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VOLUME:117 No.127, MAY 27, 2020
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BETHEL TO FIGHT COURT’S RULING A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Citizenship move to be fought in ‘public’s interest’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Office of the Attorney General will appeal a groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling that children born in the country out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women are citizens at birth and do not have to wait until 18 to apply for citizenship. Attorney General Carl Bethel told The Tribune yesterday: “The ruling is very interesting. It will
be appealed in the public interest.” News of Justice Ian Winder’s ruling reverberated across the country yesterday. Michael Thompson, 34, said he can finally get a Bahamian passport for his eight-year-old child to visit his mother abroad if the ruling stands. And his mother––who said she is currently in the process of adopting her own grandchildren to pass her citizenship on to them–– instantly broke down in SEE PAGE THREE
THE Bahamas’ unemployment rate has soared to nearly 50 percent due to layoffs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a government minister revealed yesterday. And with the jobless rate so high Immigration Minister Ellsworth Johnson warned not all work permit holders will be able to get
their permits renewed. Instead, Mr Johnson said foreigners granted work permits would be replaced by Bahamian workers who have been deemed “competent” by officials to take over those roles. This, according to the minister, is part of the government’s efforts to tackle unemployment in the country amid the pandemic. Speaking ahead of a SEE PAGE FIVE
BURIALS ROBBED THE DEAD OF THEIR DIGNITY
SEE PAGE EIGHT
OVERFLIGHT FEES COULD START JAN 1 By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas is aiming to levy fees on aircraft flying through Bahamian airspace by January 1, 2021, Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar revealed yesterday, adding: “We think we’re close to a solution.” He said the government was hoping to release the proposed fee structure by July 1. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
MINNIS SET TO EXTEND LOCKDOWN
JOBLESS RATE RISE ‘TO ALMOST 50%’
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
ALICIA WALLACE
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE NIB dealt with more than 900 people in three hours at its temporary office at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium yesterday. Full report - Page 5 Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
THE country is set to experience more time under Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ emergency orders to combat spread of COVID-19. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest is expected to deliver his much anticipated budget communication in the House SEE PAGE FOUR
PROBE INTO YACHT ‘STRANDED’ 100 DAYS TECHNOLOGY By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force is investigating a visiting yachting couple - Captain Brian and Karin Trautman - who have been ‘stranded’ on an uninhabited island in the Ragged Island chain for over 100 days. The American couple were featured in a video
BRIAN and Karin Trautman put together by the BBC World Service and posted to Twitter. In the video,
the Trautmans tell their story of being caught in the COVID-19 lockdown and running out of certain supplies. The video caused a stir on social media, with some questioning if the couple were in the country legally. “There is basically nothing here,” Captain Trautman said in the video. “It’s just us, a bunch of beaches, some sharks, some
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE TWO
PANDEMIC APPS GET EXTRA BOOST SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
RBDF to investigate couple who have been ‘stranded’ on their yacht for 100 days
BRIAN and Karin Trautman and their baby girl Sierra
from page one rays and some turtles, no people, no nothing. So it’s a kind of idyllic paradise where we are.” The couple and their infant had planned to stay in the country for one month before the government’s emergency orders changed those plans. According to reports, they have been living on an uninhabited island near Ragged Island for about 100 days. “When it (pandemic) first happened, the government acted very quickly and set in place rules,” Captain Trautman continued in the video. “They did things like, first of all put the entire country on a lockdown. So they closed the borders and inter-island travel on all sorts of transportation.” In the same video, Captain Trautman’s wife, Karin, spoke of how they managed on the island. “We’ve been able to stay very isolated,” Mrs Trautman said. “We’ve been able to stay very self-sufficient, catching our own food and making our own power with solar and wind, we are making our own water with our desalination plant. So we thinking like, ‘well if we can stay here and we can stay safe and healthy then it sounded like a much better place than heading off to some marina or dock in the US where we are just literally trapped on board.’”
Captain Trautman expressed concern about the approaching hurricane season and how the Bahamas has had two massive storms in recent times which passed right through where he, his wife and their nine-month-old baby are positioned. “We have a baby, Sierra, and she is nine-months-old now,” the captain’s wife continued. “There are a lot of things with babies that you have to consider. Vitamins and diapers are to be considered. Obviously we cannot buy diapers out here so we have had to use cloth diapers.” Her husband added: “We are in an extremely isolated place and the chance of getting infected is pretty low. On the other hand if we do get infected, help is three days away. At some point we will have to make a decision to leave because I don’t want to stay here through hurricane season. It sounds like a terrible idea. Hopefully things will improve towards the end of this month.” Many Bahamians took to social media in outrage after viewing the video, accusing the couple of everything from illegal entry, to poaching to catching crawfish after the season is closed. The BBC tweeted back in the couple’s defence. “Thank you for raising your concerns regarding the legality of the Trautmans’
stay on the island,” the BBC tweet said. “The Trautmans have confirmed with us that they have cleared customs and immigration and were provided with a ‘cruising permit’ which allows them to be in The Bahamas waters.” In another tweet, the BBC said the Trautmans “notified the relevant authorities and had agreed a plan where they would remain where they are until further guidance is issued. “They also have a fishing permit, which allows them to collect a certain number of lobster, conch and also spear fish. Footage of fishing and eating lobster in the video was filmed in March.” The Tribune could not reach the couple for comment up to press time, however Capt Trautman told Eyewitness News that his family was in the country legally and that all footage of them catching lobsters was filmed in February and March, before the season closed. A RBDF officer, however, said the situation was still being investigated. “The matter is still under investigation,” said Chief Petty Officer Rolle, RBDF public relations officer. “The couple has cleared customs earlier. The matter is being investigated and that is as much as can be said at this time.” The couple have been living on their boat, SV Delos, for 10 years.
POLICE ARREST SUSPECT OVER HOME RAPE CLAIM By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
POLICE in New Providence have arrested a man suspected of raping a woman in her home on Monday. According to a police report, the Royal Bahamas Police Force received a complaint sometime around 7.20pm on Monday by a woman alleging that she was raped while at
her residence on Cowpen Road. An officer visited the scene and conducted inquiries where it was revealed that the suspect was known to and identified by the victim. A short time later, the man was located and arrested by police. Investigations are ongoing. During a Carol Harbour home invasion in February, a woman was sexually assaulted by one of several
robbers that forced their way into her home. This incident came after a similar one happened to another woman on Marshall Road back in January. There were 37 reports of rape in 2019 — a decrease from 55 incidents in 2018. Last year also saw seven reports of attempted rape and 97 reports of unlawful sexual intercourse, representing a drop from 11 and 113 respectively in 2018.
THE TRIBUNE from page one
tears discussing what this means to her. A final judgement in the case that prompted Justice Winder’s ruling, however, has not yet been made––the trial has been adjourned until July for a hearing on whether the father of the applicants in the case are indeed Bahamian men. The applicants are represented by Wayne Munroe, QC. Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he is persuaded by Justice Winder’s position. “It’s a very sound and erudite decision and reasoning,” he said yesterday. “He departed from (former Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall) and I thought he gave some cogent reasons as to why he went the way he did. “There’s some suspicion that it could have some deleterious effect on the country but I think not. As he indicated in his ruling, the question of whether a person has fathered a child is now easily verifiable through the technological advancements that mankind has made. You don’t have to rely on just the word of one or the other. You can establish it. If there are concerns that this could be abused, then domestic legislation could solve whatever mischief could arise. “My recollection is when we were dealing with the referendum, it was supposed to cause laws to be passed to ensure there is some degree of certainty in proof of paternity. There
Wednesday, May 27, 2020, PAGE 3
We’ll fight citizenship move in ‘public’s interest’, says Bethel are paternity tests, for example, and we can legislate that requirement as part of proving that you are the father once you’re not married. In place of swearing an affidavit to say you’re the father, something else could be put there.” The question of whether Bahamian fathers of children born out of wedlock to non-Bahamian mothers could automatically pass citizenship on to their children was one of several raised in the constitutional referendum in 2016, but was rejected by Bahamians. For his part, Mr Thompson said two of his children are born to different Haitian women. Somehow his first son was given a Bahamian passport, he said, but when it was time to renew the document he was denied. “When he went to the officials, they said whoever the mother is, the police looking for her,” said his mother, who declined to give her full name.
“My son is a Bahamian, I’m a Bahamian, my mother’s mother was a Bahamian. Just why? Yesterday’s ruling really brought a lot. I was already in the process of adopting them, paperwork and everything are in the lawyers hand just so they would be able to have a fair shake like anyone else in this country born here to a Bahamian father. I was so emotional when I heard the news. When I heard it on the news I was like oh my god,” she said. Justice Winder’s ruling focuses on whether a reference to “father” in Article 14 (1) of the Constitution is applicable when interpreting Article 6 of the document. Mr Munroe brought the action, seeking a declaration that the true construction of Article 6 is that any person born to either Bahamian parent after July 9, 1973 is a citizen at birth, that his clients “are born to a Bahamian father and entitled to citizenship pursuant to Article
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel
6 of the Constitution” and that “the wording of Article 14 does not affect the rights given under Article 6 in that Article 14 only applies where the word ‘father’ is mentioned in the relevant chapter and does not affect the wording of either parent as set out in Article 6.” Government lawyers argued that “the clear interpretation of Article 14(1) of the Constitution is that it applies to any provision which is capable of including the father,” Justice Winder noted. They relied on a ruling by former Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall in a case that was previously brought by Mr Munroe over a decade ago. Justice Winder, ultimately, has departed from the former Chief Justice’s ruling. In essence, he argues that if drafters of the Constitution wanted Article 14 (1) to apply to Article 6, they would have referred more precisely to “father or mother” in Article 6, not “parents.”
Migrants ‘need not fear’ supplying DNA samples By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE FUNERAL service last Friday
UNDOCUMENTED migrants “need not fear” deportation from the government when submitting DNA samples to assist with identifying Hurricane Dorian victims, Immigration Minister Ellsworth Johnson said yesterday. Saying all human life in the Bahamas “is precious”, the minister said the government is committed to helping storm victims find the remains of their missing family members and get closure from the September 2019 ordeal. “We’re a civilised country and we want to identify persons,” he told reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “All life in the Bahamas is precious and that’s why we describe it as one having the sanctity of life. “Everybody is entitled to that and we’re prepared to protect that, but I want to reassure anybody in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas that if they think that there’s a relative who is here. . .feel free to come forth. “And so, I want to say to persons that they need not fear (deportation).”
This comes after officials revealed on Sunday that only three of the 55 buried Dorian victims laid to rest on Friday have been identified by DNA thus far. Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash also noted during a press conference on Sunday that up to that point, 33 people have been reported as missing since Hurricane Dorian. While acknowledging the number of missing people does not correspond to the number of recovered Dorian victims, ACP Cash said there was a need for more victims to come forward and provide information on those who have not been seen since the storm. However, there have been concerns that some undocumented migrants in the Haitian community who may have lost loved ones may be reluctant to contact authorities and even submit DNA samples for fear of being deported. Maintaining that victims need not have such fears, Mr Johnson said the government’s handling of the immigration situation in the wake of Hurricane Dorian can attest to the fact that officials are respectful of each individual’s human rights. “I want to alert persons who are here in the
ALBURY: SUNDAY BRIEFING WAS HELPFUL By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
AFTER calling for an inquiry into the burial of 55 Hurricane Dorian victims over the weekend, Central and South Abaco MP James Albury says the Disaster Recovery Authority’s press conference on Sunday provided helpful information to Abaco families. It is not clear if he is still pursuing an official inquiry into the matter. Mr Albury, responding on Monday to a question from this newspaper about the press conference, said: “The purpose of my letter was to express the concerns of some of my constituents. I believe the DRA’s press conference helped shed light on the process and provided further information that Abaco families have been seeking. At this time I don’t have any further comment.” Mr Albury is parliamentary
secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister in Abaco. Friday’s ecumenical service was marred with controversy as some residents protested the event and were angered that due to social distancing guidelines, many who lost loved ones could not grieve properly. Some also claimed there was not enough communication from authorities ahead of time. After Mr Albury called for an official inquiry into the matter, Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he should resign as parliamentary secretary. Mr Albury attended Friday’s controversial ecumenical service. However, he wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis on Saturday: “As you are aware, on Friday, May 22, the bodies of 55 victims of Hurricane Dorian were laid to rest at the Central Pines Public Cemetery. Though some in Abaco feel
a sense of relief and closure that the victims’ bodies have now been laid to rest, as we approach another hurricane season, there are many who will remain unsure of the location and fate of their loved one(s). “Sir, I would be remiss if I did not request that a formal inquiry into this eight to nine month process and the timelines of this procedure be looked into by the appropriate agencies. I feel a review of this is not only imperative for the families of Abaco, but also for the proper handling of any further mass casualty events––God forbid. “I believe your assistance with this may help in bringing answers and further closure to the people of Abaco. Please know that I am appreciative of the ongoing efforts made by the Disaster Reconstruction Authority as they carry out their mandate, and this letter does not seek to reflect poorly on them, but to request clarity on the matter at hand.”
Bahamas who may not be naturalised, even just after Hurricane Dorian, the government put out a statement, saying that we would be guided by mostly the Constitution, international best practices and foremost among them — the universal declaration of human rights,” he said. “You can see how we conducted ourselves just after the hurricane despite legal status, everybody was provided with assistance. Persons were put into shelter and we did not take (stock) of citizenship or nationality,” he said. “And so healthcare, food and social services were
provided and so we went through the process even in the shelters to gather the names, social services did a phenomenal job and so it’s somewhat concerning that persons are saying they’re concerned now to come ahead and to identify their relatives when some of the same persons are coming ahead and utilising the social services structure. “And so, I want to say to persons that they need not fear that.” He urged individuals to give blood and other samples of their DNA to assist with identifying those who were buried in Friday’s ceremony.
PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
LGBTI COMMUNITY STILL PLANNING PRIDE MARCH By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas LGBTI community has no intentions of cancelling 2020 Pride Bahamas events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to organisers, who said the launch will still take place in October, but under certain guidelines. Speaking to The Tribune, Pride Bahamas spokesperson Alexus D’Marco said the events, which initially were set to be hosted in a public forum, will now likely be hosted virtually in view of the COVID19 social distancing guidelines. “Due to the COVID19 restrictions, we are remapping and revamping our plans,” she told
The Tribune. “There won’t be any social gatherings if the protocols are still in place for COVID-19 but Pride Bahamas 2020 will be launched October 5. “So, COVID-19 has impacted Pride as far as a mass gathering but COVID-19 doesn’t impact us launching Pride Bahamas 2020, which will be done on a virtual programme.” However, she said the guidelines could potentially change depending on when the government moved the country to phase five of its re-opening, further relaxing COVID-19 restrictions. She added: “So if at that time, we are at phase five during that particular time, at phase five we will have international people come in who were coming to support the Pride but it’s depending on the phase
that we’re at at that particular period.” Organisers are also in discussions to have the opening event at University of the Bahamas, she said, adding this had not been confirmed. According to Ms D’Marco, the opening will include “a flag-raising ceremony, the history of LGBTI Bahamas community and the way forward.” “. . .But, that’s probably one of the only social gatherings we will have if we are allowed during that period. But for right now, we’re virtual,” she said. The events, slated for October 5-10, will be held under the theme “the Rebirth of Pride Bahamas Centering LGBTIQA People in The Bahamas’ Future.” Ms D’Marco said contrary to popular belief, the
events will not be a celebration of decadence, but will serve to educate and create awareness about the marginalised community. “It’s about education and sensitisation,” she told The Tribune. “That’s originally what Pride Bahamas was about but people originally thought Pride Bahamas was about marching in the streets in (scantily clad) and stuff like that but that’s not what it is about for us and our launch. “The only parade we had planned was if the church decided to march, we would’ve marched in front of the church and say ‘we are church people too and we have families too.’” In an effort to create more awareness about those in the community, Ms D’Marco said the organisation is engaging a number
ALEXUS D’MARCO of people from different sectors within the country to better inform the public. She said: “We have different persons from the sector such as the police who will be talking and dialoguing with the police in regard to why the community don’t trust the police and what tools can we use to sensitise police to the violence that
most LGBTI people in the Bahamas incur.” She continued: “So we have the Ministry of Health, we’re engaging them in regards to our health and wellness platform for Pride Bahamas – the health and wellness of LGBTI Bahamians, inclusive of LGBTI persons and our access to justice programme. “We’ll be talking to some attorneys to find out why there are no legal protections in place for LGBTI Bahamians and what things we can work on together, moving forward. So virtually, all of this stuff will be done through a live and a Zoom platform.” Despite these new guidelines, the local activist said members in the community are looking forward to attending the highly anticipated event.
D’Aguilar: We’re still working on tourist protocols By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net OFFICIALS are still formulating protocols visitors will have to follow to gain entry into the country once the borders are reopened, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said yesterday. He also said the Ministry of Tourism plans to launch “a very comprehensive” marketing campaign to attract visitors once commercial international travel resumes. In the meantime, the minister said officials will be using “inexpensive” methods and strategies to keep the tourist destination on the minds of its visitors. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced the government is aiming to reopen country’s borders to commercial air travel “on or before July 1”. However, he said numerous factors will influence when the country will be allowed to resume international travel and tourism operations. Asked yesterday about the protocols for entry to the country, Mr D’Aguilar said the government is still “formulating” those protocols. However, he said there will be a number of new guidelines that tourists will have to follow when permitted in the country to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. He said: “When you arrive in the destination, you’ll notice LPIA will now have markers on the ground for social distancing and there’ll be barriers
between the passenger and the immigration officer. “Every attempt will be made to enforce social distancing and the wearing of your mask. Temperature checking and screening passengers as best as we can in order to allow them to enter the destination. “I mean, we have to come to grips with the fact that we can’t eliminate the risks, it’s impossible and COVID19 is going to be with us for the rest of our lives so we have to learn to live with this and mitigate the risk as much as possible.” As it relates to social interaction between workers in the industry and its guests, the minister said the ministry will soon be releasing a report to guide workers in the tourism sector on the matter. “A lot of thought has been gone into when you arrive into a hotel, how you go to a restaurant, how the room is cleaned, how the staff interacts, it’s going to be a substantial amount of training that goes into effect to let employees of hotels (know) how you now deal with customers of this new norm,” the Freetown MP said. “So, a lot of thought is being going in and the industry has produced a report that they will soon release into the public domain of all of the work and covering all of the different industries that will encompass the tourism industry.” After the country closed its borders in March, many local businesses suspended their operations, temporarily laying off workers.
On Monday, Luciano’s restaurant announced it will be closing its East Bay Street location permanently, with the COVID-19 crisis “being the final nail in the coffin” after several years of declining fortunes. Speaking on the matter yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar said the closure of Luciano’s signals that the government needs to reopen the economy “as quickly and safely” as possible. He said: “You see if you’re a business and you have a certain amount of cash in your bank account at the time of the closure, you’ve been slowly burning through that cash paying some of your staff and keeping key personnel employed and paying electricity. “The longer it goes on and the longer we keep our industry closed, the less resources will be at the end of this journey to restart your business so, not only is it that we have to re-open the industry, but we have to rebuild the customer base.” He continued: “So, it’s not just okay July 1, everything is back to normal but it’s going to take time for customers to get safe and feel comfortable enough to want to go out and go to a restaurant and that journey will be quite difficult for a number of businesses. “It just impressed upon me even more that as quickly as possible, we have to open our economy to prevent such unfortunate events as what happened at Luciano’s.” Editorial View - Page 6
MINNIS SET TO EXTEND LOCKDOWN from page one
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis
of Assembly today, but Dr Minnis is also expected to speak to the extension of his emergency orders which will expire at the end of this month. The Tribune understands parliamentarians will then debate a resolution in the House of Assembly tomorrow. This newspaper further understands that Dr Minnis will announce some relaxation of restrictions on business activities that will take effect sometime in the week after the Whit Monday holiday on June 1. The country has just began the transition to phase two of the government’s reopening plan, with family islands gradually reopening and church services gradually resuming. July 1st has been identified as a key date for the country, with officials hoping to resume commercial flights by then and resuscitate the ailing economy. New Providence and Grand Bahama have been recording few new cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks and no new case was recorded in the country yesterday for the third consecutive day. Critics, however, fear that health officials are not testing enough people to give an accurate sense of the spread of COVID-19 in communities.
STOPPING FOR A SODA COSTS POOL CLEANER $500 By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A POOL cleaner who claimed he was outside during the country’s weekend lockdown because he stopped to buy a soda on the way to his employer’s house was fined $500 yesterday. Willo Desamue, 37, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after officers found him on Rupert Dean Lane around 10.10am on Saturday, May 23.
Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie told the court when officers saw Desamue they approached him and asked him why he was violating the lockdown. Sgt McKenzie said Desamue said he was going to buy a soda. He was subsequently arrested and taken to a nearby station. There, he admitted to the offence in an interview with police. When given an opportunity to speak, Desamue told the magistrate his employer
had called him that morning to come and clean his pool. He said when he stopped to buy a soda, he was approached by officers who told him he did not have a right to be on the street. Desamue claimed at the time of his arrest, he told officers he was just trying to get a soda and get back to his truck. He pleaded guilty and was fined $500 or two months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
Meanwhile, Arlington Brown, 27, was charged after officers found him on Cowpen Road around 9.40pm on May 25. He pleaded guilty and was fined $500 or two months at BDCS. During the hearing, Brown was also charged for not wearing a face mask while he was outdoors. He also pleaded guilty to that charge and was fined another $200 or two months in prison. Both sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
Officers found Greenford Nava, 35, on Baillou Hill Road around 12.20am on May 24. He pleaded guilty to violating the lockdown, but said he was only “trying to help a Haitian man get something to eat”. Nava told the magistrate a man named Larry Poitier had told him he was hungry so he tried to help him because he was 70-years-old and they lived through the same corner. Still, he admitted he did not get permission to go
outdoors and added that his “cellphone was down” at the time, so he was not able to call the COVID-19 hotline. In response, Magistrate Forbes said while he applauded Nava’s “humanitarian efforts,” everyone had an obligation to comply with the law. He also noted if people failed to do so, there would be consequences. He subsequently fined Nava $500 or two months in prison.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 27, 2020, PAGE 5
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net THE National Insurance Board reported serving more than 900 people within three hours of operating its temporary satellite office at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium yesterday. NIB took to its Facebook page to show the lines were cleared of customers around noon on the first day at the stadium. While canvassing the area, The Tribune noticed the line improved within an hour and only a few people were left by noon. Although police and Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers were present, individuals were calm and practising social distancing under the shade. Construction worker Michael Forsythe was at the site to pick up his unemployed wife’s assistance cheque as she was looking after their young children.
NIB deals with 900 within three hours
According to the father, it has been challenging as he has been working “off and on”. “The business I work for is exempt but it isn’t the way it used to be. I mean things are really slow.” Life during the country’s lockdown has been difficult for the family, he said. He added: “It’s difficult to say the least because my kids are always asking why they can’t see their friends. My wife is going stir crazy. Obviously economically we’re not doing that well but
we have health. ...Obviously, we’re trying to conserve as best we can. There’s not much we can do because we don’t know what the future will be right now.” Elroy Armbrister, 30, is another father trying to provide for his threeyear-old child during the pandemic. Mr Armbrister has not been working since March, but his boss has been helping along the way and gives a few incentives. His landlord has allowed him to pay half the rent. But navigating
procedures during the crisis for him has been “annoying”. “I can’t really put into words to say that I feel weak or depressed about it - it’s just life. Things that you can’t control and I realise that you know,” he said. He was not sure if the unemployment cheques from NIB would be enough to survive as he did not know how much money he was receiving. Yet, he was appreciative of what he could get. “...It may not be
beneficial I would say pay rent or anything. Every little step, every little thing helps along the way hopefully it gets the ball rolling you know,” he said. “It’s a little head hurting you know but once you have something that helps along the way take it and you know keep it moving.” Many people have been waiting weeks to get unemployment assistance. Aldrinique Beneby, 34, said she has been waiting since the end of March to get her first unemployment
benefit, but she has been able to manage through this pandemic. “It’s been kinda okay seeing that I have a husband that kinda still worked from home and was able to take care of stuff and a bit of savings but the process of waiting for an unemployment benefit has been kinda tedious,” Mrs Beneby explained. NIB advised its customer service teams will be available at the stadium today and tomorrow to serve customers on an approved list for cheque collection.
THE NIB dealt with more than 900 people in three hours at its temporary office at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium yesterday. Pictured right is Michael Forsythe Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
Work permit warning as jobless nears 50 % from page one Cabinet meeting yesterday, he told reporters: “We know that 50 percent of the population is unemployed, some work permits will not be renewed. Where we have fit and proper competent Bahamians to do the job, they will be given that opportunity to do the job. “And so, what we have done in the (interim), because persons are sheltering in the Bahamas, the competent authority has extended annual work permits with the understanding that we’ve already refused some work permits. “(For example if) you’re a training manager, how many training managers (do) we have in the Bahamas who can do that job now? And so, we’re going through that process along with (Department of)
Labour to do it as humanely possible as we possibly can.” According to Mr Johnson, this also applies to other areas of work where Bahamians are found to be equipped with the necessary skills to complete the job. “We are a brilliant and competent people and so no areas are really exempt,” he said. “Once you come ahead and you could prove at the end of the day, because when you ask somebody to come into the country to work by way of a work permit, we should’ve done our due diligence to ensure that there’s no fit and proper Bahamians to do it who have the skills. “But when you find that there is that skill set, then you bring someone in.” He continued: “Also, there’s supposed to be a
component where you’re training to build capacity so where you find that someone comes in by the way of the permit and at the end of the day, you would find that if they would train ten Bahamians, we love this person. “Because he’s helping to build capacity in the country. But when you bring someone and after 10 years… you find that there
MINISTER: Ellsworth Johnson
is nobody who can acquire this skill, something is wrong, so we have to do it in a tactful and meaningful way.” He also said: “We are now faced in a situation where. . .almost about 50 percent of the population is at home.” In February, Labour Director John Pinder said more than 40,000 work permits have been granted in the country as he was of the opinion that that number should be cut in half to really put a dent in unemployment figures. At the time, he also said officials have been finding that work permit applicants are not being completely truthful about the roles labourers are taking. Asked yesterday if applicants could see the process for getting work permits become more stringent, the minister suggested
yesterday that it potentially could. Mr Johnson said: “Of course, we have to work closely with (Department of) Labour and we’re calling on the society to let us know that they have to now go into the employment exchange to let them know what their qualifications are? “We do this all in the context and I think people sometimes forget that we’re faced with two crises. The climate crisis and COVID19. COVID-19 has now caused us to have to say to persons who have preexisting conditions that you have to stay home. “And then we can’t, you could see the working space as we bring persons back in that you can’t work so closely together. This is the new norm.” Mr Johnson also lamented the need for full
digitisation in the Immigration Department to effectively respond to the needs of its applicants, especially those applying for citizenship. “What we’ve done in the Immigration Department is we’re forcefully pushing the digitisation process. We’re tired of persons saying they can’t find their documents. COVID-19, as devastating as it is, has reassured us of the urgency to fully digitise,” he said. “There’s no reason why you should not be able to upload your application online, pay online and get a temporary response and for the system to produce an algorithm to say within a reasonable time, this is when we’ll deal with your application – we’ve appointed a steering committee to that.” Editorial View - Page 6
PAGE 6, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
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Budget crucial as up to half of country is out of work IF the importance of today’s Budget was lost on anyone, the estimate by Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson that half the country’s workforce is unemployed ought to concentrate minds. That’s the first time the number has been estimated so high – though Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar had previously said the rate was around 30 percent shortly after the outbreak led to the closure of hotels. The National Insurance Board was working briskly yesterday at the national stadium to deal with lines of customers – serving more than 900 people within three hours as people sought assistance. Many have been waiting for weeks to get unemployment assistance, so it is good to see staff dealing with people so quickly yesterday. Long may that continue. There was more talk too of restricting work permits – and while redundancies may have led to people with experience becoming available for posts currently filled by permit holders, this still feels like a distraction. Businesses don’t want to spend extra money on work permits if they don’t have to – and we hope employers won’t be deprived of the workers they need to grow the business, bringing more jobs for locals in that fashion. But today, as Finance Minister Peter Turnquest details his Budget, it will be
a crucial moment for The Bahamas. Revenues have been down, and high unemployment means less income for the government and more expenditure for those in need. Mr Turnquest has given himself some breathing room by seeking a $252m loan from the IMF, and arranging some leeway on repayments might add to that. The effects of COVID-19 will be long-lasting around the globe, but if a short-term bridge can get us to when the country is open again and when revenues are back on the rise, that will put us in a different economic landscape to the one we’re in right now. Ultimately, the answer has to be to get the country working again, with people earning salaries, paying their VAT and import duties, and running an economy that is working rather than one at a standstill. Increasing taxation will only get us so far if half the nation is out of work. When Mr Turnquest speaks today, he needs to speak to the accuracy of that 50 percent unemployment rate – we need to know where we are if we are to understand how to go forward from here. Understanding that will give us a much clearer idea of why he is making the decisions he is in his Budget. There is no political blame for an unemployment rate brought on by a global pandemic – so let’s be clear and transparent about our game plan for getting out of this.
Put plans in place now WHAt will the country look like when it opens its borders? We ask because Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar has revealed that officials are still working out what the protocols will be that people have to follow to gain entry. Will our restaurants be at full capacity, or with limitations to ensure spacing? How will the airport handle everything
from luggage pick-up to spacing at Customs? What will be the differences for employees in hotels and casinos? These are the things we need to be working out now, not at the point we open the borders. If half the country is unemployed, making a success of reopening is going to be our most important task. Let’s get it right now, so we don’t have problems later.
Or, in other words EDITOR, The Tribune IN the words or Robbie Burns. “The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft a-gley” What was supposed to be a news lead on the inefficiencies in government, was actually an e-mail from a friend of mine which I forwarded to The Tribune to give a flavour of their misadventure. Somehow it has ended up as a letter to the Editor in The Tribune (May 26). Perhaps you would clarify that I have not been off island, nor returned under circumstances described. Thanks and regards, BRUCE RAINE May 26, 2020
Mr Raine was referring to the following letter, which a returning resident, who was put into quarantine on landing in the Bahamas, wrote to him to tell of his experience. It was sent to The Tribune, but was not made clear that in fact it was a personal letter to Mr Raine, and not Mr Raine himself. The letter was published in Tuesday’s Tribune. It is republished below: Well, I am quarantined. The entire disorganized, chaotic, non-informational, contrary answerings, confused Ministries and personnel and nobody knowing what the other is doing nor how to proceed and layers of dumb and dumber people with the 12 hours experience to move from the check-in counter
READERS have been posting their reactions to stories on tribune242.com. After a Supreme Court judge ruled that children born out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women are citizens at birth and do not have to wait until 18 to apply for citizenship, Economist had this to say: “Finally. The injustice has been going on for too long. Good job Mr Munroe in arguing the case.
in Florida to getting to Breezes has made me more determined to sell everything I have in the Bahamas and get out. Cannot wait. Frankly, if I could get out of this country tomorrow, I would be gone. Bahamas is Finished! At this point we are stuck here as team one that went to our house for an inspection for self-quarantine last week never wrote a report. So everything is on hold until another bunch of idiots get there, hopefully remember to write up a report, get that report back to Breezes and have at least 5-6 people read and check the reports, we will be stuck right here. ANONYMOUS Nassau
Thank you Justice Winder for a correct interpretation of the law.” Thephoenix562 said: “This would be great except I don’t believe it will hold up on appeal. We will see.” PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper says the Minnis administration’s 2020/2021 budget will be “brutal” for ordinary Bahamians. That prompted Moncurcool to ask: “Has Cooper been living
First, we should address our flaws EDITOR, The Tribune “THE secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but building the new.”- Socrates. To progress forward, upward, onward and together as a nation we must first address the major societal flaws that we endure on a daily basis. Every five years, we gather at the polls as we practice our constitutional rights and vote for the running political parties. During the election period, there are various factors which often cloud our judgment when we make our decision to support a political party. Consequently, political parties tend to create the foundation of their campaign on the faults of the opposing party (in an effort to vote them out), rather than creating a political campaign that mainly highlights their mission and goals to improve our nation. Political discrimination is prominent in our country as many people are treated unfairly when the political party that they affiliate themselves with is not voted in. The Bahamas maintains the notion of obtaining success by “it’s who you know, not what you know.” Simply supporting those who support them whether that be by a contract, a promotion or a job. As a result people who may not have supported the party’s campaign are put at a disadvantage and reap little to no benefits. People are often deprived of opportunities because of their political preference and affiliation. This constant spiral causes the country to be in a disarray and stagnates progress. People need to understand that once a party is elected they are the
under a rock? Does he not realise the whammy from Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 that our country has taken? This is not time for political shenanigans. This is time to try build our country because we are in for a rough ride.” Birdiestrachan said: “After all is said and done, the poor Bahamians will be taxed in order to pay the money back.” And the news that Luciano’s restaurant on East Bay Street is closing down permanently led
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net government of The Bahamas, not the government of their supporters. There should be an even playing field with equal opportunities for all Bahamians no matter which party they support publicly during election. I believe that this would decrease people’s dependence on certain parties and reflect positively in the economy. People would feel less entitled and be more inclined to take initiative for themselves. It’s the government’s job to teach everyone how to fish. Not give your supporters fish every time you’re in power and throw scraps to the others. Too often, we step into the voting polls thinking about the personal gain that can be obtained by showing loyalty and affiliation with a political party. We must stray away from voting for political parties simply because of the luring promises of personal gain and favours. This mindset often hinders our progress as a nation as we base our vote on personal advancement, rather than the advancement of every Bahamian. We will begin to see progress when the vast majority of us remain accepting and open-minded to change. Political parties often highlight the wrong doings of the opposition as a way of persuading the general public to vote for them. We should not base our support or cloud our judgment with the wrong doings of another party, but rather analyze their plans, and objectives which would
to this comment from Proudloudandfnm: “72 managers and staff???? I think I see your problem . . .” To which Porcupine responded with: “Yes, only if you want to maintain high standards, good food and decent service. We should be saddened by the implications of this closure, as it will not be the last. The restaurant business is highly competitive. That they managed to stay in business for more than 15 years is a tribute to their success, not
result in the nation reaping the most benefits. This dangerously simplistic approach towards voting stagnates our advancement, putting us years behind in a world that is constantly advancing. We need to leave the dormant mindset of supporting a party simply because we have done so for many years, and evolve into normalizing supporting any party that is willing to bring innovative ideas and change when we desperately need it in order to advance as a nation. Optimism is an important part of innovation and change. Human knowledge and cooperation depend upon feats of cognitive and emotional flexibility. We must be optimistic, but not gullible. Carefully analyzing the plans and goals of any party is of extreme importance and should be the highlight of any campaign. Human beings are incredibly complex creatures, so much so that sometimes we appear ambivalent without even realizing it. Nonetheless, as an aspiring governing party the promises made to the Bahamian people hold an everlasting value that should not be forgotten. “Promises mean everything. But once broken, sorry means nothing”. This quote is prevalent and shown true every time a party is voted out of The Bahamas government. When we think of the advancement of every Bahamian when voting for a political party to govern our nation, then we will achieve change. BRYANT LOWE Nassau, May 26, 2020.
failure. The number of staff and management needed to run a good restaurant should be looked at as an indicator of what impact is to come for our country in the very, very near future. It is not the staffing that is the problem, it is the shutdown of our economy as we knew it. This article should be highlighted to show the depth of our problems here. It is not an indictment of this restaurant, it is a portent of the very near future.” Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 27, 2020, PAGE 7
Photos: Vandyke Hepburn
AMERICAN BOAT CAPTAIN DENIES SHOOTING CHARGES
Tornado races in to cause trouble
JOHN Tellam outside court yesterday. Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
The prosecution alleged that Tellam was found with a black Remington 12 gauge shotgun that he used to endanger the lives of Corporal 2999 Glen Dean and Marine Seaman Keiton Bowleg on May 22. It was further alleged that on the same day he was found with 138 live 12 gauge shotgun shells and 20 live rounds of .223 ammunition. Tellam was also charged with being in possession of 10 live rounds of .410 ammunition, 100 live rounds of 5.56 ammunition and 533 live rounds of .223 ammunition on May 23. After denying the charges yesterday, Tellam was denied bail. His attorney Jomo Campbell indicated his client was in the process of applying to the Supreme Court for bail.
AN American boat captain yesterday denied a string of firearm and ammunition possession charges after he was accused of opening fire on officers during a shooting incident in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, last week. John Tellam, 60, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, three counts of possession of ammunition with intent to supply and two counts of ammunition possession. Tellam, who is from Stuart, Florida, denied all the charges and the case was adjourned to September 22 for trial.
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A TORNADO touched down in Deadman’s Reef, Grand Bahama early Tuesday morning, causing major roof damage to at least three homes and knocking down utility poles and power lines in the area. No fatalities or injuries were reported, an official said. The severe weather system also caused a lot of flooding leaving many roads underwater. Crews from GB Power Company were busy clearing away
FINED $1.5K FOR CUTTING OFF ANKLE MONITORING BRACELET By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
he had been acquitted of an offence in Magistrate Derence Davis-Rolle’s court, so he took a knife and cut off his monitoring bracelet. When given an opportunity to speak, Pierre told the magistrate he had only cut the ankle bracelet because he had been offered a job that would not allow him to work with the device on. Pierre said he was desperate for a job because he was the sole breadwinner of his household and he had a 65-year-old mother and teenage daughter depending on him. He insisted
A 36-YEAR-OLD man who cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet last year has been ordered to pay more than $1,000 in compensation to a security company. Sony Pierre appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday charged with one count of damage after he cut off a uniTrack monitoring device that belonged to Migrafill Electronic Security from his ankle on November 17, 2019. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to compensate the security company $1,512 for the broken device. Prosecutor Lincoln Mckenzie told the court officers realised Pierre was off the grid from November 17, 2019 and that his data was unknown until May 21. He said Pierre was subsequently arrested for breaching his bail. During an interview with police, the defendant told officers
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By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A MAN was yesterday charged with indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl. Sheldon Forbes appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes accused of attacking the child on May 22. He was not required to enter a plea and the case was adjourned to July 30 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment. Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.
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not be officials could T to press time. reached up By AVA TURNQUES to sources Reporter of According .net Tribune Chief matter, as tribunemedia close to the Wells has since aturnquest@ Mr Progres- Monday his accounts FOUR former Cabinet paid $9,000 on balParty an outstanding ARNOLD sive Liberal more than with $8,600. FORBES ministers owedat Bahamas ance of some also said as $62,023 The source Forbes was one $20,000 each Mr Light, with Power and in arrears of Monday the company former minister as of July, in talks with balance over settle the Mr for some $60,000 a list obtained to three-month period. a according to PLP Mount by The Tribune.and Collec- Forbes, former MP, was appointed The Credit 2015, listing of Moriah in January the tions Department and board to Cabinet served as MPs, senators the period and previouslythe Bahamas of for members 31, revealed chairman and Industrial ending July State Minister Agricultural . that former of Works Corporation the “do not Others on are: former in the Ministry owed BPL list Dr disconnect” Arnold Forbes of Health Tall $62,023.14. by The Minister former The list obtained delin- Perry Gomez, Leslie Miller, Tribune contains of six Pines MP Youth Minister of former quent accounts Cabinet minis- former Johnson, Dion former PLP PLP MPs, Dr Danny Village MP ters, two former Tourism DR DANIEL entities, and Nassau , two private Cabinet min- Smith, former JOHNSON Obie Wilchcombe one sitting $24,413 Town MP Minister South Beach MP and former ister: Bamboo Hamilton State Renward Wells. who owed Cleola of Mr Wells, $3,703.96 at former Minister Damian Affairs $9,277.07 and locations - for Legal two separatetotal – did not Gomez. SEE PAGE EIGHT $12,981.03 in yesterwant to comment former other the day, and
DR PERRY GOMEZ $24,498
LESLIE MILLER $42,219
DION SMITH $9,275
RENWARD WELLS $12,980
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HUMILI AFTER 4O YEARS LOSES HIS SEAT
seats: Encaptured four Island and Cat were spent under to South Aners’ dollars administration. glerston; 1,900 votes and San Salvador; Christie the win with is evidence 2017 the as well as Exuma DORSETT Mr Christie’s 1,875. He said if there”, the new dros VIRGIL ELECTION Islands. By SANCHESKAReporter to the unofBy KHRISNA Reporter seat, Fox According the the Ragged of “criminality et Tribune Staff from the Parwill allow SPEAK An additional being reDeputy Chief bunemedia.n ficial results Registration government course. THE PEOPLE nemedia.net sdorsett@tri PAGE 4 was still its kvirgil@tribu his Hill, law to take to press time. and liamentary , Mr Chipman after ON’ decounted up his parMoments DNA ‘TO GO PAGE 5 IN a surprisingat the Departmentout of 12 pollas the na- This marked the worst in AFTER leadinglandslide defeat party won seven maiden speech MinLOSE humbling leader, Dr Prime Min- ing divisions in the former ty to a stunning feat for a governing Mr tion’s next PLP BIG NAMESPAGE 7 dealing a parapolls, outgoing that under recent history. victory and to the ProgresChristie lost PLP stronghold, while will nis promised victory came MPS ister Perry Bahamians The FNM’s won five. lysing blow Party last night, years the Centreville his watch, YOUR PROJECTED fear from despite a rocky five his seat in last night by Christie PAGE 9 Mr Christie sive Liberal nothing to challengto In 2012, have conPrime Minister constituency representing pointing , FAR included two incoming the Centrevilleeighth said that Dr Minnis’ leadership, the government RESULTS SO PAGE 14 Minnis declared 25 votes aftermore than 40 won the n, which he Dr Hubert of a fracstituency for time with have abused victimisatio tional” “im- es to the area for to unofthat those who trust “have continued reports ultimately consecutive He defeated is “unconstitu MORE COVERAGE of years, according party and the post “wrong”. PAGES 2-18 positions 2,950 votes. moral” and to unofficial tured results. from to fear”. ficial held candidate Ella removal has Opsomething to thousands of According able his at the Mr Christie 1977 and the FNM’s of the Official FNM was Speaking by 1,349 votes at the Q House today. results, the stunning defeat of leader in the House of won all the Lewis the seat since a pledged that jubilant supporterslast night, ment Mr Christie leader of Dr Minnis on will give to pull off securing a mas- position has been Liberal Party time. polling division in E Sports Centre but one administrati Terrance of the PLP, constituencies. Assembly. a long fought National MoveProgressive 39 “This was victory is not the Free also announced his General it sive 34 of ry Regsince 1997. released a but the Prime 2012. ment leader be sworn in as Auditor the resources former is yours,” Although he the loss, The Parliamenta did battle, The about his seat to that he will fourth prime Bastianto probe how taxpay- istration Department re- mine - the victory thousands Minister lost Movement statement did not speak full election last Dr Minnis told on the carThe Bahamas’ at Govern- needs Mr Christie National not release the 5pm poFree packed at with and FNMs minister SEE PAGE SIX sults last night, in from the of (FNM) candidate Reece nival grounds. people’s time numbers coming litical newcomer agency around “This is the and I who secured government from the and I am your servant Chipman, 11pm. However it apSEE PAGE THREE unofficial numbers, the PLP only of the conpeared that “The outcome trust according to vention did not inspireBahalast Mark Humes in the results, said coming afor confidence that’s “obvious” mian electorate but think sweeping defeat residents unofficial that it is I ROLLE have stood behind us now and they night ter Fort Charlotte By RASHAD Reporter told him party would winning the the party has a wonderful repeatedly lead- the and Tribune Staff stand the any a better chance emedia.net been victori- opportunity to rebuild could not he had rrolle@tribun country said. of the per- electionthe PLP’s leadership reengineer itself,” he for for- ership despite their ous in adding that longer, him. AS HE called SEE PAGE SIX RASPBERRY Minister Perry sonal affection for was pro- race in January, made a mistake” mer Prime who ICED TEA “the party resign as leader Mr Sears, Mr Christie. Free NaChristie to Liberal in choosing to lose to the Al- jected Movement’s (FNM) of the Progressive last night, the tional Party (PLP) said he saw fred Sears
T By AVA TURNQUES Reporter t Tribune Chief ibunemedia.ne aturnquest@tr Sewerage WATER and Chairman Corporation yesterday Adrian Gibson existence the confirmed disconnect” of a “do not by scores list populatedthe governof elites at utility owned to ment he pledged provider as on initiate a crackdown accounts. delinquent told The Mr Gibson l “confidentia Tribune the 221accounts, list” held total of with a combined the period $175,000 for2017. ending June he plans He said that corporathe to direct all persons tion to notify arrears owing excessive or face debts to resolve n. disconnectio a list confi“There is the Long dential list,” Island MP said. would think “In fact, I s corporation that all the year or two, in over the last and more particularly year, there May of thisclose attenhas been that list by tion paid to t with the managemen changing the a view to lists usually way those operate. this con“As it stands, a number has fidential list on it, and of persons it’s being really and trulypersons by used to notify or letters. courtesy call that as the I can say toothe corporachairman of to direct tion I am going owing that all personswho are excessive arrears EIGHT SEE PAGE at the end of
DAMIAN GOMEZ OBIE $3,413 WILCHCOMBE CLEOLA $4,911 HAMILTON they owed $6,118 list and the amount since that date. disconnect” BPL “do not made or further debt incurred named on the NINE individualsdo not include any payments July. The sums
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safeas well as of homicides A DORSETT guarding the residents By SANCHESKReporter in Fox Hill. et Tribune Staff walkabout bunemedia.n During a Acting prepared. live national sdorsett@tri er Fox Hill on Tuesday, ROLLE During a Ferguson Commission his office By RASHAD Reporter ACTING Fergu- Commissioner and address from Dr Minnis Tribune Staff Anti-Gang of Police Anthony emedia.net yesterday said the Inveslast night, Maria is rrolle@tribun Tracing and announced dev- son establishment of two Firearms Unit will operate fore- said: “Hurricane the potentially Bahamas tigation WITH we the DetecMaria another hurricane that separate Royal anti-crime out of the Central the cast for Hurricane Force storm to pass astating monitor.” (CDU) while projecting the Baha- must carefully Though most Police aimed at eliminating tive Unit SEE PAGE 11 units counHe added: near the Southeast Prime was spared gang activity in the morning, of mas Friday Hubert Minnis of the Bahamas the number try, reducing Minister Dr of those SEE PAGE TWO and is urging residents be vigilant islands to
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Dr Hubert MinPRIME Minister Kendera Woodside, nis meeting murdered Eugene the mother of
this Yes I feel for y our countries.than I can say.” more ensure has a responsibilit one mother said he will Each citizen information Dr Minnis provided to and whatever that forward. medical attention is is pregnant. the composure. said he felt the fam- has we must bring among us.” who after feel live Dr Minnis Mrs Woodside, the grieving and days makes me Three These criminals who emphasised country’s he “You can see of those pushed the ily’s pain. “What through,” Mrs Minnis, that her appearis that most during murder that violent crime into ROLLE she’s going someI, even worse By RASHAD Reporter not a pain “I assured her that the family the yard, struggle with spotlight yet again, them was doctor, to will have we see in Tribune Staff ance before called on women said. today (Friday) we to look the national as a medical emedia.net acute. rrolle@tribun come my my years political move,one day this week time her pain remained live a life, medical personnel she’s pregand comforting cried. “He ain’t even to wear blackfor murder victims. Dr THE hugs her because sure that Prime Minister wife God,” Mrs Woodsidegive my upon after in mourning I’m calling words of I have to make infant are and his a baby. I could my really nant. “As a mother, Hubert Minnis couldn’t answer “He’s right now just for because I this,” her and her unborn will also make take all mothers can stop Patricia Minnis that consumed breath be right here. They well and we sure the both mothers make to tearful to believe ts who was the questions yesterday as babyheart out my body. who arrangemen medical personnel They said Mrs Minnis, eight- my Kendera Woodside have our sons on a only son. for her son, killed times. “We birth and as they necessary her and see her “This my my daughter too she grieved of them at from the safety who was with look after almost shoot (the house) with would’ve delivered most knowing we cradle we are still with regular basis to ensure infant.” year-old Eugene, men me inside to they family? become unborn closer ago. speak tell- and and her do to my four days so they are patients,” Dr them. We have to people ain’t should of her What they SEE PAGE TWO are my former “Why these bringing my son me. they do to us? st by pro- them. I think all women week me? I they we ain’ carry one day this ing me they she cried between What Minnis, a gynaecologi “The message “Why they wear black what’s happening in a baby.” tried to right now?” fession, said. the entire Bahamas 29 years, He’s Dr Minnis and mourn Eugene’s Rose- live screams as must send to this alone. Tonio Woodside, family at theirEugene wife even is the police can’t fight console the consoled his home where on father, struggled to maintain bud Road a stray bullet as he was shot by did his homework. he Monday as
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he only committed the offence in the “heat of the moment,” and noted he almost cut one of the veins in his legs while he was attempting to remove the device. In response, Magistrate Forbes told Pierre he expected him to make more responsible decisions as he was not a juvenile. After sentencing the defendant, he warned him that if he failed to pay Microfill Electronic Security back, he would spend six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
PLP CASUAL HIRES COST EXTRA $10M
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damaged poles and lines to restore power. Cristian Palacious, the administrator for West Grand Bahama, told The Tribune: “Residents there reported that they had experienced it shortly after midnight last night. “We had major roof damage to three homes, two were occupied and one was unoccupied. A lot of power lines and poles also came down. “There are a lot of roads flooded due to the amount
of rain and which are still not passable in regular vehicles.” With regards to power restoration, Ms Palicious indicated GB Power had immediately dispatched crews to the area to restore down poles and power lines. “GB Power responded immediately and was able to restore to most areas,” she added, explaining that restoration work was hampered due to rainy conditions. The MP for West Grand
Bahama, Pakesia ParkerEdgecombe, said she was grateful that no one was hurt. “Tornados are known to be very devastating…we are grateful that there were no injuries as a result of the activity. There was, however, flooding in the area as usual during inclement weather,” she said. “Social Services and the Disaster Reconstruction Authority are both responding to the turn of events in an effort to render assistance.”
PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
LAST FRIDAY, there was the burial of the 55 bodies previously kept in a refrigerated container for months outside a clinic in Marsh Harbour.
WHEN my grandfather died I was out of the country for study. I had planned to return three weeks later, but got the support of my parents and the university to make the necessary arrangements to change the date. It was a difficult time of year because final exams were set to begin in a matter of days. Some people suggested I stay, but others, including my parents, told me to come home if that is what I needed to do. I do not remember all of the details, but I took a few exams early, travelled to Nassau for the funeral and returned to take the remaining exams. Everyone involved acknowledged the importance of being able to grieve through human connection and ritual. We need to be able to reflect, mourn and celebrate when we suffer the loss of someone close to us. There is no circumventing grief and there is no replacement for the practices we know and depend on. People deserve to have the space and the ritual they need to grieve. Last Friday, I did not watch the burial of the 55 bodies previously kept in a refrigerated container for months outside of the clinic in Marsh Harbour. I found it difficult to hear people talk about it. I was - and still am - aggrieved that it happened when and how it did. There can be dignity in death and even if a person is denied that, there can at least be dignity in the treatment of their bodies and the care given to their loved ones. These dignities were denied. There is conflicting information about the efforts
Why did this shameful ceremony happen, robbing the dead of their dignity and the bereaved a proper moment to grieve? The
Alicia Wallace column made to help people whose loved ones have been missing since Hurricane Dorian, but it is safe to say
the response has not been good enough. Strange decisions were made, leading to a burial that kept family
members at a distance. Some were not even able to be on the island. The event was held and a press conference later took place to explain what had happened. None of it makes sense. It is not right. No one would be satisfied with this as the end in a series of terrible events that dehumanized, separated, scorned, ignored and hurt people in many ways. We must know by now
that we will never have an accurate count of lives lost in Hurricane Dorian and its aftermath. There is much to be discussed about the way the initial disaster was handled and the decisions that created subsequent disasters, not the least of which is people being unable to find, identify and inter the bodies of their loved ones. The people of Abaco have been done a disservice. The government has
had its way, but we can still ask why it was done this way. After months of inaction, why now - during a pandemic that necessitates restrictions on public gatherings - have the bodies of 55 people been buried? Why did it need to be done, all of a sudden, in a rush? We may never know what the government decided to bury with those bodies, but we must never forget that day and all that led to it.
WITH INFLUENCE COMES A LITTLE RESPONSIBILITY RELIGIOUS leaders tend to have the ear of the government and the rapt attention of their congregations and, by extension, the general public. People not only turn to them for religious purposes, but follow their general guidance. This is why political parties - and government administrations which always insist on behaving like them - are careful not to ruffle their feathers. They depend on these religious leaders to speak the language of red or yellow, influencing the way members vote. Everyone knows their influence, but few call on them to be responsible in the exercise of their power. This week, church leaders have not only expressed anger about restrictions on church services, similar to those in place for other gatherings, but stated that they will defy them. One has called the restrictions “immoral and ungodly”. Another made false comparisons between the church and other entities such a grocery stores, pharmacies and banks. If the church is concerned about its income and wishes to operate as a business, it will need to make the necessary adjustments to its registration status. Then it would be able to, like other businesses, allow a limited number of people to enter the building and position themselves on marked spots,
following all guidelines including wearing masks at all times and maintaining the requisite six-foot distance between individuals. This would certainly be welcomed as the Government of The Bahamas and, by extension, the people of The Bahamas would benefit from the tax dollars the churches that become businesses would pay. The motives of religious leaders are questionable at times like this when they put their own ego - which they try to present as moral authority or messaging from God - ahead of the health of the congregants. Why can’t church services be held in parking lots? For churches without parking lots, why can’t they apply for permits to hold their services elsewhere? Is the church merely the building, or is the church the people? Why can’t churches hold services online? There are many ways to livestream church services including social media and other platforms such as Zoom and YouTube. For years, churches have broadcast services using television and radio. Why not now? If money is the issue, it is not difficult to receive online payments. Members could even make deposits directly to church accounts just as many parents and guardians pay school fees this way.
There is no excuse for this blatantly incendiary commentary from religious leaders. They are being incredibly obtuse and must know it is ridiculous to suggest that it is moral and godly to put lives at risk in order to participate in a weekly in-person ritual that can just as easily be conducted virtually with participation from people with access to the internet, cable television, or radio. For those serving communities and individuals without such access, there were not only weeks to develop a plan to assist them, but months or even years to develop, implement, and collaborate with other entities on poverty reduction and service provision programs. The Catholic and Anglican churches have taken a completely different approach from those vocal religious leaders. While they have expressed joy in response to the news that they can hold services under relaxed restrictions, they have made it clear they are prioritising the health of parishioners and will not rush to make adjustments. They are developing plans to ensure that when services resume on their properties, it is safely done. Churches, governments and many institutions must learn and help to teach an important lesson - people are more important than institutions.
BEENIE MAN V BOUNTY KILLER VERZUZ has been providing free entertainment since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, bringing artists together to battle song-for-song on Instagram. On Saturday night, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer gave the world a glimpse of the culture that inspired the Verzuz battles we have been enjoying. Scheduled to start at 8pm, the first Verzuz event to feature dancehall artists opened with 40 minutes of music from artists like Beres Hammond as a warm-up by the DJs. The two-hour livestream was full of energy. Beenie Man and Bounty Killer were each determined to “kill” each other with their selections of their own songs. There was definitely not enough time to play all of the favourites, but fans were taken back with Beenie Man’s Memories and
Bounty Killer’s Living Dangerously among others in 20 rounds of play. They even slipped a few dubplates in, bantered about the rules, had an interruption by police and gave us drunk uncle dances. There are now memes and GIFs that will take us back to those two hours and keep us laughing for years to come. There is nothing quite like seeing two people in the same industry and understood as rivals come together in friendly competition and just vibe. As Bounty Killer put it, the battle was a musical sport and we truly saw the passion they have for their work, love they have for each other and dedication to using their gifts to bring joy. At the end of the event, the internet decided the winner was Jamaica.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 27, 2020, PAGE 9
APPLE AND GOOGLE RELEASE TECHNOLOGY FOR PANDEMIC APPS By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer APPLE and Google have released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. The companies said 22 countries and several U.S. states are already planning to build voluntary phone apps using their software, which was released last week. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus. Many governments have already tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to roll out their own phone apps to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those apps have encountered technical problems on Apple and Android phones and haven’t been widely adopted. They often use GPS to track people’s location, which Apple and Google are banning from their new tool because of privacy and accuracy concerns. Public health agencies from Germany to the states of Alabama and South Carolina have been waiting to use the Apple-Google model, while other governments have said the tech giants’ privacy restrictions will be a hindrance because public health workers will have no access to the data. The companies said they’re not trying to replace contact tracing, a pillar of infection control that involves trained public health workers reaching out to people who may have been exposed to an infected person. But they said their automatic “exposure notification” system can augment that process and slow the spread of
COVID-19 by virus carriers who are interacting with strangers and aren’t yet showing symptoms. The identity of app users will be protected by encryption and anonymous identifier beacons that change frequently. “User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps,” the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday. The companies said the new technology — the product of a rare partnership between the rival tech giants — solves some of the main technical challenges that governments have had in building Bluetooth-based apps. It will make it easier for iPhones and Android phones to detect each other, work across national and regional borders and fix some of the problems that led previous apps to quickly drain a phone’s battery. The statement Wednesday also included remarks from state officials in North Dakota, Alabama and South Carolina signaling that they plan to use it. “We invite other states to join us in leveraging smartphone technologies to strengthen existing contact tracing efforts, which are critical to getting communities and economies back up and running,” said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican. North Dakota had already launched a location-tracking app that about 4% of state residents are using, higher than other U.S. states with similar apps but falling far short of the participation rate that experts say is needed to make such technology useful. Tim Brookins, the CEO of ProudCrowd, a startup that developed North Dakota’s app, said
TECHTALK
TECHNOLOGY HELPS TRIBE RECONNECT WITH DAKOTA LANGUAGE By CATHARINE RICHERT Minnesota Public Radio News
APPLE and Google have released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. (AP Photo/File) Wednesday that North Dakotans will now be asked to download two complementary apps — his model, to help public health workers track where COVID-19 patients have been, and the Apple-Google model, to privately notify people who might have been exposed to the virus. Some privacy advocates have favoured the Google-Apple approach because it offers more privacy and security. But others, including Ryan Calo, a law professor who co-directs the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab, said he is concerned about its
effectiveness if people get too many false alerts asking them to quarantine themselves. He said public health agencies would be better off being able to track location with careful safeguards. Calo said Google and Apple have been more upfront about the limitations of their model, but he said he’s still worried some governments will treat it as a substitute for crucial investments in free, widespread testing and hiring an army of human contact tracers. “We’re just not going to get out of this global pandemic with a clever app,” he said.
VIRGIN ORBIT ANALYSING DATA TO FIND CAUSE OF ROCKET FAILURE By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Virgin Orbit engineers were analysing data Tuesday to find out what caused the maiden flight of its air-launched satellite booster to fail. The problem occurred soon after the LauncherOne rocket was released Monday from a Boeing 747 jetliner off the Southern California coast and its first stage motor ignited. The launch was not terminated by the autonomous flight safety system, which would have been triggered if the rocket left its flight corridor, said Kendall Russell, Virgin Orbit’s spokesman. “So the engineers are diving into the data now to determine the source of the anomaly,” he said in an email. The payload for the demonstration flight was essentially a dummy satellite that was supposed to be placed in low Earth orbit. Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, is among several new companies developing rockets specifically for launching small satellites. While others are using conventional launch pads, the Long Beach, California-based company’s air launch system would allow it to operate around the world from airports capable of handling a 747, putting satellites into orbit when and where a
THE Virgin Orbit Boeing 747-400 aircraft named Cosmic Girl takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the desert north of Los Angeles Monday. Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit failed Monday in its first test launch of a new rocket carried aloft by the Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)
customer chooses. Virgin Orbit’s highly modified jumbo jet, dubbed Cosmic Girl, took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the desert north of Los Angeles and headed out over the Pacific just beyond the Channel Islands where it flew an oval-shaped flight path known as “the racetrack.” According to Virgin Orbit, LauncherOne’s computer takes control a few minutes before the final countdown and a maneuver in which the jet pitches up steeply and releases the rocket at
an altitude of about 35,000 feet (10,668 metres). The jet banks away and the rocket falls for a few seconds before ignition. The company said there was a “clean release” and the engine fired as planned. What happened next remains to be determined. Chief Executive Officer Dan Hart said in a statement there was a “treasure trove” of data from flight instruments. “Our next rocket is waiting,” he said. “We will learn, adjust, and
begin preparing for our next test, which is coming up soon.” The company has six rockets under construction. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose company is preparing to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket this week, sent a sympathetic tweet to Virgin Orbit after word of the failure. “Sorry to hear that. Orbit is hard. Took us four attempts with Falcon 1,” he wrote.
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — These days, Dakota — the native language of the Prairie Island Indian Community — isn’t widely spoken. But the tribe is trying to change that and the pandemic has offered them an unusual opportunity to do so: by bringing language classes online, they’ve been able to reach more members than ever before. In person classes have typically attracted a handful of people, said tribe communications manager Rayanna Lennes. Using technology like Zoom to teach live classes, and archiving them online, gives far-flung tribal members an opportunity to reconnect with their language — and each other, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. “It’s an hour a day, three days a week that we’re all on, and we get to interact with each other, and it’s this sense of community,” said Lennes, who participated in a class earlier this month over Zoom. That includes Kim Campbell who lives in Washington state. She said the classes are a highlight during her otherwise dull weeks stuck at home. And they’re a reminder that her tribe, who are descendants of the Mdewakanton Band of Eastern Dakota, some of whom still live on the reservation near Red Wing, is thriving. “It just makes you feel connected to your community. It means that we’re still here,” Campbell said during a Zoom class earlier this month. That session focused on giving commands — useful stuff when you’re stuck at home with some unruly children. Teacher Arthur Lockwood went over some basics like “go over there.” “Heciya iyaya,” Lockwood pronounces slowly for the class before they give it a try. But the class isn’t just about memorising and repeating new words. Lockwood focuses on intonation, context and nuance — like when it’s OK to use a more casual version of a phrase. “That kind of stuff all comes with the comfort of the language, you know?” Lockwood told the class. For most students in this class, Dakota isn’t comfortable, because learning it was not something many of them did as children. The language chain was broken many decades earlier when Dakota children were sent to boarding school. There, they were punished for speaking Dakota. Over time, fluent speakers became sparse. Those who knew the language were scared to teach their children how to speak it for fear they would be ostracized, too. Lockwood only heard his older relatives speak Dakota here and there as he grew up. At 17, he started learning the language in earnest. “I asked my grandma to get me a dictionary. I started to study,” Lockwood said. “A word a day, I’d take out of that dictionary.” Since so few people speak Dakota, practice opportunities remain scarce. That’s the real challenge in keeping the language alive among Prairie Island members, said Johnny Johnson, a tribal council member. “When I was growing up, I heard it all the time when we were going to everybody’s house,” he said. “Now, it’s like the kids are learning but the parents aren’t learning. It’s very hard for them to speak or talk to them without someone else learning along with them.” Johnson said taking the lessons online and making them more widely available protects against the language fading from memory. For his part, Lockwood said he only has one goal for the class. “I hope that I work myself out of a job,” he said.
PAGE 10, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
By WENDY WHITMAN COBB Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies TWO American astronauts, Robert L Behnken and Douglas G Hurley, are due to launch today from the Kennedy Space Centre on a mission to the International Space Station. If successful, this will mark the first time in nine years that American astronauts will launch into space from American soil. What’s even more remarkable is they will not be launched by NASA but by a private company, SpaceX. Human spaceflight is incredibly difficult and expensive; the rockets must be reliable and the vehicle must be built with expensive life support systems and a certain level of redundancy. To date, only three countries – Russia, the United States and China – have achieved this feat. As a space policy expert, I find it hard to overstate the significance for both SpaceX and spaceflight in general. For SpaceX, it’s another step on their road to Mars, but more generally, it demonstrates that spaceflight need not be reserved for only the most powerful of states. In many ways, SpaceX’s achievement is due not only to technological advances, but opportunity brought about by disaster. The breakup of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 led the Bush administration to decide to end the shuttle program by 2010. They directed NASA to develop a replacement, Project Constellation, but due to budget cuts and other problems, NASA failed to make significant progress. As a result, in 2010, the Obama administration directed NASA to refocus its efforts on deep space missions and rely on private companies to provide access to the ISS and low Earth orbit. Enter SpaceX. Dreaming of colonization of Mars but frustrated with
A small step for space exploration, a giant leap for private enterprise the slow pace at which it was coming, Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. To get to Mars, he decided that spaceflight would first need to be made cheaper. His philosophy was to devise a rocket system that could be used again and again with minimal refurbishment between flights. Over the next decade, SpaceX designed, built and tested its Falcon series of rockets. It signed contracts with NASA to provide cargo services to the ISS and with other companies and the U.S. military to provide general launch services. Perhaps most importantly, SpaceX has demonstrated that its rockets can be reused, with the core stages flying their way back to Earth to land themselves. The 2010 shift in American space policy gave SpaceX an opportunity to build on its early successes. By 2014, both SpaceX and Boeing were given
ASTRONAUTS Bob Behnken, left, and Doug Hurley contracts from NASA to provide commercial crew launch services. And it appears, so far, that SpaceX has made good on its promise of reducing the cost of human spaceflight. Compared to an average space shuttle mission that cost US$1.6 billion, NASA is paying only $55 million per seat for SpaceX’s upcoming ISS flights. This massive reduction
in cost made possible through reusable rockets is contributing to several developments in spaceflight. First, it provides NASA a means of access to the ISS without relying on the Russian Soyuz. Since 2011, the U.S. has been paying Russia upwards of $86 million per seat for flights to the space station. Second, with SpaceX and Boeing providing access to
the ISS, NASA can concentrate on Project Artemis, which intends to return humans to the Moon by 2024. They are also leveraging new commercial capabilities from SpaceX, Blue Origin and others to further reduce costs to get there. If SpaceX is successful, it could also mean the opening of space to tourism. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are planning to offer brief suborbital launches that don’t enter Earth orbit. SpaceX, on the other hand, is already signing up passengers for several-day trips to space at $35 million a seat. Even Tom Cruise is looking to fly on SpaceX and film a movie aboard the ISS. While space companies have long predicted opportunities for space tourism, SpaceX’s Dragon brings that possibility closer to reality. More broadly, adding tourists to the mix in low
Earth orbit may even help make space safer. Debris in orbit is a growing problem, along with increasing tensions between the U.S., China and Russia in space. Both of those things make operating in space more difficult, dangerous and costlier. For the space economy to really take off, countries will need to put in place regulations that ensure safety and reliability in several areas, including vehicle safety and debris mitigation. And, as I suggest in my new book, having more humans in space might force countries to think twice before taking potentially dangerous actions in space. While orbital space tourism might still be far off for the average American, SpaceX’s crew launch brings us closer to the day when an extraordinary event is a normal occurrence. theconversation.com
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 27, 2020, PAGE 11
4 officers fired after death of black man
MINNEAPOLIS Associated Press
FOUR Minneapolis officers involved in the arrest of a handcuffed black man who died in police custody were fired yesterday, hours after a bystander’s video showed the man pleading that he could not breathe as a white officer knelt on his neck. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced the firings on Twitter, saying “This is the right call.” The man’s death on Monday night after he struggled with officers was under investigation by the FBI and state law enforcement authorities. It immediately drew comparisons to the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in 2014 in New York after he was placed in a chokehold by police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe. Frey apologised to the black community in a post on his Facebook page. “Being Black in America should not be a death sentence. For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a Black man’s neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense,” Frey posted. Police said the man matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case at a grocery store, and that he resisted arrest. The unidentified officer ignores his pleas. “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe. Please, man,” the man, who is handcuffed, is heard telling the officer. After several minutes,
PEOPLE gather around a makeshift memorial in Minneapolis yesterday. A video grab, inset, showed a white officer kneeling on the man’s neck during his arrest as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe.
one of the officers tells the man to “relax.” The man slowly becomes motionless under the officer’s restraint. Even after he stops moving, the officer leaves his knee on the man’s neck for several minutes more.
Several witnesses had gathered on a nearby sidewalk, some recording the scene on their phones. The bystanders became increasingly agitated as the man pleaded with police. One bystander told officers they needed to let him breathe. Another yelled at them to check the man’s pulse. The victim was identified as George Floyd by Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights and personal injury attorney who said he had been hired by Floyd’s family. “We all watched the horrific death of George Floyd on video as witnesses begged the police officer to take him into the police car and get off his neck,”
TRUMP CONVENTION DEMAND PUTS PRESSURE ON HEALTH OFFICIALS NORTH CAROLINA Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s demand for a full-capacity Republican convention in August is putting pressure on North Carolina health officials — and local Republicans — as coronavirus cases surge in the host county and statewide. Democratic Gov Roy Cooper’s administration has refused to give in, though, responding with a letter demanding a written safety plan from organisers of the Republican National Convention, slated for August in Charlotte. Even local Republican officials note that Trump doesn’t have the power to unilaterally move the event scheduled to start in 90 days after two years of planning. Asked about Trump’s tweets threatening to move the convention, Cooper said he’s “not surprised at anything that happens on Twitter,” without mentioning the president by
PRESIDENT TRUMP name. He said discussions with RNC organisers are continuing. “We have asked them to present a plan on paper to us laying out the various options that we’ve already discussed,” Cooper said. “They know we’re talking about a time that’s three months from now, so we have to have options regarding how this convention is going to be run depending on where we are with the virus in August.” State Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen’s letter asks
Republican convention organizers for a written COVID-19 safety plan “as soon as possible,” noting that Cohen and Cooper discussed various scenarios with GOP officials by phone Friday. She wrote that it’s important to plan for multiple options because the “status of COVID-19 infections in our state and in the Charlotte area continues to rapidly evolve.” By yesterday, Mecklenburg County had at least 3,400 COVID-19 cases — more than twice the next-highest county — and 73 deaths, also the most in the state, according to state health officials. A third of the cases were tallied in the past two weeks. County officials said hospitalised patients with COVID-19 dropped from more than 100 in April to 75 by Monday. Statewide, there were 24,000 cases as part of an upward trend that included 1,100 new cases on Saturday, the state’s largest daily increase yet.
FRANCE SPENDS $8.8 BILLION TO RESCUE ITS AILING CAR INDUSTRY PARIS Associated Press
FRANCE’S government is injecting more than $8.8 billion to save the country’s car industry from huge losses wrought by virus lockdowns, and wants to use the crisis to make France the No 1 producer of electric vehicles in Europe. Starting next week, consumers can get up to 12,000 euros from the government for buying an electric car under the “historic” plan unveiled yesterday by French President Emmanuel Macron. “Our country wouldn’t be the same without its great brands – Renault,
Peugeot, Citroen,” Macron said, decrying an “unprecedented crisis” for the industry that has seen production plunge more than 90% in France alone. Carmakers and governments around the world are grappling with similar losses. Politicians are divided over whether and how to bail out an industry that already won billions in government support a decade ago after the 2008 financial crisis — and that was already facing major new costs and disruption with growing demand for autonomous and cleaner cars. Macron’s plan includes a 5-billion-euro French government loan guarantee under discussion
for struggling French automaker Renault, but not the millions the government has already spent on temporary unemployment payments to auto workers told to stay home for weeks to keep the virus at bay. The new plan includes government subsidies to encourage consumers to scrap their old cars and buy lower-emissions models, and longer-term investment in innovative technology. Macron set a goal of producing 1 million electric cars in France by 2025. “Our country should embody this avant-garde,” he said. “We need not only to save (the industry) but transform it.”
Crump said in a statement. “This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a non-violent charge.” Charles McMillian, 60, of Minneapolis, said he saw police trying to get Floyd into the back of the squad car and heard Floyd tell them he was claustrophobic. After having the officer’s knee on his neck, McMillian said, the man started calling his mother’s name, “and then he died.” “It’s sad because it didn’t have to happen,” McMillian said. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said
the department would conduct a full internal investigation. Andrew Scott, a former Boca Raton, Florida, police chief who now testifies as an expert witness in use-offorce cases, called Floyd’s death “a combination of not being trained properly or disregarding their training.” “He couldn’t move. He was telling them he couldn’t breathe, and they ignored him,” Scott said. “I can’t even describe it. It was difficult to watch.” The New York City officer in the Garner case said he was using a legal maneuver called “the seatbelt” to bring down Garner, whom police said had been resisting arrest.
30 DEPORTED TO HAITI BUT EX-LEADER REMAINS IN US PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Associated Press THIRTY people were deported to Haiti yesterday, but a former paramilitary leader accused of murder and torture was not among them as a result of recent discussions with US officials, according to a Haitian government spokesman. The spokesman, Eddy Jackson Alexis, said Haiti’s prime minister talked with the US State Department to avoid — for now — the deportation of Emmanuel Constant, who became the feared leader of a paramilitary group after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was toppled in 1991. Alexis said the government would arrest Constant if he is ever deported from the US to Haiti, but that he also would be eligible for a second trial. Constant has denied the accusations of murder and torture. There are concerns in Haiti that his return would further destabilise the country. Jean Negot Bonheur Delva, director of Haiti’s migration office, said 16 of the 30 deportees who arrived have criminal backgrounds and that the US government said all of them tested negative for coronavirus. He said the group would be placed under a two-week quarantine and will be tested again at the end. It is the third such flight to Haiti since the pandemic, with more than 200 people in total deported from the US. Several of them have tested positive for the coronavirus amid concerns they are straining the impoverished country’s limited resources. Activists have repeatedly called on President Jovenel Moïse to stop accepting deportees and ask that President Donald Trump place a moratorium on deportations.
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Starc wants to shine in post-pandemic cricket By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Mitch Starc hasn’t picked up a cricket bat or ball in two months, and isn’t exactly salivating at the prospect of his new work conditions. The enforced lock down because of the COVID-19 pandemic gave the Australian pace bowler and his wife Alyssa Healy, who is the wicketkeeper for the Australian women’s team, a reprieve from their constant and sometimes conflicting careers in international cricket. Starc returns to preseason practice today in Sydney, still unclear as to when the Australian team will tour again. One thing is for sure, he won’t be adding extra commitments to what likely will be a heavy schedule when cricket resumes. Starc had already opted out of the Indian Premier League this season, and is unlikely to re-consider even if the lucrative competition is rescheduled to later in 2020.
“It’s hard enough juggling one cricket schedule with three formats let alone when my wife plays cricket on a completely different schedule as well. Something I take into consideration heavily is being able to spend time together,” he told a video news conference. “For us to have that time together, which we have done the last eight weeks, I wouldn’t give that back for a contract at all.” After a “lazy couple of weeks” Starc and Healy put together a home gym to use for training during the lockdown, and played a lot of golf together. “Selfishly, it’s been really nice to have a period of time where you can have a home routine and feel pretty normal, in a way,” Starc said. “There’s bigger and more important things happening around the world. But it’s been really nice to have eight or nice weeks at home doing the little things — a bit of house work, cooking together, having that normality in your life that doesn’t come
AP SPORTLIGHT MAY 27 1968 — “Papa Bear” George Halas retires as head coach of the Chicago Bears. Halas finishes with 318 regular-season wins and six NFL titles. 1972 — Mark Donohue wins the Indianapolis 500 over twotime defending champion Al Unser with a record average speed of 162.962 mph. 1975 — Philadelphia goaltender Bernie Parent blanks the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 in Game 6 to give the Flyers their second straight Stanley Cup title. Parent earns the Conn Smythe Trophy to become the first back-to-back winner of
AUSTRALIA’s Mitchell Starc prepares to bowl against New Zealand in their cricket test match in Melbourne, Australia, December 27, 2019. Starc hasn’t picked up a cricket bat or ball in two months, and isn’t exactly salivating at the prospect of going back to work. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill) with international cricket schedules.” Healy, the niece of former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy, was part of the Australian team that beat India in the final of the Twenty20 Women’s World Cup in front of more than 86,000 people at the
the award and the second player, after Bobby Orr, to win it twice. 1981 — Willie Shoemaker wins his 8,000th race and then three more. Shoemaker gets the milestone on top of War Allied in the first race at Hollywood Park. 1981 — Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers is named the NBAs Most Valuable Player, making him the only player to win MVP honours in both the NBA and the ABA. 1984 — Rick Mears wins the Indianapolis 500 by the largest margin in 17 years with a recordsetting 163.612 mph. Mears beats Roberto Guerrero and Al Unser by two laps. Fifteen
Melbourne Cricket Ground in March. Starc was involved in a limited-overs series against New Zealand that had to be cancelled the following week before both countries closed borders and imposed severe travel restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
of the 33 drivers are eliminated during two crashes. 1990 — Arie Luyendyk wins the fastest Indianapolis 500 by overpowering former winner Bobby Rahal over the final 33 laps, for his first Indy car victory in 76 races. His average speed of 185.984 mph breaks Rahal’s record of 170.722 in 1986. Luyendyk becomes the first to finish the race in under three hours. 1994 — Stephane Matteau of the New York Rangers scores at 4:24 of the second overtime period to give his team a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in the seventh and deciding game of the Eastern Conference final at Madison Square Garden. A
Football leagues are slowly preparing to get underway in Australia. The Australian men’s cricket team is hoping to play a limited-overs series in England in September, and then host India for a series starting in November. It’s time for Starc to start thinking harder about how he’s going to take wickets under proposed new playing conditions that will prohibit the use of saliva to shine the ball. It has long been customary in cricket for players to use spit or sweat to keep one side of the leather ball shiny so that it swings through the air to give bowlers some extra assistance against the batters. The International Cricket Council has indicated it will be OK to use sweat, but not saliva, to polish the ball — at least in the short term. Starc, who claims to be a “bit more on the sweat side, just trying to not get my hands in my mouth too much,” said any temporary regulations that negate any advantage for bowlers should be off-set
record three games in the series are decided in double overtime, with Matteau scoring the winner in two of them. 1998 — In one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history, Pete Sampras is ousted at the French Open by 21-year-old Ramon Delgado of Paraguay, ranked 97th in the world, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-4. 2011 — Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki loses to Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of the French Open. It marks the first time in the Open era that the top two seeded women fail to make the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament. Kim Clijsters, the No. 2 seed, lost on May 26.
by something else temporarily to keep the balance between bat and ball. He said lawmakers should consider either instructing curators to leave extra grass on the wickets or allowing the use of an artificial substance to shine the ball in the specific COVID-19 “window of time.” Artificial substances are outlawed now, but cricket ball manufacturer Kookaburra is developing a wax that could be used to shine the ball instead of saliva. He’s also not opposed to playing at a daynight test with a pink ball against India — provided it’s not for an entire series. “There needs to be something in place to keep that ball swinging,” said Starc, who has one of the best inswinging yorkers in cricket. “There needs to be an even contest between bat and ball, otherwise people will stop watching. “Kids aren’t going to want to be bowlers — there are some pretty flat wickets, and if that ball is going straight it’s a pretty boring contest.”
2014 — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater becomes the only school in NCAA history to win championships in football, men’s basketball and baseball in the same school year. The baseball team takes home the Division III World Series trophy with a 7-0 win over Emory University. 2016 — Senior Kaylee Puailoa’s pinch-hit, two-run homer with two outs in the seventh lifts No. 16 seed Georgia to a 3-2 win over No. 1 Florida, giving the Bulldogs a surprise berth in the Women’s College World Series. Georgia didn’t just beat the top seed, the Bulldogs beat a team that won the past two national championships.
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Track and field athletes get All-America honours By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net hile they didn’t get to compete in the NCAA indoor championships because of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Bahamian track and field athletes got All-America honours for the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season. Triple jumper Laquan Nairn, quarter-milers Doneisha Anderson and Megan Moss and sprinter Devine Parker were on a list of 671 honourees from 119 different institutions that was announced yesterday by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Normal policies dictate that All-America honours are awarded based on classifications of performance at the NCAA Championships. But due to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, the NCAA Division I Track & Field Executive Committee adopted the following criteria: Based on the post-medical scratches startlist for the national
W
MOSS
NAIRN
championships posted on Wednesday, March 11 at 9:24pm local time, the following will be recognised as All-America for the 2020 indoor track and field season: Individual events: ALL studentathletes listed on the startlist for the anticipated event. Relay events: The four studentathletes per anticipated relay who produced the performance that was declared and accepted into their event. Those listed as alternates
PARKER
will not be recognised. There will not be a distinction of “first-team”, “second-team”, or “honourable mention” to these recognitions. Nairn, a senior at the University of Arkansas, was a double honouree in the men’s triple and long jumps. In his final meet before the season came to a close at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships over the weekend of February 28-29, he earned a second-place finish in the men’s long
ANDERSON jump with a lifetime best leap of 8.02 metres or 38-feet, 3 3/4-inches, and he was fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 15.92m (52-2 3/4). The CR Walker Secondary High 2017 graduate, who went on to compete that year in South Plains before joining the Razorbacks’ roster in 2018, had his season’s best performance over the weekend of February 24-25 at the Tyson
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San Salvador sporting facilities ‘deplorable’ By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WHILE many persons are looking at ways of how they will operate once sports resume in the country, sports administrator and physical education teacher Rev Stephen Brown is trying to find ways to get the facilities improved on the island of San Salvador. Brown, who left New Providence in 1999 when he switched from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture to become a physical education teacher in the Ministry of Education, said the conditions of the facilities on the island are in a deplorable state. “We have a new primary school, but I have no facilities to operate from,” said Brown, who is also the pastor of Zion Baptist Church and District Superintendent of the Zion United Baptist Convention of the San Salvador and Rum Cay district.
“It seems to me that I had more facilities and more opportunities to develop these kids 20 years ago compared to now. When you look at the high school, it’s even worse. Some of the authorities were in San Salvador, they looked at the facilities, but they have done nothing since to improve the facilities here.” Since he migrated to the island, which history shows was discovered by Christopher Columbus, Rev Brown has helped to turn San Salvador into one of the prized basketball programmes in the southern end of our archipelago. Yet, Rev Brown said they have deteriorated so badly and now they are faced with the coronavirus, which has left them as one of the few islands whose economy has been fully opened since the government locked down the country in March. With a commute that takes him about 10 minutes, Rev Brown shuffles his time daily between the United
States Primary School and the San Salvador High School where he caters to about 100 students in each school. He has been able to create a winning tradition for the respective Woodpeckers and the Caciques basketball teams. Additionally, Rev Brown plays a pivotal role as the pastor of Zion Baptist Church, district superintendent of the Zion United Baptist Convention of the San Salvador and Rum Cay Churches, a justice of the peace, president of the San Salvador Basketball Association, director of the Southern Region of the Bahamas Basketball Federation and liaison officer for sports in San Salvador for the Ministry of Sports. The island, which has a population of about 2,000, is yearning for the day when they can see an improvement in their sporting facilities. “We used to have a very flourishing REV Stephen Brown in front of the damaged basketball rim.
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DOLPHINS OWNER: THERE DEFINITELY WILL BE AN NFL SEASON By STEVEN WINE AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross says he’s confident the NFL will play in 2020, with or without spectators. “I think there definitely will be a football season this year,” Ross said yesterday during an interview on CNBC. “The real question is will there be fans in the stadiums?” The NFL has said it expects to play a full schedule beginning September 10, but is preparing contingency plans in case the coronavirus pandemic makes venue changes or games without fans necessary. “Right now, today, we’re planning on having some fans in the stadiums,” Ross said. “But I think the NFL is very flexible so that we will be able to start on time and bring that entertainment that is really so needed to all of us in this country.” The league has kept to its offseason schedule of conducting free agency, the draft and the release of the schedule. Some teams reopened training complexes on a limited basis last week. The NBA, NHL and MLB have been idled by the pandemic. “One thing we miss is our sports,” Ross said. “I don’t think a lot of people realise it until they no longer have it. Certainly the NFL, I think, will be ready to go. I know we’re all looking forward to it. I know I am.” Earlier this month, the Dolphins said their stadium committed to becoming the first to receive accreditation from a cleaning industry association for infectious disease prevention efforts. CEO Tom Garfinkel said the team is considering social distancing proposals for games, and perhaps limiting crowds to 15,000. “We’ve done a lot of things down in Miami,” Ross said. “We’re prepared either way, and hopefully there will be fans in the stadiums.”
Canadian swim coach Tony ‘TK’ Kennedy dies By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net POPULAR Canadian swim coach Tony “TK’ Kennedy, who helped to establish the Barracuda Swim Club as one of the most competitive teams in the Bahamas Swimming Federation, passed away last week. Reports reaching The Tribune indicated that Kennedy, who coached the Barracuda 1984-1987 and again from 1989-2000, died at his home in Canada. It was not known how old he was or the cause of death. Condolences, however, poured in from a number of his swimmers and an arch-rival swim coach as they reflected on Kennedy’s tenure in the Bahamas and as a coach of a number of national swim teams that represented the country overseas. London-based lawyer Nicola McKinney felt Kennedy was larger than life.
“Everyone on the swimming scene would recognise him and know who he was,” said McKinney, who was one of the top female swimmers during his era. “I think the impression that I had most about him was not only did he drive his swimmers hard, but he inspired us to be the best that we could be. “I think that transcended beyond the swimming world because a lot of his swimmers have gone on to do very well academically and that is a tribute to his legacy. A lot of us owe him a debt of gratitude for that.” McKinney, a graduate of Queen’s College and the University of Harvard, is now a lawyer in London. She said she’s dealing with the curfew rules as they battle with the coronavirus in England. Her younger sister, Olivia McKinney, is also in London where she is a doctor. She too spent some considerable time training
COACH TK Kennedy with Nicola McKinney.
under Kennedy. However, she was unavailable for comments. Kennedy, who also coached numerous national teams at CARIFTA, Caribbean Islands Swim Championships (CISC), CCCAN and the Pan American Games, was remembered by Sean Andrews as a mentor. “He was a big part of my life from I was six years old until I stopped swimming in 1988,” said Andrews, a graduate of Queen’s College who got his BA from Macalester College and MSc in Information Technology from Boston University. “He instilled in me the drive to excel in life and his lessons has followed me to this day. He was tenacious. He would get the best out of you. He was old school, so it was no pain, no gain with him. He was very competitive and he encouraged me to do all I could to be the best that I could be. I run my business the
same way in a competitive manner.” As the owner of IDNet Ltd, an IT consultant company and now a full-time triathlete and the reigning Caribbean Masters champion for the Olympic Distance, Andrews said Kennedy will certainly be missed because he left an impressionable mark on so many swimmers’ lives. If there was a Hall of Fame for swimming in the Bahamas, Andrews feel Kennedy would definitely be inducted into it because he helped to change the face of the Barracudas during the time he spent here. Dorian Roach, one of the talented members of his family out of St Andrew’s School who spent one year swimming under Kennedy before he went to the University of Georgia via Bolles School, said his former coach was eccentric and a character to behold.
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PAGE 14, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
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WORLD TEAMTENNIS PLANS TO HAVE FANS AT WEST VIRGINIA MATCHES By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer IF World TeamTennis gets its way, Grand Slam champions Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens could be among the first tennis players to compete in front of fans after the coronavirus pandemic prompted lockdowns around the globe. WTT said yesterday it is planning to allow up to 500 spectators at each of its outdoor matches during a three-week season from July 12 to August 2 at a resort in West Virginia. The league also announced an increase in total prize money to $5 million this year, $1.5
million more than for its 2019 season. All tennis events sanctioned by the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation are on hold until at least late July because of the COVID-19 outbreak. That includes the French Open, which was supposed to have started its 15-day main draw Sunday but was postponed until September, and Wimbledon, which was cancelled outright for the first time in 75 years. But WTT is not affiliated with those tours — no ATP or WTA ranking points are available for its matches — and does not need to abide by their decisions about when it is OK to compete.
SLOANE Stephens makes a forehand return to China’s Zhang Shuai during their first round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on January 20. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Because of the pandemic, World TeamTennis is bringing all nine of its teams to one site — The Greenbriar in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — instead of having matches played around the United States. And unlike smaller exhibition tennis events around the world that have been staged without any fans present, WTT intends to sell tickets for one-fifth of a 2,500-seat outdoor stadium. There also will be an indoor court set up in case it is needed; spectators will not be allowed to watch there. WTT CEO Carlos Silva said in a recent interview he has been monitoring other
sports events taking place to see how they handled health protocols, including UFC fights and NASCAR racing. Neither of those sports allowed spectators at their returns to action this month. Among the players the WTT said will participate in its matches are Kenin, who won the Australian Open in January, before sanctioned tennis was suspended because of the virus in March; Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion and 2018 French Open runnerup; and twins Bob and Mike Bryan, who have won 16 Grand Slam titles in men’s doubles as a team.
WADA looks to AI to catch dopers By JAMES ELLINGWORTH AP Sports Writer DÜSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — With sports around the world shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, the World AntiDoping Agency is looking to artificial intelligence as a new way to detect athletes who cheat. WADA is funding four projects in Canada and Germany, looking at whether AI could spot signs of drug use which might elude even experienced human investigators. It’s also grappling with the ethical issues around the technology. Athletes won’t be suspended solely on the word of a machine. Instead, AI is a tool to flag up suspect athletes and make sure they get tested.
“When you are working for an anti-doping organisation and you want to target some athletes, you look at their competition calendar and you look at their whereabouts, you look at the previous results and so forth,” WADA senior executive director Olivier Rabin told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “But there is (only) so much a brain can process in terms of information.” The pandemic has shut down anti-doping testing in many countries, but it’s pushed AI work to the fore, since much research can be done remotely. Analysing an athlete’s blood or urine sample is about more than just finding a performance-enhancing substance. Tests also track numerous biomarkers like an athlete’s red blood cell count or testosterone levels.
A DOCTOR takes a blood test from an athlete during the 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos, Nigeria, on Saturday, December 1, 2012. The World Anti-Doping Agency is looking to artificial intelligence as a new way to detect athletes who cheat, it is revealed yesterday, funding four projects in Canada and Germany, looking at whether AI could spot signs of drug use. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) That kind of information is already used by anti-doping bodies in the “biological passport” programme to
Sporting facilities in San Salvador ‘deplorable’ FROM PAGE 13 basketball programme here, but that has deteriorated because we don’t have a central basketball court that we can utilise,” he said. “As soon as this pandemic is over, I will have a meeting with our new island administrator, Mr Earl Campbell. We sat down before, but then the pandemic came upon us and we have rescheduled a meeting when the island opens up.” Brown said they are looking at implementing a number of sporting programmes to engage the community, one of which is baseball, but he admitted that they are in dire need of the proper facilities around the two schools where they can enhance their activities. Initially when he came to San Salvador, Brown said he used to host a number of tournaments, but they also encountered a housing problem so they decided to go on the road and participate in tournaments held in Long Island, Bimini, Grand Bahama and New Providence. With the island still locked down, Brown said they will have to get used to the social distancing and the wearing of masks if they are going to enjoy the new norm when sports resume in the country. “It’s how you adjust to it,” he said. “From the school
ATHLETES from PAGE 13 Invitational where he won the triple jump with a leap of 16.11m (52-10 2/4). Nairn, a former basketball player, has also produced a personal best of 2.05m (6-8 3/4) in the high jump and showed his versatility by running PRs of 6.87 seconds in the 60 metres and 22.72 in the 200m. Nairn, who turns 23 on July 31, is a criminal justice major. He is the son of Lourawls and Monalisa Nairn and the brother of Lourawls Nairn Jr, who played basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. Anderson and Moss, two St Augustine’s College graduates, also earned double NCAA honours in both the women’s 400m
detect the effects of using something like the bloodbooster EPO, the substance used by Lance Armstrong.
REV Stephen Brown in front of the damaged basketball rim.
perspective, I will have to look at how I operate with my classes. I have some space and I will know how to do the social distancing. “It’s going to be a training process because you are looking at young people who are energised and who are just happy to be on the outside. So it’s going to be a new norm that we will have to adjust to.” Having made the adjustment from the hectic flow of things in the city life in New Providence to the more quiet and serene atmosphere on the island, Brown said he’s up to the challenge. “We were one of the fastest growing islands with about 11 flights coming in every week in San Salvador,” Brown said. “We don’t have any now, so that is paying a toll on our way of life here. “The good news is that nobody here has been diagnosed with the virus, which is one of the good things that the people appreciate. So we don’t have much to worry about here because there are no flights coming in.” Brown, however, said they are still grateful that Lady Francis and PCT mail boats are making their weekly voyages to the island so they have access to the necessary essentials and the churches are opened. His only wish is that there can be an improvement in the facilities that they have to work with.
and as members of their respective schools’ 4 x 400m relay teams. Anderson, a sophomore at the University of Florida, finished fifth in the 400m at the SEC Championships in 52.28. Their Gators’ 4 x 400m relay team had to settle for fifth place in 3:32.87, which ranked them at number 13 in the NCAA. At Clemson’s Tiger Paw Invitational over the weekend of February 14-15, Anderson produced her lifetime best times of 23.68 in the 200 for 18th place and 52.06 in the 400m for the victory. Her 400m time was ranked at No.3 in the NCAA this year, while the 200m time was pegged at No.53. Anderson, 19, also helped Florida pick up a fourth place in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:34.94. Moss, 18, in her freshman year at Kentucky, didn’t advance out
of the preliminaries of the SEC Championships as she ended up 10th in the 400m in 53.23. But she came back and helped the Wildcats to a second place in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:30.42. During her debut for Kentucky at the 2019 Jingle Bells Open on December 6, Moss posted her PR of 38.19 in the 300m. In her next meet at the Jim Green Invitational January 10-11, Moss collected her PR in the 200m in 24.09. But her best showing came at the Tiger Paw Invitational where she was seventh in the 400m in 52.58 for the 16th best mark in NCAA. She also ran on the first leg of the Wildcats’ 4 x 400m relay team that did 3:29.74 for the second NCAA fastest time. Moss, 18, is the daughter of Tito and Mekeva Moss. She is studying human health science.
WADA hopes AI can help improve that system by tracking patterns between those markers and cross-referencing them with other information. One of WADA’s projects aims to make EPO detection more precise and another hopes to do the same for steroids. Machine learning systems can be taught by showing them confirmed “dirty” and “clean” profiles to detect similarities which may not be visible on the surface. There’s also what Rabin calls a “global” project in Montreal which could predict the risk of doping by evaluating data from a wider range of sources, possibly including the information athletes are required to file about their whereabouts. Athletes’ personal data and even the names of the cities where they live and
train will be anonymised because of privacy concerns. “It’s been fairly complex discussions ... to try to find a balance between, you know, again, protecting data, protecting individuals and making sure that you can still reveal the potential of AI, if there is any,” Rabin said. Athletes’ results in competition aren’t yet part of the mix. “Maybe in the future but not for now,” Rabin said. AI can be an expensive area of science, with specialists in high demand. Three projects in Canada cost WADA about $425,000 over two years, with matching funding from the province of Quebec’s research funds, and there’s another $60,000 for the EPO project in Germany, WADA said.
KENNEDY from PAGE 13 “He was a very good coach. I remember the Barracudas back then had a big rivalry with the Sea Bees before we had a huge one with Swift,” Roach said. “It was a friendly rivalry. He was a great coach with a different style from the other coaches. He was very eccentric, but he was fun to be around. I remember if you were doing something that he didn’t like, he would let you know about it.” Roach, now the president of the Bahamas Triathlon Association and an executive at John Bull, recalled the highlight of his swimming career was when he competed at the Pan Am Games with Kennedy as the head coach. He also competed on a number of the other national teams like CARIFTA, CISC and CCCAN. Andy Knowles, who created Swift as the first swim club in the Bahamas owned and operated by a coach, said there were so many fond memories that he shared with Kennedy as they coached against each other. “I was just getting on the competitive side of coaching, producing swimmers like Allan (Murray), my son Jeremy (Knowles) and that whole scene with Swift Swimming,” Knowles said. “We had a lot of fun things with the competition stuff. Now parents get so involved, but back then, we did a lot of fun stuff with our clubs. With both of us being so competitive, we produced the best out of our swimmers.” Knowles noted that they developed some good memories between Swift and the Barracudas at St John’s and St Andrew’s schools before the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex was opened in 2000 with the 50-metre pool.
Parker, a graduate of St Anne’s School who previously competed for Kentucky during her freshman year, transferred to Ohio State where she participated for the Buckeyes in her sophomore season. The Buckeyes participated in the Big Ten Indoor Championships February 28-29 where Parker placed second in both the 60m in 7.36 and 23.24 for her lifetime achievements. Last year while competing for Kentucky, Parker also contested the 400m where she posted a PR of 1:00.90 at the Kentucky Invitational and had previous best of 24.07 in the 200m at the Rod McCravy Invitational and 7.53 in the 60m at the Hoosier Open. Parker, 19, is the daughter of Delvin and April Parker from Grand Bahama. She is studying psychology.
The NCAA also named its Division II honours list and included was Kaze Poitier, a web design and new media major in his junior year at the Academy of Arts University. The 21-year-old son of Kingsley Jr and Monique Poitier was named as a member of the distance medley relay team. They finished the year at the Amory Leap Year Invitational on February 29 where they got second in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:18.02. Poitier, a graduate of Queen’s College, has recorded PRs of 7.22 in the 60m, 22.37 in the 200m and 49.80 in the 400m. The athletes didn’t get to compete in the outdoor season as the NCAA joined all other major sporting bodies as they cancelled all sporting activities in March due to the spread of the coronavirus.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 27, 2020, PAGE 15
Aussie doctors say NRL aim for July 1 spectators ‘absurd’ SYDNEY (AP) — Two days from the restart of the National Rugby League, the Australian Medical Association urged organisers to slow down their “absurd and dangerous” plans to have spectators in stadiums by July 1. There will be no spectators on Thursday when the Brisbane Broncos host the Parramatta Eels in the first NRL match in more than nine weeks, but Australian Rugby League chairman Peter V’Landys hopes to lift the ban as soon as social distancing restrictions and border closures are eased in the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re on the moon,” V’landys told local media on Sunday of Project Apollo, the league’s push to get back on the field. “We’re looking for Mars now. We want to see in the next three weeks if the infection rate is altered in any fashion. If it hasn’t, we’ll be pushing very
BULLDOGS’ players of the National Rugby League train in Sydney May 15. The National Rugby League will restart its interrupted season on Thursday. (AP) hard for crowds … capped crowds. We’re looking at July 1.” Australia’s leading national association of doctors, however, warned that July would be too soon to think about making a change.
“Put bluntly, this absurd and dangerous idea belongs in the sin-bin,” AMA president Tony Bartone said in a statement. “The NRL should be satisfied that it has its competition back in action, but it is unfair and unwise
to put the health of the game’s fans at risk. “They must first monitor the health and safety of the players and officials who will be involved in the thick of the on-field action.” The AMA highlighted the slow return of sport in Europe without crowds and praised the leaders of Australian rules for their cautious approach tied to expert medical advice. Stringent controls and early border closures have contributed to Australia having only 102 known deaths from COVID-19 and just over 7,100 reported cases. The federal government has announced a three-phase plan to ease restrictions in the coming months, with the states and territories to determine their own timings. But social distancing and hygiene measures will be retained indefinitely.
WILSON, RAPINOE, BIRD TO HOST DIFFERENT AND REMOTE ESPYS By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s a way different kind of year, and so The ESPYs will be, too. For the first time, the show will feature three hosts in remote settings and a changed focus. Instead of honoring the past year’s top athletes and moments in sports, the show is celebrating heroism and humanitarian aid. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, soccer star Megan Rapinoe and three-time WNBA champion Sue Bird will preside over the twohour broadcast airing June 21 on ESPN. All three live in the Seattle area. Rapinoe and Bird are partners who share a household, which conveniently eases some logistics. Wilson’s singer-wife, Ciara, is likely to make an appearance, too. “We liked the idea of having athletes from diverse sports that represent something for every fan,” show producer Jeff Smith said by phone. “We’re finding ways
to make this feel really connected to the audience. They’re so ready to reach out to this community.” It’s quite a departure from the red carpet strutting and 5,000 audience members at the show’s longtime home in Los Angeles. Instead of its usual July date during baseball’s All-Star break, the show has been rescheduled and re-imagined as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Smith said there’s been a lot to learn in assembling a pre-produced show with everyone in different locations. “Typically, we are all shoulder to shoulder and looking through cuts and arguing through story ideas,” he said. “We found a different way to connect with each other.” Shortly before the US shut down because of the coronavirus, the show suffered a blow when longtime executive producer Maura Mandt died unexpectedly at age 53 on February 28. “I wish we could have done this show together because she would
have a really interesting perspective on how we’re doing this,” said Smith, who worked with Mandt at her production company. “This is the first one of its kind. Maura’s signature will always be on this show.” The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Pat Tillman Award for Service and Jimmy V Award for Perseverance are among the honours to be presented. But there won’t be the usual long acceptance speeches read off the teleprompter. The producers hope to show the winners getting a call informing them of the honour at the same time the audience finds out. That involves colluding with family and team members to lure them to a video screen at the appropriate moment. “We really love this sort of pure reaction,” Smith said. “We found ways to really be able to capture it.” The ESPYs are typically defined by viral moments rather than viewers remembering who won what. Without a live show, Smith said he
still aims to mine those nuggets. “We’re finding access to athletes and celebrities that in some way will surprise the audience,” he said. Comedy and music are always part of the show, and Wilson, Rapinoe and Bird will get a chance to show off a sense of humour. However, the host’s usual opening monologue poking fun at athletes and controversy doesn’t quite fit with this year’s theme. In a different time, the Houston Astros cheating scandal would have been ripe for the picking. “On this side of the pandemic, it’s hard to really care about that,” said Rob King, ESPN senior vice president and editor at large. The show is taking a forwardlooking approach rather than lament what the world has endured during the COVID-19 crisis. “In the not-too-distant future after the show airs, we’ll see a return to live sports that will drive a sense of hope,” King said. “We hope to have this show be really reflective of that.”
YVES JeanBart
FIFA BANS HAITI SOCCER OFFICIAL FOR SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS ZURICH (AP) — The president of Haiti’s soccer federation has been suspended from the sport while under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of young women players at the national training centre. FIFA said its ethics committee investigators removed Yves Jean-Bart from duty for 90 days. That interim ban can be extended. “This sanction has been imposed in connection with ongoing investigations concerning Mr Jean-Bart,” soccer’s world body said in a statement late Monday. Allegations against JeanBart were published last month by British daily The Guardian. Jean-Bart, who has led the federation for 20 years, has denied the allegations.
PAGE 16, Wednesday, May 27, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
BATTLE OF THE TYSONS TYSON FURY CLAIMS HE HAS ACCEPTED OFFER TO FIGHT MIKE TYSON AS BOXING LEGEND, 53, MAKES STUNNING RETURN TO RING By Stuart Atkins TYSON FURY claims to have accepted an offer to fight 53-yearold Mike Tyson in a sensational exhibition bout. The super showdown is believed to be just one of Iron Mike’s return fights after his jaw-dropping return to fitness some 15 years after he retired. Tyson is also being lined up for a rematch against old foe Evander Holyfield, despite the pair having a combined age of 110. And he is reportedly set to be offered more than £16million to compete in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. But so far, it is only a fight against 31-year-old WBC heavyweight champ Fury - who could be
set for his own trilogy bout against Deontay Wilder - that appears to have been agreed. Fury - who wants to see Tyson take on Holyfield for a third time - told BT Sport: “I did get a phone call with a chance to fight Mike Tyson. I was like ‘what?’ “Yeah, I had a phone call saying ‘would you like to fight Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight?’ I was like ‘hell yeah!’” Fury, who previously said he would beat Tyson in an amazing cross-era bout, added: “But I don’t think anything’s materialised out of it to be honest. So yeah I think he’s [Mike Tyson] definitely serious about doing some fights or whatever, but he’s fought Holyfield twice so they’re both old now,
so I think they’re a bit long in the teeth. “But who am I to say anything, what anybody’s capable of? I wouldn’t try and kill anybody’s dreams. “If they’re both fit to fight, medically fit, then let them do what they want to do. It’s their life not mine.” Tyson - who boasted his comeback fight will be against a bigger name than Holyfield - appears to be welcoming all challengers and recently accepted former UFC champion Tito Ortiz’s offer of a bout as well as former heavyweight king Shannon Briggs. Quite how many fighters Tyson actually steps in the ring with remains to be seen. But for Fury, trading leather against the man he was named after and idolises
would surely be a dream come true, especially to raise money for charities close to both their hearts. The pair are big buddies as well, with Tyson recently calling Fury “the greatest”. Speaking of the Gypsy King’s comeback from depression and addiction, he told Ring Magazine: “With Tyson, if he didn’t go through everything he’s been through, he wouldn’t be the person that he is today. The mental health issues? That’s why he’s the greatest, because he’s sick, and that’s being real. People want him to be normal. Fury’s rival Anthony Joshua has spoken out on The Baddest Man on the Planet’s ambitious comeback plans. The return has been rubbished by a string of high-profile critics but AJ feels like his hero has just been on an extended 15-year holiday and will be back with a bang. The 30-year-old said: “For everyone else it is a ‘comeback’ but for him it is just what he does, he is a fighter. “He has probably just taken a little break, everyone else is thinking ‘oh my God, Mike Tyson is making a comeback’.
NHL MOVES AHEAD WITH 24-TEAM PLAYOFF FORMAT IF PLAY RESUMES By STEPHEN WHYNO and JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writers THE NHL will abandon the rest of the regular season and go straight into the playoffs with 24 teams instead of 16 — if it is able to resume play. The decision, announced yesterday by Commissioner Gary Bettman, is no guarantee that games are coming back. The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association must still figure out health and safety protocols and solve other issues. Still, ironing out the format and narrowing down its two potential playoff host cities to a list of 10 represents significant progress since global sports were largely shut down in March as the coronavirus outbreak turned into a pandemic. Play could resume in late July, with the Stanley Cup Final decided
in September or even later. Groups of 12 teams representing each of the two conferences will be limited to playing in two cities, yet to be determined, with three-week training camps opening no earlier than July 1. Bettman said voluntary workouts could begin in early June. “We hope this is a step back toward normalcy,” Bettman said. Earlier this week, the league and NHLPA issued extensive protocols once players are allowed to return to their facilities. They include a maximum of six players on the ice at a time, no contact and no coaches for voluntary workouts. Instead of limiting the Cup chase to the usual 16 teams that qualify for the playoffs, the league and players agreed to expand the field to 24 of its 31 teams because of the unusual circumstances. That means the likes of the Montreal Canadiens are still alive
despite being nine points out of a playoff spot when hockey was halted March 12. But not all teams will have the same path to hockey’s storied trophy. The top four teams in each conference ranked by points percentage — Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Philadelphia in the East and St.- Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Dallas in the West — will play separate round-robin tournaments to determine seeding. The remaining 16 teams will be seeded by conference, setting up best-of-five series in the East of No. 5 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 Montreal, No. 6 Carolina vs. No. 11 New York Rangers, No. 7 New York Islanders vs. No. 10 Florida and No. 8 Toronto vs. No. 9 Columbus. In the West, it would be No. 5 Edmonton vs. No. 12 Chicago, No. 6 Nashville vs. No. 11 Arizona, No. 7 Vancouver vs. No. 10 Minnesota and No. 8 Calgary
vs. No. 9 Winnipeg. “Any plan for the resumption of play by definition cannot be perfect,” Bettman said. “But we believe we have constructed an overall plan that includes all teams that as a practical matter might have had a chance of qualifying for the playoffs when the season was paused, and this plan will produce a worthy Stanley Cup champion who will have run the postseason gauntlet that is unique to the NHL.” The decision to call off the 189 regular-season games that were not played ends the season for Buffalo, New Jersey, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Ottawa and Detroit. Those seven teams will now prepare for one of potentially two draft lotteries to determine the top 15 selections. The lottery will be held June 26, with another scheduled later depending on which of the remaining eight teams qualify for the 16-team playoff.
ALPHONSO DAVIES SHINES AGAINST DORTMUND By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer BERLIN (AP) — The way Alphonso Davies was running up and down the left flank for Bayern Munich yesterday had his teammates comparing him to a cartoon character. The Canadian teenager was one of Bayern’s standout players as the club beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 to close in on another Bundesliga title, with his marauding runs a key part of the team’s attack and defence. He probably prevented a goal when he raced back to deny Norwegian star Erling Haaland a scoring chance and almost created one of his own when he eluded four Dortmund players before being bundled over by Mats Hummels. On his fastest run, the left-back was clocked at a top speed of 35.3 kph (21.9 mph). “Alphonso is a player with a lot of heart and a lot of power, with extreme power,” Bayern forward Thomas Müller said. “Sometimes maybe he is not in the best position on the field, but he gets the opponent thinking, ‘Oh, I have time, I have time,’ and then, ‘Meep, meep! Meep, meep!’ The Road Runner, the FC Bayern Road Runner, comes and steals the ball.” Bayern said Davies made 42 sprints in all. He was involved in plenty of challenges, too, and was harshly booked late on for bringing down American teenager Gio Reyna outside the penalty area when TV replays showed he got the ball. Davies, who started the season with Bayern’s reserves, has now started every game in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League for the senior team since Union Berlin visited in the league on October 28.