On Friday, March 15, 2013, the closing ceremony for the Terrorist Crime Scene Investigation Training course was held at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel. The two-week course provided twenty-four Bahamian law enforcement officers with the opportunity to learn the latest international forensics standards for documenting, collecting, and preserving crime scene evidence.

The training and equipment grant, valued at approximately $60,000 USD, was provided by the U.S. Government through the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

For the last seven years in honor of International Women's Day, the United States Government has asked its embassies around the world to nominate one female leader for the International Women of Courage Award. Each year, U.S. Embassy Nassau proudly recognizes a Bahamian female leader who has demonstrated perseverance in the struggle to address inequalities faced by women throughout The Bahamas.

On Friday, March 15, 2013, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires John Dinkelman along with senior U.S. and Bahamian government officials came together at the SuperClubs Breezes Resort on Cable Beach to recognize the U.S. Embassy's 2013 International Woman of Courage (IWOC) award recipient, Ms. Missouri Sherman-Peter.

The Rotary Club of East Nassau will be joining the Antique Auto Club of The Bahamas at Arawak Cay on Saturday March 23 for the Antique Auto Show & Cook-out. Promoted as a Family Affair, Rotary will be operating several games for the children, including a Bouncy Castle as well as selling Cotton Candy, Popcorn and Ice Cream.

"This partnership is a natural fit." said Rotary Director Paul Cartwright "The Auto Club helps us with our Annual Bed Race and we are happy to assist by providing something different at their Annual Auto Show. Both clubs are working towards the same end; that is to raise funds to benefit the less fortunate in our Community."

Six months after an icon of Nassau's historic landscape closed its doors, leaving fans scrambling to find a way to revive the quaint restaurant they loved, new owners announced this week they will re-open Traveller's Restaurant as early as mid-April.

"We are incredibly excited about this project," said Jamie Dingman, who is leading a small group of private investors committed to restoring the once popular restaurant facing the sea on West Bay Street.

Christine Wallace-Whitfield, former President of the Grand Bahama Chapter of the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA), is a Nassau native who has spent the last 20 years living away from home on other Bahamian islands. Late last year she returned to her birthplace and joined ERA Dupuch Real Estate. "We are very pleased to welcome Christine to Team ERA," said President of ERA Dupuch Real Estate, Peter Dupuch.

Having spent some 16 years in Grand Bahama and three years in Exuma, all while working in the real estate business, she feels the knowledge gained can only enhance her work.

When Palm Cay officially opens its 186-slip, full service marina next month, there will be a familiar face at the helm -- local yacht broker, charter CEO and fishing network CEO Brooks Russell has been named marina consultant.

Palm Cay Development announced the appointment of Russell, 38 as consultant responsible for advising and providing oversight on the design, operation and sustainability of Palm Cay Marina, the largest marina in number of slips in New Providence.

Grand Bahama Gymnastics Academy is proud to announce that 14 of their gymnasts will be competing in Nassau on the 6th of April for the very first time. With the program only starting in September, these girls have worked extremely hard to prepare themselves for this event. These girls are motivated and very excited about their first competition and plan on bringing Grand Bahama back some medals!

GB Gymnastics Academy will be hosting a "Celebrating Families Event" on Friday, 22nd March, to assist the gymnasts with their trip to Nassau. All proceeds will go directly to the gymnasts.

Employees of the Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) have lent their expertise to the youth of Grand Bahama, who have been working on the 15th Annual SECME Mousetrap Car and Bottle Rocket Competition.

Avelaino McGibbon, the first Grand Bahama graduate of Kettering University and now an engineer at the shipyard, has played an integral part in supporting the Grand Bahama school teams who competed this year in the renowned science event. McGibbon joined forces with Dennis Knowles, of the Rotary Club of Lucaya, the SECME coordinator for Grand Bahama.

96 precious souls got second chances Friday, March 15th. Big thanks to our rescue partners!

Seven Colorado rescues took a total of 83 dogs and puppies. Outpaws, Evergreen Animal Protective League, Animal Rescue of the Rockies, Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue, Life Is Better, My Second Home, and Golden Retriever Freedom Rescue! 8 puppies went to our friends in Florida at Luvapet and German Shepherd Rescue of Central Florida, and new rescue partner Kent Animal Shelter in Long Island, NY took five puppies!

Lucaya International School Year 6 students, Olivia Cafferata and Tenniya Martin organized a beach cleanup at Taino Beach on Grand Bahama Island on Saturday, March 16th. The cleanup is a part of their exhibition project on Worldwide Aid.

Cynthia Pavey, their teacher, explained that their project is on Loss of Sea turtle Habitat and what we can do to protect it. Students at this level are expected to "take action."

Cuba has a nominal GDP rate of $71.3 billion. Total exports in 2010 were $3.1 billion, whilst imports totalled $9.6 billion. As Cuba looks to bolster trade ties with The Bahamas, Freeport expects to play a contributory role as a vital transportation provider.

This and other matters formed the basis of discussions as executives of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited (GBPA) warmly welcomed His Excellency Ernesto Soberon Guzman, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of The Republic of Cuba during an official visit to Grand Bahama.

DID YOU KNOW that obstetricians and pediatricians in Freeport are asking childbearing families for their birth wishes (birth plan)?

WHAT IS A BIRTH WISH LIST

A birth wish list (birth plan) is an educated approach to labor (knowing what you want your birth to be and your rationale for wanting what you want). It is more a philosophy that reflects your understanding of birth than it is directions for a specific outcome. Some would say that "birth defies planning," as indeed it does.

Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie said Abaco continues to lead the way in the Family Islands as a thriving second home location for non-Bahamians and Bahamians alike, providing construction, employment and business opportunities for many Bahamians.

This is an important element of the country's year round tourism product in Abaco as well as in other parts of the country, the Prime Minister explained during his Contribution to the 2012/2013 Mid-year Budget Statement in the House of Assembly, Monday, March 18, 2013.

The second annual Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend is now only the blink of an eye away! Kicking off on Friday, March 22nd, the weekend of events for athletes of all ages begins with a one mile swim race. The racing continues on Saturday with sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, a kids one-mile race, and a junior cheer clinic. Sunday caps off the weekend with a 5K/10K fun run walk.

Race in as many or as few events as you like, or even just come out and cheer for your friends! Online registration is now closed but you can register in person at Treasure Cay.

Students of the L N Coakley Secondary School participated in the Culinary Competition sponsored by the Village at Hoopers Bay, at the Ninth Annual Bahamian Music & Heritage Festival in George Town, Exuma from Thursday, March 14- Saturday, March 16, 2013.

The students were allowed to cook dishes of their choice, but using onions farmed in Exuma.

RAV Bahamas is still very much in Bimini's tourism development picture, according to a joint statement made by RAV and Bimini's newest investor, Resorts World Bimini, a subsidiary of the Genting Group, a multinational corporation engaged in a growing portfolio of leisure and gaming development and resort operations in The Americas.

In June 2012, Genting Malaysia joint ventured with RAV Bahamas, developer of Bimini Bay Resort & Marina and Rockwell Island Beach Estates, to build the 10,000 square foot Resorts World Bimini Casino. Despite a report to the contrary, the statement announced an expanded working relationship that will create additional employment opportunities at Resorts World Bimini.

The Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society is delighted to announce that Steve Koven, the world class Canadian jazz pianist, composer and recording artist, who wowed Grand Bahama last May, is returning on Sunday, March 24th, 2013 for another evening of jazz classics!

Steve's infectious personality, great musicality and technical prowess all add up to a stellar evening. Accompanied by local favorites Clarence Green on bass and Patrick Russell on drums, Steve is excited to be performing once again for the Freeport audience, who welcomed him so warmly last year.

Cable Bahamas Ltd. and HBO Latin America teamed up this week to create an innovative new TV show designed to promote the launch of the third season of the popular HBO original series, Game of Thrones. The show represents the first time that the companies have collaborated on a production of this kind, and the first time that HBO has co-created a production in The Bahamas.

The 30-minute programme brings together well-known Bahamian actors Dana Ferguson and Matthew Wildgoose, who have previously appeared together as 'Paul' and 'Kelly' in Cable Bahamas' TV commercials promoting their HD service.

Local musicians brought down the heat on a cold and windy Friday and Saturday night as they wooed the crowd with electrifying performances at the Ninth Annual Bahamian Music & Heritage Festival, which ended Saturday, March 16, 2013. They gyrated, jumped up and pranced as they released new recordings and belted out familiar songs known to the excited crowd, which showed delight and appreciation for the top-notch entertainment.

Some of the best talent in the country, namely Puzzle, Geno D, Q-Pid, Dyson Knight, and KB backed by the house band Tropical Breeze brought their lyrics to life in songs like 'Juicy Suzie', 'Barefoot Bandit', 'Bus Stop' and '... oh didn't know Exuma Sweet Like dat'.

The Bahamas Film Commission, Grand Bahama Office headed by Donna Mackey welcomed Independent Media Productions to Freeport on Thursday, February 28th, 2013 to shoot a segment at Sunland Baptist Academy.

Skip Coblyn, the Director and CEO of Independent Media Productions explained, "Classrooms Without Walls is short video we are producing with Fog Edge Media of Silver Spring, MD. The video highlights the global reach and the beneficial impact of ASCD, a membership organization that develops programs, products, and services essential to the way educators learn, teach, and lead. We choose the Bahamas, where ASCD has an affiliate, as one of four global locations where we will show teachers and students interacting and working well together."

It's history in the making! The Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational will bring first time competition to The Bahamas and Veronica Campbell-Brown (pictured), Kellie Wells, Kirani James, Trevor Barry, and Golden Knights Demetrius Pinder, Michael Matthieu, Ramon Miller will feature among the list of Olympians to participate in this inaugural Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational.

The event will be held at the Thomas Robinson National Stadium on April 13th. Major title sponsor Ministry of Tourism and presenting sponsor BTC are excited about the prospects of bringing attention to The Bahamas with the world class event.

They are charging hard again offshore Bimini and the historic Big Game Club Resort & Marina is putting out the call for teams to compete in the upcoming Billfish Bonanza tournament. Following two recent, highly successful Wahoo tournaments, in which over 10 dozen anglers hauled in nearly three tons of fish, Billfish will be on the hook for May 15-18 for what should prove to again be a memorable outing.

"Considering our last tournament in February, we have a lot to live up to," smiled Big Game General Manager Michael Weber.

The Treasure Cay Billfish Tournament (TCBT) will celebrate its 30th anniversary June 1-7, 2013 at beautiful Treasure Cay Beach Marina & Golf Resort in Abaco. Known for its great fishing, excellent value and fun social events, the world-class competition attracts teams from around the world.

30th anniversary activities will include a tournament within the tournament where prior winners compete head to head for the Ultra Champ award. In addition to its great food and family social events, the TCBT also raises funds for the children of the Treasure Cay Primary School.

Extreme Kayak Fishing is a tournament series based out of Pompano Beach, FL. The group were in Grand Bahama over the weekend to plan their upcoming 'Extreme Battle in the Bahamas' tournament.

The weekend was a great success and the hospitality and fishing on the island received great reviews from the visiting production team. Dates for the upcoming 3 day/2 night tournament will be annouced soon. Top prize purse is $5000.

Last weekend my Dad was up in Miami watching the world's best golfers play for The Cadillac Championship. This PGA event was played at Doral Golf Resort; which has the famous Blue Monster Golf Course. The PGA have used this course for nearly 50 years.

I watched the high-lights on TV and it was clear that Tiger Woods is getting his game back together. After not winning any major championships in the last three years he was not the favorite but came out on top. He has had a bad period which was because of his injury which changed his swing and the bad press because of his private life, from last weekend it looks like Tiger has put that behind him.

Five things wrong with Grand Bahama

Please allow me to comment on your headline article "It's Positive" on March 15. It is quite apparent that Ian Fair hasn't a clue about our Grand Bahama economy and obviously knows nothing about The Grand Bahama Port Authority or The Hawksbill Creek Agreement. Unfortunately and inexcusably, as with most people in the Port Authority, Mr. Fair is totally out of touch with the good people of Grand Bahama.

The Business Outlook for Grand Bahama is grim because there is No Leadership! Furthermore, there is no one in authority capable of enticing well established long term investors to GBI. All Ian Fair and the Port Authority are doing is WHITE WASHING the hopeful people of GBI.

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Bimini's future should belong to Biminites

The recent reports that the Bimini Bay development on North Bimini is being granted more power and influence over the fate of these islands has terrified the people who live here.

Bimini Bay is arguably the most controversial development in the history of the Bahamas, with a horrible record of mistreating their employees, disregarding the concerns of Biminites, and destroying this island's environment. Their reputation is horrendous, and almost all of the positive press they've ever generated has been manufactured by the developers themselves. Look at TripAdvisor, they have triple the amount of "Horrible" reviews as all of the other resorts and hotels on the island combined.

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Incorrect web information costs visiting boaters

Please forward to someone who would be interested.

The Customs people jacked up the entry fee for boats over 30' to $300. but the official Bahamas website has show the old rates for the last year. So upon arriving by boat you are charged twice the amount shown on the official website.

Last time I went to Port Lucaya I was charged an additional $500 fee beyond the entry fee.

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Dennis Dames on Louis Farrakhan to sue The Tribune

The leader of the nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan Muhammad sounds like a cry baby and grouch - when he talks about suing The Tribune about a recent article entitled: Nygard Faces the Wrath of Farrakhan.

Minister Farrakhan was quoted as saying the following in Monday March 18, Nassau Guardian: They quoted my words perfectly, but the spin that was put on my words was vicious and ugly and very untrue.

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