PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis concluded the Caribbean Regional Heads of Government high-level talks on climate change yesterday at Baha Mar.The two-day summit was hosted by The Bahamas in preparation for COP27, which will be held in Egypt later this year.
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Omar
By EARYEL BOWLEG, KHRISNA RUSSELL and LETRE SWEETING
SEE PAGE FOUR DAVISOMARJR THURSDAY HIGH
- SEE PAGE EIGHT ‘OH MYTHEYLORD,KILLEDBABY’ •
LOW 80ºF i’m lovin’ it! Volume: 119 No.184, August 18, 2022 THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1 Established 1903The Tribune CARS! CARS! CLASSIFIEDS TRADEROBITUARIES The Tribune Monday, February 8, To Advertise Call 601-0007 or $33.60502-2351 Biggest And Best! LATEST NEWS ON TRIBUNE242.COM Happy 6pcCheeseburgerHamburgerMeals:Nuggets HAPPY NEW only@ IT’S FINALLY HERE!
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday.Photo:Moise Amisial 91ºF
• Political
More than a dozen heads of state were in the coun try for the climate change conference and key issues being discussed at the event included access to climate funding, disaster mitigation, and strengthening resil ience and recovery among otherDuringtopics.the closing ses sion of the conference, Prime Minister Davis said in less than three months the Caribbean Regional Heads of Government will attend COP-27 in an effort to advance climate action. By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings@tribunemedia.net Family grief for Davis Jr leaders speak out on killing Munroe warns to avoid speculation
CLIMATE CONFERENCE CLOSES
•
THE mother of Omar Davis Jr yesterday told of how she was struggling to come to terms with the death of her son, revealing that the 21-year-old was badly beaten in the lead-up to his death. Her words came as Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis described the killing as “truly unbearable” and said “we must be relentless” in turning the tide in thie nation. FNM leader Michael Pintard also called for an end to “senseless Meanwhile,bloodshed”.Ministerof National Security Wayne Munroe warned the public that there was no need for speculation as police will get to the bottom of what led to the murder.
SEE PAGE THREE FOR FULL STORY
SEX ATTACK ON 17-YEAR-OLD
FNM CALLS FOR END TO VIOLENCE WHOPPER® GR∑∑K Topped with tzatziki sauce, feta, and Greek spices. TM & © 2022 Burger King Corporation. Used under license. All rights reserved. Nassau To502-2394Tribune,advertiseinThecontact
A MAN was doused with gasoline and then set on fire on Tuesday, according to police.Initial reports were that the man, who was suffering from first degree burns, was taken to a local clinic in the Carmichael Road area after the incident occurred. Police are now searching for the occupants of a dark purple coloured Nissan Note, who are believed to be responsible for the incident.Anyone with informa tion is asked to contact the Criminal Investigation Department at 502-9991/2 orMeanwhile,328-TIPS. police said they were able to arrest a 21-year-old man believed to be responsible for an alleged attempted armed robbery on Wednesday.
MEMBERS of the FNM taking part in a tour of Bain Town yester day to spread a message of stopping violence.Photos: Moise Amisial
MAN SET ON FIRE AFTER BEING DOUSED IN GAS
PAGE 2, Thursday, August 18, 2022 THE TRIBUNE
The incident occurred shortly after midnight in the parking lot at a beach in western New Providence. Police said a man and woman were sitting in their vehicle when a gold coloured Honda Accord, licence plate number AE1202, with two men pulled up. The men got out of the vehicle and pulled out a black hand gun in an attempt to rob the couple. Following this, officers on mobile patrol were making routine checks of the area when the sus pects were alerted and attempted to flee towards theThebeach.officers saw a man in dark clothes running away, attempting to evade officers by jumping into the water. The man was arrested a short time later and is assisting police with theirPoliceinvestigations.areappealing to members of the public for their assistance in locat ing the second suspect in this incident who was able to escape on foot. He was dressed in dark clothes when last seen.
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl was sexually assaulted on Tuesday at a local beach. However, police said the victim not only declined medical assistance, but did not want police to take any action.According to police, the incident happened some time after 3pm at a beach in north-western New Providence,Thevictim was swim ming, police said, when she was approached by an unknown man who sexually assaultedMeanwhile,her. officers attached to operation ceasefire removed a fire arm from the streets of New Providence on Wednesday. Initial reports reveal that shortly after 10am, officers received reports of gun shots emanating from the area of Sunlight Cottage, off East OfficersStreet.responded and saw a man running in a northern direction with a firearm in his hand. A chase led to the sus pect being arrested and the recovery of a black hand gun with five rounds of ammunition.Policeare continuing investigations.
THE TRIBUNE Thursday, August 18, 2022, PAGE 3
POLITICAL LEADERS SPEAK OUT ON DEATH
‘Oh
they
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By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net MUNROE: DON’T OVERSPECULATEMURDER OMAR
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis described as “truly unbearable” the death of Omar Davis Jr, saying all must get involved in fighting the scourge of violence in the coun try at a time when Bahamians are experiencing heavy hearts. Mr Davis said “we must be relentless” in turning the tide in the nation, as he addressed the murder of the 21-year-old who was preparing this week to return to the United States to begin an internship at a noted audit firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Meanwhile, Official Oppo sition leader Michael Pintard said the death sent shockwaves throughout the community and called for all to demand that “senseless bloodshed” in the country come to an end. “To lose him in this way when he was about to embark on the next stage of his life feels truly unbearable,” Mr Davis said as he spoke at an education con clave at Loyola Hall. “Here we have a young man whose resolve to escape violence had fueled his outstanding achieve ments in our public schools and in further education. His determination and his success reached and inspired so many. Mr Davis offered his offi cial condolences and urged Bahamians to pray and come together to stop the spread of violence.“Wepray for God to wrap his arms around the family and hold them tight, just as we pray this for all of our families and there are far too many who lose loved ones to violence. You are not alone. We add to our prayers our shared determina tion to come together as policy makers, as community leaders, as clergy, families and friends or neighbours to do ever more to fight the scourge of violence even when, or especially when, our hearts are this heavy.” He added: “We must be relentless.”“Oneway to honour the memory of those whom we have lost is to work harder and harder to turn the tide to create hope and healing to prevent future trage dies,” Mr Davis said. In a statement issued yesterday Mr Pintard also gave his condolences and demanded that the community come together to combat violence on theHestreets.said:“The killing of Omar Davis Jr, a young man with much potential, has sent shock waves throughout our country as yet again, families and the community that have given them birth, record another tragic demise of another young man.“We must all collectively continue to call for and demand that the senseless bloodshed and human carnage cease on ourMrstreets.”Pintard also expressed condolences for all families that have suffered the loss of some one to murder or violence. “We also offer our condo lences to all of the mothers, fathers and family members of all victims of murder in our country. Please know that each of you are in our thoughts and prayers. Omar’s story and his journey represents a bright light, a ray of hope for our young people, especially our young men, that once you apply yourself there is truly nothing you cannot achieve. His dogged determination to succeed against all odds was and will forever be an inspira tion to many,” he said. On Tuesday, the partially decomposed body of a man was found in a garbage bag inside the trunk of a vehicle near the Centreville Food Market. It was identified as that of Omar Davis, Jr 21. Police Chief Superintendent Michael John son added it appeared that the body was in the early stages of decomposition and could have been inside the vehicle for about 24 hours.
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
By LETRE SWEETING
Meanwhile, Central State University, his alma mater, sent condolences to the family and announced a candlelight vigil that took place yesterday. Lord, killed my baby’ DAVIS
NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe urged the public to be careful with “what they run on with” regarding the death of Omar Davis Jr, adding there was no need for speculation as police will get to the bottom of what led to this gruesome death. “You have a grieving family,” he told the public. “You don’t want to add any thing to the suffering and grief that they have by running on with nonsense.” Mr Munroe said there was no accept able reason to take a person’s life outside of self-defence, insisting that until people stop the mindset that they “have the power of God”, murders will continue in theThecountry.minister spoke to The Tribune at the home 21-year-old Davis shared with his mother at Fox Hill. Mr Munroe said he visited with the family as Davis grew up in the St James Road community, off Kemp Road, which is in his constituency. He said the young man was doing all he needed to do to be successful in life. “One thing that I would say is that as Bahamian people we need to understand that when you have a death you have human beings involved and so I would exhort the public to be careful with what they run on with,” the MP said. He continued: “The police are inves tigating and they will get to the bottom of it. I have some confidence in that and then they will advance the case and so we don’t need to speculate at this point. “We just need to let the police do their job and in due course - you would have seen the police is very open with the press - they will come and they will give a statement. They will update on what it is. I don’t care why, there is no reason. “Other than a man threatening your life, for you to take someone’s life, there is no reason. I don’t care how mad you get. I don’t care about any of that. “The only thing we recognise is self defence and we know this young man, this young man was doing everything correctly to advance himself. “So, I don’t care what it is. If you were acting in self defence why would you do all of this?” Mr Munroe said Davis’ character spoke for itself. “He was avoiding negativity. He was advancing himself. He was putting him self in a position to help himself and his family and yet you have this evil that comes and this happens,” he said. “The only way that you will block out evil is with good. I know that Bahamian people don’t like to hear it, but you have wicked evil in the world and we have to recognise it. We have to understand that just as Omar decided to be different and to do what is right, that’s what stops bad from doing bad things. “There is no amount of proper upbringings, there is nothing other than application for him to be valedictorian at CI Gibson and the only thing I would divulge from the conversation with his mother is he was aiming to do it at his university and ending up with a 4.0 grade point average. “It tells you that this was a committed young Bahamian advancing himself and so it is not only sad but tragic that this happened.”
GIA Whymns is struggling to come to terms with the murder of her son Omar Davis Jr, revealing to The Tribune that the 21-year-old was badly beaten in the lead up to his shocking death. In an interview yesterday at her home, Ms Whymns said she was heartbroken over the state in which she saw her son when she identified him at the morgue yesterday. “They just showed me a picture in black and white,” she said of the identification process.Asked if she believed it was her son, the 38-year-old mother said: “I mean, yeah, but it’s just how they beat him. They beat him and I never beat him. I never had to beat him and just to see my son look like thatthat hurt me. “That hurt me because why? I never had to go to the school. I never had to do noth ing for him and they just beat him like that and kill him like that.” Ms Whymns reported her son missing on Monday, Inspector Makelle Pinder con firmed to The Tribune yesterday. However before an official missing persons bulletin could go out, Davis’ partially decomposed body was found. On Tuesday, the remains were found in a garbage bag inside the trunk of a vehicle near the Centreville Food Market. Police said four males between the ages of 20 and 56 were in custody assisting police with their investigations. At the scene of the discovery on Tues day, Chief Superintendent Michael Johnson, officer-in-charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, told reporters that sometime after 5pm police received information of a vehicle that was parked in a bushy area just at the rear of the food store. More specifically it was near Centre ville Caribbean Liquor Store. He added when the police arrived, they noticed a black Honda Fit. All of the doors were closed and they became suspicious because there were some items in the vehi cle that appeared to be that of a body. The officer-in-charge explained they were able to open the vehicle and uncover what they found to be remains of a male in a garbage bag with multiple wounds to the head, face, and chest area. The 21-year-old’s mother recounted how the ordeal started with her son not responding to her text message. “I text him because somebody was tex ting me,” she said. “So, sometimes if I don’t understand something or whatever I show it to him so he could break it down for me. I text him something that somebody send me and then I didn’t get no answer – that was like 1. So, I knock off I reach home like 6 o’clock. His little brother say ‘Mummy you know where Omar is? You hear from Omar. I been texting him and calling him all day – say he ain’t answering me’. I said when last time you called him. He said 3:30 and no tick and that’s not him because he always answer. No matter what he always answer – he always answers us. “Even if he read it and you could see where the two tick, he’ll just go get it come home with it.” She said on Monday night she continued to look out for her son and began making calls to see if any relatives or friends knew where he was. “So I wake up around 3, I still ain’t see him,” Ms Whymns recalled. “So I jump and I get up on the phone. I called all the police stations. I call all the hospitals. I send people who I know who work there in accident and emergency to find out if y’all had any Omar Davis came in or whatever. “So, when I wake up that morning I got up and jump in my vehicle. I pick up one of my friends and we just start riding. “So my aunty said man everyone then knock off let’s go. Let’s go for a family search. Let’s go see if we find a car or some thing because they say that’s not him. He never sleep out. He will come home late and he will text me and say ‘Well mummy, I right here coming soon’ or ‘Mummy, I sleeping by aunty’.” While trying to stay optimistic, Ms Whymns knew something had to have been wrong because her son has “never in life” not called her to inform her of his whereabouts.“Iwastrying to keep the faith as I ride around looking for a car, but something deep down inside of me was saying he (was) hurt, but I never know that he would’ve been dead because that ain’t him.” Her worst nightmare became reality when news broke that his vehicle had been found.“Iwas on the phone. I see it on Eyewit ness, they say a black Fit and then I had one of my other friends call me say ‘Gia you see they say they found a black Fit?’ “I was in the area. I wasn’t far. I ride there and when I ride there I ran straight there. I ran straight over by the scene and I was like oh, Lord, they killed my baby.” Davis recently graduated with a double degree from Central State University and a 4.0 cumulative GPA, according to a Facebook post back in May. He was sup posed to start an internship with audit firm Deloitte in Atlanta. Quintina Jones, his aunt, described him as the glue that kept both families together. “Fun and an all-around great person,” and “very career driven” was how she described“There’shim.no words that could explain,” she said. “I mean we don’t know like what he could have done so wrong for them to treat him the way that they did. To go like that (and) to be put in a back truck in a bag is just - I don’t know.” Davis was trying to excel above the odds. While alive, he spoke openly about how he grew up in Kemp Road and that his father was“Imurdered.meanitjust goes to show people have no remorse for life. He really tried. He really thought he was doing everything what supposed to be done in order to make it out,” his aunt said. Another aunt noted: “This also wake up the family to realise that the Bible is true. The enemy came to steal, to kill, and destroy.“And it wake us up to realise that we need to stay focus. We need to stay grounded and rooted in the word of God and even to overcome this, but we believe that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord.”
ASSISTANT Commis sioner of Police Kendal Strachan says he is at peace with himself regard ing the way he was treated under the former Minnis administration.In2019,senior police officers Clayton Fernander, Leamond Deleveaux and Mr Strachan were asked to take their accumulated vacation leaves. ACP Strachan was then reassigned to the Willimae Centre for Girls as head of security.Yesterday, ACP Strachan told reporters that despite what happened to him, he remains a proud Bahamian and member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. “I’m a proud Baha mian,” he said. “I’m a proud member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, who served my country with distinction and pride for 38 years come November of this year. I will continue to serve, unless either the good Lord should deter mine that my time on earth has ended or secondly that I have completed my service and then move into another arena that I would be happy being“So,in.there’s not much more that I would wish to say, other than to encour age my colleagues out there who like myself, who are interested in law enforcement.“Awonderful career that is given to me in serv ing you, the citizens of this country, to encourage them to continue to be true to yourself, true to your call ing, putting the good Lord first, doing the best you can while you are where you are, and encouraging others to do likewise,” ACP Stra chanFormersaid. Police Com missioner Paul Rolle has publicly stated he felt betrayed and deceived by the Minnis adminis tration’s handling of the three high ranking police officers, adding he never supported the senior officers being placed on leave.Commissioner Clayton Fernander recently said on a television show “On the Record” with host Jerome Sawyer that had he not been “disrupted” by a forced leave and second ment in 2019, he would have been in his retirement byLeavingnow. the Royal Baha mas Police Force by way of retirement was something he was planning for. He also revealed officers had been advised to stay away from him. T E E’ ORMER TRE TMENT
T NT OMM ONER
Climate conference closes
He outlined the next steps for COP-27 and potential considerations for theHeregion.said a draft sum mary consisting of three to four pages which will outline the proceedings of the conference is currently being prepared in collabo ration with the UNFCCC Secretary.“Thisregional meeting is critical,” Mr Davis said. “Our shared characteris tics go beyond our physical geography. We need to find effective, efficient ways to adapt to new realities. “We have to restructure our lives and our living environment to mitigate against the disasters which are becoming more fre quent and more severe. Easy to say much harder to pay “Thefor.Caribbean has been identified as the region with the largest number of indebted countries. While there are multiple reasons for this, in many cases a major contributor to debt is borrowing associated with recovery efforts from the impact of climate change. “Here in The Bahamas, we undertook an exercise which revealed that more than 50 percent of our out standing debt can be linked to the impacts of the hurri canes which descended on us between 2015 and 2019. Our countries are struggling with debts accumulated by climate disasters.”MrDavis expressed his wish to make this an annual event that will be hosted by the various countries within the“Weregion.also wish to have awareness amongst our region, to have a similar regional meeting to be done every year and incorporated into the UNFCCC Calen dar. So, each year we would hope to have such regional meetings in the various countries around our region to be able to ensure that each year our voices could be heard and because it needs to be heard, it needs to be louder now more than ever,” said Mr Davis in his closing remarks. “I have also been in touch with the COP-27 presi dency to discuss making a space for us as a region, to highlight and advance fur ther actions and ideas that came out of this meeting at COP-27. I look forward to your collaboration in this matter, I think we need our specific space at COP-27 and consideration is being given to Invitedthat”participants of the conference include the Head of State from Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Cuba, Dominica, Domini can Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad, and Tobago and Turks and Caicos.
PAGE 4, Thursday, August 18, 2022 THE TRIBUNE
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WOMAN ACCUSED OF APARTMENT RENTAL SCAM By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
FROM left, Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis at the closing press confrence of the regional meeting of the Caribbean heads of government yesterday.
On July 23 and August 10 in New Providence, Thurston is accused of defrauding Vaneesha Saintil of $1,980 cash as payment for an apartment rental. Also on July 30 and August 9 in New Provi dence she is said to have defrauded Jackson Valbrun of another $1980 apart ment rental payment. In both cases, the accused is said to have offered the complainants a place for rent that she did not own. When Saintil and Valbrun tried to move into their respective apartments they found them already occupied.Incourt, Thurston pleaded not guilty to all charges.Withno objections from Prosecutor Inspector Lin coln McKenzie, $3,000 bail was granted to the accused. Thurston’s trial will begin on August 30.
A WOMAN was granted $3,000 bail in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday after alleg edly defrauding two people of cash in an apartment rentalPeggyscam.Thurston, 49, faced Acting Chief Mag istrate Subusola Swain on two counts of fraud by false pretences.
Photos: Austin Fernander
By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net
from page one
CAPRI SUN DRINKS RECALLED
SUMMERTIME repairs being made to TA Thompson Jr High.Photo: Austin Fernander
THE man who is said to have suddenly died at Sandals Emerald Bay, Exuma, complained of experiencing COVID19 symptoms on Saturday, according to police.“So, from Saturday until his death he was policeself-quarantining,”told The Tribune yesterday.While the man, believed to be 70 years old, was said to have been in possession of identification, next of kin have not yet offi cially identified him. According to NBC, the resort yesterday said: “We can confirm reports coming out of the Bahamas that, sadly, a guest has passed away from apparent natural causes.“Bahamian authori ties do not suspect any foul play. We wish to extend our deepest sym pathies to the guest’s family, and we remain in close contact to pro vide support during this difficult time.” The death comes a little over three months after three Americans, all in their 60s, were found dead at Sandals.
RECALL OF SWEET POTATOES REMAINS IN EFFECT
THE BAHAMAS Agricultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) says the recall of whole sweet potatoes remains in effect. Last month, the recall came on behalf of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC).Thesweet potatoes under investigation were trans ported from the packing house at North Andros to the Produce Exchange at New Providence, which is managed by BAIC. The sweet potatoes were on sale at the Produce Exchange from June 24 through to July 15.
By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net
BAHFSA said the manufac turer’s code on the pouch is 25JUN2023 WXX LYY #### where “XX” maybe 01, 02, 03, 04, 09, or 10 and “####” is between 0733-0900. Additionally, the Manufac turer’s code on the carton is 25JUN2023 WXX #### CT1404 where “XX” may be 01, 02, or 03 and “####” is betweenAnyone0733-1000.whomay have consumed the product or has shown signs of illness is asked to visit their health care providers immediately. According to interna tional reports, this is not the first time the com pany’s drinks have been recalled, however, Kraft said its “actively working” to resolve the matter. “The company is actively working with retail partners and distributors to remove the potentially impacted products from circulation,” Kraft said in a statement.
DESPITE the assertion that the government will be unable to complete school repairs before the new academic year begins, Works and Utilities Minister Alfred Sears said he is confident the work will be done on time. Mr Sears, who is also a former Minister of Education, said he is well aware of the challenges the ministry has faced, particularly due to the fact that for almost two years most of the campuses were closed. He noted there are a great number of structural defects that have to be addressed in the process. Free National Movement chair man Dr Duane Sands said earlier this week that it seemed unimagina ble for some schools to be ready for the opening of schools on August 29.“The Minister of Education has made it very clear that she would like for all of the schools to be ready for the 29th of August when the students come in and also for the 22nd, when the teachers and the administrators come,” the minister said on the sidelines of a climate change conference at Baha Mar. “First of all, the entire Ministry of Works, were working flat outour architects, engineers, as project coordinators, and have been really stretched scoping hundreds of schools, not only here in New Prov idence, but also in Family Islands. I am advised that those projects will come on stream. Some of the projects will have to be cut back, because there’s just not sufficient time,” he said. The minister told reporters he had confidence in the projects reaching completion in a timely fashion.Hesaid: “First of all, I am happy that the spokesman gave a qualifi cation. He didn’t say it’s impossible. It’s almost impossible and it will be done. You know, that’s the com mitment we have made and we’re doing it with the partnership of contractors.”Duetothe COVID-19 pandemic, many students were unable to attend school face-to-face and had to adjust to virtual learning. Mr Sears explained that people are relieved that their children will be able to re-enter school after being out for such a long period of time.He described the reopening as an opportunity not only to engage in the tooling function, but also the socialisation function of school. When asked about the cost of the school repairs so far, the minister noted that repairs are still ongoing. However, once the final number is concluded it will be disclosed publicly.
THE Bahamas Agri cultural Health and Food Safety Authority (BAHFSA) yesterday informed the public about Kraft Heinz’s recall of 5,760 cases of their 6.6 ounce Capri Sun Wild Cherry fla voured juice drink blend. The recall is due to the potential for a CleanIn-Place (CIP) solution entering the production stream as several con sumers complained about the taste of the affected product.Inanofficial press release yesterday, BAHFSA encouraged consumers to report product.tosumeadvisedsaidJuneWhendrinkWildtheyandstoretheBAHFSAvulnerable,cautionandfoodthegaretreportsreceivedtherelease.thenearestupuctconsumers“BAHFSAconcerns.encouragedtoreportprodconcernsandfollowsamewithavisittothemedicalfacility,”agencysaidinapressTheagencysaidtodateSurveillanceUnitnoconfirmedatthePrincessMarHospitalregardingaffectedproduct.“AsamajorimporteroffromtheUnitedStatesoutofanabundanceoftoprotectourmostourchildren,wishestoadvisepublictochecktheirshelves,storageareas,pantriestodetermineifareinpossessionoftheCherryflavoredjuiceblendwitha“BestUsedBy”dateof25,2023,”BAHFSAyesterday.Localstoreshavebeennottosellorcontheproduct,butdiscardtheaffectedInthestatement,
THE TRIBUNE Thursday, August 18, 2022, PAGE 5
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net
DIEDTOURISTAMERICANWHOINEXUMA D O D M TOM ’
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS lmunnings @ tribunemedia.net
Last month, reports revealed that 13 farms at North Andros had poten tially supplied the produce exchange with the sweet potatoes. However, ongo ing investigations with the help of BAIC, local farm ers of North Andros, the Department of Agriculture and BAHFSA will deter mine the source of the infestation.Inan updated press release yesterday, BAHFSA said: “Subsequent to a preliminary investigation at the Produce Exchange at BAIC, a multi-agency investigation, led by the Plant Protection Unit (PPU) at BAHFSA was carried out on the island of Andros, specifically on North“OtherAndros.stakeholders in attendance included the Department of Agriculture, BAIC, CARDI and the Food Safety and Quality Unit (BAHFSA). The key findings and recommen dations emanating from that mission were shared among the stakeholders and included an action plan which highlighted agency responsibilities in addressing the matter and disseminating the informa tion to farmers.” PPU has recommended the resumption of trade of sweet potatoes from North Andros to New Providence pending the implementa tion of short-term measures between the Packing House andTheseBAMSI.measures include: phytosanitary inspection system at the Packing House and BAMSI to detect and report sweet potato weevils and other pests associated with sweet potato consign ments, record-keeping and traceability system at the Packing House and BAMSI, temporarily restricting all sweet potato inspections by authorized officers and trade to the Packing House and BAMSI only, and lastly, uninspected sweet potato consignments originating from other sources should not be allowed to leave NorthBAHFSAAndros.warned restau rants, retailers, food service providers and consumers to not eat, sell or serve the affected potatoes supplied by the Produce Exchange on the dates mentioned as it may lead to illness in people who consume these potatoes.The agency advised farmers and those grow ing sweet potatoes, and staff at the Packing Houses and Produce Exchange to stay tuned for information on training by the vari ous agencies to learn more about the best practices in growing sweet potatoes and controlling sweet potato weevil infestation.
Schools will be ready to open, says Sears
D DAVIS AugustNassau, 14, 2022.
NGOs struggle to open bank account
FAMILIES shopping yesterday as they get ready for children going back to school.Photo: Moise Amisial
The most recent warning sign came after last week’s search of Mar-A-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort and political and personal headquarters. FBI agents seized 11 sets of classified information as part of an investigation of three dif ferent federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espio nage Act, according to court records. Trump accused the government of abuse of power in targeting him, and his supporters railed against the search online, targeting the FBI and Depart ment of Justice. An armed man who posted threats against the FBI on Trump’s Truth Social network was killed by authorities after trying to storm the agency’s Cincinnati office. Still, Trump and his supporters have waged rhetorical war against the FBI for years since the investigation into whether his initial campaign was aided by Russia in 2016. The intense focus on an individual judge like Reinhart is rela tivelyGretchennew. Helmke, a political scien tist at the University of Rochester, said Trump’s action mirrors what dema gogues have done in other countries where democracy has collapsed. “A popularly elected leader targeting a judiciary is often one early indicator of democratic erosion,” Helmke said in an email.Helmke cited Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru as places where an incoming administration vowed to clean up the judiciary, then stocked it with its follow ers. “The public never develops any real trust or confidence in the judiciary, and it is essentially costless for each incom ing administration to use the previous government’s manipulation of the judi ciary as a pretext to create the court it wants, Helmke said. “The end result is no judicial independence and no rule of law.”Hall said people can look at other countries and see what happens when public servants fear reprisals, places where “the rule of law has suffered. I guess you probably get a lot of differ ences of opinions on how far down that road we’re already hitting, but it raises the important question.”
HUNDREDS of federal judges face the same task every day: review an affi davit submitted by federal agents and approve requests for a search warrant. But for US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, the fallout from his decision to approve a search warrant has been far from routine. He has faced a storm of death threats since his signature earlier this month cleared the way for the FBI to search former President Donald Trump’s Mara-Lago estate as part of a probe into whether he inappropriately removed sensitive materials from the White House. Reinhart’s home address was posted on right-wing sites, along with antisemitic slurs. The South Florida syn agogue he attends canceled its Friday night Shabbat services in the wake of theTrumpuproar.has done little to lower the temperature among his supporters, decrying the search as political persecu tion and calling on Reinhart to recuse himself in the case because he has pre viously made political donations to Democrats. Reinhart has also, however, contributed to Republicans. The threats against Reinhart are part of a broader attack on law enforcement, particularly the FBI, by Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the search. But experts warn that the focus on a judge, coming amid an uptick in threats to the judiciary in general, is dangerous for the rule of law in the US and the country’s viability as a democracy. “Threats against judges fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities strike at the very core of our democracy,” US Second Circuit Judge Richard J Sullivan, chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Security, said in a statement issued recently in the aftermath of the search. “Judges should not have to fear retaliation for doing their jobs.” A phone message left in Rein hart’s chambers was not immediately returned. He will preside over a hearing Thursday on a request by media organi zations, including The Associated Press, seeking to unseal the underlying affida vit the Justice Department submitted when it asked for the Mar-a-Lago search warrant.Asked to comment about measures it has taken to protect Reinhart and his family the US Marshals Service said in a statement “while we do not discuss our specific security measures, we con tinuously review the measures in place and take appropriate steps to provide protection as necessary to ensure the integrity of the federal judicial process”. The vitriol directed at the magistrate, while striking, is becoming increasingly common. In 2014, the US Marshals Service handled 768 incidents that it classified as “inappropriate commu nications” aimed at judges and court employees. Last year, it reported more than 4,500. At one point “virtually everyone rec ognised how inappropriate it was to threaten the life or security of a judge because of a disagreement with the judge’s decision”, said Barbara Lynn, chief judge for the northern district of Texas. “Now I think there are a lot of people that don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.” Lynn is one of many judicial officials pushing Congress to approve the Daniel Anderl bill, named for the 20-yearold son of District Judge Esther Salas. He was killed in 2020 when a gunman came to their New Jersey home. His father was wounded. The bill, which has the support of groups ranging from the American Bar Association to the National Association of Attorneys General, would keep more of judges’ personal information private. In June, a retired Wisconsin county circuit judge, John Roemer was killed in his home in what authorities said was a targeted killing by a gunman, who fatally wounded himself as well. Later that month, protesters converged on the homes of conservative US Supreme Court justices after they overturned a 49-year-old ruling that women have a constitutional right to obtain an abor tion. Police arrested a man with knives, zip ties and a gun near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and he said he planned to kill the conservative justice. Congress rapidly approved money to bolster security at the justices’ homes and provide 24-hour protection to their families.Theincreased targeting of judges comes as trust in public institutions plummets and partisan rhetoric esca lates. It’s part of a pattern that Steven Levitsky has seen before. “This is a classic precursor of a dem ocratic breakdown,” said Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and co-author of How Democracies Die. “To call this a warning sign is an understatement.”
By GARY FIELDS and NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press letters@tribunemedia.net
EDITOR, The Tribune. AT THE outset I would like to commend the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) for extending an olive branch to Mr William Del Zotto and his family. Their impor tance to Grand Bahama cannot be overstated. I am relieved that the principals at the GBPA appreciate the urgency in saving the jobs of 130 Grand Bahamians at a time when employment opportunities are scarce on the island. Gold Rock Con crete could play a pivotal role in the resurgence of the so-called Magic City. Whatever magic Freeport was alleged to have had, it has worn off considerably over the past two decades; and contrary to my original assertion as to the reasons for this steep decline, Hur ricanes Francis and Jeanne were not the sole reason for it. In fact, many Grand Bahamians seem to be una ware of the massive role the Seminole Tribe of Florida indirectly played in bring ing about the collapse of Freeport.Ironically, the event I am referring to would occur in 2004, which was the same year Francis and Jeanne devastated Grand Bahama. I am talking about the legalisation of casino gambling in Florida. The Seminole Tribe owns six casinos on their reserva tions in Florida: Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa, Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood, Semi nole Casino Brighton and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood. The Seminole Tribe also owns six more casinos in other US states, Domini can Republic and Canada; in addition to restaurants in 70 countries. The current Seminole population in the six reservations is about 2,000.According to the Ency clopaedia Britannica, the Seminole Tribe is of Creek origin, who speak the Muskogean language. They had migrated from Georgia into Northern Florida during the 18th cen tury. The world Seminole is derived from the Creek word Simanó-li, which means either “separatist,” or “runaway.” Joined by Africans, African-Ameri cans and American Indians, the Seminole Tribe would engage the White colonis ers in the Seminole Wars of 1817-18; 1835-42 and 185557. Many of the Seminole Indians would eventually surrender to the US armed forces. These would sub sequently be relocated to Oklahoma. The 300 who remained in Florida are the ancestors of the ones who regained 80,000 acres of land from the US govern ment during the first half of the 20th century. In 1957, the federal gov ernment would formally recognise the Seminole Tribe. Two years before this landmark achieve ment for the Seminole Tribe, Wallace Groves and the nascent United Baha mian Party administration would sign the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which led to the birth of Free port City. The illegality of casino gambling in Florida would prove to be a boon for Grand Bahama, espe cially its flagship resort, the Princess Resort and Casino, which would become the Royal Oasis Resort and Casino. Grand Bahami ans would recall the cheap junket flights to Florida -an incentive given to staff members of the resort. High rollers and their families and entourage from South and Central Florida would frequent Freeport by the thousands in order to gamble. Millions were dumped into the economy. The economic spin-offs from the Princess Resort in Freeport were obvi ous. Thousands benefitted either directly or indirectly. The Princess Resort and Casino produced hundreds of middle-class earners, who built nice homes in affluent neighbourhoods. Many of them were able to afford private schooling and university education for their children. When Florida voted to regulate casino gambling in 2004, that would sound the death knell for Freeport and Grand Bahama -- and the islands middle-class. In fact, the day that that ominous legislation was passed in 2004 would be the day Freeport and Grand Bahama died, at the risk of appearing to be repetitive. That was 18 years ago, and the results of the Seminole Tribe setting up casinos throughout Florida con tinue to have a devastating impact on Freeport. From my vantage point, nothing has been done to counter this. I could be wrong. Still, if Abaco, New Prov idence, Bimini, Eleuthera, Exuma, Andros and San Salvador can thrive in the hospitality industry, then I believe that Grand Bahama can thrive also, even with the existence of the Seminole Tribe of Flor ida operating a successful casino empire next door. KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama August 17, 2022.
Te day andFreeportthatGBdied LETTERS
The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master” LEON E. H. DUPUCH, Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt . Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991 EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972Published daily Monday to Friday Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES News & General Information (242) 322-1986 Advertising Manager (242) 502-2394 Circulation Department (242) 502-2386 Nassau fax (242) 328-2398 Freeport, Grand Bahama (242)-352-6608 Freeport fax (242) 352-9348 WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com @tribune242 tribune news network PAGE 6, Thursday, August 18, 2022 THE TRIBUNE
Trump’s initial presidential campaign — during which he personally con demned a judge who ruled against him in a lawsuit over his now-defunct Trump University — changed the ground rules governing threats and explosive rhetoric, said Matthew Weil, executive director of the Democracy Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Wash ington,“ThereDC.are threats everywhere now, it’s become more normalized because he changed what was allowed in public discourse,” Weil said, who said both the right and the left have turned to threat ening the judicial branch. Nathan Hall, a principal consult ant with the National Center for State Courts, noted that the combination of lagging public trust, coupled with access to judges’ addresses and personal information impacts everyone from nationally-known Supreme Court justices to otherwise anonymous state judges. “This gets to the core issue of having equal access to justice, a core founda tional principle of our ability to function as a third and independent branch of government. It’s really shaken to the core,” Hall said. “Judges are just people at the end of the day. They put on a robe, but they still go home to their families.”
Trump supporters’ threats to judge spur concerns DAY
PICTURE OF THE
EDITOR, The Tribune. I NOTED with interest the claim by a Canadian bank operating in The Bahamas that they “support NGOs”. This statement came in response to com plaints that banks operating in The Bahamas, and in particular Canadian banks, discriminate against local non-profits and charities by heaping numerous difficul ties, onerous hinderances and ever-changing condi tions upon their attempts to simply open a bank account.Icanspeak first hand to the dire banking plight of NGOs; a group that I vol unteer with tried for two years, with three different Canadian banks, to open an account without suc cess. Every conceivable hurdle was thrown in our way and in the end, what should have been an easy process that NGOs around the world carry out every day, became a frustrating impossibility.Whatthese banks per haps do not understand is that possessing a bank account, or at least being able to tell donors when an account will be available, is critical to an NGO’s ability to attract grants and raise funds. And without this, they simply cannot operate. They cannot pay their staff or carry out their mission. Not being able to say if or when a bank account will be available is also fatal to an NGO’s reputation, and their ability to raise funds to meet their objec tives absolutely relies on an image that inspires trust, and projects accountability andTheprofessionalism.positionof the banks seems to be that any delays are the fault of government regula tions and that they always advise applicants of the criteria in advance. Yet the experience of many NGOs is of constantly moving goal posts, where they are never sure from week to week what is required of them, and there is never indication of how long the process may take. As for government regu lations, these surely also apply to every individual, business, or other entity that seeks to open a bank account. Yet I find it highly unlikely that there is a two to three years wait for everyone.Perhaps the problem is that the staff of these banks have not been adequately trained in how to vet NGOs for bank accounts and are unaware of the correct requirements. If that is the case, and the banks want to credibly claim that they “support NGOs”, it would be wise of them to rectify this.
INDIAN HEMP POSSESSION DENIED
MAN ADMITS SCAM OVER IPHONE SALE
AS athletes from around the world continue to arrive in Grand Bahama for the NACAC Cham pionships, members of Team Bahamas participated in a motor cade through the City of Freeport onSomeWednesday.40athletes from The Bahamas will be competing at this year’s championships at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex, August 19-21.The motorcade left the Lucaya area around 4pm. Three flatbed trucks, outfitted with Team Baha mas banners, were escorted by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. It is hoped that the motorcade would bring some hype to draw support from the Grand Bahama community.Astheprocession made its way to the downtown area on Pioneer’s Way, spectators greeted the athletes and waved their Bahamian flags. The motorcade also travelled as far as Queen’s Highway. The route also included areas of West Mall Drive, West Atlantic Drive, East Mall Drive, Coral Road, and East Sunrise Highway. The motorcade ended at the Port Lucaya Marketplace, where a Cul tural Explosion was held for the athletes.Athletes from Mexico and Cuba arrived on Wednesday. Most of the competitors are being accommo dated at the Grand Lucaya Resort. This is the first time that a major athletic event such as the NACAC Championships is being held in Grand Bahama. It is expected to set the stage for future events as the island seeks to become “the events and entertainment capital of The Bahamas”.
A MAN was sentenced to three months in prison ny a Magistrate’s Court yes terday after admitting to stealing $320 from another man in a scam iPhone sale. Marvin Joseph, 29, faced Senior Magistrate Derence A Rolle Davis on a charge of Onstealing.August 9 at Second Street, Ryan Vernet met Joseph while he was in his vehicle with a female pas senger to collect an iPhone 11 Pro he had arranged to buy on Facebook. When the complainant gave Joseph $320 for the phone the accused took the money and immediately drove away from the scene. It was later discovered that the accused never had an iPhone to sell. Vernet was able to posi tively identify Joseph for this crime as he had bought a phone from Joseph before.Joseph pleaded guilty to the charge and said that he was sorry for his actions. When the magistrate asked why he had committed the offence, Joseph said he needed the money and once again apologised for his crime. Joseph offered to compensateMagistrateVernet.Rolle Davis sentenced Joseph to three months in the Bahamas Department of Correc tionalBeforeServices.being taken into custody, Joseph was informed of his right to appeal his sentence within seven days.
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
ATHLETES ARRIVE FOR NACAC
A MAN was granted $3,500 bail in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday after alleg edly being found with 2.1 pounds of Indian Hemp. Dodrick Connolly, 37, represented by Attorney Ernie Wallace, went before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply. On August 15 in New Providence, Connolly was allegedly found by police with 2.1 lbs of Indian Hemp, a quantity of drugs with an estimated street value of $2,000. In court he pleaded not guilty to the charge. When it came to Connolly’s bail application Mr Wallace asked that his client be given a nominal bail fee. As there was no objection from Prosecutor Inspector Timothy Bain, Connelly was granted $3,500 bail with oneConnolly’ssurety. trial is set for September 2.
WOMAN ADMITS BEER BOTTLE ATTACK
ONE man was sentenced to two years in prison, while another man was acquitted in connection with the same firearm charge in a Magistrate’s CourtJawonyesterday.Charlton, 23, represented by Attorney Ryszard Humes, and Anwar Lightbourn, 22, both stood before Senior Magistrate Derence A Rolle Davis for sentencing in their firearm and ammunition trial. On January 11, 2021, the pair were arrested after a police stop of their vehicle resulted in the discovery of a black Taurus 9mm pistol. During this incident Lightbourn, the driver of the vehicle, along with another male remained in the vehicle after authorities stopped them only for Charlton to get out of the car and flee theCharltonpolice. would eventually turn himself over to police and the gun was found in his possession. In view of previous testimony by the pair’s arresting officers, Magistrate Rolle Davis found Lightbourn not guilty of the firearm and ammunition charges. This was on the basis that the gun was not found in his car and as such Lightbourn was acquitted. As for Charlton, as police investiga tions confirmed that the gun recovered in the defendant’s possession was capable of firing, the Magistrate found him guilty of the firearm charge. How ever, Charlton was acquitted for the ammunition charge. During his plea of mitigation, attorney Humes said his client was a young man with no prior convictions and that Charlton was remorseful for his actions. Mr Humes asked that in view of Charlton having already spent 14 months on remand that the court would take time served into consideration in levying its sentence. Charlton’s attorney also cited his prior clean record as well as saying that his client wanted to turn over a new leaf and plans to change his life as reasons for the magistrate to be lenient.Themagistrate in his conviction of Charlton sentenced him to serve two years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services from the date of hisBeforeruling. being taken into custody, Magistrate Rolle Davis informed Charlton of his right to appeal his sen tencing within seven days.
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
Photos: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN was put on a year’s probation by a Mag istrate’s Court yesterday after admitting to attacking a man with a beer bottle. Kendra Sweeting, 35, faced Acting Chief Mag istrate Subusola Swain on a charge of assault with a dangerous instrument. On August 9 at Acklins Street, Sweeting assaulted Levardo Gibson with a beer bottle. In court Sweet ing pleaded guilty to the offence.The magistrate then ordered probation for the accused or risk three months at the Bahamas Department of Correc tional Services. Sweeting was also ordered to com pensate the victim with the payment of $500.
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
Man is jailed over firearm possession
THE TRIBUNE Thursday, August 18, 2022, PAGE 7
The highly successful global initiative also offers a programme known as the Intercept Programme for At-Risk Youth and Trou bled Teens, specifically designed as a youth inter vention programme. It is designed for young people from ages 12 to 22 and addresses “the needs of struggling teens and atrisk youth beginning to demonstrate destructive behaviours, as well as the needs of their families”. The Intercept Pro gramme serves “youth, young adults, families, schools and communities ... at risk of academic fail ure, dropping out of school, delinquency or becoming chronic offenders.”
The Government of The Bahamas may want to send a team to look at the Intercept Programme. The Bahamas could build an outdoor and adventure learning programme that will assist various young people to develop life-giv ingAnotherhabits. successful pro gramme is AMIkids, the brainchild of a judge in the United States who got tired of seeing the same juvenile offenders returning to his court over and over. “The youth reside at the programme and leave only for off-site, supervised programme activities or approved furloughs. Family visitations vary by pro gramme. Youth have been adjudicated delinquent by the court and typically have multiple misdemeanors or felonies.“Education curriculums deployed in AMIkids pro grammes use differentiated instruction, individualized student planning, progress monitoring, on-line/com puter assisted educational software, and ing,education/serviceexperientiallearnallinpartnershipwith
A JULY 28 column entitled “Getting Away with Murder and Other Crimes?” noted that we have lost much of the plot in our criminal justice system, arguing that the inability of the criminal justice system to try and to punish an offender in a timely manner is one of the reasons for the high level of crime in the country. A subsequent column on August 4, entitled, “Good Habits Help Reduce Crime”, noted how youth develop ment programmes may help to significantly address youth violence and crime. That column ended with this plea: “There is a broad variety of effective programmes in other juris dictions which we can apply in The Bahamas to culti vate, mitigate and arrest certain habits by those tempted to or involved in gang“Sadly,violence.over the course of decades, no government has adopted successful programmes like Upward Bound or other intensive and immersive youth diver sion programmes. Alas, we are good at saying the right things while dramatically failing to put talk into lifesaving action.” Last week, Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis stated the government’s intention to propose a broader crime prevention plan. Corre spondingly, today’s column briefly offers two successful international crime preven tion programmes that are saving lives and redirecting young people from crime andInviolence.asmall country like The Bahamas, where most of the crime is concen trated on New Providence, there are proven initiatives in other countries in which the Government of The Bahamas might invest to promote a greater culture of life and peace. In his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) Pope John Paul II wrote mov ingly of the value of human life, rooted in the Roman Catholic social tradition’s touchstone of the radical dignity of the human person. In every land, in every time, the cultures of life and death contend for the human spirit. In this time, in our country, the battle is waged on many fronts, but particu larly so in a culture awash in criminal violence and an acceptance of and willful connivance in all manner of criminality by some. To foster the culture of life and to address criminal violence require various strategies, including that of prevention. There are vari ous specific preventative methods which should be utilized by the police and others, including better sur veillance, the hardening of targets and other measures. But a much broader strat egy of prevention requires intervention, the ability to redirect potential offend ers away from crime before they have offended or to redirect an offender after a firstSuchoffence.intervention can make a critical difference among potential juvenile offenders before their lives become enmeshed in crimi nality. In addressing the complex nature of crime, we are responding to a culture of death, in which human life is often disre spected and dispensable. The spread of a gangland culture spawned by the scourge of drugs and vio lence of the late 1970s and 80s metastasized over the ensuing decades into the virulent culture of violence and anti-social behaviour which haunts us today with all manner of crimes and viciousness we once thought impossible for Bahamians. In addressing crimi nal conduct we are not simply addressing certain behaviours. We are more fundamentally addressing cultural patterns and behav iours. At root, we have to respond to the sociology of crime in The Bahamas. Our culture is sicker and more pathological in various ways than we dare believe. In our own slack behaviour and tolerance for various types of crime we contribute to a culture of lawlessness and violence. To help to build a greater culture of life and responsi bility in The Bahamas will require programmes and interventions which foster good and sustained habits which some in our soci ety may have never had or practised.Because the courts are so overwhelmed, many criminals believe that the consequences for crimes committed today, may be years down the road, if ever. While aggressive polic ing is required to address certain criminals, there is an urgent need for a programme of unprec edented social intervention to address potential crimi nals, mostly young men, who may wreak havoc on our society in the years ahead.The culture of death must be met by a culture of lifegiving possibilities beyond the death dealing of gangs, guns and other avenues and instruments of violence. Fostering a culture of life and avenues to help others to avoid or to step out of the darkness may make a difference. Making that dif ference requires a sustained and massive social interven tion strategy with various components.Oneofthe components is youth development with programmes like Outward Bound and AMIkids, both of which have shown con siderableOutwardsuccess.Bound is an “experiential learning, expedition school and out door learning programme... that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through challenging learn ing expeditions that inspire self-discovery, both in and out of the classroom.”
pro-social relationships between staff and students. “Many youth come to AMIkids ‘deficient in a wide variety of appropriate, pro-social behavioral rep ertoires. They lack social skills, anger
Bahamians!ofhelpegiesexpansiveDavis:health.”focusedventionofmentyouthdevelopedsocietypeacefulenhancementof“AgresshopestheasAssemblyworkIngrahamPrimeelectedexistsmentinterventionimaginativeneedGirlsWilliCentreneigbourhood.peopleawe-inspiringhood,Over-the-Hillcentretraining.neurialthoseofingwouldprogrammesuccessfulinspirationbeventionvarietychallengingstudentprogrammesreptilegardening,ropes,fishing,seamanship,eachgeographicintegrateding:utilisestionotheriourutilisebehaviourceduresprogrammesprogramme,behaviourtherepertories,termdevelopcation,delayagement,communication,pre-employmentmanagement,skills,self-manrulefollowing,ofimmediategratifietc.’“Tohelpstudentsshort-andlong-pro-socialbehaviouralandfacilitatedailymanagementofthroughouttheAMIkidsemployproandtechniquesofmodificationandasophisticatedbehavmodificationsystem.”LikeOutwardBoundandsuccessfulintervenprogrammes,AMIkidsexperientiallearn“Programmesarebasedonthestrengthsoflocationandincludewatersafety,lowropes,highbackpacking,music,culinaryarts,andwildernesstogiveeachmeaningfulandexperiencesinaofways.“AnotherpossibleinterprogrammemaydesignedbasedontheofthehighlyAfroReggaeartsinBrazil,whichmarrytheperformartsandartisticabilitiesyoungpeople,especiallyatrisk,withentrepreskillsandbusinessImagineayouthartsintheheartofanneigboursomethingnewandforyoungtoseeintheirWhiletheSimpsonPennforBoysandtheMaePrattCentreformayberequired,weagreaterandmorevisionforyouthanddevelopbeyondwhatcurrentlyinTheBahamas.Whenhewasleavingpolitics,formerMinisterHubertoffered:“TheoftheHouseofisneverdone.So,IpreparetoretirefromHouseIexpressmyforcontinuedproonseveralfronts.”Twoofhissuggestions:reductioninthelevelviolentcrimeandtheofamoreandnon-violent[and]amorefullynetworkofandhumandevelopprogrammesinclusiveeffectivesocialintermeasures,andaattentiontopublicNotetoPrimeMinisterPleasebeboldandinadoptingstratandinterventionstobuildagreaterculturelife,especiallyforyoung Omar Davis Jr
SUGGESTIONS TO PRIME MINISTER ON CRIME PREVENTION THE SCENE of the murder of
this week.
Photo: Moise Amisial
PAGE 8, Thursday, August 18, 2022 THE TRIBUNE
A MAN cleans an apartment destroyed after Russian shelling in Nikopol, Ukraine, Monday. (AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov)
Boundaries between NATO and Russia
THE TRIBUNE Thursday, August 18, 2022, PAGE 9
INSTANT scholars, historians and strat egists are popping up everywhere in Wash ington, New York and all over television these days. There’s real red meat for them on the table now. And that red meat is the ongoing war in Ukraine. Increasingly, the current conventional wisdom holds that this brutal, indiscrimi nate conflict is likely to last for several more years, and that whatever its ultimate resolution, at least tens of thousands more innocent non-combatants will almost certainly suffer grievously orIt’sdie. a really depressing assessment, made all the worse by its widespread “objective” acceptance by some of the leading figures and publications in the American foreign policy establishment.Here’swhat the leading US foreign policy publica tion, Foreign Affairs, had to say in a recent article. The author is discussing the boundaries that are evolv ing between Russia on one hand and NATO on the other. These boundaries represent basically a kind of subtle, almost sublimi nal mutual understanding of what Barack Obama once infamously called “red lines” in another con flict (the Syrian civil war) on another continent. Red lines are escalations in mili tary confrontations that are known to be unacceptable to one of the combatants or the sponsor of one of the combatants.“Russia, Ukraine, and the West have similarly adjusted their behaviour as they learn about the goals and pain thresholds of the other side. Escalation is not infinitely flexible, how ever. Some limits are more important than others. To prevent a wider war, the NATO allies and Moscow have carefully avoided direct, sustained military clashes between their own personnel. This is why pro posals for no-fly zones are different from those calling for deadlier weapons.” No-fly zones would be enforced by US and NATO aircraft, pilots and support staff on the ground. It’s easy to see why implementation of these measures would risk direct combatant roles for Western military per sonnel. At the same time, however, the chief of staff of the US air force said just a couple of weeks ago that there are ongoing discus sions in Washington and Brussels about how to rein force Ukraine’s air forces in the face of continuing Rus sian air superiority. “I can tell you that if we transfer aircraft to the Ukrainians, they will not be Russian-built planes,” said Air Force General Charles Brown Jr. at a con ference last month. “But I cannot tell you exactly what the makeup of our assistance will be.” Train ing for Ukrainian pilots on the operation of unfamiliar aircraft is reportedly under active discussion, though American Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley said “there’s been no definitive decisions on any of that. But we are examining a wide variety of (assistance) options, includ ing pilot training.” As we have discussed previously in this space, American and Western involvement in this ongo ing war is steadily rising, despite the “boundaries” discussed in the Foreign Affairs article. The other red line noted in the article is Ukraine’s borders with NATO members, particularly with Poland.“Ukraine’s borders are the other universally under stood limit. Even if they are disputed by Russia, they provide a powerful and intuitive way to contain the war. In March, for exam ple, Russia fired missiles near the Polish border but stopped short of targeting supply routes in the terri tory of a NATO member. Such restraint did not go unnoticed. Russia contin ues to avoid striking NATO members, despite having theThiscapability.”isnot to sug gest that an article in a leading foreign policy publication represents immutable American policy. But Foreign Affairs has often been used to unofficially expose just such policy proclamations, and the public statements on the record of key Ameri can officials support this interpretation.There’smore.
As usual, English teams led the way in massive spending to import new and expensive talent to bolster their already dominant squads. And while recent luminaries Lionel Messi (spectacular goal) and Cristiano Ronaldo (on the bench) began their sea sons in different fashion with their same teams, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski (Bayern to Barcelona) and the Norwegian Erling Haaland (Dortmund to Manches ter City, where his father once played) executed spectacular transfers. The long summer drought is over for the fans.
BARCELONA’SLewandowski.Robert (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Hundreds of millions of soccer fans around the world could be heard exhaling in recent days. Most of the most powerful European leagues inaugurated their 202223 seasons this past weekend, with Spain and Italy launching on the day after tomor row. For most, this represents the earliest seasonal start ever, because there will be a month-long break in league play during November and December to accommodate the World Cup to be played in Qatar, where traditional summer match dates would be insupportable in the desert heat.
A final point in the For eign Affairs article makes clear that the thinking it reflects very likely does represent US policy, since it offers a reason for what many observers have described as a desultory pace of US and Western material reinforcements to Kyiv.“Some might think that Western governments made a mistake by not sending Ukraine lethal aid at the beginning of the invasion. But because limits evolve during war, being cautious was the right move. Notions of escalation evolve through trial and error. What NATO gets away with today is dif ferent from what it could do in February 2022. The West’s evolving approach to Ukraine — with its grad ual expansion in volume and lethality of aid — has allowed it to find the forms of escalation that matter to Russia.“Much of wartime escala tion is murky territory. But by going slow, the West can tease out the ambiguities without starting World War III.”While it has not yet begun in earnest, this kind of policy thinking is bound to engender resistance, perhaps within just a few months as cold weather returns to the northern hemisphere. There will be critics of America’s remotecontrol war policy and implementation. Advocates will cite the early years of the Vietnam War; the US and allied response to the genocide in the former Yugoslavian province of Bosnia thirty years ago; American fly-by involve ments in Libya, Yemen and Syria, and aspects of our military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan.Criticswill charge that the US public will cyni cally, even casually, accept outcomes when tens of thousands of foreign com batants and civilians perish or are forcefully dislocated in a conflict the US sustains with arms and training with out the public relations hit that would result from the reporting of large numbers of American casualties. If he is paying atten tion – and we know he is – Vladimir Putin is counting on this. Especially if infla tion continues to ravage the lifestyles of ordinary Amer icans, headlines announcing the accumulation of $10 billion in US military assis tance will lead to public questioning of whether that money could be better spent at home. This will be accentuated by a likely continuing stalemate on the ground halfway around the world involving areas many Americans would still have difficulty identifying on a map and whose USbased resident expatriate populations are likely far removed from most voters. Just last week, the Rus sian defense ministry accused the US of edging closer to one of the red lines noted in the Foreign Affairs article, while at the same time continuing its attempts to erode public support in the US for continuing high levels of American logistical support for the Ukrainian military. “It is the Biden admin istration that is directly responsible for all Kyivapproved rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in populated areas of Donbas and other regions, which have resulted in mass deaths of civilians,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement. “All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the con flict in Ukraine.” Are the US and its Western allies engaged in fighting a “proxy war,” as the Kremlin repeatedly alleges? The Americans will need to be especially attentive to this charge, and to the dangers it poses for public support for NATO engagement in Ukraine.
DROUGHT IS OVER FOR SOCCER FANS
Speaking to reporters recently, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that if he were Ukraine’s leader, he would be aggressively seek ing more Western military assistance, just like Volo dymyr Zelensky has been doing all year long. “Who wouldn’t do that if you were a patriot for your country?” Sullivan asked reporters. “And we have not undersupplied Ukraine in response. We have moved billions of dollars of equipment to Ukraine at lightning speed, and we will continue to do so.”
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PAGE 10, Thursday, August 18, 2022 THE TRIBUNE
By LETRE SWEETING LABOUR Minister Keith Bell announcing the launch of MyGate way portal for job seekers. Photo: Austin Fernander Village Offce Space for Lease sq.ft. reception, conference room, kitchen VAT Mr. Sean McCarroll 327-1575
THE Labour Depart ment yesterday launched a new service on the MyGate way portal for job seekers. The new vacancy notice service and services for new and renewed labour certificates on the portal was launched in partner ship with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Immigration yesterday at the Department of Labour on Rosetta ImmigrationStreet. Director Keturah Ferguson will also authenticate each labour cer tificate that accompanies an application for a work permit. The Department of Transformation and Digiti sation, as well as the Digital Transformation Unit will facilitate the security of the system, while government employees will be manag ing the system daily. In the past, applying for a labour certificate, which is necessary for a work permit to be approved, required people going to the Depart ment of Labour. Once there, they would fill out a paper form, pro vide copies of an ad for a job, and bring in other nec essary documents. Now, the entire process will be completed remotely from anywhere in the world, said Labour Director Robert Farquharson.“Theprocess for the application processing and distribution of the labour cer tificates has gone digital and are available to the residents and citizens of The Bahamas online,” he said. “It signifi cantly reduces the time.”
By LETRE SWEETING
The IOM director added that IOM is a peoplecentred organisation and ultimately just wants to pro tect the rights of migrants while also fulfilling migra tion“Welegislation.willhave a discussion about how we can best support the government in managing migration in a humane way, a people-centred way that pro tects the rights and dignities of migrants while at the same time, ensuring the fulfillment of The Bahamas independ ent migration legislation,” she said.Ms Klein-Solomon said that though IOM does not offer financial assistance directly, they do realise the necessity of funds in this case and will work with vari ous donors to provide assistance, with full collabo ration with the government. “We are in the habit of working to raise funds to help support these activities and we understand that will be necessary in this case,” she said. She added that the IOM’s recent trends analy sis released at the end of June on migration and chal lenges of the entire Western hemisphere showed a rise in migration from Haiti due to the country’s current instability.“Oneof our key focuses as an organisation is finding migrants in vulnerable situ ations. Many are exploited along the route and smug glers take advantage of people who are looking to find a safe place to live and often charge them abso lutely exorbitant fees that they shouldn’t be charged at all and exploit them in the process. That is a major concern for us.” Labour and Immigration Minister Bell added briefly that he expects the meet ing with IOM to be very productive.“Wewere about to go into a meeting, but I thought it was important to share with The Bahamas the purpose of this meeting which obviously plans to be very, very productive,” the minister said. Ms Klein-Solomon was joined by her colleagues consisting of Karen Tim othy-Moss, head of office in The Bahamas, Andrea Dabizzi, head of migration and protection assistance unit, William Fryer, senior regional resource manage ment officer, as well as a representative from the United Nations. IOM re-established their presence in The Baha mas in 2019, after shutting down their operations several years earlier. In 2019, they aimed to assist with disaster management and emergency response needed at the time of Hur ricaneSinceDorian.then, they have been transitioning from disaster response to cen tral support to migration and management in The Bahamas.MsKlein-Solomon said IOM will talk later with other ministries such as Dis aster Management about Disaster Risk Reduction and other migration issues. The organisation also plans to operate a training and capacity building for training persons for line ministries such as border, customs, con sular officials and more. Assistance from IOM with illegal and irregular migration was prompted by the ongoing crisis in Haiti following the assassina tion of the country’s Prime Minister Jovenel Moise last year, recent gang violence and residents of the nations wishing to leave in search of better opportunities and living conditions. In July, 17 Haitian migrants perished in a boat off the coast of Blackbeard’s Cay. Officers said they were travelling to Miami as part of a smuggling operation. AID AMID RISE IN MIGRATION
4 offces,
Ms Klein-Solomon said the IOM wishes to provide migrants with other options apart from deportation. “We run programmes that are called Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration. This is an alternative to deportation for people who have been found to be ineligible to remain legally in a country. Rather than being deported back to their country of origin, we some times are able to work out arrangements where they can choose voluntarily to go home, which means they do not receive a deporta tion stamp in their passport. Which helps ensure both their agency in making a choice and also their dig nity in being able to move home in a secure way, ide ally with some reintegration assistance.”Sheadded: “I’m not saying people should not be deported. That is purely the prerogative of the govern ment to remove people who are not authorised to stay.”
Contact
The minister added: “We are not here to simply talk about making a process paperless, or extending a service to more islands. We are here to herald a moment in time where we have made a government service more easily acces sible and its process more transparent.”WaydeWatson, parlia mentary secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, agreed regard ing the benefits of the new process. He said that the platform had been tested for a number of weeks by various stakeholders for effi ciency, before being opened to the public. “We fully intend to operate a reliable, resilient and secure system.”
INTERNATIONAL
“This new digital service signals our collective com mitment to build a strong foundation for digital trans formation in our nation. We are in the midst of a digital revolution and we are ready to work with our clients in new, more progressive ways.”
Mr Bell said that the new digital era of The Baha mas is here and Bahamians should seek to embrace it.
The Department of Labour works closely with the National Training Agency and The Bahamas Vocational and Technical Institute (BTVI), which has training opportunities free of charge for Bahamians.
New online portal launched to help job seekers find work
He added: “We had to approve 29 foreigners to be lifeguards in the Baha mas last month. We need teachers, engineers, nurses, pharmacists, across the board. We want to encour age members of the public who are seeking a job to register with the Depart ment of Labour online portal, MinisterFarquharsonservicesandciliation,digitiseTransformationDigitisationmentworkingDepartmentFarquharsonyoubahamas.gov.bs.www.jobseekers.“Wecanonlyhelpyouifregisterwithus,”Mrsaid.ThenextstepfortheofLabouriswiththeDepartofTransformationandandtheDigitalUnitistotheprocessofconsoastosavetimemoneybyhavingthesedoneonline,Mrsaid.LabourandImmigrationKeithBellsaidthe new system has fail-safes in place to prevent fraud. “In addition to signifi cantly reducing the time to process an application, the new system will also allow the staff of the Department of Labour to have digi tal access to date that will reduce fraud and attempts by unscrupulous persons to have multiple applicants applying for the same job.”
THE Ministries of Labour and Immigration now have the assistance of the International Organisa tion for Migration amid a rise of irregular incidents of migrations to the Bahama. Michele Klein-Solomon, IOM regional director, said the organisation wants to provide technical assistance to make immigration pro cesses in the country more efficient.Labour and Immigration Minister Keith Bell met with Ms Klein-Solomon yesterday at the Department of Labour, where a press conference was held to announce a part nership between government and the IOM. “We will be exploring how we can help the government of The Bahamas,” Ms KleinSolomon said. She oversees Central America, North America and the Caribbean for the “EverythingIOM. toward speeding up the processing in the migration ministry and claims. We have tools available that are used in many countries in the region that can help fasttrack the consideration claims so that people know what their status is.”
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DONALD Trump’s chief financial officer is expected to plead guilty to tax viola tions in a deal that would require him to testify about illicit business practices at the former president’s com pany, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Allen Weisselberg is charged with taking more than $1.7m in off-the-books compensation from the Trump Organization over several years, including untaxed perks like rent, car payments and school tuition. The plea deal would require Weisselberg to speak in court today about the company’s role in the alleged compensation arrangement and possibly serve as a witness when the Trump Organization goes on trial in October on related charges, the people said.
AssociatedCHICAGO Press R KELLY kept an ugly side of his life hidden as he escaped poverty in Chicago and rose to pop music stardom, a prosecu tor told jurors yesterday at the singer’s trial on charges accusing him of enticing girls for sex and rigging a 2008 child pornography case.Kelly’s lead attorney implored jurors during her opening statement at the federal trial in Chicago not to accept what she said was the prosecution’s portrayal of her client as “a monster”. Going back to the 1990s, much of the world knew Kelly solely by his hit songs, including the chart-top ping inspirational anthem “I Believe I Can Fly”, US Assistant Attorney Jason Julien said. But “Kelly had another side … a hidden side, a dark side,” he added. “This trial is about Kelly’s hiddenKelly,side.”55, faces multiple charges, including enticing of minors for sex, produc ing child pornography and rigging his 2008 child por nography trial at which he wasKelly,acquitted.who has denied any wrongdoing, has been trailed for decades by com plaints and allegations about his sexual behavior. The scrutiny intensified after the #MeToo era and the 2019 six-part documen tary “Surviving R Kelly” that detailed sex abuse alle gations involving women and teenage girls. Defence attorney Jen nifer Bonjean told jurors that Kelly, in part because of intellectual challenges that included illiteracy, was forced to rely on others as his career took off and that he was sometimes led astray by those in his circle of “Mrassociates.Kelly can also be a victim,” she said. A conviction in Chi cago could add decades to a 30-year prison sentence he already received from a New York federal judge for charges that he used his fame to sexually abuse other young fans. Sitting at a defence table as the prosecutor spoke, Kelly occasionally shook his head as Julien described Kelly manipulating and controlling girls — even beating them if they didn’t comply with strict rules that included calling him “daddy”.Julien sought to give jurors a sense of the scale of Kelly’s alleged exploitation, saying he “repeatedly” had sex with girls who were just 14, 15 and 16 years old — “multiple girls, hundreds of times”.Hetold jurors that the evidence includes at least three videos showing Kelly having sex with underage girls.“We’re not going to play hours of child pornogra phy and make you watch it,” the prosecutor said, explaining they would see excerpts. He added: “The videos are difficult to watch. But it is important to watch... to understand what happened.”Later, prosecutors entered into evidence video that was at the center of Kelly’s 2008 trial, but did not play any of it for jurors before court ended for the day. Prosecutors contend the video Kelly having sex with a girl no older than 14 when he was around 30. Kelly nodded his head in agreement when his lawyer told jurors Kelly isn’t look ing for special treatment — just a fair trial. “When the government wants to paint him as a mon ster… you remember we are talking about a human being,” Bonjean said. She said jurors should not succumb to what she called “a mob justice climate” sur rounding Kelly, alluding to “Surviving R Kelly” and years of harsh social media accounts of him. “It is true that Mr. Kelly is imperfect,” she said. “On his journey from poverty to star dom, he stumbled along the way.” But, she said, she was confident jurors would ulti mately find him not guilty. After jurors acquitted Kelly at his state trial in 2008, some later explained that they felt they had no choice because the girl did not testify. The woman, now 37 and referred to in court filings as “Minor 1,” will be the government’s star witness. During the trial, she will be referred to by a single pseudonym, “Jane,” in court. The first people to testify were a psychologist, a music executive and a former Chi cago police detective who first obtained the video of Minor 1 in the early 2000s. The detective was expected to resume his testimony Thursday morning. At one point during Wednesday’s testimony, prosecutors played about a minute of “I Believe I Can Fly” as they sought to establish how popular Kelly was in the the ’90s heading into the 2000s. Don’t accept R Kelly is a monster KELLY at the BET Awards in Los Angeles in 2013.
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By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer
National 100 metre champion Tynia Gaither, one of at least four Grand Bahamian natives on Team Bahamas, said there’s nothing like being home to compete. Team Bahamas will include 11 female and 17 male competitors who will be participating in the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships this weekend at the refur bished Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Grand Bahama.Coming off her sev enth-place finish at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, in the 100m two weeks ago after she got a false start two weeks earlier at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Gaither said she’s here to represent the Bahamas to the best of her“Iability.feelgood. I’m blessed that the event is being hosted here. I think it’s a blessing for the whole country with the smaller island being showcased,” Gaither said. “So, I’m just excited to compete in front of my family and friends.” In a relaxed mood at the Games Village before they participated in a motorcade through the streets of Grand Bahama, Gaither said everything is shaping up to what is anticipated to
BY mid-January, LeBron James could be the NBA’s scoring king. The NBA schedule was released yesterday, all 1,230 games that are set between October 18 and April 9 taking place in four countries with Mexico and France play ing host to regular-season contests along with the US and ThereCanada.arethe usual highlights — Stephen Curry and Golden State will raise another title banner on opening night, as is the NBA’s custom ary perk for champions; a five-game slate of games on Christmas yet again; the traditional games in Atlanta and Memphis as part of the daynowtwist,KinglifecommemorationleaguewideoftheofDrMartinLutherJr.ThisyearbroughtawithElectionDayanewlycreatedoffintheNBA.
And now that the list of games is out, the num bers show that James could catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the final two weeks of January — assuming James doesn’t have to miss games and scores at his usual pace.
FORMER collegiate and professional basketball player JR Cadot’s Nexxt Basketball Club is holding a training and development programme, developing players between the ages of 11-17 on and off the court where they train with former and current pro basketball players. And beginning on Saturday, September 3, from noon to 1pm, Cadot will stage basketball sessions for boys and girls between the ages of five and 10 at Remnant Tabernacle of Praise Center, Carmichael Road. SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 18 SEE PAGE 16
GO TEAM: Team Bahamas members participated in a motorcade throughout the City of Freeport yesterday as athletes from around the world continue to arrive in Grand Bahama for the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Champion ships at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex this weekend.
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune ReporterFreeport dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
CHAMPSFORARRIVINGTHEACROSSFROMATHLETESGLOBENACAC
JR CADOT’S NEXXT BASKETBALL CLUB HOLDING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME SPORTS PAGE 15 THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022
NBA schedule released SEE PAGE
SEE PAGE 18
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension through the 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, his agent announced yesterday. Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul said the league-maxi mum deal makes James the highest-paid player in NBA history.Hisnew deal includes a player option that would keep the second-leading scorer in NBA history with the Lakers past his 40th birthday in December 2024. The 37-year-old James is headed into the final year of his most recent con tract with the Lakers, who signed the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time league champion in July 2018. The new deal means the 18-time All-Star will make $46.7 million this season.Barring injury, James is likely to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s career scoring king this winter.James and the Lakers also still hope to be in con tention for another title if James and Anthony Davis can return at full health after an injury-plagued 2021-22 ended without a playoffJames’appearance.newdeal syncs with Davis’ most recent contract extension with the Lakers, allowing both to leave the Lakers or to negotiate new deals in 2024. Both superstars are repre sented by Klutch. James’ recommitment to the Lakers also silences persistent talk of his pos sible departure as a free agent or in a trade. James hasn’t appeared to be going anywhere on social media or in his public appearances, and he praised the hiring of new Lakers coach Darvin Ham. James has missed signifi cant portions of the season due to injury in three of his four years with the Lakers. He was largely healthy in the elongated 2019-20 season when the Lakers
James enters this season No. 2 on the all-time list, 1,325 points behind Abdul-Jabbar.“Wehaveobviously a very large ecosystem of league office staff, team staff, players, arena staff that are truly driving to this process,” said Evan Wasch, who, along with Gene Li and Tom Carelli, is on the NBA team of executives who build the schedule. “So, we are just one small piece.” Wasch, Li and Carelli spent weeks putting a 1,230-piece jigsaw puzzle together, mindful of things like team wishes to have games on cer tain dates, total miles travelled, even carbon footprint.Thebig headline from their work: Teams will travel a bit less, about 5% fewer miles in the air on average over last season. The NBA made that happen by adding to the instances of teams having no travel between road games, something that’ll happen 88 times this season — up 66% from lastThereseason.are 55 instances of teams playing consecu tive road games against
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunedia.net
Gaither eager to sprint in front of home crowd
18
LeBron James inks 2-year, $97.1 million deal with Lakers
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer KAREEM Abdul-Jabbar (Photo by Willy Sanjuan Invision/AP)/
Jonquel, Page 17
Photos: Vandyke Hepburn/BIS LAKERS forward LeBron James.(APPhoto/Ashley Landis)
AS athletes from around the world continue to arrive in Grand Bahama for the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships this weekend, members of Team Bahamas participated in a motorcade through out the City of Freeport yesterday.Some40 athletes from the Bahamas will be competing at this year’s champion ships at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex, August 19-21.The motorcade departed the Lucaya area around 4pm. Three flatbed trucks, outfitted with Team Baha mas banners, were escorted by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. It is hoped that the motorcade would bring some hype to draw support from the Grand Bahama community.Astheprocession made its way to the downtown area on Pioneer’s Way, people greeted the athletes and waved their Bahamian flags.The motorcade also travelled as far as Queen’s Highway.Theroute also included areas of West Mall Drive, West Atlantic Drive, East Mall Drive, Coral Road and East Sunrise Highway. The motorcade ended at the Port Lucaya Mar ketplace, where a Cultural Explosion was held for the athletes.Athletes from Mexico and Cuba arrived on Wednesday. Most of the competitors are being accommodated at the Grand Lucaya Resort. This is the first time that a major athletic event such as the NACAC Champion ships is being held in Grand Bahama.Itisexpected to set the stage for future events as the island seeks to become “the events and enter tainment capital of the Bahamas.”
GAITHER
FROM PAGE 15
PAGE 16, Thursday, August 18, 2022 THE TRIBUNE ELITE BALLERS GIRLS BASKETBALL CLUB FORMED By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunedia.net
be a great meet from Friday to Sunday with more than 400 athletes from 15 countries in the region participating.The29-year-old Gaither is entered in the 200m where she is listed at number five in performances from ath letes registered to compete. Heading the list is world champion Shericka Jack son from Jamaica. Jackson also tops the 100m list that includes her fellow train ing partner and Bahamian Anthonique Strachan. Coming off an injury, Strachan is posted at numberGoingsix.into the meet, Gaither said the goal is always to run a personal best. “I know if I do that when I line up, things should fall into place,” she said. “But most importantly. I want to enjoy the moment. We don’t always get to host meets like this in Grand Bahama, so I really want to soak up this moment and enjoyWithit.”the field of competi tors expected to line up for the event, Gaither said the Bahamian public can expect to witness a tremendous show.“Each event will be stacked,” she noted. “So, you can expect to see the best of the best from the region. So, it’s definitely a meet worth coming out, bringing your family out and just cheering on Team Bahamas as we run, jump and throw to the best of our abilities.”Gaither and Strachan will be joined by Olympic and world champion Shau nae Miller-Uibo, the top contender in the women’s 400m at 49.11 this year, along with national record holder Devynne Charlton, the world indoor silver med allist, World Championship finalist and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, who is listed at number three in the women’s 100m hurdles. Other members on the women’s side for Team Bahamas are Printassia Johnson, an added com petitor in the 100m with Strachan, Jenae Ambrose, who will compete in the 400m with Miller-Uibo, Denisha Cartwright, who will compete alongside Charlton in the 100m hur dles, Tamara Myers in the women’s triple jump, Rhema Otabor in the women’s javelin, Tahejee Thurston in the hammer and Camille Rutherford on the 4 x 100m relay team. On the men’s side, Grand Bahamians Donald Thomas in the high jump, Alonzo Russell in the 400m and Holland Martin in the long jump, will lead the parade of stars in the absence of injured 400m Olympic and world champion Steven Gardiner.Commonwealth Games’ long jump gold medallist LaQuan Nairn is a part of the rest of the delegation thatSamsonincludes: Colebrooke (100m); Ian Kerr (200m); Bradley Dormeus (400m); Xavier Coakley (110m hur dles); Andre Colebrooke (400m hurdles); Shakeem Smith (400m hurdles); Kaiwan Culmer (triple jump); Kristen Hanna (triple jump); Shaun Miller Jr (high jump); Keyshawn Strachan (javelin); Antoine Andrews (relay); Carlos Brown (relay); Wanya McCoy (relay); Wendell Miller (relay) and Kinard RolleBahamas(relay). Association of Athletic Associations’ president Drumeco Archer said he’s pleased with the collection of stars that will represent the Bahamas at home against the best in the region.“Team Bahamas has arrived in Grand Bahama and we have assembled what we believe is the best team possible, with the exception of Steven Gardiner, who is injured,” Archer said. “We have Shaunae MillerUibo, who just ran 49.11 seconds at the World Cham pionships and LaQuan Nairn, who won the men’s long jump at the Common wealth Games and Devynne Charlton, who won the silver medal (in the 100m hur dles). So, I think with all of the other athletes added, we have a super team here for theArcher,championships.”whoserves as the managing director of the Local Organising Commit tee, said all of the teams should be in Grand Bahama byHetoday.noted that Cuba was the first to arrive yester day and the majority of the athletes from the other countries were coming in via a Bahamasair charter out of Miami, Florida into Grand Bahama.TheUnited States of America, according to Archer, is coming with more than 100 athletes, coaches and dignitaries, the largest of any Athletesdelegation.will be com peting for prize money of $2,000 for gold, $1,000 for silver and $500 for bronze. The winners of all events, with the exception of the walk and relays, will receive a wild-card entry into the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary and the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, both in 2023.“It’s going to be a big weekend here in Grand Bahama and everything is in place to ensure that this is a first-class event,” Archer stated.“We want to make this the biggest and best NACAC Championships that has ever been held.” While she’s glad to be home competing, Gaither said she intends to join some of the other visitors to Grand Bahama who are expected to stay behind and relax after the meet.
MEMBERS of the Elite Ballers Basketball Club, in Orlando at right.
AFTER their chances to travel to the FIBA Under16 Girls Tournament in July was cancelled because of finances, Varel Davis said she decided to form the Elite Ballers girls’ bas ketball club to afford the players the opportunity to still be able to compete. The club, which also consists of assistant coach Shakira Farrington, par ticipated in the Super 6 Basketball Tournament at the Rosemont Community Center in Orlando, Florida, August 5-7. In advancing to the championship game in the tournament, the club lost 45-31 to the Colorado 76ers to finish with a 2-2 win-loss record. Davis, however, said the experience for the play ers was Memberstremendous.ofthe team included Savannah Turn quest, Dominiqua Rolle, Geontae Simpson, Dior-Rae Scott, Terell McCoy, Dan ielle McCoy, Shenell Stewart, Teanna Gibson, Vincinique Dames, Gera niqua Bethel, Valtasia Woodside and Trinity Bodie. “The tournament went very well. We were able to play four games and got to the championship where we lost,” Davis said. “I can tell you that the exposure and the experience these girls received will go a long way in their future development. “I am also pleased to see some of the scouts who came over to talk to me about some of the players. We were able to secure three scholarships for high school players in the United States on their Althoughperformances.”thiswasthe first sort of tournament that the players participated in since the outbreak of COVID-19, Davis said the Elite Ballers club gave a very good account of themselves. “The girls worked so hard from March and so when they heard that they were not going to be travelling to the tournament, I decided to create my own basketball club,” she said. “We were all disheartened when we heard that we would not be able to travel. “I was able to get the club registered in the tournament so they can get something to do. “They worked very hard, and I wanted to make sure that they got some exposure and experience. I just wanted to make sure that the girls got to travel after all they did to prepare for the national team.”Davis said she was happy to know that the parents were pleased to see their children go off to compete after the disappointment of not being able to travel on the national team. She noted that this is just the first of many trips that she intends to take the club on in the future. Through a number of individuals and companies who assisted, the club was able to make the trip.Davis thanked the fol lowing for their assistance - Jimmy Clarke, Leon ardo Lightbourne, Sun Oil Limited, Roxbergh Williams, Discount Distrib utors, Robert Furnitures, Dr Marsha Williams-Bethel, Bahamas Bus and Truck, A Sure Win, Acropolis, George Myers Restaurant, C2 G Shipping, Vaughn Jones Memorial Center, John Stuart, Erika Edge combe, Jessica Murray, Demeritte’s Funeral Home, Nassau Agencies, Andrew Davis QBC, The George Myers Restaurant, Ryan Turnquest and Air Courier Express.
