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bountyofbeads · 5 years ago

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Debt, Conflict and Vacancy Imperil Another Kushner Property https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-kushner-times-square-property-development/?ll_push_args={%22utm_source%22:%22push%22,%22utm_medium%22:%22notification%22}

Debt, Conflict and Vacancy Imperil Kushners’ Times Square Dream

By Caleb Melby and David Kocieniewski

Published June 25, 2019 | Bloomberg | Posted June 25, 2019 |

Jared Kushner’s family averted disaster last year when a Canadian asset manager swooped in to buy their skyscraper in midtown Manhattan, which had been hemorrhaging millions of dollars. Now they’re facing a similar crisis a few blocks away.

At the former New York Times building on West 43rd Street, a graying property in Times Square, the pattern is uncannily similar: Buy at a steep price, pile on too much debt, run up big losses, fight with tenants and flirt with default.

It’s the latest example of overreach for a family that built a fortune on suburban rental properties, only to have its urban ambitions stymied. Kushner Cos. bought the first six floors of the Times building for $296 million in 2015, envisioning a multifloor amusement park in the heart of Times Square. Four years later, a toxic brew of debt, conflict and vacancies has put their investment in jeopardy.

Think of the building as a vertical mall with three-story neon signs beckoning tourists. There are tenants the Kushners inherited: a sprawling sushi restaurant, a below-ground Guitar Center store and a two-story bowling alley with thumping music. And ones they brought in—in the basement, National Geographic Encounter, an exhibit about oceans with humpback whales and sea lions cavorting on digital screens; on the second floor, Gulliver’s Gate, featuring detailed miniatures of the Colossus of Rhodes, the Empire State Building, Jerusalem’s Western Wall and other famous sites, complete with miniature trains and glowing skyscrapers.

The Kushners’ new tenants have a few things in common, including ticket prices exceeding $30, underwhelming crowds and financial trouble. The National Geographic exhibit has paid only partial rent since August, and the Kushners are looking for a new tenant. Gulliver’s Gate paid irregularly, prompting a legal battle that resulted in its rent being cut by almost half this year. Take a walk around the back of the building, and there’s a dusty unfinished space meant for a champagne bar. It never opened. Kushner Cos. has traded lawsuits with the proprietor, an operator of airport restaurants that is alleging fraud, claims the Kushners have denied.

A spokeswoman for the National Geographic exhibit confirmed that the attraction wasn’t paying full rent, but she declined to provide details. Gulliver’s Gate founder Michael Langer said he was “happy we were able to work together for an amicable agreement.” A spokesman for OHM Concession Group, which leased space for the champagne bar, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The missteps have added up. Kushner Cos. assumed that all these tenants would be paying rent when it piled $370 million of loans onto the building in an October 2016 refinancing, most of it from Deutsche Bank AG. In March, the company defaulted on one high-interest chunk of its debt to other lenders, and the property has often run at a loss after accounting for loan payments, according to data compiled from disclosures to investors. While there’s always room for improvement, spaces for so-called experiential retailers require custom designs and can take years to fill.

The story of how the Kushner family purchased a Times Square building only to see it founder during an economic boom is one of zealous overconfidence and a passion for trophy properties, according to more than a dozen people interviewed by Bloomberg News. It’s also a tale of how the real estate market encourages excessive risk-taking, rewarding those who use steep leverage on speculative properties even as they pass potential losses to others. Most of the debt on the Times building has been transferred to investors – it’s their problem now. Meanwhile, Kushner Cos. allocated some of the loan to pay itself $59 million, according to public filings.

Wells Fargo & Co., which manages the loan, has placed it on a watchlist for troubled debt and taken control of the property’s accounts. At one point, the building also drew the attention of federal prosecutors. The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York subpoenaed records about the refinancing in 2017. What investigators were looking for, whether the Kushners were a subject and if the matter is ongoing is unclear. Spokesmen for Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo declined to comment, as did Jared Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell. Representatives for Kushner Cos. didn’t respond to numerous requests for comment.

The former Times building and Kushner Cos. were both struggling when they came together in 2015. The 18-story landmark with a mansard roof had been the newspaper’s headquarters for almost a century, until the company moved a few blocks away in 2007. That same year, Africa Israel Investments Ltd. bought the building at 229 West 43rd St. for $525 million and began searching for a way to repurpose it, exploring everything from luxury condos to a Disney-themed hotel. When those plans fizzled, the company, led by Russian-Israeli diamond merchant Lev Leviev, decided to sell part of the site as a retail complex.

The rapid growth of internet shopping made many real estate investors skeptical. But Charles Kushner, founder of the company that bears his name and father of now-presidential adviser Jared Kushner, was still bullish on retail when Leviev’s brokers pitched him. He had reason for his optimism. In 2011, as Kushner Cos. was straining under a mountain of debt at its 666 Fifth Ave. skyscraper, selling the building’s stores for $1 billion helped pay off some of it and buy time.

Four years later, 666 Fifth Ave. was again operating at a loss. The Kushners were supposed to have improved the property and raised rents. Instead, they had been shopping a plan to knock it down and build a glittering high-rise twice as tall with a five-story shopping center at its base.

The Kushners needed an infusion of cash, and the bottom six floors of the Times building offered a tantalizing opportunity. Tens of thousands of people walk by daily. The building was about half leased, but if the family could fill it quickly and bolster its rent rolls, Kushner Cos. could refinance at a higher valuation, taking any gains as profit.

Charles Kushner’s view wasn’t widely shared, and financing the deal was a struggle. The company considered selling a Chicago office building it owned and sheltering the gains from the sale in the Times Square property, a common tax-planning strategy known as a 1031 exchange, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the Chicago sale never materialized, so the Kushners turned to well-capitalized firms they’d done business with in the past. None accepted the invitation to join them as an equity partner, the person said.

In the end, they relied almost exclusively on loans – all but $1 million of the $296 million purchase price was covered by debt from a division of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., the Canadian real estate company that would later rescue the Kushners by taking out a 99-year lease on 666 Fifth Ave. for $1.3 billion.

Theoretically, anything goes in Times Square, where Madame Tussauds’ lifelike wax sculptures and Mars Corp.’s shrine to M&M’s have co-existed for more than a decade. But it’s also possible to miscalculate. Leviev had made a go of it with the horror-themed Jekyll & Hyde Club. It closed amid terrible reviews months before the Kushners bought the property.

The building’s spaces in the basement and upper floors were slower to lease than anticipated, and by time the Kushners took control in 2015, the property remained about half leased. At Kushner Cos. headquarters in 666 Fifth Ave., Charles Kushner was frustrated that the building was still losing money, according to one person who heard him complain. Jared Kushner, the company’s chief executive officer at the time, told staff that they needed more cash flow, the person recalled, and that they needed it quickly.

The Kushners found it. The first big tenant to sign was Gulliver’s Gate, which had been in talks with Leviev. Plans for an aquarium were scuttled after other tenants complained about potential water damage and fishy aromas. Then came SPE Partners, an entertainment development company with a license from National Geographic, which would take about 60,000 square feet for a waterless and odor-free exhibit. A tiny storefront was leased to Los Tacos No. 1, a popular Mexican taqueria. Airport restaurant operator OHM signed on for a champagne bar, meaning the building was fully leased by August 2016.

The safest buildings to lend to have longtime tenants with proven ability to pay the rent. But the Kushners filled the Times Square property with one-of-a-kind tourist attractions, most of them untested businesses posing unique risks.

“We’re not Gap or Apple, not one of those companies that is known to the market,” Eiran Gazit, a co-founder of Gulliver’s Gate, explained in a November phone interview. “We are a private company and small. There were some landowners who turned us down and are still empty. The Kushners were willing to accept us.” Gazit, who left the company last year and doesn’t speak for the business, said he had met with 17 property owners before signing with the Kushners.

Still, it was a booming market, and Deutsche Bank’s commercial-mortgage unit, which issued a total of $11 billion of New York real estate loans in 2015, was eager to help.

How much was the building worth? That hinged on how much it would make. Total rent of $16 million in 2014, when much of the property was empty, was too conservative. Now that it was fully leased, the Kushners expected $24 million annually, according to a prospectus prepared in connection with the refinancing. Bankers were also optimistic about the Kushners’ ability to slash expenses to $3.9 million a year, about $1.5 million less than 2014, the prospectus said. With an enlarged rent roll and an austere cost structure, net operating income would almost double to $21.5 million, enough to cover about $18 million in interest payments.

Accepting those lofty numbers required no small amount of faith. Only two of the new tenants had moved in, and none was yet paying rent. Nonetheless, the net income figure was used to appraise the property at $470 million, according to the loan documents. By that math, the Kushners had increased its value more than 50% in one year.

The Kushners’ looming income crash

Revenue and expenses by year for 229 West 43rd St.

At that valuation, the $370 million of loans they received in the refinancing looked sober. Most of that amount was used to pay off the existing Brookfield mortgage, with another $26 million placed into reserves. But $59 million went as a payout to Kushner Cos., an astounding return on its original $1 million investment.

“In less than a year, we’ve repositioned the property and transformed it into a top-flight entertainment destination,” Kushner Cos. President Laurent Morali told the Commercial Observer, the trade publication owned by the Kushner family, which broke the news.

The Kushners inauspiciously held their 2016 holiday party at the site of their financial coup: Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar on the West 44th Street side of the Times Square building. The restaurant—named for spiky-haired restaurateur and TV personality Guy Fieri—was the subject of a scathing New York Times review that described a watermelon margarita that tastes like “radiator fluid and formaldehyde.” It would close a year later.

But the Kushners were just at Guy’s for the cavernous space: They brought in a kosher caterer. They had plenty to celebrate. Jared’s father-in-law was going to the White House, the Times Square refinancing was complete, and the family was closing in on a deal with a Chinese insurer to save the overleveraged 666 Fifth Ave.

It was a bittersweet occasion, according to two people who attended. As Charles Kushner hobnobbed with other New York real estate barons, Jared, who would soon be leaving for Washington and stepping away from day-to-day operations, said his goodbyes.

The euphoria didn’t last. In March 2017, Anbang Insurance Group Inc., the Chinese insurer, pulled out of the deal, and Jared’s interactions with the CEO of a Russian state-owned bank came under scrutiny. That led to journalists asking questions about the involvement of Deutsche Bank and Leviev, who’s friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the Times building, the first signs of strain emerged that September. Passersby could peek through windows where the champagne bar was scheduled to open months earlier. The space was empty and unimproved. No work was being done. Wells Fargo, which became manager of the loan after the refinancing, put the property on its watchlist, citing lower-than-expected income to cover debt payments. It was an ignominious designation. And then things got worse.

If there’s one common complaint the Kushners’ Times Square tenants have about their landlord, it’s that the company promised more than it delivered.

For OHM, the dispute was about a hallway. The company said in a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court that it was promised the space for its champagne bar, but it turned out it was needed for shared use. The hallway covered about 2,000 square feet, or one-sixth of the leased space, according to the suit, which accused Kushner Cos. of fraud and breach of contract. The company denied the claims as “salacious and false” and evicted OHM for failing to open on time. The litigation is ongoing.

Gulliver’s Gate alleged in a lawsuit that Kushner Cos. billed it for 5,700 square feet more than it actually had. The company, which disputed the allegation in court papers, sued the attraction for nonpayment of rent.

The attraction had its own share of troubles as business got off to a rocky start. It missed payments to Kushner Cos. and other vendors. But Gulliver’s Gate had one advantage: A space like the one it occupied on the second floor could take years to fill and would require more cash from the Kushners in the form of tenant improvements and a free-rent period after a new tenant moved in. In April, after a months-long legal battle, Charles Kushner capitulated and agreed to cut the rent by almost half starting early next year.

The battle over the National Geographic exhibit hasn’t spilled into court. But it has been costly. SPE Partners stopped paying full rent in August amid a dispute over shared expenses and racked up more than $3 million in unpaid bills by late last year, according to Wells Fargo. Lenders have approved the lease termination, and the space is now being marketed. Still, lenders won’t let the Kushners evict the exhibit, fearing a hole too big to fill, according to a person familiar with the matter. In April, Kushner Cos. told lenders it expects the digital dolphins to remain in place “for a few more months,” Wells Fargo told investors.

One of the National Geographic exhibit’s biggest backers, Fairfax, Virginia-based real estate firm Peterson Companies, sold its stake late last year. A person familiar with the deal said the company didn’t want to continue pouring money into a venture that had lost millions. Angela Sweeney, chief marketing officer for Peterson, said the separation was amicable and declined to comment on the terms.

As the hits came, Kushner Cos. missed a March payment on an $85 million mezzanine portion of its loan, which was promptly restructured on terms that haven’t been disclosed. Last year’s expenses, about $9 million, were more than twice estimates, according to Wells Fargo data. OHM’s absence and Gulliver’s reduced rent have chopped about $5 million off the revenue estimates, and a National Geographic exit could more than double that figure. If that situation doesn’t change, the building won’t be able to cover debt payments.

If the worst happens and the Times Square building goes belly-up, Kushner Cos. and Deutsche Bank won’t bear the brunt of it. That’s because the Kushners put so little money down and took out so much, and because Deutsche Bank sold most of the debt soon after it was issued.

Losses would instead be borne by a broad base of investors, most of whom probably don’t even know they’re exposed. The debtholders are now a series of trusts that also hold other commercial mortgage loans. Those trusts were sliced up and sold to investors as commercial mortgage-backed securities, similar in structure to vehicles that hold home loans.

The Times Square loan has an extra wrinkle that makes things even riskier for its new owners. Kushner Cos. pays only interest until the loan comes due in 2026. The company had a similar deal at 666 Fifth Ave. In the wake of the financial crisis, the issuance of such interest-only loans diminished. But as the economy recovered and more money was chasing deals, lenders loosened underwriting parameters, according to mortgage-securities data provider Trepp. Now more than half of all new commercial loans are interest-only, according to an April report by Trepp. They’re riskier because borrowers don’t pay down principal over time, increasing lender exposure in the event of a downturn.

Whether the Kushners can salvage their Times Square dreams depends on filling the property with reliable tenants. Or finding another savior to swoop in with a sweetheart offer.

#donald trump #u.s. news #politics #trump administration #president donald trump #trump #white house #politics and government #jaredkushner #just jared #Jared Kushner

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skateofministry · 3 years ago

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Spectators welcome, racer registration open for Red Bull bike event at Kinetic Park

Whether you’re a viewer or racer completing in St. Charles County’s most interesting cycling occasion of the year, you don’t wish to miss out on all the action on the biggest asphalt pump track in the country! The location’s very first Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifier is concerning Kinetic Park from 12 to 10 p.m., Saturday, July 31. This is the only certifying race to be kept in Missouri.

Competitive BMX and MTB riders from Missouri and beyond will race versus the clock in different runs competing for an area in Red Bull’s World occasion. The leading 4 males and females from this qualifier will advance to the World occasion kept in Lisbon, Portugal later on this year. The leading male finisher and leading female finisher from this occasion will get an all-expenses paid journey to the World occasion and complete for the champion title. Sponsors of this leading occasion are SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital, the City of Dardenne Prairie, and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital/Safe Kids St. Louis.

Spectator tickets are readily available and racer registration is open!

Spectator Tickets

Guests of any ages can see the enjoyment unfold. A minimal variety of advance tickets are readily available for $10 each and consist of a main race cap and wrist band for re-entry into the park throughout the occasion. Guests can schedule tickets online through the Parks Activity Registration site https://bit.ly/2021SpectatorRegistration, or by calling the St. Charles County Parks and Recreation Department at 636-949-7535. Only 1,500 viewers will be confessed to the occasion that day with those who acquire innovative tickets getting top priority. Day-of-the-race admittance is complimentary.

Guests can take pleasure in home entertainment, concessions, and shows from sporting and food suppliers prior to the start of the race and throughout the occasion. A range of park video games will be accepted rewards for the winners. The pump track will be closed to bikes, scooters, and skateboards throughout the occasion, however other park features, consisting of the state’s biggest outside skate course will stay open for riding. It includes nighttime lighting; novice, intermediate and innovative bowls with numerous roll-in functions; a street course with technique rails; and a snake run spread with ramps, spaces and hubbas. A helmet and waiver are needed to ride in the park. Children under 12 years of age or not in the sixth grade should be accompanied by a grownup. No outside food or beverage permitted. Seating is restricted; viewers are motivated to bring collapsible chairs.

Racer Registration If you are at least 17 years of age and wish to complete in this athletic cycling competitors, it’s not far too late! Participants might ride either a BMX or MTB. A minimum wheel size of 20 inches is needed. The expense to complete is $20 per individual. Register at redbullpumptrackworldchampionship.com.

Schedule of Events

Festivities at the park start on Friday night with rider practice runs on the track, and after that conclude late Saturday night with an awards event.

Friday July 30:

5 – 10 p.m.: Riders practice – Asphalt pump track will be closed to scooters, bikes, and skateboards throughout this duration. Spectators are welcome to see and cheer on the riders.

Saturday July 31:

12 – 3 p.m.: Riders last practice – Asphalt pump track will be closed to scooters, bikes, and skateboards throughout this duration. Spectators are welcome to see and cheer on the riders.

12 – 3 p.m.: Exhibitor/supplier location open – Merchandise, free gifts and more from Granada Cyclery; Dialed Scooters and BMX; Western St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce; Bike Stop Café, Bakery and Outpost; St. Peters BMX; Velosolutions; St. Charles County Parks Foundation; Katy Bike Rental; Lutheran High School Robotics Team; 40K Cycles; and Marcus Town Square Cinema. The U.S. Army Adventure Semi with virtual truth video games will be at the entryway.

12 – 3 p.m.: Rock Climbing Wall opens, climbing up contest starts – Guests of any ages can reach the top of the 30-foot indoor rock-climbing wall inside the park complex. Winners in each age will be revealed at 3 p.m.

12 – 4 p.m.: Inflatable challenge course – Youth make their method through a labyrinth of barriers and obstacles.

12 – 10 p.m.: Food supplier and concessions open – Visit our suppliers, Sugarfire Smoke House and Kona Ice, to acquire a range of deals with. The park’s concession stand will be open with food and drinks.

12 – 10 p.m.: Red Bull musical home entertainment – DJ plays a range of positive music.

12:30 p.m.: Dodgeball contest – Head out to the Big Bowl on the skate course for a dodgeball video game for any ages! Teams of 10 will go head-to-head to complete for Kinetic Park Dodgeball Champion boasting rights

1 p.m.: Free-Throw contest – Shoot your finest shot and complete for rewards in a free-throw competitors situated on the outside basketball courts! Youth and grownups are welcome to participate the enjoyable. The individual who makes the most shots in a row wins in their age.

1 – 3 p.m.: Foam cannon bubbler – Kids of any ages are welcomed to take part in non-stop lathering enjoyable as a huge cannon disposes mounds of hypoallergenic foamy bubbles throughout a designated “foam zone” behind the park center.

1:30 p.m.: Hula Hoop contest –��Get your hips moving for an impressive hula hooping competitors on the basketball court! The entrant who hoops the longest wins a reward.

2 p.m.: HORSE basketball contest – Join Parks personnel in an enjoyable competitors of HORSE on the basketball court. Those who remain in the video game the longest win rewards!

2:30 p.m.: Highest Ollie contest – Bring your skateboard and head to the Street Area on the skate course to complete for the greatest ollie! Skateboarders of any ages are welcome to complete for rewards in this interesting competitors.

3 p.m.: Fastest Rock Wall Climbing contest winners revealed

Competition Begins

3 – 3:15 p.m.: Riders instruction – Contestants collect in the race camping tent to go over guidelines and policies prior to the start of the race.

3:15 p.m.: Welcome – St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann

3:30 – 6 p.m.: Timed runs – Each entrant is timed as they race around the track. The fastest lap of each entrant is tape-recorded. After each session, the fastest male and female riders advance to the next round.

7 – 9:30 p.m.: Knock-Out Heat Finals – The leading competitors struck the track for a last run. The last 2 riders get one run each to figure out the winners.

9:45 – 10 p.m.: Awards event – The leading male and female finishers are revealed and require to the primary phase. First, 2nd, and 3rd location winners will exist awards throughout the event.

An unique thanks to the St. Charles County Ambulance District, Duke’s BARBEQUE Shack, Discover St. Charles, and Midas Hospitality for supporting the Parks Department and this interesting neighborhood occasion.

For more info about this interesting race chance, call the park at 636-561-4964.

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stephaniefchase · 8 years ago

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Bajan Newscap 2/8/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 8th February 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Mid Week Nation Newspaper (MWN).

NO CHEAP ZR VOTES - The operators of public service vehicles (PSVs) are sending a strong word of warning to the major political parties here that their approximately 7,000 votes will not be given away cheaply come the next general election. President of the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) Morris Lee said the ZR and minibus operators intend to make their votes count in the election, due by next year. However, he said neither the incumbent Democratic Labour Party (DLP), nor the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) should take their Xs for granted. Lee accused both parties of delivering nothing but cheap promises in the past, and warned they both would have to work much harder than they have done before to impress the operators. Among the key demands of the operators are duty-free concessions on spare parts for their vehicles and dedicated lanes to cut travel times. The owners and operators have long contended that while members of Barbados’ horse racing fraternity were granted duty waivers on parts imported for their vehicles, the people whose livelihoods depended on their vehicles received no such privileges. They have also said they felt restricted in the face of rising costs because they were prohibited from charging higher fares, and that clogged roads were making it challenging to get people to their destinations, particularly when there are cruise ships in the port. Added to these challenges, Lee said, were the potholes on their routes, which impact severely on the aging vehicles. He said unlike private drivers who had the luxury of choosing the route least riddled with craters, PSVs operators had no choice but to stick to their respective routes regardless of the road condition. Any of the two major parties that demonstrate a willingness to tackle those issues will get the PSV votes, he suggested. (BT)

BRIDGETOWN DEAD –The current state of Barbados’ capital city, Bridgetown, is the result of years of neglect, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Stephen Lashley has charged. However, speaking in Parliament today, he said the Freundel Stuart administration was prepared to fix the problems. Contributing to debate on a resolution for the vesting of approximately 534.5 square metres of Crown land in Bridgetown for a $14.5 million synagogue restoration project, he said one of the primary objectives was to create a multipurpose heritage attraction in Bridgetown. Lashley said Government was also committed to providing the necessary incentives – including relief from Value Added Tax and import duties – under the Cultural Industries Development Act as “encouragement to potential developers to proceed along the very important task of the refurbishment of cultural buildings and certainly sites of historic significance”. However, Lashley said there was a need for more rapid response from Government once approval was given for the restoration of key cultural projects in Barbados. In her contribution to the debate, Member of Parliament for St Thomas Cynthia Forde spoke of the the need for more attractions in The City. The Opposition MP recalled that Prime Minister Freundel Stuart had once stated that he would like to see another 40,000 visitors come to Barbados. She also acknowledged that Bridgetown and its historic Garrison had achieved the status of a World Heritage Site. However, she pointed to the need for better lighting and properly paved roads in the City, saying “Bridgetown is looking a bit tacky. Forde also complained that even Baxters Road, which was once a lively meeting point for many Barbadians, was today is a veritable ghost town at night. (BT)

TREAT US LIKE JEWS SAYS BRADSHAW - If Opposition Member of Parliament for St Michael South East Santia Bradshaw had her way it would not be ‘one rule for the Jews and another for the Persians’ in terms of access to tax exemptions and duty free concessions under the Cultural Industries and Development Act. Speaking in the House of Assembly this afternoon on a resolution for the vesting of land at Pinfold Street to facilitate restoration of the Jewish synagogue, Bradshaw called for a level playing field, saying even though she supported the measure, she was still not satisfied that there was equal access for all under the legislation. She lamented that many applications for funding were still languishing before the Cultural Industries Development Board, while suggesting that Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler should graciously facilitate the cultural Industries’ entrepreneurs in the same way he was facilitating the Jewish community. However, Bradshaw, an entertainment lawyer, lamented that many of those who represent Barbados on a daily basis were still not able to make an income in the cultural industries. In response, Sinckler said it was simply wrong for the Opposition to suggest that Government had passed this piece of legislation and forgotten “all of these people and are not assisting them”. In fact, he said it was downright untrue. However, he admitted to being overwhelmed with applications for concessions. (BT)

BLACKETT QUESTIONS NEED FOR TOWN HALLS – Minister of Social Care Steve Blackett wants to know why “town hall meetings are needed now for every project. “Were there town hall meetings when they imploded the Hilton Hotel?” he asked in reference to the Opposition Barbados Labour Party. His comments came in the wake of a recent call by former BLP representative for The City, Dame Billie Miller for the Freundel Stuart administration to proceed with extreme caution on the proposed Hyatt hotel. While suggesting that the recent problem of raw sewage spilling over into the streets along the south coast and in certain parts of Bridgetown, could only worsen with the construction of the proposed 250-room luxury hotel, Dame Billie called for a comprehensive environmental impact assessment to be done. She also called for the matter to be put before the public in the form of town hall meetings, even though the Prime Minister who is the minister responsible for town planning has suggested that the matter is already a fait accompli, with construction expected to begin sometime during the first half of this year. Without making any specific reference to these concerns, Blackett said: “What pause are they talking about, we are an action Government” while blaming the Opposition for the poor state of the Empire Theatre, which has been out of use for the past 24 years. Blackett complained that during that period the BLP never attempted to carry out any repairs on the structure. However, he said his Government had gone as far as to seek assistance from the Chinese Government, which it eventually turned down, because of lack of agreement on the specifics. (BT)

HOTEL PROJECT IN ENTERPRISE UNDER ATTACK – A number of property owners at Enterprise, Christ Church are pushing for a halt to the construction of a four-storey apartment hotel being erected in their residential district. The Barbados High Court has already issued an order to the developers –– Accra Beach Limited –– restraining it from carrying out building operations and/or construction works at the site on Enterprise Beach Road during specified hours until judgment or further notice. The ruling, dated December 20, 2016 was handed down by Justice William Chandler, following legal action taken by Little Arches Hotel Inc and other property owners Hamilton Henderson and Patrick Frost. The court has directed Accra Beach Hotel Limited, Seale Construction & Equipment Rentals Inc, Suresh Monickorja and Basil Seale not to carry work any time before 8:30 a.m. or after 5 p.m. on Sundays or bank holidays. The developers are also restrained from working on Saturdays before 8:30 a.m. or after 2 p.m. However, they are permitted to work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on one Saturday a month up to June 2017, providing they give the claimants eight days’ notice. Frost was upset that developer Kenneth Charles, who owns Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, had proceeded with the project in a place “that was not right” for such a major undertaking. Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins refused to comment on the issue. However, Frost charged that the Town Planning Department was being inconsistent when it approved the application for the 40-plus room hotel. Frost, who does not live in the area but rents his property, also said there were serious implications for property owners in Barbados, arising from what the developer was actually constructing. Meantime, the owners of the residential-type property Little Arches Hotel said they had been adversely impacted by the construction work. The hotel, which is marketed as a quiet get away, has already suffered an undisclosed number of cancellations due to the work, they said. (BT)

AIRBNB FLYING HIGH IN BARBADOS – A growing number of Barbadians are offering their homes to visitors as short-term lodging through the online marketplace, Airbnb. An official of the global accommodation facilitator today said some 1,100 Barbadian homeowners had listed their properties on Airbnb’s website, where people list their homes or apartments for easy online booking. Public policy head in Latin America and the Caribbean Shawn Sullivan said the company was responsible for attracting 16,000 visitors to Barbados last year, which equates to two per cent of all arrivals. He added that homestay programmes could be financially rewarding for Barbadians, with the typical host earning US$3,900 a year through their Airbnb’s platform. A common complaint from hoteliers as the sharing economy becomes increasingly popular among travellers, is that homestay programmes are eating into their income. However, Sullivan denied claims that Airbnb was undermining the traditional accommodation sector. With over two million listings in 191 countries, Airbnb is the largest online facilitator of short-term lodging. (BT)

LIAT CUTS FIRST TWO ROUTES –The struggling regional airline LIAT has announced the first two routes that it will cut “as part of its efforts to achieve greater profitability and improve efficiency”. In a release issued today, the airline said it would stop servicing the United States Virgin Islands beginning March 1, when it ends flights to St Croix. Service to St Thomas will end on June 14, it said. In addition, LIAT said it would suspend its flight between Guadeloupe and Dominica, and would introduce instead a return service between Antigua and the French-speaking island. Following a meeting here of the shareholder governments last October, St Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves had announced that the airline would stop serving countries that hurt its bottom line. Having recorded a net profit of EC$5 million (Bds$3.7 million) up to August 2016, a dramatic EC$14 million (Bds$10.5 million) reversal was expected in the final four months, leaving LIAT with an EC$9.2 million (Bds$6.8 million) loss for the year. Gonsalves, the chairman of the shareholder governments, had said at the time that the airline would be cutting some “non-performing and non-profitable” routes and that a “a critical review of the schedule has to be fine-tuned. Clearly LIAT needs to do fewer routes, but do what we are doing much better”. The airline today suggested that the review had been completed and it was ready to weed out the bad routes. (BT)

MARITIME SECTOR ENERGISING ECONOMY – The contribution of Barbados’ maritime industry cannot be overlooked. This was the assessment of permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Donna Cadogan, following a year that saw almost one million tonnes of domestic cargo pass through the Barbados Port. Addressing participants at the opening of a regional workshop for senior maritime administrators, Cadogan said data showed that the maritime industry played a significant role in the economy. “Although its contribution is sometimes overlooked, the maritime industry plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of the global economy by efficiently transporting the goods and products we require for dailyliving,” she said at the Hilton Barbados Resort yesterday. (MWN)

NEW MASSY STORES SUNSET CREST COMING – Massy stores has unveiled its plans for the new state-of-the-art supermarket at Sunset Crest in St James, which is scheduled to be opened in November 2017. The transformation, which has already commenced with the demolition of the once West Coast Mall, will be an extensive renovation of the entire property including the existing Massy Stores. However, this project will be constructed in phases over the next ten months. During this time, the current Sunset Crest supermarket will remain open for business until further notice to serve its valued customers and to maintain employment for its 143 dedicated staff. When completed, the full service store will have 30 000 square feet of retail space and will be among the best in its class of grocery establishments, with a number of instore innovations and supporting amenities. Its beautiful exterior will complement the many newer and modern facades on the West Coast. It will be further enhanced by its lush landscaped design including a tree-lined zone on the eastern fringe, a green belt on the western border as well as mature trees and palms adorning the carpark to augment the aesthetics of the site. In addition, there will be ample parking facilities with increased carpark spaces to improve the overall shopping experience. (MWN)

ELECTRONIC SINGLE WINDOW REGISTRATION STARTS –Members of the public who will be conducting import and export transactions using the Barbados Electronic Single Window (BESW) are reminded that registration on the system has commenced. To register, persons should immediately log on to https://esw.gov.bb. Coordinator of the Barbados Competitiveness Programme Terry Bascombe said the BESW is for any person or business in Barbados involved in the import or export of goods, including handling and transportation. He explained that this would include importers, exporters, brokers, transporters, de-consolidators and vessel operators. The BESW will make trade-related business transactions with Government more effective and efficient by providing a single, online point of contact between the trading community and government agencies to electronically obtain the required licences, permits, certificates or other documents to import or export products. According to Bascombe, the facility should ultimately eliminate the need for parties to manually handle an average of 36 000 such documents on an annual basis. (MWN)

PRIVATE HAULERS SATISFIED WITH JOB –Private waste haulers are very satisfied with the service they have provided to households over the past five months. And they are ready to assist any time Government calls, said operators of the private companies yesterday, after the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) asked that their contracts not be renewed by the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) when the current six-month arrangement ends on March 31. The NUPW yesterday urged Government to allow the SSA to restart normal garbage collection, claiming the state agency was in a position to carry out its duties without assistance from the private haulers. Trevor Manning, managing director of Garbage Master, acknowledged that the future of private haulers being used by Government was out of his hands, but was extremely satisfied with his company’s performance since last October. (BT)

NUPW: STOP PRIVATE WASTE HAULERS – Throw it out! The country’s largest public sector trade union is asking Government not to continue its current relationship with private waste haulers, who were introduced last year when the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) did not have enough trucks to facilitate the pickup of household and commercial garbage across the island. The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) believes the SSA now has enough resources to resume full-time collection of garbage. “The National Union of Public Workers is advising Government not to extend the contract of private haulers with the Sanitation Service Authority,” the NUPW said in a statement. The contract is due to end on March 31. (MWN)

IT’S SABOUTAGE - History teacher Reverend Charles Morris may not agree, but Minister of Education Ronald Jones is insisting that sabotage has definitely been at play, amid the bothersome environmental woes ––including a nasty odour –– that have been pervasive at Combermere School for over two years now. Delivering a detailed report on investigations and work carried out at the Government-run learning institution since March last year, Jones informed Parliament Tuesday morning that to date $707,000 of the $850,000 allocated had already been spent on effecting cleaning and repairs, including to the school’s sewerage system, and on the purchase of new equipment. The minister also said the situation was still under active evaluation, while warning that there may be need for further spending by Government in the next financial year to allow for refuse collection in different areas, provision of a larger septic tank to serve the female students’ toilets; further drainage improvements around the building and an improved configuration and ventilation of the school’s cafeteria. Taking part in the day’s debate, Jones also reiterated claims that the school had fallen victim to sabotage, even though there was still no indication given by him that anyone had been caught, or was likely to face official reprimand over the serious allegation. However, he said the attention of his ministry and its partners had been drawn to what appeared to be “a deliberate attempt to sabotage the work that has been taking place over the last several months”, explaining that “on Thursday, January 5, 2017, antennas and children book leaves were found to be blocking a drainage pipe from a toilet in the area where some complaints have been originated”. The school, which has a roll of 1,130 students, 61 teaching staff and 13 non-teaching staff and 13 auxiliary staff, had been plagued with a range of environmental issues from May 2014 to December 2016. Tuesday, Jones also pointed to a build up of refuse, odours, indiscriminate use of pesticides and or grease traps by neighbours as probable causes. While commending those involved in the investigations and clean up efforts, Jones said the matter had brought to the fore the need to adequately maintain aging facilities, adding that he was confident that “with the continued preparation of all concerned” there would be no further “compromising of operations of the school”. (BT)

OLD SCHOLAR: CALL IN COPS – A Member of the Combermere School Old Scholars Association (CSOSA) wants police called in to investigate allegations of suspected sabotage at the Waterford, St Michael school. Alex McDonald’s suggestion has come following allegations by Minister of Education Ronald Jones that deliberate acts of sabotage were behind the problems at the school. While delivering a ministerial statement in Cabinet yesterday, Jones revealed that three recent incidents in the space of one week had raised suspicion that someone was trying to sabotage the work that had taken place over the past few months. However, McDonald – a member of the Save Our School Movement – told the MIDWEEK NATION that since Jones believed there was sufficient evidence to justify his suspicions, the relevant authorities needed to be called. (MWN)

LAW ALLOWS HUSBANDS TO PREVENT WIVES’ ABORTIONS IN ARKANSAS - A new Arkansas law will let a husband sue a doctor to stop his wife from getting an abortion. And it makes no exception for cases of spousal rape. The law, called the Arkansas Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act, was passed and signed by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and goes into effect later this year. It prohibits dismemberment abortion, the most common procedure used in second-trimester abortions. A clause in the law states that the husband of a woman getting the abortion can sue the doctor to stop his wife’s abortion. The husband has to be the father of the child. And because there’s no exemption in the law for rape or incest, a woman’s rapist could theoretically file suit to stop the abortion. The ACLU of Arkansas claims the law is unconstitutional and plans to challenge it in court before it goes into effect. One Arkansas lawmaker said there wasn’t much debate about those parts of the law. But another lawmaker believes husbands should have a voice in these decisions. “I think a woman does have control over her own body, but when you have created a life, you created a life with someone else,” said state Senator Missy Irvin. Kansas and Oklahoma passed similar abortion laws which are tied up in the courts, according to CNN affiliate KFSM. A few states, with conservative lawmakers emboldened by Donald Trump’s election, have passed strict new abortion laws, including Ohio, which passed a measure banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. (BT)

GRENADIANS LAWSUIT AGAINS RBPF TO BE FILED SOON - The members of a Grenadian family who alleged that they had been subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment by the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) last October are carrying out their threat to sue the force. Attorney-at-law for the Gilbert family Ruggles Ferguson said the final details of the lawsuit were being worked out and it would be filed at an undisclosed date. Ferguson would not give details, insisting more information would be revealed in due course. However, he told Barbados TODAY via telephone Tuesday morning that he did not intend to back down until there was a satisfactory resolution. Sisters Tamika and Lynell Gilbert, along with their mother, father and a cousin, said they were stripped of their dignity by the police after they were falsely accused by a store owner in Bridgetown of stealing a mobile phone. They were here to renew their American visas and, having got through early, they had decided to visit the capital for some shopping and to enjoy each other’s company, Tamika had said. The RBPF has since launched an investigation into the matter, which generated extensive media debate in Grenada, and which prompted the Grenadian prime minister Dr Keith Mitchell to issue a veiled warning to the Freundel Stuart administration that it may need to seriously rein in its law enforcement officers. When contacted this morning RBPF Public Relations Officer Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler told Barbados TODAY “the investigation is not yet concluded”. (BT)

$18,000 TO GET BODIES HOME –It’s likely to cost an estimated $18 000 in storage and shipping costs for the bodies of the three Vincentian teenagers who lost their lives in a car crash at Graeme Hall, Christ Church last week. And while the final figure is still to be confirmed, the bodies of 17-year-old Danee Horne, 18-year-old Carianne Padmore and 19-year-old Aziza Dennie (below) could be in for a longer stay in Barbados to allow the necessary documentation to be processed. A funeral director said each body could cost between $5 000 to $6 000 depending on things such as length of refrigeration and whether or not it was shipped in a casket. Included in that price is the $600 to $800 price tag for the shipment of each body to St Vincent via a ferry. (MWN)

COURT APPEAL – Court authorities are appealing to Nicole and Aliyah Belgrave, last known address Apartment 1, Halls Road, St Michael to urgently visit the Juvenile Court, Roebuck Street, St Michael , or call telephone number 434 9970 ext 4532, or the Courts Prosecutors Officer at 430 7179 or 430 7180. (BT)

BLACKMAN GETS BAIL FOR ASSAULT CHARGE – A 44-year-old man was granted bail Tuesday afternoon after appearing before a Bridgetown Court on an assault charge.

Don Alvin Blackman of Field’s Gap, Greenfield, St Michael is accused of unlawfully assaulting Corey Knight on July 12 last year. He told Magistrate Douglas Frederick he was not guilty of the charge. Police prosecutor Sergeant Martin Rock objected to bail for the accused based on his antecedents, the need to protect society and the fact that Blackman was already out on bail for another offence. However, the prosecutor’s application was denied after Blackman put forward his own arguments. He was released on $4 000 bail after the magistrate accepted his surety. As a condition of his bail release, Blackman must report to Central Police Station every Wednesday before 10 a.m., with valid identification. He returns to the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on June 9. (BT)

WITNESS DOUBT OVER FATAL SHOT – An investigator told the court yesterday he could not say who fatally shot Anderson Ashby but admitted he was instructed to charge Damien Lecoursey Reviera with the offence. The evidence came as Station Sergeant Vernon Moore took the stand in the No.5 Supreme Court where the murder trial of Reviera continued. Moore was attached to the Major Crime Unit when he started investigations into the matter on July 5, 2011.He read into evidence a statement from Reviera which he said he signed along with Reviera and Constable Merville Sealy.In the statement, Reviera is reported as saying that he was in Hollywood liming when “Potty” told him that he had a gun to sell and invited the accused to tag along. (WWN)

HE WAS A GOOD SON -The mother of the late Anderson Ashby says while her child was “not perfect” he was a “good son”. Margo Ashby’s declaration came Tuesday as the trial of Damien Lecoursey Reveira, 27, alias Poopman, who is accused of killing 31-year-old Ashby, continued in the No. 5 Supreme Court. Ashby lost his life on October 9, 2010, after an alleged gun deal turned deadly at the play park in Belfield, Black Rock, St Michael. “He was a good son. He was a son I could talk to. He was not perfect, but anything that I ask him to do he would do,” said the mother who revealed that she last saw her son alive around 6 p.m. on October 8. She explained that she had not been feeling well that day and went to take a nap. However, when she woke up sometime later she heard the girlfriend of her other son, Christopher, crying. She was eventually informed about what had happened but she still wanted verification. Under cross-examination by defence attorney Pilgrim, Sergeant Moore said he knew that three other men had been charged with Ashby’s murder. He also testified that he knew Reveira had admitted that a shot had been discharged during a struggle with the man at whom he had pointed a gun. However, the officer said he did not know whether anyone had been injured, neither did he interview the man Reveira claimed he struggled with. Sergeant Moore’s partner, Constable Merville Sealy, also took to the stand as well as Dave Gooding, a medical emergency technician attached to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital who responded to the scene, and former police officer Euline Robinson. The trial continues Wednesday when Principal Crown Counsel Elwood Watts is expected to call his final witness, Christopher Ashby, the deceased’s brother, to give evidence. (BT)

MASCOLL APOLOGIZES AND AWAITS SENTENCE –If a Christ Church man could live his life all over again, he says he would do things differently. Shurland Andre Mascoll of Packers Valley, St Patricks expressed that sentiment Tuesday as he apologized to society for his crimes. On the first count, the 35-year-old who is already serving an eight-year sentence which ends in 2021 for firearm and ammunition possession, pleaded guilty back in September 2015 to aggravated burglary, which was committed at the Transport Board Depot at Mangrove, St Philip. “[I apologize] to those I have caused great grief. I have been incarcerated for four years and eight months and during that time I have reflected on certain mistakes. I can’t repay those persons I have done wrong to,” Mascoll said. Senior Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney told the court although Mascoll was only the driver when the heist at the depot occurred, he had an active role in the planning. The prosecutor charged that Mascoll knew a firearm was involved, which showed “a pattern for criminal activity and not a one-off or spontaneous event”. Delaney also drew to the attention of Madam Justice Jacqueline Cornelius, Mascoll’s 19 prior convictions. Thirteen of those, she said, were for burglary and another for dishonestly receiving stolen goods. In his mitigation, Mascoll again apologized and asked for forgiveness. Justice Cornelius then adjourned the matter until Wednesday when an officer from HMP Dodds is expected to inform the court of Mascoll’s time spent on remand, in preparation for sentencing. (BT)

WORRELL HITS BACK AT FORDE – Former president of the Barbados Natural Bodybuilding Association, Ivor Worrell, is contending that the sport of bodybuilding has diminished considerably during the tenure of standing president Dr Andrew Forde. “I have been around bodybuilding since 1978, and can speak with some authority on the sport,” he said in response to a recently published article in which Forde said he would be stepping down as president of the Barbados Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation. “Leading up into the 80s and 90s, the primary objective was to look at how best to advance the sport, how best the bodybuilders could take part; [the executive] looked at the achievements of the sport and bodybuilders were first. “Over the years we have seen where persons have come to the federation with their own personal agendas and the discipline and bodybuilders ended up being second; going on tours took priority and in some cases bodybuilders were used by those in authority to advance the cause,” he charged. (MWN)

FEB 22 D-DAY FOR CYCLING – Cycling will choose a president and an executive in two weeks. That’s because February 22 has been set as the date for the long overdue annual general meeting of the Barbados Cycling Union (BCU). The date was a court order by consent as both parties agreed that the time had come to have an executive in place after ten months of being in limbo. Cycling has been at a standstill since the planned annual general meeting on April 27 was adjourned after much contention. Attorney at law Larry Smith, who is representing people “interested in the affairs of the cycling”, told MIDWEEK SPORT that his clients were elated that a new date had finally been set. (MWN)

TURTON HEADING TAEKWONDO ASSOCIATION – Henderson Turton has been elected president of the Taekwondo Association of Barbados (TAB), and will be leading a fresh administration over the next four years. Turton defeated Anthony Williams, immediate past president, during an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on January 27 to become the ninth elected head of the organisation since its establishment in 1986. Also on his agenda will be fully engaging TAB’s stakeholders and addressing the needs and interests of the country’s clubs, coaches and athletes. This, he said, would be of paramount importance. Enhanced training for continuity and succession in all areas of development is critical for the organisation to survive another thirty-plus years and the president indicated his commitment to this. (MWN)

SIR DUGGLY DIGGES IN LINE UP OF 17 FOR GOLD UP – SIR DUGGLEY DIGGES, an upset winner of the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown last year, spearheads the list of six overseas nominees for this year’s Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup. When the second stage subscription closed at the Barbados Turf Club’s office last Friday, 17 horses were in the running for a spot in the Caribbean’s most prestigious horse race on March 4 at the Garrison Savannah. Kenneth and Sara Ramsey, who won back-to-back Gold Cups with Major Marvel and Sayler’s Creek, have four of the overseas nominees in the Queen’s Plate winner, four-year-old colt Sir Duggley Digges, Keystoneforvictory, Coalport and High Noon Rider. Trinidad and Tobago will be keeping faith with Conquest Bespoke and Trini Navigator. (MWN)

ELIZABETH CROWNED AGAIN –Elizabeth (purple) house established five records while retaining the title at The St Michael School’s inter-house championships at the National Stadium yesterday. Maintaining the lead they established before lunchtime, Purple finished the day strong, winning by a 163-point margin. They amassed 950.5 points, followed by Anne (Yellow) with 787.5, Boadicea (Blue) 759 and Victoria (Red) 686. Among the new marks set, was victor ludorum Nathan Roett’s leap of 5.72 metres, which erased a 14-year-old record in the Under-15 Boys’ long jump. (MWN)

MAROONED - ICC Americas ended their losing streak in style when they stunned Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners by 78 runs today, to grab their first win of the Regional Super50 Tournament. Choosing to bat first at the Windward Cricket Club, Lucas Street, St Philip, ICC Americas rallied to 265 all out off their 50 overs, on the backs of half-centuries from captain Nitish Kumar (80), all-rounder Timroy Allen (69) and opener Kamau Leverock (55). (BT)

BLACK IS BLACK – Barbadians of ANY shade of black who refuse to acknowledge their African heritage need their heads checked. That was the blunt assessment of historian Trevor Marshall, who was the main speaker at the Black History Month African awareness presentation yesterday at Sharon Primary School, St Thomas. Marshall, who is no stranger to controversy, told the media: “When all Chinese in the world can establish that they come from Mongolia, all Indians can establish that they came from Bangalore or Deli, all the Europeans can establish that they come from Norway, Berlin or England. The Latinos can say they come from Latin America and in spite of scientific evidence, black people cannot establish that they come from Africa, something is wrong with them. (MWN)

Well that’s all for today folks. There are 327 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

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