Archive for July, 2013
Pope Francis: “Who am I to judge a gay person?”
(CNS): Pope Francis has softened the Vatican's attitudes to homosexuality but affirmed its resistance to female priests. While taking questions from reporters on the plane back to Rome from Brazil last week, the Pope was asked how he would respond to learning that a cleric in his ranks was gay, though not sexually active. "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" he said in Italian. "You can't marginalise these people." Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, formally barred men with what the Vatican deemed "deep-seated" homosexuality from entering the priesthood.
But Pope Francis said gay clergymen should be forgiven. When someone sins and confesses, he said, God not only forgives but forgets. "We don't have the right to not forget," he said.
"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well," Pope Francis said in a wide-ranging interview with Vatican journalists. "It says they should not be marginalised because of this but that they must be integrated into society."
The pontiff also addressed the question of the Vatican's reported "gay lobby", saying he hasn’t run into significant resistance to reform inside the Vatican, and joked that if there really is a “gay lobby” he hasn’t yet seen it stamped on anyone’s ID cards. However, he condemned lobbies in general.
"The problem is not having this orientation," he said. "We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem."
Asked about Italian media reports suggesting that a group within the church tried to blackmail fellow church officials with evidence of their homosexual activities, the Pope stressed that Catholic teaching calls for homosexuals to be treated with dignity but it was something else entirely to conspire to use private information for blackmail or to exert pressure.
Francis was responding to reports that a trusted aide was involved in an alleged gay tryst a decade ago. He said he investigated the allegations according to canon law and found nothing to back them up. But he took journalists to task for reporting on the matter, saying the allegations concerned matters of sin, not crimes like sexually abusing children.
On the role of women in the Church, he said: "We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity, there must be more. "But with regards to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says no … That door is closed."
Barcadere wins annual construction design award
(CNS): The Barcadere Marina in George Town was the winner of this year’s Governor’s Award for Design and Construction Excellence and also won the special award for sustainability. Designed inside and out by local architectural firm Chalmers Gibbs and owned by The Barcadere Ltd, the new marina sits on a site where the oldest documented landing dock in the George Town area appeared on maps in the early 1700s. It eventually became known for its sea turtle pens, or “turtle crawls”, where schooners would deliver their catch. Today, it is home to a modern, mixed-use, environmentally friendly marina, which won the award from a shortlist that included Kirk Harbour Centre in George Town and the West Bay Office Building.
The other six nominations were: Appleby Tower, George Town; the George Town Library; Mayfair House, Britannia Estates; 94 Solaris Building, Camana Bay; Willow House, Cricket Square, George Town; and Spanish Colonial Revival House, Yacht Club.
Norman Bodden, Jim Scott and Natalie Urquhart sat on the judges panel with Gary Benham of the Governor’s Office; Jacqueline Bleicher, the president of the Cayman Society of Architects, Surveyors & Engineers; and Heber Arch, the president of the Cayman Contractors Association.
With Chalmers Gibbs as the architects, the general contractor for the fuel station, changing rooms and Scot Marine Building was Arch and Godfrey (Cayman) Ltd, while Phoenix Construction built the George Town Yacht Club and the swimming pool.
Announcing the winner at a special dinner at Government House Thursday evening, Governor Duncan Taylor said the winner had emerged as the stand out entry from a very strong field.
“The Marina offers a new world class, sustainable facility which offers a fabulous Caymanian experience for residents and visitors alike,” Taylor said. “I was impressed with the way that sustainability was built in to the design briefs for all of this year’s entries. The Marina project has an impressive and innovative approach to sustainability.”
The Barcadere covers 20 acres around an existing marina on the Southwestern shore of Grand Cayman’s North Sound. The marina first opened in 2009 but it is only recently that it began to take shape as a fully developed facility with the opening of the George Town Yacht Club, restaurant, and bar in February this year. This also includes a dip pool and “beach” area along with a private members lounge upstairs, with stunning views out over the North Sound.
The term "barcadere" has been used by Caymanians for centuries and is an adaptation of the French “débarcadère” meaning a “landing place” for boats and the Spanish words “embarcadero” or “embarcado” meaning “a place to from which to embark or disembark on a nautical voyage.
Barcaderes, or landing places, were once all around the coast to facilitate the launching and retrieval of vessels with relative ease as the islands seafaring industry developed. The term eventually fell into disuse, as did most ofthe sites over the years, but at one time or another every single district had at least one.
The site of the new development was also Grand Cayman’s first airport when the Converted navy PBY “Catalina” seaplanes would land on the water and tiny skiffs would collect the passengers from the seaplane’s anchorage.
Cops catch burglary suspect
(CNS): The burglary suspect who was chopped in the head with a machete by a homeowner as he entered a house in Sandy Ground Road, Savannah, last Thursday has been arrested and is in police custody. The 28-year-old man was arrested in the George Town area late Sunday night and was immediately conveyed under police guard to the Cayman Islands Hospital, where he received treatment for his injuries. He is now in custody at George Town police station on suspicion of burglary. At about 11:30 on 25 July, a green Honda car with three men inside approached the house. One of the men left the car, broke a window of the house and then entered the building. However, the householder was home and he confronted the suspect and struck him with a machete.
All three men were said to have dark skin and were wearing ‘construction attire’.
anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Bodden Town police station 947-2220, the RCIPS tip-line 949-7777, or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS).
Court of Appeal returns to major criminal cases
(CNS): Following a week dealing with financial and civil cases, the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal will hear some serious criminal appeals on conviction and sentences this week and the crown’s appeal against the acquittal of Devon Anglin for the murder of 4- year-old Jeremiah Barnes in February 2010. The director of public prosecutions (DPP) is hoping for a retrial in the case, which was tried by judge alone in August 2011. The appeal has been listed during several of the appeal courts session but problems with attorneys in the case have led to its postponement. However, during the last CICA session the panel of judges made it clear that there would be no further adjournments and that the case would be heard this time.
The judges set aside two days for the appeal, which starts Tuesday. Today the appeals court is scheduled to hear appeals on convictions and sentences in five other criminal cases, including firearms convictions, rape, sexual assault and a case of assault by former police officer Rabe Welcome, who has remained on bail since his conviction for wounding after he broke the arm of Adolphus Myrie as he executed an arrest while off duty in 2009.
The appeals court will be sitting from 10am in Court 2.
West Bay 4 say CIG stalling
(CNS): The Cayman Islands government is stalling in its attempt to throw out the legal action by four local women opposing the closure of the West Bay Road, the ladies claimed Friday. The lawyer representing them said that the strike out application, which was withdrawn on Thursday, was misconceived in the first place, as it claimed that the plaintiffs had no cause of action. Attorney Irvin Banks said the crowns lawyers had implied that the women's action was an abuse of the process of the court without evidence other than the statement of claim itself in support of their application, he said this mistaken position served to delay the case while the former Cabinet proceeded to close the road.
The four West Bay ladies, Alice Mae Coe, Annie Multon, Ezmie Smith and Betty Ebanks, the plaintiffs in the case, also revealed that they have not yet received a response to a letter they set to government in March asking why the previous minority Cabinet gazetted that closure despite the court action.
Following their first victory last week, when the office of the attorney general halted its attempts to have the action thrown out and the case was set for trial, the women revealed that they are still waiting for an answer to a letter sent in March asking why the government and the National Roads Authority (NRA) had proceeded, even though the action alleges serious irregularities with the whole agreement signed by former premier McKeeva Bush in December 2011.
According to Banks, the controversial ‘NRA agreement’, which was meant to be part of a wider deal with the Dart group known as the ForCayman Investment Alliance, cannot be a ‘stand alone’ agreement, as it has been referred to, if thatagreement itself is flawed, irregular and illegal.
“It is now possible that the Plaintiffs will file and serve their own summons to address the fact that the National Roads Authority et al feel they can continue with the NRA Agreement despite the delays in the Writ Action, which are not the fault of the Plaintiffs in the matter,” the ladies warned in a statement released Friday.
In the meantime, the plaintiffs are preparing to move forward with their writ action in accordance with the orders of Justice Alex Henderson, the judge presiding over the action.
The ladies said that if their action is successful, it would not be just for them but “an even greater victory for the more than 4,000 individuals who signed the 2011 petition as well as the many other supporters of the cause, and for the wider Cayman community.”
More than 2,300 registered voters and almost 1,400 residents signed the petition against the roads closure. It was given to the governor but his office passed it on to the premier at the time, McKeeva Bush, who had signed the original deal and ignored the petition.
The NRA agreement has divided the community, with some believing that it is a step towards a development that will stimulate the economy. However, many people do not believe that the deal represents value for money for the public purse, and further negotiations behind closed doors after the deal was signed have failed to rectify the imbalance, which was noted in the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers review of the deal.
The situation has been further complicated by the gazetted closure of around a third of the stretch proposed to be closed in the deal and the fact that it is now partially underneath an artificial beach made from crushed rock, which is understood to have been imported from South America.
The new government has re-opened talks with Dart and is seeking ways in which some form of road access can be reconstructed in the area. During and after the election campaign the PPM proposed that the West Bay Road be retained and if necessary redirected behind the proposed new hotel and condo development on the site of the former Courtyard Marriott.
However, the government has also inherited the ladies' suit, and despite their own reservations about the deal, is at present continuing to fight against the claims made by the women that the agreement and the closure is unlawful.
FOI appeal set for trial
(CNS): According to court documents, the battle between Information Commissioner Jennifer Dilbert and the governor’s office over an FOI request has been listed for trial on 30 October. The current governor, Duncan Taylor, initiated the appeal against a decision by Dilbert ordering the release of records relating to the controversial internal RCIPS probe, Operation Tempura, but because he will be leaving the Cayman Islands in September, Helen Kilpatrick, who was announced as the country’s new governor in June, will pick up the case. If the case does go to trial later this year, as is expected, it will be the first courtroom challenge to a decision by Dilbert.
Sir Justice Alan Moses, who is currently handling the case, has said that John Evans, the person who made the original FOI request for the documents but who dropped his request following Dilbert’s ruling, has ceased to be directly affected by the case.
The issue surrounds a report on the results of a complaint made by Martin Bridger, the lead investigator on the ill-fated operation into alleged police corruption in Cayman that began in 2007. The FOI request made by Evans, a former reporter with Cayman Net News who was involved in the original investigation, was denied by the governor's office but following the FOI appeal process, the information commissioner ordered the report’s release.
Shortly afterwards, Evans withdrew his FOI application but by that time the governor had filed a court action to appeal the decision and, given the public interest in the document, the commissioner has nevertheless pressed on, hoping that the courts will back her order for release in line with the law.
The document is believed to reveal a number of embarrassing issues for the governor’s office over the handling of the entire bungled operation. It is also understood to detail the allegations by Bridger thatthe governor at the time, Stuart Jack, and Attorney General Sam Bulgin were both aware of an alleged illegal late night entry into the offices of Cayman Net News by John Evans and Lyndon Martin, who were employees of the newspaper looking for evidence of RCIPS corruption.
Although the real ins and outs and motivations for Operation Tempura remain a mystery, Bridger has implied that the entire affair, which lasted some two years, was based on the fact that the commissioner of police at the time, Stuart Kernohan, and senior police officer, John Jones, had unlawfully authorized the two reporters to ‘break-in’ to Net News and look for incriminating emails between their boss, the late Desmond Seales, and Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis, allegations which were very quickly discovered to be unfounded.
Bridger has since stated that what seemed to be a bungled burglary was authorized by Larry Covington, the FCO’s regional security advisor, and that both the former governor and the attorney general knew that Kernohan had decided to take this course of action before calling in an outside police team to see if they could get to the bottom of the accusations that a senior RCIPS officer was feeding police operational information to the newspaper.
As the FOI challenge by the governor, which was filed in January with the courts, moves slowly through the judicial system, Bridger is also fighting for the right to use the report and related complaint as well as other documents he has in his possession in his own legal battled with Kernohan, who has filed an unlawful dismissal suit and civil action against the CIG and the Tempura boss.
Although Bridger has seen the report, which cost the public purse around $300,000 to produce, he has been bound by a confidentiality order not to release the content.
But some of the document’s content was reported in the UK press and the former Scotland Yard cop's main gripe was that his investigation was prematurely ended by the authorities in Cayman in what he claims amounted to an orchestrated cover-up of errors and bad decisions by the powers that be.
Given the costly efforts that the governor’s office continues to make to keep the content of the report secret, it is unlikely that trial will be open to the public. However, if the court upholds Dilbert’s decision or if Bridger wins his battled to use all of the document’s in the Kernohan case, then the Cayman public, which footed what is believed to be the $10 million bill for the investigation, Bridger may eventually be able to put the Operation Tempura pieces together.
See court order below.
Related article on CNS:
Cayman lottery
About 10 years ago the government set up a committee to look into the potential of a lottery in Cayman. I was asked to chair the committee. We found that around 15,000 persons were in the 'Numbers' database at the time and in an unofficial poll found that 70% of the public supported having a lottery in the Cayman Islands … about half that amount supported casinos.
Based on information gathered, we estimated that around $700,000 per week was put into the Numbers system in Cayman, with some $200,000 plus returned to players. We found that quite a bit was being spent weekly on the Florida lottery and also online lotteries from around the world. We were also made aware of card, domino, blackjack and such games being played regularly for money.
We estimated conservatively that a legal lottery would begin with around $50 million per year being placed into it and that number would double very shortly afterward, with international players (cruise ship passengers, etc) being added to the mix. Of that, the return directly to government would be $20-30 million per year shorlty after start.
We did receive some negativefeedback from the churches, who we also had discussions with; their biggest concerns seem to be the casinos. Given the size of the 'Numbers database', it is clear that churchgoers were also purchasing Numbers. Of course, a downside to gaming is that folks who can least afford to will spend on a lottery but they do now anyhow.
We looked at lottery systems around the world, from daily/weekly system to online lotteries to lotteries such as "El Gordo", the Spanish lottery which has 4 or so mega-draws each year. We communicated with Camelot, which runs the UK lottery. We proposed to government at the time, based on our research, that the lottery be set up here and run by an independent company licensed by government (similar to Camelot) and that a percentage fee for such a license be paid directly to government.
So … I say all that, to say that lotteries are welcomed (wanted) in the Cayman Islands and that the government can make money from allowing one to be created here. The Numbers game is live and active, so we thought the country should make money from the existing gambling. My gut reaction … it is time to legalise the lottery, folks.
Vote in the CNS Poll: Do you think there should be a legal Cayman lottery?
Injured burglar still on run
(CNS): Police are increasingly concerned about the suspect burglar who was chopped on the head with a machete yesterday by the householder of the property he was trying to rob. The man thought to be in his twenties, has not approached any medical facility for treatment but is understood to have received a serious head wound. He was one of three people involved in an attempted burglary at a house in Sandy Ground Road, Savannah, Thursday, none of whom have yet been picked up by police. An RCIPS spokesperson said that while investigators want to talk to them about the crime, the priority now is that the injured suspect receives the necessary, possibly urgent, medical treatment he needs.
A police spokesperson explained that enquiriesin the case so far suggest that when he fled the house on foot, he emerged from the Pedro Castle area onto Shamrock Road near to the Texaco gas station and Wendy’s at Countryside around lunchtime yesterday. He is described as dark skinned, in his 20’s and was wearing a dark coloured baseball cap, a purple shirt, and dark coloured 3/4 length pants.
“It is vital that this man is treated as soon as possible,” said Chief Inspector Brad Ebanks. “We believe that the head injury he received was serious. He has also lost a lot of blood. We understand that he may be concerned about coming forward, but we can assure him that at this stage his health is our major concern. It may be that he is lying low on his own – so we would ask people to check their gardens and any outhouses.
“He may be seriously ill and unable to call out for help. I would also appeal to anyone who is harbouring the man to contact us urgently so that we can get him the treatment he needs,” the senior officer added.
“The suspect was with two other men yesterday – if you are one of those men and you know where your friend is located, do the right thing and contact the police or the medical services now,” he said.
Anyone who saw the man in Shamrock Road yesterday between 11:30 am and 12:30pm near to the Texaco gas station , Wendy’s or on Hirst Road near Countryside, should contact Bodden Town police station on 947-2220, the RCIPS tip-line 949-7777, or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS).
Related article:
Panton calls for precise info
(CNS): The need for accurate information on unemployment among Caymanians and their skill sets versus the jobs available will be fundamental to the new government’s goal of putting local workers first, Wayne Panton said Friday. The Cabinet minister said that, at present, the government system that is supposed to match local people out of work with vacancies is simply not working and part of the problem is the lack of accurate information recorded and held by the agency involved. Panton said that while government estimates that unemployment is somewhere between 1,900 to 2,000, it could me more or even less. But the precise information is not available and that needs to be addressed. (Photo by Mark Lewis)
Panton said government has to have accurate and credible information on not just how many people are out of work but what skill sets or experience those workers hold and exactly what jobs are available in order for it to adopt a better system that will match the two together.
Speaking on the Rooster’s morning radio show, Crosstalk, on Friday, Panton said that the government’s priority was to get unemployed Caymanians back at work, and given that the country has the unique situation where half the workforce are on permits, finding places for locals who need jobs should not be this difficult.
“Our Achilles heel is that we don’t have a system that works properly,” Panton said. “The workforce agency is designed to meet the essential needs of matching vacancies to the unemployed but it isn’t working. We need to understand who are the unemployed Caymanians and what jobs are available and then what the skill sets are of those that are out of work and what are the legitimate requirements of the employers.”
Panton said that while the majority of employers are law abiding and understand that when local people arefully employed the economy functions better, which is better for business, there are some that try and beat the system.
“We need them to know we are not going to sit idly by and accept that happening,” he added. “This government is very much interested in addressing this problem and to ensure that Caymanians are given priority for jobs, training and development as required by law.”
The minister, who has responsibility for financial services, one of the country’s two major industry employers, said the PPM government would not turn a blind eye to infringements regarding work permits and employment in exchange for political support.
“We want a fair system that benefits everyone and there is no reason why we can’t address this given that half the work force is on permits,” he said.
Echoing sentiments expressed by the former UDP labour minister, Rolston Anglin, in an interview with CNS recently about the government’s job agency not functioning properly, Panton said, “We need the best possible information to create the right policies. Without the precise information we can only guess where the problems are … It is essential for us to understand as the policies can only be informed by accurate statistics."
He continued, “Our commitment is to Caymanians, to the economy and to the country. We have a 'Caymanian first' policy and the decisions we make will be about achieving a balance between Caymanians and the needs of the economy and we are taking the necessary steps to implement policies before the end of year.” He added that he was confident the new government would achieve what it set out to do to address unemployment in the local workforce.
Panton emphasised that this government would be enforcing not just the letter of the immigration laws but also the spirit of the law to ensure local people were participating fully in the economy.
Charity centre calls on lawyers to help with caseload
(CNS): The Legal Befriender Service is in dire need of lawyers to help the centre provide critical legal assistance to those in need. In recent weeks it has seen a decline in the lawyers available to provide the service but its clients are consistently require assistance. There are some 500 registered lawyers in the Cayman Islands and while they are expected to do some form of pro bono work they are under no obligation to do so. The service provides information and guidance to individuals facing difficult situations, free of charge. It has strong support from the judicial administration and with the Chief Justice actively promoting the involvement of attorneys in pro bono work the charity is hopeful that it can attract at least a few pairs of legal hands from those on island.
The charity support group was established by the Business & Professional Women’s Club but it is now coordinated by the Family Resource Centre
“In the last few months, there has been a decline in lawyers available to provide the service, but clients steadily require assistance,” spokesperson said as she asked for the help of the legal community.
This service provides information and guidance to individuals facing difficult situations, free of charge. It has strong support from Judicial Administration and the Chief Justice wishes to actively promote the involvement of attorneys in pro bono work.
Contact the Family Resource Centre to learn how you can help via email: frc@gov.ky, phone: 949-0006 or visit www.facebook.com/familyresourcecentre