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Bahama Islands News, Articles and Information
Athol Is. activists complain
Concerned Paradise Island tour operators have requested a meeting with Minister of Financial Services and Investments Vincent Peet in a bid to protect Athol Island and its surrounding sea gardens.In a letter faxed to Minister Peet, tour operators said they turned to the government official after they were told that the Energy and Environment Ministry had forwarded to Mr Peet's ministry a final Environmental Impact Assessment on Athol Island, the site of a new golf course for the third phase of the Atlantis development.
"We urgently request a meeting to have our minds put at rest that our government will make the right decision to save Athol Island, protect our coral reefs and the livelihood of all the tour operators," the letter read. "Do we have to remind all our Ministries that the number one industry in The Bahamas is Tourism?"
The Athol Island controversy was sparked earlier when word got out that work on the proposed golf course for the island would begin before the end of the year.
Long Lines Form For Gas And Food As Florida Braces For Nearing Tropical Storm Ernesto
Steve Saunders and his family drove seven hours from central Florida to the end of the Florida Keys, blissfully unaware they were heading the wrong way as Tropical Storm Ernesto crept ever closer.Tourists had been ordered to evacuate the Keys, where Floridians were expected to feel Ernesto's first effects. But lying by a hotel pool Monday evening, Saunders said his family planned to stay in Key West and ride it out.
Driving back up the peninsula didn't really make sense, as Ernesto was forecast to follow the same path north, Saunders said.
"It's going to get you if you drive up Florida," he said.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Ernesto could reach hurricane strength by the time it makes landfall on the Florida mainland.
Neko Case Extends Tour
After a month-long trek across the U.S., Neko Case is bringing the flood to European soil. Upon returning to North America toward the end of the month, Case will play scattered festivals across the continent. The chanteuse has decided to pad those performances up with a handful of gigs up and down the West Coast, including three dates at San Francisco's Bimbo's 365 Club.Set out running:
05-09 Milan, Italy - La Casa
05-10 Lucerne, Switzerland - Boa
05-11 Munich, Germany - Orange House
05-12 Berlin, Germany - Tacheles
05-13 Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
05-14 Stockholm, Sweden - Sondra Teatern
05-15 Oslo, Norway - Rock Bottom
05-17 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
05-18 Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
05-19 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Nightown Theatre
05-20 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05-21 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
05-22 Paris, France - La Boule Noir
05-24 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
05-27 George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch!)
06-15 Telluride, CO - Town Park (Telluride Bluegrass Festival)
06-16 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater *
06-17 Park City, UT - Suede *
06-20 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre *
06-21 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern *
06-23 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater *
06-24 Santa Cruz, CA - The Rio Theater *
06-25 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
06-26 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
06-27 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
06-29 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall *
06-30 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
07-01 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre *
07-02 Vancouver, British Columbia - Centre for the Performing Arts (Vancouver International Jazz Festival) *
07-03 Victoria, British Columbia - ICA Folkfest
07-05 Edmonton, Alberta - Myer Horowitz Theatre *
07-07 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Winnipeg Folk Festival
07-08 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Winnipeg Folk Festival
09-10 Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl (KCRW's World Festival) #
* with Sonny Smith
# with Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams
* Pitchfork Review: Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
* Pitchfork News: Neko Case Kicks Off Tour Tonight
* Pitchfork Feature: Live: Neko Case
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Ernesto drenches Cuba; will likely regain hurricane strength in Gulf
HAVANA Tropical Storm Ernesto hit Cuba west of the U.S. naval air base at Guantanamo Bay on Monday after killing one person in Haiti as it stayed on track toward Florida, where forecasters expect it to strengthen back into a hurricane.Ernesto became the Atlantic season's first hurricane on Sunday morning with maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph before weakening and moving ashore about 20 miles west of Guantanamo, with top sustained winds of nearly 40 mph that's 1 mph above the minimum to be a tropical storm.Forecasters said Ernesto would regain strength once it reached the warm waters north of Cuba, and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared an emergency, ordering tourists to evacuate the Florida Keys.We do expect it to reach the Gulf, maybe as a Category 1 hurricane, possibly a Category 2,'' said John Cangialosi, a meteorologist with U.S.Francis is appointed to GB Yacht Club Board
Former Grand Bahama Port Authority Chief Executive Officer and Co-chairman Julian Francis is the newest appointee to the Grand Bahama Yacht Club Board of Directors.In fact, it is a first for New Hope Holdings which has never had a Bahamian on its board.
The company was recently acquired by Preben Olesen, chairman and chief executive officer of the Grand Bahama Yacht Club, who plans to build a mega yacht haven by merging the two marinas, constructing a condo hotel, a condominium and town house development and a clubhouse in Port Lucaya and a beach club on Taino Beach.
The project is a $500 million undertaking.
Francis' appointment is said to be the first of many plans for Bahamians at the company.
The banker of 30 years had retired his post as Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas on May 31, 2005 to join the GBPA on a four-year contract, but resigned after only 12 months.
BEC workers take action
More than 300 Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) employees walked off the job at the Clifton Pier power plant yesterday after talks between the government and the Union broke down. BEC management claim that the "illegal and unwarranted" industrial action resulted in power outages throughout New Providence. "The Bahamas Electrical Workers Union...called an illegal and unwarranted industrial action at which time some members went unauthorised onto the Clifton Pier Power station compound locking the gates behind them," management said in a press statement. "These persons then tampered with the equipment at the Clifton Pier Power Station, which resulted in generators shutting down and led to the power outages throughout New Providence." Dennis Williams, President of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) said Union members are not responsible for the power outages.
Harrah's Agrees to Buy London Clubs to Expand in U.K. (Update1)
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the world's largest casino company, agreed to buy London Clubs International Plc for 279.3 million pounds ($532 million) to expand in the U.K., where the government is deregulating the gaming industry.The purchase price of 125 pence a share is 27 percent more than yesterday's closing price for London Clubs stock, Las Vegas- based Harrah's said today in a Regulatory News Service statement.
The acquisition brings Harrah's six U.K. casinos along with sites in Egypt and South Africa. London Clubs has licenses for six more British venues, including a property in London's Leicester Square scheduled to open March 2007. The U.K. casino market is worth about $1.3 billion and is forecast to increase to $1.62 billion next year, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Teens arrested with cocaine
Two teens were arrested at the Grand Bahama International Airport Thursday, after police caught them attempting to smuggle cocaine in a birthday cake.Two girls reportedly attempted to clear US customs and immigration on August 24 in the Pre-Clearance Lounge, when a security officer noticed a solid object inside the cake on the monitor screen and requested police assistance.
A police officer responded and upon cutting the cake discovered a kilo package of cocaine inside. As a result both girls, one a resident of Windsor Park and the other of Hanna Hill, Eight Mile Rock were arrested and taken into custody at the Drug
Enforcement Unit, along with the illegal narcotics.
They have since been flown to New Providence and are expected to be arraigned in the drug court sometime on
Monday.
G.B. Airport on 'orange alert'
In light of the latest terrorist alert, the Grand Bahama International and Domestic airports are now at 'level orange' for all flights destined for the United States.This directive comes hours after police in Britain arrested 24 suspects, who officials say had planned to use liquid bombs smuggled in hand luggage to simultaneously blow up several aircraft flying to the United States.
According to reports late yesterday, a British undercover agent infiltrated the group. Police are said to be hunting down 10 more suspects.
The Bahamas government is now working along with the relevant international authorities and have initiated the national aviation security plan which calls for major airports around the world to have their security placed on high alert.