NASSAU, BAHAMAS - Coalition of Independents is criticizing the Davis administration over spending, it's leader Lincoln Bain says while spending continues there are seemingly no results.

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ABNT20 KNHC 301739

TWOAT



Tropical Weather Outlook

NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL

200 PM EDT Tue May 30 2023



For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:



Central Gulf of Mexico:

An area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms is associated with

a surface trough of low pressure interacting with an upper-level

trough over the central Gulf of Mexico. Environmental conditions

appear only marginally favorable for additional development over the

next several days as the system meanders over the eastern Gulf of

Mexico. The system is then forecast to move across the Florida

Peninsula this weekend and emerge into the southwestern Atlantic

Ocean by early next week. Regardless of development, the system

could produce heavy rainfall and gusty winds over portions of the

Florida Peninsula later this week. Additional information on the

rainfall and flooding potential can be found in products issued by

your local National Weather Service forecast office and Excessive

Rainfall Outlooks issued by the Weather Prediction Center.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.



$$

Forecaster Papin/Blake

The question of whether the city of Freeport should continue in the hands of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), be sold to another investment entity, or be taken over by the government remains the subject of often heated debate among politicians, community leaders and others, with many against a government-run GBPA.

Last week, the debate of who should run the GBPA resurfaced.

Member of Parliament for Pineridge Frederick McAlpine sparked the exchange after he renewed his call in a voice message for a top tier management change at the GBPA; however, he vehemently expressed that he was against a government-run port.

McAlpine fears that the city would become a "cesspool of politics," if more is not done by the GBPA.

In response, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell said it is "politics of the day" that got the country where it is today.

"It was through politics that we got our independence, Majority Rule, and other notable achievements," said Mithcell, who is also minister of foreign affairs and the public service.

He said the island has been "steadily dying on the vine with the heirs to the owners of the city very much seeing it as a play thing and not a city with real people, a real place where people live, breathe and have their being".

Mitchell said new investment is needed and only one organization that can do that is the government.

"The government won't play footsie with the owners of Freeport," he said. "Pressure is on and the PLP has been leading the way in this paradigm."

He added, "The government is impatient with excuses from the owners, pressure from the public and the state of no action that Grand Bahama is in. It must not continue."

Grand Bahamians have mixed views on the matter.

Owner of T's Clothing Store, Ronique Brown, said for the past 10 years, she has struggled to keep the doors of her store open.

"I am not sure if it is good for the government to take over the Port Authority, because I think too much nepotism and victimizing goes on when certain people are in power. So, that's not a good idea," she said.

"On the other hand, the people in the executive offices of the port seem to be unable to bring in the investors like the late Mr. Edward St. George was doing when he was alive. So, here again, we have an issue."

Brown believes the GBPA and the government need to outline a viable working plan and fix their working relationship to get the entire island back in good economic standing.

"They need to work together to make doing business easier for local entrepreneurs and international investors," she said.

"There is too much red tape and hurdles to jump."

Businessman Lester Smith said despite the promised boom, he is not impressed.

"I want to see the dollars flowing in the community and not just to the selected few," Smith said.

"I believe Grand Bahama needs new eyes in terms of the investors that we attract. We can't sell what Mr. St. George sold about the island years ago.

"Things have changed drastically since that time. We need new innovative ideas for investments and I believe Grand Bahama can offer all and every opportunity for business there is. However, we need people with the vision to promote it."

Meanwhile, GBPA President Ian Rolle said the GBPA is living up to its responsibilities under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA), including approving of business licenses, addressing environmental compliance concerns, regulating utilities, issuing construction permits and maintaining the city.

"In addition to those duties, we have over $1 billion in investments either underway or in the pipeline," Rolle said.

"People have not seen that amount of activity in many years and this is under the GBPA."

Listing projects inclusive of but not limited to Carnival Cruise Port, Xquisite Yachts and Six Senses, Rolle said, "A lot of these deals were in the making for some two years. A number of these deals take a year or more to complete. So, GBPA has, right now, for the city of Freeport, well over $1 billion in transactions ... that says we are doing our job."

At the end of each month, GB News will publish a monthly police roundup, comprised of crime news throughout the northern islands, including Grand Bahama, Abaco, and Bimini.

Police-involved shooting

An investigation is underway into the police shooting of a man who threatened officers with two cutlasses after being found trying to break into an apartment, police said.

Police said the officers were responding to a call on Sunday, May 7 about an attempted break-in on Grand Bahama, and repeatedly told the man to drop his weapons, but, instead, he made death threats, threw one of the cutlasses and charged at them, whereupon the officers fired their guns.

Police said the man was shot and injured. He was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

25 illegals arrested in joint immigration raids on Grand Bahama and Bimini

A joint effort by the police and Bahamas Immigration Department on May 22 resulted in the arrests of 25 illegal immigrants in two separate raids, police said.

According to police, shortly before 9 a.m., immigration agents and police officers, including canine units, arrested 14 Chinese nationals (12 men and two women) and a Dominican man in the area of Princess Isles, South Bahamia, while other officers raided a business near the Freeport Harbour, arresting a 41-year-old Bahamian man and a 48-year-old Haitian man.

At around the same time, officers in south Bimini searched an abandoned stone building on Port Royal Canal and arrested 10 Chinese nationals, police reported.

High-powered weapon ditched

Officers in the area of Watkins Lane in Freeport recovered a high-powered firearm ditched by a man who swore at them and fled on a bicycle, police said.

According to police, around 9 a.m., on May 6, officers on routine patrol noticed a cyclist behaving suspiciously and tried to stop him.

They said he managed to evade them, leaving behind the weapon which contained a significant quantity of ammunition.

Nearly $2 mil. worth of cocaine found on a beach

On May 8, police on Abaco found four bags containing 108 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $1.8 million on Sea Glass Beach at Guana Cay.

Police said they were acting on information received and no one was found at the scene.

Single vehicle crash claims a woman's life

Police said that at about 1 a.m. on May 11, a blue Nissan Cube crashed into a tree after leaving the northbound lane of Seahorse Road near the plaza.

The car was so badly damaged, officers had to use the Jaws of Life to extract the driver who was pronounced dead at hospital, according to police.

Police investigate alleged drowning

Police said an investigation is underway after a Freeport man, 41, was found drowned near the Government Dock in north Bimini after they received a report that he was missing from a fishing boat. Police said they received the report shortly after 8 a.m. on May 13 and the body was found hours later the same day.

Fisherman treated for shark bite

An American visitor was treated and released from hospital after being bitten by a baby shark while fishing off West End, Grand Bahama, on May 21, police said.

Police reported that the man, 29, was fishing near Sandy Cay with six friends when he caught the pup and was bitten while trying to remove the hook from the shark's mouth.

He suffered serious but non-ffatal injuries, police said .