Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis wishes to advise local residents who have planned to travel during the election and will be away on Election Day (May 7th), that you should report to The Parliamentary Registration office this week with proof of travel, for guidance.

Dr. Minnis further advises students abroad that if you wish to vote, you must take your voters card and go NO LATER THAN Friday of this week to the relevant Consulates in the following areas: Miami, Atlanta, New York, London, Ottawa, Trinidad, and Jamaica.

The Bahamas National Coastal Awareness Committee, a group of stakeholders from the private and public sectors with an interest in promoting the sustainable development of The Bahamas, is celebrating ten years of creating awareness of the coastal environment. This year's focus will be on encouraging the public to visit and appreciate our coast.

"For ten years, our Committee has been committed to creating awareness of the five main threats to our coastal environment, as well as working together with volunteers here in Nassau and the Out Islands, on activities that have improved the environment," said Earlston McPhee, Chairman of the Coastal Awareness Committee and Director, Sustainable Development for the Ministry of Tourism.

At a luncheon in honour of the Bahamian athletics team, the Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham welcomed our young athletes, who returned from the CARIFTA Games in Bermuda with 40 medals, including 14 gold.

The PM underlined the extraordinary achievements of our young sportsmen and sportswomen, who distinguished themselves and confirmed, once more, "that while we are a smaller country, our achievements are not limited by the size of our population". The PM's remarks also highlighted how the Team Bahamas' performance overshadowed that of overall winners Jamaica, who won less sprint golds than they have previously done, and were overrun by The Bahamas.

A group of successful Self Starter companies recently held a seminar for the interested public at the FMN's Elizabeth Constituency office. The four established entrepreneurs, who all got started with the help of the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture's Self Starter Award to create successful businesses, shared their experience to a group of budding entrepreneurs who have their own business ideas.

The seminar participants were told how easy it is to apply for the Ministry's $5,000 award, how to choose a good business idea, where to get professional help, and how to create an impressive plan for the Self Starter Committee to review.

Mrs. Sabrina Skinner, Education Officer for Health and Family Life in the Department of Education was recently recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of South-East Nassau.

Education Officer Skinner was presented with a certificate, lapel pin and a medallion following her address to the club. She provided a progress report on the Health and Family Life Education teen pregnancy prevention programme "Baby Think It Over". Mrs. Skinner explained that the objective of the programme is to ensure a decrease in the teen pregnancy rates among our adolescent population and to get students to appreciate the challenges of parenting a child.

FNM Candidate for Montagu, Richard Lightbourn is laying a strong foundation for community building in the Montagu constituency. During a time when the nation's eyes are opened to increased social ills, Lightbourn is focused on strengthening communities to combat these issues.

"There is no doubt that a direct correlation exists between crumbling communities and the social ills that our communities are experiencing," stated Mr. Lightbourn.

This was a letter published in the Miami Herald concerning the May 2007 election in the Bahamas. With a new election pending in the island nation it would be nice to think that once again the Bahamas shows how to have fair elections ...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Miami Herald carries news of Cuba daily on almost every page yet an overlooked country not 50 miles from our shores has demonstrated once again what true democracy is all about. On 2nd May 2007 Bahamians went to the polls and elected a new government.

The change of government is not so significant as to how change was effected. The former government called an election just three months ago as a kind of vote of confidence - and lost.

We were spared talking heads prattling on about an election over twelve months away as on all the major US networks.

Congratulations to seven year old Khaivan Zephy and ten year old Sierra Mackey who were the winners of the bike raffle held during the show "Pippa the Musical" at the Regency Theatre.

"We thank all of those who supported our show" said Liselle Harris, Director of Pippa. "We had tremendous support from the business community to help us promote and put on our show for 6 nights. The bikes, donated by Kelly's, were a great added incentive for the children who came to watch the show."

Winners of the bikes are pictured outside Kelly's (left to right): Khaivan Zephy, Ivis Taylor, Assistant Store Manager at Kelly's and Sierra Mackey.

Over 20 individuals representing The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) recently participated in the Alpheus 'Hawk' Finlayson 5K-10K Race Weekend Classic. GBPA was also a proud sponsor of the road race.

Leading the GBPA team was company director, Henry St. George, who expressed pleasure at being able to participate. "Sports tourism is just one of many niche markets that Grand Bahama caters to and GBPA wholeheartedly supports an event such as this that brings a huge boost to the local economy."

The Grand Bahama branch of RBC Royal Bank hosted a Car Show last weekend at its premises in downtown Freeport. "March Madness" provided a great opportunity for residents to shop for a brand new car in one convenient location.

"We invited all persons interested in purchasing a new vehicle to take advantage of RBC's on-the-spot financing during our 'Mad' Auto Loan special. We offered special rates, credit cards, free online banking and more!" said Garnell Frith, RBC Royal Bank Freeport Branch Manager. "Persons who were interested in purchasing a new vehicle met one on one with our sales team and were able to qualify immediately to purchase the car of their dreams."

Erika Stoecker, affectionately known as "Mutti" is turning 100 on April 15th! And to celebrate her mother's grand birthday in style Erika Gates and Garden of the Groves team will be holding a unique 5K fun/run walk on Saturday, April 14th on the new ATV trail. There is some uneven terrain, making the course difficulty "medium." You likely won't set a personal best speed record but you will have a lot of fun on this course. All proceeds from this joyous event will go to the Grand Bahama Home for the Aged.

Pre-register all this week from 9am-5pm at the Garden of the Groves or on Friday from 9am-9pm at the Garden Cafe.

Get ready, Grand Bahama, to exercise your brain (along with your drinking elbow) while enjoying great ambiance, food and drinks at Red Beard's Pub! On Saturday, May 12th at 7:00 p.m.; Red Beard's is the place to be for the first ever Pub Quiz Night. You don't have to be a Ph.D to participate - questions will range from general knowledge to useless trivia.

Your $5 door entry donation will help the homeless animals of Grand Bahama and you'll have a great time in return! (The $5 entry donation also includes participation in the quiz.) There will be a Pet Raffle held the same night - for only $10 you can sponsor a shelter dog or cat and be entered into a raffle at the end of the night to win a fantastic gift basket containing over $100 of Redbeard's & HSGB merchandise!

Kids, with parents in tow, flocked to the Garden of the Groves on Saturday, March 31st, to enjoy the annual pre-Easter family fun day "Spring in the Garden."

The day was indeed fun-filled, with pony rides, bunny hop races, kids' hoop-la, face painting and the ever popular Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny visited with candy for everyone and Rainbow the Clown kept the kids entertained all afternoon, while moms and dads listened to live music by Mango, dined on the Garden Cafe's specialties, and enjoyed a Spring fashion show with gorgeous clothing for ladies and children from Animale, Seventeen, White's Etc. and Peek-A-Boo Kids.

Did you even know there was such a title as Miss Bahamas Earth? Did you know that the person who won this title in 2011 is a Grand Bahamian who represented our nation in one of the top 3 pageants in the world last December? Grand Bahama's own Kerel Pinder is the reigning Miss Bahamas Earth and her title carries much more responsibility than having a pretty face and wearing sequined gowns. One of the most important aspects of her role is to educate children on environmental stewardship and to bring awareness to the importance of caring for our planet.

Miss Pinder's "day job" includes serving as a guidance counselor to students at St. George's High School. This is a natural fit, as St. George's High, Sister Mary Patricia and the Mary Star schools are extremely eco-conscious and have a very high participation rate in island-wide environmental initiatives.

Officials of the National Insurance Board and Coastline Construction Tuesday signed a contract for $12 million for the construction of a new community hospital in Marsh Harbour.

Scheduled to be completed within 60 weeks, the signing and groundbreaking ceremony for the facility came almost 25 years after NIB completed its first Community Clinic at Marsh Harbour in 1988. At that time, NIB embarked upon a mission to assist with the development and extension of healthcare infrastructure in The Bahamas.

On March 27, the faculty and students of Moore's Island All Age School formally celebrated the accomplishment of 10th grader Devin Major, the Abaco winner of the U.S. Embassy's 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Essay Contest. On hand to celebrate the achievement was the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Officer Erica Thibault who noted that of the more than 120 essays submitted from students throughout The Bahamas, Devin's essay was one of four submissions that were selected for eloquently illustrating the power of a non-violent approach in advocating for justice and equality during the civil rights era.

In front of the 150 member student body, Principal Dinnea Cooper and Mrs. Thibault presented Devin with this year's grand prize, an Apple iPad 2 as part of the school's weekly assembly.

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) recently facilitated an Eco Diver training course in Abaco for seven (7) certified Scuba Divers to assist in monitoring Abaco Marine Protected Areas. The BNT is implementing a grant project entitled "Development and Effective Management of Marine Protected Areas in the Abaco's". The project which is being implemented by the BNT will develop management plans for the six marine protected areas in Abaco, build capacity for the use of GIS Technology, provide training for protected area managers (BNT, Department of Marine Resources (DMR)), improve community involvement, and increase local capacity to assist with evaluation and monitoring.

The Eco Diver training course was the first step in increasing local capacity to assist in monitoring Abaco's marine protected areas.

Paloma Cartwright, an eleven year old, grade seven student of the N.G.M. Major High School in Long Island, emerged as the champion speller of the 15th Annual Bahamas National Spelling Bee. Paloma beat out nineteen other competitors to become the first student from Long Island and second student from a public school to win the competition on Sunday, 25th March, 2012.

The keen competition lasted for 27 rounds. Paloma correctly spelt the word 'reparations' to capture first place. Dante' Rolle, from Walter Parker Primary School of the Western District of Grand Bahama, battled for 7 rounds with Paloma and won second place.

With the signing of contracts for a new dock, repair of a bridge and roads, the island of Exuma is poised for an infrastructure boost.

The Bahamas Government has signed contracts with G and L Construction and Rolle's Heavy Equipment to construct a new dock in George Town, repair the ferry dock bridge that connects Little and Great Exuma and repair roads and parking areas between George Town dock and Queen's Highway.

The Bahamas Government and Symonette Enterprises have signed a contract for $3,852,092.02 to reconstruct and repair roads in Mathew Town, Inagua. The scope of work includes clearing of 60,589 yards of street verges, reconstruction of 5.4 miles of roads and the application of patch and seal to 11.4 miles of settlement roads.

"These works are being advanced as a part of the overall effort to enhance public infrastructure throughout the islands of The Bahamas," Public Works and Transport Minister the Hon. Neko C. Grant said.

The 2012 Supermodel of the Bahamas finale is on the way and 18 contestants prepare for the grand night. Contestants from the islands of Exuma, Grand Bahama, New providence, and Eleuthera will compete for the 2012 positions as Supermodel of the Bahamas, Super Talent of the Bahamas, Le Face Cover Girl Search and Little Supermodel of the Bahamas.

"I'm very happy as usual that another year is here and has brought about new fresh faces, and a few returning faces in the 2012 competition," said OilinSha Coakley, founder of Supermodel of the Bahamas and OilinSha Model Management.

Photo: From Eleuthera - Feltonique.

It was a night of mystique, wonder, beauty, intelligent and poise as the 2012 Miss Grand Bahama contestant were unveiled on April 6th at Sabor Restaurant and Bar at the Pelican Bay Hotel in Freeport.

Under the theme, "Mystical Wonders of Grand Bahama" the contestants started the show with brightly coloured swimsuits from the Colors of the Caribbean. The audience enjoyed the beautiful pastel colours of the summer dresses from Transition Clothing store as each contestant introduced themselves to the audience and answered a question from the event hostesses, Miss Earth Bahamas 2011, Kerel Pinder, and Dr. Gwendolyn Rolle of BTVI College.

The School of Communication and Creative Arts at The College of The Bahamas is building on past successes to develop further capacity among short film makers in The Bahamas. COB is preparing to host the 2nd Annual Short Film Festival on Thursday, April 12th, 10 a.m. at the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre.

This year, six films created by COB students, have been advanced to the short film festival from a total of 10 submissions. Three documentaries and three additional short films will be screened on Thursday.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery is proud to host the exhibition "Bodies of Eve: New Work by Sue Katz" which opens Friday, April 20 at 6pm and runs until May 4, 2012.

Sue Katz's work for this exhibition deals primarily with the female nude, which has a long lineage in art history. Katz, no doubt, is well aware of the collected meaning associated with the female form and so her questioning of form through material, primarily collage, expands the avenues of discussion in this historical art tradition.

The ambiguity of Katz's figures lie in the contradiction of the figures themselves and the way they are assembled.

From April 17th to April 30th in the Glory Banks Gallery, located at the Rand Nature Centre, members of the Grand Bahama Artists Association will present MOBILIZE THE EARTH, their 2012 Earth Day Art Exhibition.

Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 9 am to 4.30 pm with a special presentation Saturday April 28th from 8:30am to 2pm. For more information call 352-5438 or 353-4333.

Structural change must come to the GBPA

While I agree with Mr. Kevin Evans' comments in the Freeport News about the impact that the late Edward St. George had on Grand Bahama, it is wishful thinking to believe that it was Mr. St. George's role as Chairman that produced the results he was able to obtain.

Chairmen typically operate within the constraints and in conformance with the mission imposed by the shareholder(s). In Mr. St George's case, he was both Chairman and shareholder. He could make and break the "rules" as he went along. It is unfair to expect any subsequent Chairman, who is not shareholder, to have that kind of authority.

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Marital Rape Bill cannot be enforced and is simply a ploy for votes

What some people will do to get a vote never ceases to amaze me! It is now being said that Bran McCartney has been "black listed" because he opposes the Marital Rape Law. Join the club McCartney, I too do not believe in passing laws that cannot be enforced. The Marital Rape Law happens to fall in that category.

Do you have to dislike women to disagree with such a law? To the contrary, my very high regard for women makes me disagree with it. Let's see what I think about women. My mother and my wife are, in my opinion, two of the greatest women to ever walk this earth.

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FNM team is best for Grand Bahama

It is very easy to blame the Government for any and everything. However, I am confident when those of us on Grand Bahama examine the facts, the majority will once again conclude that the FNM TAKE 5 TEAM under the leadership of Prime Minister the Right Honourable Hubert Alexander Ingraham is the best choice. There are two clear facts.

1. The global recession hit the entire world including Grand Bahama and the Bahamas.
2. During the PLP's last term in office, there is absolutely nothing to show; not a single school, clinic, new progressive investor, or any completed project or policy.

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