08142019 NEWS

WEDNESDAY i’m lovin’ it!

HIGH 90ºF LOW 81ºF

The Tribune Established 1903

24/7 BREAKING NEWS ON TRIBUNE242.COM

Biggest And Best!

VOLUME:116 No.159, AUGUST 14TH, 2019

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

INSIDE TODAY: YOUR ESSENTIAL BACK-TO-SCHOOL GUIDE

Plastics ban to include $2,000 balloons fine

Don’t let go

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE upcoming ban on single-use plastics will also outlaw the release of balloons, according to draft legislation that details fines up to $3,000.

The plastic ban legislation outlines up to six months imprisonment for people who assault, resist, impede, or make false statements to an inspection officer.

However, businesses will be able to possess and sell prohibited plastics to customers up to June 30, 2020 for a fee.

If convicted under the proposed legislation, a first time offender faces a fine not exceeding $2,000, and in the case of a continuing offence, $500 for each day the offence continues.

A second or subsequent offence will be met with a

fine not exceeding $3,000, and further fine of $700 for each day it continues.

If passed, the Environmental Protection (Control of Plastic Pollution) Bill, 2019 will prohibit single-use plastic foodware and non-biodegradable, oxo-biodegradable and biodegradable single-use plastic bags; prohibit the release of balloons; and regulate the use of compostable single-use plastic bags.

Single-use plastic foodware outlined in the bill include: Styrofoam cups, plates and other similar Styrofoam foodware used to contain food; plastic knives, forks, spoons and straws.

Businesses will be allowed to sell compostable single-use plastic bags for 25 cents to $1, excluding VAT. SEE PAGE TWO

A CABINET minister and Grand Lucayan Board members will today visit Miami to view an updated blueprint for Royal Caribbean’s multi-million transformation of the resort and nearby harbour.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, confirmed to Tribune Business that he and other members of the delegation have asked the cruise line and its ITM Group partner

for a new look at their “vision and plan” for the resort and surrounding area.

Voicing optimism that “a deal will be struck” to sell the Grand Lucayan to the joint venture as part of a wider development to overhaul Freeport into a destination product, Mr D’Aguilar said he hoped to conclude an agreement with ITM Group/Royal Caribbean “certainly by the end of the year”.

“We’ve asked them to update us on their vision and plan,” he said.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

LET US KNOW WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE GOING OFF

SEE PAGE EIGHT

ONE FATALITY, TWO INJURED IN SHOOTING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THREE people were shot, one fatally, on Amos Ferguson Street off Palmetto Avenue yesterday.

This is the 55th murder for the year, according to this newspaper’s records.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Shanta Knowles said two people armed with firearms approached a group of men sitting in a yard and discharged their weapons in their direction.

She said two of the victims were transported to hospital where they were in stable condition.

SEE PAGE TWO

BEE SWARM STINGS MAN TO DEATH

DELEGATION TO SEE NEW BLUEPRINT FOR LUCAYAN

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ALICIA WALLACE

BAGS TO SCHOOL THOUSANDS of children will be heading back to school with a smile thanks to Bahamas Striping Group of Companies and Rotary Bahamas who have got together to donate over 10,000 backpacks filled with notebooks and accessories. Pictured above is nine-year-old Roger Smith with some of the backpacks.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

INQUIRY ORDERED INTO JAIL ‘BEATING’

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE mother of a man jailed for armed robbery yesterday pleaded for her son’s safety as officials investigate claims he was severely beaten on the weekend.

Photos of a bloodied and bruised man, identified by relatives as 28-year-old Cordero Bethel, with a stitched gash on his head were circulated on social

THE BRUISED MAN media yesterday. Several online forums alleged the injuries were sustained

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AN 82-YEAR-OLD man was stung to death when a swarm of bees attacked him as he was doing yard work at his Freeport home last week.

Keith Finley died in hospital on Friday - two days after Wednesday’s attack at his home on Dolphin and Drumfish Street, Caravel Beach. His wife, Pamela, said she “screamed in horror” as her husband sat helplessly at the front door SEE PAGE FIVE

TECHNOLOGY

after Bethel was ganged by inmates; however, Commissioner Charles Murphy did not provide any details when asked by The Tribune.

There are also allegations he was attacked by correctional officers.

“I got the same information,” Mr Murphy said, when asked about claims Bethel was beaten by prison officers. “I saw the picture on social media and an investigation is launched.

SAMSUNG PUTS HEADPHONE JACK IN TRASH

SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE NINE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

PLASTICS BAN TO INCLUDE $2,000 BALLOONS FINE from page one

Business will not be able to sell these bags to customers at the point of sale, and if they do, the sale of the bag must be separately stated on the receipt and identified as a “checkout bag fee”.

Business will be allowed to keep the fees collected for the sale of these bags; however, a record must be kept of the number of bags supplied during the reporting year, along with the gross and net proceeds of

the sale. Failure to keep a record is an offence with a fine up to $2,000, and failure to supply a copy of the record to the ministry carries a fine up to $1,000.

Compostable single-use plastic bags will be exempt from the ban along with a number of others based on their intended use like party bags, dry cleaning, food and hardware storage, newspaper deliveries and trash.

“A bag intended to be used solely to contain wholly or partly unwrapped food for human consumption, including fruits,

vegetables, nuts, ground coffee, grains, or candies; a bag intended to be used solely to contain uncooked fish or fish products, meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products; a bag intended to be used solely to contain wholly or partly unwrapped loose seeds, bulbs, corns, rhizomes, flowers, or goods contaminated by soil; a bag used for pharmaceutical dispensing or any other medical use,” the bill notes.

The exempt list continues: “A bag intended to be used solely to contain live

aquatic creatures in water; a bag intended to be used solely for the transport or storage of agricultural products; a bag with a thickness of at least 3 mils thick that is intended to be used solely to package hardware items; a bag that is an integral part of the packaging in which a good is sealed prior to its delivery to a point of sale; and a bag intended to be used solely to contain ice for retail.”

The law will not apply to plastic manufactured locally for export.

Draft bills for the

Ministry of Environment Bill 2019 and the Environmental Planning and Protection Bill 2019 were also released for public consultation.

The MOE Bill seeks to establish the Ministry of the Environment to oversee the integrity of the environment and to establish the Environmental Administration Fund and the Environmental Trust Fund.

The planning bill seeks to establish the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, to provide for the prevention

or control of pollution, the regulation of activities, and the administration, conservation and sustainable use of the environment.

It provides for the establishment of an integrated environmental management system, providing a legal framework for the protection, enhancement and conservation of the environment, and for the sustainable management, use, development and enjoyment of the environment.

Editorial View - Page 4

One man dead, two injured in shootings

from page one

THREE people were shot, one fatally, on Amos Ferguson Street off Palmetto Avenue yesterday.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

ASP Knowles said one of the victims was known to police. “We are very early with this investigation,” she added. “We know that in the cool of the afternoon persons would have been outside and we’re asking anyone who has information that might assist us with this investigation to please give us a call. Use the Crime Stoppers line, 328-TIPS. We have a P3 system. Go to your (Google) Play Store, download the P3 application, click on country Bahamas and of course fill out the information. There is no need to put in an email address, your name,

telephone, nothing, just give us the information.”

ASP Knowles said there were no reports that children were around when the shooting happened. “In the cool of the afternoon, there may have been children out but we don’t have information that they were present at the time,” she said.

This is the fifth murder this month.

In 2018, there were five murders in the entire month of August. Overall, murders are down ten percent compared to this time last year. Yesterday’s incident was the first murder since an unidentified man was found with gunshot woulds outside a building off Blue Hill Road on Tuesday, August 6.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, PAGE 3

Inquiry ordered into claims armed robber was ‘severely beaten’

from page one We are awaiting the results of that,” Mr Murphy added.

However, Christine McPhee, his 49-year-old mother, told The Tribune the incident is the third time her son has been attacked at the prison. She claims the weekend incident involved both inmates and prison officers.

She said a formal complaint was never filed for any of the incidents for fear of reprisal, insisting she has been contacted personally by prison officers who told her Bethel would be killed by inmates if she made a report.

Ms McPhee said the latest incident has prompted her to take action as she could no longer remain silent about allegations

of abuse. “I think they just taking advantage of him,” she said, “this the third time. They keep beating him. The first two times, the first time it was inmates and the second time it was guards.

I left it alone, he said ‘mommy leave it’ because they going to just come to him again.

“These gangs are on the inside and outside,” Ms McPhee continued. “He says ‘mommy I’m not in no gang.’ They were plotting, they were going to kill him because he told them he ain’t going in a gang. A prison officer call me himself and he say if you report this, they will go after him to try kill him.”

Bethel was sentenced in 2016 before Justice Vera Watkins after accepting a plea deal with Crown prosecutors for a double

gunpoint robbery in 2013. He robbed a man of his 2007 Honda Accord and an iPhone, and a woman of her Samsung Galaxy S4 device.

Bethel was sentenced to seven years on each count to take effect from the date he was taken into custody, March 3, 2014. The sentences will run concurrently.

Upon his release from the Department of Correctional Services, Bethel will be placed on two years’ probation.

Ms McPhee described her son as outspoken, adding she suspects this trait often put him at odds with correctional officers.

Ms McPhee said: “It’s been five years and they always bothering with him. If he go outside, other prisoners go in his cell and take all his things, and when he

COMMISSIONER Charles Murphy speak out they don’t do nothing about it. I told him leave it alone, I told him I’ll put money on his account to buy his stuff back.

“This happen now and it just getting worse,” she said.

“If they serving their time and being mistreated, then what else? He’s serving his time. They need to do a thorough check on officers they are employing.

“I’m tired of them beating my child in his head. Is this a correctional centre? How y’all could be beating up on him, hitting him in his head? They always knocking him in his head. I know my child mouth little hard but all of y’all gonna gang him…y’all prison officers?

“This time it really hit me because if you see the pictures with his head open up - no man.

They could have killed my child.

I’m going to press charges,” she added.

Police chief warns officers: No photos

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle has warned police officers that photographing innocent people during routine traffic stops could result in disciplinary action.

He made the warning in an email to RBPF commanders and department heads which was leaked to the press yesterday.

He reminded senior officers that photos of people against whom criminal proceedings are not instituted must, by law, be destroyed. He wrote in his email: “With immediate effect, you are to ensure that the practice of photographing persons during routine traffic stops and stop and search is to cease. Officers wishing to take photographs of stop and search should avoid taking persons faces, who have not been arrested. In the recent past, the commissioner of police has received an unacceptable

level of complaints from members of the public regarding the conduct of police officers during traffic stops. Kindly speak to your officers regarding this practice as we will all have no other recourse than to take disciplinary action should the practice persist.”

A woman whose identity has been withheld spoke to The Tribune yesterday about her recent experience with officers who took a photo of her after she was stopped for a broken headlight. She said the experience felt disturbing and invasive.

She said: “The practice of photographing people at traffic stops absolutely needs to be stopped. It is extremely invasive, disturbing, and unnecessary - especially when the officers refuse to explain the context for the photo or where your image will be going. My photo was taken when I was recently stopped by police. The officers took the photo after looking me up and down. It exacerbated what was already a

completely unprofessional experience with a group of officers who were extremely aggressive and rude. What should have been a simple traffic stop ended up feeling like a sick power play.”

In recent times, the RBPF has also drawn criticism when photos of arrested people are circulated on social media before they are charged with a crime. In some cases, no charges have been made against the people. Some legal observers say the habit of releasing photos before a person is charged is defamatory.

DEPUTY Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle

PAGE 4, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

Published daily Monday to Friday

Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES

News & General Information Advertising Manager Circulation Department Nassau fax Freeport, Grand Bahama Freeport fax

(242) 322-1986 (242) 502-2394 (242) 502-2386 (242) 328-2398 (242)-352-6608 (242) 352-9348

WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com

@tribune242

tribune news network

Plastics law to have teeth - now enforce it WHEN the ban on single-use plastics was first proposed, we warmly welcomed it in this column – with one caveat: It has to be enforced.

Well, now we know what teeth the law has. A series of fines have been revealed – with up to $2,000 for a first offence, and $500 for each day the offence continues. That’s a high price to pay for not following the new law – and a sharp reminder to people to fall in line.

For those who don’t learn their lesson the first time, the fine goes up to $3,000 and $700 per day. As for those who try to obstruct inspectors or lie to them, that can land them in jail for up to six months.

There are exemptions – with businesses able to sell compostable single-use bags for up to $1 plus VAT – but out go the styrofoam cups and plates, away go the plastic knives, forks, spoons and straws. Balloon releases too are banned – so scrap that from the birthday celebrations or corporate events.

The reason for all of this is clear – too much plastic debris finds its way into the environment in ways that are harmful.

Plastic finds its way into the oceans, where it kills fish, seabirds and other forms of marine life. For a nation so

proud of its waters, it is only right that we take action to eliminate such garbage, and make a real difference to the ocean around us.

Take a swim off our shores and too often you will see plastic bags in the sea, or cast aside cups floating by. It is time for that to stop.

We hope that people see for themselves the need to change this kind of behaviour, this pouring of harmful waste into our environment. But for those among us who do not wish to change, these penalties will make them think more than twice.

That leaves just one more task – there is no point making laws such as these if we don’t enforce them. The inspectors charged with stopping the flow of plastic waste must be given the proper funding, and they must operate without fear or favour. Anyone still supplying prohibited plastics must be punished equally, whether it’s the smallest bush cafe or a business run by a government minister.

The expectation must be that people won’t get away with avoiding the rules.

After all, we are proud of the waters that surround us – it’s only fair that we do all we can to help them to shine.

Time to cast off our taboos THE government intends to review the school curriculum to bring it up to date – including in the area of sexual education. It’s about time.

We often report in the pages of The Tribune on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, and the regular HIV testing sessions that are held around the country in an effort to reduce the spread of such infections.

When we send our children to school, we want to equip them with the knowledge they need to deal with the world they are growing up into. It is only

sensible then to prepare them for a world where sexual diseases exist, and prepare them with what they need to know to guard against such.

It can of course be a touchy subject – a taboo that lingers still across the world – but we hope we can have a mature discussion about what our children need.

This is for their knowledge, and their safety, and to shy away from the discussion would do them a disservice.

There is another prize too – a future Bahamas run by our children where perhaps, at last, such taboos can be forgotten.

A shock to travel along Bay Street EDITOR, The Tribune IT IS not often that I get an opportunity to travel the Bay Street and downtown areas. On Monday, 12th instant, I had to take my family somewhere in those environments. I was appalled and deeply shocked by the absolutely deplorable and unkempt conditions from the East Street intersection and beyond travelling east on Bay Street! A few years ago it was terrible, but now it is even worse than before.

Successive administrations have long talked about the revitalization of the downtown area with little if any results on the ground. Brother Edward ‘Ed’ Fields, et al, have been labouring for years and years, through no fault of their own. At the rate the work is unfolding it is not likely that we will see any appreciable improvements anytime soon.

Re-election for the FNM is not a given. There are several issues which are of vital concern to the average resident here in New Providence and, indeed, Bahamians across the

nation. The ongoing saga with Bahamas Power & Light is the biggest threat to the FNM’s re-election.

It was ‘bad’ under Brother Christie and my good friend Brave, but never this ‘bad’.

While the FNM has done some great work on some of the main roads here in New Providence, many major roads like East Street from North of Wulff Road straight into downtown leaves much to be desired.

Many side roads have been neglected under successive governments. The drainage system, if there is one, does not seem to be working. Whenever there is a few drops of rain, numerous streets are flooded.

Pinewood continues to be a problem and a clear and present danger to residents and commuters.

There are limits on just how and when any administration could or would usher in real changes, but the FNM is, in two short years, seen as incompetent; arrogant and too secretive.

The communication skills of the FNM and 75% of the cabinet members are next to zero. Simple and timely addresses by the PM and his inner circle would go

a long way in easing the anxiety being felt by tens of thousands of Bahamians.

Our people do not demand too much, but they expect reasonable performance.

For the nation’s sake, I beg and urge the PM and the administration to climb down from their high horses and remember that they actually ‘work’ for the people and not the other way around. Yes, there are financial and other constraints when discussing the limits for the City of Nassau and downtown but with the right incentives and removal of antiquated building codes and regulations, we could witness the rebirth of the city and the downtown area within the next two years or less.

If this were to happen, along with the Prince George Port; Our Lucaya; Disney @ Eleuthera and the privitization of BPL and Bahamasair, re-election, despite the resurgence, such as it is, of the PLP, would be a given. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H. BODIE, Jr. Nassau August 13, 2019

US gun law affecting us in Bahamas EDITOR, The Tribune AS Americans are massacred by guns that should only be on the battlefield, the right of every American to own a gun for self defence is such a sacred right in the US that it doesn’t even tolerate sensible discussion.

Amendment II of the US Constitution – consisting of a few lines– is encircled by a halo that says: “Touch me not!”.

The Amendment says: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

That was enacted in the early days of the formation of America when it had no Army, no Navy, not even a defence force. When the British got the notion to threaten its former colony, the farmers were encouraged to drop their pitchforks and defend their developing nation. Today, now grown into a mighty nation, when someone recently seriously pointed out the ridiculousness of Amendment II some hillbilly seriously remarked that his gun was still needed to protect him from an unfriendly government!

And so imbued with such

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net backwoods ideas innocent blood still flows in the United States.

I recall a few years ago a very tragic incident in the United States due to this same amendment and the right to bear arms. One night a father accidentally shot his son. The young boy, having missed his curfew and fearful of his parents’ wrath, decided to quietly climb through a window and make it to his bedroom.

The father, hearing the noise, reached for his gun, which was on the bedside table and fired in the direction of the intruder. When the light was turned on he saw the dead body of his teenaged son. So much for his right to bear arms.

At one time I often went to the US to see the various shows that we did not get here. I don’t do it anymore, fearful of sitting next to a person who might have a firearm on his/her person.

In The Bahamas no one can own a gun without a licence from the police.

That worked for a long time when we were gun free. However, thanks to the US and its outdated and

ridiculous Amendment II, these lethal firearms are so easy of purchase at the various shows in the US, that they are now being smuggled into The Bahamas. As a result we have a serious gun problem.

The US now wants to control the sale of guns by denying a gun to anyone with a mental illness. And who is to determine that?

The salesman who is selling over the counter?

Seems to me the easiest solution would be to ban all gun ownership.

Anyone who now owns guns — for hunting, or as a hobby — should notify the authorities and if found to be responsible be granted a licence. Anyone else who wanted such ownership would have to apply to whatever government department was designated to make the decision on their suitability. It is then a decision can be made as to whether they are sufficiently mentally stable to be responsible gun owners.

At least the state would know the gun owners in their state.

However, there has to be some solution – this slaughter can’t continue.

ANTI-GUNS Nassau August 13, 2019

Banks must do better EDITOR, The Tribune

BANKS are raising, seemingly at any opportunity, the cost of doing business with them, and no one is making any noise, but if their customers were to make noise, the management of the bank would at the least know their customers are dissatisfied.

Make noise people!

Very soon we will pay $1-2 or $5.00 to enter the bank branch. They now want to charge us to clear/ cash a cheque, on our

own account for our own money! Manuel transfers through the branch - gone. Learn how to do it electronically.

Advice…my bank with headquarters in Barbados has a Customer Service system and a callup system, where honestly owing to the strong accent of some of the responders, you need a translator. Mr. Prime Minister they moved their call-centre a long time ago. In some cases to maintain a checking account, the bank charges anything

up to and more $60.00 per month. That is $720.00 per year! Cheques are cleared electronically. You do not need a person or persons to handle that. So where are the costs?

Central Bank Governor, it is time for you to put your foot down. These fees are excessive.

CIBC please do better!

No apologies, just do better!

ABRAHAM MOSS Nassau August 13, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, PAGE 5

LLOYD: 75% OF CRITICAL SCHOOL REPAIRS ARE DONE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

WITH less than three weeks until public schools reopen, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd said those facilities needing critical repairs are about 75 percent complete.

According to the minister yesterday, contractors have assured him the work will be done to meet the opening of schools on September 2.

“I am checking on the schools every single day and I am very satisfied that the contractors are on schedule in some instances ahead of schedule,” the South Beach MP said outside Cabinet.

“So I am very very pleased about that.

“You will remember that there are nine New Providence schools which are in (a) critical state and those contractors are doing an extraordinary job. As a matter of fact we are approximately three weeks away from the opening of school and generally those nine schools are in the neighbourhood of 75 per cent ready, completed in terms of repairs.”

Responding to concerns that the completion timeline was ambitious, Mr Lloyd said: “It is ambitious. It is not a criticism. I accept that it is ambitious but because of the nature of the repairs and because of the time frame, that is why we were very selective in those contractors (making sure that they were) people capable

of doing it who can mount the required resources who didn’t need mobilisation in order to get started and those nine contractors (are) very experienced.

They have worked for the Ministry of Education, the government and the Ministry of Works over many years - very experienced, very capable and that’s why they were chosen to execute this critical work and I can assure you can go and visit.

“Many of those schools were in such dire straits in terms of disrepair that they were a safety threat to our people.”

He said the progress was the same in the Family Islands with the exception of Exuma where there was a later start.

Overall, he said the

ministry did not have to seek additional funding to complete repairs to every school in the country. “We had those $45m in our budget (so)we just reallocated them to deal with the more critical repairs,” he explained.

Late last month, Mr Lloyd said $9m had been budgeted to complete critical works to nine schools.

Of the nine “critical” schools requiring renovations, Mr Lloyd noted at the time that CI Gibson Senior High School, CH Reeves, LW Young and DW Davis Junior High Schools are in the most “serious” state of disrepair.

The price tag for the repairs was up from the $7.2m figure he identified to reporters previously.

EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd Meanwhile, Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson

My husband was covered in bees from head to toe - every inch of his body.

When I saw him I just screamed. from page one “covered with black bees from head to toe.”

This is the first fatal bee attack of a human on Grand Bahama, according to a Bahamas National Trust official, who is warning residents to be “cautious” of their surroundings when outside. Two dogs in the area also recently died after bee attacks, before Mr Finley was stung.

“We would like to reiterate the call for persons to use caution when moving around,” warned Elsworth Weir, park manager of the BNT in Grand Bahama, yesterday when contacted

by The Tribune. “Mr Finley was just doing some work in his yard which is a relatively open area and he went across the road and dumped some yard litter and was attacked.”

Mr Weir said officials are still not sure whether the attack was by Africanised bees. He indicated that samples of the bees were collected, and they are awaiting DNA identification to confirm the species.

The Ministry of Agriculture has been informed of the incident and is inspecting the area.

Meanwhile Pamela Smith-Finley - who is still devastated by the incident - said she does not want anyone to suffer such a horrible ordeal as did her husband.

“I am trying my best to keep up and going, and to be strong,” she said on Tuesday when The Tribune visited her at home. “I am devastated, obviously, not only by what happened, but

how it happened. It really is a difficult thing to fathom because you never expect anything like that.

“It’s like you see these things in the movies mostly horror movies. It was like a horror movie and that is really a difficult thing for me,” Mrs Finley said.

This is the second recorded aggressive bee attack on Grand Bahama this year. It is believed that Africanised bees are responsible for the attacks. The first incident occurred on June 12 when a team from BNT was attacked while conducting a bird survey in East Grand Bahama. Team members were chased by the bees and received numerous stings, with one person stung up to 16 times.

In 2014, Kevin Johnson, 31, was also attacked by a swarm of bees while sitting at a bus stop on West Sunrise Highway. He was stung over 300 times and was taken to hospital, but survived the ordeal. Pest control experts said Africanised bees attacked Mr Johnson. They said it was a miracle he survived.

But that was not the case for Mr Finley, who was outside tending his lawn and cleaning his yard on that fateful day.

Mrs Finley had just got out of the shower around 12.45pm when she heard a frantic call from her husband who was outside.

“When I opened the room door, I saw a whole bunch of these black things (in the house) - I thought they were flies. The whole house was swarming inside,” she recalled.

Mrs Finley believes

her husband must have unknowingly disturbed a bee hive when he threw debris into the bushes across the street, just opposite their house.

“He was able to make it back across the street and he opened the (front) door, and he just sat right in the door; he was covered in bees from head to toe, every inch of his body that was exposed was covered in bees,” she said.

According to Mrs Finley, the bees that attacked her husband were not the usual yellow and black striped bees that she is used to seeing.

“They were black. I said, ‘where all these flies come from?’ and he said, ‘they are bees.’ When I saw him I just screamed,” she said.

Mrs Finley was also stung and ran back to her bedroom, called 911, and got dressed. She got a can of insect spray, but it did not help. She said the bees kept coming inside the house.

She called 911 again and ran outside to escape the bees. “When I got outside they were all around and I could not get to the front yard because they were attacking me.”

She ran to a neighbour’s house for safety where they called 911 again, the police and the fire station for help.

It was about an hour before help would arrive, recalled Mrs Finley. An ambulance, pest control and Police Fire Services arrived at the scene.

“I explained to the lady who answered the phone that I have an emergency, that a gentleman is being attacked by bees. My husband was still sitting at the

yesterday expressed her doubts the repairs would be finished in time for the new school term.

“I’m not optimistic that in three weeks time, when schools reopen that these schools will be ready,” she told reporters.

Mrs Wilson called for alternate sites to be identified in the event the repairs are not completed.

As for negotiations with the BUT, Mr Lloyd said they were back on track.

“This is the stage now that is most critical - the money stage and they are at the Ministry of Finance in discussions with the financial secretary and the deputy prime minister and the minister of finance definitely,” Mr Lloyd said.

KEITH Finley and his wife Pamela.

front door. He could not move because there were so many bees on him, and there was nothing I could do. I was able to throw a towel on him as I ran past, but that did not help,” she said.

In the process of calling 911, she was told by the 911 operator that pest control workers said that they couldn’t come right away.

“By then I am losing it because I am here trying to get rid of the bees and fight them off. I said, ‘Miss this is an emergency, the gentlemen is covered in bees and we need some help.’”

She said the operator told her calm down and she would try to send help.

“I was out there for the longest time waiting. I must have waited about an hour,” said Mrs Finley.

Finally when help arrived, the pest control expert had to lift her husband from the door and carry him to the ambulance. He was still alive and conscious, and was able to explain what had happened, she said.

He was taken to hospital, and by Wednesday evening his condition had worsened.

“He went into shock and they put him in the ICU and hooked him up to life support because things by then started shutting down,” she said.

Mrs Finley said he passed away that Friday morning.

She said doctors could not say how many times he had been stung.

“The venom was too much for him to bear; there must have been a thousand bees on him,” she said.

“You know what it is to be sitting there for an hour or

close to hour with all these bees stinging? It is a horrible thing for anyone to go through.”

Mrs Finley just recently learned that two of her neighbours on Drumfish Street lost their dogs, which had also been attacked by bees.

Since the tragedy, she has

been getting lots of support from friends. “I am so grateful that I do have good friends and good Lodge brothers and sisters.

The Lodge was really my husband’s other family and there is just that outpouring of love right now that is keeping me going,” she said.

LOST DOG REWARD White Shih Tzu Please call 3592957 Last seen on the Eastern Road Saturday August 10th

PAGE 6, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

GOVT REVIEW OF SEX EDUCATION UNDERWAY

By FARRAH JOHNSON

EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd yesterday said the government is reviewing school curriculum to ensure that it is “relevant for the 21st century,” including increasing sexual education for students.

Stating that a revised

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes revealed yesterday the government and The Pointe’s executives have conflicting numbers when it comes to the worker ratio at the $200m West Bay Street development.

The minister told The Tribune a discrepancy was discovered in information gathered during a survey by labour officials at the property just two months ago.

He said as a result, government and hotel officials are trying to reconcile the issue.

“We have done a survey at The Pointe, that would have been about two months ago and The Pointe’s results conflict with our internal results,” Mr Foulkes said yesterday when this newspaper asked whether the government continued to monitor the labour situation there.

“Both the Department of Labour and the management of The Pointe we are trying to reconcile the two results. The Pointe tells us depending on when you come you could get a different percentage in terms of the Bahamian component of the employment, but we are analysing that.

We don’t want to make a public statement with respect to that until we get the facts.”

Mr Foulkes said while the government will continue to honour the Heads of Agreement with the developer signed under the previous Christie administration, ideally the government would prefer the worker ratio to be 80 percent Bahamian to 20 percent foreign workers.

As it stands the HoA calls for a 70 percent to 30 percent ratio.

“The Heads of Agreement signed by the previous government had a 70/30 split; our policy is to have 80/20 split, 80 percent

syllabus is “very much underway,” Mr Lloyd explained that sex ed, which comes under reproductive health in family life classes, is one of the subjects under review. “As you know one of the items on the agenda of the Free National Movement government in education this

term is a reformed curriculum,” he said. “So absolutely we’re looking at everything involving reproductive health, particularly in an era where there are (not only) so many sexually transmitted diseases, but other varieties of incidences involving sex.”

Following the release

of a recent Department of Public Health report which revealed an increase in sexually transmitted diseases among young people, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands also said the country must “acknowledge the problem” so that it can be adequately addressed.

“I think we have a real

challenge that the greatest number of new cases of HIV and the greatest burden of sexually transmitted infections is occurring in our young people,” he told The Tribune. “And so we are losing our young people in part to sexually transmitted infections,” he added.

Dr Sands said he also

intends to “have a discussion” with Mr Lloyd to determine the best way to address the situation.

“Understand that health has a perspective and education has a perspective and ultimately we will continue to collaborate,” he said.

Editorial View - Page 4

No agreement over worker ratios at $200m The Pointe

WORKERS pictured at The Pointe development on Bay Street in May last year.

Bahamas and 20 percent non-Bahamian at a maximum. We have agreed to honour, as all governments do, any agreement signed by the previous

government,” he said yesterday when he was asked whether anything could be done to change the clause and in affect its interpretation.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

Last September, Mr Foulkes admitted the agreement had two interpretations adding the Minnis administration had opted to interpret the

clause that calls for a 70/30 labour split in favour of Bahamians, as a requirement to be satisfied over the lifetime of the project, and not a static ratio.

At the time Mr Foulkes was challenged by Progressive Liberal Party leader and former minister of works, Philip Davis, who called on him to provide the clause.

Mr Davis also questioned why the government would adopt an interpretation that disadvantaged Bahamians.

In May 2018, the Department of Labour found a disproportionate number of foreign workers to Bahamian workers at the downtown project.

At the time, there were 73 foreign workers and 24 Bahamians working on the site.

Pointe labour force concerns were made public last year after Tribune photographers monitored who went on to the construction site and with the exception of three or four Bahamians and a guard at the gates of the development, everyone else appeared to be Chinese.

In January and February 2018, this newspaper observed workers on the site and it was a similar story. Dozens of Chinese builders walked on to the site every day from a building, which lodges the workers opposite the development, and virtually no Bahamians were anywhere to be seen.

TURNQUEST PREDICTS BETTER NEWS ON JOBS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

FINANCE Minister Peter Turnquest yesterday conceded the latest national unemployment rate is still high, but said the government is relying on several factors to reduce joblessness.

Both he and Labour Minister Dion Foulkes

expressed optimism that there will be continued job growth particularly in the private sector, which contributed largely to the unemployment figure dropping to 9.5 percent.

The unemployment figure dropped 1.2 percent from the 10.7 percent rate of November 2018. Labour officials have said private sector employees drove employment gains. “(The) 9.5 percent

unemployment (rate) is still significantly high and we know that there are a number of Bahamians that are not feeling the full effect of this turnaround that we see happening,” the deputy prime minister said outside Cabinet yesterday.

“We are very much optimistic that we will continue to see growth this year, which will translate into private sector jobs and that is the one good thing about

the development so far. The growth has been in the private sector rather than the government side. That is a good sign because those tend to be more sustainable jobs where people can establish careers and create wealth for themselves.

“We have the projects that are going on here in Nassau. You have the project in Eleuthera, you have the projects that are slated in Grand Bahama, which (I) think is going to relieve a lot of the pressure here in Nassau in particular. You’ve got the Cat Cay/Ocean Cay project that is coming on.

So there are any number of projects here around the Bahamas that we believe once they get up will provide some relief,” Mr Turnquest said.

For his part, Mr Foulkes said officials were pleased, but they know there needs to be a focus on the disparity between men and women finding jobs.

Officials said women were more likely than men to be unemployed despite the overall unemployment rate for women dropping to 9.9 percent in May, compared to 9.2 percent for men.

He said: “…Obviously we are on the right track. We think the economy is very stable. I’ve given all of the economic projects that are on the drawing board (the okay) We feel that we are doing a good job.

“We are concerned about the disparity between the unemployment between men and women and both myself and the minister of finance we are analysing that to find out why that is so.”

FINANCE Minister Peter Turnquest

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, PAGE 7

Sky Bahamas issues affecting tourist trade, admits D’Aguilar

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net TOURISM and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday said blowback from the grounding of Sky Bahamas has negatively impacted the country’s tourism product especially service to the Family Islands.

He said: “I think that Sky Bahamas made some commitments to a number of passengers to fly to the Family Islands and because they’ve not been able to obtain their Air Operating Certificate they have been unable to meet those obligations to persons who had purchased tickets on their airline so we’ve definitely gotten some negative feedback from that.

“Persons certainly arriving from overseas trying to make a connection to Sky Bahamas and not finding the service in place I would be naturally frustrated so, yes, absolutely it has been impactful. Obviously, there are a number of airlines that service those routes and they are more than happy to take up that demand.”

He said it’s frustrating for customers having to fly with another airline.

Mr D’Aguilar added: “They have to buy a whole other ticket until they figure out how they’ll get refunded from Sky Bahamas so that has caused some vexation.”

Last week, Sky Bahamas CEO Captain Randy Butler told The Tribune he is fighting an uphill battle in an ongoing standoff with the Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority.

In an interview at the time, Captain Butler further suggested the effects of this standoff have had a trickle-down effect,

TOURISM and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar

SKY Bahamas CEO Randy Butler “creating more hardship on our team members, passengers, industry business partners and charities depending on our assistance each month”.

The airline has been grounded since July 8 over issues regarding its air operator certificate (AOC).

He further revealed that Sky Bahamas’ ticket counter at the Lynden Pindling International Airport also had to be shut down.

Last month, Mr D’Aguilar declined to intervene in this dispute.

Instead he urged Captain Butler to continue meeting with the BCAA and “work out” his differences.

On Monday, BCAA Director General Charles Beneby insisted the airline is not being “singled out” — as he underscored the Authority had nothing to do Sky Bahamas being “ordered out” of Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Mr Beneby was adamant the issues regarding Sky Bahamas not receiving its AOC are “not an act of sabotage” and said there is “no political consideration” at hand.

Instead, he noted the carrier has several outstanding requirements which need to be met.

FREQUENT OUTAGES ARE HITTING AIRBNB BUSINESS

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

THE frequent power cuts carried out by Bahamas Power and Light have negatively impacted the home rental business, according to Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.

Speaking to reporters outside of Cabinet yesterday,

Mr D’Aguilar said load shedding is “vexing” and a number of businesses are being impacted.

He said: “I think probably in the part of the tourism sector (that) is being most impacted is probably the Airbnb, home rental businesses. I’m sure a number of homes don’t have back up power so those foreign visitors that have decided to use

the Airbnb route probably have been impacted by that.

“The larger hotels, the larger properties and the larger restaurants generally have back up power, so the impact has been less significant there. I think the larger properties, most significant businesses…generally have back up power but it a very vexing issue.”

On Sunday, BPL CEO

Whitney Heastie said the company sits “on the edge every day” and cannot guarantee there will be no further electricity cuts or when the nightmare will end.

He said while BPL’s peak demand is 250 megawatts, there is only a total of 210mw available, creating a 40mw shortfall and “no wiggle room”.

Crippled by a decaying

generation fleet, parts that can no longer be procured and manufacturers that have not responded to BPL’s requests for help, the situation is grim. Mr Heastie said this level of system failure now being experienced is one that could not have been anticipated.

Consumers have called for clear answers as to when the load shedding

situation will improve and have questioned what the company will do to soften the blow of lives often disrupted by electricity cuts. However, Mr Heastie said BPL cannot afford any form of compensation, while apologising for the utility provider’s failure to give uninterrupted service.

BPL began regular load shedding in mid-June.

Woman jewellery thief fails to overturn her two-year sentence

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN has failed in trying to get the appellate court to overturn her twoyear sentence for stealing over $100,000 worth of watches from her employer, a high-end jewellery store on Paradise Island.

Appellate President Sir Hartman Longley and fellow Justice Roy Jones affirmed Chandani Sawyer’s sentence for stealing $120,425 worth of watches from Carlo Milano at Paradise Island in May 2012.

Sir Michael Barnett dissented, asserting he would have commuted Sawyer’s sentence to a $30,000 fine to “compensate” her for being sentenced seven years after the incident in breach of her constitutional rights.

Sir Michael said he would have ordered Sawyer to serve a six-month sentence in default of the fine. He also said he would have stipulated Carlo Milano would be free to seek a “civil remedy” to recover the value of the watches.

And as the six-year limitation period imposed by the law would bar such a claim, Sir Michael said he would have required Sawyer to undertake not to plead any limitation defence if Carlo Milano brought legal action against her within one year of the present judgement.

According to the ruling,

on May 26, 2012, several watches were discovered missing from the Carlo Milano store after Sawyer went into the showcase to clean it. According to the evidence, the store’s inventory was accounted for as there were no sales the day prior.

The store’s manager, Glenda Tucker, viewed the surveillance images for that day and said she was able to see Sawyer placing a hand towel over the watches and removing them.

While the store’s owner said four Corum watches were stolen, Ms Tucker said three Corum watches were missing valued at $20,000; $22,000; and $32,000 respectively.

Sawyer was charged in the Magistrates Court on June 13 of that year with stealing by reason of employment.

According to the ruling, there were various adjournments in that court from the initial arraignment up to April 4, 2013 that were based on Sawyer’s unavailability in some instances, and the absence of counsel on both sides in others.

Between April 4, 2013 and August 6, 2014, the adjournments appeared to be mainly as a result of Crown issues.

Sawyer was discharged two years later on August 6, 2014. However, 27 days later on September 2 of that year, she was re-arraigned before a different magistrate on the same facts she

had been discharged of less than a month prior.

On that date, Sawyer was absent as she was overseas for medical reasons. On the adjourned date, September 26, 2014, a warrant was issued for her absence.

The warrant remained outstanding until March 29, 2016 when she was brought to court, arraigned and granted bail with conditions.

After a trial, Sawyer was convicted on October 5, 2017. She was sentenced to two years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS). No restitution of the watches or compensation to owners was made.

Sawyer subsequently filed an appeal some 12 days later against her conviction and sentence on six grounds, chief of which was the assertion that the delay in her being tried was a breach of her constitutional rights.

Due to the late filing, she had to seek leave to file an appeal against conviction and sentence.

Sawyer, via her attorney Judith Smith, argued that the pre-trial period was unreasonable, presumptively prejudicial and effectively an abuse of process.

According to the ruling, the period August 6, 2014 to March 29, 2016 (the date of the second arraignment) represents 19 months between the dismissal of the first set of charges and

the second arraignment, and 46 months from her initial arrest.

Ms Smith contended that her client was not responsible for those delays as she was always available and employed at establishments that were visible to the public. Additionally, it was submitted that Sawyer was prejudiced by the delay as she could not find her witnesses for her defence.

Sawyer also contended that those delays breached her rights under Article 20 of the Constitution.

However, Sir Hartman and Justice Jones said having “carefully examined” the evidence against

her and the circumstances surrounding the delay in starting the trial, there was no abuse of process that affected the safety and fairness of her conviction.

The two appellate judges also said that Sawyer “cannot now complain” about the delay when, at trial, she “failed” to make an application to stay the proceedings on the ground of delays before the magistrate. And the magistrate, the appellate judges said, had “the power to deal with the issue by staying the proceedings, adjusting the sentence or otherwise.”

As to Sawyer’s assertion that her two-year sentence

was too harsh, Sir Hartman and Justice Jones noted that no restitution of the watches or compensation order was made.

Thus, notwithstanding her “modest” position in the store (she was not a manager or senior employee with a high degree of trust), the two judges said as the matter is a “breach of trust case, in which deterrence is important,” her sentenced cannot be said to be unduly harsh.

As a result, the two appellate judges refused to extend time in which to allow Sawyer to file her appeal, thus affirming her conviction and sentence.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

BPL CEO Whitney Heastie shows the media around the plant earlier this week.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Let us know when the lights are going off and at least we can plan around it BAHAMAS Power and Light held a press conference on Sunday, and while many of us tuned in, none of us have better information that we had before.

It does not seem as though anyone is particularly surprised by the emptiness of the statements, but we are still frustrated by the apparent lack of interest to improve the service. We are experienced in electricity outages enough to know we should keep our devices charged, know the location of flashlights, have data on our phones and have a mental

The

Alicia Wallace

column

list of ways to keep cool.

We are not experienced enough to be unbothered when we get home to no electricity, or suffer an outage in the middle of a task that depends on

electricity. There is no acclimating to inconvenience, especially when it costs us money in addition to time and comfort.

We have no sympathy for the people at BPL and

their struggle to use whatever expertise they have to solve the power generation problem because their communication leaves far too much to be desired.

We understand the current equipment cannot meet the demand. We have heard BPL is working to remedy the situation with rentals and purchases.

We know how numbers work, so it is easy to understand a power demand of ten cannot be met by a power supply of six, and that when the demand for power exceeds the supply, some people will have to

be cut off. It makes sense to share this among every part of the island for some semblance of fairness, but there is no way for load shedding to be fair. It can, however, be done in a way that shows consideration for people who need and are accustomed to their electricity demand being met and the aspects of their lives that depend on it. There needs to be a schedule. There is no getting around it.

If we know when there is a possibility of an outage, we can have contingency plans in place.

BPL continues to make Facebook posts announcing outages in areas they have already cut. This is not helpful. We need to know in advance. In fact, there is no reason for BPL not to create a weekly schedule to let us know which areas may go off during particular intervals. It would not mean load shedding takes place during each one. It means we would know exactly which areas would be without electricity if the demand exceeds the supply during a certain period. A little consideration and planning could go a long way.

As citizens, we need to be setting agenda WHATEVER our political affiliations, almost all of us agree the country is not progressing as we would like. It is not that we are not moving fast enough, rather that in certain areas there does not seem to be any movement at all.

Add to that the reluctance of people in positions of power (our representatives) to effectively and meaningfully engage us as citizens (their employers), and the information gap widens.

While the Progressive Liberal Party and Democratic National Alliance complain about the Free National Movement’s lacklustre performance, they do not mount solid, evidencebased arguments. They, essentially, offer the same commentary we have in casual conversations and social media posts.

We are less than three years away from the next general election and have yet to see an effective response to anything from the opposition.

Are we still in the place that allows political parties to win elections because the other one did an especially terrible job? Are we still so committed to the “vote them out” dynamic that we do not demand political

PM Hubert Minnis. parties give us a reason to vote them in? These tantrums have not gotten us very far.

We complain about the current administration, but fail to hold other political parties to account. Any political party serious about its candidacy in 2022 should be consistently visible, training and exposing candidates and developing policies and plans. We do not need their criticism of BPL. We can do that ourselves. We want a solution to the problem.

We need to know who has what it takes to address this and other long standing problems. Conduct research. Consult with experts. Draft policy. Draft legislation. Engage the general public. We cannot let them think that sharing in our frustration is sufficient.

Our votes and this country are worth more than that. If they do not have the time, commitment and creativity

to advance solutions before being elected, they certainly will not bring change to positions that have been proven to change people instead.

How can we make the shift to renewable energy?

What can we do to promote the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure civil society has the tools to measure progress? How do we assess, reintroduce and make improvements the RISE programme - meant to tackle poverty - that was discontinued by the Ministry of Social Services? What can be done to improve the statistics and quality of women’s political participation and how will the party model it? How can a mechanism be developed for ongoing civic participation, encouraging members of the public contribute ideas, ask questions, and directly engage representatives and one another?

There is no shortage of questions to ask political parties vying for leadership in 2022, and they have the benefit of time and the unpopularity of the current administration. We, as citizens, need to set the agenda. It is time for substance. We need to demand it.

Living by healthy digital rules FOR the past few years, I have been limiting my use of devices with backlights for at least one hour before bed and two hours after waking up. It has had great results, improving the quality of my sleep, giving me more time to develop and continue with proper routines and reducing the potential for stress and anxiety to shape my day or period of rest.

This has meant ignoring calls and messages which a few people close to me found unacceptable, but have since come to remember and respect (with the

help of a Whatsapp status stating my restrictions). In recent months, I was more flexible with my rules for various reasons including friends and family members in different time zones, impending deadlines and a compromised sleep schedule.

Several days ago, my phone was updated and I explored the new features. One of them is the Digital Wellbeing menu which tracks the amount of time spent on the phone, shows which apps are in use, has the option to set a timer, and - my personal

favourite - the “wind down” option. During hours I set this option, my phone switches to greyscale mode.

It is much less attractive and stimulating and actually makes me work harder to select the app I want. It has been helpful in getting me back to my healthy digital rules.

Even if your phone does not have these features, there is probably an app that can perform the same functions. It is definitely worth a try for anyone trying to manage phone use or needing help with digital discipline.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, PAGE 9

TECHTALK

THE SAMSUNG Galaxy Note 10.

(AP)

THE SAMSUNG Galaxy Note 10 Plus. Samsung’s newest smartphone won’t have a headphone jack.

The Galaxy Note 10 loses that, even though Samsung executives have long poked fun at rivals for ditching it.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

SAMSUNG DITCHES ITS HEADPHONE JACK AFTER JABS AT JACKLESS RIVALS

By ANICK JESDANUN AP Technology Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung executives have long poked fun at rivals for ditching the headphone jack in smartphones. With the new Galaxy Note 10, the company will now be doing exactly the same thing.

The Note 10, announced last week, squeezes in more battery power and other goodies, but at the cost of the familiar old jack. So now the company is doing an about-face and declaring that many people use wireless headphones anyway.

Samsung, which for years has pushed bigger and bigger displays, is also introducing a smaller version of the Note for those who think phones have just gotten too big.

The new Note models

will come out Aug. 23.

The main model is being called the Note 10 Plus and will have a display measuring 6.8 inches diagonally. Though the display is bigger, the overall size is about the same as last year’s 6.4-inch Note 9. To accomplish that, Samsung shrank down even more of the bezel surrounding the display.

The smaller, 6.3-inch version will be called the Note 10 and will sell for almost $950, or $150 less than the Plus. It’s designed for those who want the Note’s signature stylus without its once-signature size.

“You hit a certain point where you can’t get much bigger without being physically too large to hold,” Technalysis Research analyst Bob O’Donnell said.

“That’s the challenge they are running into.”

Hardware innovation in mobile devices has been slowing for years. Samsung is addressing that with a foldable model, with twice the display when unfolded.

The Samsung Fold is coming in September after Samsung made a few design changes to address problems with reviewers’ phones breaking.

Apple is expected to release new iPhones next month. A version that works with next-generation 5G cellular networks isn’t expected. Samsung will have a 5G version of the Note 10 Plus starting at almost $1300.

The Note 10 Plus will have a 7.5% boost in battery capacity over the Note 9, though Samsung’s high-end phones have already been promising allday battery life. Samsung made no references to the

headphone jack during its 70-minute announcement event in New York.

Samsung officials told reporters separately that while the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack might seem small, every smidgeon of saved space can help extend battery life. Samsung is including wired headphones that plug into the phone’s USB-C data and charging port. An adapter for other wired headphones is sold separately for $10.

Apple and Google also have ditched the standard headphone jack.

But O’Donnell noted the irony: “If you guys gave everybody else grief for doing it, why are you doing it?”

Beyond that, the Note 10 phones introduce new stylus features, including the ability to flip through music and photo libraries

by gesturing with the stylus in the air. The phones bring a wider-angle lens already found in the S10 and use software to make audio appear louder — and thus closer — in video recordings when zooming in. And by connecting a Note 10 to a Windows or Mac computer with a USB cable, users can interact with phone apps there and drag and drop files between devices.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared briefly to expand on a partnership with Samsung.

The collaboration includes giving Note users the ability to receive and respond to text messages and take phone calls from a Windows computer. Apple has long offered similar features, but only for its own devices such as the iPhone and Mac.

FARMERS USE TECH TO SQUEEZE EVERY DROP FROM COLORADO RIVER

By DAN ELLIOTT Associated Press

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — A drone soared over a blazing hot cornfield in northeastern Colorado on a recent morning, snapping images with an infrared camera to help researchers decide how much water they would give the crops the next day.

After a brief, snaking flight above the field, the drone landed and the researchers removed a handful of memory cards. Back at their computers, they analysed the images for signs the corn was stressed from a lack of water.

This U.S. Department of Agriculture station outside Greeley and other sites across the Southwest are experimenting with drones, specialised cameras and other technology to squeeze the most out of every drop of water in the Colorado River — a vital but beleaguered waterway that serves an estimated 40 million

UNITED States Department of Agriculture engineering technician Kevin Yemoto guides a drone into the air at a research farm northeast of Greeley, Colorado. (AP) people. Remote sensors measure soil moisture and relay the readings by Wi-Fi. Cellphone apps collect data from agricultural weather stations and calculate how much water different crops are consuming. Researchers deliberately cut back on water for some crops, trying to get the best harvest with the least amount of

moisture — a practice called deficit irrigation.

In the future, tiny needles attached to plants could directly measure how much water they contain and signal irrigation systems to automatically switch on or off.

“It’s like almost every month somebody’s coming up with something here and there,” said Don Ackley, water management supervisor for the Coachella Valley Water District in Southern California. “You almost can’t keep up with it.”

Researchers and farmers are running similar experiments in arid regions around the world. The need is especially pressing in seven U.S. states that rely on the Colorado River: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The river has plenty of water this summer after an unusually snowy winter in the mountains of the U.S. West. But climatologists warn the river’s long-term outlook is uncertain

at best and dire at worst, and competition for water will only intensify as the population grows and the climate changes.

The World Resources Institute says the seven Colorado River states have some of the highest levels of water stress in the nation, based on the percentage of available supplies they use in a year. New Mexico was the only state in the nation under extremely high water stress.

The federal government will release a closely watched projection Thursday on whether the Colorado River system has enough water to meet all the demands of downstream states in future years.

The river supplies more than 7,000 square miles (18,000 square kilometres) of farmland and supports a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry, including a significant share of the nation’s winter vegetables, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages most of the big dams and reservoirs in the Western states.

• Greek sculptor Takis, known for artworks that made use of technology, motion and light and were displayed in art galleries and museums around the world, has died, his foundation said Friday. He was 93.

Athens-born Takis, whose full name was Panayiotis Vassilakis, began producing art in his 20s before moving to Paris, where his career took off.

He experimented with magnetic fields, technology, electricity and light, creating what Britain’s Tate Modern, which is currently running an exhibition of his work until October, describes as “some of the most innovative art of the 20th century.”

The sculptor founded the Takis Foundation, Research Center for the Art and the Sciences on the outskirts of Athens in the 1980s.

Inaugurated in 1993, the foundation contains a museum, garden and the sculptor’s studio, and aims to promote the appreciation of the visual arts.

“A true pioneer, innovator and legend.

“He will be forever missed,” the foundation said in announcing his death.

“A prolific and visionary mind, whose ingenuity, passion and imagination was endless, Takis explored many artistic and scientific horizons, as well as music and theatre, and redefined the boundaries in contemporary art.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted his condolences to the sculptor’s family, described Takis as a “worldwide Greek. A pioneer, heretical, inexhaustibly creative, he opened new avenues in art.”

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said Takis’ artworks combined “technology, magnetism and light, with influences from classical sculpture and the abstraction of modernism.”

“His ‘live,’ kinetic art is itself a phenomenon that continues to fascinate visitors to the world’s most important contemporary art museums and makes Greece proud,” she said.

• A Georgia high school graduate has won a $30,000 college scholarship through the “Doodle for Google” competition.

Citing a Google statement, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Arantza Pena Popo’s design was featured on the tech giant’s homepage Tuesday.

The nationwide contest asked grade schoolers to redesign Google’s logo based on what they hoped for the future.

Popo’s doodle titled “Once you get it, give it back” shows a framed picture of Popo’s mother carrying her as an infant sitting above an adult Popo caring for her aging mother.

The Colombia native graduated as a valedictorian from Arabia Mountain High School in Stonecrest.

Google says the school will get $50,000 to establish a computer or technology lab.

Popo plans to study graphic design at the University of Southern California this fall.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

The price of food and beer THE cost of food and beer was high on the minds of people 50 years ago - as well as trouble at the then BEC. The August 12, 1969, issue of The Tribune saw wholesaler Emmet pritchard, of Asa H Pritchard Ltd, complaining that food items saw increased tariffs rather than reduced ones.

He rejected the analysis of

Finance Minister Carlton Francis on the cost of food.

Meanwhile, the Liquor Dealers Association was ready to ask the government to reconsider its heavy ber tax after widespread complaints by the public.

The dealers had been accused

by Mr Francis of “blatant profiteering” but were to draft a letter explaining why the price of a case

of beer had gone up to $9.10 from $6.10.

Mr Francis had told the House that as a result of new Customs duties, the price of a case had gone up by $1.90 but merchants had raised the price by $3.

In response, dealers said that the actual import duty had been raised from $1 to $2.88 on every case - not as Mr Francis had stated.

Elsewhere, the concerns over BEC continued, with the US company due to provide two 8.6MW generators to BEC possibly unable to meet its deadline.

It was reported that if it failed to do the job that was demanded of it, the government might terminate the contract with the US firm.

The Tribune reported that the

previous day had seen a series of power cuts throughout the island, with both engines out of commission at the Soldier Road Power Station.

Lastly, Norman’s Cay was sold by its former owner, William Wykoff Smith, to a group of American investors. The price tag? $2m - a $1m profit for Mr Smith in three and a half years.

THE TRIBUNE FIFTEEN Harbour Island children built and programmed their own robots as part of a summer ‘hackathon’ that seeks to inspire Bahamians to code their future.

The two-week camp run by BYTES (Bahamian Young Technology Enthusiasts) Bahamas focused on coding and web development, a component that saw students make online calculators.

“Raise hand if you’ve ever dreamt of creating the next billion dollar smartphone app or web app? In today’s connected world, it may be a much smaller show of hands to ask who hasn’t,” a press release from the organisation noted.

Organiser Ryan Austin, local entrepreneur and IT professional, continued: “Coding my future means that no matter my circumstances, I design my features and I fix my bugs - it is an analogy for life using technology.”

The children were trained daily in sessions from 8.30am to 3pm to build skills necessary to compete in a tech competition called a hackathon, an event where people engage in collaborative or competitive computer programming.

Led by Mr Austin, student developers used VEX robotics kits and programmed their robot brains to compete in a robot soccer match.

“The goal was to programme your robot go across the field, locate as many square blocks as you could and return them to the scoring zone.”

For week two, student developers were led by professional web developer Edison Hanchell through a number of exercises teaching the basics of web development using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

The camp was hosted by The Sir George W K Roberts Library, and top developers from each week won brand new Chromebook laptops and bags.

Week one was won by Zakari Knowles for his robotics code; week two was won by Seriaiah Littlejohn for her calculator code; Religious Saunders won as the overall best camper/ developer; and Caleb Pedican Jr won for his Java code.

For more information on upcoming events, visit facebook.com/bytes242 or email bytesbahamas@gmail.com to express interest, to volunteer or donate.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, PAGE 11

CODE TO THE FUTURE

PAGE 12, Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

PAKISTAN SEEKS URGENT UN MEETING ON INDIA ACTION IN KASHMIR UNITED NATIONS Associated Press

PAKISTAN yesterday called for a meeting of the UN Security Council, saying India’s decision to strip its part of disputed Kashmir of autonomy poses “an imminent threat” to international peace and could lead to ethnic cleansing in the Muslim region.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi denounced “recent aggressive actions” by India’s Hindu nationalist-led government, saying they “willfully undermine the internationally recognised disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Quereshi accused India of implementing a “racist ideology” aimed at turning its part of Kashmir from a Muslim-majority into a Hindu-majority territory.

“The Indian actions on Aug. 5, 2019 have opened the way for realization of this fascist policy objective,” he wrote.

Quereshi warned that any such attempt “will evoke strong Kashmiri resistance” and “the anticipated massive repression by India’s occupation forces will lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

He said the Security Council has “the obligation to prevent the recurrence of another Srebrenica and Rwanda,” referring to the

genocides in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in 1995 and in Rwanda in 1994.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, whose country holds the council’s rotating presidency this month, said members would discuss the letter.

“Poland believes that this can only be resolved by peaceful means and ... we are in favor of dialogue between Pakistan and India to sort out the differences,” he said. “Strained relations between India and Pakistan negatively affect the whole South Asia region and may lead to serious political, security and economic consequences.”

India and Pakistan, which both

INDIA’s Border Security Force patrol near the India Pakistan border.

now have nuclear weapons, claim all of Kashmir and have fought several wars over the divided region.

With the end of British colonial rule in 1947, the Indian subcontinent was divided into predominantly Hindu India and mainly Muslim Pakistan. The countries fought their first war over control of Kashmir, which had been a Muslim-majority kingdom ruled by a Hindu maharaja. The war ended in 1948 with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that left Kashmir divided, with the promise of a U.N.-sponsored referendum on its “final disposition” that has never been held.

Protesters clash with police as China takes gloves off

2 SUSPENDED AND WARDEN MOVED AFTER EPSTEIN DEATH NEW YORK Associated Press

CHAOS has broken out at Hong Kong’s airport as riot police moved into the terminal to confront protesters who shut down operations at the busy transport hub for two straight days.

HONG KONG Associated Press RIOT police clashed with prodemocracy protesters at Hong Kong’s airport last night in a chaotic end to a second day of demonstrations that caused mass cancellations and disruptions at the Chinese city’s busy transport hub.

Calm eventually returned, with most of the protesters leaving the airport hours after officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons tried to enter the terminal, fighting with demonstrators who barricaded entrances with luggage carts. Protesters said they planned to return to the airport early today.

The burst of violence also included protesters beating at least two men they suspected of being undercover agents and came the same day Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader warned that the demonstrators had pushed events onto a “path of no return,” highlighting the hardening positions on both sides.

Police took away several people they caught outside the arrival hall and eventually retreated.

Police said they were trying to help ambulance officers reach an injured man whom protesters had cornered and detained for about two hours on suspicion of being an undercover agent from mainland China. Rescuers eventually succeeded in getting him to an ambulance, local broadcaster RTHK reported.

Protesters then detained and beat a second man whom they also suspected of being an undercover agent.

After a brief period when planes were able to take off and land early in the day, authorities were forced to cancel the remaining flights. The airport’s website showed at least 120 cancellations and it advised people not to come to the airport, one of the world’s busiest.

More than 200 flights were canceled on Monday and passengers were forced to stay in the

city while airlines tried to find other ways to get them to their destinations.

The airport disruptions escalated a summer of demonstrations aimed at what many Hong Kong residents see as an increasing erosion of the freedoms they were promised in 1997 when Communist Party-ruled mainland China took over what had been a British colony.

The protests have built on an opposition movement that shut down much of the city for seven weeks in 2014 before it eventually fizzled and its leaders were jailed on public disturbance charges.

The central government in Beijing has ominously characterized the current protest movement as something approaching “terrorism” that poses an “existential threat” to citizens.

While Beijing tends to define terrorism broadly, extending it especially to nonviolent movements opposing government policies in minority regions such as Tibet and

Xinjiang, its use of the term in relation to Hong Kong raised the prospect of greater violence and the possible suspension of legal rights for those detained.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the instability, chaos and violence have placed the city on a “path of no return.”

The black-clad demonstrators have shown no sign of letting up on their campaign to force Lam’s administration to respond to their demands, including that she step down and scrap proposed legislation under which some suspects could be sent to mainland China, where critics say they could face torture and unfair or politically charged trials.

Lam has rejected calls for dialogue, part of what analysts say is a strategy to wear down the opposition movement through police action while prompting demonstrators to take more violent and extreme actions that will turn the public against them.

THE warden at the federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein took his own life over the weekend was removed yesterday and two guards who were supposed to be watching the financier were placed on leave while federal authorities investigate the death.

The move came amid mounting evidence that the understaffed Metropolitan Correctional Center may have bungled its responsibility to keep the 66-year-old from harming himself while he awaited trial on charges of sexually abusing teenage girls.

Epstein was taken off a suicide watch last month for reasons that have not been explained, and was supposed to have been checked on by a guard every 30 minutes. But investigators learned those checks weren’t done for several hours before he was found Saturday morning.

Attorney General William Barr ordered warden Lamine N’Diaye temporarily assigned to the Bureau of Prisons’ regional office while the FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general investigate.

While the exact manner of Epstein’s death has not been officially announced, a second person familiar with operations at the jail said the financier was discovered in his cell with a bedsheet around his neck.

Under the jail’s protocol, Epstein would not have been given a bedsheet had he been on suicide watch.

He was placed on suicide watch last month after he was found on the floor of his cell with bruises on his neck, but he was later returned to the jail’s special housing unit for inmates needing close supervision.

On Monday, Barr said that he was “frankly angry to learn of the MCC’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner,” adding: “We will get to the bottom of what happened and there will be accountability.”

CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVIST, PROBE OPENS INTO DOMINGO 16, TO SAIL ACROSS ATLANTIC AS CONCERTS ARE CANCELLED PLYMOUTH, England Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO Associated Press

GRETA Thunberg’s twoweek voyage to the United States will be no pleasure cruise. The 16-year-old climate change activist who has inspired student protests around the world will leave Plymouth, England, later this week bound for New York in a high-tech but decidedly low-comfort sailboat.

Highlighting the urgency of cutting carbon emissions, the young Swede last month announced that while she would not fly to environmental conferences, she’d found a way to get there without hurting the planet.

Pierre Casiraghi, the grandson of Monaco’s late Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly, and fellow yachtsman Boris Herrmann offered her passage on a racing yacht as she travels to UN climate summits next month in New York and in Santiago, Chile, in December. “It’s

TWO music companies cancelled appearances by Placido Domingo and the Los Angeles Opera said yesterday it would launch an investigation in response to a story in which numerous women accused the opera legend of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour spanning decades.

Domingo has been general director of the LA Opera since 2003 and previously served as the company’s artistic director, jobs that gave him the power to cast roles and — his accusers say — make, or break, careers.

Some of the women told the AP that Domingo used his power at the LA company and elsewhere to try to pressure them into sexual relationships, with several saying that he dangled jobs and then sometimes punished them professionally if they refused his advances.

On Tuesday, the

GRETA Thunberg in Plymouth where her boat is moored. not very luxurious, it’s not very fancy but I don’t need that. I need only a bed and just the basic things,” said Thunberg. “So I think it will be fun, and I also think it will be fun to be isolated and not be so limited.”

Sailing on the 60-foot Malizia II, outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity, Thunberg will make a zero-carbon transAtlantic journey. But to call it a no-frills passage would

be an understatement. The sailboat is built for highspeed, offshore racing, with weight kept to a minimum.

The only alterations for the voyage are fitting curtains in front of the bunk and adding mattresses for comfort. There is no toilet or fixed shower. There’s a small gas cooker and the food will be freeze dried.

Inside, the yacht resembles the interior of a tin can.

It is dark and gray, with no windows below deck.

PLACIDO Domingo performing Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Opera announced they would cancel upcoming performances featuring the star, regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of all time.

New York’s Metropolitan Opera said it would await results of LA Opera’s investigation “before making any final decisions about Mr Domingo’s future at the Met,” where he is scheduled to appear next month.

The 78-year-old Domingo is one of the industry’s most powerful figures and more than three dozen people in the opera world told the AP that his behavior has long been an open secret.

The accusers who spoke to the AP said they had feared speaking out previously would kill their careers due to his immense standing.

Domingo issued a statement to the AP calling the allegations “deeply troubling and, as presented inaccurate,” adding “I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual.”

The LA Opera said it would hire outside counsel to investigate the “concerning allegations” against Domingo. “Placido Domingo has been a dynamic creative force in the life of LA opera and the artistic culture of Los Angeles for more than three decades,” the company said in a statement.