News for Friday, April 21, 2017

Baha Mar opening 'more than a dream come true'

PRIME Minister Perry Christie is adamant that the long awaited opening of Baha Mar’s first phase yesterday is not a “mirage” or an “ostentatious effort of misleading and misrepresenting”, branding it the most significant economic development event to ever occur in the country and the Caribbean region.

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Friday, April 21st, 2017.

04212017 EDITION

Friday, 21st April, 2017.

Three men held after fatal shooting

Three suspects were taken into custody on Friday afternoon after a shooting incident on Market Street left one man dead and another seriously injured.

PM refuses Fitzgerald questions at Baha Mar ribbon cutting

PRIME Minister Perry Christie several times refused questions from reporters on Friday over whether he will fire Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald or demand his resignation as the Marathon candidate indicated he intended to move on despite his admission on Thursday that he sought contracts worth millions from Baha Mar for his family’s business.

Second suspect charged with apartment window shooting

A SECOND suspect was arraigned in Magistrates Court on Friday in connection with a recent shooting in the capital.

Former FNM Leader calls for donations at rally

IN WHAT could be described as a "state of the party" address, former Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Tommy Turnquest on Thursday night urged party supporters to give "at least one dollar" to either their respective constituency candidate or the party's national office to help fund its electoral campaign, claiming that the party could not match "PLP money".

PLP Chairman pledges to drop 'bombshells' about FNM candidates

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts pledged to drop "bombshells" this weekend about the Free National Movement's (FNM) Dionisio D'Aguilar and Rickey Mackey, candidates for Freetown and North Eleuthera.

Vendor fined for selling food on beach without licence

A VENDOR has been fined $1,000 for selling food on Cabbage Beach, Paradise Island, without a licence.

Lloyd: Govt 'blocked Sarkis bankruptcy to conceal corrupt involvement'

FREE National Movement (FNM) South Beach candidate Jeffery Lloyd has suggested that the Christie administration's move to block Sarkis Izmirlian's attempt to file for bankruptcy in a Delaware court two years ago were orchestrated to conceal the extent of the Progressive Liberal Party's (PLP) "obscenely corrupt" involvement in the project.

PM warns of mischief

PRIME Minister Perry Christie urged supporters last night to brace for more political “mischief” hours after he sidestepped questions over leaked emails which show that Cabinet minister Jerome Fitzgerald solicited lucrative brokerage, trucking, and limousine contracts from Baha Mar.

Bus driver shot dead near cruise ship dock

A MINIBUS driver was shot in the downtown area of Nassau yesterday morning after being chased by his killers, police said.

Christie says this is his last nomination for Centreville

PRIME Minister Perry Christie yesterday declared that his nomination for Centreville marked his final bid for the constituency amidst attacks from opposition candidates, who railed against his record as the area’s representative for the past four decades.

Butler-turner out of FNM as she runs as Independent

LORETTA Butler-Turner yesterday officially nominated to run in the 2017 general election as an Independent candidate for Long Island.

Fitzgerald admits seeking contracts

AFTER rebuffing reporters’ questions about his Baha Mar dealings yesterday morning, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald later admitted in a short press statement that he sought contracts from Baha Mar for his family’s business.

Minnis: Sack Fitzgerald

FREE National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday called on Prime Minister Perry Christie to immediately “fire” Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald for allegedly “corruptly” using his position of power.

Easter gospel concert showcases Bahamian talent

Hundreds of Bahamians chose to celebrate Easter by attending a special gospel music concert hosted by the Ministry of Tourism.

Transformation Ministries shows love for community

WHILE most churches were busy sprucing up their sanctuaries to welcome members and guests on one of the most important Sundays of the year, the pastors at Transformation Ministries International decided that they would step outside of the walls of the church and into the neighbourhood to ensure that their entire community looked bright and beautiful for Easter.

Easter: History and significance

THE Easter season is the oldest in the Christian calendar. Then season’s English name, Easter, is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of Spring who gave her name to what corresponded to the month of April.

MEDITATION: Reactions to Easter

NOW that we are in the Easter season and have come out of a solemn Lent, there are many thoughts and feelings associated with the resurrection. These are but some of a wide range of responses:

Pre-schoolers attend church service

PRINCIPAL Jasmine Hepburn, Tamica Saunders, Paula Denman, LaChea Sears-Rolle and Rayneice Adderley, along with the faculty and staff of Roker’s Point Primary School, celebrated pre-school week under the theme “It’s A Bahamian Thing”.

Holy Trinity reaches out to young prayer warriors

AN active prayer life can start at any age, as the children’s ministry of Holy Trinity continues to demonstrate with its annual presentation of a prayer conference geared towards young believers.

18 candidates running for BCP

THE Bahamas Constitution Party (BC) nominated 18 candidates for the May 10 general election, the fringe party said in a press release yesterday.

Emma makes her presence felt in COTECC tournaments

OVER the past two weeks, Emma Weech has been making her presence felt in two consecutive COTECC Tournaments.

Relays: Thompson has high hopes

AS far as female sprinting is concerned, she wears the crown and Jamaican speedster Elaine Thompson is looking to take her reign to The Bahamas at this year’s IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017.

THE FINISH LINE: Out goes CARIFTA, in comes World Relays

By just one gold medal, Team Bahamas fell short of finishing second at the 46th Flow Carifta Games in Willemstad, Curacao, over the Easter holiday weekend.

COUNTDOWN TO THE FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP: Brazil

Favourites heading into the South American Beach Soccer Championship, Brazil lived up to all expectations, booking their place in the world finals in style by winning another continental title.

Stop by the Bahamas Olympic Museum/Sports Hall of Fame

NOBODY has taken more photographs and videos of our athletes competing at the major international meets than historian Stanley Mitchell. So it’s no surprise that he wants to display all of his artefacts in a museum.

An in-depth World Relays preview

MEN’S 4 X 100 Often framed as a highly anticipated showdown between Jamaica and the USA, this year’s event won’t have the standard star power we have become accustomed to on either side. What it will offer is a look at a new cast of characters.

CLICO payouts from monday

THE official liquidator for Clico (Bahamas) Ltd has reminded residents that a second interim payment for outstanding claims to policyholders and secured creditors will resume on Monday.

Tennis ace Shepherd signs her letter of intent

IESHA Shepherd, the top ranked junior female tennis player in the country, is gearing up for a big transition in her career.

Musicians battle it out tonight in Da Bahamian Ting song contest

TEN hopefuls go head-to-head tonight in Da Bahamian Ting song competition finale at Fort Montagu Park, with the winner receiving $25,000.

Become empowered by a team with a purpose

THE Purpose Awareness organisation founded by Antonia Lightbourne was started last year in effort to spread the message of purpose not only in The Bahamas but the world at large.

PM at groundbreaking for marina village in Andros

PRIME Minister and Minister of Finance Perry Christie congratulated his friend of many years, Prescott Smith and his business partner Geneva Wilson on the groundbreaking for Blue Hole Marina Village & Andros Island Fuels in Fresh Creek, Andros this week.

Man accused of jewelry store raids

A MAN appeared in Magistrate’s Court yesterday accused of being the culprit behind a number of recent thefts of more than $400,000 worth of high-end watches from local stores.

The Disenfranchised: Reality of life on the streets in Nassau

Growing up in the inner city (ghetto) I have had the experience of knowing what it is to be living below the poverty line, to have a wall literally separate me from what was considered then as the upper class in this country. I know what it feels like to not belong or be a part of the country I know as home.

A COMIC'S VIEW: The Fitzgerald affair simply beggars belief

Now that there has been reporting that our Minister of Education, Jerome Fitzgerald, has been allegedly caught with his hands in the proverbial cookie jar, some of you have rushed to judgment and declared he should resign.

DNA: Members of govt are trying to benefit from deals

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday accused some members of the Christie administration of “trying to pull deals for their benefit” in the wake of revelations that Jerome Fitzgerald allegedly attempted to secure millions of dollars in brokerage, trucking and limousine contracts at Baha Mar from as early as 2013.

Bring your own bag and protect our environment

On Saturday, we’re kicking off our third Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB) Campaign at AML Foods Ltd’s grocery food outlets in New Providence and Freeport.

Eco-survey completed by marine team of Walker’s Cay

RESEARCHERS from the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and the Perry Institute for Marine Science have conducted an ecological survey of Walker’s Cay National Park.

Fishing the green way

EARTHCARE Eco Kids, a group of Grand Bahama schoolchildren, received an expert lesson in sustainable fisheries earlier this month from a veteran commercial fisherman.

Moncur backs PM - but still won’t vote

FORMER Senator and controversial radio personality Rodney Moncur yesterday endorsed Prime Minister Perry Christie’s candidacy for Centreville, insisting that Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr Hubert Minnis was “politically dishonest”.

Minnis faces two political newcomers in Killarney

SHORTLY after nominating in the Killarney constituency yesterday, Free National Movement Leader Dr Hubert Minnis likened himself to a soldier in battle as he reflected over the past five years at the helm of the opposition party.

Save our antiquities

After reading the article on Nassau’s lighthouse in today’s Tribune I should like to add to the observations made by Mr Ronald Lightbourn, not only is our historic lighthouse in dire straits but many of our other historical buildings and landmarks have also been, one might say, criminally neglected.

Indecency charges over Facebook video

A MAN and a woman appeared in Magistrate’s Court yesterday accused of committing an indecency crime.

Landfill ‘biggest pain source’ for Bahamas Waste

Bahamas Waste yesterday branded the New Providence landfill “our biggest source of pain” in 2016, with “disastrous” waiting times and equipment damage undermining revenue performance that was 8 per cent above expectations.

Social entitlements ‘worthless’ without Govt fiscal order

The social entitlement programmes promised by all the political parties are “worthless unless we get our fiscal house in order”, a leading governance reformer urging: “Grow the economy, shrink the Government.”

PM urged: ‘Show some spine’ and fire Fitzgerald

A Sarkis Izmirlian ally yesterday urged Prime Minister Perry Christie to “show some spine and fire” his Minister of Education over revelations that he tried to exploit his Cabinet position for private advantage.

Munroe says to ‘aim low’ and ‘cuss out’ opponents

THE Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) candidate for Free Town, Wayne Munroe, said last night that he wanted to “cuss” out the government’s detractors, as he also went on a tirade against the media, saying The Tribune can go “where the devil and his angels reside”.

Volkswagen plans to launch first all-electric car in CHINA next year

SHANGHAI – Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker, plans to launch its first pure-electric car in China next year as Beijing steps up pressure on the industry to promote alternatives to gasoline.

Welcome to the 21st century

Former PLP cabinet minister Loftus Roker (he who gave us the cheeky moniker “Rokerpure” for brackish drinking water) recently expressed his disdain over the fact that outside observers were coming to invigilate our election next month.

Cartwright retires

While he would have liked to have joined fellow Bahamian and close friend Antoan Richardson as a major leaguer, Albert Cartwright has walked away from the professional ranks of baseball after a 10-year career in the minor league.

EDITORIAL: World tensions rise to danger level

WHILE our immediate priority is next month’s general election, the well-publicised current world tensions should be of no less concern to smaller nations than to the major players directly responsible for resolving them.

Save the Bays enjoys ‘karma’ on Fitz e-mails

Save the Bays’ legal director yesterday branded the controversy surrounding Jerome Fitzgerald as “karma is a b****”, adding that the Bahamas’ international reputation has been dealt “yet another blow”.

PLUG IN AT THE ISLAND HOUSE THIS EARTH DAY

Earth Day 2017 will be celebrated at The Island House on Saturday from 10am until 12.30pm with a series of informative talks on how to live a more environmentally conscious life in The Bahamas.

Jerome: My family’s firm was at Baha Mar

Jerome Fitzgerald has finally confirmed to Tribune Business that his family’s company did perform work at the $4.2 billion Baha Mar project, but not for the developer or any of its affiliates.

Transparency demands ‘can’t be stressed enough’

The need for the Bahamas to have greater transparency and accountability in governance “cannot be stressed enough”, Transparency International’s local representative said yesterday.

IAN FERGUSON: ‘Shout outs’ to the employee ‘X’ factor

We are products of our environment. Much of the culture that generations live out is as a direct result of what they have seen.

FNM ‘prepared to gamble’ on inner city inhabitants

The Free National Movement’s (FNM) deputy leader yesterday defended the party’s plans to revitalise ‘Over-the-Hill’ and inner-city communities through a comprehensive set of tax breaks, arguing that such incentives would positively impact residents’ lives.

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