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Volume: 120 No.195, October 12, 2023

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PM: IMMIGRATION CHIEF HAS RETIRED

Davis says Ferguson left by choice - not through victimisation

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunmedia.net PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis broke his silence on recent leadership changes to the Department of Immigration yesterday, saying former acting Director of Immigration Keturah Ferguson willingly left her post and retired.

He denied that she

Joining the rush

ATLANTIS TO SEEK NEW SPOT FOR SEAPLANE OPERATION

was sent on leave and victimised.

“My understanding is that she’s decided to retire,” he told The Tribune at Atlantis after attending a Fintech conference.

“I think they would have spoken to her, and she’s retiring and leaving. That’s her choice.”

Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrrolle@tribunemedia.net ATLANTIS will pursue an alternative location for its desired seaplane operations after residents repudiated their request to establish it in Montagu Bay. “Our technical experts developed a few location options, and those were presented to Civil Aviation and the Port Department as part of the application process,” said Vaughn Roberts, senior vice president for government affairs and special projects. “We will be

SEE PAGE FOUR

ANXIOUS MOTHER TELLS OF SON STUCK IN ISRAEL

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrrolle@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN is stuck in Israel as deaths mount in the war between that country and Palestinian militants.

Zane Knowles, a professional basketball player, is desperate to get out of Israel, according to his

mother, Peggy Knowles.

She said her son is far from the fight and has remained in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after airlines cancelled international flights when Israel was attacked Saturday.

“I didn’t know he was in Tel Aviv when the SEE PAGE THREE

SEE PAGE EIGHT

YOUNG Raheem Armbrister enjoying the Junkanoo tribute to Obediah Wilchcombe at Rawson Square last night. See PAGES 4 & 5 for more pictures Photo: Dante Carrer

Christie disagrees on PLP’s Candidate restriCtion

By EARYEL BOWLEG AND DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporters FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie disagrees with the Progressive Liberal Party’s purported restriction on who is eligible for a nomination in the upcoming by-election in the West Grand Bahama and Bimini constituency.

PLP chairman Fred Mitchell has said the

FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie candidate will come from the pool of aspirants considered before the last general

BOWLEG: REPAIR OF STADIUM LIKELY CHINESE GOVT FUNDED

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

election –– a group that would exclude former parliamentarian Shane Gibson.

Mr Christie avoided discussing the matter in-depth while speaking to reporters yesterday, saying he did not want to oppose his party publicly.

“In a democracy, any one of my colleagues who wants to run, I applaud them for wanting to do what

YOUTH, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg said the Chinese government would likely fund all Thomas A Robinson National Stadium repairs and employ Chinese workers to do the work.

He could not confirm how many Bahamians will be involved, saying the government is “pushing heavily” for their involvement.

SEE PAGE FIVE

SEE PAGE THREE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Thursday, October 12, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

51st Conch Cracking Festival in McLean’s Town

RESIDENTS and guests participated in the 51st Conch Cracking Competition in McLean’s Town, Grand Bahama.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

Follow us on social media for educational resources:

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 3

Anxious mother tells of son stuck in Israel from page one bombing started, and we have remained in constant contact ever since,” she said yesterday. “I can tell you it’s not easy. Both me and my husband, we are very concerned about it.

“But I have confidence that God is going to protect Zane, and I believe in the power of prayer.”

Mrs Knowles said her son was in good spirits.

“He always says to me, ‘Mommy, don’t worry about me, I’m gonna be okay despite it all,’” she said. “I have no doubt that my son will get out of there unscathed.”

The 31-year-old has been playing professional basketball in Israel for about a month, with his last game just over a week ago. He is currently in Gan Ner, a community in northern Israel.

He was one of two foreign players on the team.

The other one, an American, has already left Israel.

According to his mother, his remaining teammates have been drafted for the war.

Mrs Knowles said this is not the first time her son was affected by a sudden war in a foreign country.

“Zane was in Hungary when the Ukraine war started up,” she said, “so it seemed like he’s been in a lot of areas where

ZANE Knowles sits next to Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.

ZANE Knowles and his mother Peggy Knowles there’s conflict. He wasn’t directly involved in it, but he’s seen a lot of the refugees coming in through Hungary. But this situation with Israel is different because he just didn’t have a way out when he was trying to get out.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an advisory for Bahamians in Israel earlier this week, urging them to follow the instructions of local authorities.

It is unclear how many Bahamians remain in that country or how many

evacuated.

Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell told reporters yesterday that he knows at least three Bahamians who were in Israel over the weekend.

The Tribune interviewed one of them, Dion Bowe,

a senior partner in an advisory and investments firm who said he hired private security contractors to take him and his wife to the airport from their hotel as society collapsed around them. He said he saw dead bodies and

bombs flying over.

“We do not have a diplomatic presence in Israel, but the state of Israel has a responsibility to protect non-citizens, and I’m sure they will follow the international rules on that,” he said.

BOWLEG: REPAIR OF STADIUM LIKELY CHINESE GOVERMENT FUNDED from page one “Well, the whole idea was to have the Chinese technical people and assigned contractor to work along with a Bahamian contractor and our technical people and subcontractor, but at the same time, of course, the Chinese had said they wanted to have some employees of their own,” he said

yesterday.

“At this time, I cannot say what number of persons that will be, but we are pushing heavily towards ensuring that Bahamians are involved in the repairs.”

The government had pledged $10m to repair the stadium and the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex.

Given the Chinese

MITCHELL DOES NOT EXPECT COURT DECISION TO PREVENT KENYA OFFICERS DEPLOYMENT

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER FRED MITCHELL

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell does not believe a court’s decision in Kenya that prevents the country from deploying police officers to fight gangs in Haiti will be a long-term issue for the move to launch a multinational security mission to Haiti.

Petitioners in Kenya said deploying police officers outside the country is illegal, leading to the Kenyan court’s temporary injunction, valid until October 24.

In July, Kenya pledged to send 1,000 officers to Haiti.

Earlier this month, the United Nations Security Council approved a year-long multi-national security mission to Haiti that Kenya would lead.

“I spoke to the Americans who actually, as best I can understand it, this is an ex parte order which was put in place, and the

determination has to be made by a court about the constitutionality of the deployment of the troops,” Mr Mitchell told reporters yesterday.

“The Americans don’t seem to think that it will stop the deployment, so I’ll go with that for the time being. We’ll check with our own sources in London, where the High Commission for Kenya that serves this part of the world is, so I don’t expect it to be an issue in the long term.”

“But you know, in a democratic society, people have the opportunity to challenge things in the court. So I assume, just like in our own country, that we have to await the outcome of the court proceedings.”

The Davis administration has committed 150 local troops to the mission to help Haiti.

According to the United Nations, more than 3,000 homicides have been reported in Haiti this year and over 1,500 cases of kidnapping for ransom.

involvement, Mr Bowleg said he does not know how much the repairs will now cost.

“I don’t know what’s the true value of the repairs right now, but they have their technical team on the ground with the technical team from the Ministry of Works who are finalizing the scope of work we will be undertaking,” he said. “And so that is yet to be finalized to me, but just know that they will be contributing to the repairs of the facility.”

China gifted the 190,000 square ft. stadium to The Bahamas in 2011, signalling the growing bilateral relations between the two countries.

Mr Bowleg said officials are preparing the stadium to host the next World Athletics World Relays and CARIFTA events.

“That’s what the $10m was allocated for,” he said.

“However, the Chinese government is going to be

YOUTH, SPORTS AND CULTURE MINISTER MARIO BOWLEG covering it, so The Bahamas may not use any of its $10m, and the Chinese government may end up funding the entire repairs, which is what most likely

will happen.

“This was a gift given to us, so it’s now up to them to repair the building that we felt was not up to proper standard from day one.”

Mr Bowleg said repairs are expected to start on November 1 and be completed by March 2024 in preparation for next year’s sporting events.

PAGE 4, Thursday, October 12, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

PM: Immigration chief has retired from page one

FOR SALE

leaked internal Department of Immigration documents earlier this summer showing senior immigration officers were concerned about former Immigration Minister Keith Bell’s interference in the department’s work.

Some believe the leaks threatened Ms Ferguson’s position and made her vulnerable to removal.

Asked about the victimisation claims, Mr Davis said: “We hold people to account, yes, and accountability, that’s what we will always do. But whoever said that, maybe they could give me the incidences why they believe it is, but there is no victimisation. As I understand it from all persons involved, she agreed willingly that she will vacate the post and move on.”

Ms Ferguson, 62, could not be reached for comment up to press time. By law, she was not required to retire until age 65.

In July, Mr Davis pledged that the

government would review how immigration decisions are made and strengthen the process. The administration, however, has not disclosed further details such as who is conducting the review.

Nonetheless, Mr Davis said former Immigration Director William Pratt was brought back to run the department because of his experience.

“The department requires some season and experience at this time, and that’s why he was brought back,” he said.

When The Tribune asked why there was no mention during last week’s Speech from The Throne about amending the Bahamas Nationality Act to equalise citizenship rights for men and women, Mr Davis said Governor General Cynthia “Mother” Pratt noted that immigration laws are being reviewed.

“The nationality act is included in those laws,” he said. “We’re reviewing those, and we will be coming to Parliament with any amendments that we

think are necessary.”

“When the minister speaks during the resolution to thank the governor-general, he will give more details on it.”

Governor General Pratt said last week that the government would introduce a bill “to amend the Immigration Act to make new provisions and to be more responsive to the present realities of our immigration circumstances.”

In April, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the government would not amend the Bahamas Nationality Act to fix discriminatory citizenship issues until the Privy Council ruled on a pending case.

The Privy Council later affirmed that children born out of wedlock to Bahamian men are Bahamians at birth regardless of their mother’s nationality. However, the Davis administration has not said when it will change the law to let Bahamian men and women pass on citizenship whatever the circumstances.

PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis speaks at the D3 Bahamas Fintec Festival yesterday.

Photo: Brandisha Fraser

THE LYING-in-state of former Minister of Social Services, Information and Broadcasting Obie Wilchcombe took place yesterday. Government officials, family, friends and admirers visited the foyer of the House of Assembly to see the late MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, who died unexpectedly last month.

Photos: Dante Carrer

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 5

from page one

is the position.”

Mr Gibson’s potential candidacy divides PLP supporters in West Grand Bahama and Bimini.

On Tuesday, residents in the constituency told The Tribune they believe their representative should be someone from the community.

“I am not into no Shane Gibson or none of them from Nassau to talk about coming to West End and representing us,” said Philip Smith, a resident who described Mr Wilchcombe as irreplaceable.

“We have people in this community who can represent us.”

Roseylyn Rolle said she does not believe Mr Gibson would fit the community well.

“I don’t think Shane Gibson should get the nomination because I don’t know him,” she said. “And we need someone from here who knows the people.”

Kingsley Smith is believed to be the favourite of party elites for the nomination.

Ms Rolle thinks another man said to be interested in the job –– young attorney Samuel Brown –– would be a good choice.

FORMER Prime Minister Perry Christie disagrees with the Progressive Liberal Party’s purported restriction on who is “He from here, and I know eligible for a nomination in the upcoming by-election in the West Grand Bahama and Bimini constituency. him,” she said.

Photo: Dante Carrer

Christie disagrees with PLP’s candidate eligibility restriction they have to do,” he said when asked if he supports Mr Gibson. “Shane is no different.”

“We’ll see what we have to see. I think the party has taken a position on the matter, or I believe they have taken a position on the matter, and it is not for me, as a former leader of the party, to enter into the public arena in any position at this moment in opposition to what the party is doing.”

Mr Christie’s comments came at the House of Assembly after he viewed the body of Obie Wilchcombe, who died unexpectedly last month.

Pressed on whether he would support Mr Gibson, Mr Christie said: “Why would you want to ask me that question when, like they say, everything is fluid?

Why would you want to do that?

Don’t place me in a position where I have to make that decision at this time because right now, based on what the party is saying, he is not under consideration, that the only people under consideration are persons who applied in the last election for that seat. That is the present position of the party. Now, I disagree with that position, but that

LAST night, a Junknaoo rush-out in honour of Obie Wilchcombe took place in Rawson Square.

Photos: Dante Carrer

PAGE 6, Thursday, October 12, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

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Families in Israel and abroad wait in agony ONE of those taken hostage is a grandmother who learned Arabic in hopes of building bridges with her neighbors. Others include 10 members of an extended family, one an elderly man in a wheelchair who requires hospital care.

Still another is a nurse who delivered thousands of babies over the years to parents both Israeli and Palestinian.

All are among roughly 150 people abducted by Hamas militants early Saturday during sweeping raids on Israeli towns and villages near the heavily fortified border with the Gaza Strip. They include citizens of Brazil, Britain, Italy, the Philippines and the United States, as well as many Israelis. The number of hostages, provided by Hamas and Israeli officials, has not been independently confirmed.

Militants have vowed to start killing hostages if Israel’s airstrikes target civilians inside Gaza without first providing a warning allowing them to flee. It has placed the families and friends of those taken in a terrifying and desperate situation, with little they can do but wait.

Noam Sagi, a psychotherapist who lives in London, believes his mother, Ada, who turns 75 next week, is among those taken hostage. He hasn’t heard from her since early Saturday morning when she called him from a panic room at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a communal settlement near the southeastern border with Gaza.

Ada Sagi, the daughter of Holocaust survivors from Poland, was born in Israel in 1948. As a member of a kibbutz built on the ideals of equality and humanity, she learned Arabic and taught the language to others in southern Israel as a way to improve communication and build a better relationship with Palestinians living nearby, her son said.

Sagi hopes his mother’s language skills will help her negotiate with the hostage takers. But she has severe allergies, and has recently had a hip replacement. He is desperately worried.

“The only hope I have now is almost like for humanity to do something for me to see my mother again and for my son to see his grandmother again,” Sagi told The Associated Press.

Nir Oz is also home to Sagui DekelChen, 35, a married father of two daughters who is awaiting the birth of his third child. Neighbors reported that he helped fight off the militants who stormed the kibbutz, but he hasn’t been heard from since, according to his father, Jonathan.

About 240 of the community’s 400 residents are dead or missing, Jonathan Dekel-Chen said at the press conference in Tel Aviv called to appeal to the US government to rescue the hostages.

Rachel Goldberg told the story of her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was born in Berkeley, California, and was saving money to see the world.

Hersh was attending a music festival where at least 260 young people were killed. When militants threw grenades into the shelter where a group of festival

goers had taken refuge, Hersh and a friend picked them up and threw them back outside, witnesses reported. He lost an arm in the fighting.

He hasn’t been seen since the militants loaded him into the back of a pickup truck and drove off. His cell phone signal was lost at the Gaza border.

His mother said she got two texts from him, then nothing: “I love you” and, moments later, “I’m sorry.”

Born in California, Adrienne Neta has lived in Israel since 1981. During a long career as a nurse and midwife, the race and religion of her patients were irrelevant, her family said.

Adrienne Neta called her family as the militants burst in at her home in Kibbitz Be’eri, where at least 100 people were later found dead. Then the line went dead.

“The optimistic scenario is she is held hostage and not dead on the street,” said her son Nahar Neta.

Others presumed taken hostage include a family with both Italian and US citizenship who were living in the same southern Israeli community of Be’eri.

Their number include Eviatar Moshe Kipnis, 65, and Lilach Lea Havron, 60, and their health care aide, who were last heard from Saturday morning sheltering in their safe room, after militants began storming the village.

Their son, Nadav Kipnis, told The Associated Press that in addition to his parents and the aide, eight members of Havron’s family are also missing, including three children.

The family believes all 11 were taken hostage because their bodies weren’t recovered and some of their cell phones have been traced to Gaza.

The family fears especially for the father, who uses a wheelchair, takes several medications daily and needs regular hospital care for a severe autoimmune condition.

Italy’s foreign minister travelled to Egypt on Wednesday to try to enlist regional Arab support to liberate hostages, including Kipnis’ parents and family.

For now, all the family has to go on are the messages and videos contained in a “nightmarish” group chat of Be’eri neighbors who described in real time as the militants went door to door, flushing people from their safe rooms, sometimes by setting their houses on fire, Kipnis said.

The chat described “people jumping off windows because their safe rooms are starting to fill with smoke and they were choking and they broke their legs trying to run to different houses, people being dragged out of their homes by terrorists...” Kipnis said, summarising the chat.

“We’re like lucky we just read this instead of being there.”

By DANICA KIRKA and AMI BENTOV Associated Press

Finlayson tribute EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT WAS August 24th 1947 when in the heart of the valley on the island of New Providence a bouncing baby boy was born to the late Alpheus Finlayson, Sr, and Dianna Finlayson (nee Deveaux). They named him Alpheus Alexander Finlayson, Jr. “Hawk” Finlayson as he was fondly called by family and friends grew up in Nassau and attended Eastern Junior and Senior School and Saint Augustine’s College (SAC) graduating in 1966. When the School was an all boy’s institution, Finlayson was one of the longest serving presidents of the Bahamas association of athletic

association laying the foundation which allows us now to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Finlayson made the history books in 1999 when he became the first Bahamian to be elected to the council of the twenty-seven member international federation (IAAF). Finlayson hosted a weekly show on track and field and published a local best seller on Bahamian track and field history. “Hawk” was definitely a nation builder and joined the Rotary Club. In 1982, being civic minded, he eventually became president of the Rotary Club of West Nassau, and earned a Paul Harris Fellowship Award in 1994.

Highlighting the depth

of his services he later joined the first black Greek letter fraternity founded in 1904 in Philadelphia, USA. Alpheus eventually served as president from 2006-2008.

Hawk wasn’t all work, he enjoyed dancing, listening to jazz music and travelling the world.

To his daughter, Alexis Hanna, and her husband, Khalid Hanna, and his brothers, Roosevelt Finlayson and my friend, Spence, I say although it is hard during these times, we will meet him again on that great getting up morning, so cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine.

LOXSLEY BASTIAN Nassau, October 11, 2023.

A JUNKANOO performer during a rushout in tribute to Obie Wilchcombe last night.

Photo: Dante Carrer

Raise the standard of debate EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE heckling and shoutings, the uncontrolled roars of laughter, the constant interruptions poorly disguised as “points of order”, are all evidence of a precipitous decline in the quality of debate within our parliament over the years.

Unfortunately, reading speeches in today’s parliament seems to be the norm, rather than the exception because of the lack of preparation by some members of parliament. According to the norms and conventions of the westminster system, parliamentarians are expected to engage in fruitful and spontaneous debate, as opposed to reading speeches.

This aspect of the Westminster system has not changed. Members of parliament should speak from “their natural wrist”, as we often say in the Bahamian vernacular, with a degree of passion and conviction.

Of course, they would have key points of their presentations. Truth be told, reading a speech requires minimal effort, and little if any preparation. Spontaneous debate requires a level of preparedness and commands the attention of the listener. This view was

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net echoed by a noted attorney, a former Governor General, and scores of ordinary Bahamians who call the daily talk shows. So, I am not alone. Oh, yes, I am very much aware that there are exceptions to every rule.

I want to make it quite clear that I am not questioning the intelligence or competence of any member of parliament. There are some highly intelligent and articulate members on both sides of the political divide who are more than capable of engaging in the “cut and thrust “ of parliamentary debate, but they are the exceptions - no names.

The vast majority of members, however, choose the easy way out and read from a prepared text - with due respect.

Additionally, members use debating time to hurl thinly veiled accusations and allegations back and forth. Opposition members use it mostly to get issues off their chest, believing, whether rightly of wrongly, that the speaker’s criticisms and reprimand are oftentimes

directed more towards them than towards members of the governing party. Government members pump their fists and pound their chest while gloating about their achievements, and seem to take a delight in highlighting the short comings of their predecessors who were in office before them.

Both sides are guilty.

The dismissive attitude, the air of superiority and the level of hostility on the part of some members are unmistakable. Civility and cordiality, which are not signs of weakness, seem to be in short supply.

We, the members of the public, expect our elected representatives to engage in frank, substantive, and spontaneous debate. So, inject a healthy dose of humility, mutual respect, and restraint into the body politic. Uplift the standard whilst doing the people’s business.The Bahamian people deserve better. And no, this letter is not about lecturing or pontificating on my part, but rather about the essence of truth, which always hurts.

ZEPHANIAH BURROWS Nassau, October 10, 2023.

Mitchell concern EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM writing to express deep concern and indignation over the recent statement issued by chairman Fred Mitchell of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) regarding the West Grand Bahama candidacy.

It is not just the vagueness and ambiguity of the statement that is troubling, but the apparent overt deviation from constitutional and democratic norms.

The very essence of democracy relies on transparency, choice, and the ability of members within a democratic institution to participate freely in decision-making processes. It is rather unsettling that the PLP’s chairman would suggest that there has been no “sanctioned primary or selection process”. What then are the metrics and methodologies employed in making these important decisions that affect the trajectory of our nation’s political landscape?

Furthermore, the assertion that selection choices will be made exclusively from the existing stock of aspirants from the 2021 general election is a disturbing precedent. Such a rigid, narrow perspective not only marginalises potential new voices and ideas but it essentially sidesteps the Candidates Committee’s very purpose.

The circumvention of this committee undermines its significance, rendering it a mere figurehead rather than a meaningful instrument of democracy within the party.

The role of chairman Fred Mitchell in this issue cannot be ignored. As the chief communicator of this message, he bears the responsibility for this affront to democracy. If this is indeed the direction the PLP leadership is heading, it is a regrettable deviation from the principles and values that the party once championed.

This not only threatens

the internal mechanisms of the party, but sets a precarious precedent for the broader Bahamian political ecosystem.

It is essential for any democratic party to be accountable to its members, its constituents, and the broader public. Cherrypicking candidates without a clear, transparent, and inclusive selection process is a slap in the face of every Bahamian who believes in the principles of democracy.

Chairman Mitchell owes it to the Bahamian people to ensure that the party’s operations adhere to the highest standards of democratic governance.

In closing, I urge the Progressive Liberal Party to reconsider its stance on this matter and ensure that it upholds the democratic values that the Bahamian people cherish so dearly.

THE GATE KEEPER Nassau, October 5, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 7

Baha Mar donates $100k to Red Cross to aid in replacing $80k of stolen equipment BAHA MAR donated $100,000 to The Bahamas Red Cross yesterday after the non-profit organisation was robbed of $80,000 worth of equipment.

“The funds donated will aid in the replacement of the items stolen earlier this week and support the Red Cross in additional areas of need,” Baha Mar said in a statement. “This assistance is imperative for disaster relief and general support to members of the community, especially during hurricane season.

“As a supporter of The

Bahamas Red Cross, the Baha Mar Resort Foundation has been actively involved in the organisation over the years, having assisted with multiple hurricane relief efforts and humanitarian needs by donating funds, goods and services to the community.

Baha Mar president Graeme Davis said he was saddened by the crime.

“We were saddened by this selfish and obscene crime and immediately knew action needed to be taken to help,” he said. “This donation is

‘Files being assessed’ on police-involved killings to see iF oFFicers to be charged

PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS DIRECTOR CORDELL FRAZIER

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net PUBLIC Prosecutions Director Cordell Frazier said she is reviewing the Coroner’s Court file of Deangelo Evans, a man police are accused of killing in 2020, to determine whether to charge the officers involved in his death with a crime.

The families of Evans and Azario Major, two young men killed by police bullets in separate incidents, gathered at the Masons Addition Park on Friday to honour their loved ones. The families renewed their calls for justice, accountability and closure.

Jurors ruled this year that the deaths of Evans and Major were homicides by manslaughter.

Accordingly, the Office

of the Director of Public Prosecutions must decide whether to charge the officers involved in the cases.

Ms Frazier told The Tribune on Tuesday that she now has the Evans file, saying: “The same is being assessed.”

As for Major, she said his file “will be likewise assessed and a decision rendered” when she receives the documents.

Deangelo Evans, 20, affectionately known as “Dee”, was allegedly shot and killed by police on May 27, 2018, on Sandy Lane off McCullough Corner.

Three years later, Azario Major, 31, was allegedly killed by police outside Woody’s Bar on Fire Trail Road on December 26, 2021.

Both incidents attracted significant attention.

promotion exercise to be done beFore year’s end, says cop

PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS DIRECTOR CORDELL FRAZIER

By LETRE SWEETING Tribune Staff Reporter lsweeting@tribunemedia.net POLICE Commissioner Clayton Fernander said a promotion exercise for police officers would be completed before the end of the year.

“I want to assure all of the officers, who are qualified, just to standby,” he said yesterday. “In short order, we should be able to release that listing.”

“It is well on the way,

and officers could be assured that they will get their just reward at the end of the day. Before the end of the year, it will be released.”

Mr Fernander had earlier promised that a police promotion exercise would be finished before the end of last year, but that did not happen.

More than 920 Royal Bahamas Police Force officers were promoted in 2021, the last significant exercise.

a demonstration of our commitment and support at a crucial time to an organisation that is vital to our community and is integral in providing a wide range of assistance to those in need.”

According to press liaison officer Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings, several people on Monday breached a northern fence at the Red Cross headquarters on John F Kennedy Drive. They entered several containers containing Caterpillar generators and power equipment.

REPRESENTATIVES of Baha Mar present a cheque for $100,000 to The Bahamas Red Cross.

Photo: Moise Amisial

PAGE 8, Thursday, October 12, 2023

Atlantis to seek new spot for seaplane operation

THE TRIBUNE

ADOPTED PIT BULLS RETURNED TO GB HUMANE SOCIETY AFTER ALLEGED MISTREATMENT

from page one asking the authorities to reconsider these options.

We were also pleased that members of the sailing community offered possible locations during the recent public meeting.”

The Tribune understands Atlantis is now eyeing the area north of Athol Island and west of the Sir Sidney Poitier bridge.

Atlantis representatives were present during a town hall meeting on Tuesday as it seeks a water aerodrome licence to facilitate domestic seaplane tours.

The resort has teamed up with Coco Bahamas Seaplanes, a Bahamianowned airline based out of Odyssey Aviation. The seaplanes, officials say, would add Family Island excursions from Nassau, with operations increasing connectivity, expanding the tourism market and creating jobs through flights to Spanish Wells and Kamalame Cay. On Tuesday, Senior Commander Berne Wright, the Port Department’s acting port controller, maintained that a decision on approving the seaplane project and associated licence has not been finalised, and that the consultation process will influence the outcome.

He added that

A PAIR of Pit bulls named Frik and Frak.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

VAUGHN ROBERTS, Atlantis Paradise Island senior vice president for government affairs and special projects. placing the landing site at Montagu was “only a suggestion” and that due to increased traffic, the previous location at the former Chalks operations base on Paradise Island “is

not suitable for continued operations”.

Commander Wright said: “It was the Port Department’s recommendation to have what we are having now. At the

Port Department, we don’t make decisions in a silo, and we value what you bring to the table. Hence your input, your feelings matter in the decision we make.”

TWO adopted pit bulls were returned to the Humane Society of Grand Bahama after allegedly being mistreated and subjected to cruel conditions.

Tip Burrows, executive director of the HSGB, said the pit bulls, Frik and Frak, were lawfully retrieved from a business establishment in Mather Town on Saturday, October 7.

The dogs were tied up outside on a short lead –– one to a boat trailer and the other to a tree or building.

The animals were not provided shelter or water, and the food in their bowls were unfit for consumption.

The police K-9 unit accompanied Ms Burrows to get the dogs.

“They were in dirt and tied with 4ft leads, which is horrible,” Ms Burrows said. “They were dirty and skinny. There were no water containers nearby and they had a bowl of food in front of them, which was covered in ants.”

A well-known businessman adopted the pit bulls from the shelter in August.

Before they were adopted, Burrows conducted a home check and found it suitable for the dogs.

However, a month ago, concerned residents notified Ms Burrows about two

dogs and pigs kept at a business place in Mather Town.

She said she contacted animal control officials numerous times to investigate the situation, but when an animal control officer and police checked, they found nothing wrong.

Ms Burrows said the dogs were being used as guard dogs, violating the adoption contract.

“I knew immediately they were our dogs,” Ms Burrows said. “We got them in January when they were three months old and they grew up here at the shelter and have been indoors.

“It is disheartening that the person is a prominent long-standing businessman in the community. I had no reason to think that this person would end up putting the dogs in this kind of condition.”

Ms Burrows said the dogs are doing well back at the shelter.

“Unfortunately, the laws in the country are not adequate for this kind of thing,” she said. “The parameters under which dogs can be tied are not clearly defined, so it is a grey area, and nothing is in the law to say the lead should be X long.

“But, obviously, lack of shelter is considered animal cruelty, and it is an offence.”

“It is difficult getting the authorities to take what laws there are seriously.”

GB TRAFFIC ACCIDENT SENDS TWO ADULTS AND A BABY TO HOSPITAL

SCENE of the accident in Grand Bahama that sent two adults and a baby to hospital, by-standers hold the baby as emergency personnel check out the two adults.

Photo: Denise Maycock

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO adults and a baby were taken to the hospital following a serious traffic accident in the Bahamia area on Wednesday evening.

The incident occurred sometime after 5pm at the intersection of Santa Maria and Pinta Avenues, involving a grey-coloured Honda Accord, and a white Nissan Altima.

A female was driving the Honda, and a man was driving the Nissan.

A young baby was also a

passenger in the Nissan.

Two bystanders at the scene held the baby while the male driver remained in the vehicle with a neck brace awaiting assistance from EMS personnel. The infant had also reported sustained a minor injury.

Two fire units responded to the scene.

The mother of the child later arrived.

Inspector Mick Sears reported that all victims sustained minor injuries and were taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital to be checked by doctors.

Investigations are continuing into the accident.

POLICE INVESTIGATING THE APPARENT DROWNING OF 51-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN POLICE in New Providence are investigating the drowning death of a 51-year-old woman of Westland, Detroit, Michigan.

The incident reportedly happened shortly after noon on Tuesday. The woman was sitting with a male relative on the shoreline of a beach on Paradise Island when a strong wave

carried them into the water.

Both individuals, submerged underwater, were rescued by lifeguards.

EMS were called and took both victims to the hospital where the woman died.

The man remains in hospital in stable condition, police said.

Investigations continue.

Ignorant fundamentalists showing homophobic, undemocratic colours PAGE 10, Thursday, October 12, 2023

THE wildly irrational freak-out, moral panic and paroxysms by certain clerics and their cheering squads over a Pride Bahamas forum at the University of The Bahamas was at times humorous, especially given the nonsensical statements by an excitable prideful parade of homophobes displaying their theocratic colours.

But the issues raised by their intolerance and deep-seated opposition to a pluralistic society are disturbing.

As we have seen in democracies like the United States of America, with many enthralled by the fascist mindset of Donald Trump and his enablers, the work of securing democracy must be relentless.

The basic message of the clerics to those hosting the forum is: “Shut up. You don’t have a right to have this forum at UB!” The anti-democratic clerics do not understand, or wish to ignore, basic constitutional and democratic tenets as well as the role of a university, public or private, in a society.

It is precisely because UB is primarily taxpayer-funded that a broad variety of opinions should be allowed in various forums. Suppose the university wanted to host a religion forum, which would include Jews and Muslims?

Would the fundamentalist Christian pastors object because only their views should be allowed?

Like the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB), UB is statutorily independent. They are both public spaces for the wide expression of a diversity of viewpoints and ideas, some of which some or many people may disagree on various occasions. This is the nature of an open society.

The independence of these institutions means that the government, religious groups or others cannot dictate to the university or the gallery who is allowed freedom of expression on their premises.

How far do the pastors want to go? Given the global history of intolerance, probably farther than most Bahamians realise. Do the pastors want to have veto power over curriculum and texts?

Do they want to start banning and burning books in the library? Is the university allowed to higher gay and lesbian professors and staff or do the pastors need to be consulted on who is allowed to teach at UB? Do the clerics want veto power over the art displayed at NAGB and also over which artists are allowed to exhibit works at the gallery?

We have seen all of this before in other countries.

The Christian nationalism espoused by the pastors and others is a direct and dangerous threat to democracy.

In a free and open society, they are allowed to express their views, no matter how ignorant, intolerant or distasteful, as long as they do slander or libel others.

But what such nationalists typically want is for their

ideology to reign supreme while those with whom they disagree or dislike are banned from certain public spaces. So, it is okay for a Christmas tree to be erected in Parliament Square, but not the Jewish menorah.

Despite the Judaic roots of Christianity and preaching in church about Israel based on the Christian Scriptures, it was amazing the outcry from fundamentalist Christians when a menorah was erected in the Square some years ago. If a community of Jews wanted to erect a synagogue on New Providence would the pastors object?

The Bahamas government gives millions every year in grant-in-aid to private schools, including faith-based institutions.

Should the government be allowed to dictate what is taught in religion classes in these schools, including whether world religions can be included in a curriculum?

Public universities in the United States are also primarily funded by taxpayers.

Yet many of them have gay and lesbian associations and a range of other associations and faith-based campus ministries for Christians, Jews and Muslims.

The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is one of the leading public research universities in the US. It is a leader in higher education. If Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) president Bishop Delton Fernander and his cohorts travelled to Michigan, they will find the Spectrum Centre.

The “Centre is a campus resource centre dedicated to serving and supporting members of the U-M LGBT…communities.

Through education, advocacy, and community building, the centre works to enhance campus climate, increase students’ sense of belonging, and help students thrive”.

Indeed, because public universities in the US are predominantly taxpayer funded, they must be open to a diversity of ideas and groups. If those who sought to interrupt the UB forum attempted to do the same at U-M or another US campus, they would be asked to leave.

Internationally, many public and private universities have open gay and lesbian professors and staff. They have a variety of associations,

THE TRIBUNE

including conservative and liberal political clubs.

All of this makes for a good, thriving, dynamic, intellectually exciting and challenging academic environment. Sadly, Bishop Fernander and his cohorts are challenging both the foundations of a plural democracy and the purpose of a university.

While they live in the 21st century, the mindsets of these fanatical undemocratic clerics are premodern.

Because the ignorance of many of them is insatiable and near bottomless, they should take up a collection or offering and perhaps attend classes at a university like U-M. One such individual who might benefit from classes in critical thinking, religious and theological studies, Philosophy 101, sociology, the history of democracy, and other courses is an inveterate letter-writing known for egregiously ignorant and contradictory prose.

The writer opined last week: “Regarding [UB chair Allyson] Gibson Maynard’s claims, if UB is truly independent, then why does this institution continue to accept tax dollars from taxpayers it claims to be independent from? Without government subsidies, UB would immediately wither up financially.

“An institution that is independent would be able to stand on its own two feet financially, without having to depend on state subventions.”

By this bizarre logic, the government should stop giving aid to every denominational school tomorrow.

Because this aid is essential to keeping these schools open, they would either have to close or dramatically increase school fees.

Surely, the BCC would be horrified at this prospect.

Precisely because such schools play an important role in educating our children, and because their parents are taxpayers, few would argue that state subventions should be withdrawn.

What about subventions made to religious-based charities and certain tax exemptions for nonprofits and churches? Should they be withdrawn to ensure the independence of these institutions?

The black and white mindset of the writer is such that he cannot see the spectrum or rainbow of nuance and complexity of public policy, how society is ordered and how various essential public-private arrangements benefit society.

In a both/and world, an independent institution can receive state funds as long as these funds are not misused and the institution does not discriminate against someone based on race, gender, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.

Around the world, great museums and private universities have utilized public funds to invent new technologies, to find cures for diseases, to support the arts

Apparently, the only acceptable domestic identity is being an intolerant fundamentalist Christian frightened by gays and lesbians and opposed to legislation to outlaw marital rape.

and humanities, and to help lift the veils of prejudice and ignorance.

In a bizarre aside, the writer notes: “One UB professor claims to be a feminist. UB is simply copycatting its counterparts abroad.” Is the writer really this profoundly ignorant?

There is nothing wrong in being a feminist. Depending on how one defines feminism, there are scores of male and female feminists.

He seems to believe that The Bahamas is cut off from the world. Perhaps the only texts used by UB should be written by Bahamians such as Bishop Fernander.

Is the writer copycatting his Christian identity from counterparts abroad? Every religious denomination in The Bahamas came from abroad, as did the English language. Perhaps he would be more comfortable if The Bahamas was like some tribes in Papua New Guinea with little to no contact with outsiders.

Today, scores of pastors copycat the prosperity gospel, the preaching styles, the homophobia, the misogyny against women and

other traits from abroad, mostly the US. Ideas are human and global. Democracy, freedom and tolerance are universal ideas and ideals. They are not the exclusive provenance of any society.

The comment reveals a somewhat cave dweller mindset by the writer who, like some others, has the false notion that being gay or lesbian or a feminist or a liberal must be foreign.

Apparently, the only acceptable domestic identity is being an intolerant fundamentalist Christian frightened by gays and lesbians and opposed to legislation to outlaw marital rape.

Big words and complex theology in a small mindset can be both humorous and dangerous. The writer also bizarrely stated: “… The BCC should reach out to the Anglican and Catholic churches with the aim of lobbying them to excommunicate individuals at UB who are spearheading the Pride Bahamas events.”

Wow! The matter of excommunication is a serious one and

not to be trivialised. One imagines the heads of the Roman Catholic and Anglican communities shaking their heads in disbelief and laughter at such an imbecilic suggestion.

Excommunication is rare and used for grave matters. The writer is so angry with gays and lesbians and so stunningly theologically clueless that he trotted out a church practice of which he has little to no understanding.

Whatever one may think about gays and lesbians, we should be able to agree on the protection of the fundamental rights for all citizens regardless of circumstance of birth or affiliation.

No matter how insipid, how intolerant, how narrow-minded the homophobic pastors are, they have a right to their views and to express them.

In the spirit of others who have defended democracy in other jurisdictions, while we may profoundly disagree with others, we must defend their rights of expression and assembly, like the rights of those who hosted Pride Week.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 11

Biden facing increasingly challenging issues as elections near PRESIDENT Joe Biden listens as he is introduced to deliver remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House yesterday.

Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s life and job just got a whole lot more complicated and fraught this week, and on top of that, his stubbornly low popularity ratings in recent months have offered little consolation that he will be rewarded next year with another term in office.

And Biden’s continuing reluctance to hold regular press conferences with the mainstream White House press corps have not made things better.

Most Washington reporters and their editors have become resigned to the fact that Biden sees little to gain from exposing himself to unscripted questions from them. It has been very rare indeed for Biden to hold an actual press conference where reporters can raise uncomfortable questions and issues.

In fact, the New York Times has reported that “In the 100 years since Calvin Coolidge took office, only Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan held as few news conferences each year as the current occupant of the Oval Office (Biden).”

Biden’s record as president is starting to make Donald Trump look like a great communicator with the mainstream US press.

And since Trump was and is still despised by centrist and leftist journalists and their publications, this is a record not easy for Biden to emulate.

In that context, if you’re Biden this morning, here are some of the big issues on your mind.

First, there’s the US – Mexican Border. What a mess. When Biden managed to knock Trump out of the presidential saddle three years ago, people around the world looked forward to a rationalisation of American immigration policy that would cancel the callous, often inhumane treatment at the American border for Central American and other would-be immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families as a potential part of the world’s biggest economy.

Campaigning in the 2020 election season had led most observers to anticipate that the American government under the current administration would devise a sensible border policy that would eliminate the Trump administration’s cruelty without sacrificing the essential sanctity of the southern US border.

Instead, US border protections have been overwhelmed by the massive pent-up demand for passage into the US that steadily rose during Trump’s four years in office.

Stung by constant Democratic ridicule of his failure to deliver on his promise to complete construction of a border wall, Trump and his

STATESIDE with Charlie Harper allies in Fox News, Congress and elsewhere have hammered the current president on the failures of Biden’s own border policy.

Furthermore, Republican governors in Texas, and Florida especially, have continued to export illegal migrants who appear on their doorstep to big northern Democratic-governed cities like New York, Washington and Chicago, straining the social services of those cities and spreading uncomfortably for northern mayors the burden of housing, feeding and otherwise supporting the immigrants.

Congress, meanwhile, has been unwilling or unable to do almost anything about immigration policy reform, and the issue continues to make Biden look feckless and ineffectual.

And to underline the seriousness of the situation behind the lurid headlines, the reality persists that the US economic engine absolutely needs migrant labour.

The New York Times magazine reported the following views recently on this subject: “American consumers benefit from these migrants every time they find exceptionally inexpensive ways to get their lawns cut, their bathrooms cleaned, their houses built, their apples picked, their nails painted and their young and old cared for. The prices we pay for these services have been subsidised for generations by transnational migrants.

“To cite two relevant examples, economists at Texas A&M University have concluded that if immigrant labour were eliminated from the dairy industry, the retail price of milk would nearly double. More recently in Florida, construction projects stalled and their costs rose after the state passed new laws targeting undocumented residents.

Furthermore, many economists say that recent migrants have also blunted the worst effects of post-pandemic inflation.”

This should sound familiar. Think about the services provided to many of us in The Bahamas and to our economy by Haitian, Jamaican and other migrants.

But also consider the intermittent political flashpoint their presence in our society represents. Like our own leaders, Biden must keep an eye on this issue. He also needs to find and promote a rational immigration policy

MIGRANTS walk past large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande in August in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Photo: Eric Gay/AP

for the US to follow.

Next, there is the question of how to push Ukraine across the finish line in its existential fight with Russia.

Biden’s gradual, inexorable ramp-up of arms and ammunition deliveries to Kyiv has been accelerating at a swifter pace in recent months. But battlefield results don’t reflect the increasing American and Western support for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his government.

Meantime, it looks in Washington like Biden will face increasing resistance on aid to Ukraine from Republicans in the House of Representatives. No matter whom the Republicans eventually elect to succeed the deposed Kevin McCarthy as speaker, voices opposing Ukraine assistance seem certain to get louder.

But Biden is obviously just as determined to see Ukraine survive as an independent nation and virtually certain future NATO member as is Vladimir Putin to see his southwestern neighbour restored to its Cold War-era status as subservient to an expansive Russia.

And it must seem to Biden that Putin’s strategy might succeed. That strategy seems centred on pursuing a war of attrition while Putin awaits the return of Trump to the

White House or a weakening of American and Western European commitment to Ukraine – or both.

If that happens, the same Republicans who are undermining Biden’s efforts to support Ukraine will accuse him of squandering billions of dollars of military and other assistance to Kyiv in an ultimately futile effort to repel the Russians. The president cannot win on this issue unless Russia is defeated and pushed back out of occupied Ukraine.

Further intensifying Biden’s daunting challenges is the outbreak of the most significant fighting in half a century between Israel and Iran’s surrogate regime of Hamas in Gaza. If this conflict expands and intensifies as it looks like doing, aid and materiel now ticketed for Ukraine may have to be siphoned off to assist Israel.

Biden must even wonder if Iran, resolute foes of the “Great Satan” that their leaders call America, has orchestrated this Hamas-led attack on Israel precisely to assist their temporary allies in the Kremlin, while at the same time sabotaging a promising diplomatic effort to fashion a Saudi Arabian détente with Israel.

Hamas’ brazen and unexpected incursion into Israel and launch of thousands of

SMOKE rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, yesterday.

Photo: Fatima Shbair/AP rockets into the Jewish state brings with it the certain threat of resolute retribution from Israel and the inherent dangers of igniting a much wider conflict.

Biden has so much to legitimately worry about overseas. What about at home in the US? Perhaps his greatest liability domestically is the fact that not only is he 80 years old this morning, but Biden increasingly looks, speaks and acts his advanced age.

The contrast with Donald Trump and his still-vigorous campaign style is stark indeed.

And for reasons that analysts have not yet been able to explain, Biden’s popularity in the public opinion polls does not reflect the numerous accomplishments already racked up by his administration.

Biden is left to hope that

by Election Day next year, voters will actually remember those achievements – and also that he will be able to make his case to voters in such a way that they are convinced he deserves a second term.

But the odds still favor Biden v Trump, Part Two,

next November. While there continues to be media speculation about Democratic power brokers concerned about Biden’s visible frailty, no viable alternative candidate is in sight.

Forced to speculate, Democratic strategists identify California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo as potential alternatives to Biden. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg earns mentions too, as does Vice President Kamala Harris. But conventional inside the Washington beltway thinking essentially dismisses all of these as pretenders to the throne.

Some Republican pundits are trying to build support for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as the GOP alternative to Trump. But the former South Carolina governor still trails far behind Trump, and it’s difficult to imagine that Trump’s MAGA base would desert him in favor of an “uppity” immigrant woman. Haley would have a better chance to be nominated by Democrats, if one is to believe the conventional wisdom.

PAGE 12, Thursday, October 12, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

BNT executive Lynn Gape congratulated on National Heroes Award recognition LEADING environmentalists are congratulating long-serving Bahamas National Trust (BNT) executive Lynn Gape for her steadfast commitment to conservation over many decades and praised the decision to bestow the Order of Excellence upon her as part of the 2023 National Heroes Awards.

Ms Gape, who has devoted 30 years to the BNT and is currently serving as a special consultant, is noted for her key role in several important national-level conservation efforts, especially in saving the Bahama Parrot.

“Lynn Gape is an

exemplary figure in the environmental world. She is the very definition of determination and fortitude – exactly the qualities needed to push for the cause of environmental protection,” said Rashema Ingraham, executive director of Waterkeepers Bahamas. “She has been the ‘Wonder Woman’ the county needed to get conservation to where it is today.”

Casuarina McKinney, executive director of the Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF), said: “Lynn has been an incredible advocate for protected areas and Bahamas conservation in general,” and Joseph

Darville, Chairman of Save The Bays (STB) described her as “A born, bred and accomplished environmentalist – fearless on every level on matters pertaining to protecting our national heritage of land and sea. She stands tall and dynamic among the women warriors of our country.”

Lashanti Jupp, a former BNT colleague who is now with Templeton Charitable Foundation, said: “Lynn is a fabulous mentor and support system since I met her! Everyone in conservation would benefit from at least one conversation with Lynn.”

Ms Gape joined the BNT

as a volunteer in 1991 as the director of education and also served as the honorary secretary and the chair of the Public Education Committee. She worked with such partners as Birds Caribbean and the American Museum of Natural History to develop two highly used and recognised environmental education teachers resources: ‘Wondrous West Indian Wetlands’ and ‘Treasures in the Sea – A Teachers Resource for Marine Biodiversity’. Both resources are now incorporated into the Ministry of Education’s social studies and science curriculums.

Ms Gape was also one of

the lead coordinators in the RARE Pride Campaign in 1992, which led to the declaration of the Abaco National Park in 1994, protecting the northern breeding habitat of the Bahama Parrot. She became the deputy executive director of the BNT in December 2006.

In that role, she worked closely with the Ministry of Tourism to develop a Birding Tour Guide Certification Programme and on numerous additional projects, including the development of the Bahamas Important Bird Area Programme with Birdlife International, as well as serving on the National Implementing Support Partnership (NISP) which brings together agencies whose work is integral to the Management of Marine Protected areas and National Parks coordinating implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Ms Gape was an integral part of the team for the Bahamas Protected Project, a collaboration between TNC, BNT and BREEF, which resulted in the White Paper, which recommended 44 Marine Protected areas to the protected area system

in 2018.

As a special consultant to the BNT, she continues to provide guidance and direction to the executive director and the council on process management, regulatory policy, and stakeholder engagement.

She has been the driving force behind the BNT’s popular annual fundraising event, the Christmas Jollification, which supports The Retreat Garden.

Ms Gape has also been a teacher at St Augustine’s College for 10 years teaching History and Geography to the BJC and GCE levels; Past President of the Inner Wheel Club of East Nassau; Paul Harris Fellow – Rotary Club of East Nassau; Volunteer of the Year – Birds Caribbean – 2009; Vice – President of the Bahamas Kennel Club; Board Member for the Antiquities Monuments and Museums Corporation Board Member Perry Institute of Marine Science.

Part of the Bahamas National Heroes Awards Programme, the Order of Excellence is given to heads of government or persons who are not citizens of The Bahamas, but have given exemplary service to The Bahamas.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF STEALING CAR AND MONEY GRANTED BAIL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A WOMAN was granted $4,000 bail yesterday after allegedly stealing a man’s car and $560 last month.

Magistrate Kendra Kelly charged Tamika Knowles, 38, with two counts of stealing.

Knowles is accused of stealing a grey coloured 2010 Nissan Cube from

Kynaston Walker on September 30 in New Providence. She also allegedly stole Walker’s Nokia C22 phone, a black and red pair of Jordans and $560 on the same day.

After pleading not guilty, she was informed that under the conditions of her bail, she must sign in at the East Street South Police Station every Thursday by 6pm.

Knowles’ trial begins on January 27, 2024.

MAN ACCUSED OF STEALING OVER $15,000 FROM GG YOUTH AWARD

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was granted bail yesterday after being accused of stealing over $15,000 from the Governor General’s Youth Award (GGYA) earlier this year.

Magistrate Kendra Kelly charged Lilliano Russell, 42, with stealing by way of service.

Russell is accused of stealing $15,793.20 from the GGYA on Essex Street on January 23. He was employed there.

After pleading not guilty, Russell was granted $6,000 bail with one or two sureties.

Under this bail, he must sign in at the Elizabeth Estates Police Station on the first Monday of every month.

His trial is set for December 1.

20 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR MAN WHO ADMITTED TO HAVING GUN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was sentenced to 20 months in prison yesterday after admitting to having a loaded gun in his car on Bay and George Streets last Friday.

Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Teniro Minns, 25, and Jeremy Price, 22, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

The pair were arrested

on October 6 after police found a black 9mm Taurus G2C pistol and eight rounds of 9mm ammunition in their white Toyota Passo.

Minns alone pleaded guilty to the offence. His co-accused had the charges against him dropped after pleading not guilty.

Minns served a two-anda-half-year sentence after being convicted of firearm possession in 2018.

Minns was sentenced to 20 months for the latest offence.

MAN ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER FINED FOR BAIL BREACH

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN on bail for attempted murder was fined $2,500 after admitting to breaching his bail conditions.

Magistrate Raquel Whyms charged Craig Deveaux, Jr, 23, with six counts of bail violation.

Deveaux was previously granted bail after being charged with trying to murder Kenton Pullard, a man he is accused of shooting multiple times on Goggle Eye Road on October 17,

2022.

While on bail, Deveaux failed to charge his monitoring device and breached his residential curfew five times between June 4 and September 24.

Although Deveaux was initially charged with six counts of bail violation, he only pleaded guilty to five, resulting in the sixth charge being withdrawn.

He was fined $2,500 for the offence. Failing to pay could result in four months of imprisonment.

He must return to court for a report on November 30.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 13

As strikes devastate Gaza, Israel forms unity govt to oversee war sparked by Hamas attack southern town of Khan Younis, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told The Associated Press. Deif has never been seen in public and his whereabouts are unknown.

The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people,

ISRAELIS take cover from incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, yesterday.

Photo: Leo Correa/AP JERUSALEM Associated Press ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival on Wednesday to create a war-time Cabinet overseeing the fight to avenge a stunning weekend attack

by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip ruled

by Hamas, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighbourhoods and the only power plant ran out of fuel.

The new Cabinet establishes a degree of unity after years of bitterly divisive politics, and as the Israeli military appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza. The war has already claimed at least 2,300 lives on both sides.

The Israeli government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.

In a televised address Wednesday night, Netanyahu detailed atrocities that took place during the attack, including boys and girls bound and shot in the head, people burned alive, women raped and soldiers who were beheaded. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” he said. “We will crush and destroy it.”

Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults — and they have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past five days.

The Cabinet, which will focus only on issues of war, will be led by Netanyahu, Benny Gantz — a senior opposition figure and former defence minister — and current Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. A former chief of a staff and another government minister were named as “observer” members.

Still, Israel’s political divisions remain. The country’s chief opposition leader, Yair Lapid, was invited to join the Cabinet but did not immediately respond to the offer.

It appeared that the rest of Netanyahu’s existing government partners, a collection of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, would remain in place to handle non-war issues.

Israel’s increasingly destructive airstrikes in Gaza have flattened entire city blocks and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath debris. A ground offensive in Gaza, whose 2.3 million residents are densely packed into a tiny, coastal strip, would likely result in a surge of casualties for fighters on both sides.

Hamas launched a fresh barrage of rockets into Israel on Wednesday aimed at the southern town of Ashkelon.

Some 250,000 people have fled their homes in Gaza, most crowding into UN schools. Others sought the shrinking number of safe neighbourhoods in the strip of land only 40 kilometres (25 miles) long, wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. After nightfall, Palestinians were plunged into pitch

blackness in large parts of Gaza City and elsewhere after the territory’s only power station ran out of fuel and shut down Wednesday.

Only a few lights from private generators still glowed.

Israel on Sunday halted the entry of food, water, fuel and medicine into the territory. The sole remaining crossing from Egypt was shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit nearby.

The Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, only has enough fuel to keep power on for three days, said Matthias Kannes, a Gaza-based official for Doctors Without Borders. The group said the two hospitals it runs in Gaza were running out of surgical equipment, antibiotics, fuel and other supplies. “We consumed three weeks worth of emergency stock in three days,” Kannes said.

Ghassan Abu Sitta, a reconstructive surgeon at alShifa said he had 50 patients waiting to go to the operating room as more critical wounded are treated. “We’re already beyond the capacity of the system to cope,” he said. The health system “has the rest of the week before it collapses, not just because of the diesel. All supplies are running short.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent said other hospitals’ generators will run out in five days. Residential buildings, unable to store as much diesel, likely will go dark sooner.

Egypt and international groups have been calling for humanitarian corridors to get aid into Gaza. Convoys stood loaded with fuel and food Wednesday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, but were unable to enter Gaza, an Egyptian security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

In Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, rescue workers and civilians carried men covered with blood and soot towards ambulances after strikes toppled buildings.

Streets were left blanketed with metal, chunks of concrete and thick dust.

Medical teams and rescuers struggled to enter other areas where roads were too destroyed, including Gaza City’s al-Karama district, where a “large number” were killed or wounded, according to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. Strikes have killed at least four Red Crescent paramedics, the organization said.

The risk of the war spreading was evident Wednesday after the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military position and claimed to have killed and wounded troops.

The Israeli military confirmed the attack but did not comment on possible casualties. The Israeli army shelled the area in southern Lebanon where the attack was launched.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned other countries and armed groups against entering the war. The US is already rushing munitions and military equipment to Israel and has deployed a carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean as deterrence.

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked a village south of Nablus, opening fire on Palestinians and killing three, the territory’s health ministry said. More than two dozen Palestinians have died in fighting in the West Bank since the weekend.

Israel has mobilized 360,000 reservists, massed additional forces near Gaza and evacuated tens of thousands of residents from nearby communities.

Toppling Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, would likely require prolonged ground fighting and reoccupying Gaza, at least temporarily. Even then, Hamas has a long history of operating as an underground insurgency in areas controlled by Israel.

Hamas said it launched its attack Saturday because Palestinians’ suffering had become intolerable under unending Israeli military occupation and increasing settlements in the West Bank and a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza.

In the kibbutz of Be’eri near Gaza, Israeli troops were still removing the bodies of dead Hamas militants who stormed the community, killing more than 100 residents, then battled soldiers for nearly three days. Major General Itai Veruv told visiting journalists that the military found evidence of Hamas militants cutting throats of bound captives, lining up children and killing them and packing 15 teenage girls in a room before throwing a grenade inside.

Shock, grief and demands for vengeance against Hamas are running high in Israel. Past conflicts with Hamas included heavy bombardments of Gaza but ended with the group still in power.

In a new tactic, Israel is warning civilians to evacuate whole Gaza neighbourhoods, rather than just individual buildings, then levelling large swaths in waves of airstrikes.

Israel’s tone has changed as well. In past conflicts, its military insisted on the precision of strikes in Gaza, trying to ward off criticism over civilian deaths.

This time, military briefings emphasize the destruction being wreaked.

“I have removed every restriction — we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal,” Defence Minister Gallant told soldiers near the southern border on Tuesday.

Even with the evacuation warnings, Palestinians say some are unable to escape or have nowhere to go, and that entire families have been crushed under rubble.

Other times, strikes come with no warning at all, survivors say.

“There was no warning or anything,” said Hashem Abu Manea, 58, who lost his 15-year-old daughter, Joanna, when a strike late Tuesday levelled his home in Gaza City. “We were sitting there as civilians, dressed like anyone else.”

Israeli airstrikes late Tuesday struck the family house of Mohammed Deif, the shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, killing his father, brother and at least two other relatives in the

including 189 soldiers, have been killed in Israel, a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks. In Gaza, 1,100 people have been killed, according to authorities there. Thousands

have been wounded on both sides.

Israel says roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israeli territory, and that hundreds of the dead inside Gaza are Hamas members.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 17

ASTROS POWER PAST TWINS 3-2 AND INTO 7TH STRAIGHT ALCS

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer

ALL FOR ONE: The Jazz Chisholm Foundation Little League teams secured all five division titles this past weekend at the second edition of the Reloaded Baseball Invitational.

Jazz Chisholm Little League teams sweep 5 divisions at 2nd Reloaded Invitational

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net THE Jazz Chisholm Little League (JCLL) teams took home five division championships at the second edition of the Reloaded Baseball Invitational.

The four-day event wrapped up this past Monday at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex as teams competed across five divisions.

The baseball invitational hosted up to 23 teams, which more than doubled the amount of participants at the inaugural event in March, including clubs from Eleuthera, Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Peron Burnside, president of Reloaded Baseball, considered the second hosting of the invitational

a success. “We from Reloaded were very impressed with the level of competition between the teams and for the kids in our programme we are highly impressed with the improvements in their batting, fielding, throwing and catching mechanics,” Burnside said.

The president continued to say that the goal is always to help the kids improve from the level they entered the programme to international standards.

“It was a huge success from a developmental standpoint,” he added.

One week removed from their start in the Jazz Chisholm Foundation Little League, the teams hoisted trophies in the T-Ball, Coach Pitch, 10-and under (10U), 12-and under (12U), and 14-and under divisions.

Jazz Yellow came up big against the Jazz Blue team in the T-Ball division with a 25-13 victory.

Matched up against the Reloaded Baseball club, team Jazz Blue dropped their opponents 9-6 in a narrow win this past weekend in the coach pitch division.

The winning ways of the JCLL teams continued in the 10U division.

Jazz Black took down Reloaded ‘A’ in a 19-3 victory.

Jazz Yellow defeated the Reloaded ‘B’ team 19-5 to claim the championship hardware in the 12U category.

The Jazz Blue team capped off a strong showing for the JCLL teams after they shut down team Reloaded 11-4 for the 14U division trophy. Although the Reloaded Baseball

teams were unable to secure any titles, Burnside was happy with the improvements the kids have made as all their teams made it to the championship rounds in each division except T-Ball.

“It was a weekend of good competition for the kids with a JCLL team winning the championship in each division.

“In each division except T-Ball, the Reloaded team made it to the championships despite not emerging victorious.

“Our focus is strictly on the development of the kids and we are steering them directly into scholarships and possibly further,” he said.

In upcoming weeks the club continues to stick to their motto ‘good is never enough as we are developing tomorrow’s leaders’.

Following their second invitational, the programme will be hosting a pitchers’ and catchers’ camp along with international coaches before the end of the year.

Additionally, Reloaded Baseball has now added softball to their programme and intends to raise the standards of play in high schools to a higher level as well.

“We have been engaged by numerous international baseball entities and we intend to tap into all of these resources in pursuit of our goals to take the Reloaded kids to international standards,” according to Burnside.

Reloaded Baseball offers a special thanks to the National Sports Authority for playing a pivotal role in their developmental journey.

STADIUM FROM PAGE 16

CONCACAF FROM PAGE 16

squad with five players in their teens, including Brody Wheaton who is the youngest at 14-years-old.

Veteran player Lesly St Fleur is also returning from a groin injury which kept him out of the lineup against Guyana.

The seasoned national team player is locked in ahead of Saturday’s match.

“My readiness for the game is 100 per cent, we have been putting in the work, with me being around the players everyone’s confidence is up and they are ready to play and go out there and win the game,” St Fleur said.

His teammate Christopher Rahming, who scored the opening goal in The Bahamas’ 6-1 loss to Puerto Rico, is excited to have the mix of players from abroad, high school and local clubs join together for the goal of winning.

He said having a mix of players always benefits the team as the different styles of play come together and could possibly lead to something great.

The senior men’s national soccer team not only has the support of the entire BFA but also the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) Mario Bowleg.

“You have the support of my ministry and the government of The Bahamas and we want you to know that we will be there supporting you one thousand per cent,” Bowleg said.

He encouraged Bahamians to come out and support the Junkanoo Boyz and offered a special thanks to the BFA for

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — José Abreu homered for the third time in two games, a two-run rocket in the fourth inning that launched the Houston Astros to their seventh straight AL Championship Series appearance with a 3-2 win that eliminated the Minnesota Twins in Game 4 of their AL Division Series last night.

José Urquidy gave the playoff-tested Astros another solid postseason start, withstanding home runs by Royce Lewis in the first and Edouard Julien in the sixth to hand the ball to the bullpen.

Hector Neris and Bryan Abreu combined for five strikeouts over 2 1/3 hitless innings. Ryan Pressly, who pitched five-plus years for the Twins before being traded to Houston in 2018, struck out the side in the ninth.

Pressly froze Max Kepler with a full-count fastball to end it, leaving former Astros star Carlos Correa on deck.

“Oh yeah, we knew.

And I was trying not to have nightmares, because I remember when Carlos was with us he hit that ball up in the right-centre field seats up there,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “But we never got to Carlos.

So that was a great, great victory.”

Houston will host in-state rival Texas in Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday, with three-time AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander likely on the mound for the defending World Series champion Astros in his 36th career postseason start. “Hey man, they know us and we know them,” Baker said. “And it’s gonna be a heck of a series.”

The Astros, who are 56-34 in the playoffs since 2017, hit 10 homers in the series.

Abreu had eight RBIs. Michael Brantley got the Astros started with a solo shot in the second against Twins starter Joe Ryan, who was pulled after that inning in manager Rocco Baldelli’s all-out attempt to extend the series.

their continued growth and development of soccer in The Bahamas.

The other national team players include goalkeepers Cameron Pratt,

Michael Butler and Amard Adderley.

The team’s defenders and midfielders are William Bayles, William Gardiner, Alexiou Cartwright, Phieron

Wilson, Wood Julmis, Nahum Johnson, Ricardo McPhee, Nathan Wells, Miguel Thompson, Omari Bain, Marcel Joseph, Nicolas Lopez, Johnathan

Miller, Jean Tilo and Jack Massey.

Tickets for Saturday’s event are priced at $35 for VIP, $20 for adults and $7 for children under 13.

completed by March ahead of the World Relays and CARIFTA Swimming Championships.

Despite the potential alternative of utilising the Eastern Grandstand along with the field for events, the ninth Bahamas Bowl set for Saturday, December 16, is at risk of being cancelled.

“There is a way we believe we can work it out but, in some cases and some other events, we will probably have to cancel it, for example the bowl game calls for ESPN so that might not look too good with a lot of construction going on at the same time,” the minister said.

The government recently allocated $10 million to bring both the national stadium, which was gifted to The Bahamas from the People’s Republic of China in 2011, and Betty KellyKenning National Swim Complex up to par for next spring’s sporting events.

“We were preparing the stadiums for the World Relays and CARIFTA which would allow it to be presentable and safe enough for those games that’s where the $10 million was allocated for.

“However, the Chinese government is gonna be coming so The Bahamas may not use any of its $10 million and the Chinese government may end up funding the entire repairs which is what most likely will happen.

“This was a gift given to us so it is now up to them to repair the building that we felt was not up to proper standards from day one,” Bowleg said.

The 2024 CARIFTA Aquatics Championships are scheduled for April and the World Relays will get underway May 4-5.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, October 12, 2023, PAGE 19

WNBA FINALS

Jonquel Jones and Liberty in 0-2 hole

By W G RAMIREZ Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A’ja Wilson scored 26 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces routed the New York Liberty 104-76 last night to take a 2-0 series lead in the WNBA Finals.

Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones scored a team-high 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds - a double-double - for the Liberty in the loss.

Wilson finished 10 of 16 from the field on her way to recording her 26th double-double this season - including her fourth of the playoffs. She’s the third player in WNBA Finals history to have at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game. “We know what’s on the line and we had to make sure we came out and took care of home court,” Wilson said.

The defending champion Aces are now one win away from becoming the first team since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks to repeat as champions.

Game 3 is Sunday in New York. No team has ever rallied from a 0-2 deficit in the WNBA Finals.

Chelsea Gray also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists, throwing some beautiful no-look passes for easy baskets.

Jackie Young finished with 24 points and Kelsey Plum had 23. It was the second straight game that the guard trio dominated the Liberty.

Jones (22), Breanna Stewart (14), Betnijah Laney (12), and Sabrina Ionescu (10) accounted for 76.3% of New York’s points, as the Liberty got just 18 points from six others who played.

LAS Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) fouls New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones during the first half in Game 2 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, in Las Vegas.

(AP Photo/John Locher)

LAS Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) battles for the ball with New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones (35) during Game 2 of the WNBA basketball finals series last night in Las Vegas.

(AP Photo/John Locher) New York, which lost points in the first quarter of by 17 in Game 1, came a WNBA Finals. It was also into the game a perfect 9-0 the most points the Aces after losses this year. The scored in any quarter all Aces made sure that streak season. ended with a dominant first The Liberty came chargand third quarter. They ing back from a 22-point opened the game scoring 19 second-quarter deficit of the first 21 points, with 12 behind a 12-0 run, and points coming from 3-point outscored the Aces 25-14 range. Las Vegas hit seven in the period to cut Las of its first nine shots - a blis- Vegas’ lead to eight, 52-44 tering 77.8% clip - including at halftime. four 3-pointers.

Jones scored 16 of her New York, meanwhile, points in the second quarmissed nine of its first 10 ter. New York couldn’t attempts. “It started with carry its momentum into our defence,” Gray said. the third, however, as the “We kept our pressure up, Aces used a 17-3 run to our physicality and we were extend their lead to 69-47. able to play with our flow The Aces outscored the offensively.”

Liberty 28-13 in the third The Aces’ lead grew as quarter, with 20 points high as 21 points in the coming from Wilson and opening period before Young. taking a 38-19 lead into the The Liberty couldn’t second quarter. Las Vegas close the gap and now will set a new record for most try to avoid getting swept.

Up 8.3% Through August 2023

PAGE 18, Thursday, October 12, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Pro Picks: Expect Broncos to be competitive, but still lose to Chiefs for the 16th straight time

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer TURNING the Denver Broncos into a winner has been a tougher task than Sean Payton could’ve imagined when he ended his brief retirement and returned to coaching.

Even though Russell Wilson has improved from a woeful first season in Denver, the Broncos (1-4) keep finding ways to lose.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier.

The Broncos visit the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (4-1) tonight and will face them again in Week 8. Peyton Manning was Denver’s quarterback the most recent time the Broncos beat Kansas City in 2015.

There’s no reason to think that streak of 15 straight losses will end when the Broncos line up against two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a prime-time matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs are 10 1/2-point favourites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Pro Picks, coming off its best week of the season, expects Payton to keep his team competitive but can’t see an upset.

CHIEFS, 30-22 SAN FRANCISCO AT CLEVELAND Line: 49ers minus 6 1/2 The 49ers (5-0) are the NFL’s most complete team, but could be due for a slight letdown — meaning a victory by less than a double-digit margin — after dominating the Cowboys.

If Deshaun Watson can’t play, the Browns (2-2) have no chance to stay close.

BEST BET: 49ERS, 26-17 WASHINGTON AT ATLANTA Line: Falcons minus 2 1/2 Will the Commanders (2-3) who started the season with two wins and pushed Philadelphia to overtime show up or will it be the team that was pounded by lowly Chicago? Desmond Ridder is coming off his most impressive performance in a comeback win for the Falcons (3-2).

UPSET SPECIAL: COMMANDERS, 23-20 BALTIMORE AT TENNESSEE, in London Line: Ravens minus 4 The Ravens (3-2) could be 5-0 if they didn’t botch the clock and a couple of plays. The Titans (2-3) are struggling to score and it seems only a matter of time before they turn to one of the younger quarterbacks to replace Ryan Tannehill.

RAVENS, 22-19 CAROLINA AT MIAMI Line: Dolphins minus 13 1/2 It’s been a disaster for first-year coach Frank Reich and rookie No. 1 pick Bryce Young as the winless Panthers (0-5) are banged-up and beat up.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins (4-1) won’t have

PACKERS HEAD INTO BYE WEEK NEEDING TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEIR SLUMPING OFFENCE

KANSAS City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday in Minneapolis.

(AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn) running back De’Von Achane but their high-flying offence has plenty of other playmakers.

DOLPHINS, 30-17 MINNESOTA AT CHICAGO Line: Vikings minus 2 1/2 The Vikings (1-4) have already matched last season’s loss total with all four losses by seven points or fewer. They’ve had some bad luck along the way and now won’t have All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson for a few weeks. Justin Fields has eight TD passes in the past two games for the Bears (1-4), who had a few extra days to prepare for this one.

VIKINGS, 24-20 INDIANAPOLIS AT JACKSONVILLE Line: Jaguars minus 4 1/2 The Jaguars (3-2) are back home after a London sweep and aim to sweep the Colts (3-2). Gardner Minshew faces his former no margin for error after a boost for a half last week DALLAS AT LOS team as he fills in for rookie poor start. until Philadelphia’s defence ANGELES QB Anthony Richardson.

BENGALS, 27-21 tightened up.

CHARGERS Expect him to turn around NEW ENGLAND AT RAMS, 23-17 Line: Cowboys minus 2 and give the ball often to LAS VEGAS PHILADELPHIA AT 1/2 Zack Moss and Jonathan Line: Raiders minus 3 NEW YORK JETS Dak Prescott and the Taylor.

The Patriots (1-4) have Line: Eagles minus 7 Cowboys (3-2) have to JAGUARS, 23-22 been outscored 72-3 the Jalen Hurts and the rebound from a humiliatNEW ORLEANS AT past two weeks and Beli- Eagles (5-0) keep finding ing loss to the 49ers by HOUSTON chick has to find a way ways to win. They’ve got a going back to California.

Line: Saints minus 1 1/2 to keep the team from tough challenge against a The Chargers (2-2) are The Saints (3-2) need spiraling. strong defence. coming off a bye and have to build off handing Bill There will be plenty The Jets (2-3) saved their back-to-back measuring Belichick the worst home of familiarity facing QB season with a big win at stick games vs. Dallas and loss of his coaching career. Jimmy Garoppolo and Denver.

Kansas City.

Impressive rookie QB C.J. coach Josh McDaniels, the They’ll need Zach COWBOYS, 27-23 Stroud faces his toughest former Patriots offensive Wilson to play at his best DETROIT AT test with the Texans (2-3). coordinator. and mistake-free.

TAMPA BAY SAINTS, 20-16 A short work week after EAGLES, 24-19 Line: Lions minus 3 SEATTLE AT a Monday night win is a NEW YORK GIANTS Jared Goff and the highCINCINNATI disadvantage for the RaidAT BUFFALO octane Lions (4-1) are off Line: Bengals minus 3 ers (2-3).

Line: Bills minus 14 to an excellent start.

A healthy Joe Burrow PATRIOTS, 19-17 The Bills (3-2) can’t use So are the surprising made all the difference for ARIZONA AT LOS jet lag as an excuse this Buccaneers (3-1), who had the Bengals (2-3). And of ANGELES RAMS week. extra time to prepare for course, an always-open Line: Rams minus 7 Nothing is going right for this one after a bye.

Ja’Marr Chase. The SeaThe Cardinals (1-4) play the struggling Giants (1-4).

It’ll be a big test for hawks (3-1) are coming off tough despite their talent Brian Daboll’s familiarity Todd Bowles and Tampa’s a bye and are a dangerous and record. Cooper Kupp with Buffalo can’t help. defence. team, but Cincinnati has gave the Rams (2-3) a BILLS, 32-13 LIONS, 26-20

PACKERS cornerback Jaire Alexander was simply trying to explain why Green Bay’s defence needs to do more.

But his comments underscored how much of a concern Green Bay’s offence has become as the Packers head into their bye week.

“Yeah, I think at this point it’s pretty obvious that the defence has to not give up any touchdowns,” Alexander said after the Packers’ 17-13 Monday night loss at Las Vegas.

“I think that’s the part of being self-critical of our defence because the offence is pretty young and they’re still figuring out their mojo.

So the defence, we’ve got to do more to score and stop them from scoring.”

The defence did plenty to help the Packers win a game Monday night. The offence just failed to do its part, which has been a common theme lately for a young group suffering serious growing pains.

After averaging 31 points over their first two games, the Packers have averaged just 17 over their past three. The offence’s plunge explains why the Packers are below .500 for the first time this season.

Green Bay already had entered the season with the league’s youngest roster before injuries took away two of their most proven offensive players.

Left tackle David Bakhtiari, who turned 32 on Sept. 30 and is Green Bay’s oldest player, will miss the rest of the season because of the knee issues that have bothered him ever since he tore his anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31, 2020.

Running back Aaron Jones has missed three of the Packers’ past four games because of a hamstring issue.

Guards Elgton Jenkins and Jon Runyan Jr. and centre Josh Myers were the only players on Green Bay’s first-team offence Monday with multiple years of starting experience.

That first-team offence included two rookies (wide receiver Jayden Reed and tight end Luke Musgrave), four second-year players (wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs and tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom) and a firstyear starting quarterback (2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love).

“I never want to fall back on that because I just think that’s such an excuse,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Tuesday. “It is what it is. We’re going to play with the guys that we have, and we believe in the guys that we have.

“We do have a lot of talent. I think we all knew there were going to be some growing pains along the way, but I haven’t lost faith or belief in the group that we have. I just think we can do things better. I think we can coach better, and I think we can execute better.”

Raiders need to take advantage of soft upcoming schedule

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Coming off a win over the Green Bay Packers to end a three-game skid, the Las Vegas Raiders now have a chance to make up ground in the standings if they take advantage of their schedule.

They host the New England Patriots on Sunday before going on the road to face the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. Then the Raiders return home to play both New York teams.

They are favoured to beat the Patriots and Bears, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and likely will be a decisive underdog at Detroit. Las Vegas could be favoured against the

Giants and Jets. The Lions are 4-1, but the other four teams are a combined 5-15.

That stretch will determine a lot for Las Vegas, which is 2-3 after beating the Green Bay Packers 17-13 Monday night. Defeating the Packers gave much-needed life to the Raiders, ending their three-game losing streak.

“I think it’s given us that confidence boost and trust in each and every teammate,” cornerback Amik Robertson said.

Las Vegas likely will need to go at least 4-1 over the next five weeks to have any real chance at the playoffs.

But going 1-4 probably would be positive in the sense it would help ensure a high pick for next year’s quarterback-rich draft class.

Anything in the middle is

the worst outcome. It would mean the Raiders probably have no opportunity at the playoffs nor at getting their quarterback of the future, barring a trade, of course.

WHAT’S WORKING DE Maxx Crosby. Robert Spillane intercepted two passes against Green Bay and Robertson picked off one in the end zone in the final minute to ensure victory. But it was Crosby’s relentless pressure on quarterback Jordan Love that forced a lot of early throws.

Crosby had one sack and four tackles for loss. Green Bay had no answer for him.

WHAT NEEDS WORK The offence. Las Vegas has yet to score 20 points in a game, so it’s remarkable the Raiders actually have two victories. It’s not

a recipe for success in the modern NFL, though, and unless the Raiders get that side of the ball figured out, there won’t be many more wins coming their way.

“We’ve got to do a lot of things a little bit better,” coach Josh McDaniels said.

“There’s no one answer. ... We’ve had just enough plays here and there to stop us from really getting into a consistent rhythm. The good is the fight and the effort is there and also we haven’t played our best.”

STOCK UP WR Jakobi Meyers.

Whenever opponents double team or bracket Davante Adams, which is every week, the Raiders need Meyers to step up. He’s done just that and came through again

Monday. He caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in which he beat Packers safety Rudy Ford to the spot to score.

STOCK DOWN K Daniel Carlson. He has been such a model of consistency that it’s stunning when he’s not at the top of his game. True, Carlson’s two misses were hardly chip shots, but he was 24 of 29 on field goals from beyond 50 yards before this game.

He had a 53-yard field goal partially blocked and a 52-yarder hit the right upright.

KEY NUMBER 2.9 — RB Josh Jacobs’ rushing average. This after he averaged 4.9 yards last season and led the NFL in total rushing yardage. It’s not all his fault his numbers

have plummeted. Opposing defences have focused their attention on him, and the Raiders offensive line has done a poor job of creating running lanes. Jacobs showed signs of his old self against Green Bay, rushing 11 times for 45 yards in the second half.

NEXT STEPS A familiar foe visits Sunday when the Patriots come to Las Vegas. McDaniels was the long-time offensive coordinator there, and much of the Raiders roster is made up of former New England players. And who can forget last year’s wacky ending? The player at the centre of that lateral that resulted in the winning touchdown for Las Vegas is Meyers, who joined the Raiders in the offseason.

SPORTS PAGE 16

WNBA Finals, Page 19

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023

Charlotte Hornets waive Kai Jones

STADIUM REPAIRS TO HALT END OF YEAR SPORTING EVENTS

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

T

he Charlotte Hornets yesterday waived Bahamian big man and former firstround draft pick Kai Jones.

The announcement was made by Mitch Kupchak, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager, just two days removed from the centre/forward’s public request for a trade via the X social media platform.

Jones made headlines for some questionable actions in the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) offseason and the latest news appeared to be the final straw for the Hornets organisation.

Before the Eastern Conference team’s latest announcement, Jones was at risk of facing a maximum fine of $150,000 or possible suspension after he tweeted his desire to be traded on Monday night.

“I have officially requested to be traded from the Charlotte Hornets. #GOATLIFE” he posted.

The move sparked discussions as it went against Section 18 of the National Basketball Players Association’s (NBPA) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The CBA states that any player or, for clarity, any player representative or person acting with authority on behalf of a player who publicly expresses a desire to be traded to another team shall be subject to a fine and/or a suspension.

Prior to the 6-foot-11 player’s trade request, the Hornets had announced that Jones would not be joining the organisation’s training camp which began in October due to personal reasons.

Additionally, they said he would be away from the

THE CHARLOTTE Hornets have waived former first-round draft pick Kai Jones days after the centre/forward announced on social media that he had requested to be traded. The 19th overall pick in 2021 out of Texas, Jones appeared in 67 games in two seasons with the Hornets, averaging 2.7 points in 9.1 minutes per game. team indefinitely and were unable to give an estimated timetable on his possible return to team activities.

“Kai Jones will not participate in training camp due to personal reasons.

There is currently not a timetable for his return to the team. “Out of respect for the personal nature of the situation, the Hornets

will not have any additional public comment regarding the matter at this time,” the Hornets statement read.

The organisation made the call in this regard after Jones displayed some odd behaviour on social media during the NBA offseason.

It started in September when the centre/forward

went on Instagram Live and was sweating profusely and spoke in an incoherent manner. He then turned his attention to teammates Lamelo Ball and Brandon Miller, who he publicly criticised on the X platform later in the month.

The sudden chain of events for Jones has been bizarre to some as the

Bahamian big man made waves this July in the NBA Summer League after dunking over the 2023 no.1 pick Victor Wembanyama.

In his tenure with the team that drafted him as the 19th pick in 2021 out of Texas, he averaged 2.7 points per game and two boards in 9.1 minutes per game.

THE impending repairs of the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium will pose a problem for upcoming sporting events, including the ninth edition of the HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl.

According to Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) Mario Bowleg, the stadium’s overhaul, beginning with the Western Grandstand, starts November 1 per the government’s agreement with the Chinese government.

Additionally, the renovations ahead of next year’s World Athletics Relays in May, will also interrupt the Concacaf home national soccer matches set for November 18 and November 29.

The stadium’s facelift will begin with the roof of the Western Grandstand which is expected to be replaced with a new one. With the majority of the construction being done to the Western area of the venue to start the project, that portion of the stadium will be shut down.

The national soccer games were expected to get underway next month for the respective teams at the event’s advertised venue but, now with repairs set to start, that may be in jeopardy.

“We know we are not going to be dealing with the field but definitely the Western Grandstand will be shut down and so we will probably have to see how we could use the Eastern Grandstand along with the field as most of the construction is gonna start on the Western Grandstand,” Bowleg said.

The venue’s repairs are expected to continue well into next year with the expectation of being

SEE PAGE 17

‘Junkanoo Boyz’ confident ahead of Concacaf Nations League matchup vs Antigua & Barbuda

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Football Association (BFA) selected a 21-member senior men’s national soccer team to face Antigua and Barbuda in the second window of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Nations League matches on home soil this Saturday at 6pm.

The match between the third and fourth team of League B in Group D will kick off at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. With the home team already in an 0-2 hole following back-to-back losses against Puerto Rico and Guyana, they are looking to rebound in Saturday’s game.

Despite the consecutive losses suffered, the team’s head coach Kevin Davies has recognised notable improvements in the team’s style of play which he

expects to translate to the field this weekend.

“The guys have been putting in work, the team is almost ready, we are looking for better results moving forward. Even though we lost our last two matches, there was great improvement between game one and two and I am looking forward to more improvement in the game on Saturday,” Davies said.

The head coach remained tight-lipped about the team’s actual strategy against the fourth ranked Group D team, but he said their approach will be tactical and aggressive as they have made some adjustments to correct mistakes.

The away team has an identical 0-2 win/loss record with The Bahamas and their ranks are separated by a mere goal differential.

The next match is critical for both teams as they hope to notch their first win in this window and switch positions in the Group D rankings.

THE BAHAMAS Football Association has announced a 21-member senior national men’s soccer team ready for action against Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday.

Davies acknowledged to instil the importance of they understand what’s at The 21-player team, that although the match is this game for us here with- stake, you may have pres- dubbed the Junkanoo Boyz, important, his goal is to not out putting pressure on sure but once a game starts features a relatively young put a lot of pressure on the the guys, these are veteran everything else on the outSEE PAGE 17 team. “The main thrust is players that we have here, side goes away,” he said