02142023 BUSINESS

$5.76 $5.76 $5.46 $5.92

Sebas enters hotels with $200m project

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SEBAS Bastian’s Brickell Management Group is entering the resort industry with a 226unit condo hotel as part of a $200m western New Providence development set to create over 500 full-time jobs at completion.

The gaming entrepreneur’s Venetian Village project, which is also forecast to generate up to 400 construction jobs, will be built-out over a six-year period on a 68-acre site adjacent to the Old Fort Bay Town Centre’s western boundary as well as Venetian West.

Ansel Watson, Brickell Management Group’s president, told Tribune Business that the developer is aiming to break ground and start construction this year subject to receiving all the necessary government permits and approvals. With the public consultation on Venetian Village’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) set for March 2,

• 226-unit condo hotel is Venetian Village focal point

• Project to create 500 full-time jobs; 400 construction

• Brickell aiming to start sixyear build-out during 2023

2023, as part of the process for obtaining a Certificate of Environmental Clearance, he pledged it will have “a good impact” for the economy.

“The proposed development, Venetian Village, is situated in western New Providence in the vicinity of Old Fort Bay and encompasses approximately 68 acres. Venetian Village is a

SEE PAGE B2

New judge’s law firm loses unpaid bill fight

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A LAW firm whose principal is a newly-named Supreme Court judge has lost its bid to recover an unpaid $24,544 legal bill because it failed to properly present its evidence before the court.

Gregory Moss, the former MP, who is due to assume office as a Supreme Court justice on May 1, 2023, according to a Judicial Legal and Services Commission release, represented his Moss & Associates law firm in the action before acting justice Ntshonda Tynes.

Her February 9, 2023, verdict rejected Moss &

Associates’ claim on the basis that neither the witness statement of its office manager, Vanessa Russell, nor its documentary evidence had been properly entered during trial before the Supreme Court. As a result, based on the “dearth of evidence”, acting justice Tynes found there was nothing to support the law firm’s

action and that its former client’s “no case” submission had to succeed.

Detailing the background to the dispute, she recorded how Moss & Associates issued a writ against Thomas & Norma Construction (T&N Construction) on November 15, 2019, in a bid to recover unpaid legal fees allegedly owed by the latter. The outstanding bills purportedly stemmed from a Supreme Court legal action the contractor

Ex-PM backing four lanes ‘all the way to Lyford Cay’

• Minnis: Highway from airport to cure traffic ‘disaster’

• Study: ‘Programme’ upgrade for Windsor Field Road

• Calls for new and expanded roundabouts on corridor

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER prime minister yesterday backed research calling for a four-lane highway to be constructed between the airport and Old Fort Bay to ease escalating traffic congestion in western New Providence.

Dr Hubert Minnis, who is also the area’s MP, branded traffic flows during peak travel hours as “a disaster” while revealing to Tribune Business that his administration had been

asked it to file against Yasmine Stubbs.

“By its engagement letter dated the May 6, 2011, the plaintiff (Moss & Associates) indicated that the terms under which it would act for T & N included that it would be paid for legal services at the rate of $500 per hour and $5,000 per day for court appearances; that interest on unpaid invoices would be charged at the rate of SEE PAGE B4

assessing Windsor Field Road’s expansion from two lanes to a dual carriageway in both directions between Lynden Pindling

SEE PAGE B4

GB Power union: ‘We’ll never give up the fight’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A TRADE union leader yesterday pledged to “never give up the fight” after the Court of Appeal overturned an Industrial Tribunal verdict that it won previously against Grand Bahama Power Company.

Roscoe Burrows, the Commonwealth Electrical Workers Union’s (CEWU) president, told Tribune Business the union has yet to decide whether to

challenge the unanimous Court of Appeal ruling that it can become “involved” in GB Power’s decisions to terminate union members only in specific situations detailed in the two sides’ industrial agreement.

“It made for an interesting read,” Mr Burrows said of the verdict. “We haven’t made a decision [on an appeal] either way as yet. It just recently came out late Friday evening. We haven’t had a chance to speak

SEE PAGE B5

VENETIAN Village project Master Plan Concept.

GREGORY MOSS

DR HUBERT MINNIS

REALTOR MAKES CALL FOR ‘HIGHWAY TO PROSPERITY’

A REALTOR yesterday said the road to prosperity for many Bahamians can be unlocked by constructing a new highway from the airport to open up “thousands of acres” in south-west New Providence.

Mario Carey, the Better Homes & Gardens MCR Bahamas founder and president, in a statement suggested that construction of a two to three-mile highway linking Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) to south-west New Providence could pave the way for multiple new economic opportunities.

“What I am proposing is a new concrete highway in Nassau running from the eastern end of the LPIA airport road, traversing south and west to the western end of Carmichael Road, opening up thousands of acres that could be developed by Bahamians for the benefit of Bahamians,” said Mr Carey.

While it would not be the first time a road was

designed and built for economic expansion, Mr Carey said the main beneficiaries of such infrastructure development in the past have tended to be hotels, tourist and other foreign direct investment (FDI) related projects rather than working Bahamians. Calling for Bahamians to have equal opportunity in this area, the realtor noted: “Government built a second bridge, the western bridge, to Paradise Island for Atlantis. Government re-routed the road along the water for Baha Mar and allowed CCA to move all the stores, banks, restaurants and build the roads they wanted for that resort. Government built the Frank Watson Highway to help service Albany. “Now there’s an opportunity for government to build a road that would open up vast lands in the south-west quadrant of the island where Bahamian developers could build affordable and mid-priced

housing, where new businesses could start up and businesses that exist elsewhere could expand in a new urban area.

“This could literally be the highway to prosperity, especially for the working and middle class Bahamian who is increasingly being squeezed out of an everhigher priced market.”

Mr Carey said interest in the southern and southwestern areas of New Providence is growing with

some locations, including Coral Harbour, attracting heightened attention. But what he describes as lack of easy access and “traffic nightmares” on Carmichael Road, Faith Avenue, Blue Hill Road south and Gladstone Road are hampering development and creating buyer hesitancy. He compares the impact of the proposed two to three-mile road to how the bridges and concrete highway opened the Florida Keys to resort, residential and marine-driven economies.

“Can you imagine if there had been no roads connecting Marathon to Duck Key, or if Key West were just left as an island for a few fortunate boaters to enjoy instead of becoming a vibrant, exciting destination that generates more than $200m annually?” Mr Carey asked.

“It’s those bridges, and that concrete highway, that supports thousands of jobs and hundreds of businesses

in a place people treasure. We have the same opportunity right here in our own backyard and we are dancing around it instead of building over it.”

Mr Carey explained that where there are wetlands that need to be protected, the road could be raised without risking a greater carbon footprint or damaging environmental assets. The additional costs, he added, would be manageable.

“The average cost to build a four-lane road in a rural area in the US is $4m to $6m per mile, according to bridge and road construction experts,” he said. “Within a few short years, the revenue it would generate would more than compensate for the cost of construction. It would reduce density in the roughest parts of the inner city, allow more Bahamians to know the joy and responsibility of home ownership and provide endless

SEBAS ENTERS HOTELS WITH $200M PROJECT

FROM PAGE B1

International Airport and (LPIA) “all the way to Lyford Cay”.

opportunities for new businesses to thrive.”

Mr Carey said that even if construction costs doubled in The Bahamas, the benefits derived would still outweigh the costs. “At $12m for two miles of road, at the highest estimate that is doable, and if we were able to employ young men at risk in the construction process we could see an immediate drop in unemployment and, possibly, crime,” he added/

“When completed, we would have created something dynamic - a road that changes the economic and urban landscape built in a way that preserves green space, incorporates parks and inland ponds.” Mr Carey also urged that all future road projects or improvements include bike lanes. “This could be part of the everlasting legacy of the current administration,” he said, “opening the highway to prosperity for Bahamians. It’s easier than you think.”

ZIA PATON KEVAN RAJARAM

PwC in Caribbean-wide data science internship

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

(PwC) Caribbean opera-

tions have launched a region-wide data science internship initiative to help build a specialist digital skills workforce.

PwC, in a statement, said participants will work with PwC’s data scientists and consultants to help solve problems and gain practical experience as they contribute to the implementation of data science projects and assignments. The initiative will also offer networking, coaching and mentorship.

Zia Paton, PwC’s digital services leader in the Caribbean, said: “At PwC, we have always embraced new technology and innovation in our ways of working, including learning and development. All of our people have access to leading data analysis tools and training. We have a strong team of data science experts in the region and across our PwC global

network, and we want to better support building the talent pool of data scientists in the Caribbean.

“We are proud to offer our new data science internship programme as part of our ‘New world, New skills’ upskilling journey to help people across the region develop skills for a digital age. For us, people and technology work hand in hand.

“It’s about how human ingenuity combines with technology innovation and experience to deliver faster, more intelligent and better outcomes while building trust across the value chain. Supporting the wider Caribbean community to integrate specialist skills into the workforce is a fundamental part of our purpose.”

Kevan Rajaram, PwC’s senior manager, data scientist, in the Caribbean, said: “We are excited to launch our data science internship programme after identifying a need across the

Caribbean region for data science students or graduates to gain relevant work experience in their field.

“As part of this programme, interns will join a diverse mix of people who combine human ingenuity, experience and innovative tech to solve important problems. Interns will have the opportunity to work on projects that range from data architecture design to advanced data visualisation creation to machine learning modelling – across multiple industries including financial services, retail, public sector and more.

“This is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience in data science while developing a solid foundation in consulting.” PwC is accepting applications for data science internships at its firms in the Caribbean. Students can reach out to Anjanette. Brathwaite@pwc.com for more information.

Speaking after a traffic impact study conducted for the proposed $200m Venetian Village project (see other article on Page 1B) called on the Government to develop such a four-lane highway, Dr Minnis said the growing population and business migration to western New Providence meant vehicle flows are a key factor for the planning authorities when deciding whether to approve any developments.

“The current traffic is very, very bad,” he told this newspaper. “Even when they were doing that project, Adelaide Pines, I mentioned that would have an impact on us and they have to do studies on it. When we were in government, we were looking to extend that four-lane highway from the airport. We thought that should go directly up to Lyford Cay, and not just Old Fort Bay. Because of the traffic in the west we were looking at that. That was as far as we got.

“I support the four lanes. We were looking at four lanes coming from the airport west, and four lanes for Gladstone Road. The third major one we had was Village Road. We had discussed extensively the four lanes straight from the airport to Lyford Cay.” The Davis administration, showing government is continuous, has already followed through with the Village Road improvement project and is poised to do the same with the $29m Gladstone Road upgrade. It is unclear, though, whether and when it may do the same with Windsor Field Road, which is the key artery serving western

New Providence. The area’s rapid development, via the Old Fort Bay Town Centre plus communities such as Charlotteville, Turnberry, Lyford Hills and Serenity, has left the existing two-lane infrastructure struggling to cope with increased traffic flows and vehicle volumes at peak morning and evening travel hours.

“In the morning it’s a disaster, and in the afternoon coming from the direction of Old Fort Bay east is a disaster,” Dr Minnis told this newspaper. “At present, it’s having a great impact on the community. It’s very slow moving travelling west, especially in the morning, and is difficult for my constituents coming from Tropical Gardens.

“From Tropical Gardens Road, it’s very difficult getting on to [Windsor Field Road] because of the traffic coming from the west. A lot of traffic coming from West Bay Street goes through Tropical Gardens Road and Blake Road to enter Windsor Field Road.”

The traffic impact study, conducted by Caribbean Civil Group in 2019 for Sebas Bastian’s Brickell Management Group, developer of the Venetian Village expansion, called for the Ministry of Works “to programme” Windsor Field Road for expansion into a four-lane highway within the next two decades to enable it to cope with ever-growing traffic volumes. In the near term, it suggested roundabouts be placed at the Airport Industrial Park and Tropical Gardens locations.

“The proposed Venetian Village (all phases) will have an impact on the study area, as indicated in this report,” Caribbean Civil Group found. “However, given recent development and potential future development within the study area as outlined, it would be practical for the Government of the Bahamas through its executing agency, the Ministry of Public Works, to programme the Windsor Field Road corridor for a capital improvement project upgrade over the 20-year horizon.

“The limits recommended are from the US departure access [at LPIA] to West Bay Street (Old Fort Bay roundabout) for an upgrade to reconstruct to a four-lane corridor. Accordingly, it is highly recommended that the intersections of Airport Industrial Park (AIP) and Tropical Garden be converted to roundabouts with a minimum 220 feet ICD (diameter).

“In the immediate future over the five-year horizon at build-out of the project, due to the increase in trips generated at the Charlotteville and Old Fort Bay roundabouts, respectively, it is highly recommended that the size of both roundabouts be increased to a minimum size of 220 feet

(diameter) with minimum separated turn lanes of 300 feet storage capacity,” Caribbean Civil Group continued.

“In lieu of a complete intersection upgrade at AIP and Tropical Gardens, at the minimum as a stop-gap measure, it is highly recommended that a westbound right-turn lane be installed at both intersections with a minimum storage capacity of 150 feet.”

Ansel Watson, Brickell Management Group’s president, told Tribune Business it was vital that western New Providence’s road infrastructure be upgraded not just for Venetian Village’s benefit but that of all other residents and businesses in the area.

“Infrastructure in that area has to be improved,” he said. “That’s why the impact study was done - to expand the roadway and make the traffic flow a bit easier. Those roads are certainly going to be congested.” Mr Watson said Venetian Village will be designed such that residents and visitors will be able to navigate its roads without having to go back on Windsor Field Road, and they can also avoid the thoroughfare when crossing to Old Fort Bay Town Centre.

The Caribbean Civil Group report, meanwhile, added: “In the immediate, as a safety priority, it is recommended that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) install street lighting on Venetian West Road, which is completely dark, supplemented with RPMs (road studs).

“It is also recommended that the ministry supplement the inadequate lighting along Windsor Field Road within the study area with RPM’s (road studs). With the upgrades as stated herein this report, whether as a stop-gap or capital works improvements, the addition of additional capacity should service the additional trips generated at an acceptable level of service.”

Dr Minnis, meanwhile, said the Venetian Village project was presented to his administration but was never approved by it. He told Tribune Business there were “challenges” with the proposal, and that Brickell had asked “for something we did not agree with”, but he was unable to recall specifics.

“That came up,” he added of the $200m project. “There were some challenges. We had some questions I can’t recall. That was still in discussion in terms of ironing out certain issues. We were in discussions about that. I know they were asking for something we did not agree with, but I can’t remember what it was.”

MARIO CAREY

SEBAS BASTIAN

CUSTOMS ‘ALMOST THERE’ ON CLICK2CLEAR RESTART

CONFUSION last night surrounded Customs’ efforts to restore its electronic import clearance system, which has been offline for the past week, even though a senior officer said: “We are almost there.”

James Albury, senior Customs officer with responsibility for information technology (IT), told Tribune Business that the agency was waiting on the “all clear” from the Electronic Single Window’s (ESW) data centre provider before it can re-open a system whose failure has stalled The Bahamas’ import economy.

“We are waiting on our data centre to give us the all-clear and we are almost there,” Mr Albury said. However, representatives from Cloud Carib, the Bahamas-based cloud and managed services

provider, last night said the company had received no such “all-clear” request from Customs and sought to disassociate it from the situation involving the ESW portal, also known as Click2Clear. Click2Clear has been dysfunctional for the past week with Customs brokers claiming their entries are being rejected by the system when they attempt to submit. Brokers yesterday said that they are focusing on other parts of their business rather than goods clearance until they are notified that the problems have been corrected.

David Humes, owner/ operator of Integral Logistics, said: “I didn’t even bother with Click2Clear all yesterday, but what I had to do I did over the weekend.”

Kenneth Gibson, chief executive of Five Star Brokers, added: “I didn’t even check for Click2Clear today. I was up and about and didn’t have any plans to deal with it today.

“But, after they have dealt with their data centre, will the problem be fixed? Click2Clear working properly afterwards will be the issue. I just don’t know how this is going to be after they have fixed this because they have been trying to fix this for a while now, but I am cautiously optimistic.”

Evenings after 6pm is said to currently be the “best time” to use Click2Clear because there are little to no delays or service freezes. Controversy has surrounded the Click2Clear system in recent months as a result of Ministry of Finance efforts to mandate that all brokers and importers electronically “integrate” with the system, which requires that they acquire the necessary software to do so from third-party providers.

Brokers have complained that this has imposed an unnecessary cost, time and forced them to consume extra resources in complying with this demand. But

the Ministry of Finance is arguing that such “integration” is vital to eliminating more than $50m in annual revenue losses. It added that too many persons were submitting erroneous entries via Click2Clear and, in so doing, were costing the Public Treasury significant revenue.

“The Click2Clear system is designed to facilitate electronic data interchange or EDI,” the Ministry of Finance said in a previous statement. “EDI or the sending of an electronic file for processing dramatically lowers the cost of operation for both the broker and Customs. As of June 2022, less than 10 percent of the transactions submitted to Click2Clear were by EDI.

“Instead, they were submitted by way of the user interface (UI). A UI entry is a time consuming and error prone way of submitting entries. Independent estimates have placed the potential annual revenue loss from errors in

submitting entries by UI at more than $50m.

“The most recent estimate was provided by a consultant firm engaged by the previous administration, so the need to improve Customs processes to eliminate leakage is non-political and has bipartisan support. The Government must act to recover this lost revenue, and recovering this revenue loss by administrative means, in a high inflation environment, is more practical than simply just increasing import duty rates.”

Suggesting that EDI “integration” will also produce greater efficiencies and reduce the cost associated with clearing imports, the Ministry of Finance said: “EDI submissions, while reducing revenue losing errors, are also quicker, which means that the importer can get his goods released by Customs much faster. A submission, which can take days to

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OUTLOOK ‘LOOKING GREAT’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN professionals yesterday said “things are looking great” for the construction industry in 2023 with multiple new projects anticipated to break ground during the year.

Quentin Knowles, the Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) president, told Tribune Business: “There are many, many opportunities out there.” This was despite the Bahamas National Statistics Institute’s report on 2022 third quarter construction activities showing that permits issued were down almost 20 percent from the same period in the previous year.

“There were very few prospects last year, but this year, and I mean since the beginning of the December before, there was a lot of optimism in the Family Islands for work, a lot of stuff happening on Paradise Island,” Mr Knowles added. “There is always that constant work going on in Albany and out in the western section. These are constant things now, and it’s looking pretty good for this year.”

Whether or not last year’s construction activity spills over into 2023 remains to be seen. Mr Knowles said:

“There’s always a delay with permit applications, because there is a design delay where you have clients out there expecting to do this work, and they go and hire engineers and architects to do the work.”

Initial project design typically takes several months before it is formally presented to the Ministry of Works for the necessary permits and approvals, so there may be projects being planned now that have not reached that stage. Thus counting permit applications can be “misleading” as an indicator of future construction activity.

Mr Knowles said: “Intuitively, what I have seen as a contractor, working as an engineer on design teams, and as a contractor doing work on the construction side, the activity and the interest and the requests, they are varied and many.

“It’s looking pretty good from my perspective. Counting permits is a good statistic, but because of that delay and the lag between people actually

starting design work and the time it has been submitted to the Ministry of Works for approval, it can be misleading.”

Leonard Sands, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s president, said construction is “holding steady” and that he is “cautiously optimistic” for the rest of 2023.

He added: “The appointment of thee Construction Contractors Board continues to be the most significant thing that can impact the GDP of the country. Until such time as the Board is appointed, there will still be hundreds of millions of dollars of work that could benefit all contractors that remains to be engaged because investors are uncomfortable to understand who is a contractor in the

Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

The value of new construction permits issued in the 2022 third quarter fell by almost 20 percent year-over-year due to a significant drop-off in new commercial projects. The Bahamas National Statistical Institute, in unveiling building construction data for the three months to endSeptember 2022, revealed that increased residential developments helped mitigate some of the yearover-year decline in higher value corporate projects.

Speaking to permits, which are an indicator of future industry activity, its report said: “The [total] number of new construction permits Issued in the third quarter 2022 (424) was higher than in third quarter 2021 (380) by 44 projects

prepare under UI, can be done in hours through EDI.

“This is why Bahamian software vendors have been building EDI systems for Customs brokers and importers for a number of years prior to the full automation of the Customs processes. Many of these systems are now so sophisticated that no manual intervention is required for the import clearance process with invoices being submitted into the company or broker’s EDI electronically.

“As part of this transition, the Ministry of Finance previously advised the broker and import community that it would be making available free two different versions of an EDI system. A version for licensed brokers, which is now being rolled out, and a simplified version which would focus on commonly imported consumer goods, which is designed for persons who seek to do their own customs entries.”

or 12 percent. Conversely, the value of permits Issued over this period decreased from $167m in 2021 to $135m in 2022. “The main reason for this decrease was a drop of 59 percent in the commercial/industrial sector of $47m, which was mitigated by increases in the private/ residential sector of $11m and the public sector of $4m. The third quarter 2022 permits value was shared across the islands, with New Providence representing 76 percent, Grand Bahama 20 percent and the remaining Family Islands 4 percent.”

For New Providence, the value of new construction permits issued during the 2022 third quarter fell by 28.8 percent or $41.5m year-over-year, dropping from $144.377m in the yearbefore period to $102.8m. However, the value of new construction permits issued

SEE PAGE B5

Ex-PM backing four lanes ‘all the way to Lyford Cay’

International Airport and (LPIA) “all the way to Lyford Cay”.

Speaking after a traffic impact study conducted for the proposed $200m Venetian Village project (see other article on Page 1B) called on the Government to develop such a four-lane highway, Dr Minnis said the growing population and business migration to western New Providence meant vehicle flows are a key factor for the planning authorities when deciding whether to approve any developments.

“The current traffic is very, very bad,” he told this newspaper. “Even when they were doing that project, Adelaide Pines, I mentioned that would have an impact on us and they have to do studies on it. When we were in government, we were looking to extend that four-lane highway from the airport. We thought that should go directly up to Lyford Cay, and not just Old Fort Bay. Because of the traffic in the west we were looking at that. That was as far as we got.

“I support the four lanes. We were looking at four lanes coming from the

airport west, and four lanes for Gladstone Road. The third major one we had was Village Road. We had discussed extensively the four lanes straight from the airport to Lyford Cay.”

The Davis administration, showing government is continuous, has already followed through with the Village Road improvement project and is poised to do the same with the $29m Gladstone Road upgrade. It is unclear, though, whether and when it may do the same with Windsor Field Road, which is the key artery serving western New Providence. The area’s rapid development, via the Old Fort Bay Town Centre plus communities such as Charlotteville, Turnberry, Lyford Hills and Serenity, has left the existing two-lane infrastructure struggling to cope with increased traffic flows and vehicle volumes at peak morning and evening travel hours.

“In the morning it’s a disaster, and in the afternoon coming from the direction of Old Fort Bay east is a disaster,” Dr Minnis told this newspaper. “At present, it’s having a great impact on the community. It’s very slow moving travelling west, especially in the morning,

and is difficult for my constituents coming from Tropical Gardens.

“From Tropical Gardens Road, it’s very difficult getting on to [Windsor Field Road] because of the traffic coming from the west. A lot of traffic coming from West Bay Street goes through Tropical Gardens Road and Blake Road to enter Windsor Field Road.”

The traffic impact study, conducted by Caribbean Civil Group in 2019 for Sebas Bastian’s Brickell Management Group, developer of the Venetian Village expansion, called for the Ministry of Works “to programme” Windsor Field Road for expansion into a four-lane highway within the next two decades to enable it to cope with evergrowing traffic volumes. In the near term, it suggested roundabouts be placed at the Airport Industrial Park and Tropical Gardens locations.

“The proposed Venetian Village (all phases) will have an impact on the study area, as indicated in this report,” Caribbean Civil Group found. “However, given recent development and potential future development within the study area as

outlined, it would be practical for the Government of the Bahamas through its executing agency, the Ministry of Public Works, to programme the Windsor Field Road corridor for a capital improvement project upgrade over the 20-year horizon.

“The limits recommended are from the US departure access [at LPIA] to West Bay Street (Old Fort Bay roundabout) for an upgrade to reconstruct to a four-lane corridor. Accordingly, it is highly recommended that the intersections of Airport Industrial Park (AIP) and Tropical Garden be converted to roundabouts with a minimum 220 feet ICD (diameter).

“In the immediate future over the five-year horizon at build-out of the project, due to the increase in trips generated at the Charlotteville and Old Fort Bay roundabouts, respectively, it is highly recommended that the size of both roundabouts be increased to a minimum size of 220 feet (diameter) with minimum separated turn lanes of 300 feet storage capacity,” Caribbean Civil Group continued.

“In lieu of a complete intersection upgrade at AIP and Tropical Gardens, at

New judge’s law firm loses unpaid bill fight

1 percent per month; and that an initial retainer of $10,000 was required,” acting justice Tynes wrote.

“The retainer was paid by the defendant in July 2011, and several months later, in March 2012, the plaintiff accepted T & N’s further instructions in respect of a second matter involving a claim against the Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO) for damages for breach of contract based on facts that coincided with those of the Stubbs action.

“The plaintiff undertook significant legal work

on behalf of the defendant in both actions and subsequently rendered to the defendant four invoices:

Two in August 2012 and two in October 2015.”

Moss & Associates alleged that, after deducting for the $10,000 retainer and another $10,000 paid for the DevCO action, an outstanding bill for legal services totalling $48,342 was due from T&N Construction.

After making repeated demands for payment without success, Moss & Associates vacated or abandoned the November 23, 2015, trial date for the Stubs action and told T&N

Construction it would perform no further legal work until the bill was either paid in full or a payment plan mutually agreed. The law firm alleged that the contractor’s “agent”, Brian Smith, via a December 1, 2015, admitted the debt was due but this was denied by T&N. The contractor eventually paid Moss & Associates some $23,798, leaving an outstanding $25,544 balance that has yet to be settled. But T&N, in its defence and counter-claim, argued that it was not necessary for Moss & Associates to commence a second court action

against DevCO because the dispute with it and Ms Stubbs were part of the same court action. Therefore, it was only paying legal bills associated with one court matter.

“By its counter-claim, the defendant alleges that the plaintiff either negligently or deliberately separated the disputes with Ms Stubbs and DevCO ‘so as to charge the defendant for two court actions instead of one’,” acting justice Tynes noted.

“The defendant alleges that due to the fault of the plaintiff, the DevCO action was struck out for lack of prosecution and the defendant has had to appeal to the Court of Appeal. According to the defendant, by reason of the plaintiff’s professional negligence or deliberate action, the defendant has suffered loss and damage.”

This, though, was rejected by Moss & Associates which argued that the two actions were separate, “distinct” claims.

The trial was heard on October 31-November 1, 2022. T&N’s “no case” to answer argument was based on the manner in which Mr Moss and his law firm presented their evidence. They only called one witness, Ms Russell, Moss & Associates office manager, and Mr Moss obtained the court’s permission to “mark” the 19 documents contained in her evidence bundle.

After doing this, Mr Moss said Ms Russell was being presented for cross-examination and that he had no questions to ask her. James Thompson, T&N’s attorney, objected to Ms Russell being shown her witness statement as her evidence had already been completed and she had made no reference to it at that point.

Acting justice Tynes gave Mr Moss permission to reopen his examination of Ms

the minimum as a stop-gap measure, it is highly recommended that a westbound right-turn lane be installed at both intersections with a minimum storage capacity of 150 feet.”

Ansel Watson, Brickell Management Group’s president, told Tribune Business it was vital that western New Providence’s road infrastructure be upgraded not just for Venetian Village’s benefit but that of all other residents and businesses in the area.

“Infrastructure in that area has to be improved,” he said. “That’s why the impact study was done - to expand the roadway and make the traffic flow a bit easier. Those roads are certainly going to be congested.” Mr Watson said Venetian Village will be designed such that residents and visitors will be able to navigate its roads without having to go back on Windsor Field Road, and they can also avoid the thoroughfare when crossing to Old Fort Bay Town Centre.

The Caribbean Civil Group report, meanwhile, added: “In the immediate, as a safety priority, it is recommended that Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) install street lighting on Venetian

Russell, which saw him produce her witness statement. She confirmed her signature was on the statement, whereupon Mr Moss closed his examination again. Mr Thompson, though, argued that her witness statement should not be included in the evidence before the court as she had not verified its authenticity under oath.

Under cross-examination, Ms Russell testified that she had no direct knowledge of communications between Mr Moss and his clients, and that what she knew came solely from documents on file. After all this, Mr Thompson made a “no case” submission on N&T’s behalf on the basis that Moss & Associates had produced so little evidence that his client could not be held liable and there was nothing for it to answer.

Besides Ms Russell failing to verify her witness statement under oath, he added that Moss & Associates’ documents had also not been properly admitted into evidence by the court. Arguing that Ms Russell’s testimony was limited, and that Mr Moss or one of Moss & Associates’ attorneys should have been called to give evidence, Mr Thompson said an invoice was no proof of legal services being rendered.

Mr Moss countered that, upon its filing with the Supreme Court, a witness statement “automatically” becomes its maker’s chief evidence, while asserting that the court can treat the documents marked by Ms Russell as evidence. He added that the documents had all been proven by “secondary evidence” in accordance with the Evidence Act.

Acting justice Tynes, acknowledging that “no case” submissions are “rare” in civil matters, found that when read together the Supreme Court rules and Evidence Act

West Road, which is completely dark, supplemented with RPMs (road studs).

“It is also recommended that the ministry supplement the inadequate lighting along Windsor Field Road within the study area with RPM’s (road studs). With the upgrades as stated herein this report, whether as a stop-gap or capital works improvements, the addition of additional capacity should service the additional trips generated at an acceptable level of service.”

Dr Minnis, meanwhile, said the Venetian Village project was presented to his administration but was never approved by it. He told Tribune Business there were “challenges” with the proposal, and that Brickell had asked “for something we did not agree with”, but he was unable to recall specifics.

“That came up,” he added of the $200m project. “There were some challenges. We had some questions I can’t recall. That was still in discussion in terms of ironing out certain issues. We were in discussions about that. I know they were asking for something we did not agree with, but I can’t remember what it was.”

require witness statements to be made under oath in actions begun via writ as in this case. Given that Ms Russell did not verify her witness statement under oath, it could not form part of the trial evidence.

As to the documents, acting justice Tynes found: “With the greatest respect to learned counsel Moss, the ‘marking’ of documents by the court does not equate to the admission of documents in evidence for the court’s consideration. Neither does the inclusion of documents described in lists of documents in a party’s trial bundles render those documents exhibits which the court can take into consideration in making its decision.

“In the present case, learned counsel Mr Moss never attempted to tender any documents into evidence and never sought the court’s direction that any of the plaintiff’s documents be exhibited as evidence. The issue never arose. As such, no documents were entered into evidence on behalf of the plaintiff.

“As it stands, I find that the only evidence properly before this court on which it can and must base its decision is the oral testimony of Ms Russell. I also find that that evidence is insufficient to satisfy the plaintiff’s evidential burden of proving its case on a balance of probabilities.”

Finding for N&T’s “no case” submission as a result, and dismissing Moss & Associates’ claim, the judge nevertheless said: “I might add, however, that as an advocate with some years’ experience at the private bar, I can empathise in principle with any attorney who has conducted extensive legal work on behalf of a client only to be rebuffed upon remittance of an invoice by a seemingly ungrateful beneficiary of that work.”

GB Power union: ‘We’ll never give up the fight’

about it among ourselves.

Once we do that, we will determine the way forward from there. The union will never give up the fight. The union will never lay down and push up the daisies. We have got to keep pushing.”

Appeal justice Milton Evans recorded in his written verdict how the dispute between GB Power and the union erupted over the dismissal of one of the latter’s members, Albert Braynen, as project technician on February 12, 2021, after nearly five years with Grand Bahama’s monopoly energy supplier. He received $9,238 in compensation.

GB Power did not inform or consult with the union prior to the dismissal, and no union representative was present when Mr Braynen was handed his dismissal letter. The union subsequently filed a trade dispute with the Department of Labour alleging that the termination had breached the two sides’ industrial agreement because the technician had not been allowed to have union representation.

The utility denied any violation, and the dispute eventually reached the Industrial Tribunal. Helen Amorales-Jones, its vicepresident, in a May 2, 2022, verdict found in the union’s favour by ruling that the industrial agreement “does not have the right to dismiss an employee within the bargaining unit without giving the union an opportunity to be heard on behalf of members of the bargaining unit before the appellant dismisses such employee with notice.

“That is to say, for reasons other than unsatisfactory assessment at the end of probation, cause or redundancy,” appeal justice Evans wrote. GB Power’s appeal, he added, was based on the true meaning of the industrial agreement’s article 19 (5) which dealt with redundancies and terminations, and the formula for compensating those dismissed for reasons other than probation, just cause and termination.

The Industrial Tribunal found, though, that this did not detract from the union’s status to act as the bargaining agent for its members and represent them in situations where they could lose their jobs. It added of GB Power: “The manner in which the respondent seeks to construe the agreement goes against the very essence and spirit of the agreement. It would completely defeat the purpose

Construction industry outlook ‘looking great’

FROM PAGE B3

on Grand Bahama more than doubled, rising from $12.837m in the 2021 third quarter to $26.69m last year. Family Island new construction permits nearly halved in value, going from $10.091m to $5.762m.

As for actual construction work, the Institute said:

“The number of new construction starts [across the] Bahamas decreased by 17 when comparing the third quarter 2021 (150) and third quarter 2022 (133). During this same period, however, the value of construction starts increased by $35m or 74 percent.

of employees having a trade union as their bargaining agent.

“It would mean that, henceforth, the respondent could terminate the employees in the bargaining unit under Article 19(5), without ever having to proffer a reason for their termination, even if the reason for the dismissal was unfair or because of suspected gross misconduct or redundancy. It would effectively deny the applicant union the opportunity to safeguard its members’ interests in retaining their job.”

The Court of Appeal, though, said the Industrial Tribunal had overlooked the fact that an employer cannot be forced by law to retain an employee unless ordered to by the Supreme Court. And it said GB Power’s industrial agreement

does not require it to consult with the union on every termination, instead setting out the situations when this must occur.

“It is clear that the spirit of the agreement calls for co-operation between the parties. However, what it does not do is provide the union with the right to be involved in managerial decisions of the employer in determining whether to terminate an employee in circumstances other than those specifically identified in the agreement,” acting justice Evans wrote.

“For the foregoing reasons I find that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 19 (5) of the industrial agreement, the appellant (GB Power) is not required to provide the respondent union with advance notice of its intention to dismiss an employee

within the bargaining unit and/or conduct a fair hearing with the union over the question of whether such employee ought to be dismissed in advance in circumstances where the appellant terminates such employee for reasons other than probation, cause or redundancy.” The dismissed union member must also be compensated in accordance with the industrial agreement.

“This increase in value was led by the private/ residential sector and the public sector, with increases of $36m and $5,000 respectively. Contrarily, the commercial/ industrial sector decreased by $645,000 or 4 percent. New Providence represented 76 percent, and Grand Bahama 24 percent, of the recorded number of new construction starts in the third quarter 2022.”

Residential construction starts were flat year-overyear at 119 for the 2022 third quarter, but commercial related projects declined year-over-year from 31 in 2021 to just 13 - a fall of 58 percent.

“The total Bahamas number of construction completions in the third quarter 2022 (165) showed a decrease of six projects when compared with the same period in 2021 (171),” the Institute said. “The value of construction completions, however, increased by approximately $106m or 176 percent.

“There was an increase in the commercial/industrial sector of approximately $114m leading this overall increase in value. New Providence’s commercial/ industrial sector construction completions value increased from $11m to $126m over this same period.”

GRAND BAHAMA POWER COMPANY

By DAVID KLEPPER

Associated Press

AFTER seeing promising results in Eastern Europe, Google will initiate a new campaign in Germany that aims to make people more resilient to the corrosive effects of online misinformation.

The tech giant plans to release a series of short videos highlighting the techniques common to many misleading claims. The videos will appear as advertisements on platforms like Facebook, YouTube or TikTok in Germany. A similar campaign in India is also in the works. It’s an approach called prebunking, which involves teaching people how to spot false claims before they encounter them. The strategy is gaining support among researchers and tech companies.

“There’s a real appetite for solutions,” said Beth Goldberg, head of research and development at Jigsaw, an incubator division of Google that studies emerging social challenges. “Using ads as a vehicle to counter a disinformation technique is pretty novel. And we’re excited about the results.”

While belief in falsehoods and conspiracy theories isn’t new, the speed and reach of the internet has given them a heightened power. When catalyzed by algorithms, misleading claims can discourage people from

MISINFORMATION ‘PREBUNKING’ IN EUROPE

getting vaccines, spread authoritarian propaganda, foment distrust in democratic institutions and spur violence.

It’s a challenge with few easy solutions. Journalistic fact checks are effective, but they’re labor intensive, aren’t read by everyone, and won’t convince those already distrustful of traditional journalism. Content moderation by tech companies is another response, but it only drives misinformation elsewhere, while prompting cries of censorship and bias.

Prebunking videos, by contrast, are relatively cheap and easy to produce and can be seen by millions when placed on popular platforms. They also avoid the political challenge altogether by focusing not on the topics of false claims, which are often cultural lightning rods, but on the techniques that make viral misinformation so infectious.

Those techniques include fear-mongering, scapegoating, false comparisons, exaggeration and missing context. Whether the subject is COVID-19, mass shootings, immigration, climate change or elections, misleading claims often rely on one or more of these tricks to exploit emotions and short-circuit critical thinking.

Last fall, Google launched the largest test of the theory so far with a prebunking video campaign

THE GOOGLE logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France, June 15, 2022. Google is expanding an initiative that shows promise in fighting online misinformation. The tech company announced Monday that it will roll out a new “prebunking” campaign in Germany. Pre-bunking works like a viral inoculation by priming a person’s critical thinking skills to make them more resistant to false claims.

in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The videos dissected different techniques seen in false claims about Ukrainian refugees. Many of those claims relied on alarming and unfounded stories about refugees committing crimes or taking jobs away from residents.

The videos were seen 38 million times on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter — a number that equates to a majority of the population in the three nations. Researchers found that compared to people who hadn’t seen the videos, those who did watch were more likely to be able

to identify misinformation techniques, and less likely to spread false claims to others.

The pilot project was the largest test of prebunking so far and adds to a growing consensus in support of the theory.

“This is a good news story in what has essentially been a bad news business when it comes to misinformation,” said Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise, a media literacy initiative of the Poynter Institute that has incorporated prebunking into its own programs in countries including Brazil, Spain, France and the U.S.

Mahadevan called the strategy a “pretty efficient way to address misinformation at scale, because you can reach a lot of people while at the same time address a wide range of misinformation.”

Google’s new campaign in Germany will include a focus on photos and videos, and the ease with which they can be presented of evidence of something false. One example: Last week, following the earthquake in Turkey, some social media users shared video of the massive explosion in Beirut in 2020, claiming it was actually footage of a nuclear explosion triggered by the earthquake. It was not the first time the 2020 explosion had been the subject of misinformation.

Google will announce its new German campaign Monday ahead of next week’s Munich Security Conference. The timing of the announcement, coming before that annual gathering of international security officials, reflects heightened concerns about the impact of misinformation among both tech companies and government officials.

Tech companies like prebunking because it avoids touchy topics that are easily politicized, said Sander van der Linden, a University of Cambridge professor considered a leading expert on the theory. Van der Linden worked with Google on its campaign and is now advising

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, as well.

Meta has incorporated prebunking into many different media literacy and anti-misinformation campaigns in recent years, the company told The Associated Press in an emailed statement.

They include a 2021 program in the U.S. that offered media literacy training about COVID-19 to Black, Latino and Asian American communities. Participants who took the training were later tested and found to be far more resistant to misleading COVID-19 claims.

Prebunking comes with its own challenges. The effects of the videos eventually wears off, requiring the use of periodic “booster” videos. Also, the videos must be crafted well enough to hold the viewer’s attention, and tailored for different languages, cultures and demographics. And like a vaccine, it’s not 100% effective for everyone. Google found that its campaign in Eastern Europe varied from country to country. While the effect of the videos was highest in Poland, in Slovakia they had “little to no discernible effect,” researchers found. One possible explanation: The videos were dubbed into the Slovak language, and not created specifically for the local audience.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that IAN LLEWELLYN YOUNG of P. O. Box N-9494, Nassau East North, New Providence, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of February, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LEILA BENEDICT PALMER of Shirley Park Avenue, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LISA JUSTAL of Wulff Road, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of January, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

Photo:Thibault Camus/AP

FORD TO BUILD $3.5B ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY PLANT IN MICH.

By TOM KRISHER AND JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

FORD Motor Co. plans to build a $3.5 billion factory in Michigan that would employ at least 2,500 people to make lower-cost batteries for a variety of new and existing electric vehicles.

The plant, to be built on land being readied for industrial development about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Detroit, would start making batteries in 2026. It would crank out enough batteries to supply 400,000 vehicles per year, Ford said.

The factory near the city of Marshall would produce batteries with a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry, which is cheaper than the current nickel-cobalt-manganese chemistry now used in many EV batteries.

Consumers could then choose between a battery with lower range and cost, or pay more for higher range and power. The company wouldn’t give any prices just yet.

“The whole intent here is to make EVs more affordable and accessible to customers,” said Marin Gjaja, chief marketing officer for Ford’s electric vehicles.

Ford says a wholly owned subsidiary would own the factory and employ the workers. But China’s

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, or CATL, which is known for its lithium-iron-phosphate expertise, would supply technology, some equipment and workers.

The announcement comes at a time when U.S.-China relations are strained, and the Biden administration is offering tax credits for businesses to create a U.S. supply chain for EV batteries. To get a full $7,500 per vehicle U.S. tax credit to customers, EV batteries won’t be able to have metals or components from China in them.

The structure of the deal allows Ford to take advantage of U.S. factory tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. Because it’s not a joint venture, it could stem criticism about the company doing business with the Chinese. Last month the state of Virginia dropped out of the race for the same Ford plant after Gov. Glenn Youngkin characterized the project as a “front” for the Chinese Communist Party that would raise national security concerns. At the time Virginia had not offered an incentive package to Ford.

The company says that buyers initially would get at least $3,750 in tax credits because the vehicles are produced in North America. Gjaja said that over time they could get the full $7,500

STOCKS RALLY AHEAD

credit depending on sourcing of battery minerals.

Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries would go into standard-range versions of Ford’s EVs. For instance, the lowest price Mustang Mach-E electric SUV would get an LFP battery and would be able to travel 247 miles per charge. The long range version of the Mach-E will have a nickel-cobaltmanganese chemistry that takes it to 310 miles per charge.

The plant was revealed Monday at a meeting of the Michigan Strategic Fund, which approved a large tax incentive package for the project near the junction of Interstates 94 and 69.

“We were looking not only in the U.S. We were looking outside of the U.S., as well,” said Bill Ford, Ford Motor Co. executive chair. “There were a lot of places in play, because, as you can imagine, a lot of states and even countries would like this kind of investment. But

Michigan really stepped up.”

“I was always biased in favor of Michigan, because my family’s been here for generations,” he added.

About $210 million came from Michigan’s Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund, known as SOAR, set up to lure industry and jobs to the state. But the total size of the incentive package wasn’t clear.

The SOAR Fund has received nearly $1.8 billion from the state’s general fund since it was first created in December of 2021.

A tax-relief bill passed in the Michigan House last week could send up to $1.5 billion over three fiscal years to the SOAR Fund in addition to an $800 million one-time deposit that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer outlined in her budget proposal last week.

The tax-relief bill, which still needs state Senate approval, has been heavily criticized by Republicans for giving too little to taxpayers and too much to large corporations. Last summer, Ford announced that CATL will make lithium-iron-phosphate battery packs for Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs in North America this year and for F-150 Lightning electric trucks early in 2024.

OF

HOTLY

ANTICIPATED INFLATION REPORT

By STAN CHOE

AP Business Writer

WALL Street rose Monday as traders made their final moves ahead of a report that could show whether inflation is cooling in the right way or setting the market up for worse pain. The S&P 500 climbed

1.1% in anticipation of Tuesday’s report on inflation at the consumer level across the country. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 376.66 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%. Stocks were coming off their worst week in nearly two months, the latest stumble for a market that has struggled for more than a year on worries about high inflation and the Federal Reserve’s response to it. The Fed has aggressively hiked rates to their highest level since 2007 to drive down the worst inflation in generations. High rates can stamp out inflation, but they do so at the risk of sending the economy into a sharp recession and dragging on investment prices.

Economists expect Tuesday’s report to show inflation slowed to 6.2% in January. That would be down from 6.5% a month before and from a peak of more than 9% in the summer. Perhaps more important than the overall number is what the data show specifically about prices for services outside of housing, such as haircuts or airfares. Inflation has remained stubbornly high there, when it’s started to come down in other areas.

Worse-than-expected trends on inflation would raise worries that the Federal Reserve will stay firmer on rates than expected, which could mean more pain for Wall Street. Cooler-than-expected figures, meanwhile, could fan anew hopes that were rising earlier this year for the Fed to take it easier on rates.

Everyone agrees that inflation is heading in the right direction. The question is how quickly and steadily it will come down to the Fed’s target of 2%, and what that means for

when the Fed will pause its hikes to rates and eventually begin cutting them. Treasury yields jumped last week after investors pulled their forecasts for rates closer to the Fed’s. The central bank has been consistently saying it plans to keep rates higher for longer to ensure the job is done on inflation.

Yields were mixed Monday ahead of the inflation report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, dipped to 3.70% from 3.75% late Friday. The two-year yield, which tends to move more on expectations for the Fed, was at 4.54% and close to its highest since November.

All the worries about inflation and rates are happening against the backdrop of a decidedly lackluster earnings reporting season. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report a nearly 5% drop in earnings for the final three months of 2022, compared with a year earlier, according to FactSet.

By the count of strategists at Credit Suisse, this is shaping up to be the worst earnings reporting season outside of a recession in 24 years.

Pessimism is also building about earnings for the first three months of 2023, with forecasts coming down.

A continued decline in corporate earnings is one of the reasons strategists at Morgan Stanley are cautious about the rally stocks have made since the start of the year, even if they gave back some of it last week. The S&P 500 is up 7.8% for 2023 so far, though it remains stuck in its “bear market” after falling more than 20% from its high last year. “Price action is not reflective of the deteriorating fundamentals or the fact that the Fed is hiking during an earnings recession — drivers that should ultimately determine the lows for this bear market later this spring,” the strategists led by Michael Wilson wrote in a report. “Riskreward is as poor as it’s been in our view.”

THE 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E is displayed, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in Romulus, Mich. The automaker plans to build a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant about 100 miles west of Detroit that would employ about 2,500 people. The plant was revealed Monday at a meeting of the Michigan Strategic Fund, which approved a large state tax incentive package for the project near the city of Marshall.

Photo:Carlos Osorio/AP

Couples encouraged to get tested for HIV on Valentine’s Day to save lives

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

An early diagnosis of HIV can lead to early treatment options, which prolong life and reduce the spread of AIDS.

This is why The National HIV/AIDS Programme (NAP) remains intentional about promoting and offering free and confidential HIV counselling and testing throughout the nation.

Yesterday, the programme held its annual HIV Valentine’s Day Couples testing event at Windsor Park. The Ministry of Health and Wellness Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCD) was on hand and collaborated with NAP to provide health screenings during the same time.

NAD Prevention Education Officer Keith Kemp explained that they targeted couples so that they could provide comprehensive options for HIV prevention and treatment where needed.

Couples attending the event were educated on how HIV is transmitted, risky behaviours that can increase the risk of HIV transmission, and the importance of having an open dialogue about HIV and other STIs in their relationship.

“We had a good attendance,” he told Tribune Health. “This screening was our Valentine’s event, but we have other community events at different times for anyone who wants to be tested.”

In fact, he said that the next community testing will take place on Thursday in the Fox Hill area and another one will soon be held in the Ridgeland Park area in conjunction with Urban Renewal Programme.

“We are committed to going into the community and ensuring that every person has access to testing in a safe confidential environment. This way it is as simple as walking outside in their own neighbourhood” he said.

“Early detection leads to early treatment and prolonged life. Treatment can prevent the disease from progressing to full blown AIDS and prevent further health complications such as suppressed immune system. We want to encourage as many persons as possible, particularly couples, to

get tested and know their HIV status. Testing is a critical tool to helping us end the AIDS epidemic in the Bahamas by 2030.”

Mr Kemp said they are happy with the impact early detection

has had in the Bahamas. While the latest statistics are not readily available yet, in part due to the pandemic, they have seen an optimistic decrease in HIV diagnoses over the years.

“We were seeing around 400 new cases a year and that number is now around 100,” he said.

He emphasised that the test is no more intrusive than a finger prick and results are often available in about 15 minutes.

Testing is also available at their testing facility on Rosetta Street on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and next to Zion Baptist Church on Tuesday and Friday.

What health myth did you grow up with?

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

IF you grew up in the Bahamas or the Caribbean region, then you more than likely came from a household that lived and survived on health myths and traditions.

Tribune Health was inspired to write an article about this topic as there is currently a popular post floating around “Black Twitter” stating that “If it wasn’t for ginger ale, I would’ve been dead a long time ago.”

One Bahamian, Latoya Smith, responded by saying: “Yes, I swear for us Black people, ginger ale is a form of medicine; like an antibiotic without the need of a prescription. Now of course this conversation is not with any claim of being a medical professional. We are talking about myths. I’m having a stomach ache or gassy pains, I drink a ginger ale. And like my grandmother and mom always say, ‘You have to drink it hot.’ Why would I question my grams? She’s always right.”

And Latoya said her personal experiences have borne out the merits of the ginger ale claims.

“Feeling nauseated? That ginger ale or even ginger beer soda would settle my stomach so good and I love it. Me and my sister always joke that you can’t tell us ginger ale doesn’t have an addictive in it,” she said.

According to Healthline Media, ginger ale may help reduce nausea, may offer antioxidant effects, help treat migraines and reduce inflammation, support heart health, and it is naturally caffeine-free.

Meanwhile, Keisha Hunter swears by tea.

“Every relationship I get in to I always tell them I come from a tea family; meaning no matter the time of day or night, we are

guaranteed to have a cup of tea in hand. If I wasn’t absolutely sure of my heritage, I would swear we are all English people. Maybe it’s the warm feeling you get inside your body, or it’s just a mind thing, but

tea always makes a situation like a headache or a wind-down from a long day better,” she said.

Keisha said the tea aisle in food store is her favourite because it’s always fun to see how creative the different brands are becoming.

“You have tea for cramps, tea for gas, tea for stress relief, tea for basically anything you can think of. My tea cabinet is fully loaded,” she said.

Helen Johnson spoke of a more unusual health tradition handed down the generations: the practice of placing a piece of brown paper on a baby’s head to stop the hiccups.

“I am a proud brown paper bag baby, according to my mother. But I am on the fence with it because I had a child of my own. I tried it and I think the hiccups went away eventually, but it wasn’t because of the damp piece of paper bag. When my mom babysat my daughter and did it, I just laughed and let her do her thing because if she thinks it is working, I am not going to tell her differently. And my baby loves her some grammay, as she calls her,” said Helen.

xAngela Rolle shared her story of older folk telling her to “have a child” in an effort to get rid of painful menstrual cramps.

“This has always been the craziest thing I have ever heard in my life. I’ve had bad menstrual cramps from the very first day to now. Over the years, I have tried adding to and eliminating things from my diet to cycle sync and make it bearable. But for those that know me, the most insane thing I have heard to eliminate this part of my being, is giving birth to a child, as if I can go

and purchase the father out of a store,” said Angela.

“I always laughed about this until my gynaecologist actually told me it is not entirely a myth. That is when my eyes opened wide… like what? ‘You mean to tell me the old people are right?”

He explained some things to me that kinda fell in line with what people think they are talking about. But this is not to say I got pregnant the following week.”

Whitney Ingraham said one tradition she believes in is to not wash her hair too late at night, or go out in the evening with wet or damp hair.

“Listen to me when I tell you I learned the hard way with this. I would wash my hair any time of day or at night because my answer was always, ‘I’m letting it air dry.’ Well, my darling, while on FaceTime with my Mommy, she told me over and over the weather is a bit chilly so I shouldn’t wash my hair so late. It was about 6pm, already evening time, and I had an early hair appointment to get my hair braided the following morning,” she said.

Whitney went against her mom’s advice and paid the price. Nothing happened the next day, but about two or three days later she had the worst cold of her life.

Like karma hit me quick because I called my mother crying. The headache was out of this world, my nose was running to no end, my sleep was out of whack and I had to take a sick leave from work. If there was ever a lesson learned in my life, it was that time, because that is something I will never in my life do again, like ever,” she said.

DRINKING ginger ale for what ails you. (Photo_Pexels_Cameron Gawn)

BAHAMIANS yesterday welcomed the opportunity to get tested at the National HIV/AIDS Programme’s HIV Valentine’s Day Couples event at Windsor Park.

(Photos/Austin Fernander)

Understanding male menopause: Testosterone and you Part I

Better known as andropause, male menopause is often a slow gradual decline in the male hormone testosterone as men age.

Approximately 30 percent of men in their 50s will experience symptoms of andropause and the percentage increases as a man’s age increases. This has been verified by the Massachusetts Male Aging study that took place over a 20-year period.

Although andropause has been labelled as “menopause”, or better yet “manopause”, the aging-related hormone changes in women and men differ.

In women, as the ovulatory function ends, their hormone production drops drastically over a short period of time, whereas in men the production of testosterone declines over a period of many years. In men there is often a slow progressive fall in testosterone as men age, which led to the coining of the scientific terms “late onset male hypogonadism”.

Testosterone

Testosterone is a chemical messenger produced by the sex organs, the testis in those who are assigned male at birth and ovaries in those who are assigned females at birth. The adrenal glands produce another chemical called dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA which the body transforms into testosterone and oestrogen.

Testosterone has different roles in different stages of life:

• Foetal stage: testosterone is what triggers the formation of the male internal and external sex organs as early as the seventh week of gestation.

Puberty- it is responsible for most of the changes that boys undergo during this period, including an increase in height, body and pubic hair growth, enlargement of penis, testis and the prostate gland, and it also increases libido (sex drive).

Adult- it is vital for bone and muscle health, repletion of the red blood cells in one’s blood, enhancing libido and a sense of well-being. Testosterone helps in the production of sperm which is crucial for reproduction.

Testosterone levels in the body are tightly regulated via a wellbalanced system involving the brain (specifically the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland) and relies on the feedback mechanism to either increase or suppress the production of testosterone. The feedback mechanism utilises several other chemical messengers between the brain and the testis to affect the production of testosterone by the testis.

The testosterone levels typically peak at around the age of 20 years followed by a gradual decline throughout the rest of

adulthood. From the age of 40 the testosterone levels drop by at least one percent each year. A testosterone level below 300 nanogrammes per decilitre (ng/ dL) is considered clinically low by most urologists. This is now commonly seen in men in their 40s to 50s.

Symptoms of low testosterone levels

The signs and symptoms generally vary depending on the age of onset, cause and how low the testosterone levels fall.

In adults, sexual dysfunction is a predominate symptom of presentation; this may include, erectile dysfunction (inability to achieve or maintain erection for intercourse), reduced sexual drive and reduced early morning erections.

Other symptoms include low motivation, vitality, poor concentration or memory, hot flushes/ sweating, and infertility. You may also notice changes in your body which include hair loss, enlarged prominent breast tissue (gynaecomastia), reduced size of the testis, reduced muscle mass and increased body fat (obesity).

Hypogonadism

Hypogonadism is a term used to denote low levels of sex hormones in the body. These can be further classified into two broad categories:

Primary hypogonadism

This defines the causes that are directly related to malfunction

at the level of the testis. The stimulation for testosterone production is adequate but due to certain scenarios listed below the testosterone is unfortunately not manufactured at all or in quantities that aren’t adequate. For most patients the actual cause may be difficult to identify. Possible causes can be:

Infections – Viral infections of the testis such as mumps and COVID-19 are closely associated with testicular damage. Testicular involvement is more common when mumps occur in adults when compared to its occurrence in children.

Cancer therapy – Radiation therapy for diseases such as leukaemia with direct exposure of the testis will lead to testicular damage. Some types of chemotherapy are known to affect not only the production of sperm but also the production of testosterone. Trauma – Direct trauma to the testis can lead to significant damage to the testosterone producing tissue in the testis.

Testicular torsion: It is the twisting of the testis on its own spermatic cord thereby cutting of its blood supply. Depending on the duration of cut off, the testis may suffer irreversible damage including the inability to produce testosterone.

Chronic systemic diseases: Cirrhosis- disease primarily affecting the liver but it leads to reduction in testosterone production in more than one way. HIV- men with HIV generally have lower levels of testosterone compared to men without. The good news is

THE UROLOGY DOCTOR IS IN...

the hypogonadism comes as a side effect of the treatment.

Anabolic steroids – These are manufactured hormones that behave like testosterone in the body, used to enhance performance and body composition. As the delivery of natural testosterone (released as pulses) differs from the constant availability of testosterone, the body’s regulatory mechanism then responds in a completely different way leading to long term suppressed production of testosterone by the body. Opioids – These are medications used in pain management but they are sometimes also abused. Long term use of this class of pain killers has been shown to cause hypogonadism. In one study 50 percent of men using opioids over a long period of time had hypogonadism.

Diabetes mellitus Type 2 Men with type 2 diabetes mellitus are more likely to have low serum testosterone levels than men who do not have type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity – The European Male Aging Study, which analysed data from 3320 men aged between 40-79 years, reported that at all ages the testosterone levels were lower in overweight men than men of normal weight, and these levels were even lower in those who were diagnosed with obesity.

Dr Greggory Pinto

that with more uptake of antiretroviral therapy the frequency of HIV patients suffering from hypogonadism has diminished.

Secondary hypogonadism

These are conditions that essentially lead to reduced stimulation of the testis to produce testosterone. Suppression of chemical messengers from the brain (Gonadotropins)

Medications: Medications such as those used in advanced prostate cancer disrupt the communication axis between the brain and the testis thereby leading to reduced testosterone production. The reduced testosterone production has been proven to have survival benefit in these patients with metastatic prostate cancer, however

Obstructive sleep apnoea –According a 2019 scientific article in the World Journal of Men’s Health, approximately four percent of men above the age of 50 year suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea. Several studies have confirmed a relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea and low testosterone levels; which may be linked to poor sleep patterns that affect the release of testosterone. Low oxygen levels during sleep caused by obstructive sleep apnoea have also been linked to low testosterone levels.

Damage to the brain cells participating in testosterone secretion (gonadotrophs), can lead to reduced stimulation for the testis to produce testosterone. This may occur in the cases of cancer, infections such as meningitis, trauma or a disease like sarcoidosis.

• Dr Greggory Pinto is a board-certified Bahamian urologist and laparoscopic surgeon. He can be contacted at OakTree Medical Center #2 Fifth Terrace and Mount Royal Avenue, Nassau, Bahamas; Telephone – (242) 322-1145-7; email: welcome@urologycarebahamas.com or visit the website:www.urologycarebahamas.com

Cleveland Clinic announces next step in preventive breast cancer vaccine study

Cleveland Clinic researchers have launched the next step in their novel study of a vaccine aimed at preventing triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive and lethal form of the disease.

Funded by the US Department of Defence, the new phase 1b study will enroll cancer-free individuals at high risk for developing breast cancer who have decided to voluntarily undergo prophylactic mastectomy to lower their risk.

Individuals in that category typically carry genetic mutations that put them at risk of developing triple-negative breast cancer or have high familial risk for any breast cancer. The study, conducted at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, will evaluate safety and monitor immune response.

The new study will include approximately 6-12 patients and is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2023. Study participants will receive three vaccinations given two weeks apart and will be closely monitored for side effects and immune response.

The phase 1b clinical trial, conducted in partnership with Anixa Biosciences, Inc., follows the ongoing phase 1a study, which opened in 2021 and is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2023. The phase 1a trial includes patients who completed treatment for early-stage, triplenegative breast cancer within the past three years and are currently tumor-free but at high risk for recurrence.

“Triple-negative breast cancer is the form of the disease for which we have the least effective treatments,” said Dr G Thomas Budd of Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute and principal investigator of the study. “Long term, we are hoping that this can be a true preventive vaccine that would be administered to cancer-free individuals to prevent

them from developing this highly aggressive disease.”

According to Dr Budd, there is a great need for improved treatments for triple-negative breast cancer, which does not have biological characteristics that typically respond to hormonal or targeted therapies. Despite representing only about 12 to 15 percent of all breast cancers, triple-negative breast cancer

accounts for a disproportionately higher percentage of breast cancer deaths. It is twice as likely to occur in Black women, and approximately 70 to 80 percent of the breast tumors that occur in women with mutations in the BRCA1 gene are triple-negative breast cancer. The vaccine is based on preclinical research led by the late Vincent Tuohy, PhD, who was

the Mort and Iris November Distinguished Chair in Innovative Breast Cancer Research at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. Dr Tuohy was an outstanding and passionate scientist and his decades of groundbreaking research led to the development of this investigational vaccine.

The vaccine targets a lactation protein, α-lactalbumin, which is no longer found after lactation in normal, aging tissues but is present in the majority of triplenegative breast cancers. If breast cancer develops, the vaccine is designed to prompt the immune system to attack the tumor and keep it from growing.

The study is based on Dr Tuohy’s research that showed that activating the immune system against α-lactalbumin was safe and effective in preventing breast tumors in mice. The research, originally published in Nature Medicine, was funded in part by philanthropic gifts from more than 20,000 people over the last 12 years.

“It was Dr Tuohy’s hope that this vaccine would demonstrate the potential of immunization as a new way to control breast cancer, and that a similar approach could someday be applied to other types of malignancy,” added Dr. Budd.

For more information and eligibility requirements visit clinicaltrials.gov.

(Photo_Pexels_Barbara Olsen)

(Photo_Pexels Klaus Nielsen)

You shouldn’t have to ask

As this column will appear on St Valentine’s Day it made me wonder how many people actually know anything about St Valentine. He was a real person, or persons, depending on which archive you are reading and there are many versions of how February 14 came to be celebrated, named for him and recognised traditionally as a day for expressing love.

The Roman Catholic Church records three different saints named Valentine.

The first St Valentine was a priest and a physician living in Rome who comforted martyrs being persecuted in the third century AD. He was summarily arrested, beaten and beheaded for this action and for his faith. Centuries later evidence of his tomb was discovered.

The second St Valentine was a bishop living in a small village near Rome also in the third century AD. Under the orders of Prefect Placidus, he too was arrested, scourged, and decapitated, again suffering persecution for his faith.

Very little is known about the third St Valentine other than he existed, was killed and martyred along with several companions in Africa. Although these men were all faithful to their religion and died because of it – the custom of exchanging letters, cards and gifts is a secular and pagan celebration according to the church. Nonetheless, all religions exhort us to be loving and caring individuals, as we should be, no matter our beliefs.

My January 31 column was titled ‘Love has many Faces’ and covered several aspects of how we as humans express or deal with that emotion or state

of being – the joys and the pitfalls – embodied in the tile. Personally, for me, love is about unconditional giving whether it is in a romantic, practical or friendly way with no thought of whether that will give me some kind of return. The pleasure is in the giving knowing I may have made a difference, no matter how small the gesture, in that persons’ day. I have a quote attributed to the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, to her husband, another famous artist, Diego Rivera. She wrote: ”I’m not asking you to kiss me, nor apologise to me when I think you’re wrong. I won’t even ask you to hug me

when I need it most. I don’t ask you to tell me how beautiful I am, even if it’s a lie, nor write me anything beautiful. I won’t even ask you to call me to tell me how your day went, nor tell me you miss me. I won’t ask you to thank me for everything I do for you, nor to care about me when my soul is down, and of course, I won’t ask you to support me in my decisions. I won’t even ask you to listen to me when I have a thousand stories to tell you. I won’t ask you to do anything, not even be by my side forever. Because if I have to ask you, I don’t want it anymore.”

Zonta Club of New Providence Donates $12,500 to Sister-Sister in ‘Save a Life’ campaign

The Zonta Club of New Providence (ZCNP) raised a total of $12,500 through its ‘Save a Life’ campaign to provide women diagnosed with breast cancer with port-a-caths (ports) and needles, which are critical for their cancer treatment.

The recent donation to the Sister-Sister Cancer Support Group was made as part of the ZCNP’s commitment to mitigate the risks for cancer patients who might find themselves financially challenged. This contribution will greatly help towards the purchase of necessities that are vital to their treatment.

President Yvette Ingraham said the project was started to ensure that women did not have to choose between providing for their families and getting life-saving cancer treatment.

“We want to empower women through health and education and that involves preventative measures as well as projects like this that help to lessen the burden of accessing treatment,” said Ms

Victoria Sarne

This is about love being exchanged freely and honestly. It doesn’t and shouldn’t have to be asked or begged for. If anyone feels they have to do that or it is an expectation, then something is wrong in that emotional exchange. If love or any expression of it is not spontaneous and generous but has the objective of getting some kind of ‘reward’ then it has no real value, it becomes a transaction and not a relationship.

St Valentines Day, pagan or otherwise, is a reminder for us all to be more thoughtful about our interactions with friends, companions or spouses not only on this day, but all the days we have allotted to us. None of us are promised a tomorrow as we can see from the terrible earthquake tragedy in Turkey and Syria where literally thousands have died or have lost everything. So, buy the flowers, the chocolates, the gifts and make someone feel special. As for me, although I love, flowers and can’t live without chocolate, I’d be happy to get a simple written note, and I will be sending some of those.

Ingraham. “This is our second year partnering with the SisterSister organisation for this project and we are pleased that this initiative that had so much impact on the lives of women battling cancer.”

Sister-Sister is a thriving support group for cancer survivors and those who are currently on their cancer journey. The organization has made it a point to assist women who need emotional and financial support to help them overcome cancer, making the support group an ideal partner for ZCNP and its breast cancer awareness campaign.

“Women dying because they do not have the necessities to win their battle with cancer is not an option,” said Ms Ingraham. “Patients are living longer now because of medical technology and women in the Bahamas deserve too as well. We give this $12,500 to Sister-Sister so that together we can save lives.”

ZCNP is a member of Zonta International, a global organization that has successfully empowered women worldwide through service and advocacy for more than 100 years. Zonta International envisions a world in which women’s rights are recognised as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. In such a world, women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men.

Real Wives of Miami hit up Baha Mar during season five filming

Nassau’s luxury resort Baha Mar participated in multiple upcoming episodes of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Miami.”

The show features its all-star cast including Lisa Hochstein, Nicole Martin and Larsa Pippen enjoying sun and sand during a tropical vacation at Baha Mar on episodes nine through 11. The first episode featuring Baha Mar is available to stream on Peacock, with the subsequent episodes airing on February 16 and 23.

While on property, the cast can be seen lounging poolside at the exclusive Beach Club overlooking Cable Beach and enjoying the water rides at Baha Mar’s newest luxury water park, Baha Bay. When not at the pool, viewers can watch the cast getting down with Baha Mar’s ambassador flamingos during Flamingo Yoga, figure drawing at the property’s art gallery and studio The Current and indulging in spa treatments at the Caribbean’s flagship ESPA spa.

In the evenings, the group visited the best of Baha Mar’s world class restaurants, including a rum tasting at Marcus Up Top, where they enjoyed dishes by legendary Chef Marcus Samuelsson. The cast enjoyed a day full of sun, water sports and cocktails at the resort’s private luxury island Long Cay. When not exploring the property or hanging with Baha Mar’s flamingoes, the cast stayed in the presidential suite with sweeping ocean views at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar’s The Reserve, the hotel’s topof-the-line luxury accommodations.

ONE depiction of St Valentine

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

From the fancy boxes of chocolates to the romantic cards, the rose bouquets and the giant gift baskets, there will be shades of pink and red everywhere today; in every office, classroom and home throughout the country.

And while for some, this elaborate type of display is unnecessary or even unwanted, there are many women who are intently waiting for a floral arrangement or “surprise” delivery to be made to their places of employment or residence today.

Probably the worst feeling is if you were expecting such gift or token and not receiving anything from the love in your life.

Tribune Woman asked a number of ladies to share their opinions on the subject of men not buying gifts on Valentine’s Day or simply disappearing for those 24 hours.

“I have a guy friend who is like a brother to me. I asked him what is he buying his wife for Valentine’s Day, and this man told me he ‘doesn’t do Valentine’s.’ I am like, ‘What do you mean, you don’t do Valentine’s Day? His response was: ‘She has everything’,” said Kim Martin.

Kim said these are the kinds of men that really get on her nerves, because no matter how commercial Valentine’s Day has become, she believes it is a valid occasion to express one’s affection with a gift, just like one would do on a birthday, at Christmas, for graduation or anniversary.

“Tell me what is so different about a day that is solely focused

on love? Why does it get so much hate from people, especially men. Yes, you may show your lady love all the time, but there is also a special day designated for it. There is nothing like feeling special. I am convinced it’s because these types of men are just plain old cheap and mean; yes, I said it, they are mean,” she said.

Melanie Darville said she hates when men can’t be honest when it comes to Valentine’s Day.

“You get the ones who incite a fight a few days before so they won’t have to buy anything because we’re ‘on a break’. Then you have those who simply disappear on you and you can’t find them anywhere on February 14,” she said.

“Either tell me that I’m not worth buying a small gift for, or tell me you can’t afford it, or at least can’t afford something huge and expensive and were therefore embarrassed, but just don’t go missing in action or pretend we’re fighting.”

Phillipa Cox said during her days as a single she would always buy herself flowers on Valentine’s Day because one, she adores flowers, and two, she adores herself.

“When I got in relationships and I had single girlfriends, I would send them flowers on Valentine’s Day because the day is all about love, no matter who you’re sharing it with. But I say this to say, if I am treating myself like this, there is no way I am going to settle for someone who is not doing the exact same for me and more. Settle if you want to, but I wouldn’t recommend it; it gets you no where,” said Phillipa.

She went on to say there are some couples that choose to not

exchange gifts for various reasons, but it has to be a mutual understanding between the couple.

“Don’t take it upon yourself to draw back on me and it catches me by surprise. I mean, if you are a good man, we are not going to break up because of it, but we are going to have a conversation about it,” said Phillipa.

Annie Roberts added: “Let me put some ladies on the game. If you have standards, don’t ever settle, no matter what.” She recalled an experience with a college boyfriend who decided not to gift her on Valentine’s Day.

“No one is perfect, this is true. But boy, once you forgive a few hiccups it will more than likely remain the course of the relationship. This question brings me back to a college relationship I had. Valentine’s Day was coming up and we both discussed going out or simply just being in each other’s company. The day came and the man not only stood me up, I didn’t even receive a $2 Walgreens card delivered to my dorm room. Can you imagine the heartache? He didn’t follow up with me or anything all day. Was he cheating? Maybe. Did he do it on purpose? Maybe.”

Learn the languages of love

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

Valentine’s Day is that special day to show your partner just how much you care, and if truth be told, we all like a physical display of how much they care about us in return.

But many times, that love message can be lost, for the simple reason that partners don’t speak the same love language.

The idea of the five love languages stems from the popular 1992 book “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.”

Author and counsellor Gary Chapman explains the five ways most couples express affection to each other:

receiving gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service and physical touch.

He says that once couples learn how to speak to each other (meaning they know their love language and the love language of their partner), their relationships will be more successful.

And this year’s season of love is the perfect time to truly speak to your partner.

Receiving gifts

If your partner is one who speaks this language, they want to know you have made an effort to choose a gift that shows they know you and they care. It is often not the price of the gift, but the thought behind it. So, if that’s your partner, really try to knock it out the park with a creative gift that will blow their socks off – a playlist of songs that are meaningful to your relationship, a basket of their favourite foods or that Amazon item they mentioned weeks ago when they thought you weren’t paying attention.

Quality time

When you are truly are in love with someone, you will want to

spend as much time together as possible. Now, with work, family and other social commitments, quality time may be hard to come by, but try to find ways to improve the quality of the time you spend together. It could be something as simple as singing your wedding song at the top of your lungs during the drive home from work or finding ways to glamorise

simple tasks like doing the weekly grocery shopping. Of course, the ultimate way to spend couple time would be to plan a trip, even it’s just a quick overnight stay and not a longer break.

Words of affirmation

We may cringe when we see couples who post long soliloquies of love on their socials, but they are winning the love game if their partner is someone who speaks the love language of words of affirmation. It’s all about compliments and love declarations for the speakers of this language. They need to hear you say it out loud and as

The next day, Annie said, her boyfriend suddenly resurfaced and apologised. Annie called herself a fool for taking him back.

“That relationship was shortlived, but because I forgave him, oh, I suffered. I had to force him to do nice things with me. I believe the cool kids today call it ‘love bombing’, where the man says all the right things to make you feel good, and turn around and do the same things he apologised for. I encourage all women to know their worth and don’t ignore the red flags. The simple things will one day turn into big things,” she said.

often as possible. So go ahead and put pen to paper and write a letter to them saying how you feel, or feel free to borrow a quote or two from the more eloquent among us. Trust me, your partner will lap it up.

Acts of service

This is one love language that many couples who have been together for a while may need help with. Sometimes we take our partners for granted and just assume that because they do something all the time they don’t need or want help or appreciation. But doing little but necessary things for your partner will ensure they hold you in their heart forever. Tackle that project around the house they have been wanting done. Pack them a lunch for the next day to help them get out the door earlier, or run that errand you know they really don’t want to do. Acts of service say “I care about you; I am here to make life easier for you.”

Physical touch

Yes, relationships all have their intimate moments. But this love language is more about just having a physical connection outside of sexual intimacy. It’s about making your partner feel close to you. Take them out dancing, cuddle on the couch, rub their feet or give them a massage after a rough day. It will help you reconnect.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2023