A 52-year-old man of Rosebud Street, Farrington Road, New Providence, was stabbed to death on Saturday, police said. 

Police said they were alerted just after 3 p.m. by a concerned resident of Rosebud Street that an unresponsive male was discovered outside her home.

When responding officers and emergency personnel arrived at the location, they discovered the man who appeared to have sustained stab wounds to the upper body. He was dead on scene.

Police appealed to anyone with information on the crime to contact them.

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Though the Davis administration has repeatedly praised itself for the economic recovery that was inevitable, it has shied away from accepting any responsibility for the high cost of living in The Bahamas.

There are certain factors the government simply cannot control as we import all our fuel and almost all of everything else we consume.

Of course, that did not stop it from trying as it forced pharmaceutical and grocery companies to charge value-added tax on breadbasket items while ramming price controls on many of those items through without proper consultation.

There are, however, certain things the government has done that have unquestionably added to the high cost of living, with the raising of the minimum wage and the manipulation of Bahamas Power and Light's fuel charge leading to the astronomical rise in electricity bills top of mind.

While the minimum wage certainly puts more money in the pockets of many, businesses increase prices based on increased wages.

The government has also made many more government processes more onerous for businesses while putting the squeeze on them regarding tax collection.

The current administration has made a point to pitch its previous legislative efforts as being on the side of those it determines are the most vulnerable in society.

We do not believe it has had a significant effect as most people who live in poverty usually spend almost all of what they make on items that are taxed regressively.

But this administration has promised to continue to put this segment of the population at the top of its agenda.

"The high cost of living is a major cause of financial stress and psychological distress in the country," the Davis administration said in the Speech from the Throne last week.

"In a number of sectors, poorer people pay disproportionately higher costs than the wealthier sections of society. My government does not wish to overburden any section of the community, but we do seek to make our economy fairer."

Poor people are less likely to access credit, which means they usually do not have onerous debt.

Poor people do not own homes, therefore, they pay none of the costs associated with homeownership - mortgages, taxes, insurance.

Poor people access public healthcare, much of which is free at a primary care level.

Poor people access free education.

Of course, no one wants to be poor.

The current administration is seeking to characterize those who are working in an environment of what might be record unemployment, who still struggle to pay their bills as being poor, but that is not what being poor looks like; it should not transpose the two things.

Thankfully, poor people do not make up anything close to the majority of our population.

However, we do not see many things being proposed in the speech that would ease the high cost of living in short order.

The government has promised a new Registrar General Bill to "reorganize the operations of the Registrar General's Office" to "help to ease the burden of doing business in The Bahamas".

It also promised to launch a new online company registry portal which will "help to make the process of registration more efficient".

"My government will also launch a new online civil platform to provide efficient and transparent services to Bahamians," the speech said.

The speech also said the government intends to institute consumer protection legislation, though a Consumer Protection Act currently exists.

This also assumes that prices being charged to consumers are unfair when a free market should dictate prices.

The government promised to undertake a "root and branch" review of the energy sector, noting it recently established a Ministry of Energy to "implement effective, long-lasting solutions".

"My government has already launched programs to install 100 megawatts of solar energy in Nassau, and new blended power facilities incorporating a minimum of 50 percent solar generation in 16 locations throughout the Family Islands," the speech said.

Renewable energy and LNG plants are better for The Bahamas, but they will take time and are costly.

A comprehensive approach to properly addressing the high cost of living requires economic policy adjustments, workforce development, social safety nets, and initiatives to stimulate economic growth and job creation.

And while the Davis administration has outlined the intent of such an approach, what it proposed in the recent speech is unlikely to achieve the outcomes we want anytime soon.

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Executives of The Bahamas' Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation are excited to attend this year's Travel Events and Management in Sports (TEAMS) Conference & Expo in West Palm Beach, Florida, this week, to promote The Bahamas as the ideal destination for sports related meetings and conferences, tournaments, events and more. Bahamas Tourism executives will also showcase the destination's new 'Sports in Paradise' initiative that will target global partnerships to position The Bahamas as a sports mecca.

TEAMS is the world's leading conference and expo for the sports event industry. It attracts thousands of attendees, including chief executive officers, sports event managers, sports travel planners, federations, convention bureaus, corporate sponsors, event suppliers and other hospitality industry leaders. The highly anticipated event is presented by SportsTravel Magazine and has helped to define the sports event and appointment-based trade show industries for more than 20 years.

Greg Rolle, Senior Director of Sports Tourism and Vertical Markets, said participating in events such as TEAMS is integral to diversifying the event hosting portfolio of The Bahamas.

"The events market is of huge significance to us," said Rolle. "It generates 40 percent of overall tourism business. Our sports tourism market continues to grow from year to year as more entities in the international sporting world become aware of the appeal of our destination for staging world-class sporting events."

Guests and stakeholders will have an opportunity to visit The Bahamas' booth and engage with representatives from the country's sporting and hotel sector on the available sports facilities, the types of events that can be hosted, and other offerings in the sports tourism market. Visitors to The Bahamas booth will also learn about the destination's plans for future growth and innovation in sports tourism and the many reasons why The Bahamas remains one of the most sought-after destinations in the world.

The Bahamas' representatives will also conduct more than 40 on-site meetings with teams, sport event planners and other stakeholders across the industry and disciplines including basketball, football, golf, softball, track and field, tennis, soccer, volleyball, archery and kickball, to build leads and expand access to the robust network of sports travel.

The Islands of The Bahamas has been the backdrop of many successful major international sporting events, training sessions and more throughout its history, from the Bahamas Bowl and Battle 4 Atlantis to the PGA's (Professional Golfers' Association) Hero World Challenge. The country will once again host the World Athletics Relays which is expected to attract over 1,600 athletes from all over the world. This will be the fourth time The Bahamas will be hosting the event. It will be held May 4-5, 2024, and will serve as an Olympic qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The sports tourism department continues to push an aggressive strategy to target key sporting organizations and events with its 'Sports in Paradise' initiative.

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The post Tourism to promote 'Sports in Paradise' initiative at TEAMS Expo appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

Authorities have grounded Flamingo Air to investigate whether it is strictly adhering to safety regulations, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Devard Francis confirmed yesterday.

All of the airline's aircraft were grounded on Wednesday, two days after the boarding ladder of one of its planes deployed in flight.

The incident created widespread concerns among the public and even became the subject of social media memes in recent days.

"I can confirm that Civil Aviation Authority and the inspectorate are doing investigations," Francis said.

"Until we have completed our investigations, all the planes are grounded. We're doing safety checks and we're doing all [we can] to ensure the safety of all the public who flies this airline, and we're getting good cooperation from the airline, its proprietors; and we're hoping that we can come to a positive outcome in this."

Francis added, "We are doing investigations on all the airlines to make sure the Bahamian public is safe. We care about all in the Bahamian public, and so we are dotting our i's and crossing our t's for everyone."

Asked about the "concerning and alarming" matter of the plane door that flew open while the aircraft was flying, Francis said, "Concerning and alarming is a mild way of putting it. It was just egregious and no one wants to fly on an airline where the door is open.

"We know that mistakes happen, and we just want to ensure that all safety measures are taking place to ensure the safety of our Bahamian public."

Francis could not confirm how long the investigation will take.

"We will be completed as soon as our inspectors are sure that all safety concerns are met, and so I can't really give a timeline to it," he said.

Asked which agencies are involved in the investigation, Francis said, "Civil Aviation Authority Safety Inspectorate, and I'm sure at some point persons from the Airport Authority will be amalgamated into this, but right now as it stands, Civil Aviation Authority is at the apex of the [inspection]."

Francis said he was not at liberty to say how many planes Flamingo Air has.

"But I am at liberty to say right now that we are doing a complete inspection," he added.

Francis confirmed that the authority does receive complaints regarding other airlines.

But he said, "We're doing a complete inspection on Flamingo Air right now. They are the subject matter at hand right now."

On Monday, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority said it was investigating the matter.

The aircraft had departed Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) with 17 people onboard en route to Staniel Cay, Exuma.

Authorities said the incident took place around 8:30 a.m. and involved a Beech 99 aircraft with Bahamas registration C6-MMK.

The plane returned safely to LPIA without further incident, investigators said.

A video showing the aircraft with its boarding ladder deployed while the plane was flying over the ocean near land circulated widely on social media.

A Flamingo Air statement issued on Monday said, "We understand that your safety is our top priority. We are deeply sorry for the recent incident that caused concern among our valued passengers.

"We were just as shocked as everyone else when we saw that video of one of our aircraft's boarding ladder being deployed while in flight.

"We want you to know that we take this matter very seriously. Our dedicated management, along with our skilled mechanical crew, immediately launched an investigation to understand what went wrong."

"Upon careful inspection, we found that the reason for the ladder's deployment was a failure to properly fasten the latch. This, combined with the turbulence that all planes endure during flight, led to the ladder becoming detached."

The airline continued, "We want to emphasize that at no point was the safety of our aircraft or passengers compromised. The incident was indeed a minor issue, but we take it seriously nonetheless."

On its website, Flamingo Air says, "Located in Freeport, Grand Bahama Domestic Terminal, Marsh Harbour Abaco International Airport, Bimini International Airport, Mangrove Cay International Airport Nassau, New Providence Lynden Pindling International Airport, we fly throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean region.

"Our senior captains Raymond Meadows Sr. & Vincent Colebrooke have over 25 years of experience in this industry. Our general manager Sharon Meadows has over 20 years of experience in the customer care industry. We are committed to giving you the best flight service experience ever and we stand by our reputation of excellence."