are esti- mated to number around 70,000 and actively try to re- cruit new members. The gangs trace their or- igins to street life in cities such as Los Angeles, where many Salvadorans sought refuge during their country’s 1980-1992 civil war. Salva- dorans arrested for crimes in the U.S. were deported back home, bringing gang activity with them. The U.S. deported 1,241 Salvadorans for ap- parent gang activity in 2017, and 524 alleged gang mem- bers the previous year. Crime experts say today’s gangs have ties to international drug trafficking networks. Trump frequently seizes on MS-13, or Mara Salva- trucha, as a reason to tighten immigration controls. A quarter of young Sal- vadorans who flee do so be- cause they are threatened with or fear violence. Young women are pressured to be “girlfriends” of gang mem- bers and face rape or murder if they refuse, while young men are pressured to join the gangs or risk death if they don’t. Two out of three Salvadorans never at- tend high school. Young women are particu- larly vulnerable. Murders of young women peaked at 574 in 2015. Salvadoran law for- bids termination of pregnan- cies, even in the case of rape, and establishes long prison sentences for abortion. Poverty The International Or- ganization for Migration says most Salvadorans mi- grate for economic reasons. Per capita income is $324 a month and nearly one in three Salvadorans lives in poverty, according to the World Bank, defined as less than $5.50 a day. Many rely on remit- tances from family mem- bers abroad. Salvadorans in the United States sent $5 billion back home last year, amounting to nearly 16 percent of gross do- mestic product. It’s tough to make a go as a small business owner in the country and create jobs for others. The gangs extort local businesses with impu- nity, and corruption is ram- pant. President Salvador Sanchez Ceren’s three prede- cessors were all prosecuted for alleged graft. “Migration problems are structural problems of the country,” says Cesar Rios, di- rector of the Salvadoran Mi- grant Institute. “If steady in- come is not guaranteed here – work and security – then people will continue to leave.” Suspected members of the 18th Street gang stand handcuffed in pairs at a police station in Panchimalco, near San Salvador, El Salvador. – PHOTO: AP Dr. Devi Shetty The school’s board of governors made the appointment at its meeting on Oct. 9. Dr. Shetty assumed the four-year position Monday.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 TRAVEL AGENCY OWNER FACES PRISON IF PENSIONS NOT REPAID KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com The owner of a defunct travel agency was threat- ened with imprisonment on Wednesday by Magis- trate Angelyn Hernandez if she does not repay former employees for deductions made from their salaries as contributions to a pension plan, but which were never placed in any plan. Theresa Chin, the sole director of TC Fahrenheit trading as 123 Travel, owes more than $90,000 to her former employees. Magis- trate Hernandez ordered Ms. Chin to make payments of $1,600 per month until No- vember 2019, when she will have to pay the remaining sum of about $70,000. If she fails to do so, she will have to serve four years in prison, said Magis- trate Hernandez. Ms. Chin previously entered guilty pleas on behalf of the com- pany, and had offered to pay $250 per month – a rate that would have meant it would take more than 36 years to pay what she owes. In July, defense attorney Keva Reid said Ms. Chin was offering to pay $500 per month. Magistrate Her- nandez said that amount was still not acceptable. She said she would ac- cept $700 a month for the next three months to give Ms. Chin time to “sort her- self out.” After that, the court expected no less than $1,000 per month, the mag- istrate said at the time. On Wednesday, Magis- trate Hernandez said that even the $1,000 per month she referenced at the last hearing is not acceptable to her, because it would still take Ms. Chin more than 90 months to pay her debts. “The difficulty is that these matters are being treated as criminal matters,” she said. “It amounts to theft, and we can’t wait 90 months at the rate of $1,000 per month to pay off something that would land people in other circumstances in jail.” Thirteen employees were affected by the unlawful use of the deductions, which started in 2009. Two employees were owed more than $24,000 each. The matter was reported to the Department of La- bour and Pensions in 2015. Ms. Reid, who was not at Wednesday’s hearing, pre- viously told the court that the money went toward business expenses and not for Ms. Chin’s personal use. Cornwall Consulting to manage green iguana cull Cayman Islands com- pany Cornwall Consulting has been selected to manage the islandwide green iguana cull project following a com- petitive bidding process in- volving five firms, govern- ment announced Wednesday. The cull effort, the largest ever undertaken in the Cayman Islands, gets under way on Monday, Oct. 29, with more than 340 registered Caymanians and local busi- nesses participating. Each culler has pledged to cull a set quota of green iguanas in the first month for delivery to the George Town landfill. Cornwall Consulting, led by Karl Noble, will be respon- sible for accepting delivery of deceased green iguanas at the landfill and keeping count of the deliveries. The company is also tasked with paying the cullers for each deceased green iguana delivered. Payments will be made every two weeks. Cornwall Consulting was chosen following the issuance of a request for proposals on Aug. 30 by the DoE, and was selected by government’s pro- curement committee as the bid winner due to its strong record of financial manage- ment and accounting ex- perience, according to a press release from the DoE Wednesday. The company, an offshoot of Cornwall Prop- erty Services, signed a con- tract with the Ministry of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing on Friday. DoE Terrestrial Resources Unit Manager Fred Burton said Cornwall Consulting will subcontract with the registered cullers to ensure the green iguana cull opera- tion runs smoothly. “Cornwall will manage adjustments to the initial culling quotas given to those registered cullers and will re- port regularly to the Green Iguana Cull Project Steering Committee,” he said. Mr. Burton added that information on how many green iguanas have been culled will be reported to DoE each day and will be posted on its website at www.doe.ky. Mr. Noble said he was happy his firm had been chosen as part of the solu- tion to the island’s growing iguana problem. “The invasive green iguana population affects all Grand Cayman residents,” he said. “With DoE’s quanti- fication of the green iguana population at 1.1 million to 1.6 million, and the prospect of significant increases over time, my firm felt strongly that we had to become in- volved to help solve this threat to our environment. We are encouraged that the DoE chose our firm and we believe that the resources exist locally to prevent the damage that would otherwise occur if this invasive species is left unchecked.” Environment Minister Dwayne Seymour said he was looking forward to the com- mencement of the cull. “The 2018/19 Green Iguana Cull Project has the full support of the Cayman Islands Government,” he said in a press release. “We’re pleased to see Caymanian cullers and Caymanian busi- nesses benefitting directly from this effort.” More than 340 Caymanians and local businesses have signed up to take part in an islandwide cull of green iguanas, which begins next week.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” “Going to church on Sunday doesn’t necessarily make someone a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes them a car.” – Unknown “There is scant evidence of a positive correlation between increased financial input into, and increased cogni- tive output from, schools.” – George F. Will, American writer “Students’ attainment in mathematics, English and science was below international standards in all year groups.” – Office of Education Standards, September 2018 Inspection Report, Clifton Hunter High School Where you are doesn’t matter. It’s what you do that counts. Now, let’s talk about Clifton Hunter. Government inspectors had plenty to say about Grand Cayman’s $110 million high school, starting with their overall assessment of the school as “weak” (the lowest possible rating, equivalent to an old-fashioned “F”), and continuing with a list of deficiencies that should chasten anyone in Cayman who supports addressing educational challenges through expensive, even lavish, capital projects. For example: • School leaders who were “over-generous” in staff evaluations; • Teachers who assigned “undemanding” busywork, offered only superficial feedback on assignments and were “over-generous” in their assessment of student work; • Students who were often expected to work despite a lack of necessary instructional tools (such as com- passes and protractors in geometry classes), and gifted students who “were not challenged to achieve beyond what was expected of them”; • A lack of rigor in school curriculum, leaving students underprepared for more challenging work. The unsurprising result of this confluence of inadequa- cies was unsatisfactory educational outcomes: “Attainment in English, mathematics and science in relation to interna- tional standards was weak.” The inspectors’ report is informative, but should not be seen as the only or even most important measure of per- formance at Clifton Hunter or any other school, including John Gray High School and Layman E. Scott High School, which for the record achieved comparatively better ratings of “Satisfactory” in relatively more modest facilities. We think it is relevant to note that the Clifton Hunter construction boondoggle resulted in the school costing at least $110 million, more than twice the pre-tender cost estimate of $45 million. For perspective, the ongoing expansion of the Owen Roberts International Airport is expected to be about half of the Clifton Hunter project (although there, too, final costs are expected to exceed the initial estimate of $55 million). The poor report on Clifton Hunter demonstrates the truism that, beyond an easy-to-discern level of sufficient investment (i.e., safe and comfortable facilities of adequate size), pouring additional resources into a school – whether it be in the form of sparkling buildings or new technologies – does little to improve the amount of learning that takes place within that school. The fact is that learning occurs on a more human level, between an able teacher and an engaged, prepared student. Students’ scores on annual standardized tests are also useful, but also not comprehensive. Inspections, examina- tions and other metrics can only approximate the effec- tiveness of an educational system. The only test that really matters occurs outside the school buildings – in work- places and university administration offices, which act as final judge and jury on the quality of graduates, and their preparedness for employment or further academic studies. We strongly suggest you read the column by Richard W. Rahn that appears to the right of this editorial, concerning the positive story of Guatemala’s Francisco Marroquin university. As the column alludes, at the highest levels and over the longest terms, a country’s education system is far more than a mere jobs program – it dictates a country’s destiny. The high cost of low-performing schools THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Tech offers hope for Central America As I write this, there is a caravan of several thousand people coming north, pri- marily from El Salvador, Gua- temala and Honduras, with the intent of illegally entering into the United States. Honduras has roughly a 10th of the per capita in- come of the United States, with few jobs and very lim- ited economic opportunity. Despite 200 years of inde- pendence, these three coun- tries never developed the in- stitutions and policies to give them prosperity and liberty. (Note the attached table.) They are functioning democracies, but with con- siderable corruption. The United States, the World Bank, the Inter-Amer- ican Development Bank, and other foreign and multilateral institutions have provided considerable foreign aid to these countries for decades, with the goal of making them sufficiently prosperous so their citizens would no longer desire to flee to the United States. These pro- grams have not only failed but many times actually led to more corruption. There now appears to be a way out that is not de- pendent on enlightened and competent leadership or traditional foreign aid pro- grams. The solution may well be in new technolo- gies that enable people and businesses to do for them- selves without the support or permission of their gov- ernments. Specifically, the internet, smartphones, cryp- tocurrencies, blockchains, self-enforcing contracts, and e-government are allowing people to bypass the tradi- tional heavy foot of govern- ment on their throats. Many in Venezuela are now using cryptocurren- cies to make payments and move money both within the country and internationally. The government destroyed the value of the official cur- rency, but the people are finding ways to cope in part due to the development of cryptocurrencies. Schools are lacking or failing to perform in many places; but now, with de- velopment of the internet and the smartphone, anyone can have access to all of the world’s knowledge. Block- chains enable people to have secure records of land and other property owner- ship that cannot be stolen by others. The Internet also makes it feasible to have pri- vate courts or arbitration or- ganizations operating in a foreign country to rule on contract disputes and help ensure justice, no matter where a person may physi- cally live. The rise of e-gov- ernment systems (initially largely developed by the Estonians) empowers and protects people and busi- nesses from corrupt govern- ment officials. Even though it is still very poor, Guatemala now has a per capita income a third greater than Honduras, largely because it has more economic freedom. My bet is that Guatemala is likely to show even greater relative improvement in the coming years, in part, because of one unique individual who made a difference – Manuel Ayau. As a young man, he had been sent from his native Guate- mala to study engineering in the United States. Years ago, he told me that during his time in the United States he kept trying to un- derstand why his country was so poor and the United States so rich. After his re- turn to Guatemala, he not only became a successful businessman, but also started his country’s first free-market think tank. Mr. Ayau had become a serious student of economics and concluded that the “Austrian School,” with F.A. Hayek as its de-facto leader at the time, had it right. Mr. Ayau soon recog- nized that more than a think tank was needed, and he and some of colleagues cre- ated a remarkable univer- sity, Francisco Marroquin. The school opened its doors in 1971, with Mr. Ayau as its first president, during the long-running civil war in Guatemala. The univer- sity is named after a Spanish bishop who became a tire- less advocate for Guate- malan freedom in the 16th century. The university was founded on the principles of individual rights, truth, jus- tice, pluralism, and democ- racy. It has not only pros- pered, but now “tops the worldwide list of the fifty best places to study clas- sical economics.” Guatemala privatized its state-run dysfunctional tele- phone system and now is the best-connected country in Central America with more mobile lines than popula- tion. Under Francisco Mar- roquin University’s previous president, the far-sighted Giancarlo Ibarguen, it be- came the first university in the world to be fully con- nected by WiFi. The current president, Gabriel Calzada, just expanded the univer- sity by opening an additional campus in Spain – and made it the first university in the Americas to accept bit- coins for payment. Francisco Marroquin has been in existence sufficiently long, with enough graduates to increasingly populate the leadership ranks in business, law and technology in Guate- mala, to make the necessary changes to create a high- growth economy. The United States and other countries could help the reform process in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, by making fi- nancial support conditional on policy changes, rather than funding infrastructure projects that are too often corrupted. Specifically, the aid donors should require much greater e-government, the temporary use of foreign judges, and an end to need- less bureaucracy. It requires at least a book to do justice to this topic and to lay out the op- portunity for fundamental change. Fortunately, my old colleague, George Gilder, the economic and technological visionary, has done just that in his great new book, “Life After Google.” Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth and Improbable Success Productions. © 2018, The Washington Times, LLC. RICHARD W. RAHN5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 Premier welcomes governor in video call Premier Alden McLaughlin said he is looking forward to working with the island’s new governor Martyn Roper after the pair spoke for the first time via video con- ference Tuesday. The new governor, for- merly deputy head of mis- sion for the U.K. in Beijing, China, arrives on island Monday. The premier said the two men had a positive conversation, Tuesday, and he believes they will build a “cordial and productive” working relationship. “I am pleased to have heard directly from Mr. Roper his eagerness about working in the Cayman Is- lands and to also have him provide firsthand informa- tion on his background and experience working with other Overseas Territories,” said Mr. McLaughlin in a statement Tuesday evening. The premier also re- vealed that his government had some input into out- lining the necessary creden- tials required for the role, before the appointment of Mr. Roper. According to a submission to a U.K. par- liamentary sub-committee, government is seeking more input in the longer term into such appointments, in- cluding power of veto over the U.K.’s governor choices. On this occasion, Mr. McLaughlin suggested the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had agreed to take his advice on board in terms of outlining the qualities needed in a new governor. He said he had written to Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wim- bledon, the minister with responsibility for Britain’s overseas territories, rec- ommending that whom- ever was appointed to the role had a good knowl- edge and preferably experi- ence of working with over- seas territories. He wrote, “They will need to have an apprecia- tion for the separate roles of the elected government and the Governor’s Office and to be able to hit the ground running.” Mr. McLaughlin, in his letter to Lord Ahmad, also suggested the experi- ences of former governor Helen Kilpatrick be con- sidered as part of the re- cruitment process. He wrote, “This would, I believe, go a long way to giving us confidence that the process would give us someone who understands and respects the role of the Premier and the Govern- ment whilst also appreci- ating that Caymanians un- derstand full well how to grow and keep our islands safe and prosperous.” In his press release, the premier said Lord Ahmad had taken that ad- vice on board. He added,“I thank Lord Ahmad for the opportunity to provide advice on the qualities needed in the in- coming governor. I am also grateful that, in speaking with Mr. Roper, he indicated he has had conversations with former Governor Kilpat- rick with regards to her role and experiences when she served as governor of the islands.” Police arrested a 29-year-old woman in Cayman Brac on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm after a man was stabbed twice. According to a Royal Cayman Islands Police Ser- vice press release, emer- gency services responded to a 911 call about an as- sault that occurred on Legend Drive around 5 p.m. Tuesday. “It is believed that a woman used a knife and stabbed a man known to her twice. A struggle ensued during which the man also received injuries to both his hands,” police said in the statement. The man was taken to the Faith Memorial Hospital where he received treatment for his injuries. Police said the sus- pect remained in custody Wednesday. She had not been charged by press time. Woman arrested in Brac stabbing Snorkeler dies in George Town A 68-year-old male vis- itor from the United States died after getting into dif- ficulty while snorkeling off the George Town waterfront Tuesday morning. Police said they re- sponded to a report of a person in difficulty shortly after 10:45 a.m. When emergency ser- vices arrived, they found the man unresponsive. He was transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital where he was pronounced dead. This was the second water-related death to occur in Grand Cayman in a week. Cayman Islands resident Jim Knapp, 68, died on Oct. 17 after experiencing diffi- culties in the water at Seven Mile Public Beach. Police had not named the victim of Tuesday’s incident by press time. The latest fatality is the 11th confirmed water- related death this year. A possible 12th water- related death involved missing swimmer Linvol Smith, who disappeared in Cayman Brac in May. Ten tourists have died after getting into difficulty in Cayman’s water this year. All have ranged in age from 45 to 83. Seven expe- rienced trouble while snor- keling or swimming, the other two were diving-re- lated incidents. Cayman recorded seven water-related deaths in 2017, according to an an- nual report issued by the RCIPS in May. The new governor, formerly deputy head of mission for the U.K. in Beijing, China, arrives on island Monday. This was the second water-related death to occur in Grand Cayman in a week. The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS THURSDAY, OCT. 25 BRAC COURT: Today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. Aston Rutty Civic Centre. BREAST CANCER AWARENESS: Public meeting, Lions Community Centre, 7:30 p.m. YOUTH CONVENTION: The Wesleyan Churches of the Cayman Islands continue their 6th Annual Youth Convention at 7:30 p.m. in the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, North Side. Continues through Oct. 28. Bus service available nightly from George Town to North Side. Contact Cassandra on 925-1930 or Pastor King on 916-5372. FRIDAY, OCT. 26 LEADERSHIP CAYMAN: Today is the deadline to apply for Leadership Cayman, a six-month personal and community leadership program coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce. Applicants must be at least 30 years of age, in a middle management position and must have resided in the Cayman Islands for at least one year. Apply online at www.leadershipcayman.ky. DRESS DOWN DAY: Dress Pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, organized by the Lions Club of Tropical Gardens. SATURDAY, OCT. 27 LITTLE CAYMAN: Little Cayman Social Sports presents 5K run & walk. 5 p.m., Village Square, $25 entry fee, Contact 929-2853 or visit Iguana Crossing Store for more information. FULL GOSPEL BUSINESSMEN: The Grand Cayman chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International is having its monthly breakfast at 7:30 a.m., at Lola’s Restaurant in Camana Bay. There will be open sharing. BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS: Residents are invited to come out and support business innovators who will be featured at the Business Excellence Awards at The Ritz-Carlton. Winners in six categories will be announced, and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Keith Parker Tibbetts Jr. The evening will include refreshments and live entertainment. For tickets, visit www.eventpro. ky or call the Chamber of Commerce at 949-8090. FAMILY FUN DAY: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Location at Leeward Drive, North Sound Estates, Newlands. Follow balloons from the ICCI campus. Kids/ family games with prizes, magicians, balloon bending, face painting, bouncy castle, raffle, baked goods stall, used goods stall, Christmas stall. Food vendors, music and more. Fundraiser organized by North Sound Estates Neighbourhood Watch and Community Group. Contact 321-9443 for more details. SUNDAY, OCT. 28 DAY OF BEAUTY: A fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At Sameena’s Beauty Centre, 80 North Church Street. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special prices on facials, massages, manicures and more. OLDER PERSONS SERVICE: Boatswain Bay Presbyterian Church, 11 a.m. All are invited. MONDAY, OCT. 29 BRAC PUBLIC MEETING: The Ministry of Community Affairs holds its final district Self-Harm presentation in Cayman Brac. The venue and time of this seminar, held in partnership with the Alex Panton Foundation, will be announced shortly. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31 SEAFARERS: The Seafarers Association wishes to inform all members that there will be the October Costume Party at 7 p.m. in the Seafarers Hall, 11 Victory Ave. Prospect. Come prepared to share your memories of days at Sea. Buses will be provided from West Bay Town Hall at 6 p.m. A bus route leaves the George Town Public library parking area at 7 p.m., stopping at Cayman Compass building and the Airport Foster’s. The bus is blue and marked Bobo $1 Public transport. There is no charge. THURSDAY, NOV. 1 TOBACCO LICENSES: Tobacco license holders are reminded of the 5 p.m. deadline today to apply for their annual license renewals. Annual registration renewal fees are $500 for a retailer, $750 for a cigar bar and $5,000 for a wholesale distributor. In Grand Cayman applications must be submitted at the Business Licensing Counter, first floor, Government Administration Building. In the Sister Islands, submit to DCI Senior Licensing Officer, Lolita Bodden-Arch, in the Bodden and Bodden Building on Cayman Brac. FRIDAY, NOV. 2 CRAFT FAIR: The Church Mice at St. Alban’s have collected a large variety of locally made arts and crafts. All are invited today, 3–6 p.m. at the church, 461 Shedden Road. An attic treasure stall is also featured. Craft Fair continues tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. SATURDAY, NOV. 3 CRAFT FAIR: The Church Mice at St. Alban’s have collected a large variety of locally made arts and crafts. All are invited, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church, 461 Shedden Road. An attic treasure stall is also featured. TUESDAY, NOV. 6 U.K. SCHOLARSHIPS: Today is the deadline to apply to the Chevening Secretariat for U.K. government scholarships to study in the U.K. in 2019/2020. Applications are to be submitted via www.chevening.org/apply. Visit www.chevening.org/ apply/guidance for detailed information on the eligibility criteria and scholarship specifications. Contact Gill Skinner on 244-2431 or gillian.skinner@fco.gov.uk. GENERAL INTEREST CAYMAN ARTISTS INVITED: Artists resident in the Cayman Islands or artists of the Caymanian diaspora are invited to submit photos of work (or work concept drawings/photos), with an accompanying artist’s statement relating the work to the exhibition synopsis for consideration, in electronic format, directed to the attention of the curator at assistantcurator@ nationalgallery.org.ky. Deadline for submission is Monday, Nov. 26, at 5 p.m. For more information, contact public.engagement@ nationalgallery.org.ky. SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Be a volunteer for athlete training at Truman Bodden Sports Complex 5:30 p.m. for basketball skills, track, bocce and football. Swimming on Wednesdays at the Lions Pool 10-11 a.m. or on Saturdays at the Cayman International School pool, 9:30 a.m. Email soci@candw.ky or call 916-2600. SEAFARERS HALL: The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association wishes to inform the community that the hall is now available for rental every day of the week, including Saturdays, as the church is no longer contracted with the association at 11 Victory Avenue, Prospect. LOCAL HARVEST MARKET: Wednesdays and Saturdays at Camana Bay. A produce- only market featuring local farmers. Located in Heliconia Court (the new courtyard next to the building containing Scotiabank). 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. THRIFT SHOP: One Dog At A Time has launched its “New To You” Thrift Shop. Open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the summer. The shop is at Unit 26 at the warehouses on Bodden Road, which runs down the side of Kirk Home Store to the old screen print place. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 68 Mary St. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Email humanesocietybookloft@candw.ky or call 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc. in good condition always needed. COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5-8 p.m., West Indies Wine Company. Join the Cayman Chess Club for a complimentary chess class and open challenges weekly. Anyone can learn to play and enjoy chess, even beginners. ART OPEN CANVAS: At KARoo Restaurant in Camana Bay, Wednesdays 7-11 p.m. Artists of all levels are welcome to come and enjoy painting and socializing with other artists. Includes use of easels, lights, space, beverage ticket. No fee. For more information, contact info@visualartcayman.com or jar.was@gmail.com. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY: Adult Open Studio available to those who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Wednesdays for adults, 9 a.m. till noon. Thursdays Adults and Youth, 10 a.m. till noon. Watler House Art Studio, Pedro St. James. Fee is $5/$15 or Ceramics. $15 pp/$25 pp non-members. Includes use of studio, glazes, and ceramic tools. Clay available $30 per bag/fee for kiln usage. To register, call 546-9422 or email info@visualartcayman.com. CLUBS, ORGANIZATIONS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: Meets daily to help with drinking problems. Call 926-9044 or visit www.caymanaa.org. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Is available for substance abuse help. Call the info line at 929–NANA (6262). AL-ANON GROUP MEETING: Are you troubled by someone’s drinking? Al-Anon Family Groups can help. Call 928-8843 or email caymanalanon@gmail.com for meeting times. OVERCOMERS OUTREACH: A Christ-centered 12-step recovery group addresses addictions and those affected by them. Meetings at Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Tuesdays, 7:15 p.m. For details, contact Vanessa Gilman at 946-2422, or visit www.overcomersoutreach.org. DEMENTIA/ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at ADACI’s office, 4th floor, Cardinall Plaza, 30 Cardinall Ave., George Town. Call 924-4170 or email info@adacayman.com. GRAND CAYMAN TOASTMASTERS: Club meets each Thursday 6-7:15 p.m. on 3rd Floor, George Town Public Library. Visitors and guests welcome. The local contact is George R. Ebanks, 322- 9369 or Grand Cayman Toastmasters club on Facebook. Email info@ toastmastersclub2686.org. ROTARACT BLUE OF CAYMAN: Meets Wednesdays 6 p.m., at Royal Palms Beach Club, West Bay Road. Contact rotaractblue@gmail.com or www.rotaractblue.org. LEO CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets first and third Wednesdays of the month, 6:30 p.m. at the Lions Community Centre. For more information, contact Secretary Letisha Allen at 924-2819. THE LIONS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets every first and third Thursday 7:30 p.m. at the Lions Community Centre. Email lionsclubgcm@hotmail.com. THE LIONS CLUB OF TROPICAL GARDENS: Meet every first and third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Elizabethan Square (corner unit). Members of the public are invited to attend. ROTARY CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN SUNRISE: Service club meetings 7 a.m. every Wednesday at George Town Yacht Club, 612 North Sound Road. Visit www.rotarysunrise.ky or info@rotarysunrise.ky. KIWANIS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets first and third Wednesdays of the month, 12:30 p.m., at The Wharf Restaurant. Projects include promoting well-being of children in the community and schools. Email president@kiwanis.ky or view www.kiwanis.ky. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. Sameena’s Beauty Centre on North Church Street in George Town will hold a ‘Day of Beauty’ on Sunday, Oct. 28, to raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 2018 SCHEDULE FOR BULK WASTE PICKUP Coat of arms road show visits Sister Islands The Cayman Islands coat of arms road show has crossed the water to the Sister Islands, where islanders and visitors on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are learning about the 60-year history of the national symbol. The coat of arms was fea- tured prominently at the Cayman Brac Heritage Au- tumn Festival earlier this month. The road show has now moved on to Little Cayman, where it can been seen at the National Trust House until Oct. 27. As well as learning more about the coat of arms, visitors and residents on Cayman Brac were treated to a variety of flavors and music and local heritage at the an- nual festival, which was held on Oct. 12-14. The event in- cluded a gospel concert that featured visiting interna- tional tenor Steve Higgins and local talent, Elroy Stew- artson, Shionna Clarke and church choir groups. A Heritage Day was also held and featured the Cayman Islands Folk Singers, steel pan band ‘Pan N Riddim,’ a fireworks display, a heritage market, art work- shops, open mic poetry read- ings, and much more. The festival wrapped up with the annual Old Fash- ioned Evangelistic Service. The Girl Guides take part in the parade of flags at the Cayman Brac Heritage Autumn Festival earlier this month. - PHOTOS: SEAN SMITH Alta Solomon reads her poem ‘Inside Me, Bracka Me.’ Carmela McLean shows off her coat of arms couture as Heritage Day MC Quincy Brown peruses a document outlining the national symbols of the Cayman Islands. Ministry: South Sound boardwalk to be finished within a month KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com Work on the $1.3 million South Sound boardwalk is ex- pected to be complete within the next month, according to government. The Ministry of Infrastruc- ture said that work is in prog- ress to realign the road to make room for a bike lane. Benches need to be installed, too. Repairs are also under way on a section of the board- walk that was damaged by a truck last week. The respon- sible party has agreed to cover the costs of the damage and re- pairs have begun, the ministry said on Monday. The development has had multiple delays since it was an- nounced in June 2016 as part of an overall beautification and improvement scheme for the area. In October 2016, Premier Alden McLaughlin said that work would be completed by the end of that year. However, no work seemed to have taken place until the Na- tional Roads Authority changed the alignment of the road and announced in September 2017 that the change was made to accommodate the boardwalk construction. Dozens of traffic cones have extended along the roadside for months, but no work took place until February. Government explained in a press release in Jan- uary that it was working out “technical details” with the project contractor. “A contract was signed with The Phoenix Construc- tion Group late last year, but some final technical details had to be worked out prior to commencement,” government said at the time. Government said in Jan- uary that the project should be completed by the end of June, but what the ministry termed “robust” construction needs pushed that date by about two months. “The construction of the boardwalk had to be robust because of its proximity to the sea and the natural undula- tion of the beach ridge,” gov- ernment said in July. “There is also a ‘peat’ layer [plant matter] under the sand which can cause movement of the layers above it as water is absorbed or released.” Government’s update ex- plained that if the board- walk was simply constructed on top of compacted fill like a typical sidewalk, the material could wash away in inclement weather, crack or wrap over time and eventually lead to structural issues. “The project is constructed with piles and a combination of concrete members and in- lays of Trex planking,” govern- ment explained in July, adding that the project should be fin- ished by the end of August. The South Sound boardwalk sustained damage when a truck ran over it recently. Officials say the boardwalk should be completed next month. - PHOTO: KEN SILVAThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Association had played cru- cial roles for the legal in- dustry in Cayman by repre- senting legal professionals as a whole, encouraging the study of law and promoting honorable practices for a number of decades. “Both associations were essential and important in their own right, however, the time has come for us to merge our knowledge and ex- perience in the creation of an association designed to prog- ress and protect the objec- tives of both,” he said. Where authorized by the Cayman Islands government, the Legal Practitioners Asso- ciation will also act as a su- pervisory authority for the anti-money laundering regu- lations for its member firms, the release from the new as- sociation states. Outgoing Caymanian Bar Association President Neil Timms, QC, said members of the Bar Association consid- ered the merger with the Law Society to be “poignant” and cause for renewed optimism. The Legal Practitioners Association “will be demo- cratic, transparent and with adequate resources to meet the challenges we face, as well as being committed to the training and development of Caymanians within the profession,” he said. Executive members of the Law Society and the Bar As- sociation formed a transi- tional council to work on setting up the new body, creating a new website and forming the first council for the Legal Practitio- ners Association. The members of the first council are David Collins, who is the interim president elect, Alasdair Robertson, Neil Timms, Kendra Foster, Huw Moses, Erik Bodden and James Bagnall. Mr. Collins said the fu- ture for the legal industry in Cayman was bright. “This merger is a hugely positive step for our profes- sion and we are looking for- ward to the growth and de- velopment of Cayman’s legal sector,” he noted. “The cre- ation of CILPA allows us to bring together an extraor- dinary wealth of knowledge and resources from both previous bodies, allowing us a larger and more ac- complished platform to en- sure the continuation of service to Cayman’s legal in- dustry,” he added. The first council aims to organize elections in early 2019. The council will always feature at least two asso- ciation members who are sole practitioners or from a law firm that employs fewer than 10 attorneys, and up to five members who are from larger firms with more than 10 lawyers. At the same, there cannot be more than two council members from the same firm. While all members of the initial council are Cay- manian, in the future the majority of council mem- bers, and the president, must be Caymanian, the press release stated. Membership of the Legal Practitioners Association is open to all attorneys with Cayman Islands practicing certificates. it was concerning that a lack of equipment could impact whether a defendant was held in custody or not. He said his firm was contem- plating a judicial review of the decision and questioned whether the monitors had been adequately funded. He said it was incum- bent on government to either provide more tags or for the courts to manage their use to avoid defendants being treated differently. “I would expect there to be some planning and some monitoring to see if we are reaching capacity,” he said. “Do we simply need more tags?” He added that the issue had a knock-on effect for the prison. “When there is a legit- imate concern of shortage of room at Her Majesty’s prison, this is contributing to the overcrowding,” he said. Julian Lewis, head of the Department of Public Safety Communications, said the courts had asked for more monitors and a request for proposals would be going out to meet that need. In the interim, he said, his de- partment could make tags available in special circum- stances, even when the court was at its capacity. He said there were a handful of spare tags on hand to replace damaged monitors that could be de- ployed in an emergency situ- ation if the courts deemed it necessary. In those circum- stances, he said, the spares would need to be quickly re- placed and the court could manage its list to see who could be removed. Mr. Lewis said the courts were allocated a set number of monitors. He said the Ju- dicial Administration de- partment was aware on a daily basis exactly how many monitors were avail- able, and his office could provide compliance reports on all the offenders in the system, where necessary. Electronic monitors were first introduced as a bail op- tion in 2011 and their use has expanded slightly since then. Mr. Lewis said he be- lieved the system was effec- tive and the vast majority of offenders on monitors complied with the terms of their bail. “I believe in the system because it helps people who don’t need to be in cus- tody get the opportunity [to go out on bail] and they have remained compliant throughout their bail. “The system works. The fact that we need more is being addressed. The ques- tion is how many more? How many do we want out in the community?” he said. Defense Attorney Richard Barton said it was open to the courts to offer a va- riety of provisions for defen- dants on bail without going as far as deploying an elec- tronic monitor. If there were a shortage of monitors, he said, the court could con- sider granting different con- ditions, such as regular re- porting to a police station, although he does accept there may be limited circum- stances where these condi- tions may be inadequate. Mr. Grimwood said it could either be a case of get- ting new monitors or simply managing the use of the existing ones. Amelia Fosuhene, another defense lawyer, said she had also encountered cases where monitors were not available. In most instances, she said, the court was pre- pared to consider other bail conditions. She said there were other key issues that remained un- addressed in relation to elec- tronic monitoring. She be- lieves there is a need for a more formal system of cal- culating how time under a monitored curfew should count as “time served” to- wards an eventual prison sentence. The U.K., for ex- ample, counts each day under curfew as equivalent to half a day in prison. Judges in Cayman have discretion when making that calculation. For example, Nicholas Tibbetts, who ad- mitted to causing the death of a cyclist in a hit-and-run accident, was granted a one- day reduction in his sen- tence for every four days he had spent on an ankle mon- itor. The decision meant he was sentenced to three-and- a-half months in jail, rather than eight months. Had he been granted a half-day credit for each of the 596 days he spent on an ankle monitor, he would not have been jailed at all. In that case, Justice Dame Linda Dobbs said it had been inappropriate to hold Mr. Tibbetts on a mon- itor for so long. “This is a case where, in my judgment, a tag was not necessary,” she added, noting that Mr. Tibbetts had previous good char- acter and strong family and community ties. She urged the Depart- ment of Public Prosecutions to only seek electronic moni- tors when strictly necessary. “There have been cases where the court has wished to impose an electronic tag only to find there are no elec- tronic tags available. This needs to be carefully and ju- diciously handled,” she said. Ms. Fosuhene, who was the defense lawyer in the Tibbetts case, said there should be a clear system of quantifying how time under monitored curfew was de- ducted from the final sen- tence. She said the courts could consider this as part of the equation when de- ciding whether to use monitors or not. adjournment to determine what actions he would take in light of his supposed recent finding. However, at Wednesday’s hearing, no mention was made of the alleged perjury. Wednesday’s hearing marked four years and nine months since Mr. Wong was arrested in December 2013, and was the 14th time Mr. Wong’s matter has been be- fore Magistrate Donalds. At his trial, Mr. Wong said he had been driving west toward his home when his cellphone fell from the seat to the floor of the truck. He said he checked his rear-view mirror and the road ahead, did not see anything, and then bent down to pick up the phone, taking his eyes off the road in the process. Mr. Wong told the court at the time that as he retrieved his phone, he felt a bump and heard a thump, but thought he had hit a pothole and car- ried on driving. Magistrate Donalds said during her verdict in August that Mr. Wong had shown a lack of critical judgment and he had failed to conform to the standards of a reason- able and prudent driver. Mr. Wong was also charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, but was found not guilty of that charge last month. According to evidence produced at the trial, a breathalyzer test given to Mr. Wong at the Bodden Town Police Station after the accident produced a reading of .184. The legal limit in Cayman is .100. However, the arresting officer said he could not confirm whether he was in the room for the test. Mag- istrate Donalds said during her verdict that the inability to unequivocally confirm the officer’s presence raised a doubt. It appeared that there may not have been strict compliance with the law, so the breathalyzer cer- tificate should not have been admitted into evidence. The Traffic Law states that the constable operating an alcohol-in-breath mea- suring device shall do so in the presence of another con- stable and the result of the breath test is to be signed by him and “countersigned by the constable in whose presence it was made …” Without evidence of the alcohol-in-blood level, the magistrate found Mr. Wong not guilty of this charge and acquitted him. Wong sentencing delayed again CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Shortage of electronic ankle monitors taxes courts The monitors, which are strapped to a defendant’s ankle, allow officials in the Department of Public Safety Communications to ensure compliance with curfews and other bail conditions. Cayman Islands legal associations to merge CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 David Collins, interim president of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Gary Wong U.S. NEW-HOME SALES SLUMP FOR 4TH STRAIGHT MONTH WASHINGTON (AP) – Sales of new U.S. homes plunged 5.5 percent in September, the fourth straight monthly drop as the housing market cools with mortgage rates rising. The Commerce Depart- ment said Wednesday that newly built homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 553,000 last month. New-home sales in August were downwardly revised, erasing the previously re- ported gain. The annual rate of home sales has dropped 15.3 percent since May, elim- inating much of the strength in sales from the first five months of 2018. Builders had assumed that a stronger economy would push up sales, yet a greater share of new con- struction is going unpur- chased. There is 7.1 months’ supply of new homes on the market, the highest level since March 2011 when the real estate bust caused by subprime mort- gages was still weighing on the economy. Housing has found it- self in a downturn in re- cent months despite the un- employment rate falling to a nearly half-century low of 3.7 percent. The National Association of Realtors said last week that existing-home sales – the largest share of the market – had plummeted 3.4 percent in September to a season- ally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million. The major culprit for the decline in home- buying appears to be higher borrowing costs. Average 30-year mortgage rates have climbed to 4.85 percent from 3.88 percent a year ago, according to mort- gage buyer Freddie Mac.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018 Spain arrests 15, seizes 5 tons of cocaine Spanish police have arrested at least 15 people in an anti-drug operation Wednesday that saw authorities seize more than five tons of cocaine concealed in a banana shipment in the southern city of Malaga. Bombs sent to Obama, Clintons; CNN evacuated NATO chief says nuclear buildup unlikely despite US threats BRUSSELS (AP) – NATO Sec- retary-General Jens Stolten- berg said Wednesday that he does not expect a nuclear buildup in Europe even as tensions rise over U.S. threats to pull out of a Cold War-era missile agreement amid al- legations that Russia is vio- lating the pact. The United States insists that Russia’s 9M729 missile system contravenes the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and NATO allies agree that is prob- ably the case. The pact be- tween Moscow and Wash- ington bans an entire class of weapons – all land-based cruise and ballistic mis- siles with a range from 310-3,410 miles. Experts say the Rus- sian system would operate at lower altitudes, making it tough to bring down. It could also reach targets across Eu- rope and even the U.S. west coast if stationed in Siberia. Despite concerns about its capabilities, Stoltenberg said he does not “foresee that al- lies will deploy more nuclear weapons in Europe as a re- sponse to the new Russian missile.” But he added that the 29 nations in the world’s biggest military alliance are now assessing “the impli- cations of the new Russian missile for our security.” “We don’t want a new Cold War. We don’t want a new arms race,” he said at a news conference announcing the start of NATO’s biggest military exercises since that era of tensions ended in 1991. The Trident Juncture ma- neuvers in Norway – which shares a border with Russia – will involve around 50,000 personnel, 65 ships, 250 air- craft and 10,000 vehicles. The hypothetical scenario involves restoring Norway’s sovereignty after an attack by a “fictitious aggressor.” The NATO war games come weeks after Russia held its biggest post-Cold War military exercises, in cooper- ation with China. Russian Defense Min- ister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that the in- creased NATO military ac- tivities near Russia’s western border will force it to take countermeasures. “NATO’s military activi- ties near our borders have reached the highest level since the Cold War times,” he said, noting that NATO al- lies are engaged war games “simulating offensive mil- itary action.” Speaking on a trip to Be- larus, Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbor and current ally, Shoigu warned that Poland’s plan to permanently host a U.S. army division would af- fect regional stability and trigger a Russian response. He warned that Moscow will have to “take retaliatory mea- sures to neutralize possible military threats.” Russia-West relations have sunk to a new low since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean pen- insula and its support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Fresh doubts about the INF treaty are a stark re- minder of the way tensions between NATO allies and Russia soared in the 1980s during the so-called “Euro- missiles crisis,” when the United States deployed cruise missiles in Europe to coun- terbalance a perceived threat from Russia’s SS-20 nu- clear warheads. The European Union has urged both the United States and Russia to uphold the INF treaty, saying the pact is one of the cornerstones of Euro- pean security. But Stolten- berg stopped short of calling on Washington, the biggest and most influential NATO member, to stay in the treaty. “The INF is a landmark treaty, but the problem is that no treaty can be effec- tive, can work, if it’s only re- spected by one part,” Stol- tenberg told reporters in Brussels, noting that the “U.S. is in full compliance.” WASHINGTON (AP) – Bombs and other suspicious pack- ages targeting Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama and CNN were intercepted Wednesday in a rash of attacks aimed at prominent Democrats and a cable news network often criticized by political conservatives. A similar device was found Monday at the New York compound of liberal billionaire George Soros, a major contributor to Demo- cratic causes. There were no explosions and no reports of injuries. The White House quickly condemned the attacks. Vice President Mike Pence said they “have no place in this country,” and President Donald Trump tweeted, “I agree wholeheartedly.” The U.S. Secret Service in- tercepted a bomb that was addressed to Hillary Clinton at her Chappaqua, New York, home and a possible explo- sive that was sent to former President Obama in his home in Washington. And a police bomb squad removed a sus- picious package from CNN’s New York headquarters, which was evacuated. Overhead TV shots showed a truck carrying that device, which law enforce- ment officials said was linked to other explosives this week, being driven away. A U.S. official told The As- sociated Press that investi- gators believe the explosive that was discovered near the Clintons’ home was linked to one found Monday at the Soros compound. The official was not au- thorized to publicly dis- cuss an ongoing investiga- tion and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said one of the packages had the return ad- dress of Rep. Deborah Was- serman Schultz, an ironic reference to the former chair- woman of the Democratic National Committee who was accused by Clinton rivals of secretly helping the party’s eventual president nominee. Neither Clinton nor Obama received the pack- ages, and neither was at risk of receiving them be- cause of screening proce- dures, the Secret Service said in a statement. White House press sec- retary Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “These ter- rorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” Two law enforcement offi- cials, speaking to AP on condi- tion of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the pipe bomb at CNN was crude but operational and was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who regularly appears as a televi- sion contributor and who has publicly clashed with Trump. They said it was similar to other explosives discovered in the past few days. Hillary Clinton was at- tending campaign events for Democrats in Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday and was not at the family’s New York residence at the time. Bill Clinton was at the fam- ily’s Chappaqua home at the time the package was in- tercepted at a Westchester County facility, said a person familiar with his schedule. The person said the device was screened at the facility – not in proximity to their res- idence – and never reached the Clintons’ home. A law enforcement offi- cial told The Associated Press that the package discovered at Soros’ home appeared to be a pipe bomb and was in a package placed in a mailbox outside the gates of the com- pound. A Soros employee opened it just inside the gates, not near Soros’ quar- ters, the official said. Neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures, the Secret Service said in a statement. An officer with the Uniform Division of the United States Secret Service sits in his car Wednesday at a checkpoint near the home of former President Barack Obama in Washington. – PHOTO: AP NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks during a news conference Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. – PHOTO: AP WILLA WEAKENS TO TROPICAL DEPRESSION, STILL BRINGS RAIN MAZATLAN, Mexico (AP) – Hurricane Willa weakened rapidly into a tropical de- pression on Wednesday after slamming into a stretch of beach towns, fishing villages and farms along Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 3 storm, though it continued to dump torrential rains over west-central Mexico. Damage assessments were scanty before dawn due to darkness and poor communications, but fed- eral officials said power had been knocked out in some spots and there were early reports of flimsy structures with tin roofs sustaining damage from the 120 mph winds. Before hitting the main- land near Isla del Bosque in the state of Sinaloa, Willa swept over an off- shore penal colony about 60 miles out in the Pa- cific. Authorities declined to comment on precau- tions that were taken at the prison, citing security con- cerns, but said the safety of inmates was a priority. The storm was rapidly losing punch over northern Mexico and was down to tropical depression status before dawn, with max- imum sustained winds of 35 mph – down from its Category 5 peak of 155 mph over the Pacific on Monday. Willa was centered about 75 miles east-north- east of Durango, Mexico, and heading to the north- east at 25 mph. It was expected to dissipate later in the day, despite dumping heavy rains. Willa came ashore about 50 miles southeast of Mazatlan, a resort city that is home to high-rise hotels and about 500,000 people, including many U.S. and Canadian expatriates. Although hotels, res- taurants and stores were boarded over, people ven- tured onto Mazatlan’s coastal boulevard to watch a spectacular sunset as the hurricane obscured the sky to the south. Torrential rains began in the afternoon, and emer- gency officials said they had evacuated more than 4,250 people in coastal towns and set up 58 shel- ters ahead of the dan- gerous storm. Schools were ordered closed.Next >