National Address on Crime by Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham
3 October 2011

My Fellow Bahamians:
Good evening.

Tonight, I speak to you on the issue of crime which is undoubtedly the most pressing issue in our nation. Crime has become one of the greatest threats to our way of life and to life itself.

The security, protection and welfare of the Bahamian people are among the most fundamental duties of my Government. These are my most urgent responsibilities.

We are today confronted by an intolerable level of crime, especially violent crime, and disrespect by the criminal class for life and for the Giver of Life.

U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas, Her Excellency Nicole Avant, met with members of the Bahamas National Youth Council (BNYC) and CARICOM youth leaders on Friday who are visiting Nassau to participate in Caribbean Youth Day celebrations. CARICOM designated October 1 as the official day to recognize the contributions made by young people in the region with the goal of promoting regional integration and fostering increased civic participation among youth.

During an in-depth discussion held at the Ambassador's residence the emerging leaders shared with Ambassador Avant some of the common issues impacting youth in the region and their efforts to impact change through youth organizations locally.

On Monday, October 3, 2011 the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Republic of Cuba signed an Agreement delimiting their maritime boundaries, after almost 40 years of negotiations.

The Hon. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the agreement on behalf of The Bahamas. His Excellency Jos� Luis Ponce Caraballo, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to The Bahamas, signed on behalf of his country. The ceremony was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in the Goodman's Bay Corporate Centre.

This week Sandals Royal Bahamian welcomed Former Vermont State Senator Samuel T. Hudson, Jr and his wife Patricia to the property.

The couple, who have been visiting the resort for a decade now, first came to Sandals in 2001 to celebrate their 49th and have been coming back every year since. Next year they hope to return for their 60th. "We love the resort and the Bahamas the people have always been beautiful and friendly," Mr Hudson said.

The St Andrew's School community came together recently and raised a total $5,000 which was donated to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to help Family Island residents hardest hit by Hurricane Irene.

A Bake Sale held September 14th and 15th was organized by the school's Year 13 IB students who also collected donations of canned goods, clothing, and blankets. The Year 13 students said, "once we heard of the devastation, there was not a single student who didn't want to help. We were grateful for the response of the whole school, both in donations and in sales. We would like to thank the entire student body, parents, the administration, and the faculty for supporting our efforts!"

How do you go from a small settlement on a quaint Family Island to the highest office in the country? Former Governor General Dame Ivy Dumont has it documented in a compelling memoir about her life and shared her personal story recently with an audience at The College of The Bahamas' Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre.

Dame Ivy, author of Rose's to Mount Fitzwilliam, was the featured guest at Meet The Writer on Wednesday, September 21st. The book records the life of an island girl whose devotion to the development of people helped to shape her destiny.

Bahamas National Youth Council (BNYC) joined thousands of youth organizations and communities across the region in celebrating Caribbean Youth Day, September 29th to October 1st.

Under the theme, 'One Caribbean-Seeing the Future Through the Eyes of Our Youth', the BNYC, along with student representatives from the University of the West Indies(UWI), representatives from National Youth Councils around the region, The Hummingbird Association of Jamaica, the Cuban Resident Association in The Bahamas and other Caribbean Associations, promoted a message of regional integration, youth importance and accomplishments to The Bahamas.

The Keep Grand Bahama Clean (KGBC) committee kicked-off its fifth anniversary celebrations with special church services at Bahamas Faith Ministries this past Sunday.

On Monday morning, anniversary celebrations continued as KGBC members made their way to the Walter Parker Primary School for a special presentation to the student body. This year, a special treat for the eager students was a lively interactive show featuring the KGBC puppets.

Recently the Grand Bahama Shipyard family graduated another 8 apprentices from their in-house training initiative. The 7th Annual Apprentice Graduation was held at the Grand Lucayan Resort under the theme "Embracing an exciting future with wisdom, pride and responsibility."

Chairman and CEO of the Grand Bahama Shipyard Carl-Gustaf Rotkirch spoke to this year's Apprentices noting, "they should never settle for less than excitement at work, always reach for goals that give reason for pride, and their wisdom will develop." Following his address he impressed upon them that they now have the basis for becoming real tradesmen in the ship repair business.

This year's annual Car Show, presented by the New Car Federation of Grand Bahama in October, will show people how it's possible to afford to purchase a new car this year.

The show, planned for Saturday October 29, will once again be at the RND Plaza where there is lots of room for car companies, banks and insurance companies to show you how it is economically feasible for you to buy a new car here in Grand Bahama.

General contractors, City Services Ltd. released their plans for further expansion within the island's industrial centre with the purchase of over 5 acres of land from Freeport Commercial and Industrial Limited (FCIL) a subsidiary of the Port Group of Companies.

Through joint efforts of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) and local brokers, Coldwell Banker James Sarles Realty, City Services was successful in acquiring two heavy industrial parcels of land to begin immediate construction of the company's home office and heavy equipment maintenance facility complex.

This week we thought we would showcase some of the older dogs that have been at the shelter a while. If you are interested in adopting why not come down to the Humane Society and take a look at what we have to offer. The shelter is located on Coral Rd., just before the airport, or call us at 352-2477.

Meet Lexi: She and her sister Fluffy were adopted out in 2010 but were released back to us due to the economy. Both are chow mix and are very friendly.

This is the time of year that vineyards work and wait for: harvest time. A year's worth of decisions, pruning, nurturing and watching all come to fruition at this time. This work and these decisions are all combined under the name viticulture. Viticulture encompasses growing grapes and the decisions made during their growth like training of the vines, pruning of the vines, irrigation, pest management and manipulating the vines' and grapes' growth through canopy management.

There are conditions that affect style, quality and price of wine and these are called "factors of production: grape variety, climate and weather, soil type/terroir, grape growing (viticulture) and wine making (vinification). Except for the wine making, these factors of production all affect harvesting. Here is an overview of what happens to get to the act of harvesting once the grapes start developing.

In late 1966 the Port Authority received a request from the fledgling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) for the use of the Freeport supermarket parking lot for a political rally. The speaker was a young Lynden O Pindling the leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly. For reasons I do not recall I was chosen to coordinate the event which merely meant getting a podium installed and arranging an electrical connection for the lights.

I arrived in the evening a short while before Mr Pindling arrived to confirm that the podium was in place and a lighting connection was available. Meanwhile an enormous crowd (by the standards of the day) was assembling. I was just about to leave when LOP arrived and beckoned to me before mounting the podium.

A little more than a month after Hurricane Irene slammed into Cat Island in the central Bahamas, tearing off roofs and tearing apart lives, the mailboat M/V KCT arrived late last week with a container packed with love and crammed with proof that people cared. It bore furniture, paper goods, cleaning supplies, food, toiletries, clothing and more.

The owners of the M/V KCT, refusing to accept pay for shipping relief supplies, were among the unsung heroes who partnered in a drive started by Bank of The Bahamas to assist the hurricane-ravaged island.

Five weeks after Hurricane Irene slammed into The Bahamas downing power lines and crippling phone service in the Family Islands, BTC said today repairmen -- many working seven- day weeks since the storm -- are nearing completion despite constant weather setbacks.

In Long Island, where two out of every three homes or businesses dependent upon landlines were affected, restoration of service is nearly complete.

The Cat Island Sailing Club, under the leadership of President Maxwell Burrows, traveled to Cat Island on Saturday and Sunday September 24th and 25th. He was accompanied by Vice President James Gilbert, Secretary Andrea Sturrup, Treasurer Marcian Mortimer and other Club members.

The group visited victims affected by Hurricane Irene and distributed cases of water to the victims. The group inspected damaged homes in the various settlements and handed out water from Orange Creek to Devil's Point.

Stages came alive this weekend as the 10-day theatre festival Shakespeare in Paradise kicked off its third year in Nassau. With five different shows at three different venues (and several schools) around the island, theatergoers and performing arts aficionados are once again being treated to a high-calibre array of shows.

Festival Director Nicolette Bethel said that this year's selections were chosen to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests, encompassing plays of local and international origin, but all with universal themes and appeal. "Of course, we have a Shakespeare play as our centerpiece, and this year that is 'Julius Caesar'. It's got political drama, deception and intrigue that every politician and voter can identify with, even in our Bahamas today."

Grand Bahama Island was treated to a high-octane performance by The Street Beats Group from New York City Saturday night, October 1st. The Street Beats rocked the audience at the Regency Theatre with their enormous talent and energetic urban groove - a riveting combination of drumming, tap, hip hop, and break dancing that had everyone on their feet wanting more.

An inspiring and well-attended set of workshops with the Street Beats was held the morning of the show, giving enthusiastic local students a chance to meet the performers up close and learn about their edgy blend of dance and percussion using everyday objects, such as paint containers and trash cans.

Written by noted Bahamian Historian Dr. Gail Saunders, the book 'Historic Bahamas' comprises short essays on a variety of topics which were originally published in The Nassau Guardian between Feb. 2005 and Jun. 2007. The topics include Slavery, Liberated Africans, Industries in The Bahamas, the Protest in the 1940s and 1950s, Social Life, and Women.

The book is available at the following booksellers: The National Art Gallery on West Hill St., Chapter One Bookstore on Thompson Blvd., Buy The Book on Saunders Beach, Logos Bookstore in Harbour Bay and Media Enterprises on Shirley Park Ave.

St. Anne's School 12th-grader Timothy Kabiga views one of his paintings on display, during the opening of the E. Clement Bethel National Arts and Crafts Exhibition, on September 30, at UBS House on East Bay Street.

Timothy had seven of his pieces accepted for the exhibition.

(BIS Photo / Eric Rose)

A cultural treat is in store for patrons at this year's Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation's BahamArts Festival, slated for the weekend beginning Friday, October 28 at the Arawak Cay culture centre. It will feature more than 100 booths promoting the diversity of Bahamian art and craft.

Live craft demonstrations on utilising local resources in plaiting, painting, shelling, and coconut craft; food preparation promoting Bahamian recipes; and the application of traditional medicines are all in store. Sloop regattas, concerts, youth band competitions, and the popular tea party will all be returning.

Freeport resident Bob Laberge has recently published a computer technical book "The Data Warehouse Mentor" with McGraw-Hill (New York). Now available through Amazon.com and at book-signing events "The Data Warehouse Mentor" covers practical and technical aspects of current data warehouse and business intelligence issues with views on realistic solutions within the management and technical arenas.

Data warehousing topics are first presented from a high-level overview to ensure the terminology and context is understood, and are then covered in deeper detail to clarify the specifics. These topics all pertain to data warehousing, business intelligence, and performance management.

Despite the effects of Hurricane Irene, the North Eleuthera Regatta committee is pressing ahead with plans to make this years regatta, scheduled for Oct 13th - 16th, the most exciting one ever. Kalik has come on board to give the committee it's full support ensuring that the North Eleuthera (Harbour Island Regatta) achieves its' goal of staging a successful event.

"We are proud to be apart of this iconic cultural event, which is arguably one of the largest in the country and by all means, is one of the more enjoyable."

The Bahamas Billfish Championship continues its successful run in 2012 with the following events planned:

Guana Cay Championship - April 24 - 28, 2012 (Orchid Bay Yacht Club & Marina)

Cape Eleuthera Championship - May 8 - 12, 2012 (Cape Eleuthera Resort & Marina)

Business License Tax

Dear Editor,

Possibly some readers could clarify this situation: For example;

We are a land development Company and pay yearly incorporation assessment as well as attorney while we await a change in the economic ability to sell property. We wait three, four, or more years and have nothing but expenses. Then comes a year where property has a sale-able value. Then an individual looks at our profit or "earnings" for this particular year and determines "These people are making money so here is their tax".

Doesn't this kill the willingness to gamble on real estate here in the Bahamas? And doesn't this look like socialism?
Interested investor

PLP Marco City candidate takes GB Power Co. to task on over-billing

PLP Candidate for Marco City, Gregory Moss, says that he has received documentation which shows that the Grand Bahama Power Company has admitted, in writing, that it has overbilled commercial and industrial customers in Grand Bahama for the last 7 years and that it has paid compensation to those customers for overbilling.

According to Mr. Moss, he has been informed that the total compensation which has been paid by the Grand Bahama Power Company to its commercial and industrial customers so far is in excess of $5.5 million.

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Dennis Dames responds to Punch article 'Marco Kidnapped Near House of Suspect's Gay Pal'

Greetings Editor:

I find it absolutely compelling to respond to a Punch article today - Monday October 03, 2011 - entitled: Marco Kidnapped Near House Of Suspect's Gay Pal.

The article named my brother, Marvin Dames; former police deputy chief as a cousin of the suspect involved in the murder of young Marco Archer.

It's an absolute lie which reflects The Punch's criminal attitude and behavior towards ordinary citizens just to sell a few papers. The Punch is no different than any other thug on our streets; as the old saying goes: A liar is a thief and a thief is a murderer.