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Defence chief ‘forced out’ after 40 years swears UNION GOES

I’ll never forgive

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CAPTAIN Samuel Evans, the recently retired deputy commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, says he will never forgive the Minnis administration for the way it treated him before he was led to retire last month.

“After 40 years of unbroken service, never being seconded, never being transferred, I try to find a decent way of saying how disappointed I am in the way I was handled,” he told The Tribune on Friday.

“I’ll never forget what my wife said to me in the yard when I came home, she said ‘boy they treat you like you tief something,’ so I can’t really forgive them for that. It caused me not to want to have anything to do with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. It left a sour taste in my mouth that I will probably carry to the grave.”

Captain Evans accuses

the administration of disingenuously applying its vacation leave policy to him earlier this year. He said the policy is less about fiscal prudence than about sidelining some officers so the government could form its preferred leadership teams.

He joined the force as a marine in 1970. According to three sources familiar with the matter, he was the top choice of the Christie administration to succeed Roderick Bowe, who retired in 2015, as commodore of the Defence Force; however, the administration reluctantly chose Commodore Tellis Bethel instead because he had enormous backing from the US government.

His retirement was announced in a memorandum last month. It was revealed at the time that Commodore Bethel would go on leave until January 15, 2020, and that the newly-appointed deputy commander of the

NATIONAL Insurance Board (NIB) workers have voted almost unanimously to take strike action.

Ghion Roach, the president of the workers’ union, the Union of Public Officers (UPO), said Friday’s ballot was overwhelmingly in favour of a strike.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Roach said the Nassau count was 229 voting “yes” with just one

SEE PAGE THREE

BAHAMAS Union Teachers president Belinda Wilson said the union will be taking legal action today against the Ministry of Education to resolve ongoing issues at Carlton Francis Primary School and CH Reeves Junior High School.

Speaking to reporters at CH Reeves Junior High on Friday, Mrs Wilson noted that the union’s decision to take matters to court is a response to the outstanding concerns highlighted by teachers at the respective schools.

“For eight weeks now, teachers (at Carlton Francis Primary) have been reporting to work and locked out of the gate with police presence, security officers and so they have not been

WSC UNION $5M CLAIM ENDS WITH $15K AWARD

SEE PAGE THREE

“no”. He added the count from the Family Islands should “trickle in over the next few days”.

He said: “The minister has agreed to restart negotiations this week, we will see where it goes from there.

(If) things go left, we’ll be back at (protesting) again, but we will work with management for now.”

Last week, the employees of the NIB were on “work to rule” after their strike vote was deemed invalid.

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

SEE PAGE SIX

NIB STAFF - HUGE VOTE FOR STRIKE

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

TO COURT AFTER GOVT SKIPS TALKS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

RHAPSODY IN PINK

A YOUNG musician from the Bahamas Mount Moriah Transformers band, playing her pink clarinet at the Youth Band Encounter on Rawson Square yesterday.

Picture Special - Page 2 Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

A TRADE union’s bid to secure nearly $5m in damages from the Water & Sewerage Corporation for violating their industrial agreement has been rejected by a Supreme Court judge.

Justice Ian Winder ruled the Water & Sewerage Management Union, together with its trustees and president, were due just $15,000 in “nominal damages” after the state-owned water utility breached the industrial agreement clause that gave its members a “90day exclusivity” to bid on all outsourcing opportunities.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

TRUST FUND TO HELP FAMILIES REBUILD

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said undocumented immigrants will be banned from Abaco’s Family Relief Centre.

He was responding to a reporter who asked how the government will determine who occupies the domes.

“Those will be individuals who have been displaced, but there will be no illegals in the domes, full stop, no

PM HUBERT MINNIS illegals,” he said. During a press conference at his office yesterday, he noted

the centre near Spring City will house 125 to 250 domes that can accommodate up to five people. The remaining 125 domes will be in the Spring City and Central Pines sub-divisions with the first shipment of 40 domes scheduled to arrive mid-November.

He also announced that vulnerable people affected

by Hurricane Dorian will receive up to $10,000 to help them recover from the storm.

SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

INSIGHT

CRY FOR HAITI BUT WHY ONLY TAKE AIM AT US?

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Monday, November 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

YOUTH Band Encounter was held on Rawson Square yesterday, with a number of youth bands perfoming songs and drills.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 4, 2019, PAGE 3

NIB STRIKE VOTE CARRIED BY HUGE MAJORITY from page one

Speaking to reporters previously, Mr Roach said Director of Labour John Pinder deemed the strike vote invalid because there were some technicalities with the application.

The first vote held was

unanimous in favour of a strike.

He said at the time: “We have 406 members, 227 would have voted here in Nassau. We got 226 yes and one no. We got 27 yes in Freeport and three yes in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. We already obtained the majority of the vote based on the islands that did vote on Friday. “

Last Sunday, NIB called on the Union of Public Officers to de-escalate its issues to reach an amicable solution that won’t disrupt the pension and other benefit payments to residents who rely on NIB. The agency said it will continue to cooperate in good faith with its staff union to assist the

CAPTAIN SAMUEL EVANS, the recently retired deputy commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force from page one RBDF, Raymond King, will act as commodore in the meantime. Critics questioned why the top defence force officer in the country was sent on leave as officers face special pressure to secure the storm-ravaged Abaco in addition to their usual duties. In response, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis noted the government’s vacation leave policy, saying people should not be paid substantial sums when they retire because they accumulated many weeks of vacation.

Captain Evans said National Security Minister Marvin Dames directed him to take leave on March 23. As the months passed, he said he realised only he and one other officer were sent on leave. Echoing senior police officers who were also sent on leave earlier this year, he said the government’s

application of the policy displayed no discernible logic.

“If they use age, I wasn’t the oldest person, if they use tenure in the job, I wasn’t the longest serving person there, if they use vacation, I had 362 days of vacation and there were officers who had more than that and they didn’t send them home, so whatever yardstick they use, they couldn’t find themselves to me fairly,” he said. “I came to the conclusion that this was an act to get rid of me. I further confirmed that when Hurricane Dorian struck and, contrary to years of policy, no one summoned me to return to work. If this was a normal vacation I should’ve been summoned to work as all officers are after a natural disaster. In speaking to a senior police officer in a similar position a few weeks ago, he told me he doesn’t even pass East Street (where the police headquarters is located), that’s how disgusted he is,

he goes south of East Street or north of East Street.”

Captain Evans said the government’s appointment of Raymond King as deputy commander happened although “there is no provision in law to have two substantive deputy commanders at the same time”. He said he eventually met Attorney General Carl Bethel who proposed that he resign as deputy commander, maintain the rank of captain and return to the force until he reaches retirement age. He declined that proposal and requested he be paid the balance of his vacation before retiring. As deputy commander, he was also on a contract that would expire next May; officials agreed to pay him out of that contract.

He said he never signed a vacation leave form and was told by a lawyer that the government can’t force him to take vacation that it allowed him to accumulate.

Ministry of the Public Service and National Insurance to conclude negotiations on a new industrial agreement in an environment where the board has to improve its efficiency targets and better manage administrative costs.

The statement came after a strike poll by employees was

deemed invalid. At the time, Director of Labour John Pinder said there were some legal issues with the process.

Two weeks ago, NIB employees protested after negotiations for a new industrial agreement failed. Mr Roach said they walked off the job because the union wanted to send a message.

After 40 years of unbroken service, it left a sour taste that I will probably carry to the grave TELLIS BETHEL

“If I had the desire, the stomach, or the appetite to fight the government I would’ve challenged them and demanded that it pay me for all of my vacation,” he said, “but personally, when I reflect on the action and the way I was treated, I came to the conclusion that the minister did not want me to be a part of the organisation so I wasn’t prepared or had the desire to return back to the organisation in any condition.”

Captain Evans said the government should have just told him from the beginning that the RBDF would be heading in a different direction, one that would not involve him.

“Just be straight up with me, that would’ve been more acceptable and I could’ve understood and respected that because all senior positions are political appointments and we understand that when a new administration comes in that they might want to go in a different direction, but what was said to me and the way I was treated were disingenuous, they were dishonest with me and I would challenge anyone to say differently,” he said. “It defied logic, it’s almost as ludicrous as the prime minister’s comment the other day about why Tellis was sent on vacation.”

For his part, Mr Dames emphasised the need for proper succession planning during the Bahamas

Department of Correctional Services’ annual church service yesterday.

“I don’t want them to go into these positions to make their beds up,” he said. “I’m often weary of people who want to make their beds up because they don’t ever want to leave.

Leadership is about preparing those under you to take over from you and we need to get to that place. We’re all just passing through and our job is to educate, to train and to develop those officers under us so that one day they themselves wold be able to assume leadership positions. The time is gone when the position becomes the officer, it should never be that case, it should be more about the officer assumes the position to develop those under him or her so that one day they will leave the agency better than they would’ve met it.”

Editorial View - Page 4

BAHAMAS NOT ON HIGH ALERT FOR EBOLA, INSISTS SANDS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas is not on “high alert” for the Ebola virus.

The Ministry of Health on Friday denied international reports to the contrary, calling them false.

A news website in the United Kingdom had misconstrued comments from Health Minister Dr Duane Sands to suggest the ministry has adjusted the level of threat Ebola poses to the country. In fact, Dr Sands had emphasised the importance of proper protocols to prevent the virus from coming to the country.

“Please be advised that the Ministry of Health has not issued an alert related to the Ebola virus disease,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Ministry of Health confirms that there have been no cases of Ebola in the Bahama. All formal communication on health matters are issued only through approved channels, including traditional media houses, and the Ministry of Health’s official website and Facebook page. The ministry wishes to assure the general public that the Bahamas supports and adheres to the recommended World Health Organization International Health Regulations

guidelines as it relates to trade from countries currently involved in the Ebola outbreak. Hence, surveillance at our ports of entry and health facilities are always on alert, and remain ready to respond should a need arise.”

Dr Sands, noting Ebola’s serious risk to the public, told reporters before a Cabinet meeting this week that his ministry has engaged agencies throughout the country to identify people who could be at risk for the virus.

He spoke after a report that a Delta Airlines flight in the United States en route to the Bahamas was stopped when it was

discovered a passenger had travelled to Uganda.

“We are absolutely on alert,” he said. “So when the public health teams go out and do surveillance they are looking for evidence of diarrheal diseases, water borne diseases, vector borne diseases and they are working even in the post Dorian reality and it’s working.”

“We live in a world of Ebola and there are international health regulations that define what constitutes a risk or hazard. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the epicenter of the current Ebola outbreak. This has now spread to Uganda and Rwanda and so when persons are identified as

potentially having a fever and or constitutional symptoms and they have travelled to an area where there have been documented cases of Ebola – it now triggers a number of

protective mechanisms. I believe there is a reason why the flight was detained but as you can imagine the entire world is trying to contain a very serious public health risk.”

PAGE 4, Monday, November 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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

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Honour those serving in uniform today THERE is a notable contrast to be seen in today’s Tribune.

ON Friday, a ceremony was held to honour those who have served The Bahamas in military uniform – some laying down their lives for their country.

It was a pre-Remembrance ceremony, to honour all of those Bahamians who have stepped forward to put themselves at risk – from the Gallant Thirty who sailed off to fight in the First World War to pilots who flew through the skies of Normandy and beyond.

They are people who deserve to be honoured – not least of all for the fact that when they pulled on their uniforms, they had no idea what fate awaited them, whether they would return, or whether they would not.

In contrast, we have today’s front page story about the treatment afforded to Captain Samuel Evans, the recently retired deputy commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

“I try to find a decent way of saying how disappointed I am in the way I was handled,” says the 40-year defence force veteran.

Captain Evans’ retirement was announced in a memo last month by the government – but that didn’t tell the tale of how a long-serving officer feels he was pushed out of the force.

He was directed to take leave by National Security Minister Marvin Dames – but it soon became clear to him that only two officers, Evans was one, were sent on leave.

He tried to piece the puzzle together.

Was it because of age? Older officers remained on duty. Tenure? He wasn’t the longest serving. Vacation time?

Others had more. There seemed no reason why he was singled out.

“I came to the conclusion that this was

an act to get rid of me,” he said. His wife went further, saying “boy, they treat you like you tief something”.

At a time when questions remain about the future of Captain Evans’ superior, Commodore Tellis Bethel who was himself sent on leave until next year, it is unsettling to consider this is how long-serving officers are left to feel.

When Hurricane Dorian struck, no one called on Captain Evans to help.

Finally, he says he spoke to Attorney General Carl Bethel, but couldn’t get a satisfactory outcome. Instead, he asked that he be paid the balance of his vacation before retiring – as well as being paid out of his deputy commander contract.

Not once, he says, did anyone say to him that he wasn’t wanted – but actions can speak louder than words.

Members of the defence force are not alone in feeling this way – The Tribune reported previously when long-serving police officer Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean spoke of how the government’s handling of pre-retirement leave had “ruined” the departures of several senior police officers. “It hurt,” he said of his own departure, “I wanted it to be done with more respect”.

“We sacrificed a lot for our organisations,” he added – and it’s true. At all hours, members of The Tribune would talk to Senior ACP Dean at crime scenes. We have no reason to believe Captain Evans’ commitment to his uniform was any less.

We are in the month of November now, the month when we honour the fallen or those who have passed before us who served their country. The question is – are we honouring those wearing the uniforms now? Or must we do better?

Are we good neighbours?

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday warned that undocumented migrants will be banned from Abaco’s Family Relief Centre – the domed structures that will form temporary accommodation for those left homeless

by Hurricane Dorian.

That prompts a number of questions – such as where will those migrants go – but there were more questions still that Dr Minnis didn’t quite get around to giving a straight answer to in yesterday’s press conference.

There are reports that up to 600 migrants fled shelters to avoid immigration officers, but when asked about that, Dr Minnis said as far as he was aware people who left shelters had gone to stay with their families. Never mind the UN report that suggested otherwise?

When asked about a video circulating showing discontent with mistreatment at those shelters, Dr Minnis suggested he had visited shelters and hadn’t seen anything wrong while he was there. Forgive FRIDAY’S leader - Why so quiest, Mr Lloyd? certainly got you talking on tribune242.com. Here’s what MatHatter had to say: “The government could fix out educational system in two easy steps: “Change the grades that are given out from A B C D E F G U to simply A B C D F - that way C will be the average grade.

“Stop creating STUPID IGNORANT syllabus for subjects - where NO BOOKS exist anywhere on the planet Earth that cover that syllabus. It is time for government to realize that 2+2=4 here in the Bahamas, the same way it does in Miami or in Jamaica, or in New Zealand, or in Canada. Teachers have no

us, but we think it unlikely people would engage in mistreatment in front of the Prime Minister’s eyes. Whether he likes it or not, a narrative is developing outside our country that details a succession of unsettling ways in which The Bahamas is treating migrant refugees from the storm.

At yesterday’s press conference, he sought to highlight a number of charities that were offering to help The Bahamas, and that is very welcome. If the image grows that The Bahamas is a place that is turning a cold shoulder to migrants in need, however, that charity may become increasingly hard to come by. People will not want to give to a place that offers no charity itself.

As a Christian country, we do not want to be like the priest and the Levite that did not come to the aid of the beaten traveller before the Good Samaritan offered to help. There is still time to live up to our Christian promise to be good neighbours – if only our leaders will go and do likewise.

resources with which to teach. The syllabus is also so broad and ridiculously comprehensive that there is no way it can be taught even in 5 years.

“It’s time to come up with a list of sensible, practical, and useful things that are kids can learn in a reasonable amount of time - that will help them in life - and let that be the syllabus and find a books that reasonably covers that material and get on with it.

“This idea of having

to be “independent” in everything we do (like we can’t even have the 911 emergency number in the Bahamas, we have to have 919) - is very STUPID and is killing out children and their futures.

“News Flash: 2 + 2 does equal 4 in the Bahamas, whether the government wants to admit it or not.”

And Bonefish said this: “Minister Lloyd to me is one of the major disappointments in this FNM government.As a talk host,he appeared to know all the answers A FNM supporter made this comment on social media, Fitzgerald was a better minister of education. He had ideas and vision for education.”

At this rate, we will soon be off the charts EDITOR, The Tribune.

I KNOW I am not allowed to comment on any matter that takes place in court. However, I did read what I would consider a shocking miscarriage of justice – I now understand why last year the World Bank concluded that it was easier to do business in the war-torn West Bank and the Gaza Strip than in the Bahamas.

When this comment was made the Bahamas stood in the 118th spot in the World Bank’s ease of doing business. Obviously shocked Deputy Prime Minister Turnquest pledged to initiate “drastic improvements” to remove the stigma.

Instead of improving, the Bahamas has dropped another notch — this year it has dropped to 119th position!!

However, in this morning’s Tribune (Nov 1) the light went on in my dull brain as to why, instead of rising the Bahamas is

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net falling… and will continue to fall until government departments become more efficient, and understand that in doing business, applications submitted to government departments require prompt replies.

And what caught my eye?

In the course of testimony one of the persons charged before the Bar was alleged not to have a permit giving him permission to work. So far, so good. But, I gather the reason he might have been continuing to work – if in fact he was working – was that he had started his job with a work permit in July 2016. This permit was for a year and expired the following July 2017. It is claimed that he applied to have his permit renewed, but to date — October, 2019 – two years later – the

Immigration Board had yet to reach a decision!

In my opinion, the wrong person was before the court. I am angry about the injustice, but now I understand why the Bahamas is falling off the charts as a desirable place to do business. It just goes to show that Bahamians in these government ministries do not appreciate that time is of the essence, especially for a business person. In the business world of competition, a contract has to be signed today, not tomorrow, and certainly not several years later. And when that contract is dependent on the whim and wish of a civil servant in this country then you might as well pack your Jordy bag and go home. So much for this poor, unenlightened country! At the rate this is going the Bahamas will soon be off the charts!

DISILLUSIONED Nassau November 1, 2019

PM working Abaco & Grand Bahama hard EDITOR, The Tribune DOES the most Honourable Dr Hubert Minnis see in the aftermath of Dorian plus recently announced development projects Carnival GB…soon to come Our Lucaya…

Disney Eleuthera that

his favour on the streets could swing his way from being very negative and is now planning for an Election in 2020 before the summer?

His talk about the undocumented migrants is a very popular issue and could be the winner for Minnis from a lacklustre two plus years.

Catch Davis and the PLP totally off guard.

Is the PM calling an election in 2020? We will wait and see…certainly PM is working Abaco and Grand Bahama hard.

W THOMPSON Nassau October 8, 2019.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 4, 2019, PAGE 5

NYGARD ‘CONTRIBUTING TO DEFORESTATION OF PLANET’ PETER Nygard suffered another legal blow on Friday – as his appeal against contempt was rejected with the judge expressing frustration with the lengthy legal process surrounding his case.

Mr Nygard had originally sought leave to appeal but the rules required that he apply to the lower court first. He had not made that application – but his appeal was allowed to remain until the lower court had dealt with any application that might be submitted. The Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed his appeal, however, because of a failure to secure the necessary leave to appeal.

The case originally

emerges from proceedings relating to Mr Nygard’s property in New Providence, Nygard’s Cay, which he is accused of enlarging without permission. He is said to not have followed statutory procedures with regard to extending the land area of the cay and for works involving the seabed. Mr Nygard disputes those accusations and says that, for the enlargement of the cay, no permission was required, and that for all other work, he says the appropriate permissions were received. He was found to be in contempt for breaching orders by Justice Rhonda Bain relating to dredging at the property.

In his ruling, Justice

Isaacs noted that the appeal “arises out of a torturous legal battle which has probably contributed considerably to the deforestation of the planet”, referring to the amount of paperwork surrounding the lengthy proceedings.

He added: “Through a series of legal skirmishes, the conflict between the parties has dragged on interminably through the courts.”

Mr Isaacs said that failing to secure the necessary leave to appeal from the lower court meant that the appeal was liable to be dismissed by the appeal court and dismissed with costs awarded against Mr Nygard.

PETER Nygard suffered another legal blow on Friday.

Trust fund to help families rebuild lives from page one

PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

PM PRAISE FOR NEW BUILDING PROPOSALS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis praised Nassau’s redevelopment as he marked the opening of a building on John F Kennedy Drive that will be occupied by Sunshine Insurance, Commonwealth Brewery and Gateway Ascendancy.

He lauded the anticipated creation of a new cruise port, a redeveloped Fish Fry and western esplanade, a new Central Bank, US Embassy and the ongoing Pointe development, the next phase of which will open next year.

He praised the Sunshine Holdings company. Businessman Franklyn Wilson is chairman of the group.

Tommy Turnquest, a longtime FNM and current Bahamasair chairman, is a director.

“It is always a source of inspiration to see a Bahamian-owned corporate group dream and accomplish such a project as we are witnessing today,” Dr Minnis said.

“This new edifice is a substantial development, opening in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian which will have a far-reaching impact on our national economy. This new Sunshine Insurance House is a manifestation of the vision of a corporate group that has long been committed

to economic and national development. I trust that the beauty and structure of this building will encourage other Bahamians to do likewise throughout New Providence.

“May I encourage other business people to construct, to refurbish or to demolish buildings that will help to make this corridor more attractive and open to further business and commercial development. The Sunshine Holdings core group of investors have demonstrated an enduring commitment to national development, helping Bahamians with a variety of economic opportunities to save and to invest. Sunshine Holdings has remained 100 percent Bahamian-owned, while employing over 1000 employees.

“The company has built homes for more Bahamians than any other private entity. I have been informed that there are additional plans afoot to create a business park complex on the remaining land at this site.

Such a new complex represents the best of Bahamian business enterprise and demonstrates the heights to which Bahaman entrepreneurs may advance. I salute the group’s contribution to the field of education, having awarded $1.5m in college scholarships. The group has also raised almost $500,000 in support of breast cancer awareness and the cure through the Sunshine Insurance Race Weekend.”

They will be paid through the Bahamas National Recovery and Reconstruction Trust Fund, an “independent and nonpolitical body to help fund home and building repairs”.

The government is expected to reveal the means test for prospective recipients of the money.

After Hurricane Joaquin and Matthew, the Christie administration re-built homes for people who fell in one of three categories: single-parent women, the elderly and the disabled.

“The fund will receive applications from Bahamians in need and work with pre-selected contractors and project managers to pre-approve applications, inspect homes, disburse funds directly to contractors or building suppliers and receive necessary government approvals,” Dr Minnis said.

The prime minister also revealed that non-government organisation Samaritan’s Purse wants to conduct 1,000 permanent home repairs and whole-house repairs

in a partnership with local churches and local contractors. He said in addition to the 422 roofs Samaritan’s Purse has already tarped, the group will target 500 rapid roof repairs on both Abaco and Grand Bahama in a partnership with USAID. The International Red Cross, meanwhile, has committed to repairing 1,000 homes that have received minor to moderate damage and is examining how to provide financial resources to 2,000 households for multi-purpose use, “including the replacement of furniture”, he said.

Dr Minnis said the government will establish a $1.5m loan and grant program to assist farmers, fishermen and those in the boating industry in the special economic recovery zones on the affected islands. “The grant programme will provide up to $50,000 to help restore these businesses that are an important part of getting the affected communities and economic up and running again,” he said.

Through a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Housing and

Environment, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will provide guidance to local health officials and contractors on enhancing debris disposal, will give advice on preventing debris burning, the accumulation of stagnant water and the proliferation of disease vectors, among other things, according to Dr Minnis.

In Grand Bahama, 3,656 damaged buildings have been assessed so far, Dr Minnis said, with 54 percent of them receiving minimal damage, 19 percent receiving medium damage, 16 percent receiving major damage and eight percent being completely destroyed. 3,348 of these were residential buildings, 198 were commercial, 50 were mixed-use and 60 were public properties.

To help government supported schools in Abaco recover, Dr Minnis said partnerships are being formed with a number of private groups and corporate entities. Baker’s Bay, for instance, will adopt schools in Cooper’s Town, Green Turtle Cay and Hope Town, he said.

Editorial View - Page 4

PAGE 6, Monday, November 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

DARVILLE CALLS ON LLOYD TO ADDRESS RESULTS DECLINE

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

PLP Senator Dr Michael Darville said Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd has a “duty to address this decline” after this year’s poor examination results.

In a press statement yesterday, Dr Darville, PLP shadow minister of health and education, said the Lloyd’s poor leadership as well as his attempts at intimidating and threatening educators have created a toxic mix in the public school system that have

adversely impacted scholastic performance and education outcomes.

“This has hurt our children and if it is not arrested could have negative implications for us as a nation.

Minister Lloyd has a duty to address this decline in scholarship and outline a strategy to reverse this trend. A good place to start is to create an environment that is conducive to learning,” Dr Darville noted.

“Fewer students have reportedly sat the core BGCSE subjects of Maths, English and Science and there was a decrease in the number of

students who secured at least a grade of C in these core subjects.”

“The Education Minister was very critical of the PLP’s handling of public education, branding the Christie government as careless and negligent, characterising our education system as being in crisis and claimed to have the answers to our education woes. During his tenure as Minister, we are seeing a deterioration in the quality of education.”

Dr Darville added: “Schools have not opened on time for the start of the new school year due to

delays in required repairs and the minister has failed to resolve a number of outstanding labour issues with the Bahamas Union of Teachers. There have also been reports of unsafe and unhealthy work environments which have led to demonstrations, strike votes, walkouts and sit outs by teachers.”

Last week, the newly released results of this year’s Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) were released which showed fewer students scored at

least a C grade in score subjects Mathematics, English and Science.

A total of 484 candidates fell into this category. This represented a decrease of 1.22 percent when compared with 2018. That year, 490 students scored at least a C. The scores have got progressively worse and were released much later than is customary. Additionally, the number of candidates receiving a minimum or five subjects or more with a D grade or higher decreased.

This year 1,213 candidates attained a minimum of D in at least five subjects,

representing a 9.34 percent decrease from the results of 2018.

The Bahamas Junior Certificate scores were not better with an 18.36 percent decrease in the number of students who scored at least a C grade in math, English language and science.

In 2018, 1,552 candidates scored at least a C and 1,326 were in 2017.

Those who achieved a D grade in five or more subjects were also lower.

This year, 2,176 candidates achieved a minimum of D, a 6.17 percent decrease when compared with 2018’s 2,319.

BELINDA WILSON, far left, toured C H Reeves school along with education officers last Friday. Also there was Attorney Kahlil Parker.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Union goes to court after govt skips talks from page one allowed on their jobs and their salaries have been cut,” she said.

“And for CH Reeves, we’re dealing with health and safety of the teachers and the students and their salaries have been cut… (So) on Monday morning, we will go to the Supreme Court and we expect for the justice system to work for us.”

Her comments to the press on Friday came after a meeting with the Attorney General’s office and the Ministry of Education staff at CH Reeves was cancelled without warning.

“We had an agreement to come here this morning to have a meeting but the police have been called. I’m very disappointed and it’s amazing how (the ministry of) education, when they

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are speaking alone, they give a lot of misinformation and a lot of untruths,” the union leader said.

Meanwhile, Kahlil Parker, attorney for the union, said: “We came out here to resolve these issues, to put these teachers back to work and to get beyond this matter….and because they said because the press is here they do not want to engage in the walk-about that we had arranged.”

“We cannot resolve these issues if people are afraid of scrutiny and are afraid to have these disputes resolved in the public view. They drive our clients through the public. “(So) we will go to court, and I

expect the justice system to produce the results we need to resolve these ongoing issues.”

He continued: “Industrial relations cannot progress until we have a situation where the government realizes that they are accountable to the people, they are accountable to the people who work for them and they are accountable to the laws and the industrial agreements that they sign. ” In speaking to reporters, Mrs Wilson said the meeting was initially meant to address the concerns regarding repairs needed at CH Reeves Junior High.

For weeks, teachers

at the school have been protesting against the “unsanitary” conditions on campus, citing the presence of mould as one of the key concerns.

In her address, Mrs Wilson called education officials “disingenuous” for wanting teachers to work under conditions that they would not have worked under.

“They are disingenuous. They are incompetent.

They are inept and they expect teachers to work in conditions that they would not subject themselves to.

This is the problem we have in education,” she said.

But, speaking to reporters outside Cabinet last

month, Mr Lloyd said his ministry is seeking to resolve whatever outstanding issues the teachers have.

Mr Lloyd said if the industrial agreement in question is no longer serving its purpose, all parties need to sit down and come to a new agreement.

“This is deeply troubling; it is troubling because, one, we have an agreement.

That agreement should be respected, if that agreement and its terms no longer serve the purpose for which it was originally intended and it does not serve those purposes today, they’re adults, we are reasonable, intelligent and smart people,” he said.

ANGRY PARENT INSISTS PROTESTING TEACHERS SHOULD BE REPLACED

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

A DISGRUNTLED parent has called for the removal of all the teachers at CH Reeves Junior High School participating in ongoing protests.

The parent, who preferred not to be named, said last year the teachers at CH Reeves had a few sit outs and this year teachers are still refusing to teach the kids.

“The parents bring their kids to school every day, find lunch money for them, clean their uniform and bring them to school for the teachers to walk out the classrooms. If the classroom isn’t good enough for the teachers, then it shouldn’t be good enough for the students,” the parent said.

“If the teachers were really (interested) in doing their jobs they would have taken the kids outside under the tree and teach those kids. When exam time comes around, the kids are going to fail. The teachers are really interfering with their futures dramatically.

If the kids aren’t taught,

they’re not going to learn anything in school.”

He added: “Anyone who are with these teachers not doing their job should be ashamed of themselves. You have a teachers union and if the president of that union is backing the teachers for not doing their job then they should not be in those positions.”

The angry parent suggested the government replace those teachers with educators willing to do their jobs efficiently.

He said: “The government should take all of those teachers and send them to different islands and put new teachers there who are going to teach the kids. Those kids that have to sit BJC and BGCSE exams are going to fail because no one is teaching the kids. No one seems to be concerned.

Parents are sick and tired of sending their kids to school every day and they aren’t learning.

“It’s appalling, the parents are becoming very irate and it’s frustrating. This is the third month going into the new school year and we still having this problem. I’m ready to move my kids but it’s the middle

of the school year, where am I going to put them? If I could have afforded it God knows I would have put my kids in private school.”

He added: “A lot of parents are feeling the same.

It’s not good and they’re not just interfering with these kids’ education.

They’re interfering with their future. Quite frankly I’m ready to get the parents together and march in front of that school.”

Last week, the Bahamas Union of Teachers president, Belinda Wilson, said the union will be taking legal action against the Ministry of Education to resolve ongoing issues at Carlton Francis Primary School and CH Reeves Junior High School.

Speaking to reporters at CH Reeves Junior High on Friday, Mrs Wilson noted that the union’s decision to take matters to court is a response to the outstanding concerns highlighted by teachers at the respective schools.

“For eight weeks now, teachers (at Carlton Francis Primary) have been reporting to work and locked out of the gate with police presence, security officers

and so they have not been allowed on their jobs and their salaries have been cut,” she said.

“And for CH Reeves, we’re dealing with health and safety of the teachers and the students and their salaries have been cut…

(So) on Monday morning, we will go to the Supreme Court and we expect for the justice system to work for us.”

Last month, Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd told reporters his ministry is seeking to resolve whatever outstanding issues the teachers have.

Mr Lloyd said if the industrial agreement in question is no longer serving its purpose, all parties need to sit down and come to a new agreement.

“This is deeply troubling; it is troubling because, one, we have an agreement. That agreement should be respected, if that agreement and its terms no longer serve the purpose for which it was originally intended and it does not serve those purposes today, they’re adults, we are reasonable, intelligent and smart people,” he said.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 4, 2019, PAGE 7

Wreaths laid to honour those who have served WREATHS were laid on Friday to honour those who had served The Bahamas in military uniform - including those who had laid down their lives for their country. The pre-Remembrance Day event in Rawson Square was organised by the Bahamas branch of the British Legion.

Governor General Cornelius A Smith was among those present, along with ministers Marvin Dames and Darren Henfield, newly appointed British

High Commissioner Sarah Dickson, retired British High Commissioner Peter Young, acting Defence Force commander Captain Raymond King and others.

Around Rawson Square were displayed posters of some of those being honoured at the occasion, including the late Tribune editor and publisher Sir Etienne Dupuch, who joined the 5th Bahamas War Contingent in 1916, at the age of 17.

He served in the British

West India Regiment, and was assigned to Europe on the eastern and western fronts in France. He also served on the Sahara desert where he almost died of pneumonia due to blistering hot temperatures during the day and freezing cold at night. Private Dupuch returned home after his service with the Victory Medal.

Also honoured were Mary Moseley for her war relief efforts during the First World War; Warrant

POLICE HUNT SUSPECTS AFTER ARMED ROBBERIES POLICE are hunting for suspects after a series of armed robberies over the weekend.

On Saturday, shortly before 10pm, three armed men entered a business on Augusta Street, off Ferguson Street, and robbed cashiers of cash before escaping.

On Friday, officers reported that shortly before 11pm, a man was robbed near a park in Arundel Street, Centreville. Three men armed with sharp objects approached him and robbed him of cash before escaping on foot.

In another robbery on Thursday, a man was standing near a vehicle

on Chesapeake Road and Arawak Avenue when he was approached by an armed man who robbed him of a gold chain before escaping in a red Nissan Note.

A man was also injured in a stabbing incident yesterday. At about 2am, the man was at a business on Wulff Road and Market Street when he got into an argument with another man resulting in him being stabbed. He was taken to hospital in a private vehicle where he was last night listed as being in a critical but stable condition.

Police have also recovered ammunition in two separate discoveries. On Saturday, officers searching

an area on Key West Street, Englerston, acting on intelligence, found a bag containing 37 rounds of 9mm ammunition. This follows a discovery on Friday in Culberts Hill, where a concerned citizen inspecting a vehicle he had recently purchased overseas contacted police after finding a bag containing 56 .40 rounds, 27 .38 spent special cartridges, 25 9mm rounds, four shotgun shells and 89 .38 rounds of ammunition.

Anyone who can help with any of these incidents is urged to contact the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991/2, Crime stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff Officer Norman F Aranha, who served in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War; Squadron Leader David Lester Brown; Wing Commander Lionel Rees; John Croft Bates, an RAF air mechanic; Flight Lieutenant Warren Maurice Lightbourn; Flight Lt Leonard Maurice Thompson, Flight Lt John Maura; Warrant Officer Basil Lawrence Ivan Johnson; Warrant Officer John Maillis; Flight Lt George Winthrop Sargent Moseley;

Radar officer Edwin Brownrigg; and the Gallant 30, the Bahamians who formed the first Bahamian Contingent in the First World War. British Legion chairman Adina Munroe hailed those who fought at the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War, saying: “We are here today to celebrate our Bahamian sons of the soil... our pilots, who had the opportunity to fly over Normandy such as the late Squadron Leader

David Lester Brown, who led 54 fighter aircraft over Normandy and Germany.

“We must not forget our very first Bahamian pilot of colour, the late Warrant Officer Basil Lawrence Ivan Johnson, who also had an opportunity to fly over Germany during this very important battle for world freedom.”

She added: “We have an awesome task ahead of us as we must honour in years to come over 300 forgotten Bahamian war heroes.”

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PAGE 8, Monday, November 4, 2019 A DOG trapped for three weeks under rubble in Abaco before being rescued is learning to walk again thanks to the team who saved him.

The dog - aptly named Miracle by the Big Dog Ranch Rescue team - was weak and struggling to survive when he was found.

Having survived purely on rainwater, his body was skeletal and he had lost half of his body mass. The team at Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida said he was “too broken and weak to move any portion of his body”.

He was discovered thanks to the use of a drone using infra-red heat seeking technology that detected him under the rubble. He was trapped under an air conditioning unit.

The Big Dog team said: “Miracle is safe and recovering, but his healing process both physically and emotionally has been extremely extensive. He is going through months of physical therapy - all while fighting his severe anaemia and positive heartworm status.”

The latest breakthrough was revealed in video by WPTV, showing the dog taking his first steps again since being rescued.

Big Dog Ranch Rescue president Lauree Simmons said: “His blood levels are much better, he came in so highly anaemic, and he’s just making progress one step at a time.”

A total of 50,000 people have contacted the ranch asking for updates on Miracle’s progress, with 10,000 offering to adopt him.

Big Dog Ranch Rescue saved more than 150 animals after Hurricane Dorian, reuniting more than 50 pets with their families, and funded a number of air and sea transport missions. They have launched a Miracle Fund to support their work, and donations can be made at https://bdrr. org/miracle-fund/.

THE TRIBUNE

Miracle begins to walk again

TWO RESCUED POOCHES BECOME BBB MASCOTS

TOP: Staff from the brewery with dogs Jimmy, left, and Clare, right TWO dogs rescued after Hurricane Dorian have become mascots of the Bahamian Brewery & Beverage (BBB) Company as it undergoes its own recovery effort.

The two dogs were saved after the storm and, along with employees of BBB, were relocated to Nassau.

They acted as both pets and security at BBB’s AIP Warehouse, and the company have decided to make them part of the family and named them Clare and Jimmy, after the company’s CEO and his wife.

“BAARK had set up a temporary shelter in AIP for the rescued animals” explained general manager

Gary Sands, “and we thought it would be great to give these loveable guys a home.”

“We prepared a safe kennel, grassed area, and lots of chew toys make up their home in the back,” said warehouse manager Bryan Thurston. “We all pitch in to make sure they are well taken care of.”

The company itself has remained determined to keep its business afloat and has been making strides toward the full restoration of its Grand Bahama beer operations and is set now to rebuild its retail store and warehouse.

The company’s Abaco operations, located in

Marsh Harbour, were all but levelled by the Hurricane Dorian, which left behind nothing more than a shell.

“Abaco holds a special place in my heart, the people, the land, and the community brings a lot of warmth and great memories for me,” said Mr Sands. “My ancestors are descendants from Abaco, and holding this connection to the community is extremely important to me.

The customers of Abaco also need to see companies reopening to create a positive impact on the communities, and to assure them we support their rebuilding efforts.“

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

Cry for Haiti but now the UN’s starting to throw stones at us

DESTRUCTION caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen from the air in Marsh Harbour on Abaco on September 7

By MALCOLM

STRACHAN

E

VERY other week there’s some demand from the UN – this time, from the High Commissioner for Refugees - so what should The Bahamas, a nation still reeling from the devastation suffered at the merciless hands of Hurricane Dorian, do as it relates to upholding our immigration policies? Considering the disastrous state Haiti is in right now - its democracy threatened daily through violent protests demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise - it is absolutely understandable that no sensible person will want to go there.

These circumstances are unfortunate. Still, a modicum of fair-mindedness should be expected when you also look at what The Bahamas has experienced, the longevity of our immigration issues and what it could mean to regularise all Haitians that were living on Abaco when Dorian made landfall, documented or undocumented.

It is no secret that many of those who fled the washed-away shanty town communities on Abaco would have broken the law by illegally landing in The Bahamas. Now, the government, after placing a moratorium on deportations for the first few weeks after the storm, is fully within its rights to resume expulsions following its official immigration policy.

Even as Bahamians have received gracious treatment from our American brothers and sisters, President Trump has stated explicitly that temporary protected status will not be given to Bahamians displaced by the storm.

In case we missed it, have there been any representatives from the UN condemning Trump’s decision? I didn’t think so either – which is why it is interesting the UN would remain so insistent on The Bahamas, a country with a hard, uphill climb to return to normalcy, take on a burden that has, in part, made the task at hand even more difficult.

With the official death toll sitting at 67, hardly a

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soul in the country believes the actual number is anywhere in this vicinity.

You would recall last year, the Shanty Town Action Task Force reported on the population living in the Abaco shanty town communities. It was determined that 3,500 people – 80 percent of whom had legal status to reside in the country – were spread across The Mudd, Pigeon Peas, Farm Road and Sand Banks. Seven hundred and seven of the shanty town residents were undocumented migrants, which it may be safe to assume had increased in number by the time of the storm.

The state of these homes were barely liveable at the time, and as was identified by the images of the storm’s destruction, not much was left standing in the hardest hit areas.

Sadly - with no shortage of stories of the hardships of survivors unsure of how they’re going to rebuild their homes, reunite their families and recover from the trauma they’ve experienced - it is incredibly odd that the UNHCR still expects The Bahamas to play the

role of saviours when the entire country is in a state of distress.

At this point, it is not even a question if we should be good Samaritans or not. We simply aren’t in the position to do so.

Any country in the world that loses 15–20 percent of its revenue in the space of 48 hours will be pushed to the brink, much less our country – due to our heavy reliance on tourism dollars. While we are in a much better position than many other countries to bounce back with time, the UNHCR’s callous expectation for The Bahamas to set a dangerous precedent of regularising all Haitians that suffered from Dorian should be dismissed outright.

Besides, the UN’s mandate, “to maintain international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights”, should have led them to advocate for the countries that share the responsibility for the dilapidated state of affairs that exist in Haiti.

Having been nothing more than a geopolitical prostitute – especially for France, its colonisers – responsible for driving Haiti into a state of poverty - and most recently, the US, guilty of propping up the despotian Duvalier administrations, and now, the Moise-led government. Yet, its somehow the responsibility of a much younger, less developed nation to foot the bill.

This seems incredibly disingenuous of the UN to allow such out of touch commentary to continue to be given a platform.

“Rather than setting a dangerous precedent by summarily deporting the Haitians, The Bahamas should find a way to regularise their status and allow them to benefit from decent living and working conditions,” said Dr Jeff Crisp, head of the UNHCR. What does Dr Crisp say about “dangerous precedents” when the next storm comes and we are still grappling with illegal migration challenges? Certainly, he knows that human rights litigators would have a field day with the Bahamian government.

Thus, he is absolutely right.

The Bahamas has to be very aware of setting dangerous precedents.

While, we empathise greatly with those in Haiti experiencing these times, we have our fair share of the tribulation on our hands. And instead of the subtle shaming continuing to come from the UN, perhaps they ought to shift their focus to who is really at fault.

Last month, the UN had to end its 15-year peacekeeping mission in Haiti for what was reported to be a lack of resources. Similar reports stated the organisation was so financially cash-strapped they feared they would not be able to pay their staff beyond the month of October – convenient timing as Haiti became even more unstable nearing 500 days of nonstop chaos.

Further, the US, the UN’s biggest contributor, has not paid over $600m in dues, which account for 22 percent of its annual budget and 28 percent of its peacekeeping budget.

Yet there’s no fierce condemnation from the UN. Nor is there any arm of the UN advocating for reparations or asylum for Haitians.

The fact is if the much larger countries in the world were held accountable, we could have been discussing a potentially different Haiti right now. But unfortunately, an organisation that knows far better would stoop so low to shift the narrative away from itself and those truly responsible and pressure a little country suffering its own trauma.

The disunity in Haiti is an age-old problem, and its proliferation has been sparked by others not named The Bahamas.

Hence, under no circumstances can the government’s knees buckle under pressure from the international and local organisations asking for it to do more than it should have to.

That being said, just as we continue to pray for our country, we must do the same for Haiti.

As it stands for us, The Bahamas is a country of laws. Once we execute our immigration policies lawfully and humanely, we should all be able to sleep at night.

In the meantime, the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs need to work along with CARICOM to stress to the UN the importance of those with greater culpability for what has taken place in Haiti to be held accountable.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019

By KIM BRIMHALL Assistant Professor of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New York BEFORE I began to study and teach how to shape workplace relationships, I was a social worker.

For about six years, I worked at a variety of nonprofits that served the needs of people with substance use problems, adolescents with mental health challenges and children who had been abused.

At every job, I noticed a pattern. All my colleagues felt unappreciated and wanted to quit.

As a scholar, I’ve learned that this dynamic isn’t unusual. Whether they are hospitals, museums, food pantries, churches or environmental groups, all non-profits constantly struggle to attract and retain qualified staff.

Research I’ve conducted suggests that when employees feel valued and that their colleagues and bosses appreciate them, talented staff members become more likely to stick around.

Feeling appreciated In a national survey of 420 non-profit organizations conducted in 2017, 28 percent of non-profits said the top challenge they faced was hiring qualified staff, and 81 percent of non-profits said they can’t get the staff they do hire to stay.

This same survey indicated that non-profits may not do enough to address these problems. Two out of three had no systematic way to recruit qualified staff and vet new hires.

And four out of five did little to encourage employees to stick around, such as

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

Try this - make your employees feel welcome and valued helping them feel valued by expressing appreciation for the unique talents they bring to the workplace, or giving them raises and paying salaries commensurate with their skills and experience.

In addition, the top three reasons employees give for leaving non-profits, according to the results of a different survey, are dissatisfaction with their career opportunities, compensation and benefits and workplace culture – or what it feels like to work there.

These results suggest that salaries – which can be lower in non-profits than in comparable private-sector jobs – are not the only factor that makes it hard to keep talented people on board.

Making workplaces inclusive To get a clearer view of how this works, I recently completed a study regarding how managers at hospitals can improve employee performance through greater inclusivity.

Inclusion, a term that generally refers to making all people feel welcome

regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and disabilities, is also about helping employees feel appreciated as unique individuals and helping them feel valued as key members of their team.

Characteristics such as your childhood economic status, where you went to school, your current neighbourhood or political views may have an effect on how

comfortable and accepted you feel on the job.

More than half of all non-profit jobs are in the health care field. And even though non-profit hospitals generally pay their workers better than other non-profits, they also have trouble hiring and retaining qualified staff, according to the 2018 State of the Non-Profit Sector survey.

As I explained in an article published in the

Non-Profit Management & Leadership academic journal, when hospital managers and top leaders helped employees feel more included, they became more committed to stay and felt better about their performance.

Adopting best practices Results from my hospital study and other research

suggest that there are several things employers can do to create an inclusive workplace. Not only does this approach make good business sense, it is also the right thing to do by valuing all employees as human beings.

Here are some practices I recommend for employers based on my research.

Engage all employees to weigh in on important workrelated decision-making.

Express appreciation for feedback given from employees of all job positions, not just when suggestions come from managers or leaders.

Treat each employee as a unique individual, offering coaching, feedback and opportunities that build on their own talents.

Communicate a shared sense of purpose and inspire a collective vision of the future.

And making workplaces more inclusive may be the key to making not just nonprofit jobs more desirable, but any kind of workplace – including those in the private and public sectors. theconversation.com

50 years of the internet and it started with a crash

By SCOTT SHACKELFORD Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana University

FIFTY years ago, a UCLA computer science professor and his student sent the first message over the predecessor to the internet, a network called ARPANET. On Oct. 29, 1969, Leonard Kleinrock and Charley Kline sent Stanford University researcher Bill Duval a two-letter message: “lo.”

The intended message, the full word “login,” was truncated by a computer crash.

Much more traffic than that travels through the internet these days, with billions of emails sent and searches conducted daily.

As a scholar of how the internet is governed, I know that today’s vast communications web is a result of governments and regulators making choices that collectively built the internet as it is today.

Here are five key moments in this journey.

1978: Encryption failure Early internet pioneers, in some ways, were remarkably farsighted. In 1973, a group of high school students reportedly gained access to ARPANET, which was supposed to be a closed network managed by the Pentagon.

Computer scientists Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn suggested building encryption into the internet’s core protocols, which would have made it far more difficult for hackers to compromise the system.

But the US intelligence community objected, though officials didn’t publicly say why. The only reason their intervention is public is because Cerf hinted at it in a 1983 paper he co-authored.

As a result, basically all of today’s internet users have to handle complex passwords and multi-factor authentication systems to ensure secure communications. People with more advanced security needs

manage key aspects of internet communications have different structures.

The Internet Engineering Task Force, for instance, is a voluntary technical organisation open to anyone.

There are drawbacks to that approach, but it would have lessened both the reality and perception of U.S. control. often use virtual private networks or specialised privacy software like Tor to encrypt their online activity.

However, computers may not have had enough processing power to effectively encrypt internet communications. That could have slowed the network, making it less attractive to users – delaying, or even preventing, wider use by researchers and the public.

1983: ‘The internet’ is born For the internet to really be a global entity, all kinds of different computers needed to speak the same language to be able to communicate with each other – directly, if possible, rather than slowing things down by using translators.

Hundreds of scientists from various governments collaborated to devise what they called the Open Systems Interconnection standard. It was a complex method that critics considered inefficient and difficult to scale across existing networks.

Cerf and Kahn, however, proposed another way, called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP/IP worked more like the regular mail – wrapping up messages in packages and putting the

address on the outside. All the computers on the network had to do was pass the message to its destination, where the receiving computer would figure out what to do with the information. It was free for anyone to copy and use on their own computers.

TCP/IP – given that it both worked and was free – enabled the rapid, global scaling of the internet. A variety of governments, including the United States, eventually came out in support of OSI but too late to make a difference. TCP/IP made the internet cheaper, more innovative and less tied to official government standards.

1996: Online speech regulated By 1996, the internet boasted more than 73,000 servers, and 22 percent of surveyed Americans were going online. What they found there, though, worried some members of Congress and their constituents – particularly the rapidly growing amount of pornography.

In response, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, which sought to regulate indecency and obscenity in cyberspace.

The Supreme Court struck down portions of the

law on free-speech grounds the next year, but it left in place Section 230, which stated: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

Those 26 words, as various observers have noted, released internet service providers and web-hosting companies from legal responsibility for information their customers posted or shared online.

This single sentence provided legal security that allowed the US technology industry to flourish. That protection let companies feel comfortable creating a consumer-focused internet, filled with grassroots media outlets, bloggers, customer reviews and user-generated content.

Critics note that Section 230 also allows social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to operate largely without regulation.

1998: US government steps up The TCP/IP addressing scheme required that every computer or device connected to the internet have its own unique address – which, for computational reasons, was

a string of numbers like “192.168.2.201.”

But that’s hard for people to remember – it’s much easier to recall something like “indiana.edu.” There had to be a centralised record of which names went with which addresses, so people didn’t get confused, or end up visiting a site they didn’t intend to.

Originally, starting in the late 1960s, that record was kept on a floppy disk by a man named Jon Postel. By 1998, though, he and others were pointing out that such a significant amount of power shouldn’t be held by just one person. That year saw the U.S. Department of Commerce lay out a plan to transition control to a new private non-profit organisation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – better known as ICANN – that would manage internet addresses around the world.

For nearly 20 years, ICANN did that work under a contract from the Commerce Department, though objections over U.S. government control grew steadily. In 2016, the Commerce Department contract expired, and ICANN’s governance continued its shift toward a broader, more globalised structure.

Other groups that

2010: War comes online In June 2010, cybersecurity researchers revealed the discovery of a sophisticated cyber weapon called Stuxnet, which was designed specifically to target equipment used by Iran’s effort to develop nuclear weapons. It was among the first known digital attacks that actually caused physical damage.

Almost a decade later, it’s clear that Stuxnet opened the eyes of governments and other online groups to the possibility of wreaking significant havoc through the internet. These days, nations use cyberattacks with increasing regularity, attacking a range of military and even civilian targets.

There’s certainly cause for hope for online peace and community, but these decisions – along with many others – have shaped cyberspace and with it millions of people’s daily lives. Reflecting on those past choices can help inform upcoming decisions – such as how international law should apply to cyberattacks, or whether and how to regulate artificial intelligence.

Maybe 50 years from now, events in 2019 will be seen as another key turning point in the development of the internet.

theconversation.com

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

By JULIE PACE AP Washington Bureau Chief Editor

I

N one year’s time, voters will decide whether to grant President Donald Trump a second term in office, an election that will be a referendum on Trump’s vision for America’s culture and role in the world.

Much is unknown about how the United States and its politics will look on November. 3, 2020.

Who will Trump’s opponent be? How will Democrats resolve the ideological, generational and demographic questions roiling their primary? Will a strong economy shore up Trump’s support or will recession warning signs turn into a reality? Will Trump face voters as just the third American president to have been impeached by the House of Representatives?

This much seems certain: the nation will plunge into the election as deeply divided as it has been politically in more than half a century, when cities were in flames with protests over war and civil rights.

“It seems like Republicans and Democrats are intractable,” said Mark Updegrove, a presidential historian and chairman of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation.

“They are both adhering to their own versions of reality, whether they’re based in truth or not.”

The political divisions today reflect societal and economic schisms between more rural, largely white communities where the economy depends on industries being depleted by outsourcing and automation, and more urban, racially diverse areas dominated by a service economy and where technology booms are increasing wealth.

Many of those divisions existed before Trump, but his presidency has exacerbated them. Trump has panned his political opponents as “human scum,” while Democrats view his vision for America’s future as anathema to the country’s founding values.

Indeed, no president in the history of public opinion polling has faced such deep and consistent partisan polarisation.

Polling conducted by Gallup shows that an average of 86 percent of Republicans have approved of Trump over the course of his time in office, and no less than 79 percent have approved in any individual poll. That’s compared with just 7 percent of Democrats who have approved on average, including no more than 12 percent in any individual poll.

One thing that does unite the parties: voters’ widespread interest in the

INSIGHT

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 PAGE 11

A divided nation lurches towards the 2020 election

POLLING conducted by Gallup shows that an average of 86 percent of Republicans have approved of Trump over the course of his time in office, presidential campaign, even at this early phase. A poll from The Associated PressNORC Centre for Public Affairs Research shows 82 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Republicans are already interested in the election.

To win, Trump’s campaign needs to recreate the enthusiasm among his core supporters, a task that isn’t always easy for an incumbent burdened with a four-year record in office. But Trump is already leaning hard into the strict immigration policies that enlivened his supporters in 2016, while trying to convince more skeptical Republicans that Democrats are moving so far left as to be outside of the mainstream.

Rather than trying to persuade independents and moderate Democrats to switch their allegiances, the Trump campaign also believes it has better prospects in identifying Trump fans who didn’t show up in

2016 and mobilising them to vote.

Trump’s case for reelection may hinge on the state of the economy, which continues to grow. The unemployment rate is also near a five-decade low of 3.6 percent and the stock market keeps reaching new highs.

“At the end of the day, people care about their pocket books and how they’re doing and I think he can clearly point to life being better off,” said Jason Chaffetz, a former Republican congressman from Utah. But he added: “Any precipitous drop would hurt the president.”

A full picture of the economy does hold some warning signs for Trump at the one-year mark to Election Day. The president delivered a massive tax cut in 2017, yet it lacked the rocket-like thrust to push growth above the 3 percent that Trump promised. Job growth has been solid, yet parts of the industrial Midwest this year

have shed the factory jobs that he promised to create.

Consumers are helped by the slight inflation and low interest rates, but housing costs and student debt have sabotaged some American’s hopes for middle-class prosperity. The China trade

war inflamed by Trump has shown to his voters his willingness to fight for them, yet it has led to a decline in the type of business investment that fuels growth.

That is the story of the American economy Democrats want to tell over the next year. But the party is still struggling to figure out its own message to voters beyond contempt for Trump, the one sure thing that unites Democratic voters.

With just three months until primary-season voting begins, the top tier of candidates reflects the party’s uncertainty over its own identity.

Former Vice President Joe Biden promotes his decades of experience and running as an unabashed moderate willing to work across the political aisle.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont are pushing for sweeping liberal change.

With all three of those candidates in their 70s, Pete Buttigieg, the 37-yearold mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is running a surprisingly successful campaign on a call for generational change.

“I didn’t just come here to end the era of Donald Trump. I am here to launch the era that must come next,” Buttigieg said Friday during a Democratic Party dinner in Iowa.

The biggest known

unknown for both parties may be how the ongoing impeachment proceedings will be viewed by Americans one year from now.

Testimony from a litany of administration officials has validated an anonymous whistleblower complaint that raised concerns about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. A rough transcript that the White House itself released showed Trump asked Ukraine’s president to look into baseless corruption allegations against Biden and his son Hunter.

But like the broader contours of American politics, the impeachment proceedings are so far breaking along partisan lines. A vote last week on the rules for the impeachment process passed with support from all but two Democrats.

Every Republican voted no.

Those numbers would still put Democrats in position to impeach Trump in the House, though acquittal in the Republicancontrolled Senate looks all but certain. Still, it would leave Trump as the first president facing re-election after impeachment.

Updegrove, the presidential historian, said the question a year from now will be whether that matters.

“If not, what will matter to the American people as a whole?” he asked. “Is there anything?”

PAGE 12, Monday, November 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

FNM’S YOUTH RAISE MONEY FOR VICTIMS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Torchbearers Youth Association, the youth arm of the Free National Movement, raised $15,000 to help Hurricane Dorian victims, according to TYA leader Carlyle Bethel.

He said the association will distribute the funds in equal increments directly to individuals affected by the Category Five storm.

“Shortly after Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco and Grand Bahama, the Torchbearers Youth Association executive board called an emergency meeting to discuss how we would assist those affectedly the hurricane,” he said in a statement. “We expeditiously appointed a Hurricane Relief Committee, chaired by Latice

Knowles-Penn, TYA’s third VP in charge of Family Islands. Their mandate was to raise $10,000 and provide swift and effective relief for those directly affected by Hurricane Dorian.”

“On Sunday, October 20, TYA’s hurricane relief committee held a charity auction that raised over $15,000. All of these funds will go directly towards assisting those from Abaco and Grand Bahama who were directly affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Although we are all acutely aware of the tragedy that came as a result of Hurricane Dorian, we may never fully appreciate and understand the trauma and devastation suffered by those who had to survive through it. But, we all can play some role in assisting and helping our brothers and sisters in need.”

Rotary puts muscle into helping rebuild homes

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ROTARY Clubs of Grand Bahama organised several convoys into East Grand Bahama, distributing much-needed building materials to residents to help rebuild homes in those devastated East End settlements.

Two 40ft trailers with roofing and building materials, and other items, including brand new generators, fuel and bottled drinking water were taken to Pelican Point last week by members of the five Rotary Clubs.

According to residents, it was the first distribution of building materials in that area since the storm.

It brought some hope for rebuilding in that seaside community ravaged by Hurricane Dorian.

For 49-year-old Ianthe Laing, the arrival of the Rotary Club was a “joyful” event.

“I’m overwhelmed with joy because I didn’t know that this day would come that somebody would really think about us enough to want to do this for us,” she said. “It is a new start, a new beginning.”

Pelican Point is considered a flood zone area and so many residents were not sure if they would be able rebuild with no insurance or financial aid.

Rather than leave their community, some residents have remained living in camping tents on their properties.

Another resident, Elvina Bain, sustained extensive roof damage and flooding in her home. She was very happy when the Rotary Club convoy arrived with building and roofing supplies.

“I’m so happy, I can’t even express my feeling right now, said Ms Bain.

I’ve been hearing that supplies are coming since the hurricane left and this is the first time that I’m seeing it.”

With her home gutted and a leaking roof, Ms Bain said they have to deal with rainy days. “When it rains, it pours,” she said, grateful for the building supplies given her.

Contractor Steve Laing, of Pelican Point, believes the outpouring of donated building and roofing materials brings hope to despondent residents of East Grand Bahama.

“This is the first set of materials to hit the ground in Pelican Point and we are so thankful because the people were so discouraged, and this brings a ray of hope in [them] at least starting to put their life back together,” he said.

“You can’t imagine the beauty of this place before the storm and the horror of

this place after the storm.

People who know Pelican Point, this is the cleanliest settlement on the island.

But now, it just lies in ruin and the folks are really in despair.”

To bring more help and relief to residents on Grand Bahama, the Rotary Clubs of Lucaya, Freeport, Sunrise, Sunset and Grand Bahama came together and pooled their resources with Rotary International.

A five-member central committee was formed with responsibilities for setting up and managing the rebuilding programme.

Rotarian volunteer and Committee member Rich Halpern said the programme was initiated

exclusively for East Grand Bahama. He said that a benefactor gave him funds to help their cause.

“We’re the first ones out there actually bringing them hammers, nails, sheetrock, plywood and peel and stick,” he said.

Disaster Relief Committee director James Sarles said that Rotary – operating as first responders – initially brought in totes to be able to supply water, survivor goods, and basic supplies to the residents of East Grand Bahama.

He explained that the second phase is to get people back in their homes.

“So, the monies that we raised with generous partners like Equinor, we’re

going through the building phase – it’s very exciting.

Two 40-foot trailers, all of those building materials, have been paid for through our generous sponsors, and it’s exciting for us, with just weeks after the storm that we are here on the ground,” he said.

Mr Sarles said Rotary has been working tirelessly for the past five weeks even as some of them had similar problems with their own homes.

He indicated that the organisation is committed to seeing the programme through to the end.

According to Mr Sarles, local contractors are carrying out the work and will go from house to house.

“We’re going to do mold remediation. After that work is completed, we will bring in the sheetrock and before long the residents will be able to move back into their homes. Then, we’re going to help them with airbeds and doing everything that we can to get them back, and to create some sort of normalcy with their life. It makes me proud to be a Rotarian to help the people, and certainly Grand Bahama is in a situation that we need the help, and we’re doing the best we can.”

Lisabeth Knowles, area governor of Rotary 6990 for Grand Bahama, said they started with Pelican Point, and will move to

Free Town, and then on to McLean’s Town.

“We’re just really happy that we can help everybody here in Pelican Point and later the rest of East End,” she said. We’ll do as much as we can with the donations that we have received so far, and we are really grateful.”

Mrs Knowles said that there is a lot of work to do, and they will continue trying to get as many donations as possible.

On Friday, Rotary continued its convoy to East Grand Bahama delivering building supplies and materials to residents at St Cleveland Baptist Church, Free Town, Grand Bahama.

PAGE 14, Monday, November 4, 2019

SATURDAY STEAK OUT

SACRED Heart Catholic Church held its annual Steak Out and Fair on church grounds at East Shirley Street over the weekend Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

THE TRIBUNE

PAGE 16, Monday, November 4, 2019

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has dashed the Crown’s hopes of overturning a magistrate’s decision to discharge a Haitian woman and her brother of criminal charges.

Appellate Justices Jon Isaacs, Stella Crane-Scott and Sir Michael Barnett ruled on Thursday that Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister’s discharging of Dahene and Geno Nonord remains “undisturbed”.

The appeal took some 437 days to come on for hearing, an “inexplicable” delay that contributed heavily to their lordships’ decision. And that was notwithstanding the fact that the judges’ said the appeal itself had “absolutely no prospect of success”.

However, the key reason for the appeal being shot down was because Magistrate Armbrister correctly discharged the pair because by the time he inherited the matter, the case was already part-heard, as the Crown had already closed its case when the matter was before his predecessor.

According to the ruling, on May 20, 2015, Ms Nonord, who was born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents Elisnor and Lumane Nonord, was charged before thenMagistrate Guillamena Archer-Minns (who is now a Supreme Court judge) with one count each of assaulting a police officer; threats of death; resisting arrest; disorderly behaviour in a police station; disorderly behaviour; obscene language;and obstruction.

Mr Nonord, meanwhile, was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans with one count of disorderly behaviour.

The matter stemmed from allegations that Ms Nonord and other members of the community where she lived off Gladstone Road “attacked” police officers when they went to execute a warrant for a man who lived on the same compound.

THE TRIBUNE

After 437 days, Court of Appeal rules not to overturn decision to discharge Haitian pair After their respective initial arraignments, Mr Nonord’s case was later transferred to then-Magistrate Archer-Minns’ court and was heard together with his sister’s case. However, there were a number of adjournments in the case.

Witnesses were present on each occasion, but no evidence was taken due to requests for adjournments by the siblings’ attorney that were acceded to by the court.

Then Magistrate ArcherMinns eventually ended up demitting office without ever hearing the case.

On December 12, 2016, the Nonord siblings were re-arraigned before thenMagistrate Constance Delancey on the charges, to which they pleaded not guilty. The Crown subsequently opened its case.

By March 28, 2017, all of the Crown’s witnesses had given their evidence, and the prosecution consequently closed its case.

The siblings’ attorney indicated his intention to make a no-case to answer submission, and the trial was adjourned to June 20, 2017 for the attorney to make the submissions in writing, and for Magistrate Delancey to rule. The former magistrate agreed to provide her handwritten notes of that day’s hearing to assist with the drafting

of the no-case submissions, but the notes were never sent, despite the attorney making several requests for them.

As a result, the no-case submissions were never submitted, and Magistrate Delancey demitted office without completing the trial.

On June 20, 2017, the parties attended former Magistrate Delancey’s court thinking they were to appear before her in a bid to again request the notes from the previous hearings to complete their submissions.

However, when they arrived at that court, they were directed to Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes’ court, who informed them that his colleague had since demitted office and that the matter would be restarted.

However, Mr and Ms Nonord were not rearraigned. The matter was then adjourned to August 8, 2017 for the parties to appear before Her Majesty’s Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez. On the adjourned date, Magistrate Weech-Gomez instructed the Nonord siblings to appear before Magistrate Ambrister on October 31, 2017 for trial. The matter was subsequently adjourned to January 9, 2018.

On that date, the Nonord’s attorney raised an

issue of Magistrate Armbrister’s jurisdiction to hear the case on the basis that as the Crown had already closed its case before thenMagistrate Delancey, the matter was already part heard, and he could not hear the case. The Crown, meanwhile, submitted that Magistrate Armbrister could re-arraign the pair and start the case anew.

However, on March 23, 2018, Magistrate Armbrister discharged the siblings of all charges pursuant to Section 59(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) for two reasons, that he had no jurisdiction to hear a magistrate’s partheard complaint where the magistrate had demitted office, and the prosecutor’s attempt to proceed on the indictable offences on the old charge sheet amounted to an abuse of the court’s processes.

The Crown consequently appealed Magistrate Armbrister’s ruling on the grounds that the decision was unreasonable or could not be supported having regard to the evidence, and that under all the circumstances of the case, the decision was unsafe or unsatisfactory.

As Magistrate Armbrister’s decision was given on March 23, 2018, the Crown had until March 30 of that year to file an appeal.

According to a June 11, 2019 affidavit by Inspector Monique Turnquest, a Notice of Appeal was filed on March 29, 2018. Inspector Turnquest asserted that the Nonord siblings were served with the Notice on May 31, 2018. However, their attorney said that on April 12, 2018, they were served with the Notice of Intention to Appeal filed in the Magistrate’s Court on March 29, 2018.

Nonetheless, the appellate judges said in their ruling that the Crown did not file a Notice of Appeal in the appellate court until May 31, 2018, roughly two months out of time. And over a year later on June 11 of this year, the Crown made an application for an extension of time in which to appeal.

The appellate judges noted that while the requirement of notice being given to the other party may have been satisfied for the Nonord siblings when they were served on May 31, 2018, there was no indication as to whether the Magistrate’s Court was served with the Crown’s Notice of Appeal in accordance with section 235(2) of the CPC. Additionally, the judges said “time continues to run until an application for leave to extend the time for appealing is made”.

“The EOT application was not filed until June 11, 2019, 437 days out of time; and that is an inordinate period of time particularly when one is dealing with essentially summary matters which ought to proceed expeditiously to a conclusion,” their lordships said. “There was no explanation for this extraordinarily long period of delay. We found the delay in this case inordinate and inexplicable.”

Ultimately, the judges said they were “satisfied that the appeal had absolutely no prospect of success”, and said that given the “inordinate” length of the delay in bringing the appeal, the Crown’s EOT application “should be denied; and in the result, the discharge of (the Nonord siblings) remains undisturbed”.

The judges further noted: “The observation by the Magistrate that the practice of part-heard criminal cases being heard by other magistrates on the extant complaint lacking statutory underpinnings should stand as a salutary warning to those concerned with the due administration of justice.”

Akeira Martin represented the Nonord siblings on appeal. T’Shura Ambrose represented the Crown.

PAGE 18, Monday, November 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

WORLD WAR II RESCUER REUNITES WITH JEWS SHE SAVED

JERUSALEM Associated Press

ONE by one, the 40 descendants of a group of Israeli siblings leaned down and hugged the elderly Greek woman to whom they owe their very existence, as she sat in her wheelchair and wiped away tears streaking down her wrinkled face.

Clutching the hands of those she hid, fed and protected as a teenager more than 75 years ago, 92-year-old Melpomeni Dina said she could now “die quietly.”

Yesterday’s emotional encounter was the first time Dina had

met the offspring of the Mordechai family she helped save during the Holocaust. Once a regular ritual at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, such gatherings are rapidly dwindling due to the advanced ages of both survivors and rescuers and may not happen again. The soon-to-be-extinct reunion is the latest reminder for Holocaust commemorators preparing for a post-survivor world.

“The risk they took upon themselves to take in an entire family knowing that it put them and everyone around them in danger,” said Sarah Yanai, today 86, who was the oldest of the five siblings

Dina and others sheltered. “Look at all these around us. We are now a very large and happy family and it is all thanks to them saving us.”

About 6 million European Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. More than 27,000, including some 355 from Greece, have been recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations,” Israel’s highest honor to those non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

The most famous cases are Oskar Schindler, whose efforts to save more than 1,000 Jews were documented in Steven Spielberg’s

MELPOMENI DINA

1993 film “Schindler’s List,” and Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who is credited for having saved at least 20,000 Jews before mysteriously disappearing.

The names of those honoured for refusing to be indifferent to the genocide are engraved along an avenue of trees at the Jerusalem memorial. “This is probably going to our last reunion, because of age and frailty,” said Stanlee Stahl, the executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, which sponsored the event and which provides $1 million a year in monthly stipends to those recognised.

LEGENDARY PUERTO RICAN ASTROLOGER DIES AT 88

THEY ARE THE CLOTHES THAT I WANT ...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif Associated Press TWO collectors said you’re the one that I want to Olivia NewtonJohn’s iconic “Grease” leather jacket and skintight pants at an auction on Saturday in Beverly Hills. Julien’s Auctions says the ensemble, which Newton-John’s character Sandy wears in the closing number of the 1978 film, fetched $405,700 total. The leather jacket sold for $243,200 and the pants, which NewtonJohn famously had to be sewn into, went for $162,500.

Other “Grease” memorabilia included a Pink Ladies jacket that went for $50,000 and a poster signed by NewtonJohn, John Travolta and director Randal Kleiser, which sold for $64,000.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Associated Press

THE COOL crew from Grease in the 1978 film

Trump threatens to cut aid for California LOS ANGELES Associated Press

AUTHORITIES lifted all evacuation orders as firefighters made progress yestertday on a large blaze that sent thousands fleeing homes and farms northwest of Los Angeles.

Crews working in steep terrain were tamping down hotspots and keeping an eye on lingering gusts in mountain areas that could carry embers, said Ventura County Fire Capt. Steve Kaufmann.

“I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic,” Kaufmann said, citing calmer winds overall and rising humidity levels.

Firefighters have contained 50% of the blaze, which has burned nearly 15 square miles of dry brush and timber. Three buildings were destroyed.

CALIFORNIA fires More than 11,000 people evacuated after the flames spread Oct. 31 during dry winds that fanned fires across the state this fall.

In his first recent comments on the California fires, President Donald Trump threatened to cut U.S. aid funding to the state.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

has done a “terrible job of forest management,” Trump tweeted.

When fires rage, the governor comes to the federal government for help. “No more,” the president tweeted.

Newsom replied with a tweet of his own: “You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation.”

California has increased fire prevention investments and fuel management projects in recent years while federal funding has shrunk, the governor’s office said in a statement.

“We’re successfully waging war against thousands of fires started across the state in the last few weeks due to extreme weather created by climate change while Trump is conducting a full on assault against the antidotes,” Newsom said.

The state controls just 3% of forest land in California, while the federal government owns 57%, according to numbers provided by the Newsom’s office. About 40% of the state’s forest are privately owned. Neither of the two major fires currently burning are on forest land.

Last year Trump made a similar threat as wildfires devastated Malibu and Paradise, California — accusing the state of “gross mismanagement” of forests.

At the time Newsom defended California’s wildfire prevention efforts while criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to help protect the state.

In Northern California, more people returned to areas evacuated from a huge fire that burned for days in the Sonoma County wine country.

TELEVISION astrologer Walter Mercado, whose glamorous persona made him a star in Latin media and a cherished icon for gay people in most of the Spanish-speaking world, has died. He was 88.

Mercado was known throughout Latin American for the melodrama of his daily horoscopes, delivered on internationally broadcast networks such as Univision with an exaggerated trilling of the “r’’. He favoured colourful brocaded capes and huge gemstone rings, which he flashed while pointing at viewers.

Mercado never publicly discussed his sexual orientation but his screen presence was a source of comfort for many people in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual communities throughout Latin American and Latin communities in the US, said Alex Fumero, a Los Angeles-based producer who has spent two years working on a documentary about him.

“This is a culture that’s been dominated by machismo and homophobia for a very long time,” Fumero said. “He was really brave.”

Fumero said Mercado’s silence on his orientation may have allowed him to keep the adoration of LGBTQ fans and maintain acceptance from conservative Latins who could have rejected an openly gay television star.

Fumero said one LGBTQ activist told him, “You don’t ask about what you can see,” adding that he believes that was the attitude held by many from Mercado’s generation.

“It’s the plausible deniability that chauvinist or homophobic audiences need in order to give Walter the pass that they needed...to enjoy the message he was sending them,” Fumero said.

WHISTLEBLOWER ‘WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ WASHINGTON Associated Press A LAWYER for the whistleblower who raised alarms about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine said yesterday his client is willing to answer written questions submitted by House Republicans.

The surprise offer, made to Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican

on the House Intelligence Committee, would allow Republicans to ask questions of the whistleblower, who spurred the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, without having to go through the committee’s chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Attorney Mark Zaid tweeted that the whistleblower would answer questions directly from Republican members “in writing, under oath & penalty of perjury,” part of a bid to

stem escalating efforts by Trump and his GOP allies to unmask the person’s identity. Only queries seeking the person’s identity won’t be answered, he said.

“Being a whistleblower is not a partisan job nor is impeachment an objective. That is not our role,” Zaid tweeted. “So we have offered to @DevinNunes.”

“We will ensure timely answers,” he said.

Nunes’ office did not have immediate comment.

The offer comes as Trump has repeatedly demanded the release of the whistleblower’s identity, tweeting that the person “must come forward.” The whistleblower raised concerns about Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he pressed Zelenskiy to investigate Trump’s political rivals.

FILE - In this Feb.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 4, 2019, PAGE 19

FRIENDS RECALL DR AUGUSTINE OHUEYI

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Bahama medical community is saddened by the death of Dr Augustine Ohueyi, who was a well-known physician on the island.

Dr Ohueyi lost his battle with cancer on Thursday in the US. He was remembered for the great care and love he displayed towards his patients in Grand Bahama.

News of his death and a photo slide show of Dr Ohueyi -– who is known for his smile – went viral on social media and Facebook with outpouring of condolences to his family.

Dr Ohueyi, whose specialty was Internal

Medicine, was employed at the Grand Bahama Health Services for several years, and later opened his private medical practice at the Pavilion Medical Centre.

“I am saddened…by the loss of my friend, my colleague”, an individual posted on Facebook. “I can see him now with his radiant smile that makes you smile whether you want to or not. He is going to be missed…”

Another poster said: “He had the best bedside manners when dealing with patients, so caring and loving. His name will always ring throughout the walls of the Rand Memorial Hospital.”

He is survived by his wife, Ojummie, and their daughter and son.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 20, Monday, November 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Pharmacists granted leave to appeal

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net TWELVE local pharmacists have been granted leave to join their colleague’s appeal of a Supreme Court judge’s decision to not compel the Bahamas Pharmacy Council to renew her licence.

Appellate Justice Roy Jones consented to the dozen unnamed pharmacists taking part in Philippa Finalyson’s appeal of Justice Indra Charles’ decision not to grant their colleague the relief she sought.

According to the ruling, Ms Finlayson obtained her pharmacist qualifications from the McHari Institute.

The BPC, which under the Pharmacy Act (PA) regulates the licensing of pharmacists in the Bahamas as of 2009, licensed Ms Finlayson in 2010. Thereafter, the BPC renewed her licence each year.

During that period the BPC also granted and renewed licences to 16

other pharmacists, all of whom also graduated from the McHari Institute and who held similar qualifications.

In January 2017, however, the BPC determined by resolution that it acted beyond its own legal powers in registering and licensing Ms Finlayson and her 16 fellow colleagues.

According to the PA, an applicant for registration as a pharmacist must hold a pharmaceutical degree “from an accredited college or university”. However, the McHari Institute is not an accredited college or university under the PA. Thus, the council decided to stop renewing their licences until they took steps to secure qualifications it deemed acceptable.

Ms Finlayson consequently launched judicial review proceedings against the BPC. She sought an Order for Certiorari quashing the council’s resolution; an Order of Mandamus directing the BPC to renew her licence and those of

the other McHari graduates; and a declaration that the BPC acted unfairly, arbitrarily and capriciously towards her.

During the proceedings before Justice Indra Charles, the 16 other McHari graduates applied to be joined onto the action, but later withdrew the application after the BPC signaled its intent to issue provisional licences “until the matter had been finally heard and determined”.

Nonetheless, Justice Charles refused Ms Finlayson the relief she sought.

On June 27 of this year, Ms Finlayson appealed Justice Charles’ decision, and sought an injunction before a single appellate judge requiring the BPC to renew her license and that of her fellow McHari graduates.

The BPC’s principal objection to the injunction was that the McHari graduates were not parties to the judicial review proceedings before Justice Charles, and thus could not seek relief before the Court of Appeal.

At the hearing of the matter, Justice Jones agreed with the BPC and dismissed Ms Finlayson’s application for an injunction.

Ms Finlayson subsequently filed a summons seeking an order to have 12 of the 16 pharmacists affected by the BPC’s resolution joined onto her matter. All 12 McHari graduates consented to join Ms Finlayson’s appeal in an attachment to her affidavit dated July 29, 2019.

The issue for determination was thus whether those 12 McHari graduates had a “legal interest” that called for their participation in Ms Finlayson’s appeal.

Raynard Rigby, the BPC’s attorney, asserted that the 12 pharmacists do not have a legal interest to be joined as appellants because they are “simply people affected commercially by the appeal”.

Secondly, Mr Rigby asserted that even if they do have a legal interest, it is relative to each one of them and “may turn on special facts” not considered before Justice Charles and that would not arise before the appellate court.

That possibility, Mr Rigby argued, would create a risk that the 12 McHari graduates, in seeking to take part in the appeal, may have to adduce fresh evidence that could unnecessarily delay the appeal.

Thirdly, Mr Rigby argued that adding the 12 McHari graduates was unnecessary to the appeal’s outcome because there was no new evidence that would aid in deciding the current appeal.

However, Justice Jones ultimately granted the 12 pharmacists leave to join Ms Finlayson’s appeal, asserting that doing so is “essential to settle all the matters in dispute between (Ms Finlayson), the McHari graduates and the Council and to prevent many satellite proceedings.”

“In the present case the McHari graduates have a legal interest in the result of the proceedings for the following reasons: the challenged resolution arose from the same dispute; the judge, in dismissing the application for mandamus, refers to the applicant ‘and the other McHari graduates’; and as the facts apply equally to the applicant and the other McHari graduates the risk is minimized that there would be a need for fresh evidence and consequential delays,” Justice Jones ruled.

He added: “These conclusions in my view are adequate to allow leave to add the twelve McHari graduates as parties to this appeal.”

Christopher Francis assisted Mr Rigby during the appeal. Luther McDonald and Wynsome Carey represented Ms Finlayson.