12282022 NEWS AND SPORT

ONE WINNER

COMMISSIONER: WE WILL TAKE POLICING TO ANOTHER LEVEL

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

COMMISSIONER of Police Clayton Fernander said in 2023, officials will take policing to “another level”.

The commissioner spoke to reporters on Monday when asked if there were any new strategies he planned to implement to combat crime next year. He said there will be a year in review media briefing in early January where he will speak directly about his policing plan.

“You will see another level of policing in this country,” he said.

In light of the country’s murder toll standing at 127 for the year according to this newspaper’s records, Commissioner Fernander said officials are trying to bring a new initiative to combat crime moving forward.

GOVT AIMS TO TACKLE INFLATION

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ONE Family conquered its competitors as the group was declared the unofficial winner of the 2022 Junkanoo Boxing Day Parade yesterday, captivating the judges and crowd with its theme “Rise of the Warriors”.

The group scored a total of 92.73 points, clinching first place.

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID19 pandemic, the parade drew thousands of

people who came to witness Junkanoo on full display. Some people in the crowd screamed “we back on Bay, baby” and others danced on their feet to the pounding drums and cowbells.

After a dazzling display, One Family won best overall performance, best overall costume, best choreography, best off-the-shoulder, and best music.

After the unofficial results were announced members of the group were overjoyed, chanting “We won, we won!”

The Valley Boys came second with 92.48

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

WHILE Junkanoo made its anticipated return on Monday night, there were some challenges that marred the event including ticket fraud.

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boxing Day parade was back on Bay Street.

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ALICIA WALLACE:

points with a “Wonders of the Deep” theme and also won best banner, best free dance, best lead costume, best step down and Shirley Street categories.

third place, the Genesis Warhawks scored 88.93 and Roots placed fourth with 86.52 points. Meanwhile, the Saxons — which won the 2019 Boxing Day Parade after a penalty reversal and also was victorious in the 2020 New Year’s Day parade — placed fifth with 84.79 points.

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the government is targeting initiatives to combat inflation after the Inter-American Development Bank criticised officials’ efforts to tackle the problem.

mentioned efforts such as lowering import duty on some food items while pointing to external factors that compound inflationary pressures.

(has) to see what we have done,” Mr Davis said. “We are targeting initiatives to combat inflation.”

MEMBERS of One Family during the Boxing Day parade, with dancers dressed as the Dora Milaje from the movie Black Panther.

Photo: Moise Amisial

Dwayne Davis, chief information officer for Cable Bahamas Group of Companies, spoke to reporters at the Boxing Day parade and explained the ticket fraud issue and the seating challenges it caused. Aliv, owned by Cable Bahamas, partnered with officials to sell tickets via an app.

been happening is we had occasions

people took screenshots of tickets and shared them with people. We had people that took screenshots of tickets and resold the tickets outside of the original ticket. But anyone that comes to Bay Street with the original email of your ticket purchase confirmation, we will be able to seat you.”

ONE Family members on their way to victory in the Boxing Day parade.

Photos: Moise Amisial

One winner

from page one

rounded out the top six with 30.00 points after receiving a 40-point penalty.

In the B group category, the unofficial winner is Colours 84.40 while Fancy Dancers came second with 78.11 points. Original Congos placed third with 76.72 points, Conquerors for Christ placed fourth with 67.90 points, and the Immortals placed fifth with 67.29 points.

The last time One Family was victorious was the 2018 Junkanoo Boxing Day Parade.

Christina Fernander, the group’s chairwoman, expressed her excitement about the victory to reporters as she said the group “bounced back” despite challenges of COVID19 and the members they would have lost.

“We did it for those fallen warriors and soldiers that we lost. We did it for our loved ones, we did it for our group, we did it for our community because we are ‘one family,’” she said.

The parade was initially scheduled for Sunday night, but was postponed to Monday because of weather concerns.

However, that did not stop spectators who turned out in full force despite the chilly weather.

Many bystanders stretched their necks to get a glimpse of the dazzling costumes of the various groups that were designed with vibrant colours, jewels,

Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis spoke to

about the delay leading up to the parade, adding it was unfortunate.

“But you could still see the excitement, feel the rhythm and feel it reverberating throughout all the people out here. Just the excitement of having Junkanoo being face-toface once again,” Mr Davis said.

Mr Davis also declared he was representing the Valley Boys that night.

For his part, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg said he was excited to have the parade back on public display, adding it was important that the cultural phenomenon was back on front stage.

With the parade consisting of thousands of people sitting in the bleachers and standing on the sidelines, one reporter asked if there was a concern with safety due to the large crowd.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville responded that he was quite satisfied that all of the necessary precautions were put in place.

“We are quite pleased all of the necessary precautions were put in place so that everyone could enjoy the celebrations. The Bahamian people have been

NO MAJOR INCIDENTS REPORTED

POLICE said there were no major incidents at the Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade.

However, an officer was hurt by a driver.

The incident occurred shortly after 1am and involved a police officer stationed at the intersection of Nassau and West Bay Streets, who was injured when a black Japanese vehicle attempted to breach the barricade.

The officer was taken to hospital where he was treated and discharged. Police are aggressively in search of the driver who failed to remain on the scene.

• An American tourist was found dead in the bathroom of his villa in Eleuthera on Monday, police said.

The Minnesota resident, said to be in his early 20s, was found after 1pm by family members in their villa in Landing, Governors Harbour.

Police were told the deceased was experiencing flu-like symptoms prior to him being discovered.

His body will be flown to New Providence where an official autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. At present, foul play is not suspected in this incident.

waiting for this moment. I know I’m excited. I’m here with my family and looking forward to the great excitement,” Dr Darville said.

In terms of security, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said the parade had gone well, adding officers were placed at every route of the parade. On social media, numerous users praised the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for their outstanding policing.

On Friday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Craig Stubbs said more than 800 law enforcement officers were set to be at the parade. There were road closures, strict screening and security measures for persons entering the parade route.

Music Makers

fluffy feathers, gold, silver, and much more.

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis rushed with the Shell Saxons Superstars under its theme “In praise of nature in all things, give God thanks”.

reporters

MEMBERS of One Family during the Boxing Day parade.

Photos: Moise Amisial

COMPLAINT TO BE FILED OVER BROADCAST

THE Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas said it plans to file a complaint with the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority after accusing Rev Cable Bahamas and Aliv of an “intrusion” on the broadcast of the 2022 Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade.

Picewell Forbes, BCB executive chairman, said in a statement on Monday: “Tonight’s intrusion on the broadcast of the 2022 Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade by Rev Cable Bahamas and its company Aliv by placing a message redirecting viewers of the ZNS Network to their Channel 212 is further proof of the fundamental issue of having a cable provider competing with the broadcast services they are tasked to carry.”

He added: “This move by Cable Bahamas occurred without any discussions or agreement with The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas. This is an anticompetitive approach that

has negatively impacted the satisfaction of our contractual obligations with advertisers and sponsors. Our broadcast was blocked at 6pm and was blocked for more than an hour.”

On social media, a number of viewers complained that ZNS was blocked out on cable TVwhile some also noted that Channel 212 was also not on.

There were also complaints about the quality of coverage.

At Monday’s parade, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg addressed the issue. He said the rights to the parade belong to his ministry.

“The broadcasting rights to the parade belong to the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture — nobody else. There were some agreements made between Our News and ZNS and some things went contrary and so we are solving the matter right now and in short order, the Bahamian

people will be able to watch both stations and see the parade,” Mr Bowleg said.

Meanwhile, Mr Forbes said that he would take the matter up with URCA.

He said: “URCA as the regulator of broadcasting in this country will be notified of this conscious and deliberate action by REV Cable Bahamas on behalf of its companies. The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas takes the view that competition is good for the industry and good for our country however, we condemn these actions that seeks to deprive the public of the best Junkanoo presentation as done by The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas.

“We are seeking to have this matter resolved to the benefit of our loyal viewers.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis also told reporters on the sidelines of the parade that the issue had been brought to his attention and that it was being dealt with.

TICKET FRAUD AMONG EVENT CHALLENGES

“It is also important to note that before we put the tickets on sale, the JCNP took a certain inventory of tickets outside of the system, those would be the printed tickets. Aliv is not responsible for any ticket that’s printed. We are 100 percent responsible for any ticket that has been purchased virtually.”

Mr Davis acknowledged this was the first time an automated service was being used to purchase tickets for Junkanoo, however, he said they do apologise for any inconvenience caused to those attending. “There’s a lot of fraud going on.

“We apologise for all of those that are not able to get a seat. What we did was we had some emergency tickets, those are also now gone,” he said

Mr Davis explained there also were some seating issues due to there being bleachers or extra chairs added that were not originally in the system for the parade seating.

He said officials have learned a lot from the

Boxing Day parade, adding there will be more precautionary steps taken.

“We learned a lot for New Year’s, what are we going to do if we see the same demand for New Year’s, I guarantee you my team and I will come here. We will personally track every seat and whatever seat that’s not in the system, we will make sure we take it out of the system.”

Mr Davis estimated that about 6,800 tickets were sold for the Boxing Day parade. He also said that currently, ticket sales for the New Year’s parade were moving slowly with there being over 6,000 tickets still available.

For his part, Junkanoo Corporation New Providence (JCNP) chairman Dion Miller said he was made aware of some fraudulent activities with the tickets, adding there was a meeting scheduled with Ailv to rectify the problem.

Throughout the Boxing Day parade, there were some long gaps between the groups which caused things to move slower than expected.

Mr Miller explained

that the rain on Monday did cause a natural pause for the groups as he said “Junkanoo and water don’t mix,” adding many performers had to seek shelter and shield their costumes.

Asked what improvement he would like to make for the New Year’s parade Mr Miller responded: “Obviously closing the gap, of course, the rain affects that but we want to make sure that it is tight for the New Year’s parade. We anticipate that there will be smaller costumes and so the parade should flow better.”

Mr Miller said overall he was pleased with the organisation of the parade and the judging was fair.

“I think this was the largest parade that we have had in the history of having parades. There were quite a lot of Bahamians out on Bay Street and Shirley Street,” he said

He added the postponement of the parade due to weather conditions on Sunday and even the actual weather on the day of the parade was a concern, however, he was grateful everything worked out for the groups to be able to perform.

ACTION from the parade route as members of Roots hit Bay Street.

Photos: Moise Amisial

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis rushing with Sting.

THE VALLEY Boys during the parade.

THE SAXONS on Bay Street.

GENESIS in action on Boxing Day.

GB READY FOR JUNKANOO RETURN

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama Junkanoo groups are ready for the return of the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade in downtown Freeport after a three-year absence.

Residents and Junkanoo fans are also looking forward with much anticipation to the 2023 Parade, which is set for Monday, January 2, at Pioneer’s Way.

Previous parades were cancelled in 2020, 2021 and 2022 on Grand Bahama due to the devastating impact of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID pandemic.

The Tribune spoke with a few Junkanoo leaders this week who are eager to hit the streets and to see fans enjoy the parade.

Thomas Curry, leader of the Platinum Knights, is busy in the shack putting on the final touches to costumes and display pieces.

“We are almost ready and are in the final stages,” Curry said.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary as a group, the Platinum Knights have chosen the theme: “Cheers to 10 years, Drinks on Us.”

The Division A group has been on the Junkanoo scene for the past 10 years and is the current reigning junkanoo champions of the 2019 New Year’s Day Parade. They have also won subsequent parades of 2016, 2017 and 2018.

According to Mr Curry, the group has more than 400 members. He is optimistic that they can retain their number one rank in the Division A Category.

“We are looking to hold that (champion) title,” he said. “We will be the fourth group out on the parade route, we know it is not going to be easy, but we are coming with plenty pressure,” Curry said.

Mr Curry said his group is excited to be back on the streets to put on a great show for Junkanoo fans.

He was also proud to have been inducted into the Junkanoo Hall of Fame as

a member of the National Junkanoo Legends Circle.

At age 45, he is the youngest Junkanoo Legend Hall of Fame inductee.

“I feel very proud to know that I am inducted with all the great junkanoo legends and ambassadors who have done so much for the culture of Junkanoo; it is a great feeling to get my flowers while I am alive,” he said.

Huck Williams, leader of the Swingers, said the return of Junkanoo in Freeport will inject life back in Grand Bahama.

“We feel great to be back on the road,” he said. “It’s been three years and we feel good. Not just for me, but for the public, the country, and Grand Bahama because GB needs some activity and some life and we feel good to be a part of injecting some life back in the community,” Williams said.

The Swingers is a Division A Group with more than 200 members.

Mr Williams said their theme, ‘To God Be the Glory,’ is about giving praise and thanks to the Almighty God.

“We are coming out of the Bible,” he explained. “We have about 175 to 225 members strong, and we will be the first group coming out on the route and we are going to set the pace because we are the pacesetters.”

Andrew Been, leader of Showtime, said their theme is ‘Wonders of the Sea,’ and

fans can expect to see some wondrous undersea creatures on the parade route on January 2.

“We will have things like seahorses and mermaids, and different variety of fish depicted on Pioneers Way,” he said.

Showtime falls in the Division B Category, which are groups that must have a minimum of 40, but less than 100 members. The group has about 45-50 members.

“We are expected to come out the blocks third and we are the second B Group in the parade,” Been said. “Three years ago, we did not place… but I guarantee we will be putting on a good show this year, and we are looking forward to being successful in 2023.”

Mr Been said that sponsorship from corporate Grand Bahama has been a challenge this year.

“I am encouraged that Junkanoo is back, but it has been a challenge getting assistance from the corporate community to sponsor junkanoo groups again. That is one of the major challenges we had, getting them to support the groups.”

Mr Been, however, was grateful to those who were able to lend some financial support to the culture. “We thank those who have contributed to us, but it is still not where it used to be, and we are looking forward to building and getting better over the years,” he said.

MEMBERS of the Colours group on the way to winning the B section.

Photos: Moise Amisial

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972Published daily Monday to Friday Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207

(242) 322-1986 Advertising

(242) 502-2394 Circulation Department (242) 502-2386 Nassau fax (242) 328-2398 Freeport, Grand Bahama (242)-352-6608 Freeport fax (242) 352-9348

Back to Bay Street with a bang

JUNKANOO returned – and it was dazzling.

Of all the restrictions needed during the pandemic, the cancellation of Junkanoo was perhaps one that people felt most keenly.

Junkanoo is not just a job, it’s not just an attraction, it’s part of people’s lifestyles – it’s an emblem of our culture.

So to see dancers out on Bay Street, musicians giving their all, costumes that dazzled and banners that people had clearly laboured over for hours was not just about getting back to normal, it was about reconnecting with who we are as Bahamians.

One Family was the winning group –and given the reaction particularly to the choreography and costumes inspired by the movie Black Panther, most people seemed to think it was a fair choice.

But it wasn’t just about One Family, it was about everyone who put the time and effort to get back onto Bay.

There was even one clip posted online of a dancer struggling with a costume as it fell apart, but she shrugged it off and just kept going. Persistence, just as we might need to keep on going after the problems that have held us back as a nation.

And we should acknowledge those problems. Indeed, One Family’s chairwoman, Christina Fernander, did so herself after the victory, saying: “We did it for those fallen warriors and soldiers that we lost. We did it for our loved ones, we did it for our group, we did it for our community because we are ‘one family’.”

It is of course the first time after a two-year gap, so some hiccups might have been expected along the way – but we should also take the time after the

event to consider whether we can do some things better.

The ever-present problem of long gaps between groups seemed to appear again. There appears to have been an unseemly row over television coverage of the parade, which may see URCA get involved.

And then there are perhaps things that went as planned – but could we improve on them still?

The reading of the results, for example, was carried out perfectly well – by four men sitting at a desk with a backdrop that was nothing more than an office space. For all the glamour and effort on show in the costumes during the parade, perhaps we could manage something with a little more showbusiness glitz in future. Many eyes were focused on the announcement, so could we do something a little more next time around?

Finally, there are all those wonderful costumes themselves – many of which just get abandoned at the end of the parade.

A number of people have called over the years for a Junkanoo museum on Bay Street, where visitors can see yearround some of the fabulous costumes we get to enjoy at our end of year parades.

There is the Junkanoo World Museum in Horseshoe Drive, and the cruise port has plans to show off Junkanoo items, but often it seems this wonder comes and goes and we don’t take the time to appreciate it for the rest of the year as much as we could.

But these are thoughts for the future. For now, Junkanoo is back. And we are delighted to see it. Our congratulations to the winners, and our applause to all who played a part in getting back to Bay.

A child in the cold

The Tribune.

THE birth of a child has been most dear to me, and I see no difference between each light of joy, Jesus or any other.

The love of Mother and Child is a symbol that inspires us to do better, and yet that challenge remains for all time. When a child laughs do you not feel divine, and the child’s expressions bring joy to your heart and mind? At birth, a child is the symbol of this earth, forever evolving, often loud and expressive, but something to ponder with emotion. We were and still are Children at heart.

Said the night wind to the little lamb

“Do you see what I see?

A star, a star dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kit, with a tail as big as a kit?

Said the little lamb to the little boy, Do you hear what I hear?

A cry, a cry from a child in the night, shivering, alone hunger inspired.

In Bridgetown, Kingston or Toronto too, they say each city has one to pray, a child despondent and in need all day.

Children dying in the night, with no hope for a future so bright.

Yet much of the world looks to Christ as the saviour and answer divine.

The Magi brought Christ silver and gold, with the hope that He will bring us goodness and light.

A light perhaps that leads to someone in need, a child forgotten, a neighbour or stranger indeed. The town crier proclaims

people everywhere listen to what I have to say.

Pray for peace to be found everywhere, in our homes, neighbourhoods and in ourselves.

Christmas cheer brightens our day, but will we see the horrors about us every day?

Addictions, poverty and loss of life, don’t mean to be glum, but truthfulness is the goodness and the light we seek.

Wishing that Christmas was felt each day, an open heart with open minds, judgement denied, celebration divine.

See the young and old as those symbols that can spark, A human effort to heal this world without fault.

STEVEN KASZAB

Bradford, Ontario, Canada. December 22, 2022.

Unfair on Bay Street businesses

EDITOR, The Tribune.

ERECTING bleachers on Bay Street two weeks before Junkanoo parades is a heartless blow to Bay Street merchants. We have to find a better way. The fourth quarter in the retail cycle of most businesses worldwide is critical to their profitability. I must assume that it’s the same for Bay Street owners and sales clerks.

According to the US Census Bureau, American retailers recorded as much as 35% and no lower than 27% of their annual sales during the 2021 holiday season. Some retailers estimated that 2022 would be even higher considering the pent-up demand as a result of the two pandemic-driven years.

I am sure it’s no different in The Bahamas.

It’s high time we apply urgent attention and more significance to the viability of downtown Nassau as a profitable commercial centre. Unlike other ports in the Caribbean, the city of Nassau is the only one where 5-7 cruise ships daily berth directly into our downtown, depositing thousands of tourists just steps away from some of our iconic retail stores. For them and locals to be met with the hazard and inconvenience of bleachers, that could easily be erected two to three days before Junkanoo, is not only patently unfair but dangerous and wholly insensitive of the plight of Bay Street merchants and employees. Its no excuse that the relevant ministry or department does not have the required labour to get this done. Hire more people temporarily to meet the 2-3 days time frame. The merchants should not have to absorb such a serious economic blow, because some department head in the public service lacks this simple bit of creativity. Where is the voice of the Bay Street property owners?

We have been talking about the revitalisation of the city centre for decades now. Downtown lacks creativity or interest. In

LETTERS

fact, I regard the portion of Bay Street beyond East Street as wholly beneath the dignity of our main commercial arena. Eyesores in the heart of downtown. When can we expect to see meaningful improvements? Scores of cities around the world have in the last 50 years undergone major renovations and upgrades. They realised that this was necessary to become and remain competitive if they sought to attract businesses and investors.

The city of Nassau, on the other hand, has remained virtually untouched in the same period, except for cosmetic upgrades here and there.

In March 2022, Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Chester Cooper, announced that: “We will implement a sustained plan that will outlast me as a minister and beyond the five-year political cycle. He admitted in that address to Bay Street property owners that “there is money to be made in downtown”.

The property owners have been telling governments that for decades now. But, do we need another plan? Don’t we have one already, that was designed to, and has outlasted, the five-year political cycle?

If the present one needs some tweaking or adjustments considering that things have changed since the original design some 25 years, then tweak it. Tweak also or repeal, if necessary, the 2008 law, based on the plan, passed to “encourage the revitalisation of the City of Nassau by granting certain exemptions and fiscal incentives to persons engaging in such investment”. We’re talking almost 15 years ago. What has happened?

Based on what I can remember, the existing plan contained some interesting objectives, framed on the premise of making downtown Nassau a livable city, where people would

take up residence, thereby attracting new businesses, and possibly encouraging existing ones to extend their operating hours. It also envisaged existing and new entrepreneurs establishing sidewalk eateries and cafes with local entertainment.

It further proposed that a portion of Bay Street, say, from Frederick Street in the west to Parliament Street in the east, be closed between certain evening and weekend hours so that shoppers and clients could move about freely and safely. In addition, it promised many more on-street parking spaces downtown and on the surrounding streets, with meters. This would mean that taxis would be removed off Bay Street and placed onto a well-regulated side street.

What has happened? These are sensible proposals. I am sure there can be more. We understand that it cannot all be done at the same time. But, could we start maybe with just the parking spaces and meters? I calculate that by doing absolutely nothing to the present arrangement, there can be at least 1,000 parking spaces that can be easily created right now from Elizabeth Avenue in the east, East Hill Street in the south, Nassau Street in the west and Woodes Rodgers Wharf in the north.

At about $2.00 hour, per meter, about 12 hours a day, six days a week, this would not only generate about a three-quarters of a million annually (which is a tidy sum) but also ensure a constant flow of traffic-generated customers. Happy customers. Happy merchants. Happy salespeople. Happy Treasury.

When people talk about the ease of doing business, they just don’t mean reducing the steps and time it takes to get things done in the public service. It also means the implementation of common sense initiatives that would make life just a little easier for the average citizen.

JEFFREY L LLOYD Nassau

letters@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis rushing with Sting on Boxing Day. Photo: Moise Amisial

EDITOR,

COMMISSIONER: WE WILL TAKE POLICING TO ANOTHER LEVEL

“As I indicated mid-year, I just took office in July, almost half of the year. We saw the increase in murders, we re-strategised. I indicated that we may uphold the line to keep it under 100 but it was not to be. We are strategizing and you will see a new initiative moving forward,” he said

Back in August, Commissioner Fernander said the country could “finish the year strong” by not surpassing 100 murders this year, while the murder count was at 85 at that time.

He was adamant that police would “be able to hold the line” when it comes to the crime situation in the country.

However, violent crime continued to trend upwards despite police’s best efforts.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Perry Christie spoke to reporters during the Boxing Day parade about the country’s crime problem and other challenges that needed to be addressed. “We have to find the formula to make us a more peaceful country. And that’s fine. We have to find the

formula to minimise the extent to which crime is impacting our country, our country’s reputation, our family,” Mr Christie said.

“Secondly, we have to continue to move to open up hotels that are closed because employment is a vital factor in our country. I believe the government has a plan for all of these things. And all of us are going to be interested in helping the government to find the answers to some of the pressing problems and challenges facing the country,” Mr Christie said.

Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis told reporters on the sideline of the parade that he hoped for prosperity in the country for the New Year. “Prosperity and that each Bahamian will have a life that’s worth living with dignity. That’s what we are working towards,” Mr Davis said.

Asked about the legislative plan the government is working on for 2023, Mr Davis responded that he will be speaking about it shortly. He said officials are looking at the promised anti-corruption legislation as well.

‘Seek help to resolve conflicts’

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

AFTER the country’s latest homicide on Thursday, press liaison officer Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings urged residents to seek help in resolving conflicts so that fewer lives are lost this Christmas.

Police said a man who was recently released from prison was shot dead outside his home on Thursday.

The incident reportedly occurred around 7.30pm in the area of Eighth Street, Coconut Grove.

According to initial reports, the victim was sitting on the porch of his residence with others when two men got out of a small white Japanese vehicle and discharged multiple shots in his direction.

The victim was shot multiple times about the body before the suspects returned to their vehicle,

speeding off in a northern direction on Eighth Street.

EMS personnel responded to the scene and reported no vital signs of life.

The deceased, who was known to the police, was recently released from being electronically monitored in reference to possession of a prohibited weapon.

CSP Skippings spoke to reporters on Friday, at the Royal Bahamas Police Force Headquarters on East Street about the shooting incident, urging residents to reach out to police to help in resolving conflict issues.

“I want to take this time again, because in every home people know, who have conflicts with one another. Family members know. And again, we appeal to your family members. If you don’t have the skills to be able to help your loved one, resolve the conflicts.

“We’re asking you to

reach out to The Royal Bahamas Police Force, we are trained capable people who can actually walk you through the steps to resolve your conflicts reach out to us, if you do so we can minimize or even prevent most of these incidents from happening inside our country.”

In terms of the deceased’s criminal status, she said: “He was recently released from prison.”

She added: “He was not being electronically monitored at the time because he had already served his time.”

Asked if the country’s escalating murder count was a concern to police, CSP Skippings responded: “These are persons, these are mothers’ children. We’re very, very concerned and so if you reach out to us, I can assure you we can help to minimise most of these incidents from happening. Because they all have to deal with conflicts what some of them don’t

realize is that even those of us who work were in conflicts every day. And a conflict is simply just a disagreement with someone saying something different from the other person.”

Recently, numerous alleged offenders who have been released on bail have been murdered, while some have been posted on wanted police posters for suspected murder or other serious crimes.

Some have argued offenders are safer inside prison rather than being granted bail, due to the high frequency of people on bail being killed.

When asked about the trend of people on bail being murdered CSP Skippings said the issue is always a cause of concern for law enforcement.

“We want to say to family members when your loved ones are released on bail, or they have been released from prison. We’re asking you to reach out to your law

CAREERS

enforcement agency.

“Let them know who’s out on bail so that we can make periodic checks as well to ensure their safety as well. The Royal Bahamas police force is here for everyone. For everyone we’re going to provide that service for, it is just for members of the public to utilise our services to prevent some of these incidents from occurring.”

According to this newspaper’s records, the murder count currently stands at 127.

A series of murders have been recorded in the country in recent months, with fears mounting that 2022 will be a record-breaking year for murders.

The country’s highest murder count was in 2015. That year, there were 146 killings on record.

Last year, there were 119 killings recorded; 73 in 2020; 95 in 2019; 91 in 2018, and 122 in 2017.

MAN DIES AS OFF-DUTY COP INTERVENES AT NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING

AN incident at a nightclub on Boxing Day morning led to multiple injuries before an off-duty police officer intervened and shot a man, who later died.

The incident took place at a nightclub in St Alban’s Drive at about 2 o’clock this morning, leaving two people stabbed, four people shot and one person with injuries to the head.

Reportedly, several arguments took place inside the nightclub leading to people involved being removed.

However, once outside, a man pulled out a handgun and opened fire, hitting three people.

Police said an offduty officer, who was “performing duties at the establishment,” shot the man and confiscated his weapon and a magazine of ammunition.

The man, a resident of Yellow Elder, was taken to hospital, but died of his injuries.

Five people are presently in hospital in stable condition. One person was discharged.

Police are continuing to investigate.

• A 43-year-old man of Boyd Road is in police custody after he was found in possession of an Assault Rifle with ammunition.

Officers attached to the Southeastern Division (East Street South Police Station) acting on intelligence, arrested the man at about 1.30am on Boxing Day at Croton Street, Pinewood Gardens, after conducting a search of a silver coloured Honda vehicle driven by the suspect.

Police investigations continue.

Director of Customer Development

Baha Mar's Director of Customer Development will work together with the Executive VP of Casino Marketing and Opeartions to effectively market, evaluate, recruit, establish and maintain a professioal relationship with new Casino players. They will develop, maintain and analyze data basaes for opportunities and productivity along with overssing host and VIP services.

Executive Sous Chef

Baha Mar's Executive Sous Chef will be responsible for managing the department and contributing to the success of Baha Mar by providing the highest quality, choice, and presentation of food in accordance with the hotel policies and objectives whilst maintaining profitability in line with budgets.

Chef de Cuisine

Baha Mar's Chef de Cuisine will work together with the Executive Chef to manager the Culinary department. They will create and evolve menus, supervise and train chefs along with other culinary team members, whilst ensuring excellent quality of food preparation and dish presentation.

Assistant Director of Food & Beverage

Baha Mar's Assistant Director of Food and Beverage willwork together with the Director of Food and Beverage to create an exceptionl Food and Beverage experience for guest and will assisr in overseeing all aspects of the department'soperations including revenues, food costs, budgets, inventories, sanitation and discipline within the department.

Sous Chef

Baha Mar's Sous Chef will work together with the Senior Sous Chef and is responsible for performing daily execution of all assigned pastry food production. They will establish and maintain standards of operation in areas of food quality, times lines of food, cleanliness and maintenance, whilst supervising the seamless running of the Pastry Department and ensuring guests' expectations are met.

Chef de Partie

Baha Mar's Chef de Partie will work together with the Sous Chef to oversee the preparation, cooking, and presentation of meals. They will liase with kitchen staff and restaurants management regarding orders and general services of kitchen operation. They will maintain a safe and hygenic working enviroment to include proper storage of food, equipment, and utensils.

IN US ALL

Executive Pastry Chef

Baha Mar's Executive Pastry Chef will work alongside the Executive Sous Chef. Their responsibilities will include the daily execution of all assigned pastry food production, establishing and maintaining food quality standards, managing the time line of food and overall kitchen cleanliness and maintenance for their area.

Concierge Training Manager

Baha Mar's Concierge Training Manager will work together with the Director of Front Office to oversee the training of the Concierge department. They will design, plan and implement training programs whilst improving performance within the Concierge team. They will ensure optimum delivery of concierge strategies to provide dynamic services and develope an excellent teams of concierge professionals.

Sushi Chef

Baha Mar's Sushi Chef will work together with the Executive Chef and is responsible for the preparation and service of sushi menu items; including daily inventory and inspection of all fish and peripheral sushi making ingredients inorder to ensure quality control of raw materials.

POLICE Commisioner Clayton Fernander.

Photo: Austin Fernander

Baha Mar is home to countless opportunities to invest in yourself and your career:

INVESTED IN YOU, INVESTED

Justice for Megan Thee Stallion

IN July 2020, Megan Thee Stallion (legal name Megan Pete) was shot in her foot in Los Angeles.

She posted on Instagram: “On Sunday morning, I suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me.”

She noted that, contrary to what was being said on social media and in gossip blogs, she was not arrested, but police transported her to the hospital where she underwent surgery to have the bullet fragments removed. She shared on Instagram that she was hurt and traumatised, noting that black women are unprotected, yet do all they can to protect others.

By Alicia Wallace

In August 2020, amid rumours, Megan publicly identified Tory Lanez (legal name Daystar Peterson), a far less popular rapper, as the shooter. She assured her fans that she would not lie about being shot.

There was much speculation about what took place as people could not understand why Megan Thee Stallion did not identify her shooter earlier. She said she

did not want to cause any escalation with the police — called to the scene by a Hollywood Hills resident who heard gunshots — that could result in one or more deaths. As a result, Peterson was initially charged with and arrested for possession of a concealed weapon.

People continued to question whether or not Megan Thee Stallion was shot. According to people

who did not know her at all, she was not behaving the way they would expect a victim to behave. Misinformation was also being fed to celebrity gossip blogs which ran stories to discredit her.

At the time, she was promoting one of the biggest singles of the year — WAP — with Cardi B, and people took this as evidence that she had not been assaulted. As people got louder in their attacks on her, Megan Thee Stallion posted a photo of her injured foot. She later posted: “Why are y’all so upset that I don’t wanna be in the bed sad ? Why y’all upset that I can walk?” Those people were looking for any excuse to call her a liar and defend the person who assaulted her, either because they already hated or were his fans.

A statement from the Los Angeles District County District Attorney’s Office said there was an argument in the SUV, Megan Thee Stallion exited the vehicle, and Peterson shot at her feet which resulted in her injury. The District Attorney’s Office said Peterson could spend up to 22 years and eight months in prison.

In September 2020, Peterson used the incident to promote his album. He referenced it in more than one song, even including clips of people talking about the incident. When he promoted his album, he positioned it as his response to the public discussion about the shooting. He knew this would help to drive people to buy and play the album, in search of answers or, at the very least, more drama.

Bits and pieces of information about the incident have been leaked over the past two years. One of the most widely shared is that Peterson shouted, “Dance, [expletive]!” before shooting at Megan Thee Stallion. It was suggested that someone else fired the shots, with fingers pointing at Megan Thee Stallion’s best friend (at the time) Kelsey Harris. Harris, while admitting she was there, denied shooting her friend. This was clearly a distraction, and people have continued to assert that Peterson was being blamed for a crime Harris committed.

Megan Thee Stallion handled the situation differently. She was silent until she decided to correct the narrative. She made statements on Instagram, both in posts and in live videos. She also used her platform to draw attention, not to her own case, but to the way black women are (mis)treated.

In her SNL debut, she performed the Savage remix with a “Protect Black Women” backdrop. About two and a half minutes into the performance, there was the sound of gunshots and the stage lighting went dark. The sound of Malcom X’s voice is heard. “The most disrespected, neglected person in America is the black woman.” Then there was the sound of breaking glass along with “Savage!”

quote continued, punctuated by “Savage!” Which was accompanied by everyone on stage thrusting their fists into the air. A short clip of Tamika Mallory was played, following by Megan Thee Stallion saying: “We need to protect our black women, and love our black women, because at the end of the day, we need our black women. We need to protect our black men and stand up for our black men, and protect our black men because at the end of the day, we tired of seeing hashtags of our black men.”

Megan Thee Stallion also wrote an op-ed for The New York Times entitled “Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women.” In it, she said: “[The threat of violent] is even more intense for black women, who struggle against stereotypes and are seen as angry or threatening when we try to stand up for ourselves and our sisters. There’s not much room for passionate advocacy if you are a black woman.”

Megan Thee Stallion found ways to be true to herself. She shared parts of her story when she was ready. She used the medium that were more comfortable and accessible to her and that would reach her intended audience. She also found ways to contribute to a conversation that was not just about her, but about a much larger group of people who are constantly at-risk, often living in fear, and frequently failed by systems and individuals.

She used her individual experience to comment on an issue that is universal to black women, using her platform which gave her a wide audience. This, in so many cases, is the work that survivors do. Many are not allowed to focus on our own healing, but must join the people working for change. Sometimes, it is not until a person tries to use the “justice” system that they realise how unjust it really is.

Peterson was charged with the shooting in October 2020 and pleaded not guilty in November 2020. In July 2021, he violated the protective order against him. On December 12, 2022, the trial finally started. Peterson was charged with assault with semi-automatic firearm, intentional discharge of a firearm, and negligent discharge of a firearm. In her testimony, Megan Thee Stallion talked about the harassment she experienced and the toll it has

taken on her mental health. On December 23, 2022, Peterson was found guilty and taken into custody. In a statement, Megan Thee Stallion’s lawyer, Alex Spiro said: “The jury got it right. I am thankful there is justice for Meg.”

Los Angeles Country district attorney George Gascón commended Pete’s courage and vulnerability, acknowledging the scrutiny she was under and that black women are often not believed when they report violence against them.

The effect this has on Megan Thee Stallion, personally and professionally, remains to be seen. The court case is over, and the jury has decided that she was telling the truth. The perpetrator will face punishment by the State. This, however, is never enough.

As a survivor, Megan Thee Stallion endured more than two years of harassment in various forms, including digs at her in songs produced by men in the music industry.

Justice is not only punishment, but repair. What will be done to protect the survivor from further attacks and support her healing? This is, too often, left to the survivor to figure out on their own, or with their close circles.

For those who followed the case closely and waited for the verdict, the announcement that Peterson was found guilty felt like a win, but an empty one. Questions remain. Advocates have been talking, for a long time, about the inadequacies of the system. Survivors have lived experience of it.

Yes, this is a US case, and we live in The Bahamas. How much better or worse do you think it is here? Importantly, what do we do with what we know now? While consequences are a part of justice, punishment will never be enough.

Centring the needs of survivors ought to be on the government’s list of New Year’s resolutions. Megan Thee Stallion’s case is one that we can study, discuss, and build upon to develop a system that is effective in responding to the specific needs of survivors, beyond protection from and punishment of the perpetrator. It needs to be prioritised, and it must include health, education, social services in addition to law enforcement. Survivors need comprehensive, ongoing care.

TORY Lanez - real name Daystar Peterson - who was found guilty fo shooting Megan Thee Stallion, top, in an incident in July 2020.

CES 2023: TECH WORLD TO GATHER, SHOW OFF GADGETS

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP)

— CES, the annual tech industry event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is returning to Las Vegas this January with the hope that it looks more like it did before the coronavirus pandemic.

The show changed its name to CES to better reflect the changing industry and the event, which had expanded beyond audio and video to include automotive, digital health, smart phones, wearables and other technologies.

Companies and startups will showcase innovations in virtual reality, robotics and consumer tech items to the media and others in the tech industry during next month’s gadget show and organisers say their goal is to draw 100,000 attendees.

That would be a marked contrast with the look and feel of the past two shows — the last of which saw a 70% drop in in-person attendance amid the spread of the Omicron variant.

The one before that was held virtually, replacing in-person displays and meet and greets with video streams and chats.

Even if organisers reach their goal for next month’s event, which runs from Jan. 5-8, it would still represent a 41% dip in attendance compared to the in-person show held in early 2020, before the pandemic consumed much of everyday life.

Kinsey Fabrizio, senior vice president at the trade group Consumer Technology Association, said more than

2,800 companies have signed up to attend CES 2023.

Exhibitors include many startups and routine visitors like Amazon and Facebook parent Meta, both of which have recently cut jobs and implemented hiring freezes after beefing up their staff during the pandemic. Other tech companies have also been tightening their belts and laying off workers amid concerns about the economic environment.

The Associated Press spoke with Fabrizio about CES and what consumers should expect at the show. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: The tech industry has been going through a rough time in the past few months. How do you expect that to

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — For more than a decade, Kathy Winter has been working to get autonomous vehicles on the road, first at auto supplier Delphi and then as general manager of Intel’s autonomous transportation unit.

Now the 30-year industry veteran has been named chief operating officer of May Mobility, a 5-year-old autonomous vehicle startup, with a mission to scale up service in more markets.

The company is testing self-driving vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it’s headquartered, as well as Grand Rapids, Minnesota; and Arlington, Texas, all with human safety drivers.

It also has run a pilot programme in Hiroshima, Japan.

The Associated Press recently interviewed Winter about the future of autonomous vehicles. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Five years ago you said autonomous vehicles would be widely in use before 2030, without humans driving. Is that still realistic?

A: When I look at the progress we’re making, I do think it’ll be well before 2030. May has been targeting the end of 2023 to have the (human) driver out. I think we’re getting a lot more realistic about what it takes. They map very specific areas so that we know exactly where those vehicles are. And then you have things

impact the show?

A: Yeah, for the last two years, the tech industry was booming. We’re seeing a recalibration now and as part of the recalibration, there are layoffs. But in terms of CES, the companies are coming big. And they’re going to be showcasing some of these solutions that were critical during the pandemic, and a lot of the solutions that have continued to change the way consumers live and behave. The momentum and excitement we’re seeing for the show hasn’t been impacted.

Q: Are most of the exhibitors startups?

A: We have a lot of startups and new companies. Over 1,000 new exhibitors for CES this year, which

like Tele-assist, which happens to be what May is developing, that helps remotely should there be an issue. If you’re operating a fleet, you have a way to be able to jump in there. That should be extremely rare.

Q: What is standing in the way of pulling the human safety driver out?

A: You have the hardware, the software and the driving policy, but then you have you have the regulatory issues and the liability issues. You think of the state-by-state regulations versus nationwide. Different parts of the world are moving at different paces. I hope that the U.S. really embraces this and tackles those problems, because we’d hate to be the last ones to get the driver out. The technology is progressing well. May has given 320,000 rides. I think it’s more about these other barriers, and then consumer acceptance.

WINTER (Telemetry Agency via AP)

is on par with prior years. There will be some repeat customers in Eureka Park, where our startups are primarily stationed. They can be there for up to two years. But we will also have a lot of companies who’ve been at CES for a while.

Q: The theme for the show is human security. How did you land on that?

A: We were approached by The World Academy of Art and Science, which has been working with the United Nations for a long time on human security. You can think of it as basic human rights — access to food, health care, etc. And they wanted CES to really use this theme because our exhibitors are showcasing how they’re solving some of

these big global challenges with technology.

Q: Historically, CES has been more focused on convenience and personal tech. So this is going to be a shift.

A: This is the shift. We’ve talked about how tech solves challenges in the world. But we’ve never had a theme at CES before. It’s always been about innovation and great products for the consumer. But for this show, you will be able to see the theme on the show floor and other places. For example, John Deere is showcasing some of their agricultural technology that really contributes to sustainability and access to food. Another company created a secure voting technology on the blockchain, which aligns with the U.N. theme of political security.

Q: The metaverse is going to be another big topic. A lot of companies are investing in it. What can visitors expect to see at the show?

A: The metaverse is a key theme. We’ll have a dedicated part of the show floor for Web3 technology. There’s also going to be shared and immersive virtual experiences.

Automaker Stellantis and Microsoft have a partnership to create a showroom in the metaverse. There’s a company called OVR that has created a solution where you can smell in the metaverse. People are talking about unique ways to reach their customers, and different experiences people can have there.

So that will be a big theme among both big and small exhibitors.

VEHICLES

than a lot of the others in the industry who’ve had extremely high (cash) burn rates and extremely high investments with a return on investment that’s way out there. We do make money. So the line of sight to profitability is much faster.

Q: How are you making money?

A: We actually run the service, whether the riders pay for it or whether a municipality or the private sector pays.

The mission is to make transit that’s complementary to what might be out there with big busing systems or in places that don’t even have it. We use hybrid vehicles for efficiency. Make it safe, of course. Today there’s a lot of areas where it’s too small of a municipality.

They can’t afford a bus system and they don’t have something that’s wheelchair accessible. So this is a great opportunity where May could go in and get extended ridership.

mass transit. But if you went to, for example, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, you’re not competing with all these other things. You map that area, but you’re not trying to map every inch of the U.S. The team has done a great job of getting where they are today, and I’m just hoping to help them accelerate and scale it in a big way.

Q: Part of the problem in deploying autonomous vehicles is having to interact with humans who break the rules. How will May deal with this?

EXPLAINER: 2023 TAX CREDITS IN US FOR EVS WILL BOOST THEIR

APPEAL

By HOPE YEN and TOM KRISHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)

— Starting Jan. 1, many Americans will qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle.

The credit, part of changes enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to spur EV sales and reduce greenhouse emissions.

But a complex web of requirements, including where vehicles and batteries must be manufactured to qualify, is casting doubt on whether anyone can receive the full $7,500 credit next year.

For at least the first two months of 2023, though, a delay in the Treasury Department’s rules for the new benefit will likely make the full credit temporarily available to consumers who meet certain income and price limits.

The new law also provides a smaller credit for people who buy a used EV.

Certain EV brands that were eligible for a separate tax credit that began in 2010 and that will end this year may not be eligible for the new credit. Several EV models made by Kia, Hyundai and Audi, for example, won’t qualify at all because they are manufactured outside North America.

The new tax credit, which lasts until 2032, is intended to make zero-emission vehicles affordable to more people. Here is a closer look at it:

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2023?

The credit of up to $7,500 will be offered to people who buy certain new electric vehicles as well as some plugin gas-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. For people who buy a used vehicle that runs on battery power, a $4,000 credit will be available.

But the question of which vehicles and buyers will qualify for the credits is complicated and will remain uncertain until Treasury issues the proposed rules in March.

Q: You’re joining May at a time of immense change in the autonomous vehicle business. Ford and Volkswagen just pulled the plug on Argo AI, capital is drying up. Does May have enough to get through?

A: They’ve been realistic on their spend and very conscious of return on investment. I think they’ve kept it right-sized for everything they’ve been doing. Because of that, their time to profitablity is much faster

Q: So you’d run a ride-hailing service and a fixed route shuttle?

A: We aren’t fixed route shuttles. We’re really more flexible than that. A user can go point-to-point in that vehicle, within a geo-designed area. The strategy is pick a specific area and map it well, and provide service in that area. You wouldn’t go into an urban area that’s got incredible

A: Our vehicles imagine thousands of scenarios every millisecond that could happen. It looks at the most likely scenarios and the highest risk scenarios, and the vehicle makes the decision what to do. So it is simulating and looking at something that’s coming up. It really is how a person would think about things if they could think that fast. You would decide what’s the odds that child standing on the street is going to run into the street. Or what’s the odds that car coming over the centre line is going to continue on that trajectory? If it comes up to something like a vehicle stopped, blinking lights, and the only way to get around it is to cross over the centerline and break what would normally be a rule.

This is where something like Teleassist could make that decision.

Q: Does it take the least risky option?

A: It’s always good to go for the safe option. So yes, less risky.

What’s known so far is that to qualify for the credit, new EVs must be made in North America. In addition, caps on vehicle prices and buyer incomes are intended to disqualify wealthier buyers. Starting in March, complex provisions will also govern battery components. Forty percent of battery minerals will have to come from North America or a country with a U.S. free trade agreement or be recycled in North America. (That threshold will eventually go to 80%.)

And 50% of the battery parts will have to be made or assembled in North America, eventually rising to 100%.

Starting in 2025, battery minerals cannot come from a “foreign entity of concern,” mainly China and Russia. Battery parts cannot be sourced in those countries starting in 2024 — a troublesome obstacle for the auto industry because numerous EV metals and parts now come from China.

There also are battery-size requirements.

PEOPLE walk across an empty booth spot during the CES tech show on Jan. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. CES is returning to Las Vegas in January 2023 with the hope that it inches closer to how it looked before the pandemic.

(AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz, File)

KATHY

”First of all, what we have to recognise is that there’s external forces beyond our control that’s feeding the inflationary pressures that we are suffering. What we could do we are doing.

“So for example, we’ve lowered import duty on a number of food items and other commonly used goods that come into The Bahamas. I’ve done that. I’ve engaged in conversations with transportation, with MSC, and other boat owners that bring containers into the country. I’ve been able to get the 35 percent reduction in the cost of containers coming into The Bahamas from the far east.

“We are working on getting a similar reduction from the US and it’s already dropping. So those are things that we can do by engaging those streams that lend to adding costs to goods in The Bahamas. So each of those streams we’ve been talking to and attempting to lower those costs.

“We have done what we can and (are) looking at what other things we can do to assist.”

The Prime Minister was asked if there were any fears the increase in minimum wage will have an impact on the private sector going into the new year.

“The private sector has not said so and in fact we don’t expect it to have any impact and in consultation with them,” Mr Davis said. “Don’t forget, it’s not the increasing minimum was not a unilateral decision. It was a decision made by industry (under) the Tripartite Council, which includes business, government and unions. So it wasn’t unilateral. So I don’t expect that there may be any fallout.”

However, last week, Tribune Business reported that a gas station operator warned the 24 percent minimum wage increase will “almost certainly” force the sector to cut staffing levels unless the government grants a long-awaited margin increase.

The IDB recently pegged annual food price inflation in The Bahamas at 16.1 percent, the second highest in a five-strong Caribbean sample that also included Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. Only Suriname had a higher rate of food price rises, with The Bahamas’ food inflation outpacing the country’s overall annual inflation rate of 6.5 percent.

In its latest quarterly Caribbean economic bulletin, the agency also said the government’s price controls are a poorlytargeted mechanism to counter soaring 16 percent food inflation as they benefit the rich as much as low income and vulnerable families.

The IDB indicated that social assistance to offset the cost of living crisis could be better focused on poor families through the use of conditional cash transfer (CCT) initiatives that build on existing initiatives such as food stamps.

The report also warned that the price controls will disproportionately impact small and medium-sized food stores that lack the breadth of product range and economies of scale - in comparison to larger competitors - to absorb selling more items at a loss, or below cost.

The IDB also argued that only the 24 percent or $50 per week minimum wage increase, which is set to take effect on New Year’s Day and raise the legal floor to $260, was targeted specifically at low income or vulnerable Bahamians.

All other measures unveiled by the government to combat the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, such as import tariff cuts and raising the VAT exemption on electricity bills from $300 to $400, benefit rich and poor alike.

Retail Grocers Association president Philip Beneby said the IDB’s commentary on the negative impact of expanded price controls on businesses is “spot on”.

However, Mr Davis still called for grocers to help consumers.

“I do not act unilaterally and as I said together we are all in this and together we’ll be able to get out of this so we are asking everyone to pitch in. The government has cut its revenue to enable that to be passed on to the consumer,” he said.

THREE FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST FTX FOUNDER

ByEARYEL BOWLEG TribuneStaff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THREE people have filed a local lawsuit against disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his associated companies.

The writ, filed on December 21, said the plaintiffs are seeking damages because they suffered a loss as a result of Bankman-Fried and his “co-conspirators” engaging in a scheme to “defraud equity investors of FTX Trading Ltd”.

Rebecca Gallagher, a British citizen who now lives in the United States, is one of the plaintiffs. She claims she lost thousands of dollars directly with FTX and has recently filed a local police complaint.

The Tribune asked Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander if there were any police complaints filed locally related to FTX, to which he replied: “At this time, based on my information, we have one matter that we are looking at

closely with the Security Commission at this time.”

However, he did not provide many details.

Ms Gallagher, 61, did her trading on the Celsius platform mainly which she described as a loan/yield platform.

“Directly with FTX, I’ve lost about $3,000 but what he caused to happen to Celsius (and) contributed to the Celsius collapse — I’ve lost my life savings,” she said.

Asked how her life savings were lost, she explained: “Well, you know that crypto fluctuates. So the height last November, when Bitcoin was 67,000 and Etherium was 4,700, my portfolio had grown to $1.4 million and it was going to continue growing further. So I’ve also lost all the future potential of what that could have turned into had I still had my coins.”

She first bought some FTT token, which is the native token of the FTX exchange back in the Spring of 2021.

“I bought $5,000 of FTT token and then I opened up an account on the exchange, the US branch of the exchange, and I bought some Matic token, which I unfortunately left on the exchange.

“So when all this happened, I started hearing some rumours. So I initiated a withdrawal to my own wallet, and I thought I got my funds out in time.

But instead, I checked a couple of days later, because it said the transaction was pending, my funds would be in my own wallet within a couple of hours.

“And then three days later, they hadn’t arrived and that’s when I realised that I’d been caught with my funds frozen on the platform.”

The fall of FTX has cast a major shadow over the crypto-industry.

Ms Gallagher said she was optimistic about investing in crypto.

“There isn’t a third party involvement in these exchanges unless you

decide to do what I did and trust a central entity and an individual who turns out to be a bad playerbut that isn’t what crypto was designed for. It was designed for you to be like a sovereign individual who can send your money where you want, when you want and there were no barriers to that. So I just think that’s the way we’re going to go in the future because the world is moving in a digital direction,” the 61-year-old said.

“I haven’t used paper money in a long while anyway. You know, it’s been years since I’ve gone into the bank and stood in line to take out cash, pay for everything with a debit or a credit card. So I just could see that this was the wave of the future, like seeing the internet back when the dot.com began and getting on board with it. So this is a major setback for the space and certainly a gigantic setback for me, which I may not recover from because it took me all my life to

save that up. I was ready to retire. That’s why I’d sold my house and put all my savings into this because it was paying yield.”

FTX filed for bankruptcy in the United States last month, setting off a whirlwind chain of events which saw the Bahamas headquarters placed into liquidity.

Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried was arrested after he was indicted in the US and then last week he was extradited to New York. He has since been released on a $250m bond and placed under house arrest at his parents’ home in California.

Ms Gallagher came to The Bahamas to see the case unfold and was surprised to see how young the man allegedly responsible was.

“I was shocked that he’s only a couple of years older than my oldest son and it just seemed shocking that he had masterminded such a devastation because he’s a strange person.”

Although she invested on the US side of the FTX

platform, Ms Gallagher felt the importance of filing in The Bahamas even though she does not live here.

“Nobody had done so and there’s only so much jurisdiction that the chapter 11 process will have from here in the States. Having something filed in The Bahamas is going to cause things to be done there that wouldn’t otherwise be done,” she said.

“So it was very important to file something on Bahamian soil so that we can fully investigate everything that was going on and unearth all these shenanigans and try and get some restitution for people like myself and others who have suffered.”

In regards to an update on local FTX investigations, Commissioner Fernander said the investigation is still active.

“If we need to speak to him (Bankman-Fried) on the matters that we are looking at, we will travel that way and speak to him on that side,” the police chief said.

THE unofficial results being announced.

MUSIC MAKERS

GENESIS SAXONS VALLEY BOYS

WSC to address sewage overflow

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) on Friday said officials were actively working to address the overflow of sewerage in the Lake View Road area.

Robert Deal, Jr, general manager of WSC, told The Tribune on Friday it is their plan to commence the sewerage system replacement and upgrade works along Lake View Road and Shirley Street early in January.

“A portion of the gravity sewerage system along Lake View Road, that dates back to the 1940s, is in poor condition and must be replaced. Our team has prepared the required scope of works which includes installing approximately 300 feet of new gravity sewerage mains along Lake View Road and another approximately 1,200 feet along Shirley Street.

“We were awaiting the arrival of the required materials on island,

a portion of which arrived yesterday, (Thursday). Unfortunately, the materials were delayed due to the global supply chain challenges associated with the PVC piping we require for this project. Now that some of the materials have arrived, the works will be scheduled for early January 2023.

“The corporation sincerely apologies to the residents of Lake View Road and the surrounding area for any and all inconveniences experienced and in the interim, we are regularly pumping down the system on Lake View Road and on Shirley Street.”

Residents of Lake View expressed their vexation over the sewerage issues on Thursday.

One resident asked if the Ministry of Works and the Water & Sewerage Corporation needed a “Christmas miracle” to put an end to the issue.

They also described the problem as being a “never-ending sewerage overflow” on Lake View Road,

claiming the Village Road project was the cause.

However, Mr Deal Jr clarified that the challenges along Lake View Road are not related to the ongoing works along Village Road.

“The challenges along Lake View Road are not related to the ongoing works along Village Road. The sewerage infrastructure in the area, including both Village Road and Lake View Road were aged and are now being replaced and upgraded.

“Also, as we discussed, the Corporation is in touch with the Lake View Road community and their key contact person.”

The resident also criticised horrid odours from the sewerage.

“I still see, smell, and literally taste the never-ending sewerage overflow on Lake View Road that commenced in July 2022 and which we were advised was due to the Village Road project excavations breaching a sewer pipe at Village Road and Shirley Street.”

They also argued if residents of Lake View road should resign themselves to the fact that their road should be renamed “Water and Sewerage’s Stink Bottom Road.”

When asked about the odour complaint, Mr Deal Jr responded: “We do note the odour concerns and our keep will be instructed to review our interim operations and to determine what can be done to alleviate this odour issue, where possible.

The resident continued: “And if ever the situation is resolved who will pay to repave Lake View Road and all the potholes and erosion on the road surface caused by the constant inundation of sewerage?”

“I look forward to a functional resolution to this situation and a road without sewerage or potholes.”

Officials said they will be reaching out to residents of Lake View Road to further explain the next steps that will be taken.

PROTEST HELD OUTSIDE MIAMI CONSULATE

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A GROUP of people demonstrated outside the Bahamas’ Miami Consulate office last week calling for information on the whereabouts of their loved ones and over alleged human rights abuses of Cuban detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the individuals the group is seeking information about are not currently detained at the Detention Centre, adding that there are no current claims of abuse or mistreatment of detainees.

In a statement issued on Monday, the ministry said media reports indicate the protesters were seeking answers regarding loved ones who allegedly were seeking asylum, but are missing in The Bahamas.

“The matter began when the building security personnel noticed that a small group of protesters had presented itself at the entrance of the building demanding access to the Consulate. The security personnel alerted the Consulate of the same,” the statement read.

“The Consulate notified the US Department of State Office of Foreign Missions in Miami, which advised the diplomatic security officers accordingly. The Consulate’s police liaison officer also contacted the Miami Police Department, which immediately dispatched police officers to the building. At no time was any staff member of the Consulate in danger.

“It was reported by a local Miami news team that the group of protesters was demanding answers to matters regarding loved ones who, it is alleged, were seeking asylum but were missing in The Bahamas.

Further allegations made included mistreatment of Cubans while in the Detention Centre.”

It was further stated that the ministry contacted The Bahamas Department of Immigration, which informed the ministry’s directorgeneral that none of the individuals named in the article by the Miami press has shown up on the list of Cuban nationals currently detained at the Detention Centre.

“The Department of Immigration has reported that, to date, there are no reports of abuse or mistreatment of detainees at the centre. Regarding individuals seeking asylum in The Bahamas, careful attention is given to ensuring that asylum procedures, as prescribed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, be observed and upheld,” the ministry stated.

“By way of the present, the Bahamian Immigration authorities have

informed the ministry that there are no cases pending of Cuban nationals seeking asylum in The Bahamas at this time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains engaged in the ongoing investigation of this matter.”

According to Florida’s Local10 news channel, the protestors believe Cuban migrants who have been intercepted at sea are being detained in The Bahamas.

“I am looking for help in the Bahamas consulate,” said Yahima Morejon, according to Local10. com. “This search that we are doing is not about one family member. It’s about all the people that are missing right now.”

Ms Morejon says her relative Montalvo Garcia left Cuba in a homemade raft on Sept 23.

It is claimed that dozens more Cubans who fled their country are missing, with relatives suspecting they are being held here.

HUNT AFTER CAR CHASE

A MAN is being hunted by police after a high-speed chase when he fired a gun towards a security guard and damaged a business establishment in the Marathon Road area on Friday.

The officer said a man and woman, both in a Burgundy coloured Nissan March, got into a row with a security officer at the establishment. The pair left and returned when shots were fired from their vehicle towards the officer, damaging the establishment.

An off-duty police officer saw the incident and pursued the suspects, who fled at high speed towards the East West Highway where the female driver crashed her car. The male passenger fled the vehicle on foot.

The woman, aged 27, was treated at hospital for minor injuries and is in police custody. No one else was injured during the incident.

• A 40-year-old man is in police custody after he was reportedly found in possession of stolen goods.

Police arrested the man at about 2.45am on Sunday in the Lincoln Boulevard area.

Officers had responded to a complaint of shop breaking in Englerston, when they heard gunshots and saw a blue Honda Accord being pursued by colleagues. They joined the pursuit and the driver surrendered to police. However, a passenger escaped into the Montell Heights area.

A search of the vehicle revealed a number of items, suspected to have been stolen, including soft drinks.

Police are searching for the second suspect.

• Police are also questioning a 27-year-old man of South Street in connection with a recent shopbreaking.

The incident reportedly occurred sometime between Friday and Saturday and resulted in a safe containing a large amount of cash being stolen from a business establishment in western New Providence.

Police arrested the man at about 9.30am on Saturday.

Officers are investigating and appealed to business owners not to leave large sums of cash in their business establishment overnight. Business owners are encouraged to liaise with the commanders of the policing divisions in which their businesses are located to discuss strategies for depositing their finances.

• Police are seeking the public’s help in locating a stolen silver coloured 2008 Nissan Bluebird, Slyphy L/P AS3599.

Preliminary reports said that between 9.30am and 6pm on Christmas Day, the vehicle was stolen from the parking lot of an establishment in western New Providence.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 911/919, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at 502-9991/2 or CRIMESTOPPERS at 328TIPS (8477).

• Police arrested six men between Monday, December 19, and Sunday, December 25, for breach of bail conditions. The men range in age from 19 to 29 and were on bail for such offences as murder and attempted murder. One of the men was charged with murder earlier in the week.

• A 22-year-old man from Eight Mile Rock is in custody after being found with a handgun and ammunition at about 2am on Sunday in the downtown area.

• Four men in Abaco are in custody after police discovered a handgun, ammunition and suspected marijuana in their possession during a routine road check shortly after 9pm on Saturday on Don McKay Boulevard and SC Bootle Highway.

• A total of 31 Cuban migrants - 26 men and five women - are in custody after being found at South Bight, off Andros, shortly after 9am on Sunday. A further 24 Cuban migrants -20 men and four women - were also found at sea shortly after 9am on Sunday by the US Coast Guard and were taken to Great Inagua. All of the migrants will be taken to New Providence for processing.

THREE IN COURT IN DRUGS CASE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO MEN and a woman were in court last week on two separate drug charges.

One of the men faced a $5,000 fine after admitting having 5lbs of marijuana.

Stephen Murphy, 33, and Shanell McQueen-Taylor, 45, both represented by attorney Wendawn MillerFrazer, faced Magistrate Samuel McKinney. They are charged with possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

At around 8am on December 22, officers acting on information, stopped Murphy’s vehicle in New Providence in search of suspected drugs or firearms. Their investigation uncovered two vacuum sealed packets containing a total of 5 lbs and ¼ oz of Indian Hemp. The drugs confiscated in this case are said to have a street value of $5,100.

In a subsequent police interview, Murphy admitted to the sole ownership of the drugs.

Murphy pleaded guilty to the offence while Mrs

McQueen-Taylor pleaded not guilty resulting in the charges against her being withdrawn.

Attorney Miller-Frazer said her client is a father and is gainfully employed as a landscaper. After saying that Murphy has no prior offences, she implored the court to show leniency.

Magistrate McKinney ordered Murphy to pay a fine of $5,000 or risk six months in prison.

The accused was further informed that he must pay half of the fine before his release with the balance to be paid on or before January 31, 2023.

The other man, Alando Williams, 26, appeared before Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux on a charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

It is alleged that on December 20 in New Providence Williams was found by authorities with 1 gram of cocaine.

In court, the accused pleaded not guilty. Bail was granted at $1,000 with one surety.

Williams’ trial is scheduled for January 31.

MAN ACCUSED OF THEFT OF PHONE AT GUNPOINT

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was remanded to prison by the Magistrate’s Court after being accused of stealing a woman’s cash and phone at gunpoint earlier this month.

Shelton Daxon, 19, represented by attorney Alex Dorsett, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of armed robbery.

It is alleged that on December 14 in New Providence the accused, armed with a handgun, robbed Stephanie Davis of $480 cash and her Samsung

Galaxy phone, valued at $400.

In court, Daxon was not required to enter a plea at this time. He was told that his matter would proceed to the Supreme Court by way of a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

He was further told that as the magistrate did not have the jurisdiction to grant him bail, he had the right to apply for it through the higher court.

Until bail is granted, he will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Daxon’s VBI is due for service on February 20.

AMERICAN ACCUSED OVER GUN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN American man was granted $12,500 in cash bail in Magistrate’s Court after being accused of bringing a gun into the country last week.

Brent Ammons, 37, of Alabama, represented by Attorney Bjorn Ferguson, stood before Magistrate Samuel McKinney. There, he faced charges of introducing a firearm into the Bahamas and possession of ammunition.

It is alleged that on December 21 in New Providence Ammons brought an unlicensed black Baretta 9mm pistol into the country. It is further said that at the time of his arrest he

had 12 live rounds of 9mm ammunition.

In court, Ammons pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution objected to his bail on the basis that as a non-citizen Ammons posed a flight risk.

While attorney Ferguson acknowledged his client is not a citizen of the Bahamas, he cited judicial precedent where other non citizens were granted bail for similar offences.

As such, he asked that court impose conditions on Ammons, going on to suggest a cash bail.

The magistrate granted the accused a cash bail of $12,500.

Ammons is expected to return to court for trial on January 20, 2023.

CHARGED WITH THREAT TO HARM

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail in Magistrate’s Court after being accused of threatening to harm another man.

Lionel Davis, 42, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on

a charge of threats of harm.

On September 23 at Balls Alley during an argument, Davis threatened to harm Benson Rolle.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. Bail was granted at $500 with one surety.

Davis is to return to court for trial on January 31.

MAN STABBED AND ROBBED IN GRAND BAHAMA INCIDENT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama Police are investigating an armed robbery in the Freeport area that has resulted in a man being stabbed and robbed of cash.

The incident reportedly occurred around 4am on Friday at Weddell Avenue where a man was attacked by three men armed with knives.

Preliminary reports indicated that suspects entered the victim’s residence and robbed him of an undetermined amount of cash.

During the robbery, the suspects attacked and

stabbed the victim before fleeing the area.

Investigations are continuing into the incident.

In Abaco, police arrested a 39-year-old male resident of Murphy Town who was allegedly found in possession of a quantity of marijuana.

Reports are that shortly before 7pm on Thursday, officers attached to Operation Restoration were on routine patrol in the area of Murphy Town when they stopped and searched the driver of a brown Nissan Cube and discovered the suspected drugs.

The man was taken into police custody and investigations are continuing into the matter.

Back to school as PM joins alumni to make donation

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia. net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis returned to his school days with a visit to St John’s College, as the school received a donation of $160,000 on Friday from its class of 1968.

Father James Palacious thanked his classmates and others for their generosity as he encouraged others to give.

“This cheque represents a combination of gifts of various individuals along with members of this class. I’m extremely grateful to my classmates, and others who have contributed and urge other alumni from other institutions as well.”

He added: “What we are hoping to do, and the Prime Minister will elaborate a little more, with this money is for solar and scholarship. So we’re going to solarise the school in large measure that would save the school by an estimate about $30,000 a year and so some of this money would go there and some of it, of course, would go for scholarships. There are many children who would like to be in these and other hallowed halls, but they just are not able to make it.”

As for how soon solarisation begins, school principal Junann Lewis indicated as soon as the school board chair has the money he will begin the process.

“First thing is we need to figure out how we want to start, where we want to start. We have a very big campus, so we have to actually strategise before we spend the money. So we will do that first and then we will definitely jump on that right away,” she said.

She also highlighted the needs for students, particularly one who lost two family members, when asked how many students will benefit from scholarships through the donation.

“I cannot give an accurate estimate because, of course, we don’t know what the solarisation will cost, but definitely we have about four or five students now who we know will need some assistance.”

“We had a student who lost his grandmother and mother at the same time. So we would like to do something to assist him. He’s in his final year of school, two more terms, so

we want to assist him in some way to make sure he has a smooth transition out of high school,” she said.

Present for the presentation was Class of 68 member Mr Davis who took a trip down memory lane remembering the sacrifices he made for his education. It is in this spirit he capitalised on helping others and described his classmate’s altruism.

“During my tenure at St John’s, and the many of us here, including Palacious, it wasn’t easy, because I had to work to help pay my school fees and I have others who are helping and I think it’s only fair that we look back as to how we came through and to do what others did to make sure that we come through successfully,” he said.

“It’s a no brainer for me, and colleagues I’m so fortunate to have been in this class of 1968 because all of us understood what it meant to be able to share. We understood that we were not on our own able to make it and others had to reach out and help us. That was all embedded in us and hence most of our lives, I think, many of us of this class have been reaching out and helping as best we can.”

The Prime Minister has sounded the alarm on climate change and

advocated for ways to protect the planet. He explained the hope school’s solarisation could have on students understanding this issue.

“The Bahamas is championing this issue of alternative energy, which falls in the category of mitigating against the consequences of climate change to our lower carbon footprints. It is also in asking the school to solarise as best they can a part of their electricity consumption,” he said.

“It’s also the sensitise our students on their role and responsibility to ensure that we lower our carbon footprint and to understand what it means for alternative energy to lessen our dependency on fossil fuel... asking the school board to consider installing solar panels is also a part of a wider process to educate our people, our children, and to be sensitive to those needs. Of course, as I said, the other aspect of it is to be able to assist those in need. St John’s College is a wonderful institution for training and also for spiritual grounding and we want to be able to help students.”

“From where I sit as leader of the nation, I recognise that the costs of delivery of education is extremely expensive. Government alone cannot educate all of its people. It requires all hands on deck and so for delivery of good, effective education to our people and our children all hands are needed on deck and I call upon all of us to play our part to ensure that resources are available to schools and institutions that are charged with the responsibility of educating our people.”

The school has been blessed with the donations of other resources. In fact, the principal said donations went up during the pandemic.

“During the pandemic, we were graced with a lot of the classes, especially the 1970s and 80s. They donated to us because of course, you know, we had to go virtual. We had to do a lot of live streaming. So we had classes who donated cameras, who donated resources that we needed in order for our school to run. So during the pandemic our donations actually went up and I see that they are now encouraging others to donate. So just by doing this and other classes seeing it, I think that we will receive more donations as time goes on.”

‘BE SAFE ON THE ROADS’ URGE POLICE

By LETRE SWEETING lsweeting @ tribunemedia.net

POLICE press liaison officer Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings has urged Bahamians to be cautious on the roads and not to drink and drive this holiday season.

Speaking to reporters on Friday on the sidelines of a press conference at the Royal Bahamas Police Force headquarters on East Street, CSP Skippings said: “Don’t drink and drive. But if you must drink, make sure you have a responsible adult, make sure you have a designated driver.

“At this particular time in the year, I want to encourage you stay off the phone as you’re driving, exercise tolerance while you’re driving. And again, like I said, have a designated driver to ensure that everybody gets home safely after whatever function it is that you’re attending.

“And also, as you’re going home, I would encourage you to call family members, let them know that you’re on your way home from a function, make sure they have the area lit up. So when you get home, you can see if any persons are lurking about in your yard.”

She added: “Another thing too, when you get home, do not sit in your car in the front of your yard. Once you arrive at home, get out of your car, go inside your home, if there’s something so pressing that you need to talk about, do it in the comfort of your home, but not in the front of your yard.

“What we see happening in our country today are crimes of opportunity, because persons are simply not being vigilant and not being aware of their surroundings. I want to encourage Bahamians, and all of those who are visiting our country during this particular season.

“Exhibit the same safety precautions you put in place when you travel abroad. And once you do that, I can assure you it will minimise and in some incidents prevent you from becoming a victim of crime,” she said.

Last week, Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis said his administration is concerned about the nation’s escalating murder rate, but is hopeful that their crime fighting initiatives will start “bearing fruit” soon.

“We are all concerned about the murder rate and the level of homicide in our country is unacceptable,” Mr Davis said.

THE ST John’s College alumni class of 1968 making a donation to their former school. Pictured is Prime Minister Philip Davis. Also present were James Palacious, Felix Stubbs, Rosemary Braynen, Stephanie Bowleg, Beulah-may Forbes, and William Brown. Photos: Austin Fernander

FATHER James Palacious speaking to the media.

Providence Storm Basketball Club Holiday Classic gets underway

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DAY one of the 2022 Providence Storm Basketball Club Holiday Classic saw a couple of upsets from the Jordan Prince Williams Falcons and the Charles W Saunders Crusaders yesterday at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

While the Falcons flew past the CI Gibson Rattlers B team 39-34 in overtime, the Cougars roared over the visiting St George’s Jaguars from Grand Bahama 26-19, producing a great day for the pair of Baptist schools.

In some of the other senior boys’ games, St John’s Giants held off the Mt Carmel Cavaliers 27-18, CI Gibson Rattlers A team almost doubled up the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins’ B team 34-16, the CC Sweeting Cobras dominated the Government High Magicmen 40-21.

The tournament, which will run through Friday, also featured competition in the junior boys and senior girls division.

In junior boys’ action, Jordan Prince Williams Falcons routed the SC MCPherson Sharks 31-5, St John’s Giants knocked off the Nassau Christian Academy Crusaders 21-9.

In senior girls play, the CI Gibson Rattlers out-scored the Teleos Cherubims 34-18, St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine rolled past Freedom Baptist Warriors 26-12.

• Here’s a summary of the games played:

Jordan Prince Williams 39, CIG B 34: With the game tied 32-32 at the end of regulation, Jakavo Kemp came through with five points to help the Falcons seal the win in the extra period.

Kemp finished with nine points, while Kamari Minns led the attack with 10.

“It was a tough and close game and we were a little sluggish in the first half,” said Falcons’ coach Philip Hanna. “But we intensified our defence in the second half and we were able to come out with the win.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament, Hanna said it will only get tougher as they progress, so they will have to step it up if they want to make any more noise and turn some heads again.

Prince Wheatley also scored 10 in the loss.

CW Saunders 26, St George’s 19: Raymond Woods connected on eight of his 12 free throws and ended up with 12 points in the Cougars’ senior boys win.

They held a slim 10-9 advantage at the half, but slowly pulled away in the second half.

“This is a growth process. The players are still learning the game,” said CWS coach Dario Burrows. “The game is all about the science and once they learn to slow down the game, we will be able to execute.”

Burrows, however, said they didn’t know what to

expect from St George’s, but they went out and got the job done.

He said if they can continue to perform the way they did, they could be a contender for the title.

DeVorne Rigby had seven in a losing effort for the Jaguars, coached by Darrel Sears, who will no doubt make the adjustment and come back before the tournament is done on Friday.

CC Sweeting 40, GHS 21: Jaheim Armbrister’s 13 points was enough to pace the Cobras to victory as they built on their 25-7 led as coach Darshtyn Baker rode a line-up with three of the smallest back-court line-up in the tournament.

Claudius Curtis finished with seven in the loss.

CI Gibson A 34, Doris Johnson B 16: Dwayne

Finley and Ron Cartwright produced nine and eight points respectively to pace the Rattlers’ A team to victory. They led 16-4 at the half and was never in trouble the second half.

Bredon Williams had eight in the loss.

Queen’s College 30, Teleos 24: Leo scored a game high 12 points to pace the Comets, who led 13-11 at the half in their senior boys matchup.

Teleos had one player in double figures. Martin scored 11 in the loss.

Falcons 31, Sharks 5: Condae Smith was a oneman wrecking crew, scoring a game high 17 points as Jordan Prince Williams dismantled SC McPherson junior boys.

Rattlers 34, Cherubims 18: Philippa Ferguson produced 10 points as CI

Gibson senior boys got by Teleos.

Giants 21, Crusaders 9: Leonardo Rolle came up with 10 points to outscore NCA by himself in St John’s junior boys victory.

“It was what we expected. The guys came out and they stepped it up,” coach Darshtyn Baker said.

“The guys have been working out over the Christmas break and so I expect for them to do very well in this tournament.”

Giants 27, Cavaliers 18: Leonardo Rolle scored 10 points to pace St John’s senior boys to victory, but Shavano Dillen had a game high 11 in the loss.

The tournament is scheduled to continue at 9am today and wrap up on Friday when the three champions will be crowned.

HIELD MAKES 6 3-POINTERS AS PACERS BEAT HAWKS 129-114

By PHILLIP B WILSON Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Buddy Hield made six 3-pointers on his way to 28 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-114 last night.

Hield hit 11 of 16 shots, including 6 of 7 from deep. He leads the NBA with 132 3s this season.

The Pacers led by 10 entering the fourth quarter and doubled that margin in about six minutes.

Tyrese Haliburton had 23 points and seven assists. Myles Turner scored 18.

The Pacers enjoyed a 52-20 advantage in scoring by reserves. Bennedict Mathurin had 18 points, and fellow reserve Oshae Brissett finished with 16.

John Collins had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who were without injured starters De’Andre Hunter and Clint Capela. Trae Young had 22 points and 10 assists.

It was Atlanta’s first game since a 130-105 victory over Detroit on Friday night.

Indiana lost 113-93 at New Orleans on Monday night, leading to criticism from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and some players about not playing hard

FROM PAGE 16

change because of injuries,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “But playing with a great level of competition should never change for any team.”

So it goes with LeBron James, who turns 38 on Friday and sits 630 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring mark.

The Lakers are currently well back in the West race and James is in danger of missing the playoffs for a second straight season. It won’t be easy to avoid that, with Davis sidelined for an undetermined time.

against a Pelicans roster missing six players.

LeBron James scores 28 as Lakers beat Magic 129-110 ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — LeBron James scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook had a triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers stopped a four-game slide, beating the Orlando Magic 129-110 on Tuesday night.

James also had seven rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes. The four-time NBA MVP had scored at least 30 points in each of his last seven games.

Thomas Bryant added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 54.4% from the field. Westbrook finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in a reserve role.

Washington scores career-high 26 as Suns beat Grizzlies MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Duane Washington Jr. scored a career-high 26 points, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 125-108 on Tuesday night.

Washington, a two-way guard in his second year out of Ohio State, went 5 for 9 from 3-point range and 10 of 21 from the field overall.

Then again, the Lakers have already climbed out of 0-5 and 2-10 holes this season.

“How many times are you going to try to dig yourself out until there’s too much dirt on you?” James said. “There are ways we can be better.”

It worked for the Celtics, who at this time a year ago — December 26, 2021 — were 16-17 and sitting ninth in the East. But the holiday wasn’t a good barometer, as they went 35-14 the rest of the way to earn the No. 2 seed and advance to the finals. They’re surging again this season behind Tatum, who has emerged as an MVP favourite as he tries to unseat Jokic.

Eight Suns scored in double figures, helping the team stop a three-game slide. Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Paul finished with 14 points and six assists.

WIZARDS 116, 76ERS 111

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points, and Washington stopped Philadelphia’s eight-game winning streak. The Wizards withstood a 48-point effort by Joel Embiid and a 26-point, 13-assist performance by

“One game at a time and not looking too far ahead,” Malone said with roughly 40% of the season complete. “Just trying to get better every single day.”

Healthier, too.

That’s the case with the Nuggets, who are steadily seeing Jamal Murray’s explosiveness return as he makes his way back from an ACL injury. Michael Porter Jr has recovered from a heel ailment that kept him out for a month.

The Warriors are minus Curry for at least two more weeks.

Towns could be back for Minnesota in the not-sodistant future. Booker’s groin injury could be a concern for the Suns, who are

James Harden. The 76ers cut a 16-point deficit to one late in the game but couldn’t overtake Washington, which played the final 4:17 without star guard Bradley Beal.

CELTICS 126, ROCKETS 102

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 39 points in the third quarter, pouring it on after he was knocked to the parquet by a flagrant foul that sparked Boston to its third straight win.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum added 38 points and eight rebounds, and Robert

already without Cameron Payne (foot) and Cameron Johnson (knee). Booker reaggravated the injury early in a 128-125 overtime loss at Denver on Christmas Night. He’s the team’s leading scorer.

“It’s tough,” teammate Chris Paul said. “We’ve got to hold the fort down until he’s ready.”

Sort of flying under the radar these days are the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that’s rounding back into elite form. They’re taking a cautious approach with Kawhi Leonard (knee), who scored 28 points in a loss at Philadelphia last Friday.

Don’t overlook the play of Shake Milton, who has

Williams III grabbed 15 rebounds to go with his 11 points.

THUNDER 130, SPURS 114

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai GilgeousAlexander had 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds, leading the Thunder to the victory.

Oklahoma went 4-3 on a season-high, seven-game homestand.

Mike Muscala, pressed into extended action due to an early injury to starting forward Aleksej Pokusevski, scored 19 points.

Tre Mann had 17 and rookie Jalen Williams added 15 points and nine rebounds.

CLIPPERS 124, RAPTORS 113

TORONTO (AP) — Paul George scored 23 points, and the Clippers won for the seventh time in nine games.

Ivica Zubac had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Reggie Jackson scored 20 points.

Norman Powell scored 22 points and Kawhi Leonard had 15 as the two members of Toronto’s 2019 championship team returned to Canada for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

given the 76ers a nice boost off the bench.

Jerami Grant has been a welcome addition in Portland, averaging 21.8 points per game to give a big hand to Damian Lillard.

Zion Williamson has been doing Zion Williamson-type things — before recently entering the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols — for the New Orleans Pelicans, who trail the Nuggets by a half-game.

Then there’s Aaron Gordon, the high-flying Denver forward who retooled his game in the offseason and is shooting a career-best 61.1 percent from the floor. He had several highlight-reel dunks

New York Jets. When all four lost, the Chargers simply needed a win to clinch a playoff spot, and they did their part.

“It’s been a while,” receiver Keenan Allen said after catching 11 passes for 104 yards, his sixth straight 100-yard game on the road. “The playoffs are never guaranteed, so when you get in, it feels good. Now the season starts.”

Indy (4-10-1) lost its fifth straight under interim coach Jeff Saturday, though this was a more ho-hum defeat than the previous two, when it gave up 33 fourth-quarter points to Dallas and blew a 33-0 halftime lead at Minnesota.

Foles, making his first Colts start, squandered two first-quarter scoring chances by throwing picks, wound up getting sacked seven times and went 0 for 10 on third down.

As usual, though, Indy’s third starting quarterback of the season was only part of the problem.

“We started out, thought we had some shots early but obviously the turnovers hurt you and dissuade you to keep doing it,” Saturday said.

“We ran the ball well, but when it’s second-and-14, it’s hard to catch back up. I thought we ran the ball effectively but couldn’t stick with it.”

Herbert also struggled early until Ekeler scored the first points of the game with his short TD run midway through the second quarter.

The Colts took advantage of two personal foul calls that led to the ejection of Pro Bowl safety Derwin James to drive for their only score of the game, a 46-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin.

But that was it for the Colts. Dicker’s two kicks made it 13-3, and Ekeler’s second scoring run sealed the victory.

Ekeler had 18 carries for 67 yards, became the fourth player in 15 years to score at least 15 TDs in back-toback seasons and needs one more catch to post the sixth 100-catch season by a running back in league history.

While Herbert went 24 of 31 and his three-game streak of 300-yard games ended, the numbers didn’t matter. The win did.

Foles was 17 of 29 for 143 yards and threw his final interception in the third quarter.

The Super Bowl MVP after the 2017 season with Philadelphia was sacked seven times in his first NFL start since Dec. 26, 2021, with Chicago.

SHORT RETURN James returned after missing two games with a quadriceps injury, but he didn’t even make it through the first half.

Two plays after being called for a facemask when Michael Pittman Jr’s helmet came off, James was flagged for hitting a defenseless receiver with the crown of the helmet and was ejected with 5:18 to play.

The hit sent Colts receiver Ashton Dulin to the locker room, and Dulin was eventually ruled out with a concussion.

Staley said James also entered the concussion protocol, adding that the helmet-to-helmet hit was unintentional.

UP NEXT Chargers: Return home to face the Rams in Sunday’s Battle of Los Angeles.

Colts: Close out their road schedule with a New Year’s Day trip to the New York Giants.

in a win over the Suns on Christmas, including a backward jam, an alley-oop slam and one at the end where he nearly flew over Landry Shamet.

Gordon’s game has taken some pressure off Jokic, the 7-foot centre averaging 25.4 points, 11 rebounds and a career-best 9.4 assists.

“This team is one of the teams that has the potential to be the only team to win at the end of the season,” Gordon said.

“When you have a team like that, and you have players like that, we make everybody better around us.

“We’re trying to play for each other. We’re trying to win for each other.”

COACH Philip Hanna gives some instructions to his Jordan Prince Williams Falcons senior boys.

INDIANA Pacers guard Buddy Hield, left, douses guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) after their game against the Heat December 23 in Miami. Haliburton hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)

McKay: ‘We had a rough start, but our team is getting better over time’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THERE’S nothing like being home for the holidays.

Just ask Gregory McKay, who took the Christmas break to spend time with his family and friends over the weekend before he returned to school on Monday to continue his season with the Saints men’s basketball team at Limestone University in Gaffney, South Carolina.

“So far the season has been going good,” said McKay, who is now in his sophomore year. “We had a rough start, but our team is getting better over time and we are winning more games, so it’s only going to get better for us.”

McKay, a 21-year-old major in business administration/general business, is also stepping it up playing more minutes and being called upon for some more leadership.

“My coach is expecting more out of me now that I’m not a freshman anymore,” said McKay, a 6-foot, 6-inch forward. “I’m doing a lot more on the court and so I have to be more effective out there.”

As he embraces his new role, McKay said he’s having a lot of fun as well.

“This is what I wanted,” he said. “I am only trying to get better so that I can assist my team as much as possible.”

Compared to his rookie season where he averaged 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 23 games, McKay has started in three of their eight games so far this season with an average of 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, three assists and a block per game. And as a team, McKay acknowledged that they are gelling the way they are expected, even though they have a 3-7 win-loss record riding a three-game losing streak.

“We’re gelling much better on and off the court, so it’s good for us,” he pointed out.

“I feel like we are pulling it together. We’re much better as a team than we were at the beginning of the season.”

If they can take advantage of the home games they have on their schedule when they return to play in January, McKay said they will put themselves in contention to be a contender for the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) national

title at the end of the season.

“I just want to be one of those guys for us,” McKay said.

“When it’s crunch time and the coach needs me to play or to do something, I want him to be able to look at me and say ‘I can trust Gregory to take the shot or make a defensive play or something.”

When they return to action on December 31, McKay and the Saints will host a home game against

Converse before they open the new year on the road in a series of games that start on January 2 at North Greenville.

Home on just a short break, McKay said it was a good time for him to unwind and spend some time with family and friends, enjoy some good ole home cooking and conch salad and even enjoy the return of junkanoo, especially his favourite group, the Saxons.

“My family is important to me. I hear from them just about every day. They keep me motivated and going,” said McKay, whose parents are Gregory McKay Sr and Anishka Taylor.

“Obviously, I can’t do anything without God. He’s the biggest part of my life. But I know how proud my family is of me. They keep me motivated.”

On Friday, McKay joined his former HO Nash classmate and tennis player Sydney Clarke in making her third Christmas food and present giveaway to the Bahamas Children’s Emergency Hostel.

“When I saw the poster she posted about what she was doing, I was happy and excited for her,” McKay said. “Anything she needed

to do, I was willing to help. It’s important to give back, especially to the kids. This is something that I take pride in, so I was very happy to help her out.”

The feeling was mutual for Clarke.

“It’s great to know that at least one of my friends saw me post the flyer and he agreed to repost it and come out and help me,” Clarke said.

“It’s always nice to see people who want to help, so I’m very grateful that he took the time out to help.”

Although they parted ways after HO Nash with Clarke going to CR Walker and now at the University of the Alabama at Birmingham, while McKay went to the USA to pursue basketball, playing at the Piper High School before he enrolled at Limestone, Clarke said they were able to remain in contact with each other.

“I’m pleased to see that he’s out there playing basketball and so I’m happy with his achievements,” Clarke said.

“It’s a great feeling to see how he wanted to help, especially being an athlete himself. So, it’s a great feeling for me to have him supporting me in this venture.”

COLUMN: NO SLAPPING, PLEASE, AT THE 2022 NEWBY AWARDS

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Columnist

AS the world reclaimed a bit of normalcy in 2022, the Newby Awards were hoping to produce an awards show featuring all the elegance and decorum that were our imaginary hallmarks in the pre-COVID-19 era.

Then Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Just like that, everything changed.

We’ve had to beef up our make-believe security team and pay much closer attention to seating charts that don’t actually exist. It wouldn’t do for Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher to wind up at the same table, if we actually had tables.

So, with hopes of avoiding another showdown like Smith’s palm vs. Rock’s jaw, we give you the 10th annual Newby Awards, a look at everything from the wacky to the inspiring to the infuriating in the world of sports. We’ve only got one request.

No slapping, please!

BEST GAMER

If you’ve ever played a video game and wondered if your craziest move would actually work in real time, we give you Ross Chastain.

The NASCAR driver was on the verge of missing a spot in the championship finale when he remembered racing stock cars on GameCube with his brother, Chad, as a kid.

Specifically, a move where you plastered the car against the outside wall,

let go of the steering wheel and pushed the pedal to the floor.

It worked just like it did in the video game. Suddenly, on the final half-lap at the Martinsville short track, Chastain’s car looked as if it was turned up to hyper-speed while everyone else was poking along. Going at least 50 mph faster than everyone else, he passed five cars in a matter of seconds to claim the final spot in the title race.

“Played a lot of NASCAR 2005 on the GameCube with Chad growing up,” Chastain said. “I never knew if it would actually work.”

Alas, he didn’t go on to win the Cup championship. But Chastain will long be remembered for one of the most daring driving displays in NASCAR history.

PROFILE IN COURAGE

With his time as one of boxing’s most fearsome competitors behind him, Vitali Klitschko is taking on the toughest fight of his life.

Mayor of Kyiv.

The 51-year-old former heavyweight champion has showed his steely resolve while staring down a Russian invasion that has pummeled Ukraine and its capital city.

He never backed down with gloves on his hands. He shows that same resolve as a political leader, helping guide a major underdog.

“If I tried to explain to you all the challenges that I have, we (would) need weeks,” Klitschko told an

Associated Press reporter last month.

This is what a true hero looks like.

OLYMPIC CHEATING CUP

The Russians have a stranglehold on this award, displaying absolutely no regard for doping rules that might stand in the way of Olympic glory.

At the Beijing Winter Games, they were at it again.

Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old figure skating phenom, tested positive for a banned substance but was still allowed to go for the gold.

It wound up being a disgraceful display. The sad little girl buckled under all the scrutiny and criticism, failing to win a medal in women’s singles.

While Valieva’s collapse was seen as a bit of karma by those who actually follow the rules, it doesn’t figure to dissuade the

Russians and their nefarious quest for gold at the next Olympics.

CERTIFICATE OF DESPOT

We have a tie for this award.

FIFA was a lock after staging the World Cup in a Middle Eastern country that ignored human rights, mistreated migrant workers, had scant soccer history and was so hot in the summer they had to move the tournament to November and December.

Basically, FINA sent out an application with one requirement, “Show us the money!” Qatar did, and shamefully wound up with the world’s biggest sports(washing) event.

The fact that Argentina defeated France in perhaps the most thrilling final in tournament history doesn’t lessen the stench of where it was played.

But when it comes to greed, let’s not forget Phil

Mickelson & Friends at LIV Golf, an upstart tour funded by a seemingly limitless supply of money from Saudi Arabia’s repressive rulers.

Lefty acknowledged that the Saudis were “scary,” but went to work for them anyway, bringing Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith and others along for the despicable ride.

TEAM OF THE YEAR Baseball can be a very tedious game.

Try telling that to the Savannah Bananas.

The barnstorming team based in Georgia’s historic coastal city has taken the country by storm, transforming the staid ol’ national pastime into something akin to the Harlem Globetrotters with bats and gloves.

Nonstop dance routines are performed by players and coaches. The Banana Baby is presented to the crowd like Simba in the “The Lion King.”

One player takes the field on towering stilts. Others stroll through the stands, doling out roses and tossing T-shirts.

Outs are counted when a fan catches a foul ball in the stands. Showboating is encouraged at every opportunity.

Somewhere in there is a baseball game, though it can’t go longer than two hours.

“We’re not in the baseball business. We’re in the entertainment business,” says Bananas owner Jesse Cole, who is always easy to spot in his yellow tuxedo.

CLARKE

the hands of newly crowned champion Elana Mackey on Thursday at the National Tennis Centre.

“This one was a bit tougher because I was trying to balance school and everything,” said Clarke, who came home from her junior year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to continue to make her presence felt on and off the court during the holidays.

“I was able to come out and get some people to donate as we spread the word around. But while it was tough, it was still good because a lot of people came out and supported me. I had a lot of people who reached out.”

While she made a presentation of groceries for the pantry and toys already wrapped to distribute to the 20-plus children ranging in ages from nine months to 16 years, Clarke said she’s appealing to those persons who would like to make their contribution to reach out to the Children’s Emergency Hostel and inquiry what is needed the most.

Bethany Moncur, who represented the Children’s Emergency Hostel, said it’s a great initiative because they need groceries and at Christmas, the children look forward to unwrapping the presents from under the tree.

“We had a cry out for groceries and people like Sydney have stepped up and came to our rescue,” Moncur said. “We still are in need of stuff like baby wipes, baby wash and Detrol, so if people want to donate, they can do so.”

For Clarke, it’s all about completing her community service.

“Helping others is something I always like to do generally,” she insisted.

“A lot of people have helped to get me to where I am today and I just feel that although something like this seemed insignificant, I think it goes a long way in making an impact in the lives of so many people.

“Whether it’s something that is small, or it is big, it’s something I will continue to do because I enjoy doing it. It just continues to grow and get bigger in the future with many more people coming forth and lending a helping hand to assist those who are in need.”

Clarke said while she’s done playing in the tournament and giving back to the community, she will enjoy another side of her life when she participates with the Fox Hill Congo’s in both the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day junkanoo parades on Bay Street.

competition between Riley and Robinson, who won the first trials and earned the rights to participate in the Exuma Classic that will be played a week earlier.

“They played two rounds of stroke play and Devaughn and Cameron were tied after regulation and went into a sudden death playoff,” she said. “We used number one as the playoff hole. They played it even three times and on the fourth and final playoff, Devaughn bogied the fourth hole and Cameron birdied to win the qualifier.”

Three other players completed the trials with Keathan Stuart coming in third with 158 (77-81), Marcus Pratt was fourth with (81-82) 163 and Matthew Cox was fifth with (79-86) 165.

Fresh out of college at Florida A&M University where he graduated in 2021 with his degree in mechanical engineering, the 23-year-old Riley said it was a fitting tribute for him to top the field for his first representation for the Bahamas at the professional level.

“I just feel overjoyed about competing in the trials and being able to battle it out with my fellow Bahamian professional players,” Riley said.

“Being able to display the grit and determination to win makes it so much sweeter.

“To win my first professional win at home, it was just very fulfilling for me. I do think that as a kid I would be in the position that I would be in, so I’m truly blessed to be in this position.”

In pulling off the victory, Riley said he was certainly on his game and his grit, determination and

grind enabled him to persevere when it counted the most, considering that he fell short in his initial bid against Robinson.

Now that he has secured his berth for the Great Abaco Classic, Riley said there’s some fine tuning he needs to do to get ready for January. He will continue

“I definitely need to clean up my short game and also my iron game,” he said. “I need to get that a little sharper to get ready to compete with everybody

out there,” he said. “I have the distance to hit the ball off the tee. I have a very sharp mental game.

“I just need to get a little sharper on certain things to make sure that I give myself an opportunity to go out there and win it. That’s the goal. “I just want to go out there to show the world that the Bahamas has some good golf talent, and we have what it takes to play at the next level.”

In preparation for the Classic, Riley will continue to compete on the Advocates Pro Golf Association (APGA) Tour, a minoritybased tour that travels all through the United States at venues from California to New York to Florida, ensuring that all of America is covered.

After winning the initial trials for Exuma, scheduled for January 15-19, Robinson was hoping for an encore, but he congratulated Riley for pulling through for Abaco.

“To be honest, I expected to win. I didn’t perform the way I had hoped, especially in the first round and I knew that if I wasn’t, Cameron would have been tough to beat,” Robinson pointed out.

“He’s a good young player that has improved every time I see him. I’m happy for him and excited to see how far he can take this opportunity.”

Although he fell short in the trials, Robinson said not being at his best , he still managed to post some decent scores and it gives him a ton of confidence for January. “It cements the point that I don’t need my best in order to compete,” he summed up.

Both Robinson and Riley, however, contend that for them to be able to compete against the world when they come to the pair of classics, they will have to produce their A-game in order to be in contention for the respective titles.

to train at his home base in Orlando, Florida where he currently resides with his parents over the past three years.

CAMERON RILEY DEVAUGHN ROBINSON

GREGORY McKay and Sydney Clarke.

SYDNEY CLARKE

WILL SMITH, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The Tribune’s top 5 Female Athletes of the Year 2022

specialty. And to top it off, Charlton headed to Grand Bahama where she was a double medallist at the NACAC Championships, claiming a bronze in the 100m hurdles and ran the opening leg on the 4 x 100m relay team that picked up the silver.

After getting the baton from Strachan on the second leg, Charlton got to display her versatility on the final bend to help ignite Gaither in her brilliant come-from-behind performance on the home stretch where the celebrations began. Not to be left out, although she didn’t make the top list, was Printassia Johnson, who got the team off on the first leg in the revival of the women’s relay on the international scene.

Third place finisherTynia Gaither

The 29-year-old Grand Bahamian made a strong push for one of the top spots when she emerged as one of the international medal winners during what has been a banner year for female track and field athletes.

After earning the century title at the BAAA National Championships in June, Gaither made it to the semi-finals of the World Championships in Eugene in July where she ran her lifetime best of 22.41.

That seemed to have sparked her interest and rejuvenated her commitment to shine, finishing seventh in the 100m at the Commonwealth Games in August in Birmingham.

But the dual sprinter didn’t rest on her laurels as she went back home and landed, not just one, but a pair of silver medals at the NACAC Championships.

Before the home crowd at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex, Gaither didn’t disappoint the fans as she surged to her first

medal with the silver in the 200m. On that same day, she had a sensational anchor leg on the aforementioned 4 x 100m relay that brought the Bahamas from fourth to silver.

Fourth place finisherJonquel Jones

Jones, the 28-year-old Grand Bahamian 6-6 power forward, continued to shine in the Women’s National Basketball Association with the Connecticut Sun where she posted an average of 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in the 33 games she played in.

In what turned out to be another stellar individual performance in her sixth year in the league as the number six pick, Jones made her fourth WNBA All-Star game (2017, 2019 and 2021), her third AllWNBA second team (2017 and 2019) and her first WNBA All-Defensive second team.

After the season was completed, Jones left the United States to reunite with her teammates with UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian League.

Jones ended up joining the Turkish team Cukurova Basketbol, which participates in the Women’s Basketball Super League and she’s a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team that she participated for in the EuroBasket Women’s Tournament.

Fifth place finisherAnthonique Strachan Her decision to remain in Jamaica to train with the MVP Track Club has paid off for the 29-year-old Strachan, who showed flashes of her old self when she was named the IAAF’s Rising Star in 2012.

Shaking off a series of injuries that hindered her progress in between those years, Strachan became the seventh Bahamian female to dip under the 11-second barrier in the 100m when she clocked 10.98 in the

Although

Strachan,

representative

Joining

semi-finals at the World Championships in Eugene in July.

she didn’t complete the year as she did in her most impressive year in 2012 when she earned the sweep of the Under20 World Championships’

100m and 200m, Strachan closed out the year on the podium with her fellow members of the 4 x 100m team at the NACAC Championships in Grand Bahama in August.

who already serves as the athletes’

for the BAAA, was elected to serve as one of the Members-At-Large for the NACAC Athletes’ Commission during the NACAC Championships.

Strachan on the board are O’Dayne

Richards of Jamaica, who was elected to serve as the chairperson, along with Jehue Gordon from Trinidad & Tobago, Ayanna Morgan from Barbados, William Leer from the United States of America and Kurt Felix of Grenada.

Triple crown

Shaunae Miller-Uibo The Tribune’s Female Athlete of the Year 2022

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With another triple crown to her ledger, Bahamian quarter-miler Shaunae Miller-Uibo emerged as The Tribune’s 2022 Female Athlete of the Year.

As sports returned to full strength on the international scene after the two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 28-year-old MillerUibo produced three major championship feats that enabled her 6-foot, 1-inch frame to stand out among the rest of the Bahamian female athletes.

Another dominating figure, Jonquel Jones would have emerged at number two on the top five list, but she had to follow the trend in track and field that saw some defining moments from the diminutive hurdler Devynne Charlton and sprinter Tynia Gaither.

Sprinter Anthonique Strachan, regaining glimpses of her younger self on the world stage, capped off the year, controlled by track and field athletes with the fifth spot and some added recognition off the track as a spokesperson.

ChampionShaunae Miller-Uibo After bringing her teammates to a training camp in January, Miller-Uibo returned to the World Indoor Championships for some unfinished business.

Miller-Uibo snatched her first gold medal in the 400 metres in 50.31 seconds in Belgrade, Serbia on March 19 to improve on the bronze she achieved in her initial appearance in 2014 in Sopot, Poland.

She accomplished another first at the first World Championships to be held in the United States in Eugene, Oregon on July 22 to snatch her first gold in 49.11 – adding to a pair of silver medals and a fourth place in the 400 and a bronze and fourth in the 200 in four previous championships from 2013.

And to top off her year, Miller-Uibo came home, albeit in Grand Bahama, for her successful debut at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships (NACAC) with a meet record breaking performance of 49.40 on August 20.

She was named as one of the 10 nominees by the international panel of athletics experts for World Athletics’ 2022 Women’s Athlete of the Year.

She fell short in the voting process but was one

of three athletes added to the recreation of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s Legends Walk of Fame outside the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. The other two were Strachan and men’s quarter-miler Steven Gardiner.

Runner-upDevynne Charlton

Back at full strength in her first full season on the international scene, Devynne Charlton emerged during the spotlight that was placed on the women’s 100m hurdles with Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan

leading the way with a quadruple feat at the World, Diamond League, Commonwealth Games and African Championships, while establishing a world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals at the World Championships.

The 27-year-old Charlton had a record-breaking performance of her own when she lowered the Bahamian women’s national 100m hurdles mark to 12.60 with her victory at the BAAA Nationals in June at the

Analysis: In wide-open NBA, uncertainty is only certainty

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) — There was a time when an NBA team had some sense of how things were shaping up by Christmas. Even if just a glimmer of its place in the overall landscape.

Then the Boston Celtics made a run to the 2022 NBA Finals after being under .500 about this time last year.

Nobody is feeling too cozy this winter in the injury-riddled NBA.

“I don’t know if you can make any sense of anything nowadays,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

Going into Tuesday’s games, Boston sits atop the Eastern Conference while Denver leads the West. But both races could simply depend on who heals the

fastest or who can stay the healthiest.

The reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors are missing Stephen Curry (shoulder), the Los Angeles Lakers are without Anthony Davis (foot) and the Minnesota Timberwolves are minus Karl-Anthony Towns (calf).

The Phoenix Suns might be down Devin Booker for a bit after he reaggravated his groin Sunday, and Domantas Sabonis is dayto-day with a hand injury as the Sacramento Kings try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06.

Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum has the Celtics humming along, and Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic is threatening to join Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird as the only players to win three consecutive

CAMERON RILEY QUALIFIES FOR GREAT ABACO CLASSIC

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN his second appearance on the Bahamas Professional Golf Association fresh from his initial season on the professional circuit, Grand Bahamian Cameron Riley emerged as the champion of the Korn Kerry qualifier for the Great Abaco Classic.

Riley won the rights to represent the Bahamas in the Classic at the Abaco Club January 22-29 after he beat out Devaughn Robinson in a playoff during the trials that was held at the Royal Blue Club at Baha Mar on December 20.

After the duo completed the one-day trial with a one-under-par 143, Riley clinched the title on the fourth hole after they started the sudden death showdown on the first hole.

It was an improvement for Riley, who finished third as Robinson captured the qualifier in November at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island.

BPGA president Raquel Riley said it was a good

SYDNEY CLARKE DONATES TO CHILDREN’S HOSTEL

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The performance came after Charlton earned

first World Athletics’ Indoor Championships with her silver in March.

Following her trip home, Charlton had to settle for seventh at the World Championships in July where she dropped her previous national record to 12.53.

From there, Charlton went on to ascend the podium again at the Commonwealth Games with another silver in her

ALTHOUGH she was coming off her loss in the final of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s 2022 Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals, Sydney Clarke was quite upbeat as she showed up with a car full of food items and presents at the Children’s Hostel for her third consecutive Christmas giveaway.

The event was held on Friday, one day after Clarke relinquished her title in a stunning 6-2, 7-5 defeat at

Chargers reach playoffs, beat Foles and Colts 20-3

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS

(AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers tried to keep their postgame playoff celebration private.

No such luck. After shaking hands and walking off the field in Indianapolis, players jogged through a tunnel to blaring music, highfives and hugs and headed into a first-time locker room scene for many of these Chargers — a playoff party.

let’s go win it!” one player screamed before reporters were allowed into the locker room.

The bash included second-year coach Brandon Staley handing a game ball to owner Dean Spanos, whose organisation earned its second playoff spot since 2014, a little less than a year after a brutal overtime loss at Las Vegas in last season’s finale game kept LA out of the postseason.

MVP awards. Despite those two playing some of the best basketball in the NBA, injuries have led to some early season chaos.

Four teams are within three games of the

first-place Celtics in the East, and eight clubs are within four games of No. 1 Denver in the West. “The talent and skill levels may

Austin Ekeler scored on two 1-yard runs and Los Angeles clinched its first postseason berth since 2018, intercepting Nick Foles three times to beat the overmatched Colts 20-3 on Monday night. “We’re in it, now

Justin Herbert threw for 235 yards and Cameron Dicker made two short field goals for the Chargers (9-6), who won their third straight after getting the help they needed this weekend from Las Vegas, Miami, New England and the

Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

her

SHAUNAE Miller-Uibo celebrates after winning the final of the women’s 400-metre run at the World Athletics Championships on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon. As she tacked on the final piece missing from her glaring crown, Miller-Uibo completed what she called her final global 400 metres by finally adding the World Championships title to her illustrious career that now has her pegged as one of the greatest ever. (AP Photo)

DENVER Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic, left, works the ball inside to the rim as Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul defends in overtime on Sunday in Denver.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

JONQUEL JONES

SHOWN, from left to right, are Anthonique Strachan, Tynia Gaither and Devynne Charlton.