WORLD VIEW: Why the OAS should matter to all of us
ON June 28, 2024, Antigua and Barbuda offered to host the 2025 General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The sub-chaser that snagged in Six Shilling Cay
Six Shilling Cay is a shallow islet less than a mile long, including off-lying rocks, just 50 feet wide. Fleeming Channel is a mile wide and connects deep water with the bight of Eleuthera, leading to the Exumas. Late on the night of December 11-12, 1944, while chasing a report of a German submarine, US Navy sub chaser snagged in the reefs of Six Shilling Cay. This is how her commander, Charles A Tobin of Melrose Massachusetts, and crew fought to save their ship.
Remembering Michael
Michael Wells passed away on Saturday. I tried to pack away his life in a box to give to his sister and mother. But Michael’s life couldn’t fit in a box. The pictures, the emails, the notes – his heart was just too strong, his mind too sharp to be confined.
FRONT PORCH: Pandora’s Box - why residents should not be allowed to gamble in casinos
THERE are few physical reminders left of Hobby Horse Hall, such as the stables, converted into apartments which eventually grew into disrepair. The eponymous roadway near Commonwealth Bank in Cable Beach, is another reminder of the defunct racetrack once located in the vicinity of the new golf clubhouse at Baha Mar.
STATESIDE: What should, and what will, President Biden do?
IT’S Independence Day in the US this morning, the date Americans commemorate their 248th national birthday. But as the US celebrates on its national day with cookouts and fireworks, many minds are distracted by the confused, tumultuous state of the current presidential race.
Discrimination in our independence
We are one week away from celebrating 51 years of independence in The Bahamas. Last year, the celebration seemed to last forever with many events and designated thematic days in the lead-up to July 10. This year is much less busy and promotion of Independence events seemed to start quite late.
The Potcake: Prevailing over prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is outpacing breast cancer as the most prevalent cancer found in Bahamians, according to Dr Greggory Pinto, a Bahamian urologist. The Bahamas ranks among the top ten countries in the world for the prevalence of prostate cancer. Noting such high statistics, the Sir Ulysses “Big Daddy” Davis Cancer Screening Non-Profit, led by Warren Davis, has kicked into high gear, on a mission to save as many lives as possible. Big Daddy has teamed with Biospy to introduce a new, revolutionary way to get tested that doesn’t involve any needles or invasive examinations.
ONE ELEUTHERA FOUNDATION: The impact of civil societies in The Bahamas and Caribbean
“Well, I really want to know if your research covers topics like “Susu,” “Pardner,” or “Box Hand,” topics that show who we are as Caribbean people and explain how we have supported, cared for, and loved each other.” A student posed this question to me after I had presented to a group of PhD students as a part of their research seminar at the University of the Virgin Islands doctoral programme in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change. My topic for the session was “The Building Blocks of Caribbean-Based and Community-Engaged Research”. During this presentation, I used my recently published book, Get Involved: Stories of Bahamian Civil Society (Rutgers University Press), as a roadmap for the students to advance their work as emerging Caribbean researchers.
DIANE PHILLIPS: The smallest gesture
IN a week marked by major upheavals and startling events, and after a few months of columns devoted to relatively heavy topics I thought we could use a little light-hearted break. So today Page 9 is dedicated to those who help, care and share whether an idea or an act.
STATESIDE: The marginal impact of US presidential debates
THE political director was arriving at a big regional conference, surrounded by several party associates. She wields quite a bit of power as the regional eyes and ears for a Democratic governor in a reliably blue state where Republican victories in statewide elections are an anomalous oddity and GOP power tends to be concentrated in isolated rural areas with low population and almost zero national political visibility.
FRONT PORCH: Masking grand failures: A structural crisis in tourism
A visitor surveying the grand resorts, all-inclusives and boutique properties on Nassau/Paradise Island, the tourism properties on the Family Islands, and the flashy world-class cruise ships in Nassau Harbour, will be impressed by much of the tourism product and infrastructure in The Bahamas.
ALICIA WALLACE: What happened to the expectation of good service?
A consistent complaint by Bahamians in The Bahamas is about the low quality of customer service.
Nature in crisis: Rethinking development pathways
AS highlighted at the recent 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS- 4) it is clear that planet earth’s ecosystems are in an accelerating state of flux, and that a course correction is urgently needed if countries are to maintain and sustain their hard-won development gains in coming decades.
FACE TO FACE: Captain Fernley Palmer - transforming young lives
CAPTAIN Fernley Palmer is one of the most outstanding public figures in The Bahamas, known for transforming the lives of countless young men into outstanding citizens.
The Cygnet sunk by an Italian sub
The steamer Cygnet was sunk by the Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli in sight of San Sal- vador early in World War II, when Bahamians were not expecting attacks
