From The Tribune

At least 30 people are dead after a Haitian sloop ran aground west of the Exuma chain during Monday's storm. A team from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the US Coast Guard fought rough in a bid to rescue the Haitian nationals from the vessel.

Acccording to the US Coast Guard, 90 people have been rescued.

The Coast Guard says the migrants were clinging to the hull of the 40-foot sail freighter when rescue crews arrived. A US Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued 13 people from the water after deploying a raft.

At fifteen years old, Jada Charlton is carrying a full course load at the College of The Bahamas in pursuit of her goal of becoming a brain surgeon. Successfully achieving five BGCSEs with C and above grades in the 10th grade afforded her the opportunity to skip the rest of high school and earn a government scholarship at the college.

The former Abraham's Bay High School student credits her success to the excellent teachers who taught her in Mayaguana, as well as family and community support.

Want to book a tennis court at Palm Cay? Check on the dinner specials when the Billfish Grill opens? See if there's space at the marina? Grab your smart phone. There's an app for that. The Palm Cay app is the latest innovation by the developers of the nearly 70-acre seaside community on New Providence's southeastern shore.

"We've had such great success with our Facebook page with friends and fans following events, activities, images and news items we post," said Palm Cay Director of Sales & Marketing Zack Bonczek. "So we are taking it one step further expanding our communications with an app that allows a homeowner to reserve a tennis court for night play, for instance, or an interested party to book an appointment to see a lot or townhome. When the Billfish Grill opens, you'll be able to check on lunch and dinner specials, reserve a table, order ahead for take-out, even. It's all about making it easy to keep in touch and feel connected."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Christmas trees wrapped in lights, hanging wreaths, garlands and bows all symbolize the return of the festive season. Another sight come to be expected during the holiday is streets lined with The Salvation Army's huge red brass kettles and the ever familiar sound of bells being rung by a smiling and cheerful volunteer beckoning to passers-by to make a little noise of their own by dropping coins in the tin and spreading good will and cheer by making the Christmas season, for someone a little less fortunate, a bit brighter.

At a ceremony, recently held in the food court of the Mall at Marathon with the melodious sounds of the St. Anne's School Choir and the Royal Bahamas Police Force Pop Band wafting through the air, The Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle Drive was officially launched as Bernadette Christie, wife of Prime Minister Perry G. Christie, made the first donation into the kettle.

Save The Bays reiterated their call for the need for mapping the oil spill at the Clifton power plant in Nassau, based on the recent report by Bahamas Government consultant, Simon Townend, a KPMG (Bahamas) partner, who confirmed that BEC may have potentially massive, but as yet unknown, environmental liabilities arising from oil spillsand other pollution, including at the Clifton power plant. Romauld "Romi" Ferreira, a director of Save The Bays, has been urging the government-run entity to see the "big picture" by mapping out the total amount of oil lurking in ground water beneath Clifton.

Save The Bays Director, Sam Duncombe, echoed Ferreira's calls for the importance of Freedom of Information act. "None of these proposals for the privatization of BEC have been made public. This appears to be round two of the Government seeking bids to deal with BEC without disclosure. This arrogant attitude was not tolerated then and it will not be tolerated now. The Bahamas is going to have to get a handle on the continued problem of oil spills at Clifton before we attempt to sell BEC, least we find ourselves in a place where the purchaser sues the government (The Bahamian People) for lack of disclosure."

Commonwealth Bank's Corporate Learning Centre Book Club will celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting several children's homes, spreading cheer, donating books and extending the hand of friendship. Through song, reading, games and book donations, the bank that bills itself as the leader in personal banking will demonstrate that it is also a model for caring for others in the community.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Book Club will visit the Elizabeth Estates Children's Home, Children's Emergency Hostel and Bilney Lane Children's Home.

On Saturday, November 23rd, BTC staged an official celebratory opening ceremony for the Coconut Grove Local Heroes Park on Poinciana Avenue and a rededication and unveiling of the Heroes Wall. The project was underwritten by BTC sponsorship monies and Career Builders. The upgraded and refreshed Local Hero's Park was a gift to the community and one of many gestures made earlier this year on the occasion of the country's 40th Anniversary of Independence.

A Heroes Wall plaque was unveiled by Geoff Houston, BTC's CEO and Cynthia 'Mother 'Pratt of Urban Renewal.

This holiday season marks the fourth annual food drive carried out by the Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) in assisting the Salvation Army with the 'Lend a Hand, Give a Can' programme, which seeks food donations from the public while they are shopping at local grocery stores around the island. At a press conference held at Sawyer's in Freeport, GBS announced the start of the food drive which will continue through December 13th. Barrels bearing the 'Lend a Hand, Give a Can' slogan have already been placed at Sawyers, Save-a-Lot in Eight Mile Rock, at both Solomon's locations and Cost Right.

The Grand Bahama Shipyard apprentices will be in the stores asking shoppers to give a donation, as the programme is also an experience for apprentices to get into the spirit of giving. Theo Pelecanos, Technical Trainee at GBS commented, "Around the holiday time people tend to get caught up in the receiving aspect and totally forget about significance of giving. It is important to take the time during the holiday season to give of ourselves to those people who are in need."

Bristol Wines and Spirits returns again to whet the palettes of those discerning wine connoisseurs with wines featured from around the world. As Festival Noel's main sponsor, Bristol is ready to dazzle patrons with nine tables hosting a vast selection of wines at the premier holiday event of the season. This year's Festival Noel is under the theme 'Deck the Park' and Bristol will most certainly be decking the park with wine.

According to Rusty Scates, Wine Manager at Bristol Wines and Spirits, there will be wines from several regions including U.S.A., Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and France and a total of more than thirty wines! "We are pleased to once again be a major sponsor of Festival Noel as we continue our support of the Bahamas National Trust here in Grand Bahama and throughout the islands. This year we are featuring 33 wines from most of the main wine producing regions and we look forward to seeing you at the Festival and sharing our wines with you."

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Minister for Grand Bahama Dr. Michael Darville officially welcomed Mohamed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, Ambassador of Qatar as Special Envoy to The Bahamas the day before.
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The Ministry of Tourism welcomes Silver Airways inaugural flight to Grand Bahama International Airport Nov. 21, 2013, which originated in from West Palm Beach, Florida. The flight brought to Freeport the airline's president and CEO David Pflieger.

The Director General of Tourism David Johnson said he was proud and pleased to see Freeport take back its rightful place in the tourism market. He said the future for Grand Bahama is very bright.

(BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)

Thanks to our new friend Jan Eaton of Tri State Pet Rescue in north Georgia, and to pilots Pat and Theresa - 16 little deserving souls got off the rock last Friday. A number of them have already been adopted! Our biggest problem has always been getting dogs off the island; hopefully thanks to this new partnership, we will have more opportunities to save more lives. Another flight is tentatively planned for sometime in the next few weeks.

We want to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends. We would also like to express our thankfulness to all our supporters and volunteers, and ask that those of you who can, please remember our homeless animals this holiday season!

The Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) held the opening ceremony on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 for their Biofuel Demonstration Project. Partnering with the Grand Bahama Port Authority, The Grand Bahama Development Company and the Garden of the Groves, the project focuses on the feasibility of cultivating a specific type of plant, Jatropha Curcas, the seeds of which can be crushed to produce a vegetable oil that in turn can be used to make biodiesel fuel that would be burned in the GBPC facilities to make electricity.

In his remarks at Tuesday's ceremony, Chris Huskilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emera Inc., highlighted the significance of the biofuel demonstration project to Emera's long term plans for GBPC. "In the long-term, Emera is actively working on renewable and alternative energy solutions to decrease our dependency on fossil fuel and address the cost of power for island residents. Our on-going efforts to bring compressed natural gas to this island and this bio-fuel project are two examples of possible future generation sources."

For a mother and father to know what they want for a healthy, normal, and safe childbirth, they must first identify their understanding of what the natural process of birth is. Then the parents must educate themselves about childbirth options. They will need to have a sense of which of these options appeal to them and the fit of those choices with the birth experience they wish to have. Finally they must advocate for their birth wishes and shop for the healthcare provider who will help them achieve the birthing outcomes they expect to have and the right, as parents of that baby, they ought to have.

I use the word "shop" because that is exactly what parents ought to do. If, during interview of a caregiver, that healthcare provider cannot and will not respect parent's choices about the birth of their baby and welcome their informed partnership into the birth of that baby, then perhaps that is not the person those parents want to birth their baby. It is crucial for parents to appreciate that healthcare providers are at their service (that is what they are being paid for, both private and public healthcare providers alike). Mothers need to remember and to defend (emphatically) that, "it's my body; it's my baby and it's my baby's birth!

Report as of November 21

Salt Cay, Salt Cay, Salt Cay. That's where everyone has been catching the wahoo. This week there have also been large wahoo caught off of the northern end of Andros from Nicholls Town to the Joulters Cays.

FREEPORT:The wahoo fishing has been good off of Grand Bahama this week. With the wind expected to pick up out of the north this week end it may be the only place calm enough to fish.

BIMINI: The wahoo fishing has been good south of Cat Cay with one boat reporting to have caught 12 in a day.

A surging environmentalist group is raising the alarm over what they call "yet another irresponsible construction project" in the Family Islands. Following a recent tour of the Treasure Sands Club in Abaco, directors from Save The Bays expressed concern and dismay over dredging off a world-famous beach.

Treasure Cay, known for its pristine three miles of uninterrupted sand, has remained a point of pride for Abaconians. Save The Bays said Bahamians are expressing "deep pain" over the lack of transparency and dialogue by developers, a sentiment being echoed by local officials. "We just want to know what the impact will be," said Gary Smith, Chief Councilor for the North Abaco District.

The Telegraph, a UK newspaper with a Saturday circulation of 1,714,000 ranked Private Island Paradise in the Exumas, Bahamas listed by George Damianos - number 2 on their top 10 private islands listed for sale ranked amongst an archipelago of islands stretching from Italy to the British Virgin Islands, on a list that celebrates unique topography, first-class accessibility and footprint free beaches, the beautiful 38-acre island in Pipe Creek also received the coveted Property of The Week title.

Additionally Damianos Sotheby's International Real Estate private island listing, Sandy Cay in Abaco, holds the number 4 spot on Liz Meek's international list of top 10 private islands for sale around the world.

An Automatic Weather Observation Station, extended runway, hangers for private aircraft, Aerodrome markings and a lighting system for night flights are just a few of the features that will make the new and improved airport in South Bimini one of the best in the region. The airport expansion and upgrade are part of Resorts World Bimini's (RWB) master plan of development for the island chain.

Developers say once completed, the new airport will be second in the country only to the Lynden Pindling International Airport in terms of modern technology and facilities. A key feature will be an Automatic Weather Observation Station (AWOS) which has already been installed and certified by the Bahamas Meteorological Department.

Set in Eleuthera's number one national park - the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve - the exciting trio known as C Force will be performing music from their new album entitled Deep Blue during a special concert on Saturday November 30th beginning at 6:30pm. Mark Daniels, Preserve Manager at the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve commented, "We are excited about the opportunity to showcase C Force's fusion of classical and Caribbean music at the Levy Preserve, a space which was created to celebrate the beauty of the native plants of The Bahamas. Beautiful music in a beautiful Preserve fits together quite nicely!"

C Force ensemble members Christine Gangelhoff, Christian Justilien, and Christy Lee are all faculty members at The College of The Bahamas in Nassau and recently released a compact disc entitled Deep Blue, which is a reflection of the band's commitment to the preservation and promotion of art and music from The Bahamas.

SisBro Productions is once again bringing amazing female entrepreneurs from all over the island and in Nassau together for Blooming Orchids the Ultimate Shopping Experience. Blooming Orchids provides an atmosphere for patrons to shop, pamper and explore new and innovative female owned businesses on the island. This relaxing and entertaining afternoon is set to take place at the Pelican Bay Hotel on Saturday November 30th.

The organizers of Blooming Orchids are encouraging the Grand Bahama community to come out and support these female entrepreneurs. These women are innovative, creative and provide various products and services that you definitely want to take advantage of.

The Miss Bahamas Beauty Organization® is pleased to announce that Miss Earth Bahamas Vandia Sands, has made a historical mark in the world of pageantry, being the first Bahamian to win National Costume in one of the four major world renowned pageants.

Organization president, Ms. Gaynell Rolle, said "This does my heart well. I am so proud of Vandia and especially proud of this accomplishment for local designer Patrice Lockhart, who has sent many of her designs whether by evening gowns or national costume to these international pageants. It's truly a historic day in the Bahamas on many a fronts. I am sure Mr. Greenslade president of ICS Bahamas is equally as proud, as he is the official sponsor for her national costume. The design was one inspired through innovation by Ms. Lockhart, she took one look at Vandia and said 'are you flexible?' If you are I have the right design in mind."

The BNT's Christmas Jollification recorded record crowds over the weekend leaving vendors and the BNT feeling very jolly. Last year the BNT made some changes in the event, creating two Food Courts and increasing the number of vendors in the Jollyland area for kids and families. "Obviously, our changes have met with the approval of our patrons as the gate increased this year" said Lynn Gape, Deputy Executive Director.

With over 75 arts and crafts vendors the event featured originally designed jewelry, stained glass ornaments, and a wide variety of gift items. The BNT also welcomed other charities offering them a reduced vendor fee to sell items that support their work. Participating in this year's Jollification were Hands for Hunger, the Red Cross , Ranfurly Home for Children and the Bahamas Humane Society.

The Treasure Cay Billfish Tournament (TCBT) announces a new date and format for its 31st Annual tournament, June 25-29, 2014. Held at Treasure Cay Beach Marina & Golf Resort, Abaco, Bahamas, the tournament will offer three fishing days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with an optional Family Fun Day, Kettle of Fish Tournament and Rock the Dock Party on Sunday.

Stephen Kappeler, General Manager, said, "We took into consideration that some tournament participants may like to depart on Sunday to return to work on Monday. Plus, scheduling the event after school is out will make it easier for participants to include their families."

Sunday December 1st at the Sports Stadium Parking Lot 1.00 p.m. will see the participating student drivers from CC Sweeting, AF Adderley, Doris Johnson and CV Bethel show off their newly acquired Kart driving skills. They will be sharing the track with the British Historic Karters so a great mix of youth and maturity - not to be missed. Spectators are invited and entry is free.

Fast cars and the original Speed Week are part of the Bahamas history going back to the late 1950s. Less well-known is the fact that Karting on the island is also part of that heritage. Karts appeared on the island soon after the sport started and the Bahamas hosted the first World Championship in 1959 which, unfortunately, was never held here again.

The Grand Bahama Girls' Soccer Developmental League is underway with over 300 girls registered thanks to team sponsors and the dedication of many volunteers including coaches, junior coaches, referees, organizers and parents. The league has six divisions and league play is held each Saturday from 2 - 4pm at the Freeport Rugby Football Club.

This past Saturday, the coaches in the Kamodo, Iguana, and Gecko Divisions focused on training and league games were only played in the Chameleon, Curly Tail and Mini Star Divisions.

Put dese 'lil Bahamians in check

So, once again, the Prime Minister says he wants some foreigners to come and talk to us about VAT. Here is the inherent insult in this - to believe if foreign faces talk to us, then suddenly we will all fall in line and submit because we are not sensible enough to understand these matters on our own and we need people "with sense" to talk us down. This is how Mr. Christie factually and truthfully sees Bahamians.

He put forward the same idea recently when he said "the IMF (International Monetary Fund) needs to come talk to the people." The IMF? Did any of you see "IMF" on the ballot on May 7, 2012? The IMF is the PLP government's boss - not ours. It's that idea of "let someone foreign come talk to these 'lil Bahamians so they could get in check and shut up."

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You are weakening yourselves without realizing it

Take off your political blinders and/or your hurt over the General Election for a moment and understand the following: many Bahamians probably don't realize this, but this constant chant that "Bahamians asked for this" in terms of all that the government is doing now, is actually dis-empowering Bahamians instead of empowering them. The reality of the situation is, Bahamians by and large did not ask for what is being done to the country now.

Sure it can be argued that people didn't give due care and attention to why they voted the way they did, but when Bahamians voted, they did not ask to be abused, victimized, violated, economically and politically raped, and socially manipulated. They had very different things in mind when they voted, whether those things were fully based in facts or not.

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