Source: CaribbeanJournal.com

While a Jamaican-accented Volkswagen commercial received much of the attention in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, the Bahamas unveiled a tourism commercial after halftime.

The multimillion-dollar spot, which featured former Los Angeles Lakers star Rick Fox, who grew up in the Bahamas, and illusionist David Copperfield, was called "Behold." Also featured was Bahamian model Shakara Ledard.

Minister for Transport and Aviation, the Hon. Glenys Hanna Martin on February 5 described the maritime sector as one filled with opportunities, actual and potential. She went further stating that it is a source of great excitement that this partially untapped area holds so much possibility for the individual and collective advancement, growth and success of the Bahamian people.

Mrs. Hanna Martin was in Grand Bahama delivering the keynote address at the opening of the National Maritime Workshop underway at the Grand Lucayan Resort. The workshop has as its theme "Improving the Standards of Implementation and Enforcement of the International Maritime Organisation's Mandatory Instruments."

After two months of intense anticipation, the Cable Bahamas REJOICE with REVOICE campaign culminated in an exciting event last weekend with the announcement of the winner of the grand prize, a brand new $42,000 Honda CR-V.

Ten finalists were drawn from the more than 5,000 customers that signed up for REVOICE between November 22 and January 26. The winner was revealed a two-stage double-blind random drawing held on Friday. John Roker, an officer in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, was the winner of the much-desired sport-utility vehicle.

His Excellency Ed Bethel, High Commissioner of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the Court of St. James, attended a reception hosted by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, for Realm High Commissioners' at Clarence House in London on Thursday, January 24, 2013.

A Commonwealth Realm is a "Sovereign State within the Commonwealth of Nations that currently has Queen Elizabeth II as its reigning Constitutional Monarch and shares a common royal "Order of succession" with the other Realms. There are 16 Commonwealth Realms.

The Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) community came together on Saturday, February 2, 2013 to participate in a schoolwide beach clean up at Jaws Beach in the Clifton Heritage National Park. More than 175 students, parents, staff and community members braved the chilly weather to help remove garbage from the local beach.

"We all use this beach," said LCIS Principal, Stacey Bobo "So we should all pitch in to keep it clean."

Rashae Rolle-St. Fleur was born on September 21, 2011. Her parents wondered why she made little sound, but paid it no mind. They were grateful for the child they had. Less than 3 months after Rashae's birth, her mother recognised that she was having shortness of breath. On December 15, 2011, she was taken to the local clinic for care and was subsequently referred to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).

While in Accident and Emergency at PMH, Rashae stopped breathing in her mother's hands while blood was being drawn from her. A code blue was called. For any parent to have this experience while in A & E, can be very scary. Her parents were very troubled.

Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes congratulated the Bahamas National Pride Association and the Ministry of Education for the presentation of the 17th occasion of the Clean Campus Awards Ceremony, held January 30 in the Grounds at Government House.

"I congratulate both the Association and the Ministry for this remarkable achievement which helps to increase the awareness of our citizens of our physical environment, the need to beautify our surroundings and to promote cleanliness and national pride," said the Governor General.

Minister of National Security, the Hon. Bernard Nottage, MP, toured Bahamas Striping's work site on Carmichael Road on Thursday and said he was pleased to see the Christie's election promise to put Bahamians first was a success and working. Nottage learnt about Bahamas Striping's plans to hire and train up to 40 young Bahamians by end of 2013 and about the company's expansion into other road maintenance services.

In South West Plaza Minister Nottage met with five new Bahamas Striping trainees, all previously jobless, who began training four weeks ago at Old Fort Bay Shopping Center.

The Hamptons-an exclusive playground that buzzes with the movers and shakers of New York in the summer months-is a place where residents are fast discovering the advantages of moving the good times south to The Bahamas in the winter, thanks to a new partnership between Coldwell Banker James Sarles Realty and premier real estate agency, Dering Harbor Real Estate, in Shelter Island. Their representative and real estate agent, Christine Matthäi, is introducing unique properties in The Bahamas to her clientele in The Hamptons and New York.

Local Broker James Sarles sees an opportunity for people in The Hamptons to take advantage of the quick two-hour flight from New York to The Bahamas to beat the cold weather blues.

The Humane Society of Grand Bahama is actively recruiting volunteers to assist with our humane education programme. Requirements: love of kids and animals and belief in the power of education to make a difference.

(From Wikipedia) - Humane education is defined as the teaching of compassion and respect related to animal welfare, environmental, and social justice issues. It works to makes the acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills, and commitment to live ethically, sustainably, and peaceably the very purpose of education.

Visiting People-to-People participants Mr and Mrs Bowes of British Columbia, Canada, stopped by the Beacon School Sunday for a special donation of communication equipment.

The equipment donated to the Beacon School was a Touch Tech 32 Voca Voice Output Communication Aid. The VOCA is used in increasing communicative interactions of young children with autism. The Bowes' in turn received gifts in the form of a Bahamian-made straw bag, and straw portfolio.

Youngsters made the trip from Free Town into the second city on Saturday, February 2nd, to take part in the Charles Michael Wright Junior Junkanoo parade.

Thanks to Sandrea Bullard for submitting the following photos.

In their first annual employee donation the staff of Statoil presented the Grand Bahama Children's Home, the GB Cancer Association, the Sweeting's Cay All-Age School and the Rand Memorial Hospital with very generous donations in the name of the late Drexel Pinder, former Oil Movement Manager at Statoil.

His wife and daughter were on hand to present the donations that were given to mark the memory of this well loved and cherished manager.

The point of departure for Doula Delight's client support is anchored in the 1991 WHO and United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, the 1996 Coalition for Improving Childbirth Services (CIMS) Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative and the 1996 WHO, Care in Normal Birth: a practical guide. Later research, Listening to Mothers II, Childbirth Connections, (2006), Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It is and What It Can Achieve, Millbank Memorial Fund, (2008), Pearls, American College of Nurse Midwives, (2012), and Healthy Birth Practices, Lamaze International (2012), has updated our practice platform.

The 1996 WHO practice guidelines, Care in Normal Birth: a practical guide, was the genesis for much of the current research about safe and healthy birth practices.

Anyone registering online for the 2013 Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend before February 18th, 2013 will be automatically entered to win a stay at the Treasure Cay Beach, Marina, and Golf Resort, a round-trip ticket to Abaco, or a case of Sands beer.

"This is our second year for the event, and the support from the community has been wonderful. We have a lot of prizes to give out and this year we have started early on promotion. To date we are far ahead of where we were last year in terms of registrations numbers, and we still have about 7 weeks left till the event," said Lee McCoy, managing director.

Rhonda L.C. Hull, Managing Director at L.C. Hull & Co. law firm, believes that "divorce matters require extra care and consideration because of the emotional aspects involved in dissolving marriages, child custody and property division." In this vein she is pleased to announce that L.C. Hull & Co. now has attorneys in their Abaco office that specialize in divorce and matrimonial matters.

"Divorces are difficult," added Hull, "but at our firm, you will be represented by an attorney who cares - someone who understands what you are going through, who will be there to listen when you need to be heard, who will be honest with you about your case, and who will fight tenaciously to help you achieve the best possible results."

It is the duty - no, the imperative - of any country to know what persons are living within its borders. This applies to all nations including the United States, Europe and the Bahamas.

So, here's a suggestion.

Set up a voluntary programme for all illegal non-documented persons living in the country to register giving their names, fingerprints and other identification, mailing/contact addresses (this can be c/o a lawyer or a community organization), also they could be given an opportunity to state briefly why they should be allowed to stay (length of time spent here, children born here, skills, contributing to society, etc).

For the month of February in the garden atmosphere of the Bahamas National Trust in Freeport, the members of the Grand Bahama Artists Association have assembled an array of artistic renderings of faces, flowers, fanciful abstractions, landscapes, portraits, and seascapes ... all for the love of art. Local and international artists bring their unique perspective to art in an eclectic selection of oil, wood, fiber, watercolours, paper, and bead artistry ... the visual arts have expand on Grand Bahama.

Everyone is invited to the opening reception on Thursday, February 7th, at 7 pm. An evening which gives the opportunity for the community to mix and mingle with the artists, feel the artistic buzz that is happening on Grand Bahama Island and to learn some tricks of the artist's trade.

Last year in June there were secretive giggles in the hallways at Lyford Cay International School (LCIS). The giggling started in the administration building, in the Development Office, where they had just been asked to help in a unique project.

Phone calls and emails were sent out. Where we interested? Did our students have the time at the final weeks of a busy school year? Were our students good enough? Could they even pull this off? Excited responses from the LCIS Music Institute assured that "Of course we are interested and yes! our students could certainly rise to the occasion."

The Bahamas has a reputation that seems indisputable: endless blue sky, bright sun, hot balmy days, turquoise crystal ocean, soft pale sand, palm trees and flamingos-as an artist to address any of these ubiquitous stereotypes demands a vision beyond typical.

Chantal Bethel has developed a reputation for painting and creating from her soul. She is impassioned to express whatever moves her. Thus her art works carry a certain ineffable emotion. There is a swinging shift between themes in Bethel's work: At one moment she is dealing with love, a sultry breeze across the canvas, other times she deals in horror and death.

Whilst in Los Angeles for the recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) officials of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) had the opportunity to promote Grand Bahama's film production potential.

"Since we were in the heart of Hollywood it was only reasonable to take advantage of the location and use the opportunity to meet face-to-face with several executives in the film industry," stated GBPA President, Ian Rolle.

Tired of the same old predictable concert experience year after year? Fresh Entertainment is keeping it fresh and exciting with a brand new face, a brand new venue, a brand new fresh experience.

For the first time, live in the Bahamas it's Grammy award winning producer, songwriter and artist R. Kelly ­with "A Celebration of Love" post Valentine's concert presented by Fresh Entertainment. On Saturday, February 23, 2013 the Seaside Pavilion at Arawak Cay will host an intimate musical journey with R. Kelly and be transformed into an unforgettable, upscale oasis. Doors open at 7pm, and the show begins promptly at 9pm.

With only weeks left in the season, the Grand Bahama Girls' Soccer Developmental League continues exciting play each Saturday at the Freeport Rugby Football Club. Here's the latest scores and standings.

Leading the Iguana Division (13 yrs and up) is Ocean Motion; leading the Gecko Division (10-12 yrs) is Big G's Plumbing; leading the Chameleon Division (8-10 yrs) is Barefoot Gals; and leading in the Curly Tail Division (6-7 yrs) is Jumex Juice Jammers.

Rugby events to note for the week of February 3-9.

Thursday Evening (Feb. 7)

Government-sanctioned lawlessness must cease

It is not possible for The Bahamas to tackle and beat the scourge of crime if crime in any form is being purported and indeed exalted as untouchable. Either we are going to crush crime, or crime is going to crush us.

Any government Minister who is telling the Bahamian people that the courts have ordered the government and the police not to enforce the law with respect to illegal activity is willfully being untruthful to the nation. No court will ever order that a crime not be handled as a crime, and that crime can no longer be fought and prosecuted.

The selling and buying of numbers is a crime in this country and has always been a crime.

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I am not a loser Mr. Jones!

I, like many Bahamians, sat on my couch on Monday evening shocked that the "NO" vote overwhelmed the referendum. So too I believe were the hosts on our various TV stations. I choose to watch Cable 12 and was highly entertained by Darold Miller's 360 degree turn around and George Smith's hysterical 'blame everyone' but the government. Who by the way I believe had clearly totally confused the electorate.

So the next day on the talk shows I expected to hear various commentary and maybe a little humble pie. Especially as many of the supposedly "journalistic" hosts were so blatantly 'YES' biased. But what I did not expect was to be called a LOSER by Wendell Jones and his team of obnoxious panel personalities. When one loses a VOTE or lets say an election, one does not spend the next day demeaning those who voted against them. Well, at least those with class don't!

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Dennis Dames autopsy report on the recent gambling referendum in The Bahamas

The so called gambling referendum is history, and a resounding no - is the order of the day. Punch drunk and shell shocked is the yes crew - as they ridicule the opponents of web shop gaming, and a national lottery. Who called the game in the first instance, and why were they so persuaded that yes to their questions of legitimizing web shop gaming, and instituting a national lottery would have prevailed at the end of the day?

The intelligence of the Bahamian electorate has been underestimated once more. It is a known reality that gambling is not a productive enterprise for the masses; especially the poor and financially struggling brothers and sisters. The number bosses and their millions were no match for a people who are demanding a productive economy where vision, industriousness, hard work, dedication and the work ethic are the status quo.

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