Dear Reader,

Tomorrow begins a new year for us all. Of course, for The Bahamas we will 'welcome' Value Added Tax (VAT) to our shores for the first time. Having not paid this type of tax before, this will be a shock to many of us, especially those who felt it would never happen. There are still many unanswered questions, like anything new. Though no one wants to pay this type of tax, we must be realistic that our country cannot survive or borrow any more than we already do! But, we must also demand accountability from our government on all its expenditures and that these new taxes will be evenly, consistently and fairly applied to all.

 

There has also been a dramatic end to the year over immigration round-ups and whether the treatment of them is humane or not, a pilot strike at Bahamasair at Christmas and the unexplained loans at Bank of The Bahamas. These topics will obviously be in the forefront of our news for 2015. There are many different views on all of these subjects and, if you are active in social media, you will have no doubt been involved or seen some of the varied opinions. Some are quite heated. But, one thing we can be sure of is people's opinions are out there, they are speaking to each other, other islands and other countries.

 

Politically it's been a busy year for the Christie Government, the opposition leadership challenge and the rise of the DNA party.

 

For BahamaIslandsInfo.com it has also been a steady year of growth, as we head into 2015 we will have published more than 20,000 stories on our website and have seen subscriptions continue to rise as people demand a reliable, factual and consistent source for news and information. We must thank all our advertisers who make our website, weekly newsletter and mailouts all possible. And, of course, our hardworking team behind the scenes that help keep everything working!

 

As we welcome 2015, we wish you all a very Happy New Year and thank you for sharing our stories, sending us your letters, following us on social media and sending us your news. May the new year bring much prosperity to our beautiful chain of islands and to our people. Lastly, may we safely enter into the new year and pray that crime is not the lead story for 2015.

 

Happy New Year Bahamas!

 

This is the sixth year since the restoration of the Garden that International Migratory Bird events have been celebrated by Garden of the Groves. This year's theme was "Why Birds Matter" and Erika Gates, coordinator of the events, explained that the message she and her team was getting across in all activities was that birds make life better in so many ways. She went on to say that "Birds are providers of invaluable ecosystem services, such as insect control, seed dispersal, pollination. Birdwatching and Bird Photography helps generate millions of dollars into international economies. Also, birds bring solace to our complicated world!"

For five consecutive Saturdays in November the annual Basic Birding Class was conducted. This year 13 novice birders were graduated, having enjoyed classroom work, fieldtrips and becoming passionate about birds and their habitat. Upon completion of the course, certificates were presented by representatives of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, sponsor of the class.

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SWIFT swimmer Katelyn Cabral finished the year with a record-breaking swim at the Bahamas Swimming Federation's final meet of 2014 held this past Saturday at the Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex in New Providence.  Katelyn captured the Bahamas Record for the 50 meter butterfly which she swam in a time of 33.62 seconds. The previous record was 34.52 set in 2006 by Berchadette Moss.  

This phenomenal swim also gives Katelyn her first CARFITA qualifying time as she advances to the 11-12 year old age group with hopes of making the Bahamas National Team. CARIFTA Swimming will be held in Barbados in April 2015. Ten SWIFT swimmers from Grand Bahama have already made qualifying times for CARIFTA 2015. Joining Katelyn as CARIFTA hopefuls are Joanna Evans, Jasmine Gibson, Arielle Adderley, Arleigha Hall, Tenniya Martin, Teshe Rolle, Darren Laing, Shimon Lopez and Joshua Rigby.

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The government of The Bahamas notes the image of a floating oil rig that appeared on social media and in the dailies allegedly spotted off the northern shores of North Abaco and the associated commentary.

It is important to note the given the strategic location of our chain of islands and the vast area of ocean that it covers, thousands of merchant ships, oil tankers and pleasure crafts pass through Bahamian waters annually.

The fact is that the Bahamas government has not contracted, approved or commissioned oil drilling operations within the territorial waters on The Bahamas. This is regarded by the government as another routine passage of a sea going vessel through Bahamian waters.

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FAMILY ISLANDS & ABACO EVENTS