The Caribbean Boutique Hotel Awards – 2019

Caribbean Boutique Hotel of the Year: Island House, Nassau, Bahamas

It began with an idea.

An idea to celebrate the jewels of the Caribbean hotel industry, the smaller, more intimate spaces through which hoteliers express their dreams, their personalities and their visions for what hospitality can be.

And now the Caribbean Boutique Hotel Awards is back again, with its second annual edition again putting the best of the Caribbean’s small hotels on display.

Nothing better represents the diversity of the Caribbean travel experience than these small properties, places that are eminently in tune with their communities, with their natural environments and with their destinations.

And that’s what Caribbean Journal readers often tell us — in many ways, these boutique hotels are the ultimate Caribbean experiences, that some of our most beloved stories are the ones that shine the spotlight on these little gems.  Read more >>

Operation BBQ Relief flies meals to Dorian-ravaged Bahamas aboard restored WWII plane

By Marisela Burgos

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Volunteers from a nonprofit organization are delivering thousands of meals on a daily to the Bahamas as it rebuilds from Hurricane Dorian’s destruction, and they are making the flights on a restored World War II plane.

The aircraft carried thousands of meals, including rice, pulled pork and bread as part of the special mission carried out by the nonprofit Operation BBQ Relief.

“It’s our little way of being able to help the world and make it a better place,” said Stan Hayes, CEO of Operation BBQ Relief.

The mission took volunteers to the island nation aboard Miss Montana, a restored World War II-era plane.  Read more >>

Rev. Al Sharpton – National Action Network Appeal To Help The Bahamas

by Basil Roman

CARIB NEWS Publisher Karl B. Rodney was a special guest and on-air speaker at the National Action Network Saturday Rally, September 14 and radio broadcast live on WLIB. The effort was to update the broader community on how they can continue to support the relief efforts of those impacted in the Bahamas by Hurricane Dorian.

Every Saturday morning, Rev. Sharpton and the National Action Network held a rally at the NAN Headquarters, House of Justice at 106 West 145th Street. Rev Sharpton uses this time to address the community on many important issues in politics, media and current events. The rallies are attended by hundreds of live guests and are also video recorded and live-streamed on NAN website – www.nationalactionnetwork.net from 10.00 to 1 am. NAN broadcasts live on Impact Television across the country.

Saturday, September 14, the one-hour conversation was focused on how the broader community can collectively work to provide aid to the effort of restoring the beautiful Bahamas after the devastation caused by hurricane Dorian. Rev. Sharpton stated “as we continue to organize and mobilize in our community as activists around issues concerning us most, it is important to stay connected and intertwined with our history and what keeps us going.  Read more >>

#242NewsBahamas Newsletter Edition: September 19, 2019

Unprecedented Support Dear Readers, As Grand Bahamians, we have lived through many, many, storms. Andrew, Matthew, Jeanne, and Francis to name a few. Each time, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and started again; in some cases, with assistance and donations that have filtered through – but mainly on our own. Typically in the days following a storm, Grand Bahama is inundated with the mass of Insurance Adjusters who come to assess the damages, and determine what payouts are necessary. Post Dorian however, the island is now teeming with literally hundreds of volunteers from organizations from all over the world. To say we are thankful is not enough, we are overwhelmed and just astonished. Read the rest of the editorial, by clicking on this bar. We love the comments on our editorials, if you post please note we may share them, so remember to keep it appropriate. Thanks

One-Cent Coin Use To Cease By End-2020

Bahamian one cent coin

By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Central Bank yesterday said its plan to end the Bahamian one-cent coin's use as legal tender by end-2020 will save itself and the banking system $7m over a ten-year period.

The regulator, unveiling its rationale for ending the coin's 54-year history as a means of payment, said it had lost 90 percent of its purchasing power and was "increasingly rarely used" in commercial transactions by the Bahamian public.

With a survey showing that just 52 percent of persons use the one-cent coin to pay for goods and services, and the use of electronic payment methods such as debit cards and wire transfers becoming increasingly popular, the Central Bank argued the costs of maintaining it as legal tender outweigh the benefits.  Read more >>

Atlanta Holds A Day of Prayer For The Bahamas

Bishop Delton Fernander offered a hand of comfort to Rev. Silbert Mills, Pastor of Friendship Tabernacle who wept as he described how his house fell around him and water beat down his doors as he tried to comfort his wife, their children and grandchildren, including a 10-week-old when Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco, The Bahamas.

Written by Arthia Nixon for Bahamas Consulate General of Atlanta

Photos by Gianne Demeritte

Atlanta, Georgia… It was an emotional evening at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, Sept 18, 2019 as representatives from the diplomatic corps, civil rights moment, and Caribbean diaspora joined icon Xernona Clayton, Bahamas Consul General Astra Armbrister-Rolle and members of the Bahamas Christian Council to pledge support during a night of prayer for The Bahamas.

During the service, a representative from Congressman John Lewis’ office confirmed that he was supporting Bahamians getting temporary protective status in The United States.

As devastating images flashed across the screens, showing the impact of Hurrican Dorian to Grand Bahama and Abaco, tears were shed in the congregation as choirs sang and clergy members offered words of encouragement.

Bahamas To Host Optimist Sailing Championships

A press conference was held yesterday at the Nassau Yacht Club for the 2019 Optimist North American Championships. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Having represented the Bahamas in three previous international events, Joshua Weech is excited to lead the team in the competition at the Optimist North American Championships at the Nassau Yacht Club next weekend.

Weech will be joined by Jasmin Aberle and Maison Koepke, two members from Hope Town, Abaco, who are coming to town after enduring the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in Abaco and Grand Bahama.  Read more >>