02022026 BUSINESS

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN investors and companies could collectively raise up to $200m in the capital markets this year, an investment bank chief is predicting, as they continue to shed the “gun shy” inhibitions sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Anderson, RF Bank & Trust’s president, told Tribune Business that while many in the private sector are still trying to regain the necessary “confdence to move foward” following the pandemic-induced shock he believes 2026 will be “a good year” for debt and equity capital raises as the local market builds on the growing activity seen in 2024 and 2025.

Disclosing that RF Bank & Trust and its afliates expect to be involved in between $50m-$100m worth of capital-raising transactions themselves in 2026, he added that when other investment houses are included the total amount raised from investors seeking higher returns than the negligible interest available on bank deposits could easily be double the latter fgure.

“RF is working on a number of transactions it’s likely to bring to market, and CFAL has been bringing a lot of things to market over the past year,” Mr Anderson told this

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE convicted paedophile and sex ofender, Jefrey Epstein, was advised that The Bahamas “will welcome you with open arms” amid a sustained efort to interest the now-deceased fnancier in acquiring private islands and high-end real estate.

E-mails among some three million Epstein-related documents released by the US Justice Department on Friday expose a prolonged efort by Brian Webster, head of a Palm Beach real estate frm, to interest the disgraced

• RF chief predicts ‘good year’ as ‘con dence’ rebuilds

• But over $3bn still ‘sitting on the sidelines’ in banks

• ‘Lot of opportunity’ as Property Fund targeting $40m

newspaper. “My sense is there’s a bit more activity. I think 2026 will be a bigger year in terms of capital market activity.

“We’ll see more coming to market - whether it’s property development or raising capital to grow their business. There’s opportunities to raise capital to grow a business or take over another business. The years 2022 and 2023 were relatively quiet, 2024 was a start back and 2025 was a good year. We had quite a few deals getting funded.”

With the underlying Bahamian economy’s fundamentals still relatively robust, despite continued global geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over Donald Trump’s trade and tarif policies for the US, Mr Anderson said this nation still faces the challenge of trying to put the $3.17bn in excess liquid assets in the commercial banking system to work by expanding productive businesses and industries.

multi-millionaire - who in 2008 was jailed for 18 months for soliciting prostitution from underage girls

“There’s still a massive amount of liquidity in the banks,” he told Tribune Business. “That’s a huge amount of money to be sitting on the sidelines in the banks not working for the economy. There’s defnitely an opportunity for people to start a business, grow a business or acquire another business having so much money around.

“My sense is there’s a lot of opportunity for people to take advantage of. Just looking at it from RF’s perspective, I would expect somewhere between $50m-$100m in transactions. We’re not the only participant, so I imagine somewhere between $100m-$200m would be a reasonable amount for the market as a whole.

“There should be a lot more going on. People got a bit gun shy when COVID happened and businesses sufered. People haven’t yet got the confdence to move forward but

‘Minimum of $5m’

to prevent further PHA overtime woe

• Over $2m being paid for December

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Health and Wellness is seeking “a minimum of $5m” in extra funding from the Government’s upcoming mid-year Budget to cover projected overtime pay at The Bahamas’ public hospitals and associated healthcare facilities for the remainder of the 2025-2026 fscal year.

Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, told Tribune Business he had already tapped his ministry’s “supplemental Budget” for the $2.055m in December overtime payments that are now being processed for Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) staf in a bid to resolve concerns that caused many nurses to call in sick.

BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE company charged with overhauling New Providence’s energy grid yesterday accused Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) of leaving it in the dark over Sunday morning’s power outage because it has denied acess to the “control centre” since last Tuesday. Bahamas Grid Company, in a now-deleted post to social media, said its technicians have been working to restore power across New

Providence but could not provide answers about restoration timelines or why the outage was so widespread because it had been denied access by BPL.

The company said that despite having a “contractual right to jointly manage”, only BPL staf were present in the control centre during the outage and they were still waiting for information from the state-owned energy provider.

“As for your questions on restoration timing and why the power went out so

Disclosing that he wants the resulting stafng shortages, which have forced the PHA to temporarily close several out-patient clinics and cancel “all elective surgeries”, resolved “like yesterday”, the minister sought to reassure Bahamians and hospital patients alike that “we are on top of it” as he urged the Bahamas Nurses Union and other healthcare unions “to come to the table to ensure this doesn’t happen again”. The nursing sick-out across PHA facilities was

PAYMENT - See Page B7

There is a misconception about the relationship between recovery and growth. It is common for business resets to be framed as commercial problems,

such as declining revenues, shrinking market shares or stalled investment pipelines. However, I suggest that it is a matter of trust.

Corporate recovery is a matter of trust DEREK SMITH BY

The Forbes article, ‘Trusted companies outperform their peers by 400 percent, new study shows’, states: "Business leaders focus on driving digital and fnancial growth and, with these strategies top of mind, leaders often overlook an essential piece of success: Trust.” It has been my experience that, in practice, most periods of reset fail not because growth opportunities are unavailable, but because trust has eroded among customers and other stakeholders.

This article examines how trust shapes a business reset, the role execution discipline plays in restoring confdence, and why leaders must stabilise behaviour before pursuing growth.

Infuence of trust on business reset outcomes

Trust forms the foundation on which realignment eforts either succeed or collapse. Leadership behaviour is central. During periods of instability, stakeholders closely observe how leaders communicate, make decisions and respond under pressure. Clear direction, consistent messaging and visible ownership signal control.

Alternatively, hesitation, mixed priorities or shifting explanations signal uncertainty. Consequently, execution gaps reinforce these perceptions. Delayed decisions, unclear accountability and inconsistent responses undermine confdence even when intentions are sound. Individually, such issues may appear manageable. Collectively, they create doubt about the company’s ability to deliver.

Impact of execution discipline on trust

Corporate performance is improved by execution discipline. It actively rebuilds trust. A predictable process, clear escalation paths and consistent follow-up reassure stakeholders. Reliable behaviour is more important than a promise.

Internally, disciplined execution reinforces accountability. Business resets usually rely on informal problem solving, where leaders make decisions. It may be necessary in the short-term, but this approach concentrates risk. Systemic control is replaced

by individual efort. Conversely, disciplined execution reduces exposure and restores confdence by shifting the company away from reliance on individuals.

Common failure patterns in business resets

Growth takes precedence over stability during resets. While underlying execution issues remain unresolved, leaders try to generate momentum through volume or expansion. Rather than restoring satisfaction, it inadvertently accelerates dissatisfaction.

Another failure involves under-estimating how visible execution becomes under stress. Delays, inconsistencies and defensive explanations are noticed quickly. Unlike strategic narratives, these signals matter more. The problem is compounded by silos of responsibility. This fragmented accountability system creates gaps that erode trust.

Rebuilding trust before growth

Proven and efective turnaround leadership follows a deliberate sequence. Stabilisation comes frst. Leaders simplify priorities, clarify ownership and reduce unnecessary complexity. Communication becomes factual and consistent. Decisions are paced to match execution capacity rather than aspiration.

Notwithstanding the above, growth ambition is not abandoned but, rather, sequenced. Leaders assess whether the company is behaving in ways that justify renewed confdence. The answer is evident in how issues are handled, how predictable outcomes become, and how consistently commitments are met. Growth

RESET - See Page B7

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PHILIP DAVIS KC

PM voices unhappiness over nursing sick-out

BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE Prime Minister yesterday said he was disappointed by the nursing sick-out last week amid frustration over overtime payments after the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) exhausted its full-year budget for the 2025-2026 fscal year.

Philip Davis KC said his administration has made eforts to fairly compensate nurses, pointing to salary increases implemented since taking ofce as evidence of this commitment.

“It's disappointing when I think what this government, this administration, and me in particular, recognising the value of nurses, recognising the sacrifces they make, and also recognising the fact that that we are under siege by other jurisdictions to lure them away from their home jurisdictions,” said Mr Davis.

“We have been doing our best to ensure they are properly compensated, and if they look at where they were when I came into ofce, where they are now as far as salaries are concerned, that should tell them how I think about them and how I value them. I just ask them to look at that.”

Mr Davis said that once the overtime payment issues were brought to his attention arrangements were made to pay healthcare workers.

“In respect to this issue of overtime, usually overtime could become an unbudgeted item. It only came to our attention within the week, and within that week we made the arrangements to pay them and for them to have taken... I mean, it was unfortunate,” said Mr Davis.

“They have to trust me, and if they don't trust me, then the question is, trust goes both ways. I want to trust them. I want them to demonstrate that they trust me, too. They work overtime. I’m not someone who believes that government should rob their citizens, nor do I believe citizens should rob their government.”

Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, said supplemental funds were provided to the PHA by the Ministry of Finance and overtime payments are currently being processed.

In a voice message sent to healthcare workers over the weekend, Dr Darville said payments are expect to be completed in a “timely manner” and new fnancial and information technology (IT) measures have been implemented to enable faster responses.

“I acknowledge your frustrations and concerns regarding outstanding overtime pay. Let me make it very clear that I am a frm believer that once a worker has done overtime, they must be paid and paid in a timely fashion,” said Dr Darville.

“Since my permanent secretary and I were notifed of this budgetary challenge with overtime pay, my ministry, by way of the Ministry of Finance, made the necessary supplemental funds available to the PHA. The processing of overtime pay is now ongoing, and I understand it will be done in a timely fashion.

“So as we work together through this sensitive matter, I want to apologise once again for what we encountered. I assure all impacted that new fnancial and IT measures are now in place, not only for rapid response, but to prevent something from this happening again.”

Nurse sick-out shows ‘we are on the edge’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister is warning the Government’s opponents to avoid creating the impression that the public health system is “fallling to pieces” as one of his predecessors argued that the sick-out induced staf shortages “show we are on the edge”.

Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, told Tribune Business that politicians from all sides have “got to be very careful how we intertwine politics and healthcare” given that the latter is an “essential service” that provides life-saving protection to all Bahamians. He argued that the public healthcare sector “should be of-limits from hard politics” - something he had tried to avoid when previousl Opposition spokesman on the issue.

“The use of politics to destabilse healthcare is a huge mistake,” he argued. “We are going to further put wedges into the minds and psyche of the Bahamian people that the public healthcare system is falling to pieces and is that not the case.”

Dr Darville spoke out amid the sick-out initiated by public healthcare system nurses over fears that their December overtime payments would not be received, or at least delayed, after the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) exhausted all its 2025-2026 overtime budget during the frst three months of the current fscal year.

Supplementary funding has since been secured to cover the payment, but the staf shortages caused by the sick-out forced the PHA to temporarily close outpatient services such as the eye clinic, speciality clinics, medical clinic and surgical clinic until further notice while all “elective surgeries” have been cancelled and postponed.

Dr Duane Sands, the Opposition’s chairman and a former minister of health himself, told Tribune Business: “I don’t know that this is likely to end any time soon. It sounds as if this is kind of the last straw as opposee to a one-of. The Prime Minister and minister of health and wellness, they own this situation, stop defecting as if it’s a PHA matter, and get it resolved in timely fashion.

“That’s what needs to happen - to make sure healthcare services are brought back on stream to the level necessary. This clearly diminishes the quality of care, the access to care. Delayed care, for the most part, is denied care.”

Dr Sands voiced particular concern for those patients and their families who had travelled to Nassau from the Family Islands, spending money on plane tickets and accommodation, only for those elective surgeries to now be postponed and rescheduled for a future

date. “It’s a big deal,” he added. “It’s an emotional hardship, it’s a fnancial hardship, and will require yet another appointment for somwhere further down the line.

“You can try and make do with a skeleton crew, but this needs to be resolved. End of story,” Dr Sands said. “It needs to be resolved expeditiously. It needs to be resolved as an emergency. This is a stress test, and because there is no redundant capacity it shows how we are on the edge. We are

making do, and that is not a good thing.

“Ultimately, what we need to do is make sure our healthcare system is resilient, it has built-in back-up systems, it can tolerate stress whether human resources or weather-related. What we have learned is that it’s not particularly resilient. We know there is a chronic funding challenge, but that chronic funding challengs is made acutely worse because of the lack of prioritisation of healthcare.”

Dr Sands again critcised the move to invest some $267m in a second New Providence hospital at a time when the existing public healthcare system, including the PHA, Department of Public Health and National Health Insurance (NHI) are all short of funding. He added that the investment will do little to improve the quality of healthcare services, delivery and quality in the short-term.

Nassau Cruise Port attracts record 6.2m arrivals in ‘25

NASSAU Cruise Port yesterday said it welcomed a record 6.2m passengers in 2025 representing a year-over-year increase of around 420,000 or 7 percent.

The Prince George Wharf operator, in a statement, said the record number of arrivals was driven by a 9.5 percent rise in cruise ship calls, which increased by more than 130 compared to 2024 volumes to hit almost 1,600 last year. It said these increases compared to the 5.6m passengers, spead across more than 1,400 cruise calls, that Nassau received in 2024.

“This milestone year for tourism underscores the critical role Nassau Cruise Port continues to play as the primary gateway for visitors to The Bahamas,” said Mike Maura, Nassau Cruise

Port’s chief executive and director.

“Welcoming more than six million cruise passengers in a single year refects the confdence of our cruise partners, the strength of the destination and the impact of ongoing investments to enhance the passenger experience and operational efciency at the port.”

Nassau Cruise Port said its performance aligns with the national tourism fgures announced last week by Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, who confrmed that The Bahamas welcomed a record 12.5m visitors in 2025, thus marking the third consecutive year of record-breaking tourism performance.

“In 2025, The Bahamas welcomed an unprecedented 12.5m

Tampa’s airlift connection to Nassau now a Breeze

AIRLIFT from Tampa to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) will launch on June 11, 2026, via a carrier providing direct non-stop fights.

visitors, the highest total arrivals ever recorded,” Mr Cooper told Parliament. “Visitor arrivals grew 11.4 per cent year-over-year, surpassing 2024’s record and exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels by more than 72 per cent.”

Nassau Cruise Port said the continued growth in passenger volumes refects the strong value proposition of cruise travel, rising global interest in experiential vacations, and new and upcoming destination enhancements in Nassau.

It added that further cruise port amenities scheduled to debut this year - including a signature restaurant and a day clubstyle pool experience - are designed to further elevate the guest experience and extend visitor engagement ashore.

The Nassau & Paradise Island Promotion Board, in a statement, said Breeze Airways will ofer twice weekly service on Thursdays and Sundays, starting from $99 one-way.

Breeze Airways is known for a fexible network that connects travellers to underserved cities, making air travel more accessible to millions. It has a new feet of Airbus A220-300 aircraft and premium products such as free family seating and fast onboard WiFi.

“I commend Breeze for its arrival as a new airline entrant, and for launching a milestone service that introduces much-needed direct air access between these two destinations,” said Joy Jibrilu, chief executive of the Nassau & Paradise Island Promotion Board.

“With no existing non-stop fights currently operating from Tampa to Nassau, this new route represents a major opportunity to grow visitor arrivals and strengthen connectivity.”

A chatbot entirely powered by humans, not arti cial intelligence? is Chilean community shows why

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer

ABOUT 50 residents of a community outside Chile’s capital spent Saturday trying their best to power an entirely human-operated chatbot that could answer questions and make

silly pictures on command, in a message to highlight the environmental toll of artifcial intelligence data centers in the region.

Organizers say the 12-hour project felded more than 25,000 requests from around the world.

Asking the Quili.AI website to generate an image of a “sloth playing in the snow” didn’t instantly produce an output, as ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini would. Instead, someone responded in Spanish to wait a few moments and reminded the user that a human was responding.

Then came a drawing about 10 minutes later: a penciled sketch of a cute and cartoonish sloth in a pile of snowballs, with its claws clutching one and about to throw it.

“The goal is to highlight the hidden water footprint behind AI prompting and encourage more responsible use,” said a statement from organizer Lorena Antiman of the environmental group Corporación NGEN.

The answers came from a rotating crew of volunteers working on laptops in a community center in Quilicura, a municipality at the urban edge of Santiago that has become a data center hub. Asked by an Associated Press reporter for the identity of who made the sloth drawing, the website responded that it was a local youth who’s helping with illustrations.

The website responded quickly to questions that drew on residents’ cultural knowledge, like how to make Chilean sopaipillas, a fried pastry. When they didn’t know the answer, they walked around the room to see if someone else did.

“Quili.AI isn’t about always having an instant answer. It’s about recognizing that not every question needs one,” Antiman said.

“When residents don’t know something, they can say so, share perspective, or respond with curiosity rather than certainty.”

She said it’s not designed to reject the “incredibly valuable” uses of AI but to think more about the impacts of so much “casual prompting” on water-stressed places like Quilicura.

The backdrop behind the campaign is a debate, in Chile and elsewhere, about the heavy costs of AI usage. Data center computer chips running AI systems require huge amounts of electricity and some also use large volumes of water for cooling, with usage varying depending on location and type of equipment.

Cloud computing giants Amazon, Google and Microsoft are among a number of companies that have built or planned data centers in the Santiago region.

Google has argued that the Quilicura data center it switched on in 2015 is the “most energy efcient in Latin America” and has highlighted its investment in wetlands restoration and irrigation projects in the surrounding Maipo River basin. But it faced a court challenge over another project near Santiago over water usage concerns.

Chile has faced a decade of severe drought, which experts say contributed to the spread of recent deadly wildfres.

Nurses cite multiple issues besides overtime grievance

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Nurses Union’s (BNU) president is urging the Government to resolve multiple additional grievances, including delayed promotions and “deplorable” working conditions, even as their demands for December overtime pay were being addressed.

Muriel Lightbourn asserted that nurses employed at the Department of Public Health’s clinics have not been receiving timely overtime payments for some months, adding that some are still waiting for compensation for extra hours worked dating back to August 2025.

And, while the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) last week announced that funding for December’s overtime payments had been approved and is in the process of being disbursed, Ms Lightbourn said her members do not trust the PHA.

She further alleged that nurses have neither received their public holiday payments nor their allowances, and said about

1,200 are owed overtime pay.

“And we would have met over and repeatedly with our partners, and these matters are still not being resolved,” Ms Lightbourn said. “I have met with the Prime Minister on a number of occasions in regards to public holidays not being paid, in regards to allowances not being paid, in regards to our promotions.”

Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, in a voice note released on January 31 acknowledged nurses’ frustrations concerning outstanding overtime pay and said “the necessary supplemental funds” were made available to the PHA.

“Yesterday, I toured the accident and emergency at the Princess Margaret Hospital, as well as other critical spaces, and despite the shortages we encounter all of those impacted were very grateful,” he said.

“Since my permanent secretary and I were notifed of this budgetary challenge with overtime pay, my ministry, by way of the Ministry of Finance, made the necessary supplemental funds available to the PHA. The processing of overtime pay is now ongoing, and I

understand it will be done in a timely fashion. So as we work together through the sensitive matter, I want to apologise once again for what we encountered.”

Ms Lightbourn, meanwhile, called for salary deductions to be corrected, asserting that some nurses have reported “unexplained deductions of up to $600 per month” from their pay. She added that some employed by the PHA are still awaiting compensation for promotions made last year, while 24 promotions in the Department of Public Health have yet to be completed and activated.

“What is also disrespectful to the nursing profession is that we have a nurse sitting in the seat as the acting director of nursing, and she is more or less like the commissioner of police is to the police force,” she said. “That is her position as the director, acting director of nursing.

“She's been sitting in that post for one year now - a year. [She] has not gotten the letter to say that this is the post you're sitting in. And after one year of acting, you're supposed to be made permanent. That position has not yet been flled. I have met with the

Prime Minister in that regard. The Prime Minister has asked the minister of public service [Pia Glover-Rolle] to action that. It has not yet been done. Nurses are fed up. Nurses are tired of being dissed. That's it.”

Ms Lightbourn called on Government to correct working conditions at the Exuma clinic, noting that nurses stationed at the facility have to tote water and that “nothing is working”.

“That was last weekI would have visited the Exuma clinic,” she said. “A beautiful, beautiful structure. There's nothing working. I went to an eating establishment while I was in Exuma, The proprietor fnding out that I was the president of the nurses union, she made sure she told me everything that was needed on Exuma as far as healthcare is concerned.

“She said to me ‘That clinic is beautiful, but it's not working’. The clinic is not working. You have to be toting water. The plumbing issue has been a long outstanding thing. You could imagine having to tote water to fush the toilet? Who does that?

“The other day, at Meeting Street, when there was

Senior doctors fll gap from nursing sick-out

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

SENIOR doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) and other parts of the public healthcare system voiced support for the sickout by many nurses even as they flled the gap created by their absence this weekend.

Dr Charelle Lockhart, the Consultant Physicians Staf Association (CPSA) president, said both her members and patients have felt the impact from nurses calling in sick because they feel “disrespected” and “dissed” over how overtime payments for December 2025 and the Christmas holiday period have been handled.

“We're defnitely feeling the impact because we want to see our patients, and if we don't have the nursing and ancillary staf, it's very difcult,” Dr Lockhart said.

“Particularly in the emergency room, the physicians have been doing those things for our patients. So doing vitals and giving medication. We have been doing that. So it's slowed us down tremendously.

“Nurses and ancillary staf are vital to the system working properly, and so, yes, we have been afected in that way. And clinics were

cancelled today, and that has afected our staf because they want to see their patients, especially Family Island patients, where it's taken them three to four months to get an appointment in the frst place.

“And you know, everything takes long, so when you fnally get your date, for it to be cancelled at the last minute is not only inconvenient but can be detrimental to a patient's well being in general, right? And so it is frustrating for us.”

Despite taking on the extra workload, Dr Lockhart said the nurses deserve to be paid and are doing what they need to get what is owed to them. The situation erupted after the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) revealed that it had exhausted its overtime budget for the full 2025-2026 fscal year within the frst three months and was implementing curbs to control how it will be incurred going forward, creating doubts over whenand how much - healthcare workers would be paid for December’s overtime.

“They need to get their money,’ Ms Lockhart added. “They have already worked for it. This is not something that's upcoming. And the powers that be have said, 'Okay, we can't aford things moving forward.' This is

Description

an odour coming from the building, everybody was sent home. Everybody vacated that building before 10 o'clock. There was nobody in that building,” Ms Lightbourn added. “Why are the nurses toting water to fush the toilet? Why? We have the clinic in Flamingo Gardens. That, too, there is a plumbing issue. Every two weeks almost you have to be calling people to pump the cesspit, do all these things. What is going on?”

Supporting the nurses, Krista Burrows, president of the Bahamas Allied Healthcare Workers Union, which represents more than 100 persons, said it has been trying for the past three years to gain recognition despite being a registered union and bargaining agent. She said she has not received any communication from the PHA on the issue.

“I understand that the managing director has said that she has reached out to all unions,” Ms Burrows said. “However, I have not received any communication from her even though I have paid members. And so I am going on what I am hearing, or making contact with the union presidents

intensive care unit (NICU) and is also concerned about staf shortages. However, she made it clear that nurses will not return until they receive their monies.

to get information which should not be, because I represent, whether they acknowledge me or not, I represent a group of professional people. And so I think it's total disrespect, frst and foremost.

“And I have challenges with the fact that the late announcement really did not do justice in the hospital. And so, not unlike Ms Lightbourn, we are simply working a 40-hour work week that is required, that we have signed contracts for. But, due to the lack of staf, it is creating a problem within the hospital. So we depend on overtime. They depend on overtime because we lack staf.

“PMH is an accredited lab, and so you have to have certifcation in order to work in there. And so therefore, to have one and two people working one section, and the lab comprises, is it 12 or 13 sections? And we also work overtime in the morgue on weekends and holidays simply because we don't have staf. We have persons in ECG, pharmacy, X-ray, biomed that we represent.”

what they have worked for already, so they need to be paid. So, yes, we absolutely stand in solidarity.

“We feel badly that our patients are being impacted, and we are being impacted as well, but we're putting one foot in front of the other and doing the best that we can from our perspective. But that doesn't mean that we don't feel like the nurses and the ancillary staf need to be paid. They need to be paid. They are a vital part of the system running, and they need to be paid. We are a team. We are a healthcare team, and all of the members are important.”

In an audio obtained by Tribune Business, a Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) patient said on Friday that, while at the dialysis unit, they noticed the lack of nurses and added that “the youth guard” and persons “in some sort of youth uniform” had been deployed to help. While Dr Lockahart could not speak to that, she did confrm her staf and members have been stepping up.

“I can speak to my physician staf, both junior and senior, pitching in to fll in the gaps, fll in the holes,” she said. “And, in particular, I can speak to my area, which is pediatric emergency medicine. Yes, my junior

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staf have been there, and my senior staf have been there, seeing patients, giving medicines, triaging. We were doing it all. And yes, it's hard, but the patients have to be seen, and the ancillary staf and nurses need to be paid. So they're making a stand, and they have to make whatever stand they think is necessary to get them where they need to be.”

Muriel Lightbourn, president of the Bahamas Nurses Union, said on Friday that she, too, would like to see nurses return to work sooner rather than later. She revealed she has a new grandchild in the neonatal

“But we also want to note that the nurses are concerned about the public,” she said. “We are concerned about those persons who are laying in those hospital beds today. We are concerned about those persons who have to go to the emergency room today. We are concerned about them. And so we are asking them to ask us to join with us and ask the Government to fx it, because the nurses resolve is until they get their monies, they will not be going to work. That's the resolve.”

Unable to say how many nurses have called in sick, Ms Lightbourn said: “I may

be able to tell you there may be about 20 nurses who are not sick.” In a statement released by the Public Hospitals Authority on Friday, it advised the public that in an efort to manage stafng shortages, the eye clinic, speciality clinics, medical clinic and surgical clinic would be closed until further notice.

“These people need their services,” Ms Lightbourn added. “They need to be attended to. And so the Government has in its hands to say, listen, pay these nurses, let these nurses go back to work. The thing about it is we are not just being afected at Princess Margaret Hospital. We're also being afected at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama.”

Bahamas Grid claims control centre access denied for week

extensively, like many of you we are also trying to fnd out more information from BPL right now,” said Bahamas Grid Company.

“Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to Bahamas Grid Company, the Bahamas Grid Company team had been denied access to the New Providence control centre by BPL management since last week (January 27) despite it being Bahamas Grid Company’s contractual right to jointly manage in the control centre. As a result, only BPL was in the control centre last night to be able to try to assess and mitigate the outage efects in New Providence.

“Our hope is that by getting more information from BPL right now, we can shorten the duration of this outage and also assist in the

prevention of major disasters in the future, as was the intent of the public-private partnership (PPP).” The post’s subsequent removal suggests that Bahamas Grid Company belatedly became aware of the controversy, friction and public relations difculties this was likely to cause. The situation is also somewhat ironic since the Government owns 40 percent of Bahamas Grid Company via BPL. In efect, this means that BPL has locked out a company in which is has a minority ownership interest from obtaining vital real-time information about what is happening to a New Providence transmission and distribution grid it has been given responsibility for upgrading via the investment of millions of dollars.

RF investment chief says private equity, credit active

there’s a lot of opportunity.

Let’s hope people start to think.” Mr Anderson said capital-raising for the BISX-listed Bahamas Property Fund alone, which RF Bank & Trust administers, is likely to be $40m this year as it seeks fnancing for its further growth and property acquisitions. Besides the Bahamas Property Fund, among potential initial public oferings (IPOs) or equity raises that could take place in 2026 is the long-awaited Royal Beach Club issue by Royal Caribbean for its Paradise Island Beach Club venture.

All of which suggests the diferent pieces of the Government’s energy reform strategy are not ftting together too well. Theodore Sealy, BPL’s director of communication, said the utility and Bahamas Grid Company were working together closely to restore power but declined to comment on the latter’s control centre access allegations.

“We continue to work hand in hand with Bahamas Grid Company to ensure that all consumers are brought back online as speedily and safely as possible,” he said.

“We currently have fve crews on the ground split between Bahamas Grid Company and BPL that responded since the power went out early Sunday morning, and so it’s just a continued efort as a collaborative body working hand in hand with Bahamas Grid Company to ensure that we get consumers back online.

“I’m not aware of the information that was outlined in that statement, but

That is supposed to be structured where the cruise line holds a majority 51 percent interest and control, with the Government and Bahamian investors holding the remaining 49 percent, although there have been suspicions voiced that the IPO may be dropped.

Last year saw numerous renewable energy-related projects seeking fnancing as part of the Government’s energy reforms. EA Energy, the winning renewable bidder for Abaco and

we continue to work hand in hand with Bahamas Grid Company as we chart the way forward.”

Michela Barnett-Ellis, the FNM senator and election candidate for Killarney, said the statement issued by Bahamas Grid Company raised “serious and troubling questions” about management of New Providence’s electricity system  She called for the Davis administration to explain why a partner responsible for grid stability was excluded and whether the Government accepts that this decision may have worsened or prolonged the outage.

“Reliable energy should be a basic right of average Bahamians. But, this week once again, the basic rights of all are being taken away. The current government failure to provide basic power isn’t much of a surprise after last week’s healthcare meltdown, but it doesn’t make it any less serious,” said Mrs Barnett-Ellis.

Eleuthera, raised $132.5m via a combination of debt and equity, while Island Power Producers, which is set to supply cruise ships docked in Nassau with liquefed natural gas (LNG) generated energy from a plant on Arawak Cay, raised just over $179m. Together, those two projects attracted more than $300m in capital - some $100m higher than Mr Anderson’s forecast.

David Slatter, RF Bank & Trust (Bahamas) vice-president of investments, meanwhile confrmed that private equity and private credit will also likely be active in 2026. “The Bahamas Property Fund has got a number of projects in the works, and will be coming to market to raise some preference share capital,” he revealed.

“Hopefully we’ll see the Bahamas Property Fund come to market and an entity that is paying 7.5 percent on fve-year paper with quarterly interest payments will be coming to market later in the year. I’m not aware of any IPOs but defnitely there’s a lot of private credit and private equity.

“We have been active also in the hospitality sector

“The Bahamian people deserve clear answers. We still do not know the details of the arrangement between Bahamas Grid Company and BPL, yet BPL already appears to be breaching its obligations.”

BPL said a severe weather system caused major power disruptions across New Providence late Saturday night, leading to an island-wide blackout early Sunday morning. Restoration began early Sunday, and while many areas are back online, some communities remain without power as crews continue working.

“Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) emergency response teams, in tandem with Bahamas Grid Company (BGC), are currently in the process of responding to 45 calls in an efort to restore power supply to afected consumers,” said BPL.

“Five teams, between BPL and Bahamas Grid Company, are on the ground responding to these areas. Meantime, BPL’s

with helping entities raise fnancing from high net worth clients seeing IRRs (internal rates of return) of 15-20 percent,” Mr Slatter added. “We’re also bringing to market during the frst half of this year a variety of exchange traded funds (ETFs).

“We’ll look for ETFs that are listed in jurisdictions with no withholding taxes like Ireland and Luxembourg. It’s an efort to let clients get exposed to global securities without incurring a withholding tax on dividends paid. Private credit in the US is paying 11.5 percent and we’ll continue to look for similar products coming to market.”

RF Bank & Trust  is targeting $175m total growth for its mutual fund family this year with the aim of breaching the “very important milestone” of $1bn in assets under management by 2027 at latest.

Mr Slatter told Tribune Business previously that it is seeking to grow collective assets managed by its Bahamian dollar and US dollar mutual funds to $950m by 2026 year-end through a combination of $100m in organic expansion and the

protection team at Baillou Hills Power Station is still conducting investigations to determine the root cause of the widespread outage.” Several Family Islands also experienced power disruptions due to the weather, including Abaco, Andros, the Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera and Exuma. Service was restored in Abaco, Bimini and most of Exuma, while restoration eforts were still underway in South Andros, Mangrove Cay, Eleuthera, and Great Harbour Cay. In 2025, Bahamas Grid Company fnalised an initial 25-year deal to manage and upgrade New Providence’s electricity grid. The original 25-year term can be extended for a further ten years if both sides agree, making it a potentially 35-year deal that could go through to 2060.  Bahamas Grid Company is 60 percent owned by private investors, with BPL holding a minority 40 percent interest.

injection of $75m in new investor monies.

Speaking after the 2005 full-year returns generated by its Bahamian equities fund exceeded expectations despite concerns of an American-fuelled tourism slowdown, he pledged that RF Bank & Trust this year plans to be “very aggressive” in growing its three US-dollar mutual funds through a targeted $50m growth in assets under management.

Asked how quickly RF Bank & Trust’s investment funds will hit the $1bn assets under management benchmark, given that these stood at around $820m at year-end 2025, Mr Slatter acknowledged that - while 2026 remains a possibilityit is more realistic to think it will happen next year.

“I would say the $1bn mark, it would be great if it was 2026, but we’re defnitely eyeing 2027 to get to that $1bn mark,” he afrmed. “We have our US dollar component from an assets under administration standpoint, and we’re going to be very aggressive this year in growing that side of the business.

“Right now, the target is $50m growth in assets under administration on the US dollar side, and we have an ofce in Cayman that drives that efort as well. The fact the Central Bank has made foreign currency more readily available by allowing brokerage houses to approve up to $100,000 per year, per client, that’s an opportunity to give Bahamian dollar clients more global exposure.”

Minister tells ‘sick’ nurses: ‘You’ve made your point’

PAYMENT - from page B1

sparked after the Authority revealed it was introducing new measures to restrict how much overtime was incurred after exhaustng its 2025-2026 full-year budget for such payments within three months. This sparked fears over whether December’s due overtime pay would be forthcoming, when and how much, but Dr Darville told nurses: “You’ve made your point.”

He told this newspaper that overtime budgets in the healthcare industry are often “substantial” and hard to forecast due to the fact that medical facilities are functioning round-the-clock to provide whatever patient care is needed. Shifts often feature hundreds of workers, and the minister added that it was “not the frst time” that an overtime budget has been rapidly exhausted.

As a result, the Ministry of Health and Wellness isalong with numerous other government ministries and agencies - negotiating with the Ministry of Finance for the extra funding that is necessary to cover budgetary shortfalls ahead of the mid-year Budget that is due to be presented in the House of Assembly before the end of February.

The mid-year Budget is typically when the Government adjusts its original forecasts by re-allocating spending already approved by Parliament and/or passing supplementary appropriations Bills that approve new funding.

Describing healthcare as “an essential service” for the Bahamian people, Dr Darville signalled that any fnancing gaps should be addressed in the next few weeks.

This, he indicated, is especially important given that January looks similar to December in terms of the healthcare demands imposed by fu and other respiratory-type viruses that are fourishing in the present cold winter weather. As a result, last month’s PHA overtime payment to staf at the Princess Margaret and Rand hospitals, plus the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and associated facilities, will likely be in line with that for December 2025.

Confrming that a collective $2.055m overtime payment is presently being processed for December 2025, Dr Darville told Tribune Business: “This is not the frst time that the budgeted line item for overtime has been exhausted. In healthcare, it is very difcult to predict an exact budget

Corporate turnarounds must keep client faith

RESET - from page B2

occurs with less resistance and greater durability when trust has been restored.

In short, the key to successful business resets is for leaders to recognise that the process of recovery is primarily an exercise in building trust before it becomes a strategy for growth. Confdence can be restored through discipline, and performance is enabled by confdence, subsequently building internal and external trust. Statistically, the reverse has not proven true in many documented cases.

• NB: About Derek Smith Jr

for overtime. It depends on what happens.

“This is winter season, so there are a lot of respiratory issues and demands on accident and emergency (A&E) at PMH and Doctors Hospital. I went for the supplementary Budget to cover the overtime pay for December. We are getting ready for the supplemental [mid-year] Budget. All ministries are meeting with the Ministry of Finance and the supplementary Budget is being discussed right now.

“With the supplementary budget, we will bring to the forefront that the [PHA] overtime budget has been exhausted and that it needs to be addressed. We have on a regular basis where certain line items are depleted. Our job is to go to the Ministry of Finance, say this has been depleted and determine how it is to be addressed. All these things are being discussed with the Ministry of Finance.”

Asked how much additional funding his ministry is seeking to secure, Dr Darville added: “It’s very difcult to predict. I can say this much. Every year we put forward a budget. The budget you put forward, you don’t always get, and sometimes there are shortfalls and these shortfalls needs to be brought to the attention of the Ministry of Finance because healthcare is an essential service.

“For what happened in December, I believe we may be under-budgeted

Derek Smith Jr has been a governance, risk and compliance professional for more than 20 years with a leadership, innovation and mentorship record. He is the author of ‘The Compliance Blueprint’. Mr Smith is a certifed anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS) and holds multiple governance credentials. He can be contacted at hello@ pineapplebusinessconsultancy.com

IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS

IN THE SUPREME COURT

Common Law and Equity Division

and will defnitely put in

a contingency on top of a projection to take us into the full Budget year. The demand is increasing…

Overtime is substantial in healthcare because you’re dealing with human resources, people get sick, there’s a lot of shifts because hospitals are open 24/7.”

Predicting that January’s PHA overtime payment may be similar to that for December, Dr Darville told this newspaper: “As active as we were in the month of December, and it looks like we may be active now and based on what we’re seeing at Doctors Hospital, if we used that amount in December we may be using a similar amount in January before it tapers of.

“I would think it’s a minimum of $5m” in extra funding requested from the Ministry of Finance. “Hopefully we’ll do a better job and get a better ball park fgure,” Dr Darville added. “This is a very active season. We’re in very cold weather.”

The PHA, on Friday, said out-patient services including the eye clinic, speciality clinics, medical clinic and surgical clinic, will be temporarily closed due to the staf shortages created by the nursing sick-out

All “elective surgeries” will be cancelled, with impacted patients forced to reschedule procedures, as the PHA prioritises directing staf to critical care areas

that make the diference between ‘life and death’.

While nurses have said they will remain out sick until they are paid the December overtime due to them, Dr Darville described the reduced level of services as part of the standard “emergency protocol” adopted during mass industrial action.

“We are working through the situation. We are on top of it,” he told Tribune Business. “We don’t know how long it is going to go on. We have maintained the matter is being resolved but we have some people calling in sick.” He explained that the Authority’s and government’s focus is on critical care areas such as accident and emergency, the burns unit, oncology services and dialysis treatment because “we don’t want them to be compromised’. “Rather than until the last minute, we put this out as the emergency protocol,” Dr Darville added. “These are all the right things to do to protect the core services in any institution… We’re constricting the blood vessels on the periphery and ensuring we have adequate blood to protect the vital organs just like the body.

“It’s being resolved. What is owed is just one month’s overtime for December. It’s not a chronic situation that goes back. We always said this will be paid through another payment

mechanism as we always look to avoid industrial action.” However, Dr Darville acknowledged that worker shortages in the public healthcare system have worsened and infated the overtime woes, adding that stafng is “not where it needs to be”.

Asked what he would to nurses and other medical workers awaiting their overtime pay, the minister added: “We are working through it. I would like it to be resolved like yesterday. There was a degree of confdence to assure nurses they’ll be paid. For some people that may not be enough and the list goes on.

“You’ve made your point. You will be paid. Let’s come to the table to ensure this doesn’t happen again.” Dr Darville said that, besides calling on the Royal Bahamas Defence Force’s medical team, the Government and PHA had also recalled nurses out on vacation and reached out to Doctors Hospital to provide support if necessary amid the sick-out.

And, disclosing that the Cabinet had approved the re-hiring of retired nurses, with some due to return to work in March, eforts had been made to acclerate this by a month. Nurses on post-graduate courses have also been recalled.

Claim No.: 2025/CLE/qui/854

IN THE MATTER OF ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land situate on the North Side of First Avenue and West Deveaux Street in the Settlement of Cockburn Town in the Island of San Salvador. AND

IN THE MATTER OF the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 (Chapter 393 of the Statute Law of the Bahamas Revised Edition, 2001)

AND I N THE MATTER OF the Petition of IRIS FERNANDER

NOTICE

I RIS FERNANDER, The Petitioner claim to be the owner in fee simple in possession of the piece parcel or lot of land hereinbefore described and have made application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under Section 3 of the Quieting Titles Act to have the title to the said piece parcel or lot o f land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Copies of a diagram or plan showing the position boundaries shape marks and dimensions of the said piece parcel or lot of land may be inspected during normal working hours at the following places:-

(a) The Registry of the Supreme Court Ansbacher Building, George Street in the City of Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas;

(b) The Chambers of Messrs. Davis & Co., The Parthenon,# 17 West Street North Nassau, The Bahamas, Attorneys for the Petitioner.

NOTICE is hereby given that any person or persons having a right of Dower or an adverse claim or a claim not recognized in the Petition shall within thirty (30) days after the appearance of the Notice herein file in the Registry of the Supreme Court in the City of Nassau aforesaid and serve on the Petitioners or the undersigned a statement of his claim in the prescribed form, verified by an Affidavit to be filed therewith.

Failure of any such person to file and serve a statement of claim within thirty (30) days herein will operate as a bar to such claims.

Da ted this 13th day of January

DAVIS & CO. Chambers The Pa rthenon # 17 West Street North Nassau, The Bahamas , A.D., 2026

Attoreys fr IRIS FERNAN DER, the Petitioner

Realtor tried

- in Lighthouse Point at the tip of south Eleuthera, which was ultimately acquired by Disney Cruise Line, and other properties.

Describing the Bahamas as “anxious for investment”, Mr Webster in a 2012 e-mail sought to lure Epstein to this nation by suggesting he could obtain permanent residency and “a fast track” to Bahamian citizenship if he desired. And, to further entice the US fnancier, he claimed to have “met with the deputy prime minister of The Bahamas” the week before.

Mr Webster, president of Webster’s International Realty, does not name “the deputy prime minister” or provide any further details on their purported meeting. The e-mail is from 2012, which is a general election year, and it is unclear whether the date is January 10 or October 1. However, if such an encounter did take place, the only two persons he could have been referring to are Brent Symonette or Philip Davis KC. Neither man met Epstein in-person, and there is no

suggestion that they did anything wrong. It is also unclear whether the ‘meeting’ was merely a ‘hello’ or handshake, or something more substantive, and there is no evidence that the sex ofender - who committed suicide in a New York prison while awaiting trial on further charges - was ever mentioned as a topic of discussion. Mr Webster sent the e-mail in an efort to interest Epstein in Strangers Cay, the fourth northernmost island in The Bahamas, which is part of the Abaco cays and covers some 360 acres. “I spoke with owner last week,” he wrote. “He wants to sell. Island was $20m. Will sell for $3m. I think $2.5m acres will buy this. 360 acres. 100 miles to Palm Beach. Sets up perfect for a 5,000 foot runway. This is the cheapest large island available in the world today and a great buy.

“I met with the deputy prime minister of The Bahamas last week. You can get permanent residency and a fast track to citizenship if you so desire. They are anxios for investment and will welcome you with open arms.”

Starbucks feeling

Epstein did not seemingly reply to Mr Webster’s e-mail, and what appears to have been a seven-year pursuit by the latter to secure him as a client was ultimately unsuccessful. From The Bahamas’ perspective that is likely to have been fortunate given that this nation has emerged seemingly unscathed from the global scandal triggered by Epstein’s death, which has already taken down the UK’s former Prince Andrew while embroiling other high-profle fgures such as Donald Trump, the US president, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

Mr Webster’s eforts to persuade Epstein to acquire Bahamian real estate appear to have begun in late 2009, less than one year after he was convicted for soliciting underage girls, through an attempt to interest him in Lightbourne House. He suggested the fnancier make an ofer “somewhere south of $30m” to account for closing costs such as legal and realtor fees, plus what would then have been 10 percent Stamp Tax.

Suggesting a mid-December viewing of Lightbourne House, the Palm Beach realtor also seemed to provide a road map for how Epstein could circumvent

the heat as more chains vie for US coffee drinkers

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer

AMERICANS are drinking more cofee than they have in decades. But fewer of them are getting it from Starbucks.

The company that revolutionized the United States' cofee culture remains America's biggest player, with nearly 17,000 U.S. stores and plans to open hundreds more. But it's facing unprecedented competition, which will make it harder to win back the customers it already lost.

Starbucks' share of spending at all U.S. cofee shops fell in 2024 and 2025; it now stands at 48%, down from 52% in 2023, according to Technomic, a food industry consulting frm. Dunkin ', a perennial rival that just opened its 10,000th U.S. store, gained market share in both of those years.

Starbucks has other challengers, like the fast-growing drive-thru chains 7 Brew, Scooter's Cofee and Dutch Bros. Chinese chains like

Luckin Cofee and Mixue are opening U.S. stores. High-end cofee shop Blue Bottle, which has 78 U.S. stores, has opened two more since the start of the year. Even McDonald's and Taco Bell are bolstering their beverage oferings.

"People haven't fallen out of love with Starbucks, but they're now polyamorous in their cofee choices," said Chris Kayes, chair of the management department in the George Washington University School of Business. "People are now experimenting with other cofees, and they're seeing what's out there."

Cafeination nation

Americans love cofee. In both 2024 and 2025, an estimated 66% of Americans reported drinking cofee every day, up from 62% in 2020, according to the National Cofee Association, an industry trade group. Cofee chains are racing to cash in on that demand. The number of chain cofee stores in the

NOTICE

IN THE ESTATE OF RONALD WILLIAM ALBURY SR. late of Buen Retiro Road off Shirley Street in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claims against the above-named Estate are required on or before the 25th day of February A. D., 2026 to send their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the undersigned in writing or in default thereof they will be excluded from the beneft of any distribution AND all persons indebted to the said Estate are hereby requested to pay their respective debts to the undersigned on or before the date above mentioned.

AND NOTICE is hereby also given that at the expiration of the time period above mentioned, the assets of the late RONALD WILLIAM ALBURY SR. will be distributed among the persons entitled thereto having regard only to the claims of which the Executors shall then have had notice in writing.

Dated this 26th day of January A. D. 2026 Roberts, Isaacs & Ward, Unit No.2, Cable Beach Court Professional Centre, 400 West Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that IDA JOHN of Dignity Gardens, P. O. Box SB-51627, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 26th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

the need for government approvals by using his own Bahamas-domiciled international business company (IBC) as the purchase vehicle.

“The other thing you have to think about is getting approved by the Government,” Mr Webster wrote, perhaps in a nod to Epstein’s child sex conviction. “I have an IBC company set up there that you could buy the property in as I have already gone through all the approvals and I could transfer the company to you or an entity controlled by you.”

Mr Webster made no mention of co-broking with a Bahamian realtor on any property transaction in this nation - something that he is required to do by law under the Real Estate (Brokers and Salesman) Act 1995. But, with no reply by the fnancier, Mr Webster tried again just over halfa-year later by describing Lightbourne House as “a fantastic property”.

And he also suggested Epstein look at Chub Cay, which had then been seized by Scotiabank (Bahamas) after the orginal developers defaulted on their debt fnancing, as a “development deal” that had a “good location, lot of infrastructure, Customs and Immigration on site, but

not extremely beautiful”.

The project was eventually acquired from the receiver by Texan billionaire, George Bishop. Then Mr Webster ofered Lighthouse Point, located on Eleuthera’s southern tip, which was eventually acquired by Disney Cruise Line to become its Lookout Cay private cruise port and destination. “Property comprises the entire southern end of Eleuthera,” Mr Webster wrote. “Property is 15 miles from Rock Sound airport. Over four miles of beach on 775 acres, elevations to 50 feet.

“Interior lakes will make a wonderful marina. This is the last great piece of development property left in The Bahamas. Property’s beauty speaks for itself. $25m buys it.” This time, Epstein’s interest appeared to have been aroused, because he replied on the same day, September 9, 2010, asking whether Rock Sound had an international airport while adding: “Property is great.”

However, Epstein appears to have made no move to purchase. Mr Webster appears to have tentatively followed up some two years later, asking the fnancier: “Any interest in The Bahamas?” To which the convicted sex ofender replied laconically: “Always

interested in unique things.”

This prompted Mr Webster to write: “If you remember Lighthouse Point, Eleuthera, they are down to $20m ask. The most spectacular undeveloped site left in The Bahamas.”

Although Epstein was seemingly unmoved, an undeterred Mr Webster persisted with his Bahamas real estate oferings for another four years. On Thursday, May 12, 2016, he returned with the double ofer of High Cay and Powell Cay in the Abacos, which are located close to Cooper’s Town. “I have two islands for the price of one$18m,” he wrote.

“High Cay has a residence, a harbour and solar power and is about 43 acres. All buildings and infrastructure are frst-class. Powell Cay (293 acres) is the large island to the west, which the owner of High Cay owns as well to ensure his privacy. Half of Powell Cay is Crown Land owned by the Government of The Bahamas which will never be developed. Owner moving to Indonesia, thus the willingness to sell.”

Later that same year, on October 8, 2016, Mr Webster ofered Bonefsh Cay, a 13-acre private island retreat in the Abacos, to Epstein with a price tag of $7m.

U.S. jumped 19% to more than 34,500 over the last six years, according to Technomic, a consulting frm that researches the foodservice industry.

Seattle-based Starbucks was a small, regional chain when former CEO Howard Schultz acquired it in 1987. Now, other small chains are seeing explosive growth. Nebraska-based Scooter's Cofee had 200 locations in 2019; it now has more than 850. Arkansas-based 7 Brew, which had 14 locations in 2019, now has more than 600.

"There's too much supply relative to demand," said Neil Saunders, a managing director and retail analyst at consulting frm GlobalData Retail. Saunders said Starbucks' size is somewhat of a disadvantage, since it has less ability to grow sales by opening new locations.

"Honestly, they're pretty saturated," Saunders said. "They're a very mature business."

From grande to venti

Starbucks is undaunted. At a conference for investors on Thursday, the company said an ongoing efort to improve service while making stores warmer and more welcoming was boosting U.S. store trafc. It plans to add 25,000 seats to its U.S. cafes by this fall. "Growth doesn't require us to become something new. It requires us to be exceptionally good at what we already are," Starbucks Chief Operating Ofcer Mike Grams said.

Starbucks expects to open more than 575 new U.S. stores over the next three years. It developed a smaller-format store that is

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The public is hereby advised that I, AUDREY JOHNSON of Golden Gates #2, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to ADRINA JOHNSON. If there are any objections to challenge the name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Offcer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that BRITNEY DANEIL BENNETT of Bahama Sound #11w, Exuma, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 2nd day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that INELIA SAINTINOME TUCKER of Curry Mission Road, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 26th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

cheaper to build but still has indoor seating, drive-thru lanes and mobile pickup.

The company said the reduced scale would allow Starbucks stores to operate in locations they couldn't before. Starbucks is also adding new products, like updated pastries and snackable foods that are high in protein and fber, to try to win back customers.

What's on the menu

Lack of menu innovation is one reason Starbucks has struggled, especially among younger consumers who like novelty and will try new

places to fnd it, Saunders said.

Arizona-based Dutch Bros, for example, added protein cofee drinks in January 2024, nearly two years before Starbucks did. Energy drinks make up 25% of Dutch Bros' business almost 14 years after the chain introduced them.

Starbucks ofered iced energy drinks for a limited time in 2024; executives said Thursday that customizable energy drinks would appear on the Starbucks menu soon.

Dutch Bros, which is led by former Starbucks executive Christine Barone, has just over 1,000 shops in the U.S. and hopes to double that number by 2029. It's betting that customers want speed and convenience; nearly all of its stores are drive-thrus with walk-up windows.

Dutch Bros also focuses on value. In a recent meeting with investors, Barone pointed out that Dutch Bros' medium drinks are 24 ounces; at Starbucks, a medium drink is 16 ounces. Luckin, whose app brims with coupons and promotions, is also value-oriented. On a recent afternoon, one of its nine New York stores buzzed with customers picking up mobile orders. The tiny shop had no seating.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The public is hereby advised that I, AARON VINCENT ARCHER of 35 Munnings Road, Southern Heights, P.O. Box SS-5468, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to MARCUS EVANS. If there are any objections to challenge the name by deed poll, you a rite s ch objections to the Chief Passport Offcer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that KENDY KEMBERLY TOUSSAINT of Gough Lane, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 2nd day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

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A former Sierra Club Foundation director sues over internal racism that he says hinders its mission

By JAMES POLLARD and MATT BROWN Associated Press

IT seemed like a high-profle opportunity to lead an infuential environmental group's ambitious new push for green energy fnancing.

And so, in May 2023, Pedro da Silva joined the Sierra Club Foundation, the charitable arm for the nonproft started by naturalist John Muir. A former investment management professional, da Silva directed its "Shifting Trillions" program that aimed to move major banks' investments away from the fossil fuel industry and towards climate solutions.

The efort emerged as George Floyd's murder prompted the Sierra Club to place newfound emphasis on environmental justice. As institutions grappled with their perpetuation of white supremacy, the club apologized for its founder's racist views and vowed to hire more diverse staf.

But da Silva says the foundation's commitments to racial justice did not extend internally. In a wrongful termination suit fled Thursday in California state court, the 29-year-old former employee alleges that normal workplace interactions got twisted into an unfair harassment complaint that leaned on racist stereotypes about predatory Black men.

He took the fring as a form of retaliation to the dissatisfaction he repeatedly expressed with the organization's discrimination and lack of diversity.

"That's what hurts movements so much," da Silva told the Associated Press. "Especially organizations like these, they publish these statements about diversity being a strength and then they make it impossible for diverse leaders to survive."

It's been a tumultuous period for the Sierra Club, among the country's oldest grassroots environmental groups. Facing a $40 million budget defcit in 2023, then-executive director Ben Jealous oversaw three rounds of layofs that eliminated about 10% of staf. Jealous, its frst Black leader, was ousted last August after staf accusations of harassment and bullying — a move Jealous considers "racial

retaliation." Jealous and da Silva are represented by the same civil rights and employment frm: Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, LLP.

A Sierra Club Foundation spokesperson said the decision to fre da Silva was "carefully considered." His claims "were not the cause of his termination, are antithetical to our values and policies and are completely without merit, and we are in the process of vigorously defending our position in the appropriate legal forum," the spokesperson said.

For da Silva, the experience illustrates what he sees as a pattern at the Sierra Club and a sector-wide problem in philanthropy: progressive nonprofts hired highly qualifed leaders of color when liberal donors wanted to see racial justice following 2020 but failed to support them and their equitable visions.

The lawsuit comes amid broader concerns in the sector that, with those visions facing new setbacks following the Trump administration's crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Black stafer turnover may be on the horizon just after many enter positions of power.

"When equity is woven into leadership development, decision making and accountability, it's less vulnerable to political cycles," said Michael Leach, the frst-ever White House chief diversity ofcer under President Joe Biden. "We have to start investing more

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in trust, not just externally, but internally."

A ceiling for Black nonproft leaders as DEI funding retrenches

Institutions have recently faced a reckoning over their embrace of racial justice.

Scores have backtracked on diversity commitments over the last year after the Trump administration's executive orders banning "illegal DEI" at organizations interacting with the federal government.

Candid, a nonproft research service, and ABFE, a membership group for Black philanthropy professionals, recently surveyed over 200 Black-led nonprofits about the backlash to race-explicit work.

In interviews, ABFE

President Susan Taylor Batten said Black leaders

repeatedly mentioned the psychological toll of "constantly negotiating their identity" as they balanced their missions against fnancial sustainability.

"I am concerned that, while the numbers may not yet be so visible, that we will see exits in the feld of Black leaders," Taylor Batten said.

'Things started to go south'

So transformational was Shifting Trillions' mission that da Silva said he took a 40% pay cut to build what he was told would become an entire department — the foundation's fagship program.

The job description said the leader should "model equity, inclusion, and justice."

According to da Silva, the foundation's executive

“ at's what hurts movements so much. Especially organizations like these, they publish these statements about diversity being a strength and then they make it impossible for diverse leaders to survive.”

Pedro da Silva

director, Dan Chu, told him he'd hire "a bunch of people" in his second year, expecting a staf of 6-10.

Within two years, da Silva said he'd infuenced more than $2 trillion despite being denied "virtually all of the resources" promised. His accomplishments brought a raise, he said, but he had to fght just to get one teammate.

What changed, in his view, is that he started speaking up. He pointed out the foundation's board had no Black women. He objected to the notion that the Fearless Fund lawsuit meant they should stop investing with Black-led asset managers. And he suggested a more qualifed Black woman had been passed over for a white candidate as the new chief legal ofcer.

On a trip to Monterey, California, according to the lawsuit, Chu confded to da Silva that he was helping the Sierra Club "drum up harassment complaints" against Jealous to oust him. And da Silva said he expressed concern that Jealous was "hired as a Black man who would be set up to fail" and scapegoated.

He said their interactions grew colder. Chu shortened the timeline when da Silva tried to discuss fve-year plans. His dismissive remarks about Black employees continued, according to the lawsuit. Chu asked da Silva to identify board members who could take over aspects of his role.

"It was really when I started raising those concerns directly to the executive director about how Black employees were being treated, spoken about most often by him, that things started to go south," da Silva said. "I realized that I had sort of stepped into something that was not consistent with what they

claimed publicly were their values."

ln late January 2025, according to the lawsuit, the new chief legal ofcer texted da Silva that he was under investigation. The foundation accused him of harassment and hostility for interactions with his subordinate that included recommending an Octavia Butler novel, sharing music by Etta James and Outkast, sending after-hours texts and taking a work walk through the park.

Rising ranks and stagnant support

Other non-white nonproft workers have described leadership as a "hollow prize."

Chanda Causer, who previously led a small business advocacy network, said there wasn't much money to be made in social justice work for a while. But around 2015 she noticed those same jobs started carrying higher salaries. All of a sudden, the leaders in the room looked a lot more like her.

A sobering reality sunk in at leadership retreats. She met other women of color who felt they'd been hired to rescue poorly run organizations that, unbeknownst to them, were running out of money.

Now, as a consultant who coaches mostly women leaders of color, Causer said they often feel heightened pressure to "get it right" as the frst person of their identity to hold their position.

"If funders are coming in to support, especially, people of color for the frst time in leadership roles, they also have a fduciary responsibility to do oversight and support and help them get to those outcomes," Causer said.

Undercover investigation of Meta heads to trial in New Mexico in rst stand-alone case by state

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press

THE FIRST stand-alone trial from state prosecutors in a stream of lawsuits against Meta is getting underway in New Mexico, with jury selection starting Monday.

New Mexico's case is built on a state undercover investigation using proxy social media accounts and posing as kids to document sexual solicitations and the response from Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It could give states a new legal pathway to go after social media companies over how their platforms afect children, by using consumer protection and nuisance laws.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez fled suit in 2023, accusing Meta of creating a marketplace and "breeding ground" for predators who target children for sexual exploitation and failing to disclose what it knew about those harmful efects.

"So many regulators are keyed up looking for any evidence of a legal theory that would punish social media that a victory in that case could have ripple efects throughout the country, and the globe," said Eric Goldman, codirector of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law in California. "Whatever the jury says will be of substantial interest."

The trial, with opening statements scheduled for Feb. 9, could last nearly two months.

Meta denies the civil charges and says prosecutors are taking a "sensationalist" approach.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg was dropped as a defendant in the case, but he has been deposed and documents in the case carry his name.

In California, opening arguments are scheduled this week for a personal injury case in Los Angeles County Superior Court that could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out.

The allegations against Meta in New Mexico

Prosecutors say New Mexico is not seeking to hold Meta accountable for content on its platforms, but rather its role in pushing out that content through complex algorithms that proliferate material that can be addictive and harmful to children.

The approach could sidestep immunity provisions for social media platforms under a First Amendment shield and Section 230, a 30-year-old provision of the U.S. Communications Decency Act that has protected tech companies from liability for material posted on their platforms.

An undercover investigation by the state created several decoy accounts for minors 14 and younger,

documented the arrival of online sexual solicitations and monitored Meta's responses when the behavior was brought to the company's attention. The state says Meta's responses placed profts ahead of children's safety.

Torrez, a frst-term Democrat elected in 2022, has urged Meta to implement more efective age

verifcation and remove bad actors from its platform. He's also seeking changes to algorithms that can serve up harmful material and criticizing end-to-end privacy encryption that can prevent the monitoring of communications with children for safety.

Separately, Torrez brought felony criminal charges of child

solicitation by electronic devices against three men in 2024, also using decoy social media accounts to build that case.

How Meta has responded Meta denies the civil charges while accusing the attorney general of cherry-picking select documents and making "sensationalist, irrelevant and distracting arguments."

In a statement, Meta said ongoing lawsuits nationwide are attempting to place the blame for teen mental health struggles on social media companies in a way that oversimplifes matters. It points to the steady addition of account settings and tools — including safety features that give teens more information about the person they're chatting with and content restrictions based on PG-13 movie ratings.

Goldman says the company is bringing enormous resources to bear in courtrooms this year, including New Mexico.

"If they lose this," he said, "it becomes another beachhead that might erode their basic business."

Many other lawsuits are underway

More than 40 state attorneys general have fled lawsuits against Meta, claiming it is harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms. The majority fled their lawsuits in federal court. The bellwether trial underway in California against social video companies, including Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube, focuses on a 19-year-old who claims her use of social media from an

early age addicted her to technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. TikTok and Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. settled claims in the case that afects thousands of consolidated plaintifs.

A federal trial starting in June in Oakland, California, will be the frst to represent school districts that have sued social media platforms over harms to children.

In New Mexico, prosecutors also sued Snap Inc. over accusations its platform facilitates child sexual exploitation. Snap says its platform has built-in safety guardrails and "deliberate design choices to make it difcult for strangers to discover minors." A trial date has not been set.

The jury weighs guilt, but a judge has fnal say on any sanctions

A jury assembled from residents of Santa Fe County, including the politically progressive state capital city, will weigh whether Meta engaged in unfair business practices and to what extent.

But a judge will have fnal say later on any possible civil penalties and other remedies, and decide the public nuisance charge against Meta.

The state's Unfair Practices Act allows penalties of $5,000 per violation, but it's not yet clear how violations would be tallied.

"The reason the damage potential is so great here is because of how Facebook works," said Mollie McGraw, a Las Cruces-based plaintif's attorney. "Meta keeps track of everyone who sees a post. … The damages here could be signifcant."