High of 89 Low of 79 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. LOCAL | PAGE 2 EU TO REVIVE MONEY LAUNDERING BLACKLIST WITH NEW CRITERIA SPORTS | PAGE 10 CAYMAN RUGBY PREPARES FOR EVENT IN COLOMBIA ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 Shoe Tree drives plastic debate Creator surprised tree not cut down KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@compassmedia.ky South Sound has changed drastically over the past decade with housing de- velopments and condominiums fi lling in the beachfront stretch of road. For better or worse, however, one landmark has re- mained: the ‘Shoe Tree’. In reality, the site encompasses three casuarina trees, two living and one dead. Hundreds of fl ip-fl ops and other footwear dot the trees and spill over into the sur- rounding beach. For tourists, the site has become a photo opportunity and a place to leave their mark on Grand Cayman. New fl ip- fl ops nailed to the trees bear messages like, ‘I ! Cayman from MKE, WI’, ‘Don’t mess with TX’, and ‘For our Daddy in Afghanistan’. Travel pages recommend the site as an off-beat attraction. On Google, reviewers have left the ‘historical landmark’ with a 3.9-star rating. For South Sound residents, however, the site has become a point of contention. With all the construction that has trans- formed the neighbourhood, many locals question why the Shoe Tree has remained unchanged. “We have picked hundreds upon hun- dreds of shoes from the ground as they eventually fall off or some are not secured in the fi rst place. They wash into the sea or get buried in the sand. We have to take them to the garbage,” said one resident, Joyce Cantlay. “There is no difference in someone leaving their empty plastic bottle or their plastic shoe. In fact, the shoe is worse be- cause it is not recyclable.” When Wolfgang Brocklebank nailed the fi rst fl ip-fl ops to a dead casuarina in April 2009, he did not have tourism in mind. Instead, he intended for the shoes to serve as a reminder to keep Cayman’s beaches clean. All of the shoes fi rst nailed to the tree were collected by Brocklebank and his - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » American adding seasonal route to Boston MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@compassmedia.ky Starting in January, the time it takes to get a good bowl of chowder, catch a Celtics game or plough into the history of one of America’s oldest cities will be shorter. American Airlines has announced a new non-stop seasonal route from Grand Cayman to Boston on Saturdays, beginning 11 Jan. and running through 6 April. Airline spokeswoman Luren Ruatolo said the new route is part of the company’s ongoing market evaluations. Passengers should not expect an expansion of the sea- sonal route anytime soon. “At this moment, there are no plans for that,” Ruatolo said. She said the route is part of American’s efforts to increase service in the Caribbean. 2 INJURED AS YOUTHS ATTACK SECURITY GUARDS One guard in critical condition A group of youths attacked security guards at the George Town Yacht Club on Sunday night, after being asked to leave the club’s swimming pool. One guard remained in critical condition Monday after being hit by a car and another was hit by a rock thrown by the youths. Police responded to a report of an altercation at the yacht club on North Sound Road shortly after 8:45pm. A security guard had approached four young males who were using a pool facility that was not open to the public at that time, police said. The youths left but returned with two other males and began throwing rocks at secu- rity offi cers. One of the security offi cers was struck and PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » American Airlines’s new non-stop seasonal route from Grand Cayman to Boston will operate on Saturdays, beginning 11 Jan. and running through 6 April. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL NEWS TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 CAYMAN COMPASS BREAKTHROUGH (PG) 1:25 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 SUN: 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 KALANK (PG) 3:10 I 9:00 (SAT ONLY) I 9:30 (NO SAT) SUN: 3:10 I 9:20 LITTLE (PG13) 12:30 I 3:25 (SAT ONLY) I 3:50 (NO SAT) 6:50 I 9:45 SUN: 3:50 I 6:50 I 9:35 DUMBO (PG) 10:30 (SAT ONLY) I 4:35 I 7:15 (NO SAT) SUN: 4:35 I 7:15 CAPTAIN MARVEL(PG13) 1:40 I 10:00 (NO SAT) SUN: 6:30 I 10:00 THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA (R) 1:10 VIP I 4:35 I 7:00 VIP I 10:15 HELLBOY (R) 12:35 (SAT ONLY) I 1:00 I 6:10 (SAT ONLY) I 6:45 SHAZAM! (PG13) 1:30 I 3:40 VIP I 7:15 I 9:30 VIP SUN: 3:40 VIP I 4:40 I 6:40 VIP 8:00 I 9:40 VIP KIDS CLUB: OVER THE HEDGE (PG) (R18) 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. - TUESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE ANGRY BIRDS (PG) MOVIES 2 1:00 VIP | 3:55 3D | 6:30 | 9:00 3D 47 METERS DOWN: (PG13) UNCAGED 12:30 | 2:55 | 7:40 | 10:00 MISSION MANGAL (PG) 12:40 | 6:50 | 9:50 GOOD BOYS (R) 1:20 | 3:35 | 5:15 | 10:10 DORA AND THE LOST (PG) CITY OF GOLD 1:30 | 6:45 THE LION KING (2019) (PG) 4:00 | 9:15 F&F HOBBS & SHAW (PG13) 1:05 3D | 3:35 | 4:05 | 7:10 | 9:50 VIP CLASSICS @ THE CINEMA (PG13) WEIRD SCIENCE 7:00 VIP EU to revive money laundering blacklist with new criteria MICHAEL KLEIN mklein@compassmedia.ky The European Union will reveal a new methodology for its anti-money laundering blacklist of third countries by October. A previous black- list was blocked by EU gov- ernments after a diplomatic row over the listing of Saudi Arabia and four US overseas territories. EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova told the Finan- cial Times that by October the incoming commission would release a new methodology to target overseas jurisdictions that fail to properly tackle money laundering and ter - rorist financing risks. Jourova released a draft dirty money blacklist of 23 non-EU countries in February 2019 that included countries like Saudi Arabia, Panama and Nigeria, which, the commis- sion said, had strategic defi- ciencies in their anti-money laundering regimes. A month later, EU govern- ments rejected the list after heavy lobbying by Saudi Arabia and the United States. EU governments criticised the way countries were selected for their alleged anti-money laundering deficiencies and the short notice given to listed to respond to the findings. Under the process, the EU Commission had first short- listed 54 countries, including the Cayman Islands, based on their economic ties with the EU, their potential sys - temic impact on the integrity of the EU financial system and whether they were classed by the International Monetary Fund as offshore financial centres. For each shortlisted country the Commission then assessed the level of existing threats, the legal framework and controls put in place to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and their effective implemen- tation. The Commission said it had also considered the work of the Financial Action Task Force, the international standard-setter in anti-money laundering. In addition to the 12 coun- tries listed by the FATF, the Commission had planned to add another 11 jurisdictions. Jourova said the new methodology has been devel- oped together with EU gov- ernments, who claimed they had previously not been suffi- ciently involved. Another point of criticism was the lack communication with the third countries that were likely to be listed. “We have admitted this point and said we need to communicate earlier with the states that might appear on the list. That is why we are now reviewing the method- ology,” Jourova told the FT. This new methodology is likely to yield different re- sults, the EU commissioner said, adding that she is still convinced that it was right to list Saudi Arabia. The new criteria will take into ac- count that not all jurisdic- tions present the same level of risk rather than one-size- fits-all approach. The new dirty money list might also introduce a grey list of countries that agree to make the changes recom- mended by the EU. With its anti-money laun- dering blacklist, the EU Com- mission is effectively pulled in opposing directions by EU members states aiming to avoid a diplomatic fallout on the one side and EU par- liamentarians on the other, who would rather see an ex- panded list. Being listed on the EU blacklist would have severe consequences for countries as it requires banks in the EU to apply enhanced due dili- gence measures concerning all transactions involving individ- uals and entities from listed countries. The Cayman Islands gov- ernment is in the process of implementing recommen- dations made by the Car- ibbean Financial Action Task Force following its as- sessment of Cayman’s anti- money laundering frame- work, published in March of this year. Cayman has until February 2020 to remedy the identified shortcomings or face a potential blacklisting by the FATF. Vera Jourova, EU justice commissioner 50 YEARS AGO Cayman on Telex In the 21 Aug. 1969 edi- tion of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, the front page carried a report on a new speedy communication device – the telex. The new Telex service re- cently installed by Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Ltd. in George Town, Grand Cayman, was officially opened on Monday at 9:30am. At this time, the channel to London was open and His Honour the Administrator, Mr. A.C.E. Long, pressed the button on the Printergram machine op- erated by Mr. Alan Francis. The following message was then relayed by the Telex system: “To Henry H. Eggers, Managing Director, Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Ltd.: After 300 years of connection with Britain, the Cayman Is- lands is proud of this new link forged of the 20th cen- tury technology, not only with Britain, but with the world. “On behalf of the Gov- ernment and people of the Cayman Islands, I send greet- ings to the Chairman and Di- rectors of Cable & Wireless for this achievement which will play an important part in our development. – A.C.E. Long.” Straight back came the reply, typed by the machine: “It give me great pleasure to reply to your inaugural mes- sage over the new Cayman Telex link with the world – and to extend cordial greet- ings on my own behalf and on behalf of the Chairman and Directors of C&W. Telex is an invaluable means of international communica- tion and I am confident that this new service which we are providing will play its part in furthering the de- velopment of Cayman and in increasing business op- portunities. Please accept my personal best wishes. – Henry H. Eggers.” Then came a message to the Hon. B.O. Ebanks, Jr., from Mr. A.A. Willett, Di- rector, C&W. “On the occasion of the opening of Cayman’s new Telex link, I would like to take the opportunity of ex- tending greetings and good wishes. I recall with pleasure our meeting earlier this year and hope it will not be too long before we renew ac- quaintance in George Town. Kindest regards, Archie Wil- lett,” to which Mr. Ebanks responded: “Thanks for your greetings. The people of Cayman welcome and appre- ciate this additional service and contribution by C&W to our development. “We look forward to im- plementation of your pro- posed expansion to com- plete our communications. – Benson Ebanks.” … The Cayman Telex Ser- vice is at the moment oper- ating on two channels but is expected that the system will be expanded in the fu- ture. At the moment, local banks and business firms are linked with the system and there will shortly be a public booth at Cable & Wireless, CTO, to enable others to use the service. Telex uses a machine which operates from a type- writer-type keyboard and which automatically conveys, by radio or telephone cable, message direct to the corre- spondent concerned …. Telex is designed to give quick ser- vice and will be cheaper for lengthy communications, re- laying them at a speed of 66 words per minute. FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES AVAILABLE AT CONSTITUTION HALL A charitable foundation will hold its second annual ‘Ready, Set, Learn!’ back-to- school drive on Saturday af- ternoon, 24 Aug. at Consti- tution Hall in George Town. Free school supplies will be available from Pursuit of Excellence – The Lloyd Barker Foundation from 1-5pm on Saturday to those in need of additional sup- plies or for those who are unable to purchase supplies, according to organisers. The event, at the former George Town Town Hall, will also feature face painting, light refresh- ments and entertainment, including a guest DJ. There will also be a paediatrician on site to deliver guidance and tips to facilitate healthy learning throughout the school year. Last year, at its inau- gural school supplies drive, the foundation gave away supplies to 217 students. The front page of the 21 Aug. 1969 edition of The Caymanian Weekly shows Administrator Athelstan Charles Long pressing the button on a Printergram to relay the first telex message from the Cayman Islands to London.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 Round 2 in same-sex marriage fight JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Government’s appeal against a Grand Court decision to le- galise same-sex marriage in the Cayman Islands will be heard next week. A three-day hearing is scheduled to start on Wednesday, 28 Aug. In March this year, Chief Jus- tice Anthony Smellie ruled that the definition of marriage as be- tween a man and a woman was unconstitutional and violated multiple rights. He ordered that the Marriage Law be changed to reflect that same-sex couples are allowed equal access to mar- riage as heterosexual couples. His ruling followed a pe- tition by Caymanian Chan- telle Day and her partner Vickie Bodden Bush, who started court proceedings after being denied the right to marry. Implementation of the chief justice’s decision was delayed after government announced its intention to appeal and suc- cessfully applied for a ‘stay’ until the conclusion of the ap- peals hearing. Three Court of Appeal judges, including president Sir John Goldring, will hear ar- guments from both sides next week, and a decision is expected in October. If government is un- successful in its challenge, it still has the option to appeal to the Privy Council in the UK. In his original decision, Chief Justice Smellie ruled that failure to provide for legal rec- ognition of same-sex relation- ships violated the right to a private and family life, the right to freedom of conscience, the right to freedom from discrim- ination, and numerous other rights under the Cayman Is- lands Constitution. He accepted the couple’s argument that gov- ernment’s failure to amend the law to bring it in line with the Bill of Rights meant that it was the court’s duty to modify the law. Government has raised seven grounds of appeal to the ruling, including its assertion that Sec- tion 14(1) of the Constitution operates as a de facto ban on same-sex marriage. That section reads: “Government shall re- spect the right of every unmar- ried man and woman of mar- riageable age (as determined by law) freely to marry a person of the opposite sex and found a family.” They will also seek to argue that the chief justice gave insuf- ficient weight to the negotiations that resulted in the wording used in the Constitution and that he erred in believing that the clause of the Marriage Law, which defined marriage as be- tween a man and a woman, was passed on religious grounds. A further ground of appeal involves government’s claim that the chief justice exceeded the scope of his powers of modifi- cation under Section 5(1) of the order which brought the Consti- tution into effect. Chantelle Day, left, and Vickie Bodden Bush – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY HEALTH SERVICES AUTHORITY WELCOMES 91 INTERNS More than 90 interns are spending at least part of their summer at the Health Services Authority. By the time it concludes on 15 Sept., the HSA’s Summer Student Internship pro- gramme, which began on 1 June, will have provided on- the-job training for 91 interns. Samantha Smellie, now en- tering her third year of un- dergraduate study in Biomed- ical Science at Kings College London, said she jumped at the chance to work along with the HSA’s Surgical Unit. “This is my third internship with the HSA, and I return each year because of the val- uable clinical experience,” she said. “As an aspiring physician, I think that working for the HSA would be very rewarding because I would be able to treat the members of the pop- ulation that are most in need.” This year, according to a HSA press release, the internship programme was revamped to provide select students with quality work experience that aligned with their interests and career aspirations. The programme was launched in April with an in- formational day, when interns learned what medical, admin- istrative and ancillary careers were available at the HSA. Ap- plications were then screened before students were chosen and placed in a department best suited to their interests. Each placement ranges from four to 10 weeks, with work experiences available in more than 40 departments in both Grand Cayman and at Faith Hospital in Cayman Brac. Samantha Bennett, HSA chief human resources officer, said managers have been im- pressed by the work ethic of the participants this year. “They have adapted and ex- celled in our busy work envi- ronment, which shows promise for their future careers. It is our hope that they will pro- gress through their studies and that the HSA will be their em- ployer of choice when they are ready to permanently join the workforce,” she said. The HSA’s summer intern- ship was created more than 10 years ago and has increased in popularity over the years, attracting many senior high school, university and col- lege students. Interns get ready for their new placements at the internship orientation. Seated at front are, from left, Human Resources Manager Brenda Riley, Chief Human Resources Officer Samantha Bennett, and HR Officer Vashti Morris, all from the Health Services Authority.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or non-profit organisations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Road or emailed to editor@compassmedia.ky at least three days in advance of publication. TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 CAYMAN COMPASS TUESDAY, 20 AUG. SEAFARERS MEETING: The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association will hold a general meeting today at 7:30pm in the Seafarers Hall, 11 Victory Avenue, Prospect. For transportation, three buses will depart West Bay Town Hall at 6pm; the Barnes Bus route in George Town will leave the public library parking area at 6:45pm, stopping at the Cayman Compass building and the Airport Foster’s; Bobo $1 public transport bus, blue in colour, will pick up from British Caymanian, Uncle Bill’s, Walkers Road, Shedden Road and Crewe Road; the bus from East End will pick up at the school parking lot, gas station and Wreck of the Ten Sail, starting at 5:45pm; North Side pick-ups will be at Chisholm’s Store and the soccer field, starting at 6:15pm; Bodden Town pick-ups at Lorna’s gas Station at 6:45pm; Savannah pick-ups at gas station at 7pm. WEDNESDAY, 21 AUG. COMMUNITY DEMENTIA FORUM: The public is invited to a Community Dementia Forum at 6:30pm at Jasmine. The topics will cover risk factors, diagnosis, living with dementia, caregiving and end of life care. Refreshments will be provided. Call 936-1655. STROKE AND STRIDE: It’s the third and final day of the annual Stroke and Strike swim/run. Today’s race includes an 800-metre swim and 2-mile run. Starts at 5:45pm at Sunset House. For more information, visit https://www.triathlon.ky. THURSDAY, 22 AUG. FARM FOOD WORKSHOP: The Department of Agriculture will hold a Farm Food Safety Workshop today, focussing on the importance of food safety in fresh fruits and vegetables. Upstairs at Stacy Watler Pavilion, Lower Valley, Bodden Town. 6-8pm. Free refreshments served. Crop farmers are encouraged to attend. Call 947-3090 to confirm attendance. ‘LOVE BANK’ GLAZING: The National Council of Voluntary Organisations and 3 Girls & A Kiln are teaming up to decorate ‘Love Banks’, which are piggy banks in the shape of the word ‘Love’, to help raise money for the charity. The ‘Love Banks’ will be distributed around the island to encourage members of the public to contribute to the NCVO. 6-8pm at 3 Girls & A Kiln in Camana Bay. $65 donation. Bubbles and bites included. Email ncvo@ncvo.org.ky for more information. FRIDAY, 23 AUG. SENIORS TOUR AND TEA PARTY: The National Gallery and EY welcome seniors for a morning of art and conversation. Beginning with a tour of the exhibition ‘Tropical Visions: Landscape Painting from the National Collection’, with a chance to share stories and memories inspired by the artwork. This will be followed by tea service with refreshments and pastries in the Gallery gardens. Admission is free thanks to sponsorship by EY Cayman. RSVP by calling 945-8111 or emailing receptionvolunteer@ nationalgallery.org.ky by 19 Aug. Transportation assistance can be arranged if requested. SATURDAY, 24 AUG. SCHOOL SUPPLIES GIVEAWAY: Pursuit of Excellence – The Lloyd Barker Foundation Lloyd Barker Foundation is holding its second annual back-to-school supplies giveaway, called ‘Ready, Set, Learn!’, at Constitution Hall (formerly the George Town Town Hall) today, 1-5pm. Free admission. As well as giving away school supplies for students in need, the event includes face painting, light refreshment, special performances and a guest DJ. TUESDAY, 27 AUG. WRECK OF THE TEN SAIL TALK: The National Museum is hosting a Speaker Series: Wreck of the Ten Sail today, 6-7:30pm. Log on to www.museum.ky for more information. FRIDAY, 30 AUG. LOOKY YA: East End District Looky Ya heritage event, hosted by the Cayman Islands National Museum. 10am to 2pm. SATURDAY, 7 SEPT. STORY TIME: Rotary Central Cayman Islands will host a Story Time event this morning at 10:30am at George Town Public Library. The event is free, There will be fun activities and goodies for children, who must be accompanied by an adult. BRAC DG 5K: The 2019 DG 5K run/walk, organised by Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, will be held on Cayman Brac today. The first 400 registrants will receive a special edition hat. The beneficiaries of this year’s run will be the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, the Special Needs Foundation Cayman and the Alex Panton Foundation. A second run will be held on Grand Cayman on 29 Sept. To register, visit www. caymanactive.com/dg5k or email dg5k@gov.ky for more information. FIDELITY FUN RUN: The first of an annual series of 2-mile fun runs will be held today. The next two will be held on 14 and 21 Sept. Starts at 7:30am on Walkers Road, opposite former John Gray High School, then goes to South Church Street before finishing on Denham Thompson Way. Free entry for 15 and under. $10 for one race, $25 for whole series. Awards will be presented to the top 3 male and top 3 female point scorers overall in the series and also to the top 3 male and female scorers in each age group. Register online at www.caymanactive. com/registrations. Late registration possible on the day from 6:30am to 7:15am. SUNDAY, 29 SEPT. BOYS FOOTBALL: Sunset FC is holding its Sunday Morning Boys Football Programme, starting from today. Sponsored by KPMG, the sessions will run from 8.15am to 9.15am for boys in groups A to D and from 9.15am to 10.15am for boys in groups E to G. Groups will be announced before the start of the programme based on registrations. All sessions will be at the Camana Bay Field. Boys from 4 to 11 are welcome to join. Contact Paul Macey at pmacey@usarisk.ky or by phone at 525-0822 for more details. GRAND CAYMAN DG 5K: The 2019 DJ 5K run/ walk, organised by Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, will be held on Grand Cayman today. The first 400 registrants will receive a special edition hat. To register, visit www. caymanactive.com/dg5k or email dg5k@gov.ky for more information. GENERAL INTEREST DVDL INSPECTION CLOSURE: The Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing’s inspection pit at its Crewe Road location will be closed indefinitely on Wednesdays, starting 28 Aug. The inspection pit will be open for business as usual on all other business days. There will be no changes at DVDL’s Breakers location where the inspection pit will remain open for business as usual. Members of the public wishing to have their vehicles inspected on a Wednesday can visit any of the authorised private garages. YMCA SUMMER CAMPS: Camps will take place from 2 July to 23 Aug. across three locations – Field of Dreams, Camana Bay Sports Complex and the Youth Centre at the Cayman Islands Baptist Church in Savannah. For more information, visit www.ymcacayman.ky. On-site registration is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm at the Field of Dreams. The Day Camp team can also be reached at ysummercamp@ ymcacayman.ky. To find out about financial assistance, which is available for families in need, email info@ymcacayman.ky. COUNSELLING SERVICES: The Family Resource Centre and the Counselling Centre have moved. They are now with the Department of Counselling Services at their new home on Mary Street, at 87 West Apollo House. Hours are Mondays and Fridays from 9am to 1pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am to 7pm, and Wednesdays 9am to 4pm. SQUASH CLUB: The Cayman Islands Squash Club hosts a social evening for women on the last Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm, and holds squash beginner lessons for adults every Monday at 7pm. For more information, email info@squash.ky. PIRATES WEEK VENDORS: Food and craft vendors interested in participating in the upcoming Pirates Week Festival can reserve stalls. Food Festival dates are 8, 9 and 11 Nov. A valid DEH Food Handling Certificate must accompany completed application forms. All food vendors must use biodegradable containers and utensils (available from Pirates Week Festival office – limited supply). Space is limited, please register early. Download the application form at www.piratesweekfestival. com/participate. To learn more call 949-5078 or info@piratesweekfestival.com. For more Community Calendar events, visit www. caymancompass.com/events. Rotary Central Cayman Islands will host a free Story Time event on Saturday, 7 Sept., at 10:30am, at the George Town Public Library. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Cayman Compass Ltd. Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@compassmedia.ky Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA EDITOR CATHERINE MACGILLIVRAY A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way”5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 S ah, che THANK YOU TO OUR PLATINUM SPONSOR OCTOBER 5, 2019 The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman www.breastcancerfoundation.ky info@breastcancerfoundation.ky Featuring Special Guest Speaker History buff peers into Cayman past JEWEL LEVY jlevy@compassmedialtd.ky When Christopher Sam‑ uels listened to his mother talk about Cayman’s simpler way of life, he never suspected that years later he would be digging into Cayman’s past. The 46‑year‑old retired po‑ lice officer opened his own Legacy Records Retrieval Ser‑ vices after conducting exten‑ sive research into his own family genealogy, and fig‑ ures others can benefit from his services. “Researching history is fun, challenging and tedious at times, but I like it and don’t really see it as work,” he said. For Samuels, that could mean spending endless hours searching through archive documents, listening to his mother Maria, now 85, tell sto‑ ries of the past, rummaging through someone’s old house or quietly researching his own family tree. Like many people, he wants to find out more about where his family came from, especially after his mother painted such a colourful picture of Cayman’s history over the years. Samuels grew up on School House Lane in George Town but moved to Bodden Town in recent years. He attended George Town Primary and went on to middle school in Jamaica. He spent his earlier years enjoying adventures in the bushes searching for wild fruits with friends in the Rock Hole area. “My mother would always speak of things concerning the past, whether it was per‑ taining to family, friends or people in the community. She would always talk interesting stories, rumours, gossip, or fun tales of the lives of eve‑ ryday people years ago. I ba‑ sically grew up in that set‑ ting where that was regularly done,” he said. What motivated Samuels to begin researching was a news‑ paper article about people in Cornwall looking for a long‑ lost relative. Still, he did not turn his attention to seriously finding out about Cayman’s past until he retired from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service in 2014 after serving more than 20 years. His first objective was finding out more about an‑ cestors from his mother’s side of the family, which took him to the Cayman Islands Na‑ tional Archives. “I wanted to know where her family came from and who they were. Strangely enough, the first piece of doc‑ ument I located was per‑ taining to a property sale and deed gift in 1912 in which my mother’s grandfather, Michael Gracely Thompson, got a piece of property from his grand‑ mother,” he said. He found a will where his mother’s great‑grandfa‑ ther James Panton Thompson willed different pieces of property to his children and grandchildren in 1933. He found his great‑great grandfather’s marriage cer‑ tificate, which was issued in 1886, as well as birth certif‑ icates of some of his great‑ great grandfather’s children. Samuels learned from his mother that Thompson had a shop in George Town be‑ fore she was born, and at some point, sold it to other Caymanians. Samuels has spent seven years interviewing family members and searching for any ties to other ancestors. “I realise there are people out there like me who would like to get access to infor‑ mation about their ances‑ tors but really don’t have the time to do so,” he said. “That’s where I come in.” He said all the old documents he has found are important, but if he had to pinpoint a particular one, it would be the one which listed another great‑great grandfather, Jo‑ seph McGuire Byrd Sr., as being drafted for World War 1 between 1917‑1918. Samuels’ search also turned up a document with the names of 25 local seamen, including Byrd, who had vol‑ unteered in the war efforts. When they were coming home, the Cayman Islands Commis‑ sioner’s Office published a public notice showing when they were due to arrive in Grand Cayman. Samuels has copies of other rare documents and photographs in his collection. His binders also hold in‑ formation and birth cer‑ tificates for his great‑great grandfather’s children and grandchildren and other prominent members of Cay‑ man’s society. Since opening his com‑ pany, Samuels has pro‑ moted the business through word‑of‑mouth. “The documents are just my personal information but at some point, if something happens, I would turn over my findings to the National Archives,” he said. Samuels can be reached at 327‑1223 or csamuels1345@gmail.com. “ I realise there are people out there like me who would like to get access to information about their ancestors but really don’t have the time to do so. That’s where I come in.” CHRISTOPHER SAMUELS Christopher Samuels researches a back copy of a 1976 Northwester Magazine in the Compass Media archives. – PHOTO: JEWEL LEVYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 CAYMAN COMPASS friends at Spotter Bay in East End. Between the ironshore and mangroves, he was sur- prised by how much rubbish he found along an otherwise beautiful beach. “There was so much gar- bage on the beach. It was in- credible,” he said. That day, he estimated they filled 10 trash bags with shoes collected along a 100-feet-long stretch of beach. Back at his apartment, he sorted through 330 shoes, from flip-flops to stilettos. “There was not a single match,” he said. “A lot of them weren’t even the whole shoe. A lot of them were just the rubber sole be- cause that’s what doesn’t biodegrade.” After debating what to do with the shoes, he eventually decided to put them on dis - play at a beach that, at the time, was considered off the beaten track. “They had not built any- thing across the road. There were just mangroves,” he said. The idea was to bring awareness to the waste that washes up and remains on Cayman’s non-tourist beaches. He decided on a tree that had been killed during Hurri- cane Ivan to display his collec- tion. Over three nights, he and a friend worked in the dark- ness, hoping to avoid detection. For several hours a night, he climbed a ladder up the tree and his friend handed him shoes, one after the other. “When a car would go by, I would jump off the tree and hide. I didn’t want anyone to see me doing it,” he said. “I wanted people to be sur- prised. I wanted people to be like, ‘Damn, there is a tree with like 300 shoes on it. What the hell?’” Almost immediately, he started hearing chatter about the tree. “Suddenly everyone was talking about it. ‘That thing is ridiculous. Where did that come from?’” Brocklebank left the is- land shortly after but has kept up with the location through his Facebook page, ‘Cayman Shoe Tree’. The page has at- tracted more than 2,700 fol- lowers, many of whom have left photos of their own contri- butions to the site. Now back living in British Columbia, Canada, as a helicopter pilot, he is surprised by what the site has become. “People writing on the shoes and signing them, that com- pletely was not the point. The tourists don’t know that and I have no idea how it became such a thing,” he said. The Facebook page now starts with a disclaimer: “This Tree is Not a Place to Dump your Garbage and Unwanted Shoes, People!” When Brocklebank’s own sister came to the island on a cruise, he was shocked to learn that her tour guide recom- mended visiting the tree. “The fact that you’re taking a bus of people there,” he said, “That’s so weird.” Plastic-free campaigners are not happy with the site either. Linda Clark, a volunteer with Plastic-Free Cayman, wants to see littering laws en- forced to stop visitors from leaving their shoes at the site. “It’s disappointing that along South Sound, they re- moved the vegetation and left the littered trees,” she said. Even Brocklebank said he cannot believe the tree re- mains standing. “If you’re living in a high- end building, it looks like junk,” he said. Clark added that the Shoe Tree concept has spread to other parts of the island, in- cluding a tree in East End that was recently cleaned up by volunteers. She expressed concerns for turtle nesting season and how rubbish on the beaches can make conditions dangerous for breeding females and their hatchlings. “The best thing is to be re- sponsible with your use of plastic, and if you see it on the beach, remove it,” she said. She encouraged residents concerned with beach waste to attend the next Plastic-Free Cayman clean-up on 21 Sept. Events are scheduled for Barkers and East End in Grand Cayman, and on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. seriously injured by a vehicle that been on the compound, and one of the males who had been throwing the rocks is suspected to have been the driver. The driver fled with the other males and left the vehicle behind at the scene. Another security officer was hit by a rock. Both men were taken to hospital. The man hit by the rock was subsequently dis- charged, but the man struck by the vehicle remained in critical condition, police said on Monday afternoon. Investigators are asking anybody with information to share what they know. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or seen the men at the location earlier in the afternoon can contact the George Town Criminal Investigations Department at 949‑4222. Anonymous tips can be provided via Confidential Tip Line at 949‑7777. Last year, direct flights to Nassau were added from New York’s LaGuardia Air- port and Orlando, Florida. In May it added service from Dallas, Texas to St. Kitts. Currently, Jet Blue also of- fers seasonal non-stop service to Boston. The addition is one of a number of increased op- tions for travelers to and from Cayman. Service to 25 cities in 21 metro areas is now avail- able on a regular basis, in- cluding seasonal routes. Daily flights are available to At- lanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Hou- ston and Miami in the US, and Kingston, in Jamaica. Ad- ditional regularly scheduled flights go to Chicago, Denver and New York in the US; Ha- vana, Cuba; La Ceiba in Hon- duras and Nassau, Bahamas. Seasonal routes to other desti- nations, including Boston, De- troit and Roatan, Honduras, are also available. Booking site informa- tion indicates flights will leave Boston at 9am, ar- riving in Grand Cayman at 1:35pm, and leave Grand Cayman at 2:35pm, arriving in Boston at 6:02pm The price for the roundtrip flight begins at US$352. Shoe Tree drives plastic debate CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The South Sound Shoe Tree is seen shortly after its creation in 2009. - PHOTO: SUBMITTED Plastic‑Free Cayman volunteers clean up a shoe tree at Colliers Beach in East End. - PHOTO: SUBMITTED 2 injured as youths attack security guards CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 American adding seasonal route to Boston CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Two arrested, 55 tickets issued in police’s ‘Day of Action’ The Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service held a ‘Day of Action’ last week that involved 74 officers carrying out high-visi- bility traffic stops, patrols and liquor licence premises checks. During a variety of operations, police issued 55 traffic tickets and arrested two people. On Thursday, 15 Aug., of- ficers carried out operations simultaneously throughout the day and night, including serving warrants, issuing search warrants, traffic stops, mobile and foot pa- trols, and licensed prem- ises checks. According to police, during the operation 55 tickets were issued on traffic operations for several of- fences, including speeding, illegal tint and driving while using a mobile phone; 16 warrants were executed; and two people were ar- rested on suspicion of pos- session and consumption of ganja, as a result of search warrants being executed. “Several liquor license premises were also checked during the day and night, to ensure that they are in com- pliance with the liquor li- cense law,” police said in a press release. During the operation, several detectives and other officers who would normally be wearing plain clothes wore uniforms to increase the visibility of police of- ficers. Officers from various specialist units were also re- assigned to carry out front- line policing duties, and ad- ditional foot patrols were “carried out in certain areas that usually have prob- lems or that are vulnerable to crime”. Superintendent Robbie Graham in charge of Uni- form Services said, “Aside from the numbers of tickets, arrests and warrants that were carried out during our day of action opera- tion, the preventative as- pect that comes as a result of our increased visibility and strategic patrols cannot be measured. We are al- ways seeking to improve officer visibility to ensure community confidence and reassurance.” He added, “While we cannot redirect our re- sources this way on a con- tinuous basis, we hope to carry out similar operations more often in the future, as resources and operational needs permit.” Police said these types of operations are usually car- ried out annually to test re- sponse and operational ca- pabilities on a large-scale. Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay makes a daytime liquor licence check at a local bar during the RCIPS ‘Day of Action’ on Thursday, 15 Aug. - PHOTO: RCIPSThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 Germany may be entering recession Germany’s central bank has issued a gloomy economic report suggesting that growth in the summer continued to shrink, raising the possibility Europe’s largest economy may be entering a recession. 74% of economists in survey see US recession by end of 2021 WASHINGTON (AP) – A strong majority, 74%, of US busi- ness economists appear suf- ficiently concerned about the risks of some of President Donald Trump’s economic policies that they expect a recession in the US by the end of 2021. The economists sur- veyed by the National As- sociation for Business Eco- nomics, in a report released Monday, mostly did not share Trump’s optimistic out- look for the economy, though they generally saw reces- sion coming later than they did in a survey taken in Feb- ruary. Thirty-four percent of the economists surveyed said they believe a slowing economy will tip into reces- sion in 2021. That is up from 25% in the February survey. Another 38% of those polled predicted that reces- sion will occur next year, down slightly from 42% in February. Only 2% of those polled expect a recession to begin this year. In February, 77% of the economists expected a re- cession either this year, next year or in 2021. A strong economy is key to the Republican president’s 2020 re-election prospects. Consumer confidence has dropped 6.4% since July. Trump has dismissed con- cerns about a recession, of- fering an optimistic outlook for the economy after last week’s steep drop in the fi- nancial markets. He said Sunday, “I don’t think we’re having a recession. We’re doing tremendously well. Our consumers are rich. I gave a tremendous tax cut and they’re loaded up with money.” While the economists in the NABE survey generally saw recession coming later than they had in February, the latest survey was taken between 14 July and 1 Aug. – before the financial markets last week signalled the possi- bility of a US recession. Stock markets around the world shuddered as the White House announced 10% tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports, the Chi- nese currency dipped below the seven-yuan-to-$1 level for the first time in 11 years and the Trump administra- tion formally labelled China a currency manipulator. The 226 economists re- sponding work mainly for corporations and trade associations. The economists have previously expressed con- cern that Trump’s tariffs and higher budget deficits could eventually dampen the economy. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on goods from many key US trading partners, from China and Eu- rope to Mexico and Canada. Officials maintain that the tariffs, which are taxes on imports, will help the admin- istration gain more favour- able terms of trade. But US trading partners have simply retaliated with tariffs of their own. Trade between the US and China, the two big- gest global economies, has plunged. Trump decided last Wednesday to postpone until 15 Dec. tariffs on about 60% of an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports, granting a reprieve from a planned move that would have ex- tended duties to nearly every- thing the US buys from China. The economists surveyed by the NABE were scep- tical about prospects for success of the latest round of US-China trade negotia- tions. Only 5% predicted that a comprehensive trade deal would result, 64% suggested a superficial agreement was possible and nearly 25% ex- pected nothing to be agreed upon by the two countries. As a whole, the busi- ness economists’ recent re- sponses have represented a rebuke of the Trump admin- istration’s overall approach to the economy. Still, for now, most eco- nomic signs appear solid. Employers are adding jobs at a steady pace, the un- employment rate remains near a 50-year low and con- sumers are optimistic. US retail sales figures out last Thursday showed that they jumped in July by the most in four months. The survey showed a steep decline in the per- centage of economists who found the $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade “too stimulative” and likely to produce higher budget defi- cits that should be reduced, to 51% currently from 71% in August 2018. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey on Sunday, en route to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. – PHOTO: AP US talks secretly to Venezuela socialist boss BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) – The US has made secret contact with Venezuela’s socialist party boss as close allies of President Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle seek guarantees they will not face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing de- mands to remove him, ac- cording to a senior Trump administration official. Diosdado Cabello, who is considered the most-powerful man in Venezuela after Ma- duro, met last month in Ca- racas with someone who is in close contact with the Trump administration, the official told The Associated Press. A second meeting is in the works but has not yet taken place. The AP is withholding the intermediary’s name and de- tails of the encounter with Cabello out of concern the person could suffer reprisals. The official spoke on the con- dition of anonymity because they are not authorised to discuss the talks, which are still preliminary. It’s not clear whether the talks have Ma- duro’s approval or not. Cabello, 56, is a major power broker inside Vene- zuela, who has seen his in- fluence in the government and security forces expand as Maduro’s grip on power has weakened. But he’s also been accused by US officials of being behind massive cor- ruption, drug trafficking and even death threats against a sitting US senator. The administration offi- cial said that under no cir- cumstances is the US looking to prop up Cabello or pave the way for him to substi- tute Maduro. Instead, the goal of the outreach is to ratchet up pressure on the regime by contributing to the knife fight the US be- lieves is taking place behind the scenes among competing circles of power within the ruling party. Similar contacts exist with other top Venezuelan in- siders, the official said, and the US is in a listening mode to hear what it would take for them to betray Maduro and support a transition plan. Cabello did not immedi- ately respond to a request for comment. But an aide said the US has been increasingly knocking on his door, des- perately looking to establish contact. The aide rejected the notion Cabello was somehow betraying Maduro, saying that Cabello would only meet with Americans with the president’s permission and if it contributes to lifting sanc- tions he blames for crippling the oil-dependent economy. The aide spoke on the condi- tion of anonymity because he is not authorised to discuss political affairs publicly. A person familiar with the July encounter said Cabello appeared savvy and arrived to the meeting with the US- backed envoy well prepared, with a clear understanding of Venezuela’s political prob- lems. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not author- ised to discuss the matter. As Venezuela’s crisis grinds on, a predictable pattern has emerged where Juan Guaidó, who the US and dozens of other countries recognise as Venezuela’s rightful leader, has been unable to woo the mili- tary and take power but Ma- duro lacks enough strength to apprehend his rival or rescue the collapsed economy amid ever-tightening US sanctions. This month, the US slapped a new round of sanctions that seizes all of the Maduro gov- ernment’s assets in the US and threatens to punish companies from third countries that con- tinue to do business with him. Talks sponsored by Norway between the oppo- sition and government have been slow-going and were suspended this month by Maduro, who accused Guaidó of celebrating the US’ “brutal blockade”. Neither Cabello, the Venezuelan military or US government are a party to those talks. WARREN OFFERS PUBLIC APOLOGY OVER CLAIM TO TRIBAL HERITAGE SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Dem- ocratic presidential candi- date Elizabeth Warren of- fered a public apology Monday to Native Americans over her past claim to tribal heritage, directly tackling an area that is proved to be her biggest political liability. “Like anyone who has been honest with them- selves, I know I have made mistakes,” the Massachu- setts senator said at the start of her appearance at a forum on Native American issues in this pivotal early- voting state. “I am sorry for the harm I have caused.” Her past claim to tribal ancestry, which culmi- nated in her release of a DNA analysis last year, had drawn criticism from some Native Americans and dogged her 2020 campaign in its early weeks. But Warren, who last week released a detailed policy agenda to help Na- tive Americans, has since climbed in the polls. Warren drew a standing ovation from the audi- ence at the kickoff of the two-day forum, which is drawing 10 of her White House rivals. The event promises to test Warren’s ability to move beyond the flap over her discussions of her heritage, for which she had previously apolo- gised privately to the Cher- okee Nation. “I have listened and I have learned a lot” from conversations with Na- tive Americans in recent months, Warren said, de- scribing herself as “grateful” for the discussions. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, right, speaks with Constitutional Assembly President Diosdado Cabello at the Supreme Court in Caracas in January 2019. - PHOTO: AP Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren addresses congregants at Reid Chapel AME Church on Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina. - PHOTO: AP8 WORLD®IONAL TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 CAYMAN COMPASS NOTRE DAME FIRE Lead scrubbed from Paris streets UK to pressure social media companies to fight anti-vax info UK PRIME MINISTER UNDER PRESSURE TO RECALL PARLIAMENT LONDON (AP) – Britain’s government plans to call a summit of social media com- panies to discuss what more they can do to fight online misinformation about vac- cines following a spike in measles cases. Although plans for such a gathering were still being worked out, Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concern Monday at the rising incidence of measles. He said Britain had a great record in fighting the disease but things were suddenly “going in the wrong direction”, with 230 new measles cases in the first few months of this year. He said authorities need to address misleading in- formation online about vaccinations. “I’m afraid people have been listening to that super- stitious mumbo jumbo on the internet, all that anti-vax stuff and thinking that the MMR vaccine is a bad idea,” he said while visiting a hos- pital in southwestern Eng- land. “That’s wrong.” Measles is highly infec- tious and health officials say at least about 95% of the pop- ulation must be immunised to prevent outbreaks. In May, Public Health England esti- mated that about 87% of chil- dren aged five had gotten both doses. According to the World Health Organization, there were more reported measles cases worldwide in the first six months of 2019 than in any year since 2006, “with outbreaks straining health- care systems and leading to serious illness, disability and deaths”. The US has reported its highest number of mea- sles cases in 25 years. Some British health of- ficials welcomed Johnson’s proposal but said the coun- try’s health service was al- ready struggling to cope with existing demands. Helen Bed- ford, a professor at the In- stitute of Child Health at University College London, noted that numerous doctors’ clinics were closing and the number of health workers in the country had dropped sig- nificantly recently. “This is a system under pressure,” she said in a state- ment. “We need to put re- sources into increasing num- bers of practice nurses, the skilled workforce who day in and day out vaccine children and adults to protect them against serious diseases.” Johnson set out plans to improve the UK’s vaccina- tion rates, calling for health leaders to renew efforts to ensure that 95% of residents have had both doses of the MMR vaccine. The Depart- ment for Health will deliver a strategy to address the issue this fall and is expected to consider using technology to identify who may have missed a vaccination and to make booking appoint- ments easier. LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday dis- missed the notion of re- calling Parliament from its summer break after leaked government documents warned of widespread shortages and border de- lays in the event of a ‘no- deal’ Brexit. The Sunday Times newspaper published the expectations of what the British government if the country leaves the Euro- pean Union without a with- drawal agreement. Among the most serious: disrup- tions to the supply of med- icines, a decrease in fresh food availability and poten- tial fresh water shortages due to possible interrup- tions in the importation of water treatment chemicals. Economists have long predicted such grim sce- narios, but Brexit backers have dismissed the fore- casts as scaremongering. Johnson’s Downing Street office said the published dossier was “out of date”, and that the House of Com- mons would return as planned on Sept. 3. “I’m not pretending that there won’t be bumps on the road,” Johnson said. “There will be … but if everybody puts their minds to it I have absolutely no doubt that we can get ready.” The opposition Labour Party, which is trying to delay Brexit and organise a government of national unity, pointed to the report as another sign that no-deal must be avoided. Senior party official John McDon- nell supported the demands of more than 100 law- makers who signed a letter demanding that Johnson cut short Parliament’s summer recess to permit debate on the Brexit crisis. Johnson is expected to underscore his commit- ment to leaving the EU on 31 Oct., with or without a deal, later this week when he meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Em- manuel Macron ahead of the G-7 summit in Biarritz. Macron invited Johnson for talks Thursday on Brit- ain’s pending departure from the European Union “in respect of the European principles agreed among the 27” remaining EU coun- tries, according to Ma- cron’s office. PARIS (AP) – Specialists shoring up fire-damaged Notre Dame Cathedral re- turned Monday to the Paris site for the first time in nearly a month, this time wearing disposable underwear and other protective gear after a delay prompted by fears of lead contamination. Meanwhile, clean-up teams swept, sprayed and vacuumed neighbouring streets Monday to scrub away any lead left over from the April blaze that deci- mated Notre Dame’s roof and toppled its spire. Toxic dust spewed into the air as hun- dreds of tons of lead melted in the fire. At the cathedral itself, ac- tivity resumed Monday under strict new lead-protection measures for the stonema- sons, cleanup workers and scientists working on the monument, according to the Culture Ministry. They in- clude throwaway full-body clothing, obligatory showers and a new decontamina- tion zone to ensure that no one tracks pollution out- side the site. The workers are clearing out hazardous debris and studying and consolidating the medieval monument – a crucial first step to pre- pare the fragile cathedral for a years-long, multi-million- euro reconstruction effort. But even this first step is taking longer than expected because of lead worries. Some environmental activ- ists and residents say French authorities underplayed the lead poisoning risks in the aftermath of the blaze. Under pressure from la- bour inspectors, the Paris regional administration or- dered the consolidation work halted in July pending new worker-protection meas- ures. Labour inspectors ap- proved the changes and al- lowed the work to resume starting Monday. Other lead-prevention op- erations are also under way in the area around Notre Dame. Experts are carrying out a deep clean of neigh- bourhood schools and are spraying chemical agents and vacuuming surrounding streets to remove any re- sidual lead. The regional health au- thority said last month that the main lead risk was inside the cathedral itself and its fore- court, and that no dangerous lead levels had been regis- tered since the fire in the sur- rounding streets, where tour- ists and residents circulate. Didier Durand, whose stone- working company Pierrenoel has eight employees working on the cathedral, said he’s eager to get back to work. “Notre Dame hasn’t been saved yet,” he told broad- caster France-Info. “We haven’t stabilised the but- tress structure yet … and we’re losing a lot of time.” The cathedral, its adja- cent park and its forecourt have been closed to the public since 15 April and are likely to stay that way for years. French President Em- manuel Macron has said he wanted Notre Dame rebuilt within five years but recon- struction experts doubt that is possible. Tourists peer through protection panels securing a perimeter around the Notre Dame Cathedral Thursday, ahead of the start of a massive lead decontamination. - PHOTO: AP Prime Minister Boris Johnson talks to patient Logan Rock, age 1, during a visit to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, Cornwall. - PHOTO: PA WIRE9 WORLD®IONAL CAYMAN COMPASS TUESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2019 CHINESE POP STARS PUBLICLY BACK BEIJING ON HONG KONG HONG KONG (AP) – At least eight pop stars from main- land China and one each from Taiwan and Hong Kong are publicly stating their support for Beijing’s one-China policy, eliciting a mixture of disappoint- ment and understanding from fans. Many of the statements came after protesters op- posed to Beijing’s growing influence over semi-auton- omous Hong Kong removed a Chinese flag and tossed it into Victoria Harbour ear- lier this month. Lay Zhang, Jackson Wang, Lai Kuan-lin and Vic- toria Song were among the K-pop singers who recently uploaded a Chinese flag and declared themselves as “one of 1.4 billion guard- ians of the Chinese flag” on their official Weibo social media accounts. Wang is from Hong Kong and Lai is from Taiwan. Some see the public pro- nouncements as the latest examples of how celebrities and companies feel pres- sured to toe the line politi- cally in the important Chi- nese market. Yet they also coincide with a surge in patriotism among young Chinese raised on a steady diet of pro-Communist Party messaging. Song and Zhang, a member of popular group EXO, have shown their Chi- nese pride on Instagram, in Song’s case by uploading an image of the Chinese flag last week with the cap- tion “Hong Kong is part of China forever.” Such posts would only be seen by their international fans be- cause Instagram, like most Western social media sites, is blocked by the ruling Chinese Communist Par- ty’s censors. For over a decade, South Korean entertain- ment agencies have been grooming Chinese singers to be part of their Korean pop, or K-pop, bands in an attempt to win over the massive mainland Chinese market. Only a few made it to a much-coveted debut. But a number of Chinese K-pop stars – citing unfair treatment – left their K-pop groups to pursue lucra- tive solo careers in main- land China. K-pop fans reacted swiftly to the avowals of allegiance to China. Some called it shameful, while others were more understanding. Florida’s iconic palm trees threatened by invasive disease DAVIE, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s iconic palm trees are under attack from a fatal disease that turns them to dried crisps in months, with no chance for recovery once they become ill. Spread by a rice-sized, plant-hopping insect, lethal bronzing has gone from a small infestation on Florida’s Gulf Coast to a nearly state- wide problem in just over a decade. Tens of thousands of palm trees have died from the bacterial disease, and the pace of its spread is increasing, adding to environmental woes of a state already struggling to save its other arboureal icon, citrus trees, from two other diseases. Florida’s official state tree – the tall, broad-leafed sabal palm – is especially suscep- tible and Florida nurseries, businesses and homeowners are taking a financial hit as they scrap infected palms. Some preventive measures can be taken, but once infected, uprooting the tree is the only practical solution. “Getting this disease under control is essential because it has the potential to drastically modify our landscape,” said Brian Bahder, an entomolo- gist who studies insect-borne plant diseases and is a leader in the state’s battle against le- thal bronzing. If nothing is done, Bahder said, “I don’t think all the palm trees will die, but the issue we see will get a lot worse before it gets better.” Lethal bronzing, which ex- perts say likely originated in Mexico, also is found in parts of Texas and throughout the Caribbean. Some worry it will migrate to California and Ari- zona, infecting date palms and damaging that fruit crop. The disease has already heavily damaged Jamaica’s coconut plantations, and Brazil is taking preventive measures to avoid invasion. Coincidentally – but con- veniently – lethal bronzing is attacking palms right outside Bahder’s office at the Univer- sity of Florida’s agriculture re- search station near Fort Laud- erdale. Some are dying, some are dead. This gives him a lab to test ideas and make presentations, so he is not removing infected trees as recommended. “To understand the dis- ease, I need to watch it spread and see what it is doing,” said Bahder, an assistant pro- fessor with UF. Lethal bronzing’s first Florida appearance came near Tampa in 2006, but it’s now found from the Keys in the south to Jacksonville in the north. The disease is trans- mitted solely by the haplaxius crudus, a tiny winged insect sometimes called the American palm cixiid or, generically, a treehopper. These specific tree- hoppers (there are other kinds) inject the bacteria through their saliva when feasting on the sap from a palm’s leaves. Any palm cixiid that later feeds from the tree will pick up the infection and pass the bacteria to more palms. Thousands flee from ‘monster’ wildfire on Canary Islands LISBON, Portugal (AP) – An out-of-control wildfire in Spain’s Canary Islands was throwing flames 160 feet into the air on Monday, forcing emergency workers to evac- uate more than 9,000 people, authorities said. The blaze – described by the local fire department as “a monster” – was racing across parched woodlands into Tamadaba Natural Park, regarded as one of the jewels on Gran Canaria, a moun- tainous volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean archipelago off northwest Africa. Famous for its beaches and mountains, Gran Canaria and its capital, Las Palmas, are popular European va- cation destinations but the blaze was in a rugged in- land area. No hotels were re- ported evacuated. Canary Is- lands President Ángel Víctor Torres said 1,100 firefighters were being deployed in shifts along with 16 water-dropping aircraft to battle the blaze that started Saturday after- noon. The local government said around 14,800 acres had been charred in just 48 hours, villages were evacuated and two dozen roads were closed. Emergency workers faced huge flames and gusting winds that blew embers into the air, starting secondary fires, local fire officials said. Summer temperatures Monday were expected to hit nearly 97 degrees Fahrenheit and build to 100 F later this week. The Spanish caretaker government’s farm minister, Luis Planas, told a news con- ference in Las Palmas that Madrid sent a “cutting-edge” drone to the island that can livestream images of the fire at night. One aircraft on Gran Canaria also coordinated aviation movements to pre- vent an accident in the busy skies, he said. Planas said the official re- sponse to the fire on Gran Ca- naria was one of the greatest firefighting deployments re- cently in all of Spain. Gran Canaria is the third- largest island in the Canary Islands archipelago, which is 93 miles west of Africa. About 31 miles in diameter, Gran Canaria has a popula- tion of 850,000. Wildfires are common in southern Europe during the parched summer months but changing lifestyles and the emptying out of rural areas have made woodlands more vulnerable, experts say. Gran Canaria emer- gency chief Frederico Grillo said recent blazes on the is- land are much worse now than when families worked in the countryside and kept the forests more orderly, pri- vate news agency Europa Press reported. A helicopter operates over a wildfire in Canary Islands, Spain on Monday. The wildfire threw flames 160 feet into the air and spurred the evacuation of more than 8,000 people. - PHOTO: AP The fire on the mountains of the Canary Islands is seen in this view from Santa Cruz de Tenerife island, Spain, early Monday. - PHOTO: AP Brian Bahder, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida, points to a cabbage palm tree that died from a lethal bronzing disease in Davie, Florida. - PHOTO: AP Lay Zhang of South Korean K-pop group EXO member, seen here speaking at a 2015 press conference, is among several Chinese K-pop stars to publicly state their support for the one-China policy in recent days. - PHOTO: APNext >