04032023 NEWS AND SPORT

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Citizenship bill ‘a no brainer’

Maynard-Gibson calls on govt to proceed with legal changes

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson urged the government to pass legislation giving Bahamian men and women an equal chance to pass citizenship to their children and spouses, calling this a “no-brainer”.

She was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an Inter-American

Development Bank workshop at Island House on Friday.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder said in February that legislation allowing Bahamian men and women to pass on citizenship in all circumstances would be brought once the Privy Council has ruled on whether children born out of wedlock to Bahamian fathers and foreign mothers have an automatic right to

Harbour island firms owe govt $1.3m in tax

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO Harbour Island businesses raided last week collectively owe the government about $1.3m in taxes, financial secretary Simon Wilson said yesterday.

“With one of the businesses we (are) investigating, there is an estimated $1m in taxes (owed). The

other business, our initial assessment is $300k in taxes,” he said.

“In the case of the two businesses, one business declared $1 in revenue last year and they are making close to a million dollars in revenue. The next business declared $10,000 in revenue and that’s closer to $2m.”

Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) officials

gb concrete plant to bring

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A GRAnD Bahama businesswoman is investing $6.2m in a concrete plant operation that will create up to 70 jobs over the next 12 months as it “ramps up” to full operations following its April 22 ground-breaking.

Glennett Fowler, also FowlCo’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that the

toby smit H launcHes appeal

over lease ruling

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamian entrepreneur battling to restore Paradise Island’s lighthouse is seeking the Court of Appeal’s permission to introduce new evidence he says he has uncovered relating to his disputed Crown Land lease.

Toby Smith, the Paradise Island Lighthouse and Beach Club principal, in a statement issued yesterday to confirm his appeal’s filing said he has “not wavered” in his determination to see his ambitions become reality despite what he described as “4,008 days of trying” to obtain the necessary government permits and approvals.

FULL story - see business

16-year-old girl sexually assaulted by two men

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO men abducted and sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in a bush while she walked near Baillou Hill Road early on Sunday.

Police said the girl was walking around 12am when two men in a black nissan March accosted her.

“After being abducted by the suspects, they reportedly took the victim to the Munnings Drive area where they sexually assaulted her in the bushes,” police said in a statement. “Authorities are still on the hunt for the

SEE page five

70 jobs

training and technology to ensure the venture will be “working at a global standard, not a ‘Mom and Pop’ operation” once production begins from its location off Queen’s Highway.

newly-formed Heroic Group had spent significant time and money on staff

Disclosing that the operation, to be named Heroic Concrete and Concrete Products, will have the capacity to produce up to 1,700 concrete blocks daily and operate for 24 hours

tHe Bahamas played host to the first all-female professional world title boxing match in the region at the weekend, with Jaimie “The Miracle” Mitchell (left) winning the main event against Toronto’s Lindsay Garbatt (right). See SPORTS for the full story.

Photo: Moise amisial

fowlCo president Glennete Fowler

Layla wins Jr Minister of Tourism Role in GB contest

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

STUDENT Layla Lea-

than is the new Jr Director of Tourism for Grand Bahama and will compete in the Jr Minister of Tourism Speech Competition in Nassau.

The student of St George’s High emerged as the winner of the semi-finals held by the Ministry of Tourism, Investment and Aviation at the Grand Lucayan Resort on Thursday. “Words can’t describe how I feel right now,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I prayed really hard for this, and I worked really hard, and I had faith.”

Her parents, Dee and Marvin Leathan, said it was a proud moment. “I am extremely proud of her because she worked hard and prayed, and she did it,” said her mother.

Layla was among the five students vying for the prestigious title of Jr Director of Tourism. JD Newbold, of Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Academy, placed second; and Cordo Ramsey, of Bishop Michael Eldon School, placed third.

Karenda Swain-Rolle,

manager of the Ministry of Tourism, Investment and Aviation, commended all the competitors.

She explained that the semi-final competition is open only to 11 graders because the winner has to carry the title of Jr Director of Tourism for one year.

The successful candidate will travel to New Providence and compete with other students throughout The Bahamas in the Junior Minister of Tourism competition, which is in its 18th year.

In 2016, Gabrielle Josephs who represented Grand Bahama, won the Jr Minister of Tourism title in Nassau, and went on as the first Bahamian to win the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Congress regional Junior Minister competition.

Ms Swain believes it is very important to instill the tourism knowledge into the future generation.

“Tourism is our number one industry, and it is important that we have young, vibrant educated students leading our industry in the future,” she said.

She thanked Mr Nevar Smith for partnering with them and sponsoring the

LayLa Leathan, of St George’s High School, sips a glass of water as part of her speech presentation about Community Tourism. After winning the Grand Bahama competition she will now compete in Nassau against other students from across The Bahamas.

Abaco concerned with disposal of hazardous waste as debris site burns

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Abaco Chamber of Commerce president accused successive administrations of ignoring health and safety issues related to debris management after another fire erupted on a debris site over the weekend.

Daphne DeGregoryMiaoulis said a bushfire that spread to a debris site sent toxic fumes billowing into the air, frustrating weary residents.

“On Saturday, a bush fire was discovered close to the Treasure Cay airport,” she said in a statement yesterday. “The fire was controlled by both the Cooperstown Fire Brigade and units from the Treasure Cay Volunteer Fire Dept. Unfortunately, as the day progressed, the winds caused the fire to spread to the Treasure Cay Debris Management Site, which has sat unmanaged, unsecured and unsupervised for many months.”

“The Abaco chamber along with many other concerned community groups have been asking government for a plan for the debris management sites for months without response. We warned of exactly this kind of situation occurring which is likely to have a serious, negative affect on residents’ respiratory

health along with unknown damage to the Abaco water well field located less than a mile from the fire.

“Successive governments are ignoring the issue to the detriment of people’s health, safety and living. We call for immediate response from government to deal with this issue and a similar one also brewing at the Spring City Debris Management Site near Marsh Harbour.”

After a recent fire in Spring City, Environment Minister Vaughn Miller told The Tribune he planned to discuss the debris management issue with the relevant people. He said he thought the matter had already been dealt with. Mr Miller could not be reached for comment up to press time yesterday.

Roscoe Thompson, chairman of the Marsh Harbour/ Spring City Township, echoed Mrs DeGregoryMiaoulis’ concern about the hazardous materials emitted from the fires.

“We’re talking every bit of debris that you could believe from Hurricane Dorian is stored at these sites,” he said yesterday. “Spring City laydown site has security and management. From what I understand, Treasure Cay does not have any security or management up there in that regards. It’s just been sitting dormant in that capacity.

“But here is one of our biggest concerns.

The government needs to deal with this because it is hazardous. Think about it: plastic, asbestos, shingles, fibreglass. The respiratory problems it can cause, especially if you’re exposed to it for a long time, could be detrimental. The firefighters that went up there, even they were saying how their throats were burning from it.”

Woma N diEs iN W Est Bay s trEE t car crash

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN was killed in a traffic accident when her car hit a tree on West Bay Street on Saturday morning.

According to police, sometime around 1am the woman was driving her red 2019 Kia Rio east on West Bay Street, in the area of Poop Deck restaurant. It was in that area while attempting to overtake the male driver of a black 2014 Audi A6 that a collision occurred. This resulted in the woman losing control of her vehicle, causing it to crash into a tree on the left side of the street.

Although Emergency Medical Services managed to extract the woman from her car using the jaws of life, she died of her injuries on the scene. Her identity has yet to be released to the public . The male driver received no injuries.

Police are also investigating a triple shooting that occurred on Friday that left three men in hospital.

Preliminary reports indicate that sometime around 6.30pm, a group of men were standing outside of a home in the area of Finlayson Street when two men drove up in a silver coloured Nissan Cube, got out of the vehicle and produced firearms.

No Bail for Exuma ma N oN sE xual assault chargE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 19-year-old man was remanded on Friday after being accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in Exuma after he had offered her a ride home from a club.

Raishad Sears stood before Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, on a charge of rape.

According to police reports at around 4:30am on March 24 in Exuma the accused allegedly offered a woman a ride after leaving a night club in the area of Airport Road. The suspect then proceeded to drive her to outside a residence on Boulevard Road, where he forced the victim to have sex with him. After

the assault Sears allegedly pushed her out of the car before fleeing the scene and leaving her stranded.

Due to the nature of the offence the accused was not required to enter a plea before the magistrate. He was informed that his matter would be transferred to the Supreme Court by way of Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

Although the magistrate informed Sears that he lacked the jurisdiction to grant him bail he was told of his right to apply for it through the higher court. Until bail is granted the defendant will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Sear’s VBI is set for service on July 4.

After firing multiple rounds at the three victims, the suspects fled in an unknown direction. The victims were taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital in a private vehicle, where they were reported to be in stable condition.

The police have asked anyone who has information to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2/3 or Crimestoppers on 328TIPS (8477).

Clouds of smoke block the sun coming from the debris site outside of Treasure Cay, as seen from a distance. Below left smoke creates hazardous driving conditions with low visibility on SC Bootle Hwy. Below right piles of debris seen at the dumping site.

Citizenship bill ‘a no brainer’

citizenship.

The delay has frustrated critics. Mr Pinder had previously said the legislation would be brought to Parliament by the end of last summer. Last year, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the Davis administration should prove its commitment to reforming citizenship laws by abandoning its appeal of Chief Justice Ian Winder’s landmark ruling. The Privy Council, however, heard arguments on the matter on January 17.

Bahamians rejected more liberal citizenship laws in the 2002 and 2016 constitutional referendums.

Mrs Maynard-Gibson said people should push for change.

“I urge us to think about what the suffragists did, us as women, us as Bahamians who believe that all Bahamians, women and men are entitled to be treated equally and I say that there’s already a bill drafted that gives women the right to pass their citizenship on to their spouses and their citizenship on to their children and single Bahamian men also to pass their citizenship on to their children under certain circumstances,” she said.

“Now that’s not to say it’s the same as eliminating discrimination from our constitution but I want to point out that today, while people are wringing their hands and worrying about what will happen, there are women who are suffering, there are children who are

suffering and there are men who are suffering and it is the job of our legislators to eliminate, not cause suffering. Pass the bill. Mrs Maynard-Gibson also said the government should pass legislation outlawing marital rape. She said: “I will say that very clearly, there is something that is marital rape. I don’t think that any human being should be subjected to that. And again, I think that the necessary legislation … it is so fundamental, that it requires a systemic approach, and we need to have specific legislation that deals with it, how we will prosecute it, how we will punish it and so forth so that our society sends the strongest message about what we will tolerate in a civilized society in a

democracy.”

`Asked if religious leaders have too much say in the debate over marital rape legislation, she said: “I do note how, unfortunately, ministers of religion derailed the referendum process and so these kinds of things can happen. I don’t cast blame because at the end of the day my relationship with God is between me and God, and so I have to decide whether I will support women having the right to pass on their citizenship, whether I will support the notion that there should be no marital rape in a marriage. A healthy marriage doesn’t contemplate rape. That’s me, that’s my decision. I can’t blame pastors for that.”

Protecting women and girls from violence is not the same as ending it

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVIST Alicia Wal-

lace said on Friday that protecting women from gender-based violence is not the same as ending it. She said more early educational intervention efforts are needed for the violence to be stopped.

Ms Wallace, Equality Bahamas Director, made these comments when asked about the increase of sexual crimes reported recently.

“When we limit our response to various incidents of violence against women and girls to protection we are essentially ignoring that we are living within an environment that is rampant with violence.

“And that we have a societal and structural problem that needs to be addressed. Protecting women and girls from violence is not the same as ending it and we need

to put significant focus on the interventions that are needed to end violence,” Ms Wallace told The Tribune.

An element of prevention is teaching the public how to effectively resolve situations where conflict may arise. Ms Wallace noted there is a “desperate” need for conflict resolution to be part of the academic curriculum in schools.

“We need nonviolent crisis intervention,” she said. “And for teachers, leaders of youth groups, parents, and guardians who are engaging with young people to be trained. And to understand what is happening in young people’s brains and bodies when they respond physically. Also, to have safe ways to stop the act and help young people themselves to understand what is happening.”

In terms of sexual violence, she said there must be comprehensive sex

education. She noted some schools already do teach students about the importance of consent and their bodies.

The activist explained that young people should know the difference between a healthy relationship and an

unhealthy situation. She said this information gives them an understanding of what is right and what is wrong.

“They have to learn about healthy relationships, and the signs of an unhealthy dynamic, and what abuse looks and feels like. And how they can help one another if they realise that a peer is in trouble or is in a dangerous relationship. They need to be taught the difference between sex and rape.”

She added: “If we have young people who don’t understand the difference between rape and sex, who do not understand much less consent. And who have not been encouraged to seek or prioritise their own pleasure in sexual activities and not to feel as though it is a duty or proof of love.

“We are continuing to create a society where people use their bodies as weapons. And people, in particular men and boys, attempt to and sometimes succeed in dominating women and girls in physical and sexual ways.”

desPite better academic Performance women disadvantaged in work Place

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

WOMEN have lower labour force participation rates and are more likely to be unemployed than men despite generally better education and academic attainment — one of many gender-based disparities that put them at a disadvantage.

Daniela Carrera Marquis, the Inter-American Development Bank’s country representative in The Bahamas, highlighted such inequities during the opening ceremony of a kick-off workshop on Friday called Advancing Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in The Bahamas.

“Women and girls outperform men at every level in educational participation and academic attainment, yet they experience genderbased disadvantages in the labour market,” she said.

“Women in The Bahamas, regardless of their education attainment, have lower rates of labour force participation, are more likely to be unemployed and more likely to be underemployed than their male counterparts. “Those that are employed are more likely than their male counterparts to be engaged in the informal

sector, with low pay, low job security, and low social protections. We know that in the Caribbean and Latin American cities, women’s wages are 30 per cent lower than men’s wages. A recent study of 16 Caribbean and Latin American countries identified that 26 per cent of households led by women were poor, compared to 17 per cent of men.”

For her part, former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson emphasised the need to address gender-based violence (GBV) during her keynote

address on Friday.

“Systemic change is necessary to urgently address GBV,” she said.

She noted that a GBV bill was produced in 2015.

“In the Caribbean, there is a saying that paper will stay still and let you write anything on it,” she said. “When are we going to act? It’s almost ten years later. There are some key points in that bill. First of all, there is a very wide definition of gender-based violence to include physical, mental, social or economic abuse against someone because of their gender. That has widened the definition.”

“Secondly, the bill promotes a wide range of persons who are advised to inform a person about their rights.

“Thirdly, there’s an obligation from police to respond promptly even when the person reporting is not a victim. That’s really important. It can be an aunt, an uncle, or a neighbour reporting.

“Fourthly, the court will have very wide powers, including issuing protection orders and also they must respond within certain timelines.

“Fifthly, there’s an obligation to establish shelters.”

FORMER Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson urged the government to pass legislation giving Bahamian men and women an equal chance to pass citizenship to their children and spouses, calling this a “no-brainer”.

Photo: Austin Fernander

DAniElA CARRERA MARquis, the Inter-American Development Bank’s country representative in The Bahamas spoke about advancing gender euqality at Fridays IDB workshop.

EquAlity Bahamas Director Alicia Wallace said Firday that protecting women from gender based violence is not the same as ending it.

Harbour Island firms owe govt $1.3m in tax

from page one

conducted an islandwide sweep of companies in Harbour Island last suspected of not being properly licensed, failing to pay VAT and other due taxes, and under-declaring or under-reporting revenues to avoid the full business licence fee and other levies.

Conch & Coconut, which bills itself as a luxury concierge and experiential

travel company, and Andre’s Rentals, a golf cart rentals company, were the two businesses raided last week.

Jason Williams, the spokesman for the DIR, said around 30 golf carts, three sea crafts and information from computers were seized from one of the businesses, likely Andre’s Rentals, while 102 cases of Conch & Coconut’s Pink Sands Spirits liquor, 21 bottles of Vodka, boats, cars, two Mercedes vehicles,

and three golf carts were secured.

Last year, Mr Wilson revealed that the Revenue Enhancement Unit’s (REU) audits showed 50 per cent of registered companies under analysis were non-compliant with VAT laws.

“When you think of it from a statistical point of view, 50 per cent of persons audited were found to be non-compliant, which is a very, very high ratio,” he said.

16-year-old girl sexually assaulted by two men

from page one

the culprits after they made good their escape.”

“It is a cause for concern. When you think of that, one in every two businesses they’re going to for an audit have not filed or are charging VAT but not remitting the money to government, which shows a high level of non-compliance for that small sample size.

“If that cascades to the full population of VAT registrants, it shows the significance of the problem of non-compliance.”

The incident comes as reports of escalating sex crimes have attracted national attention recently. There were 55 reports of rape in 2022, up 15 per cent from 2021.

“The fact that this is another element of criminality that’s on the rise tells us that people are disordered,” National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said last week. “So when you think that you can force yourself on someone be it a man or a woman who is doing it that

person’s upbringing couldn’t have inculcated in them that you are to respect people’s privacy if you expect them to respect yours. We continue to make it easier for people to report these offices.”

“People say their convictions follow them. (Sex crimes convictions) will follow you. That is a conviction that will disentitle you to work around children. That is a conviction that will probably drive people not to hire you, certainly around women. So before people think about that you should think about the weight that it will put on your life going forward.”

Light it up Blue marks World Autism Day

The LighT It Up Blue campaign lit Rawson Square up to mark World Autism Day. The event on Saturday has become a tradition in The Bahamas and aims to raise awareness of autism and support individuals with the condition.

Photos: Moise Amisial

The Tribune Limited

Honour women by bringing equality to all

THE long delay in bringing in laws to provide equal rights in passing on citizenship seems little closer to a resolution.

And that delay appears to be bringing some measure of frustration for those who wish to see them passed.

In a tale of two Attorney Generals, one present, one past, we now see the former holder of that role, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, saying that passing such legislation is a “no-brainer”, while the incumbent, Ryan Pinder, waits on a ruling from the Privy Council.

The ruling he is waiting for is whether children born out of wedlock to Bahamian fathers and foreign mothers have an automatic right to citizenship – but that does not include all parts of the equation when it comes to equality.

Mrs Maynard-Gibson said on Friday: “I urge us to think about what the suffragists did, us as women, us as Bahamians who believe that all Bahamians, women and men are entitled to be treated equally and I say that there’s already a bill drafted that gives women the right to pass their citizenship on to their children and single Bahamian men also to pass their citizenship on to their children under certain circumstances.”

She added: “Now that’s not to say it’s the same as eliminating discrimination from our constitution but I want to point out that today, while people are wringing their hands and worrying about what will happen, there are women who are suffering, there are children who are suffering and there are men who are suffering and it is the job of our legislators to eliminate, not cause suffering. Pass the bill.”

Driving around New Providence at present, one cannot help but notice the number of billboards prominently featuring women who have made their mark on our society, being celebrated as part of the countdown to the 50th anniversary of Independence.

Contrast that with the lack of progress in passing legislation that brings equality

– and the difference between the words we speak and the actions we take as a society seem particularly pointed.

Equally lacking in progress is the legislation outlawing marital rape. There had been talk of such legislation being brought forward at around the time of last month’s International Women’s Day, but nothing happened and Minister of Social Security Obie Wilchcombe has gone very quiet on the subject since.

Mrs Maynard-Gibson also spoke out on that issue of marital rape, calling the legislation “so fundamental” and saying “we need to have specific legislation that deals with it, how we will prosecute it, how we will punish it and so forth”.

Asked about whether religious leaders have too much say, she said that she did note how “unfortunately, ministers of religion derailed the referendum process and so these things can happen”. Wherever any blame may lie, the legislation has not been put forward yet – and there is no sign of when it might come to a vote in Parliament.

With both of these issues, women face inequalities – in the first instance in passing on their citizenship, a situation which can also affect men in certain circumstances. In the second, the inequality is between those who are married and those who are unmarried.

A married woman raped by her husband is not treated equally under the law compared to the exact same attack committed by an unmarried woman by her partner. The same actions are not viewed equally under the law. That is the very definition of inequality. So if we do mean to celebrate the women that made such an impact on her nation, then do so by passing the laws that bring equality to all our women.

If we do not mean to bring equality, then tear down the billboards. If we don’t keep striving to make a difference, then our words of praise are nothing but lip service.

Military is best option to fix Haiti

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I have been watching several television shows on You Tube from Haiti in the past weeks. Three hours of Aljazeera’s show this morning was filmed in Haiti. The cameras revealed poverty at its worst; children that are suffering, rodents, litter and garbage, protests on the streets accompanied by the burning of tyres, a police service, that is overwhelmed and a state of complete disorder. What I saw was not only very sad, frightening. Haiti, in particular Port au Prince, is apparently the most unsafe place in the world to be. Add cholera to the present situation.

It is obvious why Haitians are leaving their country. The business of smugglers is thriving. The Dominican Republic has stationed troops on its border and is building a wall to keep Haitians out

of their country during this crisis. There are invasions by Haitian nationals trying to get to the USA through Columbia and Mexico.

Many of those arriving here are trying to get to the USA. The guns used by the gangs appear to be the AK47 and the AR15, that our Police Service are finding in the hands of criminals here. Very often the guns are without serial numbers. We must make our southern border impregnable. Immediate action is needed to save Haiti and its people. It must come from the United Nations, the Organisation of the American States and the CARICOM nations.

As I see it, the only solution is military occupation by an international, force, with enough resources

to overwhelm, deplete and eradicate the gangs. Occupy Haiti until safety, security and peace can be restored. After which democratic elections are to be held. During the occupation nations of the world could be asked to provide food, water and other resources needed by the population. The Police Service to improve manpower resources and equipment, technology and training. The occupation by the international force could be reduced in numbers until safety and security is completely restored. International troops occupied Germany and Japan. The USA invaded Grenada to remove the Cuban invaders and remained for a while until peace, safety and security were restored. Haiti needs the same.

PAUL THOMPSON Sr Nassau, February 27, 2023.

Transgender education is not for our schools

EDITOR, The Tribune

If you think we have trouble with lack of morals and discipline in our schools now, any transgender education will lead to more confusion and more depression.

I am in the schools, both high school and primary schools, every day of the week helping our students embrace what the founders of our constitution built our Bahamas on, which is:

“The People of this Family of Islands recognising that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Selfdiscipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law.”

It is our duty and right as citizens of this Bahamas to teach these Christian

values to our students, which do not include any transgender confusion as we know that God made man as one gender (male) and woman as the other gender (female). God is a lot smarter than we are.

I am well aware that, 50 years after the birth of our Bahama Land, there are those who think differently about having our country’s foundation being based on Christian values. However, those who orchestrated the birth of this nation were well aware of the importance of Christian values and principles which kept them and will keep future generations, hence the rationale for including it in our preamble to our Constitution. Many of us know and believe that Christian values and principles are what build a strong nation and they hold us together as a people.

To move away from our foundation at this time in our history would be a terrible mistake. We need to stay clear of any humanistic worldview, whether it is promoted by the UN or any other nation. Any country that moves away from a Judeo-Christian foundation for its laws and governance will fall. Don’t we all see the evidence of this in our current world?

We either have to stand for an abiding respect for Christian values or give in to the crumbling of society by following an anti-God agenda that is being plunged into moral decay. As for me, I will stand with our founders and build my country on Christian values.

ANDY KNOWLES Bahamas Olympic swimmer and coach Nassau, March 30, 2023.

A young woman carries a cross as Catholics prepare to walk during a Palm Sunday procession in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, April 2, 2023. Romania’s Catholic worshipers celebrate Palm Sunday a week before the country’s Orthodox majority.

Photo: Andreea Alexandru

PM lauds National Youth Guard programme’s first graduating class

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis touts the Bahamas National Youth Guard programme “as one of the most important initiatives on their roster of goals for this administrative term.”

He commended the 64 young graduates for answering the call to serve and becoming the first National Youth Guards in the country trained to respond to national emergencies and natural disasters.

The PM believes that had the NYG been implemented in 2019, many lives could have been saved during Hurricane Dorian.

“I believe that this initiative is among the most important on our roster of goals for this administrative term,” he said on Friday during the graduation ceremony at the Grand Lucayan Resort in Grand Bahama.

Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg, Minister of Social Services and Urban Development Obie Wilchcombe, Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey, and Alex Storr, Executive Chairman of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority was also in attendance.

Mr Davis said that when his government took the helm, it promised to create policies and programmes pivoted on disaster risk management.

“We recognize the need for urgent action and a swift turn for a culture of preparedness and proactive initiatives,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Dorian was a horror and nightmare for many who survived it.

“I remember it like yesterday … the images are still stark and vivid to me when Hurricane Dorian swept onto our shores and raged for what seemed like an eternity. So many lives were lost – too many.

“It took a catastrophic event like Hurricane Dorian to show us just how much work was needed to be done to mitigate the loss, damage, and suffering in the face of a disaster,” Mr Davis said.

Just last year the government through the University of the Bahamas

signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Hawaii and Pacific Disaster Centre, he added.

Mr Davis said it was forged in the spirit of preparedness and with an attitude of positivity toward creating sustainable pre and post disaster response systems in vulnerable countries like the Bahamas.

The Prime Minister said the purpose of the NYG is to create a corps of young people who are equipped to help the nation respond to emergencies and disasters by supporting public and private agencies.

The NYG recruits are from 10 islands across the Bahamas, including Grand Bahama, New Providence, Abaco, Andros, Long Island, Bimini, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Inagua, and Exuma.

They completed three months of training at the Police Training College in Grand Bahama. The graduates will transition into internships with over 10 disaster response agencies.

The Prime Minister reported that 66 percent of the recruits are between the age of 18 and 20 years.

The women, he said, were well represented, accounting for 48 percent of the recruits.

“This is indeed encouraging because it speaks to the willingness of our young people to engage and contribute to the wellbeing of our country,” Mr Davis said.

“It only made sense to train our young people and equip them with important

man held without bail for shooting teen in leg

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was remanded in connection with a failed murder bid on Farrington Road last month.

Michelin Merius, 35, faced Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of attempted murder.

According to police reports, around 12:32pm on March 24 on Myrtle Street off Farrington Road the accused approached Adrian Ferguson, who is said to have known him. It is then alleged that the accused shot the 18-yearold victim in the leg before fleeing the scene.

Because of the gravity of the offence the accused was not required to enter a plea at that time. He was informed that the matter would be transferred to the Supreme Court by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

Although the magistrate told the accused that he lacked the jurisdiction to grant bail the accused was also told of his right to apply for bail through the higher court.

Until bail is granted, the accused will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Merius’s VBI will be served on May 31.

tw0-and-a-half years sentence for stealing

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on Friday after admitting to stealing over $2,000 worth of property from a restaurant on Market Street, twice in the same month.

Nicolar Moss, 32, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on charges of shopbreaking and two counts of stealing.

Between March 14–15 it is said that Moss broke into

Da Junkanoo on Market Street and stole $1,185 worth of inventory.

Then in the timeframe of March 28–29 Moss again broke into the same restaurant and stole a kit of snapper valued at $1,200 belonging to Wendy Armbrister.

In court the accused pleaded guilty to all charges against him.

Magistrate McKinney sentenced Moss to serve a two and a half year sentence at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn Sixty-four Bahamians are the first cohort of graduates of the Bahamas National Youth Guard programme. high-level skills to ensure that the Bahamas is well suited to respond to national emergencies.”

“Investing in our youths and investing in the safety of our country is of upmost importance,” the prime minister said.

He stressed that the government of the Bahamas is staunchly committed to

doing all it can to implement effective disaster prevention measures.

Mr Davis believes that the 64 young men and women “will be the generation that changes the tide for the Bahamas.”

“You … made a bold and courageous choice … to serve your country when we need you most,” he said.

“Your commitment … has put you in a position to be a vitally important asset to the Bahamas disaster risk management agenda. On behalf of this nation, I wish to thank each and every one you for answering the call.”

The Most Outstanding Female Guard award went to Voulecia Roberts.

Tawyano Holbert received the Most Outstanding Male Guard award. He was also the recipient of top awards for NEMA and Leadership. The Most Outstanding Guard overall award went to Ramon Herrera-Lightbourne who also received top awards in Carpentry, Defense Force, and Psychological Training.

Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis was presented with plaque by Ramon Herrera-Lightbourne, the Most Outstanding Guard overall of National Youth Guard programme’s first graduating class.

$4.5m to beautify Grand Bahama - so did it work?

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WITH a budget of $4.5m, Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey promised to make a difference on Grand Bahama and in the lives of many Bahamians through a new unit called Collab: Partnerships for Development.

In December 2021, the minister launched the first programme known as “Beautiful Grand Bahama”, the flagship COLLAB initiative, to transform lives, homes, and communities throughout the island.

The Tribune visited some of the project sites and initiatives that fall under the programme.

In West Grand Bahama, the ministry carried out extensive clean-up and beautification at several areas in Eight Mile Rock, namely the entrance to Eight Mile Rock, and along the verges to West End, as well as the coastline.

From our observations, the Eight Mile Rock entrance was cleared of overgrown vegetation and debris. Decorative concrete orbs were placed to enhance and beautify the space which welcomes visitors and locals to the largest settlement in the country.

At the Eight Mile Rock cemetery, it was reported that extensive renovations were carried out, including repairing and painting walls, paving pathways, installation of gates and solar lighting, and vegetation and debris removal.

The cemetery was in order and significant improvements were clearly visible, however, the left entrance gate appeared to have fallen off and was resting on the ground.

The Tribune also went to the Sunset Village Vendor Fish Fry at Eight Mile Rock where extensive

clean-up and beautification had reportedly taken place.

The area was clean and debris-free. Many of the vendor booths need painting and repairs. Some of the roofs were shabby and needed felt replacement. The restored public bathroom block was locked and inaccessible.

According to Ms Moxey, the dilapidated Lewis Yard School received a muchneeded clean-up.

She reported it is no longer an eye-sore and a habitat for vagrants and unsavory activities.

The Tribune also visited the school. We learned from passersby that massive bushes which inundated the

school were removed.

The campus was a bit messy and debris was still present at the site.

Lots of old books were piled up outside and on an old desk chair in the corridor. A large pile of black garbage bags filled with refuse were also left on the school grounds.

The Mermaid Pond, which is located directly opposite the school, was restored and stood out beautifully.

It was visible from the road due to the removal of the massive overgrown bushes and brush that once concealed it. A gravel pathway was also installed around the pond.

Cemeteries in Pinder’s Point/Lewis Yard, and Hunters were cleaned and revitalised. Those sites were cleaned and in order as reported.

In Freeport, the Ministry for Grand Bahama completed the Downtown Farmer’s Market Enhancement.

The project involved the electrical installation to the 26 vendor booths for the provision of lighting/power metering systems, as well as roof repairs.

Work was also car ried out at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex grounds, and preparatory work to the new facilities at the University of The Baha mas Northern Campus was completed.

COLLAB Transition Homes, another major project, brought relief to several displaced families in Freeport.

The ministry renovated nine dilapidated, government-owned structures as transitional homes for families that previously resided at the condemned Windsor on the Mall apartment complex.

The building has since been demolished.

Some 350 Bahamians received temporary shortterm employment through the various projects and initiatives of Beautiful Grand Bahama, all of which are now completed. Ms Moxey said feedback from participants highlighted the need for Beautiful Grand Bahama to continue as the short-term

opportunities for people who had not been employed since Hurricane Dorian.

She promised to continue work on projects that impact the community.

Ms Moxey indicated that tourist attractions throughout the island are being revamped.

The Police Quarters at Peel Street is in the process of being rehabilitated to become a Police Cultural Village as a heritage tourism attraction.

In East Grand Bahama, the ministry carried out beautification in various settlements.

As part of the beautification, three Hurricane Dorian Memorial sites were established in Freetown, High Rock and

McLean’s Town to commemorate the lives lost in those settlements during the storm in 2019.

The memorial markers bear the names of all the individuals confirmed to have died or remained missing following the storm.

Vehicles and debris that posed a serious hazard were removed from the waters of East End.

There has been massive clean-up and site restorations that has facilitated the return of heritage festivals – the Coconut Fest, and Conch Cracking Fest were held in Pelican Point and McLean’s Town, respectively, for the first time in three years. It was reported that the

THE RENOVATED Mermaid Pond area, above, and Sunset Village, below.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

upgrading to the memorial parks at Pelican Point and McLean’s Town, and the clean-up and minor repairs to the High Rock and McLean’s Town boating ramps have been completed. The Grand Bahama economy still has a long way to go towards recovery.

In September 2021, Ms Moxey pledged to work diligently to bring immediate social relief to Grand Bahama, and reconstruction of the island.

In June 2022, the COLLAB unit received an allocation of $3.7m by the government, in addition to another $800,000 ($170,000) for sister city relationship development; $240,000 for marketing and promotion of Grand Bahama Island around the world; $210,000 for small business development; another $150,000 for Grant Funding Development; and $50,000 for the Grand Bahama Humane Society. This brings the total to $4.5m, representing 34 percent of the government’s overall budget.

A FALLEN gate at the entrance to the Eight Mile Rock cemetery.

SOME of the rubbish at Lewis Yard School includes broken-down furniture and damaged old books.

Internal issues distracting FNM from offering competent opposition

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

AT a time when there are lots of ways to focus on what the government is doing, the FNM seems busier trying to fight internally.

The schoolyard squabbling has been going on to such an extent that a Supreme Court judge had to tell everyone to take a timeout last week, ordering leader Michael Pintard, chairman Dr Duane Sands and vice-chairman Richard Johnson not to personally attack each other or other FNM members in public until she has ruled on a lawsuit brought by Mr Johnson.

The judge’s order covered comments in the press and on social media. She also ordered them to comply with the party’s constitution while attending any meetings or functions.

Of course, the judge shouldn’t have to do that – abiding by the constitution is something the party should have to do as a very basic matter of proceedings. And attacking one’s own members is the very definition of ineffective opposition.

Mr Johnson’s lawsuit sees him seeking $500,000 in damages after he claimed FNM executives unanimously barred him from council meetings.

Meanwhile, there has been a growing rift between Pintard’s supporters and those of former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, amid claims that there were efforts to stop Dr Minnis from speaking at constituency meetings.

Dr Sands has denied there are such efforts, saying: “There’s no stifling taking place – there’s no interest in stifling.”

However, there does seem to be tension, with rival camps and rival meetings going on.

The chairman of the Carmichael Constituency Association, Peter Outten, warned that if Dr Minnis was prevented from speaking in that constituency, “it will be war”.

Tellingly, Dr Sands said “that language is inconsistent with, you know, a wellfunctioning political organisation”.

He’s right, which is more telling of the state of the FNM than anything else.

The situation with Dr Minnis is bizarre. Dr Minnis didn’t just lose the last election – he was trounced. And yet, despite the electorate telling him where to go with his platform, he seems to think the public wants him back.

When Perry Christie lost in a landslide, he recognised how his time had come and gone. When Ingraham crashed out of office, he did the decent thing and stepped aside as an MP. Dr Minnis, meanwhile, who had said if he had won this would have been his last term as leader, cannot seem to let his moment go.

Heaven knows why he thinks there is still a place for him in office. The Oban debacle resurfaced recently, with him continuing to claim it was the preceding Christie administration that was to blame for the lack of due diligence in the deal that he signed. All of this at a time when the former principal of that project, Peter Krieger, was agreeing to be sanctioned and pay fines after being accused of defrauding investors of $5.2m. This is the third time he has been accused of misappropriating investor money, and the

second time he has agreed to pay penalties, but oh no, Dr Minnis, you go on and blame the people who came before you.

The media did more due diligence than Dr Minnis, it would seem – and that alone ought to be disqualifying for anyone who wants to lead the country. You do your own homework, especially on a deal as big as $5.5bn.

Dr Minnis was also largely disliked for the series of lockdown measures introduced during the start of the COVID pandemic. Whether they were appropriate for personal safety or not, Dr Minnis came across as arrogant and distant from the concerns of many people. It did not add to his likeability when it came to election time. He called the election early, and the public gave its verdict.

Dr Minnis seems to be pinning his hopes on being able to win enough internal support to gain the leadership – and then perhaps be the beneficiary of The Bahamas’ seemingly perpetual habit of giving a government one term and out. He might be the man to break the nation of that habit and give the PLP a second term.

In the meantime, he is serving as a distraction for the party when it should be focused on the role of opposition.

It doesn’t help that on a number of issues, the current leadership seems to struggle to articulate its own position.

Take the Royal Caribbean plan for Paradise Island, for example. In office, the FNM supported that project – and in opposition, Pintard seems to be trying to nitpick about the PLP position rather than expressing his own view. He points out the Prime Minister’s U-turn over time, he notes that the Education Minister should resign if she opposes a Cabinet decision publicly – but does he actually think the project is a bad idea? It is hard to say – which means he isn’t offering a clear choice or contrast.

Then there is what should be an easy win for the FNM – the issue of public disclosures. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition can call for the publication of public disclosures – so we can all see who did or did not comply with the law in declaring by the deadline. Mr Pintard seems to be showing no interest in doing so – is he protecting a key ally in his party perhaps by doing so who failed to comply? It is hard to tell, but by not taking the lead on such an issue, he shows we can expect nothing better in terms of transparency and accountability under his leadership. This should be an issue the Opposition – any Opposition –can lead on, instead we are stuck with the same old, same old.

Is the reason Dr Minnis sees a glimmer of opportunity that Mr Pintard isn’t showing the way in leadership with clearly defined positions? I’m not convinced about that – rocking the boat seems to benefit Dr Minnis come what may – but it does affect how the public looks in on the FNM and how the party is perceived when it comes to the possibility of leading the nation. One thing is for certain – the party needs to get its house in order, and it shouldn’t need a judge to tell them to behave properly in order to do so.

FORMER PRIME MINISTER, AND REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE CONSITITUENCY OF KILARNEY, DR HUBERT MINNIS

A family affair

QUITE often when a loved one dies, it’s the silence of the loss and the regret of things left unsaid that cripples us. Then, as others leave us for the unknown, this grief, the words left unsaid and the hugs we intended but didn’t fulfill, add to our personal guilt, compounding the pain we feel from the loss itself.

My patient Joe (an alias) has learned over the years that death presents an echo chamber of self-amplified emotions. The fortunate are able to break free and move forward but they’re seized back into this vortex of grief and torment as the next loss occurs.

Seven of Joe’s close family members have been diagnosed with cancer and six have died from it. Today he shares his incredible story and the lessons he’s learned, hoping that others traversing their own trials may find solace and strength in his message.

Joe was born in Nassau, one of six children. His mother was born in Long Island and his father was born in Cat Island but they both moved to the capital in their teens to find work.

They eventually met working as straw vendors, married and had five sons

and one daughter. Fifteen years into their marriage, Joe’s father left Nassau and moved to the US when a job opportunity came along. His mother travelled back and forth to visit him.

While she was away, Joe and his siblings were cared for by their maternal aunt, who lived with them and became a surrogate mother.

Joe recalls his childhood fondly. It was filled with a lot of love, play and a little mischief, he said with a smile. The family raised goats and chickens and they had a fruit and vegetable garden where Joe spent a lot of time with his father.

When he wasn’t engaged in gardening, he could be found either playing baseball or watching western movies and reenacting scenes with his brothers.

After high school, like most of his siblings, Joe travelled to the US to be with his father and was able

to attend college. Once he graduated, he returned home to Nassau where he joined the police force, ultimately working in all divisions during his 40-year tenure with the RBPF.

On the force, he encountered thousands of people who were broken, unable to counter what life threw at them, falling prey or victim to the conditions of their environment and sliding down a dark path as a result.

What he witnessed daily - men and women, whose lives teetered on the edge, breathing but not livingprompted him, in spite of his many losses, to start saying thanks as a daily ritual for all his blessings.

When his maternal grandmother died in Long Island from cancer, Joe was still in his teens. Her death was painless and swift but Joe’s mother wasn’t as fortunate. She was diagnosed

with breast cancer in 1992, the same year that her sister was diagnosed with lung cancer. Joe’s aunt initially had a stroke and while she was in the hospital being treated for that, anomalies in her blood work and diagnostic scans prompted further investigation. She chose not to treat her cancer and died within months of her diagnosis.

Reeling from the death of her beloved sister, Joe’s mother underwent a mastectomy and a course of chemotherapy so intensive that most days it outstripped the stamina of her legs. She’d crawl to her room and collapse in bed from fatigue.

The bouts of headaches, nausea and vomiting were so intense that eventually she stopped chemotherapy all together, feeling that the treatment was worse than the disease itself. She travelled back and

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

forth to the US, where her husband of 50 years stood by her side, brushing what little hair she had remaining and massaging her frail body.

Her cycle of remission and resurgence ended three years later. By that time, cancer had ravaged her entire body and she died in the hospital surrounded by her family. When she died, Joe was faced with grief so profound he didn’t think such depth of sadness and loss was possible, a sinking sensation that made him feel like he was drowning in sorrow.

As years have passed and the scab has crusted, a wound still exists, just as deep as it is inoperable.

A little more than a decade after losing his wife, Joe’s father died from prostate cancer. His dad never fully recovered from his wife’s death and when he developed Alzheimer’s disease and his mind faded, he had to be placed in a senior care facility. Joe hopes that in death his parents were reunited and are still looking after one another as they had for so many years before.

Given the significant amount of death in their family as a result of cancer, in all its various forms, Joe’s sister had a mastectomy immediately once she discovered a lump in her breast. The prompt treatment saved her life.

Their older brother, however, never had the opportunity to act early because by the time he discovered that he was sick it was already too late. He worked in Oklahoma at a manufacturing facility, opting to stay in the US after moving there for college.

In his early 60s and after 20 years on the job, he began experiencing intense headaches that wouldn’t subside. He often felt weak and dizzy, particularly when standing after prolonged periods of rest. He attributed his nausea, vomiting and decrease in hearing to the flu and an ear infection.

When antibiotics and flu medication didn’t resolve his symptoms, he became increasingly agitated. When he started having seizures, his family became concerned. Doctors diagnosed him with an inoperable brain tumor and he died within the year.

Then, seven years ago, Joe’s younger brother began experiencing indescribably severe heartburn following meals coupled with fatigue and bloating.

He began to lose weight, notably in his face and midsection and when he noticed blood in his stool

he panicked. By the time he was diagnosed, his cancer had spread from his colon to his stomach and kidneys.

Over the next five years, he underwent multiple surgeries interspersed between bouts of chemotherapy and radiation. But in 2021, after his system had become so nightmarishly toxic that the white of his eyes turned yellow, at the age of 56, he lost his battle and died in the hospital.

Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death amongst Bahamians. Incidence rates have increased almost across the board for cervix, colon and stomach cancers and exponentially so for breast and prostate cancers.

The cause for the increase has been widely speculated to be secondary to poor diet and lack of exercise. Given the scientifically corroborated evidence linking obesity (and the repeated consumption of processed foods with high sugar and high salt content) with a notably high risk for several types of cancers, this correlation appears remarkably more than speculative. Whatever the cause and despite the passage of time, an entity he’s been told will heal all his wounds, Joe carries with him a lingering grief that even now, remains jarring and undeniably painful.

Not knowing what happens to your loved ones after death or if you’ll ever see them again is frightening.

Yet, today, there are moments of light. When he is working in his garden, he feels a connection with his parents, particularly his father and for a few moments as he is planting or harvesting, there is a sense of peace and fulfillment.

In those moments, Joe chooses to focus on the love that he receives from his wife and children and the countless ways that they’ve blessed and enriched his life.

After seeing what his parents and siblings endured, Joe’s also learned to be more aware of his own body and paying attention to any changes, no matter how subtle the initial manifestation may be. He encourages others to heed his warnings and do the same. He’s also incredibly close with his remaining siblings and they check on each more frequently now than in their childhood, recognising that no day is promised and without warning, life can change in an instant.

Your energy, he says, should never be focused on who you’ve lost but rather on who you have and what you can give those who are still with you and need your love.

This is the KDK Report.

• Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western

UN CLIMATE JUSTICE SUCCESS SHOULD ENCOURAGE SMALL STATES TO ACT TOGETHER

EFFORTS by small states to seek justice for damage and existential threats to their countries, caused by the world’s major environmental polluters, moved a step further at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on March 29.

By consensus, the UNGA adopted a resolution seeking an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change.

The resolution asks the ICJ to clarify states’ obligations regarding climate change, including their human rights obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also asks the court for guidance on questions of accountability for “states that have caused significant harm to the climate,” and to small island states.

The adoption of the resolution demonstrates the soft power of developing states when they act collectively in international fora. While the resolution was proposed by the Pacific Island of Vanuatu which did remarkable diplomatic work to build the consensus that eventually led to UN GA adoption, 18 other countries formed a core group in advancing it. Antigua and Barbuda was the only Caribbean country in the core group.

By the time of the UNGA’S adoption of the Resolution the core group had secured co-sponsorship by more than 130 states.

Antigua and Barbuda is also a co-founder of another UN-registered Commission which is utilising the international legal system and its institutions to seek climate justice. This body is the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS) which is seeking an advisory opinion from the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Unlike the Vanuatu initiative, which will now have to await formalities from the ICJ about the procedures for the submission of memoranda and a date for hearings, COSIS has already received confirmation from ITLOS for a first hearing on September 12 in Hamburg, Germany.

Vanuatu is one of the six core members of COSIS which is co-chaired by the Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu, Gaston Browne and Kausea Natano, both of whom will attend the ITLOS hearing in Hamburg.

These efforts by small island states to use the international legal system for climate justice arise from the failure of meetings of the UN Conference

Scotia Wealth Management™

JOB VACANCY Associate, Fiduciary Services

This role contributes to the overall success of the Fiduciary Services Department / International Trust Unit / Bahamas / Northern Region ensuring specific individual goals, plans, initiatives conducted are in compliance with governing regulations, internal policies and procedures.

To maintain high quality administration of a straightforward portfolio of trust, foundation, insurance, fund, company and agency solutions in a manner that deepens relationships and enhances profitability, and contributes to the effective operation of Relationship Management through the maintenance of effective risk management controls.

MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Communicate with Designated Persons and their advisors in a prompt and efficient manner, with regard to the operation of wealth structures serviced by the Team.

• Ensure that regular and routine administration aspects are diarized and achieved promptly, e.g., preparation of annual financial statements, payments/distributions to designated persons, renewal of insurance policies and that all statements and reports are supplied in a timely manner.

• Have acquired a detailed understanding of and acting in accordance with the Founding and Ancillary Documentation of all cases under administration, assets held, the Designated Persons, and associated tax, legal, and regulatory impact

• Invest funds in accordance with documentation requirements or guidance/instructions from Designated Persons or their advisors, if appropriate or if directed by Team Leader, in a timely and accurate manner.

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

of the Parties (COP), which have produced little or no benefits for them.

Small island states are the greatest victims of climate change and global warming, although they collectively contribute less than 0.1 per cent of Global Green House Gas emissions - CO2.

The latest UN report is clear that human activity is responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years; the rate of temperature rise in the last half century is the highest in 2,000 years; and concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest in at least 2 million years.

Thirteen countries are currently responsible for 68 per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions. Of the 13 countries, 4 of them – China, the United States of America, India and Russia – account for 55 per cent.

Much irreversible damage has already been done to many countries and to millions of people. The planet Earth – our one homeland – has also been wounded with consequences for all. Communities in many countries have been displaced by extreme weather events.

In Antigua and Barbuda, all the inhabitants of Barbuda were dislocated in 2017 by Hurricane Irma. Similarly, in 2019, Hurricane Dorian decimated the Abacos in The Bahamas, dislodging the entire community. Effectively, these persons were “Climate refugees” – a classification which has not yet been accepted in international law or in international provisions.

Economies of developing states, especially small island states, are repeatedly set back by extreme weather events. All of these small economies have incurred burdensome debt to rebuild destroyed countries and to try to build resiliently for the future.

Current global financial flows for adaptation, including from public and private finance sources, are insufficient and constrain implementation of adaptation options in developing countries.

A World Bank report recently revealed that “richer countries, which significantly expanded their economies over the last decades, were the largest contributors of CO2

emissions, while small states are the most affected and face the most significant costs of adaptation.” While the polluting nations get richer, the suffering nations get poorer. The injustice cannot be more blatantly obvious.

The plea for compensation for loss and damage by small countries was only reluctantly considered at COP27 and appears to have been pushed off into a committee to make recommendations to COP28 that might amount to little. The sense of hopelessness in small states is rising even as temperatures and the level of the sea rise.

In nine months, world leaders will gather at COP28 in Dubai. The leaders of the most powerful nations – and the biggest pollutersshould go to Dubai to deliver climate justice to those countries caught in the vortex of crises none of them caused; they should be prepared to compensate those, that they have harmed most, for loss and damage. They should also deliver on the financial commitments made at COP meetings in Copenhagen, Paris and Glasgow. But there is no sign that this will happen. Hence the resort by small island states to seek redress in the international legal system.

The arbitrations and the judgements of ITLOS and the ICJ are not binding on states, but they carry legal authority and moral weight that cannot be ignored. Favourable opinions from each or either of them, showing that international law is not on the side of the polluters, would be a boost to the negotiating strength of small states at COP28.

Hopefully, the consensus resolution by the UNGA, that resulted from developing states working together, will embolden them to do more to advance their joint interests.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own).

• Prepare and check computer input relating to transactions and to ensure current and correct financial records for each case and approving same within prescribed limits.

• Prepare company minutes and annual returns and updating statutory records.

• Review financial statements after preparation by accounting department and before dispatching to Designated Persons

• Comply with internal systems of reporting and authorization as evidenced in the Policy and Procedures Manual, and the Trust Services Administration Manual.

• Conduct reviews of each case promptly, as the Annual Review forms are issued and raising appropriate queries.

• Check all files and wallets for each case regularly to ensure that filing is in chronological order and that all documents and correspondence have been correctly filed in safe, statutory wallet or correspondence file.

EDUCATIONAL/COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS:

• Basic knowledge of fiduciary principles and practices.

• Strong knowledge and understanding of trust and corporate administration, fiduciary principles and regulatory requirements.

• A good understanding of local laws with a legal background.

• Basic Accounting knowledge.

• Professional Trust qualifications or Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners accreditation.

• 5 years progressive related experience within the finance industry.

• Proficiency in organizational and basic analytical and numeracy skills must be evidenced.

• Foreign language capabilities are desirable, especially Spanish and European languages

Qualified candidates should submit C.V via email to: hrbahamas@scotiawealth.com on or before April 3rd, 2023

Please note that only those individuals short - listed for an interview will be contacted.

Please send your resume no later than April 3rd, 2023 to : hrbahamas@scotiawealth.com Kindly put

Scotia Wealth Management™

JOB VACANCY

Senior Manager, Fiduciary and Regulatory Controls

This role is responsible for providing expert testing support by performing operational reviews focused on key controls and based on the established guidelines and approved methodologies. Responsible for successfully performing all review testing procedures and comply with minimum operational standards, ensuring local and Enterprise-wide Policies, as well as local and global regulatory requirements are understood and met in their respective countries / region.

The incumbent is responsible for the review and monitoring of the effectiveness of fiduciary controls as well as being responsible for supporting the governance framework, providing support to business lines through escalations, monitoring, program breaches or gaps; reviewing controls as required and reporting the effectiveness of the Trust Field Review Program in the country.

The incumbent will serve as the regulatory expert, reviewing local legal and regulatory laws, guidelines, rules and regulations that are applicable to the business and ensuring that relevant procedures and controls are implemented which are aligned with the laws, guidelines, rules and regulations.

The incumbent will also be responsible for ensuring that Fiduciary controls and procedures are comprehensively and accurately documents in the applicable guidelines / manuals which are approved and operational.

MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Provide support to ensure alignment, effectiveness and compliance of local and global testing programs including AML/ATF, Sanctions, On Boarding Practices and other Operational testing programs.

• Provide support and guidance to Business Lines.

• Support by identifying issues through testing reviews of Business Lines.

• Provide proactive recommendations and clarifications related to reviews and participate in control alignment and optimization of procedures.

• Identify control gaps and provide /assist with remediation action plans in coordination with the local Compliance officer for any process breaches.

• Continuously assess inherent risks and mitigating controls in the execution of established procedures.

• Conduct monitoring and testing to ensure the effective and compliant execution and sustainability of the Field Review Program.

• Assist in developing and maintaining metrics and reporting of findings.

• Conduct training programs geared towards improving the internal controls and testing mechanism within the Business Lines.

• The incumbent must have superior working knowledge and establish a database of all existing and new legal and regulatory laws, guidelines, rules and regulations that impact the Businesses.

• Create reports and track training on outstanding legal, regulatory and control issues.

• Act as champion performing a comprehensive review of all Fiduciary guidelines and manuals

• identify gaps and deficiencies in the guidelines/manuals

• Provide responses to senior management, regulators, auditors and staff on queries relating to the content and interpretation of the guidelines/manuals.

EDUCATIONAL/COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT

University degree in a business or legal related field. Relevant Master's degree is desirable, together with:

• A minimum of 5 years' experience with control testing or audit experience in an operations, regulatory or compliance capacity within a financial institution setting.

• 7

10 years experience in the Trust / banking sector.

• Compliance designation (ACAMS / ICA) is required.

• Legal qualification would be an asset.

• Compliance, monitoring and testing background required.

• Prior experience in examinations/auditing roles, and an understanding of testing methodology and risk and controls analysis.

• Possess strong communication (verbal and written), listening, presentation and facilitation skills.

• The incumbent must be a strong leader with excellent interpersonal, communication and influencing skills in order to build consensus and collaboration with stakeholders.

• Ability to suggest appropriate recommendations to senior/executive management and effectively support those recommendations by applying critical thinking skills and decision making.

• Excellent organizational and time management skills, including ability to work well under pressure and constantly adjust priorities for self and the team.

• Working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

• Ability to work and travel independently at various locations both locally and internationally when needed.

Qualified candidates should submit C.V via email to: hrbahamas@scotiawealth.com on or before April 3rd, 2023

Please note that only those individuals short - listed for an interview will be contacted.

Please send your resume no later than April 3rd, 2023 to: hrbahamas@scotiawealth.com

Centreville MP provides senior citizens and disabled with healthy food packages

Centreville MP Jomo Campbell provided senior citizens and people with disabilities a free supply of locally grown fruits, vegetables, grains, bread, seeds, personal care packages and a choice of chicken, fish or conch during the constituency’s “Annual Harvest of Love” event on Saturday. Dozens of people lined up to get a package. “It’s really all about sowing back into the lives of senior citizens who sowed into us,” Mr Campbell said.

Photos: Moise Amisial

Blinken: Russia must immediately free two detained Americans

WASHINGTON

Associated Press

secReTaRy of state

antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone call between the diplomats since the ukraine war, to immediately release a Wall street Journal reporter who was detained last week as well as another imprisoned american, Paul Whelan, the state Department said sunday. in the call with Russian Foreign Minister sergey Lavrov, Blinken conveyed “grave concern” over the Kremlin’s detention of journalist evan Gershkovich on espionage allegations, according to a state Department summary of the call. Blinken called for his immediate release.

Blinken also sought the immediate release of Whelan, whom the statement said was wrongfully detained. us officials said they were considering a similar determination for Gershkovich that could be made at any time. should that happen, his case would be largely transferred to the office of the us special Presidential for Hostage affairs.

Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the us government have said are baseless. He is serving a 16-year sentence.

Blinken and Lavrov also discussed “the importance of creating an environment that permits diplomatic missions to carry out their work,” according to the state Department.

The FsB, Russia’s top security agency and successor to the KGB, said Gershkovich was collecting information on an enterprise of the military-industrial complex. Russian authorities detained him last week, the first time a us correspondent has been held on spying accusations since the cold War. in its summary of the call, Russia’s foreign ministry said Lavrov “drew Blinken’s attention to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities” about Gershkovich, whom Moscow claims, without evidence, “was caught red-handed.”

The Journal has adamantly denied the

allegations and demanded his release. us officials have also called on Russia to let him go, with President Joe Biden telling reporters on Friday that his message to the country was “Let him go.”

The Kremlin said Lavrov also told Blinken it was unacceptable for us officials and Western news media to continue “whipping up excitement” and politicizing the journalist’s detention. “His further fate will be determined by the court.”

The state Department described the detention of Gershkovich as unacceptable.

emma Tucker, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, said it was “gratifying” and “reassuring” to learn of Blinken’s call because it shows the us government

is taking the case “right up to the top.” The Journal has been unable to get messages to the reporter or learn any official information about him, she told cBs’ “Face the nation.” us consular officials have requested a visit with Gershkovich but no announcement of such access has been made. Officials said they were hopeful consular access could be arranged in the coming week but could not speak to when that might happen.

Tucker said the newspaper is hopeful a lawyer might be able to meet with Gershkovich this coming week, and in the meantime has been “pressing constantly for reassurance that he’s not being mistreated in any way.”

Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House

Russia to put tactical nukes nea R Belarus’ western Border, envoy says

ESTONIA

Associated Press

Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus’ borders with naTO neighbours, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said sunday amid simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow’s war in ukraine.

ambassador Boris Gryzlov’s comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement about plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russia’s neighbour and ally. The announcement marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting ukraine.

Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The two neighbours have an agreement envisioning close economic, political and military ties. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.

Gryzlov, speaking in remarks broadcast late sunday by Belarusian state television, said the Russian nuclear weapons will

be “moved up close to the Western border of our union state” but did not give any precise location.

“it will expand our defence capability, and it will be done regardless of all the noise in europe and the united states,” he said in a reference to Western criticism of Putin’s decision.

Belarus shares a 778-mile border with naTO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Tactical nuclear weapons, which are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield, have a relatively short range and a much

lower yield compared with nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles that are capable of obliterating whole cities.

The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in ukraine and naTO members in eastern and central europe.

Belarus’ authoritarian President alexander

Lukashenko said Friday that some of Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal.

intelligence committee, noted that the government has advised us citizens to leave Russia. “This is not unexpected, in that Russia is acting as an illegal state at this point. There are no laws or rules or no international norms that they are following,” Turner, R-Ohio, told cnn’s “state of the union.” in alleging that us officials and news media are hyping Gershkovich’s detention, Russian officials are reprising a theme they used in the apprehensions of basketball star Brittney Griner and other us citizens. The Kremlin has said it prefers to resolve such cases quietly and has emphasized the need to follow Russia’s judicial process. Often, that means the chance of progress in us efforts to free its detained citizens isn’t likely until formal charges

are filed, a trial is held, a conviction is obtained, and sentencing and appeals are completed.

More than 30 news organizations and press freedom advocates have written the Russian ambassador in the united states to express concern Russia is sending the message that reporting inside the country is criminalised. On saturday night, Griner, who was detained for 10 months by Russian authorities before being released in a prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, issued a statement with her wife, cherelle, calling for the release of the 31-year-old Gershkovich. every american who is taken is ours to fight for and every american returned is a win for us all,” the couple

said in a statement posted on instagram. interactions between the top us and Russian diplomats have been rare since Russia’s invasion of ukraine in February 2022, though they did have a brief conversation last month on the sidelines of the Group of 20 conference of foreign ministers in india. it was the highest-level in-person talks between the two countries since the war. That interaction was their first contact since last summer, when Blinken talked to Lavrov by phone about a us proposal for Russia to release Whelan and Griner. Though Whelan was not included in the onefor-one swap that resulted in the release of Griner, us officials said they remain committed to bringing him home.

The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich is shown in this undated photo. The State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone call, to immediately release Gershkovich, who was detained last week, as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan.

Photo: The Wall Street Journal/AP

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine and a Michigan corporate security executive who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020.

Photo: Sofia Sandurskaya/AP

RuSSian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 31, 2023.

Photo: alexei Babushkin/AP

Keyshawn shatters his national record JUNIOR TENNIS STARS SHINE

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Another national record breaking performance from collegian Keyshawn Strachan, a pair of world leading 200 metre performances from collegian Terrence Jones and elite athlete Steven Gardiner and a pair of personal best feats from Anthaya Charlton highlighted an eventful track and field weekend in the United States.

Strachan, in just his freshman year at Auburn University, continues to make his impression with a huge toss of 276-feet, 5-inches or 84.27 metres on his second attempt to easily win the men’s javelin at the Texas Relays at the Mike A. Myers Stadium.

It turned out to be a world-leading mark, surpassing the previous best of 83.78m that was posted by Aliaksei Kqatkavets on February 26 as he obliviated his national record of 79.89 when the 19-year-old established the CARIFTA Games in Kingston, Jamaica, last year for the gold medal.

“I feel pretty good about it. I give God all the thanks and glory for it,” said Strachan, who competed in his

Posts world-leading mark in javelin

AT SPRING CLASSIC

By TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) wrapped up the final day of the Royal Bank of Canada Spring Classic tournament yesterday at the National Tennis Centre.

The junior tournament featured more than 100 matches as the young athletes looked to compete and show off their progress in this past weekend’s matchups.

The final day consisted of eight intense head-to-head singles tennis showdowns as the tournament’s best of the best looked to take home trophies in their respective divisions.

Among yesterday’s star junior tennis players was Saphirre Ferguson.

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

IT wasn’t long ago that Manchester United was being talked up, somewhat optimistically, as a potential outsider for the Premier League title.

Now, even a top-four finish is looking far from assured for a club up for sale and seeking Champions League qualification as another attraction for potential buyers.

United’s 2-0 loss at Newcastle yesterday further intensified the race for the two likely spots behind Arsenal and Manchester City, the Premier League’s runaway top two, in Europe’s top competition next season.

Second-half goals by Joe Willock and Callum Wilson gave Newcastle

collegiate season opener. “I was pretty excited about it going into the event. The night before, I did my usual thing.

“I prayed and I read my bible. I wasn’t nervous at all. I really felt like

something big was going to happen.”

Strachan, who is no longer eligible for CARIFTA, only had one other legal throw, which was 258-11 (72.82m) on his fifth attempt. He noted that he

hopes to continue to progress with every meet he competes in. He will take a break this weekend to come home to watch the CARIFTA Games before he heads back to school to compete

in his next meet in two weeks.

And to the athletes on Team Bahamas, Strachan advised them to just go out there and put their best

SEE PAGE 16

The young tennis player came out of this year’s Spring Classic tournament as the only double crown winner. In her first matchup on the day, she defeated Tatyana Madu 6-0, 6-4 in under 16 girls singles action. Ferguson once again came out on top in another tennis match, this time in the under 18 girls showdown versus Caila Bowe. The double crown winner picked up the second victory 6-2, 6-0.

SEE PAGE 20

AYTON POSTS DOUBLE DOUBLE, SUNS BEAT THUNDER

By MURRAY EVANS Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY

(AP) — Kevin Durant scored 35 points and the Phoenix Suns held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-118 last night for their fifth straight victory. Durant — once a hero in Oklahoma City after leading the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals, but roundly booed nearly every time he touched the ball Sunday — scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, helping Phoenix hold the lead after Oklahoma City cut a 15-point deficit to three. The Suns are 6-0 with Durant in the lineup. Devin Booker added 22 points and 10 assists for Phoenix, which shot 56.8% from the field to match its season high.

Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Chris Paul had 16 points and eight assists. Phoenix remained fourth in the Western Conference standings.

Oklahoma City, which is battling for a spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament, lost for the third time in its last four games despite 39 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Thunder remained in the final play-in spot — 10th — a game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks, who lost to the Atlanta Hawks in overtime.

The Thunder led Phoenix seven points in the first quarter and were tied 27-27 entering the second quarter, but Oklahoma City surrendered a 42-point second

SEE PAGE 16

A San Diego St-UConn title game brings Fab Five memories

partial revenge for its loss to United in the English League Cup final on February 26 and lifted the Saudi-controlled northeast team into third place, above United on goal difference. Tottenham is a point behind both teams in fifth place ahead of its game at Everton today.

“I do think Newcastle are a very good side, but I don’t think they won the game on quality today,” United defender Luke Shaw said. “I think they won it on passion, hunger, desire, attitude. They clearly had that higher motivation than we had. That can’t be possible.”

“You could say it was coming,” Shaw added. “Before the international break, we dropped levels. It was clear to see today it wasn’t up there.”

For United, it’s just one point — a 0-0 home draw with struggling Southampton — from a possible nine in its last three league games. That’s a worrying drop in form amid a hectic fixture schedule for Erik

ten Hag’s team, which is also still involved in the FA Cup and Europa League. Also hurting United is the current absence of Casemiro in league play

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer

HOUSTON (AP) —

Thirty years ago, a group of disrupters with baggy shorts and black socks changed college basketball as we know it, and took a good slice of American culture along for the ride.

Those freshmen known as the Fab Five ended up one win short of the title, which is exactly where San Diego State — a team coached by a former Fab Five assistant, Brian Dutcher — finds itself in 2023 during another transformative period in college hoops.

The Aztecs (32-6) themselves certainly aren’t trying to deliver

change to the game or the culture when they face UConn (30-8) in the title game tonight.

But the fact that they’re here — a team with Michigan bloodlines that was forged quickly through the newly liberated transfer portal and enriched by opportunities that have sprung from name, image and likeness deals — speaks volumes about where those Fab Five superstars were trying to take the game three decades ago.

“We got to college and started understanding the hypocrisy in the game, with the schools making millions and us sitting around poor as hell,” said

SEE PAGE 18

NEWCASTLE’s Joe Willock celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Manchester United, at St. James’ Park stadium in Newcastle, England, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Jon Super)

FRESHMAN Keyshawn Strachan easily won the men’s javelin in the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

SUNS centre Deandre Ayton dunks in front of Thunder forward Jaylin Williams in the second half yesterday.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Raptors beat Hornets, clinch play-in tournament spot

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

(AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and a career-high 20 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the undermanned

Charlotte Hornets 128108 yesterday to secure a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.

O.G. Anunoby added 23 points for the Raptors, who clinched after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Utah Jazz later in the day.

The Raptors (39-39) are now focused on seeding with four games remaining.

They entered the day tied with the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to move up in the standings to secure a better chance of advancing out of the play-in tournament.

The team finishing eighth needs just one victory; the

Kai Jones scores 10 points, three blocks in 128-108 loss

team finishing ninth would need two to reach the postseason as the No. 8 seed.

“It’s really important for us” to get to the 8 seed, VanVleet said.

“For the last couple of weeks it has been really simple for us — we’re in a win-every-game mode. There’s not much to think about. You have to go out and perform and play your best and try to take care of business. We are just trying to play our best basketball at this time of the year.”

VanVleet, who now owns the franchise singlegame records for points and assists, made sure the Raptors were on top of their game.

The Raptors outscored the Hornets 90-44 in the paint in the opener of a two-game series, which

helped offset 8-of-28 shooting from 3-point range. The teams meet again Tuesday night in Charlotte.

“He was really good,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet.

“He got the ball a lot of places where it needed to go.”

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said VanVleet was “high intensity” from the beginning and his team couldn’t stop him on the pick-and-roll.

“He just crushed us,” Clifford said. “Every pickand-roll, it didn’t matter, angle, high side, he either scored, got fouled or they got a wide-open shot. So we’ve mixed up the schemes but none of that worked.”

Svi Mykhailiuk scored a career-high 26 points and

Mark Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without all five of the team’s anticipated starters this season. James Bouknight added 21 points and Theo Maledon had 14 assists. In 31 minutes - the most time he has had in

an NBA game - Kai Jones made five of his 10 field goal attempts for 10 points. He missed two threepointers but grabbed five defensive rebounds and also had three blocks, two assists and a steal. And he had three turnovers.

Young, Hawks outlast reeling

Mavericks 132-130 in overtime

ATLANTA (AP) —

Trae Young made two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give Atlanta the lead and the Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 132-130 on Sunday night to keep pace in the Eastern Conference play-in race.

Young was fouled by Kyrie Irving, who scored 41 points, with the game tied at 130 on what Young said was “kind of a lucky play for us and unlucky for them.”

Young said he accidently stepped on the foot of Mavericks guard Josh Green before crashing into Irving. “I just got in Kyrie’s way,” Young said.

Following Young’s free throws, Luke Doncic, who scored 22 points, missed a last-second 3-pointer.

The Hawks (39-39) moved back into eighth place in the play-in race. Toronto and Chicago put pressure on the Hawks with wins before Atlanta’s game. The Hawks have the tiebreaker advantage over Toronto.

BUCKS 117, 76ERS 104

MILWAUKEE (AP) —

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Milwaukee the Philadelphia to move a step closer to

FROM PAGE 14

foot forward as he indicated that he will be right there to support them, especially his younger sister, Kamera Strachan, who is aiming to not only break the Bahamian junior national record, but also the games mark.

Jones also tops the world

Competing in his first 200 metres outdoors since May 2021, Terrence Jones led a sweep of the half-time lap for Texas Tech by taking the title at the 95th Texas Relays in a world-leading time of 20.05 seconds, ahead of team-mate Courtney Linday, who trailed in 20.11.

The time by Jones, a native of Grand Bahama, was also recorded as a meet record for Texas Tech, a qualifier for the World Championships in August in Budapest, Hungary and the second fastest on the all-time list by Bahamians.

Only Gardiner, the national record holder at 19.75 on April 7, 2018, has ran faster in the event.

Jones and the Red Raiders will be back in action this weekend as they compete in the Jim Click Shootout in Arizona.

Gardiner season opener

With his concentration on the 400m as he prepares for another title at the World Championships in Budapest, Abaco native Gardiner won his 200 opener at the Florida

AUGUSTA

NATIONAL HAS SUNDAY UNLIKE ANY OTHER AT MASTERS

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP)

— Mark O’Meara is reminded every year how meaningful it was to win the Masters.

O’Meara was on the practice green yesterday at Augusta National, 25 years removed from his birdie-birdie finish to win his first major. Now he is 66 and plays the PGA Tour Champions only occasionally. But he remains part of Masters week.

And he has company, young and old.

Also on the putting green was Bernhard Langer. They were with a half-dozen kids barely into their teens, preparing for the Drive, Chip and Putt Finals.

There was little to suggest the first major of the year had arrived.

the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks have a twogame lead over Boston with four games left. Boston won the season series with Milwaukee and has the tiebreaker. Philadelphia is third in the East. Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Khris Middleton had 19 and Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis each added 18 as the Bucks shot 57.5%. Middleton also had nine assists.

Tyrese Maxey had 29 points and Joel Embiid 28 for the 76ers.

KNICKS 118, WIZARDS 109

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson and Quentin Grimes each scored 27 points and New York beat Washington to wrap up a playoff berth.

Immanuel Quickley added 22 points and Obi Toppin had 21 for the Knicks, who won their fourth in a row and will be in the postseason for the second time in three years. They had missed the playoffs the previous seven seasons.

Mitchell Robinson contributed eight points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won both games since losing All-Star forward Julius Randle to a sprained left ankle. Corey Kispert led

Relays at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida on Friday in 20.14.

“It was a good race for me. It was my fastest opener in my whole career so it was a good day for me,” Gardiner said.

“My start could have been better and I could have held my drive phase a little longer, but other than that, I think I did everything that I was supposed to do.”

Trevor Bassitt, competing unattached, was second in 20.53 and Michael Hudson-Smith, representing Puma, was third in 20.56.

Gardiner, who will return to action this weekend in Miramar, Florida where he will contest another 200m, said it’s just the beginning of his trek back to international prominence this year.

“Our plan was to sprint a little more this year, but of course we will be doing the 400m at the World Championships this year,” said Gardiner, who hopes to regain his title he relinquished after missing last year’s event in Eugene, Oregon, due to an injury.

“It’s just a part of our plan to sprint a little more. But of course we are going to the World Championships and run the 400.”

Other Bahamians competing at the meet:

Freshman Paige Archer, competing for the University of Central Florida, was 17th overall in the women’s 100m in 11.78. The winning time in the event was 10.92

Washington with a careerhigh 29 points.

LAKERS 134, ROCKETS 109

HOUSTON (AP) —

Anthony Davis scored 40 points, LeBron James had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to tie Jason Kidd for fourth place with his 107th triple-double and Los Angeles beat Houston.

The Lakers (40-38) moved two games over .500 and into a tie for seventh with New Orleans in the Western Conference with four games to go. Los Angeles has won six of its last seven games and owns the tiebreaker over the Pelicans.

Jalen Green scored 24 points for Houston.

Alperen Sengun had 18 points and 15 rebounds.

NETS 111, JAZZ 110

NEW YORK (AP —

Mikal Bridges had 30 points and seven rebounds, helping Brooklyn beat Utah to move closer to clinching a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Spencer Dinwiddie had 17 points and 12 assists for Brooklyn, and Cam Johnson had 18 points. The Nets won their third straight, and fourth in their past five games, opening a two-game lead over Miami for the No. 6 seed and dipping their magic number to two for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the East.

Talen Horton-Tucker scored 32 points and Lauri Markkanen had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz, who lost for the fifth time in six games and are 12th in the West, two spots behind the last play-in spot.

SPURS 142, KINGS 134, OT SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Doug McDermott scored 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and San Antonio denied Sacramento a chance at clinching the Pacific Division. After clinching their first playoff berth since 2006 on Wednesday night on

and final attempt with her best legal mark of 20-9 ¼ (6.33m).

Texas sophomore Ackelia Smith also had a wind-aided winning leap of 21-6 ¾ (6.57m) on her fourth attempt. However, her best legal mark was 20-11 1/4 (6.38m) on her third attempt. In getting second place, Synclair Salvage, a junior at Louisiana, soared 21-5 ¼ (6.53m) on her first attempt.

Miller soars in high jump

the road, the Kings were hoping to wrap up their first division title in 20 years in front of their home fans but fell short against the struggling Spurs.

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points for the Kings.

TRAIL BLAZERS 107, TIMBERWOLVES 105 MINNEAPOLIS (AP)

— Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points, Kevin Knox II added 19 points and shorthanded Portland beat playoff-hopeful Minnesota.

Trendon Watford had 15 points and Skylar Mays finished with 13 points and nine assists in his second game with Portland, which had lost 11 of 12 and was without four regular starters.

Anthony Edwards scored 37 points for the Timberwolves. They have lost three in a row.

BULLS 128, GRIZZLIES 107

CHICAGO (AP) — Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan added 31 and Chicago beat Memphis, overcoming Ja Morant’s triple-double.

The Bulls outscored the Western Conference’s second-place team 75-39 over the final two quarters after trailing by 23. They dominated the Grizzlies 40-16 in the third, ending it on a 17-0 run while taking the lead.

Madison Langley-Walker, a senior at Arkansas , in 13.14.

Taylor was also entered in the women’s triple jump. But she didn’t compete. Otabor 11th

“It never gets old,” O’Meara said. “I feel blessed. I feel privileged. I don’t play the tournament anymore, but I still come and enjoy what the Masters Tournament is all about.”

Ultimately, it’s about a green jacket that gets presented in seven days.

What makes this Sunday so unusual is the stage for the Masters is just a private club. Augusta National started the Drive, Chip and Putt in 2014. Five years later, it added the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Rose Zhang won the fourth edition Saturday in a playoff. She was under the oak tree by the clubhouse the next day and one kid exclaimed, “There’s Rose Zhang!”

An hour earlier, former Masters champion Jordan Spieth teed off for a practice round with his brother, Steve, who played basketball at Brown. It wasn’t until midafternoon that Tiger Woods arrived, the five-time champion and star of the show even in a year divided by Saudifunded LIV Golf. Woods visited briefly on the range with Masters Chairman Fred Ridley before heading onto the golf course, as quiet as the course will be all week.

Spieth, O’Meara and defending champion Scottie Scheffler were among Masters champions who handed out awards to the various age divisions for boys and girls who won the driving, chipping and putting competitions, plus the overall winners.

by

Talitha

Diggs, a junior at Florida.

Sasha Wells, who competed unattached in the women’s 100m hurdles. She placed 12th overall in 13.42, but didn’t advance to the final. Charlton double dose of competition

After coming out of the preliminaries of the 100m with the second fastest, but the sixth best on placement in a personal best of 10.98 seconds, Charlton slowed down to run 11.13 for second place in the final.

McKenzie Long, a sophomore at Ole Miss, won the race in 11.00. She had the fastest qualifying time of 10.80.

In her double duties in the meet, Charlton picked up third place finish in the women’s long jump with a wind-aided 21-feet, 4 ¾-inches or 6.52 metres on her fifth attempt. She followed that on her sixth

Shaun Miller Jr, a junior at Ohio State, cleared 7-2 ½ (2.20m) for second place in the men’s high jump, beating out two other collegians on fewer knockdowns at the same height at the Texas Relays. The winning jump was 7-7 ¾ (2.33m) by American Olympian JuVaughn Harrison, who representing Pima.

McCoy made final Wanya McCoy, a sophomore at Clemson, got into the men’s 100m final with the sixth fastest time of 10.04 at the Texas Relays. He ended up seventh in the final in 10.21. Isaiah Trousil, a senior at Northern Iowa, won the race in 10.16.

Taylor shy of final

In the women’s 100m hurdles, versatile Charisma Taylor, representing Tennessee in her senior year, fell just shy of advancing to the final after she placed 10th overall in 13.16 at the Texas Relays. The ninth and final spot went to

Also at the Texas Relay, strongwoman Rhema Otabor, a junior at Nebraska, had to settle for 11th place in the women’s javelin with a heave of 161-8 (49.29m) on her first attempt. Winning the event was Valentina Barrios Bornacelli, a sophomore at Missouri, with her toss of 183-9 (56.00m) on her sixth attempt.

Words of advice to Team

Bahamas for CARIFTA

Steven Gardiner, the multiple national record holder, who made his debut at CARIFTA in 2014 in Fort-de-France, Martinique as a member of both the men’s under-17 4 x 100m silver medal and 4 x 400m bronze medal teams, said it’s all about having fun.

“I just want to wish them good luck and encourage them to have fun,” Gardiner said. “This is our big one. This is our 50th anniversary of Independence and so just go out there and represent the country and just give it your all, but most have fun. “Everybody runs best when they are comfortable. So no pressure to them. Just go out there and represent the country in front of the fans who will be there for CARIFTA Games.

AYTON FROM PAGE 14

quarter, matching the highest total by any opponent this season. A 3-pointer by Isaiah Joe with 5:19 left pulled Oklahoma City to 109-106, but Durant hit a 3-pointer and Ayton followed with a putback to make it 114-106 with 4:33 left.

The Thunder came no closer than five points after that.

HONOUR AND GRATITUDE

Phoenix coach Monty Williams was an assistant for the Thunder on February 10, 2016, when his wife, Ingrid, died in a traffic accident in Oklahoma City.

After his pregame news conference yesterday, Williams took time to thank members of the Thunder organisation — including general manager Sam Presti and Ayana Lawson, the team’s vice president of community and lifestyle services — for their continued support.

“We lost my wife here, and this city, and in particular, this organisation, wrapped their arms around me and my family and they continue to do so, led by Sam Presti, the ownership here and Ayana Lawson,” Williams said. “Today would have been my wife’s birthday and they chose to honour my wife today by not allowing anybody to sit in her seats.”

HORNETS forward Kai Jones dunks against the Raptors in the first half yesterday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

HAWKS guard Trae Young. (AP Photo/H Wright Sr)

STEVEN GARDINER

‘Jazz’ Euro-steps to home plate after his first homer this season

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer

MIAMI (AP) — After Skip Schumaker got his first win as a major league manager, Miami Marlins players put him in a cart, rolled him into the shower area of their clubhouse and doused him with whatever liquids they had on hand to celebrate.

“They thought of some kind of beer shower,” Schumaker said after changing out of his drenched clothes, “protein shake in my ear and whatever else they put in my head.”

Behind five shutout innings from Jesús Luzardo and home runs by Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr and Jorge Soler, the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Mets 2-1 on Friday night.

Schumaker, an 11-yearbig league veteran, got his first managing job last October when he was hired to replace Don Mattingly.

The 43-year-old spent last season as the St. Louis bench coach. “I know it goes on my record, but they won that game,” Schumaker said. “Players win games, and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Luzardo (1-0) struck out five and allowed two hits while walking four in his first start this season.

The 25-year-old lefthander had a 3.32 ERA

with a 30% strikeout rate in 100 1/3 innings last season.

“The next step is being consistent,” Luzardo said. “I feel towards the end of last year I was able to do that. Just come out and no matter who we’re facing, no matter the situation, I feel it has to be 100% on the attack.”

Soler, in his first game in right field for the Marlins, made a leaping grab against the wall on Pete Alonso’s sharp fly ball to right centre in the second. He followed with a leadoff shot in the bottom half off David Peterson (0-1).

“It was a great play out in the outfield and I took that feeling back to the plate,” said Soler, the designated hitter in the opener. “The pitcher was throwing fastballs, and I had to be aggressive. If he threw one down the middle, I was going to go for it.”

Soler also ran in for a diving catch that robbed Starling Marte for the final out in the eighth. That stranded Daniel Vogelbach, who had pinch hit and doubled off Dylan Floro.

Chisholm doubled the lead with an eighth-inning homer off John Curtiss, who made his Mets debut. That proved to be key when Alonso homered in the ninth off A.J. Puk for his first hit this season.

Puk then struck out Mark Canha and got Jeff McNeil

Stanton’s 485-foot home run leads Yankees over Giants 6-0

NEW YORK (AP) —

Giancarlo Stanton hit a 485-foot home run, Aaron Judge also went deep and Jhony Brito won his brilliant major league debut as the New York Yankees beat San Francisco 6-0 yesterday for their second shutout of the Giants in the opening three-game series.

New York improved to 29-2, including the playoffs, when Judge and Stanton homer in the same game.

Kyle Higashioka also homered off Ross Stripling (0-1), who served up all three long balls in his first start for San Francisco.

Brito (1-0) yielded only two hits — one a bunt single — over five innings. He struck out six and walked one.

RED SOX 9, ORIOLES 5

BOSTON (AP) — Adam Duvall had three more hits, including two doubles and a two-run single to break a fifth-inning tie.

One day after Duvall went 4 for 5 with a walk-off homer, the free agent outfielder collected his sixth extra-base hit of the season. He’s the first player in franchise history with six in his first three games with the team. The Red Sox are the third team — joining the 1976 Reds and ‘78 Brewers — to score at least nine runs in each of their first three games.

Tanner Houck (1-0) lasted five innings, giving up three runs, five hits and a walk while striking out five. Cole Irvin (0-1) allowed six runs and eight hits in fourplus innings.

METS 5, MARLINS 1

MIAMI (AP) — Kodai

Senga struck out eight in his major league debut, wearing a glove with an image of a ghost and a pitchfork

to ground out for the save, ending a game that took 2 hours, 9 minutes.

New York, which had won Thursday’s opener, loaded the bases in the sixth after Brandon Nimmo

walked and took third on a single by Marte, who then stole second, Francisco Lindor walked, and reliever JT Chargois retired Alonso on a lineout to Chisholm in centre. Marte had two

of New York’s four hits.

Peterson gave up eight hits, struck out five and walked one in five innings. “I like the fact that he only had one walk,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

“That’s probably why he was able to survive.”

Garrett Cooper singled twice and had a triple in the first. Miami went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Miami’s Nick Fortes was called for a pitch clock violation when he wasn’t ready in time to face Tommy Hunter with two outs in the sixth. Fortes swung and missed at the next pitch, falling into an 0-2 count, then grounded out.

EURO STEP

Chisholm, known for his flashy celebrations, Eurostepped to home plate for the first time this season after his homer. He had 14 home runs last season.

WEB GEM

McNeil made an alert play in the fifth when Cooper’s sharp two-out grounder deflected off Alonso’s glove.

McNeil grabbed the ball with a dive on the right field grass, popped up and made a one-hop throw to the plate, where Tomás Nido tagged a sliding Jon Berti, who had tried to score from second.

“That was a sick play,” Alonso said.

“I mean, the ball tips off my glove. If that ball squirts away in the outfield, then that’s another run, so for him to have the baseball instincts and pick the ball up and make that play, that’s excellent.”

in reference to his “ghost forkball.”

The 30-year-old righthander allowed one run, three hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. His eight strikeouts tied for the fourth-most by a Japanese pitcher in an MLB debut.

Tommy Pham had three hits and three RBIs, finishing a triple shy of the cycle as the Mets won for the third time in the four-game opening series. Trevor Rogers (0-1) gave up four runs, four hits, two walks and two hit batters in 4 1/3 innings.

NATIONALS 4, BRAVES 1

WASHINGTON (AP) —

MacKenzie Gore allowed one run and three hits across 5 1/3 innings in his regular-season debut for the Nationals.

Gore (1-0), a 24-year-old left-hander who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft, didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth.

Atlanta’s Jared Shuster (0-1), a first round pick in 2020, lasted 4 2/3 innings in his major league debut and allowed five runs, four hits and five walks. Dominic Smith hit a go-ahead single in a four-run first.

RAYS 5, TIGERS 1 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Springs (1-0) was pulled after six hitless innings, Riley Greene got Detroit’s first hit with an infield single off Colin Poche in the seventh and the Rays completed an opening three-game sweep. Springs struck out a career-high 12 and matched his high of six innings. Outscored 21-3 in the series, Detroit had just one runner against Springs: Nick Maton drew a two-out walk in the second.

Randy Arozarena had a fourth-inning solo homer off Joey Wentz (0-1), and Jose Siri drove in two with a single against Jason Foley during a three-run sixth.

REDS 3, PIRATES 1

CINCINNATI (AP) — Graham Ashcraft (0-1) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings, giving up Brian Reynolds’ homer.

Jason Vosler and TJ Friedl hit solo home runs for the Reds. Alexis Díaz pitched the ninth for his first save.

Vince Velasquez (0-1), making his Pirates debut after signing in December as a free agent, lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up three runs and five hits.

TWINS 7, ROYALS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joey Gallo homered twice to back Joe Ryan (1-0), who gave up one run and three hits in six innings as Minnesota swept its opening series for the first time since 2017, also against Kansas City.

Gallo hit a solo homer in the sixth off Amir Garrett and a three-run drive in the seventh against Dylan Coleman for a 6-1 lead and his 16th multihomer game, his first since last June 9 for the Yankees at Minnesota.

Brad Keller (0-1) allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Edward Olivares homered in the second ending a 19-inning

scoreless streak for the Royals, their longest starting a season.

BREWERS 9, CUBS 5 CHICAGO (AP) — Jesse Winker had two hits and three RBIs, including a key two-run single in a fiverun sixth inning.

Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell and Brice Turang also had two hits apiece — part of a 13-hit attack.

Eric Lauer (1-0) pitched 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball, settling down after a shaky start.

Jameson Taillon (0-1) was charged with three runs and seven hits in four innings in his Chicago debut. Patrick Wisdom hit two solo homers for Chicago.

WHITE SOX 6, ASTROS 3 HOUSTON (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. and Yoán Moncada homered, and Mike Clevinger (1-0) allowed three hits in five shutout innings.

Robert hit a solo home run in the fifth and made a spectacular sliding catch on the left-center warning track in the ninth to rob Kyle Tucker of extra bases. Moncada hit a tworun homer in the ninth as Chicago gained a four-game split of the opening series.

Luis Garcia (0-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. The Astros were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners.

CARDINALS 9, BLUE JAYS 4 ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit a pair of two-run homers in his second career multihomer game, including a drive in a three-homer first that included long balls from Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson off Chris Bassitt (0-1). Donovan also had two doubles as the Cardinals banged out 16 hits. Bassitt, making his Blue Jays debut after signing a three-year, $63 million deal, gave up three homers in his first 14 pitches and ended up allowing nine runs and 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings for a 24.30 ERA. Jordan Montgomery gave up 3 runs and six hits over five innings.

MIAMI Marlins Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2) celebrates after his home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets on Friday in Miami. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

NEW York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton watches his one-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, April 1 in New York.

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Tigers win their first NCAA championship

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

DALLAS (AP) — Kim Mulkey had tears of joy streaming down her face as she guided LSU to it first national championship.

Her Tigers used a record offensive performance to beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa 102-85 yesterday and win the first basketball title in school history. The victory made Mulkey the first women’s coach to win national championships at two different schools. She won three at Baylor before leaving for LSU two years ago.

“Coaches coach a lifetime and this is the fourth time I’ve been blessed,” Mulkey said. “Never in the history of LSU basketball, men or women, has (anybody) ever played for a championship.”

The feisty and flamboyantly dressed Mulkey, who wore a sparkly, golden, tiger-striped outfit, now has the third-most titles of all time behind Geno Auriemma’s 11 and Pat Summitt’s eight. Mulkey has never lost in a championship game.

“My tears are tears of joy,” she said. “I’m so happy for everybody back home in Louisiana.”

Clark, The Associated Press national player of the year, couldn’t lead the Hawkeyes to their first national title despite one of the greatest individual performances in NCAA Tournament history. The junior finished with 30 points. She scored 40 in

FROM PAGE 14

Fab Five guard Ray Jackson. “We wanted to change the dynamics of that, get the athletes feeling empowered a little more.”

One of the greatest ironies is that the coach who essentially built the 21stcentury version of San Diego State is Dutcher’s longtime boss at both Michigan and SDSU, Steve Fisher. Fisher made his way

the semifinals to knock out unbeaten South Carolina one game after she had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA history in the Elite Eight.

The dazzling guard, who grew up in Iowa, set the NCAA record for points in a tournament, passing the 177 that Sheryl Swoopes scored in 1993 en route to leading Texas Tech to the title that year. Clark ended her tournament with 191.

The 102 points broke the previous high for a championship game, surpassing the 97 that Texas scored against Southern California in 1986.

Taking in the game was first lady Jill Biden, who sat in a suite above the court with tennis great Billie Jean King.

Jasmine Carson scored 22 points, Alexis Morris added 21 and Angel Reese had 15 points and 10 rebounds for LSU (34-2).

“It’s no one-man show around here. When I go down, the next man is up,” said Reese, who was honoured as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. “Every single time, every time I go out or Alexis (Morris) goes out, everybody always comes to step up.”

Trailing by 21 points early in the third quarter, Iowa started hitting from the outside to go on a 15-2 run, hitting four 3-pointers and converting a 3-point play to get within 65-57.

The Hawkeyes (31-7) trailed 73-64 with 1:03 left in the third quarter when

to the West Coast after losing his job at Michigan in the wake of one of the most complex and sordid illicitbenefits scandals in NCAA history.

In essence, the coach, who retired and handed over the SDSU reins to Dutcher in 2017, got caught up in a series of events that, frankly, wouldn’t be frowned upon nearly as harshly today. Back then, it was a shady booster with gambling ties trying to funnel money to players. These days, sports gambling

Clark was called for a technical foul. She swatted the ball away on the floor after a foul call against a teammate. That counted as a personal foul for her, her fourth of the game.

“I thought they called it very, very tight,” Clark said. “Hit with a technical foul for throwing the ball under the basket — sometimes that’s how things go.”

Clark played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls but couldn’t get the Hawkeyes much closer.

“They really played well, they were ready to go. They did a great job. I’m just so proud of my team,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “This is brutal, it’s really tough to walk out of that locker room today and not be able to coach Monika

is legal in many states (the NCAA brought the Sweet 16 to Las Vegas for the first time last week), while everyone from car dealers to social media conglomerates pay players in the open. Fisher is in Houston this week, hanging with his son, Mark, a special assistant for the fifth-seeded Aztecs who has ALS. “I had the ability to close my eyes and dream, and dream of this, to be honest with you,” Fisher said earlier this week.

A Final Four wasn’t so much a dream as an

(Czinano) and McKenna (Warnock) again. I’m very thankful for the season we had and don’t want to take anything away from that.”

After Katari Poole hit a 3-pointer in front of the LSU bench, Mulkey started weeping. A few seconds later after another LSU basket, Reese taunted Clark by putting her hand in front of her face with a “you can’t see me” gesture and then pointed to her ring finger at the end. As the final seconds ticked off, Mulkey and Reese hugged, setting off a wild celebration by the Tigers. The game was tight for the first 15 minutes before Carson got hot from the outside. She made all six of her shots in the second

expectation for the Fab Five — Jackson, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jimmy King — who, in many opinions, remain the most electric single recruiting class in college history. They showed up at Michigan in 1991 and made not one but two appearances in the national title game. They got blown out by Duke 1992 with Bobby Hurley, the brother of current UConn coach Dan Hurley, doing some of the damage. In 1993, it was

quarter, including four 3-pointers. After one of them, she threw her hands in the air and Mulkey mimicked it on the sidelines.

For good measure, the graduate student guard banked in a shot just before the halftime buzzer to give the Tigers a 59-42 lead at the break. It was the most points ever in the first half of a championship game, breaking the record held by Tennessee since 1998.

“I’ve been working for this my whole life,” Carson said at halftime. “It feels great to finally display it on this stage.”

LSU shot 58% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including going nine for 12 from behind the arc. The Tigers finished the game shooting 54% from

Webber’s costly timeout when the Wolverines didn’t have one that made the difference in a close loss to North Carolina.

So, no title, but the Fab Five ended up with more — namely, they opened the world to embracing the style they brought to the playground, while making an indelible statement about the way they felt college players should be treated.

“It could get frustrating and un-fun at times,” Jackson said. “We just wanted to be transcendent. We wanted to

the field, including making 11 of 17 3-pointers.

Clark had 16 points and five assists before picking up her third foul with 3:56 to go in the half, which didn’t go over well with the sellout crowd of more than 19,000 fans.

Before Sunday, Carson had gone scoreless in five of her seven postseason games in her career. She had 11 points in this NCAA Tournament before the finale.

It was high-scoring first quarter despite there being a lot of stoppages because of foul calls, which made getting into an offensive flow more difficult. Clark had a huge first quarter, scoring 14 points, but Iowa trailed 27-22. Carson banked in a 3-pointer before the buzzer.

bring the culture we came from, which was street basketball, community basketball, and bring that fun back to game.”

They also ended up as successes after college, building careers in worlds as diverse as nonprofit, finance, TV and even coaching; Howard just finished his fourth season as coach of the Wolverines.

“Isn’t that the end goal, when the ball stops bouncing, you’re doing something that’s productive with your life?” said Dutcher, who has heard from everyone in the group during his program’s first run to the cusp of a title.

In many ways, Dutcher’s group came together in the polar opposite fashion as the Fab Five. San Diego State’s starters came from different places at different times. They could separate themselves from the Michigan greats in another way if they can win the title that eluded Dutcher & Co. for all those years.

It’s a tall task.

SDSU is coming off an emotionally and physically taxing 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday night. When Lamont Butler hit the game-winner at the buzzer, it marked the first time in Final Four history that a buzzer-beater took a team from trailing to a victory.

In addition to the bounce back, there is the opponent. Nobody has come within double digits of fourth-seeded UConn during the tournament. Adama Sanogo has averaged 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game over the stretch for the Huskies.

But Jackson, for one, insists this is far from a lost cause.

He says Dutcher is a master at “breaking down film, knowing game strategy and preparing for a short turnaround.”

“I remember sitting in film sessions and going crazy, laughing at some team and thinking, we’re going to beat their” butt, Jackson said.

“Dutch is running film back and saying, ‘I’m not kidding, these guards are good, and if you don’t take this seriously, they’re going to beat your’” butt.

That, Jackson said, was key all those years ago to the lasting success of a group of cocky teenagers whose impact went well beyond how they fared against the next day’s opponent.

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey holds the winning trophy after the NCAA Women’s Final Four championship basketball game against Iowa yesterday in Dallas. LSU won 102-85 to win the championship.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Giants are NPBA champions

By TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Commonwealth Bank Giants and Your Essential Store Giants are the 2023 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) division one and two champions. The pair of Giants wrapped up the last game of their series this past weekend at the A F Adderley Gymnasium.

The CB Giants handled business in their series on Friday night against the Discount Distributors Liquors Rockets, ending the series with a 3-0 sweep after winning game three 92-78.

The three0game sweep of the NPBA Finals was an important feat for the 2023 NPBA champions as they wanted to avenge last year’s three-game sweep at the hands of the defending champions Rockets.

Perry Thompson, head coach of the 2023 NPBA champions, talked about how it felt to return the favour. “This was our redemption song. We talked about that loss all year long and relished the opportunity to face them again. It was great to be able to return the favour,”

Thompson said. With the two powerhouse teams being no strangers to each other, Thompson added that he knew the Rockets were very confident coming into the series against them.

However, despite the regular season losses to the defending champions, the head coach said the team felt they had an advantage because they played a few close games and knew how to operate under pressure.

Thompson credited the CB Giants’ next man up mentality and the hustle of the team as they dove for loose balls, grabbed boards, forced turnovers and the bench players stepped up in big moments.

Dylan Musgrove was the game’s leading scorer as he poured in 26 points to pair with 3 rebounds and 5 assists in Friday night’s closeout victory. His efforts were complemented by Eugene Bain and Lerecus Armbrister. Bain wrapped up the series with 22 points and 14 boards to pick up a double double in the last Finals game. Armbrister, who has been instrumental off the pine for the Giants once again stepped up. He scored 21 points off buckets and dropped 5 dimes in the championship win.

In a game where the CB Giants biggest lead was 17, the newly crowned champions blitzed their opponent on the fast break 38 to 20. Also, the bench players filled the stat sheet with 34 points compared to the Rockets’ 25.

The Giants made good on capitalising off turnovers

scoring 23 points off turnovers meanwhile, Rockets scored 9.

James Price, president of the NPBA, talked about the competitiveness of both teams in this year’s Finals.

“The Giants were the team that was well prepared, both of their teams were at the top of their divisions straight through the year so they were really prepared for this championship,” Price said.

The president congratulated both the YES Giants and CB Giants for bringing home championship trophies for their organisation.

Although the Giants made quick work of the Rockets, the team was no pushover in the final game of the series. The team put up 25 second chance points, beating the Giants’ 12.

Additionally, the Rockets pulled down 72 rebounds in the loss while Giants had 45 boards on the night.

Abel Joseph, Rockets’ leading scorer, dropped 21 points to go with a gamehigh 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Joseph tried to single-handedly will his team to a win but team injuries late in the playoffs were too much to overcome.

In division two action, the YES Giants defeated the Produce Express Rockets, winning the series 3-1 to secure this year’s division two championship.

The YES Giants finished the game 85-78 and was led by Brandon Strachan who scored 23 points in the win. He paired the points with 13 rebounds and 5 steals, ending the bout with a double double.

He was joined by Sirmar Rolle who pitched in 18 points and 9 boards - one shy of a double double. The teams were pretty evenly matched in team categories

COCA-COLA SPONSORS ISLAND RELAYS IN GRAND BAHAMA

CARIBBEAN Bottling

Company (CBC), the local producers of Coca-Cola, sponsored the inaugural Island Relays event which was held at the Grand Bahama Sports complex in Grand Bahama.

“We are always excited to be involved in events such as this, not only to assist with the stimulation of Grand Bahama’s economy, but also to be a part of the development of future Bahamian athletes,” said Jadrian Turnquest, CBC marketing manager.

“It is always beneficial to our up and coming Bahamian athletes when they are given a platform to compete amongst NCAA collegiate powerhouses. For CBC to be a part of this inaugural event was humbling and powerful.”

Throughout the Island Relays weekend, Powerade and Dasani water hydrated all athletes and fans across the Grand Bahama Sports Complex.

Marvin Henfield, who helped organise the meet, called it an “amazingly successful event.”

While the meet was originally scheduled for 2021 to

as the YES Giants edged out the Rockets 46 to 40 in the paint. Also, the teams drew even in fast break points 23 to 23 and the YES

Giants scored 16 second chance points compared to Rockets’ 15 on the night. With the 2022-2023 NPBA season in the books,

Price thanked the fans that came out in big numbers to support the association’s teams in this year’s playoffs and if elected as president

again at the NPBA elections, he will look to make some necessary adjustments to the league going into next season.

help bring some economy to Grand Bahama in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, he said he’s glad that they finally got it off the ground two years after the shutdown by COVID-19. Henfield said they already have 12 verbal commitments for next year with the numbers expecting to double, but he’s not sure if he’s ready to take on that many. He just wants to see where it goes because Grand Bahama pulled out all the stops to make it happen. “If there’s one word I can describe this experience here, it’s ‘hungry.’ The people here are hungry and ready to get back to work and to be gainfully employed. So we’re happy that we were able to bring a little of that to the economy here.”

Not only did the fans, who showed up in great numbers, get to watch the visiting athletes compete against some of the members of the University of the Bahamas, they also got to see their own local high school athletes in action as many of them are preparing for the upcoming CARIFTA Games.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE: The Commonwealth Bank Giants - the 2023 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) Division One champions.

Junior tennis stars shine in BLTA Spring Classic

FROM PAGE 14

Ferguson talked about how it felt to be victorious in yesterday’s Spring Classic tournament finals.

“It was good. I mean it was hard work but I continued to stay disciplined so I am proud of myself, “ she said.

Ferguson said her strategy in day four’s matchup was to hit topspin balls instead of trying to hit back and forth but she still had to keep her intensity up.

Patrick Mactaggart competed in two matches on the day. In his first match, he comfortably defeated Reeves Mahelis 6-0 in both sets. The Bahamas’ national team tennis player looked to take match one’s momentum into his next matchup against none other than his older brother Jackson Mactaggart. In a competitive showdown between the Mactaggart brothers, they did not disappoint as they split the first two sets.

After the 10-point tiebreaker, Jackson Mactaggart took home the victory 10-7, winning the battle of the brothers.

“It was fun to play. I kind of struggled in the first set, it is always difficult to play your brother, especially mentally, but then I came back, worked hard and got the win,” Jackson said.

He added that he used mind games and distractions to throw his younger brother off his game and he also tried to keep the ball in play and tried to make the

least amount of unforced errors.

The younger Mactaggart said it was tough mentally to play against his brother and he said his brother distracted him and got into his

head a bit, leading to the loss.

In more of yesterday’s tennis matchups, Dentry Mortimer Jr bested Sharano Hanna 6-0 in both sets. In the under 12 boys singles action, Chase Newbold came out on top against Cory Conyers 6-0,6-2. For the girls, Caitlyn Pratt took care of business against Danielle Saunders beating her fellow competitor 6-3,63. Additionally, in the under 14 girls singles finals, Tatyana Madu served up a win against Briana Houlgrave 6-1, 6-3.

Perry Newton, president of the BLTA, said despite some worries about weather conditions, he is just happy the Spring Classic tournament went on seamlessly with no injuries or other issues.

Newton added that he wanted to congratulate all of the athletes that competed in the RBC’s Spring Classic tourney and he was very impressed with the execution of the things that they were taught, especially the newcomers in the juniors tournament.

The newcomers on this year’s tennis scene were Ethan Butler, Daliyah Culmer, Jordan Storr, Spencer Taylor, Theo Weir, Donato Adderley and others. Taylor and Butler shined at this past weekend’s tourney as they both advanced to Round 16 of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Storr, Taiden Culmer and D Culmer all advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective divisions, showing remarkable signs of tennis growth.

Newton was joined by former BLTA president Mickey Williams who also agreed and added that it is always good to see the kids showcase their talents and he believes that matchplay and tournaments are what the players need and hopes to see more. This year’s sponsor RBC noted that they were proud to be this year’s sponsor for BLTA and they recognise that recreation plays an important role in building vibrant communities.

SAPHIRRE FERGUSON

PERRY NEWTON

CHASE NEWBOLD

DENTRY MORTIMER JR