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The Tribune

Volume:117 No.100, APRIL 17, 2020

Established 1903

Weekend

WEEKEND: HOW TO START GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1 Friday, April 17, 2020 art books film fashion music entertainment weddin gs puzzles food

Weekend

‘We’re walking the tightrope’ THE Bahamas faces a high-wire juggling act with its finances as it tries to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest told Tribune Business the government is “robbing Peter to pay Paul” to meet its liabilities as they become due.

Speaking about the government’s own income, he said “what revenue?”

The problems with revenue in government are reflected at Bahamas Power and Light, where Minister of Works Desmond Bannister said that finances “get more and more perilous every day”.

He said BPL was unable

to take advantage of low oil prices globally because it simply “doesn’t have the money” - and that refinancing plans have been delayed indefinitely.

In another blow, the Standard & Poor’s rating agency (S&P) last nigth forecast the Bahamian economy will shrink by an “unprecedented” 16 percent this year - and downgraded the country’s sovereign rating from BB+ to BB due to the severity of the economic impact.

Mr Turnquest said the downgrade was unfortunate but “not unexpected” and said the government’s main priority continues to be providing financial assistance to those in need to prevent a complete collapse in living standards.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Page 10

Speed king

Farewell to Sir Stirling Mos s

• Turnquest facing budget crisis as revenues dry up • BPL finances left ‘perilous’ by lack of payments • First official downgrade adds to economic woes

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

GROW YOUR FOOD

pages 20 & 21

MARIJUANA IS HELPING RAINY DAY FUNDS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

EXPANDED TESTING TO BEGIN

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

EXPANDED COVID19 testing will begin this weekend on high-risk populations, as the number of confirmed cases increased by one to 54 yesterday and another death from the disease was recorded.

The expanded testing will include contacts of active cases, nursing homes, the prison and health care workers.

SEE PAGE FIVE

‘STUCK IN THE SYSTEM’ LINDA Brown in tears at Social Services on Baillou Hill Road as she speaks to The Tribune. For four weeks, she has been trying to receive assistance unsuccessfully and waited for hours in pain yesterday. See page three for the full story.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PATIENTS BREAKING ISOLATION

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH officials yesterday admitted that the self-isolation method they’ve prescribed to suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases is not working, adding that they are currently reviewing the measure.

Officials have discussed the use of electronic wristbands to track those ordered to isolate due to COVID-19 infection or suspected exposure.

SEE PAGE FIVE

‘FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE ARE OVER’

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL environmental group has said the era of “flags of convenience” is over amid the COVID-19 pandemic, adding the government needs to rethink its relationship with the cruise industry.

The group also accused the government of taking no responsibility for the health, safety and welfare

THE MS BRAEMAR of people onboard Bahamian flagged ships and claimed this may have

contributed to the spread of the coronavirus.

ReEarth, in a statement on its Facebook page, said much of the world now believes the Bahamas turns a blind eye to the cruise industry’s shortcomings at the expense of the health and safety of the crew, passengers and the environment in exchange for revenue.

SEE PAGE FOUR

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

A SPORTING ICON FROM AN AGE OF REAL STARS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Friday, April 17, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CHURCH STEPS UP TO HELP THOSE IN NEED MEMBERS of the New Providence Community Church gathered together to help hurricane victims after Hurricane Dorian - and are now helping those left out of pocket by COVID-19.

The church distributed aid to those in need yesterday.

In a statement to social media, the church said: “We continue to help feed Hurricane Dorian evacuees and now also persons economically affected by COVID-19. Today, we were proud to partner with Coca-Cola Bahamas in distributing approximately 200 boxes (representing about 1000 individuals).”

In line for hours to get voucher that won’t feed her family of four

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AFTER standing in line for several hours early on Tuesday morning at the Department of Social Services, an unemployed Grand Bahama woman said the monthly food voucher she was given is not enough to feed her family of four.

“I was nearly brought to tears after I saw how much I was given,” the woman said of the $70 voucher. Her sister, who has one child, received $60.

The woman – who did not want to be identified – said she worked in the tourist industry and has been unemployed for two months. Her husband is also unemployed, and they have two children.

She said the $70 voucher is just not enough for her family, while vouchers as much as $200 and $400 are being given to others.

According to the woman, she stood in line from 1am to 7am on Tuesday and was given a number from a Defence Force officer, who told them to come back around 9am when the office opens.

She returned around 9.15am and waited an

hour for her number to be called. She gave her passport to the Defence Force officer who then gave it to a social worker. She was later called in for an interview and then sent back outside to wait.

“We were there for two hours waiting for the food voucher. I got $70 and my sister got $60,” she said.

The mother-of-two works part-time with Bahamas Adventures, which is a tour operation that caters to tourists. After cruise ships stop sailing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was forced to shut down.

This is her first time applying to Social Services for food assistance.

She says it is very disheartening what people have to endure - the hassle, the hours of waiting in long lines – just for the little assistance given to families to survive.

“I don’t go to social services unless I need to, and I have been out of work for two months and have spent every dime of my last paycheck. I don’t know when I am going back, and I was told by the social worker I can’t come back there for assistance until next month.

“We on (lockdown) and

I don’t think $70 is enough to take care of me and my family for a month. Eggs are almost $7, and milk is $7.99. I thought the Government had put money aside for the food assistance programme.

“I know people who have gotten $200 and $400 vouchers, and I have spoken to coworkers who have gotten that, and I am embarrassed to tell them what I was given. I would feel better if they had given me $100. I was upset and I was near tears - it really hurt me,” said the woman.

She said that the process or system in place at Social Services is unacceptable.

She also said that the daily quota is 50 persons.

“You have to go out there from 1am to stand in line for a number to be served at 9am,” she said. They need to get a proper system and the social workers need to stop curry-favoring their family and close friends because some persons receive more than others,” she said.

When asked if she applied for NIB benefit, the woman said she is not eligible because she is only a part-time worker and is only called into work when needed.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 17, 2020, PAGE 3

Left in tears as she pleads for a little help

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net FOR the past four weeks, senior citizen Linda Brown has been unsuccessful in trying to receive assistance at the Department of Social Services.

She went to the department around 9am yesterday for help, only to be left waiting for nearly three hours, she said, as pain caused by a pinched nerve added to her agony.

Visibly in distress, the 64-year-old came out of the department’s office on Blue Hill Road with tears in her eyes, shouting in frustration. “(I came) for food stamps and I ain’t get it yet,” she said. “I still out here waiting… Keep telling me go sit down. Go, come back; go, come back. Four weeks.

Four weeks I been running behind for this.

“At the age of 64, what I doing out here in this corona thing….Why should I be out here to catch this corona? I use work for government... I can’t work… I fall down on the job (in) 2014. Only $500 I get from National Insurance and getting a hundred something from the treasury, that’s all I getting. That can’t cover nothing (sic).”

She said officials at the department have asked her for a letter from the National Insurance Board detailing her pension benefits.

She told this newspaper she has car payments and needs help with her electricity bill. Living in a government unit on Windsor Lane, Ms Brown said she has told her area representative to check on the other elderly people residing in the unit.

While there was not a

LINDA Brown in tears at Social Services on Baillou Hill Road as she speaks with The Tribune yesterday. long line at the department’s Blue Hill Road location when The Tribune arrived yesterday, some people waiting on assistance said they had been there since early morning.

About 16 people were sitting outside the building.

One person said people were instructed to write down their names and department officials would call them back.

A sign posted outside

WEEKS OF WAITING FOR NIB CHEQUES

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PEOPLE queued on a long line outside the National Insurance Board yesterday as some complained about their unemployment cheque not being ready for collection.

While some flocked to NIB for assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, others were waiting on payouts after losing their jobs even before the crisis hit locally.

Walter Morrison said he was laid off from his job back in January. He said he has been to NIB several times to unsuccessfully collect a benefit.

One woman told The Tribune she waited about six weeks for her cheque and came to see if it was ready, but did not get it yesterday.

However, a 27-year-old pre-school worker said it did not take her that long to get her unemployment cheque.

On Thursday, The Tribune reported that NIB revealed that some 2,000 unemployment benefit

claims have been stalled due to employers failing to send required contribution statements. However, NIB Minister Brensil Rolle explained that the board has paid out 15,000 cheques since the COVID-payout process started about two weeks ago and persons should have been notified when the cheques were ready and why they have not received them.

“One or two persons might have some problems for example might have exhausted their unemployment benefit…. but certainly every single person who applied individually, we responded to them quickly. We try to get to them as quickly as we can,” he said. “.....This is not going to be an easy process. We’re talking about a board that did roughly 7,000 unemployment cheques in a year. We’re almost doing that a day, a week now. So there’s gonna be some challenge. People will be paid.

We’re doing it as quickly as possible.

“We’ve cut all the red tape...”

advised all those from tourism-related industries to apply for assistance via the department’s online portal.

The sign stated those individuals would be contacted by a representative once the application had been processed.

Debra Rolle has been unemployed since March 28. She was working at Pro-line Underground on Carmichael Road.

She came to the

Department of Social Services for food assistance.

“I mean the challenge is food because you’re not getting any income coming in,” she said of her needs. “... They gonna help me with the rent also. So, they tell me come in the morning, early in the morning for rent assistance.”

She said she wished the process for applying for help was easier given the circumstances.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

“They just need to make things more easier because it is a pandemic,” she added. “Make it more easier and don’t make it so difficult. That’s the only thing I could say but other than that I can’t expect nothing much because it is a help. They only helping.

They just doing what they could do.”

Jacob Paul, a hurricane survivor from Abaco, said he arrived at the agency at

5.30am. He was also seeking food assistance or any help he could get, he said.

He said he is getting by with the “little” he has on his bank account.

He said the department has already helped him in the past.

“Twice I came here…

They helped with appliances and yeah, just basically food assistance... Social Services been real good to me, I must say,” he said.

PAGE 4, Friday, April 17, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Govt lines up budget cuts amid economic hardship

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE government has given guidelines to ministries and agencies on budget reductions it hopes to see while mulling over its strategy to navigate through economic hardship over the next several months, FInance Minister Peter Turnquest said yesterday.

While he would not say how severe the budget cuts might be, the deputy prime minister said there had been no “formal discussion” to cut civil servant salaries nor shrink the financial capabilities of safety net mechanisms like the National Insurance Board and Department of Social Services.

However, what he said was certain is the government will ramp up its spending, particularly on infrastructure, as it seeks to grow the local economy.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Mr Turnquest also castigated the Progressive Liberal Party, saying at a time like this its pronouncements had only created panic and anxiety. He was speaking specifically to PLP leader

Philip “Brave” Davis’ assertion that the government needed to increase domestic spending so the country does not slip into a depression and deputy leader Chester Cooper’s suggestion that funding between $1bn and $2bn would be needed to keep the economy afloat.

In a statement released yesterday, Mr Davis claimed: “I have learned today that the government is proposing matters which in fact might severely reduce domestic spending and demand. There is a proposal to force cuts in all ministries including possibly the salaries of public servants.”

When contacted for comment, Mr Turnquest said: “We are currently in budget hearings now where every ministry goes through their budget line by line and provides justifications for the allocations that they are requesting.

“We have given general guidelines that we would like to see some reductions in the overall budget giving consideration to the economic reality based on what we are faced with (and) what are likely to be faced with over the next 12 to 18

months and so that is the context which we work and I suspect people are trying to cause political mischief.”

Asked to reveal the extent of the proposed cuts, he said: “I don’t know that that is a public issue at this point until such time as the ministry sets its budget and we advise the public.

“Obviously we appreciate that we care about defending people so obviously we appreciate that this economic downturn is going to have social implications.

But one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that of all the thousands that have lost their jobs that there are going to be some challenges. So how does it make sense that we would cut social assistance programmes to those people who are going to be vulnerable?”

Asked if civil servant salaries will be affected, Mr Turnquest said: “Government has not made any decision with respect to cutting any civil service salaries.

“We have had no formal discussions on cutting anybody’s salaries and no proposal has been made to the public in that regard.”

Responding to the official

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. opposition’s criticisms has been suggested.

“People have suggested and predictions, Mr Turnquest said “mouth can say that the government put money in the hands of anything”.

“The reality is that we people so they can go out are going to be operating and spend it, but again this in very constrained circum- is predicated on if there is stances and again it doesn’t money to do it. This is an take rocket science to figure unprecedented time in histhat out. The major drivers tory for most of us indeed of our economy are shut since the Great Depression down, not reduced, shut and so the global commudown. That has significant nity is trying to figure this implications well into the out.

“There is going to be no future as does the curfew and the lock down have doubt a ramp up in governimmediate consequences to ment spending in respect to infrastructure in particular, the domestic economy.

“That said there are but we are going to use as obviously going to be much analysis and feedback adjustments that are nec- and consultation with the essary in the government general public to develop even the ability of the gov- our programmes when the ernment to do some of the time is right to ensure that things that it would like to we give ourselves the best do without requiring sig- opportunity to grow ournificant borrowing and that selves out of the problem.”

He continued: “This raises a whole other set of discussions when you start is not simple. This is not talking about borrowing something that you can just particularly to the level that put some words on a piece

of paper and think that is going to work. We want to make sure that the funding that we have to go out to the market to borrow, that it will result in tangible results in terms of activity and helping those who are most vulnerable and we will do our best to ensure that the public is consulted and brought along in that regard including the opposition.

“There is no need for the kind of speculation from the leader of the opposition in particular. It is unfortunate that he would seek to create panic and to create fear and anxiety in the country given the circumstances that we face with respect to this pandemic where people are already afraid and on edge as to what the future holds.

“I just can’t imagine any circumstance where a responsible leader would do something like that.”

‘Flags of convenience are over’ from page one This comes after the US Coast Guard told Bahamian-flagged ships to seek aid from this country first even if the ships are owned

by Miami-based companies such as Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Ltd.

“You broke it, you own it.

That seems to be the Coast Guard’s understandable sentiment,” reEarth noted.

The group also said: “Indeed, there would be push-back from the cruise industry against the governments of island nations attempting to change the status quo. COVID-19 acutely illustrates why now is the time to meet that

push back head-on.

“We cannot escape the fact that in exchange for the sale of ‘flags of convenience,’ The Bahamas has some degree of legal responsibility for every man, woman and child aboard Bahamian vessels floating around randomly in our waters like plague ships of old.

“This is a serious responsibility. If the responsibility is ours, then we need to equip ourselves to meet our oversight duties in a meaningful, effective and timely way. As a cruise-port country, the message of the COVID-19 pandemic for us is clear: the era of flags of convenience is over. And we need to make changes in concert with our sister cruise port countries in the region, so that the cruise ships’ usual strategy of playing us off against each other is made obsolete.”

The International Transport Workers’ Federation recently took The Bahamas and Bermuda to task for what is described as “a shameful and unprecedented abdication of duty as flag states”.

Dave Heindel, chair of the ITF seafarers’ section, said: “Flag states have sovereignty over their vessels, but for the coronavirus-affected cruise ships responsibility has fallen on the port states, national governments of the passengers and crew or even a third country. For instance, the Braemar was refused to dock in its own territory, with the vessel sent to Cuba after its government authorised the offloading of passengers and crew.”

MS Braemar sails under The Bahamas flag and made news last month after the Bahamian government did not permit the ship that had five people on board with COVID-19 to dock in the country. Eventually, the Cuban government allowed the ship to dock in Cuba.

BRAEMAR docked in Dominica.

Earlier this month, the government signalled that it will not accept people from ships stranded in Bahamian waters despite the US Coast Guard bulletin stating that foreign-flagged vessels should seek help from countries in which they are registered.

In a carefully worded statement, Transport Minister Renward Wells said the country would help people sheltering-in-place aboard cruise ships in its waters.

Mr Wells said in a statement: “The Bahamas has taken note of the United States Coast Guard Marine

Safety Information Bulletin…giving guidance to foreign passenger vessels located in the Seventh District Area of Responsibility.

The bulletin makes reference to Bahamas-registered vessels in the context of limited medical facilities ashore in Miami and vicinity.

“We in The Bahamas have had a long standing and ongoing relationship with the US Coast Guard based on mutual interest and respect. The Bahamas is one of the first countries to have cooperated closely with the Coast Guard in

combating human trafficking, narcotic trafficking and other illicit activities.”

Mr Wells noted each party faces a unique challenge caused by the global pandemic and are “first and foremost” responsible for protecting their respective populations while doing its best to support people sheltering-in-place on board ships.

“We continue to work closely with the cruise industry,” he said earlier this month, noting this country’s flag represents more ships than any other registry in the world.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 17, 2020, PAGE 5

Expanded testing to begin from page one As health officials finally move on expanding testing as many have called for, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said lockdown restrictions in Family Islands with no reported cases could be relaxed soon.

The newest confirmed case is a 93-year-old woman from New Providence with no history of travel. She is in hospital. The latest deceased case, the ninth person to die from COVID19, is case 31: a 50-year-old New Providence man with no history of travel.

All of the deaths were from the category of the most vulnerable, ranging from ages 50 to 91, Dr Sands said. Five were men and the remaining victims were women.

Seven of the nine cases had comorbidities or underlying illnesses; four or 44.4 percent of the cases were obese; three out of nine or 33.3 percent suffered from hypertension; two experienced asthma; and one out of 9, or 11.1 percent, suffered from either sleep apnea, high lipids in the blood, renal failure and diabetes.

Nine of the positive cases are healthcare workers. Up to press time, 895 people were in quarantine.

“My fellow Bahamians, it is a fact that as of April 16, our COVID-19 confirmed deaths are 6.4 times more likely to have comorbidities or underlying conditions,” Dr Sands said yesterday.

“Our surveillance team will continually pursue contact tracing for persons who were exposed to the COVID-19 cases.

“We have identified 892 contacts through our contact tracing system.

It has been proven that a

country’s ability to appropriately monitor, evaluate, and implement policies and clinically support its citizenry are keys to containing an outbreak of COVID-19.

“One of the linchpins of evaluation of COVID-19 is laboratory testing. The World Health Organisation and other leading health institutions support enhanced testing capabilities.

“Consequently, the Ministry of Health is planning our testing expansion for COVID-19 in at-risk populations such as contacts of active cases, nursing homes, the prison and with health care workers. Expanded testing is critical for us to have an increased understanding of the pandemic in The Bahamas so we can plan and prepare to protect these vulnerable populations.

“To determine our COVID-19 positive cases and to gauge community spread, it is important to have a sustained testing mechanism.”

He also said: “We believe that each of these groups are separate and we have the capacity to test all of them simultaneously. So we will target health care workers. We will target persons in assisted living homes. We will target those persons in the prison with a goal of expanding the total number of persons tested on a daily basis over time and ultimately we will get to a point where we believe we will have an even more representative sample of what is going on in our communities.”

The government is exploring the incorporation of rapid testing. As it stands, the gold standard of testing and most reliable test is the genetic/molecular test, or real time polymerase chain

PATIENTS BREAKING ISOLATION from page one

According to Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan, local medical experts have learned that some people asked to self-isolate are not following recommendations, suggesting in some instances the patients have been found mingling in public.

She made the admission yesterday during a Ministry of Health press conference when asked by The Tribune if remain at home directives were being followed by those in quarantine.

She was also asked to explain the drastic jump in quarantine numbers. Dr McMillan explained that on Cat Cay, off Bimini, more than 200 people were quarantined after it was believed they all came into contact with a confirmed case there.

Yesterday, health officials said the number in quarantine increased to 895 from 712.

“As it relates to the method of quarantine and isolation and the monitoring of those persons certainly we have our concerns with that as well,” Dr McMillan said.

“It has come to our attention that some of the persons that we asked to reaction (RT-PCR) test, Dr Sands said.

Officials, however, say rapid tests have a reputation to inaccurately give results.

Dr Sands said an incountry validation will take place to ensure the 10,000 rapid kits now here meet the standard. If they do, they will be used. He said there are 7,000 RT-PCR tests also.

For her part, health consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis said the Easter holiday weekend

self-isolate and self-quarantine are not following what we recommend.

So we are actually reviewing and revising how we could potentially strengthen that as we realise that that is a key component of us being able to actually control what is happening as it relates to new cases.

“As I said we utilise both methods of self-quarantine, self-isolation or mandatory, but we are definitely looking at how we will strengthen our monitoring and ensure that persons actually self quarantine and self isolate when we ask that to happen.”

Explaining how officials intend to monitor those who have been asked to self-quarantine, health consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis said options for tracking were being explored.

She said: “That was a very spirited discussion that we had on what might be used to facilitate contact tracing and I am sure that that question was predicated on the use of bands, hand bands with a chip in it, and to work with telecommunications companies to really identify the location and the compliance.

“That has been the most recent suggestion recognising that we don’t have enough ankle bracelets and

proved successful and allowed the country to avoid about 26 new cases.

But she also noted that following the weekend lockdown, the streets are flooded with people who do not practice social distancing. It could have a negative impact on the progress made, she suggested.

She pinpointed several models produced by local health experts that showed the marked progress. She stressed that it was critical for people to maintain social distancing and avoid gatherings to see continued

that would be rather draconian, but we are looking at an application that we can use and that’s cost effective because we recognise that what we’re doing is not working.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen said the eastern portion of New Providence is no longer identified as a hotspot for the spread of the virus as was previously noted by officials.

He said local disease experts were finding cases had spread to various parts of the island.

“What we found is as we continue to expand the number of cases we’re finding along with the number of contacts in those cases there is definitely an expansion of our reach when it comes to those cases and so it’s no longer one part of the island we are seeing cases pop up throughout the island whether that’s west, central, south, (or) east. None of us are necessarily safe on any part of the island so anywhere could be affected.

“In New Providence it is not a far distance to get from east to west or north to south and so we all need to be vigilant in making sure we don’t consider ourselves to be immune from this and that we take it seriously,” he said.

curve flattening.

“You see the effect of the Palm Sunday weekend lock down,” Dr Dahl-Regis said.

“Then look at the extended lock down period over the Easter Holiday. Here the curve has moved to the right so follow what was the project curve. Thanks to a number of our modelers it shows that we have probably avoided 26 additional new cases by the lock down over the Easter holiday.

“We’ve been asked by the minister and the ministry, ‘We don’t want any more lockdowns. We are tired of

the lock downs. When can we reopen?’

“We have looked at two models. “…These models seem to have a fit based on the data that we have provided. If we continue with what we are doing now, the social distancing, the avoidance of gatherings, we should follow the yellow line. If we don’t and we increase our cases by two per day we would follow the middle line and if we have a rapid increase in our cases you can see the number of cases we would’ve 60 days out from here.”

GIFT CARDS AND FOOD PARCELS FROM FEEDING NETWORK

IN just under three weeks, the Bahamas Feeding Network has distributed $40,000 in gift cards and approximately $15,000 in food parcels to those severely impacted by the conditions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Literally overnight, life changed for so many citizens,” said executive director Philip Smith.

“Though we have discontinued cooking at our centre in Fox Hill, an effort that would have provided more than 6,000 hot meals weekly, we have been working diligently to determine a strategy to provide tangible relief to the thousands of Bahamians who are now without jobs and facing a future of uncertainty since the outbreak of the coronavirus.”

Over two days last week, the network distributed $40,000 in gift cards - $30,000 of which came from a Christmas campaign led by AML. Mr Smith said: “AML ran out of gift cards and therefore we were unable to distribute the balance of $30,000 at Christmas. The Lord had it that the remaining gift cards came just in time to assist persons affected by COVID-19.”

Making up the $40,000 donation was an $8,000 donation from the Free Town Constituency Capital Grant from Dionisio D’Aguilar MP for the Free Town constituency.

For information on how to donate, visit www. bahamasfeedingnetwork.org or call 427-8477.

TWO ACCUSED OVER VIDEOS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN and a woman were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with videos posted on social media of the two allegedly threatening to rob people due to COVID-19 restrictions in the country.

Marque Beckford Jr, 27, and Ra’Queisha McPhee, 26, stood before Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday afternoon charged with causing public terror in relation to several videos that surfaced online on April 15.

It is alleged that the two used a cellphone to “intentionally and unlawfully” threaten to rob individuals as result of COVID-19 orders recently implemented by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

McPhee yesterday admitted to committing the actions but she denied doing so with the intention to cause public harm and to provoke Beckford.

Still, both pleaded not guilty to the incident and bail was granted in the amount of $1,000 with one surety each.

Magistrate Forbes also ordered the defendants to be outfitted with electronic devices to ensure that officers are made aware of their whereabouts. The duo are also not allowed to be in contact with each other.

Failure to comply with the orders will result in their bail being revoked and ultimately the two being remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Magistrate Forbes adjourned the matter to October 6th at 10 am.

PAGE 4, Friday, April 17, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

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SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

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C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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The manmade disaster of BPL WE have had our share of disasters already in The Bahamas – but a manmade one lies in wait just ahead.

Whatever we might say about what level of preparation we might have made for Hurricane Dorian or the outbreak of COVID-19, there is one thing we absolutely had control over – and our failure to deal with its many problems is coming back to haunt us now.

We’re talking about Bahamas Power and Light.

Earlier this month, we wrote about how the coronavirus outbreak is showing us where the weaknesses in our society lie – and there is perhaps no bigger weakness than the ever-problematic electricity provider.

We can’t even talk about years of being badly run when it comes to BPL. The electricity system in this country has been badly run for decades.

And now, Minister of Works Desmond Bannister tells us that its finances “get more and more perilous every day”.

Already heavily in debt and struggling to find takers it seems for its planned $580m bond placement and debt restructuring plan, BPL suddenly has a number of customers who can’t pay their bills, and a bunch of big businesses not using electricity and being a reliable source of income to the utility.

At a time when oil prices have crashed, BPL doesn’t even have the money to take advantage of the situation. Its pockets are empty.

Whatever the past history of BPL, this particular albatross now hangs around the neck of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Last year, the provider gave an appalling service. Call them what you will. Call them blackouts, call it load shedding, the net result was hours of darkness for people across The Bahamas. Flick the

light switch and nothing came on all too often. Freezers defrosted, leaving the contents unusable.

Can you imagine the same now? At a time when people have filled those fridges to avoid going back out in an effort to curtail coronavirus, can you imagine a return to power outages if BPL finds it doesn’t have the funds to keep paying for fuel?

If power problems are added to the anxiety of lockdowns, that’s a recipe for disaster. It would not be too far-fetched to imagine it bringing unrest.

We can all see where this is going if things continue this way. We’re headed for a government bailout of the company. If BPL was a boat, we’re all going to need to grab a bucket and bail, bail, bail to stop it from sinking.

The power must be kept going. You know it. We know it. The government knows it. “We’re going to continue to provide that service come what may,” said Mr Bannister yesterday, adding: “We can never go back to what we had last summer.”

The sad truth is that whatever bailout it is going to take will be government money that could have been going towards people left out of work by the pandemic, money that could have put food on the table for those in need.

It’s also money we’ll all have to pay back in future – through higher electric bills perhaps, through taxes maybe.

There will be a bill for us all and it will come due.

BPL is a problem that, one way or another, must be fixed. Not for a year.

Not for a term of government. But for a generation. We cannot pretend to build a new Bahamas if it is on the failing foundation of the past. It is a problem that must be solved, for all our sakes, now more than ever.

Call on the commissioner EDITOR, The Tribune.

LETTERS

GOOD morning Commissioner. First of all, my congratulations on your elevation. I predicted this on my radio talk show a few years ago when you were my special guest on MORE 94.9 FM. So said, so done.

I have absolutely no doubt that you will live up to expectations and continue to serve the nation well.

Commissioner, at the major food stores, when persons are allowed to shop the lines are too long and there are usually not a single officer in sight for crowd control and to ensure social distancing. Why is this, sir?

Yesterday, during my drive/tours as a media representative there were scores of pedestrians who had on no face masks.

letters@tribunemedia.net Some of them, with all due respect, did not look too good - bums and derelicts, especially in the Coconut Grove and Englerston areas.

Besides breaching the declared and mandatory law, they defeated the whole purpose of leaving home - if they are in fact not homeless and were/are a clear and present danger to the wider society. Locking up people for breaching the curfew is one thing but not wearing a mask in plain daylight willy-nilly is even more dangerous. Please place some foot patrols in the inner city.

I note also that a dray load of police officers

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

Godson had these sug- with an already prepared gestions: “Please conduct list can wait outside while COVID-19 test on the cap- their items are collected tains and crews of all mail by the floor runners. The boats ferrying to and from customer name or number the Family Islands. This will be called and then they should be done a day or so can go straight to the cashbefore their voyages, so as ier to pay and leave the to avoid the disease branch- premises.” ing further into the Family Monique242 said: “There Islands. is a need to boost the test“To avoid long lines ing on the island. All and extra wait time at the hospital patients and health food stores and to prevent care workers with severe the further spread of the acute respiratory infecCOVID-19 virus, activate tions should be tested for some floor runners to oper- COVID-19. A sample of ate in the food store so patients who visited health that customers who come centres or accident and

emergency departments at the hospital should also be tested – go into the hot spot communities and conduct testing. Infrared thermal camera scanning at hospital entrances and in the emergency department to recognise any persons (including visitors) with fever at first point of entry. Seek assistance to expand its testing capacity. The World Health Organization has recommended increased testing as a measure of containing the virus. Frequent street sterilisation in the hot spot areas. Floor markers at cashiers and outside and supermarkets placing one-way directional signage in store aisles.

Signage inside and outside food stores to remind customers of the need to maintain social distancing in lines, masks must be worn that cover nose and mouth at all times, signs about occupancy limits and requesting that one person needs to shop for the household. Installing temporary window panels at checkout stations to provide an additional layer of protection for cashiers and customers.”

There was this from Wisdom4: “Retailer/supermarkets can help with ‘social distancing’ by providing customers with the opportunity to purchase groceries and goods online

are interacting with the public but are not wearing PPE. Why is this? Has the officers on the RBPF been tested, inclusive of yourself, across the board for the COVID-19 pandemic? The results?

Lastly, I would have hoped that all of you who were creased right up in a recent photo opportunity upon your appointment, especially you who have been tasked with ensuring that the regulations relative to social distancing are followed, would have apologized to the people of this wonderful nation but, so far, total silence.

Stay safe but do your job please. Regards and respects.

ORTLAND H BODIE Jr Nassau April 15, 2020.

Dr Minnis wanted ideas - and readers delivered PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Health Minister Dr Duane Sands have both called on the Bahamian people for suggestions and ideas with regards to tackling the COVID-19 crisis.

That prompted us to ask readers on tribune242.com over the Easter Weekend lockdown what ideas they had to keep the nation safe, healthy and functional during the pandemic. There was a very enthusiastic response, with many suggesting strategies that are now in use.

Moncurcool had this to say: “First, the PM needs to stop creating panic and chaos with his ever-changing order every other day and then amending before it even has a chance to take effect. Find one thing that you are willing to focus on and let that run for a week or more and see if it works before coming back and changing . . . Second, if you will announce a change, give people ample notice to be able to adjust.

Having a press conference at 5pm to tell people the order comes into effect at 6pm does not work to calm people and control the situation.”

Dawes wanted more testing: “Test and test plenty.

We need to know who has it before we can really do anything. There are many who will have it and show

no symptoms so we need to find them. Then this virus takes up to 14 days to show, so shut the country down fully for 20 days. But before you do that provide whatever it will take so social services can go to those that need it and deliver food boxes every couple of days.

There are too many people on or below the breadline in this country for the Government to shut down for long periods with no help to those in the greatest need. Finally, as others have mentioned, stop having press conferences to do a huge change in an hour or two’s time. That is not helping anyone except causing panic. People now do not trust the Government not to say anything stupid when the press conference is called so they start panicking before the conference happens.”

Lb33 posted this: “All Members of Parliament should provide assistance to their constituency: commodities such as water, food and supplies of face masks which are difficult to get.

Each household needs a check-up to see if these provisions are required.”

or having a call centre to take orders. These goods can be delivered by hiring more delivery drivers and warehouse help, whereas people can pick their grocery order.

“Next, the government can help assist business owners or individual interested in making N-95 masks, face masks and hand sanitiser to the community – although this is not the Bahamas’ industry.

However, we are in the 21st century and it’s time to be creative. Also, people in the community need to wear masks if going out in public or stores. Make gloves and masks available to employees. Restaurant chains must be encouraged to keep business open by offering delivery services or order pick up. Social distancing of 6ft should be noticeable for the public to see. Revise curfew policy: Curfew should be a short period.

The penalty is unpleasantly rough on people who may be laid off from work to pay a high fine. Avoid LARGE GATHERING: Limit the number to 10-25 people in stores or family gatherings. Stay home if you are not working. We need to employ more security officers to help on the grounds.

We need to work together.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the conversation on tribune242.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 17, 2020, PAGE 7

Fined for going to get $1,000 FINE FOR DANGEROUS DRUGS snacks during curfew

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 28-YEAR-OLD man, who told police he left home to get a drink and a few snacks, was fined $400 yesterday for violating the recent five-day lockdown.

Mikin Michel was among several people who appeared before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister yesterday for lockdown infractions.

He was charged after police found him in the area of Fire Trail Road on Monday.

Prosecutor Samantha Miah told the court yesterday that at the time of his arrest, Michel told officers he left his home to get a drink.

She said Michel also told police that he had called the Royal Bahamas Police Force

COVID-19 hotline, 311.

When questioned on the matter, Michel admitted that it was his neighbour who had called the hotline.

“I was home and my neighbour called 311 and he said we could walk across the street to get snacks because we didn’t have anything to eat,” he said.

“We left and police came and my neighbour run but I didn’t run… I was hungry. I told police that I was going for snacks and one Monster (energy drink) and they said ‘lock up.’”

In response, Magistrate Armbrister told him that unless the situation was an emergency, he should have not left his home.

He further cautioned Michel to buy snacks in advance in the event the country was to experience another extended lockdown.

Michel, who pleaded guilty to the charge, was fined $400 for the violation, which he was ordered to pay on or before June 9 or risk facing three months in prison.

Jameko Lynden, 30, appearing before Magistrate Armbrister yesterday, also pleaded guilty to violating the five-day lockdown.

According to the facts read by Prosecutor Miah, Lynden was found by officers on Sunday at 12.30pm on West Bay Street. When stopped for questioning, Lynden told officers he was “merely going for a walk.”

Explaining his actions in court yesterday, Lynden said he was not fully aware of the prime minister’s orders, adding he thought he was allowed one hour and 30 minutes for exercise each day. The five-day lockdown mandated that

people stay in their homes or yards.

As a result, Lynden was fined $400, which he paid yesterday.

Also appearing before Magistrate Ambrister yesterday was Eric Carey, 27, and Garrico Stubbs, 31.

The two were charged after police found them on Fire Trail Road on Monday.

During the hearing, Stubbs told the court that he and Carey went out after his sister called, saying she was sick.

“I was going to carry her to Carmichael Road Clinic because they were open. I called 311, but it was busy so I told my sister to call…

My friend was going to stay and watch my sister’s child.”

Speaking on behalf of the Crown, Prosecutor Miah asked to withdraw the charges and subsequently, both men were discharged.

BAHAMAS EMBASSY ‘UNFIT’ FOR USE

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS living in the Washington DC area are upset about the dilapidated state of the Bahamas Embassy, deeming it unfit for people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are complaints of mould infestation, broken crown mouldings, exposed pipes and leaking ceilings.

Tribune sources in Washington say that for years the embassy has been in this state of disrepair and has escaped the “to do” list of successive governments.

“As Bahamians living in this area we are totally embarrassed that our embassy looks the way it does,” said one source.

“We are tired of complaining about how our embassy is not fit for humans to be (in). I am surprised that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not sought to fix this building, after all it is owned by the government of the Bahamas. International guests cannot be greeted there because of the state of the building. It is deplorable.”

The Bahamas Embassy is situated at 2220 Massachusetts Avenue, North West, Washington, DC, an area known as Embassy Row. The property was purchased in 1974. It is approximately 100 years old and was originally a private home.

When contacted recently, Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield brushed off the concerns, and told this newspaper to contact the Bahamian ambassador in DC. “In our current environment right now, where we are managing crisis after crisis in this pandemic the world over, do you think this is the time to

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 27-YEAR-OLD man convicted of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined $1,000 yesterday.

Shaquille Woodside, appearing before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister yesterday, pleaded guilty to possessing four ounces of marijuana with intent to supply. It was valued at $400.

Prosecutor Samantha Miah told the court that officers were patrolling on John Street around 1.25 pm on Wednesday when they observed a man acting in a suspicious manner.

After conducting a search of the vehicle, officers found 48 Ziplock bags, which contained suspected quantities of marijuana.

Prosecutor Miah told the court that police also found $341.42 in cash in the car.

When given the chance to speak, Woodside said the money belonged to his mother. He also said he started smoking marijuana after his sister was killed in 2015.

Woodside’s lawyer told the court he was remorseful and asked Magistrate Armbrister to take into account the “small quantity of drugs” that was discovered on his client.

However, the magistrate responded that this

was not the first time the 22-year-old had appeared before court for marijuana possession.

“In the first instance, he went to jail for six months for possession, but this time he’s supplying,” he said yesterday.

As a result, Woodside was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay $1,000.

Anphernique Burrows, 22, appearing before Magistrate Armbrister yesterday, also pleaded guilty to possession of Indian Hemp after she was found on Tuesday with 27 grams, valued at $135.

According to the information read by Prosecutor Miah, Burrows admitted to police that the drug was hers for personal use.

The court was told that Burrows, who had been smoking marijuana since she was 19, wanted to rid herself of the habit.

Given that she has no prior criminal record, Magistrate Armbrister ordered Burrows to undergo six months of rehabilitation at a programme to be named at Rehabilitation Welfare Services.

Teshan Miller, 31, who pleaded guilty for possession of two grams of marijuana, was also ordered yesterday to undergo six months of rehabilitation.

Failure to comply with the orders could result in one year imprisonment and a fine of $1,500 or $2,000.

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE POSTPONED AGAIN SOME of the disrepair in the embassy in Washington DC. be entertaining something about the “I agree that due to the mould in the disrepair of an embassy?” Mr Hen- building our respiratory systems are field asked. “It is amazing to me that if now compromised. The basement of Ambassador Collie, who works there, this building is infested with mould is aware of the existence of mould in and so is the conference room. We no his mission that he would not seek to longer go in those areas of the buildremediate it. I know him better than ing. No one can be in those areas. that. There are several companies in The basement was our eating area. the US that can do it. We had it done We can’t go there. The mould is very right here at (Ministry of) Foreign pervasive.

Affairs and in other places where we “The government has approved the thought there was an existence of $85,000 to have the remediation done. mould and we had it scrubbed.”

It has been wired to the embassy’s When contacted, Ambassador account so we are just waiting to move Sidney Collie agreed with complaints on it after this virus goes away.” that mould in the building could comAmbassador Collie admitted the promise immune systems. He said the building has fallen into a state of government has approved spending to disrepair. He said it is in an unsatisget rid of the mould. factory state and no government has He said during a recent interview: done anything to repair it.

A NATIONAL service of remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Dorian that has already been postponed once has been delayed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) had originally planned the event for March 28 in Dundas Town, Abaco.

The Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction, the Bahamas Christian Council and Abaco Christian Council agreed on the postponement of the service and burial of Dorian victims.

Katherine Forbes-Smith, managing director of the DRA, said: “We spoke with President of the Abaco Christian Council,

Pastor Edgburt Tinker, and Pastor Mario Moxey, Vicepresident of The Bahamas Christian Council.

“Pastor Tinker connected with all of the local pastors in Abaco and the consensus is to postpone out of respect for family members, as they feel the object of this remembrance service is to have a ceremonial, proper Christian burial that all loved ones can attend.”

Current emergency order restrictions on movement, mass assembly and the emphasis on physical distancing make holding ceremonies difficult.

“It is very important for us with the COVID-19 pandemic, to consider the safety issues involved with having a public event,” said Minister Iram Lewis.

COUNTRY WILL STILL ACCEPT REPATRIATIONS

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas has had no recent request from the United States to accept deportees amid the COVID-19 crisis, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday, adding this country would accept repatriated Bahamians under established protocols.

Last Friday, US President Donald Trump issued a memo threatening visa sanctions against countries which do not accept deportees from the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. The memo, sent to the US Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said the DHS secretary should notify the secretary of state if any government denies or delays “the acceptance of aliens who are citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents of that country after being asked to accept those aliens, and if such denial or delay is impeding operations of the Department of Homeland Security necessary to respond” to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once notified, the State Department would initiate a plan within seven days to impose visa sanctions that would only be lifted once the country in question has begun accepting repatriated citizens without delay.

“Countries that deny or unreasonably delay the acceptance of their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents from the United

States during the ongoing pandemic caused by SARSCoV-2 create unacceptable public health risks for Americans,” President Trump wrote. “The United States must be able to effectuate the repatriation of foreign nationals who violate the laws of the United States.”

The Tribune contacted Sharon Brennen-Haylock, director general, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about the order. She said she was not in receipt of any document

that requested the Bahamas government to receive its deportees.

“As far as I know we have had no requests as yet from the US,” Ms Brennen-Haylock said. “The Bahamas would accept the deportees once all of the processes have been undertaken to verify nationality.”

Ms Brennen-Haylock was clear The Bahamas would comply with US requests once such a document was issued.

“Once the United States sends us a request, we go through the process of verification,” she explained.

“Once we have verified that the deportee is in fact a Bahamian citizen, then we would go back (in correspondence) to the United States with a yes or no, but to date we have no request.”

The memorandum shall cease to apply on December 31, unless extended by President Trump.

Death Notice For Sammie Storr I, 43 affectionately called

“Rasta”

of 4th Street the Grove died at his residence on Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 He is survived by his mother: Patricia Thompson Marshall; son: Sammie Patrick Storr II; grandson: Sammie Patrick Storr III; sisters: Elvoin Storr, Martha Storr Missick, Samantha Thompson; nieces and nephews: Terrase Murphy, Terrelle Penn, Radesha Hanna, Donovin Thompson, Vinterio Thompson, Jordon Missick, Tony Missick Jr., Javan Missick; grandnieces: Tiasia Saunders, Kiara Morley, Azzan Johnson, Faith Stubbs, Hailey Brown; numerous aunts and uncles and other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.

Arrangements for the funeral service are being finalized and details will be announced at a future date.

The information published in Thursday, April 16th, 2020 Obituary Section was incorrect for the above advertisement.

The correct information is now published.

The Tribune apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

PAGE 8, Friday, April 17, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

A sporting icon from an age of real stars AMID the obsession with lives in peril, saved or lost as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, the passing of a legend who once stood for the finest in extreme sports, performance and glamour in Nassau nearly went unnoticed.

Race car driver extraordinaire Sir Stirling Moss died on Easter Sunday.

He was 90 years old.

To Bahamians, Sir Stirling represented the best of a world most could only observe. During the heyday of Bahamas Speed Weeks beginning in 1954 and held almost every year through 1966, Sir Stirling’s driving and his friendly, outgoing style dazzled a crowd of celebrities and those who watched the rich and famous in their cars dressed for speed and pizzazz.

Bahamas Speed Weeks were the highlight of the social season and Sir Stirling was the headliner of the events. Hundreds gathered to compete or spectate and Sir Stirling never failed to draw oohs and ahhs.

Whether racing against foreign entries or fearless Bahamians, Sir Stirling was always at or near the front of the course. He won the Nassau Cup in 1956 and 1957.

It was more than his driving, though, that won the hearts of locals. For the women, he was quite a catch and he had quite an eye. One of his ex-wives, Kate Seiler, still lived in Nassau, but passed away yesterday too, an artistic woman who has made her contribution to the culture

By Diane Phillips of the country. A daughter from another serious relationship is also making her mark in her field. There are roads and lanes named after him. Male or female, young or old, it was impossible not to be won over by his smile, the twinkle in his eye and his genuine love of life. He treated everyone with respect and in turn, they treated him with reverence.

It was in 1955, a year after the first Bahamas Speed Week, that Sir Stirling accomplished his greatest achievement – a feat no one has ever matched. Driving a Mercedes Benz sports car, Sir Stirling powered through the Mille Miglia, miles along Italy‘s curves and hills, single-handedly completing the 1,000 mile course in just over 10 hours without stopping. The car, considered the most expensive in the world, remains in Mercedes museum.

In 1962, Stirling Moss suffered horrendous head injuries in a crash at Goodwood in the UK. Many thought he would never drive again. Through sheer determination and willpower, he beat the odds and was back on the track continuing to compete until just a few years ago.

The old track where

Sir Stirling and the likes of the Bethells, Norman Solomon, the Oakes’ and others made their mark in Bahamian race car history is today where the Thomas A Robinson stadium rises.

There is a drag racing strip on part of the site. In 2011, when Nassau Speed Week Revival started, another British former race car driver and more recently classic car event planner David McLaughlin lured Sir Stirling back to The Bahamas. With Lady Susie Moss, the wife he treasured until the day he died, he tooled around Nassau as if it were his second home. There were so many who remembered him and reminded him of moments a half century before.

According to an official obituary published by the very formal British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), Stirling Moss “set the standards by which all other drivers were judged, whether in Formula 1 or international sports car racing. His versatility and competitive instincts made him a formidable competitor in any race.”

And a man who young Bahamians look up to as the modern Stirling Moss, the king of the course in today’s faster-than-ever

sport of race car teams and

SPEAKING OF SPORT...

THERE is something afoot just off Bay Street not far from The Tribune offices that totally baffles me. It’s called axe throwing. OK, so I am a novice and admittedly know little or nothing about this sport which is, by the way, large enough to warrant having its own federation (which is not surprisingly called the National Axe Throwing Federation). This one in Nassau appears to be part of that since its sign has the NATF logo so not sure what it takes, but if congratulations are in order, consider it done.

Here’s what the sport apparently entails. A thrower picks up an axe – a real one with steel blade and wooden handle – and starting from some point behind the head or neck throws it at a thing up ahead that

looks like a dart board.

Oh, it’s important to note the thrower is in a cage along a row of cages, each with chicken wire type fencing in between, probably not strong enough to prevent an axe from piercing it but since you are expected to throw forward, not sideways there should not be any errant axes heading straight for your neighbouring competitor’s middle parts.

The sport is apparently gaining traction, especially among those boasting heavy beards. In Toronto, they had a national axe throwing championship recently. More than 190 serious competitors showed up.

The place was jam packed, according

to the video online so it must have taken a long while to give each player a cage and fair shot.

Maybe they knew something we didn’t – that the world would be searching for a non-team sport that would allow social distancing while letting each player let off steam after being cooped up at home for who knows how long?

extremes, Lewis Hamilton, told his hero as he bestowed him with honorary vice president of the sport for life this: “You have been the ultimate ambassador…”

We thank McLaughlin and his team including Jimmie Lowe and Brendan Foulkes for bringing racing back to The Bahamas and reminding us just how much fun speed, precision and performance can be.

We thank them, especially, for re-introducing us to an

SIR Stirling Moss with FIA Director for Caribbean Development David McLaughlin at Goodwood in the world’s most expensive car. icon who, for a short while every year, made The Bahamas his home, inspiring us and bringing fame through images sent abroad long before the days of social media.

Sir Stirling Moss, one of a kind.

• Farewell to a speed king - see Weekend section

REST IN PEACE, KATE SEILER KATE Seiler passed away at her home in Montreal yesterday. The former wife of Sir Stirling Moss was well known in The Bahamas after moving here from Canada.

After her marriage to Sir Stirling, she married Don Seiler.

A music lover and art patron, she was well known across Bahamian society, and a supporter of many good causes.

MARIJUANA COMING IN HANDY FOR RAINY DAY FUNDS WITH tons of free time on my hands these days, (thanks Coronavirus pandemic!), it’s given me the opportunity to research a number of things, one being the uses of marijuana taxation, in the various US states that have legalised marijuana.

Illinois stood right out again, they have long been a model state in regards to the legalisation of marijuana and its related legislation.

Here’s what stood out to me.

Rural pharmacies in Illinois are receiving financial support from cannabis taxes earmarked for the state’s “rainy day fund”, officials announced recently.

Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced last month that nearly $1m would be released to critical access pharmacies providing essential services to rural communities during the ongoing public health emergency.

The cannabis tax paid into the states “rainy day’’ fund in March came to a total of $1.1m.

Total payments thus far of $946m, into the states’ “rainy day” fund, came from numerous other state taxes, and other cannabis related taxes, paid

A Comic’s View

By Inigo Zenicazelaya

each month into the state’s “rainy day” fund.

The “rainy day fund” is a cash reserve, maintained to cover expenses during difficult financial times.

Mendoza also added, in a March 19, 2020, press conference: “Our ongoing effort to support rural pharmacies that are being squeezed out by unfair competition and managed care policies, now takes on added importance as communities fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.”

The same payments, announced by Mendoza last month, were made to rural pharmacies ahead of schedule to provide relief during the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mendoza offered these final comments: “Locally owned pharmacies – often the only pharmacies available for miles in any direction – are vital to stopping the spread

of the coronavirus in rural communities.

“It’s more important than ever that we ensure these payments continue to go out so these small businesses can continue to be there for the people they serve.”

Garth Reynolds, the executive director of the Illinois Pharmacists Association, said that rural drugstores affected by the current economic conditions had sought relief from the comptroller’s office.

“Comptroller Mendoza recognizes the unfair business practices that have pushed pharmacies to the financial brink and inability to properly serve their patients.”

So hypothetically if we did legalise and decriminalise, medicinal and recreational marijuana.

And we did collect the various related taxes, in a timely and efficient manner.

MARIJUANA plants grow at a Minnesota Medical Solutions greenhouse.

There would be enough money in the “kitty” to provide some sort of “stimulus” package, to displaced

Bahamians during “rainy days” such as these.

Meditate on that for a minute, I don’t know about

you all, but I could use that ‘lil t’ing’!

Until next week, stay inside! Again!

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, April 17, 2020, PAGE 9

US RULE CLEANING UP COAL AIR GUTTED

PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House yesterday.

Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

Trump’s three-phase plan WASHINGTON Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump gave governors a road map yesterday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases.

“We’re starting our life again,” Trump said during his daily press briefing.

“We’re starting rejuvenation of our economy again.”

He added, “This is a gradual process.”

The new guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations. They make clear that the return to normalcy will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak. And they largely reinforce the plans already under development by governors, who have the primary responsibility for public health in their states.

“You’re going to call your own shots,” Trump told the governors Thursday afternoon in a conference call, according to an audio recording obtained by The Associated Press. “We’re going to be standing alongside of you.”

SIX KEY DAYS WHEN CHINA DIDN’T WARN PUBLIC

By The Associated Press

IN the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicentre of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations.

President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, January 20. But by that time, more than 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence, according to internal documents and expert estimates based on retrospective infection data.

Six days. That delay from January Places with declining infections and strong testing would begin a three-phase gradual reopening of businesses and schools.

In phase one, for instance, the plan recommends strict social distancing for all people in public. Gatherings larger than ten people are to be avoided and nonessential travel is discouraged.

In phase two, people are encouraged to maximise social distancing where possible and limit gatherings to no more than 50 people unless precautionary measures are taken. Travel could resume.

Phase three envisions a return to normalcy for most Americans, with a focus on identification and isolation of any new infections.

The Associated Press

14 to January 20 was neither the first mistake made by Chinese officials at all levels in confronting the outbreak, nor the longest lag, as governments around the world have dragged their feet for weeks and even months in addressing the virus.

But the delay by the first country to face the new coronavirus came at a critical time — the beginning of the outbreak. China’s attempt to walk a line between alerting the public and avoiding panic set the stage for a pandemic that has infected more than two million people and taken more than 133,000 lives.

“This is tremendous,” said ZuoFeng Zhang, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “If they took action six

obtained a copy of the guidelines before their public release.

Governors of both parties made clear they will move at their own pace.

Delaware Gov John Carney, a Democrat, said the guidelines “seem to make sense”.

“We’re days, maybe weeks away from the starting line and then you have to have 14 days of declining cases, of declining symptoms and hospital capacity that exists in case you have a rebound,” he said.

West Virginia Gov Jim Justice, a Trump ally, cautiously floated the idea of reopening parts of the state, but said testing capacity and contact tracing would need to be considerably ramped up before restrictions could

days earlier, there would have been much fewer patients and medical facilities would have been sufficient.

We might have avoided the collapse of Wuhan’s medical system.”

Other experts noted that the Chinese government may have waited on warning the public to stave off hysteria, and that it did act quickly in private during that time.

But the six-day delay by China’s leaders came on top of almost two weeks during which the national Center for Disease Control did not register any cases from local officials, internal bulletins confirm. Yet during that time, from January 5 to January 17, hundreds of patients were appearing in hospitals not just in Wuhan but across the country.

be safely lifted.

“All would be forgotten very quickly if we moved into a stage quicker than we should, and then we got into a situation where we had people dying like flies,” Justice told reporters.

At earliest, the guidelines suggest, some parts of the country could see a resumption in normal commerce and social gatherings after a month of evaluating whether easing up on restrictions has led to a resurgence in virus cases. In other parts of the country, or if virus cases pick up, it could be substantially longer.

In briefing the governors on the plan, Trump said they were going to be responsible for deciding when it is safe to lift restrictions in their states. Just

days before, he had drawn swift pushback for claiming he had the absolute authority to determine how and when states reopen.

“We have a very large number of states that want to get going and they’re in very good shape,” Trump said. “That’s good with us, frankly.”

But some of Trump’s conservative allies, like economist Stephen Moore, have encouraged him to act swiftly, warning of “a mini Great Depression if we keep the economy shut down.”

“That is a catastrophic outcome for our country.

Period,” Moore said he advised the president. “We can’t have 30 million people in this country unemployed or you’re going to have social chaos.”

US JOB LOSSES CONTINUE TO MOUNT WASHINGTON Associated Press

THE ranks of America’s unemployed swelled toward Great Depression-era levels yesterday.

The government reported 5.2 million more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to 22 million — easily the worst stretch of US job losses on record.

The losses translate to about 1 in 7 American workers.

The bleak picture intensified the debate over how and when to start lifting the lockdowns and other restrictions that have all but strangled the economy.

While many Americans have chafed at the damage to their livelihoods, business leaders and governors have warned that more testing and protective gear are needed first. And health experts have cautioned that easing the restrictions too soon could allow the virus to come storming back.

“My No 1 focus is to keep my family safe, so I’m really not in a hurry to put an end to this,” said Denise Stockwell, who is about to lose her job in marketing at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

But conservative economist Steven Moore, a Trump ally, said there will be 30 million people out of work in the country if the

economy doesn’t open back up soon. “And that is a catastrophic outcome for our country. Period,” he said. “You’re going to have social chaos.”

Worldwide, the outbreak has infected more than 2.1 million people and killed more than 140,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, though the true numbers are believed to be much higher. The death toll in the US reached about 31,000, with around 650,000 confirmed infections.

The spread of the virus is declining in such places as Italy, Spain and France, but is rising or continuing at a high level in Britain, Russia and Turkey, authorities said.

In other developments: • Vladimir Putin postponed Russia’s grand Victory Day parade May 9 in Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II. Since Soviet times, Victory Day has been the nation’s most important holiday, reflecting its wartime losses, put at more than 27 million dead.

• New York, the most lethal hot spot in the US, reported more encouraging signs, with a drop in the daily number of deaths statewide and the overall count of people in the hospital. “We’ve controlled the beast. We’ve brought the rate of spread down,” Gov Andrew

THE Trump administration yesterday gutted an Obama-era rule that compelled the country’s coal plants to cut back emissions of mercury and other human health hazards, a move designed to limit future regulation of air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants.

Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler said the rollback was reversing what he depicted as regulatory overreach by the Obama administration. “We have put in place an honest accounting method that balances” the cost to utilities with public safety, he said.

Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist whose previous clients have gotten many of the regulatory rollbacks they sought from the Trump administration.

Environmental and public health groups and Democratic lawmakers faulted the administration for pressing forward with a series of rollbacks easing pollution rules for industry — in the final six months of President Donald Trump’s current term — while the coronavirus pandemic rivets the world’s attention.

With rollbacks on air pollution protections, the “EPA is all but ensuring that higher levels of harmful air pollution will make it harder for people to recover in the long run” from the disease caused by the coronavirus, given the lasting harm the illness does to victims hearts and lungs, said Delaware Sen Tom Carper, the senior Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

BRIAN DENNEHY

STAGE AND FILM STAR DENNEHY DIES AGED 81 BRIAN Dennehy, the burly actor who started in films as a macho heavy and later in his career won plaudits for his stage work in plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, has died. He was 81.

Dennehy died on Wednesday night of natural causes in New Haven, Connecticut, according to Kate Cafaro of ICM Partners, the actor’s representatives.

Known for his broad frame, booming voice and ability to play good guys and bad guys with equal aplomb, Dennehy won two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, a Laurence Olivier Award and was nominated for six Emmys. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010.

HALL OF FAMER DAVIS DIES

PEOPLE wear protective masks out of concern for the coronavirus while standing in line outside a pop-up food pantry yesterday in Chelsea, Mass.

Photo: Steven Senne/AP Cuomo said. Still, Cuomo extended a room used to hold the dead until the state’s lockdown through at they can be picked by a funeral least May 15, and New York City home. is lining up 11,000 empty hotel Economists said the unemployrooms to quarantine people living ment rate could reach 20 percent in in crowded apartment buildings.

April, the highest since the Depres• Police acting on an anony- sion of the 1930s. Layoffs are mous tip found at least 18 bodies spreading well beyond stores, resover two days at a nursing home taurants and hotels to white-collar in Andover Township, New professionals such as software proJersey. Corpses were packed into grammers and legal assistants.

WILLIE Davis, a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman who helped the Green Bay Packers win each of the first two Super Bowls, has died.

He was 85.

The Packers confirmed Davis’ death to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday, as did his former teammate and fellow hall member, Dave Robinson.

Davis died in a Santa Monica, California hospital. His wife, Carol, told the Packers her husband had been hospitalised for about a month with kidney failure and passed away peacefully.