09162020 NEWS AND SPORTS

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VOLUME:117 No.202, SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2020

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

INSIDE: BUMPER PUZZLE PULLOUT FOR ALL THE FAMILY

PYRAMID SCHEMES CASH IN ON CRISIS Public put on alert over new fraudulent get-rich-quick plans

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Securities Commission of the Bahamas has reissued warnings against falling victim to Ponzi and pyramid schemes which promise large payouts after a person pays a sum of money under the guise of an investment plan.

The commission said it was made aware there is an increasing presence on social media and other internet sites of advertisements or invitations to members of the general public to join purported financial programmes in

which an individual pays a certain sum of money to join, then in turn must solicit and encourage other individuals to join in order to receive a large cash pay-out.

The schemes, originated in the US, have made their way to The Bahamas, where people are particularly vulnerable due to the financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sharon Wright, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said she fell victim to the scheme, known as the “flowers in bloom gifting circle”.

SEE PAGE FIVE

THE Supreme Court has blasted the Government and Bank of The Bahamas for “acting in bad faith” and working together against an ex-Cabinet minister in breaching five multi-million lease agreements.

Justice Cheryl GrantThompson, in a July 24 verdict, ruled the pair had gone “hand in hand with each other” after the Minnis administration decided not to follow through with its predecessor’s plans to rent space in Leslie Miller’s Summerwinds Plaza property.

In finding the Government committed “an abuse of the court process” by providing “no reasonable defence” to the claim from Mr Miller and his eight companies, Justice GrantThompson said the only matter to be determined is the amount of damages.

While she awarded him an initial $9.846m for “breach of contract”, representing $8.476m in rental arrears from December 1, 2016, to the date Mr Miller’s action was filed, together with a further $1.371m, the judge’s ruling left the door open to further liability.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

ASSEMBLY SHUTS AS STAFFER HAS VIRUS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A STAFF member of Parliament who interacted with elected officials during a House of Assembly sitting last week has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the cancellation of Senate proceedings on Monday and causing uncertainty about how proceedings in the House of Assembly will proceed.

A statement from the Cabinet Office yesterday did not specify whether any elected officials will go into quarantine.

SEE PAGE TWO

JUDGE RULES GOVT AND BOB COLLUDED AGAINST MILLER

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

WE SHOULD NOW KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING

PREMIERSHIP? WE’RE MORE DIVISION FIVE

ARTISTS GET READY FOR RETURN

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE ART community is getting ready for a return to action with the Transforming Spaces group saying “See you in November”. The group’s annual art tour - postponed in the Spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic - is lined up for a return at the start of November, with all tickets purchased previously to be honoured. See the Weekend section on Friday for the full story.

SAN SALVADOR RESORT SHUT UNTIL DEC 2021

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE reopening of Club Med’s Columbus Isle Resort in San Salvador has been postponed until December 2021, dealing a massive blow to that island’s economy.

A lawyer for Club Med informed Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis of the decision in a September 14 letter obtained by The Tribune.

CLUB Med in San Salvador.

The operator is prioritising some of its other resorts around the world. Concerns about San Salvador’s ability to handle a health crisis factored into its postponement decision.

The resort shut down in March after the government banned international flights from France because of COVID-19.

Lawyer Clement Maynard, in a letter to Dr Minnis, noted Club Med has had all of its 70 worldwide resorts temporarily closed at one point during the crisis.

“Club Med is aware of, and comforted by, the efforts made by your

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FOUR

THE Bahamas “is as far from becoming the Singapore of the Americas as a fifth division soccer team is from the UK’s Premier League”, a prominent banker warned yesterday.

Gregory Pepin, Deltec Bank & Trust’s chief executive, told a webinar this nation has much work to do before realising its ambitions.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY

APPLE DEBUTS DISCOUNT WATCH - BUT NO PHONE

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

ASSEMBLY SHUTS AS STAFFER HAS VIRUS from page one

House Speaker Halson Moultrie said he has recommended parliamentarians and Parliament staff take a COVID-19 test.

“Persons who interacted with the employee, without following the preventative measures of wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance and limiting the time spent with the employee to less than 15 minutes will be required to quarantine,” the Cabinet Office statement said.

The House of Assembly will meet this morning for a short session with just over the quorum of members, Cabinet Office said.

Nonetheless, Picewell Forbes, the leader of opposition business in the House, said opposition members will not attend the sitting as a precaution.

“The leader of the opposition tried unsuccessfully to reach the prime minister about the resumption of Parliament (today) because we believe that in the circumstance, parliamentarians would be sending the wrong message to the Bahamian people and potentially expose House members to an unnecessary risk,” Mr Forbes said. “The opposition leader also sent a note to the prime minister on this matter at the time of this release but got no response.”

Yesterday, Speaker Moultrie said today’s sitting will be extraordinary.

“The government would determine what the agenda would be. We had a number of bills scheduled to be debated but in the circumstances it is likely several resolutions would take precedence over the scheduled agenda,” he said.

He said Parliament could agree to meet virtually.

“Right now the rules don’t allow for members to

meet virtually but Parliament has the constitutional authority to regulate itself so we can legally move to a hybrid format, we can meet virtually completely or move to a larger facility that would permit all members to attend,” he said.

Parliamentary staff work at both the House of Assembly and the Senate.

Speaker Moultrie said health officials have recommended that parliamentarians and Parliament staff take the COVID-19 test.

“We received information (Monday) that it was possible that a member of staff of the House of Assembly who was exhibiting COVID-19 type symptoms could possibly test positive and the test was done at Doctors Hospital West and I received a call that the result was positive,” he said. “What that means is that all persons who have been exposed to the staff member who tested positive would likely have to follow the COVID19 protocols which means that all members of the House of Assembly and staff as well as possible senators they would have to quarantine for 14 days.

It is being recommended by myself and the doctors that members of Parliament and staff members take the COVID-19 test.”

Asked if there is concern the worker interacted with elected officials during last week’s sitting, Parliamentary Clerk Davis Forbes said: “Definitely there would be concerns.

The House of Assembly is a small space, a closed environment, and you’re not even aware if you’re coming into close contact with people unless you have this situation because you’re just going about doing your work. This is a new thing that we’re dealing with and that person would have had some

contact with members.

This would’ve been one of my staff who crosses the floor.”

Fred Mitchell, the leader of opposition business in the Senate, said PLP Senator Jobeth Coleby-Davis planned to support an adjournment of Senate proceedings on Monday after the attorney general informed them that a staff member was suspected of COVID-19.

“I was later told that the notice or summons for the Senate meeting was cancelled,” Mr Mitchell said.

“This is a procedure which I do not agree with but that’s what they did. There are circumstances where in emergencies Parliament can’t meet but there is a procedure for doing that and I don’t think the appropriate procedure was followed in these circumstances. A formal statement ought to be issued by the appropriate authorities as to why the body did not meet.”

Mr Mitchell and PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis are in quarantine following recent trips abroad.

Mr Davis previously tested positive for the virus and returned home last Friday following treatment in the United States for the disease and subsequent recovery.

Top officials in the past have gone into voluntary self-quarantine following potential exposure to COVID-19.

Last month the Cabinet Office announced that both Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest entered selfquarantine after the Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre was exposed to someone with COVID-19 and required cleaning and sanitization. It was ultimately determined that Dr Minnis nor Mr Turnquest faced minimal risk.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 3

‘Scores’ of teachers report to work late, says union

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

Certainly not the 1,000 that some are claiming. Probably more in the order of fewer than 500, but it still was a number that was SCORES of teachhigher than usual. I haven’t ers reported to work late had any reports today yesterday, according to about industrial action. No Bahamas Union of Teachone reported anything to ers president Belinda me at this point. I checked Wilson, in frustration over a with superintendents and lack of a proper work-from- they indicated that in their home plan and for their districts all was going well.” salaries not to be cut while Mr Taylor went on to they are in quarantine. say the Family Islands did On Monday, Mrs Wilson not have any indication of said about 1,000 of the industrial action yesterday nation’s public educators apart from, “one or two called in sick in protest. teachers that were absent”.

However education officials Mrs Wilson said the have disputed this figure. teachers’ action was also National examinations, to support Family Island postponed earlier in the teachers who are stranded year, started on Monday in New Providence, Grand and were to be invigilated Bahama and other islands.

by Ministry of Education “Some are in New Proviteachers. dence, Grand Bahama and “As you are aware, teach- in other Family Islands ers called in yesterday where they would have (Monday),” Mrs Wilson spent the summer or said. “They remained home since the lockdown they and I must say that we would have gone to family had around The Bahamas, members,” Mrs Wilson coninclusive of some of the tinued. “So there is a large Family Islands, approxi- number of teachers that mately 1,000 teachers that are in New Providence or called in. And, I really want other places who are awaitto make clear their reason ing the COVID-19 test in for calling in. order for them to report to “They called in to support the schools that they are teachers who have tested assigned. So that’s a conpositive for COVID. They cern. We are also in support called in to support those of even those teachers, their persons having colleagues and ‘We would to pay for the their families have received COVID-19 who have lost test.” information loved ones.

Mrs Wilson We would that teachers, has called for have received who have to be a proper docuinformation ment outlining quarantined for that teachers, what should who have to 14 days, salaries and should be quarantined will be cut or they not happen for 14 days, while teachsalaries will be will be on half ers work from cut or they will pay or they will their homes. be on half pay have to put in for She said she or they will has had no sathave to put special unpaid isfaction from in for special leave. And, if you the Ministry of unpaid leave. are quarantined Education on And, if you are this matter. or you contract quarantined or “Although you contract COVID, it’s not school has COVID, it’s any fault of yours.’ opened, we not any fault still do not of yours. So we have a ‘work think that is a very strong- from home’ policy in armed approach and we are place,” the BUT presiasking for that to be recon- dent continued. “So I am sidered, but that is actually awaiting now the permaa position that came from nent secretary to confirm a the government and not just meeting which we should the Ministry of Education.” have, probably between Marcellus Taylor, direc- now and Thursday, to distor of education, said the cuss and agree on a work national exams went on from home policy. Howwith no disruptions and ever, being in the COVID there was an adequate environment and having amount of personnel there to teach from home for six to invigilate. And, while months, by now we thought downplaying the impact of the Ministry should have the BUT industrial action, had a proper work from he said the numbers of home policy draft to prethose taking part were not sent to the union. as large as reported.

“They did present “We conducted the exams something to us, but it is yesterday,” Mr Taylor said. inadequate. We are also “We got no reports that supporting teachers with anything went unusual. We underlying (health) issues conducted exams today and those in the vulnerable (Tuesday), again, we didn’t group, who are being told get reports of anything unu- by their principals ‘oh! You sual happening; that there have to come to work’. That was anything that compro- is a concern for us.” mised our ability to deliver She also said that tablets and administer those promised to teachers were exams. given to them however, they “In terms of industrial are not compatible with a activity, we did have an programme they need for usual number of persons the virtual classrooms. being absent yesterday.

“Teachers do not have the

24 MORE CASES AND ONE DEATH IN LATEST NATIONAL FIGURES THE Ministry of Health confirmed 24 additional cases of COVID-19 and one more related death yesterday.

This pushed the number of confirmed cases to 3,032 and confirmed deaths to 69.

There is also one more death under investigation, officials said.

The latest death is an 83-year-old New Providence man who died on September 11.

“A non-COVID-19 related death is also confirmed, and one more death is now under investigation,” officials said. “These unfortunate deaths increase the number of deaths

tools they need. Last week the Ministry of Education gave teachers tablets, but the tablets were incompatible with Zoom so we could not use them,” she said. “We have asked for six feet distancing in the classroom and we’ve asked for a barrier or plexiglass around the teachers’ workstation. Safety is really important and that is where our focus is.”

In a recent statement, the Ministry of Education said schools were safe and said assertions to the contrary were designed to “create public panic among teachers, students and parents, in pursuit of the BUT president’s selfish goal of derailing the national examinations”.

under investigation to 11, nonCOVID-19 related deaths to nine, and the death toll now stands at 69.”

Asked on Monday if officials made the right decision to reopen most businesses in New Providence despite rising cases, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said lockdowns are not sustainable.

“Whether or not we opened everything or just a few things certainly what we require to happen as we move forward is that we follow the necessary public health measures in order to decrease the likelihood of spread,” she said Monday.

“I think we often say when we

To this Mrs Wilson responded, “That press release coming out of (Ministry of) Education, which I have sent on to the union’s lawyers, personally attacking me, I think has taken education to the lowest of the low. Because whenever Belinda Wilson speaks, Belinda Wilson never speaks as the individual but she speaks as the president of the Bahamas Union of Teachers, as the chief spokesperson of the Bahamas Union of Teachers and any issue that I would have brought to the Ministry over the years never has a personal benefit to me. So my job is to voice the concerns of my members and I will continue to do that.”

BODY FOUND IN PARKING LOT

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A MAN’S body was discovered in a vehicle located in the parking lot of Goodman’s Bay on Tuesday.

ASP Audley Peters said at this stage, the incident is not being treated as a homicide nor is it suggested it’s a suicide.

“At the moment, it is considered as a sudden death and until we get the autopsy report to indicate otherwise,” ASP Peters told reporters.

He explained that shortly before 10am Tuesday, police received reports of a body being found inside a vehicle in the parking lot.

“Police responded and on their arrival they

A BODY is taken from Goodman’s Bay yesterday. discovered in a gray vehicle, a male’s body crouched under the passenger seat.

An examination of this body was conducted. There were no injuries found to (his) body and that’s all the information that we have at this time,” ASP Peters said.

Prison Commissioner Charles Murphy also visited the scene.

When asked about Mr Murphy’s presence, ASP Peters said information suggested the deceased was a correctional officer.

“There’s information within the vehicle that

there’s a possibility that this individual might be a prison officer and so that’s why his presence was here this morning to confirm but at this moment we’re not confirming or denying whether that individual (was a prisoner officer),” ASP Peter said.

are asked a question like that that public health must always take into consideration other things that are happening in a particular environment and there has to be a balance.

We would have had a number of lockdowns, we had curfews, we had a number of very restrictive to minimally restrictive measures put in place early on and we did fairly well.

“Doing those things indefinitely is not sustainable so we have to balance the public health measures alongside the economic and the social measures and challenges that come along with the lockdowns,” Dr McMillan said.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Resort delays ‘not a complete surprise’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DAYS after several major resorts announced they will not reopen on October 15, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday admitted the news was not a complete surprise to officials as hotel operators had already indicated their intent to resume operations after the US election in November.

His comments come after a number of the country’s top resorts including Baha Mar, its Melia Nassau Beach property and Club Med in San Salvador announced they will not reopen on October 15, the date recommended by the tourism ministry for the resort industry’s return.

Some resorts have even indicated that they may not resume operations until Christmas, with one property saying it won’t reopen until late 2021.

Speaking to reporters on the issue ahead of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.

D’Aguilar said while the said that we will be reopendecisions made by hotels ing on October 15. were not entirely a shock “So obviously, we’ve to his ministry, officials still been in discussions with decided to resume with its Baha Mar and with Atlanreopening plans for hotels tis and we were well aware in a bid to jumpstart the that they were not going country’s leading industry. to open, certainly not on He said: “So, we were October 1. So, we were well well aware of the position aware of that. of a number of the hotels.

“A number of those large Clearly, Baha Mar made an hotels indicated that they announcement in July that wanted to wait until after they would be opening on the American elections and October the first and when possibly open just before I had my press conference, I Thanksgiving and possibly

before Christmas and we said ‘okay fine, that’s fair enough’.

“But we’re going to go ahead and announce on October 15 to get the ball rolling, to get people starting to think about it. It takes a little bit of time to ramp up so we decided to go with October 15 as a day to get everybody to start thinking about it.

“Opening a large hotel is a very complex and difficult undertaking.

“It’s so many moving parts that you have to get in place and in addition to that, they have to be comfortable with the fact their core markets out of the United States - where they would be receiving most of their guests - are in a position to travel right now.”

The requirements for visitors entering the country includes having a negative RT-PCR test that is no older than five days and quarantining for 14 days upon arrival.

Acknowledging that the requirements may not be “as tourism friendly” as other destinations, Mr D’Aguilar

said officials are constantly reviewing the COVID-19 travel restrictions to create a balancing act that will facilitate the rebound of the country’s tourism industry in a safe manner.

“We think that there is demand but there are certain impediments in place that make it more difficult to come to this destination,” he said. “So, for example, you have a health visa, you have to get a COVID-19 test. You have to quarantine and vacation in place for 14 days and some people see that as an impediment to travel.

“But we understand why our health professionals, our public health professionals are making those requirements. It’s not as tourism friendly as it could be but we understand why they are doing what they’re doing.”

He added: “And we’re constantly reviewing how we can keep some of those effects in place but in some instances ease them as much as possible.”

As it relates to domestic

travel, Mr D’Aguilar said “for the time being”, the current restrictions must remain in place in order to avoid further community spread.

“I know it’s an impediment to tourism, domestic tourism but right now we think that that’s more important to keep those restrictions in place to stop the spread to those islands,” the Freetown MP said.

“Because obviously the health facilities on those islands are very limited in most instances. So, we are very mindful of not creating a situation that exists here in New Providence in the more remote of our family islands and so the public health officials believe that we have to for the time being keep those rather rigid restrictions in place.”

Earlier this month, Mr D’Aguilar said he hopes there can be full re-opening of the tourism sector by early November with tourism officials eying November 1 for the reopening of tourism attractions, tours and excursions.

“The Club Med resorts are reopening in phases–– starting first with the resorts which benefit from strong and accessible medical support combined with a local domestic tourism market. The Club Med Columbus Isle Resort is situated on San Salvador, a remote Family Island with extremely limited healthcare infrastructure (only a small clinic) and no transatlantic airlift. This lack of infrastructure poses an extreme challenge to Club Med and places the resort in the later phases of the company’s reopening plans.

“As a precaution to

opening as the situation evolves but at this time it is not considered likely for the resort to reopen prior to December 2021.”

The letter added: “As an owner, resort operator and long-time tourism industry partner with the government of the Bahamas for over 45 years, Club Med has faced temporary closures in the past, including after September 11th (9/11) and after the impact from hurricanes. With collaboration with the government, and perseverance from Club Med, it was feasible for Club Med to re-open after such temporary closures

and offer a better future for all concerned. Club Med wishes to assure the government that this remains Club Med’s approach.

“We advise that Club Med is to be in communication with the Ministries of Tourism and Aviation, and Labour, and with the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union to discuss its decision with them.”

Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis said the news is “economically devastating” for San Salvador, which is part of his constituency.

He suggested in a statement that the Minnis administration has not done all it could to make quicker reopening attractive for the operator, adding the administration should help the resort reopen by Christmas this year.

“I also note a troubling

trend,” he said. “Every time the FNM is in office, this important resort and economic lifeline is closed and it takes a PLP government to cause its reopening.

This is a grave economic injustice and disservice to the good and hardworking people of San Salvador.

“They deserve much better.

I am not satisfied that the government has and is doing enough to address the concerns of the resort to facilitate the reopening of Club Med in a reasonable time frame consistent with the government’s national economic reopening policy.

“The government cannot be seen to be AWOL and non-responsive in respect to the resort’s expressed concerns and Club Med’s decision to delay the reopening of its Columbus Isles property until December 2021.”

SAN SALVADOR RESORT SHUT UNTIL DEC 2021 from page one

government in relation to this pandemic and your government’s continued efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to care for Bahamian citizens and residents,” he wrote.

“Club Med takes as its highest priority the safety and security of its staff and guests and the health of the local communities in which its resorts are located. During this time of economic distress and international health crisis, Club Med has decided on a phased approach to reopening its resorts.

ensure the safety of the Bahamian residents of the island of San Salvador and the health and safety of Club Med’s staff, guests and providers, the difficult decision has been made by Club Med to postpone the re-opening of the Columbus Isle Resort until a later phase in December 2021.

This decision was not made lightly by Club Med but with great consideration to the importance of the health and safety of its staff, guests, partners and the local community. Club Med will continue to monitor developments and to assess the feasibility of an earlier

$6.1M ROAD WORKS FOR GRAND BAHAMA

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ROAD reconstruction and improvement work at a cost of some $6.1m is expected to be completed by the government on Grand Bahama this year.

Reconstruction work of some eight miles of road in East, Central and West Grand Bahama is underway.

In West Grand Bahama, Mrs Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, and Administrator for West Grand Bahama Mrs Cristian Palacious had agitated for road works to be undertaken in that constituency.

Both women played a major role in identifying areas that pose immediate danger and hazard to the motoring public, and areas with potholes that needed temporary patching.

Waugh Construction Bahamas Ltd, which was engaged to carry out work, continued with work during

the COVID-19 Emergency Lockdown order.

Worked progressed steadily throughout the West Grand Bahama District, which also includes both Central Grand Bahama and West Grand Bahama & Bimini constituencies.

Patchwork has been completed in West Grand Bahama District; Bayshore Road, Eight Mile Rock from Bartlett Hill to Jones Town; Queen’s Highway, Eight Mile Rock (Hepburn Town, Bartlett Hill, Hanna Hill, Martin Town, Russell Town, Jones Town, Holmes Rock); Queen’s Highway, West End; Bayshore Road, West End; Seagrape Community, Eight Mile Rock; Multiple side roads in West End; Hunters and Pinder’s Point main roads; Side roads in Eight Mile Rock (Hepburn Town, Bartlett Hill, Hanna Hill, Martin Town, Russell Town, Jones Town, Holmes Rock). And, in the East Grand Bahama District work has been completed in Mather Town.

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 5

Dames insists crime figures for Abaco are ‘quite correct’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames yesterday defended the police crime statistics for Abaco, insisting the crime decline cited by Police Commissioner Paul Rolle “is quite correct”.

His comments come after the police chief told a local daily earlier this month that crime on the island had decreased by 39 percent compared with last year’s statistics.

The statistics were revealed amid heightened calls for more officers to be deployed to Abaco as looting and theft continue to persist on the island, hindering the rebuilding efforts there more than a year after Hurricane Dorian hit.

“Prior to Dorian, there were 48 police officers on the island and some 30

police reservists, many of whom were inactive,” the commissioner told The Nassau Guardian.

“Today we have 67 police officers on the island of Abaco – 45 percent more than prior to the storm.

The police force took all of the available rental accommodations that they were willing to rent to us.

“So, while there is this great focus on the dysfunction of the police and the fake rise in crime, I believe that this is a great time for all concerned to ensure that the police have adequate living accommodation.”

Many Abaco residents have since criticised the Commissioner’s remarks, branding the statistics as “false”, “misleading” and not an actual representation of what’s happening on the ground.

Some observers have even noted incidents of theft and housebreaking to

PYRAMID SCHEMES CASH IN ON CRISIS from page one

A relative introduced her to the concept, who insisted that she only needed an initial payment of $200. Once that was paid, she would also have to recruit two others to join, and then she could expect to receive $2,400 in return.

It’s been eight weeks since then, but Ms Wright is still waiting to learn when she’ll cash out with the money she was promised.

“It seemed a little suspicious to me. I was hesitant at first,” she told The Tribune yesterday. “But this relative told me he’d been ‘blessed’ from this circle a few times. He said it was a concept introduced to him from friends in the US. They say it’s helping African-Americans and black communities to get their own chunk of wealth.

“I followed his instructions, he said to give him my money and to get some others to join, which I did do. They put everyone’s names in this flower and the more people join, the closer you get to a payout until eventually you get paid. Then they require you to put money in again to ensure it continues.”

But the scheme has hit a snag, Ms Wright said.

“He’s said we need more people. Until that happens, we are all in the same position in terms of getting a payout. So here I am eight weeks later out of $200 and waiting on phantom money.”

Asked if she regretted the decision to participate, Ms Wright said she had mixed feelings.

“No one forced me. I didn’t have to but I did. It’s a lesson learned.”

According to the Securities Commission, a group calling itself ‘Foundation Family Sou Sou’ based in the United States, has launched a financial programme they claim is linked to traditional African sou sous, similar to Bahamian asues.

The financial programme has been deployed in The Bahamas under the names ‘Fire Starter’, ‘Magnolias Jr’, ‘The Winning Team’, ‘Ujamma Family & Friends Share Plan’, ‘242 Financial Partners’ and ‘Everybody Eats’. This programme, in its various forms, carries the same characteristics of fraudulent Ponzi and/or

pyramid schemes. “… Ponzi and Pyramid schemes are very harmful to the unsuspecting public as invariably, any payouts for all people joining these schemes depends solely on funds coming from the people who join afterwards,” the commission said.

“So, without new investors, money for payouts very soon becomes insufficient. Therefore, under no circumstances are these schemes to be viewed as bona fide investment programmes as they tend by their nature to involve fraud.

“The commission hereby advises that the activity of any of the names listed above, or their agents or consultants, should be viewed as very high-risk and unsafe.

“Therefore, members of the public are advised to avoid these schemes for themselves and to not engage in soliciting persons to join such schemes. Persons who decide to join do so at their own risk. Anyone who is concerned about having transacted with the above-named entities, their agents or their consultants, should contact the police.”

Pyramid schemes are scams where promoters claim they can turn a small investment into large profits within a short period of time. In reality, participants make money solely by recruiting new participants into the programme.

The scheme gathers momentum until it crashes. Fraudsters behind these schemes typically go to great lengths to make their programmes appear to be legitimate multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes, but the schemes eventually fall apart when it becomes impossible to recruit new participants, which can happen quickly.

A Ponzi scheme is similar to a pyramid scheme, the primary difference being that a Ponzi scheme involves the scheme’s operators persuading other persons to invest sums of money with the scheme, purportedly involving an investment vehicle of some kind, in return for a greater sum of money or payout; the scheme’s operators normally claim that there is little to no risk to the initial sum invested. However, there is no investment, no investment vehicle and no investment product.

be an almost daily occurrence for the island and its surrounding cays.

On Sunday an Abaco resident posted footage on social media of two unknown men entering his property, as he appealed for public assistance to identify the individuals.

“It’s rampant. Theft is rampant here. It’s absolutely an epidemic,” the island’s Chamber of Commerce president, Ken Hutton told Tribune Business last week.

“You have to literally tie everything down in the night and hope it is there in the morning. My businesses are still getting broken into on a regular basis… It’s not that crime is down; it’s that people have lost faith in the system.”

However, yesterday Mr Dames defended the statistics, suggesting the decline does not mean officials believe crime is entirely

absent on the island.

“Again, crime could be down and you could still have an issue,” he told reporters ahead of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

“Policing is more than numbers you know. There are quality of life issues.

“Abaco and essentially to the same extent Grand Bahama that were impacted by Dorian, there are a number of other issues too and oftentimes, the police are put at the front and centre of those and so the commissioner is quite correct from a statistical standpoint, crime is down.”

He added: “But again, it’s the quality of life issues and it’s the feeling of being safe and when you are in such an environment where infrastructure would’ve been totally impacted, and the normal cause of life would’ve been disturbed significantly.

“That brings added

pressure to this overall situation so as in our discussions, it’s a matter of keeping the communication lines open with law enforcement and whenever someone is experiencing an issue that they know exactly where to challenge that and how to get results.

“And so, it’s more than just focusing on a number and the commissioner understands that fully right as I said before, police is more than numbers.”

On Sunday, Mr Dames, Mr Rolle and Defense Force Commodore Raymond King along with other officials travelled to Abaco to address concerns by islanders in regard to crime and other issues.

Yesterday, the minister told reporters that the trip was “a very productive one.”

He added that officials have been revising its strategies to ensure that the public is safe.

“We have a good number

of officers on Grand Bahama, police and defence force and the commissioner and the commodore are looking at their strategies and looking on how they can improve on it,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s more than manpower, sometimes it’s more than that. In Abaco, for example, there was a lot of destruction and so it’s managing within a disaster as is often the case.

You have to adjust from time to time and that’s what is currently being done.”

Asked if the new strategies will address the theft concerns of Abaco residents, the minister replied: “Listen, this is the normal course of doing business and so I don’t want to continue to beat down on that.

The police and the defence force have been revising their strategies and not changing their strategies, making adjustments where necessary.”

CENTENARIAN RECEIVES BIRTHDAY GREETINGS FROM GOVERNOR GENERAL

GOVERNOR General Cornelius A Smith presents Isaac Richard McKenzie, of Kemp Road, with a gift basket and plaque in celebration of his 100th birthday yesterday. Also pictured is Francis McKenzie Oliver, his daughter.

Photos: Letisha Henderson/BIS

PAGE 6, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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We must face this hard truth Are we out of our league?

There is often talk about trying to get The Bahamas to emulate Singapore as a financial success story – but for those dreaming of such things, the words of Gregory Pepin, of Deltec Bank & Trust, are an awakening. A rude one at that.

He dismisses such talk as being as ridiculous as dreaming of becoming a Manchester United in English football terms when in reality you are a Dover Athletic. Who are they? Well, that’s the point. We are not anywhere close to the big league, says Mr Pepin.

It’s hard to argue with him – with the ease of doing business in The Bahamas having long been an obstacle, and the difficulty of trying to generate investment.

He also pointedly refers to the major service providers – BPL, Cable Bahamas and BTC – as “a joke” for their unreliable or costly services.

Some will bridle at such criticisms, but we know our own problems. It’s not as if we have been able to count on reliable electricity as a constant, for example.

At the weekend, there were two major power outages in New Providence, one of them island-wide.

You can’t appeal to major investors and say come and build your empire here and then say oh, but our power supply is unreliable.

Time and again, we hear stories of investors finding it difficult to cut through red tape. Where is the investor culture to help people start businesses?

Where is the information exchange between fellow entrepreneurs to help develop a different outlook, and to learn from one another to help everyone grow?

Where, for that matter, is the money being put down by the government to encourage financial training, development of essential skills and more? That money is like planting a seed, in the hope it will grow and bring new life to the economy. Instead? We can’t even give out student loan money because previous students haven’t paid theirs back.

So it’s a harsh truth we hear from Mr Pepin – but it’s a truth nonetheless. If we

want to play in the big leagues, we have to make changes.

A scam, not an investment FAMOUSLY, the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute” is associated with one of the greatest showmen of all time, PT Barnum. Ironically enough, he never did actually say those words.

For those who do prey on suckers, however, or the gullible or worse, those in desperate need, there is never a shortage of schemes that can be used.

The Securities Commission has warned, yet again, of the danger of Ponzi and pyramid schemes. What are they? They’re schemes that promise a big payout for a small investment. They generally require people to recruit two others (or more) to join the scheme.

That’s why they call it a pyramid – because starting at the person at the top, the base keeps getting wider, and the money flows from those below to those above. The trouble is, there reaches a point where you cannot get enough people to expand the base – even if you had the whole planet investing. That’s when the money runs out, tempers get frayed, promises get broken and the whole scheme falls apart.

Such schemes rearing their very ugly head again at a time when so many are short of money is even worse. These schemes capitalise on people’s desperation. When you have only $200 to feed your family and someone tells you how you can turn that into $2,400, of course people at the sharp end are going to hold onto hope that it works out for them.

Sadly, the truth is that these schemes always end with more out of pocket.

They end friendships. They cause fights.

There’s an old saying and it holds as much truth in it today as it ever did – if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Don’t be a sucker, and don’t fall for these scams.

Who stands with our teachers?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT SEEMS that the battle between teachers and the ministry is a never ending one. School administrators seem to automatically take the side of the ministry while teachers have no choice but to run to the union to seek justice.

Why is it that there is no set person or department at the Ministry of Education charged with hearing and ruling on the grievances of teachers?

Many teachers suffer great injustices from school administrators and have no one to listen objectively to their case at the Ministry level. In fact it seems that Ministry officials seem to think that administrators are always right and can do no wrong. However, if they were to listen and look closely they would find that teachers can shed light on many situations and that in many cases they are being unjustly treated.

When it comes to making decisions about educational issues the Ministry of Education officials do not seem to value the input of teachers and they are the ones who know most about the business and details of education.

Last week a seminar was held virtually exposing teachers to all sorts of new software that they are expected to use to teach children virtually by October 5th.

Many teachers have told me that there is no way that they can competently use these programmes in such a short time. They prefer to use zoom powerpoint edmodo and other programmes that they used last term because they are comfortable and familiar with these methods of online teaching. They can use these competently until they go back to face-to-face learning.

Is any one listening though? Did any one ask teachers how they feel

about the new ideas put forth or how they feel about the sufficiency of measures being taken at their schools for COVID? Probably not and that is sad and very wrong.

If teachers feel like they are not being heard then they will scream and use the union to amplify their voices.

What is the answer?

Value what teachers have to say, value how they feel and take actions to show that that is the case.

Give them a department or person to go to directly when they feel they are being unjustly treated by administrators or any one in education.

Be fair to them, hear their voices and make changes accordingly.

Why is this such a hard thing to implement?

A wise man takes counsel.

A WISE VOICE Nassau, September 14, 2020.

We deny science at our peril EDITOR, The Tribune.

A LONG pattern of science denial has hoodwinked people from high school students to tertiary graduates resulting in monumental, financially ruinous and, sadly, fatal outcomes.

In late August last year, the Prime Minister went on national media and practically begged Bahamians in the north to evacuate out of harm’s way.

Scientists told us that global warming ferments ferocious hurricanes. Science deniers pushed a narrative that the PM’s pleas were a hoax designed to get undocumented people out in the open.

Others had a deep distrust of anything emanating in Nassau. Many sheltered in place.

Hurricane Dorian unleashed its fury and we are still digging out from the rubble, with scant attention paid to mitigation plans for future storms.

That Dorian spared New Providence, the science deniers say, had more to do with divine intervention than it had to do with the steering currents which pushed the storm to a northeasterly track just as the weather scientists had forecast.

Some Bahamians put more stock in faith than in fact. And it is costing lives, needlessly.

We have known for years that cigarettes unleash a carcinogen that is a probable cause of death. Yet people still disregard the science and light up.

There is something in human nature that causes some to dispense with scientific evidence and to completely dismiss logic.

Old beliefs are hard to shake even when the evidence is crystal clear.

In 1847 a young Hungarian obstetrician argued

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net to colleagues that hand washing would lower the rate of the spread of infections in hospitals. They laughed at him and doctors continued examining patients without rigorous hand washing. Infections proliferated.

Hand washing is now second nature in hospitals, but still the World Health Organization had to urge us to revive the practice in our daily lives to fight a pandemic.

It is true that not all people have access to clean running water. Most do, yet some still refuse to wash their hands to guard against coronavirus infection. Some refuse to wear masks in defiance of evidence which says the virus is airborne and that masks act as a particle trap offering a measure of protection.

Science went on to prove that we must stand apart at a distance that is as far as airborne particles typically travel through the air before falling to the ground.

The deniers rejected that finding and frolicked shoulder-to-shoulder even when science established that people who exhibited no symptoms of being unwell could still transmit the virus.

In 2017, for the first time we elected a scientist as Prime Minister. When he gave us science-based policy advice on how to protect ourselves from the virus some mocked him as a power hungry “competent authority” hell bent on lockdowns and taking away our liberties.

As we grapple with the ever-rising caseload of virus infections, we need to start looking over the precipice at another looming crisis soon to be embraced by science deniers.

When a safe vaccine is ready for distribution, there will be a drumbeat of malarkey from the denial brigade who will refuse to take it because it must be a conspiracy hatched by Bill Gates to depopulate the earth. Or it will cause autism or some such other baloney.

We believe a lot of things.

That seasonal flu vaccines are useless, or smallpox will be eradicated via herd immunity. Some believe the CEOs of big pharmaceutical companies gather around a smoldering cauldron à la Macbeth to invent viruses to fleece us of our cash.

While science denial is not new, it now has a ringmaster in the current US President. Privately, he doesn’t deny the science but in public he massages the truth for his own political benefit.

We are saturated with American news, often without filter. Just check the inbox on any social media account and it is likely to be filled with clips that are obviously fake. But we forward them on nonetheless, often attaching ‘like’ emojis. And so, the internet turns on one big unscientific head-fake.

Except now, people are dying through no fault of their own. Our economy, stuck in neutral since March, was slammed into reverse in August. And hurricane season isn’t over yet.

Earth’s first scientist, Galileo, said: “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use”.

But that’s precisely what some of us do every day.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, September 13, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 7

DAMES HINTS AT CHANGES TO VOTING PROCESS - BUT NO DETAILS

MARVIN DAMES, Minister of National Security.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government will be making changes to the voting process for the upcoming 2022 election, according to National Security Minister Marvin Dames.

However, he did not detail what those changes would include.

“It’s also a process,” he told reporters yesterday when asked about the issue.

“As we would’ve

promised in our manifesto that we will be making changes to this overall process of voting. We have done some work and we still have a lot more work to do and as promised by this government, we intend to do it.

“There will be some changes but how significant I don’t know.

We’ve had Dorian and now COVID-19 and so many (changes) what we would’ve hoped to achieve, some of what would’ve hoped to have achieved

obviously would’ve been impacted from the timeline standpoint.

“But we are as promised, we are working assiduously to get to where we need to go but the timelines will certainly impact when we get there.”

Mr Dames also told reporters that changes relating to the voter registration process will be made known to the public “very shortly”.

“We will be getting back to you shortly,” he said.

“We would’ve started

‘Industry is on brink’ warns gym owner

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net THE fitness industry, which has only operated for three weeks since March, is now at the brink of financial ruin, according to gym owner Charles Johnson.

Under COVID-19 Emergency Orders, the fitness industry was closed down in March of this year and then reopened in July for just three weeks, only to be closed down again with no word on when it will reopen.

Charles Johnson, proprietor of Out Da Box Fitness, said although stakeholders of his industry have contacted the Office of the Prime Minister about their fate, little to no word has been given to direct them.

“From March until now, I think it is most disheartening that we haven’t had any type of communication to the entire industry from the

competent authority,” Mr Johnson noted. “You would think as business people, like every industry was addressed, even down to the coconut selling boys, someone could have addressed the fitness industry.

“We reached out to different ministers and the most response we got back was from the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister who answered us with a oneliner – ‘we will address gyms shortly’. That was after we sent in an almost two-page letter to the Office of the Prime Minister.”

Stakeholders in the fitness industry, Mr Johnson said, want to sit down with the competent authority and come to an agreement on the way forward.

“We want to sit down with the competent authority and come to a compromise because all gyms and fitness centres don’t operate alike,” he explained. “For example, my gym is just

group training. I am not a gym where you can go, pay for membership and use the equipment by yourself. I am a class based gym with 15 people per class.

“Some facilities just have personal trainers where they operate one-on-one.

It seems like they have the industry under one gym umbrella, but everyone doesn’t operate alike and that’s what we want to sit down and discuss. If people would monitor the Ministry of Health press conferences, when they put up the charts and did their contact tracing, the highest piece of that pie were offices, people at home, government agencies. Gyms were not on the list, but yet, no one is telling us why we are closed. Let’s hear from the competent authority so we can plan.”

If COVID restrictions continue to be held against the fitness industry, Mr Johnson said, then the future looks very grim and “casualties” can be

Private Funeral Service For Errol Cripus Munroe, 87

of #16 Sea Breeze Boulevard and formerly of Duncan Town, Ragged Island will be held at 10:00 a.m. at Chapel of Cedar Crest Funeral Home and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Baillou Hill Roads, on Thursday, September 17th, 2020. Officiating will be Rev’d. Fr. Hugh Bartlett assisted by other members of the Clergy. Interment will be made in Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road.

Due to the Government’s restrictions on funeral attendance as a result of the Covid-19 Global Pandemic, attendance at the funeral service and interment will be restricted to 10 persons.

He was predeceased by his first wife Irmath Nee Strachan Munroe; Parents: Manell and Raphael Munroe; Sisters: Iris Lockhart, Irma Moxey, Marjorie Wallace, Savaleata Lockhart and Cloretha Wilson; Brothers: Churton, Leslie, Edwin and Richard Munroe.

Errol is survived by his Wife: Faydora; Sons: Eugene, Drexel, Crispus and Stephen; Daughters: Sabrina Wright and Dr. Margo Munroe; Grandchildren: Dominic, Cristal, Selena, Simone, Sophia, Ernest, D’Atra, Errol, Denise, John, La’Shun, Cristianna, Ralphael, Crispus, Stephanie, Stephen Jr. and Shenae; Great grandchildren: Madison, Kem, Isabella, Eriyana and Reign; Sister: E. Verdell Ferguson; Son-inlaw: Burkie Wright; Daughters-in-law: Avis Munroe and Jackie Munroe; Brotherin-law: Clarence Ferguson II; Sisters-in-law: Mary Munroe and Elizabeth Munroe; Numerous Family Members including: Boycle (Sandra), Lesardo (Malvese), Raphael (Ida), James (Birgitha), Delphine, Dr. Mercianna Moxey & families, Calvin (Felice), Florine, Esteleena, Raphael (Majorie) & James (Martha) Wallace & families, Celestine (Robert) Cox & family, Michael, Julian (Felicien), Gerard (Gerry),Wilson, Karen Coleby & Juliette Wilson-Fraser & families, Prudence (Don) Mackey & family, Marvin (Monique), Dudley (Cenedell), Tricia & Thomas Lockhart & families, Elise Stubbs & family ,Valarie Cleare & family, Carla (Mark) Bastian & family, Deborah (Bruce) Johnson & family, Lisa Hall & family, Richard, Chantal & Rev. Stephen (Nadine) Munroe, E. Earilee Munroe & families, Dr. Locksley (Marjorie), Alaric (Sheila), Allan (Wanina), Richard (Adrianna), Carmelina, Carla, Rowena and Blondell Munroe & families, Kevin (Wandza), Marilyn, Raphael, & families, Lorraine (Charles) Strachan & family, Marina (Whitney) Stubbs & family, Patrice Taylor and family, Leslie (Tracey) Derwin, Lanson (Patrice), Manell Munroe & families, Criselle (Alexis) King & family, Chaunece & Miles Saunders, Cherise (Byron) Toote & family, Clarence Ferguson III, Candice Munroe & family, Lakeiska Lightbourne & family, Elvetha, Ernest, Preston (Mike) Lockhart & family, Captain Emmett Munroe & family, Arlington Munroe & family; grand nieces, grand nephews and cousins too numerous to mention; he will also be missed by: the members of St Anne’s Church, the Ragged Island, Fort Fincastle and Mason’s Addition communities and many more too numerous to mention; Special thanks to: Dorothy (Betty) Brown and John McDowell (caregivers).

Relatives and friends may pay their respects at Cedar Crest Funeral Home and Crematorium Ltd, Robinson and Baillou Hill Roads on Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.

consultation and a lot of those consultations will be with members of the press as to what is being recommended by the parliamentary commissioner, who with his team would’ve done a significant amount of work, in light of where we are currently so that voters won’t be disenfranchised.

“We’ve always been a nation where people come out to vote and we don’t want to impact that in any way from a negative standpoint.”

CHARLES JOHNSON, owner of Out Da Box Fitness

expected soon.

“So now we are racking up huge overhead,” he said, continuing. “You have to pay BPL, rent and some people own their facilities.

Then there is the upkeep and some staff had to be laid off. On top of that you have a membership that has to be pushed back. Those are memberships that would have been utilised from January. Now you owe people memberships that have to be honoured. No doubt I will have to downsize and I have operated my

facility for almost ten years.

“I operate a 3,000 square feet facility. My landlord is very gracious, but the year is almost over and we will have some casualties in the industry. This is normally the slow period in the industry, there are memberships we have to honour obviously there have not been new memberships. This is a cash flow business based on the number of people coming in and out. This is a debacle and we just want some word so people can plan whether they want to

stay in business or move on.”

The Minnis administration recently relaxed some restrictions on exercise, allowing outdoor group exercise to resume during limited hours and many businesses have been allowed to resume operations under certain guidelines.

However “high-risk businesses” such as casinos, bars, discos, cinemas, gyms, regattas, festivals and similar activities remain prohibited.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS - BY NOW WE SHOULD KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING WE are six months in and the government still has not figured out how to respond to the COVID-19. From public health management to addressing economic concerns, there are far too many gaps. The main issue continues to be failure to consult. What does the government have against engaging experts, practitioners and affected people?

Tourism is supposed to restart in October, but major hotels are opting out. Reopening comes at cost and they are not prepared to absorb that cost just to be shut down again in a matter of weeks. They do not want to run the risk of mass infections and becoming breeding grounds for COVID-19.

It is clear they do not trust the government’s plans and, after the botched reopening in July and given the information we have now, it’s understandable.

We will definitely have to learn to live differently, knowing COVID-19 is not going away any time soon, but we need to care as much about the people the economy is meant to support as

By Alicia Wallace

we do about the economy itself. We have to plan for the worst, be prepared to take care of vulnerable people and be more creative in our responses and solutions.

We should have learned by now that tourism is not enough. It is a fickle beast and we cannot continue to rely on the unreliable. What else is there? What are we able to create? It is irresponsible to — in response to calls for diversification of the economy — focus solely on diversifying tourism. We are more than tourism.

Aside from the economy itself, we still need to put significant attention on the needs of our people.

Many parents are forced to be teacher’s assistants and technical support for their children in virtual learning environments, all while

having to work full-time and attend to other needs. Do all children have their own devices to use for school?

Do they have comfortable desks or tables with chairs they can be comfortable in and safely occupy all day?

Electricity outages have already caused disruption and internet service is not particularly reliable either.

Even our “solutions” fail to take our daily realities into account. We cannot replace in-person learning with virtual learning when we don’t have the infrastructure in place to support it and access to the necessary products and services is unequal.

It has been six months.

We should be further along.

There should be better ideas, diverse teams, and realistic solutions at work right now. This is our reality

and will be for the foreseeable future, and we are still fumbling in the dark.

The most basic needs are not being met. The most obvious gaps are not being filled. If people do not have enough food to eat, children cannot attend school in-person or online, business places can’t manage social distancing and people can’t receive proper post-natal care at the hospital, is our attention in the right place?

People need to work. For many, this depends on the tourism industry. There is no argument against the economic need to reopen.

We can see the government is not prepared to meet people’s needs so it is more inclined to make decisions that allow them to work.

The problem is that swinging the doors open isn’t enough.

It needs to make sense. It needs to be safe and sustainable. It must not result in another shutdown or mass outbreaks on hotel properties. The government needs to, as we often say, make it make sense. The reopening date is just one month away, so there is no time to waste.

VERZUZ: GLADYS KNIGHT AND PATTI LABELLE ON SUNDAY night, we were treated to a Verzuz event featuring Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle.

Social media was abuzz in the days leading up to the event, sharing expectations, jokes and tips for preparation.

One of the most popular topics was dinner. It was important to find out what everyone would cook on Sunday for what was being called “Auntiechella”— a play on Coachella.

African Americans focused on soul food, sharing photos of fried chicken, collard greens and macaroni and cheese. Once the food was sorted, outfits had to be chosen. People severely underestimated the style Gladys and Patti would bring, joking about wearing fuzzy slippers. They met over 300,000 people on Instagram waiting for them to appear, so they were not going to miss the opportunity to show off and show out.

Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle stepped out in style. They were, as we should have known, decked out in

pantsuits. Gladys’ was fully sequined, giving us disco ball energy. That should have been our first clue that she came with performance tracks, prepared to sing live. The highlight of Patti’s look was, of course, the pair of stilettos she rocked. She also had a display to her right which appeared to be a luggage set arranged like stairs, a different pair of stilettos on each level.

While singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Patti kicked off her shoes because that’s the way she does it on stage. She sat comfortably without shoes for a few minutes, but eventually took a pair from her display to put on.

The two women did not come to simply sit down, play songs, smile at each other, then go home. They gave us a show. We even got a cameo from Dionne Warwick who join Gladys and Patti in singing That’s What Friends Are For and Superwoman.

Watching the two women sit, chat and sing along to their songs was a joy. Their conversation was akin to

those that take place in the hours after a holiday dinner with family and close friends. They talked about their children and grandchildren, love for cooking and baking, quarantine weight gain, the music business and the friendship they share. They both came prepared to have a good night together, enjoying each other’s music as much as their own. They sang along, ad-libbed, danced in their seats and complimented each other’s music.

It was a beautiful display of friendship and mutual respect.

At 77 and 76 respectively, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle are still dedicated to the craft. They have protected their voices, maintained their images and captured the attention of people across generations.

Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Tim Cook were among the celebrities tuned in to Verzuz on Sunday.

For those who missed the event, the recording can be found on the Verzuz YouTube channel.

NAOMI Osaka wears a protective mask due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, featuring the name “George Floyd”.

OSAKA USES HER PLATFORM FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER NAOMI Osaka, 22, won her third Grand Slam title on Saturday afternoon in a match against Victoria “Vika” Azarenka who won against Serena Williams on Thursday night. It was a hard-won match as Osaka was down in the first set and had to fight hard to recover in the second set.

Azarenka was visibly quite confident, likely due in no small part to her win over Williams. She completely dominated in the first set and Osaka had to change her strategy in the second. In a post-match interview she said she did not think about winning or losing, but took it point-by-point. She is the first woman in 25 years to come back to win after being down in the first set.

Both players talk about the need to remain calm, so it was interesting to watch them work to keep their composure while trying to win. Throughout the tournament, Osaka had been strong in her serve and Azarenka in her return, so it was an exciting match-up from start to finish.

Throughout the tournament, Osaka has called attention to the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing protests. On August 27, she decided not to play in protest of the killing of Jacob

Blake at the hands of police. She said, “Before I am [an] athlete, I am a black woman and as a black woman, I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis.”

Players and teams in the NBA, WNBA and MLS make similar decisions which prompted postponement of the games.

At each of her matches, she wore a mask with the name of black person killed by police. On August 31, her mask had the name of Breonna Taylor who was killed in her apartment when police barged in on March 13. On September 2, the focus was on Elijah McClain who was put in a chokehold by police and later died in hospital.

Tamir Rice’s name was on the final mask on Saturday afternoon.

Whenever she is asked about the masks, Osaka says she wants people to talk about what is happening. If people have never heard of the people whose names she wears on her masks, she hopes they will go research and learn more about what happened to them and get involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 9

TECHTALK

APPLE DEBUTS DISCOUNT WATCH, BUT NO NEW iPHONES . . . YET

TOP iPHONE APPS ON APPLE STORE

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN RAMON, Calif.

(AP) — Apple introduced a cheaper version of its smartwatch, its latest attempt to broaden the appeal of its trend-setting products while many consumers are forced to scrimp during the coronavirus pandemic.

The scaled-down Apple Watch follows on the heels of a budget iPhone the company released five months ago as the economy cratered and unemployment rates rose above the levels reached during the Great Recession more than a decade ago.

Apple also took the wraps off a new high-end watch model, a next-generation iPad and a couple of new subscription services during a virtual event held Tuesday.

The company normally also rolls out its new iPhones at this time of year, but production problems caused by the pandemic have delayed

ABOVE: Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams unveils Apple Watch Series 6 on Tuesday. (Apple via AP)

LAURA LEGROS, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, unveils the all-new iPad Air on Tuesday. (Apple via AP) their release until at least October.

CEO Tim Cook didn’t mention iPhones during Tuesday’s one-hour presentation recorded at the company’s massive, but now mostly empty, headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The Apple Watch has never come close to rivaling the iPhone’s popularity, but

it does dominate the market for smartwatches. Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley estimates about 51 million Apple Watches will be sold this year, a 5% increase from last year. The research firm GlobalData pegs Apple’s share of the $64 billion smartwatch market at roughly 60%.

The new discount model,

called the Apple Watch SE, will sell for $279 and be available beginning Friday.

The price is a markdown from the $399 that Apple is asking for the next version of its higher end watch, the Series 6. Apple watches have been selling for an average of $377, based on Walkley’s calculations.

Apple added more features to help the watch monitor its owner’s health, including a sensor that can read blood oxygen levels.

The feature, specific to the Series 6, could be timely, given that COVID-19 frequently attacks the lungs.

Apple also announced a new fitness subscription service tailored for its watches for $10 per month, as well as a new option that will bundle

its existing music, video, news and gaming services into a package that will cost $15 to $30 per month.

Tens of millions of people already subscribe to Apple’s various services, helping the company double its revenue during the past four years within a division that creates products for the more than 1 billion iPhones, iPads, watches and other devices that the people already use.

The services division also includes Apple’s app store, which is under regulatory scrutiny for charging a commission of up to 30% for products sold through other companies who have no other option but to use the store to reach the mostly affluent consumers who buy iPhone products.

TOP PAID iPHONE APPS: 1. M inecraft, Mojang 2. H eads Up!, Warner Bros.

3. P rocreate Pocket, Savage Interactive Pty Ltd 4. Monopoly, Marmalade Game Studio 5. HotSchedules, HotSchedules 6. Bloons TD 6, Ninja Kiwi 7. True Skate, True Axis 8. G eometry Dash, RobTop Games AB 9. T ouchRetouch, ADVA Soft GmbH 10. Facetune, Lightricks Ltd. TOP FREE iPHONE APPS: 1. A mong Us!, Innersloth LLC 2. Z OOM Cloud Meetings, Zoom 3. 6 ix9ine Runner, Gamejam Co. 4. Y ouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream, Google LLC 5. Instagram, Instagram, Inc. 6. Gmail-Email, by Google 7. Google Meet, Google LLC 8. G oogle Classroom, Google LLC 9. Facebook, Facebook. Inc. 10. Snapchat, Snap, Inc.

AI ROBOTS SERVE RESTAURANT CUSTOMERS IN SOUTH KOREA

JUNG YOON KIM Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A burger shop in the South Korean capital is a bit different from typical fast food restaurants: Its key staff are robots.

From order to pick-up, customers don’t need a single face-to-face interaction. All they need to do is to click the menu they want on a kiosk touchscreen, pay and wait for a serving robot to bring their takeout bag to the pick-up spot.

While waiting for their food, customers take photos or stare with curiosity at the capsule-shaped robots, reminiscent of the popular minions characters from the animated film “Despicable Me.” The yellow and black accent colors of the No Brand Burger restaurant also give the place the look of a toy shop.

“This is the first time I’ve actually seen such robots, so they are really amazing and fun,” said Shin Hyun Soo, a 31-year-old office worker trying out the service.

The restaurant’s human manager, Bae Eunyoung, explained the process: When a customer orders at the kiosk, it is automatically sent to the kitchen. There, an automated cooking machine kicks in and heats the buns and patties.

The human staff do have a role to play, Bae explained, adding toppings to the cooked ingredients before wrapping them and passing them over to a robot to serve.

“The customer can take the food without any direct contact with the staff,” Bae said.

That’s been seen as a selling point amid the coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions.

Before it eased them on Monday, South Korea had for the last few weeks allowed restaurants to provide only deliveries and takeout

LEFT: An employee places a takeout bag with food at a robot at No Brand Burger in Seoul, South Korea. These robotic services have been seen as a selling point amid the coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

BELOW: AI serving robot from KT carries food and drinks during a demonstration at a restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

meals after 9 p.m. and franchised coffee shops like Starbucks to provide only takeout drinks.

The number of new reported coronavirus cases in South Korea almost doubled from 56 to 103 over two days in mid-August and continued to spike until it reached a peak of 441 daily cases on August 26. Since then the resurgence has slowed down but still climbs by at least 100 each day.

In August, takeout orders accounted for 58% of No Brand Burger’s total sales, up by 16% from July, according to Shinsegae Food, the South Korean food company that operates No Brand Burger.

No Brand Burger isn’t the only local restaurant using robots to serve customers.

South Korea’s major IT company KT has partnered with the family restaurant chain Mad for Garlic to provide AI serving robots.

Using 3D space mapping and other technology, the robot can freely move through the narrow lanes between tables and avoid obstacles to reach its destination, said Lee Youngjin, team leader of AI Platform Business Team at KT. The robot can serve up to four tables per trip.

“Children customers often like to see the robot. Also, customers in general feel it is fresher to receive their food through the robot because of the coronavirus,” said Lee Young-ho, the manager of one Mad for Garlic restaurant using the robots.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

MAN ACCUSED OF STABBING

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was charged with murder yesterday in connection with a fatal stabbing that occurred on Raymond Road last week.

Franco Ferguson, 23, appeared before Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux charged with the death of Charles Demeritte on September 11.

According to initial police reports, shortly after midnight on the day in question, police received reports of a physical argument between two men which occurred at a residence on Raymond Road.

Police said when officers responded to the complaint, they saw and spoke to a man who told them he was visiting the mother of his children, when another man with whom he was familiar and who was at the residence, approached him and an argument

followed. Police said the disagreement escalated into a physical altercation and when the man produced a knife, the man with whom the police spoke said he was able to take the knife from him.

However, during the argument, he stabbed the other man. The victim was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle where he later died from his injuries, police said.

During the hearing yesterday, Ferguson was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to December 7 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

In the meantime, the accused was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until trial.

Ferguson, who is represented by attorney Ian Cargill, has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

WOMAN WHO RAN ILLEGAL HAIR SUPPLY STORE GIVEN $1,800 FINE

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A JAMAICAN woman who ran an illegal hair supply store which she advertised on social media was fined $1,800 yesterday.

Samantha Morris, 23, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with engaging in gainful occupation after she was accused of operating a business in Tropical Gardens on February 13. The prosecution argued Morris was working in the country without leave to do so by an immigration officer.

The court heard immigration officers, acting on information, contacted Extreme Beauty Collection, whose proprietor was suspected to be a Jamaican national who did not have permission to work in the country.

Immigration officer Avia Beckford said Morris was advertising hair products on social media. She said officers from the department then contacted the defendant and made an appointment to purchase some of the said goods.

After placing the order, two female officers dressed in plain clothing proceeded to a condo in Tropical Gardens where they exchanged marked bills for the hair products they purchased.

They then left the establishment and another set of officers entered the building and identified themselves as immigration officers. They then asked the defendant for her passport and accompanied her to a room to retrieve the documents.

The court was told the room was filled with packaged hair, which Morris denied being the owner of. She was subsequently cautioned and taken to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre for further

investigation. While there, it was revealed that the cell phone number posted on the social media advertisements belonged to Morris.

As a result, she was further cautioned and informed that she was being arrested.

The officers also confiscated the marked bills they used to purchase the hair bundles.

During the hearing, Morris pleaded guilty. In his plea in mitigation, her attorney, Dion Smith, told the magistrate his client had no pending matters or previous convictions.

He also noted how Morris had expressed remorse for her actions from the outset and said she had already purchased a plane ticket to return to Jamaica on September 25.

In response, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said there could be no endorsement for Morris coming to The Bahamas and engaging in work without the proper authority from the Director of Immigration. She also said while she was aware of the harsh times in Jamaica that may have motivated the defendant to take a chance, this did not excuse her actions.

Stating Morris could not break rules without being prepared to face the consequences, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said she wanted to send a clear message so the public could understand that non-Bahamians could not come to the Bahamas and benefit from employment through illegal means while “homegrown” residents have no employment opportunities.

She subsequently fined Morris $1,800 or six months behind bars. She also ordered the defendant to visit the immigration office at the Lynden Pindling International Airport to verify her departure on September 25.

MAN FINED $500 FOR GOING TO PHARMACY FOR GRANDMOTHER

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A MAN who claimed he violated the lockdown because he went to the pharmacy to get medication for his great grandmother was fined $500 yesterday.

Police arrested Martin Pinder, 24, on Fox Hill Road around 1.55pm on Saturday, August 8.

He pleaded guilty to violating the lockdown orders, but said he only left his home that afternoon because he was trying to go to the pharmacy and food store after he heard the country was going under a full lockdown.

The court heard officers were on Prince Charles Drive carrying out static point duties, when they observed the defendant driving a white vehicle.

When they beckoned for the car to stop and questioned Pinder, he told them he was aware of the complete lockdown. Still, the prosecution said he failed to give officers a satisfactory reason for being on

the road. As a result, he was arrested and taken to the Fox Hill police station, where he was charged for the offence.

When given an opportunity to speak during the hearing yesterday, Pinder told the magistrate he only left his home to try and get his great grandmother’s medication as well as stop at a nearby food store to purchase goods for his family since he was the only male and sole breadwinner of his household.

However Magistrate McKinney noted Pinder did not give the arresting and interviewing officers the explanation he gave him in court. He subsequently gave the defendant a $500 fine or three months in custody.

Yesterday, Chimika Louis, also appeared before Magistrate McKinney after officers found her in the Garden Hills area around 6.20pm on August 9. She denied violating the curfew and the matter was adjourned to November 24 for trial.

She was granted bail in the interim.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 11

WOULD YOUR LIFE CHANGE IF YOU KNEW HOW LONG YOU HAD LEFT?

WOULD knowing the date of your death influence your actions? It did for Tiberius Caesar. Convinced by the court astrologer Thrasyllus that he had many years of life ahead of him, the paranoid old emperor chose to postpone the murder of his heir, Caligula.

But by believing Thrasyllus’s prediction and letting his guard down, Tiberius inadvertently gave Caligula enough time to poison him first. The rest, as they say, is history – which Thrasyllus had altered by deliberately overestimating his employer’s life expectancy.

While many of us are unlikely to find ourselves in Caesar’s position, knowing how many years we have left may influence many aspects of our life – including when to retire, whether to take a long-awaited vacation, and even whether to opt for certain medical treatments.

My Longevity, a newly developed app from researchers at the University of East Anglia, now allows each of us to be our own life

expectancy astrologer. But how much trust should we place in these predictions?

LIFE EXPECTANCY VS LIFESPAN

Simply put, life expectancy is how long, on average, members of any given population can expect to life. This is different from lifespan, which is the maximum length of time any member of the species can survive.

Although lifespan has changed very little – if at all – global life expectancy has soared by more than 40 years since the beginning of the 20th century.

This was achieved through a combination of scientific discoveries and public health measures that drove down infant mortality. In the UK, life expectancy at birth is now over 80 years.

Life expectancy depends a lot on where you grow up or live. So the more a disparate population can be broken down into subpopulations who have traits in common – but which are

still large enough to be statistically significant – the more accurate predictions become. Doing this might involve subdividing the population by sex (on average females live longer than males) or smoking status (for obvious reasons) or both.

The team of researchers used a sophisticated version of this approach when developing their app, informed by its previous research. This allows its app to factor in the life expectancy effects of controlled and uncontrolled high blood pressure, the presence of related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease or rheumatoid arthritis, ongoing treatment with statins, and serious risk factors, such as high cholesterol.

Developing the app has involved dealing with some problems along the way in estimating potential health benefits for the overall population based on those seen in clinical trials. This is because discrepancies exist between trial subjects and

populations for a number of reasons – but usually they are cases of what is known as “tight segmentation” working against you.

For example, a clinical trial of the effects of orange juice in sailors with scurvy will show profound benefits because they are a tight segment with vitamin C deficiency. But anyone expecting to see the same beneficial effects on health from prescribing orange juice to everyone taking a boat trip today is going to be deeply disappointed.

LIFE EXPECTANCY

How seriously you should treat the predictions from an app of this type is basically a function of how accurately it reflects the subpopulation into which you best fit. I compared my life expectancy prediction from My Longevity with calculators provided by the UK Office for National Statistics and those of two insurance companies. The predictions varied from 84-90 years. As I’m 54, this may not have

Nature of Work

been a completely fair test of My Longevity because the data the team has used makes the app most accurate for the over 60s.

The major reason life expectancy calculators spit out such different figures is because there are a wide range of factors influencing the results. Being married increases your life expectancy compared to being single, as does being happy. In addition to smoking, levels of fruit and vegetable intake influence life expectancy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, levels of alcohol consumption and exercise make a profound difference to life expectancy. These are concrete lifestyle changes people can make which can add years to their lives.

The East Anglia research team hopes that access to its calculator will encourage users to adopt healthier lifestyles. Although there is some evidence that framing behaviours in terms of their effects on life expectancy is an effective way of encouraging people to embrace

healthier lifestyles, superficial discussions of health and longevity often assume that everyone will seek to maximise life expectancy if only they are fed enough of “the facts” about it.

However, human motivation is emotional and intuitive at its core and is shaped by what a person most values in life. Propositions that accord with a person’s values are typically supported. Those that don’t are either ignored or rejected.

Another common mistake made by those promoting behaviour change is to assume their own dominant values are shared by the people they want to adopt the behaviour in question. This approach will only convince people who already think and feel like them. But the more developers of such apps recognise that users will only adopt certain behaviours according to their values and beliefs, the more useful these apps will be.

• Originally published at theconversation.com

Master Mechanic

To perform preventive maintenance, inspection and repairs to heavy equipment with both gasoline and diesel engines. Must be able to lead and manage a mechanic team, preparing work orders, requisition parts for equipment repair and prepare departmental reports. As lead mechanic, you will be responsible for driving/traveling to various job sites, inspecting engines and equipment, carrying out services, conducting repairs, and providing routine maintenance. Must have proven experience working with CAT, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, John Deer, Komatsu etc., and be physically fit, able to troubleshoot issues.

Knowledge of: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic systems, engine and drivetrain systems on numerous different kinds of units Truck mounted equipment Tools and equipment for repairs Equipment operation and safety Equipment, grease fitting locations, filter locations, fluid capacities, fluid types and proper applications Equipment inspections, tolerances and specs for component wear Inspecting trucks, cranes, bulldozers, and other heavy equipment for proper performance.

Diagnosing faults using computerized testing equipment.

Adjusting equipment and replacing faulty parts Repairing damaged equipment parts.

Cleaning, lubricating, and conducting routine services on heavy-duty vehicles.

Cleaning and servicing of machine attachments like winches, blades, and side booms.

Performing major repair work when necessary.

Consulting with other mechanics on smaller jobs.

Reporting damaged or faulty equipment to management.

Adjust breaks and clutches; adjust and replace carburetors, remove and repair transmission Perform welding and metal work duties

Skill in: • • • •

Interpersonal skills necessary to develop and maintain effective and appropriate working relationships Performing a variety of duties, often changing from one task to another of a different nature Performing basic mathematical functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, and ratios Assigning, prioritizing, monitoring, and reviewing work assignments

Ability to: • • • • • • • •

Meet schedules and deadlines of the work Understand and carry out oral and written directions Accurately organize and maintain paper documents and electronic files Maintain the confidentiality of information and professional boundaries Read and understand service and parts manuals Read diagrams and schematics Must be able to lead a team and provide training Must be able to implement and manage equipment preventative maintenance program

Minimum Training and Experience •

At least 10 years of experience performing automotive/heavy equipment/ small engine mechanical repair and maintenance;

•

Any equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that provides the required skills, knowledge and abilities

Please send resumes to jjosey@bahamasstriping.com

PAGE 12, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CITY TO PAY $12M TO BREONNA TAYLOR’S FAMILY, REFORM POLICE

By DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The city of Louisville agreed to pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a settlement announced Tuesday, months after Taylor’s slaying by police thrust the Black woman’s name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race.

But Taylor’s mother and others who have taken up her cause said more must be done to right the wrongs of racial injustice in America.

“Please continue to say her name,” Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, declared at an emotional news conference, evoking the call that has become a national refrain for those outraged by the shooting and police violence.

Protests Taylor’s death sparked months of protests in Louisville and calls nationwide for the officers to be criminally charged. The state’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is investigating police actions in the March 13 fatal shooting.

“I cannot begin to imagine Ms. Palmer’s pain, and I am deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna’s death,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer in announcing the terms of the lawsuit settlement.

Standing nearby as the mayor spoke, Palmer said the police reforms were not enough.

“We must not lose focus on what the real job is, and with that being said, it’s time to move forward with the criminal charges, because she deserves that and much more,” Palmer said. “As significant as today is, it’s only the beginning of getting full justice for Breonna.”

The lawsuit, filed by Palmer in April, accused police of using flawed information when they obtained a “no-knock” warrant to enter the 26-yearold woman’s apartment. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were roused from bed by police, and Walker said he fired once at the officers, thinking they were intruders.

Investigators say police were returning fire when they shot Taylor several times. No drugs were found at her home.

Dissatisfaction with the settlement extended to “Injustice Square” in downtown Louisville, where demonstrators have gathered daily for 113 days, demanding justice for Taylor. Some who listened to the announcement over a loudspeaker near a memorial for Taylor said the price for a life seemed low, the promised reforms too little and too late.

“It’s just not enough,” said Holly McGlawn, who noted how much Taylor might have made had she lived. She was young, she could have worked for another 40 or 50 years, she said.

“You can’t put a price on a Black woman being able to sleep at night and know she’s not going to get murdered,” McGlawn said.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. There was a better way to handle this,” agreed Shameka Parrish-Wright who has been part of the daily demonstrations where the city often faced peaceful protesters with force.

“I’m hearing apologies now that should have happened early on.”

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan react on the Blue Room Balcony after signing the Abraham Accords during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

ISRAEL SIGNS PACTS WITH TWO ARAB STATES: A ‘NEW’ MIDEAST?

By DEB RIECHMANN, MATTHEW LEE and JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel on Tuesday signed historic diplomatic pacts with two Gulf Arab states at a White House ceremony that President Donald Trump declared will mark the “dawn of a new Middle East,” casting himself as an international peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign.

The bilateral agreements formalize the normalisation of Israel’s already thawing relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in line with their common opposition to Iran.

But the agreements do not address the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, who view the pacts as a stab in the back from their fellow Arabs and a betrayal of their cause for a Palestinian state.

Atmosphere Hundreds of people massed on the sun-washed South Lawn to witness the signing of agreements in a festive atmosphere little marked by the coronavirus pandemic. Attendees did not practice social distancing and most guests didn’t wear masks.

“We’re here this afternoon to change the course of history,” Trump said from a balcony overlooking the South Lawn. “After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the day “is a pivot of history. It heralds a new dawn of peace.”

Neither Netanyahu nor Trump mentioned the Palestinians in their remarks, but both the UAE and Bahraini foreign ministers spoke of the importance of creating a Palestinian state.

Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the brother of Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, even thanked Netanyahu for “halting the annexation” of West Bank land claimed by the Palestinians in exchange for Emirati recognition.

Netanyahu, however, has insisted that Israel has only suspended its plans to annex West Bank settlements.

“Today, we are already witnessing a change in the heart of the Middle East — a change that will send hope around the world,” al-Nahyan said.

Bahrani Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani said Bahrain would stand with the Palestinians. “Today is

PRESIDENT Donald Trump meets with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan in the Oval Office, Tuesday, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) a truly historic occasion,” he said. “A moment for hope and opportunity.”

But in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants fired two rockets into Israe l, apparently meant to coincide with the ceremony. The Israeli military said the rockets were fired from Gaza and one was intercepted by air defences.

Earlier in the day, Palestinian activists held small demonstrations in the West Bank and in Gaza, where they trampled and set fire to pictures of Trump, Netanyahu and the leaders of the UAE and Bahrain.

Israel and the U.S. hope the agreements can usher in a major shift in the region should other Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, follow suit.

That could have implications for Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Until now, Israel has had peace deals only with Egypt and Jordan.

Other Arab countries believed to be close to recognising Israel include Oman, Sudan and Morocco.

“We are very down the road with about five different countries,” Trump told reporters before the ceremony.

Many longtime Mideast analysts and former officials, among others, have expressed doubts about the impact of the signings.

In addition to the bilateral agreements signed by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, all three signed a document dubbed the “Abraham Accords” after the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions.

The “Abraham Accords” and the bilateral agreement signed by Israel and Bahrain fell short of more detailed formal treaties that are the diplomatic norm. Both documents

were made up of general statements pledging to advance diplomacy, mutual cooperation and regional peace.

The most detailed of the agreements was the one between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The nations agreed to approve bilateral agreements on 15 areas of mutual interest, including finance, trade, aviation, energy, telecommunications, health, agriculture and water.

Discussions During the signing ceremony, the leaders were seated at a long table where President Harry S. Truman once held weekly luncheon meetings with his Cabinet. Discussions about the Truman Doctrine to restrain Soviet expansion during the Cold War and the Marshall Plan to send billions in economic aid to Western Europe after World War II were held at the table.

The stagecraft, including live music and flags was meant to evoke previous Middle East agreements.

Trump’s political backers are looking to boost his standing as a statesman with just seven weeks to go before Election Day. Until now, foreign policy has not had a major role in a campaign dominated by the coronavirus, racial issues and the economy.

Besides Republicans, a few House Democrats attended the event, a notable development at a time when their leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is barely on speaking terms with the president.

Many Democrats, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, widely

support the deal.

Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., said she accepted the invitation immediately on receiving it over the weekend. “It definitely was a monumental event, and the ceremony was very fitting for that,” Luria, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a telephone interview afterward.

Like Luria, some other Democrats in attendance, such as Rep. Anthony Brindisi of New York, are freshmen in tough reelection races. Still others, such as Florida Reps. Ted Deutch and Stephanie Murphy hail from districts with large numbers of Jewish constituents.

Questions remain, however, about the significance of the agreements.

Even in Israel, where the accords have received widespread acclaim, there is concern they might result in U.S. sales of sophisticated weaponry to the UAE and Bahrain, thus potentially upsetting Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region.

Trump said he is OK with selling military aircraft to the UAE. Pelosi also welcomed the agreements but said she wants to learn details, specifically what the Trump administration has told the UAE about buying American-made F-35 aircraft and about Israel agreeing to freeze efforts to annex portions of the West Bank.

The UAE and Bahrain have a history of suppressing dissent and critical public opinion, but there have been indications that the agreements are not nearly as popular or well-received as they are in Israel.

Neither country sent its head of state or government to sign the deals with Netanyahu.

Bahrain’s largest Shiite-dominated opposition group, Al-Wefaq, which the government ordered dissolved in 2016 amid a yearslong crackdown on dissent, said there is widespread rejection of normalisation.

The ceremony followed months of intricate diplomacy headed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and the president’s envoy for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz.

On Aug. 13, the Israel-UAE deal was announced.

That was followed by the first direct commercial flight between the countries, and then the Sept. 11 announcement of the Bahrain-Israel agreement. ___ Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Laurie Kellman in Washington; and Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

SPORTS PAGE 15

WNBA

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

PAGE 16

Valicia holding court

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Heat win Game 1 of East finals in OT

MIAMI Heat’s Jimmy Butler, front, goes up for a shot over Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart, rear, during the first half of their NBA conference final playoff game last night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

(AP Photo/Mark J Terrill) SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 17

R

egarded as one of the top young female basketball players in the country, Valicia Demeritte is holding court as a small forward for the Coker University Cobras in Hartsville, South Carolina.

The 20-year-old former player for the Kingsway Academy Saints left the Bahamas in grade nine in 2015 to enroll at the Potters House Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, where she played for the Lion’s basketball, volleyball and track teams, earning the most improved player award and was a four-time SIAA State champion.

After graduating in 2018, she went on to play basketball the past two seasons for the Blue Wave at Florida State Junior College in Jacksonville where she made the Mid Florida AllConference second team.

Having transferred this year to Coker University, Demeritte is now preparing for her final two years of eligibility with the Cobras in what has been a totally different environment due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“From JUCO to DII, it’s different. JUCO, you’re

like a sophomore when you’re a freshman, so you have to work for everything,” Demeritte said. “In DII, you only have to keep it going for two years and get your degree.

“It’s kind of tough, but JUCO has prepared me for this moment. I think if I didn’t go to JUCO, I would not have been prepared. I think JUCO has really prepared me.”

Although things have changed since she began her junior year at Coker University with the pandemic reshaping the landscape of sports around the world, Demeritte said the Cobras’ coaching staff is getting them prepared for the 2020/21 season.

“The plan is for us to play in our conference from November 1,” said Demeritte, as they continue their daily practices and exhibition games before the season opener. “We haven’t heard anything about any change in the plans yet.”

Demeritte, however, noted that the atmosphere on campus is not what she anticipated and some of her team-mates, who are returning from last year, admitted that it’s not as fun filled this year with everybody occupying their open

SEE PAGE 16

SMALL forward Valicia Demeritte in action for the Coker University Cobras in Hartsville, South Carolina.

Raw Talent: ‘Kino’ Burrows helping young players

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ALTHOUGH he’s still competing at a high level in France, professional basketball player Juraun “Kino” Burrows is doing his part to assist as many young players to realise their dreams of playing in Europe.

Through his Raw Talent Group, which he formed in the summer of 2018, Burrows has been able to assist a number of players, including Dominick ‘Nado’ Bridgewater, Kenny Isnord, Adam Johnson and Briontae Riley to achieve their dreams.

Bridgewater has been a part of the programme since its inception and is now playing in France with Burrows. Johnson joined both of them last month and Riley will be leaving on Friday.

Isnord, on the other hand, signed a three-year deal to play in the Czech Republic last month.

During his initial year, he also got a chance to work with collegiate players Kai Jones and Sammy Hunter.

While Jones is in his freshman year with the Texas Longhorns, Hunter is preparing for his sophomore year with the Ole Miss Rebels.

When he realised the difficulty some of the local players had getting them off to school, Burrows said he decided to invite them to train with him and the mentorship programme started.

“Along with the training and the development, Raw Talent is also about facilitating opportunities for young men and women to broaden their horizons, while continuing their basketball abroad in Europe with the hopes of playing professionally at the highest level,” Burrows said.

While he has been able to work specifically with the five players mentioned above, Burrows said he’s looking at avenues to continue to provide more opportunities for others to pursue their dreams.

“This programme is all about relationships and partnerships, so I want to

continue to do my part,” he said. “I want to work with youth coaches and high school coaches and night league coaches and eventually branch out into the Caribbean.

“So while I’m continuing to play at a high level in Europe, I want to create contacts and partnerships and opportunities because it’s proven that with the right mentorship and partnership, our kids can excel.”

For the past 12 years playing in Europe, Burrows said he’s always inspired when he comes home and the younger players reach out to him. That was one of the motivational factors in him getting the programme off the ground.

“When you see the difficulties that they have in getting visas and other stuff to get off, it’s a process,” Burrows said. “I didn’t have that in my day. My grandmother would take me and the day you pick up your visa.

“Now when these guys get their scholarships and for whatever reasons, financial or educational hardships, they are denied over and over, so to have this opportunity to go to Europe and still be able to dream about the possibility of getting into the NBA though the D-League.”

Burrows said Bahamians should be excited because there are so many players who can get the opportunity to fulfil their dreams as he did over the past decade in six different countries.

“I’ve had a lot of memorable occasions, including my MVP season in Sweden, which enabled me to enhance my résumé to get into the Pro League here in France where I am now showing my skills.”

During his tenure in Europe, Burrows had the pleasure of playing against fellow Bahamian national team members Michael Carey and Zane Knowles, which he was successful in each match-up.

But after a gruelling grind of playing for about 10 months a year, Burrows said it’s taking its toll on his body and every summer, he evaluates his future as a pro player.

JURAUN ‘Kino’ Burrows

“I’ve done about 10 consecutive years playing on the senior national team and I’ve had the opportunity to watch as we evolve with more sponsorship coming from corporate Bahamas,” he stated.

“With our performances over the last few years, I’ve enjoyed going into the Dominican Republic and berating them in front of their 10,000-plus fans and then coming home last year at Atlantis when we beat Mexico. We showed that we could perform on the stage like that.”

With the direction that the Bahamas Basketball

Federation, under president Mario Bowleg, is going, Burrows said he feels the country has the ability to qualify for the Olympic Games in the near future.

As for his future aspirations after basketball, Burrows said he definitely wants to continue in the sport, working directly with his Raw Talent programme and if the opportunity arises to assist at the federation level, he will consider it.

“Right now, I’m enjoying the ride and I’m focusing on the Raw Talent programme,” he said.

“I just want to thank those persons who have

helped to assist these young people over the last few years.

“Some of my partners are the Bahamas Basketball Federation, Advanced Physio Therapy, MaxD and coach Jeffrey Henfield, who has been on the ground preparing all of the prospects on the ground before they come over to Europe and keeping an eye on the future prospects.”

With a cohesive unit, Burrows said the Bahamas can produce a number of players who can and will continue to make the country proud of their achievements.

PAGE 16, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

ALYSSA THOMAS’ 26 POINTS, 13 BOARDS LEAD SUN INTO 2ND ROUND

Peddy makes buzzer-beating three, Phoenix advances in the playoffs BRADENTON, Florida (AP) — Shey Peddy made a buzzerbeating 3-pointer to give the Phoenix Mercury an 85-84 comefrom-behind victory over the defending champion Washington Mystics last night in the first round of the playoffs.

Fifth-seeded Phoenix moves on to play No. 4 seed Minnesota on Thursday in the second round.

Washington guard Leilani Mitchell went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 5.8 seconds to go for an 84-82 lead.

After a timeout, Diana Taurasi inbounded it to Skylar DigginsSmith, who drove the lane and lofted a pass over the defence across the court to the corner.

Peddy pump-faked it to get her defender in the air and calmly beat the buzzer.

Peddy, who was cut by Washington earlier this season, finished with 12 points for Phoenix.

VALICIA from PAGE 15 space. “Everybody can’t be in the same place at the same time, so we can’t really interact as much as we want to,” she pointed out. “Even when we come to practice, they have cut the team in half with only about seven players at a time.

“So we don’t get to see all of our team-mates at the same time. It’s kind of weird. This is what we have to do to get over the coronavirus to get back to normalcy.”

Despite all that is going on, the five-foot-nineinch Demeritte still has an

Diggins-Smith had 24 points, six rebounds and five assists and Taurasi, who improved to 7-0 in single-elimination playoff games, added 23 points. The Mercury went on a 17-0 run over a fiveminute span for a 78-73 lead.

Mitchell led Washington with 25 points, and Emma Meesseman added 18.

Meesseman’s steal and fastbreak layup capped a 5-0 run to give Washington a 83-82 lead with 38.8 seconds left. And after a timeout, Myisha HinesAllen drew an offensive foul on Diggins-Smith for Phoenix’s third straight possession with a turnover.

obligation to fill with the team.

“On the court, my coach expects me to be the athletic player that she recruited,” said Demeritte of coach Hash. “She said she hopes that I can defend my position and rebound the ball.

“She said she saw my tapes from JUCO and she believes that rebounding will be my strength and so she wants me to be the defender that she saw when I played.”

The exercise science major said her personal goal is just to enjoy the process.

“I came a long way from when I left Nassau, so I

PHOENIX Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) is fouled by Washington Mystics guard Kiara Leslie (1) while going up for a shot during the first half of their WNBA basketball first-round playoff game last night in Bradenton, Florida.

(AP Photo/Phelan M Ebenhack)

just want to enjoy the process and get better,” she stated. “I just want to play my role on the team, don’t do too much, just play my role and live in the moment and have some fun because in a minute, it’s going to be over.”

As a junior national team player from 2012-2016 and senior national team member in 2018, Demeritte said her goal is to once again represent the Bahamas at the international level, but she also wants to go on and play professionally, preferably in Europe.

“I want to play overseas professionally, but it’s whatever God plans for me. Whatever happens,

happens, but my plan is to play overseas,” Demeritte said. “I just saw my teammate Briontae Riley make it in France, so that has given me some motivation.

“Briontae has been through a lot, but she’s a fighter. All the adversities and setbacks that she experienced, she’s motivation for me. Anything is possible. I can’t wait to see what happens for me in the future.”

For those players who have not been given the exposure to play college or even get to the pro ranks, Demeritte encouraged them to continue to press on. “You’re not going to be the basketball player that

BRADENTON, Florida (AP) — Alyssa Thomas had 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, DeWanna Bonner added 23 points and 12 boards, and the seventhseeded Connecticut Sun beat the No. 6 seed Chicago Sky 94-81 last night in the opening game of the playoffs.

Connecticut will play either thirdseeded Los Angeles or No. 4 seed Minnesota on Thursday in another single-elimination round.

Thomas beat the halftime buzzer with a hook shot in the lane to tie it at 41, and Connecticut started the second half on a 13-2 run with six points from Jasmine Thomas.

Chicago was outscored 27-11 in the game-changing quarter.

Brionna Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for Connecticut, which overcame a franchise-worst 0-5 start to the season. The Sun had a 40-21 advantage on the glass.

Allie Quigley scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Kahleah Copper added 17 points and Gabby Williams had 16 for Chicago. Courtney Vandersloot had 12 points and six assists.

It was a memorable season for Vandersloot, who became the first player in WNBA history to average 10 assists per game after totalling 220 in the shortened 22-game regular season.

you want to be overnight.

It’s a process,” she said.

“Enjoy the process and the more you enjoy it and work on your craft, you will enjoy it more when your time comes. “Just keep pushing and your time will come. You never know who is watching you.”

As she goes through the process, Demeritte thanked God, her parents Valerie Demeritte-Watson and Andretti Demeritte and coaches Varel Davis, Deven Johnson, Randy Cunningham and the late Sherman Smith, as well as Simone Beneby, for getting her to where she is now.

Coach Davis is the type of coach who always has my

back,” said Demeritte, who played with Davis on the junior national team since she was in grade six until last year when she made the senior team.

“Coach Deven was there for me too, but if I pick up the phone and call coach Davis to ask her about anything, she has always been there for me. She’s like family. She watched me grow up.”

Aside from basketball, Demeritte said she’s learning a lot about herself living in a different culture and trying to stay rooted, not trying to change the things that she was taught as a Bahamian. So far, she’s handled her situation very well.

ACES’ A’JA WILSON EARNS AP WNBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOURS

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer A’ja Wilson has been the cornerstone of the Las Vegas franchise since she was drafted and took her game to another level this season, earning her The Associated Press WNBA player of the year honours.

The former No. 1 overall pick three years ago led the Aces to an 18-4 record during the shortened season and the top seed in the WNBA playoffs that

begin Tuesday in Bradenton, Florida.

“She knows who she is, she knows where she’s going,” said Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer.

“She knows that she’s in charge, and she’s responsible for our team. She has taken this upon her shoulders.”

Wilson averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and two blocks this year for the Aces and views herself as a more all-around player now.

“I feel like I’m a more complete player now then when I first got into the league,” Wilson said in an online interview. “Even when I may not be shooting the ball well, I can find other ways to help my team win.”

The 6-foot-4 Wilson, who turned 24 last month, was selected by the 16-member media panel that votes on the weekly AP power poll.

She received 11 votes. Seattle’s Breanna Stewart was second with four. It’s the

LAS Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson (22) reaches to deflect a pass intended for Los Angeles Sparks’ Candace Parker during the first half on Saturday in Bradenton, Florida.

(AP Photo/Mike Carlson) fifth season that the AP panel has selected postseason award winners.

Candace Parker edged Alyssa Thomas and Alysha Clark for defensive player of the year honors. Parker, in her 13th season, received five votes. Thomas and Clark each had four.

“When I made my decision to come to IMG this season, my focus was on working hard everyday to help put our team in a position to win a championship. For us, that starts with defending at a high level and closing defensive possessions with a rebound,” Parker said.

“Overall, our team has been able to do that and I’m honored to be recognized for my role on that end of the floor. The award is a testament to my teammates executing on defense and our entire coaching staff.”

Minnesota’s Crystal Dangerfield was the runaway winner for rookie of the year.

The second-round draft pick became the second consecutive Lynx player to win the award, joining Napheesa Collier. The

Lynx’s point guard averaged 16.2 points and 3.6 assists this season.

She particularly excelled in the fourth quarter.

Dangerfield had the second most total points in the league in the final period behind only Arike Ogunbwale.

The UConn grad averaged 6.5 points a game in the fourth.

Other award winners include Las Vegas’ Dearica Hamby, who repeated as the sixth woman of the year; Stewart as comeback player of the year and Atlanta’s Betnijah Laney as most improved player.

Wilson also headlined the AP All-WNBA team. She was a unanimous choice along with Stewart.

The were joined on the first team by Parker, Courtney Vandersloot of Chicago and Arike Ogunbowale of Dallas.

The second team included Phoenix teammates Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith, Connecticut teammates DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas, and Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier.

Dangerfield was joined

on the all-rookie team by Satou Sabally of Dallas, Chennedy Carter of Atlanta, Julie Allemand of Indiana and Jazmine Jones of New York.

The WNBA’s awards will be released over the course of the playoffs.

POWER POLL The Las Vegas Aces finished atop the AP Power Poll, a spot they held for three of the final four weeks of the season. Seattle was second.

The Storm were followed

by Los Angeles, Minnesota and Phoenix.

Connecticut, Chicago, Washington, Dallas, Atlanta, Indiana and New York.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Myisha Hines-Allen averaged 24.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists to help Washington go 4-0 last week and clinch the final playoff spot.

A’ja Wilson also received votes after she led Las Vegas to the top seed in the postseason.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 17

Bam! Adebayo’s block helps Heat win Game 1 over Celtics

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Jimmy Butler thought he won the game for Miami with a 3-pointer late in regulation.

He put the Heat ahead again in overtime — and then Bam Adebayo finished it off with the biggest block of his career.

Butler’s three-point play with 12 seconds left put Miami up for good, Adebayo blocked Jayson Tatum’s dunk attempt in the final seconds and the Heat rallied time and again to beat the Boston Celtics 117-114 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night.

Kemba Walker’s basket with 23.2 seconds left in overtime put Boston up by one, before Butler muscled his way to the rim for a score while getting fouled by Tatum. The Celtics went to Tatum on the ensuing possession, only to watch him get denied by Adebayo.

And the Heat — down by 13 in the first quarter, down by 14 in the fourth — struck first, ending Boston’s seven-game streak of Game 1 wins.

Tatum scored 30 points for the Celtics, Marcus Smart had 26 points, Walker had 19 and Jaylen Brown added 17. Goran Dragic had 29 points, Jae Crowder scored 22, Jimmy Butler scored 20 and Adebayo had 18 for the Heat.

Miami’s Tyler Herro was one assist shy of a tripledouble — finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Boston led 85-71 early in the fourth and kept the

lead for almost all of the final period — until Butler connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner with 22 seconds left for a 106105 Miami edge.

The Celtics tied it before the clock even started again. Derrick Jones Jr was called for an away-fromthe-play foul while Miami defended the inbounds pass, a call where the Heat argued to no avail that he got shoved instead. Tatum went to the line, tied the game with the free throw, and Boston all of a sudden went from needing a score to being able to run out the clock.

Miami wanted a travelling call when Tatum got the ball with about 7 seconds left. His 3-pointer was short, and to overtime they went.

Boston started fast by running out to a 24-11 lead, only to see Miami slow the Celtics down by going to plenty of zone and getting enough stops to allow their offence to start clawing back.

The Heat scored 37 points in a 10-minute span of the second quarter — and the teams went into halftime knotted at 55.

The biggest Heat lead of the second half came early in the third, 61-56, after Butler got a short hook to fall.

Then Boston got rolling again.

The Celtics outscored the Heat 27-10 over the

MIAMI Heat’s Bam Adebayo (13) goes up for a layup during the first half of an NBA conference final playoff basketball game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J Terrill) final 8:17 of the third quarter, Smart scoring 10 in that stretch to match the entire Miami output by himself, and the Boston lead was 83-71 going into the fourth.

Miami shot 6 for 22 in the first quarter to get into trouble, then 6 for 20 in the third to get into a bigger mess.

TIP-INS Heat: Miami has gotten into early trouble in all three of its Game 1s in these playoffs — down eight to Indiana early in the first round, down 11 to Milwaukee in the opening quarter of the second round and down 13 to Boston in Tuesday’s first quarter. ... Andre Iguodala, who played in zero

conference-final games in his first 10 seasons, has now played in 22 since 2015.

Celtics: Boston’s record for consecutive Game 1 wins is 11, from 1985 through 1987. The Celtics won eight straight from 1959 through 1962. ...

Gordon Hayward (ankle) was inactive again, though the Celtics believe he can play in this series. ... Brad Wanamaker had five steals for Boston.

MIAMI VS. BOSTON Tuesday was the 141st meeting all-time between the Celtics and Heat. It also marked the 39th alltime matchup between the Boston Red Sox and Miami Marlins — but it was the first time those

four clubs all faced off on the same date. The closest they previously came to colliding was 2012, when the Heat topped the Celtics in Game 7 of the East finals on June 9 and the Red Sox and Marlins opened a series two days later.

WELCOME, DEUCE Tatum’s son young Deuce cleared quarantine and was reunited with his dad — and the rest of the Celtics — in the bubble on Tuesday. “Ultimately, it’s just nice for them to see their families,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “I walked down the hallway with Deuce today, which was the highlight of my 70 days here. I think that’s just really cool.”

NUGGETS STUN THE CLIPPERS 104-89 IN GAME 7 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Denver’s dynamic duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led another stunning turnaround as the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009.

Murray scored 40 points, Jokic had a triple-double by the third quarter and Denver again overcame a double-digit deficit to shock the Los Angeles Clippers 104-89 in Game 7 last night.

Denver became the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason.

Even more history: The Nuggets are the third team in the US major pro sports to rally from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same playoffs, joining the 1985 Kansas City Royals and 2003 Minnesota Wild.

Denver will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.

The 7-foot Jokic had a monster game with 16 points, 13 assists and 22 rebounds, which were the most by a Nuggets player in an NBA playoff game.

He broke his record of 19 that he set last season and shared with Marcus Camby.

In a familiar trend, the Nuggets found themselves down by 12 in the first half.

They also trailed 61-54 with 10:50 let in the third when they caught fire.

The Nuggets went on a 35-13 run to build up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. They led by as many as 20.

HOUCK WINS MLB DEBUT, GOES FIVE INNINGS, RED SOX BLANK ‘JAZZ’ CHISHOLM AND MARLINS MIAMI (AP) — Tanner Houck gave up just two singles over five innings to win his major league debut, pitching the Boston Red Sox past the Miami Marlins 2-0 last night.

Houck, the first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2017, struck out seven and walked three on 86 pitches.

The 24-year-old righty became Boston’s 15th starting pitcher this season.

Jackie Bradley Jr broke up a scoreless game with an opposite-field double off Miami starter Sandy Alcantara in the sixth. Alcantara (2-2) allowed a leadoff single to Xander Bogaerts and walked Christian Vazquez before Bradley delivered against the playoff-contending Marlins.

The Red Sox increased their lead on Vazquez’s run-scoring single in the eighth. Rafael Devers hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on reliever James Hoyt’s errant pickoff throw and scored on the hit by Vazquez.

Dylan Covey pitched two perfect innings in relief of Houck. Ryan Brasier followed with a scoreless eighth.

Matt Barnes allowed Brian Anderson’s two-out double before striking out Garrett Cooper for his seventh save.

Alcantara scattered five hits, walked two and struck out five in six innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM Red Sox: RHP Darwinson Hernandez (shoulder) showed no ill effects from his bullpen session Tuesday.

Marlins: INF Isan Diaz (groin strain) was placed on the 60-day injured list. Diaz played the first series of the season at Philadelphia but opted out after the team’s coronavirus outbreak.

Diaz successfully petitioned for reinstatement late last month and rejoined the club September 10.

Sean Rodriguez was reinstated from the injured list.

UP NEXT Red Sox: LHP Mike Kickham (1-0, 5.00) will start the middle game of the series against Miami today.

Marlins: Rookie LHP Trevor Rogers (1-1, 6.50) looks to bounce back from the worst outing of his young major league career.

Rogers allowed eight earned runs and nine hits in three innings against Philadelphia on September 11.

REDS 4, PIRATES 1 CINCINNATI (AP) — Tucker Barnhart hit a home run and Brian Goodwin prevented one with a leaping catch as Cincinnati extended its winning streak to a season-high four games with a win over Pittsburgh.

Michael Lorenzen (2-1) looked sharp in a spot start.

Lorenzen made his first 2020 start. He allowed one run and four hits in five innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Amir Garrett pitched the ninth for his first save.

Pittsburgh’s only run came in the fourth on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ double and Colin Moran’s single.

The Reds took a 3-0 lead in the first.

Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos opened the inning with singles and Joey Votto walked.

Jesse Winker forced Votto at the plate with a chopper to Musgrove, but the right-hander hit Mike Moustakas on the left foot with a pitch to force in a run. Votto scored on Goodwin’s sacrifice fly. Freddy Galvis followed with an RBI single.

Musgrove (0-5) gave up six hits, four runs and one walk. He retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.

RAYS 6, NATIONALS 1 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Yarbrough stopped a personal 16-game winless streak, Nate Lowe homered and

AL East-leading Tampa Bay beat Washington.

Yarbrough (1-3) followed opener John Curtiss in the second inning and gave up one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings for his first win since Aug 11, 2019, at Seattle.

Nick Anderson replaced Ryan Sherriff with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth and struck out Luis García and pinch-hitter Yadiel Hernandez to get this fifth save.

Washington got a sixthinning RBI grounder from Kurt Suzuki.

PHILLIES 4, METS 1 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jake Arrieta pitched effectively into the sixth inning before leaving with an injury, Didi Gregorius hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 4-1 last night.

The scuffling Mets played their first game since billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen agreed to buy the team from the Wilpon and Katz families. The agreement was announced Monday and the deal is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball owners.

Arrieta (4-4) allowed one run on Brandon Nimmo’s homer and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. But he walked off the mound, grabbing the back of his right leg, after hitting Andres Gimenez with a pitch to load the bases. JoJo Romero entered and retired Wilson Ramos on a double-play grounder.

Romero tossed two innings, Tommy Hunter got two outs and Hector Neris finished for his fourth save in seven chances.

Mets starter Rick Porcello (1-5) yielded four runs and six hits in six innings as New York (21-27) lost its third straight and fell six games under .500, matching a season low.

PHILADELPHIA Phillies’ Bryce Harper (3) is safe at second with a double during the third inning against the Miami Marlins on Monday in Miami. At left is Miami Marlins shortstop Jazz Chisholm.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

PAGE 18, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

GERMAN Lennard Kamna crosses the finish line to win stage 16 of the Tour de France cycling race over 164 kilometres (102 miles) from La Tour-du-Pin to Villard-de-Lans, France, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

KAMNA POSTS SOLO WIN IN THE ALPS, ROGLIC KEEPS YELLOW JERSEY VILLARD-DE-LANS, France (AP) — After coming close to a first Tour de France stage win last week, Lennard Kamna did not miss his second chance.

The 24-year-old German rider won the roller-coaster Stage 16 featuring five categorised climbs after pulling clear of a group of breakaway riders as the race entered the Alps yesterday.

Kamna was beaten by four seconds for the stage win by Daniel Martinez on Stage 13.

“It was a fight from the beginning on and I knew I had to make it to the finish alone,” said Kamna, who also won a stage last month at the Criterium du Dauphine.

There was no significant change in the overall standings ahead of today’s mammoth summit finish in the high mountains as yellow jersey holder Primoz Roglic kept his 40-second lead over second-place Tadej Pogacar intact.

The Slovenian pair enjoyed a quiet day in the pack of main contenders and crossed the finish line 16 minutes, 48 seconds behind the stage winner, who is not a threat in the overall standings.

Rigoberto Uran of Colombia remained in third place overall, 1 minute, 34 seconds off the pace.

Pogacar tested Roglic’s legs on the final ascent but could not gain time on his rival.

“It was a good warmup for tomorrow, the queen stage of the race,” Pogacar said.

Pogacar, a 21-year-old Tour rookie, will have another chance to unsettle Roglic during today’s Stage 17 — arguably the toughest — featuring the Col de La Madeleine and the Col de La Loze, the highest point this year at 2,304 metres.

The last six kilometres (4 miles) of the climb are particularly difficult, with very steep sections and sharp turns.

“There will be gaps and a mix-up on the GC (general classification),” Pogacar continued. “We see everyone is exhausted.”

The 24-year-old Kamna, who rides for the

Bora-hansgrohe team, made his decisive move on the penultimate ascent to drop former race leader Julian Alaphilippe, Richard Carapaz and Sebastien Reichenbach, three rivals with a strong pedigree.

Kamna was part of a group of 15 riders who broke away from the peloton early in the 164-kilometre (102-mile) trek.

Among them, Frenchman Quentin Pacher also tried a solo escape but his effort was short lived as he was easily caught and then dropped by Alaphilippe, Carapaz, Reichenbach and Kamna. Carapaz, the Giro d’Italia champion, made Alaphilippe and Reichenbach crack with a couple of biting attacks but could not respond when Kamna countered before the summit.

The German was faster than his remaining rival in the downhill and on the flat sections as he sped toward Villard-de-Lans to post the biggest win of his career.

“When I saw that Carapaz was dropping the speed, I thought now it’s the time to go and went all in to the end,” Kamna said. “It’s a big relief also for the team and for me. I can almost not imagine it. The step I made this year is huge and I’m so blessed to win today.”

After losing more than seven minutes in the Jura mountains Sunday, defending champion Egan Bernal went through another day of hardship at the back of the race, getting dropped by the main contenders in the 11.1-kilometre steep climb where Kamna built his success.

The remaining 156 Tour de France riders were authorised to start the stage after the UCI and race organisers announced that all 785 COVID-19 tests on Sunday and Monday of riders and staff members of the 22 teams returned negative, No rider has tested positive since the race started on August 29 in Nice. The latest screening around the race’s second rest day was the fourth since the beginning of the Tour, and the last one before the peloton reaches the Champs Elysees on Sunday.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2020, PAGE 19

Matchday: PSG under pressure after losing first two games A LOOK at what’s happening around European soccer today: FRANCE Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel is already under pressure heading into a home game against Metz after the French champions opened the season with two league losses for the first time since 1984.

“We’re not used to this,” Tuchel said. “The most important thing is to stay calm.”

Metz has also lost twice.

Like Metz, PSG has not scored in the league yet, which is remarkable considering the Qatari-owned club’s attacking prowess.

Marquinhos and Mauro Icardi return to the squad after recovering from the coronavirus, but striker Kylian Mbappé is absent again as he completes his COVID-19 recovery.

Forward Neymar, midfielder Leandro Paredes and left back Layvin Kurzawa are all suspended.

They were sent off deep

into injury time during Sunday’s 1-0 home loss to Marseille when players from both sides traded kicks and punches.

Four players left PSG at the end of last season, including the club’s all-time top scorer Edinson Cavani and veteran center half Thiago Silva.

“Our squad is too small,” Tuchel said.

“We need to sign players if we want to achieve our objectives.”

His priority is getting another centre half to replace Silva and a holding midfielder so that Marquinhos can concentrate on playing in defence.

ENGLAND After starting the Premier League season with a victory at Tottenham, Everton opens its League Cup campaign against a fourth-division side part owned by Manchester United greats.

Everton hosts a Salford side that has seen investment from David Beckham, Ryan Giggs,

REFEREE Jerome Brisard waves away the appeals of PSG players for a penalty during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Michel Euler) Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes Leeds captain Liam After opening the season and the Neville brothers, Cooper missed the season with a loss at Crystal Phil and Gary. opener due to a calf injury Palace, Southampton hosts Leeds plays third-tier but could feature against second-tier side Brentford side Hull fresh from a high- Hull, while club record in the League Cup second octane 4-3 loss to Liverpool signing Rodrigo could be round, which only features in its first Premier League handed his first start for the Premier League teams not game in 16 years. club. playing in Europe.

BOURNEMOUTH BEAT CRYSTAL PALACE 11-10 ON PENALTIES IN CUP LONDON (AP) — Bournemouth beat Crystal Palace 11-10 in an unusually long penalty shootout to advance to the third round of the English League Cup after the game ended at 0-0 after 90 minutes yesterday.

As the sides remained deadlocked after five penalties each, even both goalkeepers had to take spot kicks — and they both missed.

Eventually David Brooks scored his second penalty for Bournemouth and Luka Milivojevic’s second was saved by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to knock out the Premier League side.

Bournemouth, which was relegated from the Premier League in July, plays Manchester City in the next round.

GREALISH DELIGHT Jack Grealish celebrated his new contract at Aston Villa by scoring the decisive goal in a 3-1 victory over Burton.

The match looked to be heading for a penalty shootout after Ollie Watkins had scored Villa’s equaliser late in the first half to cancel out Colin Daniel’s opener for the third-division team after only 68 seconds.

But Grealish struck a volley from the edge of the area to put Dean Smith’s team in front in the 88th minute.

Keinan Davis made sure of the victory in stoppage time to set up a trip to Bristol City or Northampton in the next round.

HALLER DOUBLE Sebastien Haller scored twice in four first-half minutes before Felipe Anderson added a late third as West Ham advanced past Charlton 3-0.

The win may only temporarily paper over the cracks after West Ham’s poor start to the season — a 2-0 home loss to Newcastle on Saturday — as well as unrest off the field.

DEBUT GOAL Ryan Fraser secured Newcastle’s 1-0 victory over Blackburn by scoring on his first appearance for the northeast club, which will play fourth-tier side Morecambe in the third round.

EPL SIDES AWAIT Lincoln will host Premier League champion Liverpool in the third round after routing Bradford 5-0.

Luton also has a glamorous home match next week against Manchester United after beating Reading 1-0.

Barnsley beat Middlesbrough 2-0 to secure a trip to Chelsea, although Stamford Bridge — like all stadiums — will be empty to due coronavirus restrictions.

Tottenham will play Leyton Orient, which ousted Plymouth 3-2. Tottenham striker Harry Kane sponsors the jerseys at Orient, where he spent part of his early career on goal, giving the space to good causes.

MONTPELLIER DEFEAT LYON 2-1 TO MOVE UP TO FIFTH PLACE PARIS (AP) — Midfielder Téji Savanier scored once in each half as Montpellier beat Lyon 2-1 yesterday to move up to fifth place in the French league.

The match was rescheduled from the first round of games because Lyon reached the Champions League semifinals, losing to eventual champion Bayern Munich.

Savanier opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 38th minute and Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar was sent off just before the break.

Savanier slotted a shot inside the left post in the 59th to make it 2-0 but Lyon was awarded a way back into the game when 43-year-old Brazilian defender Vitorino Hilton was sent off in the 81st.

Netherlands forward Memphis Depay tucked away the penalty for his league-leading fourth goal amid reports he will soon join Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

“We haven’t received any offer from Barcelona. Not even a phone call to ask the price for Memphis,” Lyon’s sporting director Juninho said.

“From what I understand is that if he stays he’ll be happy to help us have a good season.”

Lyon, which has four points and sits in 11th place, is in action again on Friday when it hosts Nimes.

Today, defending champion Paris Saint-Germain seeks to avoid a third straight league defeat when it hosts Metz at Parc des Princes.

They are the only two sides in the league not to score a goal so far.

PAGE 20, Wednesday, September 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Tokyo, IOC dismiss study showing Olympic costs rising

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — The CEO of the Tokyo Olympics and the IOC member in charge of Japan’s games have dismissed a new study from the University of Oxford that finds Tokyo is the most expensive Summer Games since 1960.

Tokyo, postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, is only a small part of economist Bent Flyvbjerg’s study which was published yesterday and titled, “Regression to the Tail: Why the Olympics Blow Up.” The analysis in the journal “Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space” — the third in a series following editions 2012 and 2016 — looks at Olympic costs and finds they keep increasing despite claims by the International Olympic Committee that costs are

being cut. Cost overruns for the Olympics have averaged 170 per cent, and Flyvbjerg says Tokyo is over 200 per cent.

“Well, I am aware of the report in the media. But there was no official statement given to the Tokyo organising committee,” Tokyo CEO Toshiro Muto said yesterday in an online news conference.

“So I am not in a position to make any comment on that. I am just simply confused.”

IOC Vice President John Coates, who oversees planning for Tokyo, also brushed aside the Oxford study.

“I’ve taken the view that I’ve got more productive things to do with my time than to analyse that report and respond to it,” Coates told the Australian Financial Review newspaper yesterday.

Flyvbjerg got a similar response from the IOC when the report came out

IOC) President Thomas Bach attends an IOC Executive Board meeting in Tokyo. (AP) unofficially a few days ago. The IOC criticised his work, questioned the numbers and methodology. In response, Flyvbjerg sent an open letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, offering detail.

Flyvbjerg said yesterday the IOC had not replied.

On Monday, the IOC told the Associated Press it would have no further comment.

According to the Oxford numbers, Tokyo’s spending is at $15.84 billion, already surpassing the 2012 London Olympics, which were the most expensive Summer Games to date at $14.95 billion.

Flyvbjerg says the meter is still running and expects several billion more to be added to the cost.

Tokyo organisers say officially they are spending $12.6 billion.

However, a national auditor says the actual costs are twice that high, made up of some expenses that the Oxford study omits because they are not constant between different Olympics.

“The Olympics offer the highest level of risk a city can take on,” Flyvbjerg told the AP in an interview this month. “The trend cannot continue. No city

will want to do this because it’s just too expensive, putting themselves into a debt that most cities cannot afford.”

Flyvbjerg says the basic problem is the IOC does not pay for most of the Olympics, or the cost overruns. He suggested the IOC should pay at least 10 per cent or cost overruns, and probably much more.

In the open letter, Flyvbjerg also asked the IOC if it funded a recent study that found more positive results about holding the Olympics.

In his open letter, Flyvbjerg also says he enjoys the Olympics.

“We are great fans of the Games and hope the IOC will be able to again make them attractive to host cities, not least by helping to effectively drive down costs and cost overruns,” he wrote. “This should have happened years ago, in our view, but better late than never.”

BOBSLED WORLDS MOVED TO GERMANY OVER CORONAVIRUS WORRIES

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer THIS season’s bobsled and skeleton world championships were awarded yesterday to Altenberg, Germany, and moved out of Lake Placid, New York, because of concerns across many winter sports about the coronavirus pandemic and potential travel complications for those coming to North America.

The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation said it made the move “to protect the health of athletes and spectators across the globe.” Lake Placid will be awarded the 2025 world championships instead.

“The decision wasn’t easy, as you can imagine,” said Heike

Groesswang, the IBSF’s secretary general.

The IBSF also reworked the World Cup schedule for the coming season yesterday, and the other US race planned for this winter — in Park City, Utah — is no longer going to happen.

Double races will be held in Sigulda, Latvia, and Igls, Austria, with two events in Germany, another in Switzerland and the last scheduled for China in March.

“I think in a perfect world we want to be competing against the world’s best in front of a home crowd,” USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire told The Associated Press.

“And so, it’s disappointing to not be able to compete on home ice this year, but we certainly

understand, and we want to make sure that the athletes are in the safest environment as they can be.”

Concerns with going forward with the event in Lake Placid as planned included the possibility that athletes from some nations would be unwilling or unable to come to the US during the pandemic; an uncertainty about whether Mount Van Hoevenberg — the site of Lake Placid’s sliding track — would be able to have fans present; and the lack of clarity about whether a lengthy quarantine period would be required for those coming into the area for the championships.

Most of the athletes in the world championships would be coming from Europe. “Our strategy was

to have less time spent in quarantine,” Groesswang said.

Giving Lake Placid the 2025 world championships keeps the same timeline as would have been in place this year, with the Adirondack Mountain village playing host to worlds in the season immediately before an Olympics.

Altenberg played host to bobsled and skeleton worlds this past season as well; Germany won gold medals in men’s skeleton, women’s skeleton, two-man bobsled and four-man bobsled. The other gold went to the US, with Kaillie Humphries driving to the women’s bobsled title. “I was super excited for a home world champs ... but I’d be super happy and all on board for taking it back to Altenberg as well,” Humphries said.

CARUSO BEATS SANDGREN TO SET UP MEETING WITH DJOKOVIC

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s first match since being defaulted from the US Open will come against local wild-card entry Salvatore Caruso in the second round of the Italian Open.

The 87th-ranked Caruso defeated American qualifier Tennys Sandgren 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) yesterday in the opening round at the empty Foro Italico, where fans are being kept away because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Caruso saved a match point late in the third set before closing it out after nearly three hours on a steamy 32 degree Celsius (90 degree F) day.

The top-ranked Djokovic, who had a first-round bye, said Monday that he learned “a big lesson” after he was thrown out of the tournament in New York for unintentionally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball.

Djokovic beat Caruso in straight sets in their only career meeting in the third round of last year’s French Open.

In other matches on Rome’s red clay, US Open quarterfinalists Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov both won in straight sets.

Rublev eliminated Argentine qualifier Facundo Bagnis 6-4, 6-4; then Shapovalov was even more efficient in a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Guido Pella.

Alex de Minaur — another US Open quarterfinalist — was tentative and wasted numerous chances in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) loss to German qualifier Diminik Koepfer.