02052025 NEWS AND SPORT

POLICE FACING TRIAL ON DEANGELO DEATH

DPP reverses earlier decision not to charge any officers

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff

Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO police officers will face a manslaughter trial for killing Deangelo Evans, 20, in Mason’s Addition in 2018 after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) reversed an earlier decision not to charge any officer in the case. Acting Coroner Kara Turnquest issued documents yesterday transferring Inspector Akeem Wilson’s case to the Supreme Court, where he will be formally arraigned before Senior Justice

Cheryl Grant Thompson on Friday. Wilson’s co-accused, Detective Corporal 3906 Donald Wright, failed to appear in court. Arrest warrants were issued for him and four other officers who failed to appear in court as their cases are also set to proceed to the Supreme Court.

Police Constables 3731 Kevin Greenslade and 3725 Robert Young, who were summoned in connection with the 2019 killing of 21-year-old Shanton Forbes in Yellow Elder Gardens, failed to appear.

MUNROE: GOVT DOES NOT OWE $100M FOR POLICE INSURANCE

By

JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe has dismissed claims that the government owes more than $100m to the Police Staff Association’s (PSA) insurance provider, Colina, and that officers’ medical coverage is at risk. He insisted that coverage remains in effect. Mr Munroe told The Tribune the PSA had neither met with him nor written to him regarding its concerns. He said the association is aware of his open-door policy.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A FAMILY in Abaco is reeling after a mother and daughter died just days apart, leaving loved ones in mourning.

A BOARD member for the company charged with transforming New Providence’s electricity grid last night said “everything is progressing well” amid speculation one of its key partners has halted work. Anthony Ferguson, CFAL principal, refuted suggestions Pike Electrical had initiated a temporary pause as it waits for all necessary agreements to be concluded.

Machanttie Stuart, 59, a mother of five, passed away on January 12 after a battle with illness. Eight days later, her daughter, Stacey Feaster, 41, who had suffered a stroke in 2022, also died. Feaster leaves behind four children.

The Murphy Town Superstars, a Junkanoo group Stuart was involved with, paid tribute to her, saying: “Stacey’s presence in the shack and on parades was larger than life. She will

EARYEL

By

BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SUICIDES increased by 33 percent in 2024, while attempted suicides decreased by 38 percent. According to police statistics released this week, there were eight suicides in 2024, up from six in 2023. Of these, four men and four women committed suicide. There were five incidents in New Providence, two in Grand RISE IN SUICIDES - BUT REDUCTION IN ATTEMPTS

STACEY Feaster and Machanttie Stuart both died just days apart, leaving an Abaco family in mourning.

IDB PRESIDENT TOURS EXUMA

IDB president Ilan Goldfajn toured Exuma yesterday, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper. See BUSINESS for more.

Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr

Munroe: Govt does not owe $100m for police insurance

from page one

His comments followed the circulation of a purported PSA letter detailing grievances over insurance coverage. The letter, dated February 3 and attributed to PSA chairman Ricardo Walkes, alleged that the government owed Colina more than $100m. Mr Walkes claimed the unpaid debt raised serious concerns about officers’ safety and security.

He further claimed that Colina had threatened to cancel policies due to the government’s failure to settle its obligations and noted that the government had previously discontinued insurance coverage for the dependents of new law enforcement officers.

Mr Walkes did not respond to The Tribune’s repeated efforts to reach him yesterday.

In a statement, Mr Munroe said he consulted with Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirkwood Andrews and Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis, who confirmed that the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s medical

insurance remains active.

He stressed that officers and their families continue to be covered and that coverage has not lapsed.

He said Mr Halkitis confirmed the government does not owe Colina over $100m.

“There are no records to support such an assertion, and no evidence has been presented alongside the document to substantiate the claim,” he said. Speaking with The Tribune, Mr Munroe suggested the association avoided direct communication with him because it lacked proof of its claims.

“A lot of people are up to mischief,” he said. Given the potential impact on police morale, Mr Munroe said he had referred the matter to the legal section of his ministry for advice on whether any provisions of the Police Service Act or other relevant laws were broken.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the welfare of law enforcement officers, while encouraging all parties to rely on verified information and open dialogue.

IMMIGRATION OFFENCES UP BY FIVE PERCENT LAST YEAR

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

THE Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) reported a five percent increase in immigrationrelated offences in 2024 compared to 2023, with 101 cases recorded, up from 96 the previous year. Police reported an 83 percent increase in illegal landings, rising from six cases in 2023 to 11 in 2024. Overstaying incidents rose from three cases in 2023 to five in 2024. In contrast,

immigration violations leading to deportation decreased by 28 percent, falling from 78 cases in 2023 to 56 in 2024. Although police statistics reflect an increase in offences, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) reported a 37 percent decline in migrant apprehensions in 2024, with 2,019 interceptions compared to 3,207 in 2023. Defence Force Commodore Raymond King attributed the drop to US immigration policies,

including the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Residency Sponsorship programmes, which provided legal protections to migrants from Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela. Commodore King explained that these policies likely reduced migration pressures by allowing migrants to remain in the US legally, decreasing the number of attempted crossings. However, he cautioned that this trend could reverse if the incoming Trump administration

follows through with plans to rescind these protections. Haitian nationals accounted for the majority of migration activity in 2024, with 875 people intercepted across 11 incidents en route to The Bahamas.

While a general decline in Haitian migration was observed compared to previous years, an uptick in migration towards the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) was noted in late 2024. Cuban migration patterns, on the other hand, showed an increase, with 112 Cuban nationals

intercepted in nine incidents near the Cay Sal Banks. December 2024 and January 2025 saw heightened activity as more individuals attempted to reach Florida. Apprehension figures revealed fluctuating monthly trends throughout 2024. March recorded the highest number of apprehensions, with 516 migrants intercepted, followed by 331 in April. The lowest monthly figure was recorded in July, with only 26 apprehensions. May and December each saw 49

apprehensions. 2024’s apprehension figures remain significantly lower than 2022, which saw 4,313 migrants intercepted — the highest in recent years. Similarly, deportation-related immigration offences have steadily declined, from 114 cases in 2021 to 95 in 2022, and down to 56 in 2024. However, categories such as illegal landings and overstaying have shown periodic increases, underscoring the unpredictable nature of migration patterns.

POLICE FACING TRIAL ON DEANGELO DEATH

from page one

Similarly, Constable 4185 Samuel Ferguson and former officer 4427 Shando King were called to answer for the 2023 killing of 42-year-old Valentino Johnson on Seven Hills Road but did not appear. Their

from page one

Bahama, and one in the Family Islands. There were 50 attempted suicides in 2024, down from 80 in 2023. The majority of these attempts occurred in New Providence, with 36 reported, 13 in Grand

VBIs are also ready. The whereabouts of King, who previously absconded and has had an outstanding arrest warrant since September, remains unknown. He had been on bail for an unrelated attempted murder charge before disappearing last year. Sergeant 2825 Antonio Sweeting, Sergeant 3039 Johnson, and Sergeant 3726 Deangelo Rolle were served VBIs for manslaughter in the fatal 2021 shooting of Azario Major, 31, on Fire Trail Road last year. Their trial is scheduled for June 2026.

Additionally, Constable Dennis Sturrup, charged with manslaughter in the

RISE IN SUICIDES - BUT REDUCTION IN ATTEMPTS

Bahama, and one in the Family Islands.

The Tribune previously reported that the Bahamas Crisis Centre’s hotline saw an increase in calls in 2024 compared to 2023, especially about suicidal thoughts.

Dr Sandra Dean-Patterson, the centre’s director, said

most callers had been people who were experiencing violence in the home or those who were being abused or under a lot of stress and may have suicidal thoughts. She observed that awareness of stress and suicide attempts has grown, influenced by media reports on these issues.

2017 fatal shooting of Gino Finley Jr, 15, during an alleged armed robbery at Seagrapes Plaza, is set to stand trial in May before Justice Grant Thompson. Evans, 20, was killed on May 27, 2018. Officers were responding to an alleged armed robbery. While the officers claimed that Evans was armed, several eyewitnesses said he was not. A Coroner’s Court jury determined in 2023 that Evans’ death was a homicide by manslaughter, one of several such rulings in the last few years that prompted the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the file and decide if criminal charges were warranted against officers. The death of Evans, an avid Junkanooer and a member of the Shell Saxons Superstars, had sparked a firestorm in Mason’s Addition, prompting hundreds to attend a vigil where they mourned him and demanded answers.

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

AS the government moves forward with cannabis reform, critics are questioning why decriminalisation measures have yet to take effect, despite the passage of cannabis legislation.

Marijuana Bahamas president Valentino Elliott raised concerns yesterday over continued arrests for minor possession, arguing that delays in

implementing some provisions suggest authorities are not acting in the spirit of the law. The Cannabis Act establishes a $250 fine for possession of up to 30 grams rather than criminal penalties. However, only the provisions creating the Cannabis Authority have been enacted, meaning arrests for small amounts of cannabis continue. Mr Elliott questioned why law enforcement has not been instructed to stop such arrests.

“I thought it would have taken effect within maybe 30 to 60 days after it was passed. I did not know it was going to take this long,” Mr Elliott said, criticising the government’s phased approach.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder recently confirmed that the Cannabis Authority Board is in place and is finalising regulations, with license applications expected to open by mid-2025.

The Cannabis Act, passed in 2024, legalises medical and religious cannabis

use and outlines six types of business licences. Most licences are restricted to Bahamian citizens or majority Bahamian-owned companies, with fees ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the licence type.

Government officials have not explained why certain elements of the Act, such as decriminalisation, cannot be enforced immediately, regardless of the ongoing work of the Cannabis Authority.

Munroe: Complain to inspectorate if police response is inadequate

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security

Minister Wayne Munroe said people should complain to the Police Complaints Inspectorate if they are unsatisfied with the response of the Complaints and Corruption Branch of the Royal Bahamas Police Force to their complaints.

His comments yesterday came after police statistics for 2024 showed complaints against officers soared by 114 percent last year. There were 315 complaints

compared to 147 complaints in 2023.

Police said 64 civilian complaints remain under investigation, while 43 were closed without further action. Of these, 37 were deemed unfounded, lacked evidence, were unsubstantiated, withdrawn, or resulted in compensation. Six were informally resolved or led to civil action advice, while nine were sent to the deputy commissioner for a police tribunal. Six corruption complaints against officers are under investigation, and four were withdrawn.

Meanwhile, 27 internal

police complaints are still under review. Thirteen cases resulted in discharge, interdiction, or acquittal, while 51 were withdrawn.

One complaint was formally resolved, eight led to compensation or reprimand, and 45 were referred to the police tribunal. One case was closed due to insufficient evidence.

Mr Munroe said when people have complaints involving officers, they should first complain to the Complaints and Corruption Branch of the police force.

“Why? Because they have investigative resources to deal with it,” he said.

“If they bring about a settlement, then fine. If they don’t, then you can complain further.”

The Police Complaints Inspectorate is a civilianled organisation established in 2009 to review the Complaints and Corruption Branch’s actions and investigations. However, the United States has repeatedly highlighted in its annual human rights reports the lack of information about that independent body.

Tanya McCartney, a past chairperson of the Inspectorate, recommended establishing a secretariat,

insisting the current body lacks the operational capacity to fulfil its mandate.

Mr Munroe said he has worked to beef up the Inspectorate’s resources.

“We’ve improved it by giving them clerical and administrative support,” he said.

“They were to look at how things are done in sister countries to potentially see what are more efficient methods, and then it’ll be simply in terms of when they get more requests for oversight and for them to be given the resources they request. The function they have is to audit complaints,

and if somebody actually comes and complains to them about unequal treatment, then they can look at a specific matter.”

Mr Munroe said people can reach the Inspectorate by sending letters through the Ministry of National Security. He said while many people voice concerns on social media, contact the media, or reach out to him directly, few file formal complaints with the Police Complaints Inspectorate. He emphasised that the effectiveness of the system depends on how often it is used.

MBE HONOUR FOR ADINA

Activists: Govt has failed women again

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter

HUMAN Rights Baha-

mas has joined critics in condemning the Davis administration for refusing to pass legislation criminalising marital rape, expressing disappointment over recent comments by Attorney General Ryan Pinder while calling on voters to send a strong message at the polls and beyond.

In a statement yesterday, the local rights watchdog accused the government of bowing to pressure from church groups and a maledominated society, saying it has failed Bahamian women.

“Once again, our leaders have chosen political convenience over moral responsibility,” said Joseph Darville, vice president of Human Rights Bahamas. “I am extremely disappointed — especially those with daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives. Shame on you for prioritising votes over the fundamental rights and dignity of half our population.”

Their comments follow Attorney General Ryan Pinder’s revelation last week that the Davis administration does not expect to introduce the legislation before the end of its term. When asked whether the decision was politically motivated, he suggested that every government dealing with this issue has faced similar concerns.

Attorney and women’s rights advocate Marion Bethel told The Tribune last week that she was incensed by Mr Pinder’s statement, arguing that it reflected a broader disregard for the safety and rights of women in The Bahamas.

‘What message are we sending them now? That it is

acceptable to hurt their mothers, sisters, and partners? That dominance over women is their right?’

not weaken marriage but strengthens it by ensuring that respect, consent, and equality remain at its core.

The group also responded to arguments from some men and religious groups who claim that such laws would “weaponise” sex in marriage, saying that it strongly disagrees.

The group argued that a marital rape law does

Meanwhile, Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas, was blunt in her assessment, accusing the government of siding with rapists rather than protecting survivors. Yesterday, HRB highlighted a 2024 gender-based violence study that revealed one in four women experiences physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. The group questioned how these women must feel, “knowing that the Attorney General has so easily dismissed his government’s promise to implement marital rape” legislation.

TRAGEDY AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DIE DAYS APART

from page one

be missed deeply by our family and many others.”

Before her death, Stuart had been struggling with housing insecurity. She lived in a governmentprovided RV trailer after

Hurricane Dorian and had spoken to The Tribune last August about her difficulties finding permanent housing. She also faced financial hardship while caring for her family, including an older disabled daughter and Feaster, who was in a Grand

“If we cultivate a culture of respect within our marriages, young men will learn to respect women in all aspects of their lives,” HRB added. “What message are we sending them now? That it is acceptable to hurt their mothers, sisters, and partners? That dominance over women is their right? The disturbing rise in genderbased violence shows us exactly where this mindset leads.”

“We know there are many supporters of this law

within the government. We call on them to step up and demand action. If this law is once again pushed aside, we urge women to declare: ‘Enough is enough.’ Let your voices be heard — at the polls and beyond. The time to stand up for women is now.”

The debate over marital rape has long been contentious in The Bahamas, with religious groups exerting significant influence.

In September 2022, the Ministry of Social Services hosted a one-day symposium on the proposed legislation to redefine rape to include acts within

marriage, but the event was dominated by religious leaders who voiced opposition to changing the law, according to Ms Wallace, who described the symposium as an attempt by the government to negotiate women’s rights without including women’s voices. Despite repeated calls from activists and international human rights organisations, progress on advancing the legislation has stalled. Prime Minister Philip Davis has repeatedly said that efforts to criminalise marital rape are not a priority for his administration.

Bahama nursing home.

In a statement yesterday, Patrick J Bethel High School, where Stuart was employed, expressed sadness over her passing and extended condolences to her family. A memorial was held at the school in her honour.

Funeral Service For

Lillian Antionette

Lundy-Rolle, 77

of Emerald Ridge off Soldier Road, New Proviudence, Bahamas who died on Thursday, January 23, 2025 will be held on Thursday, February 6, 2025, 11:00am at Church Of God Of Prophecy, Meadow Street. Offciating will be Senior Pastor Stephen Green assisted by Associate Pastor-Cecil Wenzel Knowles and Bishop Hulan Hanna. Cremation will follow.

Lillian is survived by three daughters: Deborah Rolle, Anishka Beneby and Bonita Rolle; one son: David Rolle; grandchildren: Lekisha Clarke, Evadney Petgrave, Willie Jackson, Keith (Alithia) Beneby, Kendira (Carey) Turnquest; Keora Beneby, Kimal Beneby, Maneisha Culmer, Brittney Rolle, Kameron Rolle, Kovan Fritz, Kramer Casanova-Johnson and Chardonnay Rolle; greatgrandchildren: Que-tell Augustin, Coyotito Greene Jr., Craig Butler, Amara Driver, Brielle McGregor, Annalise Beneby, Carson Beneby, Ben Turnquest, William Turnquest, Kovan Fritz Jr., Eathonn Allen Styles, Kingston Jackson, Covinique Fritz and Telia Lenora Ann Burrows; sisters: Barbara Johnson and Carolyn Knowles; nieces: Annemarie Forbes, LaVerne (Marquista) Thompson, Lisa (Shawn) Saunders, Natalia and Narissa Knowles; nephews: Marvin (Erica) Knowles, Rufus (Johnell) Johnson Jr., Darius and LeWaun Johnson; grand nieces and nephews too numerous to mention; cousins: Andrea Woods and Family, Valeria Walkes and Family, Dorothy Whitlock Family, Yvonne Moncur and Family, Ethel Lundy, Collymore Family, Violet Ellis and Family, Lundy Family, Rolle Family, Johnson Family, Knowles Family, Forbes Family, Saunders Family, Leona Cooper’s Family in Florida, McCartney Family, Patsy Deleveaux’s Family, Kayrina Butler and Family, John McIntosh, Brenda Pickstock, Thompson Family, Debbie Clarke and Family, Margaret Knowles and Family, Jubilee Cathedral Family; extended relative and friends: Keith and Elaine Gomez and Family, Violet Beneby and Family, Raquel Hart and Family, Mary Beneby and Family, Bishop Hulan & Valerie Hanna and Family, Joel and Keitra Hall, Sheila Bain and Family, Paula McGregor and Family, Spacie Butler, Charlotte King, Randol & Barbara Dorsett and Family, Pastor Stephen Greene and the Church of God of Prophecy Meadow Street, Nassau Fellowship Center, E. P. Roberts Primary School, Uriah McPhee Primary School and the medical staff of the Gynecology Ward at Princess Margaret Hospital; other relatives and Friends too numerous to mention.

Viewing will be held in the Legacy Suite of Vaughn O. Jones Memorial Center, Mt. Royal Ave and Talbot Street on Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 5:00pm and on Thursday at the Church from 10:00am to service time.

JOSEPH DARVILLE, of Human Rights Bahamas, and Alicia Wallace, of Equality Bahamas, have criticised the government over its refusal to pass legislation on marital rape.

The Tribune Limited

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

“Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH, Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Publisher/Editor 1919-1972

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RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.

Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Priced out of climate summit

NINE months ahead of this year’s annual UN climate summit, known as COP30, lodging prices in the Brazilian host city of Belem are turning heads — and may soon turn off would-be attendees from the first such meeting in the Amazon rainforest.

With a shortage of housing and high interest, property owners and rental companies are feeling emboldened to charge five-digit rates, even for cramped rooms with shared bathrooms.

On Booking.com, one of the last available hotel rooms listed, a flat apartment, is going $15,266 for one person, up from $158 for the same category currently — a 9,562% increase. A 15-day stay during the conference in November would total $228,992, enough to buy a four-bedroom apartment in one of Belem’s top neighbourhoods.

On Airbnb, a room with a shared bathroom in Ananindeua, a poor city near Belem, is listed at $9,320 per day. A comparable room today could be rented for as little as $11 per day. In more upscale neighborhoods, renting an apartment that accommodates eight people costs up to $446,595 for a twoweek stay.

“This one scared me,” joked local architect and digital influencer Renato Balaguer about a dilapidated apartment listed at $10,000 for an 11-day stay.

“This is like putting gringos in captivity. False imprisonment is a crime!” said Balaguer in a post that went viral.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who champions himself as a protector of the environment, has boasted about hosting the event in the Amazon, which helps regulate the climate by storing large quantities of carbon dioxide, a gas that causes climate change.

This is also a landmark year in the annual process because countries must come forward with updated commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. What’s more, civic groups are particularly interested in attending because Brazil allows for protests and free expression, which are sharply restricted in the previous three host countries: Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Brazil, Latin America’s largest and most populous nation, has hosted other world events, such as the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2014 World Cup, with games played in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Manaus, Belo Horizonte and several other cities. Belem, an Atlantic port city that is on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, doesn’t have the same infrastructure as other big cities, which has led to many questions about its ability to host COP30.

Officials estimate that about 50,000 people will attend the summit, scheduled to take place November 10-21. Last year in Baku, Azerbaijan, the official tally was 54,148. Before that, in Dubai, attendance reached a record 83,884. Neither the federal government nor the Para state government responded to questions about the number of rooms currently available in Belem, a bustling and impoverished metropolis of 2.5 million people and the median income is $920 per month.

Those who booked more than a year in advance secured lower prices, but many of those reservations have already been canceled without explanation — a common practice in the hospitality business ahead of major events. Another issue is the increasing

EDITOR, The Tribune.

prices of accommodations already booked. One European nonprofit reserved a room for $2,000 in December, only to see the price rise to $7,200 two weeks later.

Various groups that often attend the annual summit, including environmental nonprofits, activists, scientists, journalists and businesses, are having to rethink whether they go as the prices rocket up.

“Planning for COP30 in Belem has been challenging due to limited and expensive accommodations, creating barriers for our participation,” said Roberta Alves, deputy director of communications at Mercy Corps. The international humanitarian nonprofit has participated in several COPs, focusing its advocacy on financing a transition to green energy, adapting to climate change impacts and how climate change exacerbates conflict.

“We are awaiting alternative options from the COP30 organisers — critical to ensuring that all voices, especially those from the frontlines of the climate crisis, are included in global conversations,” Alves added.

Owners and property managers offering rentals say the prices are a question of supply and demand, and besides, they also have high costs.

“Just the electricity and water for my house cost 5,000 Brazilian real ($860) per month,” said Gisleno da Silva, who posted the ad for the Ananindeua room for $9,320 per day.

“At this price, I already have someone interested,” he said, while adding he was open to negotiate.

In the face of mounting criticism, the Brazilian government has said it will provide an additional 26,000 bed spaces. Those will include accommodations in docked cruise ships, public schools, new hotels and military facilities. In a social media post published Friday, COP30 organizers said accredited participants would soon be able to book accommodations on an online platform.

“We have observed a disproportionate increase in rental prices, which we attribute to real estate speculation. This should stabilise as the government increases the availability of accommodations,” Valter Correia, the special secretary for the event, said in the statement.

Plenty of advocates are defending Belem, saying its challenges are minor compared to the significance of hosting the most important annual climate meeting in the world’s largest rainforest. In an article published in Valor Economico newspaper in December, environmentalist Priscilla Santos, co-founder of the Amazonians for Climate Network, said criticism of Belem “not only reveals colonialist biases but also undermines an event that could be transformative” for the region. “Everyone wants to ‘save the Amazon,’ but no one wants to discuss it in the territory?”

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Have a cool, fun, interesting, amazing photo? Have it featured here in The Tribune’s picture of the day! Email your high quality image to pictureoftheday@tribunemedia.net

Bureaucracy a hindrance?

ASSORTED personalities in the economic and political spheres have long used banking institutions and entrepreneurial inertia as poster and whipping “boys” as to why there is a stark lack of new entrepreneurs coming on stream and “adequate” funding for such persons. As I trained Economist with a degree from a UK based collage, I beg to differ.

No less a person than the Rt Hon Prime Minister, a former banker with Barclay’s Bank, has postulated that banks and lending institutions may wish to consider liberalising their lend policies to stir business development and growth. Such institutions are in the business of earning the maximum profits for their shareholders and their client bases. They are not in the business of philanthropy. They are anxious to lend out funds to qualified borrowers with adequate security, usually real estate; stocks and bonds.

The real problems are not with the banks and lending institutions, in my considered experience and opinion but rather with the bureaucracy commonly known as the civil service. Politicians come and they go like clockwork. Today they wax eloquently about what should be done with the economy and how more Bahamians should be participating. Once a Bahamian would be entrepreneur applies for government

permits and approvals, that application enters an unfathomable maze of no small proportions and is, more often than not, lost or misplaced within that maze.

A politician may direct a civil servant to facilitate such applications but he/ she cannot simply demand the pace at which such directions are carried out. Civil servants have their prejudices and partisan affiliation. That being said, some applications, depending on the relevant applicant, I suspect, are simply ignored or thrown into the waste basket. Them norm is Not To formally acknowledge an application or to respond on a timely basis. This causes bottle necks and ends up in gross frustration and even abandonment by would be entrepreneurs.

Land it has long been declared is the basis of wealth generation and sustainable economic growth.

In our wonderful nation there are tens of thousands of acres of so called Crown Land, which despite the terminology actually belongs to the unwashed masses but is held “in trust” by the relevant governmental minister, usually the Prime Minister de jour. I personally know of scores of Bahamians who would have applied for the smallest plot of Crown Land either to construct a modest home for himself and family or

to construct a commercial enterprise.

This process in and of itself is fraught with delays; the bamboozle beyond comprehension and could take years and years to successfully conclude, if at all in this life time. This stifles the economy and economic advancement for generations of Bahamians. I know of an elderly Bahamian woman who lives on Crown Land in the Cow Pen Road area. She been in occupation since the 1950s. All of her children, now adults, were born and raised on that property. Yet, almost Five decades later, she’s still awaiting the relevant Crown Grant!! This is dead wrong.

Prime Minister, you wish to empower as many Bahamians as possible through the liberalisation of the granting and sale of Crown Land without all of the red; blue and green tape. Land is the key to wealth generation and the stimulus of the economy generally. The bureaucracy is the biggest Elephant in the room when it comes down to starting or sustaining a viable business. Reshuffle those civil servants, especially the Permanent Secretaries and other Senior Officers who have absolutely no business background and never had to make a payroll in their entire careers. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, February 4, 2025.

Grand Bahama not dying

EDITOR, The Tribune.

OVER the weekend at a Progressive Liberal Party youth conclave on Grand Bahama, Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis stated that the his government is in the final stage of closing a deal with a prospective buyer. In the February 4 edition of The Tribune , it was published that a developer from Miami, Concord Wilshire, with $10 billion in real estate and resort assets, is in talks with the Davis administration to purchase the property on the Lucayan strip. I recall the minister of tourism stating to the press that no further announcements will be made until a deal is finalised. Both the Free National Movement and the PLP have been trying to off-load the Grand Lucayan since 2018.

FABIANO MAISONNAVE

Meanwhile, worried about their reputation, some property managers are distancing themselves from the speculation. In an Instagram video that went viral, Fabrício de Menezes compared the daily rental price of an apartment in Belem, charging $21,800 during COP, to the much lower rates of the iconic Jumeirah Burj Al Arab in Dubai, which markets itself as the world’s only sevenstar hotel. “I hope this is a joke by the owner,” he said. By

Associated Press

For what it’s worth, one can understand why the PM is hesitant to needlessly raise the hopes of Grand Bahamians, especially with a looming general election. It would now appear that the PM was preempted by The Tribune in divulging the name of the potential buyer.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama February 4, 2025.

I WISH to respond a letter to the editor you recently published, which was clearly a shameless political hit piece on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Chester Cooper. First, what speech was that individual watching? Cooper was inspirational and aspirational when speaking at the PLP’s Youth Conclave last week. He was mainly encouraging the youth in attendance to help bring about change and build the future.

He didn’t make any empty promises. And it brought us a good bit of business having the conclave here.

As a Grand Bahamian, it grates me to hear FNMs, who had five representatives from Grand Bahama in the last administration, or anyone for that matter, spout nonsense making GB to the world sound worse than it is for political reasons. I wonder when the last

time that person went to Grand Bahama. We are not wandering destitute and unwashed as the writer suggests. There are legitimate criticisms about the government’s performance as there is still much to be done, but I could not let that writer’s ridiculous embellishment stand. These people make it sound like we are gasping our last breath. We are actually seeing progress in Grand Bahama, even if it is not as fast as we would like. Unemployment in Grand Bahama is now under 10 percent, a far cry from what it was in the hands of the FNM in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. The Ministry of Tourism has said air arrivals are up. There are many people employed at Carnival, which is building the largest cruise destination on Earth in Freeport. Carnival has also contracted dozens of local companies. And there are Bahamians who have already been given stores at Carnival.

Hundreds of people are employed at the shipyard, which is undergoing a massive expansion. The Tribune is reporting that the government is close to sealing the deal with a legitimate buyer for the Grand Lucayan Resort, when the former administration was prepared to give it away. A successful sale would be transformative for Grand Bahama and would mean the world to the Port Lucaya Marketplace. As for their claims of road paving being done in Exuma because an election nears, the simplest of minds can check Cooper’s Facebook page to see that road paving has been going on for several years. These political cronies must stop talking down on Grand Bahama just to score political points. They are hurting our economy for purely political reasons. It is despicable and they should stop.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

A SCENE from the 2025 New Year Junkanoo celebration.

Photo: Taniquia Fowler

BELLA’S KILLER FAILS IN LATEST

BID TO OVERTURN 25-YEAR SENTENCE

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

DARION Smith, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to the 2021 murder of Bella Walker, has failed in his latest attempt to overturn his 25-year prison sentence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, stating there was no basis to revisit the matter. Smith was sentenced to 25 years in January 2023 after accepting a plea deal for the murder of four-year-old Bella Walker.

In October 2024, Smith sought to challenge his conviction, claiming his former lawyer had not properly advised him.

“There is a plea agreement which the intended appellant signed,” the judgement said.

“That is the basis of the sentence imposed by the learned magistrate. In the circumstances, we find no fault with the sentence, so there is no basis for us to re-open this matter. The appellant will serve the sentence which he agreed to.

The extension of time is, therefore, dismissed.”

On November 5, 2021, Smith, 34, beat Bella Walker to death while she was in his custody. Bella, the daughter of Ostonya Walker, was unresponsive when taken to Princess Margaret Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Police said Bella, a resident of Major Subdivision, suffered multiple injuries, with the official cause of death determined to be blunt force trauma. The case sparked national outrage.

ACID ATTACK SUSPECT REMANDED IN CUSTODY

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN was remanded into custody yesterday after being accused of an acid attack in December.

Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley arraigned Elsie Charles McKinney, 34, on charges of attempted murder and dangerous harm.

McKinney is accused of seriously injuring and attempting to kill Marthial

Paul and Melissa Murphy by throwing acid on them on December 21, 2024, in New Providence.

McKinney was not required to enter a plea at this time. She was informed that her case would proceed to the Supreme Court via a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

McKinney will remain in custody at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until her VBI is served on May 1. Alphonso Lewis is representing the accused.

SCOOTER THIEF JAILED

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to 18 months in prison yesterday after admitting to stealing two scooters from a marina on Paradise Island last week.

Senior Magistrate Kendra Kelly arraigned Marvin Pinder, 35, and Dellon Pinder, 47, on three counts of theft and two counts of receiving stolen property.

Runoff needed after tied vote in Eight Mile Rock

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ABOUT 400 eligible West Grand Bahama District voters could return to the polls next week for a runoff local government election for the Eight Mile Rock East Township.

Administrator Leonard Dames said the election will be held on February 11 at the Mt Zion Baptist Church Community Center from 8am to 6pm.

The runoff candidates are Shantell Forbes and Marvette Russell. Of 400 registered voters, 131 persons cast ballots on January 23. Both candidates each received 55 votes.

Ms Russell, a business owner and resident of Pinedale, is running for the second time, while Ms Forbes is a newcomer.

Ms Russell said her goal is to make a difference in her community.

According to Mr Dames, only registered voters in polling division 13 will be eligible to cast their ballots.

Mr Dames said the three additional townships in West Grand Bahama — West End Township, Eight Mile Rock West Township, and Pinder’s Point Township — have already met the required number of elected members.

A total of 12 members will make up the West Grand Bahama District Council. Nine have already been sworn in — some last Thursday in West End Township and others on Monday in Pinder’s Point Township.

Once sworn in, members in each of the four townships must select three

representatives among themselves for the positions of chairman, deputy chairman, and a third representative to serve on the council.

Mr Dames said a swearing-in ceremony will be held on Wednesday for members of the Eight Mile Rock West Township. Once the runoff election winner is determined next week, a swearing-in ceremony will follow for members of the Eight Mile Rock East Township. He also thanked poll workers, police and defence force officers, and all those who contributed to ensuring a smooth electoral process.

Cecil Thompson, consultant for the Parliamentary Registration Department, said the local government elections in Grand Bahama were a

success. “The returning officers, the presiding officer, and their teams did an extraordinary job during the local government election without any significant problems,” he said. Elected in Polling Division 2 at Town Committee members were Constance Hanna and Sasha Williams; In Polling Division 3 were Keisha Adderley; Ericka Hield; Lena Knowles; and Anathasa Sears; In Polling Division 4 - Roy Brown and Shinique Dean; In Polling Division 7 were Kevin Burrows and Lorna Davis; In Polling Division 12 – Sellie Jones and Edmund Russell; In Polling Division 14 – Chinica Alviant; and in Polling Division 10A – Larry Spence Wildgoose.

Marvin reportedly stole two electric scooters and $200 from John Carlisle, William Sisler, and Nicolas Gonzalez at the Hurricane Hole Marina on January 28. The scooters were valued at $990 and $600.

Marvin was the only defendant to plead guilty to the theft charges. The charges against Dellon Pinder were withdrawn.

Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom, the prosecutor, noted that Marvin had prior charges.

BUSINESSMAN ADMITS SELLING LIQUOR WITHOUT A LICENCE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A BUSINESSMAN was fined in court yesterday after admitting to selling liquor at his store without a licence last week.

Senior Magistrate Kendra Kelly arraigned Ernst Jacques, 53, on charges of breaching a business licence.

Jacques was found selling alcohol at his business on January 28, despite only having a licence to sell appliances. Authorities seized 94 cases of assorted alcoholic beverages from the establishment. After pleading guilty, Jacques was fined $2,000 or faced the alternative of a one-month prison sentence. The confiscated items will remain forfeited to the crown.

Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom served as the prosecutor.

MARVETTE RUSSELL, left, and Shantell Forbes.

Working togetherbut doing it better

IN SCHOOL, group work makes an appearance at a particular moment, and it never seems to go away. For some, it seems like a good idea while others are immediately stressed by the mere idea of having to work with peers, some of whom may regularly get significantly better or worse or have certain habits that do or do not bode well for the group. It becomes a norm for students to complain whenever group work is assigned, especially when students do not have the gift of being able to organise themselves into groups. It feels like a setup. For some, it may even seem like the end of the world. A very real outcome — a grade that affects the grade point average — is partly dependent on other people.

Most groups have at least one slacker. This person does very little, if anything at all, knowing that other group members will do whatever it takes to get a passing grade. Sometimes there is one person who is determined to get an A, even if it means they do all of the work themselves. There is often the person who only wants to make the slides, and there are the people who definitely do not want to have

By Alicia Wallace

to present in front of the class. There is work to do, and there is negotiation to do about how that work is done.

When students complain about group work, teachers say some version of, “Well, you’ll have to do it in the real world, so you may as well get used to it now.”

This is one of the ways that we are introduced to collaboration. It is a cold, hard reality, so here you go, and no, there will be no training or discussion on how to approach this new and difficult task now or in the future. Good luck! We need more than luck to survive group work. Collaboration is a practice and a skill that we need to learn. Practice is useful, but there are basic principles that need to be clear in an environment in which team work is required. There need to be explicit discussions on:

Purpose. It is a given that everyone in the team needs

to know what is being done. It is just as important to know the point of the work that everyone will do. What is the expected outcome? What is the change that will take place as a result of this work? Who will experience and benefit from that change?

Motivation. Different from purpose, this is the often elusive why. Sometimes teams clearly state the share motivation for carrying out the work. Often missing is the motivation of each team member. Someone is interesting in learning throughout the process, and someone wants to get a good grade or a raise, someone else wants to leverage the output in a proposal submission for another opportunity. Different people are driven in the same work by different motivations. This can heavily impact the way they go about the work. Values. What do all of

‘When students complain about group work, teachers say some version of, “Well, you’ll have to do it in the real world, so you may as well get used to it now.” This is one of the ways that we are introduced to collaboration. It is a cold, hard reality, so here you go, and no, there will be no training or discussion on how to approach this new and difficult task now or in the future. Good luck!’

the team members believe about the world they are working within? Why are they interested in the problem to which this group work is a response or interruption? What is true, for each person, about working with other people?

Complementarity. A strong team is one that is diverse and has a range of strengths and skills. The team members complement one another, each bringing an element that would not be there without their participation.

Honesty. Being on a team that does not intentionally practice honest is difficult. People need to be able to say when they are struggling, when they have not completed tasks, and when they do not find contributions to be up to par. Silence around mounting problems causes more problems. From the beginning, people who are collaborating need to decide how they will communicate, including tools and frequency. They also need to have a clear way to handle disagreements. This is not the same as “agreeing to disagree” or rushing to a “resolution.”

It means having the ability to state different points of view and full discuss them, where needed, in order to see the weak points in the work being done together and the opportunities to improve.

Valuing contributions. For many, it has become easy to be a cog a wheel, performing necessary functions with little thought in the process or commitment to the outcome. It makes a difference when team members not only value the contributions that others make, but value their own work. It is important to be attentive to the time and effort it takes to complete tasks and to assign value to them. Not only is the final product going to be of value, but all of the inputs have distinct value and stand as evidence of the capabilities of the people who had a part in turning them into the final product.

Roles. To complete the work ahead, what needs to be done? Who is best equipped to do it? Everyone sharing every task generally leads to a messy workspace and a waste of

time. Identify skills and capacity within the team as quickly as possible in order to assign roles. While it may seem unnecessary, it is helpful to have descriptions for each role so everyone is clear on what each person is doing, in addition to their own tasks.

Follow through. One of the most destructive elements in any collaboration is the failure of a team member to follow through on an agreement. Team members need to be able to trust one another. When one person’s part of the work depends on someone else’s there can be significant delays in submitting deliverables when any person does not follow through. Honesty and clear communication are required here, particularly when a team member first starts doubt that they can deliver on time. Everyone needs to know what is happening, what is or may be delayed, and how others can step up to maintain the workflow.

Landscape. Though it is almost always more work, people tend to try to reinvent the wheel. On the other side, there are many people who steal the work of others. Before beginning work, teams need to take a look at the environment in which they are working. Name the thematic areas of the work and identify those that are already in that space. Who has information that may be useful? Who has experiences from which the team can learn? Who can be invited to join the team? Who might serve as advisors? Understand the space and the role of the team in it. We will always need to build, join, and strengthen teams. Working together is a requirement, no matter the field of work or areas of interest. People are stuck in groups they would prefer to leave more often than not, and this is largely because there is no orientation and there are no guidelines for participation in team work. In this case, people do not learn just be doing as much as they develop aversions which lead to starting with lessthan-desirable attitudes. When schools and workplaces refuse to do the work of teaching healthy, useful ways to work in teams, team members need to take the initiative have conversations and set ways of working early in their projects. It is an investment of time and energy that will pay off, over and over again, all throughout the process.

The tech moves forward - but NFL officials still spotting the football

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer

THE NFL will engage its Competition Committee on technology to take virtual line-to-gain measurements next season, but officials will continue to spot the football.

There’s no current technology being considered that would help determine forward progress, which became a point of contention after Josh Allen was stopped short on a sneak on fourthand-1 early in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 32-29 loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game.

The league tested Sony’s Hawk-Eye tracking services for virtual lineto-gain measurements in the preseason and in the background during the regular season. The optimal tracking system notifies officiating instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand.

The key word is after. This technology replaces the chain measurement.

The NFL has long used two bright orange sticks and a chain — the chain gang — to measure for first downs. That method would remain in a backup capacity.

“What this technology cannot do is take the place of the human element in determining where forward

progress ends,” NFL executive Kimberly Fields told The Associated Press on Friday. “There will always be a human official spotting the ball. Once the ball is spotted, then the line-to-gain technology actually does the measurement itself. So I think it’s probably been a point of confusion around what the technology can and can’t do. There will always be a human element because of the forward progress conversation.”

Fields said an average of 12 measurements took place each week during the regular season. The new technology would’ve dropped the time spent to measure from 75 seconds to 35 seconds.

NFL balls have been equipped with Zebra microchips since 2017, powering the NFL’s Next Gen Stats data product. The chips are also affixed to players’ pads. They provide various data and metrics that help clubs, media and fans with player evaluation and analysis of team performance. But these chips can’t determine where a player was tackled, whether a player is down by contact or which team gained possession of a loose ball to the precision necessary for officiating use.

The league also began using boundary line cameras

in Week 5 to assist with replay reviews. The cameras were installed in each of the 30 stadiums along the end line, goal line and sideline. Usage was limited to scores, plays with under two minutes remaining and turnovers. Discussion for expanding

its use to coaches’ challenges and replay assist is ongoing and would have to be approved by the Competition Committee.

Fields said the league also experimented with providing back judges smart watches to assist

with objective information so they can make decisions faster, specifically as it relates to the play clock.

“We want to make the game efficient and more accurate,” Fields said. “The things that we do around technology, if it’s not going to make the process better, if it’s not going to assist our officials, then we shouldn’t be doing it. Everything that we do is going through a rigorous testing process to make sure we are making things easier and more efficient.”

WELCOME TO A FUNHOUSE OF ILLUSIONS

By DAVID FISCHER

Associated Press

ART gallery, science exhibition and 21st century funhouse, Paradox Museum Miami takes guests on a tour through optical illusions and other enigmas geared for the age of Instagram.

The 11,000-square-foot museum, housed in Miami’s trendy Wynwood arts and entertainment district, features more than 70 exhibits that challenge the imagination, executive director Samantha Impellizeri said.

“It ebbs and flows between periods of highly tactile and interactive exhibit pieces and fully immersive photo opportunities where you yourself become the paradox and walk away with some really fun and unique social media content,” Impellizeri said.

Paradox Museum has more than a dozen locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The Miami location, which opened in 2022, was the first in North America, followed by Las Vegas and New Jersey.

“Each paradox is uniquely tied to its community,” Impellizeri said. “So as you walk throughout the experience, you’ll notice different themes and art installations that directly reflect not only Miami but the Wynwood community specifically.”

Many of the exhibits at Paradox Museum harken back to old carnival funhouses, like the mirror maze, the spinning tunnel and the upside-down room. The difference is that Paradox Museum explains the math and science behind each illusion.

“We’re a top field trip destination for pre-K all the way up through college students,” Impellizeri said. “We have a full

curriculum of educational activities to do before, during and after the visit to expand upon that educational scope.”

Like any museum, Paradox Museum plans to update its exhibits to keep visitors coming back.

“We’re not going to be the same space in a year to three years from now,” Impellizeri said. “We’ll be engaging with new technology and layering additional discoveries on top of it.”

Paradox Museum Miami introduced a new Zero Gravity Room this past fall. Guests step into a giant, slowly moving vertical wheel designed to look like the interior of a space station after placing their camera phones on a spinning mount. The spinning camera is synced to the spinning wheel, so the video appears to show the guests walking up the wall and ceiling, like something out of “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Paradox Museum is part of a large trend of immersive art experiences opening all over the world this past decade. Examples include a company called Meow Wolf with several locations in the western United States, as well as an immersive Van Gogh exhibit that has been touring North America, Europe and Asia since 2017. Superblue Miami opened in 2021, featuring interactive and experiential art.

“Immersive experiences around the world are increasing in popularity and popping up more and more,” Impellizeri said.

“And it’s exciting to see that this trend of interactive and immersive experiences taking off that allows guests to become part of the art, part of the installation itself.”

Visitors generally take 60 to 90 minutes to make through way through Paradox Museum. Tickets normally cost $26 for adults and teens and $20 for children.

Facundo Ildarraz, 17, and his family came to Miami from Argentina to catch a cruise and had a few days to check out the city. Ildarraz said his mom found Paradox Museum online, and it turned out to be a great chance to take fun photos with his family.

“I’ve been laughing since I went inside,” Ildarraz said. “It’s really amazing.”

Dennis Speigel, head of a consulting company called International Theme Park Services, Inc, said immersive experiences are a natural progression of location-based entertainment, like go-cart tracks, laser tag, paint ball, indoor skydiving, escape rooms and trampoline parks. They are smaller scale attractions that take visitors a few hours to go through, rather than an all-day activity like visiting an amusement park.

US VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance will attend a two-day high-level summit focusing on artificial intelligence in Paris next week and the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany in his first scheduled trip abroad since taking office.

The AI Action Summit on February 10-11 will gather heads of state and top government officials, CEOs and other people involved in the tech sector, which has been shaken up by galloping advances. The Munich summit is a regular forum for global international security discussions which has taken on new significance amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and other challenges.

The White House confirmed Vance’s travel after a French diplomatic official said he would attend the Paris summit. It will be his first public foray into foreign policy matters since taking office on January 20, as the new Trump administration promises a return to an “America First” agenda.

It comes as the Trump administration weighs whether to sustain US security and economic assistance to Ukraine, how to constrain the burgeoning partnership between Russia and Iran and contain a more assertive China, all while pursuing a protectionist economic policy that threatens tariffs on friends and foes alike.

China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang is among those expected to attend the summit, which will be co-presided by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

KANSAS City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) hits Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game, on Sunday, January 26, in Kansas City, Mo.

Photo: Ashley Landis/AP

TOURISTS kiss as they stand in a rotating capsule that is filmed with a moving cell phone to produce the illusion of zero gravity at Paradox Museum Miami.

Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

The faces from the Amistad who sparked revolution

By KATE MCMAHON Smithsonian Institution

ON THE night of July 1, 1839, 53 enslaved Africans revolted aboard the slaving schooner La Amistad – Spanish for “Friendship” – while they were being shipped to a plantation in Puerto Príncipe, Cuba. Kidnapped and trafficked from modern-day Sierra Leone to Havana on a larger vessel, they had been transferred to the smaller La Amistad to reach Puerto Príncipe.

A 25-year-old man named Sengbe Pieh led the rebels, who suffered ten fatalities in the fray. They still managed to kill the captain, Ramon Ferrer, and take control of the ship, ordering the surviving crew to return them to Sierra Leone. But the crew instead sailed the vessel north, where it was captured in Long Island Sound.

With the rebels detained in Connecticut, their fate would be decided by the state’s legal system.

A remarkable set of 22 drawings reveal the faces of these rebels, providing a rare glimpse into their humanity when they were affirming their right to live free.

I served as the lead historian and researcher for an exhibition where three of these portraits are now on display, “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World,” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In 1808, the United States, along with a host of other countries, banned the participation of its citizens in the transportation of enslaved people from Africa to the Americas. Nonetheless, at least 2.8 million Africans were brought to the Americas between 1808 and 1866, primarily to work on sugar plantations in Brazil and Cuba. Shippers, plantation owners, merchants and crews reaped massive profits.

But historians know very little about the individuals aboard these slave ships. More often than not, their existence was reflected in numbers on ledgers and spreadsheets. Their birth names, birth dates, family histories – anything that would have humanised them – were hard to come by.

Portraits of enslaved people from the 19th century were also unusual. Enslavers often viewed them as mere chattel and

not worth the expense and effort of commissioning a painting. If they did appear in art, it was in the background as loyal servants, helpless victims or stereotypical brutes.

That’s what makes these drawings, created by Connecticut artist William H Townsend during the trial, so remarkable.

Historians don’t know exactly why Townsend decided to draw them, only that he lived locally and sat in the courtroom during the trial.

In 1934, these portraits were donated to Yale University’s Beinecke Library by one of Townsend’s descendants.

While his motivations for drawing these portraits remain unclear, the humanity he depicted is clear. The expressions of his subjects often evoke both their resistance and their desire for freedom.

Fuli, one of several captives who had stolen water on board the vessel and had been ordered flogged by Captain Ferrer during the voyage, gazes at the viewer with a solemn, selfpossessed air. It’s easy to imagine him as a leader steeled by all the suffering he experienced over the course of his journey.

Marqu – or Margru –was one of the three young girls who were aboard the Amistad.

In her portrait, she gently smiles – a glint of a personality that’s persevered

despite the trauma of the voyage and her time spent in prison awaiting trial. Grabo – or Grabeau –was second-in-command to Pieh in the revolt. He was a rice planter and was married at the time of his capture, and was enslaved to repay a debt his family owed. In his portrait, he gazes with his eyebrows raised – inquisitive, proud and at ease.

Despite their different facial expressions, the three appear to be united in their collective determination to be agents in their own liberation. In Pieh’s words: “Brothers, we have done that which we purposed. … I am resolved it is better to die than to be a white man’s slave.”

The lawyers hired by abolitionists to represent the 53 surviving rebels – Roger S Baldwin, Theodore Sedgwick and Seth Staples – argued that they rebelled because “each of them are natives of Africa and were born free, and ever since have been and still of right are and ought to be free and not slaves.”

Eventually, the case made it to the US Supreme Court. The court found that because the captives aboard the Amistad were free at the time of their capture in Long Island, they could not be considered property of Spain. The verdict became a landmark case for litigating the illegal slave trade, which continued to expand over the next two decades until finally ending in the 1860s.

The Amistad rebels inspired other captives: In 1841, as the American ship Creole traveled between Richmond, Virginia, and New Orleans, those on board revolted, wresting control of the ship and sailing it to The Bahamas, where they eventually gained their freedom.

These portraits, like the testimony in court and the revolt onboard the Amistad, bring the massive, messy, contested story of slavery down to the scale of individual humans.

Their visages call upon present and future generations to collectively imagine not only the horrors of the slave trade, but also the power of individual dignity and collective resistance.

They light the darkness – in the 1840s and in the world today.

PORTRAITS by William H Townsend of Grabo, second in command of the rebels aboard the Amistad, left, and Fuli.

MARQU , drawn by William H Townsend, was one of three enslaved girls aboard the Amistad

TRUMP WON’T RULE OUT DEPLOYING US TROOPS TO SUPPORT REBUILDING GAZA

WASHINGTON Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the US take “ownership” in redeveloping the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.

Trump’s brazen proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

The provocative comments came as talks are ramping up this week with the promise of surging humanitarian aid and reconstruction supplies to help the people of Gaza recover after more than 15 months of devastating conflict. Now Trump wants to push roughly 1.8 million people to leave the land they have called home and claim it for the US, perhaps with American troops.

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said at an evening news conference with Netanyahu by his side. The president who made his name as a New York real estate developer added: “We’ll make sure that it’s done worldclass. It’ll be wonderful for the people — Palestinians, Palestinians mostly, we’re talking about.”

Trump outlined his thinking as he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where the two leaders also discussed the fragile ceasefire and hostage deal in the IsraeliHamas conflict and shared concerns about Iran.

Trump said the US would redevelop the territory after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and turn the territory into a place where the “world’s people”— including Palestinians — would live. He offered no detail about what authority the US would use to take the land and develop it.

Allies reject the idea Egypt, Jordan and other US allies in the Mideast have cautioned Trump that relocating Palestinians from Gaza would threaten Mideast stability, risk expanding the conflict and undermine a decades-long push by the US and allies for a twostate solution.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a sharply worded reaction to Trump, noting their long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position.” Saudi Arabia has been in negotiations with the US over a deal to diplomatically recognise Israel in exchange for a security pact and other terms.

“The duty of the international community today is to work to alleviate the severe human suffering endured by the Palestinian people, who will remain committed to their land and will not budge from it,” the Saudi statement said.

Still, Trump insists the Palestinians “have no alternative” but to leave the “big pile of rubble” that is Gaza. He spoke out as his top aides stressed that a three-to-five-year timeline for reconstruction of the war-torn territory, as laid out in a temporary truce agreement, is not viable.

Last week, both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah elSissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II dismissed Trump’s calls to resettle Gazans.

But Trump said he believes Egypt and Jordan — as well as other countries, which he did not name — will ultimately agree to take in Palestinians.

“You look over the decades, it’s all death in Gaza,” Trump said. “This has been happening for years. It’s all death. If we can get a

beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.”

Trump also said he isn’t ruling out deploying US troops to support reconstruction of Gaza. He envisions “long-term” US ownership of a redevelopment of the territory.

The president’s proposal was greeted with alarm by Democrats and a measure of skepticism by his Republican allies.

“He’s completely lost it,” said Sen Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “He wants a US invasion of Gaza, which would cost thousands of American lives and set the Middle East on fire for 20 years? It’s sick.”

“We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that,” said Sen Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a Trump ally. “And I think most South Carolinians are probably not excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. I think that might be problematic, but I’ll keep an open mind.”

A fragile ceasefire

The White House’s focus on the future of Gaza comes as the nascent truce between Israel and Hamas hangs in the balance.

Netanyahu is facing competing pressure from his right-wing coalition to end a temporary truce against Hamas militants in Gaza and from war-weary Israelis who want the remaining hostages home and for the 15-month conflict to end.

Trump may be betting he can persuade Egypt and Jordan to come around to accept displaced Palestinians because of the significant aid that the US provides Cairo and Amman. Hard-line right-wing members of Netanyahu’s government have embraced the call to move displaced Palestinians out of Gaza.

“To me, it is unfair to explain to Palestinians that they might be back in five years,” Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, said. “That’s just preposterous.”

Trump also signaled that he may be reconsidering an independent Palestinian state as part of a broader two-state solution to the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict.

“Well, a lot of plans change with time,” he told reporters when asked if he was still committed to a plan like the one he laid out in 2020 that called for a Palestinian state. “A lot of death has occurred since I left and now came back.”

Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington for the first foreign leader visit of Trump’s second term coincides with the prime minister’s popular support sagging.

The prime minister is in the middle of weekslong testimony in an ongoing corruption trial that centers on allegations he exchanged favors with media moguls and wealthy associates. He has decried the accusations and said he is the victim of a “witch hunt”.

Being seen with Trump, who is popular in Israel, could help distract the public from the trial and boost Netanyahu’s standing. “We have the right leader of Israel who’s done a great job,” Trump said of Netanyahu. Netanyahu praised Trump’s leadership in getting the hostage and ceasefire deal. The prime minister also spoke glowingly of Trump thinking outside the box. “You say things others refuse to say. And after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, ‘You know he’s right.’” Hamas in a statement decried Trump’s comments.

“We reject Trump’s statements in which he said that the residents of the Gaza Strip have no choice but to leave, and we consider them a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region,” the group said.

PRESIDENT Donald Trump meets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House yesterday.

PHOTO: Evan Vucci/AP

SPORTS

Four teams advance to BAISS basketball finals

By TENAJH SWEETING

Sports Reporter

Four teams were sent home while the remaining four advanced to the championship round of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) sudden death playoffs yesterday at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

The Charles W Saunders (CWS) Cougars said goodbye to the St Augustine’s College (SAC) Big Red Machine with a 43-36 victory in the junior girls’ division.

The Cougars’ junior boys did not fare as well against the Jordan Prince William (JPW) Falcons in their game.

The Falcons secured a 36-33 win to advance to the championship round.

In the senior girls’ matchup, the defending champions St John’s College (SJC) toppled the Big Red Machine 40-22 for a chance to defend their crown in the division.

The Queen’s College senior boys defeated the Falcons 67-62 to punch their tickets to the finals.

Junior Girls

Last year the St Augustine’s College (SAC) Big Red Machine advanced all the way to the final round of the BAISS junior girls’

championship, this time around the team got eliminated in the sudden death playoffs by the Charles W Saunders Cougars.

Head coach Valerie Nesbitt was pleased to send the Big Red Machine packing in the win-or-go home playoffs.

“It feels good because last time they beat us by one with a couple seconds on the clock so we came prepared. We knew what we needed to do. We weren’t making our shots down in the fourth quarter but we capitalised on our free throws and we played defence,” she said.

CWS were already in the driver’s seat 21-16 at halftime but a strong second half was what they needed to halt the Big Red Machine.

The Cougars got a timely corner three from Laila Lenard who pushed the lead to 28-24 with 45 seconds remaining in the third period.

They opened the fourth quarter leading the contest 29-24.

The Big Red Machine stormed their way back to tie the game at 29 apiece with 5:02 on the clock.

The three ball stopped falling for Charles W Saunders but they made their points count at the charity stripe.

Bahamas Softball Federation moving forward

By BRENT STUBBS

Sports Editor

WITH the change in leadership, the Bahamas Softball Federation is pressing forward to rejuvenate its Family Island Associations and to extend an olive branch to the New Providence Softball Association, according to newly elected president Marvin “Togie” Wood. After the elections on Friday night, Wood said he heard the plea from his fourth vice president Stephvano Bevans, who also serves as the president of the Grand Bahama Softball Association, for more

umpires and coaches’ clinics on the island.

This weekend, Wood said they will be sending Martin “Pork” Burrows, the chief umpire for both baseball and softball in the Bahamas, to Grand Bahama to conduct the first in a series of softball and baseball clinics in Grand Bahama.

“This is a good way to get the ball rolling,” Wood said. “We want the people in Grand Bahama to understand that we heard their cries about umpiring and scoring and on fast pitch when it comes to pitching.

“Our goal is to get every association up and running and we will start in Grand Bahama with this umpire training course with our

BBSF SOFTBALL MEETING

THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation is scheduled to hold a meeting and registration for all teams wishing to participate in the 2025 Softball Classic. The meeting is slated for 6pm Thursday inside the federation’s office upstairs at the Bahamas Baptist College, Jean Street. All teams wishing to participate in the league are requested to be present as the rules and regulations will be discussed. The registration is $200 per team for a roster of 15 players in the co-ed division with no less than five women, who must be on the field at all times.

ANTHAYA CHARLTON NAMED AS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

By TENAJH SWEETING

BAHAMIAN indoor national record holder

Anthaya Charlton soared to new heights at the 2025 Razorback Invitational over the weekend to be named Athlete of the Week by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The weekly honour was well deserved as the University of Florida athlete set a number of new records in the finals of the women’s long jump event at the Randal Tyson Indoor Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The 21-year-old opened her season with a worldleading jump of 6.98m (22’-10 ¾ inches) to set a new personal best, faculty and meet record in the victory. Her winning jump surpassed the previous faculty record of 6.93m set by American Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall in 2021. Additionally, she took down the former world indoor champion’s meet record of 6.76m which was set just last year. If that was not enough, Charlton etched her name in Bahamian history books as the new national record holder in the women’s long jump event (indoors).

The previous national record of 6.82m belonged to Daphne Saunders and was set in Gainesville, Florida on February 26, 1994. The season-opening jump

chief umpire Martin Burrows this weekend. We want anybody interested in umpiring to come out.”

Burrows said he’s looking at starting the clinic around 10am at the Emera Baseball Parlk. “As I told Marvin, the Family Islands have been neglected for too long,” said Burrows, who just held a similar clinic in Eleuthera.

“We have to reach out to them. Abaco will be next. We have to reach out to all of the Family Islands. I can only do my part.”

For his part, Burrows said he hopes the umpires will come out because he’s going to be there to give them the instructions.

By ERIK GARCÍA GUNDERSEN Associated Press

PORTLAND, Oregon

(AP) — Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 20 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers edged the Phoenix Suns 121119 in overtime on Monday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

Deni Avdija scored 24 points for Portland, which also beat Phoenix 127-108 on Saturday night. Toumani Camara made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points. The Blazers had a 120117 lead when Avdija fouled Devin Booker on a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left.

Booker made the first two free throws but missed the third, which Ayton grabbed for his 20th rebound.

“They have to come out. I know there are some interests, but we will have to wait and see,” Burrows summed up. “It’s opened up to everybody, softball and baseball. You can learn to umpire both.”

Once this clinic is completed, Wood said the federation will be reaching out to all of the affiliated islands who play fastpitch to ascertain what is needed and how best they can assist them in getting their programmes up and running.

“We want to get the executive teams for all of these associations and then

SEE PAGE 17

Anfernee Simons had 13 points and 10 assists for Portland. Booker scored 34 points while becoming the franchise’s career scoring leader. Kevin Durant had 27 points for the Suns, and Bradley Beal finished with 25. A layup by Beal cut the Blazers’ lead to 116-115 with 32.6 seconds left in overtime. On Portland’s

MARVIN WOOD

JUMP BALL: The Charles W Saunders Cougars junior boys in action against the Jordan Prince William Falcons, who secured a 36-33 win last night to advance to the championship round of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools sudden death playoffs at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

‘Small Caribbean countries are between a rock and a hard place’

LAST week at the launch of the newly formed Bahamas World Boxing Federation, Vincent Strachan, president of the Boxing Federation of Bahamas, was adamant on why he was sticking with the International Boxing Federation.

In a press release today, Strachan outlined his reasons in full in a report he entitled: “Small Caribbean countries are between a rock and a hard place.”

The IBA and the IOC are playing a high stake poker game, USA and USSR are the major players in the game.

The only thing that the IOC desires is for World Boxing to overtake IBA in numbers, in order to have full control of boxing worldwide.

That is very difficult because IBA is very strong and financially stable.

The financial incentives that IBA is giving to boxers, male and female, are unmatched by any boxing

body in the world. So many, the vast majority of countries are staying or going back to IBA. Its membership is presently at a three to one ratio to World Boxing. World Boxing has already began to negatively affect boxing in our regional countries, that are members of world boxing are told they cannot participate in our very own Caribbean Boxing (CARIFTA) Championships in St Lucia February 27 to March 3. Such a strangle hold creates a further disadvantage for regional boxers. The lack of regular competition is our greatest enemy. World Boxing does not have any development programme and there is no indication when they will introduce one. The vast majority of boxers at home and regionally are not up to Olympic standard. Without regular competition, they would not be able to get through CAC Games.

So, we do not look too promising, without suitable and frequent competitions.

Carl Hield, elite/pro boxer, is proving to the world what regular competition can do for a fighter.

Many who don’t have much or no knowledge of boxing kicked him beyond the curve but he is proving them all wrong.

Personal agendas and lack of support for boxing is negatively affecting boxing at all levels, locally.

Until boxing is given a fair share, to cause it to develop at international competitive levels, the results would remain the same.

Some local coaches are focusing on themselves, then the boxers.

That is wrong and it needs to stop.

The IOC is using choke-neck tactics to help World Boxing increase its membership.

They gave its members, including BOC directives, to discontinue supporting federations that are members of IBA. That is an indication that they don’t have our best interests on their agenda.

Small countries like the Bahamas find itself in a challenging situation.

It was already announced by the president of BOC that they cannot recognise Bahamas Boxing

Federation. He went on to say that the Ministry also doesn’t recognise us, but they recognise their new World Boxing Federation. Well, I have not received any communication from the Ministry in that regard.

I don’t know if Mr. Romell Knowles speaks for the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, but we shall see.

Some athletes in other sports are still benifitting from subvention while boxers are left out in the cold and rain.

It would be interesting to see what happens to amateur/elite boxing in the Bahamas, in terms of financial support, from various sectors in the country.

If there is no sustainable development of boxing locally, competing at the next or later Olympics would only appear to be a dream.

Boxing would be in the next and all other Olympics because it is a major revenue earner for the IOC.

The threat of boxing not being in the next Olympics is a smoke screen. They established World Boxing for the expressed purpose of keeping boxing in the Olympics. Furthermore, the breakaway group who engineered the formation, lost three consecutive times in IBA elections for president.

Realising that Boris van der Vorst of the Netherlands could not defeat former IBA secretary general, now president of IBA Umar Cremlev, of Russia, thus the birth of World boxing Association.

The world is watching what will happen after the new president of IOC takes office.

The president and secretary general of IBA wrote USA President Donald Trump regarding the situation with boxing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The entire world is sitting on their hands to see what, if any, changes would be made.

Bahamas Softball Federation moving forward

FROM PAGE 14

we will put together a conclave that will include all who are involved in softball,” Wood said.

“Once we hear what’s going on in their islands then we will put our plans in place.

“To help start their programmes we will also be giving each association six cases of softballs and two scorebooks to help get their leagues off the ground.

“As you know, softball is a very expensive sport.

One softball is $15. So, anything the federation can do to assist, that is our job to assist the islands to get

up and running, especially New Providence.”

So, as it pertains to the NPSA, who walked out of the BSF’s annual general meeting before the election of officers took place, Wood said they have already reached out to acting president Andy Percentie with an olive branch.

He assured Percentie that his administration would like to meet with his administration to iron out any differences that may have existed with the previous administration.

“This is a new administration and a fairly new board, so you can’t continue to beat us with a switch over

situations that we had no control over,” Wood said.

“I heard the NPSA say they may dismember themselves from the BSF. I would say to them not to cross that road because it’s a very bad road. It doesn’t affect the NPSA, but it would affect the players when it comes to national team selection and team travel.”

As a former national team player in the NPSA, Wood said he was once at that point where he wanted to give up because they felt that softball was just New Providence.

“But softball is bigger than island associations,”

Wood charged. “I would like to really reach out to New Providence and discourage them from crossing that road. We can work things out for whatever it is.

“Our next move now is to avoid them from crossing that road. That is why I reached out to the acting president so that when all heads cool down, we can get the job done.”

Softball, according to Wood, is bigger than all of the executives and associations. He noted that it’s about the players because without them, there will be no executives or associations or federation to govern them.

“When I was playing softball, I said when our team was gone, softball would be mashed up,” said Wood, who played on the perennial kingpins Budweiser Eagles and Truckers softball teams.

“But they continued to play. So, whether you like it or not, these men and women and kids want to play. They will find somewhere to play. That’s our job to have softball played throughout the country.”

Wood said it took him a while to ease up his aggressiveness against the BSF until he got in and realised the work entitled to make softball work.

THREE-TIME CY YOUNG WINNER MAX SCHERZER AND BLUE JAYS FINALISE $15.5 MILLION, 1-YEAR CONTRACT

TORONTO (AP) — Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays finalised a $15.5 million, one-year contract yesterday.

The 40-year-old was limited to nine starts with Texas last year, going 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA. He opened the season on the injured list while recovering from lower back surgery and was on the IL from Aug. 2 to Sept. 13 because of shoulder fatigue. He didn’t pitch after Sept. 14 because of a left hamstring strain.

Scherzer joins a projected rotation that includes Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt. The Blue Jays also have Bowden Francis coming off an impressive rookie season and Yariel Rodríguez, who signed a $32 million, five-year contract last February.

The Blue Jays finished last in the AL East at 74-88 and haven’t won a playoff game since they were eliminated by Cleveland in the 2016 AL Championship Series. They were swept in the wild-card round in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

OKLAHOMA’S PATTY GASSO CHOSEN TO COACH USA SOFTBALL PROGRAMME THROUGH 2028 OLYMPICS

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer

OKLAHOMA’s Patty Gasso has been selected to coach the USA women’s softball team through the 2028 LA Olympics, the national programme announced Monday. Gasso has won eight national championships at Oklahoma, including the past four. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Famer has been involved with the national programme since 2018.

Team USA won gold in 1996, 2000 and 2004, but lost to Japan in the gold medal game in 2008 and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Gasso is excited to face the challenge of getting the programme back to the top.

“It is truly a remarkable moment in my career and a dream come true to be asked to coach Team USA,” Gasso said in a statement.

“This is the highest honour I could ever receive, and I’m humbled by and

thankful for the confidence USA Softball has in me. I have an intense passion to make Team USA the best it can be to help win the gold medal in 2028.” The Olympic softball tournament will be played at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, the site of all of Gasso’s national title wins. She owns a 1,515-352-2 record at Oklahoma. USA Softball CEO Craig Cress and the selection committee believe that success will carry over to the national team.

“Throughout her career, coach Gasso has made a significant impact on the softball community and has greatly contributed to the development of the sport,” Cress said. “We are confident that her skills, knowledge, and experience will enhance our programme, and we look forward to supporting coach Gasso and the Women’s National Team as they strive to represent the United States with pride on the highest stage in the coming years.”

The addition of Scherzer marks a second notable move for Toronto after it finalised a $92.5 million, five-year contract with outfielder Anthony Santander on Jan. 20. Scherzer became a free agent after he completed a $130 million, three-year contract. He agreed to the deal with the New York Mets in November 2021, but he was traded to Texas in July 2023. The right-hander won World Series titles with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023. He won his first Cy Young Award when he went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 32 starts for Detroit in 2013. The eight-time All-Star earned consecutive NL Cy Young Awards with Washington in 2016 and 2017. Scherzer is 216-112 with a 3.16 ERA in 466 games over 17 seasons, including 457 starts. He has 3,407 strikeouts in 2,878 innings. He ranks second among active pitchers in strikeouts, wins and innings, trailing former teammate Justin Verlander in each category. Right-hander Michael Petersen was designated for assignment by Toronto to open a roster spot.

VINCENT STRACHAN

MARTIN BURROWS

TEXAS Rangers starter Max Scherzer delivers a pitch during a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners on September 14, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

AYTON PRODUCES A MONSTER DOUBLE DOUBLE - 25 POINTS AND 20 REBOUNDSIN WIN OVER HIS FORMER TEAM SUNS

FROM PAGE 14

Takeaways Suns: Booker broke Walter Davis’ Suns scoring

CYCLING

TOUR de GRAND

BAHAMA

THE 12th annual Tour de Grand Bahama is shaping up to be an exciting event this weekend with competitors from Canada, New Providence, Turks and Caicos and the United States.

The event is being organised by Grand Bahama Cycling Association (GBCA) and will feature a three stage competition featuring a time trial, criterium and road race sponsored by the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

Cyclists will compete in five categories: Male Open, Masters Open, Women’s Open, U23 Males and Junior.

Kami Roach, the top female cyclist, will be back to defend her title in the Women’s Open category, while it’s expected that Kohath Barron, a cyclist from Dominica, will also return to defend his men’s crown. Former men’s champion, Canadian cyclist Mark Sherboneau, will also be among the field of more than 60 competitors.

Stage one of the championships will be a time trial 7am Saturday at the International Bazaar. It will travel along East Sunrise Highway to the Coral Road roundabout and back to the starting point.

Stage 2 is the criterium race, which consists of several laps around a closed circuit, will lose out day one. And on day two on Sunday at 8am, the cyclists

record of 15,666 points. “The city loves Devin,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of Booker’s connection to the franchise and

will compete in a gruelling 80-mile road race for men; 60 miles for women and 40 miles for the juniors. It will start at the GBPA headquarters in downtown Freeport, go north on East Mall to the Grand Bahama International Airport roundabout, east along Grand Bahama Highway to the Sir Jack Hayward Bridge roundabout, come back along Grand Bahama Highway to East Mall, south to the Ranfurly Circus then along East Sunrise Highway to the Casuarina Bridge and return to the starting point.

CYCLING

NPCA ACTION During the month of February, the New Providence Cycling Association will hold two separate events, Saturday, February 15Cycling Clinic at the Queen Elizabeth Sprots Centre, eastern parking lot next to the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, The event will run from 9-11 am. Refreshments will be provided. Sunday, February 23King of the Hills Cycling Championships, starting 8:30am on Fort Charlotte Hill. The winner will be crowned the King of the Hills for 2025.

Registration forms for this event can be picked up from the Cycles Bike Store or contact the NPCA. The categories include elite men, open women, under-23. male/female, masters’ male over 40 years, masters’ male over 55 years, 15-17 boys and girls, 12-014 boys and girls and 9-11 boys and girls.

BSAA BASKETBALL

THE Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association continued its basketball regular season action on Monday at The Hope Center located University Commons and Bahama Games Boulevard with the following results posted:

Mini Division Kingsway Academy 10 def Teleos Christian 6

Primary Girls Hillcrest Academy 9 def Queen’s College 7. Game

region. Blazers: Winners of eight of nine overall, the Blazers are playing some of their best basketball in several seasons.

MVP was Coliah McQuay from Hillcrest with six points. Ilia Thompson led Queen’s College with three points.

Thelma Gibson Primary School 22 def Queen’s College 8

Primary Boys Kingsway Academy 12 def Hillcrest Academy 9. Game MVP was Yorick Carroll from Kingsway Academy with six points. Jerome Lafleur led Hillcrest with four points.

Queen’s College A 16 def Queen’s College B 4

Senior Boys Teleos Christian School 39 def Akhepran International Academy 9. Game MVP was Nicholas Henfield from Teleos.

Action will continuer daily this week, starting at 4 pm at The Hope Centre.

TRACK RED-LINE ATHLETES’ FIELD EVENT CLASSIC

THE Red-Line Athletics

Track Club has announced plans to host its second annual Field Event Classic. The country’s all field events only meet is scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

The event is set to take place from 9am to 3pm and will be open to competitors from the under-11 to open categories for men and women. All winners will receive crystals and the top three will earn medals. Athletes can register at redlineathletics242@gmail.com or smnbutler@yahoo.com

BBSF SOFTBALL

LEAGUE

THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation will hold its 2025 softball league, starting on Saturday, February 8 at the Charles W Saunders High School, Jean Street.

The co-ed slow pitch league will allow each team up to a total of 15 players with the registration fee of $200. Interested persons can tournament director Thomas Sears at 424-2888 or email 242softball@gmail. com or Brent Stubbs at

Key moment Deandre Ayton went five of six from the line in the final seven seconds of overtime.

426-7265 or emil stubbobs@ gmail.com

TRACK

NPA TRACK CLASSIC

THE Noble Preparatory Academy is all set to hold its 2025 Track and Field Classic on Saturday, March 15 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium from 9am to 6pm. The registration deadline is March 11. Athletes can register at info@npabahamas.com

ROAD RACE

UNCLE LOU FUN

RUN/WALK

THE St Augustine’s College and the Alumni Association is inviting the general public to come out and participate in the Uncle Lou Fun Run/Walk.

Under the theme: “Paint the streets red,” the event will take place on Saturday, March 15, starting 6am at SAC’s campus off Bernard Road. The route will leave SAC’s campus and head on Bernard Road, turn onto Soldier Road to Prince Charles Drive, turn east onto Prince Charles Drive and head back to SAC.

The registration fee is $20 for adults and $10 for persons under the age of 20. The first 200 participants will receive road race t-shirts. Persons can register now by logging onto www. saintaugustinescollege.com

Following the race, a health screening will take place. There will also be a souse out with chicken priced at $10, pig feet at $12 and sheep tongue at $15. Drinks will also be on sale. For more information, persons can call 242-324-1511or email Thesacalumni@gmail.com

TRACK

DLT TRACK CLASSIC

THE Roadrunners Track and Field Club is scheduled to hold its 19th annual Diana Lynn Thompson Track Classic at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Saturday, February 15. The entry deadline is Friday, February 7. Entries can be emailed to roadrunnerstrackclub@ hotmail.com or contact club president and head coach

76ERS SLIP PAST MAVS

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

— Joel Embiid had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first action in a month to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-116 victory last night over the Dallas Mavericks, who fell to 0-2 since trading star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Embiid recorded his first triple-double of an injuryplagued season in which he’s appeared in just 14 games. A left knee injury sidelined the seven-time All-Star for the previous 15 games, and he wore a large brace on the knee. But he looked like his usual self, especially down the stretch. Embiid’s layup with 22 seconds left put Philadelphia ahead by a point. He grabbed a rebound on the Mavericks’ next possession and then defended the final play of the game when Dallas turned it over.

Tyrese Maxey had 33 points and 13 assists for the Sixers.

Kyrie Irving scored 34 points for the Mavs and Naji Marshall added 19.

CELTICS

112, CAVALIERS 105

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20 and Boston showed their championship makeup down the stretch with a win over Cleveland in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

The defending NBA titlists executed in the final minutes and held off the Cavs, who lost for just the fourth time in 28 home games.

Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and Jaylen Brown 16 with nine rebounds as Boston won its fourth straight and improved to 2-1 against Cleveland this season.

Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Darius Garland 25 for the Cavs, who cut a 15-point deficit to four in the fourth quarter.

Dexter Bodie at 434-7706 or 477-1198. The registration fee is $15 per athlete.

BASKETBALL BAISS PLAYOFFS THE Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools is slated to begin their sudden death playoffs today at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Today’s games, seed two vs seed three, starting at 4pm: St Augustine’s College vs Charles W Saunders (Jr Girls)

Jordan Prince Williams vs Charles W Saunders (Junior boys)

St Augustine’s College vs St John’s (Senior girls)

Queen’s College vs Jordan Prince Williams (Senior boys)

Wednesday’s games, seed one vs seed four, starting at 4pm:

St John’s College vs Queen’s College (Junior girls)

St Augustine’s College vs St John’s College (Junior boys)

Kingsway Academy vs Jordan Prince Williams (Senior girls)

St John’s College vs Charles W Saunders (Senior boys)

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

BAHAMAS OPEN HOUSE

SPECIAL Olympics

Bahamas is preparing to hold their open house on Dolphin Drive on February 4, 11, 18 and 25 and everyone is invited to attend any session. Every Tuesday during the month of February, 2025 between the hours of 10am and 3pm, Special Olympics is iinviting the general public along with family and friends to visit our office at #24 Dolphin Drive to view our Wall of Fame. While there, they are asking for guests to sign their Visitor’s Register and leave a phone contact for an opportunity to receive one of their “Special” Red Balls. “Shake hands with our athletes and chat with one of our stars,” said a press release. “Join the Inclusion Revolution today.”

Donations of any amount are welcomed and appreciated during the open house dates.

LOVE AND ROMANCE ROAD RACE AT 6am on Saturday, February 8, Love and Romance will take to the asphalt at our 3rd annual couples, Valentines-themed 5k Fun, Run Walk Push. Hundreds of couplesadorned in their red and white sports outfit - will be running, walking, skating and biking together from Arawak Cay to Go Slow Bend and back. They will traverse along scenic West Bay Street, while being entertained with romantic instrumental music, local artists singing and civic groups cheering them on along the route. They return to the valentine-themed Race Village where they will receive awards, prizes and surprises. For more information, persons are asked to contact Marcel Major at 242-804-8595.

RUGBY SEASON

AFTER making some minor repairs to the Winton rugby pitch, the Bahamas Rugby Union opened its 2025 season on Saturday. The BRU will also play matches on Saturday, February 8, Saturday, February 22, Saturday, March 8 and Saturday, March 22. All ages and all abilities are welcome, including men and women, ‘Golden Oldies’ teams and beginners and seasoned players. The BRU is also inviting persons to come and try rugby this year.

The only equipment needed are tennis/cleats and PE kit. For further information, persons are urged to call (242) 812-0417.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS OPEN HOUSE SPECIAL Olympics Bahamas is preparing to hold their open house on Dolphin Drive on February 11, 18 and 25 and everyone is invited to attend any session.

DEANDRE AYTON, right,

shoots next to Phoenix Suns centre Nick Richards, left, during the first half.

(AP Photos/Amanda Loman)

PORTLAND Trail Blazers centre

Deandre Ayton, left, blocks a shot by Phoenix Suns centre Nick Richards, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Monday.

Four teams advance to BAISS basketball finals

FROM PAGE 14

Alyssa Bain, who scored a game-high 18 points, aced two free throws to put the team up by four (37-33).

SAC struggled to generate any offence from that point and missed three out of their four opportunities at the line down the stretch.

Bain cashed in on a breakaway layup in the final seconds to seal the game for the Cougars.

Marea Pickstock produced 17 points for SAC in the tough loss.

Coach Nesbitt is looking forward to facing the next opponent.

“We just gotta prepare for whoever wins this next game for the junior girls and we will go from there. We just gotta capitalise off the last game, watch film and we will be good,” she said.

The team will await the winner of the St John’s College versus Queen’s College junior girls matchup today at 4pm.

Junior Boys

In a battle of the Baptist schools, it would be the Jordan Prince William Falcons that prevailed.

After the Cougars took a slim 14-13 lead at halftime,

the second half belonged to the Falcons.

JPW put up a couple of shots from long range that weren’t falling which gave the Cougars momentum on the other end.

The Falcons missed a three from the corner but the Cougars mailed it in on the other end to lead 18-13 at the 4:55 mark.

Elijah Pierre was a key cog in the Falcons’ offence, particularly in the fourth quarter. He connected on a crafty floater for the team to trail by just 1 (22-21) to end the third period.

He talked about having the hot hand down the stretch.

“I wasn’t feeling good earlier but my coach told me to keep my head up and play strong so I just played strong so we could win it all. It feels great because I have been waiting on this opportunity for a long time,” he said.

In the final quarter, Pierre simply took over to overwhelm the Cougars’ defenders.

After Charles W Saunders opened the quarter with back-to-back layups, JPW’s point guard retaliated with six straight points to tie the game at 26 apiece.

He continued to find holes in the Cougars’ defence, including one play where he split the double team and drove to the bucket for a 33-29 cushion.

The Falcons were up 33-31 when Lamar Richards connected on a smooth floater followed by a gameclinching free throw to earn the win.

He spoke about how it felt to hit the big shot. “It was a good feeling to win the game and help out my team. My mindset was to just score and win the game. It feels good to move on to the next round,” he said.

Keymani Wilson poured in a team-high 16 points for the Cougars in the loss.

The Falcons are set to face the winners of the SAC versus SJC junior boys’ playoff game.

Senior Girls

The senior girls defending champions showed their experience against the Big Red Machine in a wire-towire victory.

Giants assistant coach Leealdo Seymour said it felt great to get some revenge against the Big Red Machine.

“It feels great. We have a different group of girls, our core of our older girls left.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK BY THE US TRACK & FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY COACHES ASSOCIATION

FROM PAGE 14

placed Charlton second all-time in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoors and second in the University of Florida’s programme history.

American Claire Bryant secured the second position with her leap of 6.70m (21’ 11 ¾ inches).

Machaeda Linton, representing Louisiana State University (LSU), rounded out the top three with her jump of 6.63m (21’-9 inches).

The younger sister of world indoor record holder Devynne Charlton also competed in the women’s 60m. She ran 7.38 seconds in the prelims but did not compete in the finals.

If the season opener was any indication of things to come for Charlton, the 2025 season will be one for the

books for the University of Florida track and field performer. However, she was not the only Bahamian to be recognised this week.

Abaco native Lamarr Williams earned the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Student-Athlete of the Week honours after his performances at the Midwest Classic over the weekend. He placed in the top three of both the men’s 60m and 200m events, posting times of 6.82 seconds and 22.20 seconds respectively at the meet. He is now ranked first in the NCCAA in both events, once again proving to be a top athlete for Bethel University.

Clayton State University freshman Payton Knowles also had a pair of impressive runs over the weekend at the Tiger

Indoor Invitational to be named Athlete of the Week.

Knowles opened the event with a third place finish in the women’s 55m dash. She clocked 7.42 seconds in that event. She followed up the performance with a second place finish in the women’s 200m dash. She stopped the clock at 27.21 seconds in her showing. With the indoor season in full swing, Bahamian athletes continue to excel at the collegiate and pro levels.

They beat us in the regular season but we weren’t worried about that [because] one of our key players was missing and they only beat us by four points. We knew we could beat them and it feels great and tremendous to advance,” he said.

SJC ran ahead 14-2 early in the first quarter and proceeded to cap off the first half in charge 27-4.

SAC showed more signs of life in the second half to outscore the Giants 18-13.

The Giants continued their dominance in the fourth, pulling away 30-17 until the Big Red Machine started to fight back.

The team managed to pull within 13 (33-20) as the game clock winded down. However, the Giants applied pressure once again for an 18-point cushion and never looked back.

Lebronique Demeritte turned in a team-high 12 points for the Giants in the dominant win.

Coach Seymour expressed that defence will be the focal point for the team going forward.

“We have to play defence. Our offence is almost automatic.

“It is like a click thing but we have to step up on defence,” he said.

The team is now set to face the winner of the Kingsway Academy versus Jordan Prince William senior girls’ showdown today.

Senior Boys

It was a tightly contested game throughout the first two quarters but the Falcons’ senior boys held a 29-28 lead going into the second half of the ball game. QC took the lead

early in the third period with a layup in transition to jump ahead 30-29.

With the Comets leading 60-58 late into the fourth quarter, they added two more points from an offensive rebound to create a four-point separation with 1:07 remaining.

The Falcons hung around on the scoreboard but the Comets iced the game at the charity stripe to advance to the next round.

The Comets will await the victor of the Giants versus Cougars senior boys’ matchup.

The next bracket of the 2025 BAISS sudden death playoffs continues 4pm today in the KGLI gym.

These matchups will determine which teams will battle for the respective junior and senior division titles.

Photos by Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

ANTHAYA Charlton with her All-American award. The Bahamian indoor national record holder has been named Athlete of the Week by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.