At the Golden Gates constituency headquarters opening, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham introduced the Free National Movement candidate, Winsome Miller, recognizing the contributions of Bahamian women to public service. The PM, who earlier celebrated International Women's Day at a luncheon with FNM female candidates, pointed out his party promoted more women in significant positions compared to the PLP.

The PM spoke of the need for economic and development planning for the next term reminding Bahamians that in 2013 we will celebrate 40 years of independence. He said the country needs a longer-term, comprehensive plan for development touching on all areas, and presented his vision for the independence golden jubilee coming up in 2023.

The Bahamas applauds Germany for maintaining its economic status during the current financial crisis in the European Union, as a new ambassador was accredited to this country.

His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes, Governor General made the statement on the Occasion of the Presentation of Letters of Credence by His Excellency Josef Beck, accrediting him Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The Bahamas and Germany established ties in 1973. Since 2009, Bahamians were able to travel to Germany without a Schengen Visa; Germany being a Shengen country.

About 500 persons recently screened a documentary in the Atlantis Conference Center where a team of local and Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation scientific divers observed Bahamian coral reefs suffering from coral bleaching as a result of climate change pollution and overfishing.

During the screening, the seven Bahamas National Trust (BNT) researchers recalled what they observed and learned during their diving experiences, in the Living Oceans Foundation's short film called "Mission Bahamas", filmed on the M/Y Golden Shadow. The M/Y Golden Shadow is a 67-meter (220 ft) logistical support vessel that carries a Cessna Caravan Amphibious aircraft.

"In October 2009, on the occasion of The 50th Anniversary of The Bahamas National Trust, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham announced his intention to expand the national parks system of The Bahamas.

Today, I am honoured to announce the establishment of the Fowl Cays National Park, a new national park for Abaco between Scotland Cay and Man o' War Cay; the expansion of the Conception Island National Park and the expansion of the West Side National Park on the island of Andros," said Minister of the Environment, MP Earl Deveaux,

He went on to note, "The Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas boast six national parks ...

Ms. Clare Symonette, local representative for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt International Publishers presented Minister of Education, The Honourable T. Desmond with 1200 textbooks, teaching and other educational materials for primary schools in the MICAL District that were impacted by Hurricane Irene. Ms. Symonette in presenting the materials to Minister Bannister noted that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt International Publishers' partnership with the Ministry has existed for some forty-five (45) years.

She further stated that when it came to their attention that the MICAL schools had lost all of their materials in the hurricane, they were pleased to assist them in restoring their school's operation.

Third and fourth graders at Centreville Primary School got a lessson in how to respond if ever they find themselves in an emergency situation from a team of Doctors Hospital paramedics. The members of the Doctors Hospital Emergency Transport Services department provided the students participating in the 8-week Doctors Hospital Health and Wellness education initiative with a visual demonstration and lecture on emergency preparation and safety awareness.

Students and some of their parents learned about the paramedics' critical role in responding to emergency calls and transporting patients in an ambulance, and were also taught the vital signs like heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, breathing and oxygen saturation which the paramedics monitor when responding to an emergency.

Bahamian Forensic Accountant John Bain has been specially selected to participate in a defining webinar hosted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to develop the organisation's integrated report as part of a pilot program initiated by the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC).

Bain, the first Bahamian elected to the ACCA's International Assembly, has been hand selected as an integral member of a small group of ACCA International Assembly representatives invited to participate in the webinar organized to outline high-level issues the ACCA has identified as being of greatest importance to its 140,000 members in 170 countries.

On what could only be called a glorious day, 32 boats took to the sea for the 2nd Annual Grand Bahama Shipyard Fishing Tournament. Anticipation was high and the competitors were anxious to leave the Grand Bahama Yacht Club dock and get to their spots as the weather had calmed down just for this event.

A little after 7am, Father Harry Bain blessed all participants via VHF radio and CEO, Carl Rotkirch officially started the competition. Organized by the Shipyard Apprentices, under the watchful eyes of Ed Pavey, Tournament Director and Director of Technical and Planning at the yard the event was a huge success with double the vessel entries this year.

The Tibbitts are back. And they have cast their culinary spell once again on Grand Bahama! Chef Tim Tibbitts and his wife, Sommelier, Rebecca Tibbitts opened FLYING FISH restaurant in Freeport in late February and are once again delighting the foodie in us all.

Nestled between the two largest hotels on the island, Pelican Bay and the Grand Lucayan, Flying Fish restaurant sits adjacent to the tourist center of Port Lucaya Marketplace and offers a beautiful waterside dining location complete with its own parking.

On Thursday, 8th March 2012, to mark International Women's Day, over 50 women, men and children from Freeport joined together to celebrate the strengths and achievements of women, standing united with people from all over the world who were gathering on bridges to demonstrate they can build the bridges of peace and equality for all.

The Garden of the Groves was the host venue, and the Grand Bahama Labyrinth, Bridge and Garden Cafe were the backdrop for the festivities as attendees listened to speeches and music performed by violinist Julia LeBlanc, enjoyed an art show by the women of the Grand Bahama Artist Association, and walked the bridge and signed the peace banner with messages of peace and hope.

Canadian improv group, The Dumigod Players, who are the stars of he Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society's 4th annual Comedy Show are eagerly anticipating their island getaway when they come to Grand Bahama this weekend to bring their own brand of improvisational humour to the local audience and supporters of the arts.

The big show is this Saturday, March 17th at the Regency Theatre at 8pm.

'Improv' is a form of performance art in which actors use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously, typically using audience suggestions to contribute to the content and direction of the performance.

Tuesday March 13, 2012 - Today was pretty much a typical day at the shelter. For some reason two events made today more poignant for me than other days; possibly because my job duties often keep me from spending much time with the animals themselves. With the whirlwind of events and activities the past few months, I have probably spent less time than ever with them. I am thankful for days like today when the fates conspire perhaps to remind me of something important.

At 9:10 this morning I was headed west on GB Highway towards the airport. I had just turned the corner off Coral Road when I spotted a small dog running in the same direction just off the road. I pulled ahead of the dog and pulled over so she was behind me. I quickly turned off the engine and got out as quietly as possible seeing she was nervous and poised to bolt. She was about 30 feet from me. I talked quietly and soothingly to her the whole time I was getting food out for her.

(extracted from the book 'Grand Bahama' by Peter Barratt)

After the signing of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, early town planning looked to creating an industrial zone around the harbour with a residential area on the eastern side replacing the settlement at Pine Ridge that was being phased out. The small community consisted of temporary housing, a commissary and a bank. Later it was decided, with the understandable arbitrariness that typified the early development of Freeport, to create the new settlement in the pine barren about four miles east of the harbour (it was actually the approximate mid-point on the railway line between the harbour and Pine Ridge).

The man responsible for the early planning was Jan Porel (a ward of the Pierpont Morgan family) who had already excelled as a grand opera singer, surveyor and engineer, and incidentally was, for a time, the project manager of the Oak Ridge Atomic Center in Tennessee.

With the ink still wet on his pilot's license Indiana flying enthusiast Dale Dellacqua flew to 12 Bahama Islands in four days to nab the coveted Bahamas Pilot Challenge sponsored by The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and Pilot Mall.com.

Launched in 2011, the Bahamas Pilot Challenge offered exciting prizes to general aviation pilots to fly to 12 of The Islands Of The Bahamas' airports of entry (POE) which included the grand prize of an eight night stay on four different islands in The Bahamas.

Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) has begun distributing 6,000 lethal yellowing-resistant coconuts to Family Island farmers in a move to help build a coconut products industry. These Maypan hybrids and Panama dwarfs are going initially to North and South Abaco, Long Island, North and South Andros, Eleuthera, and Exuma.

"These are varieties that are resistant to lethal yellowing, they begin bearing very low to the ground, and they last a long time," said BAIC assistant general manager (agriculture) Arnold Dorsett. "They are very productive varieties and we look forward to farmers harvesting coconuts for a long time at arms length."

Over 60 Long Island fishermen expressed concerns about the fishing industry during a meeting with Prime Minister the Rt Hon Hubert Ingraham and Royal Bahamas Defence Force officials including Commodore Roderick Bowe at Holy Cross Anglican Church's community centre on the weekend.

The local fishermen are concerned about foreigners poaching in Bahamian waters, protection at sea, amendments to the fisheries act and unfair competition in bonefishing among others.

Mario Cartwright, Democratic National Alliance (DNA) candidate for Long Island, had a phenomenal Street Meeting in Long Island on Saturday, March 10. DNA leader Branville McCartney, deputy DNA leader Chris Mortimer, other DNA candidates and hundreds of excited Long Island voters joined Cartwright.

Despite the rain, mud-covered Glinton's Park in North Long Island, Long Islanders stayed put to hear the message of change that the DNA will implement once elected to office. The DNA contends that Long Island has long been neglected by both the current and previous administrations.

The GB Performing Arts Society is pleased to announce that it will be conducting a scholarship competition for high school students once again. On April 21st, two lucky students will win an all expenses paid trip to French Woods Summer Camp for the Performing Arts (www.frenchwoods.com). This competition is open to all high school students who will be between the ages of 13 and 17 as of August 2012. A special information evening will take place on Thursday, March 22nd, at the Wallace Groves Auditorium (Mary Star School) at 7pm.

All interested students and their parents are encouraged to attend to find out more about the camp, the application process and the competition. GBPAS committee members and last years' competition winners will be on hand to answer questions after a short presentation.

The Year 13, Visual Arts students of Lucaya International School are excited to be finalizing studio projects for their upcoming International Baccalaureate Art Exhibition, which is scheduled to open to family, friends, invited guests and the general public from Monday 26th to Friday 30th March.

This exhibition, which acts as their concluding examination, requires students to create a minimum of 12 pieces of studio work, done over a two-year period and a workbook reflecting a commitment to personal media experimentation, cultural and historical research, critical analysis and ongoing investigation of a personal theme.

BTC continues its ongoing support of Bahamian culture and entertainment by sponsoring the country's first evening TV soap opera "Gippie's Kingdom." The $10,000 sponsorship of the upcoming TV program was announced at a press conference at BTC's headquarters today.

Written and directed by Dr. Ian Strachan and co-produced by Travon Patton, "Gippie's Kingdom" is an eight-part series which tells the story of three generations of the Gibson family. The soap opera features more than 30 actors and creatively probes social issues currently facing Bahamian society such as crime, domestic violence, Haitian-Bahamian conflict and marital affairs. Taking its audience from the "classroom to the courtroom," Gippie's Kingdom promises to be a roller coaster ride of raw emotions.

Almost a month of filming on Eleuthera with almost 30 cast and crew will result in "Shark Week" another film made in The Bahamas by a Los Angeles production team. Craig Woods, Bahamas Film and Television Commissioner, pointed out that The Bahamas has had success in attracting many large-scale studio films. However, he said, this latest production demonstrated that smaller, independent films can also be valuable to the country as a film location.

Director Christopher Ray said interesting caves in Eleuthera first attracted his team to the island. "But once we got here, we realized the ocean, the people, everything else - has been a great

The American Twisters Tim Rand Gymnastics Invitational experienced a "Bahamian Twist" recently (March 2-4) as nine members of the Bahamas Star Gymnastics team competed impressively in the field of almost 800 athletes. Clubs represented from around the USA, Trinidad & Tobago and US Virgin Islands converged at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center to battle for top spots.

Up next for the team is an exhibition performance at the clubs annual Primary School Cheerleading competition dubbed Cheermania 2012 to be held on March 24th at 6PM.

BTC brings blazing speed to the 2012 CARIFTA Swimming Championships as the title sponsor contributing $40K to the tournament being held April 12 - 15 at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex.

The Bahamas Swimming Federation (BSF) will play host to 22 countries and more than 500 swimmers competing in the four-day tournament hailing from countries including Guadeloupe, Grand Cayman, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.

CC Sweeting Senior Boys basketball team won the 2012 Hugh Campbell Basketball Invitational and it got them the chance to have lunch with Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham and Mrs. Delores Ingraham, principal of the school.

The team is pictured with Prime Minister Ingraham on March 12 at Virgil's Restaurant, Atlantis, Paradise Island.

(BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay)

Seems almost like decades now we have had to endure the all sound good speeches and no action routines of Obie Wilchcombe in West Grand Bahama. Pakeisha Parker Edgecombe's nomination is a refreshing change.

She has the sincere and right approach. Prime Minister Ingraham and the FNM were spot on with their choice for West Grand Bahama; the people's choice!