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VOLUME:118 No.27, DECEMBER 31, 2020

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Police shoot man who ‘pulled gun’ One suspect killed and three more on the loose, say officers

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE-involved shooting yesterday left one man dead and three suspects on the loose.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash told reporters at the scene that sometime after 12.15pm, police officers received information about several individuals who were assembled at Second Street.

“They were in possession of (a) firearm,” he said. “After the officer got to the scene, they found several individuals, four in

number, fitting the description as given earlier to the officers. When the officers approached the individual, three of the persons ran.

The fourth person engaged the officers – produced a weapon. The officers in turn fired at the individual… subsequently causing fatal injuries.

“We have already contacted Madam Coroner who came to the scene. She has examined the scene with us. We’re going to be forwarding the police information at a much later date to Her Majesty’s Coroner for an inquest.”

SEE PAGE TWO

he was arraigned in connection with the January 14 death of Kino Kelly. It was claimed the 33-year-old intentionally and unlawfully caused Kelly’s death by means of unlawful harm.

Hunter denied committing the murder. His trial was reportedly set for 2018, but the outcome of it is unclear.

Meanwhile, Archer’s family said he was not a criminal and suggested he may have been killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

SEE PAGE THREE

L SOUR CE

UNION ANGER AT CHANGE IN ATLANTIS GRATUITIES

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE hotel union’s president has accused Atlantis of trying to financially “break the backs” of employees after it decided to unilaterally change how gratuities are paid.

Darrin Woods, Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union president, told The Tribune yesterday that food and beverage department workers were “up in arms” over the mega resort’s decision to pay “extra” gratuity bi-weekly, instead of at the end of every shift.

The change also means that these gratuities are subject to taxes, Mr Woods said.

SEE PAGE FIVE

FRONT PORCH

MURDER ACCUSED ONE OF TWO MEN GUNNED DOWN

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

TWO men, including one who was charged with murder, were found shot dead in the Pitt Road area yesterday.

The victims were identified by relatives as Calvin Archer, 32, and Amal Hunter, 33.

Tribune archives reveal that Hunter was wanted in March 2014 in connection with the murder of Carlos Colebrook.

Then in January 2017,

$1

AND THE PERSON OF THE YEAR IS...

PAGE EIGHT

INVESTIGATORS on the scene of yesterday’s police-involved shooting that left one man dead.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

PLP VICE-CHAIRMAN BETHEL DIES, AGED 57

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY, friends and political colleagues yesterday paid tribute to Progressive Liberal Party vice-chairman Terence Bethel, who died suddenly at his home on Wednesday morning at the age of 57.

A relative described his death as sudden, saying that he did not have COVID19 or any other illness that they knew of.

PLP chairman Fred Mitchell in a statement released yesterday, said the

TERENCE BETHEL party is mourning the death of a treasured friend and brother, who “was a pillar of strength to the PLP”.

“This is stunning, shattering and sad,” he said. “One day, I had hoped he would

have the opportunity to serve in the front line. He was full of strength, energy and ideas and loved to teach the young the ways of the country and the party.

“Sadly, we have lost another repository of our country and party’s history and traditions. I trusted him implicitly. He was the go-to man for me personal, business and official. A sharp mind.”

Mr Mitchell also spoke of Mr Bethel’s many accomplishments, noting the two shared a close kinship.

SEE PAGE FIVE

‘IS LUCAYAN REALLY READY TO REOPEN?’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Lucayan’s February 1 re-opening threatens to inflict more losses on Bahamian taxpayers because it lacks the “three legs” required to sustain its revival, a hotelier is warning.

Magnus Alnebeck, the nearby Pelican Bay resort’s general manager, told Tribune Business that the Government and its Grand Lucayan Board have yet to reveal whether a hotel operator has been hired to manage the property or if marketing and airlift initiatives have been readied.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

COURT TO CONSIDER OIL SUBMISSIONS TODAY STATESIDE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

LAWYERS representing environmental activists, the government and Bahamas Petroleum Company tussled over applications seeking judicial review of BPC’s exploratory oil drilling during a Supreme Court hearing yesterday.

Justice Petra HannaWeekes said she will consider their submissions today and return

a judgment as soon as possible.

BPC’s drilling of Perseverance #1 began on Sunday, December 20, about 90 miles west of Andros and is expected to be completed within 45 to 60 days.

Yesterday’s hearing considered environmentalists’ application for leave for judicial review, their motion seeking to amend that application to add the Town Planning Committee

as a party to the proceedings and their application seeking a stay of drilling activities pending the judicial review.

Attorney Fred Smith, QC, represents Waterkeepers Bahamas in the case. He insisted that to be granted leave for judicial review proceedings, the bar he must meet is low.

The court, he said, must simply be convinced that his application “is not frivolous SEE PAGE SEVEN

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

TIME FOR BIDEN TO CALL OUT TRUMP?

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Thursday, December 31, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Police shoot man who ‘pulled gun’

THE SCENE of yesterday’s police-involved shooting that left one man dead.

Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff from page one When asked if the victim fired at the officers, ACP Cash answered: “All I can tell you is that the suspect produced a weapon on the officers, as a result they returned fire at the suspect.”

Police said a firearm was recovered from the scene.

As for whether the suspect was known to police, he said the Royal Bahamas Police Force did not have any identity for the suspect at the time.

As for a description of the three who ran away, ACP said: “I don’t have a full description of those suspects as yet, but what I would want to do is appeal to members of the public who live in this area or who may have been travelling

the area at the time as should they have information to please feel free to contact the police at our police emergency number 911 or 919.”

He said no officers were injured, but could not be certain as to whether the police wore their body cams at the time of the shooting.

Asked if there was a dashcam on the police car, ACP Cash said he wasn’t certain of that information at the time.

“All that forms a part of the investigation and as the investigation progresses, I’ll be able to release what other additional information we have.”

Asked about the number of officers involved in the incident, he told reporters he couldn’t disclose that information.

OFFICERS cordon off the scene yesterday.

SEARCH IS ON FOR OVERDUE MAKO VESSEL AN ongoing search and rescue mission is underway for an overdue vessel which departed Bimini with several people on board earlier this week.

The search is being conducted by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Search and Rescue Unit, the Royal Bahamas Police Force Marine Division, BASRA and United States Coast Guard.

The 29ft Mako vessel departed Freeport, Grand Bahama with eight to ten occupants and was last seen leaving Bimini on Tuesday morning, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force said.

The boat was heading to Florida, USA. “Aerial and maritime searches along the coast lines, ocean waters, nearby cays and reefs are currently being conducted without success thus far,” the RBDF said. “Community persons have also taken part in the search and are encouraged to keep their eyes open for the vessel.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, December 31, 2020, PAGE 3

Murder accused one of two men gunned down from page one Speaking to reporters on the scene, Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash said police received a call of a shooting incident shortly after 7.30am. Once the officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the lifeless bodies of two men – one victim believed to be in his early 30s and the other in his late 20s.

“One was lying in the street and the other was lying beyond me in the yard,” he said.

“It’s a bit early in the investigation, so we don’t have all the circumstances surrounding these shootings….I can tell you now that one of the victims is known to us and, of course, we are looking at his victimology and hopefully by examining his victimology we may be able to share a little more to the media.

“I can speak to one of the victims that we suspect that he is involved in gang activities and also small drug peddling.”

Some K-9 dogs were on the scene as well.

Despite a spate of violence, ACP Cash said society’s “upright and upstanding people” should not live in fear.

“We will assure the community that we are up and we are about and we will protect you as much as possible. But what we want to say to people in our society, those upright and upstanding people, that there’s no need to fear.

“You would find that in most of our incidents and our cases we find that persons are involved in acts of criminalities.”

Asked about retaliation fears, he said: “When we conduct an investigation, we look at all aspects of the investigation and particularly when we look at

A BODY is taken from the scene in Pitt Road yesterday. the victimology of persons.

We consider whether or not there will be retaliation and if that is found so then we know the players and, of course, we will deploy our policing strategy to circumvent any additional retaliation.”

Meanwhile Patricia Evans, Archer’s mother, said with tears rolling down her cheeks that her son was not known to police and “just got killed for going to see his child”.

“He just sought this morning to look for his son,” she told The

Tribune. “He goes to the Pitt because his child lives through the Pitt and hasn’t seen CJ in must be two or three days…..He got up getting ready to go to work.

He was waiting for his ride to pick him up. His toolbox is still outside.

“I was up early this morning and I dozed back off to sleep because normally I’ll be up when he’s up and I dozed back off to sleep and when I hear a lot of gunshots. So I look through my room window and I pitch up and hear my other son say ‘Cally’.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff “I pitch up and bust open the door and I say where Calvin is. He said ‘Mum, Calvin just gone through the Pitt. He gone to see CJ.’ So he broke off running through the Pitt and as I was about to come someone else met me they say ‘Mummy, that’s Cally’.

I couldn’t even tell you what my son had on this morning because I missed him this morning and normally I would see him every morning.”

She recalled trying to find Archer’s son as she was told he was there when his

father was killed.

“I went through there. I was told that he was there when his daddy was shot and he sit there. They said they had to move him from his daddy. I could only imagine what he is going through to see his daddy in the road like that and I went there looking for him, but I didn’t see him. Police wouldn’t allow me to go through and I sent someone to tell him to come to me. I haven’t seen him as yet,” Ms Evans said.

After speaking to this

newspaper, her teen grandson appeared. The two embraced and cried together for a while. She added that Archer was not affiliated with any gang and was not a nuisance to society, but he was a humble person.

“He don’t have no bunch of people come hang up.

He don’t hang out. Calvin go to work and come home.

“He has a humble spirit.

You have to really do something to him to get him angry and agitated. Calvin bothers no one,” she said.

‘I SPENT CHRISTMAS FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FOR the first time in his life, Valentino Obainyear was forced to spend Christmas away from his family after COVID-19 left him in hospital battling for his life during the festive season.

As families gathered this Christmas holiday in keeping with COVID-19 protocols, Mr Obainyear lay in a hospital bed alone and on a ventilator, battling just to see another day.

“It attacked everything in me,” he told The Tribune yesterday from his hospital bed.

“I had all of the symptoms.

I had the upset stomach and then it extended to fever. I had loss of sense and smell everything.”

The 62-year-old said he initially planned to spend a quiet Christmas with his children and grandchildren as was previously done in pre-COVID times.

However, those plans changed after he tested positive for the infectious disease on Christmas Eve and was later admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital.

“I was diagnosed last week, it was the day before

Christmas,” he told The Tribune. “What happened was I thought it was just a regular cold and the feeling gone and you (would) be back to normal, but I didn’t know it was COVID. “I don’t know how I contracted it. I was taking vitamin B, I was taking zinc, multivitamins and I stayed away from people, but still caught it. I had to go to the hospital and they did the test and said ‘you have COVID’ and then I thought if you had COVID and you took some pills, but it ain’t like that at all.

“This is the sort of (virus) that will destroy you out if you allow it. It isn’t nothing to play with. It’s real and it would attack you and (Tuesday) I felt really bad, but I’m feeling much better today.”

Mr Obainyear, a technical engineer at ZNS, told The Tribune he continues to improve daily, attributing his prayers to God for helping him fight the virus.

He also credits family and friends for helping him to keep a positive attitude during this difficult time.

“God has been good to me,” he said. “I have my co-workers who call me to

check on me, my grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

People here locally and my friends in New York call on me constantly, all hours of the night just praying for me so that I get better. They encouraged me,” he said.

The New Providence resident said while his battle with COVID-19 is far from over, he is determined to win and have a successful recovery.

He said: “I’m fighting and if you don’t fight, it will take you out. That’s how serious it is. I’m still fighting right now as we speak and it ain’t gone say ‘let me give him a break’. It’s constantly after me so I have to keep fighting.”

Asked if he thought he would be discharged from the hospital before the new year, Mr Bainyear said he was not sure, but hoped to return home soon.

He has urged people to take this disease seriously.

“You have to take this COVID very very seriously,” said Mr Obainyear.

“A lot of people look around and feel as though it wouldn’t happen to them, it will happen to other people.

But this COVID is real and it will attack you.

VALENTINO OBAINYEAR “A lot of people talking (negative) about the vaccine saying the vaccine is this and the vaccine is that but it’s not until you get it

that you’d wish you had it.”

On Tuesday, COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 7,857 after an additional 11 cases were recorded.

Of those cases, 1,411 are still active. There have also been 170 virus related deaths, with 20 still under investigation.

WRAP UP WELL - THERE’S A COLD START TO THE NEW YEAR

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

THE weather outside won’t be frightful as the popular Christmas tune goes, but delightful for most Bahamians as they will definitely have to pull out those blankets come Monday morning when

temperatures will drop, putting a chill in the air.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Meteorology Basil Dean, it will be a bit breezy over the next few days.

Mr Dean said: “We received many calls on this today.

“In fact, someone called me from Turks and Caicos asking about the weather.

There will be some breeze over the next couple of days, but nothing to the level that warrants any special warning.

“We have a front going through on Sunday night late and the winds behind that aren’t that strong, however there are some strong winds in the Eastern Caribbean around Puerto Rico. “They will

have about two days with 20 to 30 knot winds, but it will be pushing southward so that will not affect us.”

Mr Dean, a chief meteorologist, predicts that there will be no more than 15 to 25 knot winds in the Central and South Eastern Bahamas.

Those winds, he said, are what Bahamians are

experiencing right now.

The winds are not going to get much higher than the predicted 15 to 25 knots, he said.

Asked about the temperatures, he said they will drop early next week.

He continued: “There will be a noticeable drop in temperature.

“We are looking at mid-sixties (degrees) for

us and in Grand Bahama they will probably get low sixties.

“The daytime highs will be in the low to mid-seventies behind the front.

The front goes through late Sunday night to early Monday morning and the drop in temperature will come in on Monday to Tuesday for a couple of days.”

PAGE 4, Thursday, December 31, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

The Bahamas faced a year of loss from COVID

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE first case of coronavirus, a 61-year-old woman from New Providence, was reported in March.

That case, and those that followed, opened a Pandora’s box of uncertainty for Bahamians in every sector of society, leaving the nation facing “urgent challenges” as Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis put it.

Since then, three things remain certain: we have been left astounded by the number of lives ended by the respiratory virus, surprised by the political fallout COVID-19 ushered in and we were ultimately left unprepared for the hardship that was forced onto thousands of people.

The toughest pill to swallow in the midst of this crisis has been the lives lost to COVID-19. To date, health officials say 170 people have been casualties of the easily spread disease – 170 families left grieving.

Not only has this grief struck those in politics, but it has devastated most notably those in the health care sector who have dedicated their lives on the front lines fighting this battle.

Kimberly Johnson-Rolle, the sister of Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson, was the country’s first COVID-19 death. The Bimini resident died in late March after she was airlifted to Nassau due to complications from the virus. She had travelled to Florida and complained of chest pains upon her return home and went to the Bimini clinic.

She died not long after arriving in Nassau.

The tight-knit Bimini community was left in shock, but those closest to the first victim were crushed.

Her daughter, Kotekennya Rolle-Edgecombe said in a Facebook post at the time: “I’m still in shock and my heart feels crushed…

Words will never be able to express my love for you, and how much I will miss you.

“My heart is shattered.

But some of your last words to me was ‘just pray Kotes’.

I will teach my children like you taught me to pray and trust God.” Days later, on April 4, Dr Judson Eneas’ death rocked the medical fraternity.

The 72-year-old’s wife was unable to say goodbye to her husband of nearly 50 years.

On Tuesday, March 31, Dr Eneas was taken to hospital after his condition

began to decline. He suffered through symptoms of the virus for several days prior to his death, according to his nephew. By Thursday of that week, the veteran nephrologist - kidney specialist - was placed on a ventilator. He died just two days later.

He was the country’s first doctor to die from COVID19 and the fifth virus fatality at the time.

Dr Eneas, identified by healthcare officials as case #18, had no history of travel, but was linked to a previous case who had also been hospitalised.

Dr Eneas’ wife Marcheta sent a voice note to family members from quarantine, saying she believed her husband’s death was “God’s perfect plan”. She added she was saddened by this turn of events.

“I am not angry, I’m not angry at all. I’m sad.

The saddest thing is that I couldn’t go to the hospital and say goodbye to him last night and I’m also quarantined and not allowed to leave the house,” she said.

We are also reminded of the heartbreaking voice note an ailing nurse sent to loved ones describing her ordeal as she fought COVID-19 in a clinic.

Nurse Bernadette Rolle, at one point expressed hope that she would overcome the disease, saying: “…I out of the worst, I out of the worst (sic).”

But instead she died on Friday, August 21—one of ten people whose death from COVID-19 was confirmed that week.

In the recording, Nurse Rolle said the difficulty she felt breathing and eating was “scary”, likening her battle with COVID-19 to a rollercoaster ride.

“It’s just, oh my God,” she said breathlessly.

The mother-of-two worked at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and was being treated at the South Beach Clinic when she died.

She said in the audio that another nurse prayed with her and reminded her that she had to fight for her children.

Nurse Rolle lost the battle.

RESIGNATION

The COVID-19 pandemic was not short on controversy with a wellliked political figure having to resign in a fast-moving situation that no one expected to end the way it did.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis accepted the resignation of Dr Duane

Sands from the post of health minister on May 4.

“I thank him for his service to The Bahamas, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will make a further statement on this matter (today), including on who will serve as minister of health,” Dr Minnis said in a brief statement.

The Elizabeth MP offered his resignation to Dr Minnis for his actions related to six permanent residents who landed in the country with COVID-19 testing supplies and were allowed to quarantine at home before they produced a negative COVID-19 test result.

Some Bahamians were initially angry over the episode because hundreds who had wanted to return to the country had been stuck abroad at the time.

Dr Minnis said protocol was breached during the episode.

Though Dr Sands said days prior that he would not resign from Cabinet over the affair, he ultimately did just that.

“I refer to the unfortunate controversy surrounding the delivery of COVID-19 test swabs and the landing of permanent residents under what you have termed a breach of protocol regulating the entry to the Bahamas

by Bahamian citizens and permanent residents under Emergency (COVID-19) Regulations,” he said in a letter to Dr Minnis, which was posted to the Elizabeth MP’s Facebook page.

“I accept responsibility for this breach of protocol.

I acknowledge that I acted outside of the scope of my authority in this matter.

My actions were guided by my great desire to obtain the much-needed testing swabs which are in short supply both here and internationally and which are key to our efforts to trace the spread of the coronavirus so as to better focus our responses. I acted at all times in good faith.

resorts

“Nevertheless, I acknowledge that my actions have caused embarrassment for which I express sincere regret. We continue in the midst of a most serious pandemic when focused attention should be trained only on how best the spread of COVID-19 might be slowed and eventually be stopped. I believe that my continued presence in the Cabinet may serve as a distraction from our effort and hence I offer my resignation from your Cabinet.

I thank you for the opportunity to serve our great country.”

Former Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe connected Dr Sands with donors who supplied 2,500 test swabs that cost $11,250, prompting an effort by the former health minister to get the swabs here.

Dr Sands got approval from Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar for a N-578GC aircraft to deliver the supplies to the country.

He then got approval from Immigration Director Clarence Russell for the passengers.

Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells went on to

intended to pay staff a fraction of their salaries during the difficult time.

“Every single hotel if they have not so declared (that they are shutting down), are probably heading in that direction as the world closes its borders and shuts down,” Mr D’Aguilar said yesterday.

“This is going to be grim.”

The government and National Insurance DR JUDSON Board colENEAS AND lectively NURSE spent BERNADETTE almost ROLLE $150m on sucsupporting ceed Dr jobless BahaSands as minister of mians throughout health.

In August, Dr Sands told the COVID-19 pandemic a local radio host the situa- and the food distribution tion was never expected to task force was birthed as another arm of assistance get this far.

“I believe that this was for those in need.

As economist and something that got away,” he told Wendell Jones. Fidelity Bank Bahamas Officer and “This was never intended Executive to rise to this level and Director Gowon Bowe put there was a certain antici- it yesterday, Bahamians pated set of optics, that must view 2020 as a lesson.

He said: “COVID-19 a letter of resignation is tendered, it’s refused, it’s highlighted several things: nice and tidy and we move we do have a significant dependence on tourism and on.”

At the time, he said Dr I don’t think it’s an incorMinnis asked him to resign. rect dependency but it is what we have the greatest natural resources in, but we have to be very COVID-19 has also methodical and delibercaused widespread ate in how we exploit our natural resources and how hardship.

The country’s major we prepare for unforeseen hotels shut down in March circumstances.

“COVID-19 has also left because of the coronavirus crisis and temporarily laid us uncertain about when off staff, with Tourism Min- we’ll be able to act normal ister Dionisio D’Aguilar again.

“It was a sobering year. saying the unemployment rate at the time was prob- It was one that we should ably above 30 percent and not see as being the end of an era and saying it will expected to grow.

Baha Mar, Sandals, destroy us. It is one of those Atlantis and the Melia things that if it doesn’t kill resorts all announced their you will make you stronger planned suspension of and we have to learn a operations. Some of the lesson from it.”

ECONOMY

45 HAITIANS CHARGED IN COURT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FORTY-FIVE Haitian nationals apprehended during a recent interdiction operation on Long Island were charged with illegal landing in the Magistrate’s Court this week.

The migrants appeared before Magistrate JoyAnn Ferguson-Pratt in Long Island. Twenty-two men and one woman were sentenced to six months in prison.

One additional woman who was charged with deceit of a public officer and illegal landing was sentenced to one year and

six months in prison to run concurrently.

The remaining 21 adult migrants pleaded guilty to illegal landing and were granted a conditional discharge. The judge ordered them deported at the earliest opportunity.

According to officials, direct repatriation from Long Island through Exuma is currently being arranged onboard a Bahamasair flight.

During an interdiction operation in Andros this week, 52 Haitian migrants, including 45 men and seven women, were discovered at Mars Bay. The group was expected

to appear before the magistrate yesterday.

These latest interdiction operations on Long Island and Andros resulted in the apprehension and arrest of nearly 100 illegal Haitians.

The Long Island operation was headed by Chief Immigration Officer Harold Thurston, officer-incharge of the Enforcement Unit, and the Mars Bay operation was headed by Superintendent of Immigration Stephen Laroda, officer-in-charge of the Anti-Corruption Unit and his team. Both teams were assisted by officers of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, December 31, 2020, PAGE 5

Union anger at change in Atlantis gratuities from page one When contacted, an Atlantis spokesperson said the resort “is actively in discussions with our team members to amicably address the matter”.

The Tribune understands the resort has on two occasions sent communication to the union that there were plans to handle gratuity differently.

Mr Woods admitted that the hotel’s position was made known, but he said it was objected to as neither the workers nor the

union agreed.

“They are unilaterally making some changes over there to the food and beverage area where the persons are no longer able to get their extra gratuity at the end of the night,” the union chief said in an interview.

“The employees are up in arms about this because if you know the history of gratuity, it is for service rendered and people always say if you give good service people will pay additional sums of money,” Mr Woods said.

“So, here now you have

persons because they’ve given good service, they are given extra gratuity and now management has decided that instead of them being able to receive these monies they now have to wait two weeks in order to get it because again they’ve unilaterally changed their terms and conditions to every two weeks.

“The extra gratuity was always used as a bridge that they could buy this or that or buy food, put gas in their cars and do things for their children. Now they have to wait a whole two weeks

protocols were enacted immediately.”

The mega resort, which reopened earlier this month after being closed since March, said it is committed to providing a safe environment for everyone. Atlantis workers are tested weekly for COVID-19.

“Our team members’ and guests’ health and safety are and will always remain our highest priority. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to reduce the risk of exposure at the resort, Atlantis has implemented health and safety

protocols in partnership with local medical experts and Cleveland Clinic to make the greatest efforts to deliver a healthy, safe and secure environment.

“These protocols include mandatory daily health screenings, thermal temperature checks at all entry points, and weekly team member testing (sixth-day test) in collaboration with local public health and medical experts. Everyone is required to wear face masks properly, and physical distancing measures are in place. Team members

ONE ATLANTIS CASINO WORKER TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID THE Atlantis resort on Paradise Island said one casino worker tested positive for COVID-19 more than two weeks ago, dispelling social media reports that claimed 10 of its workers had the disease.

“The report of 10 casino team members testing positive for COVID-19 is untrue,” the resort said in a statement responding to questions from The Tribune.

“One casino team member tested positive over two weeks ago, and COVID-19 response

before they can get it and now the gratuity is subject to whatever tax.

“The employees are up in arms because their thing is that the employer does not care about their well-being and the way they are able to continue to have some form of peace at night.”

While both the workers and union object to the change, Mr Woods said this did not mean they were ungrateful for their jobs after not working for months due to COVID-19.

“What is amazing is it seems that because they

were offered a job, they ought to be grateful to work because they have been without work for a long time. They are happy and grateful to be back to work, but people also want to work with comfort and a peace of mind,” he said.

Asked whether the union was left in the dark over the move, Mr Woods said: “They sent us a communication that this is what they were going to do. We said this cannot be done because a part of gratuity and the distribution of it has to be agreed with the union and the employee

RAPID antigen testing for Atlantis workers yesterday. are required to follow health and safety protocols, even when leaving the resort.”

The employee who tested positive has to abide

by local public health protocols, which includes 14-day quarantine, and follow their medical provider’s instructions, the resort said.

and the union does not agree and the employee does not agree.

“They say this is industry standard but there is nowhere in the industry this is being done. This is a company policy.

“We see it as a way to try and break the backs of workers by holding them back financially.”

The resort welcomed its workers back on the job earlier this month after closing its doors in March due to a decline in guests as a result of travel restrictions in response to the COVID19 pandemic.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh “The team member must provide a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 Test and a doctor’s note stating they are in good health to return to work.”

PLP VICE-CHAIRMAN BETHEL DIES, AGED 57 from page one

JOHANNA, Francesca and Richard Broughton.

BROUGHTON FAMILY REACH OUT TO HELP THOSE IN NEED

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

WHILE the COVID-19 pandemic brought lots of bad news and tragedy this year, it was also a time for the spirit of goodwill to shine.

With thousands of people losing their jobs due to business shutdowns and travel restrictions, the need for food and other supplies was great. Many of those who were fortunate to still have jobs and an income took it upon themselves to help where they could.

Attorneys Richard and Lucia Broughton and their children were some of those people. They rolled up their sleeves during the pandemic and assisted those in need.

The Tribune contacted Mrs Broughton to speak with her about her charitable deeds, but she had to be convinced as she said they preferred their good deeds to remain out of the limelight.

Mrs Broughton spoke of how it all started: “When we had the lockdown, people were saying that they were hungry and they could not get to the store and the lockdown was so soon and so we just went about helping them.

First of all I posted that if anyone needed something they should let us know and they started messaging me and we just rallied the kids together, as they were home on break from the pandemic, we got some groceries together and started some deliveries.”

When things were really

rough for many people in the country who were out of work due to the pandemic, the Broughtons used social media to find out their needs and got to work helping them for many weeks. As the song goes they “had a little help from their friends”.

She continued: “Five weeks during the most critical times when everything was shut down, it wasn’t just us, there were a lot of people who offered clothes, milk for babies. Dr (Duane) Sands’ wife, for example, had extra diapers and formula for newborns and a number of people just volunteered and gave stuff.

“We had stuff in our pantry and we were able to get some items delivered and we also ordered some things. There were people who had surplus items in their pantry and they got their stuff together and they either dropped them to us or we collected the items from them and we were able to package them and get them delivered.”

Mrs Broughton said they assisted people all over New Providence.

She explained: “We just made the post public on Facebook and one person after the other answered so we were all over. We were in Pinewood, in Bain Town, we were in the back by Joe Farrington Road; we were down by Cowpen Road.

So wherever people were, we just got them to send us their location on WhatsApp and I delivered. At first it was just my daughter and me delivering and then I put the three kids, we have two daughters and one son,

to do the deliveries.

“So we made a list and they would deliver the food. I was kind of hoping to get a food bank started, but when work started again, all of that got left behind. But I am still going to work on that. It’s still an idea to be pursued because there is definitely going to be a need for people to be sustained beyond this.”

She said Bahamians have been suffering economically for a while and the pandemic has only exposed the inequalities many face.

The food donations were a group effort, she said.

“There was actually another couple that was doing deliveries as well – Stacey and Dr Dwight Marshall. Sometimes we would meet up as I might have had some items that she needed and she would reach out to me. We would meet up and once or twice just to share some items so she could supply the people that she was assisting and vice versa.

“A lot of people pitched in. Our housekeeper was also very helpful with sorting items to pre-pack in bags for distribution. Her name is Sherona Bartley.”

In the end Mrs Broughton said it was really her children who were the superstars of their charitable acts. She said she did not have the luxury to go around delivering the groceries herself for several hours a day, so they had to be her “hands and feet.” She said when the children went back to school things dried up, but promised that she will forge ahead with her food bank.

“He was with me in the formation of PDF, when we delivered the state of the judiciary under the fig tree when we burned the constitution, when we formed the National Heroes Day Committee, when we formed the Men’s Branch of the PLP.” PLP Leader Phillip “Brave” Davis remembered Mr Bethel yesterday as a strong PLP supporter who was devoted to his country. He said Mr Bethel was an aspiring candidate for the Marathon constituency and believed in the party’s message.

“Terrence was a trusted, reliable and competent political ally and friend, fully committed to and

supportive of my reform measures... His life was full of purpose and selfless service to others though cut short, barely in the prime of his life,” he said, while extending condolences to the family.

“It is not for me to question the plan of God, but to thank him for loaning Terence Bethel to us for the short time he sojourned with us. We thank Terence for his service to our party. He will remain in our hearts and thoughts as we who remain shoulder on in our noble fight for the soul and future of this beloved country.”

Tributes also poured out on social media by family members and close friends, who said he will be deeply missed.

“I will never forget

Terence,” said one friend on Facebook. “He convinced me that I could when I thought I couldn’t, and through his seemingly endless gifts of time and support I became an ACCA member. I loved our chats, which were usually humorous, but always enlightening and educational, at least for me…. I will miss you, dear friend.”

His sister, Carla Bethel Edwards said his death has dealt a blow to the family, adding they will miss him “ tremendously.”

She told The Tribune yesterday “Terry” was a devoted son and beloved brother.

“He was well respected and a pillar in our family.

His passing leaves a great void in our hearts, we will miss him tremendously.”

PAGE 6, Thursday, December 31, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Clarity is key in police shootings EARLIER this year, we wrote in this column with concern about a police shooting.

In July, members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force opened fire on a man and killed him. Then they told no one about it. It took three days for authorities to confirm that a policeinvolved killing took place – prompting Englerston MP Glenys Hanna-Martin to declare the delay “totally unacceptable” and “very concerning”.

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle apologised at the time for a miscommunication.

Today, we report in more timely fashion on another police shooting.

This time we are told that police officers were told about a group assembled at Second Street. Assistant Commissioner Solomon Cash says there were four men there who had a gun. Three ran. One, police tell us, produced a weapon. Officers fired at him and killed him.

ACP Cash said he wasn’t certain whether police wore their body cams.

That is crucial information that should be revealed in short order – and should not require a long delay to confirm.

After all, if officers now have body cams and are not wearing them, then what did we buy them for?

ACP Cash could also not answer whether there was a dashcam on the police car. Again, this is not information that should take long to check.

ACP Cash could not even tell reporters how many officers were involved in the incident.

Everything about this incident may have been conducted by the book, but clarity in such incidents is crucial.

Officers have taken the life of a civilian. They may absolutely have been justified in doing so. No one doubts the danger that officers face on the streets, and the split second decisions that have

to be made to ensure they go home at night.

But in such cases, police should be as forthcoming as possible, giving every piece of information they can to avoid even the appearance of any doubt.

It is early in this investigation – and some of those details are doubtless still being checked. That said, confirmation of whether there were police cameras recording the incident should be available very quickly. Let it be made clear to all what happened in this shooting – and let that be the pattern going forward.

Bahamian heroes In today’s Front Porch column, our columnist salutes their choice as Person of the Year – Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis.

To that, we would add in this column a salute of our own.

In this most difficult of all years, we would not name just one person – but rather every single member of Bahamian society who kept things going.

We salute the doctors, the nurses, the janitors, the hospital staff.

We salute the gas station attendants, the supermarket shelf stackers, the bag packers, the checkout assistants.

We salute the security guards now finding themselves with an extra task of checking people’s temperatures and distributing sanitisers at shop entrances.

We salute the fast food workers, the delivery staff.

We especially salute those who in their own time helped to pack boxes of food to take to those who needed them most.

When The Bahamas called, these people answered, and we thank each and every one.

Time to end open casket viewings EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE United States Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, is where deceased prominent American political, judicial and military figures are laid in state, as a way of honouring them for their distinguished service to the nation.

Based on my reckoning, a total of 32 political, military and judicial figures have lain in state at the Rotunda, inclusive of 12 US presidents - with President Abraham Lincoln being the first president to receive the honour.

Additionally, only four American citizens, who were not politicians, nor were members of the military and judicial systems, have lain in honour in the Rotunda: the Reverend Billy Graham, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and officers Jacob J Chestnut, Jr, and John M Gibson.

Based on what I’ve seen,

the Americans don’t often practice public viewings of the remains of their fallen iconic figures, preferring instead to have their flag draped coffins on the Lincoln Catafalque.

Granted, Lincoln’s remains were allowed to be seen by thousands of mourning Americans in the Rotunda – but that was 155 years ago.

On the grim subject of thanatology, Americans have evolved since the death of Lincoln in 1865.

I stand to be corrected, but it would appear that Lincoln’s was the only true public viewing on Capitol Hill, with the possible exception being President William McKinley in 1901.

Being copycats of the Americans, the Bahamian political directorate has followed suit by having their fallen political comrades to lie in state in the foyer of the House of Assembly.

It would appear that each individual who has served

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in the Upper and Lower chambers of Parliament, no matter how brief their tenure was, is afforded this privilege.

The one difference between the Americans and Bahamians, however, is that the latter has added the morbid feature of open casket viewings, which I believe helps to contribute to a macabre atmosphere in a country already wallowing in a culture of death, especially in Nassau, the murder capital of The Bahamas.

No, I am not afraid of death or dead people.

According to 2 Timothy 1:10, Jesus Christ has abolished death. Evangelical Christians have absolutely nothing to fear. Having said that, as a Bahamian taxpayer, I would prefer closed casket viewings with the Bahamian flag draped on the caskets in the House of Assembly moving forward.

If the family members of the deceased want a public viewing, then let them do it at the church where the eulogy will be preached.

Bahamians should no longer be forced to foot the bill of this grim spectacle.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama.

December 14, 2020.

2020 - Annus Mirabilis EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE year 2020 will long be remembered, mostly from a negative point, so long as The Bahamas continues to exist. It was a year that may be termed annus mirabilis (a miracle year).

I readily concede that one would hardly wish to refer to 2020 as a miracle year because for many it was not.

In 2019 we experienced the wrath of hurricane Dorian. Either the administration was totally unprepared for it or the recovery and rebuild efforts have fallen far short of what would have been expected.

Then we were buffeted by the arrival of the COVID19 pandemic and even now we are not yet out of the woods as it relates to this deadly disease.

We have the ongoing debate about citizenship and nationality for children born in The Bahamas to foreign or undocumented parents. There are also apparently discriminatory elements in some proposed legislation viz-a-viz the Fisheries Amendment Bill (2020) and the Gaming Tax Act. It would appear also that as a nation we do not have a cohesive and recognisable economic or fiscal plan for our people. Yes, my fellow Bahamians, on the surface it does not look too good.

One of the biggest problems we have here at home is that whenever one praises a political party or gives credit to a politician that either one is labeled as a PLP or an FNM. It seems to be impossible to just be accepted as a genuine and sincere critic or supporter. As we go into 2021 this bogus stance has got to change if we are to make 2021 the best year since corned beef and grits.

The appointments of some individuals to the disaster and recovery efforts following Dorian by the Prime Minister were not, in my opinion, good ones.

More engineers and hands on individuals should have been appointed, especially for Abaco and Grand Bahama. There should have been better and more accurate financial oversight of the donations and government funds that were/ have been allocated.

It is remarkable that to this very day, a year and more after Dorian that we still do not have audited financial statements from the relevant bodies tasked with the recovery and rebuilding efforts. No one is suggesting that anybody carried any monies or supplies, but we all know just how some of our people operate.

Dr Minnis and his party were surprised by their electoral win in 2017. The vast sweep of seats was also surprising to them and most political observers, myself included. In short, they were unprepared for high office initially. As events are playing/have been played out over the past

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net three years and counting there have been some serious missteps that could have been avoided.

Apart from the ill-suited persons tasked with the recovery and rebuilding efforts following Dorian, the swift increase in Value Added Tax did not go down too well with the bulk of the lowest income/wage earners, where they still exist. This may have been needed, but it was never really explained in ordinary language. Strike number one. Dorian was/is number two.

Number three is the rushed purchase of the Grand Lucayan over in Free Port. Most of us agree that something had to be done with that once fabled resort before it fell into a grave state of disrepair. I advised the administration not to make a purchase, but that if it did get rid of the same in short order. Too much time was being taken before the unexpected arrival of the pandemic.

Now, it is clear that the proposed buyer, the Carnival Group, is either having second thoughts or is seeking to exact even more concessions from the administration. In the meantime a portion of that property is slated to reopen under the guidance of a lawyer with absolutely no hotel management much less operational experience.

They are unable to dispose of The Light House Club in Andros now they will run a multi-million dollar resort?

Only in The Bahamas could this occur.

Number four is clearly the emergence of what might appear to be discriminatory practices. In opposition and as President of The Bahamas Bar Association, the Hon. brother Elsworth Johnson (FNMYamacraw) was very vocal in defending the human rights aspects of Bahamian born children/young adults and others detained at The Detention Centre. He was wont to regularly blast the then PLP government and he was right, in my view to do so.

Once in office, however, his tune and dance have changed beyond recognition. Not a dammed piece of legislation has been brought, so far, to regularize what is now a human rights issue and one of morality.

Persons in this category will continue to remain in limbo as this is not a priority for Johnson or his cabinet and parliamentary colleagues.

Are there any wolves in sheep’s clothing in this administration?

Fifthly we see what appears to be an unconstitutional piece of legislation in the form of the Fisheries Bill Amendment Act (2020) which has been passed by both the House of Assembly and the rubber stamp Senate. It has yet to be assented to by the

Governor General or published in the Gazette.

This Bill makes it unlawful for a commercial fishing operation in The Bahamas to hire a foreign born spouse of a Bahamian (especially our females).

This posture is contrary to the Bahamas Independence Order and our assorted Immigration Laws, especially for those with spousal permits to work and earn a living. The FNM under brother the Rt Hon Hubert Alexander Ingraham was a caring and progressive administration.

It was while he held sway that we saw a referendum, even though it failed, that sought to give our Bahamian sisters and brothers equal rights under the law of the land. Minnis is a good man, I am sure and he has to mean well, but there appears to be a disconnection with what he and his administration say today, but do differently tomorrow. Ingraham is retired and seldom makes public political remarks.

He has now done so and spoken out against the discriminatory posture of the Fisheries Bill.

Sixthly, in opposition, the FNM appeared to take a stance against gaming by the web stores and the legalisation of wagering by Bahamians. In fact there was even a referendum (some say opinion poll) that rejected, massively, both questions, inter alia. Brother Christie, et al, ignored the results and moved legislation to do what had been rejected by parliamentary means. The FNM pledged to revisit the gaming industry once in office.

They did just that and allowed branches of the approved operators to be opened all over the place with impunity. Today Bahamians are gambling more than ever before especially with the economic losses incurred by the pandemic.

A financially challenged FNM administration is seeking to wring every single available dollar out of the lower classes of Bahamians by imposing another tax, which appears discriminatory, on the black masses while leaving the foreign casino wagers untaxed.

2020 on balance has been a rough and tough year for the bulk of our people.

Many died during Dorian’s passage and scores more died at the height of the pandemic. Had it not been for The Lord Jesus Christ the rest of us would not have survived 2020.

I pray that the PM and his team will get it right in 2021 for the coming year will, indeed, be the times that try men’s souls. The New Deal PLP under the laser focused and stellar leadership on the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis (PLP-Cat Island) stellar stands in the gap to assume office if Minnis and crew continue to falter.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, December 29, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, December 31, 2020, PAGE 7

Court to consider oil submissions today from page one (and) not vexatious” and that the applicants “simply have an arguable case and that Waterkeepers are not busybodies who shouldn’t be before the court.”

Reflecting on the “mountain” of documents filed in the case, Mr Smith said this helped show how important the matter is.

“The court is not immune from also seeing a lot of the media attention that has been focused on this and obviously it is a matter of great public importance,” he said.

“The court is not today here to mine this mountain of legal papers. We are not here to have a trial. Waterkeepers have a very, very low threshold to meet (to secure leave for judicial review).”

The crux of Mr Smith’s argument was that although BPC was given a license by the executive branch of government to explore for oil, that license does not allow the company to ignore various statutory requirements for such projects.

He said: “The applicants are simply asking the court to have regard to the laws passed by Parliament in the Planning and Subdivision Act, in the Environmental Health Services Act, in the

THE STENA IceMAX drillship.

Archipelagic Waters (and Maritime Jurisdiction Act), the MARPOL convention which the government has signed on to, under the relevant Merchant Shipping Prevention of Oil Pollution Act, etc, the Conservation and Protection of the Physical Landscape Act…all of these pieces of legislation are required by parliament to be complied with by the government and by BPC before they actually poke a hole into mother nature as they are doing now…The court will decide whether the legislation does apply or not. If the court finds that those pieces of legislation do apply, then the next very simple question is, does BPC have those licenses?”

Last week, Justice

Hanna-Weekes said that because the applicants’ application was brought out of time, she was minded to refuse one part of their application which relates to the decisions the government made in February and April authorising the drilling.

The government’s lead lawyer, Aiden Casey, QC, argued in support of refusing this part of the environmentalists’ application, citing a recent Privy Council ruling denying leave for judicial review when applicants failed to act promptly in a matter of public interest.

He added that without permission to review the February and April decisions, there is little left to

PROBATION FOR ATTACK ON SECURITY GUARD

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 54-YEAR-OLD man who broke a door while assaulting a security officer at Domino’s Pizza was put on probation yesterday for six months. The incident occurred after the man became upset that the pizza chain did not have the toppings he wanted and security tried to escort him out.

Daniel Pyfrom was arrested after he caused $513.50 worth of damage to the door of Domino’s Pizza in the Harbour Bay Plaza on December 24. The prosecution said the accused committed the act after hitting the pizza place’s security guard with a piece of wood.

The court was told that on the day in question, Pyfrom came in and got into an argument with the manager. The manager asked the store’s security officer to escort him out. The prosecution said Pyfrom resisted which caused the guard to use force to remove him.

The court was told that the security guard then tried to close the door with a piece of wood. Still Pyfrom refused to move his hand off the door and eventually grabbed the piece of wood and hit the security officer and the door.

During the hearing, the accused was represented by attorney Devard Francis.

He told the magistrate that his client only reacted the way he did because when

TEENAGER DENIED BAIL FOR ROBBERY

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGER has been sent to prison for allegedly robbing a food store earlier this week.

Malcolm Rolle, 18, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes, accused of using a gun to rob a cashier at Variety Food Store on December 17.

The prosecution alleged that the accused also assaulted a police officer and attempted to escape lawful custody when he was arrested 10 days later on December 27.

Due to the nature of the

armed robbery charge, Rolle was not required to enter a plea. As a result, his case was adjourned to March 19, 2021 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

During the arraignment, the accused also denied the other two allegations. That case was also adjourned to March 19 for trial. Rolle told the magistrate that he was beaten in police custody and wanted to receive medical attention for chest pain.

Magistrate Forbes said he would make a note of his complaints and arrange for him to be examined while in custody at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

STASH KEPT IN MAN’S SOCKS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who stashed marijuana in his socks was yesterday ordered to attend drug counseling classes for a year.

Perez Hepburn, 32, was arrested after officers found three small packs of Indian hemp in his socks on December 29.

He pleaded guilty to one count of simple possession during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

The court officers went to Hepburn’s residence around

7.20pm on December 29.

They then approached the accused and told him he would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms.

During their investigation, officers found the drugs stashed in his socks.

In court Hepburn told the magistrate that he had been smoking for nine years, but usually kept his supply at home.

Magistrate Forbes told him that ignorance was no excuse for breaking the law.

He subsequently ordered Hepburn to attend drug counseling for 12 months or risk spending three months in prison.

the security officer started to use force, he “hit Rolle with the piece of wood”.

He noted that the accused had not wasted the court’s time and insisted he was remorseful for his actions.

Pyfrom told the court that he had had a “couple of shots” that night and was upset after the manager said they didn’t have all of the toppings he wanted on his veggie pizza.

Magistrate Forbes told him the appropriate response would have been to walk out. He placed Pyfrom on six months’ probation and ordered him to be of good behaviour during that time. He warned Pyfrom that if he wasn’t, he would be sentenced to one month behind bars.

the applicants’ action.

“It leaves very little in the application and leaves nothing of any substance,” he said. “Shorn of the attack of that central decision, what is left we submit is a case which becomes devoid of merit largely for that reason.”

Mr Smith invited the judge to view the government’s decisions in February, April, August and November as part of a process leading to BPC’s drilling activity.

“They are a continuum and should be seen in that light,” he said.

Mr Casey said: “We would agree with Mr Smith that the applicants’ applications do indeed all relate back to February 2020 and that’s an appropriate way of characterising it. We say that militates against the applicants in terms of delay.

February 2020 is the gravamen of this case and this application, not events in November 2020 for example in which it is said that well, items of details needed to be changed, such as the identity of certain pieces of the equipment…If you look at those in isolation, there’s no real meaning to the case, there’s no reviewable decision. The reviewable decision was, potentially, the grant of the environmental authorisation back

in 2020.”

Mr Casey argued that the environmentalists did not have a strong reason for delaying their application but made a tactical decision not to bring an earlier challenge because they believed BPC would not raise enough money to begin exploratory drilling.

On the application to stay drilling, Mr Casey said that too is “fatally undermined” by the applicants’ delay in the case.

“This brings in with full force the observations of the Privy Council in the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea case,” he said.

“Even if my lady was minded to grant leave, it is quite clear that a grant of a stay would produce delay to this project of public importance, unnecessary delay we say because it could’ve been avoided by the applicants acting properly and that alone is a matter injurious to the public’s interest.”

Mr Casey said the applicants are wrong to frame the case as though it is about drilling for oil, extracting oil and the environmental considerations arising from this.

“It isn’t,” he said. “The license granted to BPC is an exploratory license and the environmental authorisation…is actually very narrow in its permission

to drill one exploratory well which…once it’s been drilled…will be capped and abandoned.

This well will never serve for the extraction of oil. We submit that it is a matter of public importance for the government and the people of The Bahamas to know whether there are here possible oil reserves and the purpose of an exploratory exercise of this nature is to then allow an informed decision to be taken as to whether the reserves should be exploited and it doesn’t follow from the fact that exploration is permitted that drilling for oil will ever be permitted.”

Mr Casey also argued that if the court granted a stay of drilling, there is risk that BPC will choose not to be involved in exploring oil and that other commercial entities will adopt the same view.

“That really is illustrative of the extremity of the delay in this case,” he said. “For the applicants to sit back and let BPC progress as far as it has done and then ask the court for a stay, creates a situation where the grant of the order carries a real risk that in the future operators might be very weary of getting involved in oil exploration offshore in The Bahamas.”

MAN JAILED OVER GUN

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 21-YEAR-OLD man who was found with an unlicensed gun that he claimed he planned to sell was yesterday sentenced to 13 months in prison.

Police arrested Jonathan Armbrister, 21, after they found a black Austrian Glock 22 in his car on December 28.

He pleaded guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

The prosecution said

that night, officers conducting static duties on West Bay Street observed the accused driving a black Honda Fit. They then beckoned for him to stop and told him they suspected he had dangerous drugs and firearms.

While searching Armbister’s car, officers found the weapon in addition to a black magazine with 14 unfired rounds of .40 ammunition in the back passenger seat of the vehicle. Armbrister was subsequently arrested and taken to a nearby station where he admitted to the offences in an interview with police.

When asked why he had the weapon during the hearing, Armbrister told the magistrate that he was “going to sell it”.

Magistrate Forbes said he considered Armbrister’s early guilty plea and the fact that he cooperated with officers from the onset of the investigation, however, he noted that two people were just gunned down early Wednesday morning and said it appeared as if there was a “proliferation” of such crimes happening in recent times.

As a result, he sentenced Armbrister to 13 months on remand.

PAGE 8, Thursday, December 31, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

PERSON OF THE YEAR Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis’s spirit of courage and fortitude

D

R. MERCELINE Dahl-Regis, O.D., does not suffer fools or viruses gladly.

When COVID-19, the worst global public health pandemic in approximately 100 years struck and rapidly spread around the world, the Bahamas needed expert, clear and steady leadership to combat the deadly and highly infectious contagion.

The country required of this leadership a spirit of courage and fortitude, an unyielding resilience capable of confronting one of the worst crises in the nation’s history.

One of the master leadership lessons associated with President Abraham Lincoln, especially in a time of crisis, is the critical need to find the right leader cum general to execute the right strategy to achieve success.

During the U.S. Civil War, though the Union Army enjoyed many advantages, it failed to assemble the military leadership required. Lincoln changed the army’s command structure and replaced a succession of generals before finally selecting Ulysses S. Grant, who helped the Northern states to win the War. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, as were other global leaders, cast in the role of a Lincoln.

In Dr. Dahl-Regis, the prime minister found his Grant, whom he quickly appointed as the Government’s COVID-19 Task Force Coordinator and as

his Special Adviser. She is now only his Special Adviser.

Dr. Dahl-Regis’s expertise and experience made her ideal for one of the toughest assignments in her distinguished and exemplary career.

While Drs. Minnis and Dahl-Regis are quite different personalities, they enjoy a common fierce patriotism, a Caribbean sensibility and a deep lifelong commitment to caring for life. The former delivered many children as an obstetrician and the latter cared for as many children as a paediatrician.

As the virus inevitably made its way to the Bahamas, the prime minister and his special adviser shared something else: a theory of the case.

Because of his experience as a medical doctor and as Minister of Health, and because of her vast expertise in public health, including many years as Chief Medical Officer, a degree in

public health from Johns Hopkins University and her work and longstanding connections with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the two doctors grasped the depth of the emerging threat and its possible consequences.

By contrast, a number of other world leaders remained uncertain or dithered or panicked or ignored the threat. While he tried to regain the momentum in the U.K. against the disease, at the outset, according to the Independent, Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “ … Notoriously skipped the first meetings of the government’s Cobra emergencies committee to consider the novel disease, and then delayed lockdown for weeks after other European countries, boasting of how he was continuing to shake hands with Covid patients even as he was relaying experts’ warnings of the need for hand-washing and social distance.”

At home, Drs. Minnis and Dahl-Regis began to prepare the country for battle. The pandemic, including a punishing second wave, would test the mettle and fortitude of both.

While Dr. Minnis had to lead a full government response, he needed Dahl-Regis to adroitly and aggressively lead the health response. She instilled confidence and a sense of can-do, especially during very dark days.

During the second wave, the worst days of the pandemic thus far, when the daily cases were in triple

FRONT PORCH PERSON OF THE YEAR: Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis.

digits, the health care infrastructure was under tremendous strain, more Bahamians were dying and fear and anxiety continued to mount, Dr. Dahl-Regis’s resolve, and the contact tracing system she put in place and the team she led made all the difference.

Dr. Merceline DahlRegis is a singular national hero! Along with other medical professionals, she has helped to save many lives during the pandemic, which will continue for some months to come. She has played a pivotal role.

What made Dr. DahlRegis’s leadership compelling is her extraordinary confidence and resolve, gained from a lifetime of knowledge and experience, as well as many natural talents, including a gifted mind and an outstanding capacity for organizing and administration.

But there is also a treasury of personal qualities: compassion, boundless generosity, warmth, steely perseverance, inexhaustible confidence, humility with a touch of delightful imperiousness at times, a sense of humour and other gifts of her human spirit.

Fastidious and careful, she does not brook indiscipline, laziness, incompetence or excusemaking from colleagues from whom she demands the best. She is also kind, but does not suffer gladly the foolish narrowness or petty mind-sets of puffed up bureaucrats jealously guarding their turfs.

Though deeply respectful of authority, she has no problem putting cabinet ministers, senior public officers and self-important officials in their proverbial place if necessary.

Dr. Dahl-Regis rewards her associates with treats ranging from coco plums from her yard to donuts to all sorts of tasty treats. She is an exceptional cook. Yet, she rewards her subordinates with even more.

She has been described by some as an engaging and encouraging mentor who thrills in cultivating and honing talent. She is neither jealous nor intimidated by the talents of others, a defining quality for mentor leaders.

Few Bahamians know much about the woman, with the melodic cadence, command of the facts and at times mischievous twinkle in her eyes, who often dismissed some of the foolish and self-important questions from the press with aplomb and agility.

A PAHO profile of her observes: “Early in her career, she recognized the vital role of primary health care and universal access to clean water, sanitation, good nutrition and vaccines, and dedicated her work to ensuring the health and well-being of people throughout the Americas and beyond.”

Merceline Dahl-Regis

grew up travelling to Cat Island and Long Island, where she spent some summers with an aunt who was a nurse, which helped to spark her interest in the welfare of others, especially in the area of public health. She gained a love of the Family Islands, another trait she shares with the prime minister.

She is the eldest of six siblings and hails from an accomplished family, where education was deeply valued. Teaching and the pursuit of knowledge run in the family.

For more than 20 years, her late brother Dr. Anthony (Tony) Dahl taught at Spellman College where he “served on the

“While Dr. Minnis had to lead a full government response, he needed DahlRegis to adroitly and aggressively lead the health response.

She instilled confidence and a sense of can-do, especially during very dark days.” faculty in the Department of World Languages and Literature, and as department chair on two separate occasions.”

Dr. Dahl-Regis “completed a residency in paediatrics at Howard University, where she subsequently accepted a faculty position.” While at Howard she worked with developmentally challenged individuals and gained a keen interest in preventative care.

Two of her sisters, Anne Dahl-Smith and Dr. Iva Dahl also served as educators. Both of Dr. Dahl-Regis’s sons are medical doctors.

She was one of the first Bahamian women to become a medical doctor, earning her medical degree from the University of West Indies in the 1960s.

She returned home from the United States to take up appointment as CMO in 1997.

She made transformational changes, some of which proved critical during the pandemic, including capacity building in a number of areas.

She also played an important role in reducing infant mortality and established the Adolescent Health Care Centre, which offered a comprehensive and holistic approach to adolescent development.

Dr. Dahl-Regis blended her commitment to the Bahamas with a fierce commitment to regional and global public health, recognizing that diseases

and viruses respect no borders.

“In 2010, Dahl-Regis was appointed to chair an international expert committee responsible for verifying the elimination of measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in the Americas. In 2016, the committee declared the Americas free of endemic measles, following a 22-year vaccination drive.”

In 2018, Dahl-Regis was presented with the PAHO Public Health Hero of the Americas Award. PAHO noted of her at the time: “Dr. Dahl-Regis spearheaded a variety of ground-breaking health initiatives in the region.

She was a strong advocate for maternal and child health services, working tirelessly with PAHO’s Latin American and Caribbean Center for Perinatology, Women and Reproductive Health, to ensure improvements in these areas.

“Thanks, in great part, to her outstanding leadership, tireless commitment and holistic understanding of specific country needs and realities, during her tenure the Americas became the first region in the world to be declared free of measles and rubella.

“As well as her work leading efforts towards the elimination of vaccine preventable diseases, Dr. Dahl-Regis’ career was also distinguished by her contribution to the success of the dual Elimination Initiative, which seeks to prevent mother-to-child transmission of syphilis and HIV.” When she was named the PAHO Public Health Hero of the Americas, she was just the second Caribbean national and the first Caribbean woman to receive this prestigious award.

What she declared at that time are sentiments she would likely offer now: “This recognition of the work I have done in public health does not belong to me alone. I could not have done it without the contributions of so many, particularly of the health care workers in the field, the staff at all levels, my family, my friends, and lots of faith and prayers.”

It was fortuitous, a special grace and a national fortune to have someone of her caliber, resolve and loving compassion to help lead the Bahamas during some of the most difficult days in the country’s history.

The pandemic has no doubt drained Dr. DahlRegis physically and emotionally but she is an indefatigable spirit, a remarkable human being and a Bahamian patriot.

She is also this column’s Person of the Year.

As noted in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “[We] can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, December 31, 2020, PAGE 9

US President Donald Trump.

LINCOLN PROJECT CONSERVATIVES REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING A NEW PARTY

US President-elect Joe Biden.

Time for Biden to call out Trump?

A

CANADIAN friend was commenting the other day about the goings-on in Washington, DC, just three weeks before Joe Biden will be sworn in as America’s new president and Donald Trump will grudgingly depart the White House.

“What utter childishness!” he exclaimed. “I know that politicians all over the world often behave badly. But this circus around Trump being such a stupendously sore loser and Biden being so slow to rise to the bait… It’s just about the craziest scene I have ever observed.”

People all over the US are being forced to conjure the image of Trump sitting in the White House – when he’s not out playing golf – plotting everything from

baseless Supreme Court challenges to military coups to suing his own vice president to force Mike Pence to disallow Senate ratification of the November electoral college results.

It does rather defy imagination.

But in contrast, in order to be acting presidential, Biden has responded rather passively.

He is methodically completing the complicated process of assembling his new cabinet and

occasionally hosting masked press availabilities.

That’s fine. He should be doing that.

Biden knows he is playing a potentially losing hand with Congress, since his Democratic Party’s working majority in the House of Representatives was significantly reduced in November’s election and few are projecting a Democratic sweep in Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections coming up on Tuesday.

If the Dems don’t win

both races, the Republicans will still control the Senate.

So Biden will have to carefully navigate numerous land mines littering the landscape on Capitol Hill to get anything done once he is sworn in as president And the specter looms of a political beating for him in the 2022 congressional by-elections.

That’s what happened to both Barack Obama and Trump in the first election after they won the presidency.

It’s understandable that Biden is pushing a conciliatory line toward the GOP and its scores of national and local elected officials who are clearly afraid of the awesome vengeance of a president Donald Trump if he believes they have displayed insufficient allegiance to him.

But seriously. Wouldn’t it be satisfying if Biden stopped modulating himself and called out Trump for his almost inconceivably childish, truculent behaviour?

It would give great heart and encouragement to the 81 million American voters who gave him his victory on November 3.

And considering that Trump is at his core basically a schoolyard bully, how better to quiet him than to forcefully stand up to him? It might be worth a try.

WASHINGTON AND GEORGIA SET FOR FIREWORKS

N

EXT week promises more fireworks, both in Washington and in Georgia. The Senate runoff election is set for Tuesday in the Peach State, with incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue facing Democratic challengers.

Loeffler, who was appointed to her seat by the Georgia governor just a year ago, is competing in a Senate election for the first time.

She is fairly easy to stereotype as just another wealthy plutocrat living in her enormous Atlanta mansion counting her and her husband’s wealth.

Her opponent in this WWE-style tag team grudge match is the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who holds the senior pastor’s position at Martin Luther King’s world-famous Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Warnock and his tag-team partner, entrepreneur Jon Ossoff, are both the grateful beneficiaries of the phenomenal voter registration success orchestrated in Georgia for the past two years by former state senate minority leader Stacey Abrams.

Ossoff, who is 33 years old and white but had a close professional relationship with Georgia civil rights icon John Lewis, has broken fundraising records for a Senate race. But despite his entrepreneurial success and rapid political rise, Ossoff is a clear underdog.

Ossoff’s opponent is 71-year-old David Perdue, an incumbent seeking his second Senate term. Perdue has a resume reminiscent of Mitt Romney’s private sector prowess as a management consultant and “corporate turnaround” specialist. He was a vice president at Reebok and

FROM LEFT: Senator Kelly Loeffler, Democratic nominee the Rev Raphael Warnock, Senator David Perdue and Democratic nominee Jon Ossoff. (AP Photos) CEO of the vast network of Dollar General stores.

Both Loeffler and Perdue are trying to walk a tightrope erected and now being jiggled by Trump as he stews in the White House.

Fearful of alienating Trump’s many loyal Georgia followers, these Republicans have aligned themselves with Trump’s calls for the resignation of the Republican governor of Georgia and its Republican secretary of state, whose sin was failing to overturn the November election results which gave Georgia’s 16 electoral votes to a Democrat for the first time since 1992.

The Republican incumbents are also both dogged by charges that they profited by insider trading in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The polls are inconclusive. So what else is new? The polls have muffed the last two national elections, and the big national pollsters

don’t generally pay too much attention to state races. While there is a lot of publicity around these Georgia races, to predict Tuesday’s outcome with certainty would be foolish.

As Georgians are bombarded with unprecedented waves of advertising from all candidates, though, they must certainly be ready for this latest election to be concluded.

In Washington on Wednesday next week, Congress will meet in joint session to count the electoral votes. The Vice President, as President of the Senate, is the presiding officer. Tellers open, present, and record the votes of the States in alphabetical order.

Trump allies in the House of Representatives are posturing about a “big” protest during this largely ceremonial occasion. Maybe they will disrupt the proceedings and further embarrass the country.

Hopefully not.

A sign that the GOP can move past this president is House Republican Liz Cheney’s acknowledgement that Joe Biden will indeed be the next American president.

Cheney, daughter of the former vice president, third ranking Republican in the House and a present and future force in her party, said in November that “if the President cannot prove these fraud claims or demonstrate that they would change the election result, he should fulfill his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States by respecting the sanctity of our electoral process.”

Cheney has stuck to her guns this month, and even Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has urged Trump and his rapid supporters not to disgrace Wednesday’s ceremony by mounting pointless protests.

It will be interesting to see what next week brings.

As Republicans writhe and struggle with Trump’s behaviour, there is speculation that what began with the Lincoln Project may lead further.

Lincoln was the brainchild of a group of establishment conservative Republicans who watched Trump’s scandalous conduct and betrayal of many traditional conservative values and mounted a well-funded effort to help depose him.

Lincoln Project attack ads against the president were among the most potent in November’s election campaign.

Yet it is clear that even after his defeat, Trump commands loyalty from millions of Republicans. This has the Lincoln conservatives worried, to the point that they are reportedly considering forming an independent party that would threaten the traditional Democrat-Republican party duopoly in American politics.

A Lincoln strategist recently told the New York Times that “there is still no home in the GOP for Republicans committed to representative government, truth and the rule of law, nor is one likely to emerge anytime soon. What’s next for Republicans who reject their party’s attempts to incinerate the Constitution in the service of one man’s authoritarian power grabs?

“The answer is that we must further develop an intellectual and political home, for now, outside of any party.

“From there, we can continue working with other Americans to defeat Mr. Trump’s heirs, help offer unifying leadership to the country and, if the Republican Party continues on its current path, launch our own party to challenge it directly.”

While third parties have significantly impacted American national elections from time to time, this has proven to be the exception rather than the rule.

But the continuing challenge to Trump and his party control does present interesting possibilities for the months and years ahead.

And as Republican leaders grapple with this internal fractiousness, they may be heartened to watch Joe Biden try to tame an aggressive, popular wing in the Democratic Party epitomized by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

These progressives aren’t known for their patience.

We can probably expect lots of infighting in both parties in 2021.

Happy New Year!

PAGE 10, Thursday, December 31, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

A VEHICLE destroyed in a Christmas Day explosion remains on the street yesterday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP

GIRLFRIEND WARNED THAT MAN WAS MAKING BOMBS NASHVILLE, Tennessee Associated Press

MORE than a year before Anthony Warner detonated a bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas, officers visited his home after his girlfriend told police he was building bombs in an RV trailer at his residence, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. But they did not make contact with him, or see inside his RV. Officers were called to Pamela Perry’s home in Nashville on August 21, 2019, following a report from her attorney that she was making suicidal threats while sitting on her front porch with firearms, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

ANTHONY QUINN WARNER According to the incident report, when officers arrived, police said she had two unloaded pistols beside her on the porch. She told them the guns belonged to “Tony Warner” and she did not want them in the house any longer. Perry, then 62, was then transported for a

psychological evaluation after speaking to mental health professionals on the phone.

The report says police went to Warner’s home, about 1.5 miles from Perry’s home, but he didn’t answer the door when they knocked repeatedly. They saw the RV in the backyard, the report said, but the yard was fenced off and officers couldn’t see inside the vehicle.

The report said there also were “several security cameras and wires attached to an alarm sign on the front door” of the home. Officers then notified supervisors and detectives.

“They saw no evidence of a crime and had no authority to enter his home or fenced property,” the police statement said.

Law enforcement officials did not publicly release the report, but instead it was revealed only after news outlets submitted public records requests. Later, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that Warner’s only arrest was for a 1978 marijuana-related charge.

David Rausch, the TBI’s director, had told reporters earlier this week that Warner was not on their radar. Rausch was flanked by federal and state officials who did not object or amend the statement.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake later told reporters Wednesday that he didn’t learn of the report until late Sunday evening, but said he believed his officers that there was no probable cause for a search warrant.

“I believe the officers did everything they could legally. Maybe they could have followed up more, hindsight is 20/20,” Drake said, adding that Warner had a “squeaky clean” background outside of the decades-old marijuana charge.

News that Warner’s former girlfriend had tried to alert authorities he may have been building bombs came as federal agents were continuing to examine Warner’s digital footprint and writings, a law enforcement official said.

Investigators are also scrutinising whether Warner believed in multiple conspiracy theories after being told by some of the people they’ve interviewed that Warner believed that shape-shifting reptiles

BLACK LEADERS WEIGH NEXT STEPS AFTER 2020 DETROIT Associated Press AS A barrier-breaking year draws to a close, there’s one undeniable fact: the strength of Black political power.

Black voters were a critical part of the coalition that clinched President-elect Joe Biden’s White House bid. The nation will swear in its first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent as vice president, Sen Kamala Harris, who herself may be a leading presidential candidate in four years. And as the global push for racial justice continues, Congress is set to welcome several new Black, progressive freshmen next year.

But while Black political and civil rights leaders see opportunity to work with a Biden-Harris administration to build upon the momentum created in 2020, they acknowledge the road ahead won’t be easy given the makeup of Washington and a narrowly divided Congress.

This was a year in which America experienced a racial awakening, fueled by longstanding racial inequities and structural racism laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic’s disparate impact on Black Americans. But Black leaders believe next year will be one that defines the trajectory of America and whether the nation has truly learned from the racism embedded deeply in its history.

“What I think we need to do now is support this new administration that seems to have leadership as a part of his agenda,” said House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a close ally of Biden. “We are where we are today because of

VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT KAMALA HARRIS a lack of leadership and I think that Joe Biden has demonstrated in his articulations that he’s prepared to provide the kind of leadership that we need.”

Biden’s decisive win was seen in part as a repudiation of the racist rhetoric of President Donald Trump.

But activists and civil rights leaders believe years of grassroots organizing helped bring about Biden’s victory and they intend to seek a return on their investment.

The NAACP has urged Biden to consider creating a new Cabinet-level position focused on racial justice, equity and advancement.

Derrick Johnson, the NAACP’s president and CEO, said it would be a bold action with potential to yield significant results.

“Trump is a symptom to a larger problem that has gone unaddressed in this country for decades,” Johnson said. “The NAACP specifically takes

the position that if you state a priority for your administration, someone must own that portfolio for the entirety of the administration and be accountable for delivering on a commitment. And one of the things that was promised was the issue of racial equity being addressed.”

Biden has faced intense pressure to create a diverse Cabinet that is not only representative of America but able to implement tangible policies. Clyburn has publicly urged Biden to include more Black men and women in his administration.

“You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression,” Clyburn said, before adding, “It was not a good impression.”

Biden has named a handful of Black leaders to his Cabinet, including Rep. Marcia Fudge to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development and retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as defense secretary. But Clyburn said opportunity

remains for him to appoint more, including as attorney general.

In recent weeks, Biden and his transition teams have held meetings with various civil rights leaders and grassroots activists, who have pledged to hold him accountable for promises made during the campaign.

Maurice Mitchell, a national director of the Working Families Party, was one of ten who met recently with Treasury pick Janet Yellen to discuss racial and economic justice.

Mitchell said Yellen made a commitment to repairing historical harms that have been inflicted upon Black and other communities of colour.

“They’ve expressed a willingness to engage with advocates and organizers, so we’re going to hold them to that,” said Mitchell, who is also a Movement for Black Lives strategist.

“A lot of Black people are suffering and if we don’t go forward and keep this momentum and keep our focus on structural change, we will be missing a significant opportunity.”

The Movement for Black Lives plans next year to continue pushing proposed federal legislation it unveiled this year. The BREATHE Act would radically transform the nation’s criminal justice system, including by eliminating agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of surveillance technology.

The proposal came during a national reckoning around brutality from law enforcement and systemic racism that spurred global protests and cries for change after the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans.

“We defeated Trump and that was a mandate of the Black movement to really defend Black lives and ensure that he could no longer terrorise in a really public and institutional way,” said Jessica Byrd, who leads the Movement for Black Lives’ Electoral Justice Project. “I also know for sure that the only way the Democrats are going to win anything else in 2022 isn’t if they quell progressive calls for change but if they actually govern and change people’s lives.”

But to push any real federal policy change, Congress will be key. Democrats faced serious setbacks in congressional races this year, losing so many seats in the House that the party has the narrowest majority in at least two decades. Control of the Senate hinges on two runoff elections in Georgia next week.

Still, several progressives will join the House next year, bringing a fresh perspective for a party with an aging leadership.

Activist Cori Bush, who led protests after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, ousted longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in Missouri’s Democratic primary, ending a political dynasty that had spanned more than a half-century. Bush said among her first priorities is a more robust COVID-19 relief package that provides greater assistance to families.

“I’m not so far away from my own pain and struggle and adversity that I can’t remember what it was like,” Bush said, noting the immense pressure facing families right now. “I’m not taking off the hat of the activist at all, it’s who I am.

And so I’ll use that power and drive, and that moxie.”

take on a human form to take over society and that he discussed taking trips to hunt aliens, the official said. Investigators have also been asking witnesses whether Warner may have believed in any conspiracies about 5G technology.

The report also said attorney Raymond Throckmorton told officers that day that he represented Warner and told officers Warner “frequently talks about the military and bomb making”, the police report said. Warner “knows what he is doing and is capable of making a bomb,” Throckmorton told responding officers.

On Tuesday, Throckmorton told The Tennessean that Perry had fears about her safety, and thought Warner might harm her.

MISSOURI SENATOR TO CONTEST BIDEN ELECTION VICTORY SENATOR Josh Hawley, R-Mo, said yesterday he will raise objections next week when Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the election, forcing House and Senate votes that are likely to delay — but in no way alter — the final certification of Biden’s win.

President Donald Trump has, without evidence, claimed there was widespread fraud in the election.

He has pushed Republican senators to pursue his unfounded charges even though the Electoral College this month cemented Biden’s 306-232 victory and multiple legal challenges have failed.

A group of Republicans in the Democratic-majority House have already said they will object during the January 6 count of electoral votes, and they had needed just a single senator to go along with them to force votes in both chambers.

Without giving specifics or evidence, Hawley said he would object because “some states, including notably Pennsylvania” did not follow their own election laws.

GILLIGAN’S ISLAND STAR DIES OF COVID DAWN Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann among a misfit band of shipwrecked castaways on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island, died yesterday of causes related to COVID-19, her publicist said. She was 82.

Wells died peacefully at a residential facility in Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said. “There is so much more to Dawn Wells” than the “Gilligan’s Island” character that brought her fame, Boll said in a statement.