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Volume: 118 No.198, September 9, 2021
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DELTA VARIANT NOW AT LARGE
Health officials confirm feared version of virus has been detected here By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE highly contagious Delta variant is the predominant strain in The Bahamas, the Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday, after getting back genomic sequencing results from samples sent to a laboratory in Brazil. The announcement comes
as 104 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the latest dashboard for September 7. The number of hospitalised cases also ticked upwards for a new record of 193, including 15 people in the intensive care unit. To date, 453 people have died from COVID-19. Large crowds have been seen gathering for recent SEE PAGE FOUR
SANDS: COUNTRY IS ON ITS KNEES By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
THE COVID-19 crisis has forced The Bahamas to its “knees”, former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said yesterday, as he recalled his distress at the toll the virus has taken on Bahamian lives. “As a health care worker who is actively involved in the care of COVID patients
it distresses me how many people are sick in hospital, how many people are dying and how many more are likely to die,” Dr Sands said yesterday of the situation at the Princess Margaret Hospital. COVID-19 hospital admissions have continued to climb, jumping from 191 on Monday — a previous record — to a record 193 on Tuesday. SEE PAGE FOUR
closed
AN empty house for the Open Parliament with no one but the police showing up. See PAGE THREE for more. Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
‘IF YOU CAN SORT OUT GOVT FINALISES DEAL BPL - WHAT ABOUT US?’ FOR HISTORIC SITES By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
DOZENS of members of Bahamas Public Service Union demonstrated outside Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday, citing unfair promotion practices, outstanding industrial agreements and other unresolved
grievances. BPSU president Kimsley Ferguson, who represents some workers at the hospital as well as airport staff, warned there could be major disruption in hospital and airport services if workers’ longstanding concerns are not immediately resolved. SEE PAGE FIVE
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamian investor group aiming to transform Nassau’s key historic sites was yesterday said to have “finalised all agreements” and is now moving to take over their management. Joshua Sears, the Prime Minister’s senior policy
advisor, said the PublicPrivate Investments group - whose principals include both FNM chairman Carl Culmer and the party’s election campaign co-ordinator Dr Nigel Lewis - was working towards “implementation” of its plans and assuming operational charge at the locations involved. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
‘GET ANSWER WRONG YOU HANG YOURSELF’ STATESIDE: By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A STORY of terror and brutality filled a courtroom yesterday as Chavette Strachan recounted how police officers allegedly tortured her for a criminal confession at Eleuthera’s
CHAVETTE STRACHAN
Governor’s Harbour Police Station in January, 2018. Lawyers believe the case can shed light on one of the most concerning and persistent complaints about law enforcement in The Bahamas: that people are sometimes tortured to confess to crimes and those SEE PAGE SEVEN
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
IF GOVT ISN’T WORKING, IT’S OUR JOB TO FIX- SEE IT PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
CUBAN NATIONALS DETAINED BY RBDF SEVERAL Cuban nationals were brought into the capital by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force after they were spotted and rescued in the southwestern Bahamas by local fishermen Tuesday evening. The RBDF’s operations department received information at 6.30pm that a vessel with Cuban nationals onboard was in distress and taking on water approximately 53 miles southwest of Green Cay. RBDF assets were immediately dispatched to investigate, and nine Cuban nationals were received
from the Bahamian fishermen. The Cubans were subsequently brought into the capital early yesterday morning, where they were
handed over to the relevant authorities. The Cuban Embassy has been notified. Photo: Leading Woman Tancia Russell/RBDF
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 3
Moultrie and Chipman warn of election chaos By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net TWO independent candidates vying for re-election yesterday predicted there will be “mass confusion” and “chaos” on Election Day given the many voting and health concerns that have not yet been addressed by government officials. Halson Moultrie, incumbent independent candidate for Nassau Village, fears the government’s silence on several important electoral matters not only poses a threat to democracy, but puts the integrity of this year’s elections into question. “We’re less than 24 hours away from the advanced polls and we have not heard from the government what the protocols will be in respect to the physical distancing around the poll,” Mr Moultrie told reporters at Parliament yesterday. “We don’t know if you
have to dip your finger into the ink yet. We have major concerns about sanitisation of the pencils and so on. “The government has not said anything and we believe that the government has an obligation to the people because they, the prime minister themselves, put the country in this circumstance where he called the election in the middle of the worst surge. “And so it’s very concerning to me, particularly as the Speaker who is the first commoner of the land, that the people are not getting the type of democracy (they deserve). You cannot expect a fair election in this circumstance. And I expect on Election Day there will be a lot of challenges.” Health Minister Renward Wells has said there will be protocols and sanitisation in place to safeguard against the spread of the virus when people vote. Mr Moultrie also did not shy away from giving his
views on allowing people in quarantine to vote. Although the Minnis administration has yet to make a final decision on the matter, health officials have recommended such people not be allowed to cast their ballots. Mr Moultrie does agree that insisting people cannot be prevented from voting according to the law regardless of what anyone else says. “Well, first of all, I respect the health officials and I respect the advice that will be given but their advice could not be inconsistent with the law and if the law gives every registered voter the right to vote, no health official or prime minister or minister of health or minister of national security can circumvent the law and the Constitution,” Mr Moultrie said. “Once you fall within the legal framework and there’s nothing legally in the Parliamentary Elections
Act that says a person in quarantine should be disenfranchised or not entitled to vote. There’s nothing in the Parliamentary Elections Act that says a person has contracted a virus is unable to vote...” Reece Chipman, incumbent candidate for the Centreville constituency, said the government’s lack of planning ahead of the election speaks to their poor “management” and “governance” skills. “They were not able to cohesively direct our economy. They were not able to cohesively direct our healthcare system or our education system and so what I see on Election Day is mayhem, confusion, people don’t even know what to take to the polls to vote, if they can vote or cannot vote with the purple cards,” Mr Chipman said. “This administration brought a new piece of legislation to have the old register put in place. A
AN EMPTY HOUSE FOR THE OPEN PARLIAMENT
NO one but the police force showed up to the Open Parliament yesterday. THE second “Open Parliament” meeting was not held yesterday due to a low turn-out. Event organiser Halson Moultrie told reporters yesterday’s meeting was planned to allow young Bahamians to voice their concerns on the 2021 snap election, registration process and voter disenfranchisement among other things. “The Open Parliament concept is a concept to bring about greater participation of the citizens of the country with parliament and the procedures and it’s all aimed at getting transparency, accountability and freedom and access to information,” Mr Moultrie said. Mr Moultrie served as
Speaker of the House before Parliament was dissolved last month. “So, this particular second Open Parliament is taking a different format than the first one. The first one turned into more of a political rally because we invited so many third parties and independents, so we did not invite the third parties and independents today.” Despite the absence of independent parties, Mr Moultrie said he was still expecting a good turnout. “So, we’re expecting today for a lot of people to come forward,” he said. “We’ve been getting a lot of concerns raised by young people about being disenfranchised as a consequence of the snap
Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
election and they feel like they have been disenfranchised because the prime minister kept giving the assurance that the election date is scheduled for May 22 (next year) and they feel like they acted to their detriment by not registering early and now they’re unable to vote so we expect to hear that from the young people.” However, despite Mr Moultrie’s hopes, not many people showed up, a stark contrast from last month’s open Parliament proceedings. There were one or two people spotted by The Tribune at the event, but they later left when proceedings didn’t begin. Shortly after 11am, chairs were seen being
3,000 EXPECTED TO VOTE IN GB TODAY By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
ABOUT 3,000 people are expected to vote in the advanced poll in Grand Bahama today. Those persons are senior citizens, disabled residents, police officers, and government workers. Poll workers and the 33 nominated candidates also will be voting. The polls will open at 8am and close at 6pm. Five schools have been identified and designated on Grand Bahama for the advanced poll. The advanced poll for Central and East Grand Bahama is at St George’s High School gymnasium; Marco City is at Jack Hayward Senior High School; Pineridge is at Jack Hayward Junior High School, and West Grand Bahama is at Eight Mile Rock High School. Over 800 people are expected to vote early in the East Grand Bahama constituency and about 1,500 in West Grand Bahama. Police officials will be out
at the various polling stations to ensure order and that COVID-19 protocols are being upheld. Those eligible to vote early include people with disabilities or someone aged 65 or older. Also, a registered voter who is likely to be a patient in any hospital on Election Day; a person who is ill, pregnant, or recently gave birth is also eligible as well as people who live overseas. Students studying overseas as well as staff at diplomatic missions also qualify. Canard Bethel, former deputy parliamentary commissioner at the Parliamentary Registration Department, urged people to queue before 6pm when the polls close. Speaking on a ZNS radio show yesterday, he noted if there is some unforeseen event, such as a rainstorm that might prevent persons from coming to vote in time, then the presiding officer will bring it to the attention of the parliamentary commissioner, who
once satisfied can authorise the poll to continue the same day or the next day. Mr Bethel explained that between 5pm and 6pm the presiding officer will instruct staff to check the line. “If it is long, they will make a mark of the line and see if anyone is approaching. And if someone is approaching, they put them on the line,” he said. Mr King stated that there are constituencies that have 1,000 people who will vote. He believes the pandemic will slow down voting at the polls. “We cannot forget the pandemic is here and there is social distancing. And we ought to obey rules and regulation as it applies to social distancing and that will slow down the taking of the poll and it is quite possible that there will be persons there on the line at 6pm,” he said. He said presiding officers must act in accordance with the rule to establish the last person on the line and put a police officer there to ensure no voter is disenfranchised.
taken away by police officers – signalling an end to the event before it had even started.
week later, the parliamentary commissioner was fired or was let go. This is the sort of inconsistency and it’s a pattern with this administration.” He added: “Outside of that, they have a lot of people in acting positions. In acting positions, you can’t hold people accountable or anyone responsible because the law speaks to the position so we are in a quagmire in this country where we have politicians or leaders believing they are almost entitled, and I mean this form of entitlement goes beyond even the law because they are constantly breaking the law. “If you were an administration that follows the law, we would’ve been in a much better position in terms of preparation, so I do expect a lot of confusion.
I expect mayhem because that is the nature of this administration.” On Monday, the Progressive Liberal Party issued an ultimatum to acting Parliamentary Commissioner Lavado Duncanson, saying he had 36 hours to confirm if quarantined people will be allowed to vote on September 16 or risk facing “litigation.” When contacted by The Tribune on Tuesday, Mr Duncanson refused to answer questions about voters in quarantine and also would not respond to the party’s threat. Health Minister Renward Wells has said the government is looking at ways to allow individuals in quarantine to vote, though he noted that a final decision will be announced by the competent authority.
PAGE 4, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Delta variant now at large from page one political events such as motorcades and drive-in rallies, while thousands of people are expected to vote in today’s advance poll ahead of next week’s general election. Health officials have again urged people to avoid large groups of more than five people and to remain at least six feet away from others. The ministry said in a statement: “The National Reference Laboratory submitted 98 SARS-CoV-2 virus-positive samples to the FIOCRUZ Laboratory for genomic sequencing. The samples were collected between May 6, 2021 and
August 8, 2021 from individuals on New Providence, Grand Bahama, Andros, Eleuthera, Exuma and Bimini.” Of the 98 samples, 41 showed sequencing for the Delta variant, 39 for the Alpha variant while one was positive for the Gamma strain. The Ministry of Health said there remains 18 samples going through the genomic testing process. “The new sequencing results confirm that the Delta variant is the predominant variant in The Bahamas, followed by the Alpha and Gamma variants,” the ministry said. “It is noteworthy to mention that the Alpha variant is more transmissible than
the original COVID-19 virus, and the Delta variant is known to be more transmissible than the Alpha variant. Consequently, all major health facilities in New Providence and Grand Bahama are experiencing increased numbers of cases, hospital admissions and deaths due to COVID-19.” Health officials had long suspected the Delta variant was in the country, but was awaiting confirmation from the Brazil lab. Officials said while the healthcare system is overburdened, those displaying coronavirus symptoms should not delay seeking medical attention. “The health care system of both the public and private sectors is now severely
challenged and overburdened, and as a result, non-COVID-19 cases requiring health care are at risk of not being able to access life-saving health care,” the Ministry of Health said. “Given the predominance of these highly transmissible variants in the country, it is essential to seek medical care early and avoid home remedies that delay accessing medical care. Do not delay seeking medical help if you experience signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Contact your healthcare provider or nearest public health clinic for more information.” Health officials asked people to adhere to health protocols. “Additionally, we strongly encourage all
adherence and discipline to public health measures and an adopting of vaccination that we’re going to get out of this. We cannot flaunt the public health measures and refuse vaccination given the challenges that we are already having with the healthcare system and expect this to turn out well. “I don’t believe this is an effective time for fingerpointing. I think what we ought to be doing is collectively working together to solve what is an horrendous problem and if we do that, we may emerge somewhat intact, but right now the situation is grim. “It is bad out there.” He insisted there must be a greater focus on health protocols. “To people who are worried about their safety, public health measures are very effective – hand washing, social distancing (and) mask wearing. It’s really effective even against the Delta variant and so you can protect yourself by using those methods and I would strongly suggest that
people do so. “I also strongly suggest that people get vaccinated although vaccination is not going to provide them with protection in the immediate term. So, if you get vaccinated today it is gonna take you some time before that vaccine confers a level of immunologic protection, but it’s a critical part of the way forward. “We’ve managed to vaccinate some 30,000 people in the last two weeks. I think that’s good. We should hopefully get to do some more and let’s continue to fight this thing as aggressively as we can. “This ought to be an all of country response and I don’t think that any of us from the competent authority down to the smallest child who can make a decision for themselves, can be exempt from participating in the process of keeping The Bahamas safe. “So, we all need to look at our behaviour. We all need to look at the policies being made,” Dr Sands said.
DR Duane Sands on the campaign trail.
SANDS: COUNTRY IS ON ITS KNEES from page one
This number is the highest tally of hospital cases since the start of the pandemic. Sixty of those cases are in Doctors Hospital, nine are at the South Beach Acute Care and Referral Centre, 104 are at PMH and 20 are at Grand Bahama Health Services. Fifteen patients are in the intensive care unit. On Monday, the Ministry of Health added seven new COVID related deaths, pushing the death count to 453. Dr Sands said The Bahamas is facing what much of the world has experienced in prior months. “We have seen this in other countries. We’ve seen this in India. We’ve seen this in the United States. We’ve seen it in Great Britain. We’ve seen it in Italy and elsewhere. At a particular point in time many of those places I just named were similarly on their knees. “This is our time, and it is by cooperation, it is by rigid
citizens and residents of The Bahamas to be vaccinated,” the ministry said. “COVID19 vaccinations are proven to be safe. They are known to decrease the severity of illness, hospitalisations, and deaths, if infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and all its variants. To book an appointment visit vax. gov.bs or make a walk-up appointment.” According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Delta variant is highly contagious, “more than 2x as contagious as previous variants”. The CDC also says “some data suggest the Delta variant might cause more severe illness than previous variants in unvaccinated people.” The agency said
while fully vaccinated people with breakthrough cases due to the Delta strain can spread the virus to others, “vaccinated people appear to spread the virus for a shorter time”. “The greatest risk of transmission is among unvaccinated people who are much more likely to get infected, and therefore transmit the virus,” the CDC’s website says. “Fully vaccinated people get COVID-19 (known as breakthrough infections) less often than unvaccinated people. People infected with the Delta variant, including fully vaccinated people with symptomatic breakthrough infections, can transmit the virus to others.”
PREGNANT? PAHO SAYS TAKE VACCINE AFTER FIRST TRIMESTER By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net
THE Pan American Health Organization is recommending all pregnant women take COVID-19
vaccinations after their first trimester. This was announced by PAHO’s director, Dr Carissa Etienne during the weekly webinar highlighting regional matters pertaining to COVID-19. She said more than
270,000 pregnant women have become sick with COVID in the region and more than 2,600 of them (or one percent of those infected) have died from the virus. Still, many pregnant women and breastfeeding
mothers have been confused as to whether COVID-19 vaccines are safe for them to take. Dr Etienne sought to put their fears to rest. “So, let me be clear, PAHO recommends that all pregnant women after their
first trimester, as well as those who are breastfeeding, receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” Dr Etienne said. “COVID vaccines approved by WHO are safe to administer during pregnancy and are a critical tool to protect expectant mothers during the pandemic. “And, while it’s too soon to see the impact of vaccinations on cases and deaths, there are some encouraging signs: In Mexico, where pregnant women have been prioritised for vaccinations for some time, not a single vaccinated woman has died from COVID during pregnancy.” Dr Etienne said it is extremely important that pregnant women have access to COVID vaccines. “Vaccines have another advantage,” she continued. “A mother who breastfeeds passes immunity to her baby. So COVID-19 vaccines can also help protect newborns from the virus. It is critical that pregnant women maintain the public health measures proven effective against this virus. “Wearing masks, maintaining social distance, limiting contact with people outside of their households and avoiding indoor gatherings are especially important to keep expecting mothers safe from COVID. “Pregnancy can be one of the most important and fulfilling times in a woman’s life and a critical period for a baby’s growth and future. “We owe it to the women in Latin America and the Caribbean to use all the tools at our disposal to protect them and their babies during the pandemic.” Dr Etienne noted that a woman’s immune system changes during pregnancy, leaving them at higher risk
of respiratory infections, like COVID-19. “We know that if pregnant women get sick, they have a higher risk of developing serious COVID symptoms, and more frequently require ventilation and intensive care, when compared to women who aren’t pregnant,” she said. “They also have a higher chance of delivering their baby early or prematurely. “Yet the pandemic had a significant impact on the availability of prenatal care and other essential services. At least 40 percent of the countries in our region have reported disruptions to maternal and newborn care – and these disruptions have become more widespread during this second year of the pandemic.” Although The Bahamas continues to experience high rates of new COVID19 infections and an overwhelmed healthcare system, PAHO officials have revealed that COVID19 numbers have generally dropped throughout the Caribbean. “While new infections are dropping in the Caribbean, we’re seeing a rise in COVID-related deaths across many islands, including St Maarten, Jamaica and Puerto Rico,” Dr Etienne said. “Over the last week, there were nearly 1.5 million cases and more than 22,000 COVID-related deaths in the Americas. Today we’re seeing nearly double the number of infections reported this time last year. “In North America, Canada is reporting a jump in new cases while hospitalizations continue to surge in the US, where hospitals remain saturated and ICU beds are in short supply in many US states.”
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 5
DAVIS TAKES CAMPAIGN ON THE ROAD TO MICAL
YESTERDAY, PLP leader Philip Brave Davis toured MICAL with candidate Basil McIntosh. “You can feel the energy and hope in MICAL,” Mr Davis said. “The people are ready for compassionate leadership and big changes - they know we can’t keep doing things the same way. Our economic plan offers solutions that will make a real difference for the Family Islands: create jobs in new industries, expand ownership opportunities and revolutionise education.”
Minnis to cops: Vote FNM By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune News Editor tmthompson@ tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis made a last-minute push for law enforcement officers to support the Free National Movement when they head to the polls in today’s advance poll, saying his government will reform conditions of service and realign salary scales if re-elected. His comments came as he spoke to supporters at a rally in South Abaco last night. “Tomorrow, the advanced poll begins. May I speak briefly to senior citizens and to the members of the uniformed branches throughout The Bahamas and here on Abaco,” Dr Minnis said last night. “I ask our seniors to vote for the FNM for their future and the future of their children and grandchildren. I ask the members of the uniformed branches for their support of FNM candidates. The occupational health, safety and welfare of law enforcement personnel in The Bahamas are critical to advancing safety and security. “In our last term, we
began to address a variety of the concerns and needs of law enforcement personnel in all branches. We strongly believe that their welfare and wellbeing should be supported throughout their careers. “We have ensured greater parity among all law enforcement agencies under the Ministry of National Security. We are going to continue to reform conditions of service for career and reserve law enforcement personnel. “We are going to expand mental, physical and financial services for all law enforcement personnel. And we are going to realign law enforcement salary scales based on qualifications and with global standards.” Last night, Dr Minnis also urged Abaco residents to throw their support behind his party’s two candidates — North Abaco incumbent Darren Henfield and Central and South Abaco hopeful Vandea Stuart — promising more concessions and continued rebuilding efforts for the storm-torn island. He admitted that rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Dorian in 2019 need to be accelerated and promised to do so if re-elected.
He also took shots at the Progressive Liberal Party, telling residents they “could not trust” the opposition party with public funds and storm recovery efforts. “We know that we need to accelerate this work and other plans. . .the pandemic has slowed some of our restoration work but we are still at it. We remain determined to ensure Abaco is again one of the most vibrant economies in The Bahamas.” He also said: “In our term, we are going to create the extended disaster recovery plan programme for Abaco. That means many of the benefits that you see may be extended even further beyond December to ensure Abaco is rebuilt.” He said this will apply to the hardest hit areas of Abaco. “Abaco was devastated by the hurricane and Abaco needs all of the assistance. . .to get its economy roaring again. Further, we will earmark a specific portion of the Ministry of Social Services’ budget to the needs of Abaco, we are going to expand the existing Small Business Development Centre on Abaco... to see that entrepreneurs on Abaco succeed.”
‘IF YOU CAN SORT OUT BPL - WHAT ABOUT US?’ from page one “We’re here today because amidst the myriad of concerns that the Public Hospital Authority and the Airport Authority has, one of those issues is our outstanding industrial agreement which we’ve been trying to get signed forever,” Mr Ferguson told reporters at yesterday’s demonstration. “We are here to suggest today to the government of The Bahamas and the PHA and to the Airport Authority, if it takes shutting down to get these things done then that is exactly what we intend to do because it appears as if there’s no reasoning. “The Bahamas Public Service motto is reasoning together accomplishes and so in order to be able to reason, you have to be able to get an audience to address the outstanding concerns that we do have so hence we’re here today to send a message to the government of The Bahamas that they did something for BPL and they’re going to do it for these people and their services is just as significant and even more significant than that of BPL.” The group is calling for hazard pay, salary increases and uniform allowances among other things. Mr Ferguson said: “There’s hazard pay for these persons (PHA workers) who have to come into contact with COVID-19 patients. That’s been outstanding for a number of years. There (are) promotions. There are a number of issues. There are salary increases and uniform allowance, the persons at Airport Authority haven’t had uniforms in five years.
“And so, we have written the Airport Authority. We have written the PHA. The responses that we’re getting (are) not satisfactory. The response that we got from the Airport Authority is we were told that nothing was in the budget for you. “Well, you have a staff of over 600... and you didn’t budget for uniforms. What do you expect the people to wear, blue jeans and t-shirts?” Asked how PHA officials responded to workers’ concerns, the union president replied: “The response that we would’ve gotten from the PHA was that it was agreed in the agreement that we’ve been trying to get signed and so now the persons at PHA have to facilitate their own uniforms.” Mr Ferguson also hit out at what he called unfair hiring practices at airports on the Family Islands. He said: “We are concerned that there are officers in the Family Islands that were hired at an abnormal salary. The entry level salary was disregarded, and those persons are now struggling to survive with their families. We’ve been to the table trying to get that advised that a Cabinet paper has been forwarded to the permanent secretary with a view of getting that resolved.” Mr Ferguson said enough is enough and union members are simply fed up. He also gave the government a short timeframe to resolve their concerns. “We’re giving them today and let me tell you something,” he said yesterday. “I gone tell you the same thing BPL president said, let the chips fall where they may and that is it.”
Brendalee Seymour, who works in the housekeeping department at PMH, said staff morale is low. “I was here now for 17 years and we haven’t got uniform now for I think about five years now. Every time you work in uniforms, the uniforms dropping all over your arm. I does have to take my money out of my pocket to go and get uniform just to look decent on the job,” she said. “We have no insurance, no hazard pay, and all kind of things. We had staff die from the COVID. We had staff on the ward the other day. The ward have COVID. They ain’t telling us nothing and it is very bad and Minnis got to do something. Ms (Catherine) Weech got to do something,” she said. Last night, the Public Hospitals Authority reacted to the BPSU protest, saying it is open to talks with the union on outstanding issues. “The union threatened industrial action and service disruptions. The Authority remains open to engagement with the BPSU on outstanding issues but encourages parties to disputes with the organisation to refrain from making threats to hospital services and patient care in an already challenging environment,” PHA said. Officials also said a proposed industrial agreement between it and BPSU was approved by PHA’s board of directors in May. PHA said a draft Cabinet Paper relative to this was submitted to the Ministry of Health for further action on June 15. PHA said it is awaiting the approval of the document “or otherwise”.
On the issue of Hurricane Dorian repairs, he said the government has repaired 14 schools on the island with NGOs helping in the repair of 10 of these. He said the Ministry of Education will rebuild the Treasure Cay Primary School. He also touted Bahamas Power and Light’s efforts post-Dorian, saying the power provider has spent $61m on repairs to date, much of that in Abaco. Of future plans he said, “We are going to construct a new modern police station in Marsh Harbour and upgrade other police stations. The government dock in Marsh Harbour will be
expanded. “Through a major publicprivate partnership we are going to build a new Marsh Harbour port. “The roads in Pelican Shores, which were dug up for the waterworks, will be repaired. “An FNM government will create a National Memorial Park in the Mudd.” He also said service lot communities are set to get underway in Spring City and Central Pines, adding that apart from the Ministry of Housing’s planned expansion of Central Pines, Bakers Bay has started construction
on some near 50 homes to be gifted to storm victims whose homes were destroyed. The government also made a commitment for the construction of an additional 10 homes to be given free to those who lost homes during Dorian, he said. He said the government will build a “world-class track” that will help to produce more world and Olympic champions. He also said the existing dump sites all across Abaco will be transformed into transfer stations and a proper landfill will be built on the island.
PAGE 6, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
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Delta is here - so what can you do about it? THE Delta variant is here. While we now have the final confirmation of that fact, we have suspected as much for some time. The variant of COVID-19 has been causing havoc in the US with its higher rate of spread, and given the number of visitors to The Bahamas who come from that country – and the number of Bahamians who travel there and return - it was always a suspicion that the variant would arrive on our shores too. For some time now, we have seen a surge in cases that seem much stronger than in previous waves. Given Delta’s increased spread, that too led to suspicions that part of this wave was being driven by the new variant. So, our suspicions are confirmed, what do we do now? Well, if we listen to health officials, we do the same thing – and be more disciplined than ever. That’s a hard statement to consider when you look at pictures of people gathering together for election events at rallies or under tents to listen to leaders on tour, or crowded into buses or trucks as part of motorcades. People are also urged to get vaccinated – and if we look at the US, which has been battling Delta openly for longer, we can see statistics that show how much of an effect that can have. Cases continue to rise there – but the biggest protection people are seeing is vaccination. The vast majority of cases are among those who are unvaccinated, and that’s also the case with deaths. People who are fully vaccinated can sometimes catch COVID still – but it’s rare. These so-called breakthrough cases at the end of August were just 0.06 percent of cases in Arkansas, while by the end of last month around 1,587 deaths had occurred among fully vaccinated patients, a tiny fraction of the 168 million who are vaccinated in the US. Even in areas where the numbers were larger, such as Arizona, still 94 percent of new COVID cases were among unvaccinated people. It should be simple. There’s a virus. There’s a vaccine. One helps to protect you from the other. It’s shown to make it less likely you’ll end up in hospital, or dying. And it’s available, and you don’t have to pay a cent for it.
Instead, all kinds of nonsense is spread on social media about other so-called solutions, usually ones you actually have to pay for and may or may not be making those spreading the stories a bit of money. The latest one is a horse dewormer, prompting the CDC to tell people no, you are not a horse, don’t take it. Let’s talk about what we know. The Delta variant is here. We should be social distancing, but too many are not doing that in this election season. The more crowds there are, the higher price we will pay, and the nation is already paying too high a price in terms of lives lost. What can you do about it? Stay as safe as you can. And get the vaccine.
Open and closed A curious footnote of the closing weeks of this government’s term in office has been the Open Parliament sessions announced by Halson Moultrie. The first was scooped by the reading of proclamations by Police Commissioner Paul Rolle in his capacity as Provost General, setting the ball rolling for the election. Still, a session of sorts was held in Rawson Square, lasting for four hours with speakers from various organisations. Was it a stunt? A bid for public attention? Was there genuine interest, or was this a platform for discontent? Mr Moultrie even suggested that the decision by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to prorogue Parliament on the day of the open session was “only an excuse for not attending this session today so they can argue that the Parliament was prorogued so there was no need for their attendance.” Sorry, Mr Moultrie, but there are bigger fish to fry than your session. And the proof of that? None of those who showed up for the previous session showed up yesterday. The Tribune showed up, but only one or two others appeared, and they left when proceedings didn’t begin. By late morning, even the chairs were being taken away. Ahead of the event, Mr Moultrie was saying he expected a lot of people to come forward. He was very, very wrong.
Have rethink on travel rules, please EDITOR, The Tribune.
OUR family own travel agencies in northern New Jersey and have had a long association with The Bahamas, including being part time residents. We always had strong bookings for your country to both Nassau and the Out Islands. However COVID19 changed everything. There are now two worlds for travel to The Bahamas. There is a fantasy world propagated by your Tourism Minister and a real world where it is difficult to get clients to travel to you. According to your Minister tourism is rebounding strongly, massive bookings are forthcoming and cruises will return to record numbers soon. Unfortunately these rosy predictions are not what we are seeing in our agencies. The introduction of the Health Visa has killed off most interest when nearly
all other resort destinations are far easier to enter without all the red tape and expense of the Visa. After eighteen months of restrictions people are unwilling to go through all the red tape you require just to come for a holiday. We understand that the Visa has just become a money making operation for the Government and those associated with the payment system. The Bahamian Tourist officials always declare they work with ‘travel partners’. There was no evidence of any consultation before your harsh entry rules were introduced which actually punish visitors with all the roadblocks. Your Minister says the Visa must stay because he does not trust airline agents at check in to properly verify double vaccination certificates. There are no problems with these certificates at any of our local airports.
As to his predictions of massive cruise numbers returning very few of our clients want to go on any cruise anytime soon. They fear for their health in such close surroundings. As of today we have very few bookings for cruises and sadly no bookings for The Bahamas through to spring. It has gone from our most popular destination to the lowest in interest. Your Tourism Minister has to leave the fantasy world and face the real world where your chief economic activity is being severely damaged by policies which are deterring rather than encouraging your all important tourist numbers. The Health Visa has to go and you must return to previous entry rules immediately. JOHN LANCASTER Princeton, New Jersey, USA September 6, 2021.
Fiasco in Afghanistan EDITOR, The Tribune. THE decision of great powers have exacting and long lasting effects upon other nations and their populations in the world. They always have. America has been the self professed “Policeman of the Globe” since WW2. This power broker has manipulated, crushed and created major upheavals throughout the world. The US took over this position and responsibility from Britain and France, whose global empires had failed and declined terribly. There is a massive cost to policing an empire. Both of these nations collapsed from the weight of this debit. America was the rising star of economic and political intrigued. Using their various intelligence agencies this new Goliath saw progressiveness as a step towards their greatest enemy, Communism. America upheld and supported various dictatorships, supplying their military with armaments, training and money so that the threat of “Communism” would be stopped somewhere else away from American soil. The US had their own political cleansing with the assistance of Senator McCarthy. Afghanistan experienced all that the above mentioned policy could bring – the 9/11 attack gave America’s military complex 100% support in attacking “Terrorism” globally.
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net Trillions have been spent by America and her allies in places such as Iraqi, Panama, Africa, Afghanistan, Latin and Central America and even in the Caribbean. Every People Movement was seen as both communistic or un-American enemies that needed to be crushed. America has shown they would rather support tyrants than the little guy, the working class or those oppressed by religious, feudal or political monsters. Notice all the leaders of these so-called “monsters” once worked for or with America as their military supports, intelligence sources or simply as the foot of America crushing those America could not openly crush. Noriega, Bin Laden, Assad, Pinochet, The Contra’s to name a few. It does not matter their beliefs so long as America gets what it wants. The world powers knew what will happen in Afghanistan, as they did at the end of the Vietnam War and most wars lost to primitive little people. America entered the war in Afghanistan in the hope to win itself redemption from its military failures of the past. Sure they wanted to kill terrorists, seek revenge and stop the opium trade also. Look what 20,000-30,000
hills people did in Afghanistan in a short time. As in the Vietnam struggle there were other nations helping these people. The Taliban has the assistance of Pakistan, China and their old enemies Russia who supplied numerous weapons to these fighters. Afghanistan will have a blood bath. Like all Dictatorships our the wests friends are their enemies. The Taliban’s religious judgements upon western views, women’s rights, western education will come a cleansing of the population. Everything the Taliban should do will not be done. Instead of murdering professionals the new administration in Afghanistan should welcome their educated population to become a part of the “New” Afghanistan, but that will not happen. The Taliban is a loosely knit group who will in time fight among themselves. The brutal cycle for power in this impoverished nation will begin again and again sucking into its history more death and destruction. The world powers have no answers to how Afghanistan can get out of its cycle of death. There are only people in Afghanistan after all, no visible energy or mineral wealth that would interest the greed of the G20 and their Corporate supporters. STEVEN KASZAB Ontario, Canada
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THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 7
‘Get answer wrong you hang yourself’ from page one confessions are sometimes used to secure convictions. Ms Strachan, Dale Gibson, Jr, and Kenton Fines were released from custody without charge after their arrest, but what happened to them in police custody is the subject of the trial before Supreme Court Justice Loren Klein. The three were arrested while police investigated an armed robbery at the C and AA Service Station in Palmetto Point, Eleuthera, which involved the shooting of Joel Stubbs, an employee of the station. Fighting through tears, Ms Strachan said yesterday that after officers took her into custody, she was escorted into an office at the Governor’s Harbour Police Station where her horror began.
She said: “One of the officers, his question to me was, do I want to play a game. I said why. He said have I ever played hangman? He said you know what happens when you get the answer wrong, you hang yourself. I just was saying okay, but I still don’t understand why I’m here. They said I need to tell them what’s going on.” “They placed my hand behind my back with a piece of paper between my skin and the cuff and he tightened the cuff around my hand. They escorted me to another room in the back… There were three officers standing at the door and two officers standing in the room with me at this time. I was standing in the middle of the room and Officer Newbold told me to lay down. I’m looking around like what do you mean to lay down. He started to get
aggressive so I knelt down on my knees and I guess that wasn’t satisfying for him so he kicked me to the ground on my side as I was kneeling in front of him.” “They kept asking me questions about who had the gun, what we were doing. The little small information they were giving was how I was actually trying to get a grip of what is happening because at this moment I realised I am fighting for my life and fighting for my freedom because they are telling me I’m facing 25 years and your friends they shot the guy and he’s dead. They said we going down either in a body bag or handcuff. “At this time when I was on the ground he asked the other officer to get the hot sauce. I was laying on my back at this time. I kinda got afraid because the way I saw Kenton eye
in the cell right before they took me out and he sort of mentioned what was happening as well… when they got the hot sauce, the other officer in the room poured a little bit of it between my eyes and I was just begging him please don’t, please don’t and they stopped. But they got out this plastic, fish bag and he pushed all of my hair into the bag and he had it rested on my forehead at the time and he said you are going to tell me what’s happening. I kept telling him how can you do this to a female, do you have a conscience? He said his conscience is dead. So he grabbed the bag and pulled it over my head.” Ms Strachan said she tried biting through the bag to get air, prompting the officer to cover the part she was biting with his hand. She said officers accused
her of being the driver of the vehicle involved in the armed robbery. “What made it even harder is the other officer got the chair, he placed it over my leg,” she said. “So I’m trying to struggle as much as I can with one officer on my back and the other one on the chair holding my leg.” She said one of the officers placed the bag over her head about five times, prompting her to lose consciousness at one point. “When I came to it, he was still questioning me as to what was happening. I kept telling them I don’t know what they talking about,” she said. “I was telling him if he’s going to kill me please let me call my mom.” Ms Strachan testified that she was officially interviewed the day after the brutality, adding that
Officer Munroe, one of the officers who allegedly tortured her, conducted the interview. Mr Gibson gave similar testimony yesterday, describing brutality that caused him to lose consciousness at one point. Both plaintiffs said they made complaints to the Complaints and Corruption Branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, but got few updates and were met by people who seemed uninterested in seriously investigating the case. “It made me feel like officers just do this to innocent people in the country, break their constitutional right and nothing happens, like not even an apology,” Ms Strachan said. Ms Strachan and Mr Gibson are represented by Bjorn Ferguson. Mr Fines is represented by Fred Smith, QC.
DAVIS: ‘FBI DOCUMENTS’ FAKE By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis has denounced fake documents that circulated on social media alleging he is the subject of a US Federal Bureau of Investigation probe. On Tuesday, documents purporting to be official FBI paperwork spread on social media naming Mr Davis, his wife and a PLP supporter and containing purported bank statements. Some of the bank statements even misspelled Mr Davis’ wife’s first name. The PLP leader released a statement shortly after the documents surfaced online, calling them “fake” and saying he had reported the matter to the US Embassy in Nassau which promised to investigate. A US Embassy official has said the documents “do not appear to be authentic US government documents.’ “We are aware that there are a number of fake documents that have just been released, containing smears against members of the Progressive Liberal
Party, presumably by the FNM or their agents, and purporting to come from the FBI and the US Embassy,” Mr Davis said in the statement. “The perpetrators should know that this kind of fraud is taken very seriously and, when proven, carry extremely severe consequences. We have already reported the documents to the US Embassy who have said they will investigate. “We are also in discussion with our lawyers to decide what appropriate legal action should be taken here in The Bahamas,” Mr Davis said. That statement went on to say at a time when COVID-related hospitalisations and deaths are at unprecedented record levels, instead of the alleged mischief, Bahamians should be encouraged to focus on real issues. He said the circulated documents are an act of desperation. “As the election draws nearer, we appreciate that desperate people are likely to do increasingly desperate things,” Mr Davis continued. “We will therefore remain vigilant to any activities which
infringe on our rights and reputation. “Despite the ramping up of these dark political methods, we encourage all Bahamians not to be distracted, and focus on choosing a more competent, compassionate government that will lead them out of this crisis.” The Tribune saw nothing related to Mr Davis in the FBI’s database when it performed a search yesterday. When contacted for comment, US Embassy public relations officer, Daniel Durazo said, “While US law enforcement generally does not confirm, deny or otherwise comment on the existence or non-existence of an investigation, the documents in question do not appear to be authentic US government documents.” For his part, Free National Movement chairman Carl Culmer distanced his party from the creation of such documents. “I can’t speak to that because I don’t know anything about it,” Mr Culmer said. “If they are fake documents, the FNM does not engage in that sort of nonsense. The PLP probably sent
that out themselves and are trying to blame somebody. Brave needs to check in-house to see who in the PLP did that. The FNM is a party above board, we don’t stoop to gutter.” The FNM chairman went on to chide the PLP regarding its election slogan, “A New Day” saying its leaders are men over 70 years of age so they cannot have new ideas to support the party’s theme.
PHILIP “Brave” Davis pictured in Parliament previously.
PAGE 8, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
The style and essence of political debate
RIVAL leaders Dr Hubert Minnis and Philip “Brave” Davis on the campaign trail.
AT THE 2012 and 2017 general elections, certain excitable radio personalities and a certain pundit, breezily and erroneously opined that the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement were offering few to no policy ideas in their respective election manifestos. Few of these opinionmakers had apparently taken the time to review the policy prescriptions of the major parties, preferring instead to employ the usual cliché that the parties were mostly just exchanging political barbs. This column noted in 2017: “Before the last election [a certain academic] engaged in the sort of hyperbolic irresponsibility one might expect from someone woefully uninformed. She noted that she
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heard nothing about policy contests in The Bahamas at political rallies. and overseas, some in “She was dead wrong. the media mostly report Both Hubert Ingraham on personalities and the and Perry Christie offered barbed exchanges between policy and programmatic leaders and candidates. It ideas in a variety of areas.” is often easier to report Indeed, Mr Ingraham, a the combat of politics policy wonk who was metic- instead of detailing and ulous and careful in drafting analysing policies, which his party’s manifestos, often are less sexy and spectacuspoke at length on policy lar than the cut and thrust matters during rallies. of campaigns. Ingraham would offer During elections here at details on crime and home and overseas, various national security, fiscal and commentators, including economic affairs, Family media pundits, often tutIsland development, health tut and upbraid politicians care and a broad and sub- for their political attacks, stantive range of policies. while gleefully reporting He had already privately these attacks tabloid-style costed these programmes because they make for juicy and projects, a number copy. of which he knew that he On US cable news, would have to roll-out over media pundits often intera period of time. view each other, Before the ‘Political reinforcing the Ingraham years sometimes hackand during his campaigns neyed lines of leadership of the are about the journalisparty, the FNM tic pack. This is comparisons. was known for typically one of offering specific Sometimes the more boring and comprehen- the barbs and segments in a sive policies and broadcast, with exchanges, programmes. little new insight The party has though heated or analysis. a legacy of and vigorous, The more producing maniinformative, festos rich with are warranted.’ insightful and progressive useful segideas. ments are when experts It was an early FNM are interviewed on a given that first proposed a ver- matter such as the recent sion of National Health withdrawal of troops from Insurance in the 1970s. The the United States from party decided health insur- Afghanistan. ance should have been The ad nausea preocrolled-out before national cupation on some political insurance. websites and broadcasts of In and out of election how the withdrawal might season, Ingraham and affect President Joseph his policy advisors were Biden politically became often dismayed at how trite at some point, espeill-informed much of the cially when a suicide attack media was about policies on US troops and Afghans proposed and already in the upended some of the compublic domain. mentary and opining. He sometimes sternly Versions of the clichéd chastised reporters for mindset of “why aren’t they asking questions the talking more about policy answers to which were pre- in the general election” viously debated publicly, is again giddily bouncing including in the House around in some of the print, of Assembly. At times, broadcast and social media reporters asked questions in 2021. about information already Then there is the reliable reported in the print and false equivalence: “All of broadcast media, including them are offering the same in the journals for which thing!” There is also this they reported. other lazed retort: “They’re A former noted journal- offering nothing new”, even ist recalls that in the 1950s as new ideas are being sugand 60s, how he and other gested or there are updated reporters took meticulous and new versions of older notes of House proceed- ideas. The preoccupation ings, dutifully reporting with something “new” is on debates in various often a fetishised cliché. newspapers. One might debate the While there may have ideas offered, their costs been no golden age of jour- and other matters related nalism, to my mind there to the promises made by has been a downturn in political parties. One might standards from even just a also opine on the polidecade or more ago. cies offered previously but The US-styled gotcha which failed to materialise. coverage in certain parts Still, commentators and of the broadcast media editorial writers have an is deplorable. Some obligation to expound more programmes are FOX fully on the policies offered News-like shows more by parties at election time interested in shock journal- and what they might mean ism than providing genuine for the country’s national context and insight on the development. news. The PLP put out an elecDuring electoral tion platform and held
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a virtual rally last week. Last Wednesday, the FNM put out a much longer and more comprehensive manifesto the same day that it announced a groundbreaking Universal School Meals programme, which was extolled in an editorial in The Tribune. In every one of his rally speeches since the general election was called, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has laid out various programmes, policies and projects, including specific ideas for the Family Islands he has visited. The FNM’s Manifesto includes the party’s accomplishments over the past four-plus years and policies it intends to extend and complete in a new term. It is also replete with proposed policies and projects in myriad areas including: post-COVID-19 strategies; jobs and investments; digitization; land ownership; tourism; the environment and renewable energy; infrastructure and the transformation of downtown Nassau. Other areas include: youth development; agriculture and fisheries; culture, heritage and the arts; crime and security; judicial and legal reform; cannabis policy; education; health care; Over-the-Hill development; immigration and international affairs; labour and the public service; fiscal affairs and public administration; social development and disabilities; sports and local government. Political campaigns are about comparisons. Sometimes the barbs and exchanges, though heated and vigorous, are warranted. Of course there are attacks that are beyond the pale, unnecessary and unwarranted, all of which should be decried. But a certain cut and thrust is vital. When Barack Obama ran for President his rhetoric against those who supported the Iraq War was not polite and genteel. His political ads against Mitt Romney in a subsequent election were biting and stinging. Context and perspective are critical, especially from commentators and journalists. The political exchanges in this election from the public rostrum are milder than most previous general election contests in The Bahamas. The political and election wars between the PLP and the UBP, as well as those previously between the FNM and the PLP, make the speeches on the hustings during this campaign appear so much milder. Sir Etienne Dupuch, a politician and journalist who was the editor of this journal for decades was ardent in his beliefs. He wielded a powerful political sword against his opponents in the House and during campaigns. His powerful and clever pen, sometimes dipped in acid and sarcasm bested many opponents in defence of his ideas. Indeed, his editorials were set-pieces of political and journalistic battle. He understood the need for the fierce debate of issues and values, and the role the Fourth Estate needed to play in informing the general public. To his great credit, if Sir Etienne roasted an opponent in The Tribune, which was previously printed in the evening, he would eagerly print a reply in the newspaper the following evening. He understood the need for strong public debate, the thrust and parry of politics, the vigorous exchange of ideas as well as the need for the public and others to reply to the contents in his journal.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 9
WE CAN’T LOSE FAITH - IF GOVERNMENT ISN’T WORKING IT’S OUR JOB TO VOTE AND FIX IT BAHAMIANS will go to the polls in a week’s time. How do you feel about that? Do you feel a strong conviction that the results of the upcoming election will make a significant difference in your life and that of your family? Will those results have an impact on your ability to remain in your job or seek and find a new and better one? Are you and your family committed by tradition or other ties to one of the two major political parties in the country? What does the upcoming election really mean to you? Maybe your answer is one based on allegiance to one of our two major political parties. This can be for any number of reasons, including a feeling that life for you and for your family and for the country in general will be better if one or the other party triumphs. Perhaps you are attracted to the leading personalities of one of the two major parties, or to the local candidate of that party for the House of Assembly. Or – and this is probably the case for many – you have lost faith in one party more than in the other party? Do you view the political process in this country with an increasingly cynical eye, as if the rascals in both parties are just in public life to enrich themselves with either glory or wealth or power? Or do you still hold true to the belief there is a tremendous potential for good in public service in general and elective political life in particular? Whether cynical or idealistic or somewhere in between, however, you do have a vote. And as we all read and watch every day, many people in this world do not have that right. They do not enjoy the ability to freely cast a ballot in the interests of advancing the prospects of themselves, their family or their nation. We still have that right. So what? Does it really make a difference to you? Do politicians of both parties seem to understand the circumstances of your situation or that of your family? Do you believe they have your interests at heart? Are you tempted to wonder what is the point of elections, anyhow? What can or does change in the officeholders of power? What difference does it all make? If doubts about the resilience or even helpfulness of government have started to creep into your thinking about the upcoming elections, welcome to the modern world in the United States of America. There is evidence everywhere in the US that many millions of Americans have lost faith in government and in the idea of representative democracy. And since they cannot any longer rely on government to be helpful in small ways and to work for the national interest in impartial fashion on the big
A VOTER in West Grand Bahama in the last election in The Bahamas.
STATESIDE
with Charlie Harper
issues, why not simply try to pursue their own agendas regardless of any effect on the overall course of the nation? Decades of partisan inefficiency, greed and selfishness in Washington especially but also in statehouses around the nation have instilled a fundamental lack of faith in the positive power and impact of a central or even a state or local government. Cynicism, loss of faith and general disbelief in the motives of central government is a vital component of the discord and outright refusal to respect Washington and its present Democratic leadership. This has been attributed to the corrosive, casual, corrupt and cynical views and behaviour of former President Donald Trump, but there is much more to it than that. As many have said, Trump was much more the effect than the cause of the current situation. Both parties in the US share responsibility for the erosion of faith in government. The Democrats controlled the House of Representatives from 1933 to 1995, except for four years. That’s 58 years out of 62, two generations spanning epochs from the depths of the Great American Depression in the 1930s through World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and greed-inspired recessions up to the “Roaring ‘90’s,” those nearly-forgotten halcyon economic times fuelled by the internet boom. Liberal acolytes may believe those were golden years of upstanding governance and ethical leadership,
but there are too many exceptions to those myths for them to retain any durable credibility. There is little basis for Democrats to feel those years were inspirational, even when viewed through rose-coloured glasses. And there’s plenty of evidence voters in the United States became jaded over those decades of one-party House rule and concluded the best government in Washington is one hobbled by a division of power and influence between the Democratic and Republican parties. The federal government, thus weakened, would be less able to inflict mischief and damage on the citizenry. Many observers feel this basic viewpoint is at the heart of more than a few of the issues that beset present-day America. The reasoning basically goes this way: If a voter has, for whatever reason or reasons, fundamentally lost faith in government as a force for good, then crippling it and pursuing a self-oriented course seems to be the logical, even inevitable course. Such social lack of commitment and discipline underpins much of the seemingly counterintuitive collective behaviour of many Americans these days. How can the citizens of Louisiana, Texas and even Florida, for instance, who are most often beset by ferocious hurricanes, persist in electing public officials who are deniers of the climate changes that clearly exacerbate weather patterns? How can conservative voters across the broad
spectrum of red, mostly southern and midwestern states continue to support politicians who pander to their religious or other objections to abortions? How can the sheer inconsistency and hypocrisy persist of an ideological position that pretends to sanctify life while at the same time often legislating to deny the less fortunate a legal and legitimate means of sustaining that life? Madmen or the merely discontented or disillusioned can get easy access
to guns in the nation that is home to more firearms manufacturing and export than anywhere else on earth and shoot innocent victims every day, yet gun control has become as potently divisive a political issue as has abortion rights. On the other hand, do liberals and Democrats spend and waste too much taxpayer money on programmes with little or no track record of success? Is their reliance on government as a panacea misplaced? Are their leading politicians just as fixated on retaining their positions of power and influence as their Republican opponents? Surely, they do, and they are. It’s easy, maybe too easy, to throw up one’s hands in frustration and despair at the current state of the American democracy. The harder thing is to
get to work to make the American democracy function more effectively, and to reform the selfishness and greed of the two major political parties. It’s tough for an individual citizen to imagine how he or she could possibly impact such an imbedded, intractable set of issues. That’s where leadership can, and must, play a role. Joe Biden has often expressed the desire and confidence in his ability to play that role. He is trying to govern the country in a fashion that benefits most if not all of its citizens. He is, and professes to be, a throwback to a perhaps illusory past where the national interest and the common good were aims that attracted broad interest and affiliation. Is Biden today’s version of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman or even Lyndon Johnson? The US desperately needs inspired leadership now. There’s still hope Biden can provide it, but his stubborn wilfulness on the matter of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan inspires some scepticism about his leadership style. But does it even matter what kind of leader Biden becomes? Does America just really need the unifying catharsis of a foreign assault like Pearl Harbour or 9/11 or the common misery of a devastating economic depression to compel its citizens to join together in common cause to emerge from catastrophe to a better place? These are of course important questions for us here in The Bahamas to watch and consider. And with our own elections next week, the US situation is a timely reminder of the consequences of carelessness and indifference.
PAGE 10, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Expired passport reported stolen lands woman in court after flight By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN seeking permanent residency in the United States found herself in court after she returned to The Bahamas on an expired passport which she had previously reported as lost, the court was told. Prosecutors alleged that Natanya Bastian attempted to commit fraud by false pretences when she tried to obtain a Bahamian passport from the Passport Office in February 2020. She pleaded not guilty when she first appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney and the case was adjourned for trial. When Inspector Yvette Deveaux gave evidence yesterday, she said that on the day in question she was contacted by the acting chief passport officer who informed her of the alleged offence, before handing over two passport applications in the defendant’s name. Inspector Deveaux
said the first application was dated in 2019 and was submitted for a lost passport. The court was told that Bastian filed the second application in 2020 when she requested a passport renewal because her current passport had expired. The court was told that Bastian was arrested on October 15, 2020. Inspector Deveaux said when she was interviewed, she said she did apply to the Passport Office in 2019 for a renewal because she had misplaced her ER passport. She said Bastian claimed she was given an AA passport to replace it; however, she also misplaced the AA passport in the United States where she currently resided and could not locate it. According to the officer, the accused said she came back to The Bahamas to apply for a US visa which she needed in order to be eligible for permanent residency in the US. She said the night before she came, she realised she could not find her AA passport,
however she said she was able to locate her first passport that she had previously reported as lost. She said she used her old passport to travel to The Bahamas, but when she went to the US Embassy, she was informed that it was about to expire and they would not be able to accept her application with it. Inspector Deveaux said Bastian then went to the Passport Office where she filled out an application for a passport renewal, after stating that the one she was currently in possession of was expired. She said the accused told her it was not her intent to deceive anyone. Yesterday, the prosecution was not in possession of either of the applications to which Inspector Deveaux referred in her testimony. As a result, Magistrate McKinney adjourned the case to today to give the Crown an opportunity to formally enter the documents into evidence.
FIVE-YEAR SENTENCE FOR GUN AND DRUGS UPHELD By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
THE Court of Appeal yesterday confirmed the five-year prison sentence of a man convicted of illegal drug and firearm possession over four years ago. In May 2017, two officers patrolling the Elizabeth Estates area noticed a silver vehicle being driven in a suspicious manner. According to court documents, one officer identified the driver as Kenton Ferguson and watched him as he went to a nearby residence to hand over a white and blue shopping bag to another man before speeding away. A search was made of the man’s home as well as the bag. Officers found marijuana and cocaine in the bag along with three firearms and ammunition. The man was arrested. When questioned, he told officers: “Kenton give me this, and say hold it.” This led to the arrest
of the appellant, who was charged with possession of drugs, firearms and ammunition. Ferguson was convicted of the offences and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. He later appealed his conviction and sentence on the grounds the magistrate “wrongly allowed” a dock identification of him when no previous form of identification was conducted by the prosecutor. He further argued the sentence was unduly severe. In a Court of Appeal ruling, Justices Jon Isaacs, Maureen Crane-Scott and Roy Jones affirmed his conviction after ruling there was “ample evidence” before the chief magistrate which could support her decision to convict Ferguson. Nevertheless, they said his sentence would be “varied” to reflect the seven months already spent on remand. This means Ferguson will spend five years and one month in prison, from the date of conviction.
In their judgment, delivered by Justice Isaacs, the panel noted the arresting officer did not make a dock identification “in the true sense of the words” when he identified Ferguson in court. “D/C 3543 McKenzie had testified that he was familiar with the appellant as he had had the appellant under surveillance around one week before he observed the appellant hand over the blue and white Super Value bag later discovered to contain the three firearms,” he said. “The chief magistrate sits as the judge of the facts and the judge of the law. In that dual capacity she determines what the facts are in the case – a function performed by the jury in a case tried in the Supreme Court – and she is guided by the law as she interprets it to be – a function performed by the trial judge in the directions he gives to the jury, the triers of the facts, to apply to the facts as they find them to be.”
$700 FINE FOR MARIJUANA AND PILLS By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A 26-YEAR-OLD man caught with marijuana and Percocet pills must pay $700 to avoid spending four months behind bars. Police arrested Valentino Thompson after they found one gram of Indian hemp and 13 amphetamine tablets on him on September 6. He pleaded guilty to two counts of possession when he appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney. Magistrate McKinney accepted Thompson’s guilty plea and fined him $200 or one month in prison for the gram of marijuana and another $500 or four months on remand for the tablets. Meanwhile, Jakota Johnson was arrested after officers found 13 silver foil wraps of suspected marijuana in a chip bag in his pants on September 6. He also pleaded guilty to simple drug possession and was fined $500 or three months in prison.
TWO ACCUSED OF ROBBERY PLOT
By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net TWO women, accused of plotting to commit robbery, were sent to prison to await trial. Evena Belton and Latoya Wallace were arrested after they were accused of conspiring together to commit armed robbery on August 30. Due to the nature of the offence, the pair were not required to enter a plea and their case was adjourned to December 3 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment. Both Belton and Wallace were denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 11
BPL signs deal with union BAHAMAS Power and Light officials signed an industrial agreement with the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union yesterday. This came after months of contention between the union and BPL executives over the stalled agreement and a number of other issues.
“We have an agreement that is good for the company and the agreement is good for the workers,” Minister of Works Desmond Bannister, who has responsibility for BPL, said at a press conference about the signing. “Anything that’s in the best interest of the
workers is what the government is interested in,” he said. BEWU president Kyle Wilson said the deal will benefit workers. “This has been almost a gift to the union in the fact that we have not lost any concessions and there are increases in salary scales,
increases in wages and also lump sums of money,” Mr Wilson said. Last week, The Tribune reported that BEWU had finally ratified an industrial agreement proposal from BPL after months of demonstrations. At the time, Mr Wilson had expressed hope that
the new agreement could be signed before the next general election, which is September 16. The previous industrial agreement between the two parties had expired some four years ago and negotiations for a new agreement were soured by industrial action following
what the union called disrespectful and insulting proposals. In protest of the unfinished negotiations and citing disrespectful treatment by executive management, the BEWU’s members walked off the job on June 28 and again on August 19.
URBAN RENEWAL DONATES BACKPACKS URBAN Renewal distributed over 500 backpacks with school supplies on Grand Bahama as many students headed back to school this week. Tyrone McIntosh, deputy director of UR, reported that each of the five areas received 100 backpacks to distribute in the five constituencies of Pineridge, Marco City, East Grand Bahama, Central Grand Bahama, and West Grand Bahama and Bimini. “We do this every year in the various communities on the island to ensure that students receive the resources they need for school. In each bag we have notebooks, pencils, rulers, pens, and geometry sets for the older students,” he said. Mr McIntosh said that UR usually held a summer programme for students and supplies would be given away at the end of the event. Due to the pandemic, the event was not held in 2020 or this year. He said they decided to feed children for two weeks on the island in the five UR centres on Grand Bahama and one in Bimini. “We fed 100 children each day, and so that would have been like 500 meals a day,” he added.
DEFENCE force officers and marines preparing to assist with security during the election and, right, Senior Commander Frederick Brown speaking to officers. Photo: Able Seaman Michael Turner II/RBDF
READY FOR THE VOTE THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force is currently preparing to mobilise marines throughout the country alongside the police force to assist with providing security during the general election. “Because election time provides a platform for opposing views to confront one another, it is a vulnerable time when emotions and tensions run high,” the RBDF said in a press release. “Therefore, military and law enforcement agencies tasked with providing
security must remain in a state of readiness to mitigate any potential threats or risks. “Marines are currently being refamiliarised and prepared primarily on crowd control, rules of engagement, and civil unrest tactics.” The RBDF has reminded people to take safety precautions, such as avoiding handshakes, physical distancing — especially when waiting in lines to vote — wear a mask and regular sanitising.
COVID SURGE MEANS SUMMER OF HOPE ENDS IN GLOOM WASHINGTON Associated Press
THE summer that was supposed to mark America’s independence from COVID-19 is instead drawing to a close with the US more firmly under the tyranny of the virus, with deaths per day back up to where they were in March. The delta variant is filling hospitals, sickening alarming numbers of children and driving coronavirus deaths in some places to the highest levels of the entire pandemic. School systems that reopened their classrooms are abruptly switching back to remote learning because of outbreaks. Legal disputes, threats and violence have erupted over mask and vaccine requirements. The US death toll stands at more than 650,000, with one major forecast model projecting it will top 750,000 by December 1. “It felt like we had this forward, positive momentum,” lamented Katie Button, executive chef and
CEO at two restaurants in Asheville, North Carolina. “The delta variant wiped that timeline completely away.” It wasn’t supposed to be this way. More than six months into the US vaccination drive, President Joe Biden held a White House party on July Fourth to celebrate the country’s freedom from the virus, and other political leaders had high hopes for a close-tonormal summer. Then the bottom fell out. The summer wave was fueled by the extra-contagious delta variant combined with stark resistance to vaccinations that formed along political and geographic lines, said Dr Sten Vermund, of the Yale School of Public Health. “The virus was more efficient in spreading among the unvaccinated so that you blunted the expected benefit of vaccines,” Vermund said. The crisis escalated rapidly from June to August. About 400,000 COVID-19
infections were recorded for all of June. It took all of three days last week to reach the same number. The US recorded 26,800 deaths and more than 4.2 million infections in August. The number of monthly positive cases was the fourth-highest total since the start of the pandemic. The 2021 delta-driven onslaught is killing younger Americans at a much higher rate than previous waves of the pandemic in the Northeast last spring, the Sun Belt in the summer of 2020 and the deadly winter surge around the holidays. During the peaks of those waves, Americans over 75 suffered the highest proportion of death. Now, the most vulnerable age group for death is 50 to 64, according to data from US officials. Overall, the outbreak is still well below the all-time peaks reached over the winter, when deaths topped out at 3,400 a day and new cases at a quarter-million per day.
The US is now averaging over 150,000 new cases per day, levels not seen since January. Deaths are close to 1,500 per day, up more than a third since late August. Even before the delta variant became dominant, experts say there were indications that larger gatherings and relaxed social distancing measures were fueling new cases. “We had been cooped up for over a year and everyone wanted to get out,” said Dr David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “In the face of that kind of strong change in behavior, even getting almost two-thirds of our adult population vaccinated wasn’t enough.” The COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalization and death, but many tens of millions of eligible Americans remain unvaccinated. Nearly 40 percent of Americans 12 and older are not fully protected. In Rapid City, South Dakota, school officials
have recorded nearly 300 cases among students and staff since classes began less than two weeks ago. Still, the majority of school board officials voted this week 5-2 against a proposed two-week mask mandate. “Nobody wanted to be here. Everyone wanted the personal freedom to be away from masks and free of illness,” said Amy Policky, who introduced the proposal with one other member. “But we have to look at the facts: We’re having illness rage through the school and the community, so what can we do?” Still, Yale’s Vermund sees reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the next few months. Cases in most states appear to be plateauing and are likely to decline in the fall, buying health authorities more time to vaccinate adults and teenagers before flu season. “If we can continue making progress between now and Thanksgiving, we may be able to substantially blunt the coronavirus surge in flu season,” Vermund
said. While the economy has been rebounding strongly over the past several months, hiring slowed sharply in August in a sign that the variant is discouraging Americans from flying, shopping or eating out. And on Monday, unemployment benefits — including an extra $300 a week from the federal government — ran out for millions of Americans. Button, the North Carolina chef, was feeling great heading into the summer. Her team was mostly vaccinated in May and restrictions were loosening. But the crisis soon changed direction. Button supports the mask mandate that was recently reinstated in her county but said her employees are exhausted by having to enforce it. And since she has no outdoor seating, some diners have been less comfortable coming in. “It’s hard to take a step forward and then take three steps back,” she said.
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THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 15
from page one
Baikesir Buyuksehir Belediyespor of the Turkish Basketball League. In 31 games, he averaged 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. In a busy 2019-20 season, Knowles played in three leagues and two countries before the COVID-19 pandemic brought basketball to an end globally. He concluded the campaign with Levski Lukoil of the Bulgarian NBL League. In just two games with the club, he averaged 13 points, seven rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Prior to Bulgaria, he began the season with PAOK Thessaloniki in the Greek Champions League where through 12 games he averaged 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. In Greece, he also played 16 games in the Greek A1 League where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. In 2018-19 Knowles was in the French ProB League with Etoile Charleville-Mezieres. In 27 games with the club, he recorded 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Knowles spent his first professional season with Siarka Tarnobrzeg and King Wilki Morskie Szczecin of the Polish Basketball League or Tauron Basket Liga, the highest level of pro basketball in the country. He has also played professionally in Japan (Tokyo Cinq Reves and Wakayama Trians) where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 24 total appearances before making the move to France. He spent his freshman year at Grambling, where he was hampered by several injuries and followed with a brief stint at Pearl River Community College. Knowles completed his final two years of eligibility with the Texas A and M Corpus Christi Islanders. Coming out of Texas A and M Corpus Christi, Knowles was drafted by the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G-League in the third round (68th overall). He also participated in the G-League’s Star’s Open Tryouts before being cut in training camp and eventually signing in Poland.
‘I could have bled out on the court’ tiered league in country. Artúr Puskás, the club’s professional director, discussed the impact of the Bahamian import on the organisation and his situation moving forward. “Over the summer, long and thorough background work preceded Zane Knowles ’contract, and he justified our expectations both professionally and as a person. He is a hard working, likeable guy who is committed to his own and his team’s best performance. I should say, unfortunately, we had to face this problem, but instead, I say that it is incredibly important for his own health and career that we became aware of a congenital disorder in his thigh during a routine examination,” he said, “We offered him to come back to us next season and continue what we started this year. Of course, the basic condition for this is that you can fully recover and be aware of the pain caused by ‘arteriovenous malformation’ and the inherent risks to his life in extreme cases.” The club also offered Knowles the option to facilitate his rehab and Pusksas called it a “serious” loss for the club, but they remain focused on his recovery. “This situation is not easy for anyone. Zane is a proud warrior who has been injury free, so it’s not easy to process this news. Despite all this, he still wanted to play now, but we [agreed] that health is the most important thing in the world and ZTE cannot allow him physical activity in the knowledge of the results,” Puskas said, “In addition, according to vascular surgeon specialists, this genetic legion can be eliminated with a catheter procedure and, after proper rehabilitation, may be able to play professionally again. Our club offered him that if he decided on the intervention in Hungary after considering the possibilities, he could perform the after-treatment procedure
ZANE KNOWLES, whose season has been cut short by the need for potentially life-saving surgery. with the help of physiotherapist Laura Bokor, physiotherapist and fitness trainer Dániel Debreczeni. I would also like to thank
the medical council led by Dr Zoltán Szalai.” Knowles spent much of the summer at home giving back to
the local basketball community as an instructor at the 33rd annual Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp. He spent last season with
TODD Isaacs in action against the Washington Wild Things. Photo: New Jersey Jackals/Twitter
ANOTHER AWARD WIN FOR JONQUEL by RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
ISAACS HOMERS IN THE NINTH by RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
TODD Isaacs Jr’s late game heroics helped the New Jersey Jackals to open up their current series against the Washington Wild Things with a come-from-behind win. Isaacs’ 11th home-run of the season for the Jackals was a 3-run shot that tied the game 7-7 in the bottom of the 9th inning at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, New Jersey. The Jackals eventually went on to win 9-7 on a walkoff two-run home run from Josh Rehwaldt later in the inning. Isaacs extended his hit streak to four and finished with three RBI and
two runs scored. In just 50 games this season, Isaacs’ 11 home runs ranks second on the team behind J Wylie’s 14, achieved in 75 games. Isaacs is hitting .299 (fourth on the team) with 58 hits, including eight doubles, three triples, 31 RBI, scored 39 runs, seven stolen bases, slugging .541 with an .887 .OPS. The Jackals compete in the Northeast Division of the Frontier League. Isaacs has had an immediate offensive impact in his first season with the club. Earlier in the season he posted a nine game hit streak and is near the team lead in several offensive categories. In a 4-2 win over the Wild Things on August 7, Isaacs finished 2-3 with two
home runs, two RBI and scored two runs. It was his third multi home-run game of the season. In a 10-9 loss to the New York Boulders on June 23, Isaacs went 3-5 with two home runs, a triple, a season high five RBI and scored two runs. In a 5-4 loss to the Wild Things on July 7, Isaacs finished 3-5 with two home runs, two RBI and scored three runs. The Frontier League is the largest league in all of independent professional baseball. It includes teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Last year it merged with the American Association and the Atlantic League to become an official MLB Partner League.
JONQUEL Jones claimed another league wide award and her Connecticut Sun won their 10th consecutive game to improve their league leading record to 22-6. Jones finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in the Sun’s dominant 83-56 win over the Dallas Wings Tuesday night at the College Park Center In Arlington, Texas. The Sun led wire to wire in their 16th double digit win of the season. The win came just hours after Jones was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this season and 11th time in her WNBA career. During Week 11, Jones posted her 14th double double of the season with 31 points and 14 rebounds in an 85-75 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday, August 31. Additionally, she blocked three shots, secured two steals and shot 71 percent on 7-12 shooting from the field. This season, Jones has also been named Kia WNBA Player of the Month two times, most recently for the month of August. The Sun will look to extend their win streak to 11 games Thursday night against the Los Angeles Sparks. In August, Jones was named the WNBA’s Kia Eastern Conference Player of Month and continues to build her case for the 2021 league MVP award. The perennial All-Star forward
averaged 18.7 points and 11 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the field to lead the Sun to a perfect 7-0 record in August. Jones was also named Player of the Month for June. In addition to her second Player of the Month award of the season, it also marked the third of Jones’ career. She is one of just five players this season to win the award twice along with Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm), Tina Charles (Washington Mystics), A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) and Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx) Jones was also named the Kia WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month in June. Through 23 games this season, Jones currently ranks third in the league in scoring at 19.9 points per game and leads the league on the board at 10.9 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 80 percent from the free throw line. In a season of milestones, she also reached 2000 career points and shined on the league’s On WNBA All-Star night, Jones delivered an MVP caliber performance in a historic win for Team WNBA over the USA Olympic team and a second place finish in the MTN DEW 3-Point Contest. She finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots in Team WNBA’s 93-85 win over the Olympians at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
PAGE 16, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Giants are first to 90 wins DENVER Associated Press LAMONTE Wade Jr. and Evan Longoria each had two RBIs during a fourrun rally in the ninth inning and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 7-4 yesterday. The streaking Giants (90-50) won their fourth straight and became the first team in the majors to win 90 games. They began the day with a one-game lead in the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wednesday’s rally capped a three-game sweep of Colorado and was the last of 16 consecutive days of baseball. San Francisco went 10-6 in a schedule that included a 4-6 mark against postseason hopefuls Atlanta, Milwaukee and the Dodgers. “We did a nice job through a very difficult stretch of games and some point we’ll look back and really recognise what a grind that was,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. Brandon Crawford homered and Brandon Belt had three hits for San Francisco. Tyler Rogers (6-1) worked a scoreless eighth inning and Jake McGee pitched the ninth for his 30th save. The Giants trailed 4-3 when Carlos Estévez (2-4) walked pinch-hitter Buster Posey to open the ninth and two straight singles loaded the bases. Wade lined another single to rightcenter to give the Giants the lead. “He’s had so many big
hits for us this year,” Crawford said of Wade. “Down to our last strike a couple of times and then so many tiebreaker, go-ahead base hits for us. He’s been a huge for us.” Longoria doubled to center to cap the comeback. “Estévez is a big challenge,” Kapler said. “He’s throwing 98 mph bowling balls up there and one of the tougher at-bats for right-handed hitters, so Longo’s hit was as big as any.” Elías Díaz, who also had two doubles, put Colorado ahead 4-3 with his 16th homer in the sixth. San Francisco starter Anthony DeSclafani gave up three straight singles, including one to pitcher Jon Gray that drove in the first run, before exiting with one out in the fifth. A groundout and Trevor Story’s double gave Colorado a 3-0 lead. The Giants tied it on Crawford’s three-run homer — his 20th — in the sixth off Gray, who was activated from the injured list for the start. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out eight in five-plus innings. “Five scoreless innings, held them down and got some punch outs,” Rockies manager Bud Black said of Gray. “In the sixth, three opposite-field hits. On balance I thought Jon threw the ball really, really well, and physically he was fine.” TRAINER’S ROOM Giants: RHP Johnny Cueto (right elbow strain) won’t start throwing
SAN Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt, left, congratulates Brandon Crawford, who crosses home plate after hitting a three-run home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray yesterday. Photo: David Zalubowski/AP on the side for another couple of days, Kapler said. ... LHP Alex Wood (COVID-19) will end his quarantine period Thursday and join the team. ... Infielders Donovan Solano (COVID-19) and Wilmer Flores (left hamstring strain) have increased baseball activities. Flores could rejoin the team Sunday in Chicago and Solano on Sunday or next week.
Rockies: RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. He pitched Tuesday night, allowing five runs in 1 1/3 innings. PAINFUL AT-BAT Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski fouled a ball off his ankle in the eighth inning but drew a walk before leaving after the
half inning with an ankle contusion. “The reason we took him out of the game was we didn’t feel like he was going to be capable of going to get a fly ball,” Kapler said, adding that Yastrzemski is day to day. “As tight as the game was, we were going to need people that could run around there and make plays. We weren’t sure Yaz was going to be able to do that.”
ROCKIES ROSTER MOVES In addition to activating Gray from the injured list, the team recalled infielder Colton Welker and righthander Antonio Santos from Triple-A Albuquerque. Infielder Joshua Fuentes was optioned to the Isotopes and reliever Robert Stephenson was placed on the paternity list.
MARMOLEJOS, MARINERS SCORE FOUR IN NINTH HOUSTON Associated Press
IN THE wild-card chase with precious few games remaining, the Seattle Mariners don’t have time to sulk after tough losses. It was imperative they put the previous night’s ten-inning defeat by the Houston Astros behind them to avoid a sweep in the series finale yesterday. A ninth-inning burst allowed them to do just that, as José Marmolejos hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the inning and JP Crawford padded the lead with two-run homer to lead the Mariners to an 8-5 victory. “You never would have known that we were in a tough game last night and weren’t able to get it done ... the will to win that this team has is so unique,” manager Scott Servais said. Houston won the series opener Monday 11-2 and rallied Tuesday night for a 5-4 victory in ten innings. With the score 4-all, Luis Torrens singled with one out in the Seattle ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Dylan Moore. Jarred Kelenic walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch by closer Ryan Pressly (5-2). “It’s just harder when you go to the same (guys) in the bullpen on consecutive days,” manager Dusty Baker said. “The guys
weren’t sharp today that are normally sharp.” Marmolejos grounded a single to center to put the Mariners ahead. Blake Taylor relieved and Crawford connected for a drive to right field. After what happened Tuesday night the Mariners were happy to tack on more runs in the ninth after taking the lead. “As soon as the ball went out we all took a deep breath,” Marmolejos said. “You could see that relief.” The Mariners trailed most of the game before tying it at four on a two-run double by Kelenic with two outs in the seventh. Wednesday’s victory moved Seattle, which hasn’t reached the postseason since 2001, to 2 1/2 games out of the second AL wildcard spot. “They’re a really good ball club and to piece it together as a team and come out on top is what we’re going to need the rest of this month to get us to a playoff spot,” Kelenic said. “To prove to ourselves that we can do that is only going to help us down the road.” Diego Castillo (3-5) struck out the side in the eighth for the win. Paul Sewald gave up a solo homer to Alex Bregman in the ninth before retiring the next three batters to end it. Recently signed Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Jose Altuve
had a solo shot for the AL West-leading Astros. Houston starter José Urquidy permitted four hits and two runs in three innings in his second start since coming off the injured list. Seattle’s Tyler Anderson allowed seven hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Mitch Haniger, Kyle Seager and Ty France hit consecutive singles to load the bases with one out in the first. Abraham Toro followed with a double to right field to score two runs. Yordan Alvarez opened the Houston second with a single and the Astros cut it to 2-1 when he slid in just before the tag to score on a double by Kyle Tucker with one out. There were two outs when Gonzalez homered into the seats in left field for a 3-2 lead. Seager walked to open the fifth before center fielder Jake Meyers made a nifty grab for the second out of the inning to rob Toro of extra bases. Meyers stretched out at the end of a long sprint to grab Toro’s flyball and send Seager scrambling back to first. Altuve’s 27th home run this season extended the lead to 4-2 in the fifth. The Astros had a chance to pad the lead when they loaded the bases with two outs after Anderson walked Tucker. He was replaced by Casey Sadler, who retired Meyers to leave everyone stranded.
pitcher, got the last out for his fourth save. David Peralta led off Arizona’s second inning with his eighth homer. Henry Ramos, making his first major-league start, followed with a single to left, moved up on an infield out and scored on Daulton Varsho’s double off left fielder DJ Peters’ glove. Luke Weaver (3-4) retired his first nine Rangers batters, but Texas broke through with three runs while sending nine to the plate in the fourth. Leody Taveras, who turned 23 on Wednesday, led off the fourth with a triple to the 413-foot sign in center and scored on Isaiah Kiner-Falefa’s bouncer to third. Lowe added an RBI
triple and scored on Nick Solak’s infield grounder. Texas loaded the bases before Weaver struck out pitcher Kohei Arihara on a curveball. Weaver threw 36 pitches in the first three innings and 33 in the fourth. The Rangers piled on against the bullpen with two runs in the sixth and three in the eighth. Pinchhitter Yohel Pozo had an RBI double in the sixth, and Trevino plated two with a single during the eight. Arizona’s Nick Ahmed hit his fifth homer in the ninth against DeMarcus Evans. Both Arihara and Weaver were making their second starts after long stints on the injured list.
MINNESOTA Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan delivers during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Cleveland Indians, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, in Cleveland. Photo: Tony Dejak/AP
INDIANS’ ROSARIO BREAKS UP FOUR IN A ROW FOR RANGERS ROOKIE RYAN’S NO-HIT BID PHOENIX Associated Press
NATHANIEL Lowe had three hits, Jose Trevino drove in three and the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 yesterday to match a season high with their fourth straight win. Last-place Texas matched a run from June 25-29, with both streaks coming on the road, where the Rangers are 20-51. Arizona fell a seasonlow 50 games under .500 at 45-95. The Diamondbacks have lost five straight, all at home, and 10 of 11 overall. Jharel Cotton (1-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the win. Joe Barlow, the eighth Rangers
CLEVELAND Associated Press INDIANS shortstop Amed Rosario singled with one out in the seventh inning Wednesday night to break up a no-hit bid by Twins rookie Joe Ryan, who is making just his second major league start. The 25-year-old Ryan retired the first 19 hitters in order and was flirting with a perfect game before Rosario lined a clean single to left field on an 0-1 pitch. Ryan was bidding to pitch the record ninth no-hitter in the majors this season, topping the mark set in 1884 — the first year overhand pitching was permitted. He was acquired in July from Tampa Bay when the Twins sent slugger Nelson Cruz to the Rays.
He was with Team USA at the Olympics at the time of the deal and went 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA over two starts in Tokyo. The right-hander made his major league debut against the Cubs on September 1 and pitched three-run ball over five innings. The Indians have been no-hit twice this season — first by Chicago’s Carlos Rodón on April 19 and then Cincinnati’s Wade Miley on May 7. Before Rosario’s hit, the closest Cleveland came to getting a baserunner against Ryan came in the second inning, when slugger Franmil Reyes hit a hard grounder that third basemen Luis Arraez snagged and threw out Cleveland’s designated hitter. Arizona rookie Tyler Gilbert threw the majors’ most recent no-hitter on August 14.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 17
LOS Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, right, talks with quarterback Justin Herbert, left, during NFL football practice in Costa Mesa, California, on August 12.
Photo: Alex Gallardo/AP
Can the Chargers get back in contention? COSTA MESA, California Associated Press A LOT has changed in a year for Brandon Staley and Justin Herbert. Heading into last year’s opener, Staley was preparing for his first game as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. Herbert was taking secondstring snaps and adjusting to life in the NFL. Now, they’re together as the Los Angeles Chargers open against the Washington Football Team on Sunday. Staley is preparing for his head coaching debut, and Herbert is entrenched as the franchise quarterback after a recordsetting rookie season. Staley hopes their experiences from last season make them better going into this year. “I think when you’re in the NFL, you just learn so much more. One year ago, guys, what he knew and what I knew are totally
different,” Staley said. “I look back at my tape last year, I’m like, ‘man, I wasn’t very good,’ You know, compared to where I am now. And I think that that’s how he feels.” Even though Herbert set rookie records for touchdown passes and 300-yard games in 15 starts, it wasn’t enough to keep the Chargers from finishing 7-9. That led to Anthony Lynn’s firing after four seasons and the hiring of Staley, who made the Rams’ defense the toprated unit in the league. Since being hired, Staley has made it a point to build relationships throughout the franchise. He immediately built one with Herbert, calling him less than an hour after getting the Chargers job. “He builds relationships immediately with all his players. That meant a lot to me for him to reach out shortly after everyone found out (he was hired),” Herbert said.
Staley has got the rest of the roster to buy in with some different approaches during offseason workouts and training camp. The OTAs were conducted at a walkthrough pace during 11-on-11 drills, while training camp practices stressed in-game situations starting the first day. The 38-year old Staley — who is five years removed from being a defensive coordinator at Division III John Carroll University — also made it a point at the start of installing the offensive and defensive systems of explaining the philosophy, before going through plays. “If I give you a piece of paper and I tell you what to do, it will never mean as much as if I were to show you how to do it first and why we’re doing it,” Staley explained. “What I like to do is give life to what’s on paper or what’s on the screen so that I can create the buy-in, I can create
the investment from the player, the coach, whomever. I want to show them exactly what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and when we’re doing it and, draw from a lot of inventory to paint a picture for somebody. “By doing that in a general way first, I think that you create more buy-in. Then, what that allows you to do is get to the specifics quicker.” Staley also isn’t afraid to admit to his players when something he planned didn’t go right. Last week, he explained during a meeting with the team a scheme he didn’t coach well enough with the Rams last season, and how he planned to fix it moving forward so that it doesn’t happen with his new team. “That’s what players want. They just want to be able to see, ‘Yeah, alright, you are right, coach, you jacked that up.’ This is going to help us moving
forward. It’s having a breakthrough like that with them,” Staley added. Herbert, Staley and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi have spent the past couple months trying to refine an offensive system that is a blend of different schemes, formations and personnel groupings. The philosophies range from Sean Payton’s system in New Orleans, where Lombardi was quarterbacks coach, to play-action packages run under Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. Now that Herbert has had training camp and two practices against the San Francisco 49ers to go through everything, he has a better idea of what will work best. “It has been a tough scheme that we have had to learn, but all the guys here have put in a lot of effort. It’s been going pretty well so far,” Herbert said. “I know that we got the guys and the talent here. We just have to go out and execute.
That’s ultimately what it comes down to.” Despite what was considered to be a successful training camp, Staley knows that the relationship with his quarterback and the team is still a work in progress. It also takes on a different level now that the games count for real. “Now we get to respond to real game competition, and we’ll know where our relationship is as the season goes on. Because once you start playing games and lots is at sake, that’s when you really got to test your relationship,” Staley said. • Running back Austin Ekeler’s status for the opener is in doubt after he did not practice Wednesday due to a hamstring strain. • Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga is on track to start after being a full participant in practice. The veteran right tackle had been plagued by a groin injury during most of training camp.
BEARS’ DALTON FOCUSED ON RAMS DEFENCE, NOT JUSTIN FIELDS LAKE FOREST, Illinois Associated Press CHICAGO Bears quarterback Andy Dalton could have defensive lineman Aaron Donald in his face Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams. While this might terrify many NFL quarterbacks, the real trouble for Dalton might be behind him in the form of Bears backup quarterback Justin Fields as Chicago opens the season at SoFi Stadium. “That’s the worst thing you can do is look over your shoulder,” Dalton said. Bears fans have clamored throughout the preseason for Fields to start, even while the plan all along has been for Dalton to face the Rams. “We’re talking about tuning out the stuff you don’t need to focus on and knowing where you need to put your time and effort and all that kind of stuff,” Dalton said. “I think that’s just where I’m at. You don’t
CHICAGO Bears quarterback Justin Fields passes as he is pressured by Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker in the first half of a preseason NFL football game on Saturday, August 28. Photo: Wade Payne/AP worry about all the other stuff.” The other stuff would be the calls for Fields to play. Dalton was booed by fans during his very limited play in the preseason, but Bears
offensive coordinator Bill Lazor thinks his experience lets him shrug off everything from challenges for his job to charging All-Pro defensive linemen such as Donald.
“It’s hard to put something up there that he hasn’t faced at some point,” Lazor said. “Not that we aren’t going to have the same answer for it that he has, but there tends to be very
little panic from a guy who’s faced it before and has had success. “That’s just kind of what he brings to the table. That (calm) gets pushed onto (teammates) when he’s calling the plays.” There could be plenty of chances to panic against the Rams. The Bears struggled to put a viable offensive line on the field in the preseason because of a back injury to rookie left tackle Teven Jenkins and injuries to other blockers. Donald has 85 1/2 sacks in seven NFL seasons and Dalton knows what his line will be up against. “I mean, he’s the type of player you have to know where he’s at at all times,” Dalton said. “And I think for him, arguably the best defensive player in the league and I mean he can change a game and we understand that. “So we’ve got to give him his respect because he’s a great player.”
Dalton has been promised the start since signing in Chicago in March and it’s possible a strong showing against Donald and the Rams defense could go a long way toward cementing his position ahead of Fields. The Bears will not say whether Fields could get into Sunday’s game in some type of special situations, such as third downs or goal line. “You know it’s something that, you know, I don’t know,” coach Matt Nagy said at the end of preseason, while wearing a big smile. Dalton has other concerns. “There’s a lot that’s gone on since March, but all that’s led to this point right here,” Dalton said. “Regardless of everything that’s gone on, we’re here at Week 1, and this is exactly what I wanted. I wanted this opportunity. “And now we’re looking forward to making the most of it.”
PAGE 18, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
Kane on target - but England misses the mark
ENGLAND’S HARRY KANE, left, celebrates with teammate Conor Coady after scoring the opening goal against Poland but, inset, Poland’s Damian Szymanski scored a late equaliser. Photo: Czarek Sokolowski/AP By STEVE DOUGLAS — in a significant night in head-to-head between place on England’s all-time Poland. Hungary beat banners criticizing Spain’s AP Sports Writer Group B. While Sweden Kane and Lewandowski, list, 12 goals behind No. 1 Andorra 2-1 and was in stance not to recognize was losing 2-1 at Greece, two of the world’s top strik- Wayne Rooney’s 53. fourth place, a point behind Kosovo’s 2008 independENGLAND’S per- Spain won 2-0 at Kosovo ers, and both delivered in Lewandowski failed to Poland. ence from Serbia. fect record in World Cup though it has played two the draw between England score in a match for the “Dear Royal Spanqualifying vanished after more games than its closest and Poland. first time this season but ITALY CRUISE ish Football Federation, conceding a stoppage-time rival. Kane scored perhaps he did play a major role in Italy fielded a new-look WELCOME TO THE equaliser in Poland, while Germany beat Iceland his best goal for England Szymanski’s first goal for attacking lineup and it fired REPUBLIC OF Italy, Germany, Spain 4-0 away and extended its when he collected the ball Poland. the team to its first victory KOSOVO,” read one of and Belgium all won on lead to four points over in space in a central area England’s lead in Group I since winning Euro 2020. the banners. Fans also used Wednesday to build big Armenia. before taking another touch was trimmed to four points Moise Kean scored twice banners with big letters leads in their groups on the and smashing a swerv- because Albania beat San and Giacomo Raspadori spelling “REPUBLIC.” road to Qatar. STRIKER BATTLE ing shot into the bottom Marino 5-0 to move into had his first Italy goal — In the nations’ encounter Harry Kane’s 41st goal It was billed as a corner. He moved into fifth second place, a point above and forced an own-goal in April, Spain’s national for England — a 30-meter — as the European cham- broadcaster disregarded pile driver — was canceled pions moved into a 4-0 normal protocol by not out when Robert Lewanlead by halftime. The two mentioning Kosovo as a dowski crossed for Damian 21-year-olds were playing country and using lowerSzymanski to head home because Ciro Immobile, case letters for “kos” in its in the second minute of Lorenzo Insigne and Fed- graphics. Ahead of that injury time in a 1-1 draw in erico Chiesa were missing. game, the Spanish fedWarsaw. Giovanni Di Lorenzo eration had already upset England’s five-match also scored his first goal for Kosovo officials by referwinning run in qualifying Italy, early in the second ring to the country as a ended, leaving Denmark as half. “territory.” the only nation with a 100% Switzerland is still in record so far. Still, England range in second place in GERMAN PROGRESS holds a four-point lead with Group C despite a 0-0 draw Germany is showing signs four games remaining and against Northern Ireland, of further progress under should have no problem because it has two games in new coach Hansi Flick. getting to next year’s World hand over Italy. Serge Gnabry, Antonio Cup. Switzerland forward Rüdiger, Leroy Sané and Italy shouldn’t, either, Haris Seferović had a pen- Timo Werner scored to after dispatching Lithuania alty saved by goalkeeper see off Iceland in Group J in a 5-0 win to open up a sixBailey Peacock-Farrell. and ensure Flick’s record point lead in its group. The is three wins from three recently crowned European KOSOVO PROTESTS games since taking over champions extended their Spain’s win in Kosovo, from Joachim Löw. record unbeaten run to 37 courtesy of goals by Pablo Noah Frick’s late goal games. Fornals and Ferran Torres, earned tiny Liechtenstein No country has a bigger was marked by protests by a 1-1 draw in Armenia, lead than Belgium, which the home fans over Spain’s which lost round in second won 1-0 in Belarus to move non-recognition of the place. North Macedonia nine points clear and to the country. and Romania failed to take brink of securing first place. Some of the nearly 1,000 advantage of Armenia’s Spain’s lead is smaller — SPAIN’S FERRAN TORRES, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s second goal fans at the Fadil Vokrri Sta- slip-up as they played to a four points over Sweden against Kosovo. Photo: Visar Kryeziu/AP dium in Pristina displayed goalless draw in Skopje.
FINGERS POINTED OVER COVID CHAOS THAT HALTED MATCH SAO PAULO Associated Press
BRAZIL’S health agency Anvisa blames the Brazilian and Argentinian soccer federations and South American soccer body CONMEBOL for the chaos that halted Sunday’s World Cup qualifying match between the archrivals. The match was interrupted after seven minutes when an Anvisa agent and a policeman walked on to the pitch at NeoQuimica Arena to remove four Argentina players who the agency says should be in quarantine. Later the match was suspended. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, defender Cristian Romero, midfielder Giovanni Lo Celso and winger Emiliano Buendia are English Premier League players who were in the United Kingdom in the previous 14 days upon their arrival in Brazil. They are investigated for allegedly providing false information. FIFA has opened an investigation. A decision has not been make on whether the match will be replayed. “We stress the lack of collaboration in the fulfillment of health protocols by those involved (CBF, CONMEBOL, AFA and the players themselves), who deliberately
BRAZIL and Argentina’s players talk as the soccer game is interrupted by health authorities during a match at Neo Quimica Arena stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday. Photo: Andre Penner/AP obstructed and embarrassed status of the four players up to Anvisa said its agent decided to public officers as they performed one hour before kickoff. enter the pitch after he heard the Anvisa said it warned the national anthems being played, their duty in favor of the Brazilian people’s health,” Anvisa said in a soccer bodies about the need which he considered the final for isolation of those players evidence of noncompliance with statement published Wednesday. The two national soccer fed- since Saturday, and accuses them Brazil’s health regulations. erations and CONMEBOL deny of not disclosing that they had “As we arrived at the tunnel any wrongdoing. But Anvisa said been recently to the UK, a coun- we stopped because we saw the in its report that the three soccer try that is in Brazil’s red list for match was under way. So we begin bodies attempted to mislead the COVID-19. a series of conversations with
several people who identified as members of CONMEBOL, CBF and AFA,” Anvisa said, quoting the agent who entered the pitch. “In contact with (match official) Rodrigo Luis and (police) investigator Pedro Henrique, I asked whether we could come onto the pitch to notify the players. They said yes. Investigator Pedro moved ahead and I followed,” the report said. “A CBF representative tried to argue about waiting until the break so they could be substituted. We didn’t agree because that was not a negotiation, it was a legal action and a corrective for their noncompliance. We insisted the four players should be notified,” the agent said, adding he never meant to halt the match. Earlier on Wednesday, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his decision to field three of four players in question — Buendia was not in the stadium, the three others were starters. “We had an OK from CONMEBOL, players went to the pitch and played,” Scaloni said. “Not in any moment did we leave the pitch by our initiative, only when the CONMEBOL official told us to.” Brazil, however, never left the pitch and held a training session after the match was suspended.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, September 9, 2021, PAGE 19
PAGE 20, Thursday, September 9, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
RYDER ROOKIES LINE UP FOR YOUNGEST US TEAM IN HISTORY
THE WHOPPER
®
and nothing but the Whopper
TM & © 2021 Burger King Corporation. Used under license. All rights reserved.
Nassau
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
XANDER SCHAUFFELE
DANIEL BERGER
TONY FINAU
HARRIS ENGLISH
JORDAN SPIETH
THE only experience that matters to Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker is how the youngest US team in history prepares for Whistling Straits in a bid to win back that shiny gold chalice. Equipped with the most captain’s picks in Ryder Cup history, Stricker added four more rookies to his team on Tuesday to join the six players who earned automatic spots. His six selections included obvious choices and, as always, a few that could have gone either way. Among those left out was Patrick Reed. Stricker chose the next four players in the Ryder Cup standings — Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Harris English — along with Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler. “We are looking to the best players to perform here at Whistling Straits, and these six guys that we picked we feel like fit Whistling Straits to a T,” Stricker said. Missing was Reed, who thrives in team events with his bullish personality and great short game. He has a 7-3-2 record in three
previous Ryder Cups and is undefeated in singles. Reed, however, hasn’t seriously contended in the 18 tournaments he has played since his lone victory at Torrey Pines. Of greater concern to Stricker was his health. Reed was hospitalised for five days with pneumonia in his lower lungs that made him fear for his life, missing the final two qualifying events. He returned at the Tour Championship and tied for 17th in actual score against a 30-man field. “That was a very, very difficult call — kind of lost sleep over that one,” Stricker said. “He’s a tremendous competitor. He brings a lot to match-play golf. His record here at the Ryder Cup is pretty darned good. ... It was just the uncertainty of his health and really the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch.” Stricker made it clear he wanted players whose game suited Whistling Straits — a course along the bluffs of Lake Michigan that tends to favor power — and said he wanted his players to know it well ahead of the September 24-26 matches.