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Vol. 31, Issue 18 BROOKLYN EDITION May 1-7, 2020
SPOKE
IN THE
WHEEL
Bahamas must abandon
oil drilling says upstart
congressional reps
By Bert Wilkinson
As if it does not have enough
headaches trying to recover
from the devastation Hurricane
Dorian wreaked last year and
now the economic lockdown
from the coronavirus, a group of
American Congressional representatives
have started a spirited
campaign to prevent The Bahamas
from drilling for offshore
oil because they fear a spill could
affect mainland America.
The group of 16 that includes
names such as former DNC Chair,
Debbie Wasserman Schultz and
New York’s own Alexandria Ocasio
Cortez, has written Secretary
of State, Mike Pompeo demanding
that he does everything in
his power to ensure that the
Bahamas Petroleum Corporation
(BPC) is prevented from
spudding its first well later this
year.
The group is selfishly basing
its argument on something that
has absolutely nothing to do with
The Bahamas — the Deepwater
Horizon offshore disaster off the
American southern coast about a
decade ago — that had wreaked
economic and environmental
havoc on several coastal states.
British Petroleum was the operator
at the time.
The BPC had been hoping to
drill its first exploratory well in
waters between the archipelago
and Cuba in May but the logistical
nightmares from the coronavirus
have forced a postponement
until October, the corporation
said just this week.
The move by the Caribbean
Community nation to drill for
and find its own oil and gas
supplies comes as other bloc
member nations are taking similar
actions in earnest, including
Grenada, Jamaica and Bar-
Workers secure a van full of bodies of deceased people, during the outbreak of coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) at the Andrew Cleckley Funeral Home in the Brooklyn borough
of New York City, New York, U.S., April 29, 2020. REUTERS / Lucas Jackson
Persaud wants probe of funeral
home with decomposing bodies
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Sen. Roxanne Persaud
on Wednesday called for a
full investigation into reports
that decomposing bodies were
found in two U-Hall trucks at
a funeral home in Brooklyn.
“I am calling for a full investigation
of this funeral home
and holding the responsible
persons accountable for their
actions,” said the Guyaneseborn
Persaud, who represents
the 19th Senatorial District.
“Families have an expectation
that the remains of
their loved ones are handled
in a respectful and dignified
manner,” added the representative
for the Brooklyn
neighborhoods of Canarsie,
East New York, Brownsville,
Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay,
Bergen Beach, Marine Park,
Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown,
Ocean Hill, and Starrett
City.
The New York Times reported
on Wednesday that a funeral
home in Brooklyn “improperly
stored dozens of decomposing
human bodies in two
rental trucks parked outside
that drew scrutiny after neighbors
detected a stench coming
from the vehicles.”
The paper said “it was not
immediately clear whether the
bodies found in the trucks, at
the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral
Home, were linked to the
coronavirus pandemic.”
Persaud said she was
informed Wednesday morn-
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