Carib Scope

标签： Barbados

巴巴多斯

  • Nine months behind bars for repeat offender

    Nine months behind bars for repeat offender

    A chaotic scene unfolded at a Bridgetown magistrates court in Barbados shortly after a 35-year-old homeless man with a lengthy criminal record received a nine-month Dodds Prison sentence for stealing more than BDS$5,000 worth of cash and personal goods from an American tourist. James Jonah Josiah Sandiford, who pleaded guilty to three separate offences connected to the August 19 incident, launched an immediate public protest of the sentence, attempting to break free from escorting officers before being quickly moved to the courthouse cells.

    Court documents confirm Sandiford confessed to stealing a collection of items totaling BDS$5,020 from tourist Caleb Applewhaite, including a BDS$500 beach bag, a US passport valued at US$150, a Barbados driver’s license, BDS$1,200 in local cash, US$850 in American currency, 12 keys, three lip balms, and a pair of earphones. He also admitted to taking a BDS$1,000 key fob owned by local car rental firm Go Car Investment Limited, and to physically assaulting Applewhaite during the theft encounter. A day after the incident, he was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine paraphernalia found during his booking.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Victoria Leacock laid out the full sequence of events for the court, detailing that Applewhaite and his girlfriend had visited the popular Hot Pot leisure spot, bringing a beach bag from their car which they left resting on a pallet near the pool area. Sandiford was one of three other people already at the pool when the pair arrived. When Applewhaite entered the water to swim, Sandiford left his poolside spot, walked over to the pallet, and pretended to retrieve his own belongings before knocking over the tourist’s bag, slipping the stolen items into a black plastic garbage bag, and leaving the area. When Applewhaite noticed his bag had been moved and checked its contents, he discovered the theft and followed Sandiford to confront him. Leacock told the court that Sandiford responded to the confrontation by threatening Applewhaite with a pair of scissors, leaving the visitor fearing for his safety.

    Applewhaite immediately reported the crime to local police, providing a full description of the perpetrator. Law enforcement located Sandiford the following day in the Black Rock area of the island and took him into custody. Officers discovered the cocaine misuse apparatus in his trouser pocket during a routine search. In custody, Sandiford cooperated enough to lead police to a wooded area in Goodland where he had discarded the black plastic bag holding most of the stolen property, including Applewhaite’s passport and bank cards. None of the stolen cash was recovered.

    Sandiford, who has a criminal record stretching back to 47 prior convictions with the most recent coming in August 2025, told the court that his long-standing cocaine addiction drove him to commit the theft, and he offered a formal apology for his actions. Framing himself as an outpatient of Barbados’ Psychiatric Hospital, Sandiford told the court “I get real prickle and I real sorry. I did want money to smoke. I carry de police to get back de bag wid de passport and the other things. I asking for little help to go to Psychiatric Hospital or Verdun House,” referring to local substance abuse treatment facilities.

    However, Acting Chief Magistrate Douglas Frederick rejected the request for court-ordered treatment outside of prison, noting that the Dodds Prison system already offers evidence-based drug treatment programming for incarcerated people. “You can get professional help at the prison. There is a drug treatment programme up there,” Frederick told the defendant, before handing down the nine-month sentence for the main theft charge. He urged Sandiford to engage with the available treatment programming: “Whatever is necessary up there, take part in and make sure you make yourself a better person.” Following the sentencing for theft, Sandiford was convicted, reprimanded, and discharged on the separate assault and cocaine possession charges, leading to the immediate emotional outburst and physical struggle with correctional officers inside the courthouse.

  • Mottley admits error in circus approval, defends water zoning safeguards

    Mottley admits error in circus approval, defends water zoning safeguards

    In a public update delivered Tuesday from the Alleynedale Pumping Station, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has openly acknowledged a critical misstep by the nation’s Ministry of Environment: granting approval for the Suarez Brothers Circus to host operations at the protected International Botanical Gardens without mandatory consultation with the Barbados Water Authority (BWA). In plain terms, Mottley did not mince words about the mistake, stating, “I am not going to fool you and tell you that the botanical garden was wrong when they gave permission, because they were wrong.”

    She went on to emphasize that the agency in charge of the site had a clear obligation to coordinate with the BWA before signing off on any activity at the location, given its status in the country’s drinking water protection network. “They should have known that they should not have given permission for anything to operate on the site there without talking to the water authority,” Mottley added.

    While the Prime Minister conceded that an error had occurred, she moved quickly to defend Barbados’ broader regulatory system designed to safeguard the nation’s critical water supply. Mottley argued that the BWA’s timely intervention to reverse the incorrect approval demonstrated that the system of checks and balances built into the framework functioned exactly as intended. “We want to find out where the mistake was made and what it is. I cannot tell you where the mistakes were made just so without telling you that the system worked,” she explained. “We have checks and balances in our regulatory system in this country, and when one or two of them do not function, the others must still be able to function, and this is exactly what happened here.”

    Mottley also revealed new details about the timeline of the miscommunication that preceded the planned circus opening. Four full days before the circus was scheduled to open its gates, the BWA sent a formal email to organizers explicitly stating that permission to operate at the site had not been granted, with the rejection written in all capital letters for emphasis. This official rejection came just two hours after organizers had received preliminary informal approval to move forward, Mottley said. When the BWA recognized the earlier misstep, it moved immediately to correct the record, even notifying organizers that the organization would not supply water service to the site. At the time of that notification, the BWA was not yet aware that the circus planned to have staff and performers sleep on the property, a detail that Mottley said only worsened the violation of site rules.

    Against this backdrop, Mottley questioned the judgment of circus organizers, who ultimately moved forward with opening the attraction despite the clear rejection from the water authority. “Why they would have opened on a Saturday when the Barbados Water Authority made it absolutely clear four days before that they could not get water is beyond my comprehension or understanding,” she said.

    Beyond addressing the circus controversy, Mottley used the briefing to push back against widespread public speculation and misinformation surrounding two other high-profile government projects: the new Geriatric Hospital and a development in the Vineyard area of St. Philip. Responding to claims that the Geriatric Hospital had been sited in the nation’s most restricted water protection zone, Mottley rejected the claims as factually incorrect, noting that the facility has always been located in Zone C, not the fully restricted Zone A. Technical officials in attendance at the briefing confirmed this assertion, noting that the zoning classification for the hospital site has remained consistent under both past and current government zoning frameworks.

    Mottley also addressed unfounded claims about the Vineyard development in St. Philip, noting that the vast majority of the parish falls within the less restricted Zone D classification. Dismissing the claims as deliberate misinformation meant to sow public confusion, she said, “For those who want to create mischief, I can only say that they may feel that they have reasons to want to create mischief. I do not know what they are, but I will stick to the facts. The government is not bad, and the government would never have chosen a Zone A area to build a hospital.”

    To clear up lingering public confusion about the country’s water protection zoning system, Mottley walked through the classification structure in detail. She explained that Zone A is a strict exclusion zone that prohibits all high-impact development, while Zone B functions as a pathogen exclusion zone and critical groundwater recharge area. Zone C is designated as a chemical exclusion zone, Zone E covers non-contributing recharge areas, and Zone F applies to desalination facility zones. Mottley noted that carefully controlled development is allowed in zones B and C as long as projects meet strict environmental criteria, but no non-conservation activities are permitted in Zone A.

    She tied this explanation back to the circus controversy, noting that the government specifically designated the International Botanical Gardens site as a protected green space precisely because of its strict water protection restrictions, which rule out most commercial activities. “Am I clear that there could have been no circus activity or any type of that activity at the belt? That is why this government chose to make that the International Botanical Gardens, because we know that we cannot put certain things there,” Mottley said. “That is why for the last 18 months we have been keeping it clean and flat so that it does not become a public nuisance.”

    Closing out her remarks, Mottley dismissed the claims swirling around the Vineyard development as nothing more than political posturing, noting that baseless speculation tends to spike ahead of party conferences and general election cycles. “I am not sure where that rumour came from, but I suppose there are certain times of the year that we see politics, one before annual conferences and one before an election,” she said. “I am not going to get into the silly season or the miniature silly seasons that take place on an annual basis.”

  • New Roseville to expand community mental health care

    New Roseville to expand community mental health care

    Barbados is moving forward with an ambitious, full-scale reimagining of the former Roseville Halfway House, replacing the shuttered legacy facility with a modern, community-focused mental health program designed to smooth the transition from long-term institutional care to independent living. Health officials detailed the transformative plan during a public consultation held Monday evening at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, emphasizing that the new St Peter-based facility is far more than a simple reopening of a closed site.

    “This is not a rebuilding and just a reopening of something that has been closed, but it is a reimagining, a redesign, and a new programme that will be in a new facility,” explained Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Arthur Phillips, noting that while the project occupies the original Roseville location, every aspect of the facility and its programming has been rethought from the ground up. The original Roseville halfway house closed its doors in 2015, leaving a critical gap in Barbados’ mental healthcare system that officials have long prioritized filling. Currently, a quarter-way house operates on the grounds of the country’s Psychiatric Hospital, but no fully functional halfway facility has been available for years.

    Permanent Secretary Francine Blackman of the Ministry of Health and Wellness framed the initiative as a cornerstone of the government’s push to update Barbados’ approach to mental healthcare, shifting away from centralized institutional care toward a model that centers patient dignity, autonomy, and lasting recovery. The new Roseville facility will act as what Blackman called a “safe, structured bridge” for people living with addiction and other mental health challenges, supporting their reintegration into broader society while helping them build the skills needed for self-sufficiency.

    Beyond core clinical care, the program will create practical opportunities for residents, including training and access to subsistence farming, formal employment, and self-employment. “The construction and operationalisation of this facility is therefore not solely an infrastructure project. It represents an investment in people, recovery, inclusion, and human dignity,” Blackman added.

    Dr Phillips explained that the transitional support provided by a halfway house fills an unmet need for people who have spent years in institutional care. For many, jumping directly from 24/7 institutional care to full independent living is an overwhelming leap, and the structured support of a halfway house dramatically improves outcomes for long-term recovery. While basic treatment, life skills training, and occupational therapy are already available through existing services, Roseville will add the critical intermediate step that has been missing from the care continuum.

    Rehabilitative care will sit at the heart of the new facility’s service model, according to mental health professional Dr Joy Sue. The program will offer a range of evidence-based therapies including occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and psychotherapy, all delivered in a community setting rather than a closed institutional campus — an approach that aligns with the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ long-term vision for mental healthcare reform. Dr Sue did note one key challenge the project must address: current staffing levels are insufficient to support the expanded slate of services, so workforce expansion will be a core priority as the project moves forward.

    To break down isolation and foster connection between residents and the surrounding community, planners are integrating community-facing amenities and activities. Proposed additions include a public basketball court and small-scale livestock rearing projects such as chicken raising, which will not only provide practical work experience for residents but also create natural opportunities for interaction with local neighbors.

    Despite the widespread support for the initiative among health leaders, the project still must navigate two key sets of challenges: social concerns and environmental risks. Consultant Lisa Perch, who is leading social and environmental impact assessments for the project, noted that persistent stigma around mental illness remains a significant social risk that must be proactively addressed throughout development and operation. Perch acknowledged that early community engagement has been limited due to tight project timelines, but outlined plans to ramp up outreach as planning advances. A dedicated community liaison officer will be appointed during construction to maintain open lines of communication between contractors, project leaders, and nearby residents.

    The facility’s coastal location near Six Men’s also brings a unique set of environmental considerations that planners must address. The site is located close to sensitive ecosystems that support turtle nesting, wild land and marine species, and nearby fishing grounds, alongside a local gully system that requires protection. The existing abandoned building on the property is in a state of severe disrepair, with potential hazards including mould and asbestos that will require full assessment and safe remediation before construction can begin. Planners are also accounting for climate-related risks including hurricane-force winds, storm surge, coastal flooding, and wastewater management, as well as the cumulative impact of other recent development activity in the area.

    Currently, the full environmental and social impact assessment remains in draft form, with project leaders soliciting feedback from stakeholders and local community members to refine plans and address outstanding concerns before moving into the construction phase.

  • Greaves caps junior career with top-10 world finish

    Greaves caps junior career with top-10 world finish

    After years of dominating the global junior cycling circuit, 17-year-old Barbadian racer Arielle Greaves is preparing to close one chapter of her athletic journey and open a new one, bringing her relentless drive and proven talent to the senior competitive ranks next year.

    Based in Trinidad due to a lack of dedicated cycling infrastructure in her home country, Greaves wrapped up her junior career on a high note at the recent UCI Junior Track World Championships, held in Belgium from August 19 to 23. Against a stacked field of the world’s top young riders, the Barbadian talent turned in a pair of stellar results: she claimed 10th place in the keirin event and 12th in the sprint, falling just short of qualifying for the final round in the kilo.

    In an interview with Barbados TODAY from the championship venue, Greaves gave her own performance a perfect 10 out of 10, noting the significant resource gap between her and competitors from major European cycling powerhouses like Germany and France. Unlike many of her rivals, who benefit from world-class training facilities, consistent high-level race exposure, and full national program support, Greaves has had to build her career against structural challenges. Even so, the teen rider said she held her own against the best in the world. “The level of competition was quite high because obviously those would have been people from Europe, countries where they would be exposed to higher quality of racing and performance and training. Based off my training and how well I did, I would say that I was quite up to their level however,” she explained.

    Greaves’ path to the world championships has required major personal sacrifice from the young athlete. With no velodrome available for track training in Barbados, she has had to relocate to Trinidad to pursue her elite cycling goals, living away from her family to access the facilities she needs to compete at the highest level. Acknowledging that the separation is difficult at times, Greaves framed the choice as a necessary step toward achieving her big-picture dreams. “That challenge is a little bit hard, but in life you have to make certain sacrifices to get to certain places. So it’s just a sacrifice that I have to make to be as great as being in the top 10 in the world,” she said.

    That sacrifice has already paid dividends, with her top-12 and top-10 finishes at the world championships cementing her status as one of the most promising young track cyclists in the Americas. When the competition wrapped up in Belgium, Greaves planned to return to her home country of Barbados for a well-deserved short break before heading back to Trinidad to resume her rigorous training schedule.

    With her junior career now complete, the ambitious Barbadian is already setting her sights on the next milestone: making her mark on senior cycling when she moves up to the division in 2025. Her first major senior test is already on the calendar: she is scheduled to compete at the upcoming Pan American Games, which will run from July 23 to August 8 in Lima, Peru.

    Off the track, Greaves is using her success to inspire a new generation of young Barbadian athletes, encouraging fellow aspiring riders not to let structural or personal obstacles derail their pursuit of competitive success. She shared a simple but powerful mantra for young competitors facing setbacks: “I would say that consistency is key. If you really love doing something, just stick to it and just follow the process. Not every day will be a good day and not every day will be a bad day, but at the end of the day, we all have small goals and we all get there.”

  • Met Office monitoring tropical wave

    Met Office monitoring tropical wave

    Meteorological officials in Barbados have launched continuous monitoring of a newly formed tropical wave located hundreds of miles off the western coast of Africa, noting the system has a strong chance of strengthening into a tropical depression within the coming days. In an official weather advisory released to the public at 5:31 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) confirmed that current atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Atlantic are supportive of the system’s gradual development. However, forecasters project that environmental conditions will turn less favorable for further strengthening by the end of the week as the wave moves westward across the basin.

    At present, conflicting model guidance from different forecasting centers has not produced a unified consensus on how strong the system will ultimately become when it enters the eastern Caribbean region later this week. Despite this uncertainty, the BMS has emphasized that regardless of the system’s final intensity, current projected tracks show it will pass far to the north of the island nation of Barbados over the weekend. For that reason, no direct impacts from the tropical system are expected for Barbados or its surrounding waters.

    Looking ahead to weekend conditions across the island, forecasters predict generally warm and seasonable weather, with only isolated, localized showers possible, most likely developing during the warmer afternoon hours. As of the Tuesday advisory, no tropical storm watches, hurricane watches, or any other weather warnings are currently in effect for Barbados. The BMS plans to release its next formal update on the system at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday, to keep the public informed of any changes to the projected track or strength.

  • Barbados, Venezuela deepen energy, trade ties

    Barbados, Venezuela deepen energy, trade ties

    In high-level diplomatic talks held in Caracas on Monday, leaders of Barbados and Venezuela have formalized a sweeping bilateral cooperation agreement that aims to deepen economic and people-to-people ties across multiple critical sectors, with energy collaboration at its core.

    The landmark joint declaration, signed by Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, builds on preliminary discussions held in Bridgetown back on April 27, outlining clear action plans for 10 priority areas from food security to tourism, education to transportation. Both nations have committed to immediate implementation of the agreement, with regular progress checks scheduled every six months by their respective foreign ministries.

    At the heart of the new partnership is expanded energy cooperation. Beyond enabling commercial trade of hydrocarbons and oil derivatives between the two countries, Venezuela will share its industry expertise by providing specialized training and capacity-building programs for Barbadian energy workers. It will also extend technical support for land-based hydrocarbon exploration and the rehabilitation of mature oil fields. Looking toward a low-carbon future, the two countries will jointly explore investment opportunities in renewable energy development and related infrastructure projects, and a dedicated technical working group will be set up to track the execution of all energy-related commitments.

    Food security, another top priority, will see the two governments develop a coordinated joint work plan that addresses climate resilience in agriculture, covering climate adaptation, sustainable resilient farming systems, improved livestock management, soil conservation, and joint agricultural research and development. They will also formalize a bilateral protocol to standardize import and export regulations for meat products, and open up new opportunities for cross-border investment in agricultural land.

    In the fisheries sector, the partnership will focus on unlocking joint investment in fish processing, value addition, distribution logistics, and the transfer of industry knowledge and technology. For education, the agreement paves the way for expanded student and teacher mobility, starting with pilot scholarship programs that will launch for the 2027/2028 academic year in both countries. Language teacher exchanges will also kick off in the same academic term, and negotiations are underway to finalize a Mutual Recognition Agreement that will validate educational qualifications for language courses and other professional training programs across both nations.

    Tourism collaboration is set to move forward quickly: the two countries expect to sign a dedicated bilateral tourism agreement within the coming weeks, designed to boost two-way visitor arrivals, improve coordination between private tour operators, and develop new multi-destination travel packages that highlight the attractions of both nations. Barbados’ Minister of Tourism will undertake an official visit to Venezuela within the next four months, and the first ever Binational Tourism Meeting is scheduled to be held in 2027.

    To support growing trade ties, the two countries have agreed to work toward launching a dedicated direct maritime cargo route, and will promote the existing Bridgetown-Porlamar-Caracas air route, with the shared goal of positioning both nations as key regional air connectivity transit hubs.

    The talks also included recognition of recent humanitarian support from Barbados to Venezuela, following the double seismic event that struck the country on June 24. President Rodríguez extended public gratitude to the government and people of Barbados for deploying search and rescue teams, delivering critical humanitarian supplies, and setting up a fully functional field hospital in Guarenas, Miranda State. To date, that field hospital has provided medical care to more than 2,600 Venezuelan residents. During her visit, Prime Minister Mottley toured the facility, met with patients and the Barbadian medical team deployed there.

    To oversee the full spectrum of cooperation projects, a permanent Binational Joint Commission will be established, which will convene for annual meetings, alternating between the two capitals Caracas and Bridgetown. In the coming weeks, Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will pay a reciprocal official visit to Barbados to continue advancing the terms of the new agreement.

  • Caribbean warned of worsening drought, extreme heat into 2027

    Caribbean warned of worsening drought, extreme heat into 2027

    Top regional climate research bodies have issued an urgent call for Caribbean nations to ramp up preparations for a prolonged period of deepening drought and record-breaking extreme heat, driven by a rapidly intensifying El Niño event forecast to sustain dry conditions across most of the region well into 2027.

    In a joint announcement released Tuesday, scientists from the University of the West Indies Climate Studies Group Mona (UWI CSGM) and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) outlined that potentially historic high temperatures could arrive as early as the March-to-May window of 2027. The warning lands as the region enters the August–October peak of the annual Caribbean Heat Season, with unusual dryness already impacting multiple areas months ahead of the official climatological Dry Season that kicks off each November.

    Cedric Van Meerbeeck, a senior climatologist at CIMH, explained that El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean strengthened rapidly from weak to moderate intensity between May and July 2026, with current projections indicating a shift to very strong strength between October and December this year. The climate phenomenon is overwhelmingly likely to remain active through the peak of the Caribbean Dry Season in March 2027.

    Historically, El Niño events have been tied to severe regional droughts, including the major dry spells that struck the Caribbean in 2009–2010 and 2014–2016. Beyond water scarcity, the phenomenon also raises the risk of extreme humid heat events, uncontrolled wildfires, and marine heatwaves that trigger destructive coral bleaching across the region’s fragile reef ecosystems.

    For areas already grappling with drought, particularly across the Eastern Caribbean, water resource recovery will likely be far slower than normal even during the traditional September–November Wet Season peak. Long-range forecasts project below-average rainfall stretching from the Guianas through the Lesser Antilles and into the Greater Antilles through at least October 2026, paired with a sharp uptick in the number of consecutive hot-spell days.

    The combined impact of reduced precipitation and higher evaporation rates is expected to push most of the Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, ABC Islands, sections of the Greater Antilles (including Jamaica and Hispaniola), and parts of The Bahamas into full drought by October or November 2026. These dry conditions are projected to persist into early 2027, expanding across a larger swath of the Caribbean and worsening risks of accumulated water deficits and devastating wildfires.

    “The risks that our science signaled earlier this year are now beginning to materialize,” noted Michael Taylor, Co-Director of UWI CSGM. “We are seeing an emerging climate disaster whose impacts combine heat, drought, and marine extremes. Unlike a hurricane, the impacts will continue to build over months. However, that should not lessen the urgency or scale of our preparations.” Taylor emphasized that proactive actions taken in the coming weeks will directly shape the range of response options available to governments as conditions deteriorate.

    The two organizations warn that the combination of low rainfall and elevated temperatures will ripple across multiple critical sectors of Caribbean economies. Agricultural output and food security are expected to take a major hit, particularly for smallholder farmers who rely entirely on rainfall for their crops. Public health risks will also grow, driven by poor water quality and limited access to safe water, increased transmission of vector-borne diseases, and a surge in heat-related illnesses.

    Water and energy infrastructure will face heightened strain as demand for space cooling rises, while the region’s key tourism sector will see increased pressure to meet higher demand for both air conditioning and freshwater supplies. If El Niño disrupts local food production and international supply chains that Caribbean nations depend on, the impacts could also push up regional cost of living. Researchers pointed to recent drought-related disruptions at the Panama Canal as a clear example of how severe dry conditions can block key trade routes and slow the movement of goods into the region.

    While El Niño is typically linked to a less active Atlantic hurricane season, Van Meerbeeck urged stakeholders against complacency. CIMH’s August 2026 outlook confirms strong evidence that the remainder of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season will produce fewer named storms than an average year, following a relatively calm start to the season. Even so, Van Meerbeeck stressed that a single major hurricane or intense extreme rainfall event could still cause catastrophic loss of life and widespread damage across vulnerable island nations.

    David Farrell, Principal of CIMH, called on national governments and other key decision-makers to act immediately on the available climate data. “Proactive measures are vital for mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events on climate-sensitive sectors, communities, and national economies,” he said. Both the general public and decision-makers are encouraged to follow regular monthly updates from the Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) on rainfall, drought, heat and other evolving climate conditions as the region approaches the 2026–2027 Dry Season.

  • Lashley leads Barbados’ nine-medal haul

    Lashley leads Barbados’ nine-medal haul

    Barbados’ junior national cycling team has delivered a once-in-a-generation performance at the 2024 Caribbean Junior Road Cycling Championships in Belize, securing an event-leading nine medals to finish atop the overall standings. Team manager Allan Kelly called the result the island nation’s strongest junior cycling showing in more than a decade, with the young riders exceeding every pre-competition expectation.

    In an interview with Barbados TODAY from Belize ahead of the team’s scheduled return to the island on Tuesday, Kelly expressed shock and elation over the historic outcome. “We knew the calibre of riders we were facing here — many of the top competitors have taken part in international development camps, so we expected extremely fierce competition,” he explained. “To leave with nine medals and finish as the top overall nation across the entire championship? I’m absolutely blown away.”

    Unlike past years when Barbados sent a small, select group of elite junior riders, the national federation opted to field a larger delegation for this year’s championship. That strategic choice paid immediate dividends: on the opening day’s time trial event, all five of Barbados’ competing riders won medals, a result Kelly described as “phenomenal.” The team’s winning momentum carried into Sunday’s road race, where the young Barbadians added another four medals to their total.

    Kelly emphasized that this result marks a major milestone for Barbadian junior cycling, noting that the country has not achieved a medal haul of this scale in 10 to 15 years. “This is incredibly rewarding, and also very promising,” he said. “This feels like the start of something very big for our program.”

    The team manager attributed the landmark success to two key factors: rigorous, consistent training for all riders and expanded international competition exposure for the program’s top prospects. Leading riders Alexis Lashley and Jonah Kelly anchored the team’s performance, with Jonah having spent the past several months training and competing in Belgium — the same base where many of his top rivals at the Caribbean championships were also based.

    Kelly noted that cycling standards across the Caribbean have risen sharply in recent years, as more regional riders pursue international competition opportunities to sharpen their skills. “Caribbean riders have really upped their game across the board,” he said. “More of them are heading overseas to compete, to fight for podium spots, and we’ve taken the same approach. A lot of this success comes down to that international exposure and the solid, structured training programs we’ve put our athletes through.”

    Lashley emerged as the breakout star of the championship for Barbados, taking home gold medals in both the time trial and road race events. Kelly said her dominant performance came as no surprise to the team’s coaching staff. “Alexis was incredibly confident going into both races — she knew she had the form and the talent to win, so she attacked from the opening moments and put in a remarkable ride,” he explained. “While this is a team achievement, she was undoubtedly the star of these championships, and we could not be prouder of her.”

    Far from resting on this historic success, the Barbados Cycling Union and the team’s athletes are already laying the groundwork for long-term growth and future international wins. Kelly outlined a targeted junior development strategy running through 2027, focused on sending more young Barbadian riders to elite international competitions including the Pan American Championships. For his part, Jonah Kelly is continuing to pursue his professional development in Belgium, where he is currently vying for a spot on a junior professional development team that would allow him to compete in some of the world’s biggest junior cycling events.

  • Residents: Enough patching; resurface the roads

    Residents: Enough patching; resurface the roads

    For years, residents of Silver Sands, Barbados, have endured crumbling, pothole-ridden local roads held together only by repeated temporary patchwork repairs that fail to stand up to the island’s heavy rainfall. Now fed up with unfulfilled government promises, the community is publicly calling for the long-promised full resurfacing work to finally get underway.

    When a reporter from Barbados TODAY visited the district last week, the poor state of the infrastructure was immediately obvious. Many motorists had resorted to dangerous workarounds to navigate the damaged roads: some drivers pulled into the opposite lane to avoid large, deep potholes, while others slowed their vehicles to a crawl to minimize the risk of tire blowouts, suspension damage, or other costly mechanical issues.

    Multiple residents told reporters that some stretches of road in Silver Sands have not undergone a full resurfacing in more than three decades. They added that the temporary patchwork repairs that crews repeatedly carry out rarely last more than a few weeks, as heavy tropical rain often washes the loose filler away, leaving the road in even worse condition than before the work was done.

    One local resident described a confusing repair job he recently witnessed, saying crews dug up sections of pavement before refilling the trenches with loose stone, a fix that he says does nothing to address the underlying road damage. “They just dig up; I don’t know what they digging up for,” he explained. “They just digging up, throw in back the marl, then further down digging up looking for something and going down all the time so. I don’t know if they checking the mains.”

    This resident confirmed the government has long promised to complete full resurfacing along the corridor from Oistins to Silver Sands, including Hopewell Road. “I know this is the plan, to get resurfaced; there’s a plan to come right up from Oistins and come up,” he said. But he noted that unfinished, haphazard work has already left new hazards: “Before it had a little hump; now you dropping in it cause they just digging out and throw the thing one side there so and left a hole.”

    A female resident echoed the frustration, emphasizing that many key roads across the district have never been resurfaced at all in her lifetime. “There are other important roads that have never been touched; now who’s in charge of these operations cause it’s not making sense,” she said, adding that even when resurfacing work is started, crews leave gaps and unfilled holes behind before abandoning the project.

    Longtime Silver Sands resident Carol Trotman summed up the community’s mood, describing the current road conditions as “terrible” and arguing that temporary patchwork fixes are no longer sufficient. “The roads are so, so bad and they keep patching, you know you put on a plaster and when the plaster start to roll off, you gotta put on a fresh one, but it need resurfacing,” she said.

    Trotman explained why temporary pothole patching never lasts in the island’s climate. “You know this is rainy season now, then when the road keeps beating down the hole, then the hole gets worse- because when the plaster pulls out, it pulls out a whole set of everything, and then it gets deeper,” she said. She added that driving after dark is particularly dangerous, as rainwater fills potholes and hides their depth from drivers. “At night, it rains, and it’s full of water, and you drop in; what’s gonna happen now?”

    Like many in the community, Trotman said she is exhausted by repeated unkept promises from elected officials. “They need to do their work and stop promising; a promise is a comfort to a fool… It’s not only about you; it’s about us cause us is who put you here in the first place, and you can’t do things just to suit yourself. I think you need to work for the people,” she said.

    Trotman called for full resurfacing across the entire Silver Sands area, stretching from Ealing Park to the Eggabout and down to Sayers Court. She also criticized the fragmented nature of past repair work, noting that after crews resurface a stretch of road, utility teams often dig up the new pavement to carry out water or natural gas work, leaving new potholes and uneven surfaces behind with no follow-up repairs.

    When asked about the Pearly app, launched earlier this year to allow Barbados residents to report potholes and other infrastructure issues directly to the government, Trotman said she prefers direct communication with officials rather than using a digital tool. “I prefer talk because those things don’t actually let you speak what’s on your mind,” she said, adding that she also avoids calling into popular radio talk shows to share complaints, after past experiences where her comments were cut off when she criticized officials. “What the sense I have issues but when I start to say the truth they gone cut me off, I don’t need that nonsense. I prefer to talk to you one on one and say what I have to say.”

    As of press time, attempts by Barbados TODAY to contact Silver Sands’ Member of Parliament and the Minister of Transport and Works for comment on the residents’ complaints have not received a response.

  • Barbados women qualify for 2027 Pan American Games

    Barbados women qualify for 2027 Pan American Games

    Fresh off a stunning gold medal run at the recently concluded CAC Games in the Dominican Republic, Barbados’ elite women’s squash team has etched its name into the history books, locking in a qualifying spot for the 2027 Pan American Games after a standout fifth-place finish at the 27th Pan-American Senior Squash Championships in Asuncion, Paraguay. The team capped off their impressive tournament campaign with a decisive 2-0 win over Ecuador on the final Saturday, a result that pushed them into the top 11 of the overall standings — easily meeting the minimum qualifying threshold for the next iteration of the continental games. The opening tie of the clash against Ecuador fell to Meagan Best, the CAC Games women’s singles silver medalist, who fought through a four-set battle against Maria Buenano to claim a 11-4, 11-5, 9-11, 11-1 victory. Remarkably, Best wrapped up the entire team event without dropping a single match, a testament to her unrelenting form throughout the championships. Next up was Margot Prow, the CAC Games women’s singles gold medalist, who faced off against Ecuador’s top-ranked player Maria Moya. After dropping the opening set in a lopsided 5-11 result, Prow dug in deep and reeled off three consecutive set wins to seal the overall tie victory for Barbados, with a final scoreline of 5-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8. With Barbados holding an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the tie, the scheduled third match between Eboni Atherley and her Ecuadorian opponent was canceled before it began. This qualification adds to a growing legacy of success for Barbados’ women’s squash program: at the 2023 Pan American Games hosted in Santiago, Chile, the same women’s squad brought home two bronze medals for the nation, marking one of the country’s strongest squash performances at a major continental event to date. It was not just the women who ended the championships on a high note, either. Barbados’ men’s team capped off their run by defeating Guyana 2-1 to claim the plate final title, finishing 13th overall in a field of top regional squads. The men’s tie got off to a strong start for Barbados, with second-ranked Darien Benn delivering a convincing straight-set win over Alex Arjoon. Benn controlled the entirety of the match, wrapping up a 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 victory that put Barbados ahead early. The momentum shifted in the second match, however, when Khamal Cumberbatch, Barbados’ top player and three-time reigning Caribbean champion, suffered a surprising upset at the hands of Guyana’s Daniel Ince. Ince claimed a four-set win 11-7, 7-11, 2-11, 7-11, pulling the tie level at one match apiece and setting up a decisive final encounter. In the deciding match, veteran Barbadian player Shawn Simpson leveraged decades of on-court experience to outlast his much younger Guyanese opponent Nicholas Verwey, securing a five-set win 5-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-3. Notably, Simpson made his senior national team debut back in 2001 — years before his 20-year-old opponent was even born. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Don Benn, team manager for the Barbadian squad, shared his enthusiasm for the results achieved by both teams. He praised the dedication and effort of all eight competing athletes, while also crediting head coach Wael El Batran for his strategic guidance and positive impact on the squad’s performance. Benn also highlighted a key milestone from the event: both the men’s and women’s teams finished the team competition with overall winning records, a reflection of the depth of talent and preparation across the entire Barbadian delegation.