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HIGH 86ºF LOW 75ºF Volume:117 No.129, MAY 29, 2020
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WEEKEND: MALIKAH’S ON A MISSION TO BE A STAR
WE’RE NOT QUITE DONE YET, FOLKS
Artists called on to capture
Major steps forward in easing emergency but lockdowns remain
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced yesterday the country has officially moved into Phase Three of the government’s reopening plan, reducing the national curfew and allowing non-essential storefront businesses to open with essential staff. While moving a resolution in Parliament to extend the country’s state of emergency until June 29, Dr Minnis said as a result of the progress made against the COVID-19 threat, the country will be advancing to Phase Three. Dubbed
the “the new norm”, Phase Three allows for more restrictions to be relaxed on exercise, worship services and certain businesses in the country. Beginning on Tuesday, Dr Minnis revealed all islands without COVID19 cases will be allowed to resume normal commercial operations. This comes after residents in the Family Islands criticised the government for not giving Exuma, Eleuthera and San Salvador the green light to resume commercial activities, despite having no COVID19 cases.
THE government’s financial watchdog has urged the Department of Inland Revenue to be more aggressive in probing discrepancies of up to $68m between a company’s VAT and business licence fee turnover. Although the annual turnover (sales) reported
FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
Mural magic
Bahamian heritage
pg 07
DIANE PHILLIPS
GEORGE FLOYD: ANOTHER VICTIM OF AMERICAN RACISM
SEE PAGE NINE
‘DEFICIT WILL NOT LEAD TO NEW TAXES’ DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said the government does not anticipate a need for new taxes when the economy recovers from the COVID-19 crisis. The deficit is projected to explode to an unprecedented $1.3 billion for the upcoming fiscal year and government debt is projected to top $10bn by the end of the 2021/2022 period. SEE PAGE THREE
THREATS TO PM PROBED BY POLICE
SEE PAGE TWO
by a company for VAT and business licence purposes should be the same, the Auditor-General’s report for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, tabled in Parliament this week, revealed that one major Bahamian corporate group - identified only as “Taxpayer D” - submitted filings showing a $68.06m difference between the two.
Pages 8 & 9
By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
COMPANIES’ RETURNS REVEAL WILD ERRORS By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
STEEL PAN LEGACY
SANDS SCRUBS UP
FORMER Health Minister Dr Duane Sands will serve as consultant surgeon for the Public Hospitals Authority as well as continue his work in the fight against COVID-19 Story - Page 3
By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net
POLICE are investigating a video of an Abaco man who made threats against the prime minister and the MP for Central and South Abaco, according to Minister of National Security Marvin Dames. The video, filled with expletives, shows an Abaco man on a boat expressing his displeasure about Prime SEE PAGE FIVE
FAMILIES WARNED OVER KILLER TOADS Enjoy the
By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
THE MINISTRY of Environment is doing an inspection after reports surfaced on social media of an invasive and toxic species of toad reappearing on Bahamian soil. Scott Johnson, who identified himself on his Facebook page as a Bahamas National Trust (BNT) worker, reported the discovery of the cane toad in west New Providence. He
TOXIC: A cane toad explained he was prompted after several calls from concerned residents in the area. The cane toad releases toxins that are harmful to
humans and can kill small animals. “I went to visit the area and came to a pond where between 30-40k cane toad eggs were found and 12 juveniles were caught, although I am sure that there are possibly hundreds of juveniles hopping around out west,” he said. “This is alarming, not just because cane toads are highly adaptive and invasive animals but because they are poisonous, producing
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE FIVE
holiday weekend and The Tribune will be back on Tuesday
PAGE 2, Friday, May 29, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
We’re not there yet
PM Dr Hubert Minnis announcing the move into Phase Three of the reopening plan from page one However, despite these newly implemented freedoms, certain restrictions will still remain in place for some cleared Family Islands. The closure of public parks and beaches, for example, will still be in effect for Bimini, Eleuthera, Exuma, Harbour Island, and San Salvador. This also applies to New Providence, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama. However, Dr Minnis said public parks and beaches will be allowed to open on other remaining islands with no COVID-19 cases, starting Tuesday. For New Providence, Grand Bahama and Bimini, Dr Minnis said worship services can now be held in sanctuary on Saturdays and Sundays in adherence to health and safety protocols from 7am to 1pm, starting June 6. Non-essential storefront business and in-store operations, including clothing and jewellery stores, will also be allowed to operate 9am to 5pm weekly, starting Tuesday. However, Dr Minnis firmly stated: “I wish to be clear, restaurants, except for curbside and deliveries, bars, gyms, hair salons and barbershops, movie
theatres, cultural facilities, and entertainment facilities (will) remain closed on New Providence, Grand Bahama and Bimini. “I assure restaurant operators, hair salons and barbershops that we are working with the National COVID-19 Coordination Committee and industry partners to finalise protocols for operations.” During yesterday’s address, Dr Minnis also made amendments to the weekday curfew guidelines, noting that starting Tuesday, the 9pm to 5am curfew will now come in effect for the entire country, replacing the 24-hour curfew. However, he said the weekend lockdowns will continue for the entire country and will also apply for the upcoming national holidays. However there are some relaxations. “During the weekend lockdowns exercise will be permitted in your immediate neighbourhood from 5am to 9pm,” he said. During the week, people can exercise outside of curfew hours and are not confined to their immediate neighbourhoods. “Regarding the upcoming Whit Monday holiday and Labour Day holiday, the weekend lockdown will apply to both days. For the
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune staff
Whit Monday holiday, the 1st of June, and the Labour Day holiday, the 5th of June, food stores will be able to open for the general public from 6am to 7pm. “Food takeaways, drivethroughs and restaurants offering curbside and delivery services will also be permitted to open from 6am to 7pm.” Dr Minnis also made the decision to expand operations for certain businesses. For example, law firms, justices of the peace and real estate agencies will now be allowed to operate until 5pm. He said: “Additionally, financial services, inclusive of accounting services, may operate with physical distancing and sanitisation protocols between the hours of 9am to 5pm. “Now that the government has liberalised non-essential retail, the following retailers may now open to the general public between the hours of 9am to 5pm, specifically suppliers of cleaning chemicals and fabric stores.” He continued: “Auto parts stores, including mechanical work servicemen may operate on all islands Monday through Friday, between the hours of 7am and 5pm. “…Gaming houses will be allowed to open with
physical distancing and sanitization protocols, effective this coming Tuesday.” Dr Minnis also relaxed restrictions on weddings, funerals and graduations in the country “with the approval of the competent authority”, noting that no more than 30 people will be allowed to attend. This phase also allows for national examinations to take place. Despite these new relaxed measures, Dr Minnis warned that Bahamians must continue to follow the advice and recommendation of health professionals in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. “Even as we reopen, we must remember that we are living in a new normal, in which we must continue to practice: physical distancing, proper sanitization and wearing masks,” he said. “If we do not collectively observe these measures and community spread widens, the country may have to revert to earlier phases.” There was one new confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country yesterday, bringing the total to 101. The government is aiming to restart commercial travel on or before July 1. Editorial View - Page 6
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 29, 2020, PAGE 3
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Govt won’t intervene in rent disputes By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said the government does not plan to intervene in and settle disputes between landlords and tenants who qualify for the COVID-19 rental assistance programme. On April 27, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced long-awaited details of his rental assistance programme, revealing an initiative that was to be based on deferrals of residential rental payments.
‘DEFICIT WILL NOT LEAD TO NEW TAXES’
from page one
While the Minnis administration has committed to not raising taxes because of the damage an increase would have on the ailing economy, many fear paying for the increased debt through more taxes will have to happen. “No, not at all,” Mr Turnquest said in response to the concern during a virtual budget press conference yesterday. “It is our hope that coming out of this pandemic that we will have a strong recovery, both domestically and internationally, will rise all tides as they say. We do not believe that there is going to be a need for new taxes.” Debt as a percentage of
GDP is projected to peak at 85.6 percent by the end of the 2021/2022 before climbing down gradually in the fiscal period after. Debt is projected to be $10.6 billion by the end of the 2022/2023 fiscal year. Mr Turnquest, nonetheless, said strong growth should help the country. “We project by January 2021 we should start to see returns to our former tourism numbers,” he said. “To the extent that we get down to the late fall, early winter of 2021 and we do not see the kind of recovery that we anticipate then we will have another set of decisions to make but even then I do not believe that taxation will be the answer because you can well appreciate that if the
economy is slowing down, adding taxes on top of that is not going to help us. We would have to make some other interventions.” Such interventions include revenue enhancement initiatives, he said. “We continue to look at new sources of revenue from commercial services that the government may provide to ensure that we are maximising the opportunities. We are looking at continuing to inspire both domestic and foreign direct investment that will help us to grow the economy and through those initiates as well as our cost rationalisation efforts we hope and as we have shown its the past three years that those efforts will accomplish savings that will eventually
allow us to reach our fiscal consolidation or balanced budget objectives and we can start to pay down on this debt that we’ve accrued over the last many years.” Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson added the country was on the right track before Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19. “Before Dorian, before COVID, in normal economic times the deficit was going down,” he said. “From 2017 to before Dorian hit, the last two fiscal periods we saw a 67 percent reduction in the deficit. Once we get to some measure of normality that dynamic will continue on. Over time the deficits will shrink and the debt to GDP ratio will start to go down.”
He said at the time that there should be “no evictions between now and the end of June unless the tenant had been legally eligible for eviction before April,” adding that at the end of the three-month period, people will have 12 months to pay back the deferred amount. However, some Bahamians have still been evicted from their homes since Dr Minnis’ announcement. During a press conference yesterday, Mr Turnquest was asked if there is any “teeth” to the government’s programme or recourse for people who qualify for rental assistance, but still face evictions. “This is still a landlord and tenant relationship,” he said. “The government is not minded to get involved with it from a legal point of view. To the extent that persons are having those kinds of difficulties though I do encourage them to contact the Social Services Department and Department of Housing who will provide whatever assistance is available particularly on an emergency basis. . .” Critics have said the programme is not truly rental assistance. Mr Turnquest said: “Understand that the persons who own these properties still have their own commitments to make and while we’ve made arrangements with the banking institutions to defer mortgage payments, those payments still have to be made.
“The assistance part of this is helping to ease the burden on the renter during a period where they have been laid off or might not have any impact because they have been terminated. We anticipate and we have faith that the economy is going to start to rebound relatively quickly and as it does these persons are going back to work and they will be able to meet their commitment. To those detractors who say it is not an assistance programme, I would beg to differ. This is very much an assistance programme because as you are able to reduce the cost of living for individuals during a time when they are challenged with respect to their income and financial ability and they can stay in their home, it is very much an assistance. “This is a partnership and this is what we have said to the renting community, this is a partnership between the government and landlords to assist our citizens to maintain some level of dignity by having shelter during this very difficult period. We do not have the resources unfortunately to be able to do this by ourselves. We in the government, we are doing our part, we have $120 million we have allocated toward assistance programmes and we are asking the private sector to do their part to help their brothers and sisters through this very difficult period as we together work to recover.”
Former Health Minister Sands to spend some time back in the operating theatre By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net FORMER Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands said he will continue to serve the country as a physician in public and private practice while providing help where needed in his capacity to aid in the COVID-19 fight. His comments came after members of Parliament unanimously passed a resolution yesterday to grant the Elizabeth MP exemption to serve as consultant surgeon for the Public Hospitals Authority, without having to vacate his seat from Parliament. The move comes after the former health minister resigned from Cabinet earlier this month. In a letter dated May 27 to House Speaker Halson Moultrie, Dr Sands noted that following his resignation from Cabinet, he had finalised a contractual agreement with PHA to return as a consultant surgeon in the medical field. The letter read: “As you are aware, I have recently resigned as a Cabinet minister. Having done so, I am returning to my profession as a cardiac vascular thoracic surgeon even as I carry out my duties as an elected
member of Parliament for the Elizabeth constituency. “As it is my intention to ensure that all my Bahamians public and private have access to specialist surgical services, I have applied for a re-engagement as a consultant surgeon at the Public Hospital Authority, Ministry of Health. “The attached offer from the Public Hospital Authority outlines the terms of my anticipated role, expected to begin on the 27th of May 2020.” Dr Sands is considered one of the best cardiovascular surgeons in the country. Noting the profession as one he has prepared for his entire life, Dr Sands told The Tribune yesterday that he is happy to return to the medical field to serve the Bahamian people. He said: “It’s the profession that I have prepared (for) all my life, all of my professional life to execute and I have always provided services not just in the private sector but also to public patients and that is going to continue. “I think it’s very, very important that any skill that I have is made available just not to people with the ability to pay but public patients as well so that’s what I’m going to be doing.”
In addition to returning to the operating room, the Elizabeth MP said he also plans to continue serving the people in his constituency, saying he will work “on being the best representative” he can possibly be. Dr Sands added that he also will continue to aid in the fight against the COVID-19 threat, providing recommendations where needed within his capacity. “I will continue to work on the national response (to COVID) in my role not as a Cabinet minister, but as a back bencher. It’s a different role but it’s one I take seriously and I will do it to the best of my ability.” He also said: “I have one country to which I swear allegiance and that is the Commonwealth of The Bahamas so in whatever capacity I can, I will do my best to help to improve, develop and advance this country. “I am a senior physician in the country. Now, I am putting on a different hat or a different set of scrubs and so let’s go to work.” The former health minister resigned earlier this month for his actions related to six American permanent residents who landed in the country with
DR Duane Sands in the House of Assembly yesterday COVID-19 testing supplies. The group had not been tested prior to their arrival in the country and instead were tested for the disease the next day. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis described the situation as a breach of protocol and the next day, Dr Sands offered his resignation and the nation’s leader accepted it. Dr Sands is the second Cabinet minister to resign this term, after former Immigration Minister Brent Symonette resigned last year. Editorial View - Page 6
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that PAULA BLACQUIERE, Charlotteville Lot #14, CB-11524 Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of May 2019 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
PAGE 4, Friday, May 29, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
PLP CAN’T SUPPORT LOCKDOWN EXTENTION, SAYS DAVIS PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he cannot support the government’s extension of the COVID19 state of emergency in its current form. Giving a contribution as the House of Assembly debated a resolution extending the state of emergency to June 29, Mr Davis called for widespread COVID-19 testing while arguing there was no “clear rationale” for continuing weekend lockdowns. “Many, many hardworking Bahamian families have lost their income,” Mr Davis said yesterday. “That means they cannot pay their bills. They do not know how they will keep
the lights on. They do not know how they will feed their children. “Families that were middle-class have slipped into poverty. Bahamians who were unemployed before this crisis had even fewer resources to meet this moment and are in true distress. I start there because I want to be very clear about why I am not supporting the government’s renewal of the emergency orders.” He added: “In the first place, these lockdowns and curfews were drastic measures, depriving people of their liberty and their ability to earn a living. They were justified only because the government needed time to create a coherent
national strategy to manage the threat of COVID-19. “Here we are, months later, and where is that national strategy? For months, Bahamians have complied with emergency orders, at enormous cost. The government should have used that time – time given to them by the people – to put in place all the elements we need in order to reopen safely at the earliest possible moment.” Mr Davis said the country needs widespread testing and a robust contact tracing system to battle the virus. He said the country needs to increase its capacity to isolate any new cases that emerge and put in place extra measures to protect
those Bahamians most vulnerable to the virus. He also said: “We need more support for our hospitals and clinics, more protection for our doctors and nurses and technicians; where are these resources? “We need a detailed and rational plan for ending curfews and reopening; I see only vague and generic guidance. We need to support small businesses so they can adopt best practices to keep their employees and customers safe; no such support is being offered.” He also said: “I cannot support an extension of the emergency orders in their current form. At the very least, Bahamians deserve to
know that all government policies are being made in good faith, based on science and data, and applied fairly. Yet Ministry of Health officials have provided no clear rationale for continuing weekend lockdowns, and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen has indicated it was not a ministry decision that islands without COVID-19 cases cannot reopen. “Nearly from the very start of this period Bahamians have worried that there is one set of rules for FNM insiders and another set of rules for everyone else. Some businesses were allowed to open, other similar ones were not. Some virus-free
islands were allowed to reopen, others were not. Meanwhile, teenagers selling coconuts on the side of the road are fined one thousand dollars. “Mr Speaker, I want to see the most aggressive plan possible to defeat this virus. This can be done while at the same time taking careful, considered steps to reopen. Everyone understands that we now live in a changed world. Bahamians are ready to be careful, ready to protect themselves and their families. So let’s move to the next phase. I am urging this government: test, isolate, trace, treat – do it in a way that allows everyone to get back on their feet,” he said.
SERVING UP A TREAT THE NATIONAL Social Outreach Ministry of the Church of God of Prophecy distributed hot meals and dry food supplies to people in need on Wednesday. Packages for churches in the Family Islands were also collected. The distribution took place at Palm Tree Avenue and Sixth Street, Coconut Grove.
Churches opening up By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Christian Council expressed pleasure yesterday at relaxed protocols that allow sanctuary worship beginning next month, stressing churches are capable of enforcing COVID19 social distancing and proper hygiene protocols. Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced in the House of Assembly that church leaders, under certain protocols, can accept their members into sanctuaries for worship as of Saturday, June 6. BCC President Bishop Delton Fernander, whose term ended in April 2020 but was asked to stay on to complete negotiations
with the competent authority to reopen churches, said he is happy to have completed those talks successfully. “First of all it was my honour to be asked by the Council to lead them through these negotiations although my term ended in April,” Bishop Fernander said. “They asked me to continue until June 2 through these difficult negotiations. They were challenging, but we were able to communicate clearly with the competent authority, our abilities and our standards and the protocols that we were imposing on ourselves as a church. “On that communication we were able to move to this stage where churches can open. The same protocols we have for the Family Island churches. So we will begin our PSAs over the holiday
weekend where we can prepare our churches in the last remaining islands on how to prepare themselves to receive members if they choose.” Effective Saturday, June 6, worship services are permitted in sanctuaries in New Providence, Grand Bahama and all Family Islands on Saturday and Sunday, 7 am – 1 pm following strict protocols. The protocols dictate that the church is responsible for providing hand sanitizer at the entrance to the building; people must sit six feet apart, except if they are from the same immediate household; all persons must wear masks covering their nose and mouth; churchgoers are to remain in or at their seats; Sunday School is not permitted and communion may be held using disposable
cups while distributors must wear a mask covering their nose and mouth and gloves. Churches must also exercise proper hygiene and sanitization measures. The government has also said there will be one offering station and offering baskets should not be passed around. Those that are in high-risk categories are asked not to attend service; this includes those aged 65 and over and those with comorbidities. According to Bishop Fernander, the Council is aware that all churches will not open despite the relaxations. He said some of them have to wait on their international organisations to give them the green light to open. “Some of them are still waiting on denominational protocols,” he continued. “Some of them
are going to just inch their way into sanctuary worship, but they will have that availability if they choose and many will. Many will open up and go into sanctuary worship and there will be those who choose to have a mixture of sanctuary worship and drive in worship.” Up to the time of The Tribune’s interview, Bishop Fernander had not spoken to the entire membership of the Christian Council, but was certain “everybody is cautious but happy”. The Christian Council gives two terms for each president. On Tuesday, the Council will decide if they want Bishop Fernander for a second term or they will elect a new president. Bishop Fernander said, either way, he is happy to have served and is thankful for those who have worked with him.
MAN WHO DRINKS ‘A LOT’ IS FINED AFTER PASSING OUT By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAN who claimed he violated the national curfew because he passed out while trying to walk home from the bar was fined $400 yesterday. He was among several people who appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes for curfew and lockdown violations. Many of those charged admitted to being aware of the curfew when they were found outdoors. Everette Knowles, 49, was charged after officers found him on Unison Road around 11.30pm on May 26. He pleaded guilty, but said he was walking home from a bar and had passed out. He claimed that when he woke up, he asked his neighbour to call the police. During the hearing,
Knowles, who works on a farm on Cowpen Road, also admitted that he drinks “a lot.” When the facts were read by Prosecutor Kenny Thomposn, it was revealed that on the night in question, officers observed Knowles standing in a yard. When they approached and questioned him, he told them he was at his relative’s property. Still, when the officers spoke to the owners of the home, they said they did not know who the defendant was. As a result, Magistrate Forbes told Knowles he should stop drinking if he wanted to live to see 50, because his kidneys and liver probably were not in the best health at this point in his life. He was subsequently fined $400 or two months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
Meanwhile, Kirklyn Thompson, 39, was charged after officers found him near Wilson Street around 11pm on May 25. He pleaded guilty, but was discharged after he explained that he had gone outdoors to look for his nephew who was a patient at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre (SRC). Thompson told the magistrate that his nephew had recently been released from SRC and had a tendency to “pick up and walk” out of the house. He also claimed that he was looking for his other nephew to secure a job, in a “time when many people didn’t have any.” As a result, Magistrate Forbes told Thompson he would grant him an absolute discharge given the circumstances. Still, he urged the defendant to be more responsible with his movement during
the curfew and to follow the proper protocol. Officers found Anthon Munroe, 23, on Baillou Hill Road around 1.05am on May 27. He pleaded guilty to violating the curfew and was fined $400 or two months at BDCS. When given an opportunity to speak, Munroe told the magistrate he was staying with his girlfriend but they had an altercation which escalated so he decided to go home. Kirvin Rolle, 23, and Dacosta Brown, 18, were charged after officers found them on Malverne Road around 11.15pm on May 22. They both pleaded guilty and were each fined $400 or two months in prison. During the hearing, the boys claimed they were only outdoors because they were talking with friends and had lost track of time. Issac Smith, 33, and
James Seymour, 43, were charged after officers found them on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway around 10.25pm. They both pleaded guilty and were each fined $400 or two months at BDCS. Prosecutor Thompson said while being interviewed at the Grove Police Station, Smith told officers he was picking up a friend from a family residence and they stopped at a convenience store on East Street to buy food. Sgt Thompson said Seymour also told officers Smith had picked him up from a family member who lived in Chippingham and the two had stopped at a shop and a parking lot to urinate before going home. Officers found Saeed Major, 34, on Balfour Avenue around 9.45am on May 24. He pleaded guilty to violating the lockdown,
but said he was carrying his girlfriend home so that she could retrieve her asthma pump. During the hearing, Major told the magistrate his girlfriend was staying with him during the weekend lockdown and had forgotten her asthma pump at home. He claimed that he was not aware of the COVID-19 hotline. In response, Magistrate Forbes told Major as a Bahamian citizen, he had the responsibility to inform himself of what was going on in the country before he made decisions. He told him he should have at least found out what the emergency orders allowed and prohibited before he left the house that day and called the COVID-19 hotline if he had a medical emergency. He was fined $400. In default of the fine, he will serve two months in prison.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 29, 2020, PAGE 5
THREATS TO PM PROBED BY POLICE from page one
IN a photo taken before lockdown some one-on-one assistance during the East Grand Bahama Information Session for the RISE Initiative. Top left is Kerline McPhee, GBPA Customer Relations Officer with Ashleigh Lockhart, MC Program Officer, top right.
$700k awarded to SMEs hit by Dorian By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net MORE than $700,000 in grants are being awarded to over 70 small and mediumsized businesses on Grand Bahama that were affected by Dorian. The RISE Economic Recovery Grant Programme is awarding $725,000 in funding to 76 businesses to help with their recovery, particularly rebuilding and resumption of operations. Allison McBride –a downtown business operator who suffered significant loss due to the flooding – was one of the grant recipients. Her business, Dynasti Graphix and the Copy Center, sustained nearly 4ft of floodwater that destroyed her store and all its contents. With the RISE grant, Ms McBride will be able to purchase machines, inventory, and make payments towards back rent. “After Hurricane Dorian, our home, cars, and business were devastated. We were encouraged to apply to many business entities for assistance. Thankfully the RISE team awarded us a much-needed grant. We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all of the RISE partners for their support,” she said. To date, some 140 businesses have received economic recovery grant funding through the RISE (Restoring Industry, Sustaining Employment) programme – a partnership
initiative implemented by The Grand Bahama Port Authority and Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian organisation. Funding support also came from the American Red Cross and Bacardi Limited. Qualifying businesses affected last year by Dorian were able to receive up to $10,000 in funding. The RISE programme was also extended to businesses in East Grand Bahama, which were hardest hit by the storm. Leland Laing Jr, the owner of Highpoint Beach Bar & Grill in High Rock, was also among those recipients. With the funding, he hopes to rebuild and reopen soon. He said: “I was so happy that the RISE grant assisted businesses across all of Grand Bahama, especially those in areas hardest hit by the storm. I am hoping it won’t be long now until I will be serving my famous ribs again to our happy customers.” he said. Amidst the recent COVID-19 Emergency Orders, the programme’s partners continued to receive, review, and approve applications for business restoration funding. Henry St George, Grand Bahama Port Authority director, said: “The RISE team has had to adapt its programme significantly to comply with the government’s COVID-19 Emergency Orders, but we have been able to continue to vet and review applications.” He said they are
“extremely proud” and pleased to be able to help re-establish the island’s small business sector. “Given the lockdown made sourcing goods and labour for the repair of businesses a challenge, the disbursements of new grants have been on hold up until now. We are delighted to be able to restart the grant award process with the selection of a further 76 businesses in our latest cohort, who collectively are due to receive approximately $725,000,” said Mr St George. Paula Miller, Mercy Corps country director for The Bahamas, thought it was important to move forward with business recovery, despite challenges created amid COVID-19. “We know that these small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the island’s economy and the support we provide them now is critical to their ability to prepare for and withstand future disasters,” she said. In addition to funding, recipient businesses received finance, marketing, and disaster preparedness and recovery training. The programme also offered guidance on the development of mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of future disasters such as Dorian. “Bacardi is proud to support the ongoing recovery of Grand Bahama and the small businesses that are so critical to the island’s economy and people’s wellbeing,” Rick Wilson, SVP of corporate responsibility
FAMILIES WARNED OVER KILLER TOADS
from page one
a potent bufotoxin that can kill. . .animals... like your pets. I am advising all landscaping companies to properly inspect all of your vehicles and equipment for cane toad ‘stowaways’. “If the proper measures are not taken, these animals will disperse and continue moving east and the rainy weather is only going to assist them with their spread. I am sure no one wants to see a 6-10 inch toad in their yards, greeting them at their front door.” Department of Environmental Health Senior Environmental Officer Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy said the ministry is aware of reports of cane toad sightings. She said the ministry is dealing with the matter internally and devising a plan of action. “This will be the second time we would’ve been dealing with the cane toad at this level. We’re having reports from them. What we have to do is actually
go in and collect the toads, remove them from the environment, remove the eggs from the environment and do our best to secure the area,” she said. “..Now, we’re going out to go and do an inspection ourself to see what is out there to make sure that the plan we are coming up with will be effective one.” Back in August 2013, the toad was spotted by a resident of Lyford Cay. The individual notified the BNT and the identified toad was captured and killed. Then Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett previously told The Tribune there were still sightings and possible breeding within the Lyford Cay pond. Dr Neely-Murphy informed the creature’s toxins affect the heart’s rhythm, but it is not fatal to humans for most part. It is mostly a threat to small animals such as dogs and cats. She advised: “The toxins
that cane toads release, they are harmful when touched. We will of course advise the general public not to interact with the animals unless they have special training with dealing with them.” She urged the public to contact the ministry if they have questions or if they spot cane toads. “We ask that the general public please reach out to the Ministry of the Environment. The Bahamas is a very wide and a very long mass of land and ocean to police and we cannot be everywhere at once. If you come across environmental issues, please do not assume that the Ministry of the Environment is aware of what’s going on - please let us know,” she said. When contacted, BNT Executive Director Eric Carey said he could not comment up to press time.
for Bacardi said. “As a family-owned business, we are heartened and encouraged by the personal stories of RISE grant recipients who are on the road to rebounding from such a challenging chapter in their lives.” In February, the RISE team went in hard-hit East Grand Bahama to encourage local business owners to apply, many of whom have also been awarded RISE grants. There will be further updates on the RISE initiative, concerning new application deadlines and additional COVID-19 assistance. Businesses interested in applying for a RISE Grant can visit the website at www.risegbpa.com for more information.
Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ actions towards Abaco and its residents. It is being circulated on social media. “Minnis. Hubert Minnis. . . There is one thing I want you to know,” the man said on the video. “You are a piece of ****. You did not help your black brothers and black sisters or no one in The Bahamas. I think, and plenty people will back me up on this, you should be shot with ****. You are no good. You did not help no one in The Bahamas. You came to Abaco and begged for our vote and we gave it to you, along with James (Albury) and the one from North (Darren Henfield) and you let our people suffer.” Speaking at a press conference highlighting a local neighbourhood watch group receiving an award in the US, Mr Dames warned Bahamians to be responsible when using social media. “The police are very much aware,” Mr Dames said of the circulating video. “Unfortunately, this is the new media. We are seeing a lot of activity like that on social media. We are just asking Bahamians to think before you speak because the police will certainly be watching. When people send me stuff on social media that they feel are of some concern, that the police ought to look into, I will immediately send it on to the police. Bahamians
as a whole, we have to be more responsible in our use of social media.” Mr Dames said he did not watch the entire video, but he knows the police are aware of it and are dealing with it. “We have a saying in Abaco, ‘I’d like to meet you in the Pine Yard,’” said the man on the video as he continued his threat. “And guess what? Only one of us will come out. Me or you! You left the people of Abaco, and of The Bahamas, for years suffer. Everything what’s been going on, no one wants to stand up to you, but I tell you what, you text me a place and a time to meet you and bring James (Albury). Let it be two on one and I guarantee you one thing, it will be only one person to leave the Pine Yard.” Mr Dames said social media use should be managed responsibly. “This is our way of communicating nowadays, but it doesn’t change the fact that we have to be responsible in the things that we put out there and the things that we say,” Mr Dames continued. “We have to ensure that we are not making threats towards citizens, we are not breaking the law because the police will find you. They will find you and they will make you accountable.” He also said the government does not want to take away any one’s rights and liberties, but instead wants citizens to be responsible.
Private Graveside Funeral Service for DELLAREASE CAREY, 47 of Emerald Coast, Munnings Drive, who died on Saturday, May 9th, 2020, will be held on Thursday, June 4th, 2020, 11:00a.m., at Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road, Nassau, The Bahamas. Officiating will be Father Tynes, assisted by other Ministers of the Gospel. She is survived by, her Loving Husband: Patrick Charles Carey; Son: Patrick “PJ” Carey; Daughter: Shania Carey; Granddaughter: Sky Carey; Mothers: Prophetess Althea Neeley-North and Vernell Stubbs; Step-Mother: Nurcel Cutie North; Grandmother: Emily Rolle-Aranha; Grandparents-in-Law: Lloyd & Janet Carey; Parentsin-law: Darlene Carey, Peter & Neulessa Major; Sisters: Sharlene & Elizabeth Stubbs, Sandrene Sanny Coghiel, Beryle Stubbs-Russell, Eleanor Hutchinson, Verlene Clarke, Sarah North, Deundra North-Johnson; Brothers: Garnett Coghiel, Alfred, Andrew, Haldane Jr. & Wilton Stubbs, Wallenstein, Marvin, & Gilbert Simmons; Step-siblings: Adelis & Conroy Bowen; Aunts: Marilyn & Annamae Smith, Antonia Lesbott, Carmetta Ingraham, Doris & Bernadette Neilly-Wilkerson, Chandra Neilly, Fritztine Swan, Angela Rolle, Marcia Bain, Shane Archer, Sandra Smith, Lisa Moss, Dr. Shamika, Deanna & Audrey North, Florence Williams, Rose Ferguson, Tezel & Grace Wright, Betty, Norma, Shirley & Althea Stubbs, Debra Swan, Michelle Adderley, Judy Higgs, Rochelle, Patrice & Roseanne Carey, Sharell Roach; Uncles: Tyrone Smith Sr., Curtis, Anthony & Sean Neilly, Revis Stubbs, Fredrick Wright, Jerome Swan, Philip Carey, Brian Carey, Vaccaro Adderley, William Higgs, Frank Roach, Anthony “Huck” Williams, Tyrone, Fredrick, Dwayne, Raynard, Ricardo, Anthony & Ulrick North, Cyril “Boker” Minnis & The Right Hon. Hubert Minnis; Sisters-in-law: Shanique Brown, Devantell Rolle, Shewrea Heastie, Sharon Stubbs, Petera Major; Brothers-in-law: Kristofa Heastie, Martina Wiradihardja, Devante Rolle, Lorenzo Woodside, Allen Clarke, Vickarieo Major, Everette Russell; Bonus Daughter: Remoana Sweeting; Nieces and Nephews: Isiah Buckley, Kimawanna, Jamaal, Andrew Jr., Deangelo, Danyel and D’anthony Stubbs, Cordera, Cordero & Hermanda Robinson, Christal & Giovanni Grant, Christovia & Chico Butler, Kimastovia & Rashad Gardiner, Trevor Aranha, Lorenzo & Jaquel Woodside, Alfredo Richards, Sharanda & Shavaughn Rolle, Samuel Jr. & Kizzy Decatur, Renado Benson, Nivea Bryant, Brianna & Briniah Coghiel, Tatiyana Myrick, Mykiera McCoy, Arianna Heastie, Cashanique, Devonya, Devante Jr. & Devaughn Rolle, Corey Brown, Jonathan Heastie, Chet Smith Jr., Marc Adderley, Drenya Farquharson, Milton Burrows Jr., Faith Burns, Lavardo Butler, Camillah Robinson, Riley & Sanae Forbes, Ranathan Gardiner, Mason Grant, Shardae Gilles, StaViah Brown, Shavantae & Hiliyah Aranha, Ashantae Huyler, Cayden Pope, Lauryn Woodside, Alfrenique Benson, Jameka Stubbs; Numerous Cousins: Sonovia Williams, Tenneil Lightbourne, Britney Seymour, LaRoona & Dominque Anderson, Danielle & Maurico Thompson, Larandell Mortimer, Prophetess Quinty-Ann & Demarco Sears, Tyrell, Tenia, Tyrone Jr. & Jessica Smith, Shawn Bain, Able Seaman Claude Lesbott Jr., 3385 PC LeChristo Lesbott & Tevin Lesbott, Phillip Jr., Tamika & Delvano Ingraham. Sophia Swan Louis, Sharell & Lamond Edwards, Tamali, Tanera and Arteno North, Takura & Berlin Oliver. Anita, Michael, Allicia, Antionette, Anthony Jr., Samantha & Adama Williams, Alexandria Fernander, Sabrina Usher Donaldson, Cheryl Minnis, Charles Campbell, Henry Miller, Jackie, Jeff, Mark, Deborah, Hope, Yvonne, Franklyn Jr, Jaret, Dino, Pattie & Marsha Stubbs, Clarise & Alma Taylor, Peggy, Nicole & Yvette Stubbs, Rodney & Timmilee Williams, Nora, Bishop Wilshire, Glen Smith, Maggie, Bernie, Carolyn, Bradley, Winston, Jenny, Bernadette, Theresa, Gaylene, Andrew, Mack, Kimberly & Steve McDonald, Lord Jones, Florinda, Carolyn, Monique, Donald, Averil, Tina, Chris, Monique & Sheena Wright, Christine Stubbs, Susan O’Brein, Dianna Rolle, Iesha Percentie, Edmund Jr. & Opal O’Brien, Ramone Broomfield, Deshawn Rolle & Shawndia Rolle, Shantell, Otis & Tre Covington, Shannell, Billy & Kaiden Clarke, Shanté Swan, Deshelle & Derek Major, Faran Adderley, Heavyn Mortimer, Dwayne, Kim, Dana & Dillon Kemp, Rev. Kelli Jolly, Sharene Kerr, Latesha Whyms, Darrell, Daria, Darnell, Darielle, Demetrius & Danardia Farrington, Delgano, Felicity & Felicia Roach. Family and Friends may pay their final respects on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020, between the hours of 11:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m. at Evergreen Mortuary, #44 Collins Avenue & 5th Terrace, Nassau, The Bahamas.
PAGE 6, Friday, May 29, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
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One step at a time on road back to normality STEP by step, day by day, we are getting closer to getting back to normal. Indeed, we are now in phase three of the government’s reopening plan, which has been dubbed “the new normal”. Services in churches can resume from June 6 with appropriate safety measures, and there are more relaxations over exercise and business operation. It still feels there are some lumps and bumps in the process – it seems a little odd that you can go into a church with others but not onto a beach or park, for example, even with social distancing. We should remember, though, this has been a process where everyone has been learning what works best, and if we wait a little longer for a couple of the non-essentials to get back to normal, it’s because we’re erring on the side of health and safety. One new case announced yesterday was a blow – prior to that it was shaping up to be five days without a new patient, which would have been a positive sign indeed. Encouragingly, though, we are not seeing more cases out of Bimini in particular so far, which suggests the lockdown there is doing its work.
More people will be able to attend ceremonies too – including funerals, which has been the most heartbreaking restriction for many wanting to say farewell to loved ones. It should be emphasised that we are not there yet. This is phase three, not phase five, and we should make sure we keep up the distancing and cleanliness measures that have got us this far. The last thing we would want to do now is to go backwards. We all know the drill by now – wash your hands, wear masks, keep your distance. As businesses open, some might not quite have the routine worked out to keep social distancing. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions for ways they can improve things – and business owners, don’t be afraid to listen. The important thing is keeping both staff and customers healthy. So as we prepare for a holiday weekend in lockdown, let’s keep up the effort – and take pride in what we have done as a nation together. There’s a long fight ahead to lift the nation when all this is done – and we’ll need that togetherness again. Keep going, Bahamas.
Saluting Dr Sands’ service He may no longer be serving the public as Health Minister, but Dr Duane Sands continues to serve in another capacity. The medic is returning to the front lines in public and private practice while offering his help where needed against COVID-19. “I have one country to which I swear allegiance,” he said, “and that is the
Commonwealth of The Bahamas so in whatever capacity I can, I will do my best to help to improve, develop and advance this country.” Well said, sir, and we welcome that service – now more than ever. We wish you the very best in your return to work as a physician. There is a lot to do, for you and for all of us, so we’ll agree with your last word: “Let’s go to work.”
That was a Budget? Not in my book EDITOR, The Tribune THE National Budget presented in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, 27th instant, by the Minister of Finance, was nothing short of a document that is not worthy of being referred to as a Budget. This shambles of a Budget marks to abject devolution of The Bahamas and our wonderful people into an unprecedented drive for political power and to ensure that most of us emerge out of this pandemic as paupers and wards of a totalitarian/socialistic regime. This is the only way to flesh out this Crab and No Dough budget. The Competent Authority declared Andros, et al, opened because of the advent of the fabled Crab season in that Island, despite the clear and present danger of the Corona Virus. Catching crabs is one thing but in a depressed economy who are you going to sell them to? We’ve got the crabs, dear reader, but where is the dough in more ways than one? The PM says that he is going to continue the Minnis lock downs and curfews until the Competent Authority tells him to revisit those issues at the end of June, if you all are
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net lucky! How much more of this is the average Bahamian able to choke on? The economy is gone south and Minnis and all of his merry men and women are unable to locate it. Yet, another four weeks with no guaranteed income? When the bogus Emergency Powers Act first came in to play, few Bahamians contemplated that almost three moths later, Minnis would still be ruling almost by fiat. I thought that by now a fearless legal advocate would have challenged the constitutionality and legality of that draconian legislation. Alas they all appear to lack what it takes in daring to take on the government. This document dressed up in raggity clothing looking like the step child of a budget, will bankrupt the nation in short order. There is not a single concrete proposal to actually grow the debilitated economy and to enable employers, et al, to start rehiring people. There is no mention of what successive administrations have failed or refused to do: enhance revenue and
outstanding tax collections, especially as they relate to real property and arrears owed to NIB for years and years. One would also have expected a token salary cut across the board by all members of parliament from the PM straight down to the back benches. One would have expected to hear more about job training and upgrades in skill sets. Not a word. It is to be noted, however, that there is provision to continue to subsidize tuition fees of Bahamians in out post high school institutions. No doubt, my good friend, Minister Jeffrey Lloyd (FNM-South Beach) prevailed in cabinet. The Hon. Frankie Campbell (FNM-Southern Shores) is also to be commended for dramatically ensuring increases for those whom his ministry serve. Other than the above, I will reserve further comments as the Crab & No Dough budget is fleshed out in the House of Assembly. To God then, in all of these mundane things, be the glory. ORTLAND H. BODIE JR Nassau, May 28, 2020
Why videos of deaths are sacred
AS Ahmaud Arbery fell to the ground, the sound of the gunshot that took his life echoed loudly throughout his Georgia neighborhood. I rewound the video of his killing. Each time I viewed it, I was drawn first to the young black jogger’s seemingly carefree stride, which was halted by two white men in a white pickup truck. Then I peered at Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Trevor, 34, who confronted Arbery in their suburban community. I knew that the McMichaels told authorities that they suspected Arbery of robbing a nearby home in the neighborhood. They were performing a citizen’s arrest, they said. The video shows Arbery jogging down the street and the McMichaels blocking his path with their vehicle. First, a scuffle. Then, gunshots at point-blank range from Travis McMichael’s weapon. My eyes travelled to the towering trees onscreen, which might have been the last things that Arbery saw. How many of those same trees, I wondered, had witnessed similar lynchings? And how many of those lynchings had been photographed, to offer a final blow of humiliation to the dying? It may be jarring to see that word – lynching – used to describe Arbery’s killing. But many black people have shared with me that his death – followed in rapid succession by Breonna Taylor’s and now George Floyd’s officer-involved murders – hearkens back to a long tradition of killing black people without repercussion. Perhaps even more traumatising is the ease with which some of these deaths can be viewed online. In my new book, “Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest #Journalism,” I call for Americans to stop viewing footage of black people dying so casually. Instead, cellphone videos
of vigilante violence and fatal police encounters should be viewed like lynching photographs – with solemn reserve and careful circulation. To understand this shift in viewing context, I believe it is useful to explore how people became so comfortable viewing black people’s dying moments in the first place. Every major era of domestic terror against African Americans – slavery, lynching and police brutality – has an accompanying iconic photograph. The most familiar image of slavery is the 1863 picture of “Whipped Peter,” whose back bears an intricate cross-section of scars. Famous images of lynchings include the 1930 photograph of the mob who murdered Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. A wildeyed white man appears at the bottom of the frame, pointing upward to the black men’s hanged bodies. Twenty-five years later, the 1955 photos of Emmett Till’s maimed body became a new generation’s cultural touchstone. The 14-yearold black boy was beaten, shot and thrown into a local river by white men after a white woman accused him of whistling at her. She later admitted that she lied. When I conducted the interviews for my book, many black people told me that they carry this historical reel of violence against their ancestors in their heads. That’s why, for them, watching modern versions of these hate crimes is too painful to bear. Still, there are other groups of black people who believe that the videos do serve a purpose, to educate the masses about race relations in the U.S. I believe these tragic videos can serve both purposes, but it will take effort. In the early 1900s, when the news of a lynching was fresh, some of the nation’s first civil rights organizations circulated any available images of the
lynching widely, to raise awareness of the atrocity. They did this by publishing the images in black magazines and newspapers. Images of white people’s deaths are removed from news coverage all the time. It is difficult to find online, for example, imagery from any of the numerous mass shootings that have affected scores of white victims. Those murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of 2012, or at the Las Vegas music festival of 2017, are most often remembered in endearing portraits instead. In my view, cellphone videos of black people being killed should be given this same consideration. Just as past generations of activists used these images briefly – and only in the context of social justice efforts – so, too, should today’s imagery retreat from view quickly. The suspects in Arbery’s killing have been arrested. The Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death have been fired and placed under investigation. The videos of their deaths have served the purpose of attracting public outrage. To me, airing the tragic footage on TV, in autoplay videos on websites and social media is no longer serving its social justice purpose, and is now simply exploitative. Likening the fatal footage of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd to lynching photographs invites us to treat them more thoughtfully. We can respect these images. We can handle them with care. In the quiet, final frames, we can share their last moments with them, if we choose to. We do not let them die alone. We do not let them disappear into the hush of knowing trees. By Allissa Richardson of the University of Southern California. theconversation.com
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 29, 2020, PAGE 7
PAIR PLEAD GUILTY ON DRUGS CHARGE
By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
TWO men were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday for dangerous drug possession after officers found a quantity of Indian hemp at their respective homes. Navada Nairn, 43, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after officers found 11 grams of Indian hemp at his residence on May 25. He pleaded guilty and was put on 12 months probation. If he fails to be of good behaviour during that time, he will be sentenced to six months in prison. Prosecutor Kenny Thompson told the court around 4.25pm on Monday, officers, acting on information, went to Nairn’s residence armed with a search warrant. Sgt Thompson said the officers then went to the defendant’s front gate and informed him that they would be conducting a search. While searching the residence, the officers discovered a black plastic bag containing suspected marijuana in one of the rooms. Nairn was subsequently arrested and taken to a nearby police station, where he admitted to the offence in an interview with police. According to the prosecution, the drugs had an estimated street value of $60. During the hearing, Nairn was represented by attorney Jomo Campbell. He told the magistrate his client had no pending matters and did not waste the court’s time by pleading guilty at his first opportunity. He also asked Magistrate Forbes
to consider Nairn’s “relatively young age,” and to temper justice with mercy by not imposing a custodial sentence. Kato Ferguson, 43, also appeared before Magistrate Forbes after officers found 14 grams of Indian hemp in his home on May 26. He also pleaded guilty and was fined $300 or one month in prison. Prosecutor Thompson said around 2.30pm that day, officers, acting on information, proceeded to Ferguson’s residence. When the defendant opened his front door, he was shown the search warrant. During the search, the officers found a silver container containing suspected marijuana on a dresser drawer in the eastern bedroom of Ferguson’s home. Sgt Thompson said the drugs had an estimated street value of $70. When given an opportunity to speak, Ferguson told the magistrate he only smoked because he used to suffer from asthma attacks and after he started smoking marijuana, he “never had asthma again.” He also said he only smoked in his house and would send somebody else to purchase the drugs for him because he didn’t want to get into problems. In response, Magistrate Forbes told Ferguson regardless of whether he smoked indoors or outside, his actions were still illegal. He also told the defendant he should consider whether it was more important to smoke or to avoid breaking the law.
TWO SUSPECTS ARRESTED By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
TWO male suspects who allegedly robbed a couple at gunpoint this week in Freeport were arrested on Wednesday. Their capture led to further police investigations that resulted in the discovery of an illegal firearm at a residence in Freeport and the arrest of other persons. According to Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder, officers of the Northeastern Division were on mobile patrol on Wednesday and went through a track road near the University of the Bahamas, where they discovered a stolen vehicle in
an armed robbery on Tuesday. Police had received reports of an armed robbery at the Maurice Moore Primary School, where two men had accosted a man and woman at gunpoint, robbing them of personal items and a Hyundai Tucson vehicle. Following the discovery of the vehicle, Supt Pinder stated that on the same day officers of the Criminal Investigation Department arrested two men believed to be the perpetrators involved in that armed robbery. She noted that “exceptional” police investigation then led to the recovery of an illegal firearm at a residence on Independence Drive, and the arrest of other persons at that residence.
$1k fine juror told to pay for missing part of a trial is dismissed By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE Court of Appeal has quashed a $1,000 fine a juror was ordered to pay after he failed to attend all of the hearings of a criminal trial in the Supreme Court held earlier this year. Walcott Miller was sworn as a juror in a murder trial which commenced on January 22. When the trial began, the jurors were told it would last two weeks. However, the trial ended up going beyond the time allotted and Miller left the country to travel for a trip he had booked in 2019. As a result, he was charged under Section 32(2) of the Juries Act and fined $1,000. On Wednesday, appellate Justices Jon Isaacs, Stella Maureen Crane-Scott and Roy Jones ruled the fine exceeded the maximum penalty Miller’s offence stipulated. According to a judgement posted on the Court of Appeal’s website, Miller had planned a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana which he had booked in December 2019. As a result, on February 8, Miller sought to excuse himself from further participation in the trial by telling the judge’s clerk he would be out of the country. Still, the court documents indicate that Miller did not obtain the leave of the court. “The Crown closed its case on 11th February and the defendant was told of his election and was ready to call his witnesses in his defence,” the court documents read. “On that date the appellant was present and had been warned, along with the other jurors, by the judge once again and told to return to court on February 18, 2020, at 11am when the matter would continue. In the meantime, the appellant, unknown to the
CANCER SOCIETY APPEALING FOR DONATIONS AS EVENTS CALLED OFF THE Cancer Society of The Bahamas is appealing for donations to continue its operations and outreach after the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Dorian prompted the cancellation of major fundraising events. The non-profit organisation is committed to the awareness, education, prevention, research, advocacy, care, and cure of cancers and to serve cancer patients, survivors and their families, and persons at risk across the country. Noting that cancer is still affecting Bahamians in the middle of this pandemic, the Cancer Society lamented the fact that its Family Island mammogram screening programme and free pap smear and PSA clinics have been on hold since February. “This interruption will certainly impact early detection and result in delayed diagnosis and treatment. Everyday a family member, friend, co-worker, or neighbour is diagnosed with this deadly disease and is in dire need of medical treatment. “As a non-profit organisation, we are totally dependent on funding from various scheduled events, corporate sponsors, and the general public,” the Cancer Society said in a press release. “Due to Hurricane Dorian last year, we have had to cancel two of our
major fundraising events: the annual raffle in October and the golf tournament in January. “Because of the pandemic, the Annual Met Gala Ball usually held in May during Cancer Awareness Month was also cancelled. The likelihood of cancellation of our other annual fundraising events this year is high which means that the centre will struggle to make ends meet like many households in The Bahamas in 2020. As the economy sinks to an alltime low, so will our funds and the ability to raise more. “The additional cost of anti-COVID-19 measures and the loss of our major fundraising events mean that the Cancer Society of The Bahamas will have to rely more heavily on the goodwill and generosity of businesses and corporations, financially-abled persons, and other NGOs to keep us afloat and prevent us from having to eliminate well-needed programmes and benefits for persons. “While we understand that many Bahamians are currently unemployed and many more are suffering, we hope that those who are able to help, can donate generously to the Cancer Society of The Bahamas so we can continue to assist persons who need us most. Even the smallest
contribution will make a significant impact in someone’s life.” The Cancer Society added that since the COVID-19 outbreak, the NGO has a much greater responsibility to protect not only its clients who are all high-risk but also staff members. The centre is currently almost full with nine of the 10 rooms occupied. “Sanitising stations have been strategically placed throughout the facility to promote good hygiene,” the press release said. “Staff and clients are regularly reminded to sanitise hands frequently and to wear face masks.” Officials said the new mandatory restriction of visitors has been especially difficult for clients, not only because they are from the Family Islands but also because they lose the therapeutic benefit of seeing loved ones. “Their outings are now limited to doctors’ visits, treatment sessions, pharmacy and grocery shopping. Despite the lockdown, patients at the centre are still being transported to their regular chemotherapy and radiation treatments without interruptions and our dedicated staff, including caregivers, still work around the clock catering to our clients’ needs.” For more information, visit www.cancersocietybahamas.org
court and without having obtained the leave of the court, left on his trip. The court waited in vain.” The matter was then adjourned to the next day, but Miller failed to appear once again. As a result, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and he returned to court on February 24, with his attorney. “At that point, he was told that he had been charged under Section 32(2) of the Juries Act, which reads as follows: ‘If any person, having been duly summoned to serve as a juror, refuses to serve when required by the court so to do, or if, after having been duly sworn he without leave departs the court before the verdict is given or before he is regularly discharged, the court may impose on him a fine of not more than $500.’ “The appellant was given his day in court. He explained a number of things in his defence to the judge, but at the end of it the judge imposed on him, after having heard his attorney, a fine of $1,000. The section, as I just read, has a maximum fine of $500.” Miller appealed the fine on the grounds that the judge acted beyond her legal authority by
ordering him to pay it. In their judgement, the justices also concluded that the fine could not stand since the judge “exceeded her jurisdiction.” Still, the appellate justices ruled that due to the nature of Miller’s offence, the maximum penalty did apply. “Having also heard both counsel with respect to what a reasonable fine might be that could be substituted by this court, we have determined that the maximum fine ought to be imposed,” the court documents read. “This was a serious matter. The ongoing case involved a murder trial which was close to its completion. Everybody was waiting. The defence, as we heard from the judge in her remarks, was waiting for this gentleman to appear and basically the trial was held up due to his nonappearance. The maximum fine is fully justified in this case.” As a result, the justices approved Miller’s appeal and replaced the original $1,000 fine with the $500 maximum penalty. They also noted that Miller had already paid the judge imposed fine and ordered him to be given back $500 to comply with their recent judgement.
ELDERLY WOMAN RAPED AT HOME
AN elderly woman was raped in her home by a male assailant Wednesday night, police said. According to a police report, the incident took place around 11pm when a man entered the woman’s home in eastern New Providence. Police did not provide further details, only saying the suspect “sexually assaulted an elderly female” in the home. Police did not give the woman’s age. This is the second rape reported this week. Earlier this week, police in New Providence said they arrested a man suspected of raping a woman in her home on Monday. 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.
Heroes of democracy PAGE 8, Friday, May 29, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
FROM the left: Cynthia Barrow-Giles (St Lucia/Barbados); John Jarvis (Antigua and Barbuda); Sylvester King (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) HERE are three heroes of democracy in the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM): Cynthia Barrow-Giles (St Lucia/Barbados), John Jarvis (Antigua and Barbuda) and Sylvester King (St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Their names must not be forgotten. These three persons have devoted 22 days of their lives so far to scrutineering a recount of the votes cast in the Guyana general elections of March 2. In a period of COVID-19 with exposure to the perilous coronavirus and amid a curfew, they have done little else, from daybreak to nightfall, except to scrutineer an exhausting recount of the votes with all the
challenges and demands that are being made by some political party agents. At the end of all this – whenever that comes – these three persons deserve a special award as Champions of CARICOM Democracy. And the Caribbean Community should bestow it upon them. They are not doing their jobs; this exercise is not their jobs; it is an act of self-sacrifice and dedication to democracy.
Sadly, it appears far from over. Barrow-Giles is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, John Jarvis is a Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and Mr. Sylvester King is the Deputy Supervisor of Elections of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Each of them left their homes and their
families during the eruption and spread of COVID-19 to carry out this arduous task. What was expected to be a 25-day recount process, ending on May 30, has been stretched out by obfuscation and by dilatory tactics, not by any inefficiency of the persons doing the recount but by constraints imposed on the process. A big part of the constraints is the protocols demanded by the Guyana COVID-19 task force which is, essentially, a political body headed by the caretaker Prime Minister left-over from the former government. The protocols, imposed by the COVID-19 task force, limit the number of counting stations and persons who can be present for a count. Whether such an obvious political body should have been charged with this responsibility is another matter that will feature in later analysis of the entire general elections. In any event, the task force’s protocols have contributed to the delays, by not allowing more counting stations with appropriate protocols. At the end of Day 21 of the recount (May 27), only 55% of the 2,339 ballot boxes were recounted, leaving a balance of 1,049 boxes. While local observers of the recounting process from the private sector have given it high marks for transparency and accuracy, including revelations of huge discrepancies between the Statements of Poll at polling stations and poll tabulation results offered by the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, the recounting period has to be extended to accomplish the full recount.
Eighty-seven days after it was held on March 2, Guyana’s elections result remains shrouded in uncertainty and incredulity. The Guyanese people deserve every commendation for their patience and tolerance and for not being lured into strife that would further harm them and the country. The Chair of the Guyana Electoral Commission (GECOM) had proposed an extension of the recount period to June 16. A meeting of the Commission was held on May 28 to decide on a date, but at the time of writing no announcement had been made. If the recount is extended to June 16, the three overburdened CARICOM scrutineers, who are already in highly pressured circumstances away from their homes and families, will be in Guyana for 37 days altogether. All of this has damaged Guyana’s standing in the global community. The public remarks of the diplomatic community accredited in Guyana, the statements made by the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of American States, the European Union and high representatives of the United States and Canada, have all urged GECOM in particular to conduct a transparent recount that leads to a credible result that is acceptable to the Guyana society and the international community. In that way, Guyana, as a nation, can claim a legitimate place in the world and in international institutions that will have to make determinations that could hurt or harm the country. Therefore, it should be
clear that the “CARICOM Three”, scrutineering the elections with only the support of the resident representative of the OAS, are striving not only to uphold CARICOM’s commitment to democracy, but Guyana’s as well. Repeatedly, the governments of CARICOM countries, with Guyana included, have expressed, through various public instruments, “their commitment to democracy and popular participation”, and they have “pledged to work together to maintain and strengthen the institutions and processes essential to democratic government”, including “respect for the will of the people, as expressed through free and fair elections on a regular basis”. The “CARICOM Three” are striving to ensure that those commitments mean what they say to the people of CARICOM and to the world. Neither they, nor CARICOM governments, could ignore their obligations to the reputation and values of CARICOM, Guyana included. The contribution of the “CARICOM Three” must be acknowledged and appropriately honoured. The writer is Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and at Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own. Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com
SO WHY HAVEN’T OUR MPS TAKEN A CUT IN SALARY?
WITH the Budget revealing that government debt is projected to top 10 billion dollars by the end of the 2021/2022 fiscal year, readers posted their reactions on tribune242.com. Hj had this to say: “And yet despite the massive debt, none of the parliamentarians of both political sides had the decency to get a pay cut to their salaries and perks. However, they made a point of mentioning that they will not have breakfast and lunch at the HOA at the taxpayer’s expense. With such drastic cost measures, the economic outlook of the country looks bright indeed.” Realitycheck242 posted this: “Let us all hope that the new COVID-19 protocols are successful after international air travel resumes and tourism turns around to the extent that the govt will not have to borrow $1.3 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.”
Joeblow had these suggestions: “Although I am against gambling, this is an opportunity to create a national lottery with the appropriate controls and remove the flow of cash into the hands of a few who have pillaged the over-thehill community all these years! “Increase stamp tax on sale of properties over $2 million and start taking legal action against cruise ships that pollute in our waters. Go rogue against the OECD and find creative ways to attract offshore business again. Update fines for various criminal offences as well. There are many other ways to increase revenue without
hurting the law abiding small man!” BahamaPundit suggested: “National lottery. Cannabis sale and cultivation. So many options have been ignored by this lot. Just borrow, borrow, borrow.” Tribune Business reported that private sector executives warned “our worst nightmare has come true” after the government unveiled record deficit spending, prompting this from Sheeprunner12: “Now is the time to mine more aragonite and process it at GB . . . cut more pine trees and process them in Andros . . . grow more crops and sell them in our stores . . . plant more cascarilla and make more oils & rum. Lots of options out there to re-employ the 50% jobless, shake off the COVID malaise, feed ourselves, and pay off the debt.” Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 29, 2020, PAGE 9
LEFT: ARCHIE WILLIAMS, who spent 37 years in prison for somebody else’s crime, had the America’s Got Talent audience in tears as he sang Elton John’s Don’t let the sun go down on me. RIGHT: Four Minneapolis police officers stopped, handcuffed and arrested George Floyd. He died later that day and the South Minneapolis community exploded in anger.
Add his name to the list George Floyd, another victim of American racism which won’t go away THE statistics have been there all along. You can read them if you have the courage to digest. You can study the charts, hot spots, numbers, watch the nightly news, gasp at coverage and go about the rest of the evening as if nothing changed if you have a mind to. But two events in the last week shook us in a way that is undeniable. They drilled a hole in our hearts and drove the tragic reality of racism in America home in a way that no decent, caring human being can deny. On Monday, May 25, four Minneapolis police officers stopped, handcuffed and arrested George Floyd, an unarmed black man suspected of attempting to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. A bystander shot video – up to nine minutes of slow torture as officers hauled him to the ground next to a police vehicle, one thrusting his knee into the jugular vein of his neck, choking him, blocking his airway as he begged them to let go, his words “I can’t breathe” clear at first and getting dimmer until they could be heard no more. Witnesses begged police to stop. By the time they did, it was too late. Floyd was dead at 46. He may not have known the $20 bill was fake. It doesn’t matter. The officers were fired. The FBI is investigating to see if they should be charged with a hate crime. The mayor asked why the officers who killed Floyd were not in jail. If it was not murder, the infuriated community said, what do you call crushing your knee into the neck of an unarmed, handcuffed, motionless, moaning man on the ground in front of a squad car until you have squeezed the life out of him? The South Minneapolis community exploded in anger. Riots broke out, billowing black smoke filled the air for three days, sending a message - Black Lives Matter. A day after Floyd was killed by police, a man in an ill-fitting, shiny new grey suit walked out on the stage of America’s Got Talent. He was big and tough though you could see him tugging at the jacket,
unaccustomed to being dressed like that. With strong jaw and questioning eyes, he was strangely quiet for a moment when Simon Cowell asked him the usual questions he asks of every contestant – what is your name and tell us a little about yourself. “My name is Archie Williams,” the man said and grew quiet again. “I was just incarcerated for 37 years for somebody else’s crime.” Three thousand people in the audience opened their mouths simultaneously in shock. When Archie Williams told the story and began to sing Elton John’s ‘Don’t let the sun go down on me’, you could have scanned that audience for a single dry eye and failed. Williams was a young man in Alabama, poor and black, when a white woman was raped and stabbed in 1982. Pressure was on the law to catch someone and they nabbed Williams who could not believe he was being charged. His fingerprints did not match any at the scene of the crime. Three witnesses testified he was at home. There was no DNA evidence nor anything else linking him to the crime. Too poor for a lawyer, he was thrown into the toughest prison in the state, Angola, to serve life plus 80 years without parole. Singing and prayer kept him going. The Innocence Project learned of his case, took it on and with DNA evidence and another man’s confession - a serial rapist the Innocence Project freed Williams in eight hours. On March 21, 2019, he walked out of prison a free man, but a man who had lost 37 years of his life. How many Archie Williams’ are out there? What would have happened in the George Floyd case if a bystander had not shot and shared a video?
How bad is it? A report released in 2019 showed that while property crimes decreased in the US the previous year, hate crimes and violence hit a 16-year high with Latinos experiencing the highest upswing. In 2019, there were 7,120 incidents of hate crimes, including thousands targeting buildings. Cops who face stress daily are often among those who pull the trigger too fast with a black face in front of them and the words Black Lives Matter out of earshot. There were only 27 days in 2019 when police did not kill someone in the U.S. and blacks are more than three times as likely to be killed as whites with Latinos running a close second to blacks who accounted for 24 percent of those police killings despite being 13 percent of the population. There are Bahamian mothers who pack their sons off to school in the U.S. with family pictures, a piece of johnny cake and lessons in how to kowtow to police if they stop you. There are dads who warn their daughters of dangers they would never expect to experience at home, that the colour of their skin may trigger a reaction, a response that the lunch table is full when there isn’t a table in The Bahamas where a black woman is not welcome. It is one of the truest privileges of living in this country and knowing that The Bahamas is ahead of much of the world in race relations. So when you count down the days until borders open or we begin to live the new normal instead of wondering what it will look like, be grateful for a nation and a culture that largely - not perfectly, but largely - looks beyond race and where those who play the race card get the disrespect they deserve.
PAGE 10, Friday, May 29, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
Dinosaur-killer asteroid hit Earth at worst angle possible By ERWAN LE BER Research Associate, International Ocean Discovery Programme, University of Leicester FEW geological events fascinate as much as the one that happened 66 million years ago. Evidence suggests a huge asteroid hit our planet, triggering a chain of events that led to a mass extinction in which more
than 70 percent of species on Earth – including the dinosaurs – disappeared. A new study narrows down the trajectory of this asteroid, which could help us better understand how the impact affected the planet beneath it and how material was dispersed in its aftermath. The research suggests that the angle of impact of this asteroid may have led to the worst
possible consequences for Earth’s inhabitants. The asteroid is long gone – pulverised when it hit Earth – but it left a 200kmwide crater. By looking at the geometry and structure of this crater, it is possible to test asteroid trajectories with computer simulations and see which one is more likely to leave a scar as observed in real life. The crater is no longer
visible, it is buried beneath hundreds of metres of sediment deposited since the impact. But various pieces of evidence pointed geoscientists to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico as the site of the crater’s location, and it was named after a local village, Chicxulub. Various datasets have since been collected to allow researchers to appreciate the features of this crater. In 2016, I joined a joint scientific expedition organised by the International Ocean Discovery Programme and the International Continental Scientific Drilling Programme. We spent two months at sea, drilling samples from the crater in a specific location, its peak ring. Peak rings are formed during large impact events. The one in the Chicxulub crater consists of a roughly 80km-diameter inner ring of hills, effectively forming a second circle within the crater. Peak rings are more easily observed on other rocky bodies in our solar system, such as the Schrödinger Crater on the Moon. Our 2016 expedition aimed at understanding how these features form, and what happens to the target rocks during an impact. It is difficult to produce experiments that replicate the high pressures, temperatures and aftermath of asteroid impacts events. That is why researchers use computer simulations. The samples recovered during the 2016 expedition helped to refine models of how the peak ring, and
ultimately the Chicxulub crater, was formed. For an asteroid that arrived vertically on the surface, the model suggests the object would have been pulverised within the first minute while making a cavity roughly 30km deep. During the next two minutes, the bottom of this cavity was thrust up by the resulting forces to to a height of more than 10km. Then during the following two minutes, this uplifted central part of the cavity collapsed outward, forming the peak ring. In fact, the impact was so powerful it even brought up part of the Earth’s mantle, the layer below the surface crust found more than 30km deep underground. The new study from researchers at Imperial College London, published in Nature Communications, pushes the modelling even further. By testing different asteroid sizes, speeds and angles of impact – 90° (vertical), 60°, 45° and 30° relative to Earth’s surface – it is possible to simulate which scenario would have left a crater that looks like the real one. The shape and continuity of Chicxulub’s peak ring suggests that the actual asteroid had an angle of between 60° and 45°. If the peak ring was truncated somewhere (like a horseshoe), that would suggest a shallower angle, but it does not seem to be the case. The direction of the asteroid is more challenging to estimate. But by looking at the relative positions of the centres of the crater, the peak ring and the uplift
of the mantle mentioned above, it is possible to estimate where the asteroid was coming from. With a vertical impact, the three centres would be expected to match, but they do not. Their offset could indicate that the asteroid was coming from the north-east. Regardless of the direction, the actual angle is pretty important to picture what happened after the impact. The estimated range of angles, and especially 60° relative to Earth’s surface, would have led to the most efficient vaporising of the rocks and projection of toxic gases and particles evenly in the region and globally. Other simulations suggest that a 60° to 30° range would have released much more gas and many more projectiles than with a vertical (90°) or a shallow (15°) angle. This suggests that not only did the asteroid fall in a spot more likely to release toxic material, but it also did so very efficiently, leading to the worst-case scenario for our planet – and the dinosaurs. A previous study suggested that a shallower angle and a different direction would have meant the effect of the impact was more severe in the northern hemisphere. Under the new model with a steeper angle, the ejected material would have been spread more evenly. This might allow researchers in the future to revise the wider record of the impact to better reconstruct the events that happened in its aftermath. theconversation.com
SUPERCOMPUTER simulates the impact of the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs
THE TRIBUNE
Friday, May 29, 2020, PAGE 11
OFFICER HAD OPENED FIRE ON TWO PEOPLE IN 19-YEAR POLICE CAREER Associated Press
VIOLENT protests over the death of the black man in police custody broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight day last night.
National Guard called up as riots break out MINNEAPOLIS Associated Press MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Walz yesterday called in the National Guard as looting broke out in St. Paul and a wounded Minneapolis braced for more violence after rioting over the death of a handcuffed black man in police custody reduced parts of one neighborhood to a smoking shambles. The Minneapolis unrest ravaged several blocks in the Longfellow neighborhood, with scattered rioting reaching for miles across the city. It was the second consecutive night of violent protests following the death of George Floyd, who gasped for breath during a Monday arrest in which an officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes. In footage recorded by a bystander, Floyd can be heard pleading that he can’t breathe until he slowly stops talking and moving. Minneapolis shut down its light-rail system and planned to stop all bus service out of safety concerns. Around midday yesterday,
the violence spread a few miles away to a Target in St. Paul’s Midway neighbourhood, where police said 50 to 60 people rushed the store attempting to loot it. Police and state patrol squad cars later blocked the entrance, but the looting then shifted to shops along nearby University Avenue, one of St. Paul’s main commercial corridors, and other spots in the city. St. Paul spokesman Steve Linders said authorities have been dealing with unrest in roughly 20 different areas throughout the city. “Please stay home. Please do not come here to protest. Please keep the focus on George Floyd, on advancing our movement and on preventing this from ever happening again. We can all be in that fight together,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter tweeted. Walz called for widespread changes in the wake of Floyd’s death. “It is time to rebuild. Rebuild the city, rebuild our justice system, and rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and those they’re charged to
protect. George Floyd’s death should lead to justice and systemic change, not more death and destruction,” Walz said. By yesterday morning in Minneapolis, smoke rose from smoldering buildings in the Longfellow neighbourhood, scene of the worst violence. In a strip mall across the street from the police’s 3rd Precinct station, the focus of the previous night’s protests, the windows in nearly every business had been smashed, from the large Target department store at one end to the Planet Fitness gym at the other. Only the 24-hour laundromat appeared to have escaped unscathed. “WHY US?” demanded a large expanse of red graffiti scrawled on the wall of the Target. A Wendy’s restaurant across the street was charred almost beyond recognition. “We’re burning our own neighborhood,” said a distraught Deona Brown, a 24-year-old woman standing with a friend outside the precinct station, where a small group of protesters were shouting at a dozen or
so stone-faced police officers in riot gear. “This is where we live, where we shop, and they destroyed it.” “What that cop did was wrong, but I’m scared now,” Brown said. But others in the crowd saw something different in the wreckage. Protesters destroyed property “because the system is broken,” said a young man who identified himself only by his nickname, Cash, and who said he had been in the streets during the violence. He dismissed the idea that the destruction would hurt residents of the largely black neighborhood. “They’re making money off of us,” he said angrily of the owners of the destroyed stores. He laughed when asked if he had joined in the looting or violence: “I didn’t break anything.” Mayor Jacob Frey appealed for calm. “Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy,” he said on Twitter. Diane Phillips - Page 9
THE white police officer who knelt on the neck of a handcuffed black man who lost consciousness and died opened fire on two people during his 19-year career and had nearly 20 complaints and two letters of reprimand filed against him. Derek Chauvin, 44, whose driveway was splattered with red paint and the graffiti “murderer,” has not spoken publicly since Floyd’s death. Minneapolis City Council records show that Chauvin moonlighted as a bouncer at a downtown Latin nightclub. He was among a group of six officers who opened fire on a stabbing suspect in 2006 after a chase that ended when the suspect pointed a sawed-off shotgun at them. The suspect, Wayne Reyes, was hit multiple times and died. A grand jury decided the use of force was justified. Two years later, Chauvin shot Ira Latrell Toles as he was responding to a domestic dispute. According to a Pioneer Press account of the incident, a 911 operator received a call from an apartment and heard a woman yelling for someone to stop hitting her. Chauvin and another officer arrived just as Toles locked himself in the bathroom. Chauvin forced his way into the bathroom. Toles went for Chauvin’s gun and Chauvin shot him twice in the stomach. Toles survived and was charged with two counts of felony obstruction. Toles told the Daily Beast that the mother of his child called police that night and he fled into the bathroom after officers broke down the apartment door. Chauvin then broke down the bathroom door and started to hit him without warning. He said he fought back in self-defense and was too disoriented to go for Chauvin’s gun. Toles said he ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and still feels pain from the shooting. “He tried to kill me in that bathroom,” Toles said. Online city records also show that 17 complaints have been filed against Chauvin. Sixteen complaints were closed with no discipline. The remaining complaint generated two letters of reprimand, with one apparently related to the use of a squad car dashboard camera. The records don’t include any details on the substance of the complaints. Chauvin also was among a group of five officers in 2011 who chased down an American Indian, Leroy Martinez, in a housing complex after they spotted him running with a pistol. One of the officers, Terry Nutter, shot Martinez in the torso. Martinez survived. All the officers were placed on leave but absolved of any wrongdoing, with Police Chief Timothy Dolan saying they acted “appropriately and courageously.”
RISING US JOB LOSSES STIR FEARS OF LASTING ECONOMIC DAMAGE WASHINGTON Associated Press
A RESTAURANT in Boulogne-Billancourt outside Paris gets ready for business
FRENCH PREPARE TO SERVE THE FRITES PARIS Associated Press
THE French way of life is set to largely resume next week, with most virusrelated restrictions easing as the country prepares for the summer holiday season amid the pandemic. In a speech yesterday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe promised that “freedom will, at last, again become the rule.” France is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus and was under strict lockdown
for two months before starting to ease restrictions on May 11. Authorities have reported at least 28,596 COVID-19-related deaths. From June 2 restaurants and cafes will reopen, together with monuments and museums, concert halls and theaters, beaches, campsites, gyms and public swimming pools. There’s a notable exception for the Paris region, the country’s worst-affected by the virus, where many facilities will have to wait until June 22 to reopen. Philippe said the French
are yearning for cafes and restaurants to reopen, noting that these “are part of our art of living.” Diners will be no more than 10 to a table, with at least one metre separating each group. Clients will have to wear masks when they move around the restaurant and staff will have to wear them all the time. And as the summer holiday season looms, the French will be allowed again to travel freely across the country — instead of being limited to 100 kilometers from home now.
THE coronavirus crisis threw at least 2.1 million Americans out of work last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, stoking fears yesterday that the scourge is doing deep and potentially long-lasting damage to the US economy. Despite a few glimmers of hope, most of the latest economic news from around the globe was likewise grim, as some of the world’s most populous countries reported rising infections and deaths. The confirmed US death toll has surpassed 100,000, the highest in the world. The latest job-loss figures from the U.S. Labor Department bring to 41 million the running total of Americans who have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March. There were some encouraging signs: The overall number of Americans
currently drawing jobless benefits dropped for the first time since the crisis began, from 25 million to 21 million. And first-time applications for unemployment benefits have fallen for eight straight weeks, as states gradually let stores, restaurants and other businesses reopen and the auto industry starts up factories again. But the number of US workers filing for unemployment benefits is still extraordinarily high by historical standards, and that suggests businesses are failing or permanently downsising, not just laying off people until the crisis can pass, economists warn. “That is the kind of economic destruction you cannot quickly put back in the bottle,” said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at Upwork. The US unemployment rate was 14.7% in April, a level not seen since the Depression, and many economists expect it will be near 20% in May. On Wall Street, stocks
that climbed for much of the day fell by the end of trading over concerns about rising US-China tensions. After a plunge in February and much of March, the market has been recovering, most recently as investors move into stocks that would benefit most from a reopening economy. The unemployment figures come amid an intensifying debate in Congress over whether to extend $600 in extra weekly federal unemployment benefits, provided under rescue legislation passed in March but set to expire July 31. Democrats have proposed extending the payments, while Republicans have argued that the extra money could discourage laid-off workers from returning to jobs that pay less than they are getting on unemployment. Job cuts also are appearing far beyond the initially hit industries such as restaurants and stores, a sign that the damage is spreading even as businesses reopen.
SPORTS SECTION E
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2020
MLB clubs decide on payments to players By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AS the uncertainty around Major League Baseball and its minor league affiliates continues, several MLB clubs have made their decision on whether to halt or continue payments to players in their farm systems. The minor league baseball season was officially suspended in April but the MLB pledged to offer players financial support through May 31 as the COVID-19
pandemic continued. Beyond May, clubs were given the individual decision on how or if they would financially support their rosters. A total of 17 Bahamians are currently contracted to minor league deals. Prior to the suspension of all baseball activity, many of those players had yet to receive their assignments for the upcoming season. According to Baseball America, several teams with Bahamian players in their farm systems have already made announcements on their plans moving forward.
On Tuesday, the Oakland A’s announced that their payments will not continue beyond the aforementioned May timeline. Davonn Mackey spent last season with the club’s team in the Arizona League. The Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets and Texas Rangers are among teams that will continue payments to their players through June. Lucius Fox was named to the Rays’ 40-man roster in the offseason and was assigned to the Rays Triple-A affiliate, Durham
Bulls for the upcoming season. Kristian Robinson, the Diamondbacks’ No.1 prospect and No.43 in the MLB Top 100, concluded last season at the Short A-Advanced level with the Kane County Cougars. Warren Saunders spent last season with the Mets’ Rookie club in the Gulf Coast League. Keithronn Moss and Zion Bannister both concluded last season with the Rangers’ in the Arizona League.
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CHARISMA TAYLOR, in action above in the triple jump, is looking to become one of the next Bahamian Olympians.
Olympic hopeful has ‘Charisma’ By BRENT STUBBS Senior SPORTS REPORTER bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
S
he’s looking to become one of the next Bahamian Olympians, but the multi-talented Charisma Taylor will have to decide whether she will do it in the triple jump, the high hurdles or in both events. Taylor, a former Queen’s College Comets superstar, just completed her sophomore year at Washington State by winning the triple jump title at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend of February 28-29. She posted a lifetime best of 13.29 metres or 43-feet, 7 1/4inches and she got fourth in the 60m hurdles in 8.29 seconds. Although she didn’t get to compete in the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor was named a 2020 NCAA Indoor All-American on Tuesday as a result of her performance in the triple jump. Now home for the rest of the school year after all sporting events around the world, including the NCAA Outdoor season, were
either postponed or cancelled as (44-2 3/4) at the Don Kirby Elite a result of the spread of the virus, Invitational. Taylor said she has got the chance Taylor, who has also produced to stay fit by working out with lifetime bests of 6.03m (19-9 1/2) coach James Rolle at the Thomas in the long jump; 7.65 in the 60m; A Robinson Stadium. 25.34 in the 200m and 13.79 in the “It’s going very well,” said 200m, said she’s eager to see where Taylor, who took her future takes her in advantage of Prime the sport. Minister Hubert “I think I had a really Minnis’ announcegood season, the best ment a few weeks ago season in my life, honthat professional athestly,” Taylor said. “My letes could train during coach, Wayne Phipps, the curfew and weekcame up with this plan end lockdowns in the to reduce and prevent country. injuries. The plan was “At first it was hard to work me harder in because I wasn’t in the the offseason so my best shape when I went body could be prepared out with coach James for the long indoor and since I came home from outdoor season. school. But we’re work“When the indoor ing on preparing for season started, my TAYLOR the BAAAs Nationals, goal was to PR in if they have it. I will be every meet and break using that meet to get me started my previous records and that’s on my season as I get ready to go what I did. I did my PR in just back to school.” about every meet in the hurdles Although her outdoor season and the triple jump, so I was really was cut out of Washington State’s happy with that.” agenda this year, Taylor had an On the course that Phipps impressive indoor season as she charted for her, Taylor said she posted her lifetime best of 13.48m had anticipated going to the
NCAA Indoor Nationals and producing another personal best. But she said they got the bad news that the meet was cancelled in March because of the coronavirus. “For me, I was disappointed because I was ready,” she reflected. “I was definitely going to place. Just thinking about it, I know if I had jumped in the Nationals, I would have done some great things. “But I know that God has everything worked out for a reason. I’m not going to dwell on that too much. I just have to get ready for the Nationals, both indoors and outdoors, in 2021 and then the Olympics in 2021 as well.” As she plays back the experience when she got the news that the Nationals was called off, Taylor said she felt that it was a good thing for her because she was hoping to take a slight break after the indoor season to get ready for outdoors and the Olympics, which was originally scheduled for July in Tokyo, Japan, but now rescheduled for July, 2021. “My body needed a break. I believe all of this was for the
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Kemp, Wilson named NCAA Div. II All-Americans By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune SPORTS REPORTER rdorsett@tribunemedia.net SHYRONE Kemp and Jahmaal Wilson were named NCAA Division II All-Americans by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their standout indoor seasons prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the cancellation of the NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Executive Committee amended criteria for All-American selections. For Individual events, all student-athletes listed on the startlist for the anticipated event were selected. Both Kemp (Minnesota State University Moorehead Dragons) and Wilson (West Texas A and M Buffaloes) were expected
to compete at the Division II Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, last March. Wilson made an immediate impact as a true freshman for West Texas in the 60m hurdles. His first year with the programme included a No.16 WILSON ranking in NCAA DII in the 60mH. He also finished sixth in the event at the Lone Star Conference Championships running 8.26 seconds in the final. He also ran a personal best time of 8.02 to finish fifth at the New Mexico Team Open. He also earned USTFCCCA AllRegion honours for his series of
performances as one of the top five individuals in each event in the region. Wilson won the 60m this season at The Power in a seasonal best time of 6.95. Kemp was honoured once again for his breakout KEMP season in the field which has garnered several accolades. He earned the All-American honour in the triple jump. Kemp was also previously named the NCAA Division II, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s Newcomer of the Year when the league announced the awards for its indoor season.
After declaring as a redshirt last indoor season, Kemp made his debut this year and was one of the top performers in the conference. He won the triple jump at the NSIC Indoor Championships with a leap of 49 feet, 2 ¼ inches. He also earned an additional trio of all-conference honours. In addition to the triple jump win, he was third in the high jump at 6 feet 10 ¼ inches and third in the long jump at 23 feet 5 ½ inches. He totalled 22 points at the meet. His indoor season also included a new school record in the triple jump at a leap of 49 feet 9 ¼ inches, to surpass a 43-year-old record. He now ranks in the Dragons top 10 in the high, triple and long jumps. The sophomore rising star was named the Dragons’ Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for a standout indoor season.
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ITALY’S SERIE A GIVEN GREEN LIGHT TO RESUME ON JUNE 20 By DANIELLA MATAR Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Italy’s Serie A is set to resume on June 20. Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora gave the league the all-clear to resume yesterday, although it will have to wait a week longer than it had initially hoped. Spadafora held a meeting with Italian soccer authorities by video conference after a medical protocol for matches was approved earlier on Thursday. “The meeting was very useful,” Spadafora said. “Now Italy is starting again and it is right that soccer starts again too. “If the curve changes and the league has to be stopped again, the Italian soccer federation has assured me that there exists a plan B — playoffs — and also a plan C — leaving the standings as they are.” Serie A has been suspended since March 9, when the government ordered a nationwide lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league’s 20 teams agreed earlier this month to resume competition on June 13 in empty stadiums. But, following a government decree days later banning sports until June 14, the Italian soccer federation swiftly announced that it would comply. However, it had hoped for special dispensation. “The league will restart June 20,” Spadafora said. “There’s then the possibility that the Italian Cup semi-finals and final can be played on June 13 and 17,” he said.
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CONFERENCE USA SETS BOWL LINEUP FOR 2020-25 DALLAS (AP) — Conference USA has secured its bowl lineup through the 2025 season, with seven guaranteed postseason appearances each year. The league yesterday announced its agreements with a number of bowl games. Conference USA will annually send teams to the Bahamas Bowl to face a Mid-American Conference opponent and to the New Orleans Bowl, against a Sun Belt team. The league has participated in all six Bahamas Bowls and has placed a team in the New Orleans Bowl 14 times in its first 18 years. The league already has extended its agreement with the Independence Bowl for 2021 and 2025. C-USA will have a secondary agreement with the bowl in the other four years. The league will send a team to the Hawaii Bowl in 2020, 2022 and 2024. C-USA will have either four or five other guaranteed slots annually from among 12 bowls. The schools in the conference are Louisiana Tech, UAB, Southern Miss, UTSA, North Texas, Rice, UTEP, Florida Atlantic, Western Kentucky, Marshall, Charlotte, FIU, Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion.
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Full contact: Australian rugby league back after 2-month break
HORSE RACING RETURNS IN NEW ZEALAND
By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s financially troubled horse racing industry reopened yesterday after being shuttered for months because of the coronavirus outbreak, leading the return of organised sports as the nation moves toward normality. A harness racing meeting which took place without fans at the Addington racecourse at Christchurch was the first since New Zealand went into strict lockdown on March 24. Greyhound racing, which has a much smaller following than harness or gallops racing, was able to resume live racing earlier this month because it was more easily able to follow social distancing guidelines. Thoroughbred racing is due to resume on July 3. Harness racing is the most popular form of racing on New Zealand’s South Island and a major employer. The Christchurch event offered some hope that the return of race meetings under New Zealand’s easing lockdown regulations will allow the industry to weather turbulent financial times. The pandemic has already led to substantial job losses in the racing industry and betting income has plunged.
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — With the sound of skin slapping skin and an echoing oomph of air escaping lungs as players collided at pace, the National Rugby League led the charge for elite sports returning to action in Australia. It was the furthest thing from the strict social distancing regulations that have been the norm in Australia in the coronavirus pandemic. Parramatta flew in just four hours before kickoff and still beat the Brisbane Broncos 34-6 on Thursday night in an empty Suncorp Stadium, the lack of spectators being a trade-off for the NRL being allowed to resume following a twomonth hiatus. While a TV audience heard artificial crowd noise piped into the broadcast, in real time it was a vastly different experience. Clear and distinct were on-field exchanges usually drowned out by crowd noise, such as players calling moves and the referee laying down the law. The opening bonejarring collision between Parramatta forward Regan Campbell-Gillard and Broncos tacklers signalled a genuine easing of the
lockdown when it was broadcast across Australia in prime time. It was the first live action in any elite sport here since March 22. The 52,500-seat Suncorp Stadium is locally known as The Cauldron, for its infamously unfriendly welcome to visiting teams. But there was no hostile reception for Parramatta, with only 250 people allowed into the stadium, including players and others deemed necessary to stage the game. Caxton Street, which runs toward the stadium and is usually swarming with fans on a game night, was eerily quiet. Restaurants and bars are restricted to a maximum of 10 guests, and fans have been urged not to gather around stadiums. Although there were some exceptions. Mike Simpson and Peter Rowe, self-described “rugby league tragics,” drove for an hour, and parked on a street adjacent to the stadium that is usually off limits at game time. They set up chairs, leaning against the stadium, shared a pizza and watched the game — from across the road and through a window — on a big TV in a bar. “This is the next best thing,” Simpson said. “Big screen TV, outside Suncorp Stadium. You can’t get
REGAN CAMPBELL-GILLARD, left, of the Parramatta Eels, crashes into two tacklers from the Brisbane Broncos as National Rugby League resumed play yesterday in Australia. (AP) much better. We live and breathe it.” Suncorp is one of six stadiums being used during the first phase of the NRL’s resumption. The next phase, a proposal to have fans back in the stadiums by July 1, has been criticised as “absurd and dangerous” by the Australian Medical Association. Two rounds of matches were played in the NRL — the first with fans, the second without — before Australia went into lockdown in a bid to slow the
spread of COVID-19. Australia has recorded 7,150 cases and 103 known deaths, although the rate of infections is now low. The New Zealand Warriors underwent two weeks of quarantine in Australia to satisfy new bio-security requirements for a return to play, and will be in action on Saturday against the Dragons — one of seven NRL games over the next three days. Everyone has to undergo heat checks before entering the stadium, and Broncos
halfback Brodie Croft had to go into isolation briefly after two slightly high readings before a third temperature test cleared him to play. He scored the Broncos’ only try. Other health protocols were put in place on the field, including the ball being cleaned with sanitiser every time it went out of bounds. There’ll be 18 more rounds, taking the regular season to 20 games for each team. The season-ending grand final is scheduled for October 25. Parramatta leads the competition with three wins, albeit with 67 days between wins two and three. Before kickoff, Broncos captain Alex Glenn said there’d still be “a lot of eyes watching the footy” despite the lack of a crowd. “We are the first sport that is going to be back (in Australia) and televised,” he said. “I think the whole nation, (and) New Zealand and England are going to be watching so it’s still a huge occasion.” Glenn was taken to a hospital for treatment on a deep cut on his leg when his team was down 12-6. Broncos coach Anthony Seibold said Glenn will have surgery, as a precaution to ensure the wound is clean, this morning.
By STEVE MCMORRAN AP Sports Writer
SCRUMS, MAULS IMPACTED AS RUGBY APPROVES LAW AMENDMENTS By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer
OPTIONAL law amendments limiting contact in scrums, the number of players in a maul, and the duration of rucks have been approved by World Rugby in the hope of reducing the risk of possible transmission of COVID-19 during the pandemic. Rugby’s governing body made the announcement yesterday, leaving national unions to decide whether to adopt the amendments at elite or community level depending on the prevalence of the virus in their territory and the advice from government and public health authorities. A package of best-practice hygiene measures, such as regular ball sanitisation and the “prevention of spitting and nose clearance” during matches, was also announced in an effort to reduce exposure.
“We have extensively evaluated the perceived risk areas within the game in partnership with our unions,” said World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, adding the temporary measures will “aid safe return to rugby activities at all levels.” The scrum is a key tenet of the game — it was a major factor in South Africa winning the World Cup last year and has long been part of the rugby DNA of national teams such as England and Argentina — but there is potential for its effectiveness to be stymied if a union adopts the amendments. Scrum re-sets, which happen an average 3.5 times per game according to World Rugby, are being removed when no infringement occurs. Instead, there would be a free kick to the team which put the ball into the original scrum.
MLB from PAGE 13 The Miami Marlins were one of the teams that extended their financial support through the end of August. Jazz Chisholm and Ian Lewis are currently in the club’s farm system. Chisholm, the Marlins’ No. 3 ranked prospect, was assigned to Triple-A ball with the Wichita Wind Surge of the Pacific Coast League. Lewis has yet to receive his first assignment. Other teams are expected to announce their intentions in the coming days. Individual clubs will
CHARISMA from PAGE 13
better,” said Taylor about the break from her hectic collegiate season. “If the Olympics was still on this year, I know I would have made it, but with this extra bit of training, I know I can do better next year than what I would have done this year if it was still on. So all and all, this break in competition is for the better. I’m sure a lot of athletes feel the same way.” While here at home, Taylor continues to train under the guidance of Rolle with the view of getting ready for whenever the season resumes. But, of course, her main goal is to qualify for the Olympics. She knows there are obstacles in her way, but she’s looking forward to the challenge that will come from athletes such as Tamara Myers in the triple and national record holder Pedrya Seymour and Devynne Charlton in the 100m hurdles.
There will be no scrum option for a penalty or free kick, and there will be a goal-line dropout when an attacker is held up in-goal. As for mauls, no player is allowed to join one if not in it at the start, and only one forward movement is allowed. At rucks, referees will ask players to release the ball after three seconds instead of the current five. World Rugby is also pushing to remove choke tackles and for players to tackle opponents lower because of the reduced transmission rate compared to upright tackling. Sin-bins will increase by five minutes to 15. In New Zealand, which has limited the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 to 1,154 and known deaths to 21, a domestic Super Rugby tournament is set to begin on June 13, marking the first major club competition
since the suspension of rugby union in March. Organisers say it will be played under traditional laws. “There don’t appear to be any signs of community transmission in New Zealand so ... we don’t anticipate the need to adopt the law proposals,” said New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson. “We have been open with World Rugby about this and they understand our unique situation.” The situation is likely to be different in parts of Europe and North America, where countries are only starting to ease lockdown restrictions. Rugby is unlikely to return in Ireland for several months, for example, while the English top division has yet to announce when it will be resuming. In response to the World Rugby announcement,
England’s Rugby Football Union said it has its “own review underway looking at the options for return-totraining and return-to-play rugby for clubs.” “When government advice on social distancing measures are lifted,” the body said, “specific RFU guidance will be announced and provided to clubs.” Speaking before the amendments were announced, Barry O’Driscoll, a former medical advisor to the world governing body, told The Associated Press that making changes to the scrum and mauls was “eroding a big part of what rugby is all about.” “The set scrum, if one side gets on top, can win games for a team,” O’Driscoll, an ex-Ireland international, said. “Psychologically, it’s very stressful and damaging for the opposing side,” he added.
create their own compensation plan to assist players assigned to the Dominican Summer League. James Rolle spent last season for the Orioles in the Dominican Summer League while Dax Stubbs has yet to receive his first assignment. According to USA Today, “The average minor leaguer is paid based on the level of competition. In 2020, Class A players were scheduled to make $290/week, Class AA $350/week and Class AAA $502/week. That comes out to roughly $4,800 for three-month
short-season leagues to around $14,000 for five months at Class AAA. Why are they paid so little? Minor leaguers aren’t considered employees of their parent clubs, but “seasonal apprentices” under the provisions of the “Save America’s Pastime Act,” included in the massive 2018 federal tax cut bill.”
Minor League Baseball is also expected to reduce the group of affiliate teams by 40. MiLB currently fields 160 teams across its various leagues, but that number could be reduced to as much as 120 and the remaining teams could face realignment. The decision on whether the minor league season will continue appears dependent on whether the major league season continues. MLB and it’s Players’ Association are currently negotiating player compensation and a pathway to the 2020 season.
“I feel like it’s good to have some competition, but Tamara and I are now training partners, which is good because she pushes me in a way that I am not pushed at school,” Taylor said. “So I feel like that’s a good thing and when the time comes that we will compete against each other, she will be in her zone and I will be on my own. “Luckily, Tamara is my only good competition in the triple jump and the Bahamas can take two competitors so it should work out for us both. But for the hurdles, Devynne and Pedrya are exceptional hurdlers. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to train with them. When we do get on the line, we will all be the same and anything could happen. We will see when that time comes.” Now that she has two events that she can concentrate on, Taylor said she doesn’t favour one over the other. However, she has some priorities that could make a difference in which one
she would end up concentrating more on. “I don’t really enjoy one more than the other, but I feel I have a better chance to make the Olympics in the triple jump because I’ve been performing better in that event and I’m closer to the Olympic mark than I am in the hurdles,” she pointed out. “But I do want to try and qualify for both of the events. If I qualify for both events, I will go to the Olympics and compete in the two events. But if the two events clash, which they normally do, then I would do the triple jump over the hurdles.” Since coming home, Taylor said she has been in constant contact with coach Phipps and Rolle has ensured that she does her daily routine to ensure that she is prepared for the future ahead of her. “I’ve been doing workouts in my yard, but when the track finally opened up, coach Rolle said we have practice on Monday so I need to come out and start training again,” she pointed out.
“We progressed where we are at a certain point and I also got a chance to spend time with my family and friends. I also got to see my grandmother. And I have a job here where I am doing food delivery for a shop to make some money in my spare time. I am also doing summer classes, so my day is hectic.” The 20-year-old hospitality management major is the daughter of Patrice and Dewey Taylor. She said when the safety measures in the country are lifted, she’s looking forward to returning to college to start her junior year and to be reunited with her friends. To the Bahamian public as she looks forward to the measures being lifted in time for her to return to school in August, Taylor encouraged everybody to stay safe. “Stay inside, stay safe and hopefully we will get pass this sooner than later,” Taylor summed up.
Rugby, in general, has “huge” issues compared with, for example, soccer, O’Driscoll said, simply because the ball touches players’ hands so often and that’s a way COVID-19 is transmitted. Pat Parfrey, a World Rugby council member who is a leading official for Rugby Canada, told the AP he couldn’t contemplate the game at international level going ahead without its usual scrums, rucks and mauls. “The game is all about continuity,” he said, “so I think that would be a totally different game.” Parfrey, who is also a leading clinical epidemiologist in Canada, said an activity like tag rugby — a non-contact version of the sport where a tackle is made by pulling a tag off the belt of the opponent who has the ball — could “initiate the club game” at amateur level.
SERIE A from PAGE 13 The first legs of the semi-finals had already been played before the lockdown, with AC Milan drawing 1-1 against Juventus and Napoli winning 1-0 at Inter Milan. The rights for the cup matches are owned by Italy’s RAI state television. “It would be a good signal because you could watch three important matches free-to-air on public channels,” Spadafora added. The medical protocol is similar to that for team training, meaning that if one person within the group — player or staff — tests positive for COVID-19 the entire group must go into a retreat for 14 days. There are 12 rounds remaining in Serie A, plus four matches that were postponed from the 25th round. Juventus, which is bidding for a record-extending ninth successive Serie A title, has a one-point advantage over Lazio. Third-place Inter Milan is nine points behind Juventus but has played a match less. The Lega Serie A is set to have a meeting today where it could formalise the calendar. Serie B, Italy’s second division, also plans to resume June 20. “Soccer restarting represents a message of hope for the entire country,” federation president Gabriele Gravina said. “Our project is one of great responsibility, because it involves the entire professional world of Serie A, B, C and, hopefully, also the women’s Serie A.” In England, the Premier League announced plans yesterday to resume on June 17.
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Friday, May 29, 2020, PAGE 15
AP EXCLUSIVE: ATHLETES WARY ABOUT VIRUS, TESTING UPON RETURN By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writer CHRIS Thompson is an NFL running back. He also is the father of a 4-monthold daughter, Kali. Guess which of those facts matters more to him when he ponders eventually returning to work amid a pandemic. “If I go practice or play and I come back home with the virus, she’s not strong enough yet to fight something like that. For me, that’s my biggest worry,” said Thompson, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars this month after seven seasons with the Washington Redskins. “We’re not robots out there,” he said. “People out there are saying, ‘Hey, with all that’s going on, we need sports back in our lives to get our minds off everything.’ That’s all good. But you’ve got to think about this, too: When we start back in training camp, you’re putting 90 guys from 90 different places all together ... and it happens a lot that a lot of us get sick.”
These are the sorts of thoughts those who play the games that people love to watch, discuss and gamble on are grappling with as lockdowns brought about by the coronavirus outbreak begin to ease and various sports resume competition — NASCAR and UFC, for example — or attempt to figure out how to, such as Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL. Reporters from The Associated Press spoke to more than two dozen athletes from around the globe — representing seven countries and 11 sports — to get a sense of how concerned or confident they are about resuming competition. What emerged, above all, was a sense that they are going through the very same sort of calculus that much of the rest of society is: What is safe nowadays? How do I, and my family, stay healthy, especially with no cure or vaccine yet? “There’s certainly an element of the unknown,” New Jersey Devils defenceman
THOMPSON (AP) Connor Carrick said. “This has not been studied all that long still, even thought it feels like an eternity some days.” Or as Bethanie MattekSands, who has won nine Grand Slam tennis doubles titles, explained: “It’s sort of even tough to gauge what I should be worried about.” Mattek-Sands did say she thinks those in charge of her sport will do their best to protect participants, which matched the general consensus among those the AP interviewed. They also consider the optics. “You’d have these billionaire (team) owners that are probably social distancing in their boxes, while you have guys on the
field playing a game with no fans,” said Kelvin Beachum, an NFL free agent. “I think that would be very, very awkward.” Nearly unanimous was a wariness about enough COVID-19 testing — what types, how many, how often — and other precautions (contact tracing, for example) that leagues, unions and governing bodies might institute as they develop protocols. Most echoed Thompson’s sentiment that “we should have constant testing,” but there was hesitation about too many nasal swabs or blood samples. “If the tests don’t come back for a couple of days and whatnot, how does that really work?” said twotime Olympic champion ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin. “It’s good to know if you test positive or negative. But if we’re talking about being tested today so we can race tomorrow, but the results don’t come back for two days, it doesn’t really help.” Ryan Zimmerman, a member of the World Series
champion Washington Nationals, was adamant: “Someone is going to need to be able to assure us that the testing put forward will be able to catch this before it can cause some sort of outbreak among people in close quarters.” Some wondered whether they would agree to get a seasonal flu shot if required, the way it was in Australian rugby. Two athletes said they never get seasonal flu vaccines — one also didn’t want recommended shots before a recent trip to Africa — and aren’t inclined to change that. Others weren’t sure they would agree to get a COVID-19 vaccine if mandated by a league. “I think it would stop at some sort of vaccine to play,” St Louis Cardinals All-Star shortstop Paul DeJong said. “There is a fine line between what (MLB) can do to protect us and some things they can do to kind of exert power over us.” For those in sports such as golf or tennis that require
international travel, there are questions about how easy it will be to hop from country to country — and how easy it’ll be to avoid catching or spreading the virus. “You are so concerned that you don’t want to be the cause of somebody else’s ... death,” said Padraig Harrington, a three-time major golf champion from Ireland. “Travelling, you have the fear that you are going to get it — and you still maintain that fear of passing it on to someone who is vulnerable.” He mentioned his 80-year-old mother, but the list goes beyond athletes’ relatives: coaches, training staff, officials, arena workers and, if there are any, spectators. Plus those folks’ families. “The pressure to ‘get back out there’ makes it clear,” Olympic long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta said, “that athletes aren’t necessarily being seen as the humans they are, with the families they have.”
Connecticut transgender policy found to violate Title IX By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut policy that allows transgender athletes to compete in girls sports violates the civil rights of female athletes, the US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has ruled. The ruling, which was obtained yesterday by The Associated Press, comes in response to a complaint filed last year by several female track athletes, who argued that two transgender runners who were identified as male at birth had an unfair physical advantage. The office said in a 45-page letter that it may seek to withhold federal funding over the policy, which allows transgender athletes to participate as the gender with which they identify.
According to the letter, the policy is a violation of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that guarantees equal education opportunities for women, including in athletics. It has “denied female studentathletes athletic benefits and opportunities, including advancing to the finals in events, higher level competitions, awards, medals, recognition, and the possibility of greater visibility to colleges and other benefits,” according to the letter, which is dated May 15. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which oversees scholastic sports in the state, has said its policy is designed to comply with the state’s law barring schools from discriminating against transgender students. A call seeking comment was left yesterday with CIAC.
Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom, who represent the girls who brought the complaint, said they would have a comment later. The Office for Civil Rights ruling names the CIAC and school districts the transgender runners and those filing the complaint competed — Glastonbury, Bloomfield, Hartford, Cromwell, Canton, and Danbury. The office said it will “either initiate administrative proceedings to suspend, terminate, or refuse to grant or continue and defer financial assistance” to the CIAC and those districts or refer the cases to the US Department of Justice. In its letter, the Office for Civil Rights said it notified the CIAC and the school districts of its pending decision in February, but that subsequent negotiations failed to result in an agreement over
the policy. The dispute, which is already the subject of a federal lawsuit, centres on two transgender sprinters, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood. The sprinters have frequently outperformed their competitors, winning a combined 15 girls state indoor or outdoor championship races since 2017, according to the lawsuit. Lawyers for the transgender athletes have argued that both are undergoing hormone treatments that have put them on an equal footing with the girls they are competing against. One of the plaintiffs, Chelsea Mitchell, won two state indoor title races over Miller this year. The plantiffs sought to block the participation of Miller and Yearwood, both seniors, from spring track meets, which were later cancelled because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. They were also seeking to erase all records set by the transgender athletes. Connecticut is one of 18 states, along with Washington, DC that allows transgender high school athletes to compete without restrictions, according to Transathlete.com. The website tracks state policies in high school sports across the country. Several other states have polices barring the participation of transgender athletes and Idaho recently became the first state to pass a law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Voice filed a federal lawsuit contending that law violates the US Constitution because it is discriminatory and an invasion of privacy.
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Tokyo Olympics just beginning the race to reset themselves By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — Just two months after the unprecedented Olympic postponement, organising committee CEO Toshiro Muto was asked yesterday about progress toward next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Games. “If you ask, are we just around the first corner of the 400-metre race, I cannot answer that question,” said Muto, speaking through an interpreter during an online news conference. “But I can tell you this much. I do not feel we are late in our preparations. I do not feel we are being delayed in any way.” But from listening to the limited details that Muto provided, preparations seem to be barely out of the starting blocks. A former deputy governor of the Bank of
Japan, Muto has spoken cautiously ever since the coronavirus pandemic caused the postponement and says little about progress. He said not to expect much solid news until planning reaches the “second phase” in the fall. This includes who pays for the the delay, which is estimated in Japan at $2 billion to $6 billion, how to keep fans, staff and athletes safe from the coronavirus, and deal-making to secure the same 43 venues and the same competition schedule. “Right now we don’t have any details or specific items that we can talk about,” he said. “We all agree that in addition to heat countermeasures, we will have to have coronavirus measures.” In the last week, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and IOC
WORKERS stand at the bottom of the Olympic rings at Tokyo’s Odaiba district. (AP) member John Coates, who oversees preparations for Tokyo, have speculated more openly on how the games might be held. In interviews, Bach has suggested a possible quarantine for athletes, floated the possibility of little fan access, and has not ruled out empty stadiums. Coates, speaking last week at a News Corp Australia digital forum and reported in The
Australian newspaper, was very frank. “We’ve got real problems because we’ve got athletes having to come from 206 different nations,” Coates said. He ran off the numbers: 11,000 Olympic athletes, 5,000 technical officials and coaches, 20,000 media, and 60,000 volunteers. “There’s a lot of people,” Coates said, without even adding 4,400 Paralympic athletes and staff.
Muto said October loomed — and Coates said the same thing — as a time when “many thing will come clear in the process.” “October will be that point when we start the detailed discussions,” Muto said. He said that excluded any decision about “go or not to go” on with the Olympics. Muto has always said the games are on, though Bach and Tokyo organising committee President Yoshiro Mori agree they cannot be delayed again. Another delay will mean a cancellation. “This is a huge undertaking. This is a big job,” Muto said. “We have to do in one year and a few months something that had taken years of actual preparations to do. So there are so many things we have to review and decide in such a short time.”
AP SOURCES: PLAYERS WANT MORE GAMES, NO MORE SALARY CUTS By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players appeared likely to propose more regular-season games this year while holding to their demand for full prorated salaries, people familiar with their deliberations told The Associated Press. Washington pitcher Max Scherzer, among eight players on the union’s executive subcommittee, issued a statement late Wednesday night calling management’s proposal for more salary cuts a non-starter. A day after Major League Baseball proposed a sliding scale of salary slashing for a pandemicdelayed season with an 82-game schedule in ballparks without fans, the union held a conference call Wednesday that included its executive board, player representatives and alternate player
representatives, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced. Scherzer, among the sport’s highest-paid players, confirmed the call without divulging who was on it. “After discussing the latest developments with the rest of the players there’s no need to engage with MLB in any further compensation reductions,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter. “We have previously negotiated a pay cut in the version of prorated salaries, and there’s no justification to accept a 2nd pay cut based upon the current information the union has received.” “I’m glad to hear other players voicing the same viewpoint,” he added, “and believe MLB’s economic strategy would completely change if all documentation were to become public information.”
It was unclear when the union will respond to MLB’s plan, the people said. Stars Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole would lose the most under MLB’s plan, about 77 per cent of the $36 million each they were set to be paid this season. In all, there are 133 players whose contracts call for salaries of $10 million or more, not including shares of signing bonuses. A big leaguer earning $1 million or less would keep at least 43 per cent of his salary under the six-tier scale. That includes a share of $200 million earmarked for players that is contingent on the postseason being completed. About 460 of approximately 900 players on rosters and injured lists when spring training was stopped in mid-March due to the new coronavirus make $1 million or less. Trout and Cole would be cut to about $8 million each. Colorado’s
Nolan Arenado would drop from $35 million to $7.84 million. “Interesting strategy of making the best most marketable players potentially look like the bad guys,” Milwaukee pitcher Brett Anderson tweeted. The players’ association called the proposal “extremely disappointing.” The union has argued players already accepted a cut to prorated shares of their salaries in a March 26 agreement and should not have to bargain again. MLB would like to start the season around the Fourth of July in empty ballparks and proposed an 82-game regular season. It claims teams would lose billions of dollars by playing with no ticket money and gate-related revenue. “This season is not looking promising,” New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman tweeted. “Keeping the mind and body ready regardless.”
PREMIER LEAGUE PLANS JUNE 17 RESTART By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The Premier League is planning to return on June 17 after a 100-day shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The league’s official broadcasters in Britain — Sky Sports and the BBC — said yesterday that English football will return with a doubleheader featuring Manchester City playing Arsenal and Aston Villa hosting Sheffield United. The league, which last staged a game on March 9, declined comment saying a meeting was ongoing. Approval from authorities is required for sporting events to resume with strict medical protocols to try to prevent COVID-19 being spread. Football has already resumed in Germany, with three rounds of the Bundesliga played in empty stadiums. The Spanish league has government approval to restart after June 8. But lockdown measures have only just been eased to allow full practice sessions to resume at Premier League clubs. The two matches set for Wednesday, June 17, are both make-up games from previous rounds. The full 30th round of games are set to be contested the following weekend. Liverpool is on the verge of winning the Premier League, sitting 25 points in front with nine games remaining. It’s still unclear where games will be played when the league resumes. Police have said only neutral venues should be used over concerns fans would congregate outside, but that plan was opposed by the 20 clubs. “I would think that the vast, vast majority of people would respect what the football club tells them to do,” said Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool area. “If it said, ‘Do not come to Anfield and congregate,’ then they wouldn’t do that.”