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DOMES USED AS ‘BROTHELS’

ALICIA WALLACE: BE PROUD - BUT REMEMBER THE MESSAGE BEHIND IT

- SEE PAGE EIGHT

Officials probing new claims of illicit use of emergency housing

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lr o l le@tri bunemedia.net GOVERNMENT officials are investigating reports that emergency dome houses on Abaco are being used as brothels.

News of the use of the structures for prostitution came just 24 hours after The Tribune revealed that some families allocated domes in the wake of Hurricane

Dorian have been sub-letting them to pocket the rent money.

Disaster Reconstruction Authority executive chairman Alex Storr said yesterday the authority will take action against those responsible for mismanaging and using dome structures, purchased by government, for illicit purposes.

SEE PAGE THREE

NURSES HEADING TO JUNE 9 STRIKE VOTE

By YO URI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Nurses Union (BNU) is set to hold a strike vote on June 9 over an outstanding industrial agreement and a 40 percent scale increase.

Amancha Williams, BNU president, says she is “taking a stand” and is pressuring the government to sign off on their industrial agreement which has

been outstanding for three years.

“There is no way that the union should be operating without a current industrial agreement,” she said.

“We don’t have a future to look to if we don’t have a signed industrial agreement.”

The union wants the infrastructure in the public health system to be upgraded, Ms Williams noted that air-conditioning SEE PAGE FIVE

PREPARING FOR THE WORST TO AIM FOR THE BEST PARTICIPANTS in yesterday’s full-scale emergency exercise at Lynden Pindling International Airport. The exercise saw a simulated crash and rescue with the participation of 20 different emergency responders and other agencies. See PAGE TWO for more.

Photo: Jamal Jones

INDIA DONATES $1M FOR ABACO SHELTER

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government of India has donated $1m to assist with the construction of the Abaco community centre and hurricane shelter.

The funds are being facilitated through India’s United Nations Development Partnership Fund.

During a project signing ceremony at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, Disaster SEE PAGE THREE

FORMER SENATOR ON SEX OFFENCE CHARGE A FORMER SENATOR was charged in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday with indecently assaulting a 12-year-old boy.

Trevor Whylly, 63, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt on a

CRUISE SHIPS ARRIVING 97% FULL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Busines s Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PASSENGER occupancies on vessels calling at Nassau Cruise Port in the final week of May exceeded 97 percent, it was revealed yesterday, signalling the sector is closing on full recovery from COVID-19’s ravages.

Michael Maura, the Prince George Wharf operator’s chief executive,

CRUISE ships downtown. said that it handled some 51,402 passengers during the last seven days in May - a number just shy of the

combined 52,798 maximum vessel capacity.

Describing this as “certainly good news”, he added “the positive trend is there” to show vessel occupancies and passenger volumes at Nassau Cruise Port have progressively strengthened throughout 2022 after The Bahamas and rest of the world escaped the COVID19 case surge sparked by the Omicron variant around the turn of the year.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

charge of indecent assault.

On May 27 in New Providence, the youngster accused Whylly, a teacher at his school, of approaching him in the school bathroom.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

TECHNOLOGY

ROBOTS TO HELP KEEP WHALES SAFE SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

PREPARING FOR THE WORST TO AIM FOR THE BEST

THE TRIBUNE

PARTICIPANTS in yesterday’s full-scale emergency exercise at Lynden Pindling International Airport. The exercise saw a simulated crash and rescue with the participation of 20 different emergency responders and other agencies, including Bahamasair, the sponsoring airline.

Photos: Jamal Jones

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 1, 2022, PAGE 3

Domes used as ‘brothels’ from page one Yesterday, the DRA chairman confirmed the reports of the domes being used as brothels. “I have had reports of illegal activity along that line and other things going on,” he said, “and so, we’re investigating all of that and whatever happens, we will make sure that we will take the appropriate actions based on the law.”

Asked how long illegal activity has been happening in the dome city, the DRA chairman replied: “(It) could be a matter of months, but let me say this, we have teams working.

There’s a joint taskforce based with several agencies and once we go in, we’re going to do a proper assessment of what’s going on and bring a proper resolution to it.”

On Monday, Mr Storr told The Tribune some residents on the island were renting the domes for monetary gain.

He said he was alerted to the situation during his first visit to the island and subsequently ordered an investigation, which confirmed the reports.

The domes in question are being housed in Spring City, Abaco. Some 34 structures were erected in the community to assist residents with temporary housing after Hurricane Dorian.

According to one area resident, many of the people living in the domes now are renting them out.

“In dome city, they have illegal people living there,” the Abaconian claimed.

“Either they’re Jamaicans or of Spanish descent and some of them are prostitutes and then some of them are renting the domes to other people.

“That is a major problem there. A lot of them have

their houses and they’re either renting the house and staying in the dome or they move back in their house and they’re renting the dome and the DRA is fully aware of it and, like they said, the time is winding down because they cost the government.”

This comes as the authority is seeking to find alternative housing for Abaco residents who are still living in the domes.

One former tenant, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was told to hand the keys for his dome over to DRA officials at

the end of the week, noting that repairs to his home had already ben completed.

However, The Tribune understands other dome dwellers who have yet to have their homes rebuilt or repaired were given until the end of August.

“Last week, someone from housing was on the island and everybody who had a home in Spring City that was not finished, they promised to give residents some help,” the Abaco resident added.

Yesterday, Mr Storr maintained that officials want to

transition dome dwellers into permanent homes “as soon as possible.”

“The government, (based on) instructions from the Prime Minister, is trying to work on a programme to try and get those persons out of the domes as soon as possible, especially with the impending hurricane season,” he said yesterday.

“The domes are not safe and even if they are evacuated in cases of a storm, their belongings inside those domes will not be safe and so we’re working to have a situation that won’t create

extra hardship on the residents, but would put them in a better circumstance.”

Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco on September 1, 2019, as a Category 5 hurricane before barreling toward Grand Bahama.

The storm left thousands of homes either destroyed or damaged and hundreds of residents displaced.

To assist with rebuilding efforts, the Minnis administration spent more than $6m on nearly 200 domes that were supposed to be used as temporary housing for Abaco and Grand

Bahama residents after Hurricane Dorian.

However, DRA officials have raised concerns about the previous administration’s dome project, citing structural issues among other things “Every aspect of this dome project has had problems and that’s why the government is working as quickly as possible to bring a close to it,” said Mr Storr.

According to the DRA chairman, the agency wants to find another purpose for the housing structures.

INDIA DONATES $1M FOR ABACO SHELTER from page one

Reconstruction Authority officials said the move allows for the relaunch of the project and added construction work on the centre can now “begin in earnest.”

Yesterday, UNDP resident representative Denise Antonio said the agency’s “engagement with the government and people of The Bahamas in the post hurricane Dorian context has been ongoing since 2019.”

She also said the project is a demonstration of its continued support to The Bahamas.

“The shelter will not only improve access to safe spaces during disasters, but also as a model of climate resilient construction methods based on building forward better standards,” she said.

“UNDP wants to thank the India UN partnership development fund for its $1m funding support to the construction of the shelter and the contribution of 130,000 received from the local donors from the 2019 pledging conference to the project.

“I’m confident that the anticipated success of this project will yield long lasting positive impact on the

FROM left, Myles LaRoda, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister and Disaster Preparedness, Management & Reconstruction Unit; Alex Storr, Disaster Reconstruction Authority executive chairman; John Pinder, Parliamentary Secretary of Tourism, Investments & Aviation; and Kirk Cornish, Parliamentary Secretary.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff lives and people of the Abaco islands.”

Yesterday, DRA executive chairman Alex Storr thanked the UNDP for their involvement in helping to relaunch the project, which, he said, was “crucial” to the people of Abaco.

“In pursuit of resiliency, Hurricane Dorian has had a grim impact on The Bahamas, notably on Grand

Bahama, and Abaco,” he said. “This facility will significantly help the locals with recreation and, most importantly, sheltering.

Hurricane Dorian, though tragic, has enlightened us on how shelters are vital in vulnerable areas. More importantly, once successfully completed, this project can be replicated throughout the entire country filling the need

for purpose-built disaster shelters.”

“We have much more to do with but the continuation of the facility, we look forward to successfully providing the people of Abaco with a stable place to shelter in case of future disasters,” he said.

“With the hurricane season quickly approaching us, being prepared is not only imperative but crucial. With

support from UNDP for their facilitation of a $1 million dollar donation from the Government of India, the continuation of this project is possible, making it tantamount to helping the people of Abaco.”

India’s High Commissioner Masakui Rungsung also spoke at yesterday’s ceremony, saying he was pleased the project was moving forward.

“This is a commitment that India has made to CARICOM countries,” he said. “I’m happy that this project is going forward.

I’m happy The Bahamas has taken on a project that touches the lives of the people.”

Myles Laroda, the state minister with responsibility for disaster preparedness, added: “I would like to extend a grateful thank you on behalf of the Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis and the government of The Bahamas to the country of India for their donation in deferring the costs of this hurricane shelter/community centre. I’d also like to say thank you to the UNDP and the UN for the continued support.”

In December, the Minnis administration participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the hurricane shelter and community centre, saying the facility will be capable of accommodating 800 people during a hurricane.

It was initially expected that the centre would be completed by May 2021, before the beginning of the next hurricane season.

However, that target was missed and months later, the Minnis administration was voted out of office.

DOCTOR CONCERNED OVER HOSPITAL CAPACITY TO HANDLE COVID RISE

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR physician says she expects increases in the COVID-19 infection rate and is fearful the hospital system is unable to deal with the infected and its regular patients at the same time.

Dr Sabriquet PinderButler, president of the Consultant Physicians Staff Association, speaking at a press conference yesterday said she anticipates the COVID-19 cases are going to continue, particularly due to the country fully reopening from the shutdown of 2020 and 2021.

Dr Pinder-Butler also

said: “What we want to encourage people though is that even though this is happening, we have to still be mindful of protocols and safeguard ourselves and our families. That’s the key. We have to continue to sanitize. We have to continue to wear our masks as much as we can.

“Even when we have activities we have to make sure that areas are ventilated outdoors as much as possible and if you are sick, please stay home.”

The Public Hospital Authority also issued a statement yesterday adjusting their admissions process due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

It said: “The Princess

Margaret Hospital (PMH) has adapted to the influx of COVID-19 positive and non-COVID patients seeking care at the institution.

The clinical, support and administrative teams have risen to the challenge and are continuing to provide quality care despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.

“As a result of adjustments made the number of patients awaiting admission has been reduced and Outpatient Services continue via a hybrid combination of Telehealth and reduced face to face appointments.”

They also said that visitation will remain limited to one visitor per patient for no more than 15 minutes.

Dr Pinder-Butler’s union will be joining in the Labour Day March this coming Friday and is encouraging all march-goers to practice safety amid this spike in COVID-19 cases, noting the hospital is “challenged” as it is and that “everything is filled up now with people waiting to be admitted”.

She added: “So can you imagine if our cases continue to rise up and we have more persons who need to come to the hospital, where would they go?”

Urging Bahamians to consult their doctors and ensure they take their regulation medications as directed in an attempt to stay out of the hospital, she also noted “COVID-19

is not going away right now” and that we need to preserve what precious resources the government has to deal with people that have emergencies.

Dr Pinder-Butler also said that despite the health system challenges that her members also have challenges, particularly with the lack of health insurance. “It is unbelievable and should not be happening,” she said.

She also said: “We are still fighting to get the rest of what we agreed to in our industrial agreement, we have yet to be properly compensated.”

She also said that her members continue to come to work and work through all of the conditions,

particularly now under this COVID-19 environment, and as a result of this dismissive attitude towards the medical profession, Bahamians are leaving the Bahamian healthcare system for other jurisdictions.

She added: “So, we’re asking you (Bahamian government), to please sit at the table. Let’s solve this quickly. The funds that are needed, let’s figure out how we’re going to make those things happen. Right now we need those things resolved and we know that our government can do it.

We expect you to do it. We have been doing our part and our members deserve what is needed.”

PAGE 4, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Change of routes in drug trafficking

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Sa t ff Repo rter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe says officials have noticed new drug trafficking trends with smugglers using different routes than seen in past.

“Drug trafficking has taken a change,” he told reporters before going to Cabinet yesterday.

“We now have, for instance, marijuana

smuggled from Canada and the US into The Bahamas whereas the flows used to be different. The ships that come up from South America and Central America on their way here, vehicles for drug trafficking, the recent interdiction would show the success of the co-operation between Bahamian officials and their counterparts.”

This comes as the Davis administration also seeks to crack down on gun trafficking in the country.

On Monday, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said his administration is working with The United States on tracking firearms that enter into the country illegally, adding that discussions have even gone as high as the White House.

He said more than 90 percent of guns confiscated and used as murder weapons in The Bahamas can be traced back to American manufacturers and gun shops and noted that more needed to

THE TRIBUNE

be done to crack down on the issue.

“The agency that interfaces with the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco and Firearms and Homelands Security on the drug issue is the Royal Bahamas police force,” Mr Munroe said yesterday. “About two weeks ago, Deputy Commissioner Fernander and other officers travelled to the US for meetings with our partners.”

“In the same way that we co-operate very

wholesomely with the US in preventing drug trafficking through our country to there, the position the prime minister takes simply is there should be reciprocity on the issue of gun trafficking that comes from them to us and so we have a long history of co-operation between the drug enforcement unit of the Royal Bahamas police force and the drug enforcement agency and OBPAT and number of other agencies to

stem the flow.”

“We will be looking for co-operation so for instance, the prime minister mentioned – are they able to alert us if they see multiple purchases by someone with Bahamian connections. Those are things that Deputy Commissioner Fernander and the persons from the criminal intelligence bureau and other agencies of the RBPF will explore with their counterparts in the US.”

tourism, transportation, civil aviation, navigation, airport logistics and expanding airlift to The Bahamas,” the release read.

Mr Cooper is accompanied by Minister of

Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis, Deputy Director General of Tourism and Acting Director of Aviation Dr Kenneth Romer, Acting Director of Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority

Alexander Ferguson and Director of Investments Phylicia Hanna, Anthony Stuart, Director, MOTIA, Europe and Middle East.

The delegation will return on June 3.

COOPER LEADS MIDDLE EAST TRIP DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper is leading a delegation of Bahamian ministerial and technical experts to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The trip comes after it was revealed the budget for government travel has increased by $4.1m in the upcoming fiscal year prompting opposition Leader Michael Pintard to raise questions about the size of delegations.

In a release yesterday, the government said: “The purpose of the mission is to engage in matters of mutual interest and cooperation in aviation, investments, tourism, transport and financial services while positioning The Bahamas as the regional leader in sustainable tourism.”

“The delegation will focus mainly on the Aviation Sector, with the aim of establishing avenues of technical cooperation and opportunities for crosstraining, particularly in the areas of aviation safety, deepening air connectivity and positioning The Bahamas to become the logistical hub for aviation and tourism in the region.”

The Deputy Prime Minister said one of the main goals of such trips is to grow the diversification of our visitor profile.

“We are aware that visitors who travel from the Middle East and beyond will likely have longer stays and increased visitor spend,” he said.

“Therefore, we will be discussing ways to raise our tourism profile in these countries, with the expected

result being an increase in airlift, seat capacity and overall visitor arrivals to The Bahamas.”

Mr Cooper met with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani on Monday. They reviewed bilateral relations and ways to deepen them, as well as air transport and tourism investment. The release noted they also had “productive discussions” about the potential for public private partnerships on airports, training and technical assistance for Bahamasair and in the area of civil aviation and air traffic services.

“Mr Cooper also attended meetings with the Minister of Transport, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaitithe CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al-Baker and other key government officials where

PM PLEDGES SOLAR POWER FIELD BY NEXT YEAR

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Phiilip “Brave” Davis said yesterday the government has made a commitment to have a 60 megawatt solar power field by next year.

Mr Davis said at a press conference that by next year the government would be using a mix of fossil fuel and solar power, which he submits will reduce the country’s carbon footprint.

“There are plans to move away from fossil fuels, but unfortunately the experts predicted that its going to be very difficult for us to wean completely off of fossil fuels, but many steps in reducing our reliance on it will help,” he said.

Reducing reliance on

fossil fuels was in the Progressive Liberal Party’s Blueprint for Change as well as a pledge to move the country towards 30 percent renewable energy by 2030.

The Prime Minister said he is taking this pledge very seriously as he announced that by the first part of next year there will be “at least a solar field that will provide at least 60 megs of electric power. So we’ll have a mix of fossil fuel and solar power, which will again prove to reducing our carbon footprint in New Providence”.

Teams have also been sent to the MICAL constituency, to make assessments on a pilot programme on retrofitting government buildings with solar panels with the aim of using this pilot as a guide to move all

of the government buildings in the Family Islands to solar power within the next “two to three years”.

There are “no active” oil licences under review or consideration by the government either and the Prime Minister, admitting his involvement as a lawyer for several oil companies in the past, noted: “I have now identified what I will do in respect to the prospect of oil being in our jurisdiction.

“You would have heard me speak when the cry about drilling was in the air and there was much controversy over the fact of drilling. My response was always; don’t be concerned about drilling, be concerned about exploitation.

Because drilling is only to discover whether or not

you have oil.

“The fact that you have oil doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to extract the oil and with this new advent of being able to sell your carbon credits and under Article Six of the Paris Agreement we can have what they call additionality.”

He explained that additionality is not about exploiting natural resources that increase carbon emissions and/or preserving habitats that absorb carbon.

Additionality is a defining concept of carbon-offset projects. To qualify as a genuine carbon offset, the reductions achieved by a project need to be additional to what would have happened if the project had not been carried out.

If carbon credits are awarded to activities that would have happened anyway, emissions are allowed to rise without a corresponding cut elsewhere, therefore making the process meaningless.

So essentially the government is looking to receive carbon credits for oil it chose not to extract.

Mr Davis added: “So what I am now embarking upon is, from the information gathered from all of the seismic and data collection about the possibility or probability of oil deposits in our waters in our jurisdiction. Once I have all of that verified and instead of exploiting that, we could then put it on the market for sale on the premise that we will not exploit as long as we

collect our carbon credits.

So it’s saleable commodity now.”

Determining the full nature of the country’s oil deposits is the only way to ensure that carbon credits can be collected.

Sean Grazette, director of marketing for EZ Car Sales, also at yesterday’s press conference praised the government’s reduction of duty on electric cars to 10 percent for all vehicles under $70,000 and 25 percent over $70,000.

He added: “This will encourage businesses to now purchase bigger vehicles, electric trucks and hopefully electric jitneys.”

EZ Car Sales is “thankful” for the government taking this first step in assisting consumers to buy cleaner burning vehicles.

MINISTRY TO CELEBRATE COOPERATIVE MONTH THE Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs is celebrating Cooperative Month this month.

There will be a number of events throughout the month, as a partnership between the Department of Cooperative Development within the Ministry and the Bahamas Cooperative League.

The celebration begins with a church service at St Francis Xavier Church at 8.30am today.

Other events include a Fun Run Walk on June 18 at 6am from Montague Beach; a lecture on June 20 at 6.30pm at the National Training Centre; Cooperative Educational Forums in New Providence, Eleuthera, Mayaguana and Grand Bahama; Cooperative Farmers & Craft Markets; Open Houses in New Providence and Grand Bahama and a Cooperative Employees Fun Day. In a statement, the Ministry said: “Since 1974, the cooperative movement, which comprises of credit unions and producer supplier cooperatives has significantly grown to over

CLAY SWEETING, Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs. $474m in assets and contributed 4.2% to GDP in 2021.

“With more than 47,000 members, cooperatives generate income, employment, empower Bahamians through home ownership, business start-ups, provide funding for education, and fuel the economy thus creating social and economic impact within communities throughout The Bahamas.”

Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Clay Sweeting acknowledged the significance of cooperatives throughout the country.

“Cooperatives provide a wide-range of financial

solutions for many Bahamians.

They provide capital for entrepreneurial ventures, build homes, encourage food security and empower social change. We are proud to celebrate the vital role of cooperatives in building our Bahamian economy and look forward to its exponential and sustainable growth in the future,” he said.

Director of Cooperative Societies Cheryl Bowe-Moss noted key performance indicators strongly suggest that people are interested in being economically empowered as the total number of registered cooperatives has grown significantly during the past two years; especially during COVID. “Cooperatives play a vital role in the continued development of our economy; and this year we need the need to bring the entire sector together to create awareness as well as increase our membership in both credit union membership and producer-supplier cooperatives. This is one of our strategic initiatives to propel the sector forward,” she said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 1, 2022, PAGE 5

NURSES HEADING TO JUNE 9 STRIKE VOTE from page one

is out of service in several locations as well as there being other health and safety hazards in addition to mould in buildings.

She added: “Nurses have been diagnosed with mould in their lungs and now have to pay out of their pockets.

We have the worst insurance going.”

She alleges that the reason why nurses aren’t covered is because the institution they worked for is

causing the hazard.

The collapse in health and safety infrastructure is not just in New Providence, but in the Family Islands as well, she said.

“We have no water in Abaco. The toilets can’t flush in some of the various wards. The nurses come to work and they have to be toting water,” she said.

The Public Hospital Authority has been meeting with the BNU, but no one from the Public Service has. “Why hasn’t the public service come to the table

GBPA: We’re ready for storm season

yet? We’re asking the chief consultant, Bernard Evans, why haven’t you come to the table yet? The PHA is here, but the Department of Public Service is not there representing the Ministry of Health.”

Addressing the BNU’s most recent increment given to them by the current government, Ms Williams said it is not enough to satisfy the BNU and they are looking for a “scaled increase” because the industrial agreement speaks to increases.

She said: “That is what we want our Prime Minister to give us, come and sign that industrial agreement, where we have two increases to our scale, then rather than a lump sum. We don’t want anymore lump sum. We cannot take a lump sum to the bank. We cannot get a loan for a mortgage with a $50 increment. We want our scale to be increased by 40 percent.”

Cassandra CartwrightLewis, president of the Public Managers Union (PMU), also at yesterday’s

press conference, added that her union also has outstanding issues in their industrial agreement and already held a successful strike vote in April, added that they stand with the BNU and wider Trade Union Congress (TUC).

“The two items of concern is Article 48 and Article 55 that speaks to increments and bonuses,” she said. “The board is wishing to tie us to contributions to which we have no control over.

“We would have signed

on from the previous PMU administration. That process was not successful and hence we are now asking them to remove it from the industrial agreement.”

The PMU does not want to sign on to an agreement that they have no control over how their bonuses and increments could be determined and want those provisions removed and then have a sit down with the government afterwards on what programme would be feasible for everyone.

FLOODED STREETS - AND MORE RAIN ON WAY

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Bahama Port Authority Ltd announced yesterday that it has completed a “robust and comprehensive” Storm Response Plan for the start of the new Hurricane Season.

Philcher Grant, chief operating officer at Grand Bahama Utility Company and public affairs director for Grand Bahama Port Authority, said they are positioned and ready to respond for any event.

The GBPA, she said, has learned from the hard lessons over the years of many previous storms, including Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

“We pray we are spared another storm event, but we must ensure we are ready to meet any eventuality that comes our way. We are confident we have done the work so that we are in a position to respond for any event,” Ms Grant said.

The GBPA executive said there are trained employees who will ride out the storm and respond right away in a storm event. Additionally, she noted that they have signed MOU with NGOs for additional resources if needed, and partnerships with industrial stakeholders to assist in clearing paths for emergency responders and to begin the work of restoring their water plant.

Ms Grant said their Reverse Osmosis system is a mobile that can be safely secured in the event of a tiered storm approach.

Nakira Wilchcombe, vice president of the Building and Development Services Department, said after the storm they conduct assessments of building structures to make sure it can be safely re-energised.

To assist their teams, she encouraged residents to secure property conveyance and documents in a safe, dry place where they can be easily retrieved to present to the Building and Development Services Department.

Ms Wilchcombe also stressed that it is important that people know their legal address or description, including the street name, the Block and Lot numbers.

She said people can visit their office if they need assistance retrieving their legal address description.

Troy McIntosh, deputy director of Building Development Services Department, is responsible for maintenance of the city, drainage, trash removal, illegal dumpsite, trees trimming and debris removal.

He noted that they have completed pre-storm drain checks and maintenance months in advance of June 1.

Mr McIntosh further indicated that all the drain

FLOODING in eastern New Providence yesterday.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

PHILCHER GRANT systems have GPS, and new drains have been installed where issues of severe flooding exists.

He encouraged residents to contact their 24-hour helpline at 352-2000 to report any areas where there are flood issues that may require new drain installation or maintenance.

Glendia Sweeting, manager of Group Corporate Affairs, and storm lead for communications, said that vital information to help people prepare will be shared via their social media pages, the GB Port Authority Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, and via radio and television. She said people may also send messages via their GBPA Facebook page.

Information may also be accessed at their website www.gbpa.com and their contact us page. She encouraged residents to also download the Freeport Report App to receive push notifications to their phones. The app may be downloaded from Google Play store or the App Store.

Ms Sweeting said that they will launch a universal call centre and a customer service centre in a safe area in the event of a tiered storm approach.

Cory Cartwright, assistant maintenance manager for Lucaya Service Company and GB DEVCO, said that all debris in residential areas should be placed out for removal before June 16 to meet the collection by Sanitation Services.

He reported that the GBPA and DEVCO moved over $21m in Hurricane Dorian debris. “We assisted residents with clearing roof structures, furniture and appliances,” he added.

He noted that in the eastern area of Lucaya, 260 homes were affected. “To date, we have 100 homes that are still hurricane damaged and pose threats to the community,” Mr Cartwright said.

Mr Cartwright insists that residents should always have a bag ready to move in case they have to be evacuated. He said they should also know where to go in the event they must leave home before a rescue team can get them.

TORRENTIAL rains are on the horizon bringing most of us a wet holiday weekend.

Driving the gloomy weather are the remnants of Hurricane Agatha which are moving north east towards Florida and The Bahamas.

Chief Meteorological Officer Kaylianda Ward-Forbes told The Tribune yesterday the hurricane was degraded to a tropical depression.

“There was a hurricane just to the southeast of Mexico,” she said. “It has moved on shore and… the remnants of that is moving in waters closer to the Caribbean Sea and that is expected to develop into low pressure area late Thursday into early Friday.

“That system is expected to move either across the northwest Bahamas or southern Florida, but regardless of where it moves, we will get a portion of the unsettled weather associated with that. So from Friday into early Sunday we’re looking at having basically mostly cloudy to overcast skies with on-and off showers and thunderstorms.

“Most of the shower activity, based on what the models are showing, will affect the northwest Bahamas which includes Andros, Eleuthera, New Providence and then

further north you have Grand Bahama, Bimini, the Berry Islands and Abaco.”

She added some of it may spill over into the central Bahamas, the Exumas, and Cat Island area, but the southeast Bahamas would “basically be the driest portion” for the weekend.

However, it appears not to be so gloomy on Whit Monday.

“If the system forms and moves over, we’re looking at clearing conditions on Sunday evening. Monday is supposed to be much better,” Ward-Forbes explained.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

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THE TRIBUNE

PICTURE OF THE DAY

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

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

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Nurse dispute has gone on too long BACK in October 2020 in this column, we wrote about a dispute between nurses and the Public Hospitals Authority.

Even then, we wrote that it seemed “some disputes never go far away – even in a pandemic”.

We continued: “If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is a dispute that has been rumbling on for more than two years.

The pandemic – and the rush to acclaim healthcare professionals for all they are doing for us in the fight against COVID19 – seemed to have muted matters, but here we are again.”

As you will see from the front page of today’s Tribune, that last line – here we are again – is the current situation once more.

The Bahamas Nurses Union is to hold a strike vote – while there is an industrial agreement, it has not been signed for more than three years.

Union president Amancha Williams said: “There is no way that the union should be operating without a current industrial agreement.”

She went on to catalogue a host of problems over health and safety hazards, mould, toilets that won’t flush, nurses having to come to work in Abaco bringing their own water, and more.

The details of the dispute might be lengthy, but the summary is short – it is long past time for these matters to be sorted out.

So let’s get on with it. The Davis administration came into power on a claim of being union friendly – and in this case the agreement has already been done, so just sort it out.

Nurses have been at the frontline looking after our healthcare throughout the pandemic, sometimes at the cost of their own health. Even without that, it would have been time to resolve this – but given the sacrifices they have made and the environment they have been asked to work in, we owe them even more.

From union to union, there seems to be so many matters that drag on for

years and years, so long that half the issues are outdated by the time anything actually gets signed.

Ideally, we would see a sea change so that issues did not have to be so drawn out – but more than anyone, our nurses deserve an end to any uncertainty right now.

We would note that we are already facing a new surge in cases of COVID, and will be needing the services of our nurses very soon. Resolve the industrial dispute so they can concentrate on saving lives.

Cruise ships Now for some good news – the cruise ships arriving in our ports are at almost full capacity.

There is a lot of positive talk about people wanting to get back out and about in the world after the confines of COVID, and this is tangible evidence to back that up.

The cruise port’s chief executive, Michael Maura, pointed to the last year before COVID – and the number of ships arriving this year so far is up even on 2019.

He said: “The positive trend is there.

That’s certainly good news.”

Good news indeed – and long may it continue as we hope for a full rebound of our economy.

Returning tourists means more income, more jobs, more prospects, more opportunities for entrepreneurs, more chance of avoiding the financial woes our economy has faced in recent years.

Every time one of those ships pulls into port, it’s another step on the road back to where we were before the pandemic.

The next step? That would be making the most of those arrivals and finding ways to encourage more spending on land. Now we’ve got the tourists back, let’s make sure everyone benefits.

Leaders need to act on flooding EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHAT has happened over the last few weeks should now more than ever be a wake up call for our country’s parliamentary leaders.

It is time that we make flooding a top priority in this country. Core city neighbourhoods and businesses are dealing with serious drainage issues, and for years it has been widely ignored and swept under the rug.

We need to revise and implement a new coastal management plan.

A major modification and a comprehensive plan is needed to cope with these increased risk of flooding to mitigate its impact where possible.

These flooding issues involve public safety, public health and the large investments people have in their

homes. We can either continue down this path, or make a collective re-evaluation of how to manage this issue.

We need to asses the flooding dangers and take actions like other countries have, such as: • Adding protection like dunes or bulkhead to flood prone areas, • Add tougher regulations that forbid development in flood prone areas, • Increase and add more drainage systems to flood prone areas It is time we do away with the old data. Because it has become quite obvious that this frequent flooding means that the past data is no longer an accurate guide for the future.

While climate change is no doubt a main factor of what we see today, it should not stop us from being more

resilient and better prepared. Too many factors, including local infrastructure and properties, are being impacted.

For years, there has been calls for massive restructuring of the city’s drainage system. But it seems like the powers that be are content with just doing cleanup drives and other bandaid solutions.

The flooding is of annoyance to many and placing a maintenance call only plugs the hole temporarily to an ubiquitous problem. It’s not going anywhere until we fully deal with the matter at hand.

We must make bold decisions to address this serious issue.

DR MATHEO SMITH Principal Achievers Christian Academy Nassau, Bahamas May 31, 2022.

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PEOPLE stand on The Mall looking towards Buckingham Palace and the Queen Victoria Memorial statue as the road is lined with Union flags and closed to traffic ahead of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, in London, yesterday. Celebrations will take place June 2-5 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, for her 70 years on the throne.

Photo: Matt Dunham/AP

Bahamian blood on US Second Amendment EDITOR, The Tribune.

PRIME Minister Philip Brave Davis’ startling claim that 90 percent of confiscated guns used in murders in this country have been traced to American manufacturers and firearm retailers suggests to this writer that the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution is stained with Bahamian blood. There have been 214 mass shootings in the US in the first five months of 2022. Consequently, the 2nd Amendment also has American blood on its hands. Any attempts to persuade US lawmakers to amend their Bill of Rights to curtail the sale and shipment of firearms into The Bahamas and the Caribbean is a tall order, as evidenced by the Supreme Court rulings in the District of Columbia v.

Heller (2008); City of Chicago v. McDonald (2010) and United States v. Miller (1939) hearings. American civilians own 393 million guns.

The US Constitution was penned in September 1787

by Constitutional Convention delegates, nearly half of whom owned slaves. It was ratified in June of 1788 by nine US states, amid fears by Anti-Federalists of a centralised government morphing into a dictatorship. The drafting of the Bill of Rights was to prevent the central government from becoming a tyrant. The 2nd Amendment grants individual states the right to form their own militia in order to defend their freedom in the face of tyranny. It reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

There are currently 27 Amendments to the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net 233-year-old Constitution.

To American patriots, particularly members of the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), which recently held its annual convention in Houston, Texas -- the state of the recent Uvalde elementary school massacre -- the US Constitution is infallible. Former US President Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz both addressed NRA convention delegates, which should give the readership an idea of how influential this organisation is. In 2018, the late Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens penned an opinion piece in The New York Times, which called for the repeal of the 2nd Amendment. As a learned jurist, Stevens was obviously knowledgeable of his nation’s 18th Amendment (1919) which was effectively repealed in the 21st Amendment (1933) under the President Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Similar to Washington lawmakers in 1933, all Congress would need to do is to propose an additional Amendment that would pass with twothirds of the votes in both houses on Capitol Hill.

This new Amendment would do to the 2nd Amendment what the 21st Amendment did to the 18th Amendment.

Another path to neutralising the 2nd Amendment would be two-thirds of state legislatures calling for a Constitutional Convention to propose a new Amendment -- which would then need three-fourths of the states to formally endorse the ratifying of a new

Amendment. The foregoing underscores the arduous process of amending a constitutional law which is firmly entrenched.

Such a move would undoubtedly precipitate a pushback from millions of Americans, something US lawmakers in Republican states would be afraid of doing. That’s why Davis’ appeal to US lawmakers about gun trafficking to The Bahamas will hardly produce the desired results until Washington finds the courage to repeal the 2nd Amendment that is giving gun manufacturers and firearm retailers the Constitutional rights to sell to Bahamian drug traffickers and gangsters. These callous American merchants have probably earned millions at the expense of the hundreds of murdered Bahamians throughout the years, all made possible by the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution. I love the US. I am a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and evangelical Christian who supports wholeheartedly the traditional values espoused by the fundamentalist camp in the US. I appreciate its fears of having their Constitutional rights subtly removed by left-wing politicians.

But I am looking at the 2nd Amendment as a Bahamian whose small country is being assailed by ruthless criminals, who are supporting a lucrative gun market in the US. At the end of the day, we who are standing shoulder-to-shoulder against Planned Parenthood must agree that the Bahamian lives snuffed out by imported guns have as much intrinsic value as the lives of unborn babies.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama.

May 31, 2022.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 1, 2022, PAGE 7

US WOMAN FINED OVER LIVE AMMUNITION IN LUGGAGE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN American woman was fined $500 in Magistrate’s Court yesterday for having a live round of 9mm ammunition in her luggage.

Jamilla Thomas, 33, of

California, appeared before Senior Magistrate Samuel McKinney.

On May 29, at the Lynden Pindling International Airport pre-clearance lounge, a homeward-bound Thomas was arrested by authorities after a US border protection screening officer uncovered

a single 9mm bullet in her luggage.

In a subsequent interview, the accused admitted to possessing the bullet.

However, she said she was unaware of the round being in her bag and that she possessed a firearm licence in the US. Thomas pleaded guilty to the

offence in court.

Attorney Alphonso Lewis III, represented Lewis, and said she was remorseful for not checking her bag thoroughly.

He further explained that a currently pregnant Thomas was only in The Bahamas to attend her sister’s wedding that weekend.

In view of this and the fact that the accused has no previous convictions, Lewis implored the court to just impose a fine on his client and not a custodial sentence.

Magistrate McKinney ordered Thomas to pay a $500 fine or risk spending two months in custody.

Bailed MUNROE: DECISION TO LEAVE in stolen WAS UP TO COMMISSIONER car case

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was granted $6,000 bail in Magistrate’s Court yesterday after attempting to sell a stolen car.

Mervin Johnson, 21, appeared before Magistrate Kendra Kelly on charges of fraud by false pretences and receiving.

Sometime between May 21-22 Johnson is accused of coming into possession of Katherine Edgecombe’s stolen $6,000 2012 Nissan March. The vehicle was reportedly stolen by two unidentified gunmen on Saunders beach at 10:30pm on May 21.

Johnson is further alleged to have fraudulently obtained $2,500 from Mark Bullard by selling the car to him in the area of Yamacraw Road on May 26.

Bullard eventually discovered the vehicle was stolen and it was recovered by police.

In court, the defendant pleaded guilty to all charges.

He explained to the court

that a man called Amell Clarke had sold him the car and stated he didn’t know the vehicle was stolen as he had received papers matching the vehicle.

Johnson further said it was this same man who advised him to sell the vehicle in order to pay off the defendant’s prison debts.

The magistrate entered a not guilty plea for the receiving and fraud charges.

Despite this, the defendant still offered to personally financially compensate the complainant for the car, as Clarke had allegedly run off with the money Bullard had purchased the car with.

While Johnson is already on Supreme Court bail and fitted with an ankle monitor for the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman he met on Facebook last November, there was no objection to bail in this matter.

Bail was granted at $6,000 for both charges with one or two sureties, under the condition Johnson sign in at South Beach Police Station every Wednesday by 6pm.

The accused’s trial is set for July 13.

TEENS ACCUSED OF GUNPOINT ROBBERY

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net TWO TEENAGERS were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday accused of stealing $300 from a woman at gunpoint.

Schreiden Dieujuste, 18, and a 14-year-old male appeared appeared before Magistrate Kara TurnquestDeveaux on a charge of armed robbery.

On May 25 in New Providence the defendants armed with a handgun are alleged to have robbed Shelly Gong of $300 belonging to Variety Wholesale Trading.

Due to the nature of the

offence the defendants were not required to enter a plea at this time. They were told this matter would proceed by way of Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

The Magistrate also informed them that their matter would be heard before the Supreme Court, where they can also apply for bail.

Until bail is granted, they will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) and Simpson Penn Centre For Boys respectively.

The defendants are expected to return to court for service of their VBIs on July 27.

MAN ACCUSED OF ATTACK ON WIFE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail in Magistrate’s Court yesterday for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Dion Smith, 48, stood before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain on a charge of assault.

On May 22 in New Providence, Smith is accused of

poking his wife Lashanda Smith several times across the face during an argument resulting in injury. He is further alleged to have pushed her to the floor.

In court, Smith pleaded not guilty to the charge.

As such, he was granted bail at the sum of $2,000 with one or two sureties.

Smith’s trial in the matter was adjourned until September 2.

FORMER SENATOR ON SEX OFFENCE CHARGE from page one

There, the accused allegedly hugged the 12-year-old boy and kissed him on the neck.

In court, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. As there was no objections, Whylly was granted $4,000 bail with one or two sureties.

Although the Chief Magistrate had initially ordered the accused to report to the Elizabeth Estates Police

Station every Tuesday, his attorney, Devard Francis, successfully argued that Whylly’s strong ties to the nation would prevent him from leaving.

As a result, Whylly is only expected to report to the Elizabeth Estates Police Station by 6pm on the 20th day of every month.

While on bail, Whylly is not to have any contact with his accuser.

Trial for this matter is set for December 16.

A DAY after Police Commissioner Paul Rolle announced plans to resign from the force next month, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said the decision had nothing to do with the government, but was made by the police chief himself.

Mr Munroe made the comments when asked to respond to reports that Commissioner Rolle was being forced to step down for political reasons.

However, he said the move was completely voluntary, adding “negroes don’t have to hold on to power forever and ever”.

“The Commissioner has security of tenure,” Mr Munroe said before going to a Cabinet meeting. “This is something I told him when the PLP was in opposition. The constitution hasn’t changed since the election in September. He has decided that he wishes to demit office and he has taken steps to make sure that the handover is an orderly one.

“He’s the most senior policeman.

He’s had a stellar career and you know negroes don’t have to hold on to power forever and ever, amen, so it is encouraging when people voluntarily go. I was at a service on Sunday where Reverend Symonette handed over the pastorship of Saint James native Baptist church. It is an encouraging thing in this country to see that persons aren’t trying to die in office.”

Rumours that Commissioner Rolle

MINISTER of National Security Wayne Munroe. was leaving the force surfaced late last year after the Davis administration took office.

At the time, the police chief dismissed the claims, telling reporters in December that he had no plans to leave any time soon.

However, in March, Commissioner Rolle announced he would be retiring

from the force this year after nearly 40 years of service.

On Monday, the police chief told reporters he planned to officially demit office on July 5. He also insisted the decision was his own, saying “nobody could force the Commissioner out”.

Yesterday, Mr Munroe told reporters he was informed of the decision in March.

“Yes, the Commissioner did advise myself and the Prime Minister of his desire to demit office. I think this was in March,” he said. “Since then, he has been making sure that I see the state, for instance, of Grand Bahama and a number of other places that he was working on and didn’t get to complete and he’s briefing me on matters that he had in the pipeline, in his mind, that he hadn’t completed.

“At the same time, he works with his senior executive leadership team, but the process is the Prime Minister will speak with me. He will then, after having spoken to me and whoever else he desires to consult, he will consult the leader of the opposition and then a choice will be made and the Governor General will be advised as to who the new Commissioner of the police is.”

It is widely expected that Deputy Commissioner Clayton Fernander will succeed Commissioner Rolle after he retires, however this has not been confirmed.

He has previously acted in the capacity of Commissioner when Mr Rolle has been out of office.

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Please send your resume and three (3) job references to strivewisegroup@gmail.com by Monday, June 20, 2022.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Be proud but don’t forget the messages that lie behind it IN many countries all over the world, today marks the beginning of Pride month. It is most often celebrated in June because the Stonewall riots - catalyst for the LGBTQI+ movement in the US — took place in June 1969.

Gay bars and other hangouts for LGBTQI+ people were regularly raided by police, and a group of people were tired of it.

They decided to stand against this discrimination and days of demonstrations followed. This inspired people all over the US to start organisations and other groups, build movements and demand their civil rights.

On the anniversary of the Stonewall riot, gay pride parades were held in some major cities including New York City and Los Angeles.

Pride started as a refusal to be invisible, a demand for civil rights and resistance to institutional discrimination and violence.

By Alicia Wallace

The parades were places and ways to take up space, to be together in groups and to show the world gay people exist, deserve to live full, happy lives and were not going to bullied or shamed into silence.

They were a public claim to human rights.

Today, the meaning and purpose of Pride have expanded. There is focus on visibility, community and freedom, also an emphasis on current, (hyper-) local issues. Pride events are advocacy spaces, educational opportunities and introductions to organising.

They often provide access to necessary services.

In recent years, Pride has taken a turn. As LGBTQI+ rights are being recognised as human rights and it becomes easier to support the protection of LGBTQI+ people and the expansion of rights through legislation, policy and practice, more people want to participate in Pride.

In addition, more people are comfortable being in the company of LGBTQI+ people and readily reap the benefits of being in proximity to the community.

As has been the case for many years, women feel more comfortable in LGBTQI+ spaces, especially gay clubs, because

they are less likely to be violated.

It has, for example, become common practice for bachelorette celebrations (for heterosexual people) to take place in LGBTQI+ venues because they are considered more fun, due in part to the feeling of safety.

The fetishization of LGBTQI+ people, of course, is a factor, and it is no secret people who do not even support particular communities go out of their way to benefit from their talent and the spaces they create for themselves.

Pride, to people on the outside and to some people (mostly of considerable privilege) in the community, is seen as a party. It is rainbow sequined jackets, We Are Family booming from a speaker system on the back of a truck, candy being tossed into crowds on sidewalks, free condoms of all kinds and special guest performances. There are people carrying banners, people working information booths, people handing out flyers related to advocacy issues, but the attention on them is negligible in comparison with the more flashy happenings.

Pride is a money-making opportunity for the corporate world and those actors are more than ready to do the absolute least in a show of “allyship” in exchange for their logos on Pride websites and merchandise, increased brand recognition and tax benefits.

If you are not paying attention or unwilling to try, it is hard to tell the difference between LGBTQI+ allies and parasites. At this time of year, it is easy to find rainbow anything.

Banners, plates, napkins, socks, party horns, headbands, t-shirt, phone cases, stickers, pens, sheet sets, jewellery, hand sanitiser, welcome mats, plant pots and totebags with rainbows

and rainbow colours are at your fingertips.

Some of your favourite brands may even change the colour of their products to incorporate rainbows.

One popular candy brand changed their candies to white to draw attention to the rainbow symbolising the LGBTQI+ community. We see this corporate response to many issues and observances and one of the most popular is corporate pink-washing in which companies rush to produce pink items in October, but make no commitments or contributions toward ending breast cancer.

In recent years, LGBTQI+ community members in Toronto have spoken out about the commercialisation of Pride Toronto. Large corporations threw money at the organization and occupied a considerable amount of space with their branding.

A member of the board of Pride Toronto said there was no checklist for sponsors and sponsorship came without strings attached.

This, of course, means there was no criteria for corporations that wanted to use Pride as a marketing opportunity with no concern for or commitment to the LGBTQI+ community or its wellbeing. At the parade in 2016, people chanted, “Let’s get critical! Pride is political!”

While Pride celebrations may include parades and parties, designed for LGBTQI+ people to enjoy themselves, it is important to remember how it started and why it exists. For many LGBTQI+ people each year, Pride is the first time they are able to engage with other people in the community. It is the place they feel safest asking questions and accessing resources. It is where parents, teachers and other people responsible for young people get information, connect with

credible sources and find support. It is where some well-meaning people learn how to be true allies.

Pride is also where corporations take up space and try to make money.

They sell Pride-themed goods and services, benefiting from the community without contributing to it.

If you see a business using Pride symbols or language to promote their offerings, ask them why. Pay attention to the response. “It’s Pride month,” is not an acceptable response. Press them to find out why they are using Pride to promote their business. Ask them how, in quantifiable terms, they are supporting the LGBTQI+ movement. Are proceeds going to an organisation?

Are they publicly supporting initiatives to promote, expand, and increase access to human rights for LGBTQI+ people? If not, run — don’t walk— away from there. They are co-opting a movement, centering themselves while ignoring the needs of the community whose name they are using.

Pride is for the LGBTQI+ community. It is for connection, for education. It is for access to services. It is for welcoming and being welcomed. It is for organising. It is for celebrating success to date, both personal and political. It is for amplifying advocacy messages. It is for being and feeling the fullness of who LGBTQI+ people are, individually and as a community, and embodying it without shame. Pride is resistance. It is saying no to heterosexism, it is saying no to hostility toward LGBTQI+, and it is rejecting and actively working to dismantle the systems of patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism. Those systems do not serve us, and the future we need demands that we do not serve them either.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson. This psychological thriller is about teenager Marigold who lives with her mother, stepfather, and siblings. The blended family is off to a fresh start in a strange neighbourhood.

They have moved from California to the midwest, and Mari is hopeful that she can

leave the secrets of her past behind. Between the oddities in their free house and her stepsister Piper’s creepy behaviour, Mari struggles to stay clean. It seems like the only thing that keeps her calm is her old habit, so she comes up with a plan to grow her own supply. Unfortunately for Mari, Piper’s

invisible friend knows what she’s up to and there’s nothing she won’t do to stop her.

Mari’s mother grows suspicious of her, her stepfather is endlessly protective of Piper, and younger brother Sammy seems to be the only one on her side. Something is wrong with this house, and they have to figure it out before the walls close in on their family.

2. Put your pronouns in your email signature.

Let people know how you would like them to refer to you when they are not using your name. Common pronouns are she/her, he/ him,and they/them. You can put them next to your name in parentheses. It is also helpful to put them in your name when you sign in to meetings on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex.

By including your pronouns, you make it easy for people to address and reference you in the way you want, make it easy for people whose pronouns may not be easily and correctly guessed to share theirs, and help normalise the practice for everyone so no particular group of people is alone in explicitly stating theirs.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 1, 2022, PAGE 9

ROBOTIC BUOYS DEVELOPED TO KEEP ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES SAFE

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press A CAPE COD science centre and one of the world’s largest shipping businesses are collaborating on a project to use robotic buoys to protect a vanishing whale from lethal collisions with ships.

A lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed the technology, which uses buoys and underwater gliders to record whale sounds in near real time. The robotic recorders give scientists, mariners and the public an idea of the location of rare North Atlantic right whales, said Mark Baumgartner, a marine ecologist with Woods Hole whose lab also operates the buoys.

The whales number less than 340 in the world and ship strikes are one of the biggest threats to their existence, as they travel through some of the busiest stretches of ocean on the planet. Now, French shipping giant CMA CGM is working with Woods Hole to deploy two of the robotic buoys off of Norfolk, Virginia, and Savannah, Georgia.

CMA CGM is funding the deployment of the buoys, which will add to the data collected by six others off the East Coast, Baumgartner said. The two new buoys could be deployed for testing soon, he said.

“We have to change our industrial practices when whales are around. That’s what this tech enables,” Baumgartner said. “Having the industry tell us what works and what doesn’t is the best way to have solutions that will actually be implemented.”

The whales were once abundant off the East Coast, but their populations were decimated generations ago by commercial whaling. These days, they’re vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear. And they’ve dwindled in population in recent years because of high mortality and poor reproduction.

The whales are aided by a complex network of protected areas and shipping restrictions. However, scientists have sounded alarms recently that the whales have been straying outside of protected areas in search of food as waters warm. That has made them more vulnerable.

Representatives for CMA CGM, which has a U.S. headquarters in Norfolk, said the company chose to locate buoys off the Virginia city and Savannah because those are among the busiest shipping ports in the United States. Ed Aldridge, president of CMA CGM America, said it’s an effort to “responsibly share the ocean with marine mammals and protect endangered species.”

The company is paying for the construction, maintenance and operation of the buoys for three years, said Heather Wood, director of sustainability for CMA CGM America. The company declined to disclose the cost of the project. It hopes to build a consortium of shippers that use this kind of technology to protect whales, Wood said.

“It’s an investment we’re making in the future of the seas and the future of the right whale,” she said.

Acoustic recorders have tracked whale sounds for decades, but the buoys that provide sound in near real time are a relatively recent invention, Baumgartner said. The robotic buoys make data available every couple of hours as opposed to months later, he said.

The results go on a public website and are also used by federal authorities to help make decisions about when to announce “right whale slow zones,” which call on vessel operators to slow down to 10 knots (11.5 mph) or less.

The data “allow us to send information to mariners quickly so those that are able can take action (by slowing down or avoiding the areas) to reduce the risk of vessel strike, which is one of the largest threats

TECHTALK

UNDERWATER DRONE TRACKS CO2 IN ALASKA GULF

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press

AN ACOUSTIC buoy floats in the water off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland in 2021. Acoustic buoys are equipped with technology developed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, that can detect, classify, and report the sounds of marine animals in near real-time. Woods Hole is working with a French shipping company to deploy more of the buoys to protect rare North Atlantic right whales.

(Mark Baugartner/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution via AP) to this endangered population,” scientists Diane Borggaard and Genevieve Davis of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a joint statement.

Conservation groups and academics also use the data collected by the robotic buoys.

They’re also used on the West

Coast to help protect blue, fin and humpback whales, said Callie Steffen, a project scientist with Whale Safe in Santa Barbara, California.

“We hope shipping companies will integrate this,” Steffen said. “It’s a Smokey Bear fire warning, but for whale presence.”

STARS AND ROYALTY WATCH ABBA’S RETURN IN DIGITAL STAGE SHOW

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — “ABBA Voyage” is certainly a trip.

Four decades after the Swedish pop supergroup last performed live, audiences can once again see ABBA onstage in an innovative digital concert where past and future collide.

The show opens to the public in London on Friday, the day after a red-carpet premiere attended by superfans, celebrities and Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. The guests of honour were pop royalty — the four members of ABBA, appearing in public together for the first time in years.

They were in the audience, though. Onstage at the specially built 3,000-seat ABBA Arena next to east London’s Olympic Park were a 10-piece live backing band and a digital ABBA, created using motion capture and other technology by Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects firm founded by “Star Wars” director George Lucas.

The voices and movements

MEMBERS of ABBA, from left, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson arrive for the ABBA Voyage concert at the ABBA Arena in London, last week.

(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali) are the real Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad — choreographed

by Britain’s Wayne McGregor — but the performers onstage are digital avatars, inevitably dubbed “ABBA-tars.” In unsettlingly realistic detail, they depict the band members as they looked in their 1970s heyday — beards on the men, flowing locks on the women, velour pantsuits all around.

The result is both high tech and high camp, a glittery supernova of stupefying

technology, 1970s nostalgia and pop music genius.

For many in the audience, it was almost like being taken back in time to watch ABBA perform classics including “Mamma Mia,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “SOS” and “Dancing Queen.”

The peppy 90-minute set also includes tracks from “Voyage,” the reunion album the band released last year.

It’s a fusion of tribute act and 3D concert movie that transcends that description.

At times it was possible to

forget this wasn’t a live performance, though when the backing singers stepped forward to belt out “Does Your Mother Know,” a surge of live-music energy shot through the arena.

The four band members — two married couples during ABBA’s heyday, though now long divorced — got a rapturous ovation when they took a bow at the end of Thursday’s show, 50 years after they formed ABBA, and 40 years after they stopped performing live.

Watching one’s younger self perform must be a strange sensation, but the band members, now in their 70s, said they were delighted by the show.

“I never knew I had such amazing moves,” Ulvaeus said.

Lyngstad agreed: “I thought I was quite good, but I’m even better.”

Ulvaeus said the audience reaction was the most gratifying part of the experience.

“There’s an emotional connection between the avatars and the audience,” he said.

“That’s the fantastic thing.”

Producers bill the show as

“revolutionary.” Time will tell. Like the first audiences to watch a talking motion picture a century ago, attendees may leave wondering whether they are watching a gimmick, or the future.

The Times of London reviewer Will Hodgkinson judged the show “essentially an ABBA singalong with added sound and light show,” though he called the effect “captivating.” Writing in The Guardian, Alexis Petridis called the concert “jawdropping” and said “it’s so successful that it’s hard not to imagine other artists following suit.”

Gimmick or genius, “ABBA Voyage” is booking in London until May 2023, with a world tour planned after that.

The fans who attended Thursday’s show are just delighted ABBA is back.

“I’m so excited,” said Kristina Hagman, a Swede who has been a fan since the 1970s.

“I was bullied so much because you were not allowed to like ABBA at that time, because it was so commercial,” she said. “But now we are taking revenge.”

SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — In the cold, choppy waters of Alaska’s Resurrection Bay, all eyes were on the gray water, looking for one thing only.

It wasn’t a spout from humpback whales that power through this scenic fjord, or a sea otter lazing on its back, munching a king crab.

Instead, everyone aboard the Nanuq, a University of Alaska Fairbanks research vessel, was looking where a 5-foot (1.52-metre) long, bright pink underwater sea glider surfaced.

The glider — believed to be the first configured with a large sensor to measure carbon dioxide levels in the ocean — had just completed its first overnight mission.

Designed to dive 3,281 feet (1,000 metres) and roam remote parts of the ocean, the autonomous vehicle was deployed in the Gulf of Alaska this spring to provide a deeper understanding of the ocean’s chemistry in the era of climate change. The research could be a major step forward in ocean greenhouse gas monitoring, because until now, measuring CO2 concentrations — a quantifier of ocean acidification — was mostly done from ships, buoys and moorings tethered to the ocean floor.

“Ocean acidification is a process by which humans are emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through their activities of burning fossil fuels and changing land use,” said Andrew McDonnell, an oceanographer with the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oceans have done humans a huge favour by taking in some of the C02. Otherwise, there would be much more in the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s heat and warming the Earth.

“But the problem is now that the ocean is changing its chemistry because of this uptake,” said Claudine Hauri, an oceanographer with the International Arctic Research Center at the university.

The enormous amount of data collected is being used to study ocean acidification that can harm and kill certain marine life.

Rising acidity of the oceans is affecting some marine organisms that build shells. This process could kill or make an organism more susceptible to predators.

Over several weeks this spring, Hauri and McDonnell, who are married, worked with engineers from Cyprus Subsea Consulting and Services, which provided the underwater glider, and 4H-Jena, a German company that provided the sensor inserted into the drone.

Most days, researchers took the glider farther and farther into Resurrection Bay from the coastal community of Seward to conduct tests.

After its first nighttime mission, a crew member spotted it bobbing in the water, and the Nanuq — the Inupiat word for polar bear — backed up to let people pull the 130-pound (59-kilogramme) glider onto the ship. Then the sensor was removed from the drone and rushed into the ship’s cabin to upload its data.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Apathy and protests over jubilee in Commonwealth LONDON Associated Press AFTER seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II is widely viewed in the UK as a rock in turbulent times. But in Britain’s former colonies, many see her as an anchor to an imperial past whose damage still lingers.

So while the UK is celebrating the queen’s Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the throne — with pageantry and parties, some in the Commonwealth are using the occasion to push for a formal break with the monarchy and the colonial history it represents.

“When I think about the queen, I think about a sweet old lady,” said Jamaican academic Rosalea Hamilton, who campaigns for her country to become a republic. “It’s not about her. It’s about her family’s wealth, built on the backs of our ancestors. We’re grappling with the legacies of a past that has been very painful.”

The empire that Elizabeth was born into is long gone, but she still reigns far beyond Britain’s shores.

She is head of state in 14 other nations, including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Bahamas. Until recently it was 15 — Barbados cut ties with the monarchy in November, and several other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, say they plan to follow suit.

Britain’s jubilee celebrations, which climax over a four-day holiday weekend starting Thursday, aim to recognise the diversity of the UK and the Commonwealth. A huge jubilee pageant through central London on Sunday will feature Caribbean Carnival performers and Bollywood dancers.

But Britain’s image of itself as a welcoming and diverse society has been battered by the revelation that hundreds, and maybe thousands, of people from the Caribbean who had lived legally in the UK for decades were denied housing, jobs or medical treatment — and in some cases deported — because they didn’t have the paperwork to prove their status.

The British government has apologised and agreed to pay compensation, but the Windrush scandal has caused deep anger, both in the UK and in the Caribbean.

A jubilee-year trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in March by the queen’s grandson Prince William and his wife Kate, which was intended to strengthen ties, appears to have had the opposite effect. Images of the couple shaking hands with children through a chainlink fence and riding in an open-topped Land Rover in a military parade stirred echoes of colonialism for many.

Cynthia Barrow-Giles, professor of political science at the University of the West Indies, said the British “seem to be very blind to the visceral sort of reactions” that royal visits elicit in the Caribbean.

Protesters in Jamaica demanded Britain pay reparations for slavery, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness politely told William that the country was “moving on”, a signal that it planned to become a republic. The next month, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the queen’s son Prince Edward that his country, too, would one day remove the queen as head of state.

William acknowledged the strength of feeling and said the future “is for the people to decide upon”.

“We support with pride and respect your decisions about your future,” he said in The Bahamas. “Relationships evolve. Friendship endures.”

When then Princess Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father King George VI 1952, she was in Kenya. The East African country became independent in 1963 after years of violent struggle between a liberation movement and colonial troops. In 2013, the British government apologized for the torture of thousands of Kenyans during the 1950s “Mau Mau” uprising and paid millions in an out-of-court settlement.

Memories of the empire are still raw for many Kenyans.

“From the start, her reign would be indelibly stained by the brutality of the empire she presided over and that accompanied its demise,” said Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan cartoonist, writer and commentator.

“To this day, she has never publicly admitted, let alone apologised, for the oppression, torture,

KATE, the Duchess of Cambridge, speaking to a girl in Abaco during the visit by her and Prince William.

PEOPLE protest to demand an apology and slavery reparations during a visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, in Kingston, Jamaica, in March 22.

BRITAIN’S PRINCE CHARLES, with chief archivist Ingrid Thompson, visits The National Archives in Bridgetown, Barbados, in November. dehumanisation and dispossession visited upon people in the colony of Kenya before and after she

acceded to the throne.”

UK officials hope countries that become republics will remain in

the Commonwealth, the 54-nation organisation made up largely of former British colonies, which has the queen as its ceremonial head.

The queen’s strong personal commitment to the Commonwealth has played a big role in uniting a diverse group whose members range from vast India to tiny Tuvalu. But the organisation, which aims to champion democracy, good governance and human rights, faces an uncertain future.

As Commonwealth heads of government prepare to meet in Kigali, Rwanda, this month for a summit delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, some question whether the organisation can continue once the queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles, succeeds her.

“Many of the more uncomfortable histories of the British Empire and the British Commonwealth are sort of waiting in the wings for as soon as Elizabeth II is gone,” royal historian Ed Owens said. “So it’s a difficult legacy that she is handing over to the next generation.”

The crisis in the Commonwealth reflects Britain’s declining global clout.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth under its authoritarian late President

Robert Mugabe, and is currently seeking readmission.

But many in its capital of Harare have expressed indifference to the queen’s jubilee, as Britain’s oncestrong influence wanes and countries such as China and Russia enjoy closer relations with the former British colony.

“She is becoming irrelevant here,” social activist Peter Nyapedwa said.

“We know about (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping) or (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, not the queen.”

Sue Onslow, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, said the queen has been the “invisible glue” holding the Commonwealth together.

But she says the organisation has proven remarkably resilient and and shouldn’t be written off. The Commonwealth played a major role in galvanising opposition to apartheid in the 1980s, and could do the same over climate change, which poses an existential threat to its lowlying island members.

“The Commonwealth has shown a remarkable ability to reinvent itself and contrive solutions at times of crisis, almost as if it’s jumping into a telephone box and coming out under different guise,” she said.

“Whether it will do it now is an open question.”

NAVALNY SAYS HE FACES NEW CHARGES

MAYOR SAYS RUSSIANS SEIZE ‘HALF OF CITY’

MOSCOW Associated Press

RUSSIAN forces in a “frenzied push” have seized half of Sievierodonetsk, the eastern Ukrainian city that is key to Moscow’s efforts to complete the capture of the industrial Donbas region, the mayor said yesterday.

“The city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block,” Oleksandr Striuk said. He said heavy street fighting continued and artillery barrages threatened the lives of the estimated 13,000 civilians still sheltering in the ruined city that once was home to more than 100,000.

A Russian airstrike on Sievierodonetsk hit a tank of nitric acid at a chemical factory, causing a huge leak of fumes, according to Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region. He posted a picture of a big cloud hanging over the city and urged residents to stay inside and wear gas masks or improvised ones.

The mayor said more than 1,500 residents have died of various causes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Evacuation efforts from Sievierodonetsk have been halted because of shelling.

“Civilians are dying from direct strikes, from fragmentation wounds and under the rubble of destroyed buildings, since most of the inhabitants are hiding in basements and shelters,” Striuk said.

Electricity has been cut off, and people need water, food and medicine, the mayor said: “There are food supplies for several more days, but the issue is how to distribute them.”

Sievierodonetsk is important

RUSSIA’S opposition leader Alexei Navalny said yesterday he is facing new criminal accusations that could extend his current nine-year prison term.

Navalny said on Instagram that an investigator visited him in prison to declare that the authorities have opened a new investigation against him on charges of “creating an extremist group to fan hatred against officials and oligarchs” and trying to stage unsanctioned rallies.

He added that the charges could keep him in prison for another 15 years if he’s convicted.

Navalny, the most determined political foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was arrested in January 2021 upon returning from Germany, where he had been recuperating from nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, and handed a 2½-year sentence for a parole violation.

In March, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison on fraud and contempt of court charges he rejected as politically motivated, a move that signaled an attempt by the authorities to keep him behind bars for as long as possible.

SLOVIANSK, Ukraine Associated Press

A VOLUNTEER helps a man leaving his home in a building damaged by an overnight missile strike, in Sloviansk, Ukraine, yesterday.

Photo: Francisco Seco/AP to Russian efforts to capture the Donetsk regions.

A crater was blasted in the road In his nightly video address, between two apartment buildings Donbas before more Western arms arrive to bolster Ukraine’s defense. Ukrainian President Volodymyr heavily pockmarked by shrapnel.

Moscow-backed separatists have Zelenskyy said the situation in the The floor and stairwell of one been fighting Ukrainian troops in Donbas remains “extremely dif- building were smeared with blood. the region for eight years and held ficult” as Russia has put its army’s Resident Olena Voytenko, 59, swaths of territory even before the “maximum combat power” there. said she knew one of the people At least three people were killed killed, a man whose apartment invasion.

The city, which is 90 miles south and six wounded overnight in a caught fire in the blast. of the Russian border, is in an Russian missile strike on the city of Another resident, Mikhaylo area that is the last pocket under Sloviansk, west of Sievierodonetsk, Samoluk, said the strike occurred in Ukrainian government control in Donetsk Gov Pavlo Kyrylenko said in the middle of the night. “I was on the Luhansk region. The Donbas a Facebook post yesterday. A school my sofa and suddenly my sofa just is made up of the Luhansk and was among several buildings damaged. jumped in the air,” he said.

SPORTS PAGE 11

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2022

Sprint hurdler Charlton clocks season’s best time

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

S

print hurdler Devynne Charlton continues her season of milestones with another new season’s best time.

Charlton ran to a fourth place finish in the 100m hurdles in a time of 12.88 seconds at the Ostrava Golden Spikes at Metsky Stadium in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

The meet was the latest on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Series.

Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico continued her dominance in the event with a first place finish in 12.56.

The world leader finished ahead of Poland’s European U23 champion Pia Skrzyszowska in 12.65 and Nia Ali of the United States was third in 12.69.

Charlton’s time of 12.88 finished just ahead of Hungary’s Luca Kozak who also finished in a season’s best time of 12.89.

On May 13, Charlton posted a wind aided (+3) time of 12.61 to finish fourth on the Diamond

ANFERNEE Seymour and Todd Isaacs Jr have had productive starts to their seasons in independent baseball leagues and have emerged among early offensive leaders for their respective clubs.

In his debut season with the Charleston Dirty Birds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), Seymour leads the club with seven stolen bases and 22 runs scored.

He also ranks second on the team with a .304 batting average, 34 hits and nine doubles. Seymour has an .812 OPS with two home runs and 12 RBI.

O’NEIL WILLIAMS GETS SET TO RUN IN BERLIN MARATHON

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DEVYNNE Charlton in action.

League Series meet in Doha, Qatar.

The 26-year-old World Indoor silver medallist and Tokyo Olympic finalist is currently ranked no.6 in the world in the 100m hurdles.

Her indoor season was highlighted by her silver

medal in the 60m hurdles in the World Indoor Championships at Belgrade, Serbia.

France’s Cyréna SambaMayela won the gold medal with a time of 7.78 while Charlton was second in 7.81 - a new national record.

At the time of her silver medal triumph, Charlton said she hoped that her first individual success of that magnitude set the tone moving forward to an eagerly anticipated outdoor season.

The season includes the upcoming BAAA

Nationals and World Athletics Championships. “I’m expecting to build on this experience.

“A lot of the improvements I made indoors can only help with my outdoor hurdles and so I think it will be that much better,” she said.

Isaacs Jr and Seymour offensive leaders

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Jonquel, page 12

After a fast start at 4-0, Charleston is currently fourth in the ALPB South Division at 15-19.

Seymour opened his 2022 season on a high note with a solo home run in his Dirty Birds debut.

The ALPB is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.

Seymour spent last season with the Kane County Cougars of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He led the league in stolen bases with 37.

On the season, he hit .231 with 71 hits, 10 doubles, four triples, 32 RBI, 50 runs scored, a .646 OPS, and 104.

SEYMOUR

ISAACS JR

Todd Isaacs Jr is in his second season with the New Jersey Jackals of the Frontier League. Througn 10 games he is hitting .263 with 15 hits, including three home runs, eight RBI, scored 11 runs, with four stolen bases, slugging .456 with a .300 OPS.

The Jackals are currently 7th in East Division and in order to make the playoffs, will need a top-three finish in the eight-team field.

On opening weekend, Isaacs finished with three hits, one home run and four RBI as the Jackals took 2-3 games over the

Evansville Otters in Evansville, Indiana.

The Frontier League is the largest league in all of independent professional baseball. It includes teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada.

Last year it merged with the American Association and the Atlantic League to become an official MLB Partner League.

In just 53 games last season, Isaacs’ 11 home runs ranked second on the team behind Justin Wylie’s 15, achieved in 80 games.

For the season, he hit .304 with 63 hits, including nine doubles, three triples, 32 RBI, scored 44 runs, nine stolen bases, slugging .536 with an .889 .OPS.

VETERAN distance runner O’Neil Williams will have another opportunity to add to his résumé of accolades when he competes in the elite field of one of the most highly regarded events on the international marathon circuit.

Williams is set to compete in the elite flight of the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 25 in Berlin, Germany.

As the Bahamian national record holder in the marathon, event organisers granted Williams complimentary entry into the field.

“It’s a great step in the right direction. It’s the first time a Bahamian will run in the elite field and I’ll be the first to compete,” he said.

“It’s a surreal feeling because I’ve seen these other great athletes compete in this event. I’ve lived in Kenya for 10 years but just started running marathons in 2017 so the progression has been great.”

The Berlin Marathon began in 1974 and is reputed as the fastest marathon in the world as six of the latest consecutive men’s world records has been set here. Three of the women world records have also been set there.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge holds the men’s course record of 2:01:39, while his country woman Gladys Cherono holds the women’s course record of 2:18:11.

After he broke into the sport with events in Stockholm, Sweden and Jacksonville, Florida in 2017, Williams went on to set the Bahamian national record for the first time at 2:29.26 on October 20, 2019 at the Amsterdam Marathon in the Netherlands.

This year, he lowered that record to 2:25.10 at the fourth edition of the Eldoret City Marathon in Kenya to finish 56th out of a field of 193 competitors. “In 2020 I couldn’t

SEE PAGE 12

Nadal tops Djokovic Prescod clocks 9.93 in quarterfinal thriller to win 100 metres at the French Open at Golden Spike

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer PARIS (AP) — Rafael Nadal insists he can’t know for sure whether any match at Roland Garros might be his very last at a place he loves, a place he is loved.

For now, if he keeps winning and keeps performing the way he did during his monumental quarterfinal victory over longtime rival Novak Djokovic, Nadal will have more chances to play.

With a mix of brilliant shot-making and his trademark resilience, Nadal got past the top-seeded defending French Open champion Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to move a step closer to his 14th championship at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament and what would be a 22nd major trophy overall, adding to records that he already

SPAIN’s Rafael Nadal clenches his fist after scoring a point against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during their quarterfinal match at the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena) owns. “To win against Novak, there is only one way — to play at your best from the first point to the last,” Nadal said.

“Tonight has been one of those magic nights for me.”

SEE PAGE 14

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (AP) — British sprinter Reece Prescod became the first European man to break 10 seconds in the 100 metres this season, clocking 9.93 seconds to win the Golden Spike meet yesterday.

Prescod showed blistering pace over the last 20 metres to surge ahead of Yohan Blake of Jamaica and clock a personal best time despite running into a headwind.

Blake was second in 10.05.

In the women’s 100 metre hurdles, Olympic champion Jasmine CamachoQuinn of Puerto Rico recovered from a slow start to finish first in 12.56 seconds.

Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland was second in 12.65 ahead of American Nia Ali, who clocked 12.69 in third.

Seven-time Olympic champion Allyson Felix finished second in the women’s 200, more than half a second behind Aminatou Seyni of Niger who won in 22.21.

The 36-year-old Felix is competing in her farewell season, with the American

SEE PAGE 16

JASMINE Camacho-Quinn reacts yesterday after winning the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the Zlata Tretra (Golden Spike) Continental Tour athletic meeting, in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

(Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

PAGE 12, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Aces win 7th straight for best 10-game start in team history LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Jackie Young scored 21 points and the Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 89-81 last night in a battle of the top teams in each conference.

Las Vegas (9-1) won its seventh straight game for the best 10-game start in team history.

The Aces led 50-42 at halftime after Chelsea Gray stole it and raced to the other end for a buzzerbeating layup.

The Aces had three players in double figures by halftime.

Young had 15 points, Kelsey Plum added 13 and Wilson secured a doubledouble with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Gray also completed a three-point play with 11.9 seconds left in the third quarter for a 72-59 lead and her four-point possession, after Alyssa Thomas’ technical foul, made it 76-63.

Connecticut went on a 14-2 run to get within 87-79

WINGS forward Kayla Thornton (6) and Sun forward Jonquel Jones (35) vie for a rebound during a WNBA basketball game on Tuesday, May 24 in Uncasville, Conn.

(Sean D Elliot/The Day via AP)

with a minute to play, but the Aces put their starters back in and Wilson scored in the paint. Plum finished with 18 points and seven

assists and Gray scored 13 points for Las Vegas (9-1).

DeWanna Bonner scored 14 points and Thomas had 12 points, 11 rebounds and

six assists for Connecticut (6-3).

Jonquel Jones added eight points and 13 rebounds.

Courtney Williams scored 13 points.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady sat courtside.

Dustin Johnson defies PGA Tour and joins Saudi-funded series

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Three months after declaring he was “fully committed” to the PGA Tour, Dustin Johnson is among 42 players in the field for next week’s LIV Golf Invitational, which offers a $25 million in prize money that’s backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Phil Mickelson was missing from the list that was released last night. It was his damaging remarks in February that led to Johnson and other top players to say they would stay on the PGA Tour.

The LIV Golf Invitational is scheduled for June 9-11 at Centurion Club outside of London. The PGA Tour and European tour denied releases for players, meaning they risk punishment — possibly a loss of tour membership — by competing.

“Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off and on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it,” David Winkler, Johnson’s manager at Hambric Sports, told The Associated Press in a text message. “Dustin has never had any issue with

the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him but in the end felt this was too compelling to pass up.”

That was a turnaround from his comments in February when Johnson issued a statement that he was committed to the PGA Tour and that he was “grateful for the opportunity to play on the best tour in the world and for all it has provided me and my family.”

Johnson, whose last victory was the Saudi International in 2021, is No. 13 in the world, the highestranked player in the field.

He had held the No. 1 spot in the world longer than any player since Tiger Woods.

Greg Norman, in his second try to create an alternative circuit to the PGA Tour, had made a strong push for Johnson.

Still to be determined is how much Johnson is being paid to join the Saudi venture.

Other players in the 48-man field were not a surprise; Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia had indicated they would be playing, along with Ian Poulter and Louis Oosthuizen.

The field features four of the top 50 in the world ranking and 16 of the top 100. LIV Golf said the

DUSTIN Johnson tosses his towel to his caddie on the 10th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Southern Hills Country Club on May 20 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

(AP Photo/Matt York) other six spots would be start a movement that will filled by invitations and change the course of hisfrom the Asian Tour’s tory by bringing new and International Series tour- open competition to the nament this week in sport we all love.”

England.

American players who That means Mickelson, are chasing the Saudi who has not played since riches are Talor Gooch, the Saudi International in who won his first PGA early February, could still Tour event last fall at the be part of the field.

RSM Classic; three-time “Free agency has tour winner Hudson Swaffinally come to golf,” said ford; and Kevin Na. Norman, the CEO and The field has 13 players commissioner of LIV Golf. who have full PGA Tour “This is an opportunity to membership this year.

Norman’s group also went after amateurs, adding U.S. Amateur champion James Piot and David Puig, who is competing for Arizona State in the NCAA Championship this week. Also playing is 2019 U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who doesn’t have status on any tour.

Johnson was expected to play in the RBC Canadian Open next week, as he has an endorsement deal with the Canadian bank as one of its ambassadors. Even if he has to give up his deal, the money he would get from the Saudi league likely would be worth far more money.

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is the main source of funding for LIV Golf. Norman’s vision is to have 54-hole tournaments with a shotgun start — every group starts at the same time on different holes — with $20 million for the individual purse and $5 million for a team component.

The winner gets $4 million, while last place gets $120,000.

Eleven players on the list are exempt for the U.S. Open, which will be held the week after the LIV Golf Invitational at The Country Club outside Boston.

MYSTICS BEAT FEVER 87-75 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ariel Atkins scored a season-high 28 points, Elena Delle Donne scored 13 of her 19 points in the first half and the Washington Mystics beat the Indiana Fever 87-75 last night.

Elizabeth Williams led Washington’s defensive effort with 15 rebounds and six blocks, while also scoring 10 points for her first double-double with the Mystics.

Natasha Cloud also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.

Washington (7-3) trailed 46-38 at halftime before outscoring Indiana 49-29 in the second half. The Mystics finished with a 44-32 advantage on the glass.

Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana (3-8) with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting. NaLyssa Smith added 13 points, Victoria Vivians had 11 and Queen Egbo grabbed 10 rebounds.

Indiana was 30-for74 shooting (40.5%) and turned it over 13 times.

SKY TOP MERCURY IN WNBA FINALS REMATCH CHICAGO (AP) — Courtney Vandersloot scored 18 points, Candace Parker grabbed 11 rebounds and the Chicago Sky beat the short-handed Phoenix Mercury 73-70 last night in a WNBA Finals rematch.

Phoenix star Diana Taurasi was ejected with 3:43 left in the second quarter for arguing a no-call with an official. The Mercury were trailing 31-21 at the time, but rallied in the third quarter by scoring 31 points and shooting 72% from the floor.

Vandersloot made 1 of 2 free throws with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter for a 72-70 lead, and she knocked the ball away from Skylar DigginsSmith on a drive at the other end. Rebekah Gardner also went 1 for 2 at the line for a three-point lead and former Chicago player Diamond DeShields did not hit the rim on a corner 3-pointer as time expired.

Kahleah Copper added 11 points, and Emma Meesseman and Gardner each scored 10 for Chicago (5-3).

Parker was just 2-of-9 from the field as both teams shot under 42%.

Tina Charles scored 25 points for Phoenix (2-7).

Diggins-Smith had 12 points and eight assists and DeShields added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Chicago jumped out to a 20-10 first-quarter lead after holding Phoenix to 4-of-20 shooting. Charles had six of the Mercury’s 10 points.

Distance runner O’Neil Williams gets set to run Berlin Marathon FROM PAGE 11 run because of the pandemic and in 2021 I had an Achilles injury that prevented me from running. I ran one race, but

I couldn’t finish,” he said.

“But coming back from all that, this year I ended up breaking a national record again, by four minutes, so it is coming along pretty well.

You know, as long as I have

like a support I’ll be able to continue my progression.”

Despite his recent success, Williams said distance running continues to be overlooked by the Bahamian track and field community at large.

“I get no support from the BAAAs and I barely get any support from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. To be an elite athlete at this level is very expensive. Sometimes I get $1,500, sometimes I get $3,000,” Williams said.

“They come up with a lot of excuses. So most of the times I try to find sponsors outside of the BAAAs and the ministry to help with my training and also to represent my country.”

While chasing his Olympic dream has become uncertain due to a lack of funding, Williams said he has been thankful for the network of friends, family and private sponsors that have been the catalyst of his success.

“Without those people taking an interest trust me, I

was not going to be running today,” he said. “Distance running gets no support, I would say it’s disrespected.

Despite the setbacks, Williams said he is pleased to see the popularity of distance running continue to rise in the Bahamas due in large part to the growth of groups like the Bahamas Roadmasters who he looks forward to seeing at the Berlin Marathon.

At a crossroads in his career, Berlin will be a probing ground moving forward for the 39-year-old Williams.

“I’m not saying at this point I’m going to try for the Olympics because like I said, I have a family now and training and running is difficult. Especially when you have no support,” he said. “So I was thinking of making this my last year, but if I do well in Berlin, then I’ll see if I’ll go forward. If don’t do well, then I’ll just quit and try to focus on my family because they come first and running comes after that.”

O’NEIL Williams with his daughter, Janeil.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, June 1, 2022, PAGE 13

Andrew Wiggins shines on playoff stage for Warriors

By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Andrew Wiggins hoisted his daughter Amyah into his arms and beamed as the Warriors were crowned Western Conference champions.

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green each had hardware in their hands or they most certainly would have lifted Wiggins into the air to celebrate all he has meant to Golden State’s latest postseason run.

He defended Luka Doncic full-court. He drove and dunked on Doncic with an emphatic in-your-face one-handed slam. He is knocking down big shots and securing rebounds at the right times.

“Just living in the moment, just taking it all in, winning,” Wiggins said Monday. “... Just winning with this team, with these guys has been the most important thing.”

From the moment Wiggins began hearing rumblings of a possible trade to the Warriors from Minnesota ahead of the deadline in February 2020, he allowed himself to imagine the possibility of winning it all with Curry, Green and Klay Thompson. He pictured playing for coach Steve Kerr.

Now, he’s about to be on the NBA Finals stage with a chance to do it.

Game 1 against the Boston Celtics is Thursday night at Chase Center, where Golden State is 9-0 this postseason and Wiggins again will be tasked with a tough defensive matchup, this time to slow down Jayson Tatum.

“I love playing defence, I think I’m good at it,” Wiggins said. “I love taking on the challenge.”

For all those months after being traded when Wiggins faced questions about how he would fit

with the Warriors, he has shown he is right where he belongs — and in the finals for the first time in his eight-year career.

The Warriors were in need of an athletic wing and found that player in the 6-foot-7 Wiggins, who once he arrived no longer had to be the face of a franchise or carry that weight on his shoulders as he did with the Timberwolves.

“From the time the trade happened to now, this was the vision of him playing a very, very important role and having the opportunity to do it under the brightest lights and biggest stages like the playoff run like we’ve had and now the finals,” Curry said. “Excited to see that continue.”

Wiggins has been more than even Kerr imagined given his playmaking ability on both ends. For a team that routinely shoots 3-pointers, Wiggins has been one of the most reliable for Golden State inside the arc.

With his 51.9% (14 for 27) mark this postseason, he is one of four players — and the only one still competing — who has shot better than 50% on at least 25 mid-range attempts.

When Golden State needed continuity with Curry, Green and Thompson all sidelined for long stretches this season because of injuries, “Wiggins was a constant, he was here all year,” owner Joe Lacob said of the 27-yearold Toronto native.

Once he joined the Warriors in 2020, Wiggins only played 12 games before the NBA season shut down because of the pandemic. Kerr saw plenty in that small sample size and believed Wiggins would shine in the Bay Area.

“I think all of last year really gave him a better chance to get a feel offensively and start to really

MATCHDAY: SCOTLANDUKRAINE WC PLAYOFF, FINALISSIMA IN LONDON

GOLDEN State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, middle, holds his daughter, Amyah Wiggins, after the Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference finals in San Francisco on Thursday, May 26. Wiggins defended Luka Doncic full-court.

He drove and dunked on Doncic with an emphatic in-your-face one-handed slam. He is knocking down big shots and securing rebounds at the right times.

(AP Photo/John Hefti)

GOLDEN State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins shoots during NBA basketball practice in San Francisco, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The Warriors are scheduled to host the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) fit in to our off-ball movement,” Kerr said. “I think he’s taken a leap in this postseason with his rebounding and his defence and I think continuity is so important in this league that you can’t just throw people together and expect it to work. The previous year and (12) games two years ago and then this season, it’s all led to this point. Wiggs has just been a perfect fit and we wouldn’t be here without him, that’s for sure.”

Yet Wiggins briefly became a distraction before

the season started when he said he would stick to his beliefs and not get vaccinated against COVID-19.

He eventually opted to receive the vaccine, having faced the possibility of not being allowed into home games when the San Francisco Department of Public Health began requiring proof of vaccination for large indoor events.

That’s a distant memory now given how Wiggins has performed.

Curry has only seen Wiggins’ swagger grow as the stakes increase. This group

has come a long way since its league-worst 15-50 showing during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season right after Wiggins arrived.

“It’s a beautiful story,” Wiggins said. “A lot of ups and downs.”

It was his daughter who woke him from a nap in January to share the great news he was a first-time All-Star, and selected as a starter, too.

He’s not satisfied just yet.

“I’m thankful,” Wiggins said, “we still got more work to do.”

A LOOK at what’s happening in European soccer today: WORLD CUP PLAYOFF Scotland hosts Ukraine in Glasgow for the right to play Wales on Sunday for a place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar. The game was postponed by FIFA in March because Ukraine could not field a team one month after its country was invaded by Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave his blessing for Ukraine’s players and coach Oleksandr Petrakov to leave their homeland to prepare for and play the game at Hampden Park.

FINALISSIMA Italy and Argentina will meet at Wembley Stadium in London for a match between the most recent winners of the European Championship and Copa America. It is the first of three inter-continental championships that UEFA and CONMEBOL — the soccer bodies of Europe and South America, respectively — have agreed to stage. It will be the third time the champions of the world’s two most powerful soccer confederations face off in official competition.

On the other two occasions, France beat Uruguay in 1985 and Argentina beat Denmark in 1993.

NATIONS LEAGUE Wales visits Poland just four days before a much bigger match — against either Scotland or Ukraine in a World Cup playoff. For that reason, Wales coach Robert Page is unlikely to risk his main players and jeopardize the team’s chances of qualifying for its first World Cup since 1958.

SPANISH PLAYOFF The promotion playoffs begin in Spain with the first leg of the Canary Islands derby between Tenerife and Las Palmas. The return match at Las Palmas will be on Saturday, with the winner advancing to face either Girona or Eibar for the final spot in the first division next season.

Girona hosts Eibar in their first leg on Thursday, with the return game on Sunday. Eibar finished in third place, just missing out on the two automatic promotion places that went to Almería and Ronaldoowned Valladolid.

AFTER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ‘FIASCO,’ UEFA PROBES WHAT WENT WRONG

By ROB HARRIS and STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writers THE French government is blaming Liverpool fans. The English club is enraged by the “irresponsible, unprofessional” rush to conclusions. European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, will now try to uncover what went wrong in the disorder and chaos in Paris at the Champions League final before Liverpool lost to Real Madrid.

UEFA is starting to gather evidence about issues outside the Stade de France that marred one of the world’s biggest games in sports on Saturday.

Liverpool fans’ leadership groups are already complaining about heavyhanded policing and poor organisation on a troubling night that saw children and elderly people among those getting sprayed by tear gas.

Richard Bouigue, deputy mayor of the 12th arrondissement in Paris, said “the time for official denial is over, the time for apologies must be imposed” in a letter to a Liverpool supporters’ group. “I deplore the dysfunctions in the organisation of the game and the lack of maintenance

of order that led to this real fiasco,” Bouigue wrote to the Spirit of Shankly group in a letter seen by The Associated Press.

There were also renewed concerns in Spain on Wednesday about the organisational failings.

“It was a pretty big mess,” said Madrid defender Dani Carvajal, whose family encountered safety issues.

“They have to learn and fix the mistakes for the next events that may happen at this stadium and hopefully everything will be better.

But yes, in the end there were people who suffered a lot.”

These are the key issues the UEFA review will need to take into consideration: ORGANISATION The challenges of staging the final with just three months’ notice — Paris was awarded the game in February after a decision was taken to strip Russia’s St Petersburg of hosting rights — has been floated as a reason for the chaos that unfolded.

Having months, rather than years, to plan for the final was still enough time for hospitality facilities to be prepared and the stadium wrapped in special competition branding.

POLICE officers guard the Stade de France prior the Champions League final soccer match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, in Saint Denis near Paris, on Saturday, May 28. Police deployed tear gas on supporters waiting in long lines to get into the Stade de France for the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid that was delayed by 37 minutes while security struggled to cope with the vast crowd and fans climbing over fences.

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena) There was, though, a shortage of signage on streets leading to the stadium and on the subway and train lines. While private security was at stadium entrances, there were no volunteers deployed to help fans navigate unfamiliar streets and communicate as lines grew longer. What was

the reason behind the decision to herd fans — mostly from Liverpool — into a narrow passage on the walk up to the stadium from the metro, with police vans blocking much of the space?

Were there enough police officers and security guards in and around the stadium for such a big occasion? In

a statement released Tuesday, the French Football Federation said there were 1,650 security guards at the Stade de France — 25% more than for a sold-out France match, it claimed — “in anticipation of the possible presence of people without tickets or in possession of counterfeit tickets.”

UEFA’S MESSAGING The “late arrival of fans” was the initial reason given for the delay to kickoff for what proved to be 37 minutes. Yet there was clear evidence many fans had arrived near the stadium up to three hours before the scheduled start of the game and simply ended up stuck in lines that barely moved.

Liverpool fans, pressed up against the railings and many fearful of their own safety, hadn’t even been told the match had been delayed. That appeared to add to the panic, as some thought they would miss the game.

UEFA seemed slow to realise the extent of the problems. Steve Rotheram, a mayor in Liverpool who attended the game, said he had his cell phone, money, bank cards and match ticket stolen outside the Stade de France. He said he saw UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin in the VIP section of the stadium later and explained his concerns.

“He seemed oblivious to it,” Rotheram said of Ceferin.

POLICE Why did police use bottlenecks to control the flow

SEE PAGE 14

PAGE 14, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

LIA THOMAS PLANS TO KEEP SWIMMING - WITH EYE ON OLYMPICS Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas said she intends to keep competing, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Olympics.

In an interview that aired yesterday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Thomas also disputed those who say she has an unfair biological edge that ruins the integrity of women’s athletics.

“Trans women are not a threat to women’s sports,” she said.

Thomas became a leading symbol of transgender athletes — stirring both opposition and support — when she joined the Penn women’s swim team after competing for three years on the men’s squad at the Ivy League school.

In March, Thomas won the women’s 500yard freestyle at the NCAA championships in Atlanta, becoming the first transgender woman to claim a national title in swimming. She has since graduated from Penn and plans to attend law school, in addition to pursuing

her goal of qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic swimming trials that will determine the team for the Paris Games.

“I intend to keep swimming,” Thomas told ABC. “It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through.”

USA Swimming has used a review panel to make individual determinations on a case-by-case basis since 2018. Thomas would need approval from the governing body to attempt to qualify for the next Olympic trials.

Thomas, who grew up in Austin, Texas, said she fell in love with swimming at age four but felt increasingly disconnected from her body as she grew older.

“I didn’t feel like I was a boy,” she said.

After high school, Thomas earned a spot on the men’s swimming team at Penn. But by her sophomore year, she struggled with deep depression and suicidal thoughts. “I was barely going to classes.

LIA THOMAS (AP) I could really barely get out of bed,” she recalled, finally telling herself: “I can’t live like this anymore.

I want to live again. I want to be able to do things I enjoy.”

Thomas said a fear of not being able to compete in the sport she loved kept her from transitioning initially. But at the end of her sophomore year, she began hormone replacement therapy.

“The mental and emotional changes actually happened very quickly.

I was feeling a lot better mentally. I was less depressed,” she said. “And I lost muscle mass and I

became a lot weaker and a lot, a lot slower in the water.”

Thomas began swimming on the Penn women’s swimming team at the start of her senior year, following NCAA guidelines in place at the time that athletes must complete one year of hormone replacement therapy to change gender categories.

The scrutiny over Thomas grew as she achieved far more swimming success competing against women than she did before.

Transgender athletes have now become a prominent political target, with many conservative states pushing through laws that require high school athletes to compete as the sex they were assigned at birth.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a proclamation that declared the NCAA runner-up, Florida-born Emma Weyant, as the real winner of the women’s 500 title.

The NCAA has changed its transgender eligibility

guidelines to allow each sport to follow the rules set by each sport’s national governing body.

Thomas, in the interview with ABC, pushed back on some of the criticism she received particularly during her senior season, when she rarely spoke to the media.

She scoffed at the notion that she transitioned in order to have more success as a swimmer.

“We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves,” she said.

“Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions.”

Thomas also said it’s not fair to prevent transgender people from competing in sports, or to limit them to competing only against each other.

“In addition to not allowing the full athletic experience, that’s incredibly othering to trans people who already face immense discrimination in other parts of our lives,” Thomas said.

MARLINSROCKIES GAME RAINED OUT, DOUBLEHEADER SET FOR TODAY DENVER (AP) — The game between the Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies last night was postponed due to rainy weather.

It will be made up today as part of a traditional doubleheader.

The opening game will be at 1:10pm and the second one no more than 45 minutes later.

The Rockies are slated to throw Antonio Senzatela in the first game and Germán Márquez in the second.

The Marlins hadn’t announced a starter for yesterday.

Colorado beat the Marlins 7-1 on Monday to open the series.

It was a game that included a 496-foot homer from Miami’s Jesús Sánchez in the second inning. The long ball reached the thirddeck concourse at Coors Field.

NADAL

FROM PAGE 11 For anyone lucky enough to be there, too, or even anyone watching from afar.

The match began a little past 9pm yesterday and concluded more than four hours later, after 1 am today.

Nary a game, a point, a stroke or, indeed, a step came with a hint of insouciance. Both men gave their all. Nothing came easily.

The bracket said this was a quarterfinal, yes, but it felt like a final, from the quality of play to the quality of effort, from the anticipation that preceded it to the atmosphere that enveloped it.

The only missing ingredient: There was no trophy handed to the winner.

Nadal’s 3-0 lead in the second set did him no good; Djokovic ended up taking it.

Djokovic’s 3-0 lead in the fourth did him no good, even though he served for it at 5-3, even standing one point from forcing a fifth twice. Nadal saved those set points and broke there, then ran away with the closing tiebreaker, seizing a 6-1 edge and and never losing focus after his first three match points went awry.

“Always playing against him is an amazing challenge,” Nadal said. “All the history we have together, today was another one.

This showdown was the 59th of their careers, more than any other two men have played each other in the Open era. Nadal narrowed Djokovic’s series lead to 30-29 while improving to 8-2 against his rival at Roland Garros.

Nadal is now 110-3 for his career at the place. Two of those losses came against Djokovic, including in last year’s semifinals. This time, Nadal made sure Djokovic remains behind him in the Slam count with 20. Nadal broke their three-way time

COCO GAUFF, of the U.S. returns the ball to Sloane Stephens of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament stadium yesterday in Paris.

(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) But the nightcap was themselves for the effort. Djokovic this way or that, at that number with Roger said after putting an end to Federer by capturing the Alcaraz’s 14-match winning saved for two players who That was the first set Djok- up and back, until an openknow each other so well. ovic had lost over the past ing for a clean winner Australian Open in Janu- streak.

“I told him at the net, The tendencies and tactics. two weeks and closed a presented itself. ary, when Djokovic was The mannerisms and streak of 22 consecutive Djokovic reacted to his not able to play because ‘You’re going to win this sets dating to his title run own miscues by rolling his he is not vaccinated against tournament a lot of times, moods. not just once,’” said Zverev, So it should come as at the Italian Open in early eyes, shaking his head or COVID-19. putting his palms out as if to Nadal turns 36 on Friday, the runner-up at the U.S. no surprise they engaged May. As time passed and the say, “What’s going on?” when he will face third- Open in 2020 and the gold in points so involved, so Nadal showed zero signs seeded Alexander Zverev medalist at the Tokyo lengthy — 57 of at least air became colder — below Olympics last summer. “I nine strokes, with one that 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 of being slowed or bothered in the semifinals.

When the subject of Nad- hope I can win it before he went 25 — that before some Celsius) — Nadal and Djok- one bit by the chronic pain were concluded, folks in ovic embodied the words in in his left foot. al’s future was brought up starts ... beating us all.”

In women’s action yester- the stands would let out clay-colored capital letters It flares up every so often during his on-court interday, 18-year-old American a gasp or an “Aaaah!” or in French and English along and kept him off the tour view, he smiled.

“See you, by the way, Coco Gauff and 28-year-old “Awwww!”, drawing rebuk- the facing of the lower level for the last half of 2021 in two days,” Nadal said. Martina Trevisan of Italy ing hisses of “Shhhhh!” in of the arena, attributed to and arose again before the Roland Garros, the World French Open.

“That’s the only thing that I reached their first Grand response.

Slam semifinals.

Ten minutes were War I fighter pilot for whom Nor did Nadal betray a can say.”

The 18th-seeded Gauff required to decide merely the facility is named: “Vic- trace of fatigue from his Before Nadal advanced to his 15th semifinal in beat 2017 U.S. Open cham- the initial game, in which tory belongs to the most five-set tussle against No. 9 seed Felix Auger-AliasParis, Zverev reached his pion and 2018 French Open Nadal broke serve, and 49 tenacious.”

In the early going, and sime in the fourth round on second in a row by holding runner-up Sloane Stephens minutes for the opening off 19-year-old rising star 7-5, 6-2, while the 59th- set, the final game of which down the stretch, it was Sunday that lasted 4 hours, Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, ranked Trevisan eliminated was delayed slightly as fans Nadal getting the better 21 minutes, nearly twice as 7-6 (7). “Not really getting U.S. Open finalist Leylah rose from their seats to do of the baseline back-and- long as Djokovic’s matterthe wave — then applauded forths, pushing and pulling of-fact win that day. easier from here,” Zverev Fernandez 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

AFTER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ‘FIASCO,’ UEFA PROBES WHAT WENT WRONG FROM PAGE 13

of spectators? The review will need to look at the policing of the final, from how they planned the hazardous route to the stadium from the train station and metro stops, as well as the instances of heavy-handedness toward supporters in using tear gas and pepper spray indiscriminately in areas where there were kids and elderly people. There is footage of police deploying spray directly into the face of fans.

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Repeated allegations of brutality have hit French police in recent years, notably during the Yellow Vests protests against the government, amid calls police should exercise greater restraint.

French police have struggled to get a grip on fan violence at domestic matches this season. Was that considered when the event was moved to Paris after direct talks between Ceferin and French President Emmanuel Macron?

TICKETING This is likely to be a key focus of the review after French Interior minister Gérald Darmanin said there was “massive fraud at an industrial level,” claiming that “70% of the tickets were fake tickets coming into the Stade de France.”

Those numbers have been received with scepticism.

Past and present Liverpool players — including Andrew Robertson — have said tickets they had

received through legitimate channels hadn’t been accepted at the gates. There were undoubtedly some fake tickets — the AP has been shown an example of one. But the AP is aware of malfunctioning scanners unable to validate genuine tickets. Were those considered to be fake at the turnstiles?

In the FFF’s statement, it said 110,000 people went to the Stade de France on Saturday for a match with a capacity of 75,000. Therefore, it said, there were 35,000 additional people in possession of counterfeit tickets or without tickets.

The federation said the figures were provided by “various public and private operators.”

STEWARDING Just like at Wembley Stadium last year when there was violence and crowd chaos at the European Championship final, stewards bore the brunt of the disorder on Saturday

as they were overwhelmed by large crowds at the gates. Low-paid and underresourced, it seems unfair to expect stewards to resist aggression and force from both frustrated fans and other people trying to enter stadiums illegally by barging through checkpoints.

Even as the chaos was unfolding, some private security officials turned their focus on media, ordering video footage to be deleted.

LOCALS There are a growing number of testimonies from people who attended the final, detailing how they got mugged and attacked before and after the match at the Stade de France, which is located in an impoverished suburb of northern Paris. Local thugs appear to have exploited the chaos on the night.

Some were seen fighting with police outside the stadium. Among those seen vaulting the fences to get

into the stadium without tickets were people not wearing Liverpool or Madrid colours, potentially therefore locals taking advantage of overwhelmed security.

The sight of “bands of delinquents hitting and robbing” fans was recalled by Spanish professional tennis player Feliciano López.

“I saw how one person jumped over the fence to get into the stadium, the same one who tried to rob me wanted to sneak past the turnstile to get into the stadium,” López tweeted. “It was a complete shambles.”

STIGMATISING FANS According to some testimonies, the crowd management issues brought back disturbing memories of the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989 that led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans. Hooliganism was rife in English football throughout the 1980s, and there were

immediate attempts back then to falsely assign blame on the Liverpool fans and defend policing at the FA Cup match in Sheffield. A false narrative that blamed drunken, ticketless and rowdy Liverpool fans was created by police. It took decades of campaigning for Liverpool supporters to prove there was a cover-up by authorities who tried to blame them.

Now Liverpool fans are challenging the authorities again, this time in France.

Darmanin, the French minister, claimed on Monday that “this kind of situation occurs” within certain clubs from Britain, stigmatising Liverpool fans.

“All light must be shed,” said Bouigue, the Parisian politician, “the responsibilities identified, and improvements made so that this type of chaos, which must have revived the Hillsborough tragedy for many fans, never happens again.”

PAGE 16, Wednesday, June 1, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Calling the Shots - FIBA referee Christian Wilmore proudly represents The Bahamas AS an avid after-school sports fan from his St Augustine’s College days, Christian Wilmore recalls how he eagerly watched and cheered from the sidelines.

In the eighth grade, because of his keen interest in sports he was asked to consider becoming a table scorer and since he was already at the games anyway, he decided to give it a shot. This decision opened doors he never even imagined possible.

“Becoming a scorer gave me something to do and I discovered that I really enjoyed it, so I then began scoring for softball and basketball, basically all the sports at SAC,” recalled Wilmore. “Basketball became my first love though and I went on to score at local tournaments.

The late Mrs Katrinka Marshall, at the time, said to me that young basketball referees were needed and I should consider training to become one. I had never even considered it

but thanks to her and coach Randy Cunningham, I got all the information needed and attended my first clinic and that was my start.”

Shortly after the clinic, at the age of 14, Wilmore refereed his first set of games in the public school’s national basketball tournament and has not stopped.

A FIBA referee since 2012, he is the first Bahamian to referee a world championship and has travelled to 20-plus countries.

As the New Providence Association of Certified Basketball Officials (NPACBO) president, he encourages young Bahamians to consider becoming a referee.

“I would highly recommend those who love the game of basketball but objectively do not have the ability to play at the collegiate level but still want to be connected to the game, to try the officiating route.

With international refereeing you get to see the

A FIBA referee since 2012, Christian Wilmore is the first Bahamian to referee a world championship and has travelled to 20-plus countries. world and be compensated in Gurabo, Puerto Rico in FIBA referee. “As a federfor doing so,” he said.

June 18-30. The Bahamas ation, we want to recognise Most recently, Wilmore Basketball Federation cel- the high standard of officiwas nominated as FIBA ebrates his achievement ating we have represented Centrobasket Under-15 and steady progression as here in The Bahamas Championship Referee a representative for The through Christian’s leadfor the 2022 tournament Bahamas globally as a ership. He has emerged

as one of the top referees in this region and proudly represented our country at numerous tournaments.

One of our key initiatives as the BBF is focused on training and development of our administration, coaches and officials. We encourage young Bahamians to seize every opportunity to be trained, gain new skills, and have world exposure. We celebrate Christian’s continued international success,” expressed Jurelle NairnMullings, secretary general of the Bahamas Basketball Federation.

As a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in biochemistry at University of The West Indies, Mona Campus, Wilmore set his sights high in the classroom and on the court. “My goal one day is to officiate at the Olympics or senior men or women’s world championship game. At that point, I would have accomplished a big dream and then I would be satisfied,” he said.

GOLDEN SPIKE: PRESCOD CLOCKS 9.93 TO WIN 100 METRES FROM PAGE 11 having announced that she is retiring at the end of the year.

Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma dominated the men’s 3,000 steeplechase with a world-leading time of 7 minutes, 58.68 seconds.

Another Olympic champion, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, cleared 2.30 metres to win the men’s high jump.

In the rarely contested women’s 300 hurdles, Femke Bol of the Netherlands clocked the fastest time ever to win in 36.86, more than one second faster than the previous

best of 38.16 set by Zuzana Hejnova in 2013. The event does not have an official world record.

Jerome Blake of Canada won the men’s 200 in a photo finish ahead of U.S. sprinter Elijah Hall, with both clocking 20.14.

Kenyan 17-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the men’s 800 in 1:44.15 while Diribe Welteji led an Ethiopian sweep of the women’s 1,500 in 3:59.19 ahead of Ayal Dagnachew and Netsanet Desta.

World champion Anderson Peters of Grenada claimed the men’s javelin with a throw of 87.88 metres.

NETHERLANDS’ Femke Bol poses, after winning and setting a new world record in the 300 metres hurdles race, at the Zlata tretra (Golden Spike) Continental Tour athletic meeting, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, yesterday.

(Jaroslav Ozana/ CTK via AP)