Challenges unregulated development, dolphin captivity issues under Marine Mammals Protection Act

In what it called a potential 'watershed moment,' Save The Bays today lavished congratulations on reEarth, the organization that succeeded in winning the right to Judicial Review for issues related to captive dolphins and unregulated development at Blackbeard's Cay.

Justice Stephen Isaacs heard arguments from the plaintiffs on February 6 and granted their requests for a judicial review and an early hearing date. Respondents include Prime Minister Perry Christie, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V. Alfred Gray, Director of Fisheries and Marine Resources Michael Braynen and the Town Planning Committee. Charles Carter, Cedric Saunders and Abner Pinder, all local partners, were not named. Nor was Samir Androwos, a St. Maarten businessman and the principal behind the development.

"Today may truly turn out to be a watershed moment for the rule of law as it relates to development," said Fred Smith, one of several senior lawyers working with Save The Bays, the sweeping environmental movement that has flexed its muscle in high-profile cases from Clifton Bay to Bimini, reiterating its mantra that development is not evil, unregulated development is."

RBC Royal Bank recently announced its sponsorship of an Anti-Bullying Campaign initiated in partnership with Bully-Busters and the Catholic Board of Education. Bully-Busters is an international outreach organization dedicated to the cause of eliminating bullying and Cyber-Bullying in schools and among young people. As "Bully Busters", students and schools throughout The Bahamas will be encouraged to promote cooperation and prevent bullying in its schools.

Local statistics indicate that fighting and bullying in schools in The Bahamas are common and trending upwards. In 2013 The Bahamas National Anti-Drug Secretariat, under the Ministry of National Security, conducted a survey on violence and bullying among secondary school students. Of the 2,634 students polled, representing 44 private and public schools, 26% of males and 17.2% of females reported being physically attacked in the form of being hit, kicked or shoved.

With a gradually warming economy igniting an uptick in real estate, one local development has quadrupled its Bahamian staff in less than a year and today credited team work as helping to account for what it is calling 'extraordinary success.' "We were Nassau's best-kept secret which is not a good thing for a development with so much to offer," says Zack Bonczek, Sales & Marketing Director of Palm Cay.

One year ago, Bonczek and Administrator Peggy Burrows were the two locals holding down the fort. With product at the ready, Bonczek began building human capital. First order of business was identifying Brooks Russell as a consultant for the marina. A few months later, Bonczek snagged Celeste Nixon, a lively blend of communications skills and real estate zeal.

Operation Potcake, a programme to spay and neuter cats and dogs in The Bahamas, is in its second year of operation and once again Bahamas Waste Limited has lent a helping hand. "We were proud to offer assistance again to Operation Potcake in Nassau," said Francisco de Cardenas, Managing Director of Bahamas Waste.

This year's session ran for five days. The goal was to spay and neuter 1,000 animals and Bahamas Waste was on hand each day to help the clinics by removing all of the waste products from each site. Pet owners were able to drop their pets off to be spayed or neutered in the morning at four locations around the capital, and pick them up in the afternoon on the same day, free of charge.

Bahamian Brewery and Beverage continued their "fly-in" tours of the brewery in Grand Bahama last week. The latest guests were Sharkeez's Bar & Grill's entire team along with the top sales waitress from well-known Van Breugel's, Ms. Keva Rose.

The group of 12 were flown to Grand Bahama on Western Air, and bused to the brewery for a morning tour and brand tasting. The group was then given a Freeport city tour culminating with a late lunch at the famous Garden of the Groves.

Beauty, health and fitness were all rolled into one as over 20 exhibitors recently participated in The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute's (BTVI) Wellness Fair. The Soldier Road campus was abuzz with excitement as students, staff, faculty and the general public flocked to eager participants who were armed with information, samples and ready to demonstrate their skills. Adding to the day's activities was a live broadcast including ZNS' radio personality Prime Time Deon.

It was an effort led by the Student Affairs Department to encourage the BTVI family and the public to make healthy choices.

The countdown is on to one the year's best events and a grand celebration - The 50th Annual Heart Ball, in aid of The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation. Under the theme "Celebrating the Golden Anniversary of a vision ... Championing the Cause of Children" the Heart Ball Committee will host the 50th Annual Heart Ball, Saturday, February 15, at Melia Nassau Beach.

One of the highlights of the evening is the presentation of The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award. The winner of this award is kept a secret and only revealed on the night of The Annual Heart Ball. This person is selected from a worthy pool of persons. He or she is someone who would have given selflessly to improve the lives of others.

Fishing Report as of February 6, 2014

Nassau: Many of the charter boats are reporting catching a few smaller wahoo on the edge this week. There have been some mahi in the weed lines offshore along with schools of "football" size yellowfin tuna and bonito.

Central Abaco: Kevin Sawyer of Island Boy Tackle in Marsh Harbour reports that fishing has picked up. There have been plenty of 25-45lb Mahi caught from Hope Town and further south. The wahoo bite is also strong with the larger fishing being caught to the south. The tuna bite is good with several yellowfin being caught and the blue marlin have showed up early this year with several in the estimated 150-350lb range being released.

Cat Island, Hawks Nest: Anton Mackey of Hawks Nest Marina reports that they had a successful tournament with plenty of wahoo, mahi and tuna caught this week.

Some of us know from the time we are very young what we want to do when we grow up, while others are still trying to figure that out. This was true for the students of Catholic High, St. George's, Grand Bahama Academy, Bishop Michael Eldon and St. Paul's who spent the day learning about one of Grand Bahama's longest operating industrial companies, Bahamas Oil Refining Company International Limited (BORCO).

As part of the Ministry of Grand Bahama's Career Fair initiative, BORCO welcomed thirty-two high school seniors to the facility last week on a site and learning visit. The students and their teachers were given a personal tour of the BORCO grounds by Lynden Wilchcombe and Dexter Brooks, tenured staff at the facility.

On February 15, 2014, the four Rotary Clubs on the island of Grand Bahama will stage the "Event of the Year," when the "Rotary Has Heart Ball 2014" will be held at the Grand Lucayan Convention Centre. In addition to a first-class, scrumptious, four-course meal, there will be entertainment by the very talented Kevin Tomlinson, dance music by the ever popular Grand Bahama Royal Bahamas Police Force Pop Band and quality raffle prizes. The MC for the evening will be the always-hilarious and talented David Wallace.

Chairman of the Ball Committee, Mike Stafford, Assistant District Governor, is excited about the Ball. "We anticipate that this Ball will be our most successful ever, as we can feel the momentum building with a combination of what will be offered on the night of the Ball, as well as the support we are receiving from the community." said Stafford.

The quaint settlement of Smith's Point on the southern shores of Grand Bahama comes alive one night a week, for their famous Wednesday Night Fish Fry. Thousands of tourists and locals alike descend on Smith's Point to eat fish and dance until the wee hours. From the original intention of just raising money to build their church, the Fish Fry has become internationally famous and attracts locals and tourist alike.

The business people, while happy with their success on a Wednesday night, came together to discuss what else they could do to capitalize on their amazing beachfront location and friendly atmosphere. They came up with the idea of capitalizing on the Bahamian pirate history and the fact that much of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed right on our island and many of our locals were in that movie. So, the community is looking at a Pirate theme for the settlement.

In the midst of an awful lot of crazy and sad, we are reminded from time to time that there are still good and caring people in this world. We have come to know one of these people over the last few years. For the longest time, we didn't even know there was a farm way back in the bush a short distance from our shelter. But there is, and it has been our privilege to get to know the owner a little over the last couple of years.

We know that a number of dogs get dumped at night in front of our shelter. We know for sure about the ones that get tied to our gate or left in a box outside the gate. But we also have found a number of dogs over the years roaming in our vicinity (we are not that close to any residential areas) that we believe were dumped there. Turns out this farm has attracted a number of dogs lately, and we suspect at least some of them were initially dumped outside our gate during the night and decided to find their own safe place to go. They lucked out by ending up at this farm, as the owner is a compassionate man who has a deep love for animals.

The EARTHCARE/Save the Bays Saturday Environmental Education Programme continued on February 8th, 2014. Students from various schools on Grand Bahama learned about three types of Pollution: Air, Water and Ground.

Jason Albury, Manager of the Pine Ridge Landfill, graciously led a tour of the facility which is a model for the Caribbean region. Vehicle tires are shredded, the shreds are sent to be recycled into new materials such as asphalt. Oil is recycled at the Landfill. Jason explained how the landfill cells are set up and operated.

Grand Bahama's business community came out in force for the Annual Banquet and Installation of the Officers and Directors of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce on Saturday night. The gala event, held at the Grand Lucayan Resort, began with comments from Barry Malcolm, serving his second term as the President of the Chamber. He noted in his presentation that, "Issues about the future of Freeport have occupied much of the Chamber's attention over the past year, and will, I expect, similarly occupy us over the next year."

"The business community continues to be unsettled -- by uncertainty of leadership for Freeport, the depth and sustainability of new investment, the impending expiration of tax concessions, the current introduction of new taxes, apparent shrinkage rather than growth of the economy, and other factors that increase the risks of investing in our economy."

Continuing the U.S.-Bahamas partnership under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), on Thursday, February 6 United States Chargé d'Affaires John Dinkelman formally donated a 2014 Ford Expedition Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) valued at over $40,000 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration for use in Grand Bahama.

The custom-made vehicle, donated through the United States Embassy's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Section (INL), will enhance the Department of Immigration's capabilities to fight transnational crime, including human smuggling and trafficking in persons, in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Winter break started early this year as the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) hosted sixteen students from the University of Maryland (UMD) in New Providence and Central Andros as a part of an alternative 'break programme' offered by UMD.

During the month of January, the students spent ten days embracing the natural environment of The Bahamas, learning about eco-tourism and participating in environmental projects. The group of twelve young women and four young men cleared the car path at the entrance of the Blue Holes National Park, Maidenhair Fern Coppice, in Staniard Creek, Andros. This pathway leads to Cousteau's Blue Hole, in the National Park, where university participants of 2013 helped to build the foundation for the Pavillion at Cousteau's Blue Hole.

Pamela and Bob Dawson, who have been visiting The Bahamas for the last 20 years, will for the first time in their travels arrive by seaplane. Married for 29 years, the Dawson's were selected this week in a random drawing to win a Valentine's Weekend For Two in Abaco's picturesque Hope Town. "It's a first for us, and I'm actually more excited about the seaplane than the rest of the trip," said Mrs. Dawson, a retired teacher.

Mrs. Dawson and husband, Bob, an insurance executive, are the winners of a drawing to promote Tropic Ocean Airways' February 14 launch of its inaugural seaplane scheduled charter service to Hope Town.

The government reached another milestone in the quest to complete an agricultural institute in The Bahamas. On Wednesday, February 5, Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie led a delegation of government officials to North Andros for the official opening of the Tutorial Commercial Farm at the Bahamas Agriculture & Marine Science Institute. Mr. Christie said this is a major step in the direction to make islands such as Andros, Abaco and Eleuthera producers of breadbasket items.

Stating that this can only be accomplished via major investments, Mr. Christie said the government is poised to take all the necessary steps to ensure the success of initiatives such as these. To this end, he pledged to award over $20 million in contracts to contractors in Andros with the objective of developing 200 acres of land in North Andros into commercially viable vegetable and livestock farms. This land would be used as training grounds for future farmers.

The worldwide premiere of the much-anticipated release of Angelique Sabrina's music video, "I'm Ready", will coincide with the celebration of love on Valentine's Day, February 14.

The video, shot in the Bahamian hit-maker's beautiful hometown of Nassau, captures the many facets of love and relationships that speak to Angelique's generation. "I'm Ready" follows Angelique's journey through loving relationships, set in the majestic and historic backdrop of the nearly 300-year old Graycliff hotel property in the heart of The Bahamas' capital city, as well as several other stunning tropical locations in the island nation.

The official premiere of the music video of "I'm Ready" has been coordinated with some of the top music outlets in the region. Angelique Sabrina's management company, White Ocean Entertainment, has teamed up with Fuse, iHeartRadio, Tempo, Hype TV, 99 JAMZ in Miami, The Bahamas' leading urban radio station 100 JAMZ, Cable Bahamas TV station Cable 12 and movie theatre chain Galleria Cinemas to bring "I'm Ready" to as many people as possible on Valentine's Day.

On January 6, 2014 members of the Freeport Players Guild met for their annual general meeting. Among other important matters a new board was elected. The 2013 president, Liselle Harris was re elected and Alfred Anderson-Lewis was voted vice president along with returning secretary Leona Roach, Abigial Beaumont as treasurer, and other board members including Sue-Lynne McCrea, Antonio Guarro, Sarah Stretton, Chris Russell, Remardo Russell, and Angela Hackman.

The upcoming year is promised to be another exciting one for the Regency Theatre. Several productions are already in the line for 2014. The Grand Bahama community will again have the opportunity to see some of the Bahamas' most talented actors, writers, producers, dancers and artisans.

On December 21st, 2013 at the Rain Forest Theatre Little Miss Chloe Campbell was crowned Miss Teen Universe Bahamas before a host of jubilant supporters, family and friends. Since then she has been busy preparing for one of her two pageant titles - The Miss Teen Universe pageant being held this February 9 - 16th in Managua, Nicaragua. The talented beauty is so confident of doing well at the world's prestigious teen pageant hosting over thirty countries, that she has travelling with her a well equipped team of supporters, family, Miss Teen Universe Bahamas committee members and her personal hair and make-up stylists.

Pageant Director Ms. Gaynell Rolle said that, "Chloe is so excited to represent her country and has been so busy preparing that I feel her mom and dad are now official pageant parents. She has the whole team excited even all the sponsors inclusive of the Guest List, Atlantis and Crown Jewelers to whom we are eternally grateful. We are prayerful that she will do well."

Local Bahamian resident Georgina Prineppi (aged 21) has celebrated the publication and release of her first book. Reconciliation, a work of Christian fiction, has been published by Crosslink Publishing, and is available in bookstores in the US, the Bahamas and through Amazon.com.

Set in tenth-century Northumbria, Reconciliation follows the story of Isla and James, childhood friends who are forced to grapple with their broken relationship after betrayal and political circumstances divide them. As they deal with the issues that have estranged them, James and Isla must learn the meaning of forgiveness, repentance and faith - their lives could depend upon it.

Hector Picard is a bi-lateral amputee after almost losing his life in a work related accident in 1992. He was told by doctors he would have to re-learn everything he took for granted, such as buttoning his shirt or eating. With the support of his family and friends, he was able to overcome obstacles placed in front of him and excel beyond anyone's imagination and in 2009 he competed in his first triathlon. He is currently a motivational speaker and competes in many different events, including Ironman distance triathlons, long distance bike rides and will now compete in the Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend 2014.

Hector and his family will be flying into Treasure Cay on Thursday March 20th where they will stay at the Treasure Cay Beach, Marina, & Golf Resort.

When 120 football players from four different Caribbean countries get together to play 36 matches in two days it can't be anything other than a great experience for everyone. Last weekend the beautiful football pitch at Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) saw an exciting series of high level 13 and under football matches played by students from International Schools across the Caribbean. "It was fantastic football," said LCIS Athletic Director, Craig Massey. "And it was a wonderful experience for all of the players, coaches and families involved."

For the second year the KPMG has sponsored Football Fest, January 31 - February 1, which brought football teams from 6 International Schools to the campus at LCIS for a two day event. Twelve teams, 3 more than last year, battled against each other in the annual event.

One of the taglines for this movie: In The Battle Between Good And Evil, An Immortal Holds The Key. Caught in the middle of a battle that has been going on for centuries is the creature whose creation could turn the tide of the war. The creature must now decide if he wishes to safeguard the secret process of how he came to be in order to protect the human beings who have tormented him through the ages.

Adam is the monster created by Victor Frankenstein, but while he is burying his creator's body he is drawn into a fight between the angelic gargoyles and the malevolent demons who have been waging a secret war. Leonore is queen of the gargoyle army and their leader who gives Adam his name as she offers him a place within the gargoyle army of angels to make up for those who have been killed and forced to ascend to Heaven. Charles Wessex is the head of the Wessex Institute and is in reality Prince Naberius the leader of the demons who is one of the original fallen angels searching for Adam to test a theory that would bring back the vanquished demons who have descended to Hell.

I read with great interest in the Wednesday, February 5 edition of The Nassau Guardian's Education section, an article entitled 'Tuned in to reading' which explained an award winning melodic learning program, Tunein to Reading (TiR) that was successfully used as a literacy tool in a pilot study at Columbus Primary School in 2011 and is now being introduced in other public schools with more teachers being trained in its use. The program, its tools and technology has been generously donated to the tune of $250,000.00 by Wendy's Fast Food Restaurants Ltd.

I would like to commend Chris and Terry Tsavoussis, the owners of this company, for investing in such an important component for the successful future of our children's education, as well as the Ministry of Education for implementing the programme and look forward to receiving regular updates in the press on its development.