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The Tribune L A T E S T

Volume: 118 No.49, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

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‘PLEASE DON’T LET ME DIE’ Desperate last words of driver dragged from car and stabbed to death

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BYSTANDERS who say they witnessed Tuesday night’s latest murder said the victim’s last words were “man, don’t let me die”.

Observers recounted the vicious stabbing incident of a man who, they said, appeared to be elderly. One individual said the deceased could possibly have been in his 50s or 60s.

Witnesses alleged the attackers pulled the man out of his car and dragged him across the road, stabbed him, then tried to put him in their car.

Police said they received reports shortly after 6pm of a stabbing at Palm Tree Avenue and Fifth Street.

Initial investigations revealed a traffic accident occurred at the intersection involving two vehicles.

SEE PAGE TWO

UP to 40 percent of real property tax bills never reach the intended taxpayer, the Auditor General’s Office revealed yesterday, as unpaid arrears breached the $600m mark.

The Government’s financial watchdog, in a real

property tax performance audit tabled in the House of Assembly, said more than one-third of tax bills were annually returned to their Department of Inland Revenue sender because they were mailed to “incorrect addresses”. This led to arrears now exceeding an estimated $600m.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 21-YEAR-OLD man who sent naked pictures of his children’s mother to her co-workers was yesterday sentenced to nine months in prison.

Devon Perpall was charged with intentional libel after he was accused of exposing nude photos of his three-year-old child’s mother on social media sometime in December last year.

He pleaded guilty when he appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney.

SEE PAGE FIVE

FRONT PORCH

JOE BIDEN: REPAIRER OF THE BREACH

$600M ARREARS AND 40% BILLS GO ASTRAY

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

REVENGE PORN POST ENDS IN JAIL

PAGE EIGHT

NURSES protesting in Rawson Square yesterday.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

‘MOST NURSES HAVE ALREADY BEEN PAID’

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

AS nurses demonstrated in Rawson Square for money they say is owed to them over a two-year period, Health Minister Renward Wells told the press the government has paid nurses $162,000 in overtime between March and

September last year.

This is the second demonstration the nurses have held this week. They gathered in protest at the Ministry of Health on Monday. Nurses are claiming to be owed money for overtime, increments and honorary gifts promised to them. Both Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Mr Wells have gone on record to say the nurses will be

paid what is owed to them, however, neither said when.

However yesterday, Mr Wells said most nurses had already been paid. He told the House of Assembly that Public Hospitals Authority nurses have received their overtime, but said there is some overtime paperwork issue regarding some nurses in the Department of Public Health.

SEE PAGE THREE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

COMPLAINT OVER AG’S ‘THREAT’ TO BE HEARD

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie has referred a complaint Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis made against Attorney General Carl Bethel to the Committee of Privileges yesterday, despite opposition from the governing side.

The Office of the Attorney General released a statement last week claiming Mr Davis exposed himself to possible criminal prosecution by claiming Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis breached rules of the Emergency Powers Order.

SEE PAGE FIVE

PAGE 2, Thursday, February 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

‘Please don’t let me die’ THE SCENE of the stabbing. from page one

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

A physical argument between the occupants of both vehicles followed. One of the men was stabbed and died of his injuries.

The suspects abandoned their car in the area and fled the scene on foot.

One man, who asked not to be named, said the victim was driving on to East Street while the suspected assailants were coming out of a corner when the men swerved and hit his car.

“He tried to swerve from them,” the witness told The Tribune. “By him trying to swerve he still catch a piece of their light... He was gonna stop.

“But before he could stop, the two guys hit the wall right there. They hit the wall and just ran out of the car. I saw them run across to the old man’s car.

“I stand up and I say I ain’t getting in no one business. So when they did get him out the car, it still looked like they was punching him. They drag him across the road.

“When the car passed that’s when I saw the silver thing in his hand I say that’s a knife. One of my other (friends) came running from up there. So he pushed one and I push and I say no man y’all can’t juck this old man no more (sic). Stop…

They still try to drag him in their car to carry him.”

Witnesses said the attack did not stop until another group of men got out of a car and beat up the assailants.

“I don’t know if that’s the old man people or (what). They start beating them and they broke off

running... When I run back here, it was like only four of us here. The old man kept telling us, ‘Man, don’t let me die’.”

The onlooker said if he knew the situation was going to go that far he would have intervened earlier.

Meantime, another person who witnessed the argument said the deceased’s car was still in gear when the attackers pulled him out of his vehicle.

The driver was not confrontational, the witness said, but the men rushed him and did not give him a chance to get out of the vehicle.

“While they were dragging him out the car, he was telling him he can fix the car,” he said.

“One guy was holding the wound… trying to keep him conscious. While he was on the ground, he was saying, ‘please don’t let him (die)’.”

The individual did not witness the car accident, but saw the harrowing ordeal afterwards.

“We thought they were punching him but they really were stabbing him and that’s where they were trying to drag him and tote him through here, that’s where we intervene and tell them they can leave this old man alone.

“And then a little fight ensued. They break off running and then people was trying to help the guy on the ground and then about ten minutes later they come back around trying to move the car…. their car.”

Police have asked anyone with information on the killing to contact officers at 502-9991.

A RESIDENT speaks to The Tribune yesterday.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 4, 2021, PAGE 3

PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis speaking to nurses during their protest yesterday.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

‘Most nurses have already been paid’ from page one “The nurses who work for PHA, every one of them have been paid their overtime. When it comes to PHA all of the nurses that work in PHA have been paid... there is only one issue for the nurses in the Department of Public Service,” he told Parliament.

He said he took a paper to Cabinet in September about the issue and nurses were paid overtime in October 2020.

“We come into the new year, all of a sudden there are overtime sheets that have come between March and September that we were not aware of,” he said.

He also explained the issue during an interview with The Tribune.

“The government of The Bahamas has already paid some overtime to the nurses,” he told The Tribune. “We are in the process of paying others. We have paid nurses between March and September of last year.

I don’t know anything

about owing them anything for two years. I have met with the leadership of the nurses on Monday and we discussed all of their issues.

I met with them again on Tuesday, during the Cabinet lunch break.

“For those persons who say they worked and were not paid, I want to reiterate, the government of The Bahamas paid $162,000, as I would have said in the past, in overtime to nurses between March and September for COVID work.

There is a difference of opinion between the union and the Ministry of Health as to rates for nurses that are not entitled to overtime and we have since worked those out.”

Explaining the process of obtaining overtime, Mr Wells described an archaic system.

“We have paid some nurses for Dorian. I understand there are a handful of nurses who were not paid for Dorian, but you have to understand the public service. The public service is not a digital system. It is

not a system where I come in and swipe a card and my time is logged.

“The way time is logged in the public service, overtime, is I have to say to ‘Ms Cartwright that I have worked this overtime’ and then Ms Cartwright has to fill out the sheet. Then the sheet has to be validated and verified and then that sheet is sent in for overtime. It’s very manual and if it’s not dealt with in the moment, and allowed to fester and time lapses, things become a little fuzzy.”

With some people now claiming they were still not paid, the minister said an exercise of validation is now taking place in the Ministry of Health to bring everything up to speed.

He said: “We are now being told that all of those who were paid were not all of those who worked.

So now we are going back and validating the circumstances for those who said they worked and were not paid. That in and of itself ought to show that the

government of The Bahamas was not, not trying to pay the nurses. This minister issued instructions to the Ministry of Health that overtime should not accrue for nurses or any other person who works in the Ministry of Health.

“They should be paid (overtime) on a monthly basis and we should not be accruing overtime. It was supposed to have been validated and they were supposed to have been paid. I am one who believes that a workman is worthy of their hire. The government is not seeking to keep from its workers monies that they are duly owed, given our economic circumstance.”

During yesterday’s protest, the nurses held placards while chanting, “Nurses’ lives matter! Give us our respect!” Avoiding the demonstrating nurses, Dr Minnis left Parliament using a side door that led on to Parliament Street. Mr Wells did not go across the street to speak with them either.

Bahamas Nurses Union

president, Amancha Williams, said the government has broken its promises and all the nurses want to do is get what is owed to them.

She admitted speaking to Mr Wells and his team.

She said: “We spoke with the minister and his team.

He gave us no idea when we would be paid. He said he is only willing to pay sections at the end of the month. We said we have already waited two years now, so pay us all.

We want the public to know that we are not asking for money, this is what we have worked for.

“We have deferred all of our industrial agreement payments and our increments. We are asking for the government to pay us our overtime that should have been in their budget.

The Prime Minister himself said that they would pay us an honorary gift. We didn’t say we were going to pay ourselves an honorary gift.

He said it. And, he told us to wait until December.

Broken promises!”

The BNU president said she does not consider

asking for money owed during a pandemic unreasonable, because it has been a long process of promises with no actions and the ministry is spending money frivolously.

She continued, “We are not unreasonable. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are sitting up in there (Parliament) eating three different meats, air conditioning in their cars and allowances. (Officials have new cars). . .and we are being unreasonable?

Meanwhile nurses have to go out to see patients in the community using their own vehicles. In Abaco the sewer is coming up in the place. That is what nurses are going through in the country.”

The nurses, feeling jaded, said they gave up their vacation during the 2020 pandemic year just to continuously work, making sure patients at the hospital were given proper healthcare. They said they were the ones “keeping this country alive by God’s grace”.

LABOUR DIRECTOR HAS RECOMMENDED SEVERANCE PACKAGES

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR director John Pinder said he has recommended to some major employers that they offer severance packages to furloughed workers who may need the assistance.

His comment came when he was contacted for a reaction to the government extending the state of emergency and Emergency Powers Order until May 23.

“I think it’s safe to say that this is a double-edged sword in that there are persons who will now be in extended furlough position who would like to receive severance pay, but the employer for the most part, especially those major employers feel as though they don’t want to get rid of their good staffers and they are not in the position to offer everybody a severance package,” Mr Pinder said. “So, they find themselves in a Catch 22.”

He estimates the unemployment rate is between 38 to 42 percent.

“Yes, people want to receive their severance pay and probably could make an investment and do something with it, but if this thing turns around sooner than we expect and you get rid of all your qualified staffers and those persons who could provide good service, now you find yourself in a position whereas you have to now find yourself new staff and retrain them.

“Even if the persons who you let go decide they want to find something else and they can’t find what they want and you have to bring them back, there is no guarantee persons on extended furlough will be rehired once the employer has to do that at the same position with the same salary with the same benefits. As long

as you are on furlough, they still have their tenure. They still have the same positions and they still have the benefits that they were entitled to.”

In January Atlantis confirmed it had to place multiple workers back on temporary furlough due to “unfavourable occupancy forecasts” for January 2021.

The Paradise Island mega resort, in response to Tribune Business inquiries, said “the lack of adequate airlift” and surge in COVID-19 infections in key US source markets

were “compounding factors” that had forced it to return some of the 2,500 staff it recalled for December’s opening to furlough status.

Last week, a group of Atlantis workers complained about the extended furlough and asked for their severance pay. Employers would normally be required to give workers a redundancy package after 12 weeks of not paying them a salary.

But the grace period letting businesses retain employees without paying

them is a source of intense frustration to some even as others believe the provision is a boon to many people hoping to find their job still available when the pandemic wanes.

The temporary lay-off, or furlough period, during which companies can send employees home without paying full severance pay or other benefits expires some 30 days after the emergency powers end.

Mr Pinder continued: “But I believe it’s a double-edged sword so I have

recommended to the major employers who can afford to invite persons to see how many of them really want the severance and where possible give it because some people may meet the retirement age now or some persons may find themselves in a position whereas they can’t go any longer.

“Where it’s possible I would like to see the employer reach out to those persons and try to offer some sort of assistance or whatever is necessary.”

Mr Pinder also said the government has had to be impartial about decisions as it relates to the Emergency Powers Orders.

“The impartiality comes where government has to protect the employees as it relates to them having a sure job when the economy opens again and it protects the employer by not having to sell assets or go into liquidation because they don’t have sufficient funds to pay all their workers, so I think it’s a Catch 22 for both sides.”

PAGE 4, Thursday, February 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Training for vaccinations has begun

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Renward Wells says training for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines has already begun as the country awaits the arrival of its first vaccines.

The vaccine, which was developed by the University of Oxford and then produced by AstraZeneca, is administered in two doses, 28 days apart. The vaccine is said to be 70-90 percent effective against the COVID-19 virus. Yesterday the New York Times reported that a new paper says the AstraZenecaOxford vaccine has the potential to slow transmission of the virus.

The NYT added that the paper, which has not been

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells yesterday. peer-reviewed, looked at vaccine will arrive in The data from clinical trials in Bahamas the second half Britain, Brazil and South of February through the Africa, the results of which second quarter of 2021. The were first reported late last statement also said the vacyear. cine is being obtained from A statement from the the World Health OrganizaOffice of the Prime Min- tion which the government ister on Tuesday said the says is expected to receive

‘WE’LL LISTEN TO VALUABLE IDEAS’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells says while his ministry considers all recommendations made by medical experts to help strengthen the country’s fight against the COVID-19, it will only follow those that are “salient” and “valuable”.

He was responding to questions from The Tribune yesterday concerning former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands’ recommendations that the government adjust its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Sands has suggested the government move away from RT-PCR tests as the gold standard to detect COVID-19 infection and instead embrace “newer technology”.

While voicing his opposition to the extension of the country’s state of emergency and emergency order protocols last month, the Elizabeth Estates MP recommended the government utilise RTLAMP testing, which he says is cheaper to operate.

He also said it makes no sense to require PCR tests for domestic travel and further suggested the Minnis administration remove the barrier on surgical mask imports for the public.

He added there should be a government mandate requiring two-layer cloth masks to be worn instead of one to reduce spread of the virus.

Asked to respond to Dr Sands’ recommendations yesterday, Mr Wells said his ministry will look at the suggestions as it does for everyone else.

He said: “ If the (former) health minister has made recommendations, then the health team and the ministry would take a look at those as we take a look at all recommendations sent forward to the ministry technical team as to how we deal with COVID. “The doctors union sends forth recommendations, the nurses union sends forth recommendations, private doctors sends forth recommendations to help, all of those are taken into consideration by health’s technical team. And if the recommendations are salient, valuable and valued in our fight they will be incorporated.”

This is not the first time the former health minister has made recommendations to the Minnis led administration.

In December, Dr Sands said The Bahamas should conduct its own independent investigations into new COVID vaccines before widely distributing them to the public.

However, Mr Wells dismissed the recommendation, stressing that whichever COVID-19 vaccine the government chooses to implement will be a safe and effective one.

The country is expected to receive up to 100,000 doses

of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine beginning the second half of this month through the second quarter of 2021.

The National COVID-19 Consultative Committee will hold a press conference today at 5pm, providing details on the national vaccine distribution plan.

Meanwhile, as it relates to the possible use of RT-LAMP tests in The Bahamas, Mr Wells told The Tribune last month that the government 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 green light, 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 Organisation (WHO).

The Ministry of Health is a very conservative body and the Bahamian people need to understand that,” Mr Wells had said previously.

within days an Emergency Use Listing. The United Kingdom, where the vaccine originates, has already approved it.

When questioned about vaccine training yesterday, Mr Wells said: “It is my understanding that training has already started. We have to also remember that a lot of the medical community would have already been engaged in vaccine administration whether it’s the flu vaccine or rubella or the mumps or measles.

“So it’s not anything new.

If we were getting a vaccine like Pfizer there needed to be additional training. I understand that training is taking place.”

Asked if the fact that the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot is a drug to be administered twice means that only 50,000 people will

be receiving the promised 100,000 delivery, he said he will have to review with WHO and get back to The Tribune. He continued: “I would be able to answer that later on today after we speak with the World Health Organisation. It will be either 100,000 persons or 100,000 doses which means it will be 50,000 individuals. So we will narrow down exactly how many vaccines we will receive.”

In the UK their vaccination programme began with patients being told they would receive one injection and then be called back for a second four weeks later.

To speed up the process, however, the UK government decided to roll out the vaccines to as many people as possible hoping this would control the spread of the virus. Patients were

TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS

8,231 176 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES TUESDAY 6 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE

TOTAL TESTS

60,979

6

HOSPITALISED

15

CASES IN ICU

0

RECOVERED

6,807

assured the delay in receiving the second dose would have no affect on their protection from the virus.

The Bahamas has recently joined COVAX, a coalition led by WHO and Gavi (Vaccine Alliance).

This is the entity that has informed Bahamian health authorities that The Bahamas would receive the vaccine in short order.

In an interview earlier in the year, Mr Wells said the government will not only be receiving vaccines from WHO, but will also seek to purchase them directly from pharmaceutical manufacturers. The National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee is scheduled to hold a press conference today at 5pm, when more details about the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan will be released.

SIX MORE CASES IN NEW PROVIDENCE THE Ministry of Health recorded six cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

All six were in New Providence.

Fifteen patients are in hospital, according to a report issued yesterday.

There are 1,195 active cases while 6,807 cases have recovered.

The country has 8,231 confirmed cases.

One hundred and seventy-six people have died from the disease.

GOVT ‘VERY CLOSE’ TO AIRPORT DEAL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said the government is “very close” to acquiring the Grand Bahama International Airport from the Hutchison Group.

The airport was badly damaged by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

“The government through the Airport Authority is very close to acquiring this airport from Hutchinson and then will engage consultants on how to redevelop that airport,” Mr D’Aguilar said yesterday in the House of Assembly.

“As we all know, that Freeport airport has been destroyed by storm surge from the hurricane on numerous occasions and so any design of a new airport in Freeport must involve a plan to mitigate against such weather events.”

Mr D’Aguilar provided an update on several other airport projects, noting the government has secured funding from a local financial institution to proceed with a public private partnership while also using funds from the Inter-American Development Bank.

He said a proposed Exuma International Airport has been designed and officials are in the final stages of approving a contract for a Bahamian firm to

build a new terminal on the existing airport site.

He said ground will be broken on the site within the next 90 days.

“We have engaged a bestin-class airport consulting firm that specialises in aviation PPPs (public private partnerships) to identify the best partner for management and operation of this Exuma International Airport project once it has been completed,” he said.

“Once the contract for the new terminal has been awarded, attention will be turned to the airside works, new runways and taxiways necessary to accommodate larger aircrafts and increased traffic.”

He said the government has engaged a local architect to design the new Long Island International Airport in Deadman’s Cay. “The designs are finalised and we expect to break ground on this new airport by the end of the second quarter of 2021,” he said.

“The project’s specifications include a new 25,000 square foot terminal and fire station and a new 6,500 feet runway since this airport is being designed to accommodate regional jets from North America so that for the first time Long Islanders can have regularly scheduled flights directly from North American and/ or the Caribbean.”

On Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands, an

airport currently under construction is “approximately 70 percent complete,” he said.

“The project involves a 9,500 square foot terminal building and 4,600 feet of new runway. The project is expected to be completed within the next six months and ready for occupancy shortly thereafter,” he added.

As for Marsh Harbour, Abaco, he noted the government committed $3m in repairs to the Leonard Thompson International Airport. This includes $1.5 million in post-Dorian construction repairs, 500k in air conditioning repairs, 300k in mould remediation work and 420k in replacement lighting, “all as a result of Hurricane Dorian.”

He said the Department of Aviation and the project implementation unit attached to the Ministry of Public Works are developing a project to rebuild the Treasury Cay Airport in Abaco “through the $1.7m facility available through the IDB.” Regarding North Eleuthera, he said: “Funding has been secured through the IDB and the PPP for this huge project.

The government intends to duplicate the Exuma design in North Eleuthera and construct an entire new runway to accommodate larger aircrafts and increased traffic.”

BLOOD DONATIONS SHORTAGE IN GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE COVID-19 pandemic has stifled blood donations on Grand Bahama prompting a renewed drive for donors to ensure supplies remain high at Rand Memorial Hospital.

The Blood Donors Society of Grand Bahama, in partnership with the Kiwanis Clubs of Grand Bahama, hosted the island’s first major blood drive for 2021 last weekend at the hospital.

The initiative raised awareness of the need to give blood, and other civic groups and businesses are being encouraged to come onboard by supporting and participating in future blood drive initiatives.

“We were happy with the turnout from this first blood drive for 2021 by partnering with Kiwanis Clubs of Freeport, Lucaya and Eight Mile Rock on Saturday, and we look forward to more partnerships…,” said Lededra Marche, president of BDSGB. “Unfortunately, the pandemic has stifled much of our plans last year to boost donorship and registration, but there is a thrust to keep the blood bank at the RMH full now more than ever,” she stated.

Ms Marche said lab technician Claudia Glinton, who is the BDSGB’s treasurer, noted there have been fewer donors coming in to give blood at the Rand since the coronavirus outbreak last March.

She indicated that Saturday’s blood drive was

the second for the island since Hurricane Dorian.

She added that there is an even greater need for the residents of GB to become donors and register.

Police Sergeant Lamardo Bowe, president of the Kiwanis of Lucaya, said the blood drive is something the service organisation had planned back in December in observance of its Founder’s Week, but was postponed due to challenges.

“We are pleased that we were able to partner with the BDSGB and the lab at the Rand this Saturday past. We know since COVID the blood bank has been depleted and persons have slowed down on giving blood, and we wanted to raise awareness in the community of the need for this life saving initiative,” he said.

THE TRIBUNE

HANNA MARTIN ‘DOES NOT KNOW EXTENT OF NYGARD LINKS’ TO PLP

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ENGLERSTON MP Glenys Hanna Martin said she does not know the extent of the personal or political relationships Peter Nygard cultivated with people in the Progressive Liberal Party.

She added that she has never directly received money from the fashion mogul who now stands accused of sexually assaulting dozens of women over a 25-year period, many of them young Bahamian girls.

“From what I’m hearing,” she told reporters outside the House of Assembly yesterday, “he did donate to our party, so indirectly I probably did benefit from (the) funding that he gave.

I’m sure members of the Free National Movement similarly benefitted.”

Nygard’s relationships with political and law enforcement officials have drawn scrutiny since he was indicted on racketeering

and sexual assault charges in New York in December.

“I don’t know if you can say the Nygard issue is dragging the PLP,” Mrs Hanna Martin said.

“There are some aspects of our organisation that are being dragged in. I think if any of those allegations are true, it speaks more deeply to more systemic issues in this country that is across the board... within the system and politically.

“You can’t point the finger and say ‘it’s them, it’s them’ when this has allegedly been going on for decades and you’ve had different administrations and it’s happened.

If any of this is true, it has to give us pause to reflect on this sort of grounding that we’ve had in this country and to what extent it may be our view that we desensitised ourselves to the rumours and the assertions that have popped up from time to time and just co-existed with other things. I think this is more a reflection for us as a people and to the extent that

any individual is implicated by any of this activity then you know we have to see what happens there.”

The US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York said its indictment of Nygard arose out of a long pattern of alleged criminal conduct that involved the United States, Canada and The Bahamas.

Ahead of likely extradition proceedings, Nygard, who was arrested in Manitoba, Canada in December, is trying to secure bail.

Mrs Hanna Martin said if the allegations against him are true, “it takes a lot of turning of heads for that to continue to exist without anyone raising any alarm, and it’s at all levels. While we can make a political football of it and maybe you can do that and if you do you might be throwing it on both sides, I think this is a moment where we have to reflect on ourselves as a people to see why we have now risen to a global prominence in matters such as this and these allegations

COMPLAINT OVER AG’S ‘THREAT’ TO BE HEARD from page one

The statement was in response to the PLP’s criticism that Dr Minnis has failed to detail “the expenditures, suppliers for the goods and services procured and the reasons those suppliers were chosen” as Section 11.2 of the Emergency Powers (COVID-19 Pandemic) Regulations requires.

In a letter to Speaker Moultrie dated February 1, Mr Davis wrote: “I feel duty bound to refer this matter to the said committee because as an attorney and member of the Bahamas Bar Association in good standing I stand on judicial precedent that a

considered legal opinion in the course of interpreting the law by an officer of the court cannot be characterised as criminal libel.

“Further, as a duly elected member of the House of Assembly, the language, tone and tenor of the statement referenced above and enclosed amount to a breach of my parliamentary privilege.”

Mr Davis wrote that the Attorney General’s “threats” were an attempt to silence him and prevent him from freely expressing himself.

He said in the House of Assembly yesterday: “The question is, they know what they spent, they know who benefited from the

contracts and the spending and they could tell us that today if they wanted to, but they don’t want to.

It is for telling these simple truths that I was threatened by the Attorney General.

I don’t take threats lightly so I will continue to ask this question. What is the government afraid of with respect to reporting, what do they have to hide?”

“Having heard the complaint and the response,” Speaker Moultrie responded, “it is the order of the chair that this matter be sent to the Committee of Privilege.”

The committee will determine if a breach of privilege took place and will make recommendations if necessary.

REVENGE PORN POST ENDS IN JAIL from page one

The court was told Perpall and his child’s mother had been in a relationship for four years. At the time of the incident, the woman told police that the accused sent nude photos of her chest and genital areas to her manager and supervisor, after he accused her of keeping his child away from him.

Perpall was arrested. In an interview with police at a nearby station, he admitted storing the photos in his Gmail account. He also said he was the only person who had access to his phone, but denied showing the photos of the woman to her colleagues at work.

The prosecution said when officers checked Perpall’s phone, they found screenshots of his child’s mother taken during a nude video call. He was charged.

Yesterday, Perpall told the magistrate the naked photos were in his phone because he and the complainant had been in a relationship for four years.

He also said he had another “baby mother” and claimed he spent time with the sixmonth-old baby he had with her last Christmas.

Perpall alleged the complainant caused the mother of his second child to lose her job, so she went into his phone to leak the pictures.

After the magistrate told the accused he would not be able to accept his guilty plea if he was suggesting he was not the one to expose the naked pictures, Perpall

admitted leaking the images himself.

Magistrate McKinney told Perpall his actions exposed his child’s mother to ridicule and placed her in an uncomfortable position where her character would be questioned by others. He sentenced the accused to nine months in prison.

which span many years.”

She added: “I don’t want to comment on any sort of involvement with personalities in the organisation because I don’t have first hand knowledge of it, I’ve seen what everyone else has seen, I’ve heard what everyone else has heard and we’ll have to see how it pans out.

It may be subject of fair comment, but I do not want it to distract though from what is the issue, and it’s the issue that we all face as a Bahamian people, that this is now playing out in the global consciousness about what has happened in our country.”

Meanwhile, there continued to be a lack of clarity yesterday on how the Royal Bahamas Police Force is handling allegations that Nygard bribed certain senior police officers.

National Security Minister Marvin Dames told reporters last month that he is confident the RBPF will investigate allegations involving officers, but when asked about that

Thursday, February 4, 2021, PAGE 5

ENGLERSTON MP Glenys Hanna Martin speaking in Parliament yesterday.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff investigation on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle told the press “you need to speak to Minister Dames.” Pressed on the matter, he said: “I said he made the comments and you can get the update from him.”

Outside of the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr Dames could not say if a bribery investigation is ongoing.

“That’s a question that you have to take up with the Commissioner,” he said.

“The point I’m making here is this, it’s standard operating procedure in any law enforcement business when names are called involving public figures in anything especially of this magnitude, I would want to know…if people were making these serious allegations about me, I would wish for my name to be clear. It’s standard. I don’t want us to get the impression the commissioner is opposing something I said, because that is not the case.”

PAGE 6, Thursday, February 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Public purse empty - but look at the unpaid taxes IS it any wonder our country is in the financial state it’s in?

Never mind bringing in income tax – how about just collecting the money that’s owed already?

In today’s Tribune, we report that up to 40 percent of real property tax bills never reach the intended taxpayer.

Unpaid arrears are more than $600m.

How hard can it be to make sure that a bill gets in the hands of someone who owns a piece of property?

There is a physical address that bill is connected to – if no one collects it from their address and they end up not paying the bill, well, that’s their problem and that should end up in the default process, maybe ending up in court. Don’t pay it long enough and that should even end up with the property possibly being forfeit.

Seriously, if this is how we fail to deal with bills on buildings that, by their nature, are large and noticeable, then how on earth would we implement an income tax on people who move around?

It also apparently takes two years for penalty surcharges for non-payment to be added.

Let’s flash back to all the debates over whether BPL or the Water and Sewerage Corporation should be cutting people off for non-payment – with many of those customers likely caught up in the pandemic economic slowdown and unable to spread their money around enough to keep up with the light and water as well as putting food on the table.

For those who were cut off, how outraged must they be that people with entire properties are simply not paying – and one of the reasons is that no one can seem to find the owners of these buildings?

The Minnis administration can’t even pretend this is just a legacy of governments that went before them – arrears went up under this government, by $78.21m.

How much of that money could have paid for financial support for people who have been furloughed? How much could have gone towards feeding those in need?

Meanwhile, over at Albany, filled with some of the richest residents in The Bahamas, we discover that in the 2017-18 fiscal year, just $401,000 flowed to the public treasury after $29.498m in VAT was “deferred”. This in a year when Albany got more than $23m in tax breaks.

We were never under any illusion that there was a level playing field – but these numbers certainly highlight the difference between the poor who get their lights turned off for falling behind and the rich who barely pay a penny.

The new US president, Joe Biden, has previously said that paying more in taxes is patriotic. It puts money in the hands of the nation that can be used to improve it. This isn’t even a matter of paying more – this is a question of paying any at all.

This is a system that needs to be fixed.

Property tax should be one of the easiest taxes to collect and to monitor. The question is – who’s going to fix it?

Dodging questions

National Security Minister Marvin Dames and Police Commissioner Paul Rolle need to do better over allegations involving police officers and Peter Nygard.

Last month, Mr Dames was asked about the investigation and told reporters he is confident the police force will investigate the allegations – but on Tuesday Commissioner Rolle said “you need to speak to Minister Dames”.

What did Mr Dames say yesterday? You guessed it: “That’s a question that you have to take up with the Commissioner.”

The Tribune, the public and other media aren’t stupid – we’re constrained by legal requirements to report on what has been alleged against the RBDF. But there is no one who has followed this story and has followed what is available on the internet who doesn’t know the names of certain officers who have been named in the Nygard controversy.

The minister and the Commissioner are playing this game of back-and-forth, with the public caught in the middle never getting a straight answer.

What we would say is this – allegations have been made that go right to the heart of public trust in the police force.

It has been claimed that Peter Nygard bribed certain senior police officers. It does not one thing to restore the public trust when it seems clear these allegations are not being taken seriously – and certainly don’t seem to be making any progress.

This should not be something that can just be batted away until people forget.

Do better.

It’s Miller time EDITOR, The Tribune.

SUBSEQUENT to the 2017 general election, the talk within the official Opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was the goal of rebranding its image – a public relations exercise to regain the trust of the Bahamian people. With many of the Old Guards, such as former Prime Minister Perry G Christie, Obie Wilchcombe, Jerome Fitzgerald, Shane Gibson, V Alfred Gray, Melanie Griffin, Michael Halkitis and Damian Gomez, losing their seats in 2017, it was suggested publicly that the rebranding process would entail selecting new faces ahead of the 2022 general election.

With the re-emergence of former Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller, that plan threatens to be derailed, at least in the Tall Pines constituency.

Miller has told The Tribune that he expects to receive the nomination in Tall Pines.

Miller was bested by the Free National Movement’s Donald L Saunders. PLP Leader Philip Davis has a dilemma on his hands. Miller

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

will be 73 in March. He will be 74 next election day, assuming it will be in May of 2022. Regarding his age, the Miller camp will argue that Davis will be 70 in June – making him just three years younger than Miller.

The point is this: Miller’s age cannot be used as an excuse by the PLP hierarchy to deny him a nomination.

If Miller cannot run due to his advanced age, then Davis should not run as well. As a political commentator watching this spectacle unfold, I really see no issue with a 70-yearold men running, unless there’s a youth movement afoot within the PLP. The American people just voted in 78-year-old Joe Biden as their 46th president. He is the oldest president to ever be sworn in at inauguration. Outgoing President Donald Trump is 74. The liberal Irish playwright Oscar Wilde once said that with age comes wisdom.

You cannot tell Miller “no” to his nomination bid solely on the basis of his age while you are preparing to field 70-year-old Davis. The

PLP’s youth message has to be shelved.

Moreover, Miller, for all intents and purposes, is scandal free. His loss in Tall Pines had more to do with the entire PLP organisation than with him as an individual MP. As a populist, grassroots politician and a people person, Miller is very popular with ordinary Bahamians. His candor and down-to-earth demeanor are a breath of fresh air in a political system few Bahamians now trust. Consequently, any move to deny him a nomination would backfire, as an independent Miller will inevitably split the PLP votes in Tall Pines, which will, in all likelihood, pave the way for a Saunders re-election victory. Whether or not he gets the PLP nod in Tall Pines, it will be Miller’s time again in 2022. Miller is a man of his word. His threat of running as an independent, in the event he is rejected, should not be taken as a bluff by the PLP hierarchy.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, January 20, 2021.

Jamaal Rolle is on holiday

Bahamas a nation of comedians EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Commonwealth of The Bahamas pretends to be a first world nation but in reality we are third world if not less when it comes down to political accountability and transparency. We talk and sometimes walk a big talk but we are almost a nation of comedians. Here is why.

The Emergency Powers Act and the Regulations thereunder were promulgated by the current FNM administration last year March and they have been extended and expanded at will by the Most Competent Authority, et al. Who in fact is the Most Competent Authority and is it a constitutional position? What ever happened to the proposed law suit to challenge the enabling legislation?

A literal interpretation of the relevant Act and Regulations thereunder makes it clear that within six weeks after the expiration of an Order made under the same that the Most Competent Authority and/or the Minister of Finance shall lay on the table of the House of Assembly a detailed forensic audit of procurements and payments incurred for the duration of a particular Order. The law is clear and unambiguous. A first year law student should be able to comprehend and understand this.

The learned eagles and arm chair politicians within the FNM administration and party opine otherwise.

They say, boldly, if bogusly, that there is no legal requirements that such an audit and report be made.

This is the same learned AG who declared that he did not recall certain very vocal campaign promises which were made by him and his party on the campaign trail. The fabled and gathering dust Freedom

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net of Information Act was passed eons ago, but is still being tweaked by successive governments.

I predict that the Freedom of Information Act will never become the law of the land anytime in the near future. In fact, it will die on the vine as will items like Campaign Finance Reform and, of course, Term Limitations and the Bill to enact the recall of dead beat parliamentary representatives. In The Bahamas we talk a good talk, but seldom do our leaders, across the board, walk the same.

It does not matter to me as a trained lawyer if the opinion of the learned AG, et al is correct. What matters is the appearance of accountability and transparency in public life. Why has a forensic audit not been done and laid on the table? Is there something amiss? Is it possible that contracts may not have been issued following best practices? Were taxpayers’ funded contracts dished out to the chosen few or the unqualified? We have an inherent ‘right to know’. It is after all, our monies.

One has to now look over one’s shoulders when opining on matters of public policy because the powers that be are sensitive in the extreme and could use the coercive powers of the state to intimidate or silence dissenters. We are entering a dangerous season for democracy and fair play. The COVID is being used as an excuse for what appears to be a massive power grab and draconian realignment of the status quo. Legal threats have already been publicly made

against Dion Smith and Brave.

Any politically savvy administration, especially as we have now entered yet another electoral cycle, should be more than able ready and willing to publicly demonstrate prompt accountability and transparency. What puzzles me is the great reluctance to account for public funds.

We all recall how dismissive and smug the learned AG was when asked, repeatedly, about the exact costs for the hiring of several Queen’s Counsel from the UK to assist with the bogus criminal prosecution or were it the abject persecution of Messrs Shayne Gibson and Frank Smith?

The case against the Hon Kenred Dorsette is in legal limbo and may not be coming to trial anytime before the scheduled general elections.

I would hope that a new and fresh administration will come to see Bahamians as people and not mere clogs in the political wheel.

The majority of Bahamians have been left behind for generations. The time is now for a radical shift in the way the people’s business is conducted.

A PLP government will have to be ever mindful of the party’s original mantra: “To wipe away the tears from every eye; to cloth and feed the poor and to encourage all of you to lift up your heads to the rising Sun….” Brave and the New Deal PLP will have their work cut out for them. The current regime appears to be clueless or heartless. It is a given in most circles that it might lack, big time, compassion. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE Jr Nassau, February 3, 2021.

Campbell praise EDITOR, The Tribune.

IF Oscars were given for a job well done, without hesitation I would nominate Jomo Campbell.

A few weeks ago, I was standing in line to place an order at a fast-food restaurant and could not help tuning in to a conversation being held by several young men who were waiting to be served.

The topic of their conversation was young lawyers.

What I garnered from this conversation, all of those youths have had minor issues with the law, and they were discussing lawyers.

Based on the conversation gist, Jomo Campbell was one of the best young lawyers today.

According to the young men, he not only represented them in court but followed up by calling and counseling them, making sure they were doing the right thing. If you were a young person that needed a lawyer, he was the man to see.

Peculiarly just a few weeks before that day, I had to satisfy a traffic infraction ticket (I got caught not wearing my seat belt shame on me ).

While standing around, I observed some people having a similar discussion.

And you guessed right.

Jomo was the topic of the conversation.

Based on both conversations, my interest was

piqued, and I had to find out more about him.

So the very next day, I went to the courts on Nassau Street and inquired from several persons that work there about Mr Jomo Campbell.

To no surprise, everyone I spoke with had great things to say about him and encouraged me that if I was looking for a lawyer, Jomo was the way to go. According to them and what I gleaned from these conversations, Jomo is the young people’s champion. He fights tenaciously for them in court, ensuring they are more than adequately represented, at a very modest fee.

To hear these people talk, you would think he is the best lawyer in the world.

I later made it my business to talk with him and found out that Johnny Moon and Sammy Archer, who have been my friends for years, are his uncles and could not help but think that he is from good people.

So who he is and what he does is not by chance. It is in his genes.

But what blew me away is to see and talk with him one would not think he is the hotshot lawyer he is.

He is one of the most unassuming, mannerly, and respectful young men I have ever had the good fortune of meeting. And I thought to myself a Chief Justice on the horizon.

Nowadays, when more

and more misguided youths are sidetracked and caught up on the wrong side of the law, it is good to know that many young lawyers go far beyond their commitment by keeping them from prison or having a criminal record.

This is especially so with our kids studying abroad, where marijuana laws are more liberal than in The Bahamas.

Unfortunately, a few law enforcement officers treat some of these youngsters like hardened criminals.

Placing them before the courts and charging them with intent to supply even though they have less than an ounce of grass and as little as $20 in their pockets.

We are not saying the offenders should be let off scot free. Possession yes, but the intent to supply for having less than an ounce of reefer in a foil paper. My God! The police know who the real criminals are and should not discriminate against the students by placing them in the same category.

Thankfully the magistrates are more discerning and considerate when dealing with our youths.

God bless you, Mr Campbell.

I am not a seer, but my intuition tells me that a QC. at a very young age is in the making.

ANTHONY PRATT Nassau, January 19, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 4, 2021, PAGE 7

AVIATION BILLS ARE Jamaicans PASSED IN PARLIAMENT ‘bought visas’ THE House of Assembly passed a compendium of aviation bills yesterday, one of which seeks to set up the necessary infrastructure so that the country can monetise its airspace.

Leading debate on the Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority Bill, 2021; the Civil Aviation Bill, 2021; and the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas Bill, 2021 yesterday, Minister of Tourism and Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar spoke of the importance of the legislation.

“The Civil Authority cannot have embedded within itself an entity which it is expected to regulate,” he said. “To overcome this conflict, the Bahamas Air Navigation Services division, by the introduction and passage of this BANSA Bill will be decoupled from the Civil Aviation Authority and become its own authority. This new independent air navigation service authority will be empowered to provide and charge for air navigation service fees, for aircrafts to charge into and out of and over the territory of The Bahamas.

“Introduction of the Air Navigation Service Authority Bill will establish the responsibilities, powers and functions of the new authority and will demonstrate to both domestic and international stakeholders the government’s commitment to establishing a futuristic strategy for the provision and charging of air navigation services within The Bahamas’ sovereign air space and the creation of a self-sustaining aviation environment. “(The bill) provides The Bahamas with more economic control over its sovereign air space and expands its aircraft registry capability. Section 5 allows new authority to enter

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR arrangements or partnerships with respect to air navigation services. Section 30 gives new authority with approval of minister power to develop, recommend and propose fees and service charges for the provision of air navigation services in The Bahamas such as overflight fees for aircraft that transit Bahamian administered airspace but neither land in nor depart from The Bahamas, air navigation fees for services rendered within airspace of The Bahamas, including air traffic management, communications, navigation, radar surveillance, flight information service, procedural control and training.

“The passage of this bill seeks to set up the infrastructure so that we can begin to monetise one of our greatest natural resources, the airspace of The Bahamas. We don’t have to dig, we don’t have to drill, we don’t have to mine, we don’t have to extract, we don’t have to dredge anything, but start making money from our airspace. We just have to figure out how to bill and how to collect a fee every time a plane flies into or out of or through our airspace,” he said.

Discussions surrounding the management of Bahamian sovereign airspace have been ongoing for the last 25 years.

The Tribune has repeatedly drawn attention to the issue alerting our readers

to the fact that millions of dollars of aviation fees have slipped through the country’s fingers.

When we first raised the issue under the former PLP government our arguments were ignored and it took some time for the Minnis administration to concede The Tribune was making a strong argument which should be picked up and acted upon.

Since 1952, some 75 percent of the air traffic through Bahamian airspace has been managed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with Cuba handling the other 25 percent.

Air traffic within 60 nautical miles of Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), and up to an altitude of 12,000 feet, has been managed by Bahamian air traffic controllers, but the FAA has been the one collecting the overflight fees involving Bahamian air space.

As a result, Bahamian-owned aircraft and commercial flights have been confronted with the ridiculous situation of having to pay the US to fly in their own country’s air space - an anomaly that cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

The Christie administration rectified this during its final months in office through an agreement with the FAA. The US Office of Inspector General stated in its December 2017 audit that the FAA has billed an astonishing $800m in over-flight fees between 2006-2016. It billed an estimated $106m in 2017, with an estimated $126m to be billed in 2019. A significant portion of this revenue will involve flights that have used Bahamian airspace, giving an insight into the potential earnings for this nation.

from officer

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THREE Jamaican women, caught residing in the country on fraudulent extension visas they claim they bought from an immigration officer, were each fined $3,000 yesterday.

Deidre Thomas, 35, Tallathia Edwards, 21, and Ashley Richards, 18, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney after they were found in Marsh Harbour, Abaco after the expiration of the time granted to them by an immigration officer to remain in the country.

The court was told the accused were turned over to the Immigration Department in Abaco by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

While in custody, the women presented their Jamaican passports to the officers for checks to be made in their system.

Investigations revealed that Richards and Thomas had entered the country in December and had been given permission to stay for about three weeks.

All of the accused then showed immigration officers a copy of three email messages indicating that the department

had granted them three months extensions. However, when inquiries were made, it was revealed that the documents were fake.

When questioned in custody, Thomas, Edwards and Richards said they had purchased the fraudulent visa extensions from an immigration officer for $400.

According to the prosecution, Thomas and Richards had overstayed for six days, while Edwards was found residing in the country 23 days after her legal documents had expired.

After the women pleaded guilty to one count each of possession of fraudulent documents and overstaying, they were each fined $2,500 or six months on remand for having the fake visas and another $500 or one month behind bars for residing in the country on expired visas.

Magistrate McKinney said that after they paid the fines or completed the sentences, they would be turned over to the Director of Immigration who would determine whether they would be deported or not.

In a separate matter, a Haitian man and woman who were found living in Abaco without the required legal documents were each fined $300 yesterday.

Jacquelin Desravines, 40, and Aliene Touissaint, 32, were charged with illegal landing after they were found in Hope Town, Abaco, having entered the country without the leave of an immigration officer.

The prosecution said that around 4am on January 30, police officers contacted immigration officials on the island in reference to both accused. When questioned, Desravines and Touissaint could not produce legal documents to prove their status in the country.

They were subsequently arrested and taken to the immigration office in Marsh Harbour for further processing. The court was told that further investigations revealed that Desravines had come to the country in 2017 and had recently applied for a work permit that had been denied. The court was told Touissaint also told officers she came to the country sometime last year.

During the hearing, both accused pleaded guilty.

As a result, Magistrate McKinney fined them $300 or one month in prison.

He said once the fine was paid, Desravines and Touissant would be handed over to the Director of Immigration for deportation.

MAN DENIES HOUSEBREAKING CHARGE

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 32-YEAR-OLD man who denied breaking into a woman’s house to steal an assortment of electronics

was yesterday granted bail ahead of his trial.

Police said Adrian Adderley is accused of breaking into Marjorie Smith’s home and stealing three flat screen televisions on February 1.

He denied the allegations during his hearing before Magistrate Samuel McKinney and the matter was adjourned to April 29 for trial.

Adderley was granted $5,000 bail in the interim.

PAGE 8, Thursday, February 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Joe Biden: repairer of the breach At 78, with his wizened face and white mane grown long at the back, President Joe Biden somewhat resembles Sir Ian McKellen’s Gandalf from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Like the JRR Tolkien wizard, in countenance and character, Biden is the archetype of the wise man.

There is a conceit and immaturity of many millennials and post-millennials who often argue for change for the sake of change and that older leadership should, as a matter of course, step aside for younger blood.

While both change and youthful energy are necessary to rejuvenate politics and institutions, experience and wisdom are essential, especially during certain moments in history, such as when Britain summoned Winston Churchill during World War II. This is one of those times in America, beset by: the worst pandemic in 100 years, the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, the existential threat of climate change and the vengeful virulence of white Christian nationalism and supremacy

epitomised in and fuelled

by Donald Trump.

At 39, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is now Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, is an extraordinarily articulate and highly intelligent and imaginative individual.

He is a better orator and perhaps has greater raw intellectual capacity than Biden. But leadership is about more than style and presentation.

Given the vortex of crises and threats to America and the world, this moment calls for an individual like Joe Biden, whose life and

political experience match the harrowing signs of the times. In the wisdom of Tolkien: “A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.”

Delaware Senator Chris Coons, a close friend of Biden’s told an interviewer: “Joe Biden has almost a superpower in his ability to comfort and listen and connect with people who have just suffered the greatest loss of their lives.”

Such depth of empathy and non-judgmentalism come with longevity and life experience.

A story told in this column previously is that of a young man, with multiple degrees and well-read, who often told his students that despite these attributes, he was less learned and wise in experience and life than his 80-plus-year-old grandmother.

Biden is the characterological antithesis of the self-pitying, narcissistic, self-absorbed and pathologically nonempathetic Donald Trump, whose inability to turn pain into grace and empathy, has haunted him for a lifetime and has done excessive damage to himself and to America.

WOUNDED

In a run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987, Biden was dogged by rumours of plagiarizing material from a speech by then British Leader of the Opposition and Labour Leader Neil Kinnock.

He also faced allegations of exaggerating his academic record and plagiarism in law school. Biden withdrew from the race.

Many thought his presidential dreams were ended.

His integrity was wounded.

It was a low moment in his public and personal life.

Biden said of that disastrous presidential bid: “When I stopped trying to explain to everybody and thought it through, the blame fell totally on me.”

His accepted personal responsibility and publicly apologized to his family, friends and supporters. He understood the ability to apologize was not a sign of weakness.

Contrition and a sense of legitimate shame are the necessary antecedents to healing and redemption, a fundamental truth that will likely never allow Donald Trump to overcome his demons.

But Joe Biden has not been defeated by failure and personal tragedy. As a boy struggling with stuttering, he never gave up trying to overcome his impediment. His character has been honed and toughened by a relentless spirit and humility that helps to overcome the deadly sin of pride.

He is not a cynic, though he enjoys a certain Christian romanticism born of his Irish roots and Roman Catholic faith.

His faith affords him the courage to keep trying, the courage of daily life, the courage to get out of bed and to put his foot on the

ground to start a new day. place of another, underThe faith to unfurl from the standing how they are fetal position into which we experiencing the world, all retreat from the strug- identifying with their feelgles of life. ings, and being able to And the faith that appre- communicate that underciates the philosophical standing to them. “ ‘Rarely light of Danish philosopher, can a response make someSøren Kierkegaard: “Faith thing better,’ according to sees best in the dark.”

Brené Brown, a research Around one of his wrists, professor at the University Biden wears his late son Of Houston Graduate ColBeau’s rosary beads, which lege Of Social Work. ‘What he has worn makes somesince his son died ‘Joe Biden thing better is of brain cancer has almost a connection.’ in 2015. “I have superpower And empathy not taken off the is all about conrosary Beau was in his ability nection, about wearing when to comfort allowing others he passed, since to feel heard and listen then. It is my and accepted. … connection with and connect “‘One key to him,” Biden said with people life is tying periin a television ods of suffering who have just interview. to a narrative Biden long suffered the of redemption,’ ago realized that greatest loss a friend once though one is told me. Biden, not guaranteed of their lives.’ facing nearly victory in one’s unbearable efforts, that first the desire losses, used them to find and then the unrelenting greater meaning in his determination and fortitude life, to find a narrative of to struggle is in itself a form redemption.” of victory.

Wehner writes: “Through Only the second Roman that journey of grief, Biden Catholic President in US not only found purpose; history, Biden often quotes he also forged within himSeamus Heaney’s The Cure self greater empathy and at Troy: compassion. He is a man “History says, Don’t hope acquainted with the night; On this side of the grave, his own wounds made him But then, once in a lifetime better able to identify with The longed-for tidal wave the affliction and agony Of justice can rise up, And caused by the wounds of hope and history rhyme” others.

“Those are beautiful qualities to be found in an individual; they can also Biden’s Catholic faith, be important, even essenwhich was at a breaking tial, qualities in presidents. point in one of the grief- At moments in the life of stricken moments of his life, a nation, the president is also expresses itself in his called upon to give exprescommitment to the defining sion—in his words and principles of Catholic Social through the grace and digTeaching, which are fun- nity with which he carries damental to and animate himself—to the sensibilities his political worldview and and emotions of a nation. policy ideas.

They may be grief; they Writing on Anabaptist may be fear; they may be World, a Mennonite news joy. website, John Gehring “But a president’s job noted: is not just to express a “While some on the left kaleidoscope of people’s dismiss him [Biden] as a passions and feelings; it’s tepid moderate, his policy to properly channel them, positions, influenced by and to refine and elevate them, aligned with Catholic social and to put them within a teaching, are progressive, proper context. A president especially when it comes to should connect with who we the dignity of work, health are, but also make us better care as a human right, eco- than who we are. We need nomic fairness, defending leaders who embody, even the humanity of immigrants if imperfectly, our better and responding to the angels.” threat of climate change.

In August, 2017, the now “In contrast to Trump’s infamous Unite the Right ‘America First’ national- rally of white supremacists ism, Biden understands was held in Charlottesthat pursuing the global ville, Virginia. The Rally common good is not only included: neo-Nazis, righta valued principle but a wing militias, the alt-right, practical requirement in an neo-Confederates and interconnected world. … other agents of hate and “Biden’s rejection of division. right-wing libertarianism’s The events of those days blind faith in markets and were reportedly pivotal in deregulation that only ben- Biden summoning his courefits the wealthiest few also age and his resolve in his finds expression in the com- mid-70s to lend himself in munitarian values of his what he deemed: “a battle Catholicism.” for the soul” of America.

Peter Wehner is a senior It was another example fellow at the Ethics and of the lifelong conversion Public Policy Centre. Writ- of Joseph Biden who, in the ing in The Atlantic, he final season of his life, repdescribed how he came resents the better angels of to view Biden as the best America. choice for the presidency at This white, older man this moment in world and of faith, and privilege, US history. recognizes that his soul, Wehner noted Biden’s his conscience and his wellspring of empathy: redemption are intimately “Empathy is the quality bound with him pouring of putting yourself in the his remaining lifeblood into the struggle for social, racial and economic justice and helping to save God’s creation.

In the words of Leonard Cohen’s song, Come Healing, Biden is gathering up the brokenness of his own journey and the journey of America, as he in his own way attempts to be a “repairer of the breach”.

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 4, 2021, PAGE 9

Biden brings back normalcy even as Trump’s minions start making their move US President Joe Biden.

Y

ESTERDAY marked a couple of anniversaries in very recent American political history.

Both seem to be historically significant. And both fundamentally concern just one person.

That would be Donald Trump.

Four weeks ago a mob incited by Trump and his notorious allies attacked the US capitol, shocking the sensibilities of most Americans. Two weeks later Trump was finally, mercifully, replaced in the White House by uh, oh yes, Joe Biden.

It’s easy to overlook Biden these days. He spends most of his time before the cameras undoing by executive order the environmental, international and societal damage inflicted on the US and the world by

his predecessor. He is resolutely remaining true to his basic campaign promise of a return to political civility and “normalcy” in a deeply scarred and divided American society and political establishment.

Biden is in many ways the anti-Trump. He personifies virtues the former President never knew or recognized.

Modest though confident, human, visibly compassionate and slow to anger despite his Irish heritage, “Simply Joe” is simply personifying what he, and most voters, thought he would be: Not Donald Trump.

Trump, meanwhile, has had his cutting, divisive voice largely muted by his Twitter ban. There are periodic reports of him playing golf and plotting his return to the centre of American life, but the former President’s cyber silence has been deafening.

Particularly venal allies like South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have bowed down and paid their respects to Trump at his Palm Beach estate, and rumours are flying that first child Ivanka Trump is preparing to challenge Senator Marco Rubio in the Florida Republican primary election next year.

You do have to admire Trump’s sense of timing. At just about the time he and his family were borne out of Washington for the last time on Air Force One, the weather began to turn. The capital and other East Coast centres like Baltimore and Philadelphia have in recent weeks experienced their first real snowfall in two years, and powerful storms have buffeted New York, Boston and the rest of the Northeast.

Florida, meanwhile,

A MAN passes signage for Super Bowl 55 as he runs along the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Two games in town but only Sunday’s will raise a smile

M

eanwhile, many in the US are looking forward to two contests next week. One is likely to be depressing, discouraging and disappointing. The other promises to deliver excitement and perhaps historical significance.

The lesser contest will be Trump’s second impeachment trial in the US Senate. Unless they defy expectations, GOP senators will again acquit Trump of clearly improper and impeachable offences. Again, they will act out of fear of his continuing hold on the rank and file of Republican voters.

Shame on them. But enough about that.

Sunday’s Super Bowl 55 match between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs promises to deliver as much sunshine as the impeachment trial will ultimately spread despair.

In stark contrast to the unproductive, duopolistic mess that is the present American political system, the National Football League has successfully navigated the shoals of the coronavirus pandemic to play every single game and deliver its showpiece denouement on time for TV partners and

American sport’s biggest audience.

Whatever you may think of arrogant NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, he and his team have figured out how to survive and relatively prosper while all other leagues have not. There are plenty of reasons to admire the NFL’s comparative success.

The Super Bowl looks enticing. The Chiefs are led by a respected veteran coach and front office that built the defending NFL champions and is regarded as the most efficient in the game. They have been steady 3-point favourites over the first team playing in their home stadium in Super Bowl history.

But the Chiefs are missing both starting offensive tackles. Tampa Bay’s ferocious pass rush harassed Aaron Rodgers to defeat 11 days ago. The great Kansas City offensive weapon is speed in its wide receivers. The only antidote is to pressure Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes into sacks and errors. Like the Bucs did to Aaron Rodgers.

It says here the Bucs will succeed with this strategy on Sunday, and give Tom Brady his seventh Super Bowl victory.

MIKE Pompeo especially South Florida, has remained mostly seasonally sunny and mild. It’s just one more Trump outrage for his millions of critics to resent.

But what about some of those closest to him as Trump’s presidency expired?

Former Vice President Mike Pence, whose life hung in the balance with his family at the besieged capitol building January 6 as the mob shouted “Hang Pence”, quietly left Washington for what must have felt like a well-deserved vacation with his wife on St. Croix in the American Virgin Islands.

Like Bill and Hillary Clinton 20 years earlier, the Pences needed to buy a house. Both couples had resided in governor’s mansions prior to occupying government-provided residences in Washington.

Pence is reportedly house shopping in his native Indiana, where he is preparing to announce the formation of a non-profit social welfare organization to promote his ideologically conservative political views.

Such groups, known from their IRS tax code designations as 501(c)4s, can be active on political issues, but are not allowed to engage in campaigning. But they can, and do, attract millions of dollars by keeping their donors secret.

No one has suggested the harrowing experiences of Pence and his family on January 6 have blunted his ambition to one day occupy

DONALD Trump

MIKE Pence

NIKKI Haley the White House himself.

Another close Trump ally with clear presidential aspirations is former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. This smart and clever ideologue from California - by way of the US military academy at West Point and Kansas prospered and advanced as did no other Trump cabinet member.

Almost indiscriminately lobbing verbal grenades around the world as he left office, Pompeo was officially sanctioned by China among a group of other Trump appointees as “lying and cheating”. European diplomats and heads of government reportedly caused Pompeo to cancel his last scheduled trip by refusing to meet with him.

Pompeo has truly gone to ground since the Biden inauguration, but he will reappear. Seemingly as pugnacious as Trump but displaying notably more self-control, Pompeo is sure to return to the national political scene. Don’t bet against this man’s White House chances.

The other Trump cabinet official to leave office with the fewest scars was probably former South Carolina Governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley. Relatively young and photogenic, she initially reminded some of former Alaska Governor and John McCain running mate Sarah Palin. But it quickly became apparent that Haley is exponentially

smarter and more aware of the world than Palin, whose best role turned out to be as a reality show star.

Since January 20, Haley has turned up her public profile, deluging inboxes with reminders of her conservative credentials and appeals for contributions.

Here’s a sample: “You can be sure the Democrats won’t abandon their big-government vision, including ‘defund the police’, the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. They are simply ‘rebranding’ – which is just an attempt to hide the truth about what they really believe from voters.

“Now, there is nothing standing in the way of the Biden-Harris agenda – which is the furthest left the Democrat Party has gone in history.”

Haley is promoting her political action committee, vowing to support Republican candidates across the nation in 2022 in order to overturn current Democratic control of both houses of the US Congress. This is a time-honoured method of using time out of office to build one’s political brand by travelling the country, raising your profile in the effort to help present and future political allies.

Haley is another figure to keep your eye on as the US begins to wearily but resignedly pivot to the next presidential sweepstakes, now only 45 short months away in the future.

Haley appears now most likely to fulfil the venerable prophecy that despite the determined Democratic Party embrace of women’s rights, the first female American President will be a Republican.

It’s useful to recall in this connection that the first female British Prime Minister was the “Iron Lady,” Baroness and staunchly Conservative Margaret Thatcher. It is also intriguing that many still feel Britain’s Brexit vote foreshadowed the election of Donald Trump in America.

PAGE 10, Thursday, February 4, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

HOW BEZOS AND AMAZON CHANGED THE WORLD

By VENKATESH SHANKAR Coleman Chair Professor of Marketing and Director of Research, Texas A&M University Amazon has announced Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO almost 27 years after he founded the company to sell books to customers over dial-up modems.

Amazon wasn’t the first bookstore to sell online, but it wanted to be “Earth’s biggest”. When it first launched, a bell would ring in the company’s Seattle headquarters every time an order was placed. Within weeks, the bell was ringing so frequently employees had to turn it off.

But Bezos – who will remain at the company – set his sights on making it an “everything store”. After achieving dominance in retail, the company would

go on to become a sprawling and powerful global conglomerate in numerous lines of business.

Today, Amazon is the third-most valuable US company – behind Apple and Microsoft – with a market capitalization of around $1.7 trillion, greater than the gross domestic product of all but a dozen or so countries.

Here’s how Bezos reshaped retailing.

REDEFINING RETAIL

Amazon – named after the world’s largest river – continually took shopping convenience to newer levels.

Before Amazon’s founding on July 5, 1994, shoppers had to travel to stores to discover and buy things. Shopping used to be hard work – wandering down multiple aisles in search of a desired item, dealing with crying and nagging kids and waiting in long checkout lines. Today, stores try to reach out to shoppers anywhere, anytime and through multiple channels and devices.

After first experiencing two-day free shipping from Amazon’s Prime membership programme, shoppers started expecting no less from every online retailer.

An estimated 142 million shoppers in the US have Amazon Prime.

The company made shopping more convenient through features like oneclick ordering; personalized recommendations; package pickup at Amazon hubs and lockers; ordering products with the single touch of a Dash button; and in-home delivery with Amazon Key. Shoppers can also search for and order items through a simple voice command to an Echo or by clicking an Instagram or Pinterest image. Amazon even has a cashier-less “Go” store in Seattle.

Amazon has also been a factor in the rising closures of brick-and-mortar stores that can’t keep pace with the changes in retail.

Even before the pandemic, stores were closing at a phenomenal rate, with analysts predicting a coming “retail apocalypse”. Amazon benefited enormously last year as much of the US went into lockdown and more consumers preferred ordering goods online rather than risking their health by going to physical stores.

Amazon’s share price has almost doubled since the lockdown began in March 2020, even as over 11,000 retail stores closed their doors.

A MAJOR EMPLOYER

Amazon’s impact extends to other industries, including smart consumer devices like Alexa, cloud services like Amazon Web Services and technology products like drones.

Such is Amazon’s impact that industry players and observers use the term “Amazoned” to describe their business model and operations being disrupted

by Amazon.

Today, Amazon is the second-largest US-based publicly listed employer and the fifth biggest in the world. It employs 1.2 million people, having hired 427,000 during the pandemic. No wonder Amazon created such a buzz in 2018 when it held a competition to select a location for its second headquarters. It eventually picked Arlington, Virginia.

Amazon’s work culture is intense. It has a reputation as a cutthroat environment with a high employee burnout rate. It is automating as many jobs as possible, mostly in warehousing.

At the same time, after criticism from policymakers, Amazon stepped up in 2018 and raised the minimum wage for its US employees to $15 per hour.

Faced with growing criticisms about the mounting impact of Amazon’s boxes and other packaging material on the environment, Amazon has also pledged to disclose more information about its environmental impact.

THE NEXT GENERATION

What’s in store for Amazon as Bezos steps down from his CEO role later this year?

Bezos, who will stay on as Amazon’s executive chairman, has previously said his focus is on preventing Amazon from dying. As he noted at a 2018 all-hands meeting, “Amazon is not too big to fail”.

As a professor of marketing who has conducted research on online retailing and analyzed hundreds of cases, I believe Amazon’s future – and humanity’s – is inextricably linked to the rise of artificial intelligence.

Starting with Alexa, the company’s virtual assistant, Amazon is betting on AI. In fact, Amazon is testing anticipatory shipping, a practice in which it anticipates what shoppers need and mails the items before shoppers order them. Shoppers can keep the items they like and return those they don’t want at no charge. It is also betting on cashierfree stores and AI-powered home robots.

Amazon’s future success will depend on how the incoming CEO – current head of cloud computing, Andy Jassy – navigates these new technologies while pushing the company into more industries, such as health care and financial services.

His challenge is to keep Bezos’ legacy and Amazon’s disruptive culture alive.

• Originally published on theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 4, 2021, PAGE 11

PROUD BOYS NAMED AS TERRORISTS THE Canadian government designated the Proud Boys group as a terrorist entity on Wednesday, noting they played a pivotal role in the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.

The Proud Boys have faced increased scrutiny after seizing on the former Trump administration’s policies and was a major agitator during earlier protests and the Capitol riot on January 6. The Proud Boys is a far-right, male chauvinist extremist group known for engaging in violent clashes at political rallies.

Canada is the first country to designate them as a terrorist entity.

During a September presidential debate, Donald Trump had urged the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when asked to condemn them by a moderator.

‘LAY LOW AND COOL IT’ FOR SUPER BOWL THE top infectious disease expert in the US doesn’t want the Super Bowl to turn into a super spreader.

Dr Anthony Fauci, says when it comes to Super Bowl parties during the pandemic, people should “just lay low and cool it”.

He said during TV interviews that now isn’t the time to invite people over for watch parties because of the possibility that they’re infected with the coronavirus and could sicken others.

Big events like Sunday’s game in Tampa, Florida, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are always a cause for concern over the potential for virus spread, Fauci said.

Study finds Oxford vaccine may cut virus transmission By the Associated Press ASTRAZENECA’S COVID-19 vaccine shows a hint that it may reduce transmission of the virus and offers strong protection for three months on just a single dose, researchers said yesterday in an encouraging turn in the campaign to suppress the outbreak.

The preliminary findings from Oxford University, a co-developer of the vaccine, could vindicate the British government’s controversial strategy of delaying the second shot for up to 12 weeks so that more people can be quickly given a first dose. Up to now, the recommended time between doses has been four weeks.

The research could also bring scientists closer to an answer to one of the big questions about the vaccination drive: Will the vaccines actually curb the spread of the coronavirus?

It’s not clear what implications, if any, the findings might have for the two

other major vaccines being used in the West, Pfizer’s and Moderna’s.

In the United States, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, dismissed the idea of deliberately delaying second shots, saying the US will “go by the science” and data from the clinical trials. The two doses of the Pifzer and Moderna vaccines are supposed to be given three and four weeks apart.

Still, the research appears to be good news in the desperate effort to arrest the spread of the virus and also suggests a way to ease vaccine shortages and get shots into more arms more quickly.

The makers of all three vaccines have said that their shots proved to be anywhere from 70 percent to 95 percent effective in clinical trials in protecting people from illness caused by the virus. But it was unclear whether the vaccines could also suppress transmission

of the virus — that is, whether someone inoculated could still acquire the virus without getting sick and spread it to others.

As a result, experts have been saying that even people who have been vaccinated should continue to wear masks and keep their distance from others.

Volunteers in the British study underwent regular nasal swabs to check for the coronavirus, a proxy to try to answer the transmission question. The level of virus-positive swabs — combining volunteers who had asymptomatic infection with those who had symptoms — was 67 percent lower in the vaccinated group, the researchers reported.

While not a direct measure, “that’s got to have a really beneficial effect on transmission”, Oxford lead researcher Sarah Gilbert told a meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences yesterday.

The researchers also

looked at how likely people who have been vaccinated are to get a symptom-free infection. In one subset of volunteers, there were 16 asymptomatic infections among the vaccinated and 31 in an unvaccinated comparison group.

Pfizer and Moderna also are studying the effect of their vaccines on asymptomatic infections.

Only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being used in the United States.

Britain is using both AstraZeneca’s and Pfizer’s.

AstraZeneca’s has also been authorized by the 27-nation European Union.

Pfizer has not endorsed the British government’s decision to lengthen the time between doses.

Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca, said that no patients experienced severe COVID-19 or required hospitalization three weeks after receiving a first dose,

and that effectiveness appeared to increase up to 12 weeks after the initial shot.

“Our data suggest you want to be as close to the 12 weeks as you can” for the second dose, Pangalos said.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the study “backs the strategy that we’ve taken” to make sure more people have gotten at least one shot.

Britain’s decision has been criticized as risky by other European countries.

Stephen Evans of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the study’s suggestion that a single dose protected people for 12 weeks was “useful but not definitive”.

He said that the authors themselves acknowledged their research was not designed to investigate the vaccine’s dosing schedule and that their conclusions were based on statistical modeling, not actual patients tracked over time.

SPORTS PAGE 13

SEE PAGE 20

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Magnum to be honoured for Final Four run

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

M

agnum Rolle will be one of several players honoured by the Louisiana State University Tigers’ men’s basketball programme for their Final Four run in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

In his true freshman season, Rolle was a member of the team that surprised many pundits when they advanced to the Final Four where they were eventually eliminated by the UCLA Bruins.

Against UCLA, Rolle led the Tigers with a team high eight rebounds in just 14 minutes off the bench. Rolle’s 2006 team which also included future NBA

pros Glen Davis, 2.5 rebounds a contest Tyrus Thomas, Garett in 8.7 minutes a game.

Temple and Chris He had 21 blocks in his Johnson - will receive freshman season and recognition at halftime hit 46.2 percent of his when the Tigers host field-goal attempts. the Florida Gators As a sophomore he on February 9 at the started a total of nine Pete Maravich Assemgames his sophomore bly Center in Baton season, averaging Rouge, Louisiana. almost 16.7 minutes Rolle played locally per contest. for the St George’s He averaged 4.0 Jaguars before he left points per game, 4.1 The Bahamas for Laurebounds per game, rinburg Institute in hitting 43.1 percent MAGNUM ROLLE of field-goal attempts North Carolina.

He became a fivewith 31 blocks. star prospect and signed with Following that season, he transLSU. In his first collegiate season ferred to the Louisiana Tech he played in 33 of the 36 games Bulldogs where he completed his averaging 2.2 points per game and NCAA career.

As a junior, he averaged 12.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. He was named to the AllWAC Newcomer and All-WAC Defensive teams.

As a senior he was named to the Lefty Driesell all-America Defensive Team, earned alldistrict second team honours by the NABC, all-WAC Second Team, all-WAC Defensive Team, all-Louisiana Second Team and Netscouts Basketball WAC Player of the Week once.

He finished second on the team in scoring at 13.9 points and first in rebounds at 8.4 rebounds and also led the conference in blocks at 2.1 per game. At the 2010 NBA Draft, Rolle was chosen with the 51st overall pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder. His rights were

traded to the Pacers for Ryan Reid, who was the 57th overall pick.

Rolle was the first Grand Bahamian drafted to the National Basketball Association.

As a member of the Nakorn Phantom Mad Goats, Rolle was named the Most Valuable Player of the Thailand Basketball League in 2016.

At the national team level, Rolle was an integral member of the Bahamas’ gold-medal winning CBC championship team in July 2014.

For the tournament, he averaged 13.8 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He joined the team once again the following summer when they finished with a silver medal.

Hield earns double double, Kings hold off the Celtics

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 26 points and 11 assists, Chavano “Buddy” Hield made two free throws with six-tenths of a second remaining and the Sacramento Kings held off the short-handed Boston Celtics 116-111 last night.

Hield finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 21.

Jayson Tatum had 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Celtics.

Jaylen Brown scored 21.

Boston played without three of its top ballhandlers due to injuries.

Fox scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a spectacular driving layup that put the Kings up 102-100. Tatum’s threepoint play pulled the Celtics within 112-111 with 1:06 remaining before Fox connected on a step-back 17-footer with 58.8 seconds left.

Boston’s Javonte Green missed when he tried to dunk past a pair of defenders and Tatum’s 3-point try with 1 second left missed the mark.

BOSTON’S GUARD DOWN The Celtics, still reeling from the loss of Marcus

CELTICS guard Jaylen Brown, left, and Kings guard Buddy Hield chase the ball during the first quarter last night in Sacramento.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Smart to a left calf injury Saturday, played with an even thinner backcourt.

Kemba Walker (left knee) was rested on the second half of a backto-back after playing a season-high 31 minutes against Golden State on Tuesday. First-round pick Payton Pritchard sat out a sixth consecutive game because of a right MCL sprain.

Jeff Teague started at point guard and had seven points and one assists.

Tremont Waters (three points, five assists) also saw time at the point.

KINGS ROOKIE HONORED Haliburton, the 12th overall pick in the draft, made a heads-up play to end the third quarter when he jumped and scored off an offensive rebound

as time ran out. Haliburton raced in and jumped to grab the ball, which deflected off the glass following Hield’s desperation heave just inside midcourt.

The play was reviewed and upheld.

Earlier in the day Haliburton was named the Western Conference rookie of the month for games played in December and January.

TIP-INS Celtics: Brown had seven points during a 19-4 run in the third.

Boston missed nine consecutive shots and went scoreless for 4½ minutes in the second quarter.

Tatum made a buzzerbeating 10-foot floater to end the first.

Kings: Nemanja Bjelica (back spasms) was held out.

NBA: ZERO NEW PLAYERS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 IN PAST WEEK NO additional NBA players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, the league said yesterday, after nearly two dozen games had to be called off in the past month because of virus-related issues.

That continued a good two-week trend: After 27 players were positive in results released between January 6 and January 19, only one player has been positive since.

“Baby steps,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said after the league announced yesterday’s weekly number of zero. “We want the world to not test positive for a week. That’s what’s we need. We all need it, not just NBA players, coaches, families. The planet needs it.”

The NBA has called off 23 games this season for virus issues, 22 since January 10. But starting with the games on January 26, the league has been able to play 68 of its last 70 games.

All 10 of yesterday’s games started as scheduled.

Teams are still dealing with strict rules to keep the numbers as low as possible, testing remains ramped up and the league told clubs earlier this week that it is installing even tougher rules on mask usage — including in bench areas during games. There have been some mild adjustments to tougher rules regarding travel that went into place last month, but most of the additional protocols remain in effect.

NFL: Mike Strachan invited to AYTON SCORES 13 POINTS IN LOSS 2021 Draft Scouting Combine

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net MIKE Strachan reached another important milestone on his path to the National Football League when he received an invitation to the league’s official 2021 Draft Scouting Combine.

This year’s combine will not follow the traditional format due to COVID-19, but Strachan will still have an opportunity to showcase his skills for each of the 30 NFL franchises.

In January, ESPN published a report sent to team personnel, outlining the format for this year’s event.

The combine usually features over 300 of the top college prospects at a fourday event in Indianapolis, Indiana where they showcase their skills in on-field workouts, medical tests, psychological tests and interviews.

In the 2021 combine, the on-field workouts will

be conducted in a series of “pro day” camps, while interviews and tests will be conducted virtually.

“The medical exams, for the most part, are expected to be conducted in a combination of virtual interviews between players and each team’s medical staffs, to go with exams done at medical facilities near the prospect’s home campus,” the ESPN report said.

Just last month, Strachan received an invitation to the 2021 National Football League Player Association (NFLPA) Collegiate Bowl.

Strachan, the Grand Bahama native and former University of Charleston Cougars wide receiver, declared for the draft in December. The 86th edition of the draft takes place April 29 to May 1, 2021.

Strachan signed with DEC Management in November and also recently

joined The Society brand and marketing agency.

The 6’5”, 225 pound two sport star (athletics), was recently listed among Yahoo! Sports’ top “small school” prospects for the 2021 NFL draft and a preseason All-American.

In his junior season, Strachan rewrote the record books and boosted his stock for pro scouts. He was named an NCAA Division II Second Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and to the 2019 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team.

He finished with 78 receptions for 1,319 yards and 19 touchdowns in his final season with the Golden Eagles. He finished his career with a share of the all-time Charleston touchdown record of 27.

He set new school records, led the Mountain East Conference in each category and was second in all of DII in both receiving yards and touchdowns.

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson punctuated a 28-point performance with a soaring, one-handed alley-oop jam during a decisive fourth-quarter surge, and the New Orleans Pelicans soundly defeated the Phoenix Suns 123-101 last night.

Brandon Ingram scored 23 and Lonzo Ball added 18 points for New Orleans, which led by as many as 28 in the fourth quarter en route to ending a two-game slide while also stopping the Suns’ winning streak at three.

Steven Adams, who returned from a sore left calf that had sidelined him a game-and-a-half, scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Devin Booker scored 25 for the Suns, who never led in the second half.

Deandre Ayton had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Chris Paul had 10 points.

The Pelicans outscored the Suns by 37 when their lineup included Williamson, who also had seven rebounds and six assists.

He made 12 of 14 shots from the field, including the only 3-pointer he attempted.

He also had a couple alley-oop dunks, the last of which put the Pelicans up 108-82. After that, Suns coach Monty Williams subbed out his entire

lineup with half the fourth quarter still remaining.

The Pelicans took their first double-digit lead when Ball’s 3 made it 72-61 halfway through the third. It was the 14th game this season in which New Orleans had taken a lead of 10 or more.

The Pelicans had blown six of their previous 13 double-digit leads coming in, but not this time.

Josh Hart’s 3, Williamson’s dunk of Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s alleyoop lob and JJ Redick’s 3 helped the Pelicans finish the third period with an 88-74 lead.

New Orleans then opened the fourth with seven straight points on Williamson’s driving leaner, Hart’s corner 3 that Williamson set up with a pass from the paint and Hart’s fast-break layup to make it 95-74 with 10:31 left.

The Suns had no response down the stretch.

Ayton’s streak of games with at least 13 rebounds ended at eight.