PAGE 2, Thursday, April 8, 2021
LIGHTING IT UP
THE TRIBUNE
BLUE
PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis speaking at the autism awareness event at Queen’s College last night. PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was the keynote speaker at a REACH autism awareness and acceptance ceremony held at Queen’s College campus last night. The “Light it Up Blue” event was held in honour of World Autism Awareness Day, which was officially observed on April 2.
FROM left, DW Davis principal Nicolette Brown, Reginald Wells, Dwayne Gibson, and Greer Bain. Photos: Racardo Thomas
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, April 8, 2021, PAGE 3
from page one
is in the safe hands of the courts” and insisted he is even more excited to get in contact with his family. “I want to talk to my kids right now,” he stated. “It’s really terrible that we’ve not had an opportunity. Sometimes we’ve been able to send out letters or correspondences via very irregular means and that shouldn’t be so. We were not charged for any crime, no court determined that our rights should have been restricted to the extent that we’re not going to make communication, so we hope to communicate with family and we’re sure they’ll be happy.” During the hearing yesterday, Mr Smith said the applicants were grateful to the respondents for arranging their release. “There are no grey areas here,” he told the judge. “People can’t just be held indefinitely. The Immigration (Department) appears to have become a law unto themselves and despite ruling after ruling, habeas corpus after habeas corpus, they still don’t seem to understand what the law is. And frankly, I’m not in charge, I don’t know what to do about it, but all the judges repeatedly issued the writs and so Mr Cargill, I guess I’m directing this at him, to please urge his clients to be respectful of the law so we don’t have to do this.” Both attorneys are scheduled to appear before Justice Turner for a mention hearing today to confirm that all of the asylum seekers have been released before the case is closed.
Govt fails to justify why asylum seekers held for two years The Tribune understands the return was never filed. However, during a virtual hearing before Justice Bernard Turner, Keith Cargill, the attorney representing the respondents, said the government had made arrangements to release the refugees. After spending nearly two years in custody, the detainees were finally allowed to walk out of the gates of the Detention Centre shortly before 2pm yesterday. When they spoke to reporters, they said they were shocked by the “brutal and hostile” treatment they received at the facility and were traumatised by the entire ordeal. “It’s traumatic, I really can’t talk much,” one asylum seeker stated. “I would say it’s shocking. I really didn’t believe that in a country like the Bahamas you could experience so much cruelty. It was a systematic cruelty abuse of all sorts... The truth about it and the conclusion about it is that the whole experience is traumatic (and) we’re going to take several weeks and months to come out of this situation.” The man said they “assumed the country was a safe territory” because it was advertised in the media as a destination where Hollywood stars travelled and purchased cays. Still, he said their experience “thus far” was far from anything they could have ever imagined. Among the asylum seekers was also a mother, who
SOME of the asylum seekers departing Carmichael Road Detention Centre yesterday. said she had been separated from her now three-yearold daughter “for close to a year”. In November of last year, the woman was remanded to prison after she was charged with an offence in the Magistrate’s Court. However, nearly four months after she first appeared in court, the charges were dropped and she was released. When asked what it felt like to finally be reunited with her daughter, she stated: “I feel very good, (it is) the most happiest thing that has happened to me since almost two years now. Having her back is really, really a joyful thing for me (and) I still can’t handle the excitement. “For the first time when she saw me, she burst into tears... They always tell me your baby is well taken care of and stuff, but the first day that I took her, even the officers that were on duty with me that day, they saw
that the baby wasn’t really, really taken care of because she was a very chubby baby, but right now (she’s) very slim.” The group said they came from a community that held “childbearing” in high esteem and could not understand “how a mother and a child could be separated for up to a year”. They also said it was “unfortunate” that when the pair were reunited on April 1, it was done in a “brutal manner”. To make matters worse, the male refugee said the group was also restless because “nobody knew where the baby was” and they heard there was an incident at the Children’s Emergency Children’s Hostel earlier this year where children had allegedly been abused. “I would say it’s fortunate that though we don’t have access to communication, somehow information gets
Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff
to us and that particular incident gave us sleepless nights,” the male asylum seeker said. “Now there is no evidence (the baby) was not a victim of cruelty under the custody of the Bahamas government. A baby like this can’t talk too much...but if one child has been beaten, then the righteous conclusion is that (the child) has been poorly treated. “I don’t know if I should consider the Bahamas a western country or what because before I was coming to the Bahamas I thought it was really, really civilised, but the kind of brutality and hostility that we’ve received in this Carmichael Detention Centre only tells me that I have found myself somewhere around Saudi Arabia.” The man said while they were detained at the facility, officials gave them the impression that “very basic needs” like communication
were a privilege and not a right. He said: “I look forward to compiling some of the experiences we’ve had... The reports I hope to release I think (would) be a feedback for the government to check the bureaucracy of the Immigration Department. The kind of officials that are being employed, their language, everything about them has to be checked. “It’s important for a country like this because in my opinion this is an international zone. The Detention Centre is for internationals, not nationals. And the world is looking up to a country like this where people travel from all corners of the world (so) for them to minimise basic human rights, very basic, I think it’s unfortunate.” Still, he stated after “close to two years of unjustified imprisonment” he is “excited the matter
OVER 270LB? EVACUATION PODS WON’T CARRY YOU By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A TOP government health official said the pods used to evacuate suspected COVID-19 patients from Family Islands can only carry people who weigh 270lb or less. The comment comes more than a week after Louis Rolle, a 74-year-old Bimini resident, died after officials declined to airlift him because of his weight. During a press conference
yesterday, Princess Margaret Hospital Administrator Mary Lightbourne-Walker said: “Persons who exceed the weight limit, the pod would not be able to afford the protection of the other persons who would be travelling in that vessel, whether that vessel is a plane or a boat if the pod is not secured based on the programme weight limits.” Health officials were unable to say what alternatives exist for obese people who get a serious case of the disease. Obesity is a risk
factor for severe COVID19 complications. Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said last week’s incident was “unfortunate”. “It was unfortunate that we were unable to bring the patient out of Bimini due to the weight restriction but certainly it sheds light on the need for us to ensure that given our population, geography, as well as our weight challenges that we have, we are seeking to determine exactly what would be the best way
to accommodate a patient that we have in a particular island where we are unable to use the pod that is purchased to bring individuals in from that particular island,” she said. “It is clear that we have to seek to determine the best way for us to be in a better position to manage
persons beyond the weight limit of the pods and certainly all efforts are being put forward to determine exactly how we will do that in the shortest time to prevent us from being in that position again from the Ministry of Health.” Rolle died exactly one year after Kim
Johnson-Rolle, another Bimini resident who was not airlifted in time, became the country’s first COVID19 death. West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe did not respond to messages over the weekend seeking a comment on the matter.
PAGE 4, Thursday, April 8, 2021
THE TRIBUNE
POLITICAL GATHERINGS ‘SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
CHIEF Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said political gatherings should not be happening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her statement yesterday flies in the face of comments by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis, both of whom have suggested it is fine to host political events. At first, Dr McMillan discussed political gatherings in terms of whether protocols are being followed. But under persistent questioning during a Ministry of Health press conference yesterday, she said: “The Ministry of Health continues to make the recommendations that are based on the science and certainly our recommendations remain the same, there should not be gatherings that are above and beyond what is agreed upon in the Emergency Orders, as well as you need
TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS
9,296 189 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES TUESDAY 26 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA ABACO EXUMA ANDROS PENDING
9 5 5 5 1 1
TOTAL TESTS
HOSPITALISED
78,357
32
to wear your mask, you need to sanitise. “Those types of gathering should not be occurring and certainly individuals
CASES IN ICU
3
8,811
have a responsibility to protect themselves and others by not availing themselves of such events, be they political, be they a
MORE NOW ELIGIBLE FOR VACCINE THE government has expanded the parameters of those who qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine. Those eligible now include teachers and staff of schools; home-bound physically challenged residents; hospitality workers; and students and athletes studying or competing abroad as well as coaches and other support staff. Other priority groups are healthcare workers; persons 60 years of age and older; uniformed branches; hotel and resort employees (public transportation workers, staff at Lynden Pindling International Airport, Nassau Airport Development, Nassau Cruise Port (NCP), as well as Straw Market, port and beach vendors and tour operators). Additional priority groups will soon be added as facilities are prepared, including for those with physical disabilities. Appointments may be made at the following vaccination centres: Loyola Hall on Gladstone Road (healthcare workers, 60-plus and uniformed branches); Church of God of Prophecy on East Street (healthcare workers, 60-plus and uniformed branches); Kendal G L Isaacs National Gymnasium (teachers and staff of schools, students and athletes studying or competing abroad); Atlantis, Paradise Island and Baha Mar (for hospitality workers) and the Susan
RECOVERED
J Wallace Community Centre in Grand Bahama. People are asked to visit https:// vax.gov.bs to make an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Officials have urged people to note the vaccination centre assigned to specific priority groups. Those interested in registering a homebound physically challenged resident with the COVID-19 Vaccine Mobile Unit should email deborahfox@bahamas.gov.bs or call 511. For residents who do not have access to the internet, walk-up appointments are available at the Church of God of Prophecy, East Street or call 511 for assistance with making an appointment. Only persons eligible to receive the vaccine at this time should make an appointment, officials said. A valid work ID indicating proof of occupation and/or proof of age is required at the vaccination centre. In the case of students and athletes, student ID and proof of competition will be required. Details on the resumption of vaccinations on Eleuthera and the vaccine roll-out on Abaco will be announced by the end of the week. To date, more than 10,000 vaccinations have been administered on New Providence, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera.
party, be they a gathering of family. We have to continue to follow the public health measures, that is the only way we will be able to continue to move down the road of being in the position that we all want to be in the position of.” Dr Minnis and Mr Davis have insisted that people adhere to health protocols during political events, but there have been clear examples of some people not wearing masks and some standing within six feet of each other. Some of the political events have had in excess of more than 50 people and COVID-19 ambassadors have not been policing the gatherings. Meanwhile, various types of gatherings remain prohibited throughout the country – regardless of whether people wear masks or remain physically distant. Indoor dining remains prohibited, for example, regardless of a facility’s ability to follow health protocols. Dr McMillan acknowledged that health officials
are not monitoring political events. “We make the recommendations for all groupings and we anticipate that the recommendations will be for all the Bahamas,” she said. “It’s nothing different, it’s nothing different for any particular grouping. When I say a club can wait, those kinds of things, it’s all about trying to give persons the opportunity to ensure they do not put themselves in positions that increase the likelihood to exposure or to exposing if they may be an asymptomatic carrier.” Dr McMillan’s comments came after Health Minister Renward Wells noted that a “marked” increase in COVID-19 cases have been observed in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Eleuthera in recent weeks. Asked about this, Dr McMillan did not indicate whether health officials are recommending further restrictions for those islands, instead saying that the public health recommendations for physical distancing and sanitization remain in place.
She also could not say whether the Bahamas will soon change travel visa requirements to allow fully vaccinated people to enter the country without producing a COVID-19 test. The US Centre for Disease Control has said that testing is not necessary for fully vaccinated people to be travel. “Certainly I think considerations can be made along the lines of once persons are fully vaccinated (they can travel with fewer requirements) but we are not there as yet,” Dr McMillan said. “As we continue to move forward with out vaccination campaign, I anticipate that we will be in a position to review what the guidance is from countries such as the US, the CDC, and others, the World Health Organisation as it relates to travelers not needed to test but certainly where we are now currently, those measures will need to remain in place.” On Tuesday, health officials recorded 26 new cases, bringing the country’s overall COVID-19 count to 9,296.
‘I GOT THE JAB AT LAST’ By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
AFTER trying for the last three weeks to get vaccinated, 66-year-old Stephen Plakaris came to the Church of God of Prophecy on East Street hoping to get the shot. Mr Plakaris was waiting on the line with many other senior citizens at the church yesterday morning. He was frustrated with the wait time, saying senior citizens should be “treated a little bit better” than “standing in the sun for hours” waiting to get vaccinated. While in the queue, he explained he decided to come to the church after previous failed attempts to get vaccinated. He was having issues getting an appointment online. “From before the Easter I’ve been trying. I should say some place between mid-March. I went to the Loyola Hall when it first opened up during the second week and I was told not to be on (the) line. I did that at least four tries – I just got tired,” he said. “We’re encouraged to come out and to register and register online in which the procedure
was followed but…especially when you try to put in the date, (it) kept getting blocked out. All that information accepted but then errors kept popping up and therefore the only other choice is this one - walk-in.” While at the church, data consultant at Ministry of Health Danny Davis, who is also working along with the COVID-19 vaccination committee, admitted it has been busy and they are trying to accommodate individuals who are unable to make an appointment on their phones or computer. “This site (at the church), you can walk-in, not have a phone, and we can still facilitate you. You can walk in and not have an email address and we can still be able facilitate you that’s why this site was designed the way it is,” he said. “We’re endeavoured to bring this process to the people wherever they are. “So, we will have sites in the community and those sites will move through community so that everybody has an equal chance of getting the vaccine.” Solomon Taylor, 73, who also came to be vaccinated yesterday,
also had issues with waiting in the sun. “(They) should have places where people could be out the sun or could sit down until somebody time,” he said. “It’s serious, we’re senior citizens were not juniors. People who could stay in the sun for the next 20 years. We have some people who pressure high… the more the sun hit them the more it build up their pressure and they fall out, then what you say.” Meanwhile, acting Controller of Road Traffic and Chief Superintendent of Police Bradley Sands got vaccinated yesterday. When asked how officers feel about the vaccine, he admitted a lot of them are still on the fence. “I have no major hiccups with it,” he said “If you really pay attention to what’s happening around the world you would prefer to have a vaccine than to need it and you don’t have it then to have it and you don’t need it because it’s like having an umbrella. “If the rain coming down the umbrella will cover you, but if you don’t have the umbrella then you get wet up all day.”
‘VACCINE BENEFITS FAR OUTWEIGH ANY RISKS’ from page one
up to April 4 and a very small number of blood clots (have developed). Actually, the chance of getting a blood clot is way less than 0.1 percent, it’s about 0.0065 percent, and so it’s an extremely rare side effect that’s possible. “Scientists are not really clear on what exactly could be causing this at this time so the overall position is that the benefits for this vaccine do still outweigh
the risks of this vaccine and there is some other useful information to know. As a matter of fact, four women out of every 10,000 women that is on the birth control pill will get a blood clot because of it and COVID19 itself can cause blood clots so we always have to weigh what is the benefit and the risks and the benefits of the vaccines still far outweigh the risks, especially in the context of an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. “As it relates to what
the United Kingdom has decided, it’s based on the observation that this very rare side effect is most likely to occur in younger persons, especially women, and so you have to balance it in terms of your country situation and in that case persons under the age of 30 would certainly be more at risk of the rare side effect of having blood clouts but they also would do far better if they got COVID19 and so that is where that recommendation came out. All countries will have to
look at their situation and decide what their national guidelines will be, but that’s some of the context and still being studied.” Yesterday, Dr McMillan said a small number of people who have been vaccinated in the country have reported “non-serious and mild” side effects. “As of April 4, there were 69 individuals who reported more than one event,” she said. “This was less than one percent of all the persons who would have been vaccinated. Of these, sex was
not documented for seven or ten percent who reported the event. Most events reported were among women, this was 42 of the 69 persons, and in people between the ages of 45 and 54. All the events analysed were classified as non-serious and mild.” She said 69 people reported 119 events. Twenty one percent of the reported events were due to headache, 15 percent were fever, 13 percent were chills, 9 percent body pain, 8 percent pain at injection site, 8 percent fatigue. Health Minister Renward Wells meanwhile noted that the groups of people eligible to receive a vaccine has now been expanded on New Providence. The list now includes teachers and staff of schools; physically challenged residents who are homebound; students
and athletes studying or competing abroad; and hospitality workers (including public transportation workers, Lynden Pindling International Airport workers, Nassau Airport Development Company employees, Nassau Cruise Port workers, Straw Market workers, port and beach vendors and tourism operators). He said vaccination centres will open at Atlantis and Baha Mar for hospitality workers on April 9. People who can’t access the internet on New Providence can go to the Church of God of Prophecy on East Street for the jab. Dr McMillan said work is continuing to expand the vaccination process to other Family Islands, such as Exuma, but she did not say when the expansion would take place.
THE TRIBUNE
Thursday, April 8, 2021, PAGE 5
Lloyd ‘very satisfied’ with education access By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net EDUCATION Minister Jeffrey Lloyd said he is “very satisfied” his ministry has provided students access to quality education during the coronavirus pandemic. His comment came a day after the head of Bahamas Union of Teachers said some students are currently “inadequately prepared” to sit the BJC and BGCSE exams, which are set to begin next week.
Union President Belinda Wilson said on Tuesday that a decrease in class time and student attendance are reasons why some students are not prepared for the exams. She said the hybrid model “does not lend to quality teaching as some schools have seven periods per day with additional subjects being taught each day but less class time”. Thus, the time allocated for face-to-face teaching is insufficient for BJC and BGCSE preparation. The hybrid model was instituted for public schools
in Abaco, Eleuthera, Exuma and New Providence to return to the classroom in February as schools on those islands have been unable to do face-to-face learning since October. Yesterday, Mr Lloyd stressed that only these four islands did not have face-to-face instruction while other islands did have in-person learning. He told The Tribune: “Secondly, for those islands in which there were no face-to-face instructions but virtual, the Ministry of
Education along with many of our corporate partners and social and community organisations made available to those students, particularly the ones who are in desperate need (of) devices and internet access, our teachers made themselves available far beyond the usual extension of their daily responsibility, including after school and on weekends.” He also said: “It is the ministry’s responsibility, the government’s responsibility, to be sure that every student in the Commonwealth
of the Bahamas has access to quality education. I’m very satisfied that we have provided that. “There’s also a personal responsibility in the part of the student and …..family responsibility in the part of the parent and their relatives. We have done what we’re supposed to do and we have done it, in my estimation, considering the circumstances, excellent.” He also said the exams are not mandatory. Those who do not feel prepared in a given year to take those exams can sit them next
year. He said it would be unfair to deny those students who are ready and want to take the exams this year. The minister announced last month that the national exams will be held between April 13 through June 25. As of March 12, there were 5,087 students registered for the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams, while 9,382 candidates were registered for the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) tests.
JOBLESS RATE NOW 20-23% from page one
Yesterday, Mr Pinder also said he believes most hotel properties that closed due to the pandemic will have re-opened by mid-summer. However, he said, this also will be dependent on the country continuing to see an increase in tourist arrivals as was seen last month. On Sunday, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar revealed that 60,000 nonresidents bought travel health visas to visit the country in March, double the number that did so in December 2020. It is believed the number of travel visas purchased roughly corresponds to the number of arrivals in the country. The figure – though a far cry from the number of tourists who visited the Bahamas in March 2019 – represents the highest number of visitor arrivals since the country re-opened its borders in November. Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Mr Pinder welcomed the numbers as a “good sign” for the country’s economic rebound and said it further shows the confidence people have in travelling to the Bahamas as a safe destination. “To me, this is a good sign in the confidence that the rest of the world have in the manner in which we were able to govern ourselves during this whole pandemic situation,” Mr Pinder said. “I think they’re satisfied that we continue to keep the Bahamas as a safe destination, and we did what was necessary to curve the amount of cases that we would’ve been faced with. “I can certainly say that our death rate is outstanding. We didn’t have much persons who died from it and we were able to treat most of the persons that contracted COVID-19 so as a result of our good
LABOUR DIRECTOR JOHN PINDER “We know that The management of this whole pandemic, persons that Pointe is trying as best as were waiting to travel from they can to open no later their countries are faced than June,” he told this newspaper. “There are with the same situation. “I think most persons are one or two of the other satisfied that certainly, the hotel properties that are Bahamas is a safe destina- putting the necessary protion, and it continues to be tocols in place to open by a safe destination and so summer.” “Once we don’t have no they’re starting to come back and that’s a good sign of our third outbreak and under normal circumstances I economy rebounding.” However, in recent would say by July, most weeks, the Bahamas has of these hotels that were seen a sustained increase in closed would be open and COVID-19 infections, with I believe that the most of total cases now standing at those persons who were furloughed, the majority of 9,296 as of Tuesday. Mr Pinder urged Bahami- those staffers ought to be ans, especially those in the back in the workplace by tourism sector, to get vac- mid-summer once the numcinated to help the country bers continue to increase defeat the COVID-19 threat, as the bookings have been which in turn will allow for a showing so far. “So, most of the hotel faster tourism recovery. are seeing Workers employed in the properties tourism industry are now eli- increase in bookings and gible to receive their first shot once that starts to happen, of the Oxford-AstraZeneca I see no reason why pervaccine, according to the sons should not be called National COVID-19 Vaccine back to work or those who have been closed will not Consultative Committee. “We’re depending on be able to open. Based on this vaccine to do what is the trend right now, I think necessary to fight off the it’s safe to say by July most COVID-19 so I encourage of the properties should be every Bahamian to get it,” re-opened.” He continued: “…. And he said. With vaccinations now the cruise lines are now underway, Mr Pinder said starting to come back and he is hopeful that those so with those announcehotels that have not yet re- ments of the ships getting opened will now be able to ready to head back to the do so, allowing for more Bahamas and the tourism people to return to work. arrivals increasing, I think Mega resorts Baha Mar and it’s safe to say that by July Atlantis began their phased or August we should be in good shape.” re-opening in December.
...BUT 75% OF HOTEL WORKERS STILL OFF from page one Earlier this week, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said that 60,000 non-residents bought travel health visas to visit the country in March, double the number that did so in December 2020. It is believed that the number of travel visas purchased roughly corresponds to the number of arrivals in the country. The figure for March represents a 92 percent decline compared to arrivals in March 2019, however. Yesterday Mr Woods said the reported uptick has not translated to the same number of people in hotels. The BHCAWU represents Atlantis workers and employees at some smaller hotels. “From our standpoint, and as kind of an estimation, we say as many as 75 percent of persons are still out,” Mr Woods told The Tribune. “Those are the furloughed people, as many as 75 percent and it could be more or less so about five percent either way.” He added: “The thing is, even with the uptick where are these persons staying, because it’s not translating into rooms per se. They may be staying in smaller hotels and I can only speak for the area we represent. Maybe they are staying in smaller resorts or Airbnb or private homes. “I think when we talk
about the numbers we’d have to get close to the numbers that we’d normally have during this time of year because you know it is the spring break, Easter, and then you’re heading into the summer months where things will really be booming. “So, while there maybe or is an uptick in visitor arrivals, but where are they staying and so he (the minister) may be talking from a tourism standpoint in terms of visitors arrivals. It translates into something different in terms of room stay and persons going back to work.” Asked about the sentiments of workers, particularly those who remain furloughed, Mr Woods said many had hoped to be offered separation packages. “The workers are growing very wary because they want some closure and it’s difficult as long as we are under this Emergency Order which suspends a couple of portions of the Employment Act. They want to know if they are going back to work, then let’s go back to work. There are people who have indicated that, listen, we want to go. “There was a conversation that was held with the governmental officials to say, listen reach out to the company because we have been trying to do so to say listen if you have persons who want to go, see how
best you can facilitate them to go. “At least it would give them some form of closure and then they could move on.” It is a position that Labour Director John Pinder said back in February he recommended to some major employers. At the time he said: “People want to receive their severance pay and probably could make an investment and do something with it, but if this thing turns around sooner than we expect and you get rid of all your qualified staffers and those persons who could provide good service, now you find yourself in a position whereas you have to now find yourself new staff and retrain them. “Even if the persons who you let go decide they want to find something else and they can’t find what they want and you have to bring them back, there is no guarantee persons on extended furlough will be rehired once the employer has to do that at the same position with the same salary with the same benefits. As long as you are on furlough, they still have their tenure. They still have the same positions and they still have the benefits that they were entitled to.” Both Atlantis, Baha Mar and other resorts have had to furlough workers due to decreased bookings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
$32M AND NEVER SLEPT IN from page one
He did note, however, that a “very, very” parttime property manager has maintained the stately home. Recently, Mr Ansell told Robb Report what led to Elisium remaining untouched for more than a year. “Interestingly, just six months before the home was completed in January 2020, the owner and his wife decided their children would benefit from going to school in the States. So they relocated to Florida. They’ve never spent a single night in the house,”
Mr Ansell said. Elisium’s owner, a European business executive, bought the property back in 2015. At the time, there was a home on the site, which he demolished to make room for his vision. Not only will the wealthy buyer get to choose one of two free luxury vehicles – the owner’s 2013 Range Rover Vogue or 2015 Porsche Panamera – it also comes with a golf cart, useful for driving from the cul-de-sac to the renowned Ocean Club Estates golf course. Sotheby’s International Realty has listed the home’s features which include a
formal family sitting room with three full floor to ceiling windows complete with a chandelier adorning the 28-foot high coffered ceiling; two symmetrically curved 11-foot high built-in fish tanks; a family kitchen with an eat-in family dining area; a separate professional chef’s kitchen – the two kitchens benefiting from Sub Zero, Wolf and Bertazolli Appliances; full butler’s pantry; a formal second-floor dining room serviced by the residence’s elevator; a media room; a wine cellar; utility room housing the residence’s smart utility and stereo systems among other amazing perks.
PAGE 6, Thursday, April 8, 2021
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Another detention, another court defeat for govt AFTER holding seven people in detention for nearly two years, it turns out that the government couldn’t even explaining why they had done so. It’s a travesty of justice, and not the first when it comes to the government’s handling of immigration matters. The seven arrived as asylum seekers from Cameroon, having fled over fear of persecution. Rather than a helping hand, they found the door being closed behind them at Carmichael Road Detention Centre in May 2019. Fred Smith, QC, took up the case and the government was ordered to prove it acted lawfully in locking up the asylum seekers. When the deadline for that proof arrived, it turned out it was never filed by the government and it was revealed that instead the government has made arrangements to release the refugees. That means they were deprived of their liberty for nothing. For a whim on the part of the immigration service. And this for people who were fleeing hostile conditions elsewhere. Indeed, what they found here was a horrific experience, with one of the asylum seekers saying of the conditions they were kept in: “I really didn’t believe that in a country like The Bahamas you could experience so much cruelty. It was a systematic cruelty abuse of all sorts.” One of the asylum seekers is a mother who was separated from her daughter, now three years old, for a year. That’s time you can’t give back to someone. The voices of the asylum seekers reinforce some of the concerns in the US State Department report on human rights in The Bahamas, which raised alarms over the treatment of detainees at the Carmichael Road centre. And the failure of the process – again – echoes the cases of Douglas Ngumi, who was locked up for six and a half years before being awarded more than $600,000 in damages. Or Matthew Sewell, who was locked up for more than nine years despite never being convicted of a single crime. Or Atain Takitota, who was locked up for nothing more than being a homeless foreigner
and spent eight years behind bars at Fox Hill where he tried to kill himself three times only to be awarded at first a mere $1,000 in damages when his imprisonment was deemed unconstitutional. Time and again, The Tribune has highlighted these cases. And time and again, thankfully, lawyers such as Fred Smith hold the government to account and win the freedom of those who should not be behind bars in the first place. In November, we asked in this column when will one of these cases prompt the discussion about a fundamental change in the way we deal with long-term detention without charge. That call was prompted by the case against Mr Ngumi. We repeat that call in the wake of these asylum seekers. We cannot keep depriving people of their liberty for years without their cases being heard. Over and over, it is being shown in the courts to be wrong. When will we stop it happening in the first place? People cannot get years of their lives back, and merely releasing them without even an apology is no measure of justice. We must do better.
Blood clots
The concern about the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and its link with blood clots has not quite gone away. Let’s talk about numbers, though. Around 34 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered, and more by the day, and a very small number of cases have seen blood clots develop. As Dr Nikkiah Forbes says, it’s around 0.0065 percent of cases. But the numbers don’t stop there. Around four in 10,000 women on the birth control pill also get blood clots. COVID-19 itself can cause blood clots. So while the medical community is rightly investigating what’s going on, we shouldn’t exaggerate the concerns. Dr Forbes believes that taking the vaccine far outweighs the risks. We agree.
Have your say THERE has been a lively reaction from readers to the stories making the news on tribune242.com this week. • AFTER the government extended its unemployment assistance programme for those still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of April, Tribanon said: “I really pity all hardworking employees and self-employed employers who have been making contributions to the National Insurance fund for decades with the hope that upon their retirement they would be receiving benefit payments.” • PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said he supports changing the boundaries of the Golden Isles and Killarney constituencies to ensure voter parity before the next general election, prompting this reaction from John: “At this juncture can the country afford up to five additional MPs, not just financially but the logistics of it all? If the concern is about right sizing constituencies that have mushroomed in population size and some that have dwindled, then the proper and most logical thing to do would be to redraw the boundaries. Without gerrymandering of course!” To which Emilio26 replied with: “John, actually
I think the Killarney and Golden Isles Constituency should be broken up because they’re too big – especially Killarney. However, that’s one of the reasons Dr Minnis has been winning his seat for the past two decades because Killarney runs all the way from Cable Beach straight out to Adelaide Village.” • Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association president Robert Sands said the US dropping its quarantine policy for vaccinated Americans returning from abroad is a “step in the right direction”. Moncurcool had this to say on the issue: “Amazing how the quarantine has shown how we are so dependent on other markets and countries. Yet every July 10 we have the nebulous notion where we talk about independence.” • And after Jack Anderson, interim president and chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, sought to allay fears that this summer’s planned visits to
Exuma and Harbour Island don’t fit the islands’ tourism model, Truetruebahamian had this to say: “Why travellers would wish to take a cruise to experience a different, yet personally unexplored and interesting part of the world and not debark their vessel is strangely odd decision making in my mind. But understanding every traveller would be a consuming and unproductive waste of energy. Maybe they find benefit and happiness in their choices - even though my thoughts on travel are somewhat different!” Sea__ape posted this comment: “Sorry - there is so much wrong with what this man is saying . . . no one cares if this smaller than mega cruise ships - it’s still a cruise ship with just shy of 1,000 people - dropping them down on an island that don’t have the facilities is insanity . . . it’s like Fyre Fest . . . these people have not done the research - they are only now having meetings with stakeholders and trying to work the logistics - four weeks after they started selling tickets to these destinations – it’s beyond insulting.” • Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
Farewell to a fearless fighter EDITOR, The Tribune. ON APRIL 6, 2021, I lost a very dear friend and mentor. He was a giant of a man; a fearless fighter for inclusion, justice, equality, and opportunity for all, no matter where you were from. Congressman Alcee Hastings was a voice for those without a voice and his impact on my life and the lives of many others will be long lasting. I will honour, cherish and hold dear the bond of friendship that we had, not only with myself, but also my family over the years. As a lawyer, Judge, and Congressman, he would visit my father and always provided encouraging words to me. Congressman Hastings has been an inspiration and a model as a public servant. His support of the tourism industry and black hotel ownership did not stop when he appointed me to the White House Conference on Tourism during the Clinton Administration. He
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net made sure that The Congressional Black Caucus supported the National Association of Black Hotel Owners and Developers (NABHOOD) workshops and seminars on Capital Hill. His support as a participant and speaker at our Summits contributed greatly to my success and the success of the organisation. He was also a great supporter of The Bahamas and from his first visit with me over 20 years ago to his last visit this past year, he always looked for opportunities to help. On his last visit he met with local leaders in government and business, including the Director General and Permanent Secretary of Tourism; Brave Davis, leader of the opposition; Sir Franklyn Wilson and United States Embassy personnel. He dined at Fish Fry where both he and his
wife enjoyed our local food cuisine. As a lasting commitment to his legacy and friendship, we are going to name The Bahamas Preclearance Centre at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport “The Alcee Hastings Bahamas Clear Centre”. On behalf of NABHOOD and his many friends in The Bahamas, I want to personally extend our deepest sympathies to Congressman Hastings’ wife, Patricia, my college professor; son Jody, his entire family, and staff. Congressman Hastings was a leader who fought to create jobs and provide greater economic opportunities for all. He was a true international leader and a blessing to our entire community, particularly The Bahamas. Goodbye my friend and thank you for the many opportunities and memories. May you rest in peace. ANDY INGRAHAM Nassau, April 7, 2021.
Who qualifies for NIB fund? EDITOR, The Tribune. I HAVE been a contributor of the National Insurance (NIB) fund since the 1980’s; more than three decades ago. I have applied for the unemployment benefit on February 01, 2021. I had included all the necessary documents. My NIB Number is 10431667. I have inquired at the National Insurance Board (NIB) today – on the status of my application. I was told that it was
rejected. Those suckers did not even have the professional courtesy to inform me via the provided email or phone number of my application status. As a thirty plus years contributor of the National Insurance Fund, I must express my disappointment in that institution. The people who set the policy of who qualifies and who doesn’t for unemployment assistance, are, in my opinion,
incompetent dummies – who earn big bucks for dumb decisions. And the people who carry them out, are, in my opinion, equally unqualified and heartless. If an unemployed thirty plus years contributor doesn’t qualify for unemployment benefit, then who does? Lovers, family and friends – perhaps? DENNIS DAMES Nassau, April 7, 2021.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, PAGE 7
Residents still wait for hurricane cash By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
WITH two months before the official start of hurricane season, many Grand Bahama residents are still waiting to receive a call from the Disaster Reconstruction Authority to hear whether money is available for them to continue much-needed home repairs. To date, more than 2,500 homeowners are currently being assisted in Grand Bahama and Abaco since the Small Homes Repair programme resumed earlier this year, a DRA official reported. According to Wendell Grant, project director of DRA, funds amounting to some $2.7m have been given so far for home repairs since the programme resumed in February. “We have been back up and running since February 16, and the government has given funding in batches for the different allotments based on people in the system,” he explained. Mr Grant indicated that DRA is dealing with homeowners according to the three categories they fall under. The first group includes those who were approved, have already benefited and were provided purchase orders for materials or labour. “We are finishing off that group of people,” Mr Grant said. “We are pushing through the first set of people.” He said 2,645 people are currently being assisted both in Abaco and Grand Bahama. Of that number, he said 940 homeowners have been assisted so far with purchase orders to the various vendors. “That amounts to $2.7m that have been given so far,” added Mr Grant. “Out of the 940 assisted, 450 homes are completed today, and four weeks from now we project completion of another 1,000 homes in that group.” The second group of persons who will benefit next are those who received purchase orders to get materials, but did not get the materials before the
programme was suspended. Mr Grant said officials will have to re-issue POs to that group of people because the old ones have expired. He said the third and final group are those who are approved but did not receive purchase orders. Although he was not certain whether all repairs would be completed before the hurricane season begins, he expects that a large percentage would have benefited. Mr Grant explained that how quickly repairs are completed is also dependent on the homeowner. “The more houses that have their ducks in a row the quicker the process and repairs can be completed,” he said. He said the DRA has done its all work in terms of assessments and making sure that the vendors are approved. While much progress has been island-wide in terms of rebuilding, there are still residents in need of assistance for major repairs, particularly in the East Grand Bahama constituency. A few weeks ago, East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest expressed concerns about the state of some of his constituents, saying more needed to be done for them. East Grand Bahama was one of the areas hardest hit and severely impacted by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. Many homes and properties were destroyed, leaving families and residents displaced. Residents have made their way back to settlements in East End to rebuild. Reconstruction has been slow in the Lady Lake Subdivision and areas over the bridge, where some damaged homes still remained untouched since the hurricane. When The Tribune visited the Lady Lake Subdivision on Tuesday, there were signs of rebuilding, but restoration is moving slowly. The area experienced a 25ft storm surge that battered and destroyed many homes in that area, which is below sea level. One East Grand Bahama resident, who has applied for
MAN MUST PAY EX-GIRLFRIEND By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A MAN who admitted harming his ex-girlfriend during a heated argument was yesterday ordered to compensate the woman for her injuries. Jamal Arlington Rose, 41, appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn VogtEvans after he punched his ex-girlfriend about the head on March 18. He admitted his guilt but said he only committed the offence because the woman had damaged his Junkanoo costumes. The court heard the man’s former lover was at her residence when she and the defendant got into an argument. The prosecution said during the verbal altercation, the accused punched the complainant about her head causing her injuries which required medical attention. After she reported the matter to police, he was arrested.
The court was told the woman’s medical form indicated that she had sustained swelling to her face. According to the prosecution, the report also said the complainant’s injuries were listed as “serious but not likely to terminate fatally”. During the hearing, the accused told the magistrate he designed Junkanoo costumes for people. He said he had some costume pieces resting in a car in the yard that they did not use. He claimed the woman took the Junkanoo costumes out of the car and threw them on to the ground “in the open air”, before locking the car. He said when he confronted her about it, an argument ensued and the situation escalated. In response, Magistrate Vogt-Evans told the defendant nothing he said entitled him to hit the woman. As a result, she accepted his guilty plea and fined him $500 or six months in jail.
POWER OUTAGE AFTER STATION PROBLEM SEVERAL portions of New Providence were struck by an electricity disruption yesterday due to a “problem” at Bahamas Power and Light’s Blue Hills Power Station. BPL did not specify what the issue was, but said an investigation was being done to better determine what sparked the outage. While the affected neighbourhoods were not outlined, customers commented on BPL’s Facebook page that many areas, including Winton Meadows, Golden Gates, Cable Beach, side streets off Bernard Road, Blair, Pinewood
Gardens and other areas were left without electricity after noon yesterday. After 3pm yesterday, BPL said supplies were restored to all affected areas. In February, thousands of homes in New Providence were left without power due to an “engine trip” at one of BPL’s stations. At the time Quincy Parker, BPL’s director of communications, said the outage was caused by a “fault on a transmission line out of Blue Hills Power Station which triggered an outage affecting all customers fed by the station”.
help under the Small Homes Repairs programme, hopes that she will be contacted soon by the DRA to resume repairs on her home. “I am eagerly waiting for DRA,” said the woman who asked not to be named. “I contacted them several times and I was asked last week to send in a quote, and I am still waiting to hear back from them.” The woman had received some assistance initially when the programme was first implemented. “They assisted me with some things and then it was discontinued, but I am hoping they will… contact me soon.” The resident has a mould issue and needs materials to complete the remainder of repairs. “Hurricane season is (soon) upon us and (repairs) are taking a bit long; I hope they will rectify the problem and allow us to get the materials we need for repairs.” Due to limited funds, things didn’t work out with her contractor, she said, and she is relying on her family for help with labour to finish the repairs. However, she thanked her MP, Mr Turnquest, saying his team has helped her. “I thank Mr Turnquest and his team that has been doing quite a bit to assist me, I am very grateful to him,” she said.
APOSTLE Julian Johnson outside court on Tuesday.
Photo: Racardo Thomas
REVEREND ON LIBEL CHARGE BAILED By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE reverend who denied making offensive allegations against Police Commissioner Paul Rolle in a Facebook video that went viral was yesterday granted bail ahead of his trial. Earlier this week, Julian Johnson appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann
Ferguson-Pratt charged with intentional libel after he was accused of last month recording and posting a video on Facebook accusing Commissioner Rolle of sexually assaulting female officers on the force in an attempt to defame him. At his first court appearance, Johnson denied the allegation. However, before the issue of bail
could be determined, the prosecution requested an adjournment to consider its position on the matter. After spending one night in jail, Johnson appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes for his bail hearing. During the proceedings, he was granted $1,000 bail with two sureties. He returns to court on July 28 for trial.
PAGE 8, Thursday, April 8, 2021 LIGHTS, camera and an admixture of antebellum and Jim Crow action as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law sweeping voting restrictions designed to suppress minority voters in the state after it voted last November for Joe Biden as President and both a black and a Jewish man as federal senators. The tableau was revealing: the white governor surrounded by six white men in front of a painting of Callaway plantation in Wilkes County, Georgia. Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch noted the plantation “thrived because of the back-breaking labour of more than 100 slaves who were held in cruel human bondage”. The new 98-page legislation, known as the Election Integrity Act of 2021, mixes subterfuge and an open assault on mostly black voters who are pivotal, especially in federal elections and who constitute one of the most loyal bases of the Democratic Party. This is Orwellian-speak by autocrats: mislabelling one’s blatantly undemocratic actions as a means of promoting democracy. Recall that the military junta in Myanmar recently staged a coup because it claimed recent democratic elections were fraudulent and that the generals cum corporate overlords are the true guardians of democracy even as they bloodily suppress millions. After a number of business groups suggested they may boycott or take corporate action in response to the Georgia legislation - which now makes it a criminal offence for “many volunteers to hand out water or food within 150 feet of polling precincts” a rattled Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,
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usually enthralled to big business, issued a laughable, empty broadside against Big Business. In a tantrum, McConnell fumed and fretted: “Our private sector must stop taking cues from the Outrage-Industrial Complex. Americans do not need or want big business to amplify disinformation or react to every manufactured controversy with frantic left-wing signalling. “Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order.” Translation: “If corporations want favours from Republicans they must do our bidding and keep the Jim Crow structures of white privilege and entitlement firmly in place. Please keep helping us to rig America for our political and economic benefit.”
EXEMPLAR
Notice that those who are promoting democracy are a “mob”. For the exemplar of an undemocratic, radical mob McConnell should look again at the insurrectionists who attacked the US Capitol this past January 6. As reported in Politico: “The broadside from the Senate minority leader, who has aligned himself with the business community for decades, is just the latest sign of a fraying alliance between big companies and the Republican Party. Poor Mitch McConnell. His white entitlement, privilege and power are under assault from a Democratic President and House, black activists and his erstwhile corporate buddies who, from both a business and ethical standpoint, recognise the old supremacist
GEORGIA Gov Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference at the State Capitol on Saturday, April 3, 2021, in Atlanta, about Major League Baseball’s decision to pull the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta over the league’s objection to a new Georgia voting law. Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP
US Republicans are facing an existential threat playbook may be a problem for their bottom line. For centuries, white supremacists have openly structured and manipulated American democracy to build and to retain economic power. The constitutional compromise which still gives a clutch of small states considerable power in the US Senate was a compromise over slavery. Centuries of laws and various Supreme Court decisions have bolstered white supremacy and the suppression of equality in areas ranging from voting rights to blatant gerrymandering and redistricting. Many state legislatures have gerrymandered seats for the federal House of Representative that are obscenely racial in character, with some districts geographically contorted so that black voters are bunched into “black seats”, while ensuring many more safe “white seats”. Some districts resemble an elephant with two snouts, two tails, three heads and other anatomical anomalies, unrecognizable as a feature of nature, but Frankenstein-like in absurdity and designed for a nefarious purpose. Today, the Republican Party, which is the white supremacist party in America, has a number of structural and demographic problems which constitute an existential threat to their hold on federal power, including the presidency. A slew of states, including California and Virginia, which Ronald Reagan safely carried twice, are now safely Democratic in presidential contests. An increasing minority and youth vote will continue to grow in states like Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and others. Republicans are pressing the panic button in the form of voter suppression throughout the United States of America. Many of them are paying lip service to the ideals of democracy while promoting autocratic and anti-democratic measures.
HUCKSTER
The great huckster entertainer Donald Trump was a temporary, one of a
kind figure who was able to increase the Republican vote among white voters, including male and noncollege educated voters enthralled to his message and worried about their supposed social and economic decline. Trump, with his genius for marketing and rage, is in many ways a singular figure in his marketing prowess. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio and the other Trump wannabes do not possess his combination of traits or the biography of the celebrity who starred in The Apprentice. Still, in his reelection bid, despite increasing his number of voters, Trump was stopped by Joe Biden who assembled a coalition to defeat him. Albeit, Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic aided Biden’s victory. Biden demonstrated a path to victory for Democrats, including policies and messaging aimed at former Trump voters, independents and a number of Republicans, including suburban voters turned off by the direction and racism of their party. The other demographic wall the Republican’s cannot surmount is a fact well-known to Republican consultants. Once the black vote reaches approximately 25 percent in various states with sizeable black populations in federal elections, this vote combined with others makes it exceedingly difficult for Republicans to win. The recent Georgia election results proved a nightmare for Republicans, who worry that this might prove a bellwether. As an aside, a good percentage of older black men in the US have voted Republican for various reasons, including those who were drawn by the bellicose machismo of Trump. There will be less of such voters in the years ahead. Meanwhile, the Republicans have yet another problem as described by Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: “Biden and many Democrats appear to have given up on Republicans entirely, or at least Republicans on
Capitol Hill, and to have made a significant bet on the current short but urgent window to get things done despite, rather than with, the GOP. “On Thursday morning, after Biden’s speech in Pittsburgh, I spoke with Doug Sosnik, who served as Bill Clinton’s White House political director and is well aware of the historical ebbs and flows to which Presidential reputations are subject. Sosnik made two historical arguments that I found provocative. “The first is that Biden & Co have decided to go big because they have concluded that Republicans have in recent years outplayed them in political-hardball tactics – on everything from refusing to vote on Obama’s final Supreme Court choice to rolling over for Trump, even after the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. Democrats, he said, are ‘radicalized’ by this, convinced that Republicans are ‘not on the level’; they are determined to be ‘much more aggressive’ as a result. “‘The DNA of Republicans,’ he argued, is that they have tended ‘to overuse power; the DNA of Democrats is that they have tended to underuse power, and I think that’s changing’.” Glasser continued: “That explains why Biden is willing to go big even without Republican votes, especially given the urgency of the
interlocking crises that America faces. Biden and his team also appear to be acting on a well-known Washington fact, which long predates the current political dysfunction: it’s a lot easier to achieve major legislative action in the early months of a President’s term than at any point thereafter. “But it was Sosnik’s second point – that something even bigger is going on – which struck me as the real historical gamble by Biden’s team. They are now, in effect, advancing the proposition that the politics of the Reagan era – of endless tax cuts embraced by Republicans and of Democrats trying and failing to escape the label of big-government liberals – is finally over. “In that sense, Sosnik argued, Biden’s sweeping legislative agenda really is the heir to LBJ and FDR, and a worthy successor to the great middle-class social programs of the past century. It is also, he argued, very, very popular in this ‘supercharged populist’ moment.” The greatest threats to Republican power at the federal level are certain demographic trends and a shifting mindset among voters, including moderate white voters battered by a global pandemic and eager for more progressive policies to lift their boats. The other threat is a triumvirate who recognise, “the fierce urgency of now”, the historic moment and the possibility of dramatic progressive change. The triumvirate is constituted by a 78-year-old President Joe Biden, an 81-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a 70-yearold Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who appear to possess the tenacity, the experience and the passion to enact landmark change. No wonder McConnell and his colleagues are fretting about the filibuster, the corporate reaction to suppression laws and federal court appointments. They are deathly afraid of any change that upends their entitlement and privilege.
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Thursday, April 8, 2021, PAGE 9
We’ve not even had 100 days of Biden and all eyes are on 22’s elections COVERAGE of the US Senate is everywhere in American media these days. Will GOP leader Mitch McConnell revert to his 2009 form and seek to block almost every initiative attempted by President Joe Biden? What will West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin think of this infrastructure bill or that immigration reform measure? Will Republican centrists Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska side with the Democrats on any major proposals? It’s all news because the Senate is evenly divided 50-50 between the major political parties, leaving no room for Democratic defections with Vice President Kamala Harris poised to break any ties in favour of the administration’s proposals. The Senate parliamentarian has been summoned to rule on obscure measures to see if additional Biden legislation can be approved without the 60 votes customarily needed for non-budget bills. For several weeks there was a steady drumbeat of stories about whether Senate traditionalist Biden would support overturning the filibuster rule that essentially protects 40-vote minorities in the Senate. That has now receded, perhaps only temporarily. But as the mystical “first 100 days” mark of the new administration approaches at the end of this month and the percentage of adult Americans fully vaccinated against the coronavirus continues to rise, increasing attention is directed toward the 2022 elections and their impact on the Senate. Senate elections are staggered so that in any even-numbered year, roughly one-third of the chamber’s 100 members are up for re-election. Deaths and mid-term resignations affect this calculus, but most elections see 33-35 senators on the ballot. In 2022, there will be 34. While the election cycles carefully balance the total number of senators running, however, there is seldom any corresponding balance between parties. In 2018, for example, despite the gradual erosion of overall support for President Donald Trump, his Republican Party kept its Senate majority because just enough of its senatorial candidates on the ballot were running from really reliably red states. Two years earlier, as Trump upended American politics by scoring a dramatic upset over Hillary Clinton, the same forces that swept Trump to power overcame a strong putative Democratic advantage and sealed the Senate Republican majority that McConnell used to confirm scores of conservative
STATESIDE
with Charlie Harper
federal judges and three US Supreme Court justices. That same expected Democratic advantage applies next year, one sixyear Senate cycle after 2016. Of the 34 Senate seats up for election, 20 are occupied by Republicans. That puts the GOP on the defensive. It’s still 19 months before the 2022 elections, but most observers see the Democrats expanding their advantage next November. Another factor leading to possible Democratic gains is the early announcement by no fewer than five incumbent Republican senators that they will not seek re-election. All five could fairly be described as members of the “pre-Trump” Republican Party that held fast consistently to some conservative tenets like lowering taxes, balancing federal budgets, reducing the size of government and favoruing deregulation while maintaining a strong military and a virile, ideological foreign policy. While Trump followed those principles more often than his opponents allege, he basically took over the party and remains strongly influential in its outlook and selection of candidates. One motive for the retirements of Senators Richard Burr of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Shelby of Alabama and Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania might be their concern about a likely primary challenge next year by someone much more clearly aligned
with Trump. Some of them have admitted as much. Democratic incumbents are defending all 14 of their party’s seats up for re-election next year. Here’s an early look at the contests seen as having the greatest possibility to alter the Senate’s present balance of power. Pennsylvania: Incumbent Toomey was an unexpected victor in both of his previous successful Senate races. Despite strong Trump support in the deep red (“Alabama without the accent”) middle of the state, the eventual Democratic candidate should prevail here. Gain for Democrats. Wisconsin: Incumbent Republican Ron Johnson, who looks and talks like a senator but who persists in spouting pro-Trump Big Election Lie nonsense, seems likely to lose in a state that in 2018 dumped anti-union GOP governor Scott Walker and voted for Biden last year. Gain for Democrats. No other gains are projected for either party at this early point in the campaign. Biden’s party would secure a 52-48 advantage moving forward in 2023. Here’s why: Georgia: One of the two Democrats who shocked pundits by winning Senate runoffs in January, Rev. Raphael Warnock must run for his seat again next year because he defeated someone appointed to that seat after a mid-term resignation, so Georgia will again be at the center of national attention, testing newfound Democratic strength in the
IS IT CHAVIN OR THE SYSTEM? THE continuing, sensational televised trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has received wide coverage in much of the American national media, including MSNBC and CNN, which have cut away from regular daytime programming to offer live feeds from the trial. Chauvin, fired in the aftermath of his involvement in the death of a black man in May 2020, is now on trial for several felonies including second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd while he was handcuffed and in Chauvin’s custody. As a parade of prosecution witnesses including the Minneapolis chief of police have offered testimony damaging to the accused,
DEREK Chauvin in court yesterday. many commentators are focusing on the fraying of the “thin blue line” of traditional police support for its own in cases alleging police misconduct. But others see a replication of a different, equally troubling pattern. They
are reminded of situations involving the US military and alleged atrocities committed by soldiers in overseas conflicts as in Iraq. In those military incidents, legal consequences have generally been borne by the lowest-ranking soldiers in the chain of command. Senior commanders, despite some evidence that they were at least indirectly complicit, have often escaped censure or punishment. It’s a familiar pattern: pin the offence on the lowest-ranking, throw them under the bus and fail to address any underlying organisational or command shortcomings that may have contributed to tragedy. Let’s hope that is not what is happening in Minneapolis.
Deep South. Strong pro-Trump candidates are vying to oppose Warnock. Get-out-the-vote hero Stacey Abrams may run for governor again in 2022, ensuring wide Black voter interest in statewide races. If Atlanta, its suburbs
and the state’s Black Belt turn out strongly, Warnock should prevail. Ohio: Long a national bellwether but now reliably red, the Buckeye State may see a strong pro-Trump candidate get the GOP nod for its Senate vacancy. In discarding former Republican Governor John Kasich, who ran against Trump in 2016 and endorsed Biden last year, the state Republican Party has lurched far to the right. If Biden’s stimulus remains popular in the state and the Dems find a strong nominee, an upset is possible – but unlikely. Florida: Ivanka Trump
has said she won’t oppose incumbent Marco Rubio in the GOP primary next year. Unless the current governor’s careless management of the pandemic leads to an even greater, more lasting health catastrophe in the Sunshine State, conventional wisdom holds that Rubio is likely to remain in office. North Carolina: Left-leaning commentators have for several years touted this state as turning purple as more liberal northern retirees migrate in. But the Tar Heel state is still more like Texas than neighbouring Virginia, so purple is less likely than red next year. As in Ohio, the GOP is likely to hold this seat unless they nominate an extremist Trumper. Arizona: Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly is now running for his first full term after winning part of former senator John McCain’s last term. He has turned out to be a good politician, and the Republicans in Arizona are still divided over whether to continue supporting Trump’s Big Election Lie. There will be many reminders in the next 19 months about how often in recent years a new incumbent president’s party has been shellacked in the first by-election after he takes office. That might foretell a Republican recapture of the Senate next year. But the deck is stacked in the Dems’ favour in 2022, and Biden’s early months in office seem likely to augur well for their ability to reverse this trend.
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Chauvin ‘never took knee off Floyd’s neck’ MINNEAPOLIS Associated Press OFFICER Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck — and was bearing down with most of his weight — the entire nine and a half minutes the Black man lay facedown with his hands cuffed behind his back, a use-of-force expert testified yesterday at Chauvin’s murder trial. Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant serving as a prosecution witness, said that based on his review of
video evidence, Chauvin applied pressure to Floyd’s neck or neck area from the time officers put Floyd on the ground until paramedics arrived. “That particular force did not change during the entire restraint period?” prosecutor Steve Schleicher asked as he showed the jury a composite of five still images. “Correct,” replied Stiger, who yesterday testified the force used against Floyd was excessive. Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson sought to point out
moments in the video footage when, he said, Chauvin’s knee did not appear to be on Floyd’s neck but on his shoulder blade area or the base of his neck. Stiger did not give much ground, saying the officer’s knee in some of the contested photos still seemed to be near Floyd’s neck. In other testimony, the lead Minnesota state investigator on the case, James Reyerson, agreed with Nelson that Floyd seemed to say in a police body-camera video of his arrest, “I ate too many drugs”.
But when a prosecutor played a longer clip of the video, Reyerson said he believed what Floyd really said was “I ain’t do no drugs.” Chauvin, 45, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death May 25. Floyd, 46, was arrested outside a neighborhood market after being accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. A panicky-sounding Floyd struggled and claimed to be claustrophobic as police tried to put him in a squad car, and they pinned him to the pavement.
Bystander video of Floyd crying that he couldn’t breathe as onlookers yelled at Chauvin to get off him sparked protests and scattered violence around the US and triggered a reckoning over racism and police brutality. Nelson has argued that the now-fired white officer “did exactly what he had been trained to do over his 19-year career,” and he has suggested that Floyd’s drug use and his underlying health conditions are what killed him, not Chauvin’s knee, as prosecutors
contend. Fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in Floyd’s system. Yesterday, Chauvin’s lawyer asked Stiger about uses of force that are commonly referred to by police as “lawful but awful”. Stiger conceded that “you can have a situation where by law it looks horrible to the common eye, but based on the state law, it’s lawful.” Nelson has argued, too, that the officers on the scene were distracted by what they perceived as an increasingly hostile crowd of onlookers.
WOODS WAS DRIVING ALMOST 90MPH AT TIME OF CRASH LOS ANGELES Associated Press
TIGER Woods was driving nearly 90mph — twice the posted speed limit — on a downhill stretch of road when he lost control of an SUV and crashed in a wreck that seriously injured the golf superstar, authorities said yesterday. Sheriff Alex Villanueva blamed the February 23 crash outside Los Angeles solely on excessive speed and Woods’ loss of control behind the wheel. The athlete will not face any citations for his third high-profile collision in 11 years. “The primary causal factor for this traffic collision was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway,” the sheriff told a news conference. Woods was driving 84 to 87mph in an area with a
speed limit of 45mph, Villanueva said. The stretch of road is known for wrecks and drivers who frequently hit high speeds. Due to the steepness of the terrain, a runaway truck escape lane is available just beyond where Woods crashed. There was no evidence the golfer tried to brake, and investigators believe Woods may have inadvertently stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake in a panic, said sheriff’s Capt James Powers, who oversees the sheriff’s station closest to the crash site. Woods was wearing a seat belt, and the vehicle’s airbags deployed. He told deputies he had not taken medication or consumed alcohol before the crash, sheriff’s officials said. “Those questions were asked and answered,” Powers said.
A CRANE is used to lift a vehicle following a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods on February 23 in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles. Photo: Ringo HW Chiu/AP