To mark Autism Awareness Month in April the U.S. Embassy Nassau is partnering with the Resources and Education for Autism Related Challenges (REACH) and other local organizations and businesses on the "Light It Up Blue Bahamas."

The initiative is part of a global autism awareness campaign that includes iconic buildings and landmarks such as New York's Empire State Building, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Niagara Falls in Canada, the Hungarian Parliament and the Canton Tower in China. Blue has been designated is the official color for autism awareness.

In their recent studies on 'World Wide Aid', St Andrew's Year 5 students were asked to help those in need by donating not only their money, but their time and their talents. Jessica Frisina, Year 5 teacher, commented, "It was extremely moving to witness these children in action - their hearts are so filled with love and generosity!"

Students got creative with their community service and engaged in a wide range of activities, including: teaching swimming, working at a soup kitchen, helping at a home for children or the aged, and working with the Red Cross.

Wearing a yellow shirt, red cap and green wristband, Saint Francis and Saint Joseph Catholic Primary School student student Anthony Burrows scores a 92 out of 100 with his recitation of a poem about the Bahamian election campaigning entitled 'Who's Knocking at the Door' during the E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival's New Providence Adjudications, at the Holy Trinity Activities Centre, Stapledon Gardens.

(BIS Photo / Eric Rose)

Combine excited first graders, accompanied by just as eager parents, along with the planning and expertise of Bahamas Educational Tours (BET) and the end result is a fun-filled one-day excursion to a Bahamian gem, Bimini.

Just over 50 persons, with an equal mixture of kids and adults, recently traveled as part of Bishop Michael Eldon School's (BMES) first grade school trip to North & South Bimini. According to BET Tour Coordinator, Michele Coburn, visits to other Bahamian islands are regular features of BMES' school curriculum and tour coordination is a service she has rendered to the institution for a number of years.

Paint Fair announces the launch of its distributorship of International Paint, the global leader in industrial protective coatings, in The Bahamas along with specialised training for its team.

In a launch attended by Minister of Public Works and Transport, the Hon. Neko C. Grant, executives from International Paint and Akzo Nobel, Grand Bahama industrial market stakeholders and contractors, on Thursday, March 29th, 2012, Paint Fair announced its new International Paint product line, expanded warehouse plans and new certifications for its staff.

Member of Parliament for Pineridge and Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Honourable Kwasi Thompson, praised students at the Hugh Campbell Primary School on Monday for their reading and literacy advancement and achievements. In recognition of Library Week, the school held a special assembly to mark the climax of the week long activities.

Thompson was invited to serve as the keynote speaker. The local MP noted that he was delighted to celebrate the power of literacy, and lauded the school's Principal, Mrs. Victoria Wright, and her staff for their consistent efforts to promote literacy.

The Tall Ship Alexander von Humboldt "Alex" has been steeped in history throughout her life. Over the years she sailed the distance of 14 times around the equator. Her recent voyage brought her from Bremerhaven, Germany, where she departed January 10th of this year for her new home port Freeport Harbour.

And this past Friday marked another historic occasion that was a proud moment for the Bahamas and some very special young Bahamian people that are sharing in the Alex's new destiny! For the very first time in over 100 years the German flag was missing at the stern of the Alexander von Humboldt - she had become a Bahamian registered vessel and was sailing out of Freeport Harbour with the Bahamian maritime flag waving in the wind. 25 young men and one woman had been training for this moment for the past two weeks under very demanding German sailmasters and officers.

In September 2011, Mr. Ian Fair was appointed as a Director of the Board of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited. Today, the Board is pleased to announce that Mr. Fair has now assumed the role of Chairman of the Board. In this role, Mr. Fair will guide the strategic direction for the organization, and focus on maximizing growth opportunities for Freeport and Grand Bahama Island. The Board is also pleased to announce that Mr. Fair will be assisted by Miss Sarah St George who will assume the position of Vice Chairman. Mr. Fair will work closely with Ian Rolle and the current executive team at GBPA to develop new strategies for development, and build on the already existing initiatives and programmes.

In a joint statement issued by Sir Jack Hayward and the St. George family it was expressed that "Ian Fair exemplifies the true essence of seasoned leadership. His immense International exposure, and expressed interest in promoting the untapped potential of Grand Bahama Island to the world, will greatly assist in improving the economic conditions we now face. With the great work that the current Team at GBPA has been doing, in spite of the times, coupled with Ian's appointment, we believe that Freeport is on the verge of reaching its true potential".

Missing dog! Please keep your eyes open for Alexis - she was adopted last Friday afternoon and escaped only minutes after arriving at her new home, thanks to an improperly latched gate. Last seen off East Indiaman Road in between Sgt. Major and Balao Roads but she could be anywhere by now. If anyone sees her please call 352-2477 or 727-2477 or 727-4279. We're very worried about her and desperate to get her back.

The date for our next puppylift has been set for April 20th and we are very excited that at least 30 adult dogs plus most of our puppies will be going to rescues in Florida, Indiana and Colorado. This puppylift is going to be the Peter Rose Memorial Puppylift; as we remember and celebrate Peter's life, and mourn his passing. He and his wife Linda are long time supporters of HSGB particularly Operation Puppylift as they fervently believe, like us, that every animal is worth saving.

As most readers of these articles know, I am an avid fisherman. I love nothing more than to be out on the water on a day off taking in the beauty of our country and taking on some of natures strongest competitors. That being said, this week we salute on of the mightiest fighting fish in the ocean. The Mahi Mahi, otherwise known as Dorado or here in the Bahamas as Dolphinfish. Strong, fast and agile with a voracious appetite, the Mahi can double in size each year of its life reaching mammoth sizes of over 100lbs. My personal biggest is a 60lb fish and let me tell you it was one of the most challenging fish of my life.

Another great characteristic of this species is it's one of the most delicious fish that swims. It can be prepared using almost any method, stays fairly firm and has wonderful flavour. It also takes to seasoning very well. Here some easy to do recipes that will let you get the most out of your weekend catch this spring.

Ashley Newell s a very special little girl. She has raised funds for animals all over Abaco by making her own jewellery and selling it.

On April 3rd she handed over a handsome donation to Jennie Zehler for Pop's Shelter and AARC.

"I am thrilled to see such a young person taking the initiative to do something wonderful to help the many needy and helpless animals of Abaco," said Jennie in a Facebook posting. "Thank you Ashley. You made my day today - and that of a good many animals! Bless your heart."

On March 27, U.S. Chargè d'Affaires John Dinkelman made his first official visit to the island of Eleuthera where he made a special stop at Preston H. Albury Senior High School to formally recognize one of the Family Island winners of the U.S. Embassy's 6th Annual Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Essay Contest.

During a special assembly, Chargé Dinkelman congratulated 11th grader Stevanno Miller on his achievement, noting that although many of the over 120 essays submitted in this year's contest highlighted the principles of justice and compassion Stevanno's essay eloquently illustrated the importance of advocating for peace in his own community.

Through courses in agro-processing, Bahamians are being taught to turn surplus tomatoes into ketchup and pizza sauce. An initiative of Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), participants from five islands took the latest month-long course which ended last week.

They were taught by food processing expert Donna Marie Bromfield, secretary of the Jamaica Agro Processors Association, and vice president of Jamaica's National Food Standards Committee. She was accompanied by BAIC's senior food processing officer Tonjia Burrows, who demonstrated testing equipment needed to ensure quality control.

With the goal of providing the best possible service to Bahamian visa applicants throughout the archipelago, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau is now offering Wednesday afternoon appointments for applicants living on Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. Wednesday afternoon appointments are also available for applicants from the Turks and Caicos Islands.

With a "Family Island Wednesday" appointment, applicants will now be able to fly into Nassau in the morning, proceed to the Embassy for an early afternoon visa appointment, and fly home later the same day. Visa applicants with afternoon appointments can expect to finish their interview by 3:00 p.m.

As you probably may or may not know there is an international convention controlling what is called 'intellectual property'. The following article discusses the subject as it applies to the written word but it also applies to inventions that carry a patent. Every week it seems, some electronics/ pharmaceutical/ automobile firm is suing another similar firm for breach of copyright. Incidentally most patents are valid for only about 15 years, then anyone is free to copy the patent.

'Intellectual property' as it applies to the written word, means that if you spend years researching some abstruse subject dealing with (say) the sexual mores of the orang outangs and publish a book on the subject, nobody can copy your work and pretend it is their own.

Antonius Roberts, Popopstudios International Center for the Visual Arts, and The D'Aguilar Art Foundation congratulate Veronica Dorsett, Steven Schmid and Yutavia George for being selected for the 2012 Popopstudios Junior Residency Prize, and Christina Darville for being selected for the 2012 Antonius Roberts Award. All winners are art majors at The College of The Bahamas.

For three months, the junior resident artists will share a studio at Popopstudios, where they will have the opportunity to explore their creativity, experimenting with various art forms as they develop their skills. They will also be able to interact with practicing Bahamian and international artists.

The praise of the Lenten season will come ablaze with renditions of 'The Old Rugged Cross' and 'At the Cross, at the cross' along with other old, traditional, Anglican hymns as St. Stephen's Anglican Church, Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, celebrate the season this Sunday, April 1 at 7:00 pm with its annual Palm Sunday Concert, entitled: 'Palms of Glory, Shouts of Praise'! In addition to Palm Sunday being observed as the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey; St. Stephen's Parish makes a special effort to highlight this event through music.

"This year we plan to knock audiences off their feet in 'Shouts of Praise', featuring the singing Archdeacon of the Anglican Church, Archdeacon James Palacious in a melody of songs to woo the audience in attendance," said organizers.

The wait is over. The much anticipated return of Islands of the World Fashion Showcase (IWFS) is just over one month away and the organizers are extremely excited about the event. The newly rebranded showcase is set to take place May 11-12, 2012 at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort.

After a one-year hiatus, IWFS is ready to re-launch to the public, international press and fashion trade with an opening act that will arguably rival the Victoria Secret Fashion Show and highlight local musical talent.

After 37 years of making a tasteful and educational contribution to the Grand Bahama culinary scene, Chef Roland Boulet will be retiring and returning to his European homeland in April 2012.

Born Roland Jean-Francois Boulet in Rouen, France in 1947, he attended preschool at the La Madeleine run by the Catholic nuns and La Maitrise St. Evode primary and musical school of the Cathedral of Rouen from age 6 to 14 years of age.

PELICAN POINT, Grand Bahama -- The 14th Annual Coconut Festival has become a signature event on the community calendar, featuring Authentically Bahamian culture with special emphasis on cuisine, and century's old social traditions. Scheduled for April 9th 2012 and locally celebrated as Pelican Point's Homecoming Festival, family friends and guests will descend upon the small seaside village to a feast of coconut dishes such as coconut jimmy, coconut shrimp, barbecue ribs with coconut sauce, coconut rice, coconut tart, and more, as well as a variety of coconut beverages including the famous Bahamian drink gully wash - made of coconut water.

"There will be an 'everything coconut under the tent' display" says Cathy Laing, organizing committee spokesperson and Cacique Award Winner in the Authentically Bahamian Handicraft category.

The 4th Annual Charles Knowles Golf Classic in Freeport will be held on Sunday April 8, 2012, at the Fortune Hills Golf & Country Club.

This memorial golf tournament, honoring former golf enthusiast, Charlie Knowles, commences at 8:30 a.m., shotgun style.

The tournament is organized by Charlie's son, Dwight Knowles of Keystone Development Group and daughter, Tamese Knowles President of IE Imports, a company founded by Charles Knowles in 2006, that provides import/export service to Abaco, Bahamas.

Runners, walkers, and fitness enthusiasts of all ages are getting geared-up for the inaugural Alpheus 'Hawk' Finlayson 5K-10K race weekend classic, coming to the shores of Grand Bahama this Easter weekend - April 6-7th.

Planned events include a 5K run, a 10K run, 4-person relay, and a fun walk. In addition, organisers are putting together a health seminar and expo this week at the Grand Lucayan. The races themselves will take place from the scenic seaside locale of Taino Beach at 7am on Saturday morning.

Legs are still hurting and the streets are still blazing after record numbers turned out for the Grand Bahama Cyclists Club's series opening event last weekend. On Saturday March 31st, the G.B.C.C. hit the streets for the first race in its G.B.C.C. Points Series.

The series which runs from March to November consists of ten events and will feature at least one race per month. During the series cyclists are asked to compete for points instead of trophies. At the end of the series, the cyclists with the most accumulated points in each category are then awarded with the Points Leader's Jersey among other gifts.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon. Charles Maynard poses with World Harmony Run representative Tilvila Hurwit and ministerial stakeholders, during a courtesy call to his Ministry, on April 3, 2012. This will be the second consecutive time that the World Harmony Run will pass through The Bahamas.

The Run passes through 100 countries and six continents and starts in April in the United States, with the Bahamian leg of the Run slated for October.

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