04132023 NEWS AND SPORT

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Volume: 120 No.70, April 13, 2023

Sweet & Savory Mornings

RCI defends pI pRojeCt

Cruise line addresses environmental concerns over $100m beach club

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Royal Caribbean International leaders rebutted environmental concerns surrounding the proposed $100m Paradise Island project yesterday, insisting it would be their most environmentally friendly project of its kind.

The proposed Royal Beach Club has faced withering scrutiny after Prime Minister Philip “Brave”

Davis announced its approval subject to environmental evaluations.

atlantis executives have been among the loudest critics, with audrey oswell, President and Managing Director of the resort, calling the Davis administration’s support premature and urging resort staff to make their voices heard over the deal.

In a wide-ranging interview yesterday, Jay

SEE page Three

n assau ranks l O w On visit Or satisfactiOn

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Royal Caribbean International CEo Michael Bayley said Nassau ranks in the bottom ten per cent of destinations customers are satisfied with, creating demand for projects like the proposed Paradise Island Royal Beach Club that appeal to cruise ship

visitors. His comment came during an interview with The Tribune yesterday about the proposed project.

“Nassau is in the bottom ten per cent,” he said.

“Coco Cay is the number one destination that Royal Caribbean goes to in the world out of 100 global destinations because it’s a curated experience

SEE page Three

resp Onsibility allOwance up by 58 percent

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SENIoR public servants have collectively received a 58 per cent increase in responsibility allowance.

The officials previously received an allowance totalling $378,500, but as of November 2022, they now receive a total of $597k.

State Minister for Public Services Pia Glover-Rolle tabled a document in the

House of assembly yesterday showing the increase in response to questions from

lighthouse project is ‘Overdue fOr success’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Royal Caribbean executives yesterday said they reduced their Paradise Island Crown land demands by 43 percent in a bid to “untangle ourselves” from any “conflict” with Bahamian entrepreneur Toby Smith.

Michael Bayley, the cruise giant’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business he wished Mr Smith well in his bid to restore Paradise Island’s lighthouse but declined to be drawn on whether the two projects can co-exist as neighbours or if Royal

Work permit viOlatiOns fOund On Work site

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRaTIoN Minis-

ter Keith Bell said a special operation in a “high-end gated community” in eastern New Providence found that foreign workers outnumbered Bahamian construction workers three to one, breaking the rules.

He said 56 foreigners were taken into custody, leaving 20 Bahamians working at the site. His comment in the House of assembly yesterday came as he discussed the actions

opposition leader Michael Pintard.

Mr Pintard told The Tribune he asked the question because people have expressed concern to him about the number of people rehired, engaged on large contracts and rumoured to have received a significant increase in various allowances, including the responsibility allowance.

Mrs Glover-Rolle said

sTaTe Minister for Public Services Pia Glover-Rolle.

Photo: Moise amisial

The House of Assembly passed a resolution yesterday naming sailing the national sport of The

RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCE UP BY 58 PERCENT

FROM PAGE ONE

responsibility allowances are paid to officers “that are required to undertake duties that require a greater degree of skill or responsibility associated with the post.”

“So, for instance, an officer who is appointed to act in a post higher than their substantive is entitled to receive a responsibility allowance while acting,” she said.

She told The Tribune Financial Secretary Simon Wilson and the Ministry of Finance amended the allowances “as it is a financial matter.”

According to the document, the secretary to the Cabinet receives a $24k responsibility allowance per year, up from $18,000. The financial secretary receives a $22k allowance, up from $16k. The auditor general, police commissioner and defense force commodore all receive a $20k allowance, up from $14k.

According to the document, 73 government officials receive the allowance.

The lowest amount given to any official is $5000, an amount 26 people receive.

Cabinet approved the increased allowances on November 22, 2022.

Mr Pintard said yesterday: “Historically the public service has been facing the challenge of not having sufficient resources which is needed in order for these Departments and Corporations to provide the range of programmes and services needed by the public.

“The resources are scarce in large measure because the overwhelming majority of government (agencies) budget (85% plus) is consumed by salaries and personal emoluments.

“While we remain committed to the employment of our citizens, the government has to function increasingly as a facilitator of economic development and creation of private sector opportunities that would absorb Bahamians who are looking for employment rather than creating bigger and less efficient and productive Government.”

STATE Minister for Public Services Pia Glover-Rolle.

HOURS of heavy rain as well as sea surge led to layers of sand spreading over the road which motorists had to negotiate on West Bay Street yesterday.

RCI defends PI project

Schneider, RCI’s Chief Product Innovation Officer, admitted officials had been surprised by Atlantis’ vocal opposition to the project and said they will comprehensively address environmental concerns in the coming weeks.

“If I were to break it down,” he said, “I believe (Atlantis) has three concerns. If I’m them, I would have concerns about details of potential environmental impact. They bring a lot of guests to Paradise Island and they want to protect the experience that they provide to guests. We understand that. Making sure we follow a diligent process is 100% fair.

“The second concern that they may have, and they’ve raised it with us, is the movement of our guests on Paradise Island. We shared with them that one of the things we want to do is let the people who can go to the Beach Club, when they want to experience other things, we will take them there safely so they won’t just be lingering.”

“The third thing, (and) they’ve expressed this in different ways, is the impact it has on other businesses in and around Nassau. But the maximum capacity of the Beach Club is only 40 per cent of guests. When you think of just the math alone, that’s more than one million on an annual basis that will never be able to go there who will need other things to do, whether it’s Atlantis, Baha Mar, Margaritaville, diving, Blue Lagoon, all of the things that they can do today.”

Mr Schneider said by 2027, RCI will bring 2.5 million people to The Bahamas annually, up from one million in 2017. He said the Royal Beach Club would not have the capacity to host all guests, leaving

plenty of tourists for other businesses.

In a statement last month, Ms Oswell said RCI failed to respond to its written questions after a Department of Environmental Planning public consultation meeting. But Mr Schneider said the company didn’t respond because the government changed and RCI had to restart the approval process.

“We had to go through a new project approval process,” he said. “So during that time, the feedback we had from the government was that it would be inappropriate to submit the responses to the public until we got approval. We’ve now reached that point. We will release our public consultation report and will answer not just their 28 questions but a full report on every question. It will be more exhaustive than what anyone has ever answered.”

“When you think of the process, there’s the EIA, there’s the public consultation, and eventually an environmental management plan. We’re actually pulling details from our management plan and putting it in our public consultation report.”

Mr Schneider said the EIA, which has been completed, raises no concerns about the project.

He said Ms Oswell highlighted features that are not a part of the project. In particular, there will be no overwater cabanas, and wastewater will not be transferred via a pressurized line under the channel.

“A pipe that could leak would be a fair concern of theirs if that’s what we are doing, but we are not,” he said. “All the waste will be handled on the property.”

He said a $20m wastewater treatment facility on CocoCay provides a template for how wastewater will be treated safely.

“The treatment plant that we have in Coco Cay, as well as the next generation that will be built here, will enable us to treat 100 per cent of this water. Of that 100 per cent, more than 95 per cent will be used for beneficial means, whether that’s irrigation (or) clean pathways,” he said. As for concerns about how the project will impact Nassau’s Harbour, Mr Schneider said RCI would study the general impact of traffic with the Nassau Cruise Port.

“As part of this, we’re partnering with local Bahamians to create a modern taxi business not just for us, but throughout New Providence,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Bayley, President & CEO of RCI, dismissed Atlantis’ concerns surrounding beach access.

“By law, the beach will still be publicly accessible,” he said, adding local residents can access the Beach Club and receive daily passes at a significantly discounted rate.

“I believe there are multiple acres that are still available as Crown Land, including the whole Lighthouse project area, so that’s also public beach,” he said. “And I think the other truism is all the times I’ve sailed into Nassau and I looked at that stretch of land, I don’t think I’ve ever seen really anybody there. Remember those derelict, rundown buildings? And the only way you can access it was by boat, so it’s never been accessible to people. I think it will now become accessible to people because we will be operating transport back and forth. We’re happy to offer discounted rates for local residents and there’ll be certain days we won’t have ships and we’ll be happy to open it up to local residents.”

Design render of the RCI’s proposed Paradise Island Beach Club.

n assau R anks low on visitoR satisfaction

designed and built to deliver a high-level experience to the customer. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.”

“We want to improve the experience of our guests. We can’t keep selling experiences to people who say we love going to Perfect Day, it’s fantastic, we want to go back, but the Nassau thing, can you guys stop going there? We can’t do that, so yeah, we want to be a part of the solution.”

Mr Bayley said customer satisfaction surveys reveal guests find Nassau “tired.”

“They’ve come here many times before and there’s nothing new, fresh or innovative. Secondly, there needs to be more product, more experience, more uniqueness, more options,” he said.

When Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced his administration approved RCI’s Paradise Island project subject to environmental evaluations, critics said the project would divert guests from Downtown to Paradise Island, hurting local businesses.

Mr Bayley said this highlights the need to improve Nassau.

Resolution passed making sailing the national spoRt

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE House of Assembly passed a resolution yesterday naming sailing the national sport of The Bahamas.

Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting moved the resolution, expressing delight in what he said was a long-awaited announcement.

“I am so happy to be here to support this historic resolution to name sailing the national sport of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. This has been a long-awaited announcement by Bahamians far and wide,” Mr Sweeting said.

“We have witnessed its evolution, and it is a sport that has won the hearts of Bahamians and the millions of visitors to The Bahamas. It is a sport that subtly reminds us of who we are –a friendly, maritime people that continues to make waves internationally by sailing with vigour and grace – the underpinnings of the Bahamian spirit.”

“For centuries, Bahamians

have been known as masters of the sea. From the Lucayans and Arawaks, swashbuckling pirates, quaint work boats to meticulously crafted sloop race boats, Bahamians have evolved the sport of sailing as it plays an integral part of our culture. Historians tell us that the first regatta was held in Rolleville, Exuma in 1943.”

Mr Sweeting said over the past decades, sailing has grown in strength and is now a “formidable” economic driver for the Family Islands.

He said there are currently 18 senior regattas held throughout The Bahamas and 17 junior sailing events that take place annually.

“There is no doubt that regattas are essential to the social, economic, and

“We run a cruise-line,” he said. “We’re the largest cruise-line in the world. Part of what we do is relentlessly focus on delivering a great customer experience. We get data from every single cruise every single time from every single customer. If one person says they don’t like something, fine. When we look at the trend data and we see that a lot of people are not enjoying their experiences, what do we do? We change it. We renew it. We invigorate it to try to remove obstacles to their satisfaction.

“If you look at the data from all the customers on Nassau, maybe we’ll see that 70 per cent of the customers say well, you know, the streets are dirty. Well, if that’s true, then why don’t we clean the streets? That removes 70 per cent of the obstacle (and it) doesn’t cause a lot of money.”

Mr Bayley said without its Perfect Day at CocoCay offering, the cruise line might struggle to maintain high visitor numbers.

“If we were just going to Nassau, and not going to Perfect Day, we would have an issue,” he said. “When you package Perfect Day with Nassau, people accept it. It’s like you may not want the risotto but you want the fish; it’s the deal.

It’s what you get.”

Mr Bayley said stakeholders should collaborate as part of a formal team to create and execute a master plan for Nassau.

“(On Wednesday) we met with Graeme, the president of Baha Mar (and) we talked about this and I’ve had other discussions over the years with different individuals over the years, including the government,” he said. “My proposal is that we form a team of stakeholders and concerned individuals and that team, why don’t we start making a vision, a master plan for the future, for the tourism sector, and execute a plan? It’s the vision that needs to come from The Bahamas, and that vision then needs to be methodically executed. “Part of the execution of that plan has to be capital. Nothing is going to change without an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars and I think if you bring the right tourist sector group together, many of these corporations have access to huge capital funds and if there’s a plan that we could really all would together to create, many of these projects could be funded.”

cultural development of our country,” he said.

The minister also acknowledged several sailing athletes, including Rolly Gray, Edgar Moxey, and others.

Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard,

from page one

from page one

Mr Schneider said the EIA, which has been completed, raises no concerns about the project.

WORK PERMIT VIOLATIONS FOUND ON WORK SITE

FROM PAGE ONE

of immigration officers, which include repatriating almost half the total number of people deported in 2022 in just the first four months of this year.

Mr Bell said the Department of Immigration had launched operations after numerous complaints from the public about the number of foreign workers on construction sites.

“The finding of the (latest) investigation revealed all of the persons had been issued work permits,” he said. “Secondly, all of the persons were working outside the scope and terms of their work permits.”

“Thirdly, a large number of persons were unlawfully paying dramatically lower work permit fees by giving incorrect job descriptions such as farm labourers which attracts a fee of $500 when they were highly skilled construction professionals, which attracted a fee of $4,000 to $6,000.”

“Several persons owed renewal and processing fees for permits. Others were pending processing fee payments for the renewal of their permits. Persons were classified as farm labourers and handymen when they were highly skilled construction workers. Investigations into this matter are ongoing.

Mr Bell warned contractors and other businesses who employ people on work permits to “get your house in order.”

He also discussed operations in Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, Guana Cay, Treasure Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Ferry Dock, Winding Bay, “The Gully” and “The Farm” communities in Abaco.

“Investigations in Abaco have shown that a significant number of persons are working outside the scope of their permits,” he said.

“The employers are in New Providence or some other island and the permit holders are working outside New Providence independent of their employer.”

“From January 2023 to March 31, 2023, some 81 persons were found on Abaco using work permits issued for employers in New Providence alone. These persons were removed from Abaco and in each case, the permit is liable for revocation. To date, 65 of the 81 persons have been charged and convicted before the Magistrate’s Court.”

Mr Bell said employers are also failing to renew permits on a timely basis, a “vexing issue” for the department.

He said over the past three months, an operation has resulted in over $90,000 being collected in back fees for processing and document fees from Bahamian employers of various people taken into custody.

Wilchcombe: All are entitled to their views

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff

SOCIAL Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe says House Speaker Patricia Deveaux is entitled to her views after she said she could not opine on marital rape because she is not married.

Speaker Deveaux’s comments attracted scathing criticisms. She said because she is not married, she does not know how to “balance the word rape in a relationship”.

“It’s her views,” Mr Wilchcombe said. “Once we bring the legislation to Parliament, she will administer whatever conversation we have on the bills and then the members will vote.”

Mr Wilchcombe also responded to Bahamas Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander who, as a recent guest on The Nassau Guardian’s Morning Blend radio show, said outlawing marital rape would lead to civil unions rather than marriages.

“If we remove marriage out of the portion [of the Act], we begin to move marriage,” Bishop

Fernander said. “Civil union will come in. Civil unions come in, it removes the term marriage.

“So, marriage has been replaced with civil unions (elsewhere) and we want to say that we’re not going to be the one to open up the door, even if you’re gonna say that’s not the door that’s being opened.”

Mr Fernander did not explain how this would happen.

“I’m not sure what he meant by civil unions, but that’s his view,” Mr Wilchcombe said. “In a democracy we have

freedom of speech. All are entitled to their views. What we have to do is to ensure that whatever we do, there is widespread discussion, which I have been talking about.

“(That is) inclusive of the church, which is very important to get the views of the church, and the people of the country generally.

“And I’m not talking about just the people here in New Providence or Grand Bahama, but from Inagua to Bimini, because we have to move with progressive legislation that

all people of the Bahamas can live with once it’s passed.”

When asked to respond to critics who have said the government is dragging its feet on decriminalising marital rape consultations, Mr Wilchcombe said: “I’m not sure dragging is the idea, but again criticism is a part of what we go through every day and it’s a part of the democracy we have.

“People will say what they want to say. At the end of the day history will absolve us by the work we do.”

MINISTER STARTLED THAT LOCAL GOVT RESPONSIBLE FOR FAMILY ISLANDS FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

SOCIAL Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe said he was startled to discover that Local Government is responsible for maintaining firefighting equipment

on Family Islands, not the police.

The recent fires on Bimini and the Berry Islands that displaced dozens of residents exposed the inadequate emergency firefighting services on the islands.

Twenty-two Bimini residents were displaced after a fire blazed through homes in Porgy Bay settlement, destroying four structures on March 26th.

Nine days later, a fire in Great Harbour Cay destroyed one home, displacing a family of nine.

Mr Wilchcombe said yesterday: “The truth is we need more (fire equipment), but here is another issue that we have, fire engines on the family islands, local governments are responsible for (them). And so that’s where you have the disconnect sometimes, because (of) who should be maintaining the vehicles.

“So, we have to find a way to ensure that the process works more smoothly, because in Bimini the other day the issue came down to simply three batteries were

needed for the fire engine.”

Asked if better communication is needed among government entities, Mr Wilchcombe said: “There are communications, but I believe that there are situations that supersede us and we perhaps overlook because to be honest, it was a startling surprise to me when I was told that. That’s why I don’t blame that on anyone except me. We just overlooked it. We just took it for granted that the police are responsible, but we weren’t aware that it’s not the police in the Family Islands, but they must work together.”

Mr Wilchcombe said his ministry is working to help affected families, but a lack of home insurance has been a hindrance.

“We continue to work to get them back to normalcy, meaning that we want to make sure that there are homes and there is a report to get the homes done,” he said.

“That report is being prepared for us now so that we can have other agencies join in to make sure that the homes can be repaired.

“One of the difficulties that we have in the islands is a lack of insurance. We have to do something about that, speak with the insurance companies or find a way to ensure that individuals who own homes are able to have their homes insured.

“Over in Great Harbour Cay (in The Berry Islands), it’s a situation where we had to get the children back to school this week and my staff worked quickly to get them uniforms to ensure that the children were able to go to school.

“We have to look into the rebuilding of the homes, because just like throughout the islands, there is no insurance.”

Mr Wilchcombe said the Family Islands also need more ambulances.

“In so far as ambulances are concerned, yes, the problem is finding the supply,” he said.

“We have been trying to get ambulances for the islands and the minister has informed us how difficult it is, but we continue to try, because we have to get the apparatus in place.”

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SOCIAL Services Minister Obie Wilchcombe.

HOUSE Speaker Patricia Deveaux.

BAHAMAS Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander.

‘Myhands are more than clean’ on food assistance programme says Minnis

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said his Cabinet had no involvement in the COVID-19 food assistance programme after establishing a National Food Distribution Taskforce to manage it.

His comments came a week after he told The Tribune that three senior police officers interviewed him earlier this year as part of an investigation into the programme.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux has said Dr Minnis is not a suspect in the investigation.

Yesterday, Dr Minnis again said his hands are clean.

“If they want to question me, they can question me. They know the facts,” he said “The facts are Cabinet approved the individuals (working within the food programme), Cabinet approved the budget and that was the end. The politicians would have had no involvement whatsoever after that. The conclusions are sent to the various ministries, and that is it. And that’s all any politician can say

to them, that it’s been approved by Cabinet (and) sent to finance.”

He further said officials agreed with NGOs not to distribute food at constituency offices to prevent political involvement or bias.

“My hands are more than clean; my hands are more than clean,” he said. “I’ve said it before I think the Prime Minister when he questions me, he’s barking up the wrong tree. And he knows that. And he does not want this giant or this gorilla to come forth.”

Dr Minnis said NGOs and supermarkets who helped during the pandemic should be given more credit.

“They were able to deliver food in a timely manner. (They avoided) the problems the rest of the world was having in terms of unrest, in terms of rioting, in terms of starvation or insufficient food. They have been able to avoid that,” he said.

He added: “The supermarkets did their part by giving the Bahamian taxpayers discounted rates just to ensure that foods are low. So rather than the prime minister trying to demean individuals, the prime minister should recognise these individuals

‘A lot more’ th A n $193m is owed to govt in vAt

as heroes.”

Last month, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis accused an unnamed non-profit organisation of going on a spending

spree, buying two highend trucks and boats with public funds that were meant to provide food assistance during the pandemic.

That was one of sev -

eral criticisms Mr Davis has made about the programme since taking office in 2021.

He had previously said

his administration had struggled to determine how the $53m issued to the National Food Distribution Taskforce was spent.

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ACTING Controller

Shunda Strachan said the government is owed an alarming number of taxes, even though the number has been reduced to $875m after being $1bn when the Davis administration came to power.

Ms Strachan said $193m in VAT is owed to the government.

“Based on businesses that actually filed returns, the VAT arrears currently is at $193m, but again, I’m going to use the recent (tax crackdown) operation (in Harbour Island) as an example: none of those taxpayers were filing VAT, and that is already at the $3m dollar mark.

“So, we know we tell you that the arrears are currently at $193m, but that’s really like I said only those businesses that filed, and the concern for us is the unknown. Those businesses that are operating, charging VAT, not filing, not declaring, so I don’t really take that $193m as being real, it’s what’s on the books but I know there’s a lot more out there.”

Ms Strachan said potential penalties for failing to pay taxes range from $100 to $250,000.

When questioned about the increased scrutiny on tax delinquents and businesses suspected of evading VAT and Business Licence

fee payments, she said this has been a “critical move”.

“You’ve not seen this level of enforcement before, no, you haven’t,” she said.

“But it is critical now because as the country moves in a particular direction, and our expenses increase we need the revenue in order to satisfy those expenses. And so, while the Department of Inland Revenue doesn’t deal with expenditure, per se, we have to deal with revenue collection.

“A couple of months ago, we reported our arrears were over $1bn and we took that very seriously, and, really, it’s for us to bring those arrears down.

“So, while arrears are continuously added to the bucket, and there’s an up and down kind of action going on, we really don’t want those arrears to be in the billions. So, bit by bit, we’re trying to get them a bit lower, right, and so we’re right now … we’re probably at the $875m dollar mark, we’re not at a billion anymore but it’s still alarming that we have that amount of such greater arrears there.”

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

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said his cabinet had no involvement in COVID-19 food assistance programmes, but set up a National Food Distribution Task Force to manage it. “My hands are more than clean,” he said.

ACTING Controller Shunda Strachan at the Department of Inland Revenue speaks to the media about overdue taxes, and the department’s agressive approach to recover money owed to the government.

Photo: Austin Fernander

The Tribune Limited

Ensure Child Protection becomes a high priority for our government

THIS week is guest editorial week at The Tribune - we have invited a series of contributors to offer their views on different issues throughout the week. Today’s editorial is written by Terneille Burrows, founder and president of Rise Bahamas.

AS a child I prayed for world peace. Since then, I’ve narrowed that request down and now ask for improved child protection in our country. Sometimes it feels like a mammoth task! For example, one important child protection law that was passed in the House Of Assembly in 2013 has yet to be fully enacted a decade later. There can be no logical explanation for this, except lack of political will and lack of empathy.

Eleven-year-old Marco Archer was abducted and murdered in Nassau, Bahamas in 2011. The then opposition party was up in arms about the handling of the case, and proposed a missing child alert system and sex offender registry entitled, “Marco’s Law”. There was no public education campaign surrounding the introduction of the registry, and the Marco Alert has yet to be finalised.

If the roll out of Marco’s Law is any indication of the level of prioritisation successive governments have pertaining to the protection of children, then our country continues to fail generations of youth and families. Last year, the Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said a four-year prison sentence imposed on a 40-year-old man who impregnated a 14-year-old schoolgirl was too long. There was an uproar from the public about the callous statement and rightly so. It was dangerous, shameful, and we expect better from our lawmakers.

Bahamians are now also seeing more reports of people who hold positions of power preying on children. In recent news, a former Senator was charged with sexual assault of a little

boy and a Defence Force Officer was arrested for allegedly raping a 13-yearold girl. We are largely reactive when cases of crimes against children are brought to light. Although we complain about it via social media for a few days, sadly, there is no real change that comes about from the temporary outrage. However, I believe that the majority of Bahamian people do care about the protection of our most vulnerable residents. Now, more than ever before, there are many ways we can show it. One is through supporting an advocacy organisation and keeping the conversation at the forefront:

• Follow, comment on, like and share social media page posts

• Invite friends to like their pages

• Make your own posts tagging the organisation’s page and using key hashtags

• Sign and share petitions

• Share post links through your WhatsApp groups, broadcast messages and email lists

• Mention their advocacy work on radio talk shows call-ins

• Write Letters to The Editor

• Show up to their events (meetings, demonstrations, outreach, etc.)

• Volunteer

• Donate

On the six-month date of Baby Bella Walker’s murder, in May of last year, Rise Bahamas proposed “Bella’s Bill”. It seeks to amend the Child Protection Act to expand the categories of stewards of children that are mandated to report suspected child abuse. We want immediate family, caregivers and guardians to be added to the list in section 63 of the Act.

It will take widespread and sustained public outcry to help get this amendment added.

Let’s work together to ensure that Child Protection becomes a high priority for our government in The Bahamas.

A comprehensive crime reduction and prevention plan

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THREE murders in 24 hours, the continued failure to reduce murders, robberies and crime by Prime Minister Philip Davis and the PLP Government of the Bahamas.

I have a comprehensive crime reduction and prevention plan to protect the Bahamian homeowners from home

robberies, Bahamian business owners from business robberies and to reduce murders of family loved ones from murders in the Bahamas.

I look forward to soon sharing with the Bahamian people my vision, idea and plan of my comprehensive crime plan to deter, disrupt, gangs and to eliminate and dismantle Criminal

Portland has become another Freeport City

EDITOR, The Tribune.

On Easter Monday, CBN uploaded a video report on its YouTube channel titled Portland’s Meltdown: A Progressive Experiment That Has Gone Colossally Bad. Dale Hurd was the reporter. The story detailed Portland’s economic nosedive in recent years, coupled with the rapid deterioration of the downtown area of the city -- all due to the liberal policies of the Democratic Party. Of the six Congress representatives in Oregon, five are Democrats. Both of the State’s senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, are Democrats. The governor of Oregon, Tina Kotek, is a Democrat. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is also a Democrat. Oregon is a blue state. As of 2021, the population of Portland stood at 641,162.

The three counties of Portland are Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas.

letters@tribunemedia.net

these individuals are in Portland to take advantage of Oregon’s weak drug laws. In the CBN report, it was claimed that 79 percent of businesses surveyed in downtown Portland have either been vandalized or robbed.

Both Walmart and Cracker Barrel, in addition to 2,600 other businesses, have left downtown Portland. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC founders have moved their financial firm from Portland to Vancouver, Washington.

The CEO of Menashe Properties has fled for Dallas. Multnomah County has lost residents over the past three years.

that Solomon’s Downtown Freeport is not enough to save the downtown area.

The only difference between Freeport and Portland is that the latter’s downturn is tied to the influx of drug addicts who have moved in.

Freeport, like Portland, is also grappling with a high rate of homelessness, which isn’t being adequately reported by the media or the state. In one morning, I saw homeless drug addicts on Cedar Street, Queen’s Highway and Settler’s Way on the day following Easter Monday.

Enterprise Organisations in the Bahamas that are responsible for the high crimes, murders and robberies happening in the Bahamas.

One Nation, One people, One Bahamas. Help is on the way soon.

PEDRO SMITH Nassau, April 11, 2023.

Ever since the passing of Measure 110 in November 2020, the socioeconomic situation in Portland has worsened to the degree that Forbes magazine published an article in January 28, 2021 titled Death Of A City, which was a corroboration of what CBN reported on Easter Monday.

Measure 110 came into effect on February 1, 2021.

The passing of this referendum means that Oregonians would only be cited or fined $100 for possession of hard drugs like LSD, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroine. Measure 110 is also called the Drugs Addiction Treatment Recovery Act or DATRA.

Oregon is the first State to decriminalize small amounts of drugs for personal use.

DATRA has wooed hundreds of drug addicts, drug dealers and drug cartels to the inner city areas of Portland, who have helped in the deterioration of the once beautiful city. According to CBN,

Before 2020, the county hadn’t lost people since 1987. The influx of drug addicts has coincided with the unusually high homeless rate, with many tent encampments that now litter the landscape of Portland.

On January 26, 2022, there were 5,228 homeless people in Multnomah; 808 in Washington and 597 in Clackamas. One out of every two police stops involves a stolen car, according to CBN. The Bahamian readership might be asking: Why write about Portland, which is 2,927 miles from The Bahamas?

I am writing about Portland because I see uncanny, unsettling similarities between that US northeastern city and Freeport City.

For starters, Freeport, like Portland, has seen its economy hit rock-bottom with no clearcut strategy to salvage it.

Freeport, like Portland, has also suffered a brain drain, with many educated Grand Bahamians leaving for greener pastures.

Like downtown Portland, downtown Freeport has also become a ghost town, with many businesses being shuttered. I’ve argued in the past

On the day before Easter Sunday, I saw another homeless drug addict talking to herself near the rundown International Bazaar, which is alleged to be a homeless shelter for many Grand Bahamians who have fallen through the cracks. Both Freeport and Portland are now inundated with dilapidated buildings due to the mass exodus of businesses and residents.

The misery index in Freeport has to be through the roof. Both Portland and Freeport are victims of man-made policies, which can easily be fixed.

There’s no way that Portland, which is a city in the greatest economy in the world, should be in the current dismal state that it is in.

With Freeport, which is located on an island about 50 miles from the State of Florida, there’s no logical excuse for the city to be languishing for two consecutive decades, while other Family Islands like Abaco, Exuma, Eleuthera, Bimini and San Salvador are booming economically.

Like Portland, Freeport’s disastrous economic state is self-inflicted.

This is why I now consider Portland to be the Freeport City of the US, for what it’s worth.

TWO storks sit in their nest in Herzogenaurach, Germany, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Inland Revenue auditing nine delinquent businesses in Eleuthera

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Department of Inland Revenue is auditing nine businesses on Harbour Island.

The audit comes after two businesses on the island —which collectively owed about $1.3m in taxes — were raided last month.

Acting Controller Shunda Strachan said the audit is part of the department’s aggressive approach toward tax delinquents suspected of not being properly licensed, failing to pay VAT and other taxes, and under declared or under reporting revenues to avoid the full business licence fee and other levies.

She said: “So far for Harbour Island, we’re auditing about nine businesses and

then we’re still doing preliminary investigations for mainland Eleuthera, so, we’re not quite done with the mainland (Eleuthera).”

“But mainland Eleuthera so far there are probably about three businesses, like I say, we still have a lot to go. We will do more visits, but it’s not just Harbour Island or Eleuthera you know, it’s throughout the Commonwealth, it’s throughout The Bahamas.”

Unable to give specifics on when or where the next raid will happen, Ms Strachan confirmed that the department is planning future operations.

“It’s not Harbour Island, it’s not Eleuthera. As I said it is throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, we will be doing things weekly, bi-weekly.”

Man gets eight years for ar Med robbery of WoM an

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to eight years in prison by the court yesterday after being convicted of stealing a woman’s phone at gunpoint in the presence of her child two years ago.

Marcus Ward, represented by Roger Minnis, faced Justice Camille Darville Gomez for sentencing on a charge of armed robbery.

on July 14, 2022, Ward was convicted by a nineperson jury for this offence.

During her opening remarks Justice Gomez recounted the victim Marcia Hutchinson’s recollections of the mugging that occurred on February 7, 2021 outside her business.

“The facts are that on Sunday, February 7, 2021 around 9:30pm, Marcia Hutchinson was robbed at her business establishment, VIP Clothing situated on Dumping Ground Corner, by the convict with a handgun,” Justice Gomez said.

“She testified that the convict approached her and pointed a gun at her saying that ‘Give me the money, give me the money.’ Additionally after turning her cellphone over to the convict he said ‘Give me the money before I shoot you.’ Her evidence was that she walked over to her vehicle to retrieve her handbag and the convict began searching the bag before running off.”

The incident occurred in front of the victim’s 9-yearold child and Hutchinson’s Samsung A50 cellphone and $200 cash were stolen. Justice Gomez also said that the victim was in absolute terror believing she was going to die that day.

“When asked to describe her feeling during the robbery, Marcia Hutchinson said ‘I feel like I was gone to die. I thought this was my last time on Earth. I was so afraid for my life. I say this how my life gone end. I thought he was going to kill me, I thought he was going to kill me.’”

In reviewing the mitigating factors set out by the convict’s consul Justice Gomez stated that the convict had a clean criminal record prior to this offense and was of a young age (24-years-old) at the time. She also noted that he did not discharge the weapon during the mugging and that

“We do have other operations planned and so it’s got to be a consistent thing.

“We do know that in order for it to be successful, meaning in order for persons to maintain and keep current with their obligations, we really have to be more active, and I think that has been something that we did learn from the private collectors - the more you contact, the more you are out there, the more likely it is for businesses to remain compliant or to do the right thing” She gave an assurance that the department does not intend to put businesses out of production, but rather promote business efforts.

Meanwhile, DIR Head of operations, Dexter

Fernander, noted a current trend of Family Island businesses operating outside the scope of their business licence.

He said: “As it relates to the observations within the Family Island, we noticed that individuals are having business licence, and they are operating with certain things that are outside the scope of their business licence.

“And so, we are, what we are currently now doing, is just making sure that everyone is in a level playing field, that they are in accordance to whatever regulator they are under. And so, as we are headed to the Family Islands, we are looking at…this now gives us the opportunity to gather material.”

Ward is held in high esteem by family, colleagues and friends alike.

“The defendant has no criminal record and was at age of Twenty-Four (24) when charged with the offense, which is remarkable for a young man who lost his father at the tender age of nine (9) and grew up in severe peer pressure in a crime infested area.” Attorney Minnis submitted.

“Everyone interviewed by the Probation officer still believed that the defendant is innocent, both relatives and non-relatives alike.”

However, the aggravating factors against Ward laid out by the prosecution for the crown and stated by the judge were that he committed the offense while armed with a handgun for monetary gain and in the presence of a child.

Before carrying out sentencing, while Justice Gomez stated that she found Ward capable of rehabilitation, she also said that neither the victim nor her child required counselling from her ordeal. She further said that her judgement in this matter should act as a deterrent to similar incidents in the future.

“It is expected that an individual being approached with a handgun would experience some level fear at the thought of losing their life. Therefore, this court must acknowledge the importance of sentencing with the purpose of deterrence. So that the offender, will refrain from committing crimes in the future and also as a message for those like-minded individuals to commit this or any other offense punishable by law.” Justice Gomez said.

“Having regard to the maximum sentence possible of life imprisonment, which would be reserved for repeat prolific offenders with aggravating features, and a low end of a noncustodial sentence, which I have already indicated is not an appropriate sentence given the evidence in this matter and the personal circumstances of the offender, I find that an appropriate sentence for Marcus Ward is eight (8) years. The sentence is to run from the date of conviction on 14th July 2022. The convict’s time served on remand must be deducted from the sentence imposed.”

Man gets $9,500 bail on car theft charge

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 23-yEAR-olD man was granted $9,500 bail in court after he denied stealing someone’s car last month.

Brenville Hanna, Jr, faced Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, on charges of stealing and receiving.

It is alleged that on March 27 in New Providence Hanna is said to have stolen a silver 2006

Honda Civic belonging to Deshawn Charlot. This vehicle is valued at $5,000. In court the accused pleaded not guilty to the offense. While prosecution objected to bail it was granted to Hanna at $9,500 with one or two sureties.

Under the conditions of this bail the defendant is expected to sign in at his local police station every Tuesday and Thursday. Hanna’s trial is set for May 30.

Department of Inland Revenue, as part of an aggressive campaign to collect overdue business licence and vat money are currently iauditing nine businesss in Harbour Island.

Photo: austin Fernander

Marjorie Davis: Volunteer and Nation-Builder

MARJORIE Davis was a pioneer in education, demonstrated in her educational achievements from high school to university and in her career as an educator of many decades. Education was a lodestar for her, her siblings and their offspring.

In the late 1940s she attended the University of Toronto (U of T), where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies. In 1950 she obtained a Teacher’s Certificate from the Ontario College of Education.

Originally known as King’s College, U of T was founded by royal charter in 1782. It was the first institute of higher education in Upper Canada. The public research institution ranks as one of the best global universities and as one of the top public universities in North America.

Its graduates include at least 12 Nobel Laureates, among them literature prize winners William Faulkner and Nadine Gordimer, as well as Lester Pearson who served as Canadian Prime Minister from 1963 to 1968. Three other Canadian prime ministers and three of the country’s governors general attended the University.

Noor Hassanali, President of Trinidad and Tobago from 1987 to 1997 and Dame Eugenia Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica for 15 years, both attended the University of Toronto.

Several other Bahamians, including the late Dr. Eugene Newry and Eugene Dupuch attended university in Canada around the same time as Ms. Davis. Canada was less racially pernicious and segregated than the United States.

It was not until 1964 that the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin.”

Twenty years earlier in 1944, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia, [the Province of Ontario] “enacted the Racial Discrimination Act, which prohibited the publication or display, of any notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation on lands, premises, by newspaper or radio, that indicated racial discrimination.

“Three years later, the city of Toronto passed an anti-discrimination law that prohibited places that required city licences to operate from practising racial and religious discrimination, or their licences would be revoked.

“In 1951, Ontario passed the Fair Employment Practices Act to target discrimination in hiring practices and workplaces by establishing fines as well as a procedure for complaints.

At the federal level, the Canada Fair Employment Practices Act became law in 1953.”

Women like Marjorie Davis and others in the region and around the world, including

in banks and law and other offices. It was run by the Dominican Sisters who also ran St. Thomas More School.

In 1970, three years shy of independence, Ms. Davis moved from the classroom to the Ministry of Education, becoming a Senior Education Officer with responsibility for guidance and counselling. A professional, she did not succumb to the narrow partisanship and victimization by all too many in the public service at the time.

women of colour, inhabited a social world with entrenched inequality, which some of them fought against through political activism. Others upended and resisted notions of inequality by force of intellect and educational and professional achievement.

She returned home to a Bahamas rife with racial and gender discrimination buttressed by a political system rigged to extend rule by a wealthy white male oligarchy.

Bahamian women fought to attain the right to vote which was achieved when legislation was passed in 1961 enabling them to vote and to sit in parliament. In 1962 women voted for the first time in a heavily gerrymandered election.

Though the PLP won the popular vote, with most women voting for the party, the UBP won the majority of seats.

The diabolical lie at the putrid core of racism and misogyny is the supposed superiority of whites and men and the supposed inferiority of blacks and women. Black women have had to fight a double lie.

While far too many Bahamian women and blacks succumbed to the quicksand of inferiority, quite a number of individuals and families never internalized the conceit of superiority others sought to impose.

Generations of black Bahamian women exposed and fought against the double lie through a fierce determination to excel and to contribute to national life in education, politics, business, community service and other fields.

These women had an innate sense of their personal worth and dignity, which they passed on to their sisters, daughters, nieces, cousins and other girls through Girl Guides and other voluntary associations.

Ms. Davis was part of a succession of women educators such as Dame Ivy Dumont and others who understood the power of education, which was a means to uphold and to promote human dignity and equality.

In addition to GHS, Ms. Davis taught English at the Aquinas Institute which was an evening school mainly geared toward young women to enhance their office skills enabling them to get jobs

She was promoted to assistant director, eventually becoming senior assistant director with responsibility for all support services. In 1977, four years after independence, she became the first female Director of Education, a post she retained for 11 years.

In 1988, she accepted a five-year contract to coordinate the introduction of the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examination.

Her influence in education and determination to ensure greater opportunity for more Bahamians included her service on the St. Augustine’s Board of Governors, the College of the Bahamas Council, the Screening Committee for the Lyford Cay Scholarship Awards, the Syntex Scholarship, the United World Colleges Scheme Committee and the Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.

Service, motivated by religious faith and genuine patriotism, was part of the lifeblood and at the core of the identity of the Davis family. Both Sir Cyrus and his brother Winston “Tappy” Davis received papal knighthoods as did Ms. Davis who became a Dame of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Syl vester in 2019.

She exem plified the Magis, which means “more” or “greater.”

“It is related to ad majorem Dei gloriam, a Latin phrase meaning ‘for the greater glory of God’, the motto of the Society of Jesus. Magis refers to the philosophy of doing more for Christ, and therefore doing more for others.”

She served church and state and was recognized for her service includ ing as a recipient of the Sir Victor Sassoon Heart Foundation Golden Heart Award.

Her compassion, empathy and ethic of care were demonstrated in a lifetime of civic engagement with numerous groups including: the Bahamas Association for the Mentally Retarded, the Bahamas National Trust, the Council for the Handicapped, the Advisory Committee on Tourism, the Women’s Advisory Committee, Zonta, Let’s Read Bahamas and the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.

Ms. Davis accepted recognition with grace and humility. As Archbishop

is exactly what she would wish, as did her Aunt Monica, a saintly servant of others.

Marjorie Davis did not seek the limelight or recognition. Hers was a quiet piety, not a showy performance seeking the attention and approval of others. She was born on All Saints Day, November 2, bracketed by All Souls Day, November 1, and the Feast of St. Martin de Pores, November 3, one of the first black saints and a champion of the poorest.

Marjorie Davis is now in the company of the

“friend”, “public servant”, “volunteer”, “patriot” and, perhaps above all, “Faithful Servant and Steward”.

In this she mirrors the mother of Jesus, whose Magnificat, Marjorie Davis knew by heart and by grace in English and Latin:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for

proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers,to Abraham and His children forever. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”

Marjorie Davis receives the Golden Heart Award

“Ms. Davis was part of a succession of women educators such as Dame Ivy Dumont and others who understood the power of education, which was a means to uphold and to promote human dignity and equality.”

While favoured by Rebuplican elites, DeSantis has uphill battle to overcome Trump fans

THERE is a TV ad running in major US markets these days. It is a direct attack on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In the ad, someone solemnly declares that DeSantis has supported efforts “to raise the national retirement age to 70 (it is currently 62 to get some Social Security benefits).” The voice then states that DeSantis “has voted to defund Social Security and Medicare.”

Images of the Florida governor are displayed on the ad. They depict him as dark, dour, unsmiling and vaguely sinister.

It’s a little bit jarring to be experiencing these ads now, when the GOP convention in Milwaukee is scheduled for next summer and the preceding primary elections are still many months away.

Seeing the ad also begs the question: Who is paying for it? A squint at the fine print at the end reveals that this particular advertisement is being paid for by a group calling itself

MAGA. As in “Make America Great Again.” As in Donald J. Trump.

STATESIDE

with Charlie Harper

Trump warned Florida’s governor and all of us five months ago that he would not tolerate insubordination from DeSantis. As usual, Trump wasn’t kidding. He has suggested that “DeSantis would be working in a law office, a cigar store or a pizza parlor if I had not endorsed him and helped boost him to become governor.”

Who knows if this is true? But Trump has a way of blustery bullying behaviour that seems to defy and disarm every single rival except Joe Biden, the one he might well face next year in the general election.

DeSantis is pushing back, but not very publicly. One of his support groups released a video featuring a man who said “Ron

DeSantis can win the general election. I don’t think that’s something that I believe Donald Trump can do.” During an appearance in Pennsylvania recently, DeSantis told reporters that “there is no substitute for victory. The winners get to make policy. The losers go home.”

So that’s DeSantis’ message: The GOP should nominate me because I have a proven track record of victory and achievement. Maybe this will succeed.

But Florida’s governor is overlooking the reality that Trump’s appeal to his solid base of conservative grassroots support is emotional, not rational.

There is plenty of evidence that Republican primary voters in particular

care more about and truly relish the finger-in-the-eye bluster of Trump than they do about “policy” issues, even touchstone ones like abortion and even guns. Many in Trump’s base might realize he doesn’t care about these issues at all, and that his bedrock sympathies could lie elsewhere. They don’t care.

They care about Trump because he, uniquely, abundantly and loudly, returns the dismissive disdain they feel from the established elites in the US, Republican as well as Democratic.

The Republican elite has made it clear that they’re looking for someone other than Trump to head the GOP ticket next year. It looks like they’ve settled for now on DeSantis.

There was a recent column in the Wall Street Journal that seems to reaffirm this. It was authored by Peggy Noonan, who rose to prominence as a key aide to President Ronald Reagan 40 years ago and has been a fairly consistent and influential conservative establishment voice since then. She worked for both President Bushes. In her recent column, she talks about DeSantis and reveals much of the Republican establishment thinking about him.

Noonan also reflects the revulsion felt toward Trump by the Bush family, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, now Chris Christie and numerous others from the “traditional” wing of the party who were happy to harvest the votes of Tea Party and MAGA zealots but secretly despised them perhaps even more than Democrats do. Here’s what Noonan had to say in the Wall Street Journal about DeSantis:

“The Florida governor is definitely running. Every sign is there: donors, a growing and increasingly professional organization, a book that is part memoir, part platform and debuted this week at No. 1 on the New York Times list. He recently gave a big, packedhouse speech at the Reagan Library. “He’s come off a landslide 2022 re-election (almost 20 points) in which he won majorities of Hispanics, independents and

women. He is 44, governor of a major state that was purple and has gone red, and there is no way (barring the unanticipated) he is not in.

“He’s tough, unadorned, and carries a vibe, as I’ve said, that he might unplug your life support to recharge his cellphone. His supporters just shrug. He’s not warm and cuddly. I don’t think voters are looking for warm and cuddly, but they do want evenkeeled—a normal man or woman who’s a leader, who has guts and a vision of where the country needs to go.

“I don’t think he’s running as Trump without the psychopathology. I think he’s running as a serious, forward-leaning, pro-business, anti-woke conservative with populist inflections.”

DeSantis is basically newsworthy because he’s been introduced as the likeliest antidote to Trump, whose sway over the American body politic could be compared to the enduring, ineradicable reach of Juan Peron in Argentina. DeSantis doesn’t really project dynamism. He does absolutely project determination. He controls Florida politics now. Like Trump and most other prominent Republicans, he gives off the vague vibe of not really believing the noise about abortion, guns, Russia, immigrants, etc., etc. that rouse the base.

But his record of headbutting Disney in Orlando and overseeing a malevolent anti-immigrant and (to some minds) anti-women agenda in Tallahassee gives hope to social conservative zealots. Like most Republicans, DeSantis recognizes that to get nominated, he must court extremist votes, then tack sharply toward the middle for the general election.

Here’s Noonan again about how DeSantis’ views do synch with those of many of the MAGA zealots:

“His leadership in Florida has been what he has called a rebuke to the entrenched elites who have driven our nation into the ground. These elites are a ruling class that controls the federal bureaucracy, big business, corporate media, big tech, the universities. These elites are so-called progressives who believe our country should be managed by an exclusive cadre of experts who wield authority through an unaccountable and massive administrative state. They tend to view average Americans with contempt.”

Trump’s braggadocio about DeSantis being nothing without Trump isn’t baseless. He was indeed a well-educated (Yale and Harvard Law School), Navy lawyer and an obscure central Florida congressman when Trump decided to endorse him.

DeSantis won the GOP primary, then eked out a microscopic victory over former Tallahassee Mayor and Democrat Andrew Gillum in the general election in 2018. The margin was 30,000 votes out of more than 8 million votes cast. Gillum, who is black, had faced prior drugrelated charges and on June 22, 2022, he was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Florida on 21 felony counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, and making false tax statements.

Last November, DeSantis rolled to re-election over Democrat Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida! Christ is urbane and Gillum is charismatic, but we’re not talking about Bill Clinton and Barack Obama here. DeSantis’ wins over Crist and Gillum hardly qualify him as unbeatable in a nationwide general election.

Here are some liberal snarks about DeSantis from the Washington Post and New York Times:

(After DeSantis dismissed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “local territorial dispute”): “Apparently no one told Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that if you’re going to wade into the deep waters of foreign policy, you should at least know how to dog paddle.”

(In a review of DeSantis’ recent book): “He takes dullness to a fresh level, redefining what clichéd writing can sound like. It’s one thing to offer the public a bit of wooden prose, but DeSantis gives us an entire lumber yard.”

(On DeSantis’ enemies list from his book): “There’s the news media, with modifiers like ‘legacy’ or ‘corporate’ adding a nefarious touch. There’s Big Tech, that ‘censorship arm of the political left,’ and the powerful corporations that cave to the ‘leftist-rage mob.’ There are universities like Harvard and Yale, which DeSantis attended but did not inhale.”

It says here that there’s a decent chance Ron DeSantis is a shooting star, bright now on the American political horizon, but perhaps destined to become a footnote 18 months hence.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a Midland County Republican Party breakfast in Midland, Michigan, on April 6, 2023. DeSantis visited the central Michigan community for a county GOP event Thursday before heading to speak at Hillsdale College.

Photo: Kaytie Boomer/AP

Kim Welcome’s “inspirtainment” seeks to empower women

Kim Welcome is a speaker, coach and singer with a unique take. She offers her spin on motivational speaking by incorporating her smooth jazzy inspirational music into her message. She calls this a keynote concert, which she refers to it as “inspirtainment” – a mix of inspiration and entertainment.

She recently kicked off her “Reclaim Your Destiny in 2023” tour at the international Women’s Day (iWD) event hosted by BAF Financial. She shared her struggles of becoming a mother of three within the space of 16 months.

At the time, she felt her dreams had been cancelled, but eight years later there was a breakthrough. She became known as a recording artist with her hit single “No more life livin’ me”. That song made the rounds on local radio stations through listener requests and stayed in hot rotation for over six months.

At the recent sold-out BAF event, Kim’s message sought to get women to pause and think about the dreams and goals they may have ignored or buried. She moved some to tears as she aimed to inspire the audience to take ownership of their life’s journey. She encouraged them to push past obstacles to become all they were born to be.

Kim also performed her newest single, “Don’t Tell me it’s Too late”, alongside her band, which is comprised of some of the country’s top musicians: Kevin Dean on drums, Adrian D’Aguilar on bass guitar, and keyboard player clinton crawford, who scored the music.

Rea christina, a media

personality, said, “This was my first time having to experience a keynote concert. i thought seeing how Kim put together the message and music was exciting. She encouraged us to go after our dreams - to pursue our destinies. We can sometimes get discouraged because of life situations, but at the end of the day, we have to keep pushing and keep on going.”

Focusing on uplifting stories of women who have broken barriers in their respective fields, the other speakers included aeronautical engineer Aisha Bowe, who has strong ties to the Bahamas and is a future astronaut with Blue origin; President of Kanata North Business Park Jaime Petten, and diplomat Nahaja Black, who served as the mistress of ceremonies. cash N’ Go team member Sidelaine Fouquet also spoke about her journey rolling out the cash app.

Nahaja, a well-known as a media personality in the Bahamas, offered insight on her move to ottawa, canada, to join the Bahamas High commission and commented on Kim’s directive.

“The impact for me is that the message is familiar. it has been a whirlwind year, but one that i wouldn’t regret - i wouldn’t take back. Kim shared that you must believe in yourself and the moment. everything led me to that moment; i said i would take that leap of faith. As for the journey - the power of the journey is the most important thing. When you’re led to make a move - you make a move,” she said. Through her company,

influential Voice, Kim has provided corporate training around communicationbased strategies to top-tier organisations, helping pro fessionals develop their public speaking skills and coaching women to advance their careers.

“Some people know me as a trainer/coach, while others know me as a singer or voice actor, everything do is rooted in my mission is to empower people to become the highest version of themselves,” she said.

“Whether facilitating a workshop, providing coach ing, or speaking/singing from the stage, be a catalyst to push people toward their dreams. vehemently believe it’s never too late to become who you were created to be.”

Kim said there are multiple areas where one can reclaim one’s destiny – in business, relationships, or career. “There’s a line in my song that says, “could it be since we’re still here, then our purpose hasn’t died?”

Safety and comfort go hand in hand.

Kim Welcome (left) was a keynote speaker at the BAF IWD

Kim Welcome’s keynote concert at the BAF Inter national Women’s Day 2023 included her latest single, “Don’t Tell Me It’s Too Late” with her band.

Mexican migration chief to be charged in fire but keep job

MEXICO Associated Press

Mexico’s immigration head will face criminal charges in a fire that killed 40 migrants in a detention centre last month, but President Andrés Manuel López obrador said Wednesday that he will not dismiss the official known for his hard line on northbound migration. obrador’s decision to keep Francisco Garduño as head of the Mexican immigration institute appeared to conflict with the federal Attorney General’s office announcement late Tuesday to charge Garduño in connection with the blaze.

That shows both some separation of powers in Mexico and the conundrum faced by the Mexican government. López obrador and his administration are struggling with Us pressure to slow northbound migration while the international community calls on them to treat migrants humanely and safely. Garduño, a lawyer and criminologist, was called to take over the immigration job in June 2019 as Mexico was under pressure from the Trump administration to decrease the flow of migrants.

The Mexican immigration institute has been hit for years with repeated complaints of human-rights violations and unhealthy conditions in centre for migrants, conditions including inadequate ventilation, clean water and food. There also have been numerous corruption complaints. Under Garduño, the institute took a harder line.

calls have come from within Mexico, and from some central American nations, not to stop the case of last month’s fire at the five low-level officials, guards and a Venezuelan migrant already facing homicide charges.

López obrador said in his daily press briefing Wednesday that Garduño had not offered his resignation, but added that he would not protect anyone who had committed a crime.

Federal prosecutors said late Tuesday that Garduño was remiss in not preventing the disaster in ciudad Juarez despite earlier indications of problems at his agency’s detention centres.

Prosecutors said that government audits had found “a pattern of irresponsibility and repeated omissions” in the immigration institute. However, charges being brought in Mexico, especially against public officials, do not always result in prison time.

on Wednesday, López obrador said that even though the Attorney General’s office was investigating Garduño, prosecutors had revealed few details and it was not exactly clear how they would charge him.

“We are going to wait and we are going to make decisions in the (right) moment,” López obrador said.

The president defended Garduño, saying “his work is good in general; he has always had good performance,” despite “the misfortune” that happened in Juarez.

Garduño has been close to López obrador since the latter was Mexico city

mayor, and Garduño has overseen a strategy to contain migrants in southern Mexico with the help of the National Guard, which has been criticized as the start of a militarisation of Mexico’s immigration policy. it included placing retired or active military officers in leadership positions inside the immigration agency.

Garduño’s predecessor at the immigration institute, sociologist Tonatiuh Guillén, said the prosecutor’s decision “is a good signal, given that the expectation at first was just an investigation of those who were directly responsible.”

Guillén said, however, that keeping Garduño in his position generated an “unnecessary tension” because he should have been dismissed in order to make the case against him more straightforward.

Guillén resigned in 2019 because of his disagreement with hardening migration policy, as Washington was demanding.

Anger in Mexico initially focused on two guards who were seen fleeing the March 27 fire, without unlocking the cell door to allow the migrants to escape. But López obrador had said earlier Tuesday that they didn’t have the keys.

A video from a security camera inside the facility shows guards walking away when the fire started in late March inside the cell holding migrants without making an effort to release them.

The Attorney General’s office said several other officers will also face charges for failing to carry

Juul l abs agrees to pay $462m settlement to six states

out their duties, the statement said, but prosecutors did not explain what specific charges or identify the officials.

An immigration official said on Wednesday morning that Garduño had not yet been called to testify. The official asked for anonymity because was hot authorized to speak on the record.

complaints about corruption and bad conditions at Mexico’s migrant detention facilities have never been seriously addressed: Prosecutors said that after

a fire at another detention centre in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco killed one person and injured 14 in 2020, the immigration agency knew there were problems that needed to be corrected, but alleged they failed to act.

The fire case could also put López obrador in a difficult position on his promise not to tolerate any corruption. Prosecutors said they are investigating a no-bid contract to the firm providing private security at the ciudad Juarez facility.

investigators found a series of irregularities in the company’s work, but prosecutors did not specify if Garduño was involved in that contract’s approval. one migrant allegedly set fire to foam mattresses at the detention centre to protest detention conditions and what he apparently thought were plans to move or deport the migrants. Mexico has returned the bodies of 31 migrants to their home countries.

Prince Harry will attend fat Her’s coronation, but MegH an won’t

LONDON Associated Press

PriNce Harry will attend his father’s coronation, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending months of speculation about whether the prince would be welcome after levelling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family.

NEW YORK

Associated Press

eLecTroNic cigarette-maker Juul Labs inc. will pay $462 million to six states and the District of columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, the attorneys general in several states announced Wednesday.

The agreement with New York, california, colorado, illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, Dc is the latest in a string of recent legal agreements Juul has reached to settle lawsuits related to the way it marketed addictive nicotine products. critics said Juul was trying to lure children too young to smoke.

Like some other settlements reached by Juul, this latest includes restrictions on the marketing and distribution of the company’s vaping products. For example, it is barred from any direct or indirect marketing that targets youth, which includes anyone under age 35. Juul will also limit the amount of purchases customers can make in retail stores and online.

“Juul lit a nationwide public health crisis by putting addictive products in the hands of minors and convincing them that it’s harmless,” New York Attorney General Letitia

James said in a statement.

“Today they are paying the price for the harm they caused.”

A spokesperson for Juul said with Wednesday’s settlement, the Washington Dc-based company was “nearing total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future.”

The spokesperson added that underage use of Juul products has declined by 95% since 2019 based on the National Youth Tobacco survey. According to the cDc though, since surveys were administered online instead of on school campuses during the pandemic, the results cannot be compared to prior years.

Juul rocketed to the top of the Us vaping market about five years ago with the popularity of flavours like mango, mint and crème brûlée. But the startup’s rise was fuelled by use among teenagers, some of whom became hooked on Juul’s high-nicotine pods.

Parents, school administrators and politicians have largely blamed the company for a surge in underage vaping.

District of columbia

Attorney General Brian schwalb said in a statement that Juul “knew how addictive and dangerous its products were and actively tried to cover up that medical truth.”

in september, Juul agreed to pay nearly $440 million over a period of six to 10 years to settle a twoyear investigation by 33 states into the marketing of its high-nicotine vaping products to young people.

That settlement amounted to about 25% of Juul’s Us sales of $1.9 billion in 2021.

Three months later, the company said it had secured an equity investment to settle thousands of lawsuits over its e-cigarettes brought by individuals and families of Juul users, school districts, city governments and Native American tribes.

The vaping company, which has laid off hundreds of employees, recently agreed to pay West Virginia $7.9 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company violated the state’s consumer credit and Protection Act by marketing to underage users, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Monday. Last month, the company paid chicago $23.8 million to settle a lawsuit.

Minnesota’s case against Juul went to trial last month with the state’s Attorney General Keith ellison asserting that the company “baited, deceived and addicted a whole new generation of kids” as youth cigarette smoking rates fell.

His wife Meghan, the Duchess of sussex, will remain at the couple’s home in southern california with their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said. A nearly identical statement from the sussex’s representatives confirmed the news.

The May 6 date of the coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.

While the announcement should silence the “will he or won’t he” debate in the British media, it won’t end the royal soap opera swirling around Harry and Meghan as King charles iii prepares for his coronation.

When the prince attended the funerals of his grandfather, Prince Philip, and his grandmother, Queen elizabeth ii, commentators discussed everything from whether Harry would be allowed to wear his military uniform to exactly where he was seated. And there is always the question of whether he will meet face-to-face with his father and older brother, Prince William.

That intrigue will only be heightened after Harry and Meghan stoked their critique of the royal family in a six-part Netflix series about their decision to step back from royal duties three years ago, which was followed by Harry’s decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling memoir spare.”

Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, have alleged she faced racist attitudes from both the palace and the UK press. The treatment contributed to their decision to leave the country.

The revelations in “spare,’’ including details of private conversations with his father and brother, Prince William, fanned tensions between Harry and his family that became public when he and his wife moved to North America in 2020.

The book also included allegations that members of the royal family regularly feed the press unflattering information about other members of the House of Windsor in exchange for positive coverage of themselves.

The prince singled out camilla, the queen consort, accusing her of leaking

private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after marrying charles. camilla was once reviled for her long-term affair with charles, which contributed to the breakdown of his marriage to the late Prince Diana, Harry and William’s mother.

The acrimony between Harry and his family once again spilled into public view last month when the sussexes said that they had been asked to vacate their home in Britain.

Frogmore cottage, a royal residence on the grounds of Windsor castle west of London, was the couple’s main residence before they gave up royal duties and moved to Montecito, a wealthy enclave in southern california.

Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will attend the Coronation service of his father, King Charles III, at Westminster Abbey on May 6, setting aside months of speculation about his presence.

Photo: kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

neW York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. Embattled electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462-million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, James said yesterday.

Photo: Brittainy newman/AP

The caskeT of Miguel Rojche is carried from his home to the cemetery after his wake in Chicacao, Guatemala, yesterday. Rojche and his nephew Francisco died in a fire while held at a Mexican immigration detention center in Ciudad Juarez.

Photo: moises castillo/AP

neighBors and friends look into the open casket of Dikson Cordova during his wake in Proteccion, Honduras, yesterday. Cordova was one of the migrants killed in a fire at a Mexican immigration detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 27.

Photo: Delmer martinez/AP

Lavardo ‘savours’ silver in octathlon

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Adecision to switch from his speciality in the 400 metres hurdles and open one lap race to compete in the multiple events payed off a big dividend for Lavardo Deveaux with a trip on the medal podium at Oaktree Medical Center’s 50th CARIFTA Games over the weekend.

Not that he didn’t feel he had a shot at a medal in either of his events in the under-20 boys division, but with what seemed to be a sure bet to succeed, Deveaux opted to take a shot at the octathlon, which was a combination of eight events contested over two days of competition.

In the final analysis, he completed the two-day competition on Sunday in the combined 100m, long jump, shot put, 400m, 110 hurdles, high jump, javelin and 1,500m with a total of 5,197 points to garner the silver medal.

Jamaica’s Courtney Williams claimed the gold with 5,253, while Jermaine Huggins bagged the bronze for St Kitts & Nevis with 4,813.

His team-mate, Reanno Todd, had a little more difficult path as he got disqualified in the 400m at the end of day one. He came back and went through all of the events on day two, but didn’t get to complete the 1,500m run, ending up with 3,508 points at the bottom of the 15-man field.

Deveaux, on the other hand, said he was determined to see his way through to the end.

“I just wanted to see how well I would do and to get the experience of competing in the event,” Deveaux said. “Once I got the hang of every event, I decided to make it my event. I went to every practice, learning the techniques of every event. It was a wonderful experience.”

The 17-year-old Deveaux, however, said he was inspired from a quote he read from Anna Hall, the American 2022 World Championships’ heptathlon bronze medallist, who summarised how she wrote everything down in a book

Decision to switch from his speciality in the 400 metres hurdles pays off big dividend on CARIFTA medal podium

JAMIAH Nabbie

ON TRACK: FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR THE BAHAMAS

BY TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE future of track and field in the country is in good hands. During the 50th Oaktree Medical Centre CARIFTA Games, Bahamians got a front row seat to witness some of the brightest athletes on display in the sport.

Among the talented track athletes was none other than Team Bahamas’ Jamiah Nabbie. The under17 competitor is a student of Queen’s College who has been making waves and capturing first place finishes all season long. The talented 100m and 200m speciality runner brought home two gold medals and a silver at the big event.

In her first gold medal victory, Nabbie claimed first place in the under 17 girls 100m finals. She bested her opponents with a time of 11.67 - a personal best - while also being the first track athlete to bring home gold on the home soil. Bahamians rallied behind the young athlete’s quest to go for gold and cheered her on along the way. Her second gold medal came in the under 17 girls 200m finals.

that she did in practice and competition.

Taking heed of what he heard from Hall, Deveaux said he wrote down everything he was taught by his coaches – Daron Lightbourne, Corrington Maycock and James Rolle - in practice and he went over every detail before he stepped into the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium to begin his trek in the gruelling competition.

During the first day of competition on Saturday, Deveaux collected 810 points after running 11.23 seconds in the 100m, 567 for clearing 5.91m in

the long jump, 500 for his heave of 10.24m in the shot put and 790 for clocking 50.53 in the 400m.

Sitting in second place going into the final day of competition on Sunday, Deveaux came back and added 894 for his time of 14.64 in the 110m hurdles, 596 for his clearance of 1.64m in the high jump, 579 for his toss of 49.37m in the javelin and 561 after his exhausting run in 4:59.79 in the 1,500m to complete the event.

“My strengths were the hurdles, javelin, 100, 400 and shot put,” Deveaux said. “My weakest events

were the long jump, high jump and the 1,500m.”

Despite the highs and the lows he encountered, Deveaux had enough strength to dance to the rhythmic sound of the junkanoo music as he celebrated his initial appearance in the games.

But because of his success, Deveaux said he will definitely be back for an encore.

“It’s something that I will continue to work on, especially in my jumping and my 1,500,” explained Deveaux, who admitted that his body took a toll in those events.

With the games over and done with, Deveaux admitted that he could not have done it without “God on my side,” his coaches, his family and friends in supporting him in his first time competing in “CARIFTA” and in the “octathlon.”

“I am truly proud of myself,” said Deveaux, who noted that he’s not disappointed in the fact that he didn’t get to compete in an individual event.

“I felt the competition was there pushing me along. I had to fight with the heart of a lion. Feeling

SEE PAGE 20

Nabbie finished a close race with a time of 23.67. All eyes were glued to the track as Nabbie again mounted a surge to power past her opponents for a big win.

Although it sometimes seemed like the athlete would fall behind in a race, she always had something extra left in the tank to run through the finish line first.

Drumeco Archer, president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA), talked about Nabbie’s success at the 50th CARIFTA Games. Archer described the athlete as brilliant and commended the great work she did on the track.

SEE PAGE 20

Jazz and Marlins get 2nd straight win over Phillies, 3-2

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA

(AP)

— Blown out in the first game of the series against the Phillies, the Marlins responded with wins in the next two games that showed they might have some fight in them this season against the NL East’s best.

Bryan De La Cruz won the game with an RBI single in the 10th inning and Jorge Soler’s solo tying homer in the eighth sparked Miami to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday.

“I think they’re starting to believe that they can play with anybody,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “There’s a lot of good guys in there that have won before and guys that are learning how to win.”

De La Cruz singled off Craig Kimbrel, who had

relieved Gregory Soto (1-2), and was thrown out trying to extend the hit into a double. He drove in Nick Fortes, who had pinch run for Soler, the automatic runner.

A.J. Puk (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for Miami, which took two of three from the NL champions. Soler had the game-changing shot when he connected off José Alvarado in the eighth for his fourth homer this season.

“Up and down the lineup, the young guys are starting to gain more confidence,” Schumaker said. “Then the big boys producing.”

On Tuesday night, Luis Arraez became the first Marlins player to hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBIs in the 8-4 victory.

Before Tuesday, the Marlins were the only active

major league team to not have a cycle in their history.

Miami entered the National League as the Florida Marlins back in 1992.

“I had a lot of people who helped me work hard every day,” Arraez said.

“I want to give this to my family and my wife, who is expecting our baby.”

Arraez won the American League batting title with a .316 average as a member of the Minnesota Twins in 2022 before being traded to the Marlins in a four-player deal January 20.

He’s 22 for 41 (.537) in 12 games to start the 2023 season. That is the highest batting average for any player through the first 12 games of a season since Frank Cattalanato hit .600 in 2000.

Arraez singled to left field in the eighth off

Philadelphia reliever Andrew Bellatti, scoring Jazz Chisholm with the final run of the night.

“I knew that I only had to get the single,” Arraez said. “I just wanted to hit the ball to left field. And when he threw me a changeup middle and down, I knew that I could hit it there.”

Jon Berti homered in the third inning and added an RBI single in the seventh for the Marlins, who entered the game with the lowest run total in the National League at 30 through the first 11 games.

The eight runs on Tuesday were a season high. Jesus Luzardo (2-0) went six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. Chisholm, Yuli Gurriel and Jean Segura also had two hits for the Marlins, whose 14 hits were also a season high.

THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2023

SWEET SILVER: Lavardo Deveaux celebrates after winning the silver medal in the men’s octathlon on Sunday night.

Photo: Moises Amisial/Tribune Staff

MIAMI Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr secures a ground ball during the second inning Tuesday night in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

GOLDEN GIRL: The Dame of CARIFTA, Pauline Davis, enjoys the festivities.

PRIME Minister Philip Edward Davis speaks during the opening ceremony.

FEELING THE VIBES: Genesis Junkanoo organisation performs during the opening ceremony of the 50th CARIFTA Games.

Photos: Austin Fernander/Tribune Staff

BAHAMIAN entertainer and host of the CARIFTA opening ceremony Jaquay “Das Quay” Adderley alongside “Golden Girl” Pauline Davis.

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg gives his remarks.

1-0 IN CHAMPS LEAGUE QUARTERS

By DANIELLA MATAR AP Sports Writer

MILAN (AP) — AC Milan beat Napoli for the second time in the space of less than two weeks — and this time with more at stake — as the Rossoneri won 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal yesterday.

Javonya Valcourt continues her momentum on the track

BY TENAJH SWEETING tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

UNIVERSITY of Tennessee freshman Javonya

Valcourt brought her talents to Thomas A Robinson National Stadium for the 50th CARIFTA Games this past weekend.

The young athlete qualified for this year’s games in January, being one of the first eight athletes to be considered for Team Bahamas.

She qualified for this past Easter weekend’s games after she ran a time of 54.24 seconds in the University of Tennessee’s 400m competition.

The CARIFTA-qualifying mark for the under 20-division was 55.20.

After punching her ticket to her home country’s CARIFTA Games, she decided to make her presence felt on home soil on the track.

On day one, Valcourt and Lacarthea Cooper finished second and third in under 20 girls 400m action.

Valcourt finished behind Jamaica’s Rickiann Russell after notching a time of 52.12. Cooper picked up bronze with 53.12.

The under 20 competitor talked about how it felt to add a silver medal to the fold for Team Bahamas.

She said it felt great to get the win in the 400m race and her main strategy was to get out off the curve, stay away from Jamaica, and run fast.

Valcourt once again performed in the men and women’s 4x400m relay open. The race proved to be an exciting one for the home crowd as the best overall team strategy won. Team Bahamas had

the best strategy for how to execute the multi-sex 4x400m relays.

The team was constructed for the girl competitors to run the first and second legs and the boys to run the third and fourth leg.

Valcourt and Cooper once again held their own in the race despite running against male competitors from the other Caribbean

countries throughout the race. On the final leg of the race, Shimar Bain brought home the gold medal for Team Bahamas after notching first place and the team collectively ran a time of 3:24.62.

Valcourt said she was a little worried on the first leg but she trusted in her team and just wanted to put them in a good

position. Her performance in the 400m finals was a new personal best for the athlete. Her time is the new standard at the freshman level for the Lady Vol track programme and, at the under-20 level, it ranks 26th globally at the senior level.

Valcourt made the home crowd proud and left it all on the track this past weekend.

Ismaël Bennacer scored shortly before the end of a first half that Napoli had dominated for long stretches. Both teams also hit the crossbar before Napoli midfielder AndréFrank Zambo Anguissa was sent off 16 minutes from time, following two yellow cards in quick succession.

The teams will meet again in Naples next Tuesday with the winner to play either Inter Milan or Benfica in the semifinals. Inter won the first leg of their quarterfinal 2-0. Anguissa will be suspended for that match, as will Kim Min-jae after the defender was booked at San Siro.

“I don’t know what to say about the refereeing, it was something incredible,” Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas said. “He booked all our players, they committed the same type of fouls but didn’t get yellow cards.

“It’s something I’ve never seen before. It was also because of that that at a certain point we became nervous on the field.”

While Milan’s victory was not as comprehensive as its 4-0 rout of Napoli when the two teams met in Serie A on April 2, it left the club in pole position to reach its first Champions League semifinal since it won the last of its seven titles in 2007.

“It’s still 50-50, the result is certainly a bonus bit it doesn’t change much, there’s still all to play for,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said. “We’re halfway up the mountain but normally the last few bends are the hardest to overcome. A hard match awaits us in Naples … none of us think we’re already through.”

The match pitted the defending Italian champion against the team likely to take its trophy, with Napoli boasting a 16-point in Serie A.

CARLOS BROWN JR, second from left above (106), silver medallist in the under-20 boys 4x100 metre relay finals.

Photos by Austin Fernander/ Tribune Staff

LACARTHEA Cooper won the bronze medal in the under 20 girls 400 metres.

ABOVE AND BEYOND: Javonya Valcourt competes in the heats of the 400 metres during the 50th CARIFTA Games at Thomas A Robinson National Stadium over the weekend.

Photos: Moises Amisial/Tribune Staff

LaVine scores 39, Bulls beat Raptors 109-105

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) —

Zach LaVine scored 39 points, DeMar DeRozan had 23 against his former team and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in a playin tournament game last night.

The Bulls will visit the Miami Heat on Friday night for the chance to earn the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.

And, a first-round playoff matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who trailed 66-47 in the third quarter but took the lead by making four of seven attempts from 3-point range in the fourth.

Chicago shot 3 for 19 from distance through the first three quarters.

Fred VanVleet had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Pascal Siakam scored 32 points, but Toronto’s season ended in disappointment as the Raptors — with DeRozan’s daughter, Diar, screaming when they shot — went a dismal 18 for 36 at the free throw line.

Toronto missed six attempts from the line in the fourth quarter.

Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 10 rebounds

for the Raptors, and O.G. Anunoby scored 13 points. Chicago’s Alex Caruso connected from the corner to tie the score at 91-all with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter and Patrick Beverley’s 3 with 5:07 remaining gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead. It was Beverley’s first basket of the game.

VanVleet’s 3 with 3:11 to go knotted it again at 100-all, but LaVine and DeRozan replied with baskets for the Bulls. Barnes and Siakam each made one of two at the line inside the final two minutes, and VanVleet missed a 3 that would have tied the game.

Siakam’s driving dunk with 19 seconds left cut it to 105-104.

After a timeout, LaVine pushed the lead to three with a pair of free throws. Caruso fouled Siakam on a 3 but the Raptors star missed his second and third attempts. The Raptors led 28-23 after one

BRITTNEY GRINER WORKING ON MEMOIR ABOUT RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) —

Saying she is ready to share the “unfathomable” experience of being arrested and incarcerated in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner is working on a memoir that is scheduled for spring 2024.

Griner was arrested last year at the airport in Moscow on drug-related charges and detained for nearly 10 months, much of that time in prison. Her plight unfolded at the same time Russia invaded Ukraine and further heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., ending only after she was freed in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

A WNBA All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner had flown to Moscow in February 2022 to rejoin UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian women’s team she has played for in the off-season since 2014.

and VanVleet connected on a halfcourt heave at the halftime buzzer as Toronto extended its lead to 58-47.

VanVleet’s 3 with 9:09 left in the third gave Toronto a 19-point edge.

However, the Bulls shaved the gap and trailed 81-72 heading to the fourth quarter.

Lakers outlast Wolves 108-102 in overtime, advance to face Memphis

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP)

— Nearly everything about this season has been a grueling challenge for the Los Angeles Lakers, so nobody in a gold jersey really seemed surprised when Anthony Davis committed a baffling foul that allowed Minnesota’s Mike Conley to snatch a playoff berth from their hands with 0.1 seconds on the regulation clock.

The Lakers simply absorbed the latest body blow to their championship hopes and played on.

Five overtime minutes later, they finally claimed a postseason berth that seemed all but unattainable just a couple of months ago.

LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and the Lakers snagged the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a 108-102 victory over the short-handed Timberwolves in the NBA’s play-in tournament Tuesday night.

Conley hit three clutch free throws to tie it after Davis foolishly fouled him on a 3-point attempt, but the Lakers coolly kept rolling toward their 10th win in 12 games overall. Their reward is a date with the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round starting Sunday.

“It took everything out of us to get to where we are, and it took more out of us tonight,” Davis said. “But we’ve got a couple of days before we go to Memphis to start preparing for them. It’s been a battle. It’s been an up-and-down season for us, but now is the time to show who we are, and we showed it tonight.”

Dennis Schröder scored 21 points, drilling a tiebreaking 3-pointer on a pass from James with 1.4 seconds left in regulation before icing the win with two free throws with 8.4 seconds left for the Lakers, who started the season 2-10 and sat six games below .500 at the trade deadline.

“Once you get to the end of things, to have everyone

healthy, to be playing in the type of rhythm we’re playing in, to defend at the level that we’re defending at, going into the most important time of the year, you can’t ask for a better situation,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

The Wolves still forced overtime when Conley hit his free throws after Davis stepped on his foot after he had already released a 3-point attempt.

Davis and James said they had a mix-up about who was supposed to defend the shooter in the corner.

“The play was between me and AD, and we discussed it on the bench, and then we moved forward,” James said.

“We’ve still got five more minutes to play. That’s how we started overtime. We was able to recalibrate. Get our game back.”

Instead of getting down, the Lakers went back to work.

“That was totally on me,” said Davis, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds.

“He faded out of bounds where I was going. But it goes back to next-play mentality, and we got it done in overtime.”

Los Angeles finally won it with defence, holding the Wolves to seven points in the final 11 minutes from midway through the fourth quarter while rallying from a 15-point deficit.

Conley scored 23 points for Minnesota, which gave an inspired effort for the first three quarters while playing without starters Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels.

Gobert is suspended for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during Minnesota’s regular-season finale against New Orleans, while McDaniels is out indefinitely with a broken hand after punching a wall in frustration Sunday.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points for the Wolves, who will host New Orleans or Oklahoma City on Friday for the eighth spot and a first-round date with top-seeded Denver beginning Sunday.

The Pelicans host the Thunder on Wednesday night, and Minnesota must then beat the winner to reach the playoffs for only the third time in 19 seasons.

“We expected to win this game,” Conley said. “It’s disappointing to lose. We had a lead and let it slip. This should be a different postgame speech. ... We’ve just got to be mentally and physically more engaged at the end, and we’ve got a couple of days to work on it.”

After leading for most of the night, Minnesota went scoreless for six full minutes in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles began its comeback after Towns had to sit with his fifth foul, and it took the lead for good on a 3-pointer on the opening possession of OT by Rui Hachimura, who had 12 points.

The Wolves missed 11 consecutive shots before Anthony Edwards’ dunk with 2:36 left in overtime. Edwards scored just nine points — more than 15 below his average — and

left the court briefly in the second half to get tape on his left shoulder after taking an early fall.

Schröder stepped up tremendously for D’Angelo Russell, who had a nightmare game for Los Angeles against the team that traded him in February. Russell had eight assists, but scored two points on 1-of-9 shooting before getting benched down the stretch.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: McDaniels attended the game. ... A minor confrontation after the first-quarter buzzer ended with technical fouls for Edwards and Hachimura.

Lakers: Schröder returned from a two-game injury absence. ... Tristan Thompson and Shaq Harrison were in uniform for the first time after signing last Sunday. Neither veteran played.

UP NEXT Timberwolves: Host Pelicans or Thunder on Friday. Lakers: At Grizzlies on Sunday.

“That day (in February) was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” Griner said in a statement released Tuesday by Alfred A. Knopf.

“The primary reason I travelled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud. After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”

Griner added that she also hoped her book would raise awareness of other Americans detained overseas, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia last month and accused of espionage; businessman Kai Li, serving a 10-year sentence in China on charges of revealing state secrets to the FBI; and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive imprisoned in Russia on spying charges.

Around the time Griner was released, Whelan criticised the U.S. government for not doing enough to help him.

BOSTON HEADS TO FEVER AS NO. 1 PICK IN WNBA DRAFT

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) —

The Indiana Fever made the most of the first No. 1 draft pick in franchise history, selecting Aliyah Boston.

The South Carolina star had a stellar college career, leading the Gamecocks to a national championship her junior year, losing only nine games total and helping her team to three Final Four appearances. The 6-foot-5 Boston was a three-time Associated Press All-American and also the Player of the Year as a junior.

“It’s really special, I’m thankful to God for putting me in this position,” said the 21-year-old Boston, from the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Everyone in Indiana, they saw something in me, I’m ready to get there and get to work.”

The Fever had the worst record in the league last season, going 5-31.

“Aliyah Boston will have an immediate impact on our franchise on and off the court,” Fever GM Lin Dunn said. ‘We are excited to pair her with Kelsey (Mitchell) and NaLyssa (Smith) as we reload the Indiana Fever. We are very impressed with Aliyah’s post skills as well as her natural leadership skills. This a a great day for our franchise!”

LOS Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) dunks over Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CHICAGO Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) scores past Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Toronto.

(Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Derek Jeter’s star-studded golf tourney returns to The Bahamas May 11-14

DEREK Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation announced it will host the highlyanticipated Derek Jeter Invitational (DJI) in partnership with Baha Mar – The Bahamas’ luxury resort destination – May 11-14.

Dozens of celebrities and athletes will join the Baseball Hall of Famer for three days of competitive golf at Baha Mar’s Jack Nicklaus signature design Royal Blue Golf Course, as well as special events held throughout the resort, benefitting Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation

PGA TOUR HAS SEVEN TOURNEYS IN THE FALL TO SECURE FULL CARDS

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer

THE PGA Tour yesterday announced a fall schedule that will have seven tournaments for players to either retain full status, earn a spot in the Masters or become eligible for some of the $20 million events the following season.

This will be the first time since 2013 the fall is not the start of a new season. The tour is returning to a calendar season that begins in January, part of a shakeup that allows the top players to compete against each other more often.

Missing from the fall schedule is the Houston Open, which is moving to the spring in 2024, and the CJ Cup in South Korea.

The CJ Cup has been played twice in Las Vegas (2020-21) and last year in South Carolina because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One possibility is that CJ returns in 2024 as the new title sponsor of the Byron Nelson, as AT&T is ending its title sponsorship of the longtime Dallas-area event.

Only the top 70 players — down from 125 — qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs this year, with the top 50 advancing to the second event. Those 50 players are eligible for all the designated events in 2024 that offer the $20 million purses. The top 30 advance to the Tour Championship.

The FedEx Cup points continue into the seventournament fall schedule for players who finish No. 51 and beyond. That allows them to either finish in the top 125 to retain full tour status or be among the top 10 not already eligible who qualify for two $20 million events at the start of the new season.

Winners of fall events, which offer a total of $56.6 million prize money, earn an invitation to the Masters, PGA Championship, The Players Championship and the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.

Four of the seven fall tournaments are in the U.S., though the schedule manages a geographical flow.

The fall starts September 14-17 in Napa, California, with the Fortinet Championship before taking a two-week break for the Ryder Cup in Italy.

Then it goes westward on October 5-8 from Mississippi to Las Vegas to Japan. After a week off, the tour heads east to the tip of Baja California in Mexico, then to Bermuda and ends with the RSM Classic at Sea Island along the Georgia coast on November 16-19.

The HSBC Champions in Shanghai is no longer on the schedule. It has been a World Golf Championships event since 2009 but has not been played since 2019 because of the pandemic. That ends the WGCs; the Dell Match Play is not part of the 2024 schedule.

CELEBRITIES, ATHLETES TO HIT THE LINKS AT BAHA MAR’S ROYAL BLUE GOLF COURSE, BUSTA RHYMES TO PERFORM AT DJI GALA

and its programmes serving youth.

Some of the biggest stars in sports and entertainment will attend this year’s golf tournament, including: Tiki Barber, Derrick Brooks, Nate Burleson, Kevin Connolly, Victor Cruz, Kevin Dillon, D-Nice, Joey Fatone, Jerry Ferrara, Cliff Floyd, Wayne Gretzky, Ken Griffey Jr., Rob Gronkowski, Natalie Gulbis, Reggie Jackson, Andruw Jones, Angie Martinez, Tino Martinez, Booger McFarland, Fred McGriff, Charles Oakley, Chandler Parsons, Jorge Posada, Busta Rhymes, Rob Riggle, CC Sabathia, Ramon Sessions, J.R. Smith, Paige Spiranac, John Starks, Michael Strahan, Tanyon Sturtze, Nick Swisher, Heidi Watney and Deron Williams.

“Each day we continue to witness incredible growth in the youth we serve, as they give back to their communities, serve as leaders to those around them, and pursue bright futures. This year’s event will enable

us to strengthen Turn 2’s programmes, further our mission, give back to youth in The Bahamas and ultimately, open doors for so many more young people,” said Derek Jeter.

“We are grateful to Baha Mar for partnering with us to present this amazing event, and to our friends and supporters for joining us.”

The 2023 DJI kicks off

Thursday, May 11, with a welcome reception at Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House featuring music by legendary, awardwinning artist, DJ, and philanthropist D-Nice.

The two-round celebrityamateur tournament, which pairs one celebrity with four amateur participants, will begin Friday, May 12, at the 18-hole Royal Blue Golf Course followed by a competitive celebrity shootout.

The tournament will continue Saturday, May 13, and the spectacular DJI Gala will take place that evening at The Grand Hyatt Convention Center – complete with a

star-studded red carpet and live musical performance by GRAMMY-nominated rapper, singer, musician, record producer, record executive, and actor Busta Rhymes.

The festivities will conclude Sunday, May 14, with a celebrity round of golf at Royal Blue.

As part of its partnership with Baha Mar, The Turn 2 Foundation will contribute to the local community in The Bahamas by donating $50,000 to the Baha Mar Resort Foundation.

Since its opening in 2017, Baha Mar has supported a wide array of causes pertaining to community, culture and conservation throughout The Bahamas.

“We are thrilled that the Derek Jeter Invitational has returned to Baha Mar for the second year in a row,” said Graeme Davis, president at Baha Mar.

“We are proud to support this important tournament and continue our commitment to two deserving charitable organisations whose mission is to inspire

positive change. We are thankful for the Turn 2 Foundation’s generous donation to the Baha Mar Resort Foundation and will utilise the funds to expand on our projects and investments within the Bahamian community.”

Proceeds from the DJI will support The Turn 2 Foundation’s programmes, which empower youth to rise above negative influences, strengthen their leadership skills, create positive change, and achieve their full potential.

Since launching in Las Vegas in 2015 and marking its inaugural celebration at Baha Mar in 2022, the event has contributed more than $7 million to Turn 2.

Previous guests have included stars such as Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Ken Griffey, Jr., Cal Ripken, Jr., Russell Wilson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Tyler

Cameron, Jorge Posada, Rob Riggle, Bode Miller, Brandi Chastain, Tino

Martinez, Miles Teller, Brian Baumgartner, Joey

Fatone, Benjamin Bratt, Frankie Muniz, Haley Joel Osment, Paige Spiranac, Blair O’Neal and Jerome Bettis, among others, along with past performances by Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Jason Derulo, T.I., Ludacris, Miguel and Flo Rida. Derek Jeter established The Turn 2 Foundation during his rookie year with the New York Yankees in 1996. Since its launch, Turn 2 has worked to help young people reach their full potential by creating and supporting initiatives that promote leadership development, academic achievement, positive behaviour, healthy lifestyles and social change.

On track: Future looks bright for The Bahamas

FROM PAGE 15

In his opinion, her performance warranted an Austin Sealy award win but he was proud of her nonetheless.

For her silver medal, Nabbie alongside the 4x100m relay team of Shayann Demeritte, Darvinique Dean and Bayli Major collectively ran a time of 46.43.

The relay team initially placed third for a bronze medal but after the disqualification of Team Jamaica, the team secured the silver medal for the country.

On the team, Nabbie ran the second leg, giving them a good lift going into the third exchange.

In only her second year competing at the CARIFTA Games, the athlete left a lasting impression in the minds of Bahamiansshe’s next.

Her parents Zuhleka Nabbie (mother), and Jamaal Nabbie (father) were in attendance at the games and were overcome

with joy after their daughter’s second gold medal for The Bahamas.

“We’re so excited because she trained hard all year and she didn’t even qualify at first as it took a while for her to qualify but we are here now for the moment,” her mother said. Her father also talked about how proud he was of his daughter’s success.

“She made me proud and she put in plenty of hard work the last three days and we knew she could do it,” her father said. He added that he wants the country to now rally behind his daughter, after seeing what she is able to do on the track, before it’s too late.

After a great performance at The Bahamas’ 50th CARIFTA Games, Nabbie has surely made her name and presence known in the track world. The young athlete will only look to work harder, and continue to do her best.

Lavardo ‘savours’ silver in octathlon

FROM PAGE 15

the vibe from the fans, especially after finishing the 1,500m, I really thought they were going to take me out in the wheelchair. But hearing the junkanoo music, I had to get up and vibe with them.”

The CV Bethel 2022 graduate, who is preparing

to head off to college in August to further his athletic prowess, celebrated by dancing to the junkanoo music as he reflected on his trail to his silver medal performance.

He said he will definitely be back bigger and stronger for the games in Grenada in 2024 where he intends to go for the gold.

JAMIAH NABBIE, a student of Queen’s College and talented 100m and 200m speciality runner, brought home two gold medals and a silver at the 50th CARIFTA Games.

Photo: Moises Amisial/Tribune Staff