On Thursday October 11, the U.S. Embassy and representatives from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) participated in the official handover of a donation of multi-media equipment and vehicles made possible through funding by PEPFAR under the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The Minister of Health, The Hon. Dr. Perry Gomez, received the donation on behalf of The Bahamas government and the people of The Bahamas.

The PEPFAR/CDC donation includes vital diagnostic Mini X-ray equipment for use in x-raying clients and patients in community areas and on the Family islands who cannot access the tertiary health facilities. This will enhance the early diagnosis and prevention of tuberculosis, other chest and other accidental injuries in a timely fashion.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said, on October 11, 2012, that the late Bruce Braynen was "a quiet man, a mild-mannered man, a gentle-man but, my, what a warrior he was all the same."

"He was fearless, resolute, reliable, steadfast, and yes, stalwart in his convictions and in his commitment to the struggle for a fairer and more just society," Prime Minister Christie said at Mr. Braynen's funeral, at St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Virginia Street.

Unique philanthropic opportunities in environment conservation will have a direct and lasting impact on The Bahamas, a proven conservation leader in the Caribbean. The endeavour involving the Summit Series, the Conservancy and the Government of The Bahamas implementing the Caribbean Challenge Initiative's Caribbean Biodiversity Fund and the Bahamas Protected Area Fund, ensures that national parks will receive a reliable annual allocation of funds for management and stewardship.

Participating CCI countries are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, and the British Virgin Islands, which have committed to establishing national systems of protected areas covering at least 20 percent of their near-shore marine coastal environment by 2020.

The Botanical Gardens, Chippingham will be fully dressed for the 17th Annual International Cultural Festival in Nassau this weekend, 20 & 21 October, 2012. With twenty three (23) countries on display and 140 booths strong, the three entrances will welcome the usual 25,000 patrons over the 2 day period. National Chairman of the International Cultural Committee, Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Immigration will officiate at the Opening Ceremony on Saturday morning at 11am. All are welcome.

The three Coca Cola Entrances on West Bay Street, Marcus Bethel Way and Chippingham will be open for business at 10am on Saturday and Sunday. Organizers are implementing express lanes to eliminate the long winding lines of previous years for the convenience and enjoyment of all.

Music is fundamental to the human condition - it is an essential source of communication, expression and understanding. This year, thanks to generous donations made through the Annual Giving Program, the Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) Music Institute continues to flourish and the addition of 24 new steel drums to the programme have allowed more students to have access to this exciting world of music.

The investment of over $20,000 in the new drums has already made an impact, with Mrs. Jai Kim, LCIS Music Director, reporting increased interest and some amazing student success. "STEEL", the LCIS steel drum ensemble has recently been asked to play at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort during the opening for Battle 4 Atlantis, as well as during the half time periods. To have our students featured at this high profile event represents a significant achievement for the music programme.

Traditionally October 12 has been celebrated as Columbus Day, to honour Christopher Columbus' discovery of the "new world" in 1492. On October 12, 2012, Heroes Day took its place in The Bahamas and was celebrated with the honouring of Fox Hill residents, at St Paul's Baptist Church, Bernard Road.

The eight honourees of the Fox Hill Old Scholars Association are John Davis, Elizabeth Butler, James Curry, Paula Tynes, Maurice Tynes, Sandra Ferguson-Rolle, Sheila Knowles, and Rev. Sherelle Saunders. Fox Hill Member of Parliament, Fred Mitchell, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration explained the importance of bringing the new holiday forward to replace the traditional celebration of Columbus Day.

The Rotary Club of Southeast Nassau will hold it's annual blood drive in partnership with the along with the Princess Margaret Hospital at the Mall at Marathon on Saturday, October 20th from 10 am to 4 pm.

Please donate!

"The gift of blood is the gift of life!"

The stage has been set to revive the economy of Grand Bahama, which will realise jobs and other investment opportunities for residents of that northern island. This is being made possible through Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Understanding the Government signed with Hutchison Port Holdings Limited and Sunwing Travel Group.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, during a press conference on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at the Reef Village, the resort on tap for reopening as a five-star resort. Present were Cabinet Ministers, principals of the Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd and Sunwing Travel Group, senior Government officials, and other stakeholders involved in the project.

Bringing keynote remarks at Sunday's 'Comfort Haven' dedication was Sir Jack Hayward, Honorary Chairman, The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA). As Sir Jack revealed, land for the new hospice was originally donated by GBPA. "However, through the tireless efforts and persistence of Norma Headley, President, The Cancer Association of Grand Bahama, what started as a conception of an idea, is today a reality."

With the assistance of the community, business entities, cancer survivors and their families, and international donors, Mrs. Headley and the Cancer Association of Grand Bahama were able to commence the first phase of the community headquarters. This past weekend, scores joined in the dedication and official opening of the second phase.

In collaboration with the Government of The Bahamas, and with the support of key stakeholders, executives of The Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited (GBPA) hosted a 6 man 1 woman team of the Genting Group Wednesday past. The visit to Grand Bahama was part of an exploratory fact finding mission, supporting the government's initiative to reduce energy costs, and to promote economic development throughout The Bahamas.

With Grand Bahama as the second leg of a three island tour, inclusive of Abaco and Eleuthera, GBPA executives made full use of its eight hour window, to display the grandeur of the City, via numerous tours, coordinated with industry partners. Their purpose, to scout out potential investment and development opportunities beneficial to the islands, as well as to any of its organization's three investment divisions of oil and gas, leisure and gaming and energy.

The administration , teachers, and fellow Stingrays of Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic School congratulate all students of Grade 6 who were commissioned on Friday, September 21, 2012 as Prefects and House Captains. The Commissioning ceremony was held at Mary, Star of the Sea Church after the school's bimonthly Mass, which was celebrated by Father David Cooper, the pastor of MSS Church.

In his homily, Father Cooper encouraged all the students to do their very best, be respectful and kind. Mrs. Sue-Lynne McCrea, the Deputy Principal, called the elected names, while Mr. Robert Nabb pinned the chosen students.

Please help us feed our shelter pets! We had a very slow summer and need a little extra help right now! Our regular supporters have been great as always...but if you haven't donated lately would you consider helping out right now? We feed Purina to both our dogs and cats, and thanks to local Purina distributor BWA, the very best most cost effective way for people to help is to make a contribution at BWA which will be put towards the current week's food bill. BWA is Bahamas Wholesale Agency, located on Milton Street (just around the corner from Solomons and Crown Ice).

We'd be most grateful for any and all assistance. Of course cash and checks are always welcome, too, and can be dropped off at the shelter. If you donate via BWA, you will receive a thank-you card with the amount of your donation. If you accumulate $200 worth of thank-you cards by January 31st, you can redeem them at the HSGB for a free dog or cat bath (value $20)!

To promote The Bahamas as a premier location for destination weddings and honeymoons of all interests, styles and sizes, the Ministry of Tourism launched a Bridal Style Sweepstakes on their social media platforms in January 2012.

The contest, which ran for a month on Facebook gave engaged couples a chance to win a destination wedding at their choice of three different islands and resorts, including Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island on Nassau, Grand Lucayan, Bahamas on Grand Bahama Island and Pineapple Fields on Eleuthera.

This article covers the important subject of private transportation in the Bahamas. People in Nassau, in particular, know what a headache driving a car can be. This is an idea from a former town planner of Freeport as to how the problem might be ameliorated.

Transportation in the Bahamas 101

Besides the 'preposterous' (to some) idea of building an inter-island bridge in the northern Bahamas there is a more urgent aspect of transportation in the Bahamas that needs consideration. It has been mentioned already that the longest distance one can drive in the Bahamas is about 100 miles (from the north to the south of Abaco). Yet the average trip length by private vehicle in most places in the Bahamas is probably less than five miles and the islands have no hills to speak of and a total absence of snow or ice - all of which would make it a perfect venue for electric vehicles (ev's). The electricity incidentally, could be obtained fairly easily from locally derived wind, solar and tidal power.

From The Tribune

The victorious PLP candidate, Renardo Curry: "One of the things I did, even when I suffered that defeat (at the general election), the Prime Minister indicated that I keep fighting. And I was so happy when the opportunity existed for me to run again because I love my people. My people know that I'm here to fight for them and tonight shows that they love me. I felt in the very beginning that our message was very strong. There some indications that showed that if I had a second time around, we could really show our vision and clarity and I think that's what we were able to do today."

The Government has implemented on a programme to modernise airports throughout the Family Islands according to the growth and needs of those communities.

"Airports are important especially to us in The Bahamas not as abstract pieces of steel but as critical engines to strengthening our social and cultural cohesion as one people and also to spark and ignite the economic potential and diversity of our wonderful island communities," Minister of Transport and Aviation the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin said. In this vein, she said that the Government is therefore committed to the archipelagic flourishing of the country and its people.

Your story starts with your wedding invitation. The design of the wedding invitation is the basis for your entire wedding theme. Be it formal or casual, your invitation speaks for you. Once a friend receives your invitation and moves past the "are they serious" or "finally" stage they immediately move onto the look of the invitation. Why not be original and let your invitation be the talk of the town.

In the early days, it was the town crier that walked the cobblestoned streets announcing the news of the day along with any weddings announcements. This was because,there was a very high level of illiteracy in the Middle Ages. If a written invitation was sent, the invitee would take this document to the monks to read as clergy men were one of the few that could read and write during those times.

FLIFF On Location: Grand Bahama Island is pleased to announce that Ian Gregory Strachan, writer, producer and director of the television series, "Gippie's Kingdom" will be offering a workshop during FLIFF for aspiring filmmakers called, Stories That Matter" on 10:30am at the Pelican Bay Canal House on Saturday, October 27th. All participating local film makers in the three competition categories (high school, college and open) and anyone interested in film making are invited to attend (admittance by an All Access, Fast Pass or All Movies All Day pass).

"I'm very excited about this opportunity to share with aspiring artists," said Strachan who is now hosting the current affairs television porgramme, "The Exchange," on ZNS TV13. "Our world is getting smaller and smaller and we in The Bahamas are discovering that the world has many centres. We're discovering that where you stand can be the world's centre if you want it to be. I am happy to be a part of FLIFF in Freeport and happy to share my experiences."

The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC) held a press conference on Wednesday Oct 17 at its offices to announce plans to launch the premier arts festival, "The Bahamas Christmas Arts Festival (BCAF)" with the hope to make it an annual event.

The festival, which is scheduled to take place on December 1st and 2nd between the hours of 11a.m. and 6 p.m. on the lush historic Collins Estate Grounds, is expected to be unlike any other Bahamian festival on several levels, said Courtney Strachan, AMMC chairman. It will take place during the Christmas season and will boast the largest gathering of a cross section of Bahamian artist and artisans in one setting during the festival. Persons interested in displaying at the festival can either reach out to the event co-ordinator Ms. Angelique McKay at amckay@ammcbahamas.com or 326-2566, 323-1925.

The Nassau Music Society will begin its 2012-2013 Season with two evenings of classical guitar featuring Philippe Loli and Leopoldo Giannola from Nice and Monaco on Friday, October 26th and Sunday, October 28th, 2012. These concerts are under the patronage of His Excellency Sir Arthur Foulkes, Governor General of The Bahamas.

Leopold Giannola (pictured) studied Jazz at the Ecole Superieur de Siena in Italy. He records with and is part of different Jazz and Pop Rock groups with Caligagan, Neuma, and Marjorie. He plays frequently with Philippe Loli and Zhang Zhang, violinist in the Orchestra Philharmonique de Monaco.

The Lucaya Youth Theatre Society, following previous successful ventures, is now offering another outstanding experience for children ages 9-15 on Grand Bahama. It is set to start on Saturday 3rd November and end with a Christmas production on 22nd December.

LYTS and Jackie Dack, director, have impacted the lives of many children during their many theatre courses: "I can't even begin to explain how incredibly productive my weeks spent with Jackie have been. I don't think I've ever laughed, cried or sweat so much in my life. I learned things that help me with every area of my life and things that you don't get from school," says Jessica Bain, a former student of Dack's.

Lian LeBlanc, Tom Paine, and Alexander Thompson will be representing Lucaya International School (LIS) this weekend at the Great Oaks Qualifier, hosted by USF in St. Petersburg, Florida.

This will be the school's first ISSA / SAISA district regatta. Just as sailing is governed by the Bahamas Sailing Association (BSA) in the Bahamas, secondary school sailing in the States is governed by the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA). The ISSA is split into 7 districts across the country. LIS has just joined the Southern Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association (SAISA), which covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama (North), Florida (excluding Panhandle), and now the Bahamas.

The closure of the Royal Oasis made a major financial impact on Grand Bahama to the tone of 30 billion in losses. The income from that complex was app 1million per day that's the amount spent in shopping at the Intl Bazaar and Port Lucaya. Nearly every store and restaurant had to close in the bazaar. Taxi drivers lost major income. Even some of those people that worked there are still unemployed.

- E. Scott