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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court judge had “to believe many impossible things” in a multi-million luxury goods battle featuring two murders - including that of an exCabinet minister’s husband - and likelyCustomsfraud.

Justice Loren Klein, in an August 5, 2025, verdict said he had “great difficulty in accepting atfacevalueanythingsaid”bythe parties fighting over millions of dollars worth of stock left behind by Treasures Bahamas, the jewellery and luxury goods retail chain

• Judge ‘can’t believe anything’ in diamonds dispute

• Case tied to ex-Cabinet minister’s husband slaying

• Customs ‘red flag’ over luxury goods tax evasion

that was headed by the late Leon Griffin.

Both Mr Griffin, former Bahamas Taxi Cab Union president and husband of ex-Cabinet minister, Melanie Griffin, and his business partner, accountant

Biswajit Pati, were slain within months of each other in DecemberandAugust2021,respectively, and Justice Klein - noting they “met their demise in suspicious circumstances” - said this further

added to the “bizarre” nature of thecase.

His latest Treasures Bahamasrelated verdict required him to determinethedisputedownership of four loose diamonds that were “caught up in a seize and search” Order granted by the Supreme CourtinJuly2023.TheOrderwas obtained by Satish Daryanani, principal of Miami-based Sovereign Jewelry, one of the former suppliers to Treasures Bahamas andthelateMrGriffin.

Tribune Business revealed in July 2021 that Mr Daryanani had launched a $34m Supreme Court legal claim against Mr Griffin,

BTC ‘poised for growth’ amid $9.2m revenue fall

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) top executive yesterday said the carrier is “poised for growth” despite a $9.2m year-overyear decline in its first-half revenue.

Sameer Bhatti, its chief executive, told Tribune Business that “the underlying organic business is healthy” after it was revealed that BTC’s revenuesforthesixmonthsto end-June 2025 were down 8.6 percent compared to thesameperiodin2024.

BTC’s half-year revenue fall, from $106.9m in 2024 to $97.7m this year, was largely triggered by a $6.5m year-over-year drop for the 2025 second quarter.Top-lineincomeforthe three months to end-June

2025 fell by 11.7 percent, dropping from $55.6m to $49.1mthistimearound.

Mr Bhatti, though, told this newspaper that the revenueslippage-revealed in financial statements for BTC’s ultimate parent, Liberty Latin Americawas more “an apparent decline” than an actual one. He added that the carrier’s performance this

Spanish Wells power provider willing to expand to Eleuthera

By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE energy provider for Spanish Wells and other islands off Eleuthera yesterday confirmed it is willing to supply the mainland and Harbour Island’s but the Governmentmust“getonboard”.

Morris Pinder, president and general manager for St George’s Cay Power Company(SGCPC),whichalsosuppliesRussell Island, West End Cay, Charles Cay and RoyalIsland,saiditisstillopentoexpanding its services and “logistically, all things arepossible”.

Recalling that Harbour Island once “petitioned” the Power Company to provide electricity to it, he added that ultimately any decision on whether it does so rests with industry regulator, the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA).

“There would have to be a cable run from us to the mainland, and then a new cable would have to be run to Harbour Island because it was the people actually in Harbour Island who had petitioned us,

• First-half decline due to ‘stellar 2024’

• Carrier moving from ‘telco to techco’

• ‘New revenue streams’ set to kick-in

year is up against tough comparatives following a “tremendous” 2024 that benefited from “lumpy” income inflows especially duringthefirstquarterand firsthalf.

Asserting that BTC is “evolving from a telco to a techco”, or a legacy

Construction ‘free for all’ until Board takes effect

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AN ex-Bahamas Chamber of Commerce chairman yesterday warned that construction will remain a “free for all” until the industry’s long-promised selfregulation and licensing regime takesfulleffect.

Robert Myers, also a former Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president, told Tribune Business that both the Board to oversee the Construction Contractors Act’s implementation, and the law itself, should have been brought into effect “15-20 years” ago to protect Bahamian consumers from shoddy workmanship and pricegouging.

Speaking after the Prime Minister met with current BCA executives to pledge that the Board will be appointed by the first week in September, if not sooner, he argued that those opposedtosuchamove-andthe contractor licensing and certification regime it will initiate - are “probably people who have no

telecommunications provider to a full-service technology company, Mr Bhatti said the “large projects” and completed initiatives that drove the 2024 first half performance will generate “new revenuestreams”thataremore durablegoingforward.

With these income flows set to kick-in, he predicted that the 2025 first half’s year-over-year revenue decline is unlikely to represent a trend and the final six months will likely bring BTC back in line with topline performance from prioryears.

“Some people will call it a decline, but it’s an apparent decline,” Mr Bhatti asserted of the 2025 firsthalf. “What it is, we have two factors. The phasing ofsomelargecomplexprojects - and some of those

business being in the construction industry inthefirstplace”.

Besides enhancing consumer protection,andgivingBahamians a readily accessible mechanism for redressing grievances with contractors, Mr Myers told this newspaper that by licensing contractors and trades persons accordingtothetypeandscaleof work they can produce, the construction industry will be better able to compete with overseas rivals for work on foreign direct investment(FDI)projects.

“It’s a manifestly important step for the country and particularly the consumer,” he added of the need to end the nine-year wait for the Board’s appointment and self-regulation. “The consumerhasverylittleprotectionin terms of qualified and competent contractors.

“We should have had this Act in place 15-20 years ago, and the Board in place, and contractor education in place, and

Judge eliminates ‘Funky’ obstacle to Junkanoo Beach redevelopment

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court judge has cleared the way for Junkanoo Beach’s redevelopment by eliminating an injunction obtained by the developer/owner of a proposed bar for that location.

Justice Loren Klein, in a July 25, 2025, verdict revealed how Kevin Alexander Holden, owner of Funky Monkey, received conflicting and contradictory instructions from two separategovernmentministries on whether he should proceed with constructing his proposed bar at the site located just to the west of ThePointedevelopment.

After Mr Holden was instructed by the Department of Physical Planning to halt all work on March 13, 2018, he sought and obtained a Supreme Court injunction blocking the Ministry of Tourism and

Aviation, which has oversight of Junkanoo Beach, from “disturbing or interfering” with what little construction work he had performed so that the “status quo” was maintained.

However, the Attorney General’s Office, acting as the Government’s legal counsel, successfully persuaded Justice Klein to discharge the injunction and “strike out” both the Funky Monkey owner’s original claim and bid to convert it into a standard claim form in compliance with the Supreme Court’s newcivilprocedurerules. Warren Johnson, in affidavit evidence on the Government’s behalf, had asserted that the injunction had blocked the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation’s redevelopment plan for Junkanoo Beach that included new vendor stalls compliant with Ministry of

GBPA TARGETS SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES FOR FREEPORT

GRAND Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) executives sought to attract non-US investment from firms in the manufacturing, value-added and distribution sectors when they attended a Las Vegas conference.

Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority, in a statement, said it was an exhibitor at Source Direct during ASD Market Week, which was held at the Las Vegas Convention Centre from August 3–6, 2025. It addedthatitsInvestGrand

Bahama team highlighted the strategic advantages of Freeport’s tax and duty exemptions to the companiesitwastargeting.

The GBPA said the event served as a platform for promoting investment, generating high-quality leads and facilitating direct business-to-business engagement to support its existing licensees. It added that Freeport’s established framework, including no and low tax policies, the GBPA’s ease of doing business and a dedicated

business concierge service, are designed to facilitate project-readyinvestors.

“In today’s complex global landscape, resilience is key,” said Derek Newbold, GBPA’s chief investment officer. “The GBPA is not just responding to global changes; we are leveraging them. Our participation at Source Direct has reaffirmed that our value propositionespecially our tax-free status, strategic location and logistical advantages

- is more compelling than ever.

“We’ve had a phenomenal response from dozens of exhibitors and attendees who see Freeport as a stable, efficient and welcoming platform for expansion into North American, Caribbean and SouthAmericanmarkets.”

The GBPA said its presencewasintendedtocreate opportunities for the more than 2,000 businesses operating in Freeport’s retail sector.ItaddedthatSource Direct provided a valuable

BISX achieves six new fund listings

THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) yesterday said an existing investment fund listing has now added six of its sub-funds to the exchange.

BISX, in a statement, announced that the OportunidadGlobalFund,which isstructuredasasegregated accounts company (SAC), has successfully completed the mutual fund listing

process for six of its subfunds. All have now been listed on the exchange. This follows the Oportunidad Global Fund listing its Class One shares on BISX inJune2025. The six Sub-funds are: Oportunidad Global Fund Ltd- ClassEshares;Oportunidad Global Fund Ltd - Class G shares; Oportunidad Global Fund – Class H shares;OportunidadGlobal

Fund Ltd – Class J shares; Oportunidad Global Fund Ltd–ClassKshares;Oportunidad Global Fund Ltd –ClassLshares.

The six funds were describedbyBISXasopenended mutual funds. The Oportunidad Global Fund SAC is incorporated as an International Business Company under Bahamian lawandregisteredasaSegregatedAccountsCompany

Judge suggests greater Customs 'Vigilance' on luxury goods

DIAMONDS - from page B1

Treasures Bahamas and its franchisor in alleging they had failed to pay him a single cent of what they owed on high-end jewellery productsandloansprovided since the COVID-19 pandemicbeganinMarch2020.

One of the principals for Treasures International, the franchisor sued by Mr Daryanani. And, following the Supreme Court-approved appointmentofreceiversfor Treasures Bahamas, in the wakeofMrGriffin’smurder, the Sovereign Jewelry chief named Naftaly Elias as his Bahamian agent in the processtorecoverunsoldgoods and inventory supplied to theretailer.

However,JusticeKlein,in his latest ruling, revealed he had been left baffled by the “incredulous features” of these proceedings - namely the ever-shifting alliances and allegiances of the partiesinvolved,whichresulted in previous adversaries on opposing sides of legal disputes switching sides to becomealliesandviceversa.

Theseshiftsincluded:

* Mr Keswani, who was among the defendants in Mr Daryanani’s initial $34m claim, obtained a Supreme Court Order on April 3, 2024, to switch sides and now act as the latter’s Bahamas-based representative viapowerofattorney.

* Michael Hepburn, who was initially one of the two Treasures Bahamas receiver-managers approved by the Supreme Court, became a defendant “to the claim involving goods” - namely the four diamonds - and “transactions carried out” when he hadcontrolovertheseassets inhiscapacityasreceiver.

* And Mr Elias, who was initially the Bahamas-based agent for Mr Daryanani, is now contesting ownership ofthefourdiamondsagainst him and may have been involved in managing the Bahamian jewellery stores afterOctober2021.

Justice Klein also warned that the case “may be a red flag” for Bahamas Customs, and signal they should “pay greater vigilance” to tax avoidance and

evasion involving luxury goods imports. He noted the almost $5,000 discrepancy between the $5,617 valuation for just one of the disputed diamonds on the salesinvoiceandthe$770.72 listedonwhatwaspresented to the agency - an 86.3 percentdifference.

“The background to this claim is highly unusual, perhaps even bizarre,” Justice Klein wrote in his verdict. “It is no stretch of the imagination to say that these proceedings required the court to believe many ‘impossible things’, reminiscent of the remark by the Queen in Lewis Carroll’s classic, ‘Through the Looking Glass’ — ‘...sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast’.”

He added that the latest ruling stemmed from the $34m claim initiated by Mr Daryanani against Messrs Griffin, Pati and Keswani, plusTreasuresBahamasand itsaffiliates.Thejudgenoted thatbothMrGriffinandMr Pati were gunned down in separate incidents just four to five months apart during thelatterhalfof2021.

“The claim was said to arise out of the breach of an agreement between the claimant [Mr Daryanani] and the first defendant [Mr Griffin] for payment in respect of consigned jewellery and goods being retailed through a number of fine goods stores owned or operated by the first defendant,” Justice Klein wrote.

Following Mr Griffin’s December 2021 death, TreasuresBahamas-including its stores and inventory - were placed into receivership, with Mr Hepburn and RichardSimmsapprovedby the Supreme Court to act as joint-receiver managers on January24,2022.

“In this capacity, they later took possession of the goods and inventory in the stores and continued the operationofthebusinesses,”

Justice Klein wrote of the duo. “They also oversaw, as joint receiver-managers, the return to the claimant [Mr Daryanani] (through his agent) of the unsold jewellery and the souvenir items

heldonconsignmentforsale onbehalfoftheclaimant.

“The agent of the plaintiff,whoreceivedthegoods, was Naftaly Elias, the second defendant to this claim, who also responsible for the export of the jewellery back to the US to the claimant. A bit needs to be said of Mr Elias’ involvement in these proceedings. It appears that he arrived in The Bahamas in October 2021, at the behest of the claimant, to manage the claimant’s ‘business operations’here.

“He was authorised in writing in June 2022 to take control of all of the merchandise belonging to the claimant, or held by him on consignment for sale, with the view of trying to sell them, although the evidence suggests that he held this authority from January 2022. The June 2022 instructionstosellweresubsequently countermanded by the claimant, who demanded the return of the merchandise.”

Justice Klein, detailing the breakdown of the business relationship between MrDaryananiandMrElias, added: “Mr Elias apparently returned merchandise valued at some $5.403m in July 2022, but there was some back and forth between Mr Elias and the claimant over whether the entirety of the consigned merchandise was returned totheUS.

“The claimant asserted, through his legal agent, that the defendants retained some of the souvenirs and merchandise. To the contrary, Mr Elias claimed that the claimant’s valuation of the inventory was inflated and exceeded the valuations in the joint receiver-managers’reports.

“To further complicate matters, it appears that Mr Elias, along with the firstnamed defendant [Michael Hepburn], may also have been retailing luxury goods on their own behalf from other stores. In this regard, itappearsthatMrEliasalso owns a US jewellery retail company, Roniet Creations, which was one of the suppliers of jewellery to the claimant [Mr Daryanani]

under the provisions of the Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2004. This Fund is also licensed as a Smart Fund SFM007 under the SMART Funds Rules brought in by the InvestmentFundsAct2019.

platformformatch-making, connecting local licensees with new suppliers and distributors to enhance their product offerings and strengthensupplychains.

“We came to Las Vegas to build new relationships that directly benefit our licensees,” said LaShawn Dames, the GBPA’s business development manager.

“The connections we made here with vendors and distributors will provide our local businesses with access to a wider range of highquality goods, enabling them to expand their inventories and increase profitability.

Keith Davies, BISX’s chief executive, said: “Listing an Umbrella Fund with seven sub-funds was a new milestone for us. However, working with a dedicated and organised partner like Winterbotham made the processsmooth.

for resale here,” the judge added.

“At some point following the return of the goods in 2022, it appears that there was a falling out between Mr Daryanani and Mr Elias. Mr Elias claims that the claimant owes him some $950,000, which was apparently acknowledged by the claimant, resulting from unpaid consigned jewellery supplied by the seconddefendant’scompany plus what was owing from his unpaid employment contract.”

Consignment goods are productssuppliedtoathirdparty that is authorised to sell them. The ownership and title in such goods, though, vests in a consignor or supplier such as Mr Daryanani until such time as they are sold by the thirdparty retailer, in this case Treasures Bahamas, whereupon the two parties divide the proceeds between each other.

Mr Daryanani launched fresh legal action on March 29, 2023, alleging that Mr Elias and Mr Hepburn had taken possession of jewellery and souvenirs/t-shirts belonging to himself, worth $5.404m and $2.327m, respectively. The duo were supposed to “liquidate the merchandise” and forward the sales proceeds, minus reasonably-incurred expenses,tohim.

The Sovereign Jewelry chief, via his then-attorney, J. Michael Saunders, obtained a July 5, 2023, search and seizure Order from the Supreme Court to “recover merchandise” allegedly retained by Mr Hepburn and Mr Elias. The Order was executed just one day later against locations allegedly operated by the duo, including Solitaire Jewellery.

Further searches were conducted on August 10, 2023. Mr Hepburn, in a July 21, 2023, affidavit asserted that he was a part-owner of Solitaire, “and it appears that he and Mr Elias were involved in retailing jewellery on their own behalf fromthosepremises”.

“The ownership of Solitaire is somewhat obscure, but it appears from affidavit evidence that the shares in the company were beneficially purchased by a company called AMAKK Investments in July 2021, and that Mr Hepburn and Mr Daryanani styled

themselves as the ‘beneficial owners and operators’ of Solitaire,” Justice Klein wrote.

“ Further, it appears that there was a memorandum of agreement executed between Solitaire and Michael Hepburn and Company with Sovereign (Mr Daryanani’s company) for the retail of jewellery throughSovereign.”

He added: “As it turned out, the searches yielded many items of jewellery and thousands of boxes of souvenir goods. The ownership of some of the merchandise was disputed, and those goodstowhichMrEliaswas able to establish ownership based on clear documentary evidence were returned to him by the claimant’s attorney and independent attorney appointed by the court to supervise the seizure order, following an inventory of the items conductedbytheparties.

“Perhaps not surprisingly, a significant amount of the recovered items did belong to the claimant. Several items, whose ownership could not be conclusively determined during the inventories, were marked as disputed and secured in a storage facility under the authority of the independent attorney. Mr Elias now alleges that there are four diamonds among the disputed goods that belong to him, hence the claim for theirreturn.” Justice Klein said the first two receiver-managers for Treasure Bahamas, Mr Hepburn and Mr Simms, resigned in February 2024 to be replaced by Edward Rolle, one of their employees. The receivership was ultimately terminated by Supreme Court Order on October27,2024.

“Under a settlement agreement with the estate of the first defendant (Mr Griffin), details of which werenotdisclosed,thebusinesses were turned over to Jitendar Keswani, as attorney for Satish Daryanani, who continued to operate the businesses (or some of them),”thejudgeadded.Mr Saunders was released from hispowerofattorneyforMr Daryananitobereplacedby MrKeswani.

Justice Klein noted how the latter, “who initially resisted the claim that monies were owing under the retail agreement, did an about-face and asserted in a

“This direct engagement is a cornerstone of our economic development strategy, creating tangible benefits for the Freeport community.” The GBPA reiterated that its presence atSourceDirectresultedin numerousnewconnections, friendships and networks that are expected to translateintolong-termstrategic partnerships.

“Being able to work with a team that brings unique products to the exchange is a part of what makes our jobsoenjoyable.Ilookforward to continued unique productscomingfromWinterbotham and our other sponsormembers.” The Winterbotham Trust Company was the BISX sponsor member that brought the Funds to the exchange. Exmer Partners is the investment manager, and The Winterbotham Trust Company has been appointed to serve as the administratorofthefund.

lateraffidavitthatinfactthe first-nameddefendantswere indebted to the claimant for over$33m”underMrDaryanani’sinitialaction.

Turning to Mr Elias’ claim that the four disputed diamonds belong to him, Justice Klein noted the discrepancies between the sales invoices submitted to Treasure Bahamas and its affiliates for their purchase and the valuations supplied toCustoms.

“There is a significant disparity in the prices listed in the sales invoices and those presented for Customs. However, based on the earlier litigation and the allegations levelled there, it is safe to assume that the diamonds were probably undervalued for Customs purposes,”thejudgesaid.

“For example, the 1.51 carat diamond, valued at $5,617 in the sales invoice, was listed for $770.72 in the invoice presented to Customs - a fraction of the real value of the diamond. As alluded to, similar allegations of attempts to defraud Customssurfacedduringthe earlier proceedings between theparties.

“But this observation does not go to the ownership of the items, although it may be a red flag for the Customs authorities, who maywishtopaygreatervigilance with respect to these kindsofimports.”

And, detailing other concerns, Justice Klein added: “There was also the assertion, from one of the joint receiver-managers (Mr Simms), that the second defendant [Mr Elias] removed jewellery items valued at $685,272 during January 2022 from the Parklane Marina VillageandParkeLux(stores), which were part of the inventory of the claimant, andwhichthejointreceivermanagers were indicating had to be factored into the goodsreturned.

“It will be recalled that the Customs invoice for two of the diamonds was from Sovereign to Parklane, so it is possible that goods from Parklane ended up in Solitaire.” Justice Klein ruled that, based on the evidence, “it is more likely than not” that the disputed diamonds belong to Mr Daryanani ratherthanMrElias.

Dismissing the latter’s claim, he ordered that the diamonds be handed to the former’sagent,MrKeswani.

‘UNBEARABLE’ POWER OUTAGES FORCE ABACO STORE’S CLOSURE

By FAY SIMMONS

AN ABACO convenience store owner yesterday said “unbearable” power outages forced her to close earlyovertheweekend.

Ms McIntosh, proprietor of Five Star Convenience Store, told Tribune Business that the island has been plagued with ongoing power failures since Hurricane Dorian in 2019. However, she said the outages have been more frequent during the past weeks.

“The electricity was off on the entire weekend but we’ve been having issues with the light for a while now, ever since Dorian to behonest,butthisweekend was unbearable,” said Ms McIntosh.

“I was open for a while butwehadtoclosebecause

it was just too hot. They had to keep the door open and, even with that, it was just too much, so we had to close up because we had no idea when or if the electricitywouldturnbackon.”

Ms McIntosh said her business, which has been open at its current Spring City location for a year, has seen a steady increase in electricitybillsalthoughshe hasemployedenergysaving techniques.

“I’ve been at this current location for a year and my bill has just been going up. First it was $200, then $300, now it’s over $700 a month. I’ve been very mindful of my consumption; I pull out plugs when things aren’t in use but the bill keeps rising,”saidMsMcIntosh.

“Ididseeadecreaseafter thePrimeMinistersaidbills were going down, but that didn’tlastlong.Nowthebill is right back up. I’m convinced they don’t read the meter,theyjustestimate.”

Kelly Pinder, manager of Cherokee Food Fair, said whileherstoredidnotclose as a result of the weekend outages it has been incurring additional costs due to operating a diesel generator. She said the area has been dealing with both water and electricity outages since Hurricane Dorian, and the weekend’s power outage was “nothing unusual”.

“It costs us a lot of extra money on diesel every monthtohavetoconstantly run a generator. It really adds up. We’ve been dealing with this, I’d say, since Dorian.Itseemslikethere’s justtoomuchloadandthey haven’t been able to keep up with the demand,” said MsPinder.

On Sunday, BPL said power was restored to 80 percentoftheareasaffected by the recent power outages. Pledging that restoring service reliability in Abaco is its “highest

priority”, it added that one of the offline engines is awaitingareplacementpart from Brazil while the other is undergoing “a major overhaul” to leave just two of its four Wilson City units operational.

The plant normally has a 51.2 MW peak load generation capacity, but BPL said in a statement: “On Friday, August 8, inclement weather caused an interruption to parts of Central Abaco at 7.50am. Power was restored within 35 minutes.

“The following afternoon, on Saturday, August 9, a fault on one of our primarygeneratingunitsatthe Wilson City power station reduced available generationby3–4MW,resultingin a series of short load-sheddingrotations.

“Crewsimmediatelyinitiated repairs, a process that involves engine cooldown, inspection, disassembly, bearing replacement and

gradual load testing. By 10amonSunday,August10, power had been restored to 80percentofaffectedareas, with final restoration completed in Dundas Town at 1.15pm.”

As for the two offline Wilson City engines, BPL added that one needs to replace “a failed lube oil heat exchanger, with the replacement part en route from Brazil. Once received, [it] is expected to return to service within ten days”.

As for the other, “a major overhaul is in progress and isexpectedtobecompleted bymid-September2025”.

Acknowledging that key repairs have been delayed, BPL blamed this on Hurricane Dorian, COVID-related supply chain challenges and “the age of the Wilson City plant”. It added: “Despite these obstacles, we are makingeveryefforttocomplete repairs in the shortest possibletime.”

NURSES CONCERNED OVER SENIOR STAFF PROMOTIONS

By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter

NURSES were yesterday said to be hoping for an easier path forward as some still await outstandingpromotionsandmileage allowancepayments.

Muriel Lightbourn, the Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) president , said that while some promotions have been granted, senior nurses are still awaiting confirmation in their positions. Pointing specifically to the acting director of nursing, who she considers a “CEO of an organisation”, she added that some senior nurses are feeling “disheartened” that they have not yet received their promotions.

“I’m just thankful that while the promotions were a major issue, we would have already gotten 100-plus promotions,” Ms Lightbourn said. “It’s just these, I think it’s 24 promotions for Department of Public Health that is left outstanding. The main reason I’m so concerned about that is because that’s the promotion for the actingdirector.

“The acting director, or the director of nursing, she is what we would call the CEO of an organisation. So for her to be sitting in that place without her

promotion, and still waiting for a promotion for so long, I think it’s rather disrespectful, to me, for her to be sitting there and to be told that ‘your promotion stilloverthere.It’sstillover there.Itcoming.’

“And then to have, like I said, these more senior nurses still waiting for their confirmations and their promotions when the junior nurses are promoted.Asamatteroffact,” Ms Lightbourn added, “her promotion was in from 2021-2022 around there, andthatisstilloutstanding.

“That has not been done yet. I have nurses who are managing clinics and still waiting on their promotion. And it’s been kind of frustrating because they would have their junior, the junior nurses that are under them, they would have received their promotions and they havenotyetreceivedtheirs.

“You have persons who would have worked, and this is primarily in the Department of Public Health, and we’re waiting onpersonsstillwhoworked 41 years and still waiting on their promotion as well. And so it’s rather difficult. And you’re looking, and you’re searching, and then everybody’s saying to you, it’s over in Public Service and Public Service saying it ain’t reach over there yet. And it’s this back and forth.”

Moving forward, Ms Lightbourn is hoping for a structure where promotions can be given in a timely manner. “I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for the Ministry of Health when we can see practically, must be every year you have the other departments, their promotions just rolling out - almost every year on a regularbasis,”shesaid.

“It seems like it’s so difficult for the Ministry of Health. And then South Beach still have one or two of our nurses who are still waiting on their appointment letters. They would have mentioned that there was some persons needing their vetting. Well, from my understanding they would have gotten their vetting, but they’re still waiting on these appointment letters to still be to be appointed intheirposition-appointed and confirmed, actually in their positions. So it’s a tiringbattle.

“And so it’s just, I guess, the same fight over and over.It’skindoflikegetting there. But I would really liketoseeitcometoaplace where we don’t have to be fighting for these things, and that they would just be able to roll out and have a smooth transition and getting these things, So we’ve been [for] too long, fighting thesamefight.”

Ms Lightbourn detailed that a nurse must first be recommended for a promotion. The recommendation goes to the human resource department in the Ministry of Health for the Department of Public Health, and then to the Ministry of Public Service and then to the Public Service Commission. According to Ms Lightbourn, “the commission doesn’t work every day”, which results in a backlog.

“They often say that all the Commission doesn’t work every day,” Ms Lightbourn said. “But my thing is, if you don’t work every day,andyouseethatyou’re having a backlog of work, then increase the time that you work, because if I’m workingtwodaysoutofthe week, I might see that my workload is becoming over extended.

“Then I need to make thedecisiontosay,‘inorder to get this in place, let me come in another day or another two days, and let’s do it.’ You got to be able to make some decision. You can’t just go to sleep and know that you have people ‘s livelihoods on hold for two and three years, and don’t feel no way sorry about it. That’s just me. I don’t understand. But I guessuntilwestarttoreally think or put ourselves in somebody else’s shoes, then maybewe’llbedifferent.”

To ease the burden on Wilson City, BPL said three Caterpillar generation units have been purchased to provide power to the Abaco cays. Installation on Man O’ War Cay began on August 9, and will restart once the weather allows, with Hope Town and GuanaCaytofollow.

“We understand the frustration that comes with power interruptions, and we want our customers to know that restoring and enhancing reliability in Abaco is our highest priority,” said Marvin Green, BPL’s regional manager for the Northern Bahamas. “The steps we are taking now will place Abaco in a much stronger position for consistent, dependable power.”

things,ortheydidn’tsubmit this thing, or the next thing this is missing, and all that stuff,”sheadded.

While frustrated, Ms Lightbourn said: “I don’t feel like a process, such as promotions and appointments, that we should have to go out and say we’ll strikeaboutsomething,and thosekindofthings.”

“I feel like we should have things in place,” she added. “And I’m hoping that with this exercise, and what all we’ve been through, that they could have things in place to say, ‘Well, okay, let’s make sure thesethingsareinplace.’

“One of the things I know they would have said to me was that some persons didn’t submit these things as it pertains to the appointment of some of the new nurses. They were saying that all these questions, didn’t submit these

“So what I would have done, when I met with those nurses, I say to them, you make sure that you put everything that you need together. I would have encouraged them to create aportfolio.Soyouupdateit every time you do a course, you do whatever. You put it in that portfolio. Update yourpolicerecord,passport photos,updatethesethings, sowhensomebodycallyou, you can have these things onhand.

“And so I still think for some of us, while we have some obligation in ensuring that these things are there on our files, you still have instances where people submit the things, and then human resources come back and say: ‘Well, I ain’t see this on your file’ or ‘this ain’tonyourfile’.”

NOTICE

COMMONWEALTHOFTHEBAHAMAS 2025 INTHESUPREMECOURT CLE/QUI/No.00439 Common Law and Equity Division

IN THE MATTER of ALL THAT piece parcel or lot of land No.6, Block 29 situate at Coconut Grove Subdivision and on the eastern side of Sixth Street approximately 250 feet southwards of Palm Tree Avenue at the Central District of the island of New Providence in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and containing 4.985 square feet. AND

IN THE MATTER of the Quieting Titles Act 1959 AND IN THE MATTER of of the Petition of Randy Thomas Lewis and Seanalea Linley Lewis

NOTICE

The Petitioner in this matter claims to be the owner in feesimplepossessionofthetractoflandhereinbefore described and the Petitioner has made an application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas under Section 3 of the Quieting Titles Act 1959 to have his title to the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in the Certificate ofTitle granted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.

Copies of the Plan may be inspected during normal office hours at:

(1) The Registry of the Supreme Court.

(2) The Chambers of the undersigned.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any person having dower or right to dower or an adverse claim or a claim not recognized in the Petition shall before the 4th day of September, A.D.,2025 from the publication of the notice inclusive of the day of such publication file Notice in the Supreme Court in the City of Nassau in the Island of New Providence aforesaid and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned a statement of his or her claim in the prescribed form verified by anAffidavit to be filed therewith. The failure of any such person to file and serve a statement of his or her claim within the time fixed by the Notice aforesaid shall operate as a bar to such claim.

Dated this 7th day of July, A.D., 2025 PYFROM & CO, Chambers No. 259, Shirley Street, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas. Phone: 325-2800 Attorneys for the Petitioner. (2x11 NJ)

BTC subscriber numbers slip during 2025 first half

CARRIER - from page B1

projects started in 2023thereweresomedelaysthat pushed the actual delivery of milestones into the 2024 first quarter, so that quarter had a big bump compared to2023.”

Explaining that international accounting standards allow companies to “book the revenue” once such milestonesarehit,headded that the 2024 first-half was further strengthened by other “large projects” that came through although he did not identify them. Noting that their impact extended into the 2024 second quarter, Mr Bhatti

said these “gave us a great startfortheyear”.

“What we saw was a big lump in the first half of 2024 with rephasing and large projects,” he told Tribune Business. “BTC is evolving from a ‘telco’ to a ‘techco’, and so you’re going to see the evolution of product offerings. You’ll see revenue streams from new sources, and what we started to see in the first of last year with new revenue streamscontinue.

“The underlying organic business is healthy and poised for growth based on those new revenue streams. It will be lumpy behaviour from time to time, but the underlying business is

healthy. The way those project revenues were in there last year was pretty lumpy. There was another lump in thefourthquarter.”

Mr Bhatti said BTC’s performance is “consistent with what you’d expect and what you’re seeing in the industry”. He added that BTC will now start “pulling through new revenue streams related to” the projects and investments undertaken and completed in2024.

Describing 2024 as a “stellar year”, the BTC chief said this will translate into “more durable revenue streams”. He added: “As we deliver on the milestones, the expectation is

they’ll pull through service revenues the following year rather than a one-time thing. What constitutes the top-line will be more durable going forward because ofthat.”

As a private carrier, jointly owned by C&W Communications and the Government, which each hold a 49 percent equity interest, with the 2 percent balance held by the BTC Foundation, BTC is not obligated to release its full financial statements. And Liberty Latin America, in its results announcements, only discloses its subsidiaries’revenuefigures.

MrBhatti,though,voiced optimism that BTC’s topline will translate into improved profitability. “Absolutely,” he replied. “We are consistently leveraging technology and persons to drive desired efficiencies. We’re

building durable top-line revenue streams, and becoming more efficient in theallocationofresources.

“You’ll see OCF (operating cash flow) expansion because we’ll have durable revenue streams growth and further efficiencies and controls. You’re going to see operating cash flow expansion.”

Liberty Latin America’s results, meanwhile, did disclose that 91 percent of the $32m cash deployed for financing activities during the 2025 first-half was to cover “$29m in distributions to a non-controlling interest in C&W Bahamas” - meaning dividend paymentstotheGovernment.

Elsewhere, BTC saw mobile subscribers decline by a total 1,000 during the 2025 second quarter, losing 700 pre-paid and 300 postpaid clients. The carrier’s total mobile subscribers

stood at 157,800 as at endJune 2025, consisting of 132,900 pre-paid and 24,900 post-paidcustomers.

BTC also lost 1,100 revenue generating units (RGUs) or fixed-line customers during the 2025 second quarter. These included 800 fixedline phone subscribers, 100 Internet customers and 200 TV clients. All told, its fixed-line relationships declined by 700 - a number that is different from the RGUs, as some persons took more than one service fromBTC.

As at end-June 2025, BTC’s network infrastructure passed 125,700 homes in The Bahamas. Revenue generating units numbered 64,100, and included 29,700 phone; 26,600 Internet; and 7,800 TV subscribers. Fixed-line relationships numbered30,800.

disciplinarycommitteesand licensing. I think it’s going to be extremely beneficial for the country overall and theconsumer.

“If you are a middle income person, and have spent your life savings and taken out loans, and have professional architects and engineers to design your home, the big unknown is who is qualified and certified to actually build it?”

Mr Myers asked. “There’s no licensing. It’s a free for all.

“The consumer is subject to a whole plethora of standards, cost, quality and warranty concerns that could very well be dealt

with by licensing contractors. Until we get that Act fully in place, and all the bits and pieces of it, you’re notgoingtoeliminatethose concernsandthreats.”

While this was “the primary concern”, Mr Myers said that without a regime that licences and certifies contractors according to their ability, developers and investors - especially foreign ones - have no idea who can competently execute their projects and are likely to resort to handing the work to overseas contractors.

“Having licensed contractors raises the quality of contractors overall and over time,” he added, “and allows the Government to

provide specifics, in terms of FDI, on licensed and certified contractors. That doesn’t mean general contractors, it doesn’t mean everybody, but it’s the landscaper, the plumber, the electrician, the sheet rock guy, the tile guy; all these trades will fall under the Act.

“Each discipline requires licensing and certification. It’s up to the Government and the industry to clean it up. The only people that will be opposed to the Act coming into place are probably people who have no business being in the construction industry in the first place. They are the ones muddying the waters fortheothergoodpeople.”

The Board’s role is to oversee the licensing and registration of Bahamian contractors and construction trades persons according to their abilities and the scale of projects and work they are able to perform. It would also enforce the Construction Contractors Act, which was passed into law almost a decade ago in 2016, imposing penalties and sanctions on those found guilty of misconduct and defective work.

However, the Act itself has never been enforced duetothefailuretoappoint the Board. This has left construction as the last major Bahamian profession without self-regulatory powers,butLeonardSands, the current BCA president, said Philip Davis KC has promised to finally appoint theBoardimminently.

The BCA chief told Tribune Business last week that the licensing and selfregulatory system ushered in by the Board’s approval should eventually result in increased business for Bahamian contractors as developers - both local and foreign - will know which companies and individuals can perform certain jobs competently based on the scale and type of work they arecertifiedfor.

“I would go on record as saying this is going to really break open the industry in a way we cannot even comprehend,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business. “We’ve said before that there are hundreds of millions, possibly billions of dollars, of investment that want to come to The Bahamas but because we don’t have licensed contractors it stays offshore.

“I think with licensed contractors becoming a reality, I think the construction industry in this country can surpass $2bn a year. I think that is not unrealistic - in excess of $2bn. We’re right now, I think, at $1.1bnto$1.2bn.”Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) data showed the combined value of total construction starts hit $212.105mforthe2023fullyear, with new construction permitsat$915.566m.

Mr Sands reiterated that construction industry output, which the BNSI said expanded by 19 percent or $146m in 2024 to $768m, will increase further because the new contractor licensing regime will give investors confidence that Bahamian firms can perform the work. As a result, local contractors will be placed on a competitive ‘level playing field’ with foreign rivals in battling for FDIprojectwork.

“Now we’re going to go toe-to-toe with

everyone,” the BCA president said. “No longer will someone have an unfair advantageoveraBahamian contractor. It gives them a realfightingchancetofairly and properly participate in the work that happens in this country; not just some ofitbutallofit.

“I think consumers are also finally going to get a better product for the moneytheyspend.Theyare going to have the benefit of having more trained individuals offering contractor services, and hopefully persons who should not be engaged in offering construction services to the public will have a more difficulttimetodoso.”

However, Mr Sands said self-regulation will take time to implement due to the ‘grandfathering in’ period for existing contractors and trades persons to become licensed and registered under the new system introducedbytheBoard. The initial “grandfathering” period expired two years after the Act was passedin2016,whichwould have been 2018. This now has to be reset, with the two-year period set to start in 2026 and run until 2028, theBCApresidentadded.

“The Prime Minister did indicate that has to go back before Parliament for them to amend the timeline for grandfatheringexistingcontractors,” Mr Sands added. “It would have ended in 2018. It now has to start from2026throughto2028.

“That’s going to be the new two-year period. The effective date will be when they announce the Board. It will be two years, 2026 through to 2028. That’s not abigthing.ThePrimeMinister reached out to have this meeting and share this information. I certainly believe it will happen in the timelinehesaiditwill.”

Gov’t rejected St George’s proposal for the mainland

GRID - from page B1

especially the hotel owners,”MrPindersaid.

“About maybe eight or nine of them came down at least twice and had meetings with us. But that all depended on the Government or URCA allowing that to happen. Of course we’d gladly sell energy to anyone that wants to buy.

But URCA is the regulatory commission in The Bahamas, and they would have to decide if that’s goingtohappen.

“We’re willing to do our part. And if it can be resurrected to be brought back... I’m an optimist. I’m a firm believer that anything can be done if you want to do it. It can be done. And like I said, the Government will havetogetonboard.

A two to three years minimum completion was estimatedifStGeorge’swas to be allowed to carry out this plans. Pointing to their initial strategy developed years ago, Mr Pinder said fundingwouldbeneeded.

“Funding is the key to everything,” he added. “Ourplanwastosellshares. And all of the hotels at that time in Harbour Island, the bighotels,theywerewilling to put money into it to see that it works - you know, to buy shares into it.” Mr Pinder said about five years ago, the Government put out a request for proposal (RFP) in search of a company “to take over either all of Eleuthera or north or justsouth”.

“We offered to them to create a company,” Mr Pinder added. “We would

‘Oppressive’ to let injunction remain

- from page B1

Works building and zoning standards.

He alleged that the project was urgent due to “escalating criminal activity inthearea”involvingunregulated, unlicensed vendors andjetskioperators,adding that the latter in particular have been responsible for the issuance of numerous UStraveladvisoriestotourists. Mr Johnson asserted that the redevelopment was designed to cure these JunkanooBeachills.

Justice Klein, in his verdict, said Mr Holden had applied to the Ministry of Tourism “some time in 2017” for a vendor’s permit to develop and operate Funky Monkey as a bar at Junkanoo Beach. “He was granted permission by the Ministry of Tourism by letter dated January 15, 2018, authorising construction of the development to commence on January 18, 2018,”thejudgeadded.

“The approval was granted on the basis that the necessary permits and approvals from the Ministry of Works and any other governmental authorities had been approved, and the letter recited that an official of Ministry of Tourism ‘confirmed’ that the required documents had beensubmitted....

“The approval letter was promptly rescinded, however, by another e-mail from Ministry of Tourism dated January 17, 2018. It appears that the reason for this was that the building size had a larger footprint than indicated in the drawings for which approval was granted.” Things then got confusing.

“To complicate matters, it appears that the claimant received a further e-mail from a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourismon26January,2018, authorising him to ‘reconvene your construction of which you were approved for by tourism on Junkanoo Beach’,” Justice Klein said. The then-Ministry of Tourism parliamentary secretary would have been Travis Robinson, the ex-Bain and GrantsTownMP.

“This was the somewhat confusedstateastowhether he had been granted ‘permission’ against which the claimant commenced framing up the Bar project on Junkanoo Beach,” Justice Klein said of Mr Holden.”As related below, however, this was only half of the story, as the claimant had applied for but was aware that he had not yet been granted any building permits.

“On 8 February, 2018, an inspector from the Department of Physical Planning of the Ministry of Works visited the site to investigate the construction and a ‘stop order’ was issued and posted at the site pursuant tosection48ofthePlanning andSubdivisionAct2010.

“That section authorises theTownPlanningCommittee(TPC)torequireanyone whoactsincontraventionof section 36 of the Planning and Subdivision Act, which requires a permit for building works, to take action to require the person to cease suchdevelopment,demolish the building or cause alterationstobemade.”

run a cable from our power company across to the mainland, build another, smaller ,power station nearby Apple Hole, put in solar energy there, tie our solarenergyintothat.

“It would be the first grid tie within the country, and then they would allow us to serve all of North Eleuthera. We were offered, in our bid to them, 25 percent. BPL, at the time, would own in it but wouldn’t be able to control it. It would be a company thatwouldbesold.

“For example, the grandmother in Lower Bogue, Eleuthera, who’s got $500. She would be able to buy shares, and it would be sold out in shares and be a cooperative. Our company would own in it and administerit,”hecontinued.

Town Planning Committee the Junkanoo Beach master development plan. He also obtained the injunction from then-Supreme Court justiceThompson.

Mr Holden was ordered onMarch13,2018,to“cease allworkforthwithandawait further instructions from the Department of Physical Planning” on the basis that the project was “being constructed without approval... of the Town Planning Committee”.

“The visit by the Town Planning Committee also determined that the claimant had expanded the footprint of the proposed structure by installing additional poles for a proposed kitchen and bathroom facilities subsequent to the issuance of the stop order,” JusticeKleinwrote.

“This was communicated to the claimant’s then counsel by letter dated 3 August, 2018, and it was also indicated that the Town Planning Committee was awaiting the submissions of a detailed master plan (apparently from Ministry of Tourism/Ministry of Works) before it could make any decisions about theproject.

“By October of 2018, the Ministry of Tourism observed that construction on the site had ceased and the project appeared to be abandoned and was overgrown, while the structure -someofwhichwaspartially hidden by undergrowthposed a hazard to beach goers and passers-by. As a result, the Ministry of Tourism on 31 October, 2018, by e-mail requested the claimant to remove the structure thathadbeenerected.”

This prompted Mr Holden to launch his legal claim on November 1, 2018, which sought a Supreme Court Order requiring the Ministry of Tourism to produceand“deliverup”tothe

However, despite various court dates - including ones for trial - being set, the dispute never moved forward. Asaconsequence,MrJohnson alleged in his affidavit: “Due to the existing court injunction, the Ministry of Tourism is currently unable to proceed with its redevelopment plan for Junkanoo Beach, which is pending approval from the Ministry ofPublicWorks.

“The redevelopment plan includes the construction of new vendor stalls that meet the Ministry of Public Works building standards and zoning requirements. This initiative is considered urgent in light of escalating criminal activity in the area, particularlyinvolvingunregulated local vendors and jet skioperators.

“These incidents have prompted several travel advisories from the US, highlightingsafetyandsecurity concerns for visitors. Thepresenceofunregulated vendors continues to pose risks, which the redevelopmentaimstoeliminate.”

The Government and Ministry of Tourism thus moved to strike out Mr Holden’s action and injunction, while he sought permission from the Supreme Court to amend the claim. Justice Klein agreed with the Government that the claim did not pose any “cause of action” or legal issue to be addressed - it simply demanded that the master plan be disclosed. Thus it did not comply with the prevailing Supreme Court rules.

Asfortheinjunction,Justice Klein ruled it would be “oppressive” to keep it in place because Mr Holden had not tried to move his

“It never got off the ground. The last thing I heard,someoneintheFNM government came back and said, ‘Well, we need to know how you’re planning on financing that.’ I said ‘You’re kidding me, right?’ I said the people of North Eleuthera, that’s how it’s going to be financed. So it never got off the ground. And all of that is possible, but you need a government that’s willing to allow it to happen.”

Mr Pinder said the plans never progressed, adding that St George’s had partners including Korea Electric Power Corporation [KEPCO] “which serves all of the energy to Seoul and all of South Korea”, One Island Energy, Bahamas Energy & Solar [Supplies] “one of the best that The Bahamas has” and Island SiteDevelopment[ISD].”

“To give proper energy, you have to have better than 100 percent back-up,” Mr Pinder said. “In other words, let’s say, if we’re

case forward. And he also said he was “no longer interested in pursuing the development”, representing “a material change in circumstances that would have justifiedthedischargeofthe injunctioninanyevent”.

“The claimant was given initial permission to commence the development, on the ostensible basis that he had obtained the requisite approvals from other government agencies. This was rescinded almost immediately when it became clear that his development exceededthesizewhichwas

consuming three mega watts(MW),weneedbetter thansixMWofenergy.You need at least 10 MW of energyinyourplant.

“Because here’s the scenario. What always happens, and I’ve always seen it, if you have let’s say six generators, and it takes two of them to run your community, you’re always going to have, out of those six, one that’s down, doing repairs or even a total overhaul, because every 15,000 hours you have to rebuild that engine depending on howhardyou’veusedit.

“So you’ll have that engine that’s always there for repairs. And out of those others, you’ll have one that’s down for oil change, one that’s down for just plain normal maintenance. And if you don’t have that, you have a lot of sharing of energy, blackouts. So right now, we have enough to where we could supply us and Harbour Island,yes,noissue.Butwe

agreed, and furthermore thathedidnothavethestatutory approvals required,” JusticeKleinrecalled.

“The net effect of this is that there was no representation on which he could have placed any reliance to commence construction. In this regard, it is clear that only the decision-makers under the relevant legislationareempoweredtogrant the planning or building approvals required, based on statutory conditions. These legal requirements cannot be overridden by

would not have 100 percent back-upafterthat.

“That’s why we proposed to them to lease the propertyinAppleHolefromthe Government, put another sub-station near with generators and solar, because we’re installing, right now, 1,000kilowattsofsolarhere at our power station. So we would have done a grid tie, our power station to that one, to the power station that’s in Hatchet Bay,” Mr Pindersaid.

“That would be BPL’s contribution towards it. And they’d own 25 percent in it but no controlling interest. So we would be getting energy from Hatchet Bay, Apple Hole, St George’s Cay Power, and we would supply all of North Eleuthera including HarbourIsland.Thatwould be the first grid tie in The Bahamas.”

permission from any other personorbody.

“In fact, it is the claimant who seems to have falsely represented to the Ministry of Tourism that he had the necessary permits when he had only made application. Having made the applicationforthepermitsrequired bylaw,itcouldnotseriously be argued by the claimant that he relied on any purported permission given by an official of Ministry of Tourism in the absence of the statutorily required permits.”

US stocks slip as Wall Street braces for an update on inflation

By STAN CHOE APBusinessWriter

U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights on Monday in Wall Street's final moves before an upcoming update on inflation.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.3% after flirting with its all-time high, which was set two weeks ago, earlier in the day. The Dow Jones IndustrialAveragedropped 200 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite shaved 0.3% off its own record.

Thehighlightofthisweek for Wall Street will likely arriveonTuesday,whenthe governmentwillreporthow bad inflation was across the country in July. Economists expect it to show U.S. consumers had to pay prices for groceries, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.8% higher from a year earlier, a slight acceleration from June's 2.7% inflation.

Inflation has remained above 2%, even if it has improved substantially from its peak above 9%

three years ago. And the worry is that President Donald Trump's tariffs couldpushinflationhigher. That in turn is raising fears about a potential, worst-case scenario called "stagflation" where the economy stagnates but inflation remains high. The Federal Reserve has no good tool to fix both at once, and it would need to concentrate on either the job market or inflation first. But helping one of those areas by moving interest rates would likely hurt the other.

A top Fed official, Michelle Bowman, said on Saturday that she believes the job market is the bigger concern. She is still backing three cuts to interest rates by the Fed this year followingthismonth'sstunning, weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market. Trump has also been angrily calling for cuts to interest rates to support theeconomy.

OtherFedofficials,ledby Chair Jerome Powell, have been more hesitant. Powell has said he wants to wait

for more data about how Trump's tariffs are affecting inflation before the Fed makes its next move, and Tuesday's update on the consumer price index may offerabigclueaboutthat.

Strategists at Stifel are warning that stagflation may already be on the way, with spending by U.S. consumers slowing. That in turn could create a reckoning for investors after they sent stock prices soaring to records from their low pointinApril.

"Rate cuts cannot save an overvalued S&P 500," according to the strategists, led by Thomas Carroll and BarryBannister.

One way companies can make their stock prices appear less expensive is to deliverbiggerprofits.

Micron Technology climbed 4.1% after raising its forecasts for profit and revenue in the current quarter,whichwillendlater this month. The maker of memory for computers said it's benefiting from higher pricesforitsproducts.

AMC Entertainment rose3.4%totrimitslossfor

US and China extend trade truce

another 90 days, easing tension between world's largest economies

By PAUL WISEMAN and DIDI TANG AssociatedPress

PRESIDENT Donald Trump extended a trade truce with China for another 90 days Monday, at least delaying once again a dangerous showdown between the world's two biggesteconomies.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he signed the executive

orderfortheextension,and that "all other elements of the Agreement will remain the same." Beijing at the same time also announced the extension of the tariff pause via the official news agencyXinhua. The previous deadline was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Had that happened the U.S. could have ratcheted up taxes on Chinese imports from an already high 30%,

and Beijing could have responded by raising retaliatory levies on U.S. exports toChina.

The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the U.S. companies doing business with China.

the year so far, which came into the day at 26.4%, after reporting better results for the spring than analysts expected. The theater chain said moviegoers paid more for tickets, while also spending more on food and drinks.

TKO Group Holdings climbed 10.2% after reaching a deal to distribute its UFC mixed martial arts matchesontheParamount+ streaming platform. But Paramount Skydance's stockdropped3.7%.

Also on the losing side of Wall Street was C3.ai after the AI application software company warned it may report an operating loss

Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said the extension is "critical" to give the two governments time to negotiate a trade agreement that U.S. businesses hope would improve their market access in China and provide the certainty needed for companies to make medium- and longtermplans.

"Securing an agreement on fentanyl that leads to a reduction in U.S. tariffs and a rollback of China's retaliatory measures is acutely needed to restart U.S. agriculture and energy exports,"Steinsaid.

Reaching a pact with China remains unfinished business for Trump, who

as large as $124.9 million for its first quarter. CEO Thomas Siebel called the first-quarter sales results "completely unacceptable," and its stock tumbled 25.6%. All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.00 points to 6,373.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 200.52 to 43,975.09, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 64.62 to 21,385.40. The price of gold, meanwhile, eased after Trump said he would not place tariffs on the metal. That followed Friday's brouhaha in the gold market after the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seemed to rule that

some kinds of gold bars coming from Switzerland would face a tariff. That in turn caused a disconnect between the prices of gold trading in New York versus in London, but the market hassincecalmed.

GoldforDecemberdelivery settled at $3,404.70 per ounce in New York, down 2.5%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements acrossEuropeandAsia. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.27%, where it waslateFriday.

PRESIDENT DonaldTrumpspeakswithreportersintheJames BradyPressBriefingRoomattheWhiteHouse,Monday,Aug. 11,2025,inWashington.

has already upended the global trading system by slapping double-digit taxes – tariffs – on almost every countryonearth.

The European Union, Japan and other trading partners agreed to lopsided trade deals with Trump, accepting once unthinkably U.S. high tariffs (15% on Japanese and EU imports, for instance) to ward off somethingworse.

Trump's trade policies have turned the United States from one of the most open economies in the world into a protectionist fortress. The average U.S. tariff has gone from around 2.5% at the start of the year to 18.6%, highest since 1933, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University.

But China tested the limits of a U.S. trade policy built around using tariffs as acudgeltobeatconcessions outoftradingpartners.Beijinghadacudgelofitsown: cuttingofforslowingaccess to its rare earths minerals and magnets – used in everything from electric vehiclestojetengines.

InJune,thetwocountries reached an agreement to ease tensions. The United

Alex Brandon/AP

States said it would pull back export restrictions on computer chip technology and ethane, a feedstock in petrochemical production. And China agreed to make iteasierforU.S.firmstoget accesstorareearths.

"The U.S. has realized it does not have the upper hand,'' said Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant U.S. trade representative forChinaaffairs.

In May, the U.S. and China had averted an economic catastrophe by reducing massive tariffs they'd slapped on each other's products, which had reached as high as 145% against China and 125% againsttheU.S. Those triple-digit tariffs threatened to effectively end trade between the United States and China and caused a frightening sell-off in financial markets. In a May meeting in Genevatheyagreedtoback offandkeeptalking:America'stariffswentbackdown to a still-high 30% and China'sto10%.

Having demonstrated their ability to hurt each other, they've been talking eversince.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, JOVAN MOSS of #5 Oahu Avenue, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas intend to change my name to JOVAN JOHNSON. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, CARSON HARCOURT HEPBURN JR. of Grand Bahama intend to change my name to CARSON HARCOURT BROWN JR.. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

JUDGE PARKER

How families reset sleep patterns before school opens

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net

AUGUST isa monthof changefor manyBahamian households. Children are gettingready togo backto school, parentsare shifting from summerschedules, and the days are stilllong and hot. For many families,sleep can beone ofthefirst thingsto suffer.

A lackof goodrest canaffectmood, concentration,and health. It canalso make the firstweeksofschoolmoredifficult for both children and

YOUdid it,you kickedthe habit! (Congratulations,by theway, that shuge, andyou should be so proud!) But now, you may be wondering: Has your risk of lung cancer gone up in smoke, too?

When you quitsmoking, yourrisk oflung cancergoes down,alongwithyourriskfor a varietyof otherconditions. But you’restill atahigher risk than someonewho never smoked.

Pulmonologist Peter Mazzone, MD, MPH, director ofCleveland Clinic’s Lung Cancer ScreeningProgram, explains the riskof lung cancer afteryou’ve quit smoking and how to determine whetheryou should have a lung cancer screening.

Youcan stillgetlung cancer afteryou’ve quit smoking.

“By quitting, youcut your riskofdevelopinglungcancer quiteabit, DrMazzonesays, “but there’s strongevidence to show that your risk will never get tothe point of somebody whodidn’t smoke.

Yourtotal smokingamount is calculatedin pack years, or thenumber ofpacks you smoked perday multipliedby thenumber ofyears thatyou smoked.For example,allof the following examples equate to 20 pack years:

Half a pack of cigarettes a day for 40 years. One packof cigarettesa day for 20 years.

Two packs ofcigarettes a day for 10 years.

Of course,life israrely that straightforward, which means thatpackyearscansometimes bedifficult tocalculate.

Maybeyou quitsmokingfor long stretchesof time,or you ramped up(or down)your number of daily cigarettes throughout the years.

parents. ThreeBahamian parents sharehow theyprepare their households for better sleep as thenew school year approaches. Starting bedtime earlier Karen Rolleis amother of twoprimary schoolchildren. She saidduring thesummer, bedtimeisoftenflexible.Childrenstay uplatewatching movies orplaying, andmornings are not as rushed. But as school approaches, she begins to make gradual changes. “In August, I shift bedtime back alittle ata time,” she says. If mychildrenare going to bed at nine during

Thereare stillquestions you can ask yourself to help you(and yourhealthcareprovider)figure outyouroverall risk of lung cancer.

“The younger you are when you start smoking, the heavier andthe longersomeone smokes, the greatertheir risk is ofgetting lungcancer, Dr Mazzone explains, so the soonerapersonisabletoquit, thebetteroff theyare and the lower their risk will be.” If you’re concernedabout your riskfor lungcancer, schedulea conversationwith a healthcare provider. They ll ask you questions like: How oldwere youwhen you started smoking? How much andhow often did you smoke, on average? How long didyou smoke? Were there periodswhen you quit and then started again?

How long hasit been since you smoked?

The answers to all of these questions contributeto your risk, Dr Mazzone says.

Lung cancer screening is recommended if youmeet all three of the following criteria: you are 50 to80 years old, yousmokedfortheequivalent of 20 or more pack years, and you smoked within the past 15 years.

But manypeople who should bescreened forlung cancer justaren’t havingit done.

Lung cancerscreenings have been standard of care for thateligible groupofpeople for manyyears now,” Dr Mazzonesays. “Yet, the uptake of lung cancer screening is still relatively low.”

Somestudies indicatethat only ten percentto 20 percent of people who are eligible for lungcancerscreeningactually have it done.

“I encourage anyone who is eligible toget screened, Dr

summer,I willmake it8.30 for a few nights, then eight o’clock. By thetime school starts, theirbodies areused to goingto bedearlier, she told Tribune Health. Karen alsoprepares the morningsin advance.She wakesthe childrenearlier each dayso thatthe changeis not sudden. “Ifthey have to wake at 6.30 for school, I start getting themup aroundseven, then6.45,until wereachthe school wake-uptime, she says. Limiting electronics at night Dwight Tayloris afather of

a 13-year-oldin GrandBahama. Hesaid that oneof the biggestchallenges forolder children ismanaging screen time before bed.

“Teenagers love their phones,games,andtelevision, but allthat lightand stimulation keeps their brains awake. Inourhome,thephonesgoon the charger inthe living room bynine o’clock.We donot keeptelevisions inbedrooms.” Instead, Dwightencourages activities thathelp themind slow down. “Wemight play a quiet cardgame, reada book, orjusttalk.Itisalsoaboutset-

ting anexample. Ifmy son seesme scrollingonmy phone untilmidnight, hewill thinkitisfineforhimtoo,” he adds. Creatinga cool,calm space Shanique Pratt,from Andros,isthe motherofasixyear-old. She says the heat in Augustcanmakeithardtofall asleep. Imakesurethebedroomis cool before bedtime. If you do not have airconditioning, use a fanand keepcurtains closed during the day to block heat,” Shanique says. A warm shower beforebed alsohelps the body relax. Shanique also focuses on creating a calming bedtime routine. We read the same story mostnights andI dim thelights about30minutes before sleep.That waymy son’sbodyknows itistimeto rest.

From theparents’ experiences, themost effectiveapproachto helpchildrenwith theirsleepschedulesasschool approachesisamixofgradual schedule changes,reduced

screentime intheevening, and small habits that make the bedroom more comfortable. Adjusting bedtime and wakeup times bya few minutes eachnight helpschildren’s bodies adapt without a shock. Avoidingphones, tablets,and televisionsbefore bedgives the brain time to wind down. Keepingroomscoolandintroducing calmingroutines signals that it istime to rest are whatworks fortheirhousehold.

Shanique addedthat itis worthpayingattentiontowhat children eat anddrink before bed. “Heavymeals, caffeine, or sugary snacks can make it harder tofall asleep.Gentle activities like reading or light conversation canhelp everyone relax.

“Agoodnight’ssleepisone of the bestways to prepare childrenfor learning,focus, andgood behaviorinschool. By making small adjustments in August, familiescan help make thefirst day ofschool a smooth one,and setthe tone for healthy habits all year long.”

The risk of lung cancer – after you quit smoking

Mazzone urges. “Let's make sure you don t haveacancer that could be identified now insteadof waitinguntil ithas progressed.”

There are times when you don t needto meetall three lungcancer screeningcriteria to beeligible fora screening. Tell yourhealthcare provider right away if you experience concerning symptomslike a new, persistentcough, coughing up blood, unexplained shortnessof breathor chest pain, and/or unintentional weight loss.

“Inthese cases,youmay needtestingtoconfirmorrule out thepresence oflung cancer,” Dr Mazzone notes.

Ifyour healthcareprovider recommends yoube screened forlungcancer, lookfora

programme with experts who are experienced in lung cancerevaluation andtreatment and take the time to discussitsrisksandbenefitswith you. Enrollin ahigh-quality programme thatwill take good care of you, he stresses. Why isn’tlung cancer screening recommended for everyone who usedto smoke?Dr Mazonneexplains that for people with a low risk of lungcancer, eventhose whoonce smoked,therisks may outweigh the benefits. Potentialrisks anddownsides ofthe screeninginclude exposureto smallamountsof radiationand thepossibility ofidentifying benign(noncancerous) nodulesin the

lungs, which can cause needless anxiety.

“We always want to be sure that there is a balance that favors benefit from screening over harm,” Dr Mazzone says. If youhave almost no chance of getting lung cancer, then the harms outweigh the benefits. You alsohave to be healthy enough totolerate the evaluation and treatment of any lungnodules orlungcancers that are found during screening. There’s nosurefire wayto keeplungcancer atbay,Dr Mazzone says, but in general, maintainingahealthylifestyle is thought to be one of the bestways tolower yourrisk ofdeveloping it(alongwith manyother conditionsand diseases).

“We always encourage people tobe active, toeat a healthydiet, toavoidoverusingalcohol andso on, he continues. “We believe that leading a good,healthy lifestyle likelyimpacts either people’srisk ofdeveloping lungcanceror theirabilityto have a betteroutcome if they do develop lung cancer.” And remember: By quitting smoking, you’ve already taken one ofthe biggest steps toward staying healthy for the long term. Yourrisk ofdeveloping lung cancergoes downthe further you arefrom having smoked. Dr Mazzone encourages.Every daythatyou live smoke-free takes you one stepfartherfrom yourriskof lung cancer.

By Anand Kumar Professor and Department Head of Psychiatry, University of Illinois Chicago

OVER the pasttwo centuries, vaccines have been critical for preventing infectious diseases.The World HealthOrganizationestimates that vaccinationprevents betweenthreemillionandfive milliondeaths annuallyfrom diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, measles and, morerecently, COVID19. While there haslong been broad scientific consensus that vaccinesprevent ormitigate the spread of infections, there is new research suggestingthat thetherapeutic impact might gobeyond the benefit of preventing infectious diseases.

An April2025 studypublished inthe prominent journal Nature found tantalisingevidence thattheherpes zoster – orshingles – vaccine could lowerthe riskof dementia inthe generalpopulationbyas muchas20percent.

We area teamof physician scientistswith expertiseinthe clinical and basicscience of neurodegenerative disorders and dementia.

We believe thatthis study potentially opens thedoor to other breakthroughsin understanding andtreating dementia and other degenerative disorders of the brain.

A rolefor vaccinesin reducing dementia risk?

Oneofthemajorchallenges researchers facewhen trying tostudythe effectsofvaccines is findingan unvaccinated"control group"forcomparison – a groupthat is similar tothe vaccinegroup inall respects, savefor thefact that theyhaven't receivedthe active vaccine. That's because it's unethical toassign some patients to the control group and deprivethem ofvaccine protectionagainst adisease such as shingles.

The Nature study took advantage of a policy change in Walesthatwent intoeffectin 2013, statingthat peopleborn onorafterSeptember2,1933, wereeligible fortheherpes zoster vaccination forat least a year, while those born beforethat cutoffdate werenot. The vaccine was administered toprevent shingles,apainful condition caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, which can lie dormant in the body andbe reactivatedlater in life.

Theresearchers usedthe policy change as a natural laboratoryofsortstostudythe

Vaccines hold tantalising promise in the fight against dementia

effect ofshingles vaccination onlong-termhealthoutcomes. In a statistically sophisticated analysis of health records, the teamfound thatthevaccine reducedtheprobabilityofgetting dementia by one-fifth overaseven-yearperiod.This meansthat peoplewhoreceivedthe shinglesvaccine wereless likelytodevelop clinical dementia over the seven-year follow-up period, and womenbenefited more than men.

The studydesign allowed researchersto comparetwo groups without actively depriving anyone groupof access to vaccination. The two groups werealso ofcomparable age and had similar medical comorbidities – meaning similar ratesof othermedical conditions suchas diabetesor high blood pressure. Results from thisand other related studies raise the pos-

sibility that vaccines may havea broaderrole inexperimental therapeutics outside the realmof infectiousdiseases. These studiesalso raise provocative questionsabout how vaccineswork andhow our immune systemcan potentially prevent dementia. How vaccines might be protective

One scientific explanation for thereduction ofdementia by the herpes zoster vaccine could be the direct protection against the shingles virus, whichmayplay aroleinexacerbating dementia.

However, there isalso the possibility thatthe vaccine may have conferred protection by activatingthe immune system and providing "trained immunity," in which the immune system is strengthened by repeatedexposure tovaccines or viruses.

Thestudy didnotdifferentiatebetween differenttypes of dementia, such as dementia due to Alzheimer'sdisease or dementia due to stroke. Additionally, researcherscannot draw any definitive conclusionsabout possiblemechanisms for how the vaccines could be protective from an analysis of health records alone.

Thenextstep wouldbea prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study – the "gold standard"for clinicaltrialsin medicine – to directly examine how theherpes zoster vaccine compares with a placebo in their ability to reducetheriskofdementiaover time. Such studies are necessary beforeany vaccines,as well asother potentialtherapies, canbe recommended forroutine clinicaluse inthe prevention of dementia.

Ministry encourages young people to make good decisions

THE Ministry ofHealth and Wellness closed out its IGNITE Youth Forumhostedby theBahamasNational Drug Council(BNDC) by encouragingyoung peopletoremain drug free.

The closing ceremonywas held at the CR Walker SeniorHigh School on Friday, August 1. The Youth Forum,IGNITE which standsforInspiringGrowth,Nurturing Talents&Empowerment,ispartofthe ministry s SummerEmployment ProgrammeheldfromJuly21toAugust1. A total of 36 students participated. Ministerof Healthand WellnessDr Michael Darvillesaid as oneof eight children, hismother workedhard to provide forthem. And, thatthose circumstancesdidnot deterhimfromexcellingin hisstudies, earningscholarshipsthroughout hiseducational journey.

velopedworld, thedeleterious effects ofdementia arenow apparentthroughouttheglobe, aslife expectancyincreasesin many formerly developing countries. Whilethere aredifferent formsof dementiawith varying clinicalmanifestations andunderlying neurobiology, Alzheimer's disease is the most common. Prospective studiesthat specificallytest howgivinga vaccine changes the risk for futuredementia maybenefit from studyingpatient populationswithspecifictypesofdementia becauseeach version of dementia might require distinct treatments. Unfortunately, for the past twoto threedecades,the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease – which positsthat accumulationofa protein called amyloid in the brain contributes to the disorder – dominated thescientific conversation. As a result,mostof theeffortsin the experimental therapeutics of Alzheimer's disease have focused on drugs that lower the levels ofamyloid in the brain.

He urgedstudents to bewary of drugs,toapplythemselvestowhatever they intendto pursue as acareer, and be productive adults.

Tppicsdiscussed were: ‘Decision Making , Ya Drink nor YaThink'n , Communication , TALK DeTruth: Marijuana, Interpersonalrelationships , 'Upin Smoke , Emotions , ‘Bullying’ , ‘Teen Dating’ , ‘Violence’ , ‘Financial Literacy’ ‘Identity’ ‘Digital Wellness , Equality and non-discrimination’, and ‘My Future’ Presenters were: DrNovia CarterLookie, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministryof Healthand Wellness,and DirectorBNDC; anddemandreduction officers Indeira Thompson, Kaylesa Neely, Anishka Turnquest, Natasha Johnson,Carla Deveaux, ShantelLarrimore, CassidyPoitier, Amber Hanna,Trenique Stubbs, Jemina Louis, and Willann Mills.

The challengesof untangling dementia

Dementia isa majornoncommunicable disease that is aleading causeofdeath around the world. A January 2025 study providedupdated figureson lifetime dementia risk across different subsets of the US population. Theresearchers estimate that the lifetime risk of dementiaafter age 55is 42 percent – more thandouble earlier estimates.The dementia risk wasfour percent by age 75, and 20 percent by age85, withthe majorityof risk occurringafter 85.The researchers projectedthat the numberofnew casesofdementia in theUS would double over the next four decades from approximately 514,000 casesin 2020to one million in 2060. Onceconsidered adisease largely confined tothe de-

However, results to date have been modestand disappointing.The tworecentlyapproved amyloid-lowering therapieshave onlyaminimal impactonslowingthedecline, are expensiveand havepotentially serious sideeffects. And no drug currently approved by theFood andDrugAdministrationforclinicalusereverses the cognitive decline. Studies basedon healthrecordssuggest thatpastexposure to viruses increase the riskofdementia,whileroutine vaccines, includingthose against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis,pneumonia,shingles and others, reduce the risk.

Innovationand anopen mind

There is sometimesa tendency among scientiststo cling to older, familiar models of diseaseand areluctanceto move in more unconventional directions.

Yettheprocessofdoingscience hasa way ofteaching researchers like us humility, opening our minds to new information, learningfrom our mistakes and going where that datatakesus inourquestfor effective, lifesaving therapies. Vaccines may beone of thosepathsless traveled.Itis an excitingpossibility that mayopenthe doortoother breakthroughs in understanding andtreating degenerative disorders of the brain. l Originally publishedonwww.theconversation.com

Get set for back to school

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

THE longhot daysof summer arefinally winding down,which meansthathol-

iday-worn parentsare gleefully gettingready tohand theirlittle darlingsoverto their second parents - the teachers. There sjust afewmore weeks to take advantage of

thoselastfew summerdaysmaybea quickvacation,one last beach picnic,or evening chasing fireflies and relaxing on theporch inthe evenings, before life is once again filled with traffic, extra-curricular

activities andthe dreaded tons of nightly homework. But in additionto enjoying thelastfreedays-nowisalso the time tostart prepping for a smooth transition for the school year ahead.

Thisweek, weasked Tribune moms to weigh in on the things that should be done now,to avoidlast-minute panic. “School starts in about two weeks, so it sdefinitely time to actual checkall the emails that havebeen sittingin your inboxunreadfor thepasttwo months. Lastyear, wetotally missed the backto school projectmemoso takeitfrom check that now, get on it now, they have reading list, they aintell youabout,” says Brittany. Arnette reminds other momsthatit istimetobook those appointments for things suchas haircutsandphysicals. “Last year,I hada mom fail, Ikept forgettingto book my daughter s braidappointment and then my braider wasall bookedout,I hadto booksome randoperson,the nightbefore schoolstarted and not only did she do a bad job, but my baby head was so tight, shehad aheadache all thefirst dayof school.So don’t be like me and get it together from now.

Maria alwaystakes the week ahead ofschool off so she can gether crew together. I feel likeeverything you cando togetyour hometogether will help the new year.

Sostart cleaningouttheir rooms. Iguarantee insome random corner you will find a box of pencils, or a notebook, some foldersthat everyone forgot wasthere andthat is one less thing to buy. I like us to go through their rooms and deepclean soit sall niceand freshandthey don t start the year in a confused space.” Justasthe kidsneedtobe prepared, moms say they also need to reset as well.

Thea says: My kidsare still very youngand so they can t get their uniforms ready. Istill needto wash, ironand prep.I amreally good at doingthat on a Sunday. ButI reallyneed to bemoreorganisedformyself, becausea lotof times,their clothes are ready, but I am the one scrambling around ironing for me, making everyone late and then I stressed out thewhole ride to school.SoI needtogo through mywork clothesand clean it out, soI don’t spend ten minutes ironinga shirt only to realise ithas a hole and I have tostart over. So that s areally bigthing that should help our mornings.”

Most moms agree that now is thetime tostart adjusting bedtime and wake up time. Trust me – ifyou don t start now,you willbe sorry,” says Renee.

Zonta Club supporting women through studies

THE Zonta Clubof New Providence (ZCNP)marked thecloseof its2025Workforce Readiness Programme, honouring the latest cohort of women who completed a three-week intensivecourse to sharpentheir edgein the modern workplace. Held at the Bahamas Technical andVocational Institute (BTVI), thegraduation ceremony broughttogether government officials, corporate sponsors, educators, and supporters to recognise the achievements of women. The programmeoffered a comprehensive curriculum that spanneda widerange of skills. Participantshoned their entrepreneurial abilities, mastered resume writing, and cultivated professional work ethics and office decorum. Therewas practicaldigital trainingin theMicrosoft suiteand, goingbeyondthe office,the womendelved

into life skills,including understanding domestic violencelaws, navigatinglegal matterssuch aswills,trusts, and citizenship, and managing personal finances. Health andwellness sessions emphasised self-care and confidence, whilea dream board exerciseinspired participants to envision and strive for their long-term goals.

ZCNP president ACP Janet McKenziesaid: These are not just lessons - they are lifelines.”

Launchedin 2012inpartnershipwith BTVI,Zonta’s Workforce ReadinessProgramme is designedto empower unemployed and underemployed women aged 25 to 40.More than200 women have taken part.

Graduates receivedcertificates ofcompletion during the evening s ceremony, with Yvette Ingraham, the immediate past presidentof Zonta,

presenting several participants withscholarships to pursue further studies at BTVI. The eventalso featured remarks from BTVI vice president Kevin Basden, and atestimonial frompast participant AndreaCarter, whose experiencein theprogramme has had a lasting impact onher professional journey. LatiaDuncombe, Director Generalat theMinistry ofTourism, Investment and Aviation,spoke atthe event.

Chinese AmbassadorYan Jiarong presented a donation on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, one of several organisationsthat helpedmakethe 2025program possible.In addition to theChinese Embassy,corporate entitiessuch as the Templeton Foundation, SummitInsurance Company, Caribbean Bottling, and CIBC offered support.

Backing breastfeeding to boost health

THE Ministryof Health and Wellness said it continues to supportthe Bahamas National Breastfeeding Association (BNBA) as strong advocates of the mostnatural way mothersfeed theiryoung withhealthynutrientsfordevelopment.

According to Minister of Healthand WellnessDrMichael Darville, his ministry s healthpromotion andwellness plan callsfor breastfeeding to be incorporated, anditwill givetheBNBA thestrengthit needstoadvance breastfeeding.

OnFriday, August1,the BNBA held its Big Latch On” ceremony at the Ministry ofHealth andWellness on Meeting Street.

Medical experts say breastfeeding deliversa hopeful future not only for children, but also for societies. Itreduces healthcare costs, boosts cognitive development, strengthens economies, and setschildren up with healthy beginnings.

“Itis importanttothe overall developmentof the

child, beneficial to mothers and thecountry,” added Dr Darville.

Henoted thatbreastmilk wasthestandardbutoverthe years it hasbeen replaced with cow’s milkandother synthetic and processed milk.

“There isnothing better thanbreast milkforthe child,” hestressed. “All mothers must understand that breast milk is the key to development of our children.

Ann MarieDavis, ofthe Officeofthe Spouseofthe PrimeMinister,ingivingher address said she was happy tosupport The Big Latch On, a global movement that celebrates, supports,and normalises breastfeeding.

“Aswegatherinsolidarity with mothersacross TheBahamas, andindeed, around theworld,wearedoingmore thancommemorating anact of nourishment. We are stating a powerful, powerful truth:thatan integralpartof the health of our nation has muchtodowiththehealthof our mothers and children.

WEATHER REPORT

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Writer

Tribune Features

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN author Teri M Bethelis ona missionto change theconversation aroundmenopause withher newbook, UnspokenStorms. Through the fictionalstory of Amanda, theauthor invites readersinto anhonest lookat howthislifestageimpactsnot only womenbut alsotheir marriages and faith journeys. MsBethelwhohadherown misconceptions thatfuelled thebook saidshethought menopause was only something that “older women experienced;it was limited to hot flashes and left as quickly as it came. The reality,shesaid isfarmore complex, andthe impacton relationships can be significant if couplesare unprepared.

UnspokenStorms: AChristianWoman sGuidetoMenopauseand Marriagethatincludes devotional prayer for emotional healing iswhat she calls a heartfeltresource she believes readers can connect to. And given that menopause affectsmillionsofwomen,yet it’srarely talkedabout -especially inChristian circles –shewantedto raisetheconversationthrough afictional

Navigating menopause together

Marriage, faith, and the unspoken storms

story, devotional prayers, and a bonus chapter for husbands. Shesaid thebook opens the door to honest conversations, healing, anddeeper connection in marriage. Without understanding whatmenopauseinvolves,Bethel believes,it isdifficult for eitherpartner to recognise the signs.

“Both partners can misunderstand symptoms andinterpret themas signals.Even before menopause starts, couples should have strong, open communication, and wives should realise that their husbands do notjust wantsex;they need it. There is a caveatin themarriage vows, however, promising in sicknessand in health somen havea responsibility to understand the changes theirwives aregoing through andnot simply abandonshipto hideinanother woman’s cabin.”

Lookingback, shecan identify the early signs. Heavier menstrual cycles, andmoodswings. WhileIdid nothave controloverthe cycle, Ihad to workhard on not being crankywith my family.

ForBethel, menopausehas not shakenher senseof self. “Identity issues did not affect me duringmenopause, butfor Christians,the coreis knowingwho youarein Christ and notletting circumstances define your identity. If He hasyou, thereis noreason tofear anything.Youtrust Himto guideyouthrough every storm.

Preparation, she said is key.

“Become moreinformed. Lacking knowledge puts you ata disadvantage,whether you aresingle ormarried. Communicate openlywith each other. Read books like Unspoken Storms, find mentors, ask questions of trustworthy Believersin your church whohave passed through menopause.Avoid

tainted advicefrom people who do not know any better, like, Chile, letyour husband goget asweetheart’. Recognise that menopause does not affect allwomen inthe same way,butitcanimpactyourrelationship. Consult your healthcare professional or a menopause coach.” On the personal side,Bethel saidher closeness with her husband during this season hasbeen rooted in three habits.

Trust:IfIaskedGod tohelp me,orgive me wisdomto navigatethestorms,Ican trust Him todo so. Talking: maintaining anopen andongoing conversation withmy husbandabout whatI was experiencing. Listening: providing myhusband witha safespacetosharehis concerns withoutme reacting defensively or pushing him away. She alsospeaks to women who may be hesitant toshare what they are going through.

Menopause isnothing to beashamedof,butyoushould not worsenthe situationby speaking infront ofpeople who do not understand what you are goingthrough. There is aright timeand placefor certain conversations,and not everyone is matureenough to handle alltopics. Forthose who are comfortable discussing it, that is great. For thosewhoarenot,read,listen, and seek thehelp you need untilyoufeel readytotalk. When you are,you may find someone you trust enough to speak with,” she toldTribune Woman.

Bahamian named vice president of