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Volume: 118 No.45, JANUARY 28, 2021

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100K WILL NEED AID TO CONTINUE Feeding Network boss warns crisis looming when programme ends

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Feeding Network Executive Director Philip Smith fears some 100,000 people will still need food assistance after the National Food Distribution Task Force’s programme ends in March.

Officials have said they expect the current third phase to be the final stage of the food programme.

However, with so much economic uncertainty in the country, Mr Smith said he hopes the government will consider extending the programme at least until September.

Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Smith said

the task force is now helping some 18,000 households, with an estimated 72,000 people receiving food packages or food vouchers.

The task force, which was established by the government last June, is tasked with delivering emergency food assistance to those most vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.

Initially, the programme was to end on August 31 last year, but was extended several times to assist people still widely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only those who have been verified and considered most vulnerable are eligible to receive the weekly assistance.

SEE PAGE FIVE

VACCINE ROLLOUT WILL BE MAJOR CHALLENGE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine will be “one of the greatest logistical challenges” the country has ever faced.

“Which vaccines will be used and exactly when they will arrive in (the) country

is still being worked out,” he said yesterday during a House of Assembly debate on extending the state of emergency.

He also announced that unemployment benefits have been extended to the end of February, noting they may be extended further.

He also revealed the US Centres for Disease SEE PAGE FOUR

VICTIM DIES IN SECOND SHOOTING

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net POLICE are investigating a shooting incident off Soldier Road that left a man dead on Tuesday night.

A relative identified the deceased as 21-year-old Lamar Moss.

According to police, shortly after 7pm officers received reports that a shooting incident had occurred on Mall Drive.

Responding officers were told two males were seated in a vehicle in front of a residence when the occupant of a small vehicle SEE PAGE TWO

FRONT PORCH

TEACHER ON SEX CHARGE

JUST LOOK AROUND US - IF YOU THINK THIS IS OVER, FORGET IT

PAGE EIGHT

JOHNSON ‘ATTACKER’ ‘TIME TO MOVE ON FROM PCR TEST’ IN COURT FREEPORT teacher Reynold Christopher Robinson outside court yesterday, where he was charged with indecent assault. See page seven for the full story.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

FORMER Health Minister Dr Duane Sands has suggested the government move away from RT-PCR tests as the gold standard to determine COVID-19 infection and instead embrace “newer technology” that he says is cheaper to operate.

While voicing his opposition to the extension of the country’s state of emergency and emergency order protocols, Dr Sands recommended the government utilise RT-LAMP testing.

He also said it makes no sense to require PCR tests for domestic travel.

“I believe it’s time to get rid of RT-PCR and move to a newer technology, RTLAMP... the difference between the two is RT-PCR requires steps where you convert RNA to DNA to make multiple copies of the virus and then it’s a SEE PAGE FOUR

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE man who was accused of attacking South and Central Eleuthera MP Stephen “Hank” Johnson was yesterday arraigned in Magistrate’s Court.

Alexander Williamson, 43, was accused of SEE PAGE TWO

BAHA MAR PRESSING AHEAD ON REHIRES STATESIDE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHA Mar’s president yesterday said 2021 revenues are forecast to be “40 percent less” than pre-COVID levels as it prepares to recall 700 staff for the March 4 opening of its Rosewood and SLS hotels.

Graeme Davis said the strength of both resort brands had given the resort confidence they could

BAHA MAR overcome uncertainty around new US protocols that have already produced “some cancellations”.

Acknowledging Baha Mar expects a slow, rather than swift, ramp-up in business volumes and occupancies once the two hotels open in time for Spring Break and Easter, Mr Davis said their re-opening represents “a very positive step forward” as they will combine with the Grand Hyatt’s pre-Christmas return to provide work for a combined 2,500 employees.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SITUATION NORMAL - WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT’S TRUE

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Thursday, January 28, 2021

MP Hank Johnson’s ‘attacker’ in court

THE TRIBUNE from page one assaulting and threatening to kill Mr Johnson on January 16.

Earlier this week, the Eleuthera MP released a statement alleging he was attacked while leaving a private home in Coral Harbour that day.

The altercation has been subject to considerable social media speculation in the last week. But Mr Johnson said he committed no criminal act and condemns violence, especially violence against women.

Last week, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle told The Nassau Guardian that Mr Johnson’s wife filed a counter complaint of assault against him. At the time, he said the wife’s complaint was under investigation. Mr Johnson has not been charged in the matter.

HANK JOHNSON MP During Williamson’s arraignment before Senior Magistrate Carolyn VogtEvans yesterday, he denied both allegations.

As a result, the case was adjourned to April 7 for trial.

The accused was granted $3,000 bail in the interim.

He was also advised not to interfere with any of the witnesses involved in the case.

His attorney, Wayne Munroe, QC, noted that all of the witnesses, except one, were police officers.

VICTIM DIES IN SECOND SHOOTING from page one

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approached them and discharged a firearm in their direction, injuring one of the men.

The victim was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle where he later died.

Moss’ sister, who did not want to be named, said he was at a friend’s house when he was shot. She said her brother was shot last December at the same address.

“I heard he just went to get his food, but I’m not sure what exactly happened,” she explained.

She could not say why her brother was targeted previously, but guessed it was a case of mistaken identity.

“He ain’t no saint, but I don’t think he was involved in nothing,” she said. “ A lot of people was saying around (that time) it wasn’t for him.”

The 21-year-old was described by his sister as someone who would get along with anybody in

the family. The two last spoke on Saturday and she recalled he was in good spirits.

“The only thing I really called him for was I wanted my car to (get cleaned) so I was talking to him asking him where he would’ve been so I could come to him,” she said.

After his death, she found out he was supposed to move to Freeport on Monday to live with her aunt.

“She wanted her husband to teach him a trade,” she said, while becoming emotional about the fact that her brother was on the cusp of starting a new chapter in his life before he was killed.

“They didn’t want nobody to know so they tell him just keep it a secret until Monday.”

Moss is the ninth person to be killed this year, according to The Tribune’s records.

Anyone with information on this shooting is asked to contact police at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477).

THE TRIBUNE

Davis: PM in breach of rules

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis claims Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is in breach of the Emergency Powers (COVID-19 Pandemic) Regulations because he has failed thus far to submit a report to Parliament that details the “expenditures, suppliers for the goods and services procured and the reasons those suppliers were chosen.”

The disclosure requirement is in Section 11.2 of the regulations.

Mr Davis’ comment came during a debate in the House of Assembly yesterday on extending the emergency measures until May. The PLP opposes the extension, with Mr Davis saying the pandemic could be managed through ordinary legislation.

“Twice the proclamation of emergency has expired – at the end of June and in November, and neither time did you comply with that requirement,” he said.

“Neither time. You are in breach of the law, sir. Why? What do you not want the Bahamian people to know about how you are operating behind closed doors?

“Which expenditures and which suppliers are so controversial that he cannot disclose them to the public, as he is so required?

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Every promise ever made to the Bahamian people about accountability is sitting in the dustbin.”

When contacted for a comment on Mr Davis’

statements, Attorney General Carl Bethel said: “I am sure that the Ministry of Health can supply any procurement records.”

Yesterday, Mr Davis also said: “The same Prime Minister who is so quick to impose heavy fines on Bahamians for the most minor infractions is himself in violation of his own regulations.”

Noting he supported the initial emergency proclamation, Mr Davis said the measures were intended to be short-term, “a means of giving the government the flexibility to manage a new and urgent public health crisis.”

“Some ten months have passed since the Prime Minister appointed himself as the sole competent authority, and for ten months he has ruled without consultation, without transparency, and without accountability,” he said.

“Any new measures needed to keep Bahamians safe can be enacted through ordinary legislation. This government’s own attorney general has confirmed this.”

Mr Davis said Dr Minnis has once again extended for himself the power to spend public funds outside the ordinary procurement process, to punish and reward businesses and people, to pick favourites and to make decisions without having to debate or defend them.

He said: “The obvious question is: why is this Prime Minister so determined to operate without parliamentary oversight?

The answer has nothing to do with public health, and everything to do with avoiding accountability.”

OPPOSITION leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis in Parliament yesterday.

Thursday, January 28, 2021, PAGE 3

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

RESTRICTIONS ARE NOT HELPING SMALL BUSINESS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

CONTINUED restrictions under extended emergency orders are not conducive to economic growth and do not bode well for small businesses, a top banker has told The Tribune.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, said while businesses have operated under these restrictions for months, it is not sustainable or profitable in the absence of a detailed strategic plan.

This plan, he said, should clearly outline various metrics that the government would use to make certain decisions.

“We have operated as businesses under the emergency powers orders and

so the truth of the matter is yes businesses can operate under them,” Mr Bowe said yesterday.

“Is it sustainable, profitable and more importantly conducive to economic activity? The answer is no because ultimately if there is going to be continued need for the Emergency Powers Orders there also needs to be accompanying that a detailed strategic plan that says these are the various metrics that will trigger other decisions.

“So, I think that unfortunately the emergency orders are only but one piece of what I’m going to call the legislative authority and it misses the second piece which is what I am going to call the actual commercial authority to do things.

“The emergency powers

will grant unto the competent authority the ability to make very swift decisions as they are needed, but for commercial activity there needs to be an understanding of what kinds of factors will lead to what kinds of decisions and that has been missing from inception.”

He continued: “I think there was a willingness to forgive that because it was so new. But, having lived under the orders for quite an extensive period of time you would hope there is an ability to articulate to the general public and to the business community in particular that these are the things that are going to be monitored. If we see daily numbers move to ‘x’ then there will be increases in curfews which will mean that your ability to operate will change.

“If we see trends that suggest that things are moving in the reverse this is what’s going to happen.

Because you see what is debilitating to businesses is to have things operate one way when you leave to close up shop tonight, be different tomorrow even though you could have prepared for it because you saw the writing on the wall in terms of the statistics that are being monitored measured and used by the competent authority for you to make the decisions.

“So, as I said, yes they can because we have but it is not the situation that you would want to have in the absence of a very clear plan so that businesses themselves can then match their own internal planning to what would be seen as

UNION CHIEF: EDUCATION OFFICIALS DO NOT HAVE A CLUE ON REOPENING

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson said it is obvious the Ministry of Education and its top officials “do not have a clue” on how schools will reopen safely for face-toface learning.

Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that in-person learning at public schools in New Providence, Abaco, Exuma, and Eleuthera will not resume on the February 1 target.

A number of private schools on the islands in question and public schools on other islands are open for face-to-face learning.

He said education officials are still in talks with the Ministry of Health but anticipate that some time in February “we will be able to return to the schools” in the mentioned islands.

In response, Mrs Wilson told The Tribune ministry officials have “fumbled the ball” and their performance is “unsatisfactory”.

“After ten months, it must be obvious not only to the Bahamas Union of

Teachers, but to the entire country that the Ministry of Education and its top officials do not have a clue as to how schools will reopen safely face-to-face,” she said.

“Again I urge them to accept the written and verbal recommendations and the logical advice that has been given to them freely from March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first affected The Bahamas.”

She added: “I want to remind the officials at the Ministry of Education that teachers are

the experts in education.

Teachers have great ideas and strategies and, yes, the Bahamas Union of Teachers Belinda Wilson, the president, represents the teachers’ views. Sadly, Ministry of Education officials have fumbled the ball and their performance is unsatisfactory.

In fact, it amounts to gross incompetence and ineptitude - it is evident.”

Ms Wilson called upon the minister, the permanent secretary, and the director of education to swallow their pride. She said the union is here to help.

the national strategic plan toward COVID management given that it’s going to be with us for the foreseeable future until the vaccination and herd immunity has actually taken effect.”

Yesterday, the House of Assembly debated the extension of the current Emergency Powers Order until May 23.

The current emergency order expires on January

31.

The country has been under a state of emergency since March 2020.

Yesterday in the House of Assembly, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis justified the continuance of restrictions under the orders saying: “Without these orders there would have been many more deaths. With these orders we have protected the Bahamian people.”

PAGE 4, Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Vaccine rollout will be major challenge from page one Control and Prevention will move The Bahamas down from a Level 4 Travel Health Notice to a Level 3 Health Notice following a reassessment.

“We will, I believe, be moved to Level 3, because the CDC sees how much progress we have made and are convinced that we will continue to be vigilant,” he said.

A Level 3 Travel Health Notice advises US residents to avoid non-essential travel.

The practical implications of the advisory change on the tourism sector are unclear since the CDC currently recommends that everyone who travels to a country with a Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 travel health notice quarantine for seven days on arrival back in the US. In addition US President

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday.

Joe Biden has announced all international travellers will have to quarantine on arrival.

Dr Minnis said the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, led by Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, will hold a press conference next week to give details about the vaccine distribution plan and an update on the vaccines.

With help from the World Health Organisation and the Pan American Health

Organisation, The Bahamas, he said, has secured enough doses to vaccinate 20 percent of the population once the vaccine becomes available.

“The Bahamas is also looking into accessing vaccines through the African Medical Supplies Platform (ASMP) via CARICOM,” he said. “The government has also made direct contact with providers of approved vaccines. I wish to assure Bahamians that the vaccines approved for

use in The Bahamas have met the strict and rigorous standards of the World Health Organisation.”

He added: “To ensure all Bahamians and residents who choose to take the vaccine can be vaccinated safely and quickly, extensive plans are underway to ensure a safe and effective rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine throughout The Bahamas.

“The national rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine will be one of the greatest logistical challenges that the country has ever undertaken.”

The distribution plan, he said, will cover “distribution at the national, district and Family Island levels; training and capacity building; implementation of an electronic immunisation registry; administration of the COVID-19 vaccine; vaccine logistics and storage management; communications and social

‘TIME TO MOVE ON FROM PCR TEST’

mobilisation; and monitoring and supervision.”

Minister of Health Renward Wells has previously said cold storage equipment needed to preserve the vaccines will be in the country shortly.

Dr Minnis also announced his administration is planning to allow government workers to return to government offices in a process that could begin as early as February 1.

He defended the extension of the Emergency Powers Order to May 23 as well, saying the order is a crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic.

“The availability of these emergency orders is like having life-saving measures such as medicine, equipment and personnel at a hospital,” he said.

“A hospital has intensive care units, accident and emergency, oxygen supplies, painkillers,

antibiotics and other medicine and emergency supplies waiting in ready for whatever emergency arises and at whatever time of the day or night.

“While all of these measures may not be used by an individual, they are there in case of an emergency.

“This is why doctors are on stand-by to perform surgery or other life-saving measures and operations.

“The emergency orders are similar. While many of them may not be used, they are there in case of an emergency. The measures are there in case our COVID numbers go up quickly.

“People don’t prepare for a hurricane after it comes or is right at your doorstep.

“The reason we prepare for hurricanes, including getting together food and medical supplies, sandbags, candles and batteries, and boarding up homes and buildings, is in case the hurricane hits,” he said.

TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS

8,161 175

temperature dependent, very technology dependent procedure,” the Elizabeth MP said. “(LAMP testing) can be conducted at 60 to 65 degrees, it doesn’t require expensive equipment, and it can therefore be used potentially in the family of islands.”

He also said: “Why should you need an RT-PCR to go to Freeport. . .to go to Exuma, it makes, in my opinion, no sense. Let us eliminate the costly fees for tests.”

Earlier this month, when asked about the possible use of RT-LAMP tests in The Bahamas, Health Minister Renward Wells said his ministry will not make a move on approving any form of additional COVID19 testing unless first receiving the nod from the World Health Organisation.

Oxford University’s RTLAMP Technology and CommonPass COVID eApp, which has quick test results loaded to a person’s cell phone within minutes of taking, is becoming more popular for use in airports and airlines around the world.

This test was presented to the government for approval to be used in Bahamian airports, however, it has not been given the greenlight, The Tribune reported previously.

“In general, the government of The Bahamas doesn’t move forward with any form of testing technology, kits or platform that has not been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Ministry of Health is a very conservative body and the Bahamian people need to understand that,” Mr Wells said previously.

Earlier in his speech, Dr Sands reiterated his opposition to continued emergency orders.

“We should end the emergency orders. What specifically can we not accomplish with all of the government and all of Parliament working with a mutual interest (for) the people of The Bahamas?”

He also said more resources need to go towards supporting those experiencing mental stress due to the pandemic.

“Many are hurting badly, and they are not weak. We are seeing an increase in domestic violence and a signal of increased suicides.

The response by us must be more than just symbolic.

This threat is great.”

Dr Sands also suggested the Minnis administration remove the barrier on surgical masks imports for the public and said there should be a government mandate requiring two layer cloth masks to be worn to reduce spread of the coronavirus.

“We should mandate the use of face masks, but unlike the first mandate we should require a minimum of two layers. Data exists that while a single layer is better than none, two layers or a surgical mask—even though we should keep the N-95 masks reserved for health care workers—two layers are better than one.

I believe we should eliminate the moratorium on the availability of face masks to the public. We should strengthen the capacity of our reference lab to create the environment to test and to screen for variants even if

the testing is done off site.”

Dr Sands also urged government officials to “embrace, not resent,” the stipulations of the current US restrictions on travel, which mandate that travellers entering America quarantine, and demonstrate that The Bahamas can be the world leader in COVID mitigation and avoidance.

He also said the government should create a guiding body with “fewer politicians and more scientists” to liaise with the Consultant Physicians Staff Association, Doctors Association and stakeholders at the University of the Bahamas.

Dr Sands also said water and power disconnections need to be reduced in these trying times.

He asked: “How can you go to school, get on a desktop to work at home if you have no current in your house?”

He also suggested tax incentives be given to landlords who allow tenants who are experiencing hardship to remain in their homes.

TWENTY-ONE cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Tuesday, including 11 crew members on a charter boat operating off New Providence.

Nineteen of the cases are in New Providence and two are in Grand Bahama.

In a release issued yesterday, the Ministry of Health said that the crew members of the charter boat operating out of New Providence for about four weeks have routinely been tested for COVID-19.

“As part of the routine

rapid antigen testing, the crew tested positive,” the ministry said. “A confirmatory RT-PCR test was conducted on each crew member, and all 11 crew members were tested positive for COVID-19.

Three of the crew members are currently symptomatic.

However, all crew members remain in isolation.”

One hundred and seventy-five people have died from the disease while 15 deaths are under investigation. Thirteen people are currently in hospital with COVID-19.

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

especially hard-hit. Paradoxically, while mental health support has been more important than ever, it’s also been more out of reach.”

Dr Etienne, during PAHO’s weekly web briefing, said that data from 29 countries in the region found that nearly all of them experienced disruptions in mental health services, with significant disruptions reported in more than a quarter of participating countries.

She also spoke about the COVID-19 situation in the region, saying over 44 million people in the Americas have been infected – including more than two million over the last week.

“In North America, the US is continuing to report

the highest number of cases in our region. Mexico is reporting a rise in infections, with some regions of that country – seeing tripling cases over the last few weeks,” she said.

“There is also growing pressure on hospital capacity throughout North America. In some states of the US, nearly 80 percent of ICU beds are being used to treat COVID-19 patients, with similar rates in many Mexican states, just as some areas of Canada are reaching hospital capacity.

In the Caribbean, larger islands, like Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Cuba, are seeing an increase in infections.”

Smaller island nations, like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia, she said, are seeing a rapid acceleration of cases with infections growing by more than 25 percent over the last week.

PAHO officials also said there is no extra funding to gain from the “return” of America to the World Health Organization as a member state, as that country never really officially left the international public health authority as believed.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it

was reported by the media that former President Donald Trump pulled the United States as a member state of WHO. It was further reported that upon taking office, newly elected President Joseph Biden signed an executive order reversing the move.

The Tribune asked if the return of the US to WHO could mean more funding for the region and quicker access to vaccines. Paulo Lyra, PAHO communications representative, explained the status of the US as it pertains to WHO.

He said: “WHO and its partners are taking all possible measures to get the vaccines to countries as soon as possible.

Please note that the US never ceased to be a WHO member state.

“They announced their intention to withdraw and then recently announced their intention to remain a member state. The process takes one year. So there is no funding ‘increase’. So the recent announcement by the US government in itself does not affect the pace of the distribution of vaccines.”

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES TUESDAY 21 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA

TOTAL TESTS

59,136

19 2

HOSPITALISED

13

CASES IN ICU

0

RECOVERED

6,754

CHARTER BOAT CREW TESTS POSITIVE

‘PANDEMIC HAS CREATED A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS’ PAHO officials said the coronavirus pandemic has created a mental health crisis in the region.

Dr Carissa Etienne, PAHO director, said yesterday: “This pandemic has ushered in a mental health crisis, as we’ve been shaken by fear, depression, isolation, and loss that is made especially acute as we mark this grim milestone.

“While we’re all shouldering more stress, some groups, like people living with disabilities or mental health and substance abuse disorders, have been

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 28, 2021, PAGE 5 DONATIONS given previously by Rupert Roberts to the Feeding Network. Officials say the National Food Distribution Task Force is due to end in March, but 100,000 will still need food assistance then.

100K will need aid to continue from page one

“The government has invested $36m thus far,” Mr Smith said. “It was $16m for phase one, ten (million) for phase two and an additional ten (million) for phase three which is supposed to take us until the end of March.

“So, the support has been great. In the final phase, we reduced our numbers by 60 percent or just over 60 percent from when we were feeding 55,000 families or 220,000 individuals (in the first phase).

“For phase three, that has been reduced to 18,000 families or 72,000 individuals. So going forward, we believed that number we reduced it to was probably less than it should’ve been.”

Even now, Mr Smith said there are many instances where those not included on the food distribution list have reached out to the organisation for food help.

“Some of the persons we took off the list should’ve probably still been on,” he added. “I was not involved in that process but definitely those on the list are the unemployed… but it is my belief that we would have not captured everyone when we came to that 18,000 so that would’ve been about 20 percent (from the initial number) that we’re now feeding.

“Because a lot of persons

YOUR

are still coming but they’re just not on our list… but we still do our best to assist and we have been able to assist quite a bit of them but it’s always a challenge. You know you have to eat to live and there are some people who are truly challenged.”

He also said the organisations that are a part of the task force are now preparing to launch advertising campaigns to get donations once the initiative ends.

“It is my estimation that there are one hundred to one hundred and twenty thousand persons who are still in need of food,” he said. “(When the programme ends), that is going to be quite complicated because that’s a pretty big number so I’m hoping that the government finds some way of extending their programme beyond March because when you talk about one hundred persons, that’s quite a bit of people.

“Bahamas Feeding Network is ramping up on marketing and we’re going to do our very best going forward. In Nassau, there will be three organisations that will remain in this and help with food support and that will be Hands For Hunger, Lend a Hand (Bahamas) and Bahamas Feeding Network so we’re in discussions now talking about what we can do to ramp up the marketing.

“I expect that to happen in two to three weeks.”

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

GRANDMOTHER: I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR FOOD HELP SINCE LAST YEAR

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the coronavirus pandemic has led to a downturn in fortunes for many, others who were struggling even before COVID19 say they are having a hard time making ends meet.

Grandmother Caroyln Brown says she has yet to receive food assistance from the Department of Social Services and has been waiting for help since last year.

The 57-year-old has to take care of her granddaughter as the girl’s mother was murdered several years ago.

“Every time you put your name down they say they’re gonna call and they ain’t calling,” she told The Tribune while outside the Department of Social Services’ Baillou Hill

Road office.

“It’s really poor. It’s poor you have to keep running them down just for help and people who don’t need it, getting it.”

She said she is tired of coming to the office continuously to appeal for assistance and is frustrated with the process.

“They tell me I have to get interviewed to get this (done). I don’t see why I have to get all this done to get that food assistance. I don’t think it’s fair.”

Her granddaughter tragically lost her mother around the age of three years old.

Mrs Brown said whatever little she has, she still gives to her granddaughter. Although retired, the 57-year-old is still looking for a job.

Her husband works sporadically, she said.

She claimed the government was

supposed to be helping the child due to the way her mother died, but “they are not helping her”.

“I went to Robinson Road and they told me that whatever they’re supposed to give to her they could add that on to me and make it as one.

“The lady… told me the place I was living in is not in a good condition. So she said if I look for a place, they’ll help, you know, how to pay and then I pay afterward.

“They tell me they cannot help me until I find a sensible place to live because where I was living they’ve been there and they say the place was not in no kind of condition.”

The retired government worker said she has been trying not to depend on people to make ends meet, but has had to seek help from local charities such as Great Commission Ministries.

PAGE 6, Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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US terrorism alert warns of politically motivated violence THE Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin yesterday warning of the lingering potential for violence from people motivated by antigovernment sentiment after President Joe Biden’s election, suggesting the January 6 riot at the Capitol may embolden extremists and set the stage for additional attacks.

The department did not cite any specific plots, but pointed to “a heightened threat environment across the United States” that it believes “will persist” for weeks after Biden’s January 20 inauguration.

It is not uncommon for the federal government to warn local law enforcement through bulletins about the prospect for violence tied to a particular event or date, such as July 4.

But this particular bulletin, issued through the department’s National Terrorism Advisory System, is notable because it effectively places the Biden administration into the politically charged debate over how to describe or characterise acts motivated by political ideology, and suggests it regards violence like the kind that overwhelmed the Capitol as akin to terrorism.

The bulletin is an indication that national security officials see a connective thread between different episodes of violence in the last year motivated by anti-government grievances, including over COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 election results and police use of force.

The document singles out crimes motivated by racial or ethnic hatred, such as the 2019 rampage targeting Hispanics in El Paso, Texas, as well as the threat posed by extremists motivated by foreign terror groups.

A DHS statement that accompanied the bulletin noted the potential for violence from “a broad range of ideologically-motivated actors”.

“Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilise to incite or commit violence,” the bulletin said.

The alert comes at a tense time following the riot at the Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump

seeking to overturn the presidential election. Authorities are concerned that extremists may attack other symbols of government or people whose political views they oppose.

“The domestic terrorism attack on our Capitol earlier this month shined a light on a threat that has been right in front of our faces for years,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “I am glad to see that DHS fully recognises the threat posed by violent, right-wing extremists and is taking efforts to communicate that threat to the American people.”

The alert was issued by acting Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske.

Biden’s nominee for the Cabinet post, Alejandro Mayorkas, has not been confirmed by the Senate.

Two former homeland security secretaries, Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano, called on the Senate to confirm Mayorkas so he can start working with the FBI and other agencies and deal with the threat posed by domestic extremists, among other issues.

Chertoff, who served under President George W Bush, said attacks by far-right, domestic extremists are not new but that deaths attributed to them in recent years in the US have exceeded those linked to jihadists such as alQaida. “We have to be candid and face what the real risk is,” he said in a conference call with reporters.

Federal authorities have charged more than 150 people in the Capitol siege, including some with links to rightwing extremist groups such as the Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers.

The Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against 43-year Ian Rogers, a California man found with five pipe bombs during a search of his business this month who had a sticker associated with the Three Percenters on his vehicle. His lawyer told his hometown newspaper, The Napa Valley Register, that he is a “very wellrespected small business owner, father, and family man” who does not belong to any violent organisations.

By BEN FOX and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

Litigating in the media EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS A trained lawyer and a media personality it pains me to see how representatives from the activist groups who are against the oil drilling initiative by Bahamas Petroleum Company and those from the company itself who appear to be litigating their issues and differences in the media and press. This is unprecedented and unheard of.

Those who oppose the project are asking simple questions to matters which, ordinarily, will come to light if and when an Order for Discovery is made by the presiding Supreme Court judge. A question has been raised about whether or not BPCL has adequate insurance to cover any possible oil spillage.

Questions have been raised as to whether or not the required licensing fees would have been paid. These questions,

in my submission, are all mute and have absolutely nothing to do with the relevant permits whose validity are being question through a judicial review process.

The whole matter is sub judice so I fail to understand how, in law or equity extra judicial comments and opinions are being raised or expressed. The presiding jurist should immediately issue a gag order on all parties.

Simon Potter, the erstwhile President of BPCL, has been extensively quoted in the media and press as being in favour of a Sovereign Wealth Fund as proposed by the former old PLP administration and now the fragile and shaky FNM regime. It’s my opinion that Potter is seriously out of bounds on this and he should shut his juicy mouth and sit small pending the outcome of the judicial review process.

He seems to be a reasonably intelligent individual. He and BPCL are, basically, guests in our wonderful nation and he and the company should/ must refrain from injecting themselves into local and divisive politics.

Their job is to drill for oil and nothing else. Gratuitous remarks about a Sovereign Wealth Fund have nothing to do with that and should be kept to themselves.

Litigation is meant to be dealt with in a competent court and not in the newspapers and other media outlets.

A mandatory gag order should be imposed by the learned Supreme Court jurist and let the legal chips, so to speak, fall where they may. To God then, that Great Jurist, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND BODIE Jr Nassau, January 21, 2021.

Needed: A bold strategy for tourism EDITOR, The Tribune.

IN CASE anyone is interested, Jamaica is currently teaching a master class in how to manage tourism during the uncertainties of quick-changing Covid-19 protocols.

While we scream and lobby for the US to give us some sort of special treatment, Jamaica has made no such public posturing. They are too busy adapting to the new rules coming out of the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.

We want some sort of accommodation from the US to their new policy requiring everyone entering the country to produce a recent negative Covid test.

On the same day that the new US policy took effect, Jamaica’s tourism minister announced that 30 hotels on his island were staffed and equipped to provide free Covid testing for guests at their properties as quickly as 24 hours before they return home.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health helped a total of 10 private laboratories to enhance their testing capabilities to support the hotels and their two airports.

They put test sample collection centres around the island to provide a seamless process for tourists at other properties outside of the 30 on-site hotels.

Said their tourism minister: “We are resilient and will remain nimble, especially over the coming weeks, as we anticipate other potential changes for United States travellers.”

It should be noted that Jamaica gets almost twice as many tourists as we do.

We have about 15,000 hotel rooms across all the islands.

Jamaica has 34,000 hotel rooms with plans to reach 50,000 rooms this decade.

There is a national effort underway in Jamaica called the “Sugarcane Project” whose momentum was slowed but not stopped by Covid. That alone will add 5,000 new hotel rooms.

We tend to be dismissive of Jamaica’s awesome advantage by drawing on the fact that we get five

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net million cruise ship passengers a year while Jamaica gets only 1.5 million. But everyone knows that stopover air visitors are where the money is.

We do punch above our weight in terms of tourist spend. On average a Bahamas vacation is much more expensive than a Jamaican holiday. But the added visitor arrivals gave Jamaica US$3.6 billion in 2019.

Because we charge more for our hotel rooms, we actually make more money per visitor. We could do much better if we had more budget priced hotels and will when we finally get the hotel room stock on Grand Bahama back up to scratch.

But Bahamian ownership in our hotel sector lags far behind the Jamaican ownership in theirs. While there is significant foreign direct investment in Jamaican hotels, there is also more local ownership of hotels in Jamaica than in the Bahamas. Topping that list is, of course, the Sandals Resorts.

We need a new master plan for national tourism development, one that blends our super luxury resorts with budget hotels and one that allows for unobtrusive, environmentally friendly, Bahamian-owned boutique hotels sprinkled around the Family Islands.

Bahamian-owned could be combined with foreignmanaged. Branding and other licensing agreements could give smaller resorts access to superior advertising and promotional muscle while retaining ownership and earnings.

The Bahamas cannot and should not turn its back on the cruise ship industry. We earn money from many of these ships that are registered here. But we need to be more realistic about how cruising should fit into our national tourism plan post Covid.

This could mean that Nassau gets rostered out of ship rotations in favour of the Robinson Crusoe

experience that private islands provide. The ships might leave Miami as a Covid-free sterile bubble, but they will lose that status at the first port of call when passengers file off and mingle with the local population.

The Bahamas stands to benefit from our ability to offer sterile corridors to our equally sterile private islands. But it won’t fill the coffers of merchants on Bay Street who will have to shift their business model, perhaps by opening a John Bull store in the shopping promenade onboard the ships.

Or they could sell their perfumes, trinkets and luxury products online and have the goods delivered to the private island for collection by passengers.

Cruising will come back if only because some packages will be sold at rock-bottom prices. But the bigger threat to the industry will be the pressure from environmentalists for them to fully transition to clean marine propulsion technology, pollutant filters and more efficient vessels.

More investment in ships will drive up cruise prices.

The gist of the story is that the dynamics of a changing tourism industry is happening all around us.

If we stick to pre-Covid business-as-usual, we will be relegated to the second tier of holiday destinations.

Our Ministry of Tourism needs to be bold. Cuba may have pioneered this industry in the 1950s, but it was our own brashness and cockiness that got us noticed on the world stage.

We confidently bragged that it is better in the Bahamas and the world took notice.

Two hundred years ago the German intellectual Wolfgang von Goethe summed up a rationale for boldness that could serve us well in 2021: “Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

We triple dare tourism officials to stop whining and be bold.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, January 27, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 28, 2021, PAGE 7

Teacher on sex charge

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net A 63-YEAR-OLD male teacher was yesterday charged in a Freeport court with one count of indecent assault.

Reynold Christopher Robinson, a teacher at Jack Hayward Senior High School, pleaded not guilty to the charge before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson.

Yesterday, the accused was granted bail in the sum of $3,500 and ordered to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet. He is also to sign in at Freeport’s Central Police Station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The trial in this matter is expected to begin on March 17.

REYNOLD CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON, a teacher at Jack Hayward Senior High School, outside court yesterday.

Police officer denies charge over marijuana

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A ROYAL Bahamas Police Force officer who denied being in possession of more than one ounce of marijuana was yesterday granted bail ahead of his trial.

Hugh Minnis, 27, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with two counts of possession of dangerous drugs, one with intent to supply and another count of possession.

The prosecution alleged

the police constable was found with three separate packages of marijuana in the amounts of an ounce, three grams and two grams on January 27.

He was arraigned with four members of his family yesterday.

Police said Taikeem Sturrup, 20, Frederick Rolle, 26, Deborah Nabbie, 61, and Antonice Lightbourne, 39, also had the ounce of marijuana in their possession with the intent to supply.

Sturrup was also charged in connection with the three grams of marijuana

found in their home that day.

During the hearing, Minnis, Rolle, Nabbie and Lightbourne denied the allegations and their matter was adjourned to July 1 for trial.

Sturrup, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to both offences his case was adjourned to today for sentencing. He was remanded in custody until that time.

Meanwhile, Minnis was released on $4,500 bail while the rest of his codefendants were granted $3,000 bail leading up to their trial.

GANJA GUMMIES LAND WOMAN IN COURT

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A SOCIAL media influencer who was caught trying to travel to Miami with marijuana-infused gummy bears was yesterday fined $300.

Police arrested Chelsea Lovelace, 31, after they found the candies, which contained 25 grams of Indian hemp, on her at Lynden Pindling International Airport on January 25.

She pleaded guilty to

one count of possession during a hearing before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt.

The court was told that around 6.25am that day, Lovelace was approached by the chief border protection officer at LPIA who told her he suspected that she was in possession of drugs. The prosecution said when he searched the Tampa resident, he found the marijuana gummies.

Lovelace was subsequently arrested and taken to the Drug Enforcement Unit.

In an interview with police

there, she declined to comment.

Yesterday, Lovelace told the magistrate she was an influencer who worked in Los Angeles. She claimed she and her girlfriend decided to visit the country for a day and added the marijuana gummies she was found with came in a goodie bag she got from one of her modelling assignments.

After listening to Lovelace’s explanation, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt accepted her guilty plea and fined her $300 or six weeks in prison.

MAN DENIES $10,000 BANK FRAUD

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN ACKLINS man who denied defrauding a local bank of nearly $10,000 was yesterday granted bail

ahead of his trial.

Vans Johnson, 53, was accused of unlawfully obtaining $9,700 from CIBC First Caribbean International Bank on January 8.

He pleaded not guilty to

one count of fraud by false pretences and the matter was adjourned to August 23 for trial.

Yesterday, Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt granted Johnson $5,000 bail until that time.

55,000 HOMES SUFFER FROM TELEVISION DISRUPTION

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

AN estimated 55,000 households in the country experienced severe television pixellation and blackouts yesterday, an issue Cable Bahamas attributed to technical equipment failure.

REV customers reportedly began having issues with their services on Tuesday evening and the problems persisted well into yesterday.

In a press statement the company said all of its REV customers in Grand Bahama, New Providence, Eleuthera and Abaco were affected.

REV Chief Operating Officer John Gomez said in the statement: “We experienced an equipment failure on our video core network that is impacting all of our video channels on the

islands of Grand Bahama, New Providence, Eleuthera and Abaco.

“Our Family Island customers are currently experiencing issues limited to three channels, including ZNS, the Parliamentary Channel and OURTV. The issue began affecting channels last night (Tuesday) and we have been working throughout the night to resolve the issue. We anticipate having all video services fully restored today (Wednesday).”

The statement noted that customers experienced signal disruptions resulting in pixilation, streaming breaks and in some cases complete loss of channel access.

However, shortly thereafter restoration teams were deployed to troubleshoot all relevant equipment, it continued.

“Engineers have been working feverishly to

restore service as quickly as possible. As of 10am the communications provider can confirm some services have been restored but are not able to confirm a specific completion time for the full restoration.”

The company assured customers of hourly progress updates using the media and social media and apologised for the disruption.

This did little to satisfy angry customers who criticised Cable Bahamas for the situation.

One customer wrote on Facebook: “I never thought I would see a day where a company would be less reliable than BPL. That day is here.”

Another questioned whether there would be compensation: “Will clients be getting a reduction in their bills? This ‘inconvenience,’ conveniently happens every day.”

HUGH Minnis outside court yesterday.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

PAGE 8, Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

JUST LOOK AROUND US - IF YOU THINK THIS IS OVER, FORGET IT OVER the course of a year plus of the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is still much that scientists and governments do not understand about the virus.

When medical experts and historians of science research and write about the virus, we may well learn a number of astounding facts and things never realised during the pandemic.

But what is abundantly clear right now is the unpredictability of the virus, which continues to mutate. The world also knows that things can change rapidly. Despite our relatively stable situation in The Bahamas and low reported active cases, within a short period we could be in a worse position.

The acute and virulent disingenuous statements by some commentators

reporting on our national response during the pandemic, including the usual suspects in various media houses, continues giddily and unabated.

Most world leaders, with the reprehensible exception of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and left-wing Mexican President Manuel López Obrador, have tried their best to respond to an emergency for which there is no easy howto-do manual and requiring constant adjustments.

Then there is the cartoonish example of Donald Trump, who played endless rounds of golf during some of the most tragic days of the pandemic in the United States as he nursed his grievance on his electoral loss with fraudulent claims and as he attempted to cling to power.

Trump’s undemocratic behaviour and indifferent and disastrous response to the suffering of thousands of Americans, stood in marked contrast to more competent and effective response by a number of smaller countries and socalled banana republics In addition to their anemic response to the pandemic, Bolsonaro, Lopez Obrador and Trump share the distinction of being cavalier about the virus, which they all contracted.

When case numbers were high in The Bahamas, some lobbed blame on Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

When case numbers dropped dramatically, some of the very same critics could not bring themselves to give him and his government much credit.

Disingenuous Some of those in the disingenuous circus took delight in celebrating the COVID-19 response of Barbados Prime Minister Mia Motley. A colleague noted that when he posted a story on the current uptick of cases in Barbados, requiring a lockdown, there was silence.

The rise in cases in Barbados, like other countries, is not mostly the fault of a head of government, though various policies can help to reduce or stem community spread. The virus is both highly contagious and unpredictable.

Even New Zealand, whose prime minister, Jacinda Adern, has been lionised for the response of the more geographically isolated country, continues to experience new cases. New Zealand has gone through lockdowns and restrictive measures throughout the pandemic.

But those who celebrate her efforts never suggest that she is acting

dictatorially, as some have accused Dr Minnis. One of the most asinine comments compared our emergency orders to slavery. Garden variety hypocrisy is one thing. But a forest of hypocrisy is another matter.

Some Bahamians, including those drunk with anger and personal grievances toward certain leaders, cannot admit that perhaps The Bahamas has gotten some things right during the pandemic, though we still have a long way to go and likely more rough days, weeks and months ahead.

A dear friend noted how annoyed she was at a gathering, when one of the guests suggested that she believed that the number of reported active cases seemed doctored.

The steely response of the friend: “So, you believed the numbers when they were high but not when they’re low.”

She scolded that this was a dishonest and serious assertion, which suggested that experts like Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis and others were lying to the public and officials at the World Health Organization.

Then there are the Johhny-and Jane-onenotes who uncreatively bang on about the supposed lack of transparency of the government in providing information about the pandemic, a knee-jerk disingenuous assertion of which some in the medical community take exception.

One of the more disingenuous public officials over the course of the pandemic is Opposition Leader Brave Davis, who noted in the House of Assembly yesterday that the government was not providing sufficient data and science on the pandemic to the Chamber.

Briefings Dr Dahl-Regis and other officials have held special briefings for opposition and government leaders. Moreover, they have consistently provided the public with all manner of health data.

Most Bahamians appear to appreciate that the Prime Minister and his colleagues have done the best they could and indeed quite well, though there have been inevitable missteps. And while some may disagree with certain specific measures, most seem to appreciate the general thrust of the government’s policies to address the pandemic.

Because Mr Davis never got his footing and remarks right during the pandemic,

he has zig-zagged in his comments and prescriptions, endlessly pandering to his perception of public opinion.

By contrast, Dr Minnis has steered a determined course. He noted in the House yesterday: “During my training as a physician, we were taught to act to save lives, to lessen suffering and to care for the sick. When the pandemic began those lessons were paramount in my mind. My Government and I would not just say things to be popular.”

He continued: “We would not just do the popular thing to make everyone happy in the moment. We wanted to advance policies and rules to keep Bahamians healthy and alive. If at times some of these rules were unpopular, as a doctor and Prime Minister I was prepared to deliver the bitter medicine to keep our people well.

“Our founders knew times such as these would emerge – times of true crisis and emergency that would test our resolve as a people.

The Emergency measures we enacted, which we seek to extend, are legal powers designed for moments such as these.”

Writing on the CNBC website, Holly Ellyatt reports: “The new coronavirus has undergone several major mutations, and it’s likely that more, significant variations will emerge. Several variants have emerged recently, most notably in the U.K. and South Africa.”

She also noted: “Japan reported a new mutation on Sunday.”

The NationNews of Barbados reported yesterday: “In declaring war on COVID-19 – and dengue to a lesser extent – Mottley also announced new measures for visitors and those coming on the Welcome Stamp.”

Measures To appreciate the threat the virus continues to pose and the emergency measures required to address the spread, the NationNews noted the “key points” made by Prime Minister Motley: • “Those over age 70 urged to stay at home for next three weeks.

• People dropped their guard with the use of personal protection.

• Masks should be worn at home when you have visitors.

• Launching war in communities against Covid-19.

• From February 3 all people visiting Barbados

must have a negative COVID test.

• It must be taken no more than 3 days prior to departure.

• There will be a mandatory rapid antigen test on arrival.

• Once you have a negative test, you will go to a Government authorised quarantine centre – free or paying – you have to spend minimum 5 nights before a PCR swab is taken.

• If the rapid antigen test positive, you go to Harrison Point for assessment.

• UK COVID variant in Barbados, CARPHA confirms.

• Ten samples sent to CARPHA, three were positive with the UK variant.

• From February 3, wearing of masks will be mandatory except for those with underlying medical issues.

• Wearing of masks in public places will be mandatory.

• Supermarkets will be opened for certain times.

• Get back to arming yourself with hand sanitisers.

• House health checks will be in effect.

• 15-day period of national pause.

• Curfew 7pm to 6am • Supermarkets will open from 8 to 3 during the week, closed Saturdays and Sundays • Care packages will be distributed next week for all people who can’t get to the supermarkets.

• Banks will be closed from February 3 to 9, 2021 and reopen on February 10.

• Chief Compliance officers will be hired to ensure Barbadians are following the protocols.

• If you don’t need to leave home at all, don’t leave home.

• No hanging around idly; no liming.

• Shops will not be allowed to be open.

• Restaurants and gyms will be closed from February 3 to 17.”

Those who suggest that emergency measures are not needed or that Dr Minnis is supposedly acting undemocratically might want to fully digest what is happening in our Caribbean neighbour, which has been in touch with Bahamian officials for advice on a number of COVIDrelated matters.

Barbados’ “national pause” is a national lockdown. Even as we pray for their success in addressing this wave, we should prepare for the next possible wave here at home.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 28, 2021, PAGE 9

Situation normal – we can only hope that’s true T

he impressive new US Embassy rising over downtown Nassau serves as a daily reminder to us of its parent, the American Department of State, which got a new leader on Tuesday when Antony Blinken was confirmed then by the US Senate.

While some news outlets are describing him as rising from the professional ranks at the State Department, he never served overseas.

That is not to suggest that Blinken is under-qualified for his new position.

Quite the opposite: Given that American foreign policy has been fundamentally developed and implemented in Washington since at least the Kennedy Administration in the 1960s, Blinken’s experience represents virtually a perfect apprenticeship for taking the helm of America’s “senior cabinet agency”.

Young diplomats in the State Department, as in foreign offices and ministries of foreign affairs around the world, are well advised to heed the venerable axiom that effective foreign policy springs from well enunciated national interest.

And that national interest originates most often in domestic politics and concerns.

There are many joys and satisfactions in living abroad in different societies, so recruitment into the professional diplomatic services is unlikely to suffer.

It’s just that making foreign policy is extraordinarily unlikely to be one of them, though we’ll come to a notable exception to that rule in a few paragraphs.

Blinken’s career is a textbook illustration of how to prepare to make foreign policy.

He got off to a good start.

His father, a Wall Street banker and political fundraiser, was appointed as US Ambassador to Hungary during the Clinton Administration.

After an Ivy League education at Columbia and Harvard, the new Secretary of State helped his father raise money for 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis.

By 1994, as his father was taking the helm of the American Embassy in Budapest, young Blinken was named to a junior position at the National Security Council in Washington.

He thus began a classic “in and out” career that has become the template for Democratic and Republican foreign policy experts for decades.

When Democrats occupied the White House, Blinken held positions of

increasingly senior responsibility on the White House staff. When the Dems were out of power under George W Bush, Blinken became an adviser and confidant of then-Senator Joe Biden.

More recently, Blinken reportedly made millions as a consultant.

Back in 2008, after the election of Barack Obama, Blinken moved to the right hand of power in Washington, as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Special Adviser to then Vice-President Biden.

See how this works? It gets more interesting.

In 2014, Obama appointed Blinken as Deputy Secretary of State.

The man he replaced was William Burns, the notable exception mentioned earlier. Burns, a career diplomat who knew how to play the domestic political game as well as anyone, did serve several tours overseas, including as US ambassador to Jordan and Russia.

Burns was announced earlier as Biden’s choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

What does all this portend for American foreign policy under the new President?

First, while the new administration including Blinken has criticized the blunt stridency of their enunciation and implementation, neither the Trump administration’s wary, hostile stance toward China nor its moving of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is expected to be overturned.

On the Middle East generally, the approach seems to be seeking to have the best of both worlds while supporting expanded diplomatic recognition of Israel’s legitimacy as a sovereign state while continuing to promote a two-state solution that includes an independent Palestine.

Otherwise, the public adulation of Vladimir Putin will cease.

The importuning of Western European and other NATO allies to devote more money and resources to their own defence will continue, but much more discretely behind the scenes.

Publicly, support for NATO and other key alliances including the Organization for American States should continue to noticeably intensify.

Relations with Britain and Canada should resume a more cordial and hopefully productive tone.

The audible sigh of relief in foreign capitals from Berlin to Beijing to Havana after the results of the November American election should be generally

justified by the more modulated behaviour of the new US administration.

What does this all mean for The Bahamas?

Very likely, it means for us what it means for most of the world’s nations: little of headline significance, but potentially much around the edges of American policy.

For it is on the margins and in the shadows of US policy that our politicians and diplomats can best

ANTONY Blinken testifies during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of State before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP)

operate to our advantage.

And since American domestic politics only infrequently intrude on USBahamian relations, these

realities offer to our own policymakers an opportunity for quiet advantage.

We can only wish them every success as we all

watch American public health and its economy gradually return to normal levels and hopefully bring us along with them.

The greatest innings is over

O

ne of the very greatest, most transformational figures in American or world sports history passed away last week.

Henry Aaron died at the age of 86.

“Hammerin’ Hank” is best known for breaking one of sport’s most enduring records with his 715th career home run for the Atlanta Braves in 1974. The man he surpassed, Babe Ruth, played five decades earlier in the Roaring Twenties that led to the Great Depression.

Issues of race in America looked and felt different in 1924 than they did in 1974.

Whether they were substantially different is a question that continues to be debated by historians.

It wasn’t debated by Henry Aaron.

This proud, stolid, stoical man endured as much distasteful, reprehensible prejudice and racial hatred over the course of his storied Hall of Fame career as did Jackie Robinson, the comparably talented Dodgers infielder who is credited with breaking Major League Baseball’s notorious colour barrier in 1947.

There is an oft-repeated story that illustrates the awful bias Aaron overcame in ascending to the pantheon of the truly great in baseball history.

At one point later in life, he donated almost all of his many historical memorabilia to the Baseball Hall of Fame in rural New York State.

Included were his 1957 World Series championship ring and the bat he used

IN this April 4, 1974 photo, baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, right, presents Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron with a trophy after he tied Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in Cincinnati. Aaron beat the record just days later. (AP Photo/Bob Johnson, File)

for his 3,000th hit. Aaron only kept one thing from his baseball career. He retained the large collection of hate mail he received over the years, particularly as he inexorably approached Babe Ruth’s iconic record, which Aaron then held for 33 years.

In the many richly-deserved tributes that dotted his obituaries, it was often recalled that Aaron’s team, the Atlanta Braves, had to hire special security to safeguard him as he threatened “the Babe’s” record. He often registered in hotels under an alias.

His daughter was threatened with kidnapping.

The team received hundreds of letters with death threats. Aaron later said he became fearful even of the autograph-seekers who still populate the foul lines of major league ballparks before games and the players’ exits afterwards.

As a boy, Aaron lived in Mobile, Alabama in the terrifying shadow of the Ku Klux Klan, and rehearsed escape and evasion procedures with his mother during KKK demonstrations near their home.

In 2014, while an African-American served in the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, Aaron said this to an interviewer: “I kept the hate mail to remind myself that we in America are not that far removed from when I was chasing (Babe Ruth’s) record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself.

A lot of things have happened in this country, but we still have so far to go.

There’s not a whole lot that has really changed.

“Sure, (America) has a Black President. But President Obama has his foot stuck in the mud from all the Republicans with the way he’s treated.

What has changed?

“The biggest difference is that back then (in Mobile) they had hoods.

Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”

As we all watch the Senate Republicans sabotage Trump’s second trial for impeachment, it’s useful to recall that those senators all think they represent those who voted for them.

Was Hank Aaron right?

PAGE 10, Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Biden revives plan to play final homage to Harriet

By ROBERT GUDMESTAD Professor and Chair of History Department, Colorado State University THE Biden administration has revived a plan to put Harriet Tubman on America’s $20 bill after Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary delayed the move.

That’s encouraging news to the millions of people who have expressed support for putting her face on the bill. But many still aren’t familiar with the story of Tubman’s life, which was chronicled in a 2019 film, “Harriet”.

Harriet Tubman worked as a slave, spy and eventually an abolitionist. What I find most fascinating, as an historian of American slavery, is how her belief in God helped Tubman remain fearless, even when she came face to face with many challenges.

Tubman’s early life Tubman was born Araminta Ross in 1822 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When interviewed later in life, Tubman said she started working as a housemaid when she was 5. She recalled that she endured whippings, starvation and hard work even before she got to her teenage years.

We bring the expertise of academics to the public.

She laboured in Maryland’s tobacco fields, but things started to change when farmers switched their main crop to wheat.

Grain required less labour, so slave owners began to sell their enslaved people to plantation owners in the Deep South.

Two of Tubman’s sisters

she sometimes flew over the land.

An enslaved person who trusted Tubman to help him escape simply noted that Tubman had “de charm,” or God’s protection. Charms or amulets were strongly associated with African religious beliefs.

A WAX likeness of the renowned abolitionist and conductor of the Underground Railroad Harriet Ross Tubman. were sold to a slave trader.

One had to leave her child behind. Tubman, too, lived in fear of being sold.

When she was 22, Tubman married a free black man named John Tubman. For reasons that are unclear, she changed her name, taking her mother’s first name and her husband’s last name. Her marriage did not change her status as an enslaved person.

Five years later, rumours circulated in the slave community that slave traders were once again prowling through the Eastern Shore.

Tubman decided to seize her freedom rather than face the terror of being chained with other slaves to be carried away, often referred to as the “chain gang”.

Tubman stole into the

woods and, with the help of some members of the Underground Railroad, walked the 90 miles to Philadelphia, where slavery was illegal. The Underground Railroad was a loose network of African Americans and whites who helped fugitive slaves escape to a free state or to Canada.

Tubman began working with William Still, an African American clerk from Philadelphia, who helped slaves find freedom.

Tubman led about a dozen rescue missions that freed about 60 to 80 people. She normally rescued people in the winter, when the long dark nights provided cover, and she often adopted some type of disguise. Even though she was the only “conductor” on rescue missions, she

depended on a few houses connected with the Underground Railroad for shelter.

She never lost a person escaping with her and won the nickname of Moses for leading so many people to “the promised land,” or freedom.

After the Civil War began, Tubman volunteered to serve as a spy and scout for the Union Army. She ended up in South Carolina, where she helped lead a military mission up the Combahee River. Located about halfway between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, the river was lined with a number of valuable plantations the Union Army wanted to destroy.

Tubman helped guide three Union steamboats around Confederate mines and then helped about 750 enslaved people escape with the federal troops.

She was the only woman to lead men into combat during the Civil War. After the war, she moved to New York and was active in campaigning for equal rights for women. She died in 1913 at the age of 90.

Tubman’s faith Tubman’s Christian faith tied all of these remarkable achievements together.

She grew up during the Second Great Awakening, which was a Protestant

religious revival in the United States. Preachers took the gospel of evangelical Christianity from place to place, and church membership flourished.

Christians at this time believed that they needed to reform America to usher in Christ’s second coming.

A number of black female preachers preached the message of revival and sanctification on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Jarena Lee was the first authorized female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

It is not clear whether Tubman attended any of Lee’s camp meetings, but she was inspired by the evangelist. She came to understand that women could hold religious authority.

Historian Kate Clifford Larson believes that Tubman drew from a variety of Christian denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and Catholic beliefs. Like many enslaved people, her belief system fused Christian and African beliefs.

Her belief that there was no separation between the physical and spiritual worlds was a direct result of African religious practices.

Tubman literally believed that she moved between a physical existence and a spiritual experience where

An injury becomes a spiritual gift A horrific accident is believed to have brought Tubman closer to God and reinforced her Christian worldview. Sarah Bradford, a 19th-century writer who conducted interviews with Tubman and several of her associates, found the deep role faith played in her life.

When she was a teenager, Tubman happened to be at a dry goods store when an overseer was trying to capture an enslaved person who had left his slave labour camp without permission. The angry man threw a two-pound weight at the runaway but hit Tubman instead, crushing part of her skull. For two days she lingered between life and death.

The injury almost certainly gave her temporal lobe epilepsy. As a result, she would have splitting headaches, fall asleep without notice, even during conversations, and have dreamlike trances.

As Bradford documents, Tubman believed that her trances and visions were God’s revelation and evidence of his direct involvement in her life. One abolitionist told Bradford that Tubman “talked with God, and he talked with her every day of her life.”

According to Larson, this confidence in providential guidance and protection helped make Tubman fearless. Standing only five feet tall, she had an air of authority that demanded respect.

Once Tubman told Bradford that when she was leading two “stout” men to freedom, she believed that “God told her to stop” and leave the road. She led the scared and reluctant men through an icy stream – and to freedom.

Harriet Tubman once said that slavery was “the next thing to hell”. She helped many transcend that hell.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 28, 2021, PAGE 11

MORE THAN 70 PERCENT DROP IN OCEANIC SHARK POPULATIONS

THIS 2001 photo provided by Dr Greg Skomal shows a shortfin mako shark off the coast of Massachusetts. In a study published yesterday, researchers found the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018.

Photo: Greg Skomal/AP WASHINGTON Associated Press WHEN marine biologist Stuart Sandin talks about sharks, it sounds like he’s describing Jedis of the ocean. “They are terrific predators, fast swimmers and they have amazing senses — they can detect any disturbance in the ocean from great distance,” such as smells or tiny changes in water currents.

Their ability to quickly sense anything outside the norm in their environment helps them find prey in the

vastness of the open ocean.

But it also makes them especially vulnerable in the face of increased international fishing pressure, as global fishing fleets have doubled since 1950.

“You drop a fishing line in the open ocean, and often it’s sharks that are there first — whether or not they’re the primary target,” said Sandin, who works at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Scientists have known for decades that individual shark species are declining, but a new study drawing on

57 global datasets underscores just how dramatically worldwide populations have collapsed in the past half century.

Globally, the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018, according to a study published yesterday in the journal Nature.

And 24 of the 31 species of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, while three species — oceanic whitetip sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks and great

hammerhead sharks — are considered critically endangered.

“The last 50 years have been pretty devastating for global shark populations,” said Nathan Pacoureau, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a co-author of the study.

Sometimes sharks are intentionally caught by fishing fleets, but more often they are reeled in incidentally as “bycatch,” in the course of fishing for other species such as tuna and swordfish.

Sharks and rays are both

fish with skeletons made of cartilage, not bone. In contrast to most other kinds of fish, they generally take several years to reach sexual maturity, and they produce fewer offspring.

“In terms of timing, they reproduce more like mammals – and that makes them especially vulnerable,” said Pacoureau. “Their populations cannot replenish as quickly as many other kinds of fish.”

The number of fishing vessels trolling the open ocean has risen steeply since the 1950s, as engine

power expanded ships’ range. And while climate change and pollution also imperil shark survival, increased fishing pressure is the greatest threat for every oceanic shark species.

“When you remove top predators of the ocean, it impacts every part of the marine food web,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University, who was not involved in the study. “Sharks are like the lions, tigers and bears of the ocean world, and they help keep the rest of the ecosystem in balance.”

Biden: We can’t wait any longer on climate change WASHINGTON Associated Press IN THE most ambitious US effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders yesterday to transform the nation’s heavily fossil-fuel powered economy into a clean-burning one, pausing oil and gas leasing on federal land and targeting subsidies for those industries.

The directives aim to conserve 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters in the next 10 years, double the nation’s offshore wind energy, and move to an all-electric federal vehicle fleet, among other changes.

Biden’s sweeping plan is aimed at staving off the worst of global warming caused by burning fossil fuels.

But his effort it also carries political risk for the president and Democrats as oil- and coal-producing states face job losses from moves to sharply increase US reliance on clean energy such as wind and solar power.

“We can’t wait any longer’’ to address the climate crisis, Biden said at the White House. “We see with our own eyes. We

know it in our bones. It is time to act.’’

He said his orders will “supercharge our administration’s ambitious plan to confront the existential threat of climate change”.

Biden has set a goal of eliminating pollution from fossil fuel in the power sector by 2035 and from the US economy overall by 2050, speeding what is already a market-driven growth of solar and wind energy and lessening the country’s dependence on oil and gas. The aggressive plan is aimed at slowing humancaused global warming that is magnifying extreme weather events such as deadly wildfires in the West and drenching rains and hurricanes in the East.

Biden acknowledged the political risk, repeatedly stating that his approach would create jobs in the renewable energy and automotive sectors to offset any losses in oil, coal or natural gas.

“When I think of climate change and the answers to it, I think of jobs,’’ Biden said. “We’re going to put people to work. We’re not going to lose jobs.

These aren’t pie-in-the-sky dreams. These are concrete

actionable solutions. And we know how to do this.’’

In a change from previous administrations of both parties, Biden also is directing agencies to focus help and investment on the low-income and minority communities that live closest to polluting refineries and other hazards, and the oil- and coal-patch towns that face job losses as the U.S. moves to sharply increase its reliance on wind, solar and other other energy sources that do not emit climate-warming greenhouse gases.

Biden pledged to create up to a million jobs building electric cars, as well as installing solar panels, wind turbines, “capping abandoned walls, reclaiming mines, turning old brownfield sites into the new hubs of economic growth.’’

Even so, Republicans immediately criticised the plan as a job killer.

“Pie-in-the-sky government mandates and directives that restrict our mining, oil, and gas industries adversely impact our energy security and independence,’’ Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, the top Republican on the House

Energy and Commerce Committee.

Biden also is elevating the warming climate to a national security priority, directing intelligence agencies, the military and others to do more to prepare for the heightened risks. The conservation plan would set aside millions of acres for recreation, wildlife and climate efforts by 2030 as part of Biden’s campaign pledge for a $2 trillion program to slow global warming.

President Donald Trump, who ridiculed the science of climate change, withdrew the US from the Paris global climate accord, opened more public lands to coal, gas and oil production and weakened regulation on fossil fuel emissions.

Experts say these emissions are heating the Earth’s climate dangerously and worsening floods, droughts and other natural disasters.

Currently, 61 percent of the nation’s electric power comes from natural gas and coal, 20 percent from nuclear and 17 percentfrom wind, solar and other renewable energy, the US Energy Information Administration says.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said that “if this Day 7 momentum

is representative of this administration’s 4-year term, there is every reason to believe that we might achieve carbon neutrality sooner than 2050,” even as key roadblocks lie ahead.

Biden’s actions came as his nominee for energy secretary, former Michigan Gov Jennifer Granholm, faced deep skepticism from Republicans as she tried to pitch the president’s vision for a green economy.

“The last Democratic administration went on a regulatory rampage to slow or stop energy production,” said Wyoming Sen John Barrasso, a leading Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I’m not going to sit idly by ... if the Biden administration enforces policies that threaten Wyoming’s economy.’’

Granholm, the leader of a state devastated by the 2008 recession, promoted emerging clean energy technologies, such as battery manufacturing, as an answer for jobs that will be lost as the US transitions away from fossil fuels.

Granholm and other officials said the investment in cleaner energy national will net millions of jobs.

But that probably will take

years to happen, and the orders will face intense opposition from oil and gas and power plant industries, as well as from many Republican — and possibly Democratic — lawmakers.

“The environmental left is leading the agenda at the White House when it comes to energy and environment issues,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas drillers in Western states.

The group filed a legal challenge soon after Biden signed the orders.

Biden’s directive to double energy production from offshore wind comes after the Trump administration slowed permit review of some giant offshore wind turbine projects. Significantly, he is directing agencies to eliminate spending that acts as subsidies for fossil fuel industries.

“The fossil fuel industry has inflicted tremendous damage on the planet. The administration’s review, if done correctly, will show that filthy fracking and drilling must end for good, everywhere,’’ said Kierán Suckling, executive director at the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that has pushed for the drilling pause.

SPORTS PAGE 17

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

KAI JONES POSTS HIS FIRST DOUBLE DOUBLE IN NCAA

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

I

n just his second start of the season, Texas Longhorns forward Kai Jones set several career highs and a new personal milestone.

Jones posted his first NCAA double double with 15 points and a career high 10 rebounds in the No.5 Longhorns’ 80-79 loss to the No.24 Oklahoma Sooners at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday night.

Jones shot 5-11 from the field, was a season high 4-6 from the line and also added a career high three assists. And and he tied his season high with two blocks and two steals in 37 minutes on the floor for the shorthanded Longhorns.

Texas returned to the court for the first time in 10 days after a pair of postponements due to COVID19 protocols. Their last appearance was a January 16 win over Kansas State.

Against Oklahoma, the Longhorns were without head coach Shaka Smart, second leading scorer Courtney Ramey, second leading rebounder Jericho Sims and reserve big Brock Cunningham. The Longhorns had no more than five players able to practice for the majority of the previous week and only had the services of their eight scholarship players available for practice beginning on Monday.

Despite the team’s shortcomings headed into the contest, Jones said it served as an opportunity to test their resilience. “It’s always good to look at things and say

TEXAS forward Kai Jones (22) reacts after scoring against Oklahoma during the second half Tuesday in Austin, Texas.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

‘win anyway and have no excuse’ but you also have to be aware of circumstances and acknowledge them,” he said.

“I’m absolutely proud of our guys how we came back and really fought our butts off, we just had our full eight back [Monday] but that’s what this life thing is about, it’s like a life lesson, you go through obstacles and things happen out of your control but you just try to focus on the things you can control and make the best out of the situation you have.”

Jones got out to a slow start, 0-5 from the field, and Oklahoma had a 43-34 lead at the half. They led 58-47 with just under 13 minutes left to play and had a 78-70 deficit with 3:49 left to play. Texas responded with a 7-0 run before

SEE PAGE 18

‘Buddy’ catches fire

ORLANDO Magic forward Gary Clark (12) and Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) compete for a loose ball during the first half last night in Orlando, Florida.

Hield scored 29 points to lead the Kings to victory.

(AP Photo/Phelan M Ebenhack) SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 19

Student-athletes take the spotlight on the track, field

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL Bahamian student-athletes received conference and programme accolades for their standout performances in their respective season WELLS openers.

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles senior sprint hurdler Sasha Wells earned her sixth Summit League Female Track Athlete of the Week honours for the sixth time in her illustrious collegiate career.

At the Dakota Realty Invitational on January 23, Wells took first place in both the 60m and the 60m hurdles.

Her time of 7.48 seconds in the 60m was a new personal record and it is also the fastest time run in the Summit League this season.

Her 60m hurdles time of 8.34 also tops the conference this season. It was also just 0.04 shy of her own school record set last year at the 5th Annual Indoor

CURRY

KEMP

Gorilla Classic in February 2020.

In the 4x400m relay, Wells teamed with Tay’Maro Powell-Peters and fellow Bahamians Kayvon Stubbs, and Gabrielle Gibson, to lead the Golden Eagles to a second place finish in 3:56.07.

Wells comes off a junior season where she won both the 60m (7.64) and the 60m hurdles (8.44) at the 2020 Summit League championships.

She also finished second in the 200m (24.73) and anchored the second placed 4x400 relay team. Her performance earned 30 points and the Most Outstanding Championship Performer.

For the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons, a pair of Bahamians

SEE PAGE 20

OLYMPICS

SEE PAGES 20 & 21

CHISHOLM RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE TOP 10 SHORTSTOP PROSPECTS

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net JASRADO “Jazz” Chisholm was recognised as one of the top 10 shortstop prospects by Major League Baseball Pipeline headed into the 2021 season.

MLB Pipeline recently released its annual list of Top 100 prospects and the Marlins’ infielder was among the best young players expected to impact their clubs at the position this season.

The 22-year-old Miami Marlins infielder was listed as the “Rookie of the Year Award candidate” and the player with the “Humblest Beginning.”

On his analysis as a Rookie of the Year prospect MLB Pipeline said: “Some of this has to do with opportunity. We have four players with an ETA of 2021, and if [Wander] Franco is called up early enough, he might become the favourite. But Chisholm got a taste of the big leagues in ‘20, and he could get a lot of time on either side of second base this season.”

On Chisholm’s beginning: “This is a star-studded list full of first-round draft picks and high-bonus signees. Chisholm signed for a relatively small $200,000 in July 2015 out of the Bahamas and was even overshadowed during that signing period in his home country by Lucius Fox, who signed for $6 million.”

Chisholm’s series of career milestones in 2020 was highlighted by becoming just the seventh Bahamian to play Major League Baseball.

His major league call-up in September and his ensuing performance for the remainder of the season became the biggest Bahamian sports story in a year obstructed by the

SEE PAGE 20

SPORTS

PAGE 18, Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

SUNS centre Deandre Ayton passes as Thunder forward Isaiah Roby, right, defends during the second half last night in Phoenix. Ayton scored five points and pulled down 14 rebounds with a steal and four turnovers in 35 minutes on the court.

(AP Photo/Matt York)

AYTON GRABS 14 REBOUNDS IN SUNS’ 102-97 LOSS TO THUNDER

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Paul reminded the Oklahoma City Thunder what they were missing after trading him during the offseason. Then the Thunder turned around and reminded the Phoenix Suns and Paul why they’re a team that appears on the rise.

Al Horford had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also scored 21 points and Oklahoma City rallied to beat Phoenix 102-97 last night.

Paul scored a season-high 32 points in his first game against Oklahoma City since the trade.

The 10-time All-Star played well during his only season with the Thunder, averaging 17.6 points and 6.7 assists. He had one of

his best games this season at Oklahoma City’s expense yesterday. The point guard shot 12 of 21 from the field and scored 13 points during a seven-minute stretch in the fourth that accounted for a big chunk of the team’s offence.

And Deandre Ayton posted five points, 14 rebounds, a steal and four turnovers in 35 minutes on the court. But the young and improving Thunder hung close throughout the fourth and rallied in the final minutes. Lu Dort made a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left that put Oklahoma City up 96-95 and the Thunder didn’t trail again.

“Defensively, our mental focus was very good,” Horford said. “I was really happy with how into it we all were. We continued to get stops down the stretch and get rebounds.”

NBA CAPSULES JAZZ 116, MAVERICKS 104 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rudy Gobert had seasons high of 29 points and 20 rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added a season-high 31 points, and Utah

KAI JONES FROM PAGE 17 their rally fell just short on the game’s final possession. “We have a group of guys that are capable of coming back from deficits, a group of guys that are capable of fighting, even when we’re undermanned, even when we’re not in the ideal situation, we have fighters on this team and those are some guys I would like to go to war with any day,” Jones said.

“I think we could have brought more effort in the first half, for me individually and as a collective as well, in the second half we ramped it up a bit but of course we have a lot to improve on in terms of boxing out and rebounding with violence…On defence I think my motor was pretty good but on offence I could have made some smarter plays and knocked some shots down that I would have liked to see go in, but I’m going to just get back in the gym and try to come out and be better next game, build and improve on this game.”

Jones reached double figures in scoring for the sixth

It was a see-saw game that featured Phoenix blowing a 17-point lead in the first half and Oklahoma City coughing up a 13-point lead in the second half before the Thunder locked down with defence in the final possessions.

Gilgeous-Alexander added eight assists and seven rebounds.

“It was a 48-minute game,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “We didn’t start great.

They had a rough second quarter and then we just stayed the course.”

Paul had a chance to tie the game with about 10 seconds left on a 3-pointer, but missed badly for an airball.

“We are just not playing well enough right now,” Paul said. “I am not saying we are not good enough.

We are just not playing well enough right now.”

beat Dallas for its 10th straight victory.

Gobert also had three blocks and three steals to help the Jazz pass the Lakers for the NBA’s best record at 14-4.

The teams will complete the two-game set in Utah on Friday night.

Joe Ingles had a season-high 21 points — on seven 3-pointers — and eight assists for Utah. He matched his career high with the seven 3s, falling one shy of tying the franchise record.

time this year (13 games) and eighth time in his career after his extended absence due to COVID-19 protocols.

He had not played since January 13 after being exposed to a positive case.

He tested negative but was still required to quarantine for 7-10 days.

“It’s been a bit tough. I try to just keep my body moving, stay working out and stay positive. You see things stop and you can’t really do the thing that you love - I love basketball - so sitting in a room all day is tough not only on your body but mentally,” Jones said. “Shaka did a great job of helping me get through that, he sends us scriptures everyday about staying positive, staying in the moment so I tried to just do that throughout the whole quarantine but it’s been a challenge for sure.

Coming back on the court again it was refreshing for sure but I really wanted to get that win.”

Texas looks to get back into the win column Saturday when they travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to face the Kentucky Wildcats.

“I think we just need to improve defensively in terms of getting stops and making guys miss. We’re going to watch a lot of film

Phoenix played without All-Star guard Devin Booker, who missed his second straight game with a sore hamstring. The Suns have lost three straight. Jae Crowder added 17 points for Phoenix, which shot just 38 percent from the field.

“Until this team understands consistency for four quarters we are going to feel like this a lot,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.

“We can try to get everybody to feel sorry for us. It ain’t going to work. We’ve got to be consistent. This is on us, period.”

Oklahoma City took advantage of some cold shooting from Phoenix — which missed 16 straight 3-pointers during a stretch — and took a 59-46 lead early in the third quarter.

The Suns eventually shook loose from the slump and pulled within 73-71 heading

The Jazz played without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell after he entered the NBA concussion protocol.

Ingles made his first start of the season in Mitchell’s place.

Luka Doncic scored 30 points for the Mavericks.

PELICANS 124, WIZARDS 106 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram each scored a seasonhigh 32 points and New Orleans

into the fourth. The Suns jumped out to a 32-17 lead in the first quarter after getting 17 points from their bench. But the offence collapsed in the second and they scored just 10 points while missing all 11 3-point attempts. That helped the Thunder grab a 45-42 halftime lead.

TIP-INS Thunder: Horford was back in the lineup after missing six straight games because of personal reasons. ... Veteran guard George Hill didn’t play because of a sprained thumb.

Suns: Backup guard Cameron Payne missed didn’t play because of a sore foot. ... Forwards Dario Saric and Damian Jones both missed the game because of the league’s health and safety protocols but were on the bench.

beat depleted Washington. Bradley Beal almost single-handedly kept the reeling Wizards in striking distance with 47 points.

Ingram finished with a season-high seven 3-pointers on 12 attempts, making all five he attempted in the second half.

The Wizards lost for the sixth time in seven games.

SPURS 110, CELTICS 106 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 21

WILLIAMS RETURNS Williams was on the bench for the Suns after missing the past two days of practice because of personal reasons. “I don’t like missing days,” Williams said pregame. “It’s not part of my career over my time in the league. I haven’t missed days. So that’s always hard for me, but there’s just certain things in my life that I have to attend to. “I may have to do it a few more times going forward, but I certainly appreciate the level of concern and respect for my privacy. At the right time, I’ll let everyone know what’s going on, but for now it’s a private matter.”

UP NEXT Thunder: Starts a fivegame homestand with a game against the Nets on Friday.

Suns: Host the Warriors at 10pm tonight.

points, Keldon Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio held on to beat Boston.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points, and Dejounte Murray had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Celtics’ projected starting five of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis played together for the first time this season.

Tatum had 25 points, Brown added 24, and Smart and Walker had 14 apiece.

TEXAS forward Kai Jones (22) in action against Oklahoma during the second half of their NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday night in Austin, Texas. (AP Photos/Eric Gay) with the team tomorrow, the day after that, up until Saturday just to lock in on the details.

Without Smart on the sidelines, Longhorns associate head coach KT Turner filled the role.

“KT did a great job, he was being honest with me the entire game. Early when I was having some

struggles and not making the best plays he was telling me I had to pick it up.

I think he was very poised,” Jones said.

“We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted but I think coach KT did a great job of being poised, leading us, being a positive voice but also being an honest voice.”

Turner said his message to Jones was pivotal to the team’s turnaround in the second half. “Just play hard, don’t worry about nothing else but playing hard and good things are going to happen,” Turner said.

“He had an unbelievable second half, his energy was different, he was guarding, he was more aggressive

in the paint offensively and he did a great job of responding.”

On the season, the 6’11” 220-pound forward is averaging nine points and 5.2 rebounds per game. His 2021 NBA Draft stock continues to rise and several publications project the versatile forward as a midfirst to second round pick.

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 28, 2021, PAGE 19

Rested Kings get 29 points from ‘Buddy’ Hield, defeat Magic 121-107

By JOHN DENTON Associated Press ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Chavavo “Buddy” Hield scored a season-best 29 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, and the wellrested Sacramento Kings beat the Orlando Magic 121-107 last night.

Sacramento was playing for the first time since Friday after two games were cancelled because of COVID-19 protocols with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Kings proved themselves to be rested and ready in taking apart the Magic for their second road victory of the season.

The Kings led by 11 in the first period, by 17 before halftime and by as much as 22 in the third quarter of the wire-to-wire victory.

The Magic never got closer than 10 in the second half in dropping to 4-5 at home this season.

Richaun Holmes had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Marvin Bagley III recorded his sixth double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Harrison Barnes chipped in 21 points and 3 3s.

De’Aaron Fox added 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Sacramento, which shot 48.9 percent from the floor and made 14 of 33 3-pointers.

Hield’s dynamic shooting performance was the third time this season that he’s made at least six 3-pointers in a game. His 29 points points topped the 26 he had on January 13 in Portland — a game where he made eight 3s. He was 7 for 12 from behind the arc yesterday.

Magic centre Nikola Vucevic made 11 of 18 shots and scored 26 points — his 14th game of the season with at least 20 points.

Evan Fournier added 25

KINGS guard Buddy Hield (24) sets up for a shot in front of Magic guard Evan Fournier last night.

points, while Terrence Ross chipped in 16 points off the bench.

Aaron Gordon struggled through the night with three points in 26 minutes.

He missed eight of his nine field goal attempts. Rookie guard Cole Anthony, who scored a career-best 21 points in Monday’s defeat of Charlotte, made just 2 of 9 shots and scored seven points yesterday.

Orlando came into Wednesday as the NBA’s hottest shooting team from 3-point range — 17.7 makes on 47 percent shooting over the previous three games — but it made only 10 of 26 attempts on Wednesday.

TIP-INS Kings: Partly because of the cancellation of two games earlier in the week, Sacramento entered Wednesday tied for the fewest road games played thus far. Head coach Luke

ORLANDO Magic guard Evan Fournier (10) shoots in front of Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) during the first half last night in Orlando, Florida.

(AP Photos/Phelan M Ebenhack)

Walton said the team’s first trip East brought up some new challenges for his team.

Walton: “The road trips we’re pretty used to, but it’s the protocols that have taken some getting used to. The players had to have their first (COVID-19) testing done by 8:30am. So, as you’re trying to adjust to time zones, you still have to get up and do that so that the players can get the tests back before the game.

Things like that are what we’re getting used to.”

Magic: The Magic entered yesterday’s game ranked 25th in the NBA in 3-point accuracy at 34.8 percent, but that’s actually a big improvement over where they stood a week earlier. Orlando hit a season-best 17 3s last Friday against Indiana and then matched that total on Sunday versus Charlotte.

The Magic then made a season-best 19 3-pointers on Tuesday in only 27 attempts. Magic coach Steve Clifford on his team’s 51.9 percent accuracy in the past three games: “We’ve been much more inside-out, the ball is hitting the paint more and we’ve taken more 3s in this stretch. With the naked eye, we’re shooting more spot-up 3s, which is the key for most teams.” … Clifford said that guard Michael Carter-Williams — out since January 4 with a sprained left foot — could return by Friday.

Clifford said there is no timetable for the returns of Chuma Okeke (left knee bone bruise) or Al-Farouq Aminu (knee surgery recovery).

UP NEXT Kings: Vs. Toronto in Tampa on Friday.

Magic: On Friday, they host the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that they have lost to 13 straight times dating back to November of 2013.

PHILADELPHIA 76ers’ Joel Embiid, centre, goes up for a dunk between Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, right, and Marc Gasol during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Philadelphia.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

76ers get 107-106 win over Lakers PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tobias Harris made a jumper with 3 seconds left, ending the Lakers’ 13-0 run and sending the Philadelphia 76ers to a 107-106 victory over Los Angeles last night.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 1:05 left that pulled the Lakers to 105-104. LeBron James hit Anthony Davis for the go-ahead basket with 11.2 seconds to go for a 106-105 lead and cap that run.

Harris scored 24 points. Joel Embiid had 28 and Ben Simmons had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

James scored 34 points, and Davis had 23.

Embiid appeared to have hurt his back when he was knocked down by James.

Embiid, the All-Star centre off to the best start of his career, drove down the baseline for an attempted right-handed dunk when James pushed him in flight.

Embiid crashed hard on his

tailbone, immediately grabbed his back and writhed on the court in pain as James simply looked down and walked past him. After a short video review, James was hit with a flagrant 1 -- “unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent” -- and Embiid sank both free throws. Embiid was quickly hit with his own flagrant when his elbow connected with Davis’ face on a drive to bucket.

The Lakers suffered their first road loss of the season in 11 games.

NUGGETS 109, HEAT 82 MIAMI (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Denver won its fifth straight, building a 25-point halftime lead and beating Miami, Michael Porter Jr scored 17 points, JaMychal Green added 15 and Jamal Murray had 14 for Denver. The Nuggets are 4-0 on

a five-game trip — the first time they Nuggets have won four games on a trip of any length since December 2013.

Kendrick Nunn led Miami with 17 points.

BUCKS 115, RAPTORS 108 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, and Donte DeVincenzo sparked a five-point sequence in the fourth quarter that helped Milwaukee beat Toronto.

The Bucks (11-6) were leading by just three points after a dunk

by DeVincenzo, who followed with a steal and drew a flagrant foul on Kyle Lowry. After DeVincenzo made the two free throws, the Bucks took the ball out of bounds and Bryn Forbes made a 3-pointer for a 92-84 lead with 9:54 left. Norman Powell led the Raptors with 26 points. Lowry had 21 points and six rebounds.

NETS 132, HAWKS 128, OT ATLANTA (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 32 points and James Harden had 31 to lead a productive night for Brooklyn’s big three scorers and the Nets beat Atlanta in overtime.

Harden added 15 assists and eight rebounds.

Kyrie Irving scored 26 points in the game.

Trae Young had 28 points and 14 assists for Atlanta. Cam Reddish scored a season-high 24 points while John Collins and De’Andre Hunter each had 21 points.

PACERS 116, HORNETS 106 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Doug McDermott scores 28 points, Damontas Sabonis had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Indiana beat Charlotte.

Questionable coming into the game with a bruised knee,

Sabonis started and finished 9 of 10 from the field.

Malcom Brogdon had 25 points, and Justin Holiday added 19.

Terry Rozier had 20 points for the Hornet. They have dropped six of seven.

CAVALIERS 122, PISTONS 107 CLEVELAND (AP) — Collin Sexton scored 29 points and Andre Drummond had 23 points, 16 rebounds and five steals against his former team, powering Cleveland past Detroit, Taurean Prince added 16 points and rookie Isaac Okoro had 10 points and a season-high six assists to help the Cavaliers snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 9-9.

Jerami Grant scored 26 points and Mason Plumlee had 15 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight turnovers for Detroit.

The Pistons are 1-7 on the road this season.

SPORTS

PAGE 20, Thursday, January 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

IOC says speculating on Tokyo Olympics is damaging athletes

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — IOC president Thomas Bach hit back at continuing speculation about if the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled or postponed again, saying yesterday that such talk is damaging for the thousands of athletes preparing to take part this year.

The International Olympic Committee and organisers in Japan have repeatedly insisted there is no Plan B for the Tokyo Games, which were already postponed by one year during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, Japan’s government quickly and firmly dismissed a report that it had concluded the games would have be cancelled.

However, talk about whether the games can go ahead refuses to go away.

“All these speculations are hurting the athletes in their preparations,” Bach said after a monthly meeting of the IOC executive board.

The Tokyo Games are scheduled to open on July 23, with 11,000 athletes competing in 33 sports. A total of 61 percent of entry places — more than 6,700 — have been earned and confirmed, the IOC said.

Bach noted that athletes don’t need more distractions as they already have “to overcome the challenges in their daily training and competitions with all the restrictions they are facing.”

“We want not to destroy any Olympic dream of any athlete,” the IOC leader said, noting that not even scientists can know the global health situation in six months’ time. “For all these reasons we are not

A MAN walks by an electric monitor yesterday promoting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics planned to start in the summer of 2021, in Tokyo.

(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

THOMAS Bach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, speaks during the joint press conference between IOC and Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) in Tokyo November 16, 2020. (AP)

STUDENTATHLETES FROM PAGE 17

were awarded both spots for the athletics programme’s “Athlete of the Week.”

Shyrone Kemp and Robynn Curry delivered dominant performances at the Marauder Invite in Bismarck, North Dakota, on January 23.

Kemp began his sophomore season with a win in the triple jump with a mark of 15.17m (49’ 9 ¼”). He now has the third best jump in the NCAA, best in his

SASHA WELLS in action. conference (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) and tied the school record

he set last season. Kemp was also second in the long jump at 6.86m (22’ 6 ¼”).

losing our time and energy on speculations.”

The Times of London’s report last week quoted an anonymous senior official in Japan suggesting the country could focus on hosting in 2032. That’s the next available Summer Games after Paris hosts in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.

“I want to say ‘good luck’ if you would have to discuss this with an athlete who is preparing for the Olympic Games 2021,” Bach said Thursday.

However, Bach stopped short of assuring the games will open on time.

Similar pledges were made at IOC news conferences last March and three weeks later the games were postponed.

Asked about vaccination programmes, Bach repeated that athletes and workers at the Olympics are advised to be inoculated but it would not be mandatory to enter Japan.

“We are not in favour of athletes jumping the queue,” he said.

The 206 national Olympic bodies have been urged by the IOC to liaise with their governments about the place of sports in vaccination programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the other major gathering of Olympic officials this year.

The IOC’s annual meeting, where Bach is set to be re-elected unopposed as president, will now take place online instead of in a conference hall in Athens.

Bach said the virtual meeting will keep its March 10-12 dates, and Athens will host the annual meeting in 2025. That is when the next president will be elected after Bach reaches the limit of 12 years leading the Olympic body.

Curry made her Dragons debut with wins in both the 200m and 400m. She took first place in the 200m in 26.14 and the 400m in 1:00.20.

Kemp looks to follow up on a freshman season where he was named an NCAA Division II All-American in the triple jump by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

He was also named the NSIC’s Newcomer of the Year and now ranks in the Dragons’ top 10 in the high, triple and long jumps.

He also was named the Dragons’ Men’s Field Athlete of the Year in 2020.

JASRADO CHISHOLM FROM PAGE 17

COVID-19 pandemic.

The Marlins’ No. 4 prospect and No. 61 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, Chisholm was expected to start the season with the Marlins’ AAA affiliate, the Wichita Wind Surge of the Pacific Coast League.

However, the pandemic cancelled minor league baseball in 2020 and shortened the major leagues to a shortened 60-game season.

The Marlins were one of the teams hit by the pandemic early in the season and had the highest roster turnover of any team in the league with 17 players eventually placed on the COVID reserve list.

He made his debut on September 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Marlins Stadium. He entered the game as a defensive substitute in the top of the eighth inning for shortstop Miguel Rojas and officially became just the seventh Bahamian to play in the major leagues.

In 21 games last season he hit .161 with a .563 OPS a .242 OBP, nine hits, two home runs, nine runs, six RBI, and two stolen bases.

He recorded the first hit of his MLB career on September 5 with a single against the Tampa Bay Rays and scored the first run of his career the following day against the Braves on September 6.

Chisholm’s breakthrough at the plate came on September 9 against the Braves when he recorded his first major league home run, RBI, triple and multi-hit game.

He became the third youngest Marlins player to have a game with a home run and a triple. Chisholm had his best game of the year in the regular season finale when he blasted his second home run of the season and finished 2-4 with three RBI and scored two runs.

Chisholm made his postseason debut in the final game of the season for the Marlins.

He started at second base in the Marlins’ 7-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, and became just the second Bahamian player to play in the MLB postseason following Ed Armbrister’s run with the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s.