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VOLUME:117 No.102, APRIL 22ND, 2020

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36 MORE WOMEN ACCUSE NYGARD Victims from Bahamas, Canada, US, Britain and Germany file rape case

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THIRTY-SIX women have joined a US class action lawsuit accusing Peter Nygard of rape.

The lawsuit initially featured nine Bahamians and one American plaintiff but now includes 12 Bahamians, 14 Americans, 18 Canadians, one British and one German female plaintiff.

Twenty-four of the alleged incidents took place in The Bahamas while Mr Nygard’s residences in Marina Del Rey, California,

ABOUT 100 healthcare workers are in self-isolation after they were exposed to a patient with COVID19 on Princess Margaret Hospital’s surgical ward, prompting Health Minister Dr Duane Sands to say yesterday the country won’t be ready to lift the lockdown and movement restrictions anytime soon.

SEE PAGE EIGHT

HELP FOR RENTERS ‘A PUZZLE’ THE government is facing “a real conundrum” in devising an effective rental assistance initiative because it would require the banks to “freeze” landlord loans, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest has admitted, saying the involvement of three different parties in the tenancy chain represented “a huge challenge” in coming up with a relief programme that works.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

ONE DEAD IN GB ATTACKS, 2ND CRITICAL

SEE PAGE SEVEN

A surgical ward patient on Sunday became a confirmed COVID-19 case, prompting the closure of PMH’s Medical Surgical Ward II. At least three patients on that ward have since been confirmed to have the virus.

“This has made a serious dent, a massive blow to the provision of healthcare services,” Dr Sands said before a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

SEE PAGE TWO

IN FUTURE, LET’S MAKE SURE WE DO THINGS BETTER

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

New York City and Winnipeg, Canada were alleged sites of the other assaults.

Twelve of the plaintiffs were between 14 and 17 when they were allegedly raped.

Lawyers for the women want a New York court to award punitive or exemplary damages to their clients.

Mr Nygard and his companies are listed as defendants.

“Using interstate and foreign commerce” they allegedly “conspired to and did recruit, lure and entice young, impressionable,

WARD INFECTION ‘MASSIVE BLOW’ TO HEALTH TEAMS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ALICIA WALLACE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ONE man is dead and another is in hospital in critical condition following two separate shooting incidents in Grand Bahama on Monday.

Police are actively investigating a suspected gang-related murder believed to be linked to a shooting in the Hawksbill PETER NYGARD at an earlier court hearing

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

SEE PAGE SEVEN

‘I’LL MAKE SURE MY DAD’S LEGACY LIVES ON’ TECHNOLOGY

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net STAFFORD Coakley was remembered yesterday as strong willed and stoic - qualities he remained true to until he took his last breath on April 3 after struggling with complications brought on by COVID-19.

While his close-knit family wants to hold a funeral fit for the

STAFFORD COAKLEY 79-year-old civic leader, his son Rhawli Coakley told The Tribune the virus

had complicated those plans. Due to the impact of COVID-19, immediate relatives are divided by travel restrictions and Rhawli’s mother and sister have had to fight through their own health issues after they too contracted the virus.

The elder Coakley was classified as case #22 by health officials and had no history of travel. It has given credence to the

SELF-DRIVE CARS LINKED UP TO TRAFFIC LIGHTS

SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE NINE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Ward infection a massive blow to health teams, says Sands from page one “It speaks to the challenge. We’re not there yet. I know people want to break out of isolation and out of quarantine and come out of lockdown. We are not there yet. We’re not going to be there anytime soon and I need people to understand that as much as you’re tired, as much as you’ve had enough of this, we’re not there yet. These healthcare professionals find themselves on the battlefield and potentially exposed and so now they are out for 14 days.”

Their isolation “has made a serious impact on the delivery of health services,” he said, adding: “This patient was not suspected to have COVID and was there for an entirely different reason. There was, even in retrospect, very little reason to suspect that this patient should have had COVID.” Dr Sands said the country does not have the luxury of testing every person who attends a hospital, revealing a shortage of swabs will also impact the ability to increase testing in a widespread way.

He said: “If you say every single person who comes to the hospital should be tested, bear in mind we see 50,000 people through Accident and Emergency

every year…if you say now that we are going to test all of them, that’s 136 tests per day. (Say a) patient comes in with a gunshot wound, are you going to do a test before you take care of that patient? (That’s) not practical. (Say) somebody comes in with a heart attack, are you going to test before you manage that patient?

“What we need to recognise is that there are limitations to testing, even as we ramp up and there are limitations to ramping up because around the world there is a challenge to getting the basic swabs, the supply chain for that simple device cannot be sourced anywhere in the world. It is not a Q-Tip, it is a special type of swab and so we have the kits, we have the reagents, we have the labs, we have the machines, but nobody has the swabs.

We have a few hundred right now and we hope to get another 500 today but before we go ramping up to do 200 tests a day we need to look at what’s going to happen down the road, three days from now, four days from now. It is a balancing act and even as we ramp up we have to ramp up deliberately and carefully.”

Dr Sands confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased to 65 with the latest being a 36 year old New Providence man with

no history of travel. He is in hospital.

Dr Sands bemoaned the impact that large gatherings can have on the fight against COVID-19, pointing to the crowd of hotel union members who assembled on Tonique Williams Darling Highway on Monday as an example of what the country cannot afford.

“Events like (what happened on Monday) where we had thousands or hundreds of people congregating in a space, (are) not a good idea and if we are going to do things like that again let’s plan it a bit better, let’s use technology, maybe we can avoid watching the numbers climb.”

Dr Sands was pressed on the wisdom of reopening some businesses even as health officials plead for people to stay home. On Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis identified several businesses that will be open on specific days.

“One of the things we want to do is make the assumptions that people will be responsible,” Dr Sands said, “that having gone through this now for a month that we are getting it, and the majority of Bahamians have gotten it… that five percent, that seven percent who are in lines will be a challenge.”

Editorial View - Page 6

Plastic shields to help in fight against virus

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net A LOCAL company plans to begin manufacturing plastic face shields which will be sold to the Ministry of Health to aid in the COVID-19 fight.

Peter Bates, CEO of the Sign Man, said the Bahamian company realised it had the materials and skills to move into personal protective equipment (PPE) production, given there is increased demand and short supply around the world.

“We have all sorts of equipment and skill sets and materials to make plastic signs,” Mr Bates explained

about his company. “So when this COVID-19 pandemic became evident here and it was obvious that personal protective equipment was in short supply, I figured out if I can make a flat sign, I can make a curved sign and it doesn’t have to have any information on it.

So we got together and we made a very high quality prototype face shield. These actually have the ability to be fully adjusted so as not to touch your nose. So you can wear the shield and not feel claustrophobic.”

The Sign Man built the prototype and presented it to Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands who was so impressed he posted pictures of the face shields on

his Facebook page. “Once we begin the manufacturing process we can produce hundreds of these in a very short period of time,” said Mr Bates. “We agreed to do it at a special price for the Ministry of Health. “They are in short supply and the minister specifically said the ministry will buy a quantity from us and see how it goes. So we are in the process right now setting up the manufacturing and fabrication assembly lines and getting the material here in Nassau.”

The Sign Man is getting set to produce 5,000 face shields which are made out of high quality thick, clear plastic.

“They will be produced, initially, exclusively for the

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands tries out one of the visers Ministry of Health because they need a large quantity.

Once the manufacturing process starts and we know that we can deliver them very quickly to the Ministry of Health, we will then open it up to the general public because we have had a lot of interest from people who may not be frontline health workers, but need the same protection because of their line of work. We think we can manufacture up to 300

face masks per day if we have to.”

The Sign Man manufactured full face shields can be completely immersed in alcohol without damage. So sterilisation of the shields will not be a problem, according to Mr Bates. He said the shields are only known as ‘plastic face shields’ for now, as The Sign Man has not yet gone through testing with the appropriate medical

authorities which are authorised to deem them ‘medical face masks’.

After the Ministry of Health’s order is satisfied, Mr Bates said The Sign Man will consider supplying store owners and people whose work has them in constant contact with others with the face shields. The company is also looking into manufacturing plastic barriers for cashiers.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames said yesterday that any suggestion Jonathan Ash was given special treatment when he went to court Monday without handcuffs or shackles is “ludicrous”.

He also refused to specifically address the involvement of two officers placed on leave as police investigate their involvement in Ash selling alcohol against COVID-19 regulations, saying the matter is still under investigation and he doesn’t “want to prejudice it in any way.”

However, he said it’s always “unfortunate” when officers are found in contravention of the law, reflecting poorly on their “law abiding” colleagues while causing public distrust.

His comments came days after videos circulated on social media, showing a man at a liquor store selling alcohol and an unmarked police vehicle at the establishment.

When The Tribune visited the scene on Friday, two police cars were observed at the establishment: one

Dames: No special treatment for Ash ASH outside court on Monday exited the street for Carmichael Road and the other exited the Made Men Sporting Bar property even as patrons trafficked liquor without disguise.

Another unmarked police car, a white Ford Taurus, was stationed about seven feet from the bar’s door, its tinted windows rolled all the

I’ll make sure my dad’s legacy lives on from page one

family’s concerns about how he contracted the virus. Mr Coakley said his father was taken to the hospital before the diagnosis for unrelated health issues.

“He didn’t go in there with any types of symptoms,” Mr Coakley said.

“He didn’t go in there for that as we know it. He had some other health issues.

He had to start dialysis so he was doing that and they were running some other tests for gastrointestinal infection, but he apparently may have contracted it while he was in there. “… After they let him go home, he started having more severe symptoms so we took him right back the next day and that’s when the doctors suspected something was wrong.

They felt like they needed to have him tested.”

He said he was certain

the family would follow up their concerns once they could find some semblance of normalcy. “It’s been very hard. It’s a very difficult time for us as a family. We are a very close-knit, big family and we always come to one another’s aid in time of need and it’s kind of hard not being able to do that.

Not only having my father unfortunately lose his life because he was infected by the virus but my sister and mother also were infected and they are now also still recovering or trying to recover. So it’s very hard that we cannot immediately be there physically or in other ways for them to help them through this difficult period and also process the loss of our father because their primary concern now is just trying to stay alive and survive.”

He added: “So right now I am trying to give

way up and its engine humming. Store staff were also seen wearing masks while taking orders for beer and rum, despite orders from Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ orders stating that such establishments ought to remain closed during the COVID-19 crisis.

Ash has since been fined after admitting selling alcohol in breach of the national curfew and emergency orders.

The 35-year-old, who appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence RolleDavis on Monday, was charged with violating the national curfew and operating a non-essential business on April 17.

He pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him and was fined $2,000 or nine

months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services for count one and $5,000 or one year at the BDCS for count two.

In a statement released late Monday Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle noted a police superintendent and police corporal in connection to the videos had been placed on administrative leave. The statement added that investigations are ongoing.

Mr Dames said anyone found not obeying the law will be dealt with accordingly and that includes those in law enforcement agencies.

He said: “You have to be, I mean, a person of the highest level of integrity.

That’s what we expect and we continue to say that

my mother and sister some time to really heal emotionally, mentally and as well as physically and we’re definitely going to follow up to bringing some closure to it all.”

Mr Coakley said he is clinging to memories made with his father and ensuring his legacy remains strong. “For me being his son I have always had to be very aware of what is required of me - as a man and what it means to be a man. The level of responsibility that is required to uphold your name, to uphold your community and those were the qualities and the principles that were instilled in me from an early age.

“My father was a very disciplined, principled and very quiet and reserved person. Very thoughtful and insightful. He was very observant and analytical and I think a lot of those traits poured into me as

well. I see it a lot in how I approach life.”

Stafford Coakley is survived by his wife Joan, four daughters and his son.

He has been credited with advancing the land surveying profession at the Department of Lands and Surveys in the early 1960s, when he fought hard for Bahamians to be given equal opportunity to practice the skill. However, those who knew him said one of his greatest personal pursuits and accomplishments was his fight for the government to legalise proper land registration.

When it came to civic involvement, he worked tirelessly with Kiwanis and ultimately served as lieutenant governor for the Eastern Canada and Caribbean District of Kiwanis Club International.

He was also involved with the Scout Association of the Bahamas in its earlier days.

no one is above the law and when you breach it, no matter where you sit, there’s an expectation that you have to be dealt with.

“The Bahamian people expect that and we’re not going to compromise that for anyone.”

Asked by reporters why Ash was not placed in handcuffs or shackles while appearing before court, the minister replied: “I don’t have the answer to that.”

He added: “He was put before the courts. I see people go before the courts, some in handcuffs, some with none. But to suggest that the officers were paying favourites, it’s ludicrous.

“Come on. You can see the actions taken by the commissioner and his officers. This man was put

before the courts almost immediately. It is being alleged that he had broken the law.

“He was charged and placed before the courts.

That in itself will demonstrate to you that police ain’t playing no favourites and to even suggest that is nonsense. This is an ongoing investigation where persons from within are impacted as well.”

While not specifically addressing the two officers, Mr Dames said while the majority of law enforcement takes their job seriously there are some who “are hell bent on creating mischief.”

Mr Dames said he hopes the investigation will soon be completed and the matter quickly resolved.

BPL shuts office after staff exposed to virus

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power and Light immediately closed its main Baillou Hill Road office yesterday after a small number of staff were suspected of being exposed to someone who had been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient.

BPL said once officials became aware of the potential exposure, those workers were sent home under strict instructions to follow medical protocols.

A professional company was then brought in to clean and fumigate the building overnight, the company said.

The building will reopen

today for payments only under normal business hours.

A BPL statement read: “Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd wishes to assure customers that we are being vigilant during this crisis, and continue to take the health and safety of our employees and customers as our top priority. To that end, we would like to state unequivocally that at no point as far as we are aware has a person infected with the COVID19 virus accessed our premises.

“An incident occurred at the Peter I Bethel Building on Blue Hill Road on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 around 2pm. That incident resulted in the potential exposure

of a small number of our staff members to someone who had been in close contact with an infected person. Once administration became aware of the potential exposure, we acted out of an abundance of caution to ensure the continued safety of staff and customers.

“The building was immediately closed. The staff potentially exposed were sent home under strict instructions to ensure they followed the recommended anti-infection protocols. We brought in a professional cleaning company to do a deep cleaning and fumigation of the building overnight.

“Therefore, we will reopen the P I Bethel

Building at our Blue Hills complex for payment only on Wednesday during normal business hours.”

Customers wishing to conduct business with BPL not related to payments should call 225-5275 to speak to BPL’s customer service centre personnel.

The Mall at Marathon location is also open to only accept payments.

Anyone wishing to apply for the BPL COVID-19 Relief Programme can log onto www.bplco.com/ covid19relief, see the fillable form on Facebook and Twitter, or send an email to covid19@bplco.com.

“We reiterate, as we have requested, please do not come in, and do not send a representative either. This

process can and should be conducted entirely electronically,” BPL said.

BPL encouraged customers to observe the social distancing and shelter in place orders issued by the government.

“We urge our customers

to pay their bills, and to do so electronically through the website www.bplco. com, through the private commercial banks online bill payment mechanisms or using the telephone number 302-1130 through 302-114.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

AIRLIFTED BIMINI PATIENT TESTS NEGATIVE FOR COVID-19

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A BIMINI woman who was airlifted to New Providence after experiencing a fever and breathing difficulties on Monday has been released after testing negative for COVID-19, a relative said.

The 65-year-old woman is the step-mother of former consul general to Atlanta, Randy Rolle.

She became ill sometime after his

78-year-old father recovered from a high fever and a cough, he said.

Bimini resident Kim JohnsonRolle, 57, was the first confirmed COVID-19 death in the country.

Since then, there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case on nearby Cat Cay but not on Bimini.

Mrs Johnson-Rolle attended the same church as Mr Rolle’s father and the last time the pair were in the same vicinity was at a March 27 funeral, Mr Rolle said.

He said his step-mother was persuaded to go to New

Providence by Health Minister Dr Duane Sands.

“Dr Duane Sands called to convince them. My dad’s a Christian who would’ve prayed himself through his issues. We are all believers of faith but she was convinced to err on the side of caution as opposed to waiting until things get worse. I talk to her every half an hour or so now.

She’s always been stable,” he said.

Mr Rolle later told The Tribune that his step-mother’s test came back negative.

Although Mr Rolle’s father was not transported with his wife, health officials took a swab from him to test for COVID-19, Mr Rolle said.

“My father is a former athlete, a very strong 78-year-old with no underlying illnesses so there is a chance he recovered if he had the virus,” he said.

Dr Sands, speaking to reporters before a Cabinet meeting yesterday, said officials used COVID-19 precautions before transporting the woman.

“…It is not to say that the person was exhibiting COVID symptoms,” he said. “We don’t know what the problem is, however, in this COVID-era anyone who has a problem now is looked at through the prism of COVID19. I think it’s very important for us to wait until we get information because people can still have heart attacks, people can still get pneumonia, people can still get tuberculosis, people still have cancer, not everyone who is sick has COVID.”

GOVERNMENT KEEN TO HEAR YOUR SUGGESTIONS

THERE were long queues at various places across the island yesterday, including AID below, the Road Traffic Department, right, and at Sun Cash, bottom right.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Queues as businesses allowed to reopen

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL businesses that have been allowed to re-open this week drew long lines and scores of customers. Auto parts stores are allowed to operate on Tuesdays as the prime minister outlined they could open from 8am to 5pm.

When The Tribune visited yesterday, some customers expressed the need to have the stores open more than just once a week.

There was a long line at AID on Wulff Road, which wrapped around the side gates of the store going towards the old Bahamas Academy building, but shoppers reported that the line was moving quickly.

AID/NAPA at Baillou Hill Road only had about 20 people on the line but those waiting said one person was being let in at time. Gary Williams was there for 45 minutes for car parts as his vehicle was causing him some trouble.

He said it was the third store he came to that day looking for what he needed.

He said if he couldn’t find it, then he would have to wait until next week, which frustrated him.

“From my understanding, parts stores only open on Tuesday. So if I don’t get it today then I can’t seek it out again until next Tuesday - that don’t make any sense.”

At Whim Automotive Ltd, the line reached almost

to the back of the building but some customers were able to skip the long lines by ordering parts online and picking up their orders at the store. Store representative Marvin Whitley told The Tribune that their online service has seen an increase since the COVID crisis began.

There was a large crowd at SunCash on East Street with people trying to collect their National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefits.

Tents and barricades were set up outside the money transfer company but people claimed they were in the sun for hours before they got under the shade.

Social distancing was barely practiced, with many people

JUNKANOO PARADES MAY BE POSTPONED UNTIL FEB

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS are considering postponing Junkanoo parades “perhaps to February” amid uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Youth, Sports & Culture Minister Lanisha Rolle said yesterday.

However, she stressed no official decision has been made as yet as discussions are still ongoing. She added the ministry is also being guided by health officials on the matter. “I believe that the organisers of Junkanoo and the ministry, they’re coming together to have discussions whether remotely or otherwise to determine what, if anything, can be salvaged in terms of Junkanoo, in particular for this year or rather even perhaps we could look at pushing it back a little, perhaps to February or something is what I’m understanding that they’re discussing.

“But, there’s nothing being decided as yet and so we want to continue to be optimistic. I believe we all need to maintain that optimism that things at the end of the day will work out.”

Her comments came after the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence said in a statement that “only time will tell” how Junkanoo parades look this season - if they are hosted at all.

However, noting that she is hopeful “everything will work out”, Mrs Rolle said their main priority is ensuring all Bahamians are kept safe in light of the COVID19 crisis.

“Junkanoo is very important for us. It is a very important part of our culture, a part of our celebrations and a part of the end of the year and maybe that’s really going to cause us to be a little more jubilant at the end of year, so hopefully things can come together,” she said.

“But at the end of the

day, we want to be safe so we’re looking, and we’re being guided by the safety of our (health) personnel to ensure that we’re all safe and able to have it and if not, we’re going to just simply going to continue to make the adjustments with people and their health being the priority.”

However, several Junkanoo leaders told The Tribune on Monday they are eying dramatically scaled back parades as the COVID-19 crisis wreaks havoc on their preparations.

Still, leaders noted if the lockdown were to extend well into the end of May, they would be able to prepare for the two parades.

“We are Junkanoo jonsers,” said Kendenique Campbell-Moss, co-chair of the Saxons Superstars.

“Any slice we could get we are getting. It might not go as full scale as in years past because we know the constraints of people in the groups.”

standing almost shoulder to shoulder, and customers were particularly frustrated at the fact that operations stopped around 1 pm as many people were still waiting from that morning.

Dwayne Wair told The Tribune he had been waiting from eight o’clock but the store did not open until 10. He claimed that SunCash was not “organised” and questioned the move to have unemployment payments be sent to that company for collection.

“NIB was much smoother than this. I don’t know who

thought of this. They sure wasn’t thinking,” he said.

“You came to get some money to pay a bill and you spend all your time here.

You still can’t pay a bill because the place close a little while because of the curfew.”

Another man, Stephan Rutherfod said he walked there all the way from Nassau Street and began waiting at 8.30am. He described the experience as a “disaster” as the line was moving very slowly and he claimed someone fell out from the heat while waiting.

THE Office of the Prime Minister has launched a suggestions platform on its website, opm.gov.bs.

The platform will serve as a central point for the collection of non-health related suggestions related to the national response to COVID-19.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced during his April 13 national address that the platform would be established to allow all Bahamians and residents an opportunity to participate in the rebuilding of the country in a post COVID-19 environment.

“We are looking for ideas and suggestions that will challenge us to take a new look at our old ways and reinvent a brand-new economy and country for all,” said Prime Minister Minnis.

Dr Minnis has stressed that while the country fights against the COVID-19 virus today, it is imperative to put in place plans for an economic recovery that will include as many Bahamians as possible.

“I wish to advise you that we are consulting locally and internationally to help guide our social and economic response once the immediate health problems are arrested,” said Dr Minnis.

Bahamian academics, historians and researchers are also being invited to provide a more comprehensive perspective on the best way forward.

To send in a suggestion visit www.opm.gov.bs, select the “Suggestion” tab on the home page, fill in the form and click on the submit button.

While all submissions may not be acknowledged in writing, please be assured they will be read and where necessary, forwarded to the relevant parties for consideration, OPM said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, PAGE 5

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE government does not have any plans to increase value added tax “or any other taxes” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest said yesterday.

Instead, Mr Turnquest said officials are seeking to use existing resources to deal with the economic fallout from the virus, which is projected at $1 billion or more.

His comments come amid public uncertainty about VAT possibly increasing to limit the impact of revenue lost to the government due to the virus.

However, speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, the minister assured reporters: “There is no plan to go up on value added tax or any other tax at this point. “…Bear in mind that this crisis is going to cost some significant loss in revenue to the government as it is to individuals and businesses.

And we’re going to have to find out and figure out how we’re going to address that for the long term.

“Because one thing we cannot afford to happen is for us to (amass) significant debt that we saddle the future generations with. We want to be careful about that and as responsible as we can with respect to that.”

With thousands left unemployed due to the tourism shutdown from COVID-19, Mr Turnquest stressed that now is not the time for discussions on

We’ve no plans to increase taxes, says Turnquest whether VAT should be increased.

“This is a difficult period and coming out of this is going to be very slow,” he said.

“Job creation and job retention is going to be slow and so this is not the time to be talking about increase in taxes. We have to figure out some things and make some adjustments to ensure that we live within the means that the people have given to us.

“It’s going to take a lot of creativity. It’s going to take some bold steps in respect to our state of enterprises and how they operate to make them more efficient and less of a burden on the taxpayer, but as far as we are concerned at this point, we don’t see any increases of taxes.”

However, recognising that thousands have been

adversely impacted by the government’s actions to curb the spread of the virus, Mr Turnquest said it was important for officials to provide further relief to residents in need of basic services, like home repair.

“You know people are home, things break, things happen and so we are looking at those kinds of businesses that will provide necessities for people who do basic repairs and engage in basic services they need in order to go through this period,” he said.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis relaxed restrictions for certain businesses in the country, announcing that auto parts, home and hardware stores and plant nurseries will be allowed to reopen in the capital under certain guidelines and on staggered days.

Landscaping and property maintenance also now fall under essential businesses and will be allowed to operate during the 24-hour curfew, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

The move, however, has been met with criticism in recent days, with some residents saying the actions might have been implemented too soon, given the fact that the country is still seeing a surge of COVID cases.

Responding to those concerns, the deputy prime minister said: “If you follow the schedule of openings and the types of businesses that are being allowed to open and the insistence on the protocols, the safety protocols from the public health officials as to how these entities are to open, I believe the risks are being significantly considered and are being mitigated as best

DPM Peter Turnquest we can. This shutdown and curfew has been difficult and there are persons who have legitimate needs for services and goods, just to protect life and to continue to protect health,” he said.

“And so, we have to be sensitive to that and allow some relief for persons to be able to access those goods and services that they need in order to continue to be safe and not to venture out and do things that may not be in their best interest.”

Asked yesterday about the possibility of reopening islands that do not have COVID-19 cases, the minister said discussions are ongoing as it relates to allowing those communities to have an internal economy.

He said: “I do not know about opening the borders to international people or even people in the Bahamas, but I know that the discussion is ongoing with respect to assessing the risk of allowing these islands to have an internal economy in the absence of any confirmed cases of COVID. “So, I think that’s something that is very topical and current and all things being considered in respect to no cases being confirmed, I suspect that you’ll see some movement on that shortly.”

A VOTE OF THANKS

BAHA Mar is handing out care packages containing non-perishable goods to its employees this week to mark the resort’s third anniversary of operation and thank them for their hard work and dedication.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

TEENAGERS CHARGED AFTER FAILING TO ENROL AT SCHOOL

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO teenagers who are not enrolled in school were yesterday charged with violating the emergency lockdown.

The teens — who are 15 and 16 — were among several people who appeared before Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis for curfew and lockdown infractions.

The boys were charged after police found them on East Bay Street near Rubis gas station around noon on April 13, while the country was on a five-day lockdown.

They pleaded guilty to the charge and the matter was adjourned to June 2 so that the Department of Social Services could investigate the circumstances of their households. One boy was accompanied by his mother while the other had an older sister present.

During the hearing, they

told Magistrate Rolle-Davis they only violated the lockdown orders because they were hungry and had no more food in their homes.

It was also discovered both boys were not enrolled in a school. The 15-year-old’s mother told Magistrate Rolle-Davis that her son previously attended Galilee College, but said she was trying to find another school for him because he wanted to go to one where he could play ball and Galilee didn’t offer sports. The 16-year-old revealed he was “supposed to be in Grade Eleven” at C I Gibson Senior High, but was “kicked out last year” after a group of boys “ganged” him.

In response, Magistrate Rolle-Davis told the boys’ guardians that the juveniles were their responsibility and the things they did were a reflection on them.

He also said it was their

responsibility to ensure the teenagers stayed in their own homes during the lockdown.

As a result, Magistrate Rolle-Davis said that he would have the Department of Social Services do an inquiry on both households to investigate their circumstances and then decide what course of action to take once he received an official report.

Meanwhile, 19-yearold Perez Collie was also charged after officers found him in an abandoned building around 2am on Sunday.

He pleaded guilty, but was discharged after he told Magistrate RolleDavis that he had only left his house because he had a “petty altercation” with his mother, which resulted in her kicking him out.

Collie said after the incident with his mother, he went to his cousins to see if he could sleep at their home

that night, but nobody answered him. He said after getting no response from relatives, he decided to go to a neighbour who told him he could sleep in a shack in their yard. As a result, Magistrate Rolle-Davis noted that the defendant was technically at a residence during the time of his arrest and discharged him. Still, he urged Collie to make amends with his mother.

Denero Fox, 34, also pleaded guilty to violating the lockdown after he was found on Shirley Street around 6.40am on April 8. He was fined $400 or 14 days in prison.

Lorrinki Flerissent, 19, was charged after officers found him on Joe Farrington Road around 9.50pm on Sunday. He pleaded guilty and was fined $500 or 15 days in prison. During the hearing, Flerissent told Magistrate Rolle-Davis he

only violated the lockdown because he was trying to make it home after coming from seeing his “little thing.” When asked why he didn’t stay the night since the weekend lockdown was in effect, he stated he didn’t want to because his girlfriend was “running on”.

Officers found Shamuel Burrows, 46, on Beatrice Avenue around 10.20pm on Monday. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $350 or 10 days at the BCDS. Vincent Ingraham, 46, was also charged after he was found near Checkers Cafe on Fox Hill Road around 6.30pm on Monday.

He pleaded guilty and was fined $200 or five days in prison. During the arraignment, he told Magistrate Rolle-Davis that he was an essential worker because he worked on a garbage truck.

He explained that he only broke the curfew because

he was carrying his elderley mother to the foodstore.

Asked why he did not show officers an ID to prove he was an essential worker, Ingraham said that the company he worked for did not give them IDs or letters. As a result, he was allowed to make a call to his employer to verify his claims. Once the call was made, it was revealed that Ingraham’s employers only gave exemption letters to their drivers. The officer who made the call also said Ingraham’s employer said he was supposed to be working a double shift from 5am-6pm on the day he was arrested. In light of that information, Magistrate Rolle-Davis told the defendant that the time given by his employer meant that he did not have permission to be on the road after 6pm. As a result, Ingraham was cautioned and fined.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Nygard case goes to the heart of how our nation is run THE priority of the nation is understandably the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic right now – but the allegations that continue to unfold against Peter Nygard should not be overlooked.

The claims go to the heart of how our country was governed and policed in recent years.

A total of 36 women have joined a US lawsuit accusing Mr Nygard of rape.

A dozen of those women are Bahamians, with others coming from the US, Canada, Britain and Germany.

A dozen of those plaintiffs were aged between 14 and 17 years old at the time they were allegedly raped.

Those allegations – against a man who has lived large in The Bahamas for a long time – would be shocking enough, but combined with the claims of how he used police and senior politicians to cover his tracks strike at the heart of how our nation is run.

The papers, filed in New York, include names familiar to the Bahamian people.

As yet, the allegations remain to be tested in court – but when the evidence starts to land day by day, there will be nowhere to hide for those accused.

Nor should there be.

In addition to the rape allegations, Nygard is accused of bribing politicians, and using police officers as his own personal enforcers to intimidate

victims. There are even claims he provided women to politicians for sex. In the latest filings, one woman says she was sent to the office of a senior politician to ask for help. When she arrived, he reportedly took his penis out and attempted to have sex with her. She reportedly refused – and when Nygard found out, he apparently became upset she did not have sex with the politician.

The claims against Nygard are extensive – and if true they show a willingness to sell out our nation for sex and money.

Are we so willing to betray our fellow Bahamians? Our women? All for a foreign investor’s deep pockets?

Whatever the outcome of the case in the US, we must get to the bottom of what happened here in our country.

More, we must make sure no one is in a position to manipulate our society in such a way again. At the very least, we must examine what complaints were made to the police, what action was taken and whether there was any interference with those actions.

If the allegations are false, they should be exposed to the sunlight of truth.

Those accused should have the opportunity to clear their names. But if they are true? Then they deserve whatever punishment is appropriate.

Bahamians need one thing more than anything else right now – the truth.

The invisible enemy - and the cost on our healthcare services THE news of a patient on Princess Margaret Hospital’s surgical ward having been diagnosed with COVID-19 is a shattering blow to our healthcare system.

The patient was diagnosed with the virus on Sunday. Since then, four more patients on the ward have been confirmed to have the virus. More, about 100 healthcare workers were exposed to the patient and are now in self-isolation.

The incident shows the nature of the problem we are wrestling with. The patient was not suspected of having the coronavirus. As Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands says, even in hindsight there was little reason to suspect the patient had the virus.

While there are issues with how forthcoming the hospital was in the wake of this discovery, this also shows the nature of the virus. There are many of us who might be invisible carriers of COVID19. No coughing, no sneezing, no fever.

No symptoms that make us worry we might be infecting others.

Every time we see large gatherings – such as videos of people crowded round the entrance to a store or the large

gathering of union members on Monday – think of all the people in those crowds who could be just like that patient. No reason to suspect they are carriers and yet there they are, unwittingly spreading the infection.

Just because you don’t feel or look ill doesn’t mean you don’t have the virus – or that you can’t spread it to someone else. This is why the government is telling people to stay at home. This is why you should not take the risk to go out unless absolutely necessary.

It also shows the lack of testing capacity – with a shortage of swabs holding us back. Dr Sands said we cannot test everyone who attends a hospital. That would be more than 130 tests a day – and if it’s an urgent case such as a heart attack or a gunshot wound there’s no time to wait for a test result before offering treatment. Even as it is, doing up to 200 tests a day would mean we run out of swabs very quickly. And what do we do when there are none left?

The government is trying to get extra supplies – but so is the rest of the world.

Until then, we must play our part, and stay apart.

Visit to hardware store not so easy EDITOR, The Tribune TO say that those of us staying at home were delighted that Dr. Minnis was going to allow Hardware Stores to open this week, would be a gross understatement. Even if only for two non-consecutive days of the week.

(What’s that all about?)

Open Wednesday to take orders for Friday? But almost like everything else that the Government has done in this emergency, the whole situation is never thought through to the end.

I finally reached someone at my favourite hardware store to see if I could get some lumber on the first truck smoking tomorrow, so I could finish a project begun back in February. Seems like years ago. So, I get a call back from my insider contact to say, “hardware stores can open and sell nails and screws, but not the wood to put them into”. I guess the lumber warehouses are too confining for free flowing air, (really ?) so it would be more conducive to

COVID infection. Next fly in the ointment – If the owners are not those nasty super-wealthy ones, living in mansions and eating caviar washed down by Champaign, and per chance have furloughed their staff into the care of NIB, to re-engage them, even for two days a week, would cause their NIB benefits to be cancelled. I thought NIB had a heart ?

Why be so uncaring.

BRUCE G RAINE Nassau, April 21, 2020

A test of our brotherhood EDITOR, The Tribune I RECENTLY saw a broadcast by one of our news stations reporting on a dire situation in North Eleuthera.

Essentially, the residents on mainland North Eleuthera have traditionally relied on going to ‘Briland and Spanish Wells or driving down to Governor’s Harbour for banking and a few other essential services. There are no banks on mainland North Eleuthera. In normal times, this has been a workable solution. But, due to COVID19 and Emergency orders, North Eleuthera residents on the mainland are left without banking services and have become strapped for cash needed to buy goods and services. In fact, many residents on the mainland can’t even access the stimulus benefits from the government because it is distributed via bank accounts, which, as stated above, they cannot access.

On the other hand, there is a legitimate concern about the spread of COVID19 through family island settlements that has caused the government to shut down inter-island travel and reduce movement between settlements. So, unfortunately, while it may have been workable, it is far from efficient. It is easy to point fingers and cast blame for this particular situation but it does not get to the root of the matter. The underlying issue here and on many other family island settlements is the lack of efficient access to essential services. The question is, how do we fix this problem?

One thing that COVID19 has taught us is the importance of technology.

Winston Churchill once said “never let a good crisis go to waste” when speaking about the dire situation after WW2. Churchill knew that out of crisis, comes the opportunity to build something new, better and more efficient. We ought to take the advice of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and build a new, efficient solution for family islands with technology.

When we look at Financial Services, the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net serious implementation of telebanking to address the various needs in regards to non-cash transactions over the phone and internet is a solution. We can also mandate that banks (which are listed as an essential service) place and maintain ATMs in key locations to provide access to cash for all Bahamians. In the meantime though, there are some good developments in regards to Project Sand Dollar being implemented in Exuma that will begin the transition to a less cash dependent society.

In regards to food and energy security, this administration under the Leadership of Dr. Hubert A. Minnis has made tremendous progress and taken the much needed steps to implement green and renewable energy on family islands. The solar power plant being established on Ragged Island is an example of what I hope and believe is to come for all family islands and then New Providence. This will directly alleviate the issue of having to pay in some instances $7 or $8 for a gallon of gas in many settlements. This reduction in the cost of energy will directly allow them to produce and sell more while freeing up resources to consume more.

Deon D Gibson, also known as ‘Gibby Da Farma’ is a farmer in Eleuthera and he told me, that this digital and technological revolution would allow our farmers to efficiently sell crops and complete transactions over the internet.

He went on to explain that it would also assist farmers in monitoring and producing more precise types and quantities of crops to meet demand.

Many years ago, the Prime Minister also championed the cause for telemedicine. In January 2011, then Minister of Health, Dr. Hubert Minnis said “There is no doubt that small-island states such as The Bahamas face challenges in

constructing full-scale, specialist medical facilities on every island and every cay because of our archipelagic make-up.

Tele-medicine, will allow us to overcome those challenges as once the infrastructure is put in place, Bahamians and visitors alike in far-flung islands such as Inagua and Mayaguana, will be able to receive the same kind of specialist care and attention as those in New Providence and Grand Bahama,” I am confident that we will continue to develop this programme so that we can continue to provide quality health and emergency care for family islands without making them travel to New Providence or Grand Bahama.

Currently, there is a great need for improved access to pharmaceutical supplies on many islands.

Luckily, this problem can also be solved with technology. We can put in place the infrastructure for residents to log on to an online portal and order their supplies, pay online and have it delivered directly to them from one of the main pharmacies or clinics on the island. In fact, many places around the world are even using drones to do just this. This delivery service is an industry that the Prime Minister recently applauded and encouraged as a budding opportunity for new entrepreneurs.

At the end of the day, the challenges that we face as a country and a people during this pandemic are indeed difficult. They will test our brotherhood and love for one another. They will continue to test our infrastructures and institutions. We as a people have options though. We can point fingers, cast blame and ignore the needs of our brothers and sisters. Or, we can come together as one people and pool our minds and resources to tackle and solve these problems.

I believe that we, as one people, one Bahamas, will choose the latter.

CARLYLE W. BETHEL Nassau April 21, 2020

F.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, PAGE 7

from page one

36 more women accuse Nygard

and often impoverished children and women, with cash payments and and false promises of lucrative modelling opportunities or other career opportunities or other career opportunities to assault, rape and sodomize them,” the lawsuit claims.

“Nygard used his considerable influence in the fashion industry, his wealth, his power through corruption of officials, and a network of company employees under his direction, to kidnap, groom and entice children and women. Defendants knew that Nygard would use means of alcohol, drugs, force, fraud, and/or other forms of coercion to rape, sexually assault, sexually batter, molest and/or sex traffic these children and women and, in many cases, with knowledge that they were younger than eighteen years old. defendants knowingly benefited from, and received value for, their participation in the conspiracy and/or venture and the Nygard companies knew, or should have known, that Nygard would rape, sexually assault, sexually batter, molest, and/or sex traffic Jane Does numbers 1-46 and the other class members––many of whom were under the age of 18.”

The lawsuit alleges Mr Nygard protected himself in the Bahamas by bribing officials. The suit identifies a number of political and law enforcement figures invited to his Lyford Cay over the years.

The lawsuit alleges one of Mr Nygard’s “girlfriends” was sent to the office of a

senior politician to ask for help and when she arrived at that politician’s office, the man allegedly took his penis out and attempted to engage her in sexual activity to which she refused.

The lawsuit further identifies a handful of Bahamian police officers who were allegedly on Mr Nygard’s payroll and were used to help “bury reports of sexual abuse, supply information regarding ongoing investigations into his sex crimes, trace the whereabouts of people who crossed him, and intimidate, threaten to arrest, and otherwise harass his victims to ensure that they would not come forward.”

“In addition to politicians, government officials, and police,” the lawsuit claims, “Nygard also paid for favourable media coverage and propaganda in the Bahamas to help further his agenda, silence his victims, and perpetuate defendants’ conspiracy and/or sex trafficking scheme.”

“Nygard’s Bahamian victims have been previously unable to come forward to report his illegal activity and pursue their claims against him for reasons including, without

ACCUSED: Peter Nygard limitation, cultural stigmatisation, shame, weak laws that are rarely enforced, low clearance rates for sexual-assault investigations, corrupt law enforcement and government officials, fear of Nygard’s wealth, power and influence in the Bahamas, and psychological manipulation and intimidation tactics used

by Nygard, including the commonly held belief that Nygard has bribed government officials, police, and the media.

The lawsuit says in addition to “Nygard’s political power in the Bahamas, Nygard and the Nygard Companies also boast of his ‘extensive political leverage’ in the United States and Canada, and tout his

Promotion of three officers defended

by Dames

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames yesterday defended the promotion of three high ranking officers to Assistant Commissioner positions, insisting the move was necessary to support the new police chief and his efforts to protect the Bahamian people.

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle signed a force order on Monday promoting Chief Superintendents Loretta Mackey, Craig Stubbs and Solomon Cash to ACP, bringing the total number of ACPs to eight.

Meanwhile, Kirkwood Andrews was promoted to Acting Assistant Commissioner.

A manpower audit ordered by the Minnis administration in 2018 suggested there only needed to be six ACPs. Asked yesterday if the promotions are hypocritical considering the findings of the audit, the minister firmly replied: “No, it’s not.”

“We would’ve made some representation and it was a very delicate balance. What we’re seeking to do is support the commissioner,” he told reporters outside of Cabinet.

“We want to see him succeed.

That’s our goal and so when you look at the numbers, it was no way compared to where the numbers were previously. We are transitioning (and) more changes are to come.

“We have to set these agencies on the path for the future. That’s our objective.”

He continued: “Our objective is to have agencies who can respond to the needs of the Bahamian people and so I would’ve had many number of discussions with the commissioner and he would’ve made representations as would’ve made representations as to how he envision the force while he sits at the top.”

Last year, the Minnis administration directed eight senior officers to take vacation leave as part of a move to restructure the force.

relationships with ‘many high profile dignitaries’ including ‘the Duke of Edinburgh, Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, President Gorbachev of the USSR, President Mauno Koivisto of Finland, Sha Lin – Mayor of Shanghai, President Vicente Fox of Mexico, President George Bush Sr, and Prime Minister Pindling of the Bahamas.”

According to the lawsuit, Mr Nygard has publicly stepped down from his companies but has not divested his ownership interest in them and instead continues to direct them behind the scenes.

To fund Mr Nygard’s “pamper parties,” the mogul’s companies transferred cash from their bank account in Canada, rerouted the funds through New York and deposited them in a Bahamian bank account belonging to a local holding company, the lawsuit claims. It is further alleged that Mr Nygard used his customised N-Force jet to transport his victims to destinations in the US, Canada and the Bahamas.

Among the foreigners Mr Nygard allegedly raped in

the Bahamas is a Canadian woman who was about 20 in 1995 when she was invited to Nygard Cay under the guise of a modelling job after visiting a company of Mr Nygard’s in Toronto.

She was allegedly raped, sodomised and penetrated with an object multiple times and begged to leave the property but was not allowed to. The lawsuit says Mr Nygard eventually booked her a return plane ticket through his companies, allowing her to leave.

Another foreigner Mr Nygard allegedly raped is an American woman who was brought to this country in 1997 by her modelling sponsor for a calendar photoshoot.

She met Mr Nygard in a casino and he invited her to Nygard Cay. “Nygard talked with Jane Doe No 29 about modelling for the Nygard Companies,” the lawsuit says. “A couple of months later Nygard called Jane Doe No 29 and invited her to stay with him at Nygard Cay to discuss modeling.

Nygard raped Jane Doe No 29 several times while she was at Nygard Cay. After two trips to Nygard Cay, where Nygard raped

A 32-YEAR-OLD man who attempted to evade arrest by giving police his brother’s name was charged with deceiving a public officer in Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Vincent Pennerman appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence RolleDavis after he gave police a false name on April 19.

He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $500.

In default of the fine, he must serve two months at

the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

According to the prosecution, police on mobile patrol went to the Anderson Street area where they met a group of people standing on the side of the road.

While the officers were conducting name checks, the accused told officers his name was Patrick Pennerman. The prosecution said when police ran that name through the system, it was revealed Patrick had an outstanding warrant. As a result, the man was cautioned and arrested.

Editorial View - Page 6

ONE DEAD IN GB ATTACKS, 2ND CRITICAL from page one

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames

Three of those officers have since retired, while three others have returned from vacation leave but have been transferred to other government agencies.

However, it is unclear what the future holds for Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Tellis Bethel, who began his leave on October 15, 2019.

Asked by The Tribune on the matter yesterday, the Mount Moriah MP said: “We’re in the midst of this COVID-19 crisis now and so his leave has been extended until the end of this month and as decisions are made, we will most certainly keep the Bahamian people up to date.”

Wayne Munroe, lawyer for the three senior officers who have returned from leave, criticised the new promotions, saying they prove his clients were sidelined for disingenuous reasons.

“If six is your optimal number of assistant commissioners and you can’t dismiss the three persons who are there, how then do you

justify appointing anything more than an additional two ACPs?” Mr Munroe said on Monday. “Not to mention It would seem like a waste of resources at a time when public resources are scarce.”

However, yesterday, Mr Dames maintained the decision to promote the officers was made to support newly appointed Commissioner Paul Rolle and the police force at large.

Mr Dames said: “…You know when we inherited the agencies, we had to make some wholesale changes and adjustments and we’re still doing that. And as we do that, there has to be some give and take.

“And we want to support the commissioner and his executive team and the men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and so, we’re listening and it’s very compelling and we will continue to do what we need to ensure that we have agencies that can deliver for the people of this country.

“That’s our primary objective for the government.”

32-YEAR-OLD MAN FINED $500 FOR DECEIVING POLICE

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

Jane Doe No 29 on numerous occasions, Nygard convinced her to travel to Marina Del Rey by continuing to promise modelling opportunities.

Nygard raped Jane Doe No 29 while at the Marina Del Rey property on several occasions. Nygard paid Jane Doe No 29 $700 in US currency before she left.”

One alleged victim claimed Mr Nygard raped her when she was 15-yearsold. From 2005 to 2008 she allegedly became a regular sex partner of his because she was an orphan and Mr Nygard falsely promised her a job working for his companies, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, Mr Nygard’s employees searched social media platforms for girls to attend his parties and only the ones meeting his “sexual specifications of being slim bodied and beautiful are added to the list’.”

“Nygard has also described the females he desires as an ‘eight in the face and nice toilet.’ Other girls that do not meet this qualification are turned away at the security gate,” the lawsuit says.

However, while on their way to the station, he told officers his real name was Vincent and admitted Patrick is his brother, who is now residing in the United States.

As a result, the accused was taken to the Central Detective Unit (CDU) where he was interviewed and admitted to giving police the wrong name. When asked why he did so, he told the officers he was afraid of giving them his name because he did not want to get arrested and thought his brother did not have any outstanding warrants.

During the hearing, Pennerman told Magistrate Rolle-Davis that he only lied because he felt like every time he gave the police his real name, they would lock him up because of his previous convictions.

Pennerman was referring to vagrancy and theft charges which he served time in prison for in 2017. He also revealed that he had been admitted to the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre (SRC) from August 2019 to January 9 of this year.

Pennerman added he “had not been in problems since

2016” and insisted he was remorseful for deceiving the officers.

community, where a second man was also shot multiple times. The identity of the victims have not been released, however unconfirmed reports suggest the deceased is Kent Webber, aka “Pooh Bear” of Hilary Avenue, Freeport.

His death is the fifth homicide for the year on Grand Bahama, according to The Tribune’s records, and the 21st nationally.

The second man, a resident of Hawksbill who was later shot, is in critical condition.

According to reports, shortly after 7pm on Monday police received information of a shooting incident on Hilary Avenue.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder said that a man was standing in front of a residence when he was shot multiple times in the body by people in a vehicle.

The victim was taken by ambulance to Rand Memorial Hospital but died from his injuries.

An hour later, police received a report of a second shooting incident.

ASP Pinder reported that shortly after 8pm officers received information that a man, while in the area of Inagua Way, was shot multiple times by culprits in a vehicle.

The victim was taken by car to the hospital, where he is listed in critical condition. The shooting left some residents in Hawksbill terrified. In a video posted to social media, one frightened woman was seen crying following the incident.

A number of police teams were dispatched to the area to investigate.

Anyone with information should call 242-350-3106 through 12 or call the nearest police station.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

SCORES of hotel union members stood in long lines outside the union headquarters on Monday to receive food vouchers.

OVER the past few days I have been having conversations with people about the COVID crisis, the responses of different governments and the reactions of the public. I have been interested in the thoughts of artists, activists, educators, students and members of the press. There is one question I keep asking – what is your hope for when things change? Some answers are personal and some are broader and more inclusive.

Every answer, however, focuses on learning. Everyone has been saying, in one way or another, that they hope we learn. Even deeper than that, they hope we use our newly acquired knowledge to do things, not just differently, but better.

We are being forced to listen, learn and adjust every day. We are learning some things the hard way.

Some lessons seem a bit too late and many have been trying to reveal themselves to us for a long time.

It is good, however, to see that some people are already trying to shift. Food is an excellent example.

While grocery shopping is still quite a task and certain items remain hard to come by, people are becoming more open to growing their own food. I have seen scores of posts on Facebook from people who suddenly and desperately want to grow fruit and vegetables in their gardens. People in apartments and without yard space are asking what they can grow inside with limited sunlight. There is more interest in food security.

Advocates like Erin Greene of Seasonal Sunshine Bahamas have been freely sharing information, ideas and contact information for experts – including Tsekani Nash, Whitlyn Miller, Liann Keigh, Phil Davis Jr. – in the field. Erin has, for years, been telling people to use the food they buy to grow more food, emphasising the ease of growing lettuce and carrots from the parts we usually throw way and encouraging people to save gallon-size water bottles

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

When it’s all over, let’s make sure we do things better The

Alicia Wallace column to make them into hanging baskets. These ideas are perfectly simple, giving many people the ability to grow food.

The rush to buy seeds and seedlings shows we are beginning to understand that depending on other sources for all of our food is not a good idea. The mindset is shifting, we are less averse to touching soil, more willing to learn about farming and recognising the expertise of people we hardly considered before.

We may be just months away from being just as proud of our tomatoes, sweet potatoes and lettuce as we are of our rose bushes, ficus hedges and bromeliads.

Reminders regarding assistance for those in need 1. Agencies need to create a line management system. When there are many people on a line, especially in a limited space, it is difficult to maintain the appropriate distance. Make it easier for everyone. Offer drive-thru

service and where that is not possible, have people in place to manage the line.

2. This is one of the most difficult times in people’s lives. This does not define them. They deserve their dignity. Do not photograph people who are seeking assistance and do not share these images and offer demeaning commentary. It is cruel and unhelpful.

3. Money is the best assistance. People need food, but the non-perishables provided are often high in sodium, lack nutrients and quickly become overconsumed. Allow people to prioritise their needs.

Even if their focus is on food, they should have the opportunity to purchase fresh items. They may also need to purchase medication, phone credit, gas and other commodities. Help to make it possible by putting money in their hands.

4. Some households have babies and elderly people.

They have completely different needs including diapers and nutritional supplements.

5. People will go to multiple sources for assistance.

This does not mean they are greedy. It means they are getting information and doing their best to meet their needs. No single source is giving enough for people to go home and not worry for the rest of the month or even the week.

They are trying to survive, and this does not deserve ridicule or rebuke.

Free entertainment abounds During this time of lockdowns, curfews and quarantines, we are not short on entertainment.

Celebrities are coming together to give free online concerts and, making it even more exciting, live battles.

Last Saturday, Babyface and Teddy Riley attempted a highly anticipated battle – part of the Verzuz digital battle by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz – on Instagram which had to be postponed to Monday night. Even the failure was entertainment with over 400,000 people watching in awe as Teddy Riley struggled to get his elaborate concert set-up to work. Babyface was relaxed in his studio, prepared with the only necessary equipment – his phone, speakers and a microphone. No one understood why Teddy Riley had so many people in his place – especially without masks and not practicing social distancing

– but it was funny to see them all try to make things work. He had a standup microphone, a large screen running a design sequence behind him, a DJ in the corner, a dancer and it was all too much. There were a lot of sound issues that could not be rectified.

Babyface eventually left the live, saying he would return later. Everyone joked that he was gone to bed and would not be back.

They were at least partly correct. Babyface later announced they would try again on Monday night. It was especially funny to see the response of other celebrities who were tuned in and hoping for an epic battle.

Toni Braxton tweeted that it was “like watching old folks use Jitterbug phones”.

I decided to check it out late on Monday night, tuning in just in time to see Teddy Riley leave. Waiting for him to return and wanting the battle to be fair, Babyface tried to figure out what to do. Should he play a song? Should he just wait? Teddy Riley was taking a long time, so he eventually played a Toni Braxton song. He also attempted to play a song on guitar, but Teddy Riley was trying to get back into the live, so he had to stop and try to let Riley in. It did not work, and they decided to try it in the reverse order, with Teddy Riley hosting Babyface. After a few minutes of shenanigans and them not being able to connect, I gave up and tuned in to DJ D-Nice who has been running virtual parties for the past month.

The rescheduled Verzuz battle, unfortunately, conflicted with D-Nice’s scheduled event with Michelle Obama. It was a live set by the DJ designed as an online voter registration drive.

There is enough happening for everyone with internet access to pick, choose, and refuse. Museums are offering free virtual tours, DJs – including The Bahamas’ DJ Ovadose – are hosting live parties, comedians are doing live sets, and many others are using their talent to bring people together while we are physically apart. There is no shortage of things to do, but let’s all remember to take some time to take care of ourselves and each other too.

Recommendations

LAST SATURDAY, Babyface and Teddy Riley attempted a highly anticipated battle on Instagram

Are you running out of shows to watch? I have three television show

recommendations for you this week.

Little Fires Everywhere is a compelling television show on Hulu based on Celeste Ng’s novel by the same name. It depicts the connection between the white, seemingly perfect Richardson family and Black single mother and daughter Mia and Pearl Warren. While the book does not specify the Warrens’ race, the television show is intentional in exploring the race dynamic in a predominantly white community.

Other themes include class, mother-daughter relationships, and friendship. I highly recommend reading the book first, then diving into this series. The final episode of the first season airs this week.

In Sex Education, awkward high school student Otis decides to give sex and relationship advice to his classmates with the help of Maeve who takes the lead in setting up a sex therapy clinic. Otis gets his “expertise” from his mother is a sex therapist who does not shy away from the topic in their daily lives, but is not aware of his new business endeavour. Even as he helps his classmates navigate the teenage struggles of life and love, he is not particularly adept at keeping his own relationships intact. This British comedy-drama series is easy to watch, fun to talk about, and oddly educational.

People born in the 80s will clearly remember Living Single as one of the only television shows that aired on ZNS. Starring Queen Latifah, it followed the lives of six young black people living in the same building. Khadijah ran an cool magazine, Kim wanted to be an actress, Max was a lawyer who didn’t live in the building, but was there often enough, Regine was the chatty one, Synclaire was always full of joy, Overton was the handyman (and dated Synclaire), and Kyle was a stockbroker and general annoyance. They were a fun bunch.

Living Single ran for five seasons and it is often said that popular television show Friends was based on Living Single though the creators never gave credit where it was due. In a time of remakes, some of us hope it will make a return, but we can always go way back and start from the beginning.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, PAGE 9

TECHTALK LINKING SELF-DRIVING CARS TO TRAFFIC SIGNALS MIGHT HELP PEDESTRIANS GIVE THEM THE GREEN LIGHT CONNECTICUT TEAMS UP WITH

By LIONEL PETER ROBERT JR., University of Michigan THE BIG IDEA Automated vehicles don’t have human operators to communicate their driving intentions to pedestrians at intersections.

My team’s research on pedestrians’ perceptions of safety shows their trust of traffic lights tends to override their fear of self-driving cars. This suggests one way to help pedestrians trust and safely interact with autonomous vehicles may be to link the cars’ driving behavior to traffic lights.

In a recent study by my team at the University of Michigan, we focused on communication via a vehicle’s driving behavior to study how people might react to selfdriving cars in different situations.

We set up a virtual-reality simulator that let people experience street intersections and make choices about whether to cross the street. In different simulations, self-driving cars acted either more or less like an aggressive driver. In some cases there was a traffic light controlling the intersection.

In the more aggressive mode, the car would stop abruptly at the last possible second to let the pedestrian cross. In the less aggressive mode, it would begin braking earlier, indicating to pedestrians that it would stop for them. Aggressive driving reduced pedestrians’ trust in the autonomous vehicle and made them less likely to cross the street.

However, this was true only when there was no traffic light.

When there was a light, pedestrians

focused on the traffic light and usually crossed the street regardless whether the car was driving aggressively. This indicates that pedestrians’ trust of traffic lights outweighs any concerns about how self-driving cars behave.

WHY IT MATTERS Introducing autonomous vehicles might be one way to make roads more safe. Drivers and pedestrians often use nonverbal communication to negotiate safe passage at crosswalks, though, and cars without drivers can’t communicate in the same way. This could in turn make pedestrians and other road users less safe, especially since autonomous vehicles aren’t yet designed to communicate with systems that make streets safer, such as traffic lights.

OTHER RESEARCH BEING DONE IN THE FIELD Some researchers have tried to find ways for self-driving cars to communicate with pedestrians. They have tried to use parts that cars already have, such as

headlights, or add new ones, such as LED signs on the vehicle.

However, unless every car does it the same way, this strategy won’t work. For example, unless automakers agreed on how headlights should communicate certain messages or the government set rules, it would be impossible to make sure pedestrians understood the message. The same holds for new technology like LED message boards on cars. There would need to be a standard set of messages all pedestrians could understand without learning multiple systems.

Even if the vehicles communicated in the same way, several cars approaching an intersection and making independent decisions about stopping could cause confusion. Imagine three to five autonomous vehicles approaching a crosswalk, each displaying its own message. The pedestrian would need to read each of these messages, on moving cars, before deciding whether to cross.

WHAT’S NEXT Our results suggest a better approach would be to have the

car communicate directly with the traffic signal, for two reasons.

First, pedestrians already look to and understand current traffic lights.

Second, a car can tell what a traffic light is doing much sooner by checking in over a wireless network than by waiting until its camera can see the light.

This technology is still being developed, and scholars at Michigan’s Mcity mobility research center and elsewhere are studying problems like how to send and prioritise messages between cars and signals.

It might effectively put self-driving cars under traffic lights’ control, with ways to adapt to current conditions.

For example, a traffic light might tell approaching cars that it was about to turn red, giving them more time to stop.

On a slippery road, a car might ask the light to stay green a few seconds longer so an abrupt stop isn’t necessary.

To make this real, engineers and policymakers would need to work together on developing technologies and setting rules. Each would have to better understand what the other does.

At the same time, they would need to understand that not every solution works in every region or society.

For example, the best way for traffic lights and self-driving cars to communicate in Detroit might not work in Mumbai, where roads and driving practices are far different.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

PAGENAUD BEATS PENSKE TEAMMATES TO WIN ANOTHER VIRTUAL RACE

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A second straight victory in virtual racing for Simon Pagenaud and Team Penske, and tempers were hot at the end of this one.

Pagenaud, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, competed in his firesuit and captured IndyCar’s race Saturday on a simulated Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. A frantic final 10 laps decided the iRacing event.

Essentially, Penske drivers Will Power and Scott McLaughlin were racing each ot her for the lead — and probably the win — when they came upon the lapped car of Oliver Askew that caused Power to touch McLaughlin’s car.

McLaughlin, the Australian V8 SuperCars champion and winner of the virtual race three weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park, was sent spinning into the wall and out of contention.

McLaughlin was livid and actively trying to calm himself on his simulator in Brisbane, where he awakened at 2 a.m. to prep for the series.

“It’s a video game, it’s a video game,” McLaughlin repeated. “I know it’s a game, but I’m still (mad).”

SIMON Pagenaud Power fired off an angry text to Askew, then shared the contents during a postrace Zoom video conference of the podium finishers.

“I had three of the clapping signs ... ‘took out the two leaders with a few laps to go. Huge lack of respect for the drivers who worked hard to be there racing for the win at the end, which you will be at some point,’” read Power. “That’s what I sent to Askew.”

Pagenaud then raced Power wheel-to-wheel and the cars appeared to touch before Pagenaud took the lead. He still had to hold off Scott Dixon’s last-lap attempt to pass him for the win.

“It was very hectic with

Will at one point and then Dixon at the end,” Pagenuad said. “I work hard all week to be competitive and I think I’m getting there.”

Pagenaud also won last week at virtual Michigan International Speedway, and along with McLaughlin’s victory the Penske drivers have won three of the four IndyCar iRaces.

The Frenchman said he spends about five hours a day practicing on his simulator “I put a lot of hours to be at the level of people like Will, for example. They are very fast on iRacing, very competitive,” Pagenaud said.

“At the end it got a bit crazy.

What’s fun to me, it’s actually that you’re racing the exact same guys as usual, exact same moves as you would in real life. You keep turning your wheels in your head.

“Right now we’re not racing, so we’re racing on the weekend. That gives me a lot of joy. The adrenaline was definitely at the maximum level at the end of the race.”

Pagenaud slowed after taking the checkered flag and Dixon ran into the back of his car — contact that sent him spinning into the lapped car of Helio Castroneves.

Both Dixon and Castroneves went virtually airborne after the finish.

“I was running for a

spectacular finish there. I didn’t realise it was the last lap. I thought we were still racing, man,” said Dixon, the five-time IndyCar champion who entered the iRacing Series in its second event when it became clear how advantageous it is for sponsors during the shutdown.

“It’s great for our sponsors. PNC Bank have been really interested in how this program was going to play out. Kudos obviously to the NTT IndyCar Series and iRacing — iRacing have so much on their plate at the moment with so many different series. It’s honestly gone very smoothly from their standpoint.”

Dixon finished second, Power was third and Marcus Ericsson, Dixon’s new teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, was fourth. iRacing has become a hit for IndyCar, NASCAR, IMSA and even some Formula One competitors who have entered events that can be found either on television or streaming every day of the week. But NASCAR has hit some speed-bumps through the first month and Kyle Larson this week was fired by Ganassi for using a racial slur during a race.

Bubba Wallace lost a sponsor for “rage quitting” the game, and there was an uproar this

week when lesser-known drivers were cut from NASCAR’s field Sunday in an effort to have a cleaner race on national TV. IndyCar raced at virtual Twin Ring Motegi, a track the series last visited in 2011 but was selected in a fan vote as the circuit for the fourth round of the iRacing Series started when sports were shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kyle Busch, who has made no secret of his desire to race in the Indianapolis 500, made his IndyCar debut virtually via a league invitation extended to the two-time and reigning NASCAR champion. Busch finished 13th — better than any finish yet in the NASCAR virtual races. He’s a newcomer to iRacing but quickly improving on his simulator.

Busch was joined by newcomers Castroneves, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, and Takuma Sato, also an Indianapolis 500 winner, as the field included a series iRacing-high 33 drivers.

Broadcast on NBC Sports, analyst Paul Tracy drew virtual laughs when Sato pitted and Tracy took note of the packed grandstands.

“Look at all the fans in the stands. They are here to watch Sato,” Tracy cracked.

APP DESIGNERS TO GAUGE COVID CASES

By SUSAN HAIGH and CHRIS EHRMANN Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn.

(AP) — Connecticut has teamed up with a group of scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and other research institutions who’ve created a new app that will provide more information about the spread of COVID-19 as officials prepare to eventually reopen the state.

Gov. Ned Lamont said Connecticut is the first state to officially partner with the developers of the HowWeFeel.org app, which enables residents to report daily about how they’re feeling and their symptoms.

He encouraged people to download the app, noting it does not require logging in or sharing any personal information, such as name or email address.

It’s one of several ways the state plans to use technology to help inform officials on how and when to slowly restart parts of society.

For example, Lamont said the state has received 3,500 “smart thermometres” that will upload data about residents’ temperatures to a cloud-based system.

“So along with HowWeFeel, we’re going to have a temperature map about what’s going on in the state of Connecticut.

“We’ll see where those symptoms are maybe moving a little bit,” he said, adding how such information will help identify the next hot spots for the coronavirus in the state and across the U.S. Lamont said such information could be useful to determine whether the uptick of infections in the Boston area has spread to eastern Connecticut.

Meanwhile, the state has also ordered tens of thousands of fever detectors to help employers determine if workers are healthy enough to return to their jobs.

The free HowWeFeel.org app was launched nationally two weeks ago and there are already 300,000 users, about 3,500 in Connecticut, said Feng Zhang, a professor of neuroscience at MIT who worked on the project.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Immigration into US suspended by Trump WASHINGTON Associated Press PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday announced what he described as a “temporary suspension of immigration into the United States”. But the executive order would bar only those seeking permanent residency, not temporary workers.

Trump said he would be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a US economy wrecked by the coronavirus.

The order would include “certain exemptions,” he said, but he declined to outlined them, noting the order was still being crafted.

“By pausing immigration we’ll help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as America reopens, so important,” Trump said at the White House. “It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad.”

An administration official familiar with the plans, however, said the order will apply to foreigners seeking employment-based green cards and relatives of green card holders who are not citizens. Americans wishing to bring immediate family will still be able to do so, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity before the plan was announced. About 1 million green cards were granted in the 2019 fiscal year, about half to spouses, children and parents of US citizens.

SEVERAL hundred people gathered to protest against restrictions and urge a restart to the economy in Missouri yesterday By limiting his immigration measure to green cards, Trump was leaving untouched hundreds of thousands of foreign workers granted non-immigrant visas each year, including farm workers, health care workers and software programmers.

The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, estimated that some 110,000 green cards could be delayed during a two-month pause. Trump said he would consider extending

the restrictions, depending on economic conditions at the time.

Trump has long advocated restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and has raised concerns for years about foreigners competing with American citizens for jobs.

But he denied he was using the virus to make good on a longstanding campaign promise during an election year. “No, I’m not doing that all,” he said. The president has

also used the crisis to push other stalled priorities, from tax reform to dramatic border restrictions.

Trump has often pivoted to his signature issue of immigration when he’s under criticism. It’s one he believes helped him win the 2016 election and one that continues to animate his supporters heading into what is expected to be a brutal reelection fight. It has also served as a useful tool for distracting from news he’d prefer not to see.

GLOBAL SPLIT ON WHEN TO START OPENING UP

ATLANTA Associated Press

SPAIN called off the Running of the Bulls in July, the US scrapped the national spelling bee in June and Germany canceled Oktoberfest five months away, making it clear that the effort to beat back the coronavirus and return to normal could be a long and dispiriting process.

Amid growing impatience over the shutdowns that have thrown tens of millions out of work, European countries continued to reopen in stages, while in the US, one state after another — mostly ones led

by Republican governors — began taking steps to get back to business.

Business owners in the US who got the go-ahead weighed whether to reopen, and some hesitated, in a sign that commerce won’t necessarily bounce back right away.

Mark Lebos, owner of Strong Gym in Savannah, Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp announced that gyms and salons can reopen this week, said it would be professional negligence to

do so right now. “We are not going to be a vector of death and suffering,” he said.

With deaths and infections still rising around the world, the push to reopen has set off warnings from health authorities that the crisis that has killed well over 170,000 people globally — including more than 42,000 in the US — is far from over and that relaxing the stay-at-home orders too quickly could enable the virus to come surging back.

The US Senate yesterday approved nearly $500 billion in coronavirus aid for businesses, hospitals and testing after a deal was reached between Congress and the White House.

Trump urged House members to quickly pass the measure.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during the daily White House briefing that while some big businesses obtained access to government loans under an earlier aid package, its intent was to help mostly companies with 10 or fewer workers. He and the president said bigger businesses should return those funds.

NZ SETS GOAL TO ELIMINATE DEADLY VIRUS WELLINGTON, NZ Associated Press WHILE most countries are working on ways to contain the coronavirus, New Zealand has set itself a much more ambitious goal: eliminating it altogether.

And experts believe the country could pull it off.

The virus “doesn’t have superpowers,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccine expert at the University of Auckland. “Once transmission is stopped, it’s gone.”

Geography has helped.

If any place could be described as socially distant it would be New Zealand, surrounded by stormy seas, with Antarctica to the south. With five million people spread across an area the size of Britain, even the cities aren’t overly crowded.

And Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken bold steps, putting the country under a strict lockdown in late March, when only about 100 people had tested positive for the new virus. Her motto: “Go hard and go early.”

New Zealand has so far avoided a widespread outbreak, and new cases have dwindled from a peak of about 90 per day in early April to just five yesterday. Only 13 have died so far, and Ardern has been briefed on each death.

“We have the opportunity to do something no other country has achieved: elimination of the virus,” she said. “But it will continue to need a team of five million behind it.”

Petousis-Harris said the country had managed to avoid the confusion and half-measures that have hampered the response in many other places.

“New Zealand got everything right,” she said.

“Decisive action, with strong leadership and clear communication.”

S AFRICA’S $26BN TO HELP NATION JOHANNESBURG Associated Press SOUTH Africa’s president yesterday announced an “extraordinary budget” of $26 billion to address the huge socioeconomic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, saying that “our country and the world we live in will never be the same again.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa in a national address said the “historic” amount is roughly 10% of the GDP of sub-Saharan Africa’s most developed country. The top priorities are combating the virus and relieving “hunger and social distress” as millions of South Africans struggle to survive under lockdown, he said.

CANADA SHOOTING TOLL NOW 22

A MEMORIAL for one of the victims in Nova Scotia TORONTO Associated Press CANADIAN police believe there are at least 22 victims after a gunman wearing a police uniform shot people in their homes and set fires in a rampage across rural communities in Nova Scotia over the weekend. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they have recovered remains from some of the destroyed homes. Earlier, authorities had said at least 18 people were killed in the 12-hour attack.

The dead include a

17-year-old as well as a police officer. All the other victims were adults and included both men and women. There were 16 different crime scenes in five different communities in northern and central Nova Scotia, it said.

Authorities also confirmed the gunman was wearing an authentic police uniform and one of the cars he used “was a very real look-alike RCMP vehicle.”

As fears mounted that more victims would be found in burned out homes, a young man said that his grandparents were missing

and believed dead after their log cabin was set ablaze during the attack.

Justin Zahl said he finally heard from police after frantic calls for information and seeing images of his grandparent’s home in the rural town of Portapique burned to the ground, with their cars in the driveway.

Meanwhile, many questioned why a public emergency alert was not sent province-wide — even though the system was recently used to advise people to maintain social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic.

SPORTS SECTION E

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

PAGE 14

Nesbitt: ‘I wasn’t open enough to people that wanted to help me’

By RENALDO DORSETT TribuneSports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

V

alerie Nesbitt addressed the issues surrounding her dismissal from the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball programme last season alongside head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.

McPhee-McCuin hosts a series of conversations on social media and Nesbitt was her latest guest discussing changes in her behaviour since the surprising announcement last January, just 15 games into her tenure with the team. Nesbitt once again appears on the team’s official roster for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

“Where I went wrong was not being able to understand my flaws and weaknesses. I wasn’t open enough to people that wanted to help me. I just knew within myself, I just wanted to do it my way and discipline is important, especially at this level and you need that structure.

“I didn’t allow the people that were trying to help me to better myself, I was like trying to do it on my own so that’s where I went wrong,” Nesbitt said.

“I was just comfortable in mediocrity, I just wanted to be comfortable all the time so when I got removed from the team I was in a bad place and I just wanted everything to change. I was tired of the same results all the time. I always used to blame my coaches and I never saw I was the problem so I had to do a lot of self-check.

Self-checking, that helped a lot so now that I know where I go wrong and where I went wrong I’m able to change it and allow people to help me.”

In her last appearance with the Rebels, Nesbitt finished with four points in 13 minutes of the team’s 79-35 loss at No. 10 Texas A and M Aggies on Monday to open Southeastern conference play.

VALERIE NESBITT, left, and coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.

At that point, Ole Miss fell to 7-8 on the season.

She was in the midst of making what appeared to be a seamless transition to NCAA Division I basketball following two years at the JuCo level. She led the Southeastern Conference in steals at 3.2 takeaways per game and had six games this season with at least four.

She was the Rebels’ secondleading scorer at 11.3 points a game and was also second in minutes played at 24.3 per game.

“First I was like I needed to start with God, so our assistant Chris [Ayers] really helped me to know God and to understand things in the Bible like love and discipline and that helped me to change my perspective on everything I went

through,’ Nesbitt said. “I would go to therapy just to talk, just to let some stuff out how I’m feeling. I finally tried to expose my vulnerability to people and that’s helped me a lot opening up to know that everybody isn’t here to hurt me and that was my biggest problem thinking everyone was out to get me.”

Nesbitt was the first Bahamian player signed by McPhee-McCuin in her tenure as the head coach of the Rebels. She has successfully recruited Bahamians to her programmes in the past - Jonquel Jones to Clemson and Shalonda Neely to Jacksonville.

The Rebels finished the season at 7-23 and ended the year on a 17-game losing streak, winless in the SEC.

At the time of January’s announcement, McPhee-McCuin called it one of the toughest decisions she has made in her career.

“Right now, we’re trying to build a positive culture so that we can have a programme that lasts. I’m really focused on above-the-line actions. Right now, Valerie just needs a pause on basketball here with us. Her actions just have not been above-the-line consistently.

“So I just believed it was in our best interest to move separate ways,” she told the Oxford Eagle. “No level of player, no talent can make me sacrifice what we’re trying to build. I’ve known (Nesbitt) for a long time. She’ll probably be a part of my life moving forward, just not in this fashion, right now. I’m just giving her that freedom to be able to right some of her wrongs. And not just right her wrongs, just grow personally. That’s just where we are right now.”

The Rebels will have the No.1 recruiting class in the SEC and No.13 class in the nation for the 2020-2021 season.

Playing in the SEC for the last two years, the Rebels have gone up against 13 nationally ranked squads, 12 of which have come in SEC play.

In her first season at the helm (2018-19), the Rebels finished 9-22 - 3-13 in SEC play.

The season was highlighted by the first ranked road win for the Rebels since 2011 when Ole Miss defeated the Kentucky Wildcats for the first time since 2007.

Nesbitt previously starred at Chipotle Junior College where she averaged 17.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a sophomore.

As a freshman, she was named a Panhandle Conference first team selection when she averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 46 per cent from the floor in 26 contests.

AGENT: ‘GRONK’ TO HAVE REUNION WITH TOM BRADY IN TAMPA BAY

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Four-time All Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski has agreed to a reunion with Tom Brady.

The agent for the retired New England star confirmed yesterday that pending completion of a physical Gronkowski has agreed to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are acquiring his rights from the Patriots.

A proposed trade that needs to be finalised before this week’s NFL draft would bring Gronkowski and a seventh-round pick to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round selection.

“Pending the physical, Rob has agreed to play for Tampa this season,” agent Drew Rosenhaus said.

The deal would reunite the 30-year-old Gronkowski with Brady, who signed a two-year, $50 million contract with the Bucs last month.

Gronkowski, who’ll turn 31 on May 14, retired in March 2019 after nine seasons with the Patriots, who drafted him in the second round in 2010. He has one year left on his contract at $10 million.

“He will honour his current contract at this time,” Rosenhaus said.

In addition to 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in 115 regularseason games, the five-time Pro Bowl selection has another 81 catches for 1,163 yards and 12 TDs in 16 playoff games.

‘Sports will not be sports again if we can’t defeat this virus’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WHENEVER sports resumes after the passing of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike Sands said sports leaders will have to be revolutionary in their approach to getting the community to come out and participate again.

Sands, who has spent the past 50 years in track and field as an athlete and executive, said it’s going to take some time to get back to the level of normalcy and co-mingling as is the order of the day in sports.

“Sports will not be sports again if we can’t defeat this virus,” said Sands of the worldwide pandemic that has literally shut down every major international competition in every sport.

“What is normal. Being able to sit in the stands together, being able to compete together and move together. Without that, sports won’t be what it used to be. But the one good thing that this will teach us is to be more cautious and become more hygienic in our daily lives, which is not a bad thing.”

At the end of the day, Sands said it would be very difficult for athletes to be competing in sports with masks on their faces, as the public has been advised to do so now to help curb the spread of the disease that has affected millions and killed thousands of persons around the world.

“There has to be hope and prayer that we find a cure and or a solution or vaccine so that sports can take its right place in the community that it was

designed for with the spectators,” he said.

Sands is no stranger to sports. His infancy stages began at Bahamas Academy where he had to run around the school before they didn’t have any sporting facilities on the campus.

Under the supervision of coach now turned pastor Huge Roach, Sands moved to Fort Charlotte where he competed in track meets.

He recalled how his mother made his first running shorts out of the flour bag.

In 1969, he was sent to New York where he went on to excel as a two-sport athlete in soccer and track and field at Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn.

As he would put it, soccer was his first love.

“In the United States, they had a real season.

Soccer was a fall programme,” said Sands, who at the time served as the captain of their team. “The coach told the track coach that he had a boy who could run really fast.

“He came looking for me and asked me to try out for the team. I went out to the tryouts and I made the team right then and there. I played soccer first and then as the season progressed, I ran track.”

After completing high school, Sands earned an athletic scholarship to attend Penn State University where he went on to become an instant star.

While attending Penn State, at the age of 19, Sands was selected to represent the Bahamas in the first of his two Olympic Games appearances in 1972 where he made the quarter-finals in the men’s 100 metres, the heats of the 200m and as a

MIKE SANDS member of the men’s 4 x 100m relay team.

Sands, who had taken up the mantle from Tommy Robinson, also who won multiple medals at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in the 1960s, competed in NCAA events with the Nittany Lions at Penn State.

He captured All-American honours as a finalist in the 4x440-yard relay at the 1973 NCAA Outdoor Championships in 1974 and he was a 100-yard dash and 220-yard dash semi-finalist at the NCAA Outdoors.

He won the 440-yard at the 1975 NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 48.5 seconds. His fastest performance came at the 1975 NCAA Outdoor Championships - there he ran 45.46 in the semi-finals (a new stadium record) but was over a second slower in the final, ending the competition in fifth place.

His 1975 season was his best athletically as he ran a personal best of 10.1 for the 100m and ran 45.20 for the 440-yd dash, which served

as the national record for 21 years.

Sands also became the first person of his nation to win a gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics when he took the 400m title at the 1975 event.

He also claimed a bronze medal in the 200m at the 1975 Pan American Games and placed fourth in the 400m race.

Sands’ second Olympic appearance followed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and he again served as the nation’s flag bearer. He was picked for the 100m and 400m disciplines and was a quarter-finalist over the longer distance.

Sands retired from active competition in 1981.

“Not knowing it at the time, but winning the CAC 100m in 1975 in Ponce, was one of the highlights of my career as an athlete,” Sands said.

“Winning the first NCAA Indoor Championship title, was the first for Penn State, was another historic moment for me.

“But I think representing your country at the Olympic Games was equally important. Other than serving your God, representing your country at the Olympics, especially when you become the flag bearer and I carried the flag on my two appearances at the games.”

For his efforts, Sands was inducted into Sheepshead Bay High School and Penn State’s Wall of Fame and three years ago, he was included in the Bahamas’ National Hall of Fame.

Looking back at his career, Sands said there were many things that he would have liked to have

changed, but without going into any details, he said he prefers to wait until he mentions it in his book that would be entitled: “The Last Lap - My Journey.”

The book, according to Sands, will outline his pitfalls that has helped to make him a much better person, through the assistance he got from persons like Alpheus ‘Hawk’ Finlayson and the late Dr Bernard Nottage.

While he was still competing when he was living in Atlanta and working at Bahamasair, Sands said Finlayson encouraged him to become the athletes’ representative and that turned out to be his introduction to the administration of the sport.

Following his retirement, Sands became the public relations officer for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA), vice president of the Bahamas Olympic Committee, vice president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation and president of the BAAA in 2009.

He was re-elected to the latter post in 2013, but experienced some internal problems that led to the executive board casting a vote of no confidence in him. He was suspended and then later reinstated.

“With all this down time due to the coronavirus, it just hit me that I would have been involved in track and field for 51 years this year,” Sands said.

“It’s been a long journey, one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

“As long as I am capable, mentally and physically, to

make a meaningful contribution and persons can appreciate that I can make those contributions, then I will continue.

“I don’t have a map to say this is what my next journey would be.”

Becoming the new president of NACAC was not one in his cards, but as his journey continued, Sands said he answered the call to serve and he’s appreciative of his collegiates who encouraged him to take up the mantle.

“My mother always told me that water will find its way. So what that means is what is for me is for me,” he stated.

“I will just serve for as long as I can as best as I can both physically and mentally.”

Sands, a husband and proud father of five children and six grandchildren, said he’s not employed as his contractual role as a consultant at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture expired in September.

He was seconded there in 2013 to oversee the inaugural World Relays at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

As the NACAC president, Sands noted that it’s not a paid position, but it’s one that he can use to help to continue to make his contribution to the growth and development of the sport, not just in the country, but in the region.

His new role also allows him to sit as an executive member on the board of World Athletics, the governing body for track and field around the world, where he hopes to make an impact just as he did as an athlete.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

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EPL TOLD TO CONSIDER BLOCKING SAUDI ARABIA BUYING NEWCASTLE

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer THE English Premier League has been asked by human rights activists and one of its major broadcast partners to consider blocking Saudi Arabia’s attempt to buy Newcastle.

Amnesty International wrote to league chief executive Richard Masters to say the takeover could be exploited by Saudi Arabia to cover up “deeply immoral” breaches of international law, citing human rights violations and the role of the crown prince leading the sovereign wealth fund.

Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports said the kingdom should be held to account for a Saudi-backed pirate network stealing live broadcasts of games.

Yousef Al-Obaidly, the beIN Media Group CEO, warned of the “danger of allowing the acquisition ... given the country’s past and continuing illegal actions and their direct impact upon the commercial interests of the Premier League.”

The intervention of a broadcast partner who has helped the league become the world’s richest soccer competition comes amid growing financial pressures on clubs caused by the coronavirus pandemic that has seen no games played in six weeks. Masters has said the crisis could cost the league more than 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) with broadcasting contracts in danger of not being fulfilled.

While the league grapples with an unprecedented shutdown it is having to examine whether to grant Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund clearance to buy Newcastle from retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley. The PIF is due to be the 80 per cent majority partner in a 300 millionpound ($370) takeover

alongside wealthy Britishbased Reuben brothers and financier Amanda Staveley.

PIF is overseen by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who Amnesty says has been involved in a “sweeping crackdown on human rights.”

The Premier League does not have specific human rights standards set out in regulations that are used to assess the suitability of new owners.

“So long as these questions remain unaddressed, the Premier League is putting itself at risk of becoming a patsy of those who want to use the glamour and prestige of Premier League football to cover up actions that are deeply immoral, in breach of international law and at odds with the values of the Premier League and the global footballing community,” Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen wrote Monday to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

Amnesty raised concerns with Masters about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as questions linger over the crown prince’s culpability.

Agnes Callamard, a U.N. special rapporteur who authored an inquiry into the killing, called for sanctions on Prince Mohammed and said responsibility for Khashoggi’s killing falls on Saudi Arabia. The report found “sufficient credible evidence regarding the responsibility of the Crown Prince demanding further investigation.”

The Premier League can block new owners if “in the reasonable opinion of the board” it can be determined they “engaged in conduct outside the United Kingdom” that would have resulted in a conviction in

the UK had it taken place within the country.

Saudi Arabia’s trial of 11 suspects in the Khashoggi killing was held in secret and does not include the crown prince’s top adviser at the time — Saud al-Qahtani — who has been sanctioned by the US for his suspected role in orchestrating the operation.

PIF’s vision overseen by Prince Mohammed is to ultimately pay for the mega state projects that will modernise and overhaul the kingdom and create jobs for young Saudis.

“The Crown Prince has been using sporting events and personalities as a means of improving the Kingdom’s reputation following the grisly murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi — widely believed to have taken place with his approval,” Allen wrote to the Premier League.

“Such positive associations with sporting events also distract attention from Saudi’s appalling human rights record, including the imprisonment and torture of women human rights defenders.”

The letter cites Loujain al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia’s most outspoken women’s rights activists, who was one of more than a dozen women detained in 2018, just weeks before the crown prince lifted the ban on women driving — something they been calling for in their push for equal rights.

PIF’s London-based media advisers have declined comment on the takeover. Ashley, who bought Newcastle in 2007 and owns the Sports Direct chain of retail stores, commented in 2018 on previous takeover talks with Staveley that collapsed but he has been silent on this latest attempt to complete a deal.

THE UEFA logo displayed at the entrance of the UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland.

UEFA EASES STANCE ON LEAGUES THAT WANT TO END SEASON EARLY

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — UEFA softened its tone yesterday toward competition organisers who want to end seasons early before completing all games — with some governments set to take those decisions out of soccer’s hands.

UEFA’s declaration that “special cases” may not face any sanctions came just hours before the Dutch government extended a ban on large-scale events in the Netherlands until September 1 — effectively ending the country’s top-level soccer season.

With no clear end in sight for European soccer’s shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic, Belgium had been the first top-tier league this month to say it wanted to declare its current standings final.

That prompted a quick response from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who warned that countries risked losing Champions League and Europa League entries if they took premature decisions.

However, the announcement yesterday by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte showed the limit of soccer officials’ authority.

The Dutch soccer federation published a statement

saying it planned to end the 2019-20 season and would consult with UEFA. The Eredivisie league said clubs would speak Friday “about the consequences of the decision.”

When the league was halted, Ajax topped the standings ahead of AZ Alkmaar on goal difference, with both set to advance to the Champions League qualifying rounds.

Earlier Tuesday, UEFA had hosted talks with its 55 member federations and toned down its previous directive to “a strong recommendation” to try to complete domestic seasons.

UEFA’s new stance is that “some special cases will be heard.”

“With this in mind, UEFA is currently developing some guidelines concerning participation in its club competitions, in order to assist its member associations in case of a canceled league or cup,” Europe’s soccer body said in a statement.

An executive committee on Thursday can confirm those guidelines.

Belgian officials were set to resume talks Friday when UEFA’s position is clearer.

Domestic club competitions aim to play into July and August — likely in empty stadiums if restarting

games is even possible.

UEFA hopes to complete the Champions League and Europa League later in August. Both competitions paused in March during the round of 16.

Options for UEFA could include a Champions League mini-tournament in a single venue.

August 29 is a target date for the final originally scheduled for May 30 in Istanbul.

UEFA postponed the 2020 European Championship by one year last month which cleared space for domestic leagues to try to complete the season and fulfil broadcasting contracts.

The playoffs to decide the final four teams to qualify for the 24-team Euros have already postponed twice, and UEFA vice president Sándor Csányi said Tuesday they could be delayed to October or November.

Csányi told Hungarian media those months are options. All 55 UEFA member countries currently have Nations League games scheduled during the October and November international dates.

Hungary was drawn to play at Bulgaria in the playoffs. The winner will host either Iceland or Romania with a place in the final tournament at stake.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, PAGE 13

CONFUSION IN FRENCH SOCCER OVER WHETHER LEAGUE SHOULD RESUME

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer PARIS (AP) — Confusion reigns in French soccer as to whether the league should resume amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The co-president of the French professional soccer players’ union called for the league to stop, while coaches in the top two divisions have expressed diverging opinions whether the 10 remaining games should be played.

“It is legitimate to collectively ask ourselves the question of whether championships should continue,” Sylvain Kastendeuch wrote in a column for Le Monde newspaper.

“The economic emergency should not override the priority for public health. Let us renounce a rushed and dangerous resumption of the championship.”

The president of the national union of coaches, former France coach Raymond Domenech, said “all of the stances taken at this current time, from one side or another” were not leading anywhere.

“For the moment no one knows where we’re heading, taking a fixed stance makes no sense,” he said in a video yesterday on sports daily L’Équipe’s website.

“Resuming just like that is impossible, that’s obvious to everybody. But we can do everything to try to resume.

We can ask questions about how we can resume and under what conditions.”

But the players’ union estimated that 75 per cent of its membership fear getting injured if the league resumes with a packed schedule, and are worried about the virus spreading.

However, the union also took a slightly more cautious view than Kastendeuch.

“A return to competition seems difficult to envisage

at this stage,” the UNFP said in a statement following Kastendeuch’s column on Monday. “However, if in the days ahead all the doubts can be removed to allow a resumption in the best conditions, the UNFP obviously won’t oppose this.”

France’s top two divisions fall under the umbrella of the French league’s governing body.

The LFP’s administrative council unanimously voted on April 10 to consider resuming on June 17 and concluding the games — 11 for leader Paris SaintGermain and mid-table Strasbourg — by July 25. In that hypothetical scenario, next season would start on August 22.

France is in lockdown until May 11, with the government set to announce at the end of April what measures will be put in place when the confinement ends.

The LFP has asked its doctors and the French Football Federation medical commission to devise a medical protocol which would allow training to resume “in the manner of those announced last week by the major leagues (of Germany, Italy, Spain).”

Pointing to protocols elsewhere, Domenech urged French soccer to be more flexible in its outlook. “(So) we should say from one day to the next: ‘We’re stopping?’ ... Let’s look at others,” he said.

Lyon coach Rudi Garcia, whose side is involved in the Champions League round of 16 against Juventus, is among those who favour a resumption, while Brest and Dijon do not.

“We want to resume in the right conditions. Conditions which will allow us not to play every three days, or at least not systematically,” Lyon coach Rudi Garcia told sports daily L’Equipe.

THE CAMP Nou stadium is illuminated in Barcelona, Spain, on September 19, 2017.

(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Barcelona sells Camp Nou title to raise money in fight against COVID-19

By JOSEPH WILSON AP Sports Writer BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona will sell the title rights to its storied stadium for one year in an effort to raise money for the fight against the coronavirus.

The Spanish club’s executive board said yesterday it will donate the entire fee raised by selling the title rights to the Camp Nou to fighting the global pandemic.

The Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe with more than 99,000 seats. It has never had a sponsor since it opened in 1957.

“We want to send a universal message: For the first time someone will have the opportunity to put their

name on Camp Nou and the revenues will go to all of humanity, not just Barca,” club vice president Jordi Cardoner told The Associated Press.

“The initiative arose in an emergency situation. We think that we have to have a very quick response, putting our crown jewel at the service (of the fight).”

The club had planned to wait to sell the stadium’s title rights for the first time in the 2023-24 season. At that time, the club hopes to bring in 300 million euros ($326 million) paid up front for a 25-year contract to pay for renovations to the stadium and other facilities.

Cardoner, who has recovered after contracting the virus, said the board conceived of this new charity sale

independent of the long-term deal of 25 years. But, he said that if there emerges a sponsor who wanted to include it in the long-term deal, then the club would consider it.

Cardoner said Barcelona wants to listen to offers from companies and private foundations and will consider opening it up to a group of interested sponsors who could team up and hopefully provide even more funds to help battle the new virus.

He would not give any estimate on how much the foundation hopes to earn from this “one-shot” sale.

But given the greatness of Lionel Messi and the millions of spectators who tune in each week to watch Barcelona’s games, Camp Nou is one of the most coveted venues in sports.

PAGE 14, Wednesday, April 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Tokyo Olympics, IOC conflict over who pays for the postponement

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — An open conflict broke out between Tokyo Olympic organisers and the IOC yesterday over who will pay for the unprecedented yearlong postponement.

Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya said the organising committee asked the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee to remove a comment from its website suggesting that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed that Japan would shoulder most of the postponement costs.

Media reports in Japan estimate the year-long delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic will cost $2 billion to $6 billion.

Neither side has given an official estimate, but Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto has called the postponement costs “massive.”

“It’s not appropriate for the prime minister’s name to be quoted in this manner,” Takaya said on a 90-minute teleconference.

Almost all of the questions, mostly from Japanese reporters, centred on the IOC’s statement and the costs for Japan.

The IOC statement, on a page titled “Frequently Asked Questions about Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” said Abe agreed that Japan “will continue to cover the costs it would have done under the terms of the existing agreement for 2020, and the IOC will continue to be responsible for its share of the costs.”

After Tokyo’s complaint, the IOC removed Abe’s name and any reference to Japan’s financial obligation.

The edited version reads: “The Japanese government has reiterated that it stands ready to fulfil its responsibility for hosting successful games.”

Without using Abe’s name, IOC President Thomas Bach said almost exactly the same thing 10 days ago in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday.

He said Japan would “continue to cover the costs it would have done” under the agreement signed in 2013.

Abe’s spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, also challenged the IOC and said Tuesday there “is no such agreement related to additional cost stemming from the postponement.”

Despite the conflict, there is not much debate about who will pay; it’s the Japanese side, but it’s also a sensitive subject, particularly for Abe during an economic downturn brought on by the spreading virus.

Japan is officially spending $12.6 billion to organise the Olympics, but a government audit report says it’s at least twice that much.

It’s all public money except for $5.6 billion from a privately funded organising committee budget.

Under the terms of the Host City Contract signed in 2013 when Tokyo was awarded the games, the city of Tokyo, the Japanese Olympic Committee and

A WOMAN wearing a mask against the spread of the new coronavirus walks in front of the Japan Olympic Museum building in Tokyo Tuesday, April 21, 2020. An open conflict broke out yesterday between Tokyo Olympic organisers and the IOC over how much to divulge about who will pay for the unprecedented year-long postponement.

(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) local organisers are obligated to pay most of the costs of the Tokyo Games.

Section 68 of the contract reads: “Unless expressly stipulated otherwise in this contract, all obligations of the city, the NOC and/or the OCOG pursuant to this contract, shall be at their expense.”

John Coates of Australia, an IOC member who oversees Tokyo preparations, said in a conference call last week with Tokyo organisers that the postponement

would cost the IOC “several hundred million dollars.”

Bach said the same thing to the German newspaper.

Coates made it clear the IOC’s payments would go to struggling national Olympic committees and international federations — and not to Tokyo.

One of Coates’ solutions to help Tokyo was to cut frills from the programme.

According to organising committee documents, the IOC has already contributed about $1.3 billion to

organize the Tokyo Olympics. This is from income of $5.7 billion in the latest four-year Olympic cycle.

Japan, with a $5 trillion GDP, obviously has more resources.

Takaya also repeated there is no Plan B despite concerns by some scientists that the pandemic will not allow the Olympics to open in 15 months — July 23, 2021.

“We are not commenting on speculation,” Takaya said.

USA TRACK AND FIELD SWITCHES OLYMPIC TRIALS TO JUNE 2021 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — USA Track and Field has rescheduled its Olympic trials for June 18-27, 2021, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The national governing body for track announced the new dates yesterday in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic postponing the Tokyo Olympics to 2021.

USATF worked with the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and TrackTown USA to secure the new dates for trials originally scheduled for this June.

The competition schedule remains the same, but the timing windows could be tweaked.

The trials will be held in a remodelled Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

The USATF announced last week it has laid off seven people from its 65-person staff and that CEO Max Siegel would take a 20 per cent pay cut to offset lost revenue due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The organisation that runs the country’s largest summer sport has been forced to cancel dozens of events, including the Olympic trials. In 2016, trials produced around $5 million in revenue.

“The new dates are already set.

“The Tokyo 2020 organising committee and all stakeholders are now dedicating themselves to this new date.”