Shaq seeking $5m damages
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN entrepreneur is seeking more than $5m in damages from his former US business partner who he is accusing of “preying” upon himself and others to launch illegal “fronting” operations in industries reserved solely for local ownership.
Julian ‘Shaq’ Gibson, operator of the well-known Briland-based Conch & Coconut tour operator, destination management and visitor “concierge” business, is also seeking a Supreme Court declaration that Pablo Conde and his US-based companies “be enjoined and/or prevented with immediate effect from operating in any form in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas”.
His promised legal action, launched in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, September 10, hits back at Mr Conde’s own lawsuit against himself - filed just five days earlier in the south Florida federal court - by seeking to turn the tables on his former US partner through blaming him for Conch & Coconut accruing more than $1m in unpaid tax arrears in The Bahamas.
Mr Gibson’s legal action describes a classic ‘fronting’ arrangement where all customer payments were made offshore, and allegedly kept out of reach of the Bahamian tax authorities by Mr Conde, while he ran the on-the-ground operation in Harbour Island.
Accusing his ex-business partner of “preying on young, ambitious” Bahamians such as himself “with a promise of longterm reward” so that he could establish businesses in industries exclusively reserved for local ownership only under the National Investment Policy, Mr Gibson asserted that he tried to work with Mr Conde to bring Conch & Coconut into compliance with this nation’s laws following the 2023 raid by the Department of Inland Revenue that seized some of the company’s assets and temporarily shut it down. He alleged that he was “pressured” into signing an October 2023 agreement by Mr Conde, which the latter previously claimed would have resulted in Conch & Coconut and its Bahamasbased assets being acquired by Mr Gibson, ahead of a meeting his former business partner had purportedly “arranged” with Prime Minister Philip Davis KC. The legal filings did not confirm if this meeting took place, and what was discussed, but Mr Gibson also alleged that the Pink Sand Spirits liquor/drinks brand was a second ‘fronting’ operation that Mr Conde asked him to form with
REBUTTAL - See Page B6
Caribbean pledges to
highest standards’ following Immigration raid
By FAY SIMMONS
ROYAL Caribbean yesterday pledged to “uphold the highest standards” and asserted that the two construction workers found to have expired work permits by an Immigration raid account for “less than 1 percent” of its Royal Beach Club workforce.
Philip Simon, the cruise line’s top Bahamian executive, told Tribune Business that it was working with its contractors and subcontractors to ensure their workforces fully comply with all Bahamian Immigration and labour laws after 21 construction workers were apprehended on Thursday at the Paradise
- See Page B8
Briland tourism business in ‘maximum’ $320k fine
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BRILAND tourism business was hit with a $320,000 “maximum penalty” for its failure to pay more than $800,000 in due VAT and Business Licence fees over the five years to end-March 2023.
The Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) ten-page report on its audit of Conch & Coconut Ltd, which has been disclosed in Supreme Court filings due to the bust-up
between its Bahamian and US partners (see other article on Page 1B), reveals that the boat, golf cart rental and tour and “concierge” provider submitted less than 30 percent of mandatory quarterly VAT filings during that period.
La Paige Gardiner, a Department of Inland Revenue official, in a June 2023 letter sent to Julian ‘Shaq’ Gibson, Conch & Coconut’s Bahamian principal, said given “the degree of PENALTIES - See Page B7
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Government’s former labour chief told a terminated worker “there’s no money for you” when she pursued her legal rights to obtain due severance pay from her exemployer - his sister.
Robert Farquharson, the ex-Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCOU) president who is now head of the Ministry of Labour’s special projects unit, also told Jennifer Rolle to return to work for Abby’s Catering, a business run by Euris FarquharsonMorrison, despite it losing the contract to operate Queen’s College’s Q Cafe.
Details of the phone call between Mr Farquharson and Ms Rolle, which took place in October 2022, were disclosed in a September 1, 2025, Industrial Tribunal verdict which awarded the latter a total $6,360. Besides $4,360 of redundancy pay for the 8.72 years spent with Abby’s Catering, Sharada Ferguson, the Tribunal’s vice-president, ordered that the company pay her an extra $1,500 - or one
ROBERT FARQUHARSON
ILLEGAL workers rounded up from the Royal Beach Club workforce.
SURVEY FINDINGS RAISE QUESTIONS ON CENTRAL PROCUREMENT BENEFITS
The Procurement Planning and Logistics course at the University of The Bahamas, which I facilitate, is coming to an end soon and we are in the final stages of one of the modules, purchasing and supply management. One of the more interesting subjects we examined in this module was centralized purchasing versus decentralized purchasing. According to Michiel R. Leenders and Harold E. Fearon in their book, ‘Purchasing and Supply Management’, centralized purchasing holds great advantages over the latter. They further list seven advantages, which I have summarized as follows:
1. 1. 1 It is easier to standardize the items bought if purchasing decisions go through one central control point.
2. 2. 2. It cuts down on administrative duplication. Purchasing can enter into an annual contract based on the organization’s total requirements for the entire year.
3. 3. 3. By combining requirements from several different departments, purchasing can place orders large
THE Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) says it has enjoyed record enrollment with student numbers up 15 percent compared to last year for the start of the fall 2025 semester.
The Institute, in a statement, said the growing interest in its courses alongside an expanding online platform is helping to reshapeNorth Andros as the student influx both fuels economic while strengthening BAMSI’s role as a national development hub.
“BAMSI continues to grow as a pillar of national development, with recruitment for 2025 - for both on-campus and online students - reflecting strong interest from Bahamians,” said Valentino Munroe, BAMSI chairman.
“The Institute’s steady increase in enrollment speaks to the confidence families are placing in BAMSI to prepare the next generation of agricultural and marine science professionals.”
Dr Raveenia RobertsHanna, BAMSI president,
enough to get price reductions.
4. 4. 4. One department, facing a materials shortage, does not have to compete with another department for the available supply as this can drive up the price.
5. 5. 5. Central purchasing should be administratively efficient for suppliers.
6. 6. 6. It provides better control over purchase commitments as a central point is needed to monitor the aggregate commitment amount at any specific point in time.
said the momentum is also shown by the Institute’s growing reputation.
“This new academic year marks not only a significant increase in student enrollment, but also a growing confidence in BAMSI’s mission and achievements,” she said. “More Bahamians are recognising the strength of our academic offerings and the value of hands-on, practical training that connects directly to national development and capacity building.”
Dr Roberts-Hanna added that BAMSI’s network of international partners is
7. 7. 7. It enables the development of specialization and expertise in purchasing decisions, and is a better use of time.
As you may well know, the Public Procurement Department in The Bahamas has a Central Purchasing Unit, all under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance whose sole responsibility is to procure cleaning, food and office supplies for all of government ministries, agencies and departments.
The Public Procurement Act 2023, in section 8(1) (a) and (b), (2) (a) and (b), states:
8. a. (a) The Department shall, pursuant to its functions under section seven, organize the central procurement of commonly used goods on behalf of all procuring entities, and in so doing shall prepare and dispatch a consultation document to each procuring entity with a view to identifying the annual aggregated requirements for the centralisation of procurement: and 9. b. (b) request each procuring entity to provide an indication of the goods, works or services that are required by
creating new opportunities for students, with pathways for credit transfers that allow graduates to continue their studies abroad while maintaining strong ties to The Bahamas. She said that even as BAMSI builds global links, its presence in North Andros continues to deliver tangible benefits at home.
BAMSI said its impact on the surrounding community can be seen in the jobs generated through campus operations and the increased spending power brought by students relocating from other Family
way of centralised procurement.
10. 2. (2) The Department shall, in determining whether the aggregation of demand is appropriate, take into consideration —
11. a. (a) which goods are commonly used goods and likely to attract the same potential bidders.
12. b. (b) when the goods, works or services will be ready for bidding;
On May 8, 2025, an article to the editor of the Nassau Guardian from a writer under the pseudonym ‘The Purchaser’ wrote: “Unfortunately, today there is a lack of proper organizational structure in the Central Purchasing Unit, which allows for unconventional reporting systems, major supplies stock-outs, particularly on essential goods, and a shortage of trained staff in public procurement processes.”
The 15 students on my course were given an assignment, which was to conduct a survey to assess the viability and efficiency of the Central Purchasing Unit (CPU), evaluate its performance in supplying cleaning, office and food supplies, and gather feedback from key government agencies. The survey was to
Islands. The growing residential campus is helping to develop an academic community while providing steady economic gains to local businesses.
Mr Munroe added that BAMSI's Board is preparing to launch “major fundraising initiatives, new partnerships to conduct research in agricultural production, and new programs that provide training to farmers and opportunities for our students. These initiatives will ensure that BAMSI remains aligned with national goals for food security and sustainability. In today’s economic
concentrate on the period from July 1, 2025, to August 18, 2025, and it was to be conducted by telephone and.or e-mail. The students were divided into two groups and surveyed ten government agencies, with at least three being essential services.
The questionnaire for this survey consisted of the following questions:
1. What are the fill rate percentages of the requisitions of the department you have selected, and what products were they?
2. Are the products of good quality?
3. Did they receive the right products, the amounts and sizes when requested?
4. What essential items have been out of stock that can cause a major impact on the agency’s operations and how often?
5. How is CPU’s delivery service?
6. How is CPU’s customer service?
7. Do you agree that the procurement of supplies for the essential services should be decentralised?
The results of the survey are as follows:
climate, the Institute’s work is more relevant than ever to the future of our country. With ongoing campus development, BAMSI is steadily building toward an even stronger future".
Enrollment growth has been particularly strong in agriculture, marine science and environmental science, according to Dr Amanda Bethell, director of admissions and recruitment. She said targeted outreach from January to May emphasized these areas, which are “critically important to the nation’s sustainable future".
Other programs, including aquaculture, agronomy, animal science and business management, are also attracting new interest as students explore career paths that combine science and entrepreneurship. Creative fields such as art and environment are expanding BAMSI’s reach further, giving students options that reflect both national needs and personal passions.
BAMSI’s outreach to future scholars is occurring through its expanding dual enrollment and
All ten respondents stated that the Central Purchasing Unit’s fill rate for stationary supplies was 20 percent. Stock outs, or running out of inventory for these supplies, such as copy paper, pens, log books and a large amount of other items from the inventoried catalogue, are being experienced.
Seven out of ten respondents rated the lowest fill rate of cleaning supplies at 20 percent and the highest at 49 percent. Constant stock outs of essential items such as toilet tissue, garbage bags, bleach and hand towels occur. One agency’s public bathroom facility, known to be used by tourists, was allegedly reusing garbage bags while other agencies resorted to buying the items themselves or had to make other arrangements. This became more evident as reported in The Tribune on Monday, August 25, 2025, where “Arawak Cay vendors say conditions at Fish Fry are driving tourists away”. It further stated: “Operators also highlighted poor restroom facilities, describing them as often unsanitary, out of order or without basic supplies. People have to share dirty hand sanitizer, no tissue when it’s barely working.”
The three respondents for food supplies all were essential services agencies
PURCHASE
college prep programs. The dual enrollment program allows high school students in grades 10–12 to earn college credits before graduation, while the college prep program helps students build the academic foundation, study skills and confidence needed to succeed in tertiary-level courses. Together, these initiatives are widening access to higher education and preparing a new generation to excel in fields critical to national development.
BAMSI said it is offering national certifications that connect local expertise to international standards.
The flats fishing course enrolled 28 students, underscoring the Institute’s role in one of The Bahamas’ signature industries, while the nature tour guide programme, with a new class beginning in mid-October, opens new pathways to the growing eco-tourism sector. BAMSI said it continues to record a high rate of student completion, ensuring graduates are well-prepared to step into careers across agriculture, science, business and the creative industries.
Bahamas-based cloud provider teams with Suriname partner
A BAHAMAS-headquartered provider of sovereign cloud and IT serves says it has expanded its Caribbean reach through an agreement with Suriname's national data centre. Cloud Carib, in a statement, said its memorandum of understanding (MoU) Datasur, also a cloud provider, establishes a partnership aimed at accelerating Suriname’s digital transformation while reinforcing Cloud Carib’s ambition to build a resilient, sovereign digital infrastructure across the region. “This is a proud moment for The Bahamas,” said Victor Kovacs, Cloud Carib's chief operating officer. “Cloud Carib continues to lead the charge in delivering secure, localized cloud and disaster recovery services throughout the region. "Our partnership with Datasur in Suriname is another milestone in establishing a federated cloud network built on trust, sovereignty and Caribbean collaboration.” Cloud Carib says the tie-up ensures Suriname’s critical data is housed securely within its own borders, managed under national legislation and oversight, and directly advances objectives for data sovereignty, security and strengthened national resilience. Under the MoU, Cloud Carib and Datasur will
branded portfolio of cloud services for Suriname’s platforms with strict localter recovery and business continuity solutions integrating Datasur’s facilities into Cloud Carib’s regional in healthcare and finance, including mobile health platforms and secure payment gateways. Dr Anvit Ramlakhan, Datasur's chief executive, said: “Working with Cloud Carib allows us to deliver scalable and sovereign cloud solutions tailored to our national priorities. This alliance also positions our facilities as a regional hub for disaster recovery, located safely outside the hurricane belt.” Cloud Carib said the Suriname partnership builds on its growing list of strategic alliances, which includes collaborations with Blue NAP Americas in Curaçao, Brava in Guyana, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, the Caribbean Data Centre Association and Gaia-X in the European Union. Cloud Carib and Datasur are now working towards finalizing a co-branded partnership agreement, and have already begun joint marketing, technical assessments and customer engagement activities.
DR. AMANDA BETHELL
VALENTINO MUNROE
DR. RAVEENIA ROBERTS HANNA
Grand Lucayan staff pay delayed over severance
BY FAY SIMMONS
ANNELIA NIXON and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters
GRAND Lucayan employees did not receive due salary payments on Friday due to a hold-up with potential termination payouts and which workers will be retained by the resort’s potential new owners, Tribune Business was told.
An employee at Grand Bahama’ so-called ‘anchor property’, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that payments salary payments due on Friday were not received by workers.
They said the resort had sent a communication to employees warning they may receive their salaries this week. When asked what has caused the delayed payments, the employee said few details were provided other than management citing “reasons out of their control”.
“The information is they will not be paid today,” they said. “Salaries will not be dispersed today. That may happen next [this] week. [It’s due to] reasons out of their control, or resort management control or finance control. That’s the way they put it.
“This isn’t information floating around. This is a hotel communication to all staff. This was for all employees at the resort.”
Tribune Business contacts, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested the delayed salary payment may have resulted from a hold-up in negotiations between the Government, Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that owns the hotel on its behalf, and Concord Wilshire, the purchaser, over which staff the latter will retain and who is to receive redundancy pay.
“I think the numbers have been agreed but that was supposed to happen last Wednesday,” the source said. “They’re working feverishly to get that part done this week; the staff part. It’s just a short delay. They’re trying to get the employees paid and out. It’s a snafu, but people are making plans based
on that money. It’s very disappointing.”
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), in a statement, said the Grand Lucayan workers would get paid today after Michael Pintard, the Opposition leader, again called on the Davis administration to release details of the Concord Wilshire deal while raising concerns over unpaid staff and vendors at the resort.
Speaking at a press conference outside the hotel on Saturday, Mr Pintard said employees and vendors are still waiting to be paid and accused the Davis administration of stonewalling efforts to get answers.
Mr Pintard said more than 121 days have passed since the Government signed a heads of agreement for the 56-acre beachfront resort, along with the adjacent 160-acre Reef Golf Course, with Ancient Waters Bahamas - a Bahamian subsidiary of US-based Concord Wilshire Capital (CWC). He demanded full transparency regarding the $120m sale and said it remains unclear whether the funds from the transaction have been received.
“We say this is unacceptable, and it does not represent the revitalization of Grand Bahama that the Government has promised, and they have failed to answer any number of questions we have asked. Why hasn’t the demolition started? Why is the hotel still taking bookings? Why are they not paying numerous vendors, including the security company that is there to protect this property? Is it correct that you have not yet paid them? Why are staff members today still waiting for their salaries?” asked Mr Pintard.
He also questioned the status of the Grand Bahama International Airport redevelopment. He noted that the airport was originally expected to be completed by August 2025, yet a month after that deadline there has been no visible progress.
“They promised a new domestic terminal and US pre-clearance by August 2025. We’re now in September, at no groundbreaking,
no noticeable progress on the airport. So we ask: Where are the jobs promised, the progress, the completion of phase one of the airport? Where is the management company? Where are the designs that they promised for this magnificent airport? And how will you fund it?” asked Mr Pintard.
He warned that continued delays in upgrading the airport, and shifting timelines, could damage investor confidence as he urged the Government to be transparent.
“The delays are costing us reputationally, and it is made worse when someone may be considering investing in the airport, but there have been so many false starts, so many adjustments in the timeline for completion of phase one or the commencement of serious work, that it would make the average business person, the average investor, sceptical about taking this government’s word,” said Mr Pintard.
“We’re concerned, and we challenge this government to stop the secrecy, come clean to the Bahamian people on where we are in general, but also in Grand Bahama as it relates to the hotel, as it relates to airport.”
In response, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) said: “From all indications, Grand Lucayan resort employees are set to be paid this Monday, 15 September, 2025.”
“Since the last FNM administration, when Michael Pintard sat in Cabinet and purchased the resort with no plan, the PLP has worked continuously to keep as many Bahamians as possible employed at that property.
“The PLP government remains committed to improving both the resort and the current state of the Grand Bahama International Airport.”
The party added that Grand Bahama’s economy has improved under the current administration and pledged to continue efforts to support residents.
“Because of the sustained work of this PLP government, the Grand Bahama economy has taken a turn
for the better. More and more residents are returning home, and employment numbers continue to rise,” said the PLP statement
“The PLP government recognises that more must be done and will not relent in its mission to improve the quality of life for all residents of Grand Bahama and for Bahamians across the nation.”
In a follow-up statement yesterday, Mr Pintard said the Government should not need pressure from the Opposition before addressing staff concerns. He again questioned the delay in demolition and the status of vendor payments.
“The fact of the matter remains: Workers should never have had to wait this long to be paid, and families should not have to depend on the Opposition forcing the Government to speak before receiving basic respect,” said Mr Pintard
“And even then, the PLP’s statement was empty. It dodged the very questions Bahamians have been asking for months: Why hasn’t demolition started? Who is paying the vendors owed hundreds of thousands of dollars? Is it true the very security company protecting the property hasn’t been paid?”
GRAND LUCAYAN RESORT
Exuma resort partnership fuels aviation expansion
A BAHAMIAN pri-
vate charter operator says it has enjoyed a 20 percent increase in its Exuma flight volume due to a year-long tie-up with the $200m Rosewood developer.
Exclusive Aviation, which has been in operation for more than ten years, in a statement hailed the benefits of its partnership with the Miami-based Yntegra Group.
"When Yntegra started booking with us, we felt the difference almost immediately,” said Captain Aaron Hinsey, president of Exclusive Aviation. “Those trips to Exuma are steady, and in aviation, steady means we can keep our people working and our planes flying. That’s the kind of business that helps us plan for the future instead of just getting by."
The Rosewood Exuma project recently enjoyed
its ground-breaking, and Captain Hinsey added: “Breaking ground is the moment you know the project is real. For us, it means more traffic in and out of Black Point. We’re looking forward to being the ones to carry their executives, their workers and, one day, their guests back and forth.”
As the project approaches its hiring phase, Exclusive Aviation said it anticipates a substantial uptick in business when transportation services are needed for the 150 employees who will live and work on Sampson Cay. The company also expects increased demand from travelers flying in from Nassau and the US to Black Point as the resort is developed. Exclusive Aviation currently employs 24 fulltime staff and, through an upcoming long-term contract with the resort as a
'preferred operator', is preparing to meet future demand by adding a new turbo prop aircraft and at least three additional employees.
“We’re getting ready now so that when the resort is hiring and operating, we can handle that traffic smoothly," Captain Hinsey said. “That growth means more jobs for Bahamians and more opportunities for our own staff to advance.
“Aviation and tourism go hand in hand here, and when more people travel to the Family Islands, operators like us feel it right away. Working with Yntegra has given us the consistency we need to plan ahead, and it’s encouraging to see that impact even before the resort doors open.”
Union says seeking political party meetings to aid 'entertainment fix'
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
THE United Artists Bahamas Union (UABU) is vowing to meet with the political parties to better understand their plans for the sector as part of its "mission to fix the music and entertainment industries".
The union, while praising the opening of a performing arts school for The Bahamas, said there is still nowhere for those students to perform. “As the nation's general elections are shown to be in high gear, plans are underway for UABU to sit with the leaders of each political party to hear from them about their future plans for Bahamian creatives in the music and entertainment industries,” Linc Scavella, the UABU's president, said in a Facebook post.
“We want all of them to become cognisant that it is indeed 'backassward' to build a school for the performing arts without any consideration for assisting to create and protect the employment opportunities for Bahamian musicians and entertainers who are qualified and available. We are pleased that our Prime Minister, Philip Edward Davis KC, is also a great Maracas shaker and Rake-N-Scrape dancer. Further, we are pleased that the Opposition leader, Michael C. Pintard and Coalition of Independents' Lincoln Bain are both creatives in the music and entertainment industries. Hence we plan to sit with all of them for the benefit of the craft.”
Mr Scavella said requests have already been sent seeking a meeting to address issues in the industry and hear what each political party plans for it. He told Tribune Business he is concerned that those who attend the new performing arts school will not have anywhere to work.
“We are pleased that they mentioned the school
for the performing arts, but we are concerned that you will be training all these performing artists to work where?” Mr Scavella asked.
“The major hotels, their programme is they bringing in foreign artists... And so we're concerned that, yeah, you may have a performing arts school, but there's something to go along with that. See, Tide go with bleach. Peas go with rice.
“The idea of the performing arts school was part of a presentation that we made to the Government of a plan which included a recording studio and nightclubs and stuff. All. Of this was supposed to be in one facility. And the place we had chosen was Shirley Street Theatre.
"But the minister of culture [Mario Bowleg], when we met with him, told us that they are going to use the Shirley Street Theatre property for something else. And so we asked for another building that was on Bay Street, Goodman's Bay, which was not in use. And then they told us that we were going to get it. But then, when we look, they knock it down. And so I just figured they are not really looking out for the artists wholeheartedly," Mr Scavella added.
“Yes, we gave them a plan while they were in Opposition [PLP]. And so what they did, it appears that they are just picking parts out of the plan that we give. And then, you know how it goes. When you send a plan, the fellas who work in the Office of the Prime Minister, they see that, and they take things, your ideas and what's not, and then repackage it. "The performance art school, that came out of our plan... We sent that to them while they were in Opposition… We were very disappointed that it didn't come to fruition because, apparently, the Government didn't want to do it. That's all I can say. But then I saw a couple of things happen out
of the plans we presented to them.”
The Bahamas Creative and Performing Arts School (CAPAS) is partnering with United Talent Agency (UTA), “one of the entertainment industry’s most prominent agencies, which represents such highprofile actors as Timothée Chalamet”.
Mr Scavella has been vocal about the influx of foreign artists coming into The Bahamas. While reassuring he and the UABU have no issue with foreign artists performing in The Bahamas, he reiterated that he is fighting to see more Bahamians perform as opening acts for their foreign counterparts. He said he would also want to see more taxis benefiting by bringing tourists Overthe-Hill where they can see Bahamians perform.
“What we would like to see happen for places like the cruise port, since they are not utilizing it to how Bahamian artists perform in there, what we'd like to see happen is that they bring those tourists Over the Hill to the Jumbey Vllage, the building that they now have set up in honour of Edmund Moxey, where we could have entertainers, including the school bands, right, who can during after school hours, come in and perform for tourists, and the professional bands can perform later in the evening,” Mr Scavella said.
“We'd like to see things like that happen where the taxi drivers can have a better revenue stream coming by transporting them from the cruise port Over the Hill to a safe place in the Edmund Moxey building. We'd like to see that happen. In addition to that, we would like to see the hotels who are bringing in all of the mega superstars... we don't have any problem with that. We love mega superstars because we are all in the same business.
"But what we would like to see is, when you bring these foreign artists, we'd like to see them hire our Bahamian artists to be opening acts for these mega stars in all of the properties. Baha Mar is doing it. Atlantis is doing it. And then you have some comedy clubs that are open now. They're bringing in all these foreign talents and what's not. So you're going to have a performing arts school, and Bahamians learn how to do the acts, but there's no place for them to work.”
'SLOWEST SEPTEMBER I'VE SEEN FOR QUITE SOME TIME'
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
AN EXUMA water sports operator says it has ceased business for the slowest period in the annual tourism cycle with Sandals Emerald Bay's closure making September "extra slow".
Ray Lightbourn, principal of Exuma Water Sports, told Tribune Business the company has for this month halted numerous services it provides to visitors while still conducting private tours.
He added that he has retained his 18-strong staff to help feed the 'swimming pigs' and handle boat maintenance, but has also encouraged his employees to take vacation this month.
“Most of them are still getting paid,” Mr Lightbourn said. “And we got a couple that are just, I would
say, they're more than part time, but we are still using everybody because we're doing maintenance on boats. We've still got to feed the pigs every day. So, we're just rotating everything around. “Another thing is, we also planned on who wanted vacation, that they take it in September. We got about, I think we had six on vacation.”
Mr Lightbourn attributes the abnormal fall-off in visitor numbers to the closure of the Sandals Emerald Bay resort, which shut on August 15, 2024, to rebrand as a Beaches Resort. The closure impacted 425 employees, some of whom were redeployed to Sandals Royal Bahamian and Beaches Turks and Caicos. However, the resort’s closure is weighing heavily on tourism-related businesses on Exuma. While other tour operators and hotels often close during the slow
period, Mr Lightbourn said he will have to decide if a September closure will be an annual occurrence moving forward with much depending on whether the former Sandals resort re-opens.
“Last September was very slow because Sandals closed,” Mr Lightbourn said. “The hotel closed last year August. They closed August 15. So that September was very slow. So this September they're still closed. So we just decided to close for that month, because if it was slow last year, and this is a worse year than last year... it's extra slow.
“If the hotel opens back up, we'll probably stay open. But other than that they've been closed a year and it's ridiculous. And nobody's saying anything, you know, nothing from the Government. Nothing.
“This just is a slow yearslower than last year, for
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sure. Who knows what it is. It could be the American government with all this foolishness going on and people not travelling as much. I think it's mostly because the hotel is closed.”
Taxi driver and tour operator, Cheryl Cambridge, said the industry is also feeling the pinch of the offpeak tourism season. The Cheryl’s Bahamas Taxi & Tours chief, however, said she has implemented incentives to ensure returning guests continue to choose her and, as a result, keep her afloat during the off season.
“I give souvenirs to the kids. I might not be the driver going back, but my other driver will make sure, quiz you. If you know the national bird, the national fish, we'll give you a a gift like a friendship bracelet
with Bahamian colours and things like that," Ms Cambridge explained.
"And then, if you look at my template, it tells you if you're celebrating something special. Let the office know, and we give you a gift. If you retire, I give you a Bahamas license plate. If it's a woman, I give you a bling bling with Bahamas on it. The man gets a baseball cap. The little boys get a baseball cap. The girls get a sling bag with Bahamas on it.
"If it was a baby, celebrate a birthday. I give them a globe, you know, stuff like that, little things... So you got to spend money to make money. If you come right now, look at my bench. I got Bahama Mama. I get water, and I get juice, Capri Sun juice for the kids," she added.
“Every year around this time it's very slow. This is the slowest I see it for a long time. But what I’m trying to say is it could be equal. When I say equal, instead of one person get over 10 jobs and you end up with one, everybody could go home with three. But right now, some going home with 10 jobs and some going home with none or one.
"So what they need to do, instead of making up these cards, giving people a card, and say, 'Call me when you go and buy'... People are not going to call them. They'll call you back if your car nice, air conditioned, you smell good, you give them a little free tour. Do you know what I is tell them? This is a free tour and this is a little sneak peek. If you want the rest, call me.”
SANDALS EMERALD BAY RESORT
New company formed after partnership was terminated
$600,000 in capital raised from American investors.
Asserting that Mr Conde took responsibility for, but never paid, the $800,000 tax arrears owed by Conch & Coconut to the Department of Inland Revenue, Mr Gibson said he had complied with the payment plan agreed with the latter and operations continued until a second inspection was carried out by the Bahamian tax authorities in May 2025.
Tax officials deemed Conch & Coconut’s Business Licence, which had been obtained by Mr Conde, to be “fraudulent” and shut the business down.
Mr Gibson is alleging his former business partner admitted that the Department of Inland Revenue’s findings were correct - a development that led him to “immediately terminate” their relationship.
Mr Gibson added that, to make a complete break with the past, he established Conch & Coconut Bahamas in May 2025 as a separate entity from the one previously operated by Mr Conde. However, in the wake of their breakup, the latter has accused his ex-Bahamian partner
of stealing “the brand and business structure” that he financed and built by creating this new entity.
Mr Conde, in his south Florida action, is claiming that Mr Gibson and his associates have engaged in “theft of trade secrets” and “unfair competition” by obtaining Conch & Coconut’s customer data, and “cancelling” or closing out its existing bookings, ahead of launching their new business.
It remains to be seen whether either of their legal actions have jurisdiction over the other as the former business partners reside in different nations to the claims filed against them. However, Mr Gibson, who asserts that he owns 100 percent of the Bahamian-domiciled Conch & Coconut entity, and a majority 79 percent of the Pink Sands Spirit equivalent, is also seeking a Supreme Court declaration that he is their “owner and controlling member”, with “the ability to exercise” their rights to operate in The Bahamas “with no interference” from Mr Conde.
Mr Gibson’s statement of claim alleges he was 24 years-old when first approached by Mr Conde in 2017 to “co-operate” a
boat and golf cart rental, and tour and concierge, business on Harbour Island.
He added that he was “instructed” by Mr Conde to form Conch & Coconut Ltd, a Bahamian-domiciled firm, to run the day-to-day operations on Briland while his US partner incorporated an LLC with the same name to “receive the cage from all operations” and “to market the operation” of Conch & Coconut to US visitors.
“From April 2018 to April 2023, and upon the direction of the first defendant [Mr Conde], 100 percent of the credit card deposits and customer receipts of the operations of [Conch & Coconut] were received and collected” by the US-based LLC, Mr Gibson alleged.
“To-date, and despite multiple repeated requests, the first claimant [Mr Gibson] and the second claimant [Conch & Coconut LLC] had no access and/or visibility, and received no financial reporting/accounting from the first and/or second defendant [Conch & Coconut LLC].”
While Mr Conde had blamed Mr Gibson for the failure to register for VAT, and pay due Bahamian taxes, the latter instead
pointed the finger at his former US business partner.
“In April 2023, the Department of Inland Revenue raided the operations of Conch & Coconut Ltd, seized its operation, assets and levied for back taxes and penalties due to the structure of the business in an amount in excess of $1m,” Mr Gibson confirmed.
“It soon became apparent that [Mr Conde] had not made any VAT payments on behalf of Conch & Coconut Ltd from 2018 to April 2023 despite the fact that it collected all operating funds knowing full well that VAT funds should have been set aside for payment once the business was registered as a VAT registrant.
“As a result of this tax issue, it became readily apparent to the first claimant that Mr Conde had misled him and had been using the funds collected on behalf of Conch & Coconut Ltd for his own personal gain,” Mr Gibson further alleged.
“Although no accounting has been provided, the claimants believe that Mr Conde received in excess of $3m from the operations of Conch & Coconut Ltd, while Mr Gibson received no compensation or distributions for several years and has never received more than $3,000 per month which started in April 2021.
“In retrospect, the claimants now believe that Mr Conde purposely recruited Mr Gibson to operate a ‘fronting business’ to benefit solely himself. The claimants now believe that Mr Conde has done this in other instances by preying on young, ambitious Bahamians with a promise of long-term reward.”
Mr Gibson alleged that he secured the return of Conch & Coconut’s assets, and was able to resume operations within a few weeks of the Department of Inland Revenue’s 2023 raid, by making “a partial payment”on the tax arrears. This, though, still left “in excess of $800,000” outstanding, and he accused his former business partner of saddling himself and the Bahamian business with this burden while continuing to enjoy “substantial and personal financial gain”.
Mr Conde, in his south Florida lawsuit, said the October 2023 deal with Mr Gibson saw him agree to sell Conch & Coconut and all its Bahamas-based assets
to Mr Gibson in October
2023, with the latter to pay the $725,711 purchase price over a ten-year period. He asserted that no payments had been made by Mr Gibson as stipulated in the agreement.
However, the latter said the deal arose from efforts to work with Mr Conde to bring Conch & Coconut’s operations and business structure into compliance with Bahamian law.
“On October 11, 2023, Mr Conde quickly drafted an agreement and pressured Mr Gibson to sign it in anticipation of a meeting he had arranged with the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas through a gentleman named Anthony Johnson,” Mr Gibson alleged.
“Although the validity of this agreement is contested, due to the duress under which it signed, it clearly obligates Mr Conde to satisfy in full the tax arrears. To date, Mr Conde has not satisfied the tax obligation.” Mr Gibson also claimed that Pink Sand Spirits followed the same template as Conch & Coconut, where Mr Conde asked him to form the Bahamian operation towards the end of 2022. His US partner then formed an American LLC with the same name, and “recruited American investors to fund the operations”. While $600,000 in financing was thought to have been raised, “none of the funds were ever deposited” into Pink Sand Spirits in The Bahamas.
“To Mr Gibson’s knowledge, none of these investors or the third defendant [Pink Sand Spirits LLC] registered with the Bahamian Investment Authority,” Mr Gibson alleged. “Pink Sand Spirits is now operating in The Bahamas with Mr Conde as its lead operator.
He further claimed that all the financial benefits from another “fronting business” accrued to Mr Conde “while avoiding Bahamian law”, with himself and other Bahamians “excluded from all operations” having received no compensation or accounting information on Pink Sand Spirits’ performance. Meanwhile, Mr Gibson asserted that he had kept to the payment schedule agreed with the Department of Inland Revenue to pay off the tax arrears and “been timely in its payments” while also paying Mr Conde 5 percent of monthly revenues and
lease payments on certain assets. This continued until the Department of Inland Revenue’s task force visited Conch & Coconut once again on May 8, 2025.
Tax officials requested to see its Business Licence, which Mr Gibson said had been obtained and provided by Mr Conde in June 2024. “The officer on site deemed the Business Licence ‘fraudulent’ and immediately shut down operations of Conch & Coconut Ltd,” Mr Gibson alleged. “Soon thereafter, Mr Conde admitted that the Business Licence was fraudulent and attempted to ‘back step’ his actions by providing an affidavit through counsel explaining what had transpired.” Conch & Coconut was forced to pay a $50,000 fine, and this led to Mr Gibson terminating his relationship with Mr Conde and starting the new business, Conch and Coconut Bahamas, with new marketing materials, a fresh website and social media, and payment processing.
However, Mr Gibson said the new venture quickly “experienced a major decline in their concierge business and public profile with wrongful allegations of him producing a false Business Licence”. He argued that the new business “complies fully with Bahamian laws and is entirely Bahamian-owned and operated”, but is suffering “immediate and irreparable harm” and “significant financial damages” because Mr Conde is continuing to operate under the same brand name in an industry reserved solely for locals.
Negotiations between the former business partners in a bid to settle their differences failed to produce an agreement, and Mr Gibson concluded: “The defendant’s actions since 2017 were specifically intended to circumvent Bahamian law through the use of a ‘front’.
“The defendants purposely set up businesses operating solely in The Bahamas in a concise and pre-planned methodology. Mr Conde caused Mr Gibson to form Bahamian operational entities while he formed corresponding US entities which, until May 2025, collected 100 percent of the funds produced by the Bahamian entities while continually refusing to provide accountings and other relevant financial/operational information to Mr Gibson.
In accordance with Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Bahamas Public Service Union Constitution, the BPSU will be hosing the Annual General Membership Meeting on Friday the 26th of September, 20225 at the Bahamas Public Service Union Hall, East Street South at 6:30pm.
Only fnancial members will be allowed to participate in the meeting as the Reports from the Executives will be presented.
Refreshment will be served after the meeting.
Conch & Coconut made under 30% of mandatory VAT filings
PENALTIES - from page B1
non-compliance” the Bahamian tax authority had initially proposed a penalty equal to 50 percent of the outstanding taxes - some $385,756.
However, writing on behalf of Simon Wilson, the Ministry of Finance’s financial secretary, and Shunda Strachan, as acting VAT comptroller, she relented slightly by conceding that the “maximum penalty” in Conch & Coconut’s situation was $320,000. “The Department’s expectations are that businesses will take seriously the requirements to meet both the Business Licence and VAT legislation,” Ms Gardiner wrote.
The Department of Inland Revenue imposed
a $150,000 sanction for “making an omission, false or misleading statement” over Conch & Coconut’s VAT liabilities, while a further $100,000 and $70,000 was levied for “failing to keep reliable accounting records” and not issuing a legally compliant VAT sales receipt, respectively. The audit found that “further VAT and Business Licence tax is due and payable” worth $770,760 and $29,795, respectively, by Conch & Coconut for the five-year period between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023. Together with the combined $320,000 in penalties, the well-known Harbour Island tourism business was hit with a total demand for $1.12m by the Bahamian tax authorities.
Conch & Coconut paid off sufficient tax arrears to secure the re-opening of its operations, and return of seized assets, following a Department of Inland Revenue raid towards the end of March 2023. A payment plan was agreed for the remaining $800,000 balance.
Meanwhile, detailing the Department of Inland Revenue’s findings, the letter said of Conch & Coconut: “A review of the summary profile revealed that 15 tax returns were outstanding over the course of four years. Within the five-year audit period, you filed tax returns for six periods out of 21 periods.
“For three periods you reported zero taxable supplies and no VAT payable,
and for the other three peri-
ods you reported taxable supplies inclusive of VAT of $8,561 and VAT payable in the amount of $760.50.”
The Bahamian tax authority’s audit also found that Conch & Coconut “filed for zero taxable supplies and VAY payable” for the tax years from 2019 to 2022.
“It appears that you have made no reasonable efforts to correctly report your income as it would have been obvious to any reasonable person that you had earned revenue when you reported that you earned no income,” the Department of Inland Revenue blasted.
“By failing to report the correct amount of taxable supplies earned in each period, you have made an omission or a false statement to the comptroller. The statements presented show that your behavior was intentional and you have a trend of not meeting your obligations as
prescribed in the VAT and Business Licence Acts.”
The Department of Inland Revenue revealed that a “bank analysis” of Conch & Coconut’s deposits showed that, based on 2023 first quarter projections, it had grown into a business on track to “generate approximately $4m in taxable [VAT-able] supplies” for the year at an average of $1m per quarter.
Detailing the breaches of the VAT Act and its accompanying regulations, the Department of Inland Revenue added that the “bank deposit analysis” showed funds paid to Conch & Coconut by its clients were “being deposited into another account” other than the ones designated for its operations.
“The records provided for the audit period did not correctly document and explain all taxable transactions and were deemed as unreliable,” the Bahamian tax authority concluded.
“The Department was unable to agree the total amount of each payment type to the bank accounts provided…..
“The bank accounts provided did not contain any cash deposits from services rendered. By not maintaining these records, you have failed to maintain up-to-date and reliable accounting records.” Conch & Coconut’s VAT sales receipts were also deemed non-compliant with the law because they did not specify the amount of VAT or rate charged to consumers among other flaws. “We identified that the turnover for Business Licence purposes was greater than that which was reported, and a further amount of Business Licence tax is due and payable for the years 2019 through 2023 assessment years,” the Department of Inland Revenue added. “The further Business Licence tax due and payable is $29,795.”
and their responses were mixed.
One respondent stated that the fill rate for food was extremely poor. The products were of such poor quality, prior to the date this survey was initiated, and that it actually impacted their organization’s ability to undertake its operational mandate. This resulted in the Ministry of Finance agreeing to provide them with Standing Purchase Orders for the various vendors, and the agency now manages its own procurement of food so as to be delivered directly to them.
The second Respondent gave CPU an 80 percent fill rate. However, they sated that the food quality was poor and that their requisitions were being modified by CPU, who would send them food supplies that they did not request. This is highly irregular for a buyer to purchase supplies for an organization, approve its requisition from the warehouse inventory, and then change the requisition without the permission of the requester. Best procurement practices dictate that there should be a separation of duties for each step. If the separation does not exist, it potentially allows a buyer and a vendor to collude together for the purchase of outdated, slow moving or expired supplies to be procured. Then agency requisitions can be changed to accommodate these outdated, slow moving and expired supplies for a financial kickback.
With regards to the delivery service of the Central Purchasing Unit, eight out of ten respondents stated that the service is excellent. Two respondents did not participate because they do not use the delivery service. All ten respondents agreed that customer service at the Central Purchasing Unit needs to be improved. Nine out of ten respondents suggested that decentralised purchasing was in their best interest.
After receiving feedback from the respondents and observations made, the students noted that there is a litany of issues that are negatively impacting the Central Procurement Unit’s operations. These are simultaneously impacting operations at various ministries, agencies and departments, in particular those that provide services to the general public. These issues are the lack of an organizational structure, inexperienced staff, limited training, lack of job descriptions, lack of leadership, alleged constant micro management by the Ministry of Finance, no planning, no demand forecasting, poor customer service, and constant stock outs of essential items.
The students recommended the appointment of a qualified and knowledgeable chief procurement officer with extensive experience in procurement and strong managerial skills to run the Central Purchasing Unit. This individual should be able to ensure that inventory par levels are set, forecast a year’s inventory for each product and enter
The third Respondent advised that their food requisition fill rate was 80 percent.
into a year’s framework agreement with suppliers. This would minimize the level of stock outs that presently exist. The practice of engaging in three-month contractual arrangements, which are presently being offered by the CPU, is counter-productive. Along with these overwhelming issues, there are hardly any savings that the present central purchasing model can realise.
According to the 2025 second quarter CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply) pulse survey, sharp price increases across shipping, fuel and food, and the risk of shortages, are being driven by US tariff uncertainty, growing trade tensions between the US and China, and ongoing instability in the Middle East. Therefore, companies and organisations are using strategies such as continuing supplier diversification, extending contracts, holding more stock and insourcing.
There was also the recommendation that, along with long-term framework agreements, the CPU should consider direct deliveries to the institutions from its vendors who have the financial means and the capacity to house essential items such as food in the case of the hybrid system used by one essential services agency. The Ministry of Finance should provide those other essential services agencies with standing purchase orders for the various vendors, and the agency could manage their procurement of food and other products to be delivered directly to them.
An organizational chart clearly defining proper reporting lines and job descriptions should be implemented urgently, along with the introduction
of an operations manual. A product evaluation committee should be established with stakeholders as members to ensure that products purchased are of the highest quality.
Inventory management clerks, buyers and customer service clerks need more training to better understand the needs of their customers, who should not be treated with disdain. It is hoped that this survey’s findings and recommendations will be considered by the Ministry of Finance to bring about some positive change.
A well-known agricultural advocate, speaking on Love 97’s Issues of the Day on September 12, 2025, said: “Agriculture as an entity with agriculture in
its name it does not have an agriculturist on its staff.” It is fair for us to say the same about the Public Procurement Department in the Bahamas. The truth is maybe an offence, but it is not a sin.
NB: Daniel Ferguson, FCIPS, is a retired chief petty officer from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), lead investigator on the 2004 Lorequin Commission of Inquiry, a former chief supplies officer of the Ministry of Health, procurement consultant at the Ministry of Finance, adjunct facilitator on public procurement at the University of the Bahamas, and former component co-ordinator for the IDBsponsored public financial management reform
project, in particular public procurement reform. He led the drafting team for the development of the Public Procurement Act 2021 and public procurement regulations, and assisted with the creation of the University of the Bahamas professional procurement officers training framework while managing the development of the e-procurement supplier registry. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply with more than 25 years’ experience in public procurement. He was the Caribbean’s representative to the International Network of Public Procurement Officers for the years 2019-2021.
The EPA wants to end a requirement that large polluters report their greenhouse gas emissions
By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
THE Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed doing away with a program that has required large, mostly industrial polluters to report their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to the government. The program requires refineries, power plants, oil wells and landfills to report their emissions without risk of penalty as officials seek to identify high-polluting facilities and develop policies to lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Experts say the reporting held the companies publicly accountable for their emissions.
Since the program began in 2009, U.S. industry has collectively reported a 20% drop in carbon emissions, mostly driven by the closure of coal-fired power plants.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program "burdensome" and unhelpful to improving human health and the environment. Removing the rule would save American businesses up to $2.4 billion in regulatory costs over 10 years while maintaining the agency's statutory obligations under the Clean Air Act, Zeldin said. If finalized, the proposal would remove reporting obligations for most large industrial facilities in the
United States, as well as fuel and industrial gas suppliers and carbon dioxide injection sites. "The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality," Zeldin said in a statement. "It costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nation's prosperity and hurting American communities,'' he said. "With this proposal, we show once again that fulfilling EPA's statutory obligations and Powering the Great American Comeback is not a binary choice.''
Seized work permit violators ‘less than 1% of
Island site for its $165m development.
Of the 21 workers who were detained, with videos and photos of the raid circulating widely on social media, some 19 were found to be working outside the scope of their work permits while another two possessed permits that expired in August this year.
Mr Simon, president of Royal Caribbean (Bahamas) and its Royal Beach Club project, said in response that the cruise line is committed to ensuring compliance with all Bahamian laws and regulations.
He added said the contractor responsible for employing the workers, who he declined to name, is working to address the situation and emphasised that the two workers with expired permits represent less than 1 percent of the workforce.
“Like any other construction site, we are subject to scrutiny. We have made and will continue to make every effort to dot every ‘i’ and
cross every ‘t’ to ensure we adhere to all rules and regulations,” Mr Simon pledged.
“You would note, from the report, and based on the fact that we have over 500 people currently employed in the construction of this project, those two workers with expired permits represent less than 1 percent of the total workforce on-site.
“We also are aware that there were 19 individuals removed whose work permits were out of scope for the Beach Club. We are working with The Bahamian contractors and sub-contractors to ensure full compliance.”
Royal Caribbean is working with several Bahamian construction firms on the Royal Beach Club project, including Island Site Development (ISD), Bahamas Environmental Group (BEG), and other local sub-contractors. These contractors are responsible for providing labour to the site, and no Royal Caribbean employee was involved in the Immigration round-up.
The $165m Royal Beach Club is expected to be completed in December
2025. The project is a joint venture with the Government, which contributed four Crown Land acres to the project’s total 17 acres. The cruise line will hold majority 51 percent ownership interest, with the remaining 49 percent equity stake to be split between the Government and Bahamian retail and institutional investors.
Once completed, the Royal Beach Club is expected to host an average of 2,000 daily guests, who will travel by ferry from the Nassau Cruise Port to the Beach Club and onward to downtown Nassau.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said the company is committed to ensuring compliance with all local laws and regulations.
“As always, we work in collaboration with the Bahamian government to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations,” they said. “This property is a public-private joint venture with the Bahamian government, and we are committed to upholding the highest standards for
APPLE DEEPENS ITS TIES TO A KENTUCKY PLANT THAT PRODUCES COVER GLASS FOR
IPHONE AND APPLE WATCH
By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press
APPLE is putting its trust in a Kentucky plant singled out to become the exclusive producer of the cover glass meant to safeguard every iPhone and Apple Watch sold worldwide by the tech giant.
Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. said Friday it plans to triple production capacity at its plant in Harrodsburg and increase the workforce there by 50%, deepening its relationship with Apple that began when the original iPhone launched in 2007. The Harrodsburg plant made the glass for those first iPhones.
Apple has put its vast financial muscle behind the project, announcing recently it was making a $2.5 billion commitment to enable Corning to produce all the cover glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch at Corning's plant in Harrodsburg, a central Kentucky town of more than 9,000 residents.
It is part of a massive commitment announced by the tech company last month to increase its investment in American manufacturing and which won bipartisan praise from Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Corning executives and selected employees spoke to reporters at the plant on Friday. Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the Harrodsburg factory earlier in the day but did not participate in the media event.
"We are transforming the plant once again, by combining Corning and Apple's expertise to enable
production of 100% of the cover glass for the iPhone and the Apple Watch," Corning Chief Operating Officer Hal Nelson said Friday. "Together, we are building a next-generation U.S. manufacturing platform to deliver ... highperformance materials for Apple's iconic products."
Cook said last month in a news release that the teamwork between Apple and Corning will result in "the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass."
"Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky," he said.
By the end of 2026, all of the cover glass for the iPhone and the Apple Watch will be manufactured at the Harrodsburg plant, Nelson said Friday. Corning's Kentucky plant will be totally devoted to manufacturing for Apple, Corning said.
Regarding Apple's $2.5 billion commitment for the production, Corning said the details are "proprietary" to the two companies. The commitment will include revenue, technology and development teams and "new advanced manufacturing process development," Corning said. Corning, based in Corning, New York, says its markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, solar, semiconductors and life sciences. As to whether it will back up Apple's financial
commitment with its own investment, Corning said it continually invests in its facilities and will "continue to invest what we need to support Apple."
With an eye toward the future, the two companies will open an innovation center at the Kentucky plant, bringing together scientists and engineers for world-class research and development, Nelson said.
The Harrodsburg plant currently has nearly 350 employees, and the workforce is expected to rise to at least 500 as a result of the Apple announcement, Corning said.
Longtime plant employee Tommy Shirley said the factory had "ups and downs" through the years, but the deepening ties with Apple will be a "huge shot in the arm" for plant workers and the community.
"We've prayed for this," he told reporters. "We wanted stability for our employees. We wanted expansion."
Shirley, a maintenance worker, has deep family ties to the plant. His grandfather helped build the factory in 1952. His father started working there in 1964, and Tommy Shirley followed in his footsteps starting in 1989. He brimmed with pride Friday while talking about the Harrodsburg plant's connection to Apple.
"The products that we make, they impact people's lives all over the world," he said. "Nobody can get by without a phone anymore. … We're going to make devices right here in my hometown that's going to affect people's lives all over the world."
this partnership while also ensuring the safety and well-being of our team.”
The Immigration Department, in a statement, warned all businesses to ensure every work permit holder complies with the conditions of their permits following the apprehension of the 21 foreign nationals at the Paradise Island construction site. It confirmed the arrests were made during an inspection last Thursday.
“On Thursday, September 12, officers from the enforcement unit, with the assistance of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, conducted an inspection exercise on a cay north
of New Providence. The exercise resulted in the apprehension of 21foreign nationals - 15 Haitians, three Jamaicans, two Indonesians, and one Indian,” said the Department of Immigration
“All subjects were transported to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre for further processing. The Department of Immigration reminds employers and work permit holders that all holders must work strictly within the conditions of their permits. Non-compliance will result in enforcement action under the statute laws of The Bahamas.”
Tribune Business also reported recently that Royal Caribbean is eyeing downtown’s Union Wharf property as a hub for servicing its Paradise Island Beach Club.
This newspaper was told that Titan Hospitality, the catering operator said to have won the food and beverage services contract for the Royal Beach Club, will operate from Union Wharf. The site, located almost directly across the harbour from Royal Caribbean’s western Paradise Island investment, is ideal as a support hub for a development that is set to open in December 2025.
Unemployment, inflation and GDP growth will be worse this year than projected, budget office says
By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press
PRESIDENT Donald Trump's tariff policy, immigration crackdowns and sweeping tax and spending law are expected to increase jobless rates and inflation and lower overall growth this year before they improve next year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO on Friday released new economic projections for the next three years, updating the outlook it originally released in January, before Trump's inauguration.
The latest figures, which compare fourth quarter changes, show the unemployment rate, inflation and overall growth are expected to be worse this year than initially projected, while
the economic picture is expected to steady in subsequent years. The CBO outlooks attempt to set expectations for the economy in order to help choices made by congressional and executive branch policymakers. It does not forecast economic downturns or recessions, with its estimates generally reverting back to an expected average over time.
But Friday's outlook showed the degree to which Trump's choices are altering the path of the U.S. economy, suggesting that growth has been hampered in the near term by choices that have yet to show the promised upside of more jobs and lower budget deficits. Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, told The Associated Press, "Americans heard similar doom-and-gloom
forecasts during President Trump's first term, when the President's economic agenda unleashed historic job, wage, and economic growth and the first decline in wealth inequality in decades."
"These same policies of tax cuts, tariffs, deregulation, and energy abundance are set to deliver — and prove the forecasters wrong — again in President Trump's second term," he said. Overall, the CBO expects real GDP growth to decrease from 2.5% in 2024 to 1.4% this year, a downgrade from the initial projection of 1.9%.
The CBO attributes the projected decline to a slowdown in consumer spending stemming from new tariffs and a decrease in immigration, which would also impact consumer spending.
The tariffs "raise prices for consumer goods and services, thereby eroding the purchasing power of households; they also increase costs for businesses that use imported and import-competing inputs in production," the report says. However, GDP is set to grow to 2.2% in 2026, which is higher than the CBO's January prediction of 1.8%. GDP would then level off to 1.8% in 2027 and 2028, the CBO says in its latest report. Additionally, unemployment is expected to hit 4.5% in 2025, higher than the 4.3% initially expected, according to the CBO. The jobless rate is expected to reach 4.2% in 2026 — slightly lower than the 4.4% originally anticipated — and even out at 4.4% in 2027 and 2028. And inflation is now expected to hit 3.1% for the rest of 2025, according to the CBO, up from its 2.2% projection in January. Inflation would then lower to 2.4% in 2026, higher than the initial expectation of 2.1%, before leveling off at 2% the next two years.
APPLE CEO Tim Cook and Corning CEO Wendell Weeks walk during a tour of Corning’s iPhone glass manufacturing facility Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Harrodsburg, Ky.
Photo:Jon Cherry/AP
Work recall ‘futile’ effort to avoid redundancy pay
TRIBUNAL - from page B1
month’s pay - for “failure to comply with its obligation” to pay her due severance under the Employment Act.
The Tribunal decision disclosed how Ms Rolle pursued her termination pay after “she was left at home with no income or unemployment benefit and outstanding bills” for two months during summer 2022 after Abby’s Catering lost the contract to operate a food catering business from Queen’s College cafe.
After encountering “dire financial struggles, which left her having to borrow money from other people to survive”, and with a child to feed, Ms Rolle sent a What’s App message to Mrs Farquharson-Morrison on October 10, 2022, pointing out that three months had expired since Queen’s College told Abby’s Catering to vacate the Q Cafe by July 8, 2022. As a result, the 12-week temporary lay-off period provided by the Employment Act had expired.
The Tribunal verdict said Mrs Farquharson’s response was to tell Ms Rolle to call Mr Farquharson, her brother, who was the Government’s then-labour director at the Ministry of Labour. Ms Ferguson, in her ‘findings of fact’, ruled that the phone conversation between the latter duo took place and that Ms Rolle called him “reluctantly” and protested that he was not her employer.
“It was her evidence that Mrs Farquharson-Morrison told her to call her brother, Robert Farquharson. The witness said that she questioned Mrs Farquharson-Morrison about why she had to do so. Specifically, the applicant testified that she told Mrs Farquharson-Morrison that she did not understand why she had to call her brother because
she did not sign a contract with him,” the Industrial Tribunal verdict disclosed.
“The applicant indicated that she agreed to call Mr Farquharson’s telephone number, which was given to her by Mrs FarquharsonMorrison. The applicant said that she identified herself to Mr Farquharson by name, and that he responded that he knew who she was.
“The witness said that she was told by Mr Farquharson that ‘no money will be paid out. When I tell you to go to work, you go to work’. The applicant said that her response was ‘Really?’, and that Mr Farquharson responded: ‘Yes.’ The witness testified that she told Mr Farquharson, ‘Okay. No argument’. The applicant said that she told Mr Farquharson that ‘You will speak with my lawyer’, and that he responded, ‘Fine’, and that the telephone call ended.”
Ms Rolle’s version of the phone call was not challenged by Mrs Farquharson-Morrison, or any of the witnesses she called, at the trial. Mr Farquharson was not among those called to give evidence or provide a witness statement before the Industrial Tribunal.
Tribune Business reached out to Mr Farquharson to confirm whether the phone conversation took place, if Ms Rolle’s account was accurate and to obtain his version of events as the Industrial Tribunal’s decision made it appear as if his sister was using him, and his government position, to deter and dissuade the former employee from seeking the severance pay she was entitled to under Bahamian law. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach him, Mr Farquharson eventually called back just after Tribune Business sent him a detailed text message explaining the nature of its inquiry. After this
newspaper pointed him to this text message, he seemed to instantly know the nature of the inquiry, as he quickly replied: “Neil, I have no comment on that sir. Bye, bye.” Mr Farquharson then swiftly terminated the call.
The phone call with Ms Rolle appears to have taken place outside normal Department of Labour processes. A slightly different version of that conversation, detailed later in the Industrial Tribunal verdict, has Mr Farquharson telling her: “There’s no money in the deal. No money in the deal. When I say go to work, you go.”
Mr Farquharson’s position, and advice to Ms Rolle, was not only contradicted by the Industrial Tribunal but also his very own Department of Labour, which Ms Ferguson found had advised her “that she was made redundant by [Abby’s Catering] from the closure of its business at the Q Cafe”.
The Department also advised her she was “able to seek new employment”, and Ms Rolle found a job with the new operator of Queen’s College Q Cafe. The Industrial Tribunal also found that Ms Rolle was unable to obtain unemployment benefit from the National Insurance Board (NIB) because Abby’s Catering and Mrs Farquharson-Morrison were not current with her contributions.
Ms Rolle also testified that, around three days after her conversation with Mr Farquharson, she was visited at the Queen’s College cafeteria by Noel Farquharson, brother of both the former labour chief and Euris FarquharsonMorrison, and a sergeant in the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He handed over a letter informing Ms Rolle that Abby’s Catering had resumed operations and
requesting that she return to work for it.
A similar directive, asking Ms Rolle to resume work at Abby’s Catering, was issued on October 25, 2022. However, the Industrial Tribunal branded Sergeant Farquharson’s evidence as “both unhelpful and incredible” as it was impossible for him to have delivered the letter and cheque for two weeks’ pay, plus vacation pay, to her at Queen’s College on July 22, 2022, or July 31, 2022, because she did not start her new job there until August 31, 2022.
Mrs Farquharson-Morrison and Abby’s Catering alleged that Ms Rolle was not due any severance pay because the latter’s failure to return to work as requested meant she had effectively abandoned her employment and walked off the job. However, this was rejected by Ms Ferguson in the Industrial Tribunal’s verdict.
“Based on the facts and evidence of this case, the Tribunal finds that the applicant’s loss of her job at the Q Café amounted to a redundancy. That is, there is no gainsaying that the reason underscoring the applicant’s redundancy was attributable to the
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economic or financial difficulty experienced by the respondent and its proprietor, Mrs Farquharson- Morrison, which subsequently led to the cessation of its business at the Q Café,” the Industrial Tribunal found.
“Accordingly, the Tribunal also accepts that the work resumption request was only belatedly made upon Mrs FarquharsonMorrison’s realization that although the applicant had obtained full-time employment with the new operator of the Queen’s College cafeteria, she was still expecting to receive severance or redundancy pay from the respondent. That is, the Tribunal accepts the evidence of the applicant and finds that it was her October 10, 2022, WhatsApp message to Mrs Farquharson-Morrison which likely triggered her request for the applicant to resume work on a part-time basis and at a temporary location.
“That notwithstanding, the Tribunal finds that Mrs
Farquharson-Morrison’s October 12, 2022 letter, which requested that the applicant resume work on October 17, 2022, came too late. Additionally, the Tribunal finds the timing of the respondent’s request that the applicant return to work as nothing more than a futile attempt to rebut the fact that the applicant had, in actuality, been made redundant by the respondent on July 8, 2022,” the Tribunal added.
“In conclusion, the Tribunal finds it unfortunate that the parties’ enduring relationship deteriorated in the way that it did. Indeed, in light of their close relationship, it is even more unfortunate that the parties could not independently arrive at a mutually beneficial negotiated agreement. That notwithstanding, it is the finding of the Tribunal that the applicant was on July 8, 2022, made redundant pursuant to section 26(2)(a) of the Employment (Amendment) Act 2017.”
US electric grids under pressure from energyhungry data centers are changing strategy
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
WITH the explosive growth of Big Tech's data centers threatening to overload U.S. electricity grids, policymakers are taking a hard look at a toughlove solution: bumping the energy-hungry data centers off grids during power emergencies.
Texas moved first, as state lawmakers try to protect residents in the data-center hotspot from another deadly blackout, like the winter storm in 2021 when dozens died.
Now the concept is emerging in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid and elsewhere as massive data centers are coming online faster than power plants can be built and connected to grids. That has elicited pushback from data centers and Big Tech, for whom a steady power supply is vital.
Like many other states, Texas wants to attract data centers as an economic boon, but it faces the challenge of meeting the huge volumes of electricity the centers demand. Lawmakers there passed a bill in June that, among other things, orders up standards for power emergencies when utilities must disconnect big electric users.
That, in theory, would save enough electricity to
avoid a broad blackout on the handful of days during the year when it is hottest or coldest and power consumption pushes grids to their limits or beyond.
Texas was first, but it won't be the last, analysts say, now that the late 2022 debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT ignited worldwide demand for chatbots and other generative AI products that typically require large amounts of computing power to train and operate.
"We're going to see that kind of thing pop up everywhere," said Michael Webber, a University of Texas engineering professor who specializes in energy. "Data center flexibility will be expected, required, encouraged, mandated, whatever it is."
Data centers are threatening grids
That's because grids can't keep up with the fast-growing number of data center projects unfolding in Texas and perhaps 20 other states as the U.S. competes in a race against China for artificial intelligence superiority.
Grid operators in Texas, the Great Plains states and the mid-Atlantic region have produced eye-popping projections showing that electricity demand in the coming years will spike, largely due to data centers.
A proposal similar to Texas' has emerged from the nation's biggest grid operator, PJM Interconnection, which runs the mid-Atlantic grid that serves 65 million people and data-center hotspots in Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The CEO of the Southwest Power Pool, which operates the grid that serves 18 million people primarily in Kansas, Oklahoma and other Great Plains states, said it has no choice but to expand power-reduction programs — likely for the biggest power users — to meet growing demand.
The proposals are cropping up at a time when electricity bills nationally are rising fast — twice the rate of inflation, according to federal data — and growing evidence suggests that the bills of some regular Americans are rising to subsidize the gargantuan energy needs of Big Tech.
Analysts say power plant construction cannot keep up with the growth of data center demand, and that something must change.
"Data center load has the potential to overwhelm the grid, and I think it is on its way to doing that," said Joe Bowring, who heads Monitoring Analytics, the independent market watchdog in the mid-Atlantic grid.
Data centers might have to adjust
Big Tech is trying to make their data centers more energy efficient. They are also installing backup generators, typically fueled by diesel, to ensure an uninterrupted power supply if there's a power outage.
Data center operators, however, say they hadn't anticipated needing that backup power supply to help grid operators meet demand and are closely watching how utility regulators in Texas write the regulations.
The Data Center Coalition, which represents Big Tech companies and data center developers, wants the standards to be flexible, since some data centers may not be able to switch to backup power as easily or as quickly as others.
The grid operator also should balance that system with financial rewards for data centers that voluntarily shut down during emergencies, said Dan Diorio of the Data Center Coalition.
Nation's largest grid operator has a proposal
PJM's just-released proposal revolves around a concept in which proposed data centers may not be guaranteed to receive electricity during a power
emergency. That's caused a stir among power plant owners and the tech industry. Many questioned PJM's legal authority to enforce it or warned of destabilizing energy markets and states scaring off investors and developers with uncertainty and risk.
"This is particularly concerning given that states within PJM's footprint actively compete with other U.S. regions for data center and digital infrastructure investment," the Digital Power Network, a group of Bitcoin miners and data center developers, said in written comments to PJM.
The governors of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and Maryland said they worried that it's too unpredictable to provide a permanent solution and that it should at least be accompanied by incentives for data centers to build new power sources and voluntarily reduce electricity use.
Others, including consumer advocates, warned that it won't lower electric bills and that PJM should instead pursue a "bring your own generation" requirement for data centers to, in essence, build their own power source.
A deal is shrouded in secrecy
In Indiana, Google took a voluntary route. Last month, the electric utility, Indiana & Michigan Power, and the tech giant filed a power-supply contract with Indiana regulators for a proposed $2 billion data center planned in Fort Wayne in which Google agreed to reduce electricity use there when the grid is stressed. The data center would, it said, reduce electricity use by delaying non-urgent tasks to when the electric grid is under less stress.
However, important details are being kept from the public and Ben Inskeep of the Citizens Action Coalition, a consumer advocacy group, said that leaves it unclear how valuable the arrangement really is, if at all.
A new way of thinking about electricity
To an extent, bumping big users off the grid during high-demand periods presents a new approach to electricity.
It could save money for regular ratepayers, since power is most expensive during peak usage periods.
Abe Silverman, an energy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said that data centers can and do use all the electricity they want on most days.
HIGH-voltage transmission lines provide electricity to data centers in Ashburn in Loudon County, Virginia, on Sunday, July 16, 2023.
Photo:Ted Shaffrey/AP
FAA SEEKS $3.1 MILLION IN FINES FROM BOEING OVER SAFETY VIOLATIONS, 2024 MIDAIR PANEL BLOWOUT
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer
THE Federal Aviation Administration is seeking $3.1 million in fines from Boeing over safety violations, including ones related to an Alaska Airlines jetliner losing a door plug panel on its fuselage in midflight.
The proposed penalty is for safety violations that occurred from September 2023 through February 2024, the FAA said Friday.
That period includes the January 2024 blowout of a paneled-over exit door — called a door plug —- on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 shortly after it took off from Portland, Oregon.
None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on the flight were seriously injured. Pilots landed the plane safely back at the airport.
In June, the National Transportation Safety Board said its 17-month long investigation found that lapses in Boeing's manufacturing and safety oversight, combined with ineffective inspections and
audits by the FAA, led to the door plug blowout.
The FAA said Friday that it identified hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and Boeing subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems' 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas. Among other violations, the regulator also found that a Boeing employee pressured a member of Boeing's ODA unit, which is tasked with performing certain inspections and certifications on the FAA's behalf, to sign off on a 737 Max airplane "so that Boeing could meet its delivery schedule, even though the ODA member determined the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards."
Arlington, Virginiabased Boeing has 30 days to respond to the FAA.
In a statement Saturday, Boeing said it is reviewing the agency's proposed civil penalty, noting that the company put in place a safety and quality plan last year, under FAA oversight, that aims to enhance safety management and quality
assurance in its airplane production.
"We regret the January 2024 door-plug accident and continue to work on strengthening our safety culture and improving first-time quality and accountability across our operations," the company said.
The Max version of Boeing's bestselling 737 airplane has been the source of persistent troubles for the company since two of the jets crashed, one in Indonesia in 2018 and another in Ethiopia in 2019, killing a combined 346 people.
The Justice Department reached a deal in May allowing Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the Max before the two crashes.
Boeing was also in the news in June when a 787 flown by Air India crashed shortly after takeoff and killed at least 270 people. Investigators have not determined what caused that crash, but so far they have not found any flaws with the model, which has a strong safety record.
China launches probes targeting US semiconductors ahead of Madrid trade talks
By SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press
CHINA launched two probes targeting the U.S. semiconductor sector Saturday ahead of talks between the two nations in Spain this week on trade, national security and the ownership of social media platform TikTok. China's Ministry of Commerce announced an anti-dumping investigation into certain analog IC chips imported from the U.S. The investigation will target some commodity interface IC chips and gate driver IC chips, which are commonly made by U.S. companies such as Texas Instruments and ON Semiconductor.
The ministry separately announced an anti-discrimination probe into U.S. measures against China's chip sector.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid between
Sunday and Wednesday, He's office said. U.S. measures such as export curbs and tariffs "constitute the containment and suppression of China's development of high-tech industries" such as advanced computer chips and artificial intelligence, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said. The announcements of the probes follow the U.S. on Friday adding 23 Chinese companies to an "entity list" of businesses that will face restrictions for allegedly acting against U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The list includes two Chinese companies accused of acquiring chipmaking equipment for major Chinese chipmaker SMIC.
The meetings between Bessent and He in Madrid will be the latest in a series of negotiations aimed at reducing trade tensions and postponing the enactment of higher tariffs on each
other's goods. U.S. and Chinese counterparts previously held discussions in Geneva in May, London in June and Stockholm in July. The two governments have agreed to several 90-day pauses on a series of increasing reciprocal tariffs, staving off an all-out trade war.
Bessent described the talks during the last round in Stockholm as "very fulsome."
"We just need to de-risk with certain, strategic industries, whether it's the rare earths, semiconductors, medicines, and we talked about what we could do together to get into balance within the relationship," Bessent said at the time.
U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden placed curbs on China's access to advanced semiconductors including restrictions on the sale of chipmaking equipment to the country.
THE BOEING logo is displayed at the company’s factory, Sept. 24, 2024, in Renton, Wash.
Photo:Lindsey Wasson/AP
AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH, WORKERS LEARN THE LIMITS OF FREE SPEECH IN AND OUT OF THEIR JOBS
By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Associated Press
IN the days following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, numerous workers have been fired for their comments on his death, among them MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd.
Several conservative activists have sought to identify social media users whose posts about Kirk they viewed as offensive or celebratory, targeting everyone from journalists to teachers. Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer said she would try to ruin the professional aspirations of anyone who celebrated Kirk's death.
It's far from the first time workers have lost their jobs over things they say publicly — including in social media posts. But the speed at which the firings have been happening raises questions about worker rights versus employer rights.
In the U.S., laws can vary across states, but overall, there's very little legal protections for employees who are punished for speech made both in and out of private workplaces.
"Most people think they have a right to free speech…but that doesn't necessarily apply in the workplace," said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and vice president of HR Services for Engage PEO. "Most employees in the private sector do not have any protections for that type of speech at work."
Add to that the prevalence of social media, which has made it increasingly common to track employees' conduct outside of work and to dox people, or
publish information about them online with the intent of harming or harassing them.
Employers have a lot of leeway
Protections for workers vary from one state to the next. For example, in New York, if an employee is participating in a weekend political protest, but not associating themselves with the organization that employs them, their employer cannot fire them for that activity when they return to work. But if that same employee is at a company event on a weekend and talks about their political viewpoints in a way that makes others feel unsafe or the target of discrimination or harassment, then they could face consequences at work, Matsis-McCready said.
Most of the U.S. defaults to "at-will" employment law — which essentially means employers can choose to hire and fire as they see fit, including over employees' speech.
"The First Amendment does not apply in private workplaces to protect employees' speech," said Andrew Kragie, an attorney who specializes in employment and labor law at Maynard Nexsen. "It actually does protect employers' right to make decisions about employees, based on employees' speech."
Kragie said there are "pockets of protection" around the U.S. under various state laws, such as statutes that forbid punishing workers for their political views. But the interpretation of how that gets enforced changes, he notes, making the waters murky.
Steven T. Collis, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin and faculty director of the school's Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, also points to some state laws that say employers can't fire their workers for "legal off duty conduct." But there's often an exception for conduct seen as disruptive to an employer's business or reputation, which could be grounds to fire someone over public comments or social media posts.
"In this scenario, if somebody feels like one of their employees has done something that suggests they are glorifying or celebrating a murder, an employer might still be able to fire them even with one of those laws on the books," Collis said. For public employees, which can range from school teachers and postal workers to elected officials, the process is a bit different. That's because the First Amendment plays a unique role when the government is the employer, Collis explains. The Supreme Court has ruled that if an employee is acting in a private capacity but speaking on a matter of public concern, they could be protected. Still, he noted that government employers can discipline a worker if they determine such conduct will interfere with the government's ability to do its job.
Some in the public sector have already worked to restrict speech in the aftermath of Kirk's death. For instance, leaders at the Pentagon unveiled a "zero tolerance" policy for any posts or comments from troops that make light of or celebrate the killing of Kirk.
The policy, announced by the Pentagon's top
Weary Malawians look to this
spokesman Sean Parnell on social media Thursday, came hours after numerous conservative military influencers and activists began forwarding posts they considered problematic to Parnell and his boss, defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
"It is unacceptable for military personnel and Department of War civilians to celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American," Parnell wrote Thursday.
A surge of political debate
The ubiquity of social media is making it easier than ever to share opinions about politics and major news events as they're unfolding. But posting on social media leaves a record, and in times of escalating political polarization, those declarations can be seen as damaging to the reputation of an individual or their employer.
"People don't realize when they're on social media, it is the town square," said Amy Dufrane, CEO of the Human Resource Certification Institute. "They're not having a private conversation with the neighbor over the fence. They're really broadcasting their views."
Political debates are certainly not limited to social media and are increasingly making their way into the workplace as well.
election as nation grapples with an economic crisis
By GREGORY GONDWE Associated Press
MALAWI is holding a presidential election this week as one of Africa's poorer countries grapples with an economic crisis, food and fuel shortages — and memories of a vote six years ago that was canceled and a redo ordered because of widespread irregularities.
Incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera, a former theology instructor and preacher, was the challenger
in the 2019 election that was won by then-incumbent Peter Mutharika, only for it to be nullified by the country's highest court.
The following year, Chakwera won a redo of the election.
This time, Chakwera, 70, of the Malawi Congress Party is seeking a second term. Mutharika, 85, of the Democratic Progressive Party, is hoping to return to the leadership. They two are seen as the main contenders in Tuesday's election, which has
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a lineup of 17 presidential candidates, including another former president, Joyce Banda. Malawians will also elect lawmakers to Parliament and more than 500 local council members.
A change in the nation's mood
Five years ago, Chakwera's eventual victory came after months of street protests in his support. But things have changed after five hard years and this vote takes place amid economic turmoil and shaky trust in
public institutions in the southern African nation of 21 million.
Inflation and the cost of living have risen dramatically, and there are critical shortages of fuel and sugar.
Cyclone Freddy in 2023 and an El Niño-inspired drought in 2024 destroyed crops and worsened food insecurity. A plane crash last year killed Vice President Saulos Chilima, a man seen as a leader in waiting.
"Malawians are weary," said political analyst Boniface Dulani. "They want
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"The gamification of the way we communicate in the workplace, Slack and Teams, chat and all these things, they're very similar to how you might interact on Instagram or other social media, so I do think that makes it feel a little less formal and somebody might be more inclined to take to take a step and say, 'Oh, I can't believe this happened,'" Matsis-McCready said.
Employers are not ready
In the tense, divided climate of the U.S., many human resource professionals have expressed that they're unprepared to address politically charged discussions in the workplace, according to the Human Resource Certification Institute. But those conversations are going to happen, so employers need to set policies about what is acceptable or unacceptable workplace conduct, Dufrane said.
"HR has got to really drill down and make sure that they're super clear on their policies and practices and communicating to their employees on what are their responsibilities as an employee of the organization," Dufrane said.
Many employers are reviewing their policies on political speech and providing training about what appropriate conduct looks like, both inside and outside the organization, she said.
results, not just rhetoric. And this election is a mirror of that frustration."
According to Dulani, Mutharika's strong challenge to return to the presidency despite the flawed 2019 election was not a reflection of his popularity but rather disillusionment with Chakwera.
A new election law
The fraudulent 2019 vote prompted a change in Malawian electoral law, and this election will be decided by the 50%+1 format — meaning the winner needs to get more than 50% of the vote.
Analysts see a strong likelihood that no one will get a majority in the first round of voting, forcing a runoff, likely between Chakwera and Mutharika.
The most prominent issues for voters in a country often rated as among the least developed in the world is the cost of food and fertilizer.
Malawi is landlocked and relies heavily on agriculture, with more than 80% of the population living in rural areas and relying on smallscale farming. Its biggest export is tobacco.
Mutharika has campaigned on a return to "trusted leadership" and some agree.
Eliza Justin, a 34-year-old informal market trader, said
And the brutal nature of Kirk's killing may have led some of them to react more strongly in the days that followed his death.
"Because of the violent nature of what some political discussion is now about, I think there is a real concern from employers that they want to keep the workplace safe and that they're being extra vigilant about anything that could be viewed as a threat, which is their duty," MatsisMcCreedy said.
Employees can also be seen as ambassadors of a company's brand, and their political speech can dilute that brand and hurt its reputation, depending on what is being said and how it is being received. That is leading more companies to act on what employees are saying online, she said.
"Some of the individuals that had posted and their posts went viral, all of a sudden the phone lines of their employers were just nonstop calls complaining," Matsis-McCready said. Still, experts like Collis don't anticipate a significant change in how employers monitor their workers speech — noting that online activity has come under the spotlight for at least the last 15 years.
"Employers are already and have been for a very long time, vetting employees based on what they're posting on social media," he said.
things were better under the former president.
"Back then, we could afford fertiliser. Everyone was able to grow corn," Justin said. "Now, prices are killing us. We need Mutharika back to save us."
Mutharika has made few public appearances in the run-up and there are questions over his age — if elected, he would turn 90 when his term ends.
He has also selected the former head of the electoral body who oversaw the canceled 2019 vote as his running mate, sparking more allegations of collusion between Mutharika's party and election officials in the last vote.
'Economy in freefall'
Chakwera has been more visible during campaigning but "he's burdened by an economy in freefall" and a feeling that he has not met expectations, said Dulani, the analyst.
Inflation has risen from around 8% in 2020 to 27% under Chakwera, pushing the country further into poverty.
The death of Chilima in a military plane crash last June was also preceded with reports of a fallout between Chakwera and the vice president, who was popular among young Malawians and seen as a great hope as a future president.
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CHARLIE Kirk speaks at Texas A&M University as part of Turning Point USA’s American Comeback Tour, April 22, 2025, in College Station, Texas.
Photo:Meredith Seaver/AP
Ukrainian drones strike one of Russia's top oil refineries, sparking fire
By The Associated Press
UKRAINIAN drones
have struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries, sparking a fire, Russian officials and Ukraine's military said Sunday.
The overnight strike on the Kirishi refinery, in Russia's northwestern Leningrad region, follows weeks of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure that Kyiv says fuels Moscow's war effort.
The facility, operated by Russian company Surgutneftegas, produces close to 17.7 million metric tons per year (355,000 barrels per day) of crude, and is one of Russia's top three by output.
More than three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drones continue to be a key weapon for both sides.
Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns that the fighting might spill over beyond Ukraine's borders.
According to Ukraine's General Staff, explosions and a fire were reported at the Kirishi refinery. It posted a photo appearing to
show a blaze and clouds of smoke against a night sky.
Regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said that three drones were downed overnight in the Kirishi area, with falling debris sparking a fire at the facility. He said that no one was injured, and the blaze was put out.
Gasoline shortages
As of Sunday afternoon, Russian officials offered no further comment on the consequences of the strike, and it wasn't immediately possible to verify these. At least 80 Ukrainian drones
were shot down overnight over Russia, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the adjacent Sea of Azov, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukrainian drones previously targeted the Kirishi refinery in March, causing minor damage, according to social media posts published at the time by Drozdenko.
Russia remains the world's second-largest oil exporter, but a seasonal rise in demand and sustained Ukrainian drone strikes have caused gasoline
shortages in recent weeks.
Gas stations have run dry in some regions of the country, with motorists waiting in long lines and officials resorting to rationing or cutting off sales altogether.
To try to ease the shortage, Russia has paused gasoline exports, with officials on Wednesday declaring a full ban until Sept. 30 and a partial ban affecting traders and intermediaries until Oct. 31.
Russian railway incidents
Also in the Leningrad region, a diesel
Qatar denounces Israel before major summit on Israel’s attack in Doha targeting Hamas leaders
By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
QATAR'S prime minister denounced Israel on Sunday as foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim nations met to discuss a possible unified response to Israel's attack on Doha targeting the leadership of the militant group Hamas.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar's
foreign minister, made the comments before a meeting Monday of leaders from those nations.
Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar remained committed to working with Egypt and the United States to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip after Hamas' attack on Israel nearly two years ago. However, he said that the Israeli strike that killed six
people — five members of Hamas and a local Qatari security force member — represented "an attack on the principle of mediation itself."
"This attack can only be described as state terrorism, an approach pursued by the current extremist Israeli government, which flouts international law," the minister said. "The reckless and treacherous Israeli aggression was committed
while the state of Qatar was hosting official and public negotiations, with the knowledge of the Israeli side itself, and with the aim of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza."
Sheikh Mohammed stressed the moment had come for consequences to Israel's attacks in the wider Middle East. "It is time for the international community to stop applying double standards
LENINGRAD Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024.
locomotive was derailed during the night, local Gov. Drozdenko said Sunday. He said the incident occurred near Gatchina south of St. Petersburg. Russia's No. 2 city, which was known as Leningrad during Soviet times, is surrounded by but not included in the region of the same name.
Drozdenko said the locomotive's driver was trapped in his cabin, and later died of his injuries while being transported to a hospital. He added an official investigation would check for signs of sabotage.
Separately, a bomb planted along railway lines in Russia's Oryol region has killed three people, according to reports by local Gov. Andrey Klychkov. He said victims had been inspecting the track, and identified one as a member of Russia's National Guard.
According to Klychkov's posts, published late Saturday and Sunday, the incident happened near the town of Maloarkhangelsk, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Russian officials didn't immediately comment on what caused it.
and punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed,"
Sheikh Mohammed said in footage later released by Qatar's government from the closed-door meeting.
Arab League SecretaryGeneral Ahmed Aboul Gheit separately criticized Israel and warned that "silence in the face of a crime ... paves the way for more crimes."
There was no immediate response from Israel, which is hosting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this weekend. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Cyberattacks mar Russian voting Elsewhere, as some Russians headed to the polls to elect local governors and deputies on Sunday, the head of the Russia's main electoral body told reporters that it and Russia's electronic voting system were facing a large wave of cyberattacks.
Ella Pamfilova, of the Central Election Commission, said that "an unprecedented attack is underway" on its digital systems, but assured the public that it wouldn't affect the outcome of the votes.
The commission's website appeared to be down for much of Sunday, when 21 out of Russia's more than 80 regions were set to elect new governors. Seats in nearly a dozen regional assemblies and various municipal bodies were also up for grabs.
But few expected a meaningful challenge to President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and its supporters, following a sweeping crackdown on dissent that came with Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
on Saturday night again defended the strike.
"The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don't care about the people in Gaza," he posted on X. "They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war. Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war."
Hamas official Bassem Naim said in a statement that the organization hopes that the summit on Monday will produce "a unified and decisive Arab–Islamic stance" on the war.
Photo:Alexei Danichev/AP
WALL STREET COASTS TO THE FINISH OF ITS BEST WEEK IN THE LAST 5
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
WALL Street coasted to the finish of its best week in the last five on Friday as U.S. stocks hung near their record levels.
The S&P 500 barely budged and edged down by less than 0.1% from the all-time high it set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 273 points, or 0.6%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record set on Thursday.
Stocks have rallied with expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its meeting next week. Such a move would give the economy a kickstart, and mortgage rates have already dropped in anticipation of it.
Expectations for a cut have built as recent reports suggested the U.S. job market could settle into the precise balance that Wall Street has been betting on: slow enough to convince the Fed that it needs help, but not so weak that it will mean a recession, all while inflation doesn't take off.
A lot is riding on whether that bet proves correct.
Stocks have already soared on it. And if the Fed ends up cutting interest rates fewer times than traders expect, including three this year, the market could retreat in disappointment. That's even if everything else goes right, and the economy does not fall into a recession and President Donald Trump's tariffs don't send inflation much higher.
Investors, "and I think the Fed, are convinced that we are not on the verge of a
surge in inflation," according to Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. A survey from the University of Michigan on Friday suggested expectations for inflation may not be worsening among U.S. consumers. Preliminary data suggested they're bracing for inflation of 4.8% in the upcoming year, the same as they were a month earlier.
Expectations for inflation over the longer term
crept higher, though they're still below where they were in April, when Trump announced his worldwide tariffs. In the meantime, Wall Street continued to drift around its record heights.
RH fell 4.6% after the furniture retailer reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that came up short of analysts' expectations. It also trimmed its forecasted range for revenue this fiscal year amid what CEO Gary Friedman
TRADER John Bishop works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo:Richard Drew/AP
called "the polarizing impact of tariff uncertainty and the worst housing market in almost 50 years."
Oracle sank 5.1% and was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500 index. But that shaved only a bit off its surge from earlier in the week, when it soared to its best day since 1992 amid excitement about its winning multibillion dollar contracts related to artificial-intelligence technology.
Another company that's benefited from the AI frenzy, Super Micro Computer, rose 2.4% after saying it's begun highvolume shipments of racks using Blackwell Ultra equipment from Nvidia that can be used for AI.
Microsoft climbed 1.8% after European Union regulators accepted the tech giant's proposed changes to its Teams platform, resolving a long-running antitrust investigation.
The European Commission said Friday that Microsoft's final commitments to unbundle Teams from its Office software suite, including further tweaks following a market
test in May and June, are enough to satisfy competition concerns. All told, the S&P 500 slipped 3.18 points to 6,584.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 273.78 to 45,834.22, and the Nasdaq composite rose 98.03 to 22,141.10. In stock markets abroad, indexes held relatively steady in Europe after mostly rising in Asia.
Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9% to another record, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 1.2% for two of the bigger moves. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to recover some of its drop from earlier in the week. It rose to 4.06% from 4.01% late Thursday. Yields have been mostly sinking as expectations built on Wall Street that the Fed will resume cutting rates soon.
The Fed has been on hold through 2025, mostly because of the risk that Trump's tariffs could send prices for all kinds of U.S. household purchases much higher.
MARINE FORECAST
California to extend cap-and-trade program aimed at advancing state climate goals
By SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press
CALIFORNIA will extend a key climate program under a bill state lawmakers passed Saturday, sending the measure to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has championed it as a crucial tool to respond to the Trump administration's environmental rollbacks.
The Democrat-dominated Legislature voted to reauthorize the state's cap-and-trade program, which is set to expire after 2030. Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, signed a law authorizing the program in 2006, and it launched in 2013.
The program sets a declining limit on total planet-warming emissions in the state from major polluters. Companies must reduce their emissions, buy allowances from the state or other businesses, or fund projects aimed at offsetting their emissions. Money the state receives from the sales funds climate-change mitigation, affordable housing and transportation projects, as well as utility bill credits for Californians.
Newsom, a Democrat, and legislative leaders, who said months ago they would prioritize reauthorizing the program, almost ran out of time to introduce the proposal before the statehouse wraps for the year. They touted the package as historic.
"We extended California's cap-andtrade program, the cornerstone of our climate strategy, balancing ambition with affordability," said
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat. The proposal would reauthorize the program through 2045, better align the declining cap on emissions with the state's climate targets and potentially boost carbon-removal projects. It would also change the name to "cap and invest" to emphasize its funding of climate programs.
The Legislature approved another bill committing annual funding from the program's revenues. It includes $1 billion for the state's long-delayed highspeed rail project, $800 million for an affordable
cost and supply of fuel amid the planned closures of two oil refineries that make up roughly 18% of the state's refining capacity, according to energy regulators.
Proponents of the extension say it will give companies certainty over the program's future. The state lost out on $3.6 billion in revenues over the past year and a half, largely due to uncertainty, according to a report from Clean and Prosperous California, a group of economists and lawyers supporting the program. Some environmentalists say the Trump administration's attacks
"This year, California's leaders gutted basic public health and safety protections and took away tools communities need to protect themselves from polluters. The real failure — and the urgent work ahead — lies in reconciling California’s climate rhetoric to the reality of our communities on the ground."
Environmental Justice Groups
housing program, $250 million for community air protection programs and $1 billion for the Legislature to decide on annually.
Officials try to balance environmental protection with cost of living
The votes come as officials contend with balancing the state's ambitious climate goals and the cost of living. California has some of the highest utility and gas prices in the country. Officials face increased pressure to stabilize the
on climate programs, including the state's first-inthe-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, added urgency to the reauthorization effort.
But a group of environmental justice groups, including the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment and the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said the bill lacks strong air quality protections for low-income Californians and communities of color more likely to live near major polluters.
"This year, California's leaders gutted basic public health and safety protections and took away tools communities need to protect themselves from polluters," they said in a statement. "The real failure — and the urgent work ahead — lies in reconciling California's climate rhetoric to the reality of our communities on the ground."
GOP lawmakers say cap and trade will raise prices in California
GOP lawmakers criticized the program, saying it would make living in California more expensive.
"Cap and trade has become cap and tax," said James Gallagher, the Assembly Republican minority leader. "It's going to raise everybody's costs."
Cap and trade has increased gas costs by about 26 cents per gallon, according to a February report from the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, a group of experts that analyzes the program. It has played "a very small role" in increasing electricity prices because the state's grid isn't very carbon intensive, the report says.
Lawmakers and lobbyists criticized the governor and legislative leaders for rushing the deal through with little public input.
Ben Golombek, executive vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce, said at a hearing this week that the Legislature should have taken more time "to do this right."
Democratic state Sen. Caroline Menjivar said it shouldn't be par for the course for lawmakers to jam through bills without the opportunity for amendments.
"We're expected to vote on it," she said of Democrats. "If not, you're seen to not be part of the team or not want to be a team player."
Menjivar ultimately voted to advance the bill out of committee.
Energy affordability and fuel supply
The cap-and-trade bills are part of a sweeping package lawmakers approved aimed at advancing the state's energy transition and lowering costs for Californians.
One of the bills would speed up permitting for
oil production in Kern County, which proponents have hailed as a necessary response to planned refinery closures and critics have blasted as a threat to air quality.
Another bill would increase requirements for air monitoring in areas overburdened by pollution and codify a bureau within the Justice Department created in 2018 to protect communities from environmental injustices.
The Legislature voted to refill a fund that covers the cost of wildfire damage when utility equipment sparks a blaze. The bill would set up public financing to build electric utility projects.
Lawmakers also passed a measure allowing the state's grid operator to partner with a regional group to manage power markets in western states. The bill aims to improve grid reliability. It would save ratepayers money because California would sell power to other states when it generates more than it needs and buy cheaper energy from out of state when necessary, the governor's office said.
STATE Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire and Democratic state Sen. Monique Limon watch as the votes are counted on a bill before the Senate at the Capitol, in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
Photo:Rich Pedroncelli/AP