06282023 NEWS, SPORT AND BUSINESS

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new citizen faced threats, says bell

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION Min-

ister Keith Bell claimed the woman he granted citizenship on Saturday has complained about receiving threats since the matter became public.

“There was one or two persons, particularly the wife of the deceased, had contacted me out of

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Grand Bahama

Port Authority defended its management of Freeport yesterday after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis criticised its performance, saying increasing bureaucracy and red tape from the government have held the island back.

Foreign Affairs Minister

concern and threats, etc., that she received,” he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “And I told her that, you know, God is still in control and that everything would be alright.”

Mr Bell’s comment came after one of his predecessors, Brent Symonette, said he should resign from Cabinet for conferring citizenship to the woman and

SEE page three

Minister says widow victimised following oath given at funeral Gbpa wants evidence of G ovt claiM s over debts

Fred Mitchell quickly expressed shock after the GBPA released its statement, insisting the authority is “failing in its duty”.

The back and forth is the latest sign of the high tensions between the government and the GBPA, with the authority saying it released its statement because of the uncertainty the Davis administration’s

SEE page five

oops - no liMit on beach access, says Goldwynn

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

GOLDWYNN is not blocking non-guests from accessing beaches, a resort official said yesterday.

A photo on social media yesterday showed a poster announcing that only registered guests could access the parts of Goodman’s Bay beach that are adjacent to the resort.

The sign, however, was later removed.

The sign said: “From this point on, pool and beach areas are exclusively reserved for the use of Goldwynn Resort registered guests only.”

Stuart Bowe, Goldwynn’s director of hospitality operations, told reporters only the pools and decks of the resort are reserved

MaynardGibson: no coMMent on claiM of ft X $1M bonus

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s Bahamas attorney yesterday declined to comment on allegations that a “former Bahamian government official” was offered a $1m “bonus” if they could expedite obtaining the necessary licences to operate from this nation.

Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, a former attorney general and ex-minister of financial services and investments, wrote in response to Tribune Business inquiries: “Our firm does not comment on any client nor any matter connected with any client.”

...and all quiet over ub president too

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE head of the University of the Bahamas’ (UB) board of trustees refused to say why a non-Bahamian has been appointed acting president of the university following the resignation of the outgoing president.

When The Tribune contacted Allyson Maynard-Gibson yesterday, she said: “The only thing the board has to say is exactly what is in the release. There is nothing more to say other than that.”

Sign that was placed, then removed at Goldwynn

a young boy walks in the rain yesterday. A meteorologist yesterday says that the recent weather is not unusual as frequent rain and thunderstorms has impacted several islands throughout The Bahamas in recent weeks, causing moderate flooding in some instances. See PAGE TWO for story. Photo: austin fernander

Murder on Peter Street brings count to 54 for the year

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was shot dead last night, bringing the country’s murder count to 54.

Chief Supt Chrislyn Skippings spoke to the media on the scene in Peter Street last night.

She said: “Sometime around 9.20pm our department was notified of gunshots being discharged in Peter Street West, in the area of Baillou h ill Road.

“Police responded and on arrival discovered a male with multiple gunshot injuries lying next to a chain link fence.

“Our preliminary information thus far revealed that the victim was clearing the fence of shrubs when a dark-coloured small Japanese vehicle pulled up.

“It is reported that a male exited that vehicle and opened fire on the victim, hitting him multiple times.”

The victim succumbed to his injuries on the scene. CSP Skippings confirmed the victim was a resident of the area and was familiar to police. h is age or identity were not revealed last night. She noted that police are following significant leads into the matter.

h owever, she urged members of the public who might have information to reach out to authorities, adding that their identity will remain anonymous.

CSP Skippings asserted that saturation patrols continue to play a pivotal role in the fight against crime.

“Saturation patrols are assisting us significantly, even though we have saturation patrols ongoing remember when a person has made up their mind to commit a crime, you can’t stop them.

“We will continue to be resolute, we will continue to patrol, we’re actually going to beef up more patrols in this area.”

meteorologist says uptick in thunderstorms is not unusual

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

SUNNY days with uninterrupted blue skies will be back soon despite the recent series of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

Acting Director of Meteorology Jeffrey Simmons told The Tribune yesterday that the recent uptick of thunderstorms is not as irregular as some residents feel.

“I would say about every at least three to five years, you will see events like this going on during our rainy season,” Mr Simmons said. “This time of the year the rain began, we started to

get our rain and you’ll get some thunderstorms.”

“What’s going on is that we’ve had an unusual amount of tropical moisture coming up from the south and bringing a lot of moisture over us. It’s been causing a lot of rain. But you know, this is the rainy season, or should I say the beginning of the rainy season. With summertime we’re going to see these thunder activities, but it does seem to be quite a bit often this year.”

Mr Simmons noted the increase in thunderstorms has not only occurred in New Providence but also Exuma, Cat Island,

Eleuthera, Long Island, and other Family Islands. Several weeks ago, residents in Exuma suffered severe flooding which led to Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper announcing that a Royal Navy vessel was called to pump out water from affected areas. The island experienced knee-high floods gushing through the streets. Roads were cut off and cars were submerged under muddy water.

Asked if there were any irregular trends this season, Mr Simmons said it was unusual to see three named storms in June.

investigation continues into incident at nightclub that

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

POLICE said an investigation is ongoing into an incident at the Aura nightclub in Atlantis that left a man’s leg partially severed last month.

The gruesome incident occurred on the night of May 28.

The Tribune previously described a video showing a

correction

left man with a leg injury

man in distress on the club’s floor as a woman carefully held his foot in her hand, trying to prevent an even worse injury.

A second video this newspaper has seen showed that a fight preceded the gruesome injury.

The video showed several men trying to break up the fight between two men.

At the end of the nightclub brawl, the victim was

left on the floor, his ankle covered in blood and his foot twisted in an awkward position.

Although an individual has been identified to The Tribune as involved in the scuffle, Atlantis has repeatedly declined to comment on the issue.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Chrislyn Skppings said yesterday the matter is still under investigation.

ThE TRIBUNE reported on June 27, 2023 that OceanGate’s submersible, Titan, is registered in The Bahamas. This is incorrect. The Bahamas Maritime Authority has clarified that OceanGate Expeditions Ltd is registered in The Bahamas as a company only –– not the submersible.

The authority told The Tribune: “Its submersible Titan and its support vessel, associated with the recent tragedy, are not registered under The Bahamas Flag and are, therefore, beyond the jurisdiction and purview of the design, construction and operational regulatory standards which would be applicable to Bahamian flagged vessels.”

Residents find shelter under umbrellas during a rainstorm yesterday in Nassau.

Photo: Austin Fernander

A Resident of the area near Peter Street was gunned down last night, becoming the country’s 54th murder victim of the year. Chief Supt Chrislyn Skippings expressed frustration, but said, “We will continue to be resolute, we will continue to patrol, we’re actually going to beef up more patrols in this area.”

Photo: Moise Amisial

New citizen faced threats, says Bell

her two children during a funeral service at the Metropolitan Church of the Nazarene on Saturday.

“Here it is, we are talking about someone who introduced a Commercial Enterprises Act to allow persons in this country to bypass every process to obtain status in this country,” Mr Bell said, referring to Mr Symonette.

“We are talking about someone who had to resign on two occasions from the Cabinet of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. And so his own record ought to be examined before he could point fingers at anyone. In my view, he has no moral authority to speak to me on this matter.”

Mr Symonette resigned as chairman of the Airport Authority in 2001 after a company tied to his family was awarded a contract to upgrade runways at the Lynden Pindling International Airport. The Commercial Enterprises Act, meanwhile, liberalised the granting of work permits

so that enterprises trying to establish themselves in The Bahamas could secure work permits for their management team and key personnel. The Davis administration has not repealed the law.

Mr Bell said on Monday that he conferred citizenship to three people during the funeral service of their patriarch, Franck Racine. He said Mr Racine’s dying wish was that his family get Bahamian citizenship, a request Cabinet eventually granted.

“I honoured the wishes of a dying man, a Bahamian, and he has two children who were born in The Bahamas, and he has a wife and the spouses of Bahamians are entitled to citizenship under our constitution,” Mr Bell said.

“The same applies to children born in The Bahamas, and you will take note of the recent Privy Council decision which affirms that position that the children who were born in The Bahamas to a Bahamian man are entitled to citizenship.”

Mr Bell said issuing a certificate of citizenship is

IMMIGRATION Minister Keith Bell revealed that the wife who was conferred citizenship during a funeral had contacted him because of threats she had received. He asked for “all right-thinking Bahamians” to allow the mother and their children to mourn the passing of their father in peace.

Austin Fernander not the beginning of any process but the end of the citizenship process. He called for “all

right-thinking Bahamians” to let the mother and her children mourn the passing of Mr Racine in peace.

The swearing-in of the mother and her children was captured on audio during the service.

In the recording, the minister acknowledged that conferring citizenship at a funeral was unorthodox.

LABOUR DEPARTMENT SEEKS TO DETERMINE WHY WORK FORCE DECREASED SINCE 2019

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR Minis-

ter Keith Bell said the Department of Labour is researching why the labour force has decreased by thousands compared to 2019.

The Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) released the latest labour force survey last week, revealing the unemployment rate to be 8.8 per cent, the lowest in 15

years. East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson, however, was quick to note that the labour force has shrunk. He dismissed the unemployment rate as a “smokescreen” that masks the “significant” reduction in working Bahamians. The latest survey found there were 219,465 members of the labour force. The previous report in May 2019 saw a labour force size of 237,525 people.

Mr Bell accused Mr Thompson of trying to deceive people.

“The fact of the matter is you have to look at the overall number, and when you get the overall number you’re talking about –– it is out of 100,” he said. “Even if that number was 20, we’re talking about 200,000 people, and I would submit on the contrary to what the honourable member of parliament had to say, the reality is that it is even

that much more significant because we went through a pandemic and we went through a hurricane.”

“And so you had a number of persons because of the actions of the former administration leaving the country or were displaced. And so the fact that you’re going to have an unemployment rate of 8.8 per cent, it is even more significant because in this short period of time, this administration, this Davis-led

administration, has been able to lower the unemployment rate. And so you have to look at the overall number, and you have to then take into account how many persons have been employed.”

“You cannot say because 227,000 persons may have been employed in 2019, today, it’s 220,000 or 200,000 and therefore, it does not paint a true reflection of those numbers. The fact that matters is 200,000 people

employed, whatever the number is.”

He continued: “There is always a concern and what is unfortunate is that the former administration did not do no analysis –– they did not research. They didn’t do anything to determine what was going on and that is why we’re in this predicament today. But this administration, this ministry, the Department of Labour, is undertaking a research to determine what went on.”

HALKITIS SAYS DAVIS ADMINISTRATION HAS TO ‘LIVE WITH’ CRUISE PORT DEAL

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs

Minister Michael Halkitis said the Nassau Cruise Port deal the Minnis administration executed is one the Davis administration has to live with.

“It’s a deal done by the previous administration,” he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting.

“There are opinions being expressed as to the goodness or badness of it. My view from my position where I sit is

governments are continuous. We have to live with it, and we have to make the best out of it.”

Immigration Minister Keith Bell called the deal the worst in Bahamian history during his budget communication in the House of Assembly last week.

Mr Bell said the Minnis administration executed a bad lease agreement, claiming the country would lose “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue for at least 27 years due to the investment.

The port disputed his

claims of lost revenue.

Days later, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, the Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, said during his 2023/2024 Budget presentation that the port was a “stunning achievement” that officials are happy to have at the country’s “most popular entryway”.

In 2019, the Minnis administration arranged a 25-year-long lease with Global Ports Holdings valued at $250m for the management and development of the Nassau Cruise Port.

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said the Nassau Cruise Port deal the Minnis administration executed is one the Davis administration has to live with.

Photo: Austin Fernander

Photo:

Bar Association taken to court accused of refusing to provide list of members in good standing

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ROMONA Farquharson Seymour is taking the Bahamas Bar Association to court for allegedly refusing to give her a list of financial members before Friday’s annual general meeting. Mrs Farquharson Seymour is challenging Bar president Khalil Parker for the top post in the upcoming election.

According to documents seen by The Tribune , she wants the Supreme Court to order the association to provide a list of members eligible to vote in a reasonable time before an election selects a new board.

She is seeking an interim injunction staying the Bar’s election until the financial list of members is provided.

“The claimant requested the list of financial members of the Bahamas Bar Association from the defendant in hopes to have ample time to contact the relevant financial members of the Bar,” the court application says.

“The claimant verily believes that this failure from the defendant prejudices her in that she does

Allyson M Ayn A rd-Gibson quiet over university of

from page one

On Monday, Central Grand Bahama MP Iram Lewis questioned the university’s decision to bypass a Bahamian for the top role again as elected officials wrapped up the 2023/2024 budget debate.

Dr Erik Rolland’s tenure as UB’s president will end on June 30 for “personal, family reasons”.

Ms Hodder, a permanent resident of The Bahamas for the past 40 years, will serve as acting president

for the remainder of Dr Rolland’s contract, which expires in July 2025. Ms Hodder was the president of the College of the Bahamas from July 2006 to June 2010.

Mr Lewis said on Monday: “We in our policy, we do not have a Bahamian as the president. I know we talked about the board operating, we talked about Bahamianisation. We have a qualified Bahamian in this country who applies, who’s rejected. Why isn’t it our policy where someone like Dr Ian Strachan can be

the president of UB? When there is a Bahamian like Dr Sydney McPhee, the president of Middle Tennessee State University in the US, but a qualified Bahamian is not heading our highest tertiary education institution in The Bahamas? Why is that? Don’t we have a say?”

Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin deferred to UB’s board, which she said is autonomous.

She said the university is seeking accreditation. She said the

t

not know who is financial and who to approach.”

It’s not clear when the matter will be heard in the Supreme Court.

Recently, Mrs Farquharson Seymour told reporters she wants a new vision and leadership for the Bar.

A general practice lawyer for over 20 years, she said: “We need to right ourselves in some things, and again, it’s not a case where I’m saying that the present president hasn’t done anything; no, certainly not, not saying that at all, but we need more and we should have that.”

“We also have issues with respect to our voting process. It’s based heavily on how many proxies a person can get, and I believe that is really killing the Bar.

“It is being abused. It’s causing persons to just sit back and say, well, okay, all I have to do is sign a proxy form and not question, well, why is it that you want to be president? More particularly to my opponent, why is it that you want to be president for another term, making it eight or ten years? What further vision is there that you have, or what is it that you want to complete?”

he bA h AMA s President

Allyson MAynArd-Gibson, head of the University of the Bahamas’ (UB) board of trustees, refused to say why a non-Bahamian has been appointed acting president of the university following the resignation of the outgoing president.

government intends for a Bahamian to run the university eventually.

“Certainly, the policy

of The Bahamas government is that a Bahamian will lead the University of The Bahamas,” she said.

“They’re currently in the accreditation phase and we trust that they move through that quickly.”

As she seesk the preseidency of the Bahamas Bar Association, Romona Farquharson Seymour is taking them to court for allegedly refusing to give her a list of financial members before Friday’s annual general meeting.

GBPA wants evidence of govt claims over debts

from page one

comments have caused.

In the House of Assembly on Monday, Mr Davis said the GBPA had not paid money owed to the government. He also called for new management of the authority.

In response, the GBPA said “it is yet to be satisfied” that the debt claims are supported by credible evidence.

The authority said the matter is being reviewed and that the claims will be addressed later.

“Government’s claims under clause 1(5) of the HCA are contested,” the authority said. “GBPA is yet to be satisfied that the government’s purported claims, which have lain dormant for more than 50 years, are justified and supported by credible evidence. They are, however, being reviewed and will be fully addressed.

“We would add, however, that the claims under this clause, which has not been amended since 1965, when Freeport was in its infancy, have little relevance today. At the time, government merely collected excise tax; today, they extract a multitude of additional taxes, which include, but are not limited to cruise and airport passengers taxes, environmental taxes, road taxes, room taxes as well as import/export duty and VAT to name but a few.”

“It is also an anomaly to ask the GBPA to fund

the Ministry of Grand Bahama. The fact of the matter is Freeport has always been and continues to be a net contributor to The Bahamas Treasury despite the increased government-imposed bureaucracy and red tape in breach of the HCA, which has held Freeport back.”

The GBPA noted the Hawksbill Creek Agreement contains commitments for the authority and the government.

It said projects Mr Davis mentioned involving healthcare, education, the airport, and the Grand Lucayan report are commitments of the government under the law, not the GBPA.

Reacting to the authority’s statement, Mr Mitchell said: “They know what the facts are regarding their situation, they simply do not have the money to carry the city where it needs to go.”

“The question is not a tit-for-tat on who is responsible for what in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement,” Mr Mitchell said in a video sent to the press. “You can have a legalistic argument all you want. The point is, overall, the citizens of Grand Bahama and Freeport and The Bahamas know that right now the Grand Bahama Port Authority is failing in its duty to the city, its residents and to the country.”

antiGUa and barbUda leads “histOric” declaratiOn at Oas General assembly

n beach access, says G O ldwynn

An HIsToRIC “first” was recorded at the General Assembly of the organization of American states (oAs) when 20 countries, drawn from Central America and the Caribbean, issued a joint declaration, calling on international financial and development institutions “to prioritize the provision of funds and resources to support the efforts of Central America and the Caribbean in addressing climate change, recognizing the urgency and magnitude of the challenges faced by these regions”.

The original declaration was drafted by Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United states and the oAs, sir Ronald sanders, who also presented the declaration on behalf of the 20 Caribbean

and Central American countries after securing unanimous support.

Ambassador sanders explained that, hitherto, the countries of Central America and the Caribbean at the oAs had never joined together to express their shared concern about the evident heating-up of the planet. now, they have not only let the world know of their joint worry, but they have also collectively called for action”.

The joint declaration calls for international financial and development institutions to prioritize the provision of funds and resources to Central America and the Caribbean, “recognizing the urgency and magnitude of the challenges faced by these regions in building

resilience to Climate Change”.

sir Ronald said that while small island developing states have been making their voices heard at meetings of the Un Committee of the Parties (CoP) at many Climate Change meetings, there is a need to widen the alliance of states which are jointly seeking remedies for loss and damage to their economies and the livelihoods of their people.

The 20 countries that made the joint declaration at the oAs General Assembly on June 21, were the 14 independent states of CARICoM and six Central American countries – Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El salvador, Honduras, and Panama.

from page one

exclusively for guests.

He said: “Well, first of, we have had no issues with any members of the public,” he said. “I work out here every day. People use this beach

every day to exercise, walk the dog –– both guests and the public.

“We had a sign that did have the word beach on it. The sign has since been removed. That will be corrected. What it is, is that the pools and the decks

are reserved for Goldwynn guests, but we do understand that the beach is free rein for everyone.”

All beaches in The Bahamas are considered public property from the water to the high-water mark.

O O ps - n O limit O

Antigu A and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders.

tHE Grand Bahama Port Authority defended its management of Freeport yesterday after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis criticised its performance, saying increasing bureaucracy and red tape from the government have held the island back.

A pHoto on social media yesterday showed a poster announcing that only registered guests could access the parts of Goodman’s Bay beach that are adjacent to Goldwynn. The resort is not blocking non-guests from accessing beaches, a resort official said yesterday.

The Tribune Limited

International claims deserve serious examination

INTERNATIONAL news has been coming to the doorstep of The Bahamas in recent times – and not in a good way.

The loss of the submersible Titan as it descended on an exploration mission to the Titanic caught the world’s attention – and it soon emerged there were Bahamian connections to the company behind the project.

A subsidiary company of OceanGate, OceanGate Expeditions, is registered here, testing was carried out in Bahamian waters – and the company’s website boasted of links to two organisations based here in The Bahamas, both of which later said those links never developed further.

We are not alone, it seems, in some of those connections being exaggerated – the company talked of the submersible being built with the assistance of groups such as Boeing, the University of Washington and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Each of those has since said their involvement was more limited than suggested by OceanGate.

The University of Washington has said it was not involved in the design, engineering or testing of the submersible, Boeing has said it was not a partner and did not design or build it, while NASA confirmed it consulted on an agreement but did not conduct testing or manufacturing through either its workforce or its facilities.

This is the second international story with Bahamian connections to have captured the world’s attention in recent times – the other being the collapse of the crypto company FTX.

A new allegation in that case has seen a suggestion made that a former Bahamian government official was offered a $1m bonus to expedite licences for FTX to operate in The Bahamas.

This claim comes from John Ray, head of those remaining parts of FTX that are in bankruptcy protection in the US. Mr Ray has been outspoken on issues surrounding FTX in the past, sometimes climbing down from claims he has made, and he suggests no wrongdoing by

the government official in this case. It appears the business licence he referred to may actually be the licences and permits granted by the Securities Commission. Allyson Maynard-Gibson, FTX’s Bahamas attorney, said her firm does not comment on any client nor any matter connected with any client.

What is the common theme in these stories? Simply that when claims are made, they should be properly examined.

OceanGate’s claims of partnerships appear to have been overblown – for whatever reason, perhaps to lend an authenticity to the company that it otherwise did not possess. Bahamian organisations may have been used while reaching out genuinely. But there are other questions – for example, Titan was supposed to be running tours here in The Bahamas too. What safety checks and approvals were given by The Bahamas?

And equally for the allegations raised by FTX’s US head, those need to be checked too. Are they genuine, what were the payments for, and were all such matters handled appropriately.

Not all claims are true, but all claims deserve to be properly inspected.

This is especially true when, such as in the FTX case, a number of articles questioned our nation’s reputation, sometimes on the flimsiest of reasoning.

Either way, though, serious claims and allegations deserve thorough investigation. That is the best way to protect our nation’s reputation.

Beach access

A sign on the beach at Goodman’s Bay caught the attention this week. It said that only guests could access some beach areas next to the resort. It had disappeared by yesterday.

Goldwynn has been quick to say that the sign “will be corrected”. So, a mistake rather than mischief, perhaps.

Still, the response from the Bahamian public has made sure that a close eye will be kept on any further changes at the development. Of that, Goldwynn can be sure.

EDITOR, The Tribune. HAvING grown up in Nassau, attending both Xavier’s College and St Andrew’s School, and being married at Sacred Heart Church over 50 years ago, I was more than excited that my husband and I were returning for a visit last week. Although it was a bittersweet trip as we were bringing a loved one’s cremains with us to be put in the sea, I was still very excited since it had been three long years (since the start of the COvID circus) that I hadn’t been back to Nassau. The excitement was high because after many months of planning, my three children and their spouses, along with all 8 of our grandchildren, were flying in from various locations in the US. Most of them had never been to Nassau, so they were eagerly anticipating a fun vacation at both Baha Mar and Paradise Island while boosting the local economy. I was thrilled to be showing them my island home. Fortunately, my husband and I arrived the day before the rest of our family, with our deceased family member’s ashes in a biodegradable urn, which had already gone through the US Customs X-ray machine in Florida with no problem.

I had also checked with Jet Blue, who clearly stated that ashes were permitted to be transported either by checked baggage or carry on, with the carry on option being recommended. Upon arrival in Nassau, we were asked by the customs agent what was in the box, and told him that it was ashes. We were asked if we had an affidavit from the Bahamian Ministry of Health. We told the agent that we had a notarised death certificate along with the certification from the crematorium that the ashes were sealed in the container. The supervisor, Officer Sands, was

summoned and informed us that we needed to have special permission from the Ministry of Health to bring ashes into the Bahamas. When I asked how any traveller would know this, she replied “Well these are NEW rules, and you have to obey the rules!” (still not clear to us how anyone would know an extra affidavit was required....). She informed us that we needed to get in touch with a funeral home, and they would have to apply to the Ministry of Health for the certificate and that Customs would have to keep the ashes until they had the approval. At this point, having grown up in Nassau and knowing that quickly moving paperwork is not what the island is good at, I was beginning to become extremely concerned that all 16 family members were flying in for an event that might not take place. Ms Sands assured me that this was something that could be done quickly, as long as a funeral home got involved.

Thankfully, my family has used Kemp’s Funeral home for decades and so I was given the phone number for Stephen Johnson and told that I should call him immediately but that the cremains were staying in customs. Surrendering your family member’s ashes to the custody of unknown people is not a great feeling and you begin to wonder if the deceased would really approve of their ashes being impounded at Nassau Airport and kept overnight. I was also wondering why we are being asked to go through extraordinary measures for extra documentation when we had an urn and ashes that dissolve and dissipate when put in the water, leaving

absolutely no trace. (The irony is not lost on me that we are killing a tree by creating more paperwork for something that completely disappears in the ocean and leaves nothing behind!) As if all of this unexpected stress wasn’t enough, the next morning my aunt and I were back out at customs waiting for the green light from the Ministry of Health. It was at this point that Officer Sands told my aunt and I that “It’s not people of colour but YOU WHITE PEOPLE who do all the smuggling!” Wow, seriously? My aunt and I both gave each other the “did she just say that” look, but we said nothing, as clearly if we argued this blatantly racist statement, we knew the chances of our getting the cremains from customs would likely be zero.

Thank God for Stephen Johnson at Kemp’s funeral home, who came through for us with the required Ministry of Health affidavit in the nick of time. His professionalism and calm demeanour was a breath of fresh air after our nightmare experience at customs. We were eventually able to have a beautiful ceremony to celebrate our family member’s life and for that we are truly grateful. Sadly, it’s a negative experience that sticks with you, and while I truly love my Bahamas and had a wonderful few decades growing up in Nassau, I don’t regret that my husband and I chose to go and live in other countries. It would behoove the Bahamian customs department to realise that its tourism (of all colours) that is the lifeblood of the local economy and as the saying goes, “you don’t bite the hand that feeds you!”

BEV BETHELL DOLEZAL Florida, June 27, 2023.

EDITOR, The Tribune. 1000% support import substitution only wish the biggest substitution would occur… Shopping in Miami Substitution but then, so the officials say, that is a divine right. Local production must never cause inflation and

exorbitant increase in comparison pricing of foreign against local.

Local Honey is just a perfect example. Minister of Agriculture go check the supermarket shelf - foreign no more than $8.00 plus.

I’m totally supportive of Shop At Home that import

substitution will have an enormous positive affect on local business - employment and tax revenue. What do we get back from Miami, Florida for the billions spent?

J K MOSS Nassau, June 23, 2023.

A mAn poses for a photo sitting outside the glass cage of a Bengal Tiger, at the national zoological garden in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday.

Photo: Eranga Jayawardena/AP

Justice holds legal discussions ahead of Gibson case, adjourned until Friday

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE corruption trial of Long Island MP Adrian Gibson was adjourned to Friday after Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson held legal discussions in the absence of a jury yesterday.

Gibson is accused of enriching himself to over $1m through a series of illicit cheques and wire transfers in connection with contracts awarded by the Water and Sewerage Corporation while he was executive chairman.

He is charged with WSC’s former general manager, Elwood Donaldson, Jr, Rashae Gibson, his cousin, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson and Jerome Missick.

Together, the group face 98 charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, fraud, receiving and money laundering.

Their trial was scheduled to start before Justice Grant-Thompson last month, but the matter was delayed after Mr Gibson filed a constitutional motion alleging that his rights to a fair trial had been breached. His lawyer, Murrio Ducille, KC, argued there had been a lack of full

disclosure by the prosecution. He also opposed letting the Crown’s key witness testify virtually.

Justice Grant-Thompson later dismissed the application. Mr Gibson appealed her ruling.

Jamaican man charged wi T h murder of Omar ‘Punch’ Penn in GB, denied Bail

However, the Court of Appeal also dismissed the application. More than 40 witnesses

are expected to testify in the case, including Gibson’s ex-fiancee Alexandria Mackey.

She is expected to give in-person testimony. The case continues Friday.

m an accused of unlawful sex wi T h a young girl awai T s his faT e as cour T adJourns

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

The rape trial of Arthur Damien Brown is under way in the Supreme Court in Grand Bahama.

Brown is charged with one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, aged 16, in 2018.

Justice Andrew Forbes is presiding over the matter. Attorney

Ernie Wallace is representing Brown. The defence closed its case on Tuesday and the matter was adjourned to Thursday when closing arguments will be presented to the jury.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A JAMAICAN man accused of murdering Omar “Punch” Penn outside a Freeport gaming establishment two years ago was charged with murder yesterday.

Rick Crosby, 24, was formally arraigned in Freeport’s Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday afternoon. He appeared without legal counsel before

Magistrate Laquay Laing. Police prosecutor Calsey Arthur appeared for the prosecution.

It is alleged that on February 21, 2021, in Freeport, the accused, using unlawful harm, intentionally caused the death of Omar Marino Penn. Penn was 41. There had been two previous attempts on Penn’s life in 2018 and 2019, before his death. An unauthorized video footage of his death went viral on social media.

Crosby was not required to enter a plea to the murder charge. During the arraignment, a prosecutor objected to bail.

Magistrate Laing adjourned the case to August 8, when a Voluntary Bill of Indictment will be served to transfer the case to the Supreme Court. Crosby was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Corrections until August 8, 2023.

Teen charged wi T h aTT emp T ed murder and armed robbery, held in prison un T il T rial

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN 18-year-old youth is behind bars after being accused of trying to kill a police officer in a botched robbery attempt that left his alleged accomplice dead earlier this month.

Deangelo “Stewie” Brown was charged with attempted murder and two counts of armed robbery before senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis.

According to police reports, shortly before 10pm on July 15, Brown and Elton Johnson entered a business on Deveaux and East Bay Streets. The pair allegedly pulled a handgun and attempted to rob Trinity Bowleg and off-duty Inspector Lavaro Moxey.

Responding to the threat, Inspector Moxey is said to have identified himself as a police officer, leading the suspects to open fire on him. The off-duty officer

returned fire and shot Johnson before collecting the firearm.

While Johnson was taken to hospital after the incident, the 17-year-old would die of his injuries there.

Brown was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. His case will be moved to the Supreme Court through a Voluntary Bill of Indictment due for service on August 31.

Three year sen T ence for man found in possession of unlicenced gun in his home

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to having an unlicenced gun in his home last week.

Stephen Elliot, 35, Courtney Dames, 32, and Amber

Dames, 31, were charged with possession of an unlicenced firearm before Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr.

Police armed with a search warrant conducted a raid on a residence occupied by the defendants in the Hawkins Hill area on June 21. Authorities

uncovered a silver Cobra .380 pistol with the serial number FS096629.

Elliot pleaded guilty to the offences. The charges against his two co-accused were withdrawn.

Elliot was sentenced to three years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Long IsLand MP adrIan gIbson

JaMaIcan Rick Crosby - pictured being taken in to court in handcuffs - was formally charged with the murder of Omar ‘Punch’ Pen in Freeport’s Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

Complaints can lead to recognition of issues and solutions to problems

“WHAT makes you go,I’m with the boomers on this one?”

That was the question posed by a Twitter user on Saturday, getting more than 1,000 replies and more than 13,000 quote tweets. Almost 48 million people viewed the tweet up to close of business on Tuesday.

The question is based on the assumption that baby boomers — people in the generation between the Silent Generation and Generation X, born between 1946 and 1964 — do not adapt well to change. They define themselves by their professional achievements. They believe in being selfsufficient and promote personal independence. They, in short, believe in hard work. Further, they believe that people can change their own circumstances through that hard work. These are the common assumptions made about baby boomers, often referred to as “boomers”.

The reference tweet also builds on the “OK, boomer” meme. This catchphrase is used as a dismissive response to people — who are either baby boomers or being compared to them —whose assertions are in line with outdated ways of thinking. “OK, boomer” could be the response to the frequently referenced suggestion that if millennials would just stop buying coffee every day, they could afford to buy houses. It is a short, mocking retort to a statement that is considered to have no validity while being tied to the values of a generation is not necessarily paying attention to the changes over the past few decades that have made and continue to make the goals, possibility, and everyday lives of younger generations different from their own.

The question about what makes Twitter users agree with baby boomers calls on people to look at the other side, or to look in the mirror and both find and reveal the ways that they refuse to adapt. Many of the responses were about things like headphone jacks no longer being on electronic

By Alicia Wallace

devices, music taste, preferring phone calls to text messaging, and the volume of music in restaurants.

Quite a large number of people referenced QR code menus, stating strong preferences for printed menus.

Some of the responses were common quotes like “Put a hat on that baby’s head,” and “We got food at home.” There is nostalgia, humour, and cultural criticism in the replies to the question. Almost all of them could be a critical essay, delving into issues from personal values to political positions.

A Bahamian responded, “People complain too much.” The tweet went on to acknowledge that mental health is important, but people need to, essentially, grow up and push through whatever obstacles they are facing to get where they need to be. Some people strongly agreed, one even saying that millennials and/ or Zillennials (also know as zennials) are coddled and want to have achievements without working for them.

Another Twitter user pointed out that complaints are typically viewed negatively rather than an expression of suffering or dissatisfaction regarding a circumstance that can and needs to change. Complaints are also an indication that a person or group of people have the awareness that conditions can be improved. It is also important to note that complaining is not at odds with working or “pushing through”. It is possible to do both. In fact, many people are doing both. We are pushing through, recognising that the push is not directly correlated to how far we get, and choosing not to be silent about it.

Neoliberalism is often considered to be an ideology held by baby boomers

who believe that hard work produces commensurate benefits and continue to hold that belief today when it is demonstrably untrue at worst and inconsistent at best. There is still a prevailing idea that people need to take full responsibility for themselves and all of their needs, and there need not be state-intervention.

The assumption is that the individual will and actions are more powerful than the economic, political, and social conditions. It ignores the significant inequalities that constrain most of us while benefitting one small group of people. There is danger in the generalised criticism of people who complain.

We need to know that the timing of a traffic light is incorrect and only two cars can go before the light turns red. We need to know that there is a mold in a school building. We know, all too well, that we need to know the location of potholes.

We need to know when the printers are not working at the passport office. We need to know which streets flood after 15 minutes of rain. We need to know which grocery stores have expired products on their shelves.

The need to know is often satisfied by complaints.

There are people calling for the criminalisation of marital rape. There are people demanding that Marco’s Law be implemented properly with an alert system that reaches everyone and contains all of the correct and necessary information. There is a call for local government.

The government is actively seeking climate financing. Complaints have led to people finding potential solutions and components of new, effective systems to reduce and/or eventually eradicate longstanding problems.

Complaints are often an indication of a problem rather than a problem themselves. The people making complaints could be in any of a wide range of situations. For some, all they can do is complain as they carry the burden of working multiple jobs to barely make ends meet. Other complain in order to inform other people. Many people

Complaints are typically viewed negatively rather than as an expression of suffering or dissatisfaction regarding a circumstance that can and needs to change

complain as a way of finding other people facing the same issue, whether to commiserate or to find out if others have found a solution or a way to avoid the same issue in the future. Some complain in hopes that someone in a position of power will step up and offer a solution or, even better, implement a solution so that the problem is resolved for everyone.

It is sometimes possible to push through. People can repair their tyres over and over again. People can spend far too much time on one traffic light, watching it change over and over again while barely moving. People can waste gas and time, driving around the island to find a working ATM after scores of people have done the same thing without sharing the experience. People can work minimum wage jobs and send their children to school without breakfast. People can push through. People can also be no better off for the effort.

It is easy to dismiss complaints, and just as easy to dismiss people who complain. People often see complaints as synonymous

with laziness. There is often the question, “What are you going to do about it?” The expectation is that everyone has the capacity to take action, and many people believe that only people who are able and willing to act deserve to speak up. Sometimes people are even blamed for their experiences. They are asked why they went there in the first place, why they did not already know that was the case, and where were they when a particular change was made. Many people truly believe that every single person is supposed to have endless information, time to do research, energy to take action, and/or enough shame at their ignorance, whether or not it is their fault to keep quiet.

We need to look at what we, as a collective, have that has led us to a place where so many people are convinced that the hard work of the individual will make everything better and that complaints are both baseless and of no use. We have a lack of care, particularly for people in less favorable circumstances than ours. We have

unreasonable expectations of everyone around us. We have a desire to pretend, and have everyone else pretend, that everything is fine and that everything we have is earned and deserved. We have an unwillingness to acknowledge the gap between what we do and what we have. We have disinterest in looking at the systems of oppression and inequality that contribute to the challenges many of us face on a daily basis. It is easier to put the blame on the person. On the people. Thousands of them. If we really value hard work, we should abandon the easy route. People are being harmed by systems, and their complaints point to those systems. It is not that the people need to work harder within violent, oppressive systems; people with the time, knowledge, and energy need to work together to dismantle those systems and build new, effective systems that allow us to work, to rest, to care, and to have our needs met, regardless of our ability — and we must remember that we cannot all participate in the same ways — to work (hard).

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. What Happened to My Ambition?

With Rainesford Stauffer.

This episode of Work Appropriate — a podcast about “the wild world of work” hosted by Anne Helen Peterson — focuses on work, ambition, and how ambition can exist and be useful outside of work.

2. Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey. This book calls on people to push back against grind culture, find justice, and take care of themselves.

It is written by the founder of the The Nap Ministry which quickly grew in popularity and following on social media, encouraging people, especially Black people, to find rest. Casey Gerald called the book “one of the most vital interventions of our time”.

INSIDER Q&A: JOHN RICCITIELLO, CEO OF VIDEO GAME SOFTWARE COMPANY UNITY, ON AI AND GAMING’S FUTURE

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)

— John Riccitiello, the CEO of video game software company Unity, has seen the video game industry evolve and shift during his more than two-decade-long career, beginning in 1997 when he became the head of games giant Electronic Arts.

Unity Software Inc., was founded in Denmark and is now based in San Francisco.

It’s working with Apple to help bring games to its upcoming virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro. Riccitiello recently spoke with The Associated Press about how artificial intelligence is transforming how video games are created and played.

The Associated Press: What are the biggest trends coming down the pike in gaming?

Riccitiello: I think AI will change gaming in a couple of pretty profound ways.

One of them is it’s going to make making games faster, cheaper and better. It’s already happening. I mean, you can use AI already for digital humans and editing environments and all sorts of things that make it faster. It’s also going to be possible to realize experiences that were never possible before.

Q: Can you give some examples?

Riccitiello: You know “Call of Duty,” you know “Grand Theft Auto,” you

know “Candy Crush.”

Any of these games, every single thing you see in that game and every line of dialogue, every environment, every lighting effect was coded by somebody anticipating that you would use that. So the perimeter of the game is the content that’s been put on the DVD or on the internet download. There is no more. It is what it is.

They can add to it over time by patching games and adding levels. “Candy Crush” shipped with like 50 and now it’s what?

A: 10,000 I think.

Riccitiello: So they keep adding to it. But each one is a contained experience. So, I was involved in launching “The Sims” in 2000, and it was wonderful game. And you know how they used “Simlish,” right? Did you know why? Because there’s so many things you can do in “The Sims,” it’s like a crazy number of interactions you can have because you’re actually creating characters. Those characters interact with each other. No writer could ever write all the appropriate dialogue for that. It would be as big as the Library of Congress when you’re done.

Q: I think I know where you are going with this.

A: You know where I’m going, I’m sure. In the way that GPT 4 works, you can define the parameters. A player could do this or the game studio could do it. The

Riccitiello has seen the video game industry evolve and shift during his more than two-decades in the industry, beginning in 1997 when he became the head of games giant Electronic Arts.

(Courtesy Unity Technologies via AP)

game studio could allow the player to describe this character or their motivations, in the same way you write in prompts, to get dialogue back. And they could do this for all their characters in advance. And the AI could spawn in any language you want — English, Russian, Japanese, French, doesn’t matter. I think that’s a breakthrough. It is actually really hard to overstate how important that is. It’s alive. Another example would be one of my favourite games of all time, “Grand Theft Auto.” And a lot of people like “Red Dead (Redemption)” because

they’re such brilliant, realised worlds. Sam and Dan Houser, the guys who created it at Take-Two Rockstar Games, are among the most powerful creators in history. But, again, every store heist, everything in the game was something they conceived as being possible. Now what you can do is you can create that world and you can basically create a set of things like “this is the store,” “this is a criminal or not a criminal,” or a player can say “that’s a criminal.” And then anything that you could imagine, any interaction that would take place between the store and the criminals is possible, including getting a job there — I mean anything could be possible.

Q: But within guidelines?

A: You wouldn’t have to have guidelines, but it would just look like a complete mess if you didn’t have something. Some of those guardrails enable creativity.

Q: What are your thoughts on the metaverse?

A: I always thought the word was loaded and kind of stupid. I gave a talk a couple of years ago saying I disallowed people at Unity from using it because I thought it was going to get overused and tossed out with the trash. That it was being used and abused by people for their own purposes. But then I defined the metaverse as something very different than what most people do.

Q: How do you define it?

A: I said it’s the next version of the internet. It’s 3D rather than 2D. It’s persistent rather than not, it’s real time rather than not. And it’s often a number of other things. And then I tried to explain what it wasn’t. It wasn’t about avatars, it wasn’t about XR. It certainly wasn’t about half-embodied avatars (which, by the way, was built on Unity by Meta). I was very happy they were building it and paying us, I just didn’t think that was what it was.

We have customers like Hyundai building the factory of the future, where all the robots and people are interacting in this large environment and are controlling that. And the individuals working in the factory are doing their jobs on iPhones.

It’s not going to be one universal 3D world. I think it’s more likely to be a set of very immersive experiences. And a lot of people, I think, pontificate in a way that I don’t buy, that “no, no, you’re going to want to be in Amazon, then walk right into “Call of Duty” and walk right into the NFL show and then walk right into your chat.

And the thing is, that’s really hard to make that work. People say well, what if I want to throw a bomb from “Call of Duty” on a chess set than I am playing? And you have to ask yourself, would you really ever want to do that past the first time you did it?

LEAN GREEN FLYING MACHINES TAKE WING IN PARIS, HERALDING TRANSPORT REVOLUTION

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

LE BOURGET, France (AP) —

Just a dot on the horizon at first, the bug-like and surprisingly quiet electrically-powered craft buzzes over Paris and its traffic snarls, treating its doubtless awestruck passenger to privileged vistas of the Eiffel Tower and the city’s signature zinc-grey rooftops before landing him or her with a gentle downward hover. And thus, if all goes to plan, could a new page in aviation history be written.

After years of dreamy and not always credible talk of skies filled with flying, nonpolluting electric taxis, the aviation industry is preparing to deliver a future that it says is now just around the corner.

Capitalising on its moment in the global spotlight, the Paris region is planning for a small fleet of electric flying taxis to operate on multiple routes when it hosts the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer.

Unless aviation regulators in China beat Paris to the punch by greenlighting a pilotless taxi for two passengers under development there, the French capital’s prospective operator — Volocopter of Germany — could be the first to fly taxis commercially if European regulators give their OK.

Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke, a former top executive at aerospace giant Airbus, has a VVIP in mind as his hoped-for first Parisian passenger — none other than French President Emmanuel Macron.

“That would be super amazing,” Hoke said, speaking last week at the Paris Air Show, where he and other developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft — or eVTOLs for short — competed with industry heavyweights for attention.

STELLANTIS IS SIGNING UP EV CHARGING COMPANIES TO ASSEMBLE ITS OWN NETWORK, WON’T COMMENT ON TESLA

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis says it is pulling together a network of public electric vehicle chargers that could include Tesla and nearly all of the other chargers in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

But executives wouldn’t say for certain if the company will follow Ford and General Motors and sign up with Tesla’s Supercharger network or adopt Tesla’s connecting plug.

“We will be addressing that question soon,” said Ricardo Stamatti, senior vice president of the automaker’s charging and energy business unit.

Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is signing up charging companies now and says its network will include current Jeep chargers at trail heads as well as chargers that are part of dealer networks.

“It’ll be marketed under the “Free2move Charge,” brand.

The networks on both continents are to start late this year and have better pricing than the standard charging company rates, Stamatti said. He wouldn’t say how many

“He believes in the innovation of urban air mobility,” Hoke said of Macron. “That would be a strong sign for Europe to see the president flying.”

But with Macron aboard or not, those pioneering first flights would still be just small steps for the nascent industry that has giant leaps to make before flying taxis are muscling out competitors on the ground.

The limited power of battery technology restricts the range and number of paying passengers they can carry, so eVTOL hops are likely to be short and not cheap at the outset.

And while the vision of simply beating city traffic by zooming over it is enticing, it also is dependent on advances in airspace management.

Manufacturers of eVTOLs aim in the coming decade to unfurl fleets in cities and on more niche routes

for luxury passengers, including the French Riviera. But they need technological leaps so flying taxis don’t crash into each other and all the other things already congesting the skies or expected to take to them in very large numbers — including millions of drones.

Starting first on existing helicopter routes, “we’ll continue to scale up using AI, using machine-learning to make sure that our airspace can handle it,” said Billy Nolen of Archer Aviation Inc.

It aims to start flying between downtown Manhattan and Newark’s Liberty Airport in 2025. That’s normally a 1-hour train or old-fashioned taxi ride that Archer says its sleek, electric 4-passenger prototype could cover in under 10 minutes.

Nolen was formerly acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration,

the U.S. regulator that during his time at the agency was already working with NASA on technology to safely separate flying taxis. Just as Paris is using its Olympic Games to test flying taxis, Nolen said the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics offer another target for the industry to aim for and show that it can fly passengers in growing numbers safely, cleanly and affordably.

“We’ll have hundreds, if not thousands, of eVTOLs by the time you get to 2028,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Paris show.

The “very small” hoped-for experiment with Volocopter for the Paris Games is “great stuff. We take our hats off to them,” he added. “But by the time we get to 2028 and beyond ... you will see full-scale deployment across major cities throughout the world.”

Yet even on the cusp of what the industry portrays as a revolutionary new era kicking off in the city that spawned the French Revolution of 1789, some aviation analysts aren’t buying into visions of eVTOLs becoming readily affordable, ubiquitous and convenient alternatives to ride-hailing in the not-too-distant future.

And even among eVTOL developers who bullishly talked up their industry’s prospects at the Paris show, some predicted that rivals will run dry of funding before they bring prototypes to market.

Morgan Stanley analysts estimate the industry could be worth $1 trillion by 2040 and $9 trillion by 2050 with advances in battery and propulsion technology. Almost all of that will come after 2035, analysts say, because of the difficulty of getting new aircraft certified by U.S. and European regulators.

chargers Stellantis has lined up or identify which vendors, but said the network will expand.

There are just over 161,000 charging plugs in the U.S. and Canada now.

Most are not the direct current fast chargers needed to quickly refill batteries. Stellantis eventually wants to sign up 100% of the companies in both countries, Stamatti said.

In Europe, the company plans to get more than 97% of just under 600,000 plugs in its network by the end of this year, and 99% next year.

The company will offer an app to gain access to the chargers and make payments, he said.

Stellantis has no fully electric vehicles on sale in North America, but it will roll out an electric commercial van this year, followed by a Ram electric pickup and other vehicles.

Stamatti pointed out that the company now has plug-in gas-electric hybrids on sale in the U.S. and Canada that also need to be charged.

Plug-ins can go a relatively short distance on electric power before the gas-electric powertrain starts up.

UNITY CEO John Riccitiello.

THE VOLOCOPTER 2X, an electric vertical takeoff and landing multicopter, performs a demonstration flight during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France last week. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

A PLUG-in hybrid gas/electric Jeep Wrangler is displayed on the showroom floor at the Dan O'Brien Auto Group dealership. Stellantis says it is pulling together a network of public electric vehicle chargers that could include could include Tesla and nearly all of the other chargers in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Misconduct by federal jail guards led to Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, watchdog says

WASHINGTON

Associated Press

Jeffrey epstein was left alone in his jail cell with a surplus of bed linens the night he killed himself. Nearly all the surveillance cameras on his unit didn’t record. One worker was on duty for 24 hours straight.

And, despite his high profile and a suicide attempt two weeks earlier, he wasn’t checked on regularly as required.

The Justice Department’s watchdog said Tuesday that a “combination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures” by the federal Bureau of Prisons and workers at the New york City jail enabled the wealthy financier to take his own life in August 2019, finding no evidence of foul play.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz blamed numerous factors for epstein’s death, including the jail’s failure to assign him a cellmate and overworked guards who lied on logs after failing to make regular checks. Had the guards done so, Horowitz said, they would’ve found epstein had excess linens, which he used in his suicide.

The failures are deeply troubling not only because they allowed epstein’s suicide but also because they “led to questions about the circumstances surrounding epstein’s death and effectively deprived epstein’s numerous victims of the opportunity to seek justice,” Horowitz said in a video statement.

Horowitz’s investigation, the last of several official inquiries into epstein’s death, echoed previous findings that some members of the jail staff involved in guarding epstein were overworked. He identified 13 employees with performance failures and recommended possible criminal charges against four workers. Only the two workers assigned to guard epstein the night he died were charged, avoiding jail time in a plea deal after admitting to falsifying logs.

Horowitz’s report also revealed new details about epstein’s behaviour in the days before his death, including that he signed a new last will and testament while meeting with his lawyers two days before he was found unresponsive in his cell the morning of Aug. 10, 2019. Jail officials did not

know about the new will until after epstein’s death, Horowitz said.

few of the cameras in the area where epstein was housed were making recordings of the images they captured due to a mechanical failure July 29. The prison had contracted for a camera system upgrade three years before his death, but it had not been completed, in part due to serious staffing shortages.

Meanwhile, epstein was alone the night of his death, even though the prison’s psychology department had informed 70 employees that he needed to be with a cellmate after his previous suicide attempt in July. His cellmate was nevertheless transferred Aug. 9, with no action taken to replace him. He was also allowed an unmonitored personal phone call the night before he was found dead, a violation of BOP policy.

Horowitz’s report highlighted some of the many problems plaguing the Bureau of Prisons, many of which have been exposed by The Associated Press. The agency, the Justice Department’s largest with more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates and an annual budget of about $8 billion, is plagued by severe staffing shortages, staff sexual abuse and criminal conduct, among other issues.

The Bureau of Prisons said it has accepted all eight of Horowitz’s recommendations, has updated its suicide watch process and will apply other lessons learned “to the broader BOP correctional landscape.”

The agency said it will review video to ensure correctional officers are making the proper rounds in restrictive housing and will require more paperwork when prisoners are kept alone in cells. A warden must now be notified when someone is placed on suicide watch, the agency said. It is also requiring specialized training on suicide prevention.

“We make every effort to create a controlled environment within our facilities that is both secure and humane, prioritising the physical and emotional well-being of those in our care and custody,” the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement.

Horowitz’s report comes nearly four years after epstein took his own

life at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. It also comes weeks after the AP obtained thousands of pages of records detailing the wealthy financier’s detention and death and its chaotic aftermath.

Horowitz’s investigators found no evidence to suggest anything other than suicide, echoing the findings of New york City’s medical examiner’s office, which determined epstein killed himself, and a separate fBI investigation that found no crimes directly associated with the death.

No physical evidence supported any of the many conspiracy theories surrounding epstein’s death,

Horowitz concluded, and none of the video captured from the cameras that were recording showed any indication of anyone else in the cell. Investigators probed for possible money changing hands involving guards but found no evidence of that, either.

The workers assigned to guard epstein were sleeping and shopping online instead of checking on him every 30 minutes as required, prosecutors said.

Nova Noel and Michael Thomas admitted lying on prison records to make it seem as though they had made the checks but avoided prison time under a deal with prosecutors. They left the Bureau of Prisons in April 2022, agency spokesperson

Benjamin O’Cone said.

It’s the second time in six months that Horowitz has blamed a high-profile inmate’s death on the Bureau of Prisons’ failings. In December, the inspector general found that management failures, flawed policies and widespread incompetence were factors in notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger’s 2018 beating death at a troubled West Virginia prison.

The AP obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents related to epstein’s death from the federal Bureau of Prisons under the freedom of Information Act. The documents, including a reconstruction of events leading to epstein’s suicide, internal

reports, emails, memos and other records, underscored how short staffing and corner-cutting contributed to epstein’s death. epstein spent 36 days at the now-shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center. Two weeks before his death, he was placed on suicide watch for 31 hours after what jail officials said was a suicide attempt that left his neck bruised and scraped. The workers tasked with guarding epstein the night he died were working overtime. One of them, not normally assigned to guard prisoners, was working a fifth straight day of overtime. The other was working mandatory overtime, which meant a second eight-hour shift in one day.

Was that actually a tsunami that hit Florida? y es, but not the kind you think

Associated Press

AN uNexPeCTeD culprit toppled beach chairs along the sand at normally calm Clearwater Beach, florida, last Wednesday.

West Coast surfers might snicker at the cause, but the National Weather Service confirms the rare 4-foot (1.2 meter) wave was caused by a kind of tsunami, just not the kind you usually hear about.

It was a meteotsunami, a type caused by storms with strong gusting winds, rather than the dramatic tsunamis triggered by earthquakes.

WHAT IS A METEOTSUNAMI?

According to Paul Close, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in the Tampa Bay area, when a line of storms tracks over the ocean, there can be 30- to 50-mph (48- 80-kph) winds near the leading edge. The winds push the water, increasing the wave height near the coast before it eventually crashes onto shore.

Meteotsunamis only last about an hour because once the leading edge of the storm passes onto land, the action subsides. The meteotsunami was about 2.5 feet (0.8 meters)

higher than the forecast wave height and around 4 feet (1.2 meters) higher than average sea level.

Six-foot (1.8 meter) and higher meteotsunamis have been recorded around the world.

The weather service does not issue specific advisories for meteotsunamis. If the agency forecasts that a storm will have substantial impact, it issues a coastal flood watch or warning.

WHEN DO METEOTSUNAMIS FORM?

Close said that stronger storms and squall lines — groups of storms that track in a line with intense winds and heavy rain — are more common during the winter around florida.

“They don’t happen that often this time of year, but the current atmospheric pattern has been kind of unusual with all the heat out in Texas and the cool and damp weather in the Northeast,” Close said.

This time of year, winds from the east are more common, he said. But the winds have been from the west almost all of June.

This March 28, 2017 photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department’s watchdog said Tuesday that “a combination of negligence and misconduct” enabled Jeffrey Epstein to take his own life at a federal jail in New York City.

Photo: New York state sex Offender Registry/AP

Waves crash at Outlook Beach in Hampton, Va., Sept. 30, 2022. Storms with strong gusting winds sometimes cause a phenomenon known as a meteotsunami, in which the winds push on the water and increase the wave height near the coast before it eventually crashes onto shore.

Photo: Billy schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/AP

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2023

SWIMMER LEDECKY EARNS HER 6TH TRIP TO WORLDS

By

Special OIympians bring home medals

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Team Bahamas’ Special Olympics athletes received a warm celebratory welcome home after amassing four medals at the 2023 Special Olympics Summer World Games in Berlin, Germany.

The seven athletes were greeted by government officials, including Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg and Minister of Social Services and Urban Development Obie Wilchcombe along with a junkanoo group to celebrate their amazing feats.

The athletes competed at the 2023 World Games in bowling, swimming and track events. They were successful in two out of the three, adding another

proud memory to The Bahamas’ sporting year.

Mr Bowleg complimented the efforts of Team Bahamas’ Special Olympics athletes as they returned from another continent (Europe).

“Let me first say how proud I am and happy to be here and celebrate with you coming back home to your homeland where you have made all of us proud,” Bowleg said.

He thanked each of the members of the Special Olympics team, including Caitlin Romer who left Berlin with a silver medal in the 100-metre finals and bronze in the 200m finals.

Additionally, he congratulated Austin Green and Bronson Aranha, who returned home as silver medallists in the bowling doubles.

Green also claimed a silver medal in the men’s bowling singles.

Although the team had been undergoing physical training since October for the June 17-25 Special Olympics World Games, Green said it was a bit

Baseball player Mateo Ferguson on the rise

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

MATEO Ferguson, a product of Fox Hill who got started playing baseball at the age of 12, is still relishing the fact that his decision not to go to the professional ranks has paid off with his success as a member of the Florida Memorial University Lions,

The Lions, which featured two other Bahamians, were crowned as the Black College World Series champions on May 13 at the Alabama’s Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.

Playing with second baseman Pheron Saunders and pitcher Aaron Knowles, the Bahamian connection helped the Lions to secure a one-run win over Albany State University in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) championship series for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II colleges. “I decided to take the college

route and every college that I’ve been to, I’ve had a full ride on athletic scholarships,” Ferguson said. “I started at Darsbury College and now I’m at FMU where I will be getting a championship ring.”

Ferguson, a transferred pitcher on the team, admitted that they got off to a rocky start as he adjusted to the new coach and players. But it wasn’t how they got started, but how they finished.

“I did what I had to do in class and on and off the

field,” said the 22-year-old junior, studying business as his major.

“I stayed true to God and to myself and I was able to be the closer for Florida Memorial University as I earned my spot.

“Like I said, we had a rough start, but we finished in first place. So in my head, that was all that mattered. We got the job done and I’m so glad that I made the decision to go to college.”

difficult to practice when they finally arrived in Berlin. However, he said the experience was excellent because he had never been to Europe but he got

a lot of time to relax and enjoy the different cuisines, culture and arts, all while picking up the silver

SEE PAGE 12

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Katie Ledecky joined an elite club last night, earning her sixth trip to the world championships with a dominating victory in the 800-metre freestyle at the US nationals.

Ledecky was under her own world-record pace for much of the race before settling for the victory in 8 minutes, 7.07 seconds — her third-fastest time in the gruelling event, which she has dominated over her long career with the 30 fastest times in history.

She was clearly pleased with the performance, flashing a thumbs-up and a defiant shake of the head when she turned and spotted the time.

Ledecky will head to Fukuoka, Japan, next month as only the sixth US swimmer to make the world championships for the sixth time, joining Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin, Elizabeth Beisel and Nathan Adrian. No one else was even close to Ledecky. When she touched the wall, the closest swimmer was more than a half-lap behind.

Seventeen-year-old Jillian Cox claimed the second spot on the worlds team in a major surprise. She finished in 8:20.28 — more than 13 seconds behind the winner.

Ledecky didn’t seem the least bit surprised by the performance, which was her fastest showing since the world record of 8:04.79 she set at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

Next month in Fukuoka, Ledecky will attempt to become the first swimmer ever to win the same event at six world championships. She’s already the first to claim five consecutive titles, having started her streak of 800 triumphs a decade ago at the worlds in Barcelona.

‘JAZZ’ CHISHOLM JR BACK FROM THE INJURED LIST

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports

MIAMI (AP) — JASRADO “Jazz” Chisholm Jr was activated Monday by the Miami Marlins after the centre fielder spent the past month on the injured list with a right toe turf injury.

Chisholm hasn’t played for the Marlins since May 13, when he collided with the centre-field wall while attempting to catch a drive hit by Henry Ramos in a loss against Cincinnati. He remained down on the warning track for a couple of minutes before he reached his feet and limped off the field, and the Marlins placed him on the injured list a couple days later.

A first-year outfielder, Chisholm was batting .229 with seven homers and was tied for second in the NL with 14 stolen bases at the time of the injury. Miami sent Chisholm on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on June 20. Miami also activated third baseman Jean Segura,

who had been on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The Marlins sent optioned utility player Garrett Hampson and infielder Jacob Amaya to Triple-A Jacksonville.

The Marlins started a three-game series at Boston last night before a three-game series at Atlanta. Miami (45-34) is off to its best start since the 1997 World Series championship team.

COACH Andre Payne and Mateo Ferguson, right.

Writer

Special Olympics Team Bahamas returned home to celebrate yesterday after a great showing at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.

Photo: Tenajh Sweeting/Tribune Staff

PAIR OF WINNERS: Austin Green and Bronson Aranha receive silver medals in the bowling doubles at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.

Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Bahamas

MIAMI Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr beats the tag by Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong to score during the first inning at Fenway Park last night in Boston. SEE STORY PAGE 14 (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer

Legacy Basketball Camp gets underway in Grand Bahama

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Legacy Basketball Camp got started on Monday at the St George’s Gymnasium in Grand Bahama and coordinator Jay Phillippe was quite impressed with what he saw from the participants.

The free-for-all camp, which features American coach Robert Yonice, is designed for boys and girls from the ages of five and up and will run through June 30 from 9am to 1pm.

“We are working on the basic concept of basketball, which is dribbling, shooting and passing,” said Phillippe, a former outstanding basketball player turned coach, who is doing an incredible job with the Sunland Baptist senior boys’ basketball team.

“We had so many kids who came out. We had over 120 kids coming over and so we had to get some of our local coaches and some of my players who are currently off to school to come out and help out.”

Phillippe said the whole idea is to provide the basic fundamentals for the participants to learn so that they can become better basketball players.

“We’ve had so much success coming out of Grand Bahama with Buddy Hield, Jonquel Jones and Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who is doing a fine job coaching US women’s college basketball. This is just another continued step in our growth and development.

“We have a lot of kids who came out to work on their concept like I mentioned over the past two weeks. So, we feel that we will have some players who are better prepared for the future as a result of their involvement in the camp.”

Yonice, who hails out of Knoxville, Tennessee, and has been coaching at the division one level for eight years, said he’s back for his second trip to Grand Bahama to help impact some of his knowledge to the participants of the camp.

“My purpose here is to come down and help these kids learn the fundamentals of basketball,” he pointed out.

“The game of basketball has helped me and coach

Jay and all these other kids who have gone on to travel the world.

“If you put in the work and you learn how to play the game the right way, you can get that opportunity too. So my job is coming down here and what I hope to accomplish is how do you play the game the right way.”

If the participants develop an attitude of disciplining themselves, Yonice said it will help a long way in their progress.

“If you can be disciplined on the field, you can be disciplined in life,” he stated.

“If you learn how to be disciplined in sports that normally translates into life. As much as we all love to play sports for the rest of our lives, unfortunately that won’t happen.

“So, you have to learn how to be disciplined, not only for yourself, but for your team-mates.”

Although the camo was ongoing, it was the first day for Yonice, who was quite impressed with what he saw from the participants.

“It reminded me of the last time I was here. There are a lot of guys with a lot of athletic talent, who can jump out of the gym and they have a lot of skills,” he said.

“But like so many other players who left here to go to college, they learned that there’s a lot more to it playing basketball.

“They had to find out that they need to play

better defence, better team defence and they have to play much harder when they play different college players.

“So, while they may have some success here, they have to realise that they have to do all of the little things to be great.”

During his time at the camp, Yonice said he hopes to be able to enforce some of the things that the participants would have

learnt from Phillippe and a number of the other instructors, who worked with them since the beginning of the camp.

Special OIympians return home with 4 medals

FROM PAGE 11

medals for Team Bahamas.

Green added that persons that want to follow in his footsteps should believe in best, work hard and continue to fight hard.

Aranha, Green’s bowling doubles teammate, said the experience in Berlin was great.

“It was great. I loved the experience meeting new friends in a different part of the world,” he said. The silver-medallist added that he learned too

many things while at the Special Olympics World Games to put into words but will use them to elevate and get better for when they compete again.

He said the competition was also very challenging.

“It was stiff competition, the guys stepped up their game which made myself and my partner step up even more,” Aranha added.

Members of the Special Olympics Committee thanked the officials and public for their continued support of persons with

intellectual disabilities and Team Bahamas’ journey at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games.

Gilbert Williams, director of the Special Olympics committee, had nothing but appreciation for his team and athletes.

“Thank you all, this movement is certainly a team of persons that are passionate about Special Olympics Bahamas and about special needs.

Our coaches, they work extremely hard, I always say to people these are real athletes and they are

coached by real people,” he said.

He added that when their athletes compete they represent The Bahamas on the same level as everyone else and he thanked everyone for their support of the organisation.

Special Olympics Bahamas has competed at the Special Olympics World Games since 1979.

Individuals that want to keep up with the organisation as a volunteer or supporter can visit the Special Olympics Bahamas Facebook page.

AMERICAN coach Robert Yonice and coordinator Jay Phillippe interact with participants of the free-for-all Legacy Basketball Camp which got started on Monday at the St George’s Gymnasium in Grand Bahama. The camp runs through June 30.

Photos by Vandyke Hepburn/BIS

ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg, along with other government officials, welcomed the Special Olympics team home in celebratory fashion yesterday at the Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Photo: Tenajh Sweeting/Tribune Staff

Jones posts double double against her former team as Liberty beat Sun 89-81

JONQUEL CONTRIBUTES 14 POINTS, 11 REBOUNDS AND TWO ASSISTS IN HER RETURN TO CONNECTICUT

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 24 points and Jonquel Jones added 14 points and 11 rebounds in her return to Connecticut as the New York Liberty beat the Sun 89-81 last night.

The victory moved the Liberty into a tie with Connecticut atop the Commissioner Cup standings in the Eastern Conference.

Each team has one game left although New York has the tiebreaker having swept the two games against the Sun.

Las Vegas has already wrapped up the Western Conference slot.

Alyssa Thomas led Connecticut (12-4) with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for her fifth career triple-double. She’s now done it in consecutive games and three times in the last seven days.

Thomas is the all-time record holder in the category.

DiJonai Carrington scored a career-high 23 points to lead Connecticut.

New York (10-3) was up 80-68 with 6:26 left before Connecticut (12-4) scored 13 straight, the last of which came on a contested

layup by Thomas with 3:39 left that was her 11th point and gave her the tripledouble. It also gave the Sun their first lead since the first half.

That was the final point the team would score as New York closed with nine straight points. Courtney Vandersloot hit two free throws and then Betnijah Laney added a 3-pointer that made it 85-81.

Kayla Thornton followed with a runner in the lane with 40.4 seconds remaining.

The Sun missed eight consecutive shots over the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Carrington gave the Sun a chance to even be in the game, scoring 17 of her points in the second half.

The game served as a homecoming for Jones, who played six season in Connecticut before getting traded to New York in the offseason. Jones won the WNBA MVP in 2021 and helped the Sun reach the finals twice, including last year.

The Sun played a tribute video to Jones a few minutes before tipoff and she got a warm ovation from the crowd.

Jones got the first basket for New York in a fastpaced first quarter that saw

Connecticut lead 29-28 at the end of it. The back-andforth action continued in the second quarter where neither team could get much of an edge. New

York scored the final eight points of the half to go up 47-43 at the break.

GRAY SCORES 25, WILSON 24 TO LEAD ACES PAST FEVER 88-80 TO SWEEP SEASON SERIES 3-0

LAS VEGAS (AP) —

A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray combined for 49 points and the Las Vegas Aces pulled away late for an 88-80 win over the Indiana Fever on Monday night to sweep the seasonseries 3-0. Wilson cleaned up against Indiana for the third time with 24 points and 10 rebounds, plus three steals, three blocks and

three assists. She had 28 points when the Aces won 101-88 on Saturday and 27 in an 84-80 win earlier in the month.

Gray, who had eight points in the winning 11-0 run before the Fever made two closing free throws, had 25 points on her bobblehead night. She also had five assists to reach 1,300 for her career.

Kelsey Plum added 17 points for the Aces (13-1) and Jackie Young, who was named an all-star game starter with Wilson and Gray on Sunday, had 16.

Aliyah Boston, the sixth rookie named all-star starter, and Erica Wheeler both had 20 for Indiana (5-9), Kelsey Mitchell added 14 and Nalyssa Smith 13. Boston and Smith both had 14 rebounds.

Plum drilled a 3-pointer in the middle of the fourth quarter to give the Aces a 74-64 lead but Kristy Wallace and Wheeler had back-to-back 3s for the Fever.

Wheeler’s driving layup gave Indiana a 78-77 lead with 2:27 to play but Gray answered quickly with a pair of mid-range jumpers — the 19th lead change to go with 12 ties — and an

CAITLIN CLARK WINS COLLEGIATE WOMEN’S ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark was honoured as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year on Monday night.

She received the Honda Cup in a ceremony at UCLA. It’s the second consecutive year that a women’s basketball player won the award as South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston was the recipient in 2022. Overall, 17 basketball players have won the Honda Cup — the most of any sport.

Clark, the AP women’s basketball Player of the Year, helped Iowa reach the national championship game for the first time in school history this past April before the team lost to LSU.

The junior became the first Division I women’s basketball player to have over 1,000 points and 300 assists in the same season.

Other finalists for the award were Texas senior volleyball player Logan Eggleston and Stanford sophomore golfer Rose Zhang.

81-78. Plum all but wrapped it up with a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:06 left and then Gray made four free throws.

Mitchell scored 12 points and the Fever led 23-20 after one quarter. Indiana had 16 points off 11 Las Vegas turnovers but only led 49-48 at the half as Wilson reached 22 points with a buzzer beating layup.

“It’s so cool, different from other awards shows,” Clark said. “You meet people that play every other sport and see how amazing they are. It’s the best of the best in the 12 sports. That’s the coolest part for me. I get to see how they live their lives.”

Clark said she tries to go to other Iowa women’s sporting events to cheer on her fellow Hawkeyes.

“It makes me want to watch and support them even more,” Clark said. “If you’re not watching women’s sports you’re truly missing out. Now is the time to tune in as the sky’s the limit for women’s sports.”

THOMAS NOW TRIPLE-DOUBLES LEADER, HAS SUN NEAR TOP OF STANDINGS

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

ALYSSA Thomas has kept the Connecticut Sun competitive with her allaround play. She has found ways to increase her productivity with Connecticut centre Brionna Jones sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

Thomas now owns the WNBA record for tripledoubles after posting her fourth in a regular season game on Sunday. That broke a tie with Sabrina Ionescu and Candace

Parker on the all-time leaderboard. Thomas also has two in the playoffs. “I want to win,” said Thomas after the win over Chicago on Sunday.

“We’re still trying to bring a championship here. We just continue to grind it out each and every day.

My name might be on (the record) but a lot of credit goes to my teammates. So far this year, I feel like it’s been the easiest for me with the way they’re knocking down shots.”

The Sun lost former MVP Jonquel Jones in a trade

to New York and Jasmine Thomas in a deal with Los Angeles in the offseason. Despite those departures, Connecticut has the second best record in the league a year after their finals appearance.

Alyssa Thomas, who was the AP player of the week, is a major reason why. She leads the WNBA in rebounds and is second in assists and minutes played, yet wasn’t named a starter for the All-Star Game.

SUN’s Alyssa Thomas puts up a basket against Sky’s Robyn Parks on May 25. (AP)

“She’s legit one of the best players in the world,” teammate DeWanna Bonner said.

“And I think everybody’s starting to recognise it and I think it’s great timing. She’s waited her turn and now she’s getting that recognition. It’s coming little by little and it’s just an honour to play with her, but she’s literally one of the best players I’ve played with hands down.”

AP WNBA POLL Las Vegas remained the atop the AP WNBA Poll for the seventh straight week. The Aces were followed by Connecticut and New York again. The three teams will all face each other this week.

Washington was fourth with Los Angeles fifth. Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Indiana were next. Minnesota, Seattle and Phoenix rounded out the poll.

ALL-STAR STARTERS

The league announced the 10 All-Star starters for the game that will be played in Las Vegas on July 15.

The WNBA will reveal the 12 reserves who will be chosen by the league’s coaches on Saturday.

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart were chosen as captains for the second consecutive season.

Katie Ledecky joins elite club with another dominating performance at US nationals

FROM PAGE 11

“I’ve been feeling good,” Ledecky said. “I thought I would be pretty good tonight. I didn’t expect a world record or anything.

But felt I could be at least what I was last summer at worlds ( when she won her fifth straight 800 title in 8:08.04 ). I’m really pleased with that. And really

pleased with how it felt, as well.”

At age 26, Ledecky shows no sign of slowing down — even though she’s been on top of the world in distance freestyle swimming since her surprising gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Next summer in Paris, she’ll be expected to add to an already impressive haul of seven gold medals

and three silvers at the last three Olympics. Her medal record at worlds is downright staggering: 19 gold medals and three silvers.

• In other finals on the first night of nationals:

— Defending Olympic champion Bobby Finke broke a nearly 15-yearold US Open record with a winning time of 14:42.81

in the men’s 1,500 free. Charlie Clark claimed the second spot for Fukuoka in 14:50.84.

— Regan Smith cruised to victory in the women’s 200 butterfly at 2:05.79, with Sun Devil Swimming teammate Lindsay Looney also earning a trip to worlds at 2:07.35.

— Carson Foster claimed the men’s 200 fly title in

1:54.32, while 16-year-old Thomas Heilman established himself as a rising star in an event Michael Phelps long dominated by rallying to take the second spot in 1:54.54.

—- Olympic medallists Kate Douglass and Abbey Weitzeil went 1-2 in the women’s 100 free to punch their tickets for Fukuoka.

Douglass won with a time

of 52.57, followed by Weitzeil at 53.11.

— After defending Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel flopped in the men’s 100 free preliminaries, the finals were wide open.

Jack Alexy took the title in 47.93, while Chris Guiliano surprisingly claimed the second worlds spot from lane one in 47.98.

IOWA guard Caitlin Clark shoots the ball against Louisville during an Elite 8 college basketball game of the NCAA Tournament on March 26 in Seattle. Iowa won 97-83.

(AP Photo/Steph Brashear)

CONNECTICUT Sun’s Rebecca Allen (9) and New York Liberty’s Jonquel Jones (35) reach for a rebound during the first half last night.

(Sarah Gordon/The Day via AP)

‘Jazz’ and Marlins smash out 19 hits in 10-1 rout of Red Sox

JASRADO CHISHOLM JR CONTRIBUTES 3 RBIS IN HIS RETURN AFTER 38-GAME ABSENCE WITH RIGHT TURF TOE INJURY

By KYLE HIGHTOWER

BOSTON (AP) — Bryan De La Cruz hit a two-run home run, Jean Segura added a solo homer and the Miami Marlins beat the Boston Red Sox 10-1 last night.

The Marlins, winners of four of their last five, finished with 19 hits.

“Jazz” Chisholm contributed three RBIs in his return from a 38-game absence with a right turf toe injury. Garrett Cooper added two RBIs, Jorge Soler had an RBI double, and Joey Wendle finished with four hits.

Luis Arraez, who entered the day with a .399 average, struck out for the first time since June 14. But he had a single and RBI double to

extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

Reigning NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara (3-6) came in having allowed five-plus runs in six starts this season. He was strong over seven innings, giving up one run and six hits while striking out five. It was his seventh time this season pitching into at least the seventh inning.

Alex Verdugo provided the lone RBI for the Red Sox, losers of three straight and five out of six.

Boston starter Garrett Whitlock (4-3) was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, yielding six runs and 11 hits, including both Marlins homers. It was his first loss in six starts.

The Marlins took 3-0 lead in the first inning. Soler got aboard with a

single and was followed by De La Cruz, who jumped on a second-pitch changeup from Whitlock and hit an opposite-field shot that landed in Boston’s bullpen. It was his ninth homer of the season. Chisholm doubled. Then Cooper dropped in a short line drive into right field that gave Chisholm just enough time to beat Verdugo’s throw home with a headfirst slide.

Verdugo got one run back for Boston in its half of the first, ripping a double down the left field line that scored Justin Turner.

TRAINER’S ROOM Red Sox: RHP Tanner Houck underwent facial surgery yesterday to get a plate inserted to fix a fracture he sustained after being hit below the right eye by a line drive from the New York Yankees’ Kyle Higashioka on June 16.

DUPLANTIS SETS WORLDLEADING OUTDOOR MARK OF 6.12 METRES AT GOLDEN SPIKE

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (AP) — Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis cleared a worldleading outdoor 6.12 metres at the Golden Spike meet yesterday.

The 23-year-old world record holder improved his previous outdoor best of 6.11 this season at Hengelo, Netherlands, earlier this month.

Duplantis cleared 6.12 with his first attempt before failing to clear 6.17.

“I just tried to do the best I could as I always do and I’m pretty happy with the 6.12 to win,” Duplantis told the Czech public television.

The American-born Duplantis, who competes for Sweden, set a world record of 6.22 at an indoor meet in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on February 25.

He is expected to return at some point this season.

UP NEXT

Marlins: LHP Braxton Garrett (3-2, 3.64 ERA) will make his first career start against the Red Sox. He allowed two runs over seven innings with a careerbest 13 strikeouts in last week’s series-opening win over Pittsburgh, but didn’t figure into the decision Red Sox: Will use a yet to be determined opener.

CAELEB DRESSEL STRUGGLES TO 29TH IN 100 FREE AT US SWIMMING NATIONALS

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Caeleb Dressel dropped farther and farther behind, a far cry from the dominant swimmer he was at the last Olympics.

In his first major competition since a long layoff, Dressel finished 29th in the 100-metre freestyle at the U.S. nationals yesterday, falling far short of qualifying for the world championships in an event he won at Tokyo two years ago.

Dressel touched the wall behind the other seven swimmers in the last of eight preliminary heats.

His time of 49.42 seconds was a whopping 1.79 behind top qualifier Ryan Held, who swam one heat earlier, and a sobering reminder of how far Dressel has to go after walking away from swimming last summer during the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.

MATEO

FROM PAGE 11

During the season, the 6-foot, 4-inch Ferguson said the Lions stayed together as a team and supported each other. He said they still can’t believe that they clinched the title.

“It’s unexplainable. This is my first ring. I was just happy to be a part of it,” he stressed. “We fought to get the invitation to the HBC World Series and we didn’t lose a game.

“We won our NAIA bracket. We won the whole eastern bracket. We did our thing.”

Ferguson, who got to play on the men’s national team that christened the new Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium during the COCABA Tournament in December, said he was delighted to be back home for a break as he also spent some time with his family and friends. He came home with Andre Payne, one of

He didn’t come close to making the U.S. team in the 100 free for next month’s worlds in Fukuoka, Japan. Dressel’s time at the IUPUI Natatorium was nearly 2.5 seconds off his gold medal-winning performance (47.02) at the Tokyo Games two summers ago.

Dressel was one of the biggest stars at those Olympics, winning five gold medals.

But the 26-year-old Floridian mysteriously left the sport for an extended break and returned to competition only last month at a minor meet in Atlanta.

Clearly, Dressel has a long road to recapture the form that made him the successor to Michael Phelps as the world’s most dominant male swimmer.

Dressel still has three more chances to qualify for the world championships, having also entered the 50 free as well as the 50 and 100 butterfly. But, based on his lack of speed in his first event, it will likely be an

the coaches at FMU, who noted that he was delighted to be back in the Bahamas, especially when the Bahamas Baseball Association got to stage their National Baseball Championships this weekend at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium.

“I have two other players playing in the tournament, so it’s good to see them in action with their local peers,” Payne said. “All of these guys, including Mateor, work hard and they do what they have to do. So I’m happy to have them on the team.

“I coached high school in Miami for about 13 years and I had several Bahamian players back then, so I knew what to expect and what they are going to do as far as work ethic. They are doing what they are supposed to do. They’ve passed all expectations of all.”

Although Ferguson didn’t transfer to FMU until the spring, Payne said they didn’t get to put in the

CAELEB Dressel looks up after swimming the 100 butterfly during the Speedo Atlanta Classic finals on May 12

uphill climb to claim a spot on the powerful U.S. team.

Then again, Dressel is surely more focused on getting back to top form in time for next summer’s Paris Olympics, though he hasn’t publicly revealed his plans or goals.

In keeping with his reluctance to speak with the media, he declined interview requests after his

work during the fall, but he was impressed how well he came around at the end of the year for the Lions.

He said they have high expectations for him next year just as they do with Saunders and Knowles as they work towards getting into the starting rotation at FMU.

Ferguson, who is now training in Covington, Louisiana, in preparation for the Summer League in Cali, Houston, said he’s looking forward to reuniting with some of his old friends.

“We all get together in Summer League Baseball and show off our talent in front of the Major League Baseball scouts,” said Ferguson, who one day aspires to become a pro player.

However, he said he’s excited about returning to FMU where the Lions will get a chance to defend their World Series title next year.

“The plan for me next year is just to get bigger and stronger,” Ferguson stated.

dismal start to the national championships.

Dressel’s coach, Anthony Nesty, had acknowledged last week in an interview with The Associated Press that he was uncertain how the swimmer would perform in such a highpressure meet after a long layoff. “I think he came back re-energised,” Nesty said. “He stayed busy. Was

“I want to be more flexible so we can win another ring and even go on and win the Conference ring.”

Ferguson is the son of Mary and Wellington Ferguson and he has a sister, Whitnety Ferguson, who is a medical doctor and two brothers, Deangelo and Jeremy Ferguson.

While he’s the only member of his family who played college baseball, Ferguson said he’s excited when he sees so many young people look up to him because of what he has achieved.

“It’s just good to see the young players playing in this stadium and they are getting the exposure,” he said.

“They have their family members and friends watching them like they did when we played in December.

“So I’m happy. I see them walk by and we stop and talk about their game. It’s so good to see their interest

he on a weekly training cycle? No. But I think he still did some swimming on his own, some lifting on his own. At that point, you kind of let them do their own thing.”

When Dressel decided to return to swimming, Nesty eased him back into his training.

“We started him with a really light load,” the coach said. “He didn’t get a full load until week 10.”

Nesty said it was important for Dressel to get away from the sport.

The swimmer previously discussed the pressure and mental health struggles he faced ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which included panic attacks and depression.

“I think he needed it,” Nesty said. “At that point, all you can do is support your athlete. He has a good group of people that care about him and support him. Obviously, I’m happy he’s back in the sport. That’s where he belongs.”

in the game. I think this is a good step for us. Hopefully we will see some of them go on to play college ball and ultimately in the pro ranks.”

As for Ferguson, he said he has no regrets going to college rather than turning pro.

“I actually feel this is the best route for me. I think this is a blessing in disguise for me,” Ferguson said. “I’m able to get my degree for free and I have something that I can fall back on if anything goes wrong playing the sport.”

While home, Ferguson said he got the opportunity to work out with some of the pro players who are back here.

“It’s been a lot of training, putting in the hard work,” he said. “I have been throwing with Devaughn Knowles, a former player with the New York Yankees organisation.

“Don’t mind all of that. I had some fun as well. I

SWEDISH pole vaulter Arnaud Duplantis at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic, yesterday. (AP)

Another world-record holder, American shot putter Ryan Crouser, dominated the competition with a throw of 22.63 metres to improve his own Golden Spike record.

Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won the women’s 100 hurdles in 12.42 seconds to stay unbeaten this year.

Also, South Africa’s Akani Simbine was the fastest in the men’s 100, finishing in 9.98 to beat European indoor 60-metre champion Samuele Ceccarelli of Italy who clocked 10.15.

In the men’s 200 metres, South African Luxolo Adams won in 20.22.

Muzala Samukonga of Zambia won the men’s 400 metres in 45.05 to beat South Africa’s Zakithi Nene in 45.22.

Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia won the men’s discus with his last throw of 68.55.

haven’t been home in a while, but it’s been good. I just want to wish all of the local players every success as they look towards their future journeys, whether it’s in high school, college or the pros.”

Hopefully, one day, Ferguson said he will get to team up with some of them on the men’s national team as he’s doing now with his Bahamian teammates at FMU.

In the meantime, Payne said he’s been so impressed with the facilities at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, which was much better than the minor league facility they played their championship game in.

He noted that he can’t wait to get back to the United States to start the conversation to not only get FMU to bring the Lions team to the Bahamas, but also some of their rivals to get a real home cultural experience.

in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson)

JAZZ CHISHOLM JR, left, congratulates relief pitcher Archie Bradley after the Marlins defeated the Boston Red Sox 10-1 in a baseball game at Fenway Park last night in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The GBPA, in a sign that relations between Nassau and Freeport continue to worsen, blamed “increased Government imposed bureaucracy and red tape” for hindering the city’s development, which it argued was a violation of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

And, in a pun on the Government’s election campaign slogan, it also asserted that Freeport’s residents and 3,500 GBPA business licensees “deserve a ‘New Day’” where the Government works with it to realise the Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s stilluntapped “huge potential”.

Noting that the consistent attacks by the Prime Minister and several Cabinet ministers have caused “uncertainty” among investors and businesses related to Freeport’s future, the GBPA said none of the areas referred to by the Prime Minister - healthcare, education, Grand Bahama International Airport and the Grand Lucayan - are detailed as its obligations under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement.

While many will argue that the GBPA and its owners, the Hayward and St George families, walked

away from their airport responsibilities, it added that all these assets are the Government’s responsibility. And, tackling the Government’s “reimbursement” call, the GBPA said:

“Government’s claims under clause 1(5) of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement are contested.

“The GBPA is yet to be satisfied that the Government’s purported claims, which have lain dormant for more than 50 years, are justified and supported by credible evidence. They are, however, being reviewed and will be fully addressed. We would add, however, that the claims under this clause, which has not been amended since 1965, when Freeport was in its infancy, have little relevance today.

“At the time, government merely collected Excise Tax. Today, they extract a multitude of additional taxes which include, but are not limited to, cruise and airport passenger taxes, environmental taxes, road taxes, room taxes, as well as import / export duty and VAT, to name but a few.

“It is also an anomaly to ask the GBPA to fund the Ministry of Grand Bahama. The fact of the matter is, Freeport has always been, and continues to be, a net contributor to the

Bahamas Treasury, despite the increased Government imposed bureaucracy and red tape, in breach of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which has held Freeport back,” the GBPA continued.

“GBPA remains focused on advancing the economic and social development of Freeport, despite these challenges. The licensees and residents of Freeport, however, also deserve a ‘New Day’, where government and GBPA are working together, positively, to propel Freeport’s economy forward and ensure a positive future for all residents and licensees. The Hawksbill Creek Agreement’s huge potential can only be achieved if Government is willing to work collaboratively with GBPA.”

Mr Davis, in closing the 2023-2024 Budget debate on Monday, told the House of Assembly as he wrapped up the 2023-2024 Budget debate that the Government has “begun to invoice” the GBPA for “reimbursement” of these unspecified costs.

He argued that the Government was justified in seeking repayment under section one, sub-clause five, of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s

founding treaty, which stipulates that it can seek payment from the GBPA for providing “certain activities and services” if the costs involved exceed certain tax revenue streams generated in the city.

“It’s important to note there’s a provision in the Hawksbill Creek Agreement that specifies that the cost borne by the Government for certain activities and services provided are to be reimbursed by the Grand Bahama Port Authority for amounts in excess of Customs duties and emergency taxes collected,” Mr Davis said.

“My government has begun to invoice the Port Authority for these reimbursable expenses, as calculated by an independent accounting firm. To date, the Port Authority has not provided reimbursement in connection with any of these invoices.”

A government spokesman subsequently declined to disclose how much the GBPA has been invoiced for to-date, and the total bill that the Davis administration believes has been incurred. “We prefer not to disclose that amount at the moment,” they said.

Tribune Business previously reported that these alleged costs, and the

ALMOST 1M REFERRALS TO NASSAU/PI

to almost one million referrals to our member property pages for the same period. Interestingly, the top five markets that are visiting our website are New York, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta.”

As for continued growth in airlift, Mrs Jibrilu said: “I am delighted to announce that Alaska Airlines will also be offering seasonal service from two West Coast destinations – beginning on December 14 and operating through to April 2024. Alaska Airlines will also offer direct flights from Los Angeles to Nassau four times’ per week during this period.

“And the good news continues as Alaska Airlines

will also be adding for the same period – December through to April - direct service from Seattle, Washington, three times’ per week. This opens up the whole north-western seaboard for The Bahamas, as connections from Vancouver and even Alaska will make our island destination an obvious warm weather vacation choice.”

Mrs Jibrilu’s presentation follows the upbeat assessment given by Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, during his 20232024 Budget presentation. He said total tourist numbers for the four months to end-April 2023 were almost 30 percent ahead of The Bahamas’ prior record year of 2019 which occurred

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MARIE-ANGE CHERILIEN of The Bluff, Eleuthera, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JOSUE CHERILIEN of The Bluff, Eleuthera, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that WADE MAXIMILIAN LANCE LATORTUE of c/o EE-16623, Hanna Hill, Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 21st day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our tourism performance over this fiscal year continues to shatter prepandemic levels and further positions The Bahamas among the regional and global leaders in terms of overall tourism recovery,” Mr Cooper asserted. “And we are just getting started. At the end of April 2023, overall air and sea arrivals surpassed 2022 levels by 79 percent and exceeded the banner 2019 numbers by 32 percent.

“Looking specifically at the numbers, between January to April 2022, we welcomed an overall 1.9m visitors. During that same period in 2019, we welcomed 2.7m visitors. During the same four-month period this year, we welcomed

Government’s demands that they be repaid, are one tactic at the Davis administration’s disposal should it seek to financially squeeze the GBPA’s owners, the Hayward and St George families, in a bid to pressure them to sell their ownership interests.

Mr Pintard agreed with this interpretation, although he said the Prime Minister’s latest comments have merely extended and worsened the uncertainty surrounding Freeport’s future. “I would say I’m a bit clearer in terms of a party of his strategy based on the statement he made,” he told Tribune Business of Mr Davis.

“I don’t believe he has cleared up the uncertainty around the future of Freeport and what the Government will ultimately do. One piece of the puzzle he announced, which I was certainly not aware of, is that he intends to use the ‘balance of payments’ issue to apply, in my view, pressure to the GBPA.”

Mr Pintard, though, said the Opposition is “not going to provide any comfort” to the GBPA and its ownership when it comes to “discharging their responsibilities as per the Hawksbill Creek Agreement”, which include

HOTELS

some 3.5m visitors with eight more months left.

“On this current trajectory, we fully expect to shatter the much-touted historic 2019 overall visitor arrivals numbers by the end of the third quarter and will conservatively welcome well over eight million visitors by the end of 2023.”

Focusing on higher-yielding stopover visitors, Mr Cooper added: “Air stopover arrivals – heads in beds that stay longer and spend more – surpassed 2022 levels by 34 percent, and matched 2019 performance levels, pacing well ahead of overall global pre-pandemic recovery forecasts.

“At some point within this fiscal year, we saw most of our islands experiencing their most historic monthly foreign air arrivals. We are

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JEAN RENE LOUISSAINT of Carmichael Road, New Providence, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 28th day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RAYMOND OSAYUKI ORIAKHI of P. O. Box GT-2602, #22 Pink Coral Dr., New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 21st day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ROOBENS ELUSME of Spring Field Road, New Providence, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 28th day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

attracting investment to Grand Bahama and maintaining its infrastructure.

“We are still unclear as to what the Government’s intentions are,” he added, calling on the Davis administration to have “very frank conversations” with stakeholders that include the GBPA and its owners, the 3,500 licensees and Grand Bahama’s MPs, a majority of whom - three out of five - are FNM.

However, Mr Pintard warned that if the Government does not do this and simply chooses to steamroller ahead by itself, and seek “to supersede the Hawksbill Creek Agreement in the absence of these discussions, we are prepared to resist that and resist that vigorously”.

“The mandate given to the Port Authority is not being fulfilled and there is a need to reconfigure that relationship,” the Opposition leader added. “There is a need to look at Bahamian ownership in these companies, but the Government is not on very strong ground to convince Grand Bahamians and the people of Freeport that they’re in a position to do better, so we need to have a real conversation about the way forward.”

breaking records in Nassau/ Paradise Island, South Andros, North Andros and the Berry Islands, Cat Cay, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Exuma and Long Island too.

“If we analyse the major islands that have not reached full recovery, we will see that after being shut down for over two years, San Salvador air stopovers have now returned to 92 percent of their 2019 levels and are expected to end this year, also experiencing record air arrivals,” he added.

“Grand Bahama air stopovers surpassed 2022 levels by 70 percent and rebounded to over 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

However, when we combine total air and sea arrivals into Grand Bahama, total visitor arrivals exceeded

CALL 502-2394 TO ADVERTISE IN THE TRIBUNE TODAY!

2022 levels by 137 percent, and overall visitor arrivals have soared to 91 percent of 2019 pre-pandemic and Hurricane Dorian levels.

“Abaco air stopover arrivals have exceeded 2022 levels by 70 percent and recorded 75 percent of prepandemic and Hurricane Dorian airlift. However, when we look at Abaco’s overall air and sea arrivals, you will see that overall visitor arrivals surpassed 2022 figures by 72 percent and, at the end of April, Abaco’s overall visitor arrivals were at 99 percent of the 2019 figures..... In short, tourism is booming, and the numbers have never been better.”

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, CHARMAINE MCGREGOR WOOLERY of #5 Victoria Lane Queen’s Cove, Freeport, Bahamas, intend to change my name to EVVY MCGREGOR DEMERITTE If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that HAROLD PATRICK LINDO of #34 Central Avenue, Summer Haven, P.O. Box-10508, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 21st day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that BARBARA MARY EIROA GOMEZ, of P.O .Box N266 Cloister Drive West, New Providence, Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of June 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN SHRUGS OFF DEPARTURE TAX HIKES

A SENIOR Royal Caribbean executive yesterday asserted that the departure tax increases and new levies introduced in the 20232024 Budget will have no impact on plans to expand its Bahamas business.

Jay Schneider, the cruise line’s chief product innovation officer, speaking at a Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) event that it sponsored, affirmed that Royal Caribbean is committed to The Bahamas as its premier cruise destination. This involves growing the number of passengers it brings to The Bahamas by 150 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2027, and its $100m Paradise Island Royal Beach Club project.

“I can’t speak for the other cruise lines at all,

but we are committed to the continued growth of The Bahamas. We plan on continuing to grow The Bahamas and that’s what our guests want. And so we’re not going to stop growing in The Bahamas,” Mr Schneider said in response to this newspaper’s questions.

The Passenger Tax Amendment Bill 2023, tabled in the House of Assembly to accompany the 2023-2024 Budget, revealed that the existing $18 per head departure tax is being increased to $23 for “every cruise passenger” leaving The Bahamas via Nassau and Freeport, and to $25 per head for all those who exit “by sea from a private island not visiting any other port in The Bahamas”.

The revised tax structure, while designed to incentivise the cruise lines to call on Nassau and Freeport, and thus better spread the wealth through their passengers spending with more Bahamian companies and their employees, imposes

departure tax increases of $5 and $7, respectively. They are equivalent to a 27.8 percent and 38.9 percent rise.

In addition, the Bill will also introduce a “tourism environmental levy for every cruise ship passenger arriving or leaving The Bahamas” worth $5 per head. And, finally, for good measure, The Bahamas is also applying a $2 per head “tourism enhancement levy for every passenger arriving in or leaving The Bahamas”.

Combined, these two new levies will add a further $7 in taxes and fees for departing cruise passengers. Depending on whether they exit via Nassau or Freeport, or one of The Bahamas’ private islands, this will take the per capita fees and taxes paid to $30 and $32, respectively, representing 67 percent and 77.8 percent jumps.

After much initial confusion, the Government clarified that these new levies and tax increases

are due to take effect on January 1, 2024, to give the cruise lines and their passengers time to adjust. Given that many cruises are booked 12-18 months out, the lines had been fearful they would either have to go back to their customers for more money or absorb the increases themselves.

Mr Schneider, meanwhile, yesterday reiterated that Royal Caribbean intends to bring at least 2.5m guests to Nassau annually by 2027. Its proposed Royal Beach Club will accommodate up to 1m at full capacity, while a tourism levy equivalent to 1 percent of gross revenues generated by the Paradise Island project will be used to improve The Bahamas’ tourism product..

“So if you think of the kind of total formula, right, we’re going to grow at least by 2027, Nassau, New Providence overall, to 2.5m guests. Of that, one million have the opportunity potentially at our maximum capacity to go to the Royal Beach Club. That leaves

1.5m to go experience other attractions throughout the island,” Mr Schneider said.

“And it was one of the really creative ideas from the deputy prime minister [Chester Cooper] to make sure that revenue from the Royal Beach Club, on a sustained basis, will improve non-Royal Caribbean products throughout The Bahamas to ensure that the other 1.5m guests that I mentioned will eventually visit The Bahamas, Nassau specifically, and have an opportunity to see an improved product. The Royal Beach Club will contribute to that.

“We think a tourism levy of 1 percent on the kind of gross revenue of the Beach Club is a great way for the Beach Club to then give back to the Government to distribute as grants and whatever the final format is, we don’t know, to other experiences because it will only offer a funding source to improve those experiences that our guests will go to anyway. And so it ends

up becoming such a great flywheel of improvement for things around Nassau, New Providence.”

Royal Caribbean recently announced that its latest Oasis-class ship, Utopia of the Seas, will be dedicated to visiting the Bahamas. Sailing from July 2024, it will visit New Providence twice weekly, bringing more than 15,000 guests per week. The ship is expected to bring over 300,000 guests in 2024 and 750,000 in 2025.

Mr Schneider said the new ship and route serve as an example of Royal Caribbean’s commitment to The Bahamas, and reiterated its ambitions to expand local cruise tourism. He added: “Utopia is a great example of really how important The Bahamas is to us as a company.

“We do plan on continuing to grow cruise tourism into Nassau. It’s not just because I love Nassau, but it’s because its so important to our guests.”

Gov’t already rejecting work permit renewals

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday said the Government has already begun rejecting work permit renewal applications for expatriates who have received approvals “consecutively” for the past 10 years or more.

Keith Bell, minister for labour and immigration, told reporters ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting that his ministry has been “scrutinising” renewal applications to detect those where qualified Bahamians are willing and available to do the job. Officials are also assessing whether employers have identified Bahamian understudies to be trained up to take over from expatriate staff once their work permits expire, and how many renewals have previously been approved.

“As I would have indicated in a number of press statements, the Immigration Department processes in excess of 30,000 work permit applications every year and, of that number, approximately 15,000 work permits exist [are issued],” Mr Bell said.

“And there are a number of trends which have come to light, one being where persons are continuously having their permit renewed and there are, in these instances, there are qualified Bohemians. And the Government policy has remained unwavering in that where a qualified Bahamian is available, then a work permit ought not be issued.

“Secondly, where a work permit is issued, there is supposed to be an understudy. What we have found in a number of cases is that sometimes the Bahamian who is supposed to be the understudy does not know [they have that responsibility] or there is one Bahamian understudy for a number of persons on work permits,” the minister added.

“And so, in those instances, we have seen that some persons have had up to 10 to 15 work permit renewals. And obviously the concern remains..... the Government policy is that when you have 20 work permits consecutively then you’re entitled to apply for permanent residence of the country. Once you obtain permanent residence then, after five years, you’re entitled to apply for citizenship to be considered by the Cabinet.

Mr Bell acknowledged that The Bahamas’ population and workforce will never be large enough to meet all the country’s skills and employment needs but, notwithstanding this, “the time has come for us to review our policy and to

ensure that Bahamians continue to remain first in this country”.

Asked to confirm that the Government is serious about its work permit renewal stance, given that previous administrations have made similar utterances to little effect in the past, Mr Bell said: “The fact of the matter is that we’ve already started. I will not necessarily wish to single out any individual, but many persons would know that we have already started this policy, and it is not necessarily only at the low end, but it is also at the high end, impacting a significant number of high-end individuals.”

Addressing the controversy surrounding the recently-released Labour Force Survey, which Kwasi Thompson, former minister of state for finance described as a “smokescreen” that covers both the shrinkage of the workforce and number of employed Bahamians, Mr Bell said he stood by the reduced 8.8 percent national unemployment rate.

Comparing the May 2023 findings with those from four years ago, Mr

Second airline opening US west coast route to Nassau

ANOTHER airline yesterday announced it will launch two seasonal direct flights to Nassau from the US west coast beginning in time for the 2023 Christmas holidays.

The Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, in a statement, said that between December 14, 2023, and April 10, 2024, travellers can fly non-stop with Alaska Airlines to Lynden Pindling International Airport from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The direct flights will operate four times’ a week from LAX and three times a week from Seattle.

Joy Jibrilu, the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board’s chief executive, said: “With increased visitation to Nassau/Paradise Island from the west coast, we are thrilled to offer even more options for travellers to reach our shores. This is the first-ever flight to The Bahamas from Alaska Airlines, and we look forward

to growing our partnership to meet the demand for our authentic Bahamian hospitality, picture-perfect beaches and award-winning accommodations.”

“We’re excited to add a ‘new dot’ to our route map and believe our guests will appreciate the convenience of non-stop service to The Bahamas this winter,” said Kirsten Amrine, vice-president of revenue management and network planning for Alaska Airlines. “Whether our guests choose to stay in Nassau, or venture to the outer islands, the pristine beaches and crystal clear waters of The Bahamas await.”

Alaska Airlines said that, for a limited time, introductory fares for flights between Los Angeles and Nassau start at $169 oneway, and flights between Seattle and Nassau start at $199 one-way. “We are thrilled to share in the anticipation of Alaska Airlines’ inaugural flight to the pristine shores of The Bahamas, opening a

treasure trove of experiences for travellers,” said Prime Minister Philip E. Davis.

“For those looking to escape to our enchanting white beaches, turquoise waters and vibrant culture, this new connection provides an effortless path. We can’t wait to extend our warm Bahamian welcome to the visitors from afar, ushering in a new chapter of tourism and cultural exchange. We welcome and look forward to this new partnership.”

“Seattle welcomes another dynamic, sunny winter destination – the first time Nassau has been served with non-stop service from Seattle,” said Lance Lyttle, managing director at Seattle airport.

“Alaska Airlines is providing that opportunity for fun and sun to go with destinations from Mexico to Hawaii – choices Seattle travellers will surely be happy to have.”

Thompson said data from the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) showed that during this period the workforce has seemingly shrunk from 237,525 in the May 2019 survey to 219,465 now - a drop of almost 8 percent or just over 18,000 persons.

Similarly, Mr Thompson told this newspaper that the number of employed Bahamian workers had also shrunk over the same period - by almost 7 percent or just over 14,000 persons, falling from 214,890 to 200,175 today.

Mr Bell, in reply, said: “I think that the honourable Member of Parliament, he sought to mislead, deceive and spoke a half-truth. The fact of the matter is you have to look at the overall

number and, when you get to the overall number you’re talking about, it is out of 100. Even if that number was 20, we’re talking about 200,000 people.

“And I would submit on the contrary to what the Honourable Member of Parliament had to say, the reality is that it is even that much more significant because we went through a pandemic, and we went through a hurricane and so you had a number of persons - because of the actions of the former administration - leaving the country or were displaced. And so the fact that you’re going to have an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent, it is even more significant.

“Because in this short period of time, this

administration, this Davisled administration, has been able to lower the unemployment rate. And so you have to look at the overall number. And you have to then take into account how many persons have been employed. That is the fact that is it; it don’t go no further.”

Mr Bell estimated that the unemployment rate under the previous Dr Hubert Minnis administration to be as high as 40 percent, but does not have any concerns about nearly 18,000 people vanishing from the Bahamian workforce between 2019 and 2023. “The Department of Labour is undertaking research to determine what went on,” he said.

KEITH BELL

Bahamas ‘shipwrecked’ if no Development Plan

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS will “end up shipwrecked” if it fails to fully revive the National Development Plan (NDP) as a mechanism to direct and benchmark improvements on key economic and social metrics, it was argued yesterday.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business that

revitalising the initiative known as ‘Vision 2040’ was “second to none” in terms of importance and national priorities given that the nation is the equivalent of “a rudderless ship” without.

Speaking after the Prime Minister, in his closing 20232024 Budget communication, pledged that the Government will “complete and implement” the National Development Plan by giving it legal effect and supporting resources, he added that it was vital to end the “silo”

FTX’s Bahamas attorney quiet on $1m ‘bonus’ claim

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s Bahamas attorney yesterday declined to comment on allegations that a “former Bahamian government official” was offered a $1m “bonus” if they could expedite obtaining the necessary licences to operate from this nation.

Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, a former attorney general and ex-minister of financial services and investments, wrote in response to Tribune Business inquiries: “Our firm does not comment on any client nor any matter connected with any client.”

The firm she referred to is Clement T. Maynard & Company.

This newspaper contacted Mrs

Maynard-Gibson, who currently chairs the University of The Bahamas (UoB) Board of Trustees, after John Ray, head of the 134 FTX entities currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, asserted that the “bonus” was offered to an unidentified attorney and “former Bahamian government official” if they were able to obtain the necessary Bahamian permits and licences for FTX within ten weeks.

Alleging that all required approvals were delivered “less than six weeks later”, well within the target timeframe, Mr Ray said in a report filed with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court: “In moving to The Bahamas, where they incorporated FTX Digital Markets in July

• Ex-Cabinet minister declines comment on Ray claim

approach to decision-making and “be prepared to call a spade a spade” when it came to the country’s governance.

Warning the Government against making promises simply to quiet advocates who have been calling for the National Development Plan’s revival, Mr Bowe told this newspaper:

“Without a National Development Pan we are a rudderless ship.”

SEE PAGE A18

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday asserted that agricultural-related legislation accompanying the 2023-2024 Budget was being “misinterpreted” amid charges that it is threatening to “take bread out of farmers’ mouths”.

2021, the FTX senior executives sought to minimise any substantive change to or scrutiny of their business.

“Thus, for example, on behalf of the FTX group, in July 2021, ‘attorney one’ offered a former Bahamian government official, acting as an attorney, a $1m ‘bonus’ to procure a necessary business license for FTX Digital Markets within ten weeks. The attorney obtained the licence less than six weeks later.”

Tribune Business asked Mrs Maynard-Gibson in writing whether, in her capacity as FTX’s Bahamian counsel, she knew the identity of the attorney and “former Bahamian government official” that Mr Ray was referring to or, indeed, if this was herself since the

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description appears to be a close fit.

The former Cabinet minister was also asked if she knew what Mr Ray meant by the term “bonus”; if his assertions about its nature and value were correct; and if she was aware whether it was actually offered to someone. Tribune Business also inquired about the six and ten-week

SEE PAGE A17

GBPA: Gov’ts financial demands are ‘contested’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE GRAND Bahama

Port Authority (GBPA) yesterday hit back at the Government’s financial demands as the Opposition’s leader warned his party will “vigorously resist” any bid to “supersede” Freeport’s

founding treaty without consultation.

Michael Pintard told Tribune Business that, while the Free National Movement (FNM) is “not going to provide any comfort” to Freeport’s quasi-governmental authority and its owners when it comes fulfilling its developmental and governance obligations, the Government must consult

widely with all stakeholders to determine the city’s future.

He spoke as the GBPA, pushing back against the Prime Minister’s accusation that it has failed to repay costs the Government has incurred in providing public services in Freeport despite being billed for these expenses, asserted that the sums in question are “contested”.

Suggesting that the Government’s long-standing claims are neither justified nor supported by “credible evidence”, Freeport’s quasi-governmental body argued that the city has always been a positive “net contributor” to the Public Treasury and effectively blasted Nassau for impeding the city’s development.

SEE PAGE A16

Almost 1m referrals to Nassau/PI hotels

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR Bahamian tourism executive yesterday said Nassau/Paradise Island has recovered to 97 percent of pre-COVID business volumes by March 2023 with airlift capacity up by double digits for the year-to-date.

Joy Jibrilu, the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board’s chief executive, giving an update on the

destination at an International Travel Partners Conference, said: “By March 2023 our recovery pace was at 97 percent, while Canada, which had a much slower return to travel, was at 80 percent and Central & South America were already at 100 percent when compared to 2022.

“We are seeing continued increase in demand, which has contributed greatly to our recovery post-pandemic.

Year-to-date we are seeing a 15 percent increase in total non-Caribbean seats to Nassau versus 2022. Transatlantic seat capacity is up 38 percent year-todate compared to 2022.

“Passenger traffic at LPIA (Lynden Pindling International Airport) has seen an increase in traffic of 33 percent through to May. And, finally, and very importantly, we have 38 non-stop daily flights to Nassau.” Turning to the volume of traffic visiting

the Promotion Board’s website, she said: “We saw a tremendous uptick in visits to Nassau Paradise Island dot.com, with these website visits converting into actual visits to the destination.

“Total traffic to our website through to June 2023 is up 85 percent compared to same period last year, and total website referrals to our partner resorts also increased by 68.2 percent

SEE PAGE A16

Clay Sweeting, minister of agriculture, marine resources and Family Islands, told Tribune Business the Agricultural Sales and Services Bill needed to be read in context alongside all other legislation and regulations pertaining to the sector as he pledged that the Government has no intention of competing directly with Bahamian farmers.

The minister spoke out after Caron Shepherd, the Bahamas Agro Entrepreneurs Group’s president, disclosed to this newspaper that she raced to the House of Assembly on Monday in a last-ditch effort - but unsuccessful effort - to persuade Mr Sweeting and Prime Minister Philip Davis KC not to move ahead with the Bill in its current form.

The Bill’s “objects and reasons” section states: “The Agricultural Sales and Services Bill 2023 seeks to empower the Department of Agriculture to charge fees for the sale of plants and animals, and the provision of certain agricultural

services to the general public.”

Besides stipulating that the Department of Agriculture “may” offer seedlings and various animals for sale to the general public at various prices, as well as services such as “bush hogging”, “fence post hole drilling” and “ridging”, the legislation also empowers the responsible minister to change the crops, livestock and other products offered by Order. Among the animals that the Department “may” supply are pigs, boars, cattle and sheep. Ms Shepherd, who said she and other farmers/livestock owners only found out about the Bill and its contents on Monday - the day it was passed by the House of Assembly - asserted that the legislation was effectively opening up livestock and crop farming to any “Joe Blow” able to purchase from the Department of Agriculture.

SEE PAGE A17

Minister says Bill not removing ‘bread out of farmers’ mouths’

RODERICK SIMMS

GOWON BOWE

CARON SHEPHERD

ALLYSON MAYNARD-GIBSON KC HUBERT MINNIS SAM BANKMAN-FRIED