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VOLUME:117 No.108, APRIL 30TH, 2020

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INSIDE

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BAHA MAR SHARES THE LOVE WHILE Baha Mar has temporarily suspended operations due to COVID-19, the resort is passionate about staying committed and connected to its friends and family. In order to share a bit of love and hope during these challenging times, Baha Mar recently lit up its Grand Hyatt and Melia towers with a special message for the Bahamian community.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

‘DESPERATE’ INMATES ‘PROMOTIONS GIVE ME WARN ANGER’S RISING MANPOWER WE NEED’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

INMATES at Bahamas Department of Correctional Services have claimed conditions at the facility are “desperate” as they fear not enough is being done to protect them from contracting COVID-19.

Apart from alleging expired and insufficient hand sanitizers were distributed to prisoners and that no supplies have been passed out to allow proper

cleaning, they said BDCS is becoming increasingly dangerous as fights are breaking out over food because rations have been cut.

Describing it as a breeding ground for angry men, it was further claimed that rehabilitation classes for prisoners are lacking while prohibited contraband, such as drugs, are prevalent.

The inmates’ concerns were outlined in a letter sent to The Tribune and Minister of National Security Marvin Dames by a

concerned citizen who said a prisoner dictated the issues to him on behalf of other inmates.

While he did not respond to the concerns yesterday, BDCS Commissioner Charles Murphy said much of what was alleged in the letter was “baseless”.

He outlined COVID19 prevention measures were implemented at the facility over a month ago.

However, he said he understood there could SEE PAGE TWO

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

NEW Police Commissioner Paul Rolle has defended the promotion of 68 senior officers this week, telling The Tribune his decision was part of a succession plan to have the best officers in place long after he retires in May 2023.

As he foreshadowed more promotions to come in “short order,” including others in 2021 and 2022, Commissioner Rolle

revealed that $1m had been secured in the current budget cycle for officers to move up the ranks. He said the process began back in September and was the result of his own audit of the force and its administrative needs.

It also comes with the expectation that this year, two Chief Superintendents and 20 Superintendents are set to retire from the force. Twelve more Superintendents are due to retire during 2021.

Sixty eight Royal

DAY 3 WITH NO NEW CASES

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE increased testing for COVID-19, the country has not recorded new cases of the disease for three days in a row.

The number of confirmed cases in the country remained at 80 up to press time, with 25 people now recovered and 792 people in quarantine. The latest

DR DELON BRENNEN cases were announced on Sunday after two New Providence women, both

in isolation at home, tested positive. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen said officials can’t make anything out of the lack of new cases unless the trend is sustained.

“I think if we see a downward trend sustained for a full week, that might give a bit more comfort that the trend is real,” he said.

Dr Brennen also said

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

Bahamas Police Force officers were promoted to Chief Superintendent and Superintendent on Tuesday, in an exercise that is backdated to take effect from January 1. The promotions were highlighted in a leaked RBPF memo. Twenty-three officers were promoted to Chief Superintendent from Superintendent and 45 officers rose to Superintendent from Assistant Superintendent.

Among them was the SEE PAGE FIVE

FRONT PORCH

BY SIMON

SEE PAGE SEVEN

PAGE 2, Thursday, April 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

DR ALLEN ALBURY, managing director; Atario Mitchell, president; and Dominic Sturrup, executive chairman and Sr VP business development with Prime Minister Hubert Minnis.

Photo: OPM Communications Unit PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday received a donation of Personal Protection Equipment from the board of directors, principals, management and staff of the Bahamas Striping Group of Companies.

The donated equipment includes 200 protective suits; 8,000 medical gloves; 2,000 protective face shields; 10,000 surgical face masks and 5,000 KN95 protective face masks.

“As proud Bahamians, we stand alongside the government and we applaud the gallant efforts, foresight of the government,

PM RECEIVES PROTECTIVE GEAR DONATION

our hardworking medical practitioners, and every Bahamian whose sacrifice will allow us to win this battle,” said Dr Allen.

Albury, managing director, Bahamas Striping.

“Thank you for this generous donation of Personal Protective Equipment,” said Dr Minnis. “This will help to protect our health care workers who are fighting COVID-19. ”

PRISON INMATES WARN ANGER’S RISING AT BDCS from page one

be frustration over lack of rehabilitation opportunities as a decision was made to shut down all activities at the prison.

As for drugs and contraband, Commissioner Murphy said “we deal with it when we find it”.

“We are again asking for help as our situation is desperate,” the inmates’ letter read. “We don’t know what your officers are telling you but we beg you to please come see for yourself, unannounced and inspect your entire facility; not just the parts they want you to see. Minister, from the COVID-19 virus hit The Bahamas, officers have yet to distribute any bleach or disinfectant supplies so we inmates can clean our cells and dorms. “(The officer)… who is in charge of medium security refused to order any cleaning supplies from the store room. “…Commissioner Murphy has been out to lunch and does not care what happens to inmates.

He is only seen when it is time to inspect one of his construction projects.”

It continued: “We were given three 8oz bottles of hand sanitizer to share between 40 people per dorm. The sanitizers were made in 2004 and are sticky and lumpy because all the alcohol is already evaporated. Useless.

“One in 50 inmates have protective masks. Our daily food rations have been cut by 1/4 so fights are now breaking out over food.

Our families have no means to put (money) on our commissary accounts but it doesn’t matter because the commissary shop is empty.

“Minister your officers who work and can drive around town for food are so heartless that they take plates of food from inmates and share among each other. If the inmate complains they are threatened.”

According to the inmates’ letter, the solution to every situation has been violence.

“This place is breeding angry men. Men who come in here for petty crimes leave worse than they come in. Inmates are having to fight and steal to survive. Your officers have no concept of rehabilitation or corrections. From the Commissioner down, the only solution is violence and stuff prisoners in Max (Security) like beasts.

“This facility is filled with drugs. I can personally point out officers who bring in drugs, liquor, cell phones. And before

leadership cracks down on that, they would rather tear this place apart to find out the source of this email in order to prevent the truth from coming out. Medium Security inmates come out twice a week for exercise.

Maximum Security inmates come out every two weeks.

Why? Because your officers refuse to come to work.

Every shift is short staffed.

“Please sir give this place some urgent attention like you do with the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Royal Bahamas Defence Force. This situation is desperate. Please help us.”

Responding to the claims, Commissioner Murphy said officials have ramped up efforts.

These include officer and staff screenings at points of entry, strategically placing hand washing stations, PPE distribution to staff and supplying sanitisers to inmates as they are sent from the Ministry of Health.

He said deep sanitisation has also been done in working areas, housing units and dorms.

Incoming prisoners are also separately housed for quarantine for a period of 14 days and a separate facility has been selected in the event someone contracts COVID-19.

The Commissioner said: “We are practicing social distancing in as much as possible and we are adhering to the general protocols for COVID-19. The claims in the letter are baseless.

“The fact that I outlined to you what we’ve put in place basically cancels the claims in the letter.

“Just about every day routinely, I am on the ground checking and ensuring measures are being implemented and talking to officers. There are also people ensuring the correct protocols are being carried out. Not only that, the staff here are fully aware of the dangers of COVID-19 and the necessity to carry out these protocols so they themselves are supporting it in as much as I am pushing for it to be implemented.”

Regarding claims about rehabilitation classes, Commissioner Murphy said programmes are there but have been placed on hold due to the threat of COVID-19.

“I could understand their frustration that they can’t move about and do all they used to.”

He also urged inmates with information about suppliers of drugs and cell phones to come forward so that those people could be dealt with.

Editorial View - Page 6

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 30, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

BAHAMAS RANKS 60TH ON U.N. PREPAREDNESS LIST

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas ranks 60th in the world in preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

The UNDP has explored countries’ readiness in terms of overall human development, inequality, doctors per 10,000 people, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people, hospital beds per 10,000 people, current health expenditure, mobile phone subscription per

100 people and fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people.

Most of the data was collected before 2019.

The Bahamas scores a 0.805 on the Human Development Index, constituting “very high development.” However, data was not available for assessing inequality issues in the country.

The country, according to the UNDP, has 19.4 doctors per 10,000 people, 31 nurses per 10,000 people, 29 hospital beds per 10,000 people, 99 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people and 22.6 fixed broadband

subscriptions per 100 people. The country spends 6.4 percent of its annual gross domestic product on healthcare.

Barbados is the only country in the Caribbean region that outranks The Bahamas on the human development index, with a score of 0.813. The list is topped

by Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany and Hong Kong.

“COVID-19 crisis is more than a global health emergency; it is a systemic human development crisis, reflecting our interaction with the ecosystem we are part of, which is already affecting the

economic and social dimensions of development in unprecedented ways,” the UNDP says.

“The level of human development and its inequality, together with healthcare system capacity, can portray countries’ preparedness to respond effectively and efficiently to a health crisis. For example, a very high human development country has on average 55 hospital beds, over 30 physicians, and 81 nurses per 10,000 people, compared to seven hospital beds, 2.5 physicians, and six nurses in a least developed country.

“Widespread lockdowns around the world mean many people are having to rely on Internet access to work, continue with their education, and interact with others. The digital divide has become more significant than ever, as hundreds of millions of people around the globe still don’t have access to reliable broadband internet.”

Regarding mobile phone and fixed broadband subscriptions, the Bahamas is considered to have very high human development, according to the UNDP.

No new COVID cases for three days in a row from page one that 75 percent of healthcare workers who were tested over the weekend after being sidelined because of their possible exposure to a patient with COVID-19 have had their results returned. Those tests were negative for the virus.

However, he said before they return to work, the employees must be cleared by the Ministry of Health.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis recently released the government’s phased plan for reopening the country.

According to their plan, the country is currently in phase 1a: essential businesses, hardware, auto parts stores and nurseries are opened, some for just two days per week; NGOs are providing food to the needy with permission and people can exercise for 90 minutes in their neighbourhood from Monday to Friday.

During phase 1b, there could be a relaxation of restrictions on exercise and hardware, nurseries and auto parts stores can expand to five-day online delivery and curb-side services.

During phase two, there could be even further relaxation on exercises and worship services could be permitted with strict social distancing rules and use of masks. Business operations

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis recently released the government’s phased plan for reopening the country in Family Islands that have not recorded a COVID-19 case could resume during this phase and there could be the resumption of healthcare and manufacturing industry services that can develop protocols to maintain social distancing.

In phase three there would be restriction reopening for non-essential stores, limited education services, relaxation of limits on weddings, funerals and social gatherings, reopening of parks and beaches with social distancing.

During the fourth phase, the government could allow restaurants, cultural facilities, gyms, movie theatres and entertainment faculties to operate with social distancing protocols and masks while resuming office operations and personal services such as hair care and nails with the use of personal protection equipment.

During the fifth phase, international travel can resume, hotels can fully operate along with public transportation and a general lift on movement.

THREE RAYS OF HOPE AMID THE GLOOM

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

DESPITE thousands of people laid off and the economy at a near standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, some local businesswomen have found ways to adapt to the crisis.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bolera Glinton, of BGG Wow Bags and Accessories, created and sold mainly handbags and flip flops. A request from a client overseas for face masks saw her business take on a new venture, with sales growing every week.

“When COVID-19 hit, of course I became concerned about my finances,” Mrs Glinton said. “I’m married with four children and a husband recovering from a massive stroke which leaves me as head of household.

A model who modelled my bags at New York Fashion Week 2015 sent me a Facebook message with contact info of a company needing face masks for New York.

I became a designer of face masks, producing 500 pieces for them.”

After this, Mrs Glinton said the word got out and her phone started ringing for orders in Nassau.

“My friend then did a Facebook live promotion for me and I began getting more orders and wholesale

BOLERA GLINTON

GENEEN EVANS

orders from other islands. I produce up to 75 pieces in a day and sales have been growing week by week and the demand is great.

So COVID-19 has allowed me to create a new product that is very profitable at this time, the BGG Wow Mask.”

Another woman finding opportunity during the pandemic is Geneen Evans of Eden’s Pantry, a personal shopping business for those who can’t get out or don’t want to.

“On the 9th of April a few days before Easter, I laid in bed feeling stuck,” Ms Evans said. “The country was headed for its first lockdown weekend due to COVID-19 and my hopes of becoming gainfully employed again was dashed.”

She had a job interview just before the COVID-19

crisis began and was ready to start a new chapter in her life. However the COVID19 restrictions dashed those plans.

Ms Evans said a quote from Dr Myles Munroe — “Crisis brings ideas and ideas brings opportunities” — encouraged her.

“A friend called who is an essential worker, a

SINGULAR BROWN nurse, and as she talked to me she went on to say how many things she needed to do including shopping but the lines were so long,” Ms Evans said. “That’s when I offered to do it for her for a fee. After this she kept referring me to other people and my days before the Easter lockdown were full. I went on the lines

early in the morning, did the shopping and delivered the items.”

She named her shopping business Eden’s Pantry after her 11-year-old daughter.

She offers a food shopping service, but also makes runs to home stores as well. She hopes to expand her business and hire employees in the future.

Local soapmaker teenager Singular Brown, who works at home alongside here mother, said she had to think creatively to keep her business Cia Monet afloat during this time. With most businesses required to close their doors to the public, she has turned to ecommerce to continue sales.

“When COVID-19 emerged in The Bahamas and most businesses were required to close their doors we had to think both smartly and legally as to how to remain relevant while being able to secure some kind of income,” Ms Brown said. “We decided to beef up our online presence by promoting essential products that were necessary during this time. We strategically showcased our handcrafted organic soaps that contain more oils, more lather and better cleansing agents for the skin.

“We are also exercising social distancing and wearing our masks while offering curbside and contact-free pickup,” she said.

PAGE 4, Thursday, April 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

MELINDA KEEPS HELPING RESIDENTS IN ABACO

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE having lost everything to Hurricane Dorian in early September, Abaco resident Melinda Pinder has never backed down when it comes to helping those in need within her community.

The mother-of-two, who is no stranger to charity work, had been assisting residents in Abaco long before the monster storm hit the island nearly six months ago.

She is founder of the Pink Rose Ball, a nonprofit event created to raise funds for the Abaco Cancer Society.

With the annual event

now cancelled as a result of Dorian, Ms Pinder says she spends her time volunteering with the local council by distributing food and other essential items to the most vulnerable in the community.

“We try to distribute at least once a week or twice a week depending on what we have to give,” she told The Tribune yesterday. “… (But) it’s very difficult because people are actually portraying that ‘oh the persons in Abaco don’t need’ but there are so many that are in need and that’s why I personally like to go around and deliver stuff because you get to see the condition of how persons are living and what they’re actually going through.

“Just (Tuesday), I was able to deliver 48 senior citizens grocery bags with a number of items in it, through funds that were donated by a local Abaconian and, I actually have 48 bags now for single mothers with kids and persons with disabled kids… but I want to go personally and go and see if there’s other things I can assist them with.”

With basic necessities like electricity and running water still absent on some parts of the island, Ms Pinder said day to day living for many on the island is still a struggle.

Also compounding the issue, she said, is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also slowed down the pace of rebuilding on

the storm impacted island.

She said: “It slowed the process down of everything like rebuilding and of course, the jobs and stuff.

“And you know a lot of people are like ‘oh, well you need to help yourself or whatever,’ but if you haven’t worked for eight months and don’t know when you’re going to work, I mean you’re trying to hold on to whatever you have to make sure that you actually have food to eat.”

She added: “For the most part, I would say 80, maybe even 90 percent of persons don’t have electricity so therefore a lot of them do not have refrigerators. . . (so) they can’t keep anything cold and if they do have the funds, I guess they

will go and buy something every day to cook or they just use canned items.

“So, we’re trying to make sure that they at least have canned items.”

The powerful Category Five storm flattened a number of homes and businesses on Abaco, displacing thousands.

Asked about the level of preparedness on the island given that hurricane season is less than two months away, Ms Pinder doesn’t feel the island is ready.

“All the debris has not been cleaned up. They’ve done a lot of it, the local council and some of the NGOs but that’s basically it,” she told this newspaper.

“There’s still lots of buildings that need to be torn

down that would really be a problem if we did have high winds. Even when it rains, a lot of persons have tents inside their homes because the roofs are still leaking, or they don’t have a roof or you know it’s so many persons still living in tents.”

However, despite the many challenges the island faces, Ms Pinder said she tries to keep a positive attitude throughout it all.

“I lost my business. I lost everything that I had,” she said. “But (volunteering) has actually helped me a lot. It has kept me going and this is something that’s dear to my heart as well, especially for single mothers. I can’t imagine kids being out there and going hungry.”

US FUNDING CUT TO WHO MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands giving blood yesterday at Princess Margaret Hospital’s National Blood Drive.

Sands leads drive for blood donors

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands was among scores of people who donated blood yesterday at Princess Margaret Hospital’s National Blood Drive.

The event, held at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, was expected to draw about 100 people. Dr Sands said the nation’s blood banks have been running at a “precariously low level” and encouraged people to donate “a gift of life”.

“One, it is a wonderful way of showing that as a people we care for each other,” he said. “The act of donating blood is a gift of life.

People don’t pay for it, but it certainly is priceless and so by giving blood, you can make the difference of somebody living or dying.

“The donation in terms of what comes out of you is something that is easily done without. You can manage having given one pint of blood and carry on your ordinary daily activities but that single pint of blood can make a difference whether somebody can walk, breathe, get out of the intensive care unit, survive an operation.”

When The Tribune arrived, the blood bank’s supervisor Everette Miller said 15 pints of blood had been drawn so far from the drive and the team was expecting about 80 pints. Due to the COVID-19

pandemic, blood donations have decreased. Mr Miller hopes the drive shows the public that blood is needed not only during good times but in bad times as well.

Blood donations are needed for cancer patients, those who are anaemic, car accident victims, and those in surgery, etc, he said.

Donor Diane de Cardenas gives blood regularly but stopped after recently giving birth and breastfeeding.

Nervous about going to the hospital, she found the drive at the stadium was a good push for her to start giving blood again.

“Man, it’s critical because you know we all get these blasts on our you know WhatsApps and

Facebook - ‘Hey, so and so loved one has been in an accident everyone rush and donate’. But if people did it regularly you know every chance you know every eight weeks or so ….then there would be no rush to do it,” she said.

The COVID-19 crisis is what motivated another repeat donor Collin Abraham to “answer the call for blood”.

“See what’s happening in the world with COVID- 19 and there’s a lot of people who have fallen ill and the virus has obviously made a demand on the health system, so blood is obviously required…. Donate blood, save a life.”

THE United States’ decision to withdraw funding from the World Health Organization will have a potential impact locally, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said yesterday.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced a halt to WHO funding, accusing the entity of failing in its duty to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bahamas government gets vaccines through the Pan American Health Organization, the regional arm of WHO. “We get our vaccines through the Pan American Health Organization. There are already challenges with accessing vaccines because of increased cost of shipment and so we will have to see,” Dr Sands said yesterday.

“It is likely the Bahamian government will have to give in cash or kind to continue the same programmes that have been ongoing but we’re committed to getting it done.

“We don’t believe that this is going to last forever and hopefully as the discussions go on between the United States and WHO and so on and so forth this will be resolved. “ This week is the 18th annual Vaccination Week in the Americas. In a press release sent last week, PAHO/WHO experts encouraged countries to maintain vaccinations for diseases such as flu and measles during the COVID-19 epidemic.

“Vaccines save lives and must be maintained even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most vulnerables should not suffer the consequences of not getting the vaccines they need,” PAHO Director Dr Carissa Etienne said recently.

CONCERN OVER FUNERAL NUMBERS THREE FINED FOR CURFEW OFFENCES

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ALTHOUGH emergency orders restricts funeral attendance to only 10 mourners, a funeral last week in the Eight Mile Rock community exceeded the legal limit.

Police are appealing to the public to adhere to the law regarding public gatherings amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Superintendent Terecita Pinder said that police will be closely monitoring funerals and other events to ensure that attendance numbers are in accordance with the law.

“No more than 10 persons are allowed at a funeral, and the police will be monitoring such events closely,” warned the senior police official.

Superintendent Pinder

said that congregating in crowds is “dangerous at this time” and could increase the spread of the coronavirus in the community.

Up to press time, there were 80 confirmed COVID19 cases in the country.

There are 25 recovered cases and 11 deaths.

Grand Bahama accounts for seven cases. Of those, two have died. There have been no new cases reported over the past 16 consecutive days on the island.

Despite this, Superintendent Pinder said that this is no time for residents to relax and let their guard down.

She urged residents to follow measures and guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

While many of the funeral attendees were wearing masks, there were challenges with social distancing during

the burial and graveside ceremony.

Superintendent Pinder said: “We are appealing to the EMR community to adhere to the law. We know it is difficult when you lose a loved one and that you are going through mourning and want to have family there with you, but we need people to follow the law.

“We must control and stop the spread of COVID19. We have seven cases and people are getting comfortable and we are asking them to stay on their guard and follow the guidelines and the law,” she stressed.

In March, the prime minister announced that only 10 members of the immediate family of a deceased person and at least one officiant and essential mortuary staff can attend a funeral.

The state of emergency restrictions have been extended until May 30.

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THREE men were yesterday ordered to pay $500 or face three months in prison for violating the national curfew.

Johnglen Roker, 56, and Jacoby Knowles, 36, appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes after police found them near Carmichael Road around midnight on April 28.

They both pleaded guilty to the charge and were each fined $500 which they were ordered to pay on or before May 1. Failure to pay the fine would result in both defendants spending three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).

Prosecutor Kendrick Bauld told the court that on the day in question, police on mobile patrol observed a Black Honda travelling east

on Carmichael Road. They beckoned for the vehicle to stop and questioned the driver, who identified himself as Jacoby Knowles. Sgt Bauld said Knowles told the officers he was carrying Roker to pick up a stove.

They were subsequently arrested and cautioned.

During an interview with police, Knowels admitted to being aware of the curfew, but insisted he was just trying to help his friend. Roker on the other hand, gave no comment when questioned.

During the hearing, Knowles was represented by attorney Ian Cargill. He told Magistrate Forbes his client was currently homeless and living out of a car because he was unable to find accommodation for his family. Mr Cargill also asked the court to be lenient since Knowles was only caught on the road because his friend had asked him

to assist him with getting a stove.

Meanwhile, Dewitte Palacious, 26, was charged after he was found on Taylor Street, Nassau Village around 1.04am on April 28. He also pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $500 or three months in prison.

According to the facts read by Sgt Bauld, on the morning in question, police observed a dark skinned man walking. When they stopped him for questioning, he told them he was coming from a shop. The male, who identified himself as Dewitte Palacious, also told the officers that while he was aware of the curfew, he had not called the hotline to get permission to be outdoors. As a result, he was arrested and cautioned. During an interview with police at a nearby station, he also admitted to the offence.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 30, 2020, PAGE 5

Rolle defends promotion of senior officers from page one RBPF’s lead investigator in the trial of former Cabinet minister Shane Gibson.

Deborah Thompson, attached to the Financial Crimes Unit, was promoted to the rank of Superintendent from Assistant Superintendent.

Another notable promotion is that of press liaison officer Shanta Knowles from Superintendent to Chief Superintendent. She has been chosen as the first woman officer to head the Central Detective Unit. Her deputy is also a woman.

“I wish to point out that during our planning for this year’s budget, we prepared a budget for promotions and secured one million dollars for promotion in the current budget,” Commissioner Rolle said in a statement to this newspaper yesterday. “The process of promotion began during September last year as we sought to identify the best candidates that will represent the future of the force long after I am retired in three years in May 2023.

“I wish to point out now that there will be a need again to promote additional Chief Superintendents and Superintendents during 2021 and 2022 to replace those that are due to retire during the same period. I encourage all of the men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force to be encouraged and stay focused as, in short order, I will announce the other promotions of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents followed by the promotions of Sergeants and Corporals that are in a secure place.”

He acknowledged the findings of the 2017/2018 manpower audit of the force but said it was only a “snapshot” of the force in 2017 following a promotion exercise that year. However, Commissioner Rolle said it was not done by the Commissioner of Police at the time and its findings were no longer issues for the RBPF. “If my memory serves me correct, that audit was not

NEW Police Commissioner Paul Rolle done by the Commissioner of Police. It was a snapshot in time and in any case those issues no longer exist as the needs at every level of the force continue to change. I am the third commissioner since the period reflected in the 2018 audit.

“As I prepared to assume responsibility for the Royal Bahamas Police Force, I have undertaken my own audit of the available manpower and physical resources. Having done that I made representation to the authority as I am required under the Police Act and outlined how I am proposed to restructure the force and put in place a succession plan for the future of the force.”

After the promotion exercises of 2017, the strength of the senior ranks stood at 20 Chief Superintendents, 119 Superintendents, 107 Assistant Superintendents and 154 Inspectors, Commissioner Rolle said.

He continued: “Since that exercise we have had four Chief Superintendents promoted to Assistant Commissioner, and four retired from the force leaving a balance of 17. During the same period we had 20 Superintendents retired from the force and two resignations. During the year I expect an additional two Chief Superintendents and 20 Superintendents to retire from the force. Twelve

more Superintendents are due to retire during 2021.

“Having considered all of the facts before me as I prepared my plan for how I want to structure the Royal Bahamas Police Force, I concluded that there was a need for 38 Chief Superintendents that will make up my junior executive leadership team that will head every major division and department of the force.

“I also determined that there was a need for 90 Superintendents, who will lead operations in their various divisions and bring a more senior level of supervision on the streets in order to provide the level of service and security that I as Commissioner believe is required.

“Every one of the persons that were promoted were assigned to a portfolio as I had envisioned as I also either post new appointees and transferred every senior officer in New Providence to (a) new portfolio. There were many more deserving to be promoted, but that is all I can justify at this time.

I am now already faced with one Chief Superintendent who will commence pre-retirement leave in two weeks.”

Ultimately, the basis for his decision was the provisions set out in the Police Act of 2009.

He said section four of the act stresses the emphasis on the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of peace, the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of all laws.

Section 5 (1) of that same law provides that the force consists of such numbers of police officers in the ranks specified in the first schedule may from time to time be authorised by Parliament and enrolled in the force.

Section 5 (2) of the act goes on to give Parliament the power to authorise the numbers as the Commissioner considers necessary for the operational needs of the force.

Section 9 of the Police Force Act 2009 also mandates that at the beginning of each year the Commissioner of Police prepare a policing plan for the minister.

This plan should include a statement of the force’s priorities for the year, of the financial and human resources expected to be available, and of the proposed broad allocation of those resources, and shall give particulars of the force’s objectives and its performance targets.

“There is an expectation that the Commissioner and his officers provide a level of security and quality of life to the residents and visitors such that all feel reasonably safe and that visitors feel a sense of comfort in coming to our islands. Section 12 of the Police Force Act 2009 provides that members of the Force shall be deployed in such numbers, and to such places and with such assignments as the Commissioner may from time to time direct,” he said.

Editorial View - Page 6

MAN SENT TO JAIL FOR POSTING EXPLICIT VIDEO OF HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 23-YEAR-OLD man was sentenced to six months in prison for posting a sexual video of his ex-girlfriend on social media.

The man appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with intentional libel after he published a sexual video of his former partner between January and April 2020, with the intent to defame her character.

He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Prosecutor Lincoln Bauld said the man’s ex-girlfriend came to the Central Detective Unit (CDU) on April 6 to report that a nude video of her had been posted on social media without her consent.

Sgt Bauld said the complainant told the officer she and her then-boyfriend had filmed their intimate interaction, but had agreed to delete the video that same day. She told officers she was embarrassed because the videos had resurfaced in her school and work groups on social media. As a result,

she gave a statement to the police and asked them to launch an investigation into the matter.

The ex-boyfriend was subsequently arrested and during an interview under caution with police, he admitted to sending the video to the woman’s current boyfriend, but insisted he had not sent it to anybody else.

When given an opportunity to speak during the hearing, the man told Magistrate Forbes that he “wasn’t in his right mind” when he sent the video. He also said his ex-girlfriend was his first love and he had only sent the video to her “baby daddy” because they had had an altercation and he was “angry and in his feelings”.

In response, Magistrate Forbes said he did not find the man’s behaviour acceptable because reputations were damaged as a result of his conduct. He also likened his actions to revenge porn and said that he could not understand the defendant’s logic because if he loved and respected his ex-girlfriend, he would not have tried to defame her.

As a result the accused was given a term of six months in prison.

$3K FINE FOR STRIPPING DOWN STOLEN VEHICLES

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 33-YEAR-OLD-MAN who violated the lockdown was fined $3,000 and given one month to compensate two car owners after stripping their stolen vehicles last week.

Tenaj Thompson appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with violating the lockdown and stealing and receiving a 2001 silver Honda Fit belonging to Donald Cooper on April 22. Thompson was also accused of stealing and receiving a 2001 silver Honda Fit which belonged to Jeffrey Feaster on April 24. Both vehicles were said to be valued at $3,000.

One day after denying all of the charges, Thompson returned to court yesterday to plead guilty to violating the lockdown and both counts of receiving. As a result, he was given a $1,000 fine or six months in prison

for violating the lockdown.

He was also fined $1,000 or six months in prison for each count of receiving, which were ordered to run concurrently. The prosecution elected to withdraw the stealing charges.

Prosecutor Kendrick Bauld told the court Mr Cooper came to the Central Detective Unit (CDU) on April 22 to report his vehicle was stolen. He also said Mr Feaster came to the station two days later to report his car missing. On April 26, officers received information of people stripping a vehicle near an abandoned complex on Market Street and proceeded to the area.

Thompson was ordered to compensate Mr Cooper and Mr Feaster $3,000 each on or before May 30 in addition to the imposed fines. Magistrate Forbes also warned if he did not pay the money by then, he would face another six months in prison.

PAGE 6, Thursday, April 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Safety first when it comes to keeping virus out of prison IS enough being done to stop the spread of the coronavirus in The Bahamas?

The question is prompted by today’s story about inmates at Fox Hill prison fearing a lack of measures to protect them from the spread of the disease.

Broadly speaking, there are two aspects to preventing the spread of the virus. There is social distancing to minimise the risk of the virus spreading from one person to another in close proximity, and there is the use of personal protection equipment and hand sanitisers.

It takes little imagination to picture how the situation is in the prison, with too many prisoners in too small a space.

Add to that a reported shortage of sanitiser – and some of that apparently expired – and you have a literal breeding ground for the virus.

The claims come in a letter from prisoners to The Tribune and Minister of National Security Marvin Dames, and detail a situation with a shortage of cleaning materials to disinfect cells and dorms, a situation where just one in 50 prisoners have protective masks, and even a cut in the daily rations for inmates.

In a sweeping rebuttal, Commissioner Charles Murphy calls the claims “baseless”. He says staff are screened as they enter, talked of hand washing stations, PPE gear for staff and sanitisers given to

inmates as it is provided by the Ministry of Health. He insisted deep sanitisation has already been done in working areas, housing units and dorms, and that new prisoners are quarantined for 14 days.

While Commissioner Murphy’s response is appreciated, we do not think that prisoners felt the need to write to The Tribune for nothing. Indeed, if there was nothing to see, they wouldn’t have called upon Mr Dames to come and visit the prison to look – and not just at the parts staff wanted to show him.

The prison is a powder keg waiting to explode if the virus gets in there. So in an abundance of caution, we echo the call to thoroughly examine the situation.

How much sanitiser is being provided per prisoner? How many of the cells have been thoroughly cleaned? Has the amount of food been cut? All these are simple questions that can easily be answered.

This isn’t an issue of trying to point and say someone is doing it right, or someone is doing it wrong – this is a public health issue. If the virus gets in there, the number of cases our country has experienced will rocket. So let’s be certain. If the prisoners who sent the letter are incorrect, it’s a fairly short wild goose chase. But if they’re right, we have the chance to correct it now before things get out of control. Let’s take that option. It’s the only way to be sure.

A new audit? Can we read it?

NEW Police Commissioner Paul Rolle had an interesting response to concerns that the latest round of promotions runs against the recommendations of an audit in 2018.

He’s done his own audit, he says.

We assume he will be only too willing to publish that audit for us all to see.

After all, just last week National Security Minister Marvin Dames was still talking about the 2018 audit without mentioning a new one conducted by Commissioner Rolle.

Indeed, this new audit was apparently conducted prior to September when the promotion process began, and yet nowhere has it been seen publicly.

How many officers does this new audit recommend in each of the senior ranks?

Does it still say the force is top-heavy?

Does it address the issues of senior officers having different titles but the same job descriptions? Did it play any part in decisions regarding some of the previous senior officers pushed off on leave

and returning to find themselves reassigned? Who conducted the audit and how was it reviewed?

There are more questions too – how much did the audit cost the public purse? What level of independence was there with this audit if it was conducted by the man who was subsequently made commissioner?

We urge him to publish his full audit forthwith. It’s a document on how to best run the police force and if it contradicts an audit carried out just the year before, there is clear public interest in understanding the changing conditions that led to different conclusions in such a short time.

People are very willing for the police to have the resources they need to keep our country safe – but let’s have a little more clarity about it, not least of all because one of the things the previous audit called for was transparency.

Unless that conclusion has also been cast aside?

‘Give us all a promotion’ AFTER nearly 70 Royal Bahamas Police Force officers were promoted to Chief Superintendent and Superintendent, readers posted their responses on tribune242.com – and they weren’t happy.

DEDDIE said: “This is the worst possible time to be giving promotions to any public servant. The private sector that pays the public sector are losing jobs left and right and the powers that be think it is okay to increase the demand on the public purse at this time.”

Hrysippus posted this comment: “Politics in this country is just one ongoing comedy show. I think we should give everyone else in the country a promotion as well.”

There was this from Bahamianson: “And when we run out of money to pay all of these pensions, increase in salaries, and perks, whom is going to do it? Are we just going to

raise taxes? We can’t keep increasing everything and expect the same population to absorb the cost. This is madness!!!”

OMG had this to say: “Madness. What this will cost the country now and particularly in the future is unfair to the working class.”

Sheeprunner12 said: “No justification for these promotions . . . strike three, two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against the FNM government . . . not looking good for them in 2022.”

And amid complaints that some major employers have not been paying National Insurance Board payments despite

deducting contributions from staff pay, senior manager at NIB Pandora Butler said workers can still get benefits once they prove work history.

That prompted this from Tell_it_like_it_is: “So if many major companies are not paying NIB and stealing without penalty . . . where will NIB continue to find the millions to pay employees? Employers are allowed to put government at the short end of the stick. But the poor man still has to pay all his taxes.

This practice is disgraceful.

The government is disgraceful for allowing it to continue!!!

“But if someone breaks quarantine they have to pay a huge fine and/or face 5 years in prison?? You people are out of your mind!!!”

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

Watching Moultrie assassinate democracy EDITOR, The Tribune THE Bahamas and indeed the world watched in horror while the inept speaker of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas, Halston Moultrie scuttled what we know to be the Halls of Parliament, where laws are made in the best interest of all Bahamians.

Yesterday, the awkward behaviour of Moultrie politically assassinating democracy was done, in broad daylight for all in the Bahamas to see, while the whole world watched in shock.

The Speaker is supposed to be impartial, he also is expected to conduct the proceedings to make sure that no one is disadvantaged. The mental attitude of anyone in such a position should not be in question.

Here of late, ill-chosen Moultrie seems to be adamant that he would frustrate the opposition at every turn and at all cost.

Ray Charles could see his heavy-handedness on the opposition has now become the norm.

Not so long ago, clumsy Moultrie while trying to castigate Glenis Hanna Martin, disrespected the wife of the leader of the opposition, unheard of by any previous speaker in the history of the Bahamas.

In my opinion the highly emotional and crude behaviour of the ejecting of Mr. Phillip Brave Davis happened without the full appreciation that on Black Tuesday, 55 years ago on the same date, the Progressive Liberal Party had had enough of being taken advantage of, by a white oppressive and dictatorial government, threw the mace and hourglass out of the House window.

Moultrie in his ignorance seemed blinded by his unusual behaviour for a man, over-reached by calling for the sergeant at arms to remove Davis, who was

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net only guilty of insisting on speaking on behalf of the Bahamian people.

Mr. Davis should have been being respected and allowed to speak, at such an important and crucial time as this. The government should have welcomed his participation, especially since the PM has been screaming for togetherness or at least the appearance of it.

The most reasonable conclusion is that they are only paying lip service to unity.

The mystery, however, has there been a calculated plan to silence the opposition?

Unenviable Moultrie was so predictable, that Mr. Davis had a copy of a cartoon caricature by Stan Burnside’s Sideburns “donkey fuming through the nose, hanging out of the House of Assembly building”, in his hand to display while he was leaving.

The speaker’s behavior was anticipated and a detriment to democracy!

The FNM’s train is being derailed while all are watching. I call on right-thinking FNMs, those who have one ounce of integrity and compassion for the Bahamas in their soul, to condemn the speaker for his unnecessary, unprovoked, cavalier behaviour on Black Tuesday’s 55th anniversary.

Partisan politics cannot override common decency, democracy, and what’s best for the Bahamas.

I would be flabbergasted if there are FNMs who would find a way to justify why this disgusting and politically embarrassing thing occurred.

Maybe Moultrie remaining in his position is a plan by the government to frustrate the opposition, but naivety is dangerous.

Unless we all are fools, we must conclude that the retarded behaviour of the Speaker will have dire consequences.

History did repeat itself!

As far as Mr. Moultrie is concerned, the Bahamian people have come to accept, that because of his apparent very low self-esteem and his own shortcomings, we expect far worse if he is allowed to remain in the capacity to wreak havoc on the parliament.

His ineptness has become his calling card. We have lived long enough to see that the bombastic behaviour when Moultrie was in the political wilderness looking for recognition, he was just lobbying for a chance to show his true colours.

We get it!

Time to grow up “Hallymouch”, this is not the Priory, where you bullied your way, taking advantage of better basketball players by “brute force”, using your weight and height to gain a physical advantage.

Time to use finesse, employ the skills that would enhance the atmosphere to help steer the debate toward what is best for all of us. Then and only then would you serve a purpose, otherwise, the private practice may be your best bet to get some result that you can be proud of.

The clear indication that our basic rights are being trampled upon by the consistent behaviour of the Speaker and other subtle innuendos by others, I am compelled to speak.

I cannot and will not be deterred from speaking truth to power, even if I have to go it alone. My conscience needs to be cleared at all times.

As always, I fear God only, forever IVOINE W. INGRAHAM Nassau, April 29, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

US President Theodore Roosevelt US President Theodore Roosevelt was a militarist and adventurist who used the bullying might of the American Colossus to advance his country’s imperialist stratagems in Latin and Central America.

Intent on the completion of a canal through the Central American isthmus to offer a quicker maritime route between the Atlantic and the Pacific, Roosevelt aided the separatist movement in the then-Columbian department of Panama, which, with American connivance, broke with Columbia to form an independent state.

At home, Roosevelt was a progressive during a bygone era when the Republican Party was a broad political church.

He busted monopolies and cartels through vigorous anti-trust legislation.

In 1906 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the end of the Russo-Japanese War. A bold progressive leader, he championed his Square Deal, domestic policies promoting the regulation of food and drugs, the regulation of railroads and numerous environmental policies, including greatly expanding his country’s National Park System.

An ardent conservationist, he assumed office at age 42 and proved throughout his 60 years of life to be a man of boundless energy, an intrepid traveller and voracious reader who delighted in the virtue and joy of service in the arena.

Post-presidency, Roosevelt embarked on an international tour. On April 23, 1910, 110 years ago this month, he delivered a speech entitled, “Citizenship in a Republic” at the Sorbonne (University of Paris).

The “Citizenship in a Republic” address described some of the duties of citizens in a democracy and distilled Roosevelt’s philosophical views on government.

A part of the speech was reserved for the cynics, the intellectually pompous with little life achievements, the sideline carpers, the inveterate naysayers and the shallow critics who offer little but trite and asinine asides and judgements.

Roosevelt’s famous speech is better known as “The Man in The Arena”.

In it, he described the virtue and joy of service in the arena and the quality of character required to offer oneself in the service of humanity.

A less well-known but compelling excerpt from his remarks is a powerful response to those, who though afraid to enter the arena, are nonetheless typically the loudest and most ardent critics.

Roosevelt knew well the kind of individuals throughout history, including during these times in The Bahamas, who are well-groomed in the art of lamenting all that is wrong but who rarely

We see the shallow critics carping from the sidelines why don’t they serve?

FRONT PORCH

BY SIMON enter the arena to help repair the breach.

Thoughtful and considered criticisms are as essential for personal growth as they are for the improvement and flourishing of a society. Religious leaders have a moral obligation to offer ethical reflections and critiques on public policy.

The best journalists and commentators are informed and intellectually curious who offer valuable reporting, criticism and insights on a range of matters in the public domain including about and beyond politics.

Academics, who offer cogent, informed and intelligent analysis, as opposed to reflexively inane and poorly informed gobbledygook, play a particular role in areas they have carefully studied and/or in which they enjoy special expertise.

Citizen engagement, including through advice, ideas and suggestions, are essential in cultivating the common good and dialogue in the public square.

But as in all times, there are the empty, shallow, illinformed denigrators and hacks who poison the public dialogue, typically through the prism of their conceits, prejudices, limited thinking and incapacity for deeper thought and reflection.

In his 1910 lecture Roosevelt reminds us of those here at home who have much to say but little to constructively add to national dialogue.

Quite a number of these are Facebook and WhatsApp warriors and bourgeois, pretentious pseudo-intellectuals often filled with insidious envy, who are addicted to whining, moaning, complaining, bitching and kvetching from the narcissistic echo chambers of their limited minds and within certain social media groups.

Their battlegrounds are mostly in the digital sphere.

They mostly refuse to lend their bodies, souls, hearts and minds in the arena, which is larger than politics and government, though these arenas are among the more challenging and consequential in human society.

Roosevelt lampooned: “Let the man of learning, the man of lettered leisure, beware of that queer and cheap temptation to pose to himself and to others as a cynic, as the man who has outgrown emotions and beliefs, the man to whom good and evil are as one.

The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer.

“There are many men who feel a kind of twisted pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt.

“There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes second to achievement.”

Roosevelt bemoaned: “A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities—all these are marks, not as the possessor would feign to think, of superiority, but of weakness.

“They mark the men unfit to bear their part painfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affectation of contempt for the achievement of others, to hide from others and from themselves their own weakness.”

Prior to the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, chronicled in the film Invictus, Nelson Mandela gave a copy of Roosevelt’s call to service and action to the captain of the South African rugby team which prevailed as victors in the arena in the final match.

One of those who helped formed the first Majority Rule government experienced the joy of service in the public arena alongside the deprivations and difficulties of giving his life for his principles and his country.

He too bemoans today’s shallow critics, including some in the media, who have little constructive to

“There are the shallow, often nasty critics, the Facebook warriors who charge in with trite analyses or memes, the belligerently negative, all of whom rarely offer substance, hope or goodwill.

offer but who spew endless invective.

He offers that these contemporary critics remind him of those, including some in the black middle class of the day, who refused to lend their talents and help to the movement for Majority Rule.

They refused to enter the arena to serve in party branches, to run for office, to help spread the message of change through the media of the day, to canvass voters, to help organize rallies, to hold house meetings, to raise funds, to help petition colonial officials and international agencies, to serve on committees, to offer clerical and other professional help, to register

Thursday, April 30, 2020, PAGE 7

voters, to cook food for events.

Though they reaped the benefits of Majority Rule, many hedged their bets and remained on the sidelines endlessly criticizing and complaining. They considered themselves too “good” and pristine to soil themselves in the heat of battle for the greater good.

As the country battles the health and economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 virus there are many in the arena and on the frontlines as health care professionals, helping to feed others or in public service.

Others are offering service on public committees, proffering advice and

PRIOR to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Nelson Mandela gave a copy of Roosevelt’s call to service to the captain of the South African rugby team constructive ideas, even as some attack the generous of heart and spirit.

Yet, as always, there are the shallow, often nasty critics, the Facebook warriors who charge in with trite analyses or memes, the belligerently negative, all of whom rarely offer substance, hope or goodwill.

The late Monsignor Preston Moss often said those who history remembers well are those who answered the call of service, not those who gave plenty advice on what could be done better but who could never bring themselves to actually serve in the arena.

Next Week: Bahamian Patriots in the Arena.

PAGE 8, Thursday, April 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

IT MIGHT BE WISE TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION GOVERNORS like New York’s Andrew Cuomo, Maryland’s Larry Hogan, Ohio’s Mike DeWine and California’s Gavin Newsom all are looking good compared with the president and Florida’s embattled Ron DeSantis, who was in the White House Tuesday to receive the president’s regal blessing.

Newsom tweeted out some common sense the other day.

California is currently in Stage 1 of his plan, which involves staying home and flattening the curve

and building out its coronavirus testing, personal protective equipment and hospital capacity.

As Newsom explained the plan, Stage 2 consists of opening lower risk workplaces, including retail and manufacturing.

Newsom, pictured right, and Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti have both gotten generally pretty good reviews for their handling of the pandemic. With the NFL’s Rams and Chargers slated to share a brand-new LA stadium this fall and the NBA’s Lakers and

STATESIDE with Charlie Harper IT’S called the Gadsden flag. You’ve probably seen it. It usually has a mustard yellow background and features a coiled timber rattlesnake, poised to strike like a cobra. Below the snake are these four words: Don’t Tread on Me. The Gadsden flag dates back nearly 250 years to the American Revolution.

It was used as a rallying symbol for the Continental Marines as they fought what often seemed to be a hopeless battle against the might of the British Empire.

In recent times, the Gadsden flag remains a powerful symbol of resistance to perceived remote oppression.

You’ll see it draped over sagging fenceposts at an outlaw compound in Eastern Oregon. It will appear in a window at an isolated ranch somewhere in the vastness of Texas. Maybe it will be in the background at a rally in the Deep South against the federal American government in Washington DC. The flag often flies at antigovernment rallies in New Hampshire, where the state motto is still “Live Free or Die!” The Gadsden flag

appeared the other day in a new context. News photos showed a man in a baseball cap holding the flag outside the window of an older minivan. He was part of a rally to promote the lifting of a stay at home order still in force in the state of Virginia. “Re-Open Now!” was written in large letters on the window behind the front passenger seat.

As the US tries to come to grips with the COVID-19 health crisis, strong centrifugal forces are in play.

Several states have begun to reopen their economies.

Governors across the US are facing unprecedented pressure to lift stay at home orders and allow workers to go back to work and kids to go back to school. The yearning for an end to this dreadful pandemic is strong and natural and even in big afflicted states like Florida and Georgia it is becoming irresistible.

American President Donald Trump, cannily intuitive as always, has managed to position himself as the voice of this longing to return to normalcy. This is Trump’s special skill. He speaks and tweets often politically

Clippers emerging this season as likely championship contenders, the governor and the mayor have risked fans’ wrath by remaining sensible in their public predictions.

Garcetti said earlier in the crisis that sports in LA with live crowds might have to wait until next year.

Meanwhile, Stage 3 of the governor’s plan includes gradually reopening higher risk environments, including sporting events

without live audiences. As part of Stage 4, California will reopen its highest risk environments entirely, but only once “therapeutics have been developed”. That stage would include conducting live sports with fans. Newsom hasn’t set a timetable for the last three stages of his plan.

Trump’s television star scientists, the heroic Anthony Fauci and the elegant Deborah Birx,

continue to warn of the likely return this fall of the coronavirus, complicated by the annual visit of the “regular” flu.

Maybe those who are deriding the whole pandemic as a “hoax” will turn out to be right. But as DeSantis moves to reopen Florida for business and potential contagion and South Florida counties try to walk the line between responsible public policy and economic exigencies, it might be wise for potential travellers to err on the side of caution.

Which way to go to bring life back to normal? incorrect thoughts held by many millions of voters in the US. Even as his own top medical advisers increasingly dare to contradict his extemporaneous oral meanderings at daily press conferences, the President persists in pushing what seems like a dangerous rush to reopen.

In the process, Trump can appear to critics and allies alike as a hapless buffoon musing on national television about the positive remedial potential of injecting poisonous household cleaner into humans with the coronavirus. He is openly described as a heartless, soulless narcissist determined to avoid any personal responsibility for the pandemic or its dire consequences. And as always, these charges, which are entirely selfinflicted, seem stick to him for a while and then are

shrugged off as just more evidence of who he is.

Who Trump is may appeal to fewer independent voters these days. As his campaign continues to search for an issue – any issue – that can besmirch his certain November opponent Joe Biden, Trump offers daily fodder for Democratic attack ads which have already begun to air in battleground markets in the Upper Midwest.

There are signs Trump and his Republican allies are slipping. In Wisconsin, despite the efforts of the GOP-controlled state legislature and even the US Supreme Court to compel voters to risk their personal health in order to vote, a rigidly right-wing state supreme court justice was just defeated for re-election. In Michigan, Trump has repeatedly picked losing fights with popular governor Gretchen Whitmer. Pennsylvania polls are trending strongly against the President.

Even Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell found himself uncharacteristically on the wrong end of a verbal gaffe the other

THE GADSDEN flag featuring a coiled rattlesnake day. Musing that he thought states should be filing for bankruptcy instead of looking for federal bailout money, McConnell stumbled into a public relations pothole. Normally cautious, careful and quite prudent in his public utterances, the Kentucky Republican misjudged how his remarks would look when subjected to the one-minute soundbite test.

Hopeful liberal pundits are pointing to senior

citizen discontent with Trump and restrictive Republican health care policies in states like Florida, North Carolina and Arizona. The tide, they trumpet, is running against the president.

All this must still be taken with a big grain of salt. The general election is still six months away. Today, with the coronavirus still ravaging America and the entire world, that looks like an eternity. And politically, it is.

NFL IS LOOKING LUCKY AS WELL AS GOOD RIGHT NOW

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the NFL football draft, QUITE unexpectedly, the National Football League and its ruthless commissioner, Roger Goodell, are basking these days in the sunshine of last weekend’s widely applauded collegiate player draft.

Many observers expected the remote-control draft, conducted without the customary crowds and on-stage hugs and histrionics, to be dull and flat.

They were wrong. The draft was a huge success, watched by an estimated record 55 million viewers on television outlets which included ABC. Normally wooden Goodell did surprisingly well, showing his appreciation for the severity of the health crisis while keeping the show moving

along. Goodell will never be a spontaneously engaging TV star, but he did better than many thought he would.

The NFL is looking lucky as well as good right now.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slotted in neatly right after free agency and the scouting combine in Indianapolis. True, the draft had to be virtual, and training camps may turn out to be an afterthought this year.

But Goodell and others are predicting the crisis will have sufficiently abated

by Labour Day that the NFL season can proceed as scheduled. We will see about that, but if it happens, Dolphins fans will get to see brilliant new quarterback Tua Tagovailova in five short months.

Meanwhile, the NBA is still searching for an equitable, sensible way to wrap up its season and transition to the first playoffs in many years in which the Golden State Warriors will not be prohibitive favourites.

The NHL has been largely forgotten.

And baseball might be moving to a 100-game schedule starting in July with three 10-team divisions. The Marlins would be lumped in with the Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, Rays, Blue Jays and Phillies, among others. If the virus relents and makes this possible, there should be some excitement yet on the diamond this year. We can always dream.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 30, 2020, PAGE 9

Scientists find new drug that blocks virus Associated Press SCIENTISTS yesterday announced the first effective treatment against the coronavirus — an experimental drug that can speed the recovery of COVID-19 patients — in a major medical advance that came as the economic gloom caused by the scourge deepened in the US and Europe.

The US government said it is working to make the antiviral medication remdesivir available to patients as quickly as possible.

“What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert.

“This will be the standard of care.”

Stocks surged around the world on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining more than 530 points on the day, or over 2%.

Still, word of the new drug came as the US government reported that American economic output is shriveling in the biggest and fastest collapse since the Depression. The virus has killed over 220,000 people worldwide, including more than 60,000 confirmed deaths in the US, and led to lockdowns and other restrictions that have closed factories and other businesses around the globe.

The US said its gross domestic product, or output of goods and services, shrank at an annual rate of 4.8% in the January-March period, the sharpest quarterly drop since the global financial meltdown of more than a decade ago.

And the worst is yet to come: The Congressional

week. Trump who in recent weeks had predicted the total US virus death toll would come in at around the 60,000 milestone passed Wednesday, laid out plans for returning to pre-virus normalcy despite doctors’ warnings that the country will need to embrace extended social distancing and mask-wearing.

Confirmed infections globally reached about 3.2 million, including 1 million in the US, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers of deaths and infections are believed to be much higher because of limited testing, differences in counting the dead and concealment by some governments.

California-based biotech

PEOPLE line up to receive food from soldiers during a government-ordered lockdown in Buenos Aires, Argentina yesterday Budget Office has esti- a rest stop along Interstate mated that the GDP of the 95 in Darien, Connecticut, world’s biggest economy for 26 years, rising to night will plunge at a 40% annual manager in charge of the rate during the three-month kitchen staff, was laid off in late March. The 50-year-old period that ends in June.

The latest figures on said he has little savings and people applying for unem- now relies on a food bank ployment benefits in the US and union donations.

“They didn’t give us any come out today, with economists estimating perhaps notice,” he said through an 1 in 6 American workers, interpreter. “They didn’t or nearly 30 million people, tell us about it. Just sudhave lost their jobs over the denly the night shift ended and that was it. There was past six weeks.

The US unemploy- no more work.”

Amid the economic carment rate for April will be released at the end of next nage, President Donald to week, and economists have Trump was pushing said it could range as high reopen the country, allowas 20% — a level last seen ing federal social distancing guidelines to expire today during the Depression.

Mario Franco, who and even saying he plans worked at a McDonald’s at to travel to Arizona next

UK NOW HAS THIRD-HIGHEST VIRUS-RELATED DEATH TOLL LONDON Associated Press THE UK has the thirdhighest coronavirus death toll in the world after the British government published new figures yesterday that include deaths outside of hospitals.

After factoring in deaths in all settings such as care homes, the number of people in Britain who have died after testing positive for the virus has now hit 26,097, way ahead of the 21,678 announced on Tuesday. Until now, hospital deaths have been reported daily, while deaths in nursing homes and other settings were reported separately on a weekly basis.

Under the new measurement, the UK has leapfrogged Spain and France in Europe, with only Italy ahead. The US has the world’s highest death toll.

The upward revision prompted renewed criticism of the government’s approach throughout the

BRITAIN’S Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab crisis. The new leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said the scale of deaths in the U.K. is “truly dreadful” and has accused the Conservative government of being too slow in putting the country into lockdown, in testing people for the virus and in getting critical protective gear for medical workers.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab sought to ease any worries, saying the additional deaths were a

cumulative total going back to March 2.

“They don’t represent a sudden surge in the number of deaths,” he said at the government’s daily press briefing.

In spite of that, it is becoming increasingly clear that the U.K. could end up with the second-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, partly because Italy is considered to be around a couple of weeks ahead in the epidemic.

company Gilead Sciences and the US government reported that in a major study, remdesivir shortened the time it takes for COVID-19 patients to recover by four days on average — from 15 days to 11. Also, a trend toward fewer deaths was seen among those on the drug, Fauci said.

The study was run by the US National Institutes of Health and involved 1,063 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world.

An effective treatment could have a profound effect on the outbreak, since a vaccine is probably a year or more away.

Economic damage, meanwhile, is piling up around the world.

The United Nations’

main labor body predicted the world will lose the equivalent of about 305 million full-time jobs in the second quarter.

It also projected that 1.6 billion workers in the “informal economy,” including those working beyond the reach of the government, “stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.” That is nearly half the global workforce of 3.3 billion people.

In Europe, almost every measure of the economy is in free fall. Figures due to be released today are expected to show a drop of about 4% in the first three months of the year in the eurozone, and an even steeper hit is projected this quarter.

PAGE 10, Thursday, April 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

PANDEMIC BRINGS FORTUNES TO AMAZON - AND HEADACHES TOO Associated Press

AMAZON has spent years honing the business of packing, shipping and delivering millions of products to doorsteps around the world. Now it has a captive audience.

With much of the globe in various stages of a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s largest online retailer has become a lifeline to many shoppers.

But it is also grappling with delivery delays and mounting complaints from workers who worry about contagion while on the job.

The company’s website hit 2.54bn visitors for the entire month of March, according

to online research company Comscore. That marks a 65% jump from the same period last year. Amazon will report quarterly earnings today, providing a first glimpse into its financial performance during the pandemic.

Discounters like Walmart and Dollar General that sell essential products have seen their shares soar 8% and 15% respectively. But Amazon has been a standout, with its stock up 22% so far this year. That’s in contrast to the S&P, which has slid 11%. Amazon is also hiring 175,000 more workers at a time when many businesses have cut back and are seeking federal aid.

At the same time, Amazon’s vast empire is showing cracks. Deliveries that used to take just hours to arrive can instead take weeks or even months. High demand items like toilet paper and paper towels are frustratingly out of stock.

Probably the biggest issue facing the $1.1 trillion company is persistent complaints by warehouse workers of grueling hours of backbreaking work with little protection against catching the coronavirus. A growing number of infections has increased pressure on the company to take steps that could further slow down operations, including shutting down some of its warehouses and

PACKAGES move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse facility in Goodyear, Arizona

easing productivity quotas.

“Amazon has gone from a nice-to-have to a necessity,” said Jon Reily of Isobar, a global digital agency. “It’s becoming a public utility like the electric company or the water company. But they’re putting pressure on workers. And workers are scared.”

Small groups of workers have staged walkouts at Amazon warehouses in New York, Chicago and Detroit, demanding that the facilities be closed for deep cleaning after workers there tested positive for the virus. Kentucky’s governor ordered a warehouse in Shepherdsville closed for several days last month after workers there got infected.

SPORTS SECTION E

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020

PAGE 13

Shalonda Neely signs up with Flash Agency

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

B

ahamian national team standout and former Jacksonville Dolphins women’s basketball player Shalonda Neely looks to make the transition to the pro ranks.

Neely’s signing with Flash Agency was announced yesterday. The organisation represents dozens of women’s basketball players that participate in leagues throughout Europe and Asia.

“Shalonda is a versatile four or five player with an elite faceup game. The ASUN conference leader in field goal percentage, Shalonda finishes at an elite level and has good shooting touch in the mid-range.

“In addition to scoring, Shalonda is an elite out of area rebounder on both ends of the floor,” Flash said in her player analysis. “Size, strength and athleticism helps her block shots and get steals defensively which leads to her teams getting out in transition.

A great communicator, Shalonda does a good job being the voice and anchor of her team’s defence.

Shalonda is the consummate team player who finds ways to help her teams win big.”

Neely, the Grand Bahama native, set several career highs this past season, her final as a member of the Dolphins’ programme.

She averaged 7.6 points and 4.9

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer

SHALONDA Neely has signed up with Flash Agency, it was announced yesterday. rebounds last season for the Dolphins. She shot 61 per cent from the field and recorded 20 steals.

On senior night, she finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds - both career highs.

At the conclusion of her career she was honoured for her outstanding achievements both on and off the court by the ASUN

Conference. She was announced as a member of the 2019-20 Winter Winners For Life Team,.

“This is a testament to Shalonda’s character and to what being a student-athlete in our programme is all about,” said Dolphins head coach Darnell Haney. “I’m so proud of the impact Shalonda has made on our campus, in the city

of Jacksonville, and in her home country.

“She gets it and I’m glad our wonderful conference recognises that. Salute to her and all of the other winners. It’s about making a positive impact, and Shalonda did that both on and off the floor.”

SEE PAGE 13

Williams: ‘We basically stay at home every day’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ALTHOUGH they are under strict curfew laws in the Philippines because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahamian Rashield Williams said he feels safe as he continues his journey to becoming one of the top professional super lightweight boxers in the world.

Williams, 30, left Florida along with his coach, Norman Wilson, in November to resume his training with the view of cracking the top 10 and eventually securing a bona fide deal to fight one of the contenders for a possible world title shot. It’s an opportunity he said he couldn’t pass up.

However, Williams found himself in a country where on April 17, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened a martial lawlike crackdown to stop people flouting a virus lockdown in the nation’s capital.

SPANISH VUELTA REDUCES FORMAT FOR 1ST TIME IN 35 YEARS

Duterte spoke a day after authorities reported an upsurge of cars on Manila’s roads, which have been nearly deserted since a sweeping lockdown was imposed a month ago on about half the country’s 110 million people.

“Everything is good. The condition is good. We basically stay at home every day, so there’s really no concern about what’s going on in the country,” Williams said. “I am basically home just working out and training and then I go back inside.”

Williams, who shares a complex with another boxer from the Philippines, alone with his coach and family, said they basically work out on their porch and when he’s not training, he’s in communication with his family in the Bahamas or watching television.

“It’s basically just like the same home in the Bahamas,” he said.

“But I came here with a purpose and that is to develop a name for myself and maybe secure the Asian

RASHIELD WILLIAMS Pacific title before I go back to the United States and get a major fight for a possible shot at a title.

“I want to get a ranking over here and that should help me to get in the rankings in the US. It’s really nice and quiet over here.

Before the virus, we had a lot to do. I could have gone around and

seen a lot of things and there was a lot of boxing matches going on.”

Now as a result of the spread of Covid-19 in the Philippines, only essential workers and people buying food or medicine are officially allowed outside their homes, yet many others have flouted the rules. In some places, impoverished day labourers have no choice but to go out looking for work, although police have also reported breaking up social events like amateur boxing matches.

Police said they have warned or arrested tens of thousands of people caught outside their homes without valid reasons.

The Philippines has detected some 5,660 coronavirus cases, and recorded 362 deaths, but those figures are expected to climb as the nation ramps up testing.

Williams said while he’s obeying the curfew rules in the Philippines, he wants to encourage Bahamians

SEE PAGE 13

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish Vuelta cycling race has reduced its format for the first time in more than three decades because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers said yesterday this year’s race will have 18 stages, three fewer than the usual format.

The last time the event did not have 21 stages was in 1985.

The change was confirmed after the three initial stages that were set to take place in the Netherlands were cancelled earlier on Wednesday.

The Vuelta was supposed to start on August 14 in the Dutch regions of Utrecht and North Brabant but the rescheduling of the race because of the coronavirus forced local organisers to cancel the country’s participation.

Dutch organisers said the project “had been designed as a big summer party” but would not be able to take place later in the year.

All three of the Grand Tour races — the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta — have been pushed back because of the pandemic.

A new starting date for the Vuelta and Giro have yet to be announced, but they are expected to take place after the world championships, which are scheduled for September 20-27.

Vuelta organisers decided not to replace the stages in the Netherlands and will start the race in the Basque Country city of Irun in northern Spain.

It will be the first time since 1961 the race will begin in the Basque Country.

“Obviously, when you design the race, you hope to never have to make changes of this magnitude, but we have to be sensible with the current situation and we have to accept that it is very difficult to replace an official departure at this late stage, given all the institutional and logistic planning that it involves,” said Vuelta director Javier Guillén.

My Cowboys crushed NFL virtual draft THE 2020 NFL Draft has come and gone, and my Dallas Cowboys crushed it!

• Here’s the loot from last weekend’s NFL virtual draft: 1st Rd - WR CeeDee Lamb - Oklahoma 2nd Rd - CB Trevon Diggs - Alabama 3rd Rd - DT Neville Gallimore - Oklahoma 4th Rd - CB Reggie Robinson - Tulsa 5th Rd - G/C Tyler Biadasz - Wisconsin 5th Rd - DE Bradlee Anae - Utah 7th Rd - QB Ben DiNucci - James Madison Maybe Cowboys owner Jerry Jones should draft in seclusion from his yacht more often.

‘Jerrah’ had the teams biggest needs covered, and he didn’t let the best wide receiver in the draft,

CeeDee Lamb, get by him either.

There comes a point when a team gets on the clock and even though a prospect doesn’t fit a pressing need, he’s too good to pass up.

A lot of teams never grasp the concept. Fortunately, ‘Jerrah’ and Dallas did when CeeDee Lamb was available at No. 17.

• Lamb is a massive upgrade from last year’s slot receiver, Randall Cobb, who signed with the Houston Texans in free agency.

The Oklahoma receiver stands out as one of the highest-value picks in the first round and gives the Cowboys’ grade a huge boost.

Lamb also makes the Cowboys corps of wide receivers, along with Amari Cooper and Michael

THE

PRESS BOX ZELAYA

BY INIGO ‘NAUGHTY’ ZENICA

Gallup, one the best and most lethal in the entire league.

• Diggs and Robinson are good rebounds from losing Pro Bowl CB Byron Jones in free agency to the Miami Dolphins.

Diggs has the ability to press receivers at the line, which should make him a good fit in Dallas.

• Gallimore gives them another way to get to the QB, and may be an upgrade over DT Maliek Collins

who departed in free agency to the Las Vegas Raiders.

• Biadasz fills a need at the centre after the unexpected retirement of Travis Frederick.

Biadasz likely dropped because of injury concerns.

He had hip surgery in 2019 but is a top centre prospect.

• Anae, like Lamb, is considered a ‘steal’. Anae was projected to go in the late second or early third round, but he plummeted

all the way to the bottom of the 5th round. Anae is capable of filling the edge void created by Robert Quinn.

Anae was highly productive at Utah (27.5 sacks over the last three years) and isn’t the best quicktwitch athlete, but in the fifth round you’ll take a guy with his skills.

The Cowboys got impact players in the early rounds who can help immediately.

They snagged three of the top 50 rated players in the draft, and then they rolled the dice on Day 3 prospects who have shown potential with huge upsides.

Clearly, the Cowboys earned their A grade.

Now, the key is for the team drafted and graded A on paper to actually become equally as good or better in reality on the field.

Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1.

PAGE 12, Thursday, April 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Broncos, Raiders, Chargers add speed in effort to catch Chiefs

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer

WITH their blazing speed on offence, the Kansas City Chiefs ran away from their AFC West brethren en route to their first Super Bowl title in half a century.

So explosiveness was a common theme on the draft boards of rival general managers John Elway in Denver, Tom Telesco in Los Angeles and Mike Mayock in Las Vegas.

“Every move and signing we make we have to have them in mind,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said of the Chiefs, who have ruled the division since 2016 and used a 21-0 burst over the final six minutes to beat San Francisco in the Super Bowl.

“Let’s be honest, the entire league is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs,” said Mayock. “But we’re in the same division.

They keep getting faster and more athletic, more dynamic every time you turn around. Other teams have to do the same.”

The Raiders signed free agent linebacker Cory Littleton to guard the likes of Travis Kelce, then chose Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, the fastest player at the NFL scouting combine with a 4.27-second 40-yard dash, with the 12th overall pick last week.

The Broncos used their first two draft picks on speedy wide receivers Jerry Jeudy of Alabama and KJ Hamler of Penn State to keep up with the likes of Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins.

Their fourth-round selection was Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam,

who had the combine’s fastest 40 among tight ends at 4.49 seconds.

“We just feel like we had to add that explosiveness,” Elway said.

The Chargers did, too, so after selecting Oregon QB Justin Herbert with the sixth pick, they added fleet-footed Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray at No. 23. They envision Murray stuffing running back Damien Williams and chasing down QB Patrick Mahomes.

They also added Virginia’s Joe Reed, another wide receiver with a sub4.4-second 40.

“Kansas City’s offence can fly but it’s more than covering those guys. It is getting to the quarterback, too,” Telesco said.

“Murray is going to help playing K.C. and everyone because of his explosiveness and speed. The way offences are with things so spread out you have to run and chase.”

The Chargers, Raiders and Broncos have been chasing the Chiefs for four years now, but Kansas City (12-4) really pulled away in 2019 when nobody else in the division had a winning record.

So, did their rivals do enough in free agency and the draft to close the gap?

Remember, the Chiefs didn’t sit still. They spent the draft getting their defence up to speed to complement all the burners they have on offence.

Second-round pick Willie Gay Jr ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash among linebackers at the combine, and fourthround pick L’Jarius Sneed not only had the fastest time among safeties at 4.37 seconds, but was the fourth fastest of any

NFL TO HOLD 2021 DRAFT IN CLEVELAND APRIL 29 TO MAY 1

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer

IN this still image from video provided by the NFL, Henry Ruggs III, centre, gets ready to put on a Las Vegas Raiders cap after being selected by the team in the first round of the NFL football draft on April 23. (AP)

player that ran during the week in Indianapolis.

One of the undrafted free agents the Chiefs signed is Auburn’s Javaris Davis, who had the combine’s second-fastest 40 time among cornerbacks.

“They’re the world champs,” Mayock said.

“I’ve known Andy Reid for a lot of years. Watching the way he and Brett Veach approach the draft, all they do is get faster.

They drafted that great running back (Clyde Edwards-Helaire) from LSU, then they drafted Willie Gay, the linebacker I love.

“They keep getting faster and keep raising the bar.”

SPEED & SKILL The division didn’t just see an infusion of speed but of skill.

“We needed to score more points, whether

we’re playing the Chiefs or not,” said Denver coach Vic Fangio, whose team averaged a paltry 17.6 points a game last season.

“It’s always good to be fast, but sometimes, people make the mistake of just getting fast with players that aren’t good football players. We believe our speed that we’ve drafted has come with players that also can play the game.

“Hopefully we’re a harder offence to defend now once it evolves and we get to playing games, but we need to score more points.”

VIRTUAL TRADE Defensive back Chris Harris Jr left the Broncos for the Chargers in free agency, and running back Melvin Gordon bolted the Bolts for Denver. Both men rejected lucrative

offers last season -- Harris’ averaged $9 million and Gordon roughly $10 million annually -- and found themselves accepting less in free agency.

Gordon’s deal in Denver is for $16 million over two years and Harris signed for two years and $17 million.

DELAYED RETURNS With teams limited to Zoom position meetings and weightlifting on their own during the coronavirus pandemic, it will be a while before Mayock, Elway and Telesco see if their emphasis on speed this offseason pays off.

“We feel like we got better in free agency and I know we feel like we got better in the draft,” Mayock said.

“Nobody is going to know how much or if at all until we get out on the field and compete.”

CLEVELAND (AP) — After a successful virtual, stay-at-home experience this year, the NFL plans to hold its draft outdoors in downtown Cleveland next year from April 29 to May 1.

The dates were announced Tuesday night, three days after the completion of a unique draft that went smoothly despite logistical obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TV ratings soared over the weekend as fans soaked in every moment of a rare live sporting event held in recent months.

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this year’s selections for the first three rounds from his basement in the New York City suburbs.

And, viewers got to see players react and celebrate at home with their loved ones.

“We successfully brought to life the first virtual NFL draft last week, and we are now very excited to work with Cleveland to incorporate some of the innovations and special access from 2020 into our planning for 2021,” said Peter O’Reilly, the league’s vice president of club business and league events.

“We look forward to partnering with the Browns, the city of Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland to create a memorable celebration of football for such a passionate fan base and community.”

To advertise ALL your LEGAL NOTICES, call The Tribune’s Sales Department

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, April 30, 2020, PAGE 13

Brees, Brady give ‘Quarterback South’ top 2 all-time passers

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Dan Quinn says the NFC South has earned a new moniker.

The Atlanta Falcons coach notes the division “is turning into Quarterback South.”

Tom Brady’s arrival has raised the stakes.

“I think in this division, you had better be ready to bring it,” Quinn said.

The priority to “bring it” on defence was evident in the NFL draft, as shock waves from Brady’s move from New England to Tampa Bay were felt throughout the division.

The quarterback standards in the division are exceptionally high.

When Brady signed with the Buccaneers, the NFC South owned three of the top 10 passing leaders in NFL history. Drew Brees of three-time defending division champion New Orleans is No. 1. Brady has the second-most yards.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is No. 10.

“I think it makes the whole division even more competitive than it already is,” Quinn said. “... I think it just adds to a strength of what I already thought was a strong division.”

Carolina became the first team in the common draft era to use all of its draft picks on defensive players.

Atlanta added defensive help with four of its six picks. After Carolina took Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown in the first round, Atlanta grabbed Brown’s partner on the defensive front, Marlon Davidson, in the second round. Each will be chasing Brady and Brees.

Saints coach Sean Payton says Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champion, has brought “a big change” to the South.

“Obviously you defend his talent ... which is outstanding, but it’s also what he brings to the rest of the team,” Payton said. “One of the great strengths a player like Tom has is those others around him get better, and I’m sure we will see an entirely different type of Tampa Bay team because of his presence. He was a great sign

by Tampa. This division has gotten a lot stronger.”

Tampa Bay also traded for Brady’s longtime tight end in New England, Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski’s return from a one-year retirement gives Brady a familiar target. If healthy, Gronkowski’s value on third downs and in the red zone could be crucial for a team without a playoff appearance since 2007.

SUPER BOWL DREAMS Suddenly the Buccaneers, 7-9 last season, are viewed as Super Bowl contenders. Vegasinsider.com rates Tampa Bay and New Orleans as co-favourites in the division. Among NFC teams, only San Francisco is given better odds to win the Super Bowl.

Asked if his team can reach the Super Bowl, Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians said “I think so.”

“I don’t think talent will be the issue whether we make the playoffs or not,” Arians said. “Now the Super Bowl, there’s some luck that comes with that, like staying healthy and some other things. But talent will not be an issue to keep us out the playoffs, no.”

NEW “KID” IN TOWN After 20 seasons with the Patriots, Brady, 42, is a newcomer to the NFC South and has much to

NEW England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady walks to the sideline after throwing an interception late in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Tennessee Titans in Foxborough, Mass. on January 4. Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn says the NFC South “is turning into Quarterback South.” Tom Brady’s arrival has raised the stakes.

(AP Photo/Bill Sikes) learn about his new division rivals.

“These teams know each other so well and I didn’t play this division but once every four years, so I’ve got to learn the players, I’ve got to learn the schemes,” Brady said. “There’s a lot of things I have to learn and get up to speed on.

That’s where all my time and energy will be focused on, and also learning my teammates.’’

REPLACING CAM New Carolina quarterback Teddy Bridgewater replaces Cam Newton, who was released. Bridgewater has the unenviable task of meeting the standards set by Quarterback South members.

Brees and Brady have won Super Bowls. Ryan

and Brady have been league MVP. Bridgewater, 27, started a combined six games the last two seasons as Brees’ backup in New Orleans.

“I feel like I am the only one who hasn’t proved himself in this league,” Bridgewater said.

“I feel like there is an opportunity for me. Being in a division with two guys who won MVPs and two guys who won Super Bowls, that is a great feeling to be among those guys.

I just have to work hard to try to get up to those guys’ level.”

NEW HOME FOR WINSTON Brady is replacing Jameis Winston, who agreed to a one-year deal with New Orleans. Winston will play

behind Brees in the role formerly held by Bridgewater. The Saints already have re-signed versatile backup Taysom Hill.

YOUNG SECONDARY Falcons first-rounder A.J. Terrell of Clemson will be expected to contribute at cornerback.

He’ll join Isaiah Oliver and Kendall Sheffield, who were added in the last two drafts, and Blidi Wreh-Wilson, in his third season, to form a young cast at cornerback — a group that will be tested by Brees and Brady.

“Those are two great quarterbacks, and they’re going to get my best out there when I’m on the field,” Terrell said, adding he must “earn my respect.”

Rashield Williams: ‘We basically stay at home every day’ FROM PAGE 11

to follow the instructions from the Bahamas government.

“Stay inside and be careful. This virus isn’t anything to play with,” he said.

“I see a lot of stuff where people are not obeying the law. But I want to tell them to stay inside and be careful. Over here, after 6pm, if they find you on the streets and you are not supposed to be there, the police could shoot you.”

So far, Williams said he has heard of one person

being killed as a result of breaking the curfew, but he’s not concerned because he stays inside whenever he doesn’t have to come out and train.

At the same time, he’s also trying to learn a little bit of Filipino, their official language, even though they speak English fluently.

Williams, who had an extensive run as one of the top amateur boxers who represented the country in a number of international competitions, turned pro after he fell short of

Shalonda Neely signs up with the Flash Agency FROM PAGE 11 Off the court, Neely also set milestones as the first student-athlete to enter the Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling programme at Jacksonville. She recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.75.

In addition to her executive board role on the SAAC, Neely took it upon herself to create a Bahamian Relief Initiative across campus. With this initiative, she partnered with various student-based and university-level organisations to collect thousands of goods and dollars to assist with Hurricane Dorian relief.

As a junior, Neely made 12 starts and appeared in 30 games. She scored a

season-high 14 points on three different occasions and had a season high five blocks. As a sophomore she appeared in 29 contests, and spent the offseason as a member of Team Bahamas in the Centrobasket Women’’s Championships.

In her redshirt freshman season, she made her collegiate debut and played in 27 contests and finished the season with 52 points, 66 rebounds, 11 steals and nine blocks.

She was recruited by head coach Yolett McPheeMcCuin out of Arlington Country Day where she averaged 12 points and 15 rebounds per game in her junior season en route to the team winning a Deep South Classic Championship title.

BOXER Rashield Williams in training in the Philippines. qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He was off to a promising pro career with a 3-1 win-loss record making his debut with a technical knockout win over Carlos Monroy on February 9,

2019. After suffering his first defeat at the hands of Javaune James on March 22 that same year, Williams bounced back with a victory over Jurland Ceniza on December 21, 2019. His first fight in the Philippines was on February 6, 2020

when he scored a TKJO over Rege Pahayag.

With the sports world on lockdown, Williams said he’s not certain when he will fight again. But he’s in the Philippines preparing for whenever the first opportunity presents itself.

COE: IOC CAN’T ‘GO ON FOREVER POSTPONING’ OLYMPICS LONDON (AP) — World Athletics President Sebastian Coe is worried that the delayed Tokyo Olympics could still be in jeopardy unless the coronavirus pandemic can be contained by next year.

The Summer Games have already been moved by a year to July 2021 as the world tries to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“I think it’s pretty clear, though, that you couldn’t go on forever postponing an Olympic Games,” Coe, who helped organise the 2012 London Olympics, said in an interview yesterday. “There comes a point where you do have to start posing questions. I hope we’re a little way off that yet.”

IOC President Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last month when the delay was announced that the Tokyo Games would not be held beyond the summer of 2021.

And Japan Medical Association president Yoshitake Yokokura said Tuesday it would be difficult to hold the Olympics unless effective vaccines are developed.

“I’m really genuinely hoping that the pandemic will have been curtailed,” Coe said. “I don’t know enough to even speculate about vaccines. ... Forget the Olympic Games at the moment, I’m sure that’s what most medical teams inside governments are trying to grapple with at the moment.”

The Olympics being postponed led to the world track championships in Eugene, Oregon being rescheduled for August 2022. It will be staged after the Commonwealth Games in the English city of Birmingham.

“To have all that in one summer ... it’s a headache,” Coe said.

A more immediate concern is finding a way for this year’s track season to get underway, with Diamond League meets postponed.

“The ambition is to get the athletes back into competition as soon as we possibly can but only when it is safe to do so,” Coe said.

“If it’s not safe you can’t put them at risk. You shouldn’t actually be putting those communities that you want to be enjoying the sport at risk as well.

“So at the moment it’s really trying to create some structures that with best endeavours we’re able to fulfil, but I don’t think any of us really know what the next few months is really going to look like. The one advantage we have actually is at this stage being an individual sport. We can organise things where you don’t actually need 22 people on a pitch.”

PAGE 14, Thursday, April 30, 2020

COATES DISAGREES COVID-19 VACCINE NEEDED FOR OLYMPICS SYDNEY (AP) — The head of the IOC’s coordination commission for the Tokyo Olympics said yesterday he disagrees with suggestions by some scientists and doctors that a vaccine for COVID-19 is needed to hold the games.

John Coates, an International Olympic Committee member from Australia who is a lawyer, said he had seen the opinion but didn’t agree.

“The advice we’re getting from WHO (World Health Organisation) says we should continue to plan for this date and that is what we’re doing, and that’s not contingent on a vaccine,” Coates told the Australian Associated Press. “A vaccine would be nice. But we will just continue to be guided by WHO and the Japanese health authorities.”

On Tuesday, Japan Medical Association president Yoshitake Yokokura said it would only be possible for the Olympics to go ahead in July 2021 if the infections were under control, not only in Japan, but globally.

“In my view, it would be difficult to hold the Olympics unless effective vaccines are developed,” Yokokura said.

Coates offered no details how 11,000 Olympians and 4,400 Paralympians from more than 200 nations and territories could safely enter — and exit — Japan without spreading the virus. They would be housed together in the Athletes Village.

They would also be accompanied by thousands of staff members and coaches, and thousands more technical officials who have to run the events. Add to this thousands of world broadcasters, who pay billions for the rights to the Olympics — a critical element, particularly if the Olympics are held with limited numbers of spectators.

Coates said a lot of work had been done since the postponement and the target was still to have 43 venues for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Coates was speaking in Australia a day after Yokokura told a video media conference of his concerns.

Devi Sridhar, a professor of Global Health at the University of Edinburgh, also said holding the Olympics may depend on finding a vaccine. The same could apply to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

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AMATEUR SPORTS: LEADERS CHART PATH BACK TO PLAYING FIELDS

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer DOCTORS, scientists and sports leaders are outlining the path back to playing fields for children in grassroots sports — an exercise that will help inform major organisations on how to get their industries up and running as well amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

From New Zealand to Austria to the northwest corner of Utah, leaders are releasing regulations that have potential to impact everything from workouts at gyms to youth baseball leagues to elite-level training with an eye on the Olympics.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee distributed a seven-page set of guidelines of its own this week that called on participants to “self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 twice daily,” as one of several steps in a multilayered return scenario.

“In addition to the logistical challenges of returning to training following COVID- 19, there are also ethical and societal considerations that are beyond the scope of this document,” USOPC chief medical officer

Jonathan Finnoff wrote in a nod to the uncharted territory that all sports are trying to negotiate.

The guidelines are being developed as some major pro leagues, including the NBA, target return-to-practice dates, while others, such as Major League Baseball, float ideas about starting or resuming their seasons in upcoming weeks.

All these plans need some sort of signoff from health and government authorities, who themselves are looking at models of what sports will look like on a grassroots level — a calculation that has potential to impact decisions all the way up the chain of sports. All entities are developing their plans with

the knowledge that lives are at risk and that a single outbreak among teammates or training partners has the potential to shut down a facility — or derail an entire season.

• The guidelines reviewed by The Associated Press had several things in common: — All returns will begin with individual training or in very small groups.

— Very few spectators, if any, will be allowed. The USOPC also released a 13-page guide about sports event planning that asks, among other questions, “Can the financial risk be mitigated through means such as event insurance, establishing

financial impact timelines for cancellation, reschedule the event for a later date, or negotiate a contract that limits negative financial impact?”

— Almost every participant will be subject to temperature checks and some sort of verification that he or she is healthy and hasn’t been in recent contact with anyone who has COVID-19.

— Participants will be grouped in “bubbles” — allowed to train with a specific group of people that will not change until restrictions are relaxed further.

— One key facet will be keeping track of it all — a role that private groups such as Utahbased Great Coach are trying to fill by offering apps, blogs and other online solutions that will help monitoring.

“The governors and president can say what they want, but when it comes to kids and amateur sports, the only way it’s going to happen is when parents feel like it’s safe for their kids to play again,” said Great Coach founder Bill Kerig, who estimates 45 million children participate in recreational sports across America.

POLICE FILE REVEALS SUSPICIONS OF BLATTER IN FIFA TV DEAL

By GRAHAM DUNBAR However, the office of SwitAP Sports Writer zerland’s attorney general decided in March it would drop GENEVA (AP) — Swiss a criminal proceeding from 2015 investigators concluded Sepp against Blatter for the CaribBlatter knew that a World bean deal. No reason was stated.

Cup broadcasting contract was Swiss federal police believed breached illegally and that it Blatter knew in 2007 that would cost FIFA millions of Warner had breached — and dollars, according to a federal would personally profit from — police file obtained by The a Caribbean rights deal for the Associated Press.

2010 and 2014 World Cups that Investigation reports sent to was sold to a Jamaica-based prosecutors in December and broadcaster. Details of the origiJanuary showed FIFA wrote off nal FIFA contract were revealed a $3.8 million debt from a Carib- by Swiss media in September bean TV deal signed in 2005 by 2015, showing a $600,000 sale then-FIFA president Blatter and to the Warner-controlled Cariblong-time vice president Jack bean Football Union.

Warner.

At the time, FIFA defended The deal was later alleged to the contract by saying it required have been illegally mismanaged soccer’s governing body to get

by Blatter. a 50 per cent profit share of “Blatter acted … more in the any future licencing arrangeinterests of Warner than in the ment. The re-sale was valued at interests of FIFA,” concluded about $15 million. But FIFA did one investigation file seen by the not try to collect money due in AP. August 2010 within 30 days of

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the World Cup ending, according to the Swiss police file.

The investigation cited documents and staff emails showing FIFA was due half of any gross revenue from the Caribbean deal, into which Warner had inserted a company he owned.

“FIFA were very reluctant to implement any measures in connection with enforcing their rights against the CFU,” Swiss police said in its 491-page report.

FIFA calculated it was owed almost $3.8 million in 2011 after Warner resigned from soccer.

He had been implicated in bribing Caribbean voters to oppose Blatter in that year’s FIFA presidential election.

Only then did FIFA management terminate the Caribbean rights and pursue the debt, though not directly with Warner.

Instead, it asked the CFU, which had few assets after Warner left.

FIFA wrote off the debt weeks later, the police file showed.

It included $3.625 million of estimated revenue from broadcasting sponsors and advertising, and $155,000 of unpaid rights fee instalments, the investigation file said.

A different police report detailed more than 15 years of FIFA’s working relations with Warner. It suggested FIFA granted favours and gifts in apparent exchange for election support to help Blatter retain the presidency. Blatter, who is now 84 and banned from soccer until October 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has long denied wrongdoing.

Blatter faces a second criminal proceeding over a $2 million payment he authorised in 2011 to former UEFA president Michel Platini. That payment was revealed by Swiss authorities in September 2015 and led to both men being suspended and then banned from soccer.

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