Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Is it time to reopen the beaches and oceans? - Apr 20, 2020 - 1:15:03 PM
 Humans are missing beaches. No matter what country or what coastline,
people love ocean waves and sunny days. What mysteries abound in salty
waters? What induces the desire to stroll along in bare feet? What is
that inner yearning about? The magical healing power of majesty.
Nature’s playground without admission tickets. Beauty without borders.
Connection to the mind, body, spirit.
The pleasure principle is
definitely at work whilst we relax and rest under an umbrella with a
frosty beverage. Emotions are engulfed in a beach bubble as stress melts
away. Leisure for our lungs. The beach is a balm to the body. The cold
plunge into the ocean tingles the toes. And for a while, we feel
satisfied. The mind is living in the moment. Hustle and bustle are put
on hold...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: When the world is grieving - Apr 13, 2020 - 4:30:03 PM
Individuals across the globe have died from COVID-19. Whether we knew
them personally or not—we may cry, feel sadness, experience loss, and
find ourselves mourning. Why? Because we are reminded of our own
experiences with loved ones who have died. These past painful emotions
can resurface during tragedies. Feelings of hopelessness and
helplessness can temporarily return. Experiencing a range of emotions
comes with being a human being. And grief is a mixture of swirling and
twirling feelings.
Fear often tags along with grief. We fear the
people we love most will die. We fear we will die. Our survival alarm
for safety blasts throughout the mind and body...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Stories R US: Write about COVID-19 on the Islands - Apr 4, 2020 - 10:15:28 AM
The future will find us looking back on the pandemic of 2020. Articles
in newspapers will be archived. Children will grow up with school
cancelation tales. Each individual will have a similar, yet a
distinctive story about the coronavirus. The days of COVID-19 will be
transcribed in history books.
I grew up inside of books.
Escaping between the front and the back covers brought solace from
external and internal chaos. Traveling faraway, but still staying home
was possible within the pages. Each person is a story and each person
has a story. Whether fiction or nonfiction, stories R US...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Joe Darville: The state of education in our nation - Feb 20, 2020 - 8:35:32 AM
 As a life-long educator and one still in the field of environmental
education, I wish to unequivocally agree with the evaluation of
education in this country today, penned by Mr. Robert Myers of ORG.
Additionally, it must be stated clearly that the lack of discipline
throughout the system must be addressed. In many schools, teacher spend
at least one-third of their precious time disciplining non-motivated
students. Many of these children come from one-parent families, mainly
that one person being a dear mother. So, certainly, much of this lament
facing education begins right in the home...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Equality Bahamas: Act on Marital Rape Issue Now - Feb 5, 2020 - 11:00:07 AM
Equality Bahamas draws attention to the current situation wherein The
Bahamas is in contravention with the Convention on the Elimination of
All forms of Discrimination Against Women, Belem Do Para, and numerous
other conventions with its Sexual Offenses Act which provides a
definition of rape that ensures women have no legal recourse when
sexually violated by their spouses. The issue has been raised numerous
times including the 2009 tabling of the Marital Rape Bill by Loretta
Butler-Turner and the statement by United Nations Special Rapporteur on
Violence Against Women Dubravka Šimonović in 2017 following her country
visit...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Are you a time saver or a time waster? - Jan 12, 2020 - 10:57:46 PM
We are a planet of time-saving and time-wasting fanatics. Remember the
tale about the race between the tortoise and the hare? While the
arrogant hare goofed around and napped, the slow but steady tortoise
crossed the finish line first.
In the days of old, consumers
visited the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. They chatted,
gossiped, and shared community news. Timeworn traditions turned into
trends to save time as busyness bombarded us from sunrise to sunset
because of progress...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: A solution to myriad 2020 Appreciation Days - Jan 6, 2020 - 8:05:07 AM
Around the globe, there are many national awareness days in any given
month. Many of these bring awareness to health concerns and important
issues.
However, some are official or unofficial days probably
declared by the bored, irked or goofy, I assume. Some celebrations are
silly, some weird, and some ridiculous. Many revolve around glorifying
food. Some are bizarre, some unique, and some funny.
Here’s a
solution to the problem of how to celebrate all these days. Let’s group
the days together and acknowledge them on the same day of the month to
save energy and sanity...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Happy Birthday Earth! - Dec 31, 2019 - 8:55:06 AM
The hanging globe we live on is another
year older. “Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, Mother Earth. Happy
Birthday to you.” Sing along. Earth is our home.
How old is
earth? It depends on who you ask. A creationist and an evolutionist will
give different answers. A scientist and a Bible scholar will give
different answers.
Who named our Earth? Its name comes from the
old English and Germanic words meaning ‘the ground.’ Who or what created
Earth? ‘In the beginning...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: When freedom of the press is imprisoned - Dec 25, 2019 - 9:00:24 PM
Jailed journalists around the globe. How can it be?
Devious
despots misusing power and preying upon humanity—withholding information
because knowledge is power. Silencing the other side of the story. Fear
of losing control feeds their depravity. Dictators hiding behind castle
walls and armies of destruction for those who dare ask questions or
criticize.
Freedom of the press is held hostage as journalists
observe through prison bars. The courageous story-tellers that sacrifice
personal safety for the human rights of others...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Terence Gape: "The Saga of the Grand Bahama Int'l Airport and Port Authority" - Dec 21, 2019 - 4:00:16 PM
 I have been gratified by the growing realization that the Grand Bahama
International Airport is an essential instrument and is centrifugal to
the rehabilitation and revitalization of the Grand Bahama economy.
Without
this, our Industrial Plant will wither and die and our efforts to
revive the Tourism Sector will fail! It has even been said that without
an International Airport, Grand Bahama will become another Andros...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
2 year plan for a stronger Freeport - Dec 8, 2019 - 6:00:04 PM
Prominent Grand Bahama Attorney Terence Gape proposes solutions to
the ongoing dilemmas facing Grand Bahama Island post Dorian. At the
epicenter of it all Mr. Gape says that, “Freeport has no viability if a
new International Airport is not built.”
Gape
proclaims a legal and moral duty is involved and places the
responsibility for rebuilding the airport firmly onto Hutchison and ‘the
Port Families’ stating that he feels those entities “Should not be
allowed to abdicate their responsibilities and ‘hand over’ the Airport to Government.” Within his
writing, Gape proposes assets and insurance money to be the means of
funding the airport rebuild by the two entities...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Joe Darville:Closure of shelters - Nov 29, 2019 - 10:47:32 AM
Mr. Franke Campbell Minister of Social Services is a very compassionate
and caring individual. I understand clearly his desire that individuals
who are still housed in shelters need to get back to their homes.
However, what is the condition of those homes? Most of the severely
damaged homes are still infested with mold, vermin and other disease
carrying agents. Therefore, we cannot in good conscience send them back
to such...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: ‘Tis the season to count our blessings for freedom of the press - Nov 25, 2019 - 2:30:20 PM
We go about our daily lives. We read newspapers in our villages, towns,
and cities. We read newspapers from other countries via internet. But
how often do we stop and consider press freedom? How often do we count
our blessings when we peruse social media news outlets? How often do we
show gratitude to journalists and people that bring us the news?
UN. May 3 was proclaimed World Press Freedom Day the UN General Assembly in 1993.
According
to 2017 report from Freedom House, a U.S. based nonprofit, only 13
percent of the world’s population experiences a free press...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Disaster diet predictions - Nov 18, 2019 - 6:00:49 PM
If a certain diet worked, everybody everywhere would know about it. Food
fads travel around the planet and back. Weight loss scams come and go.
You lose money and motivation, but not pounds. Or if you initially lose a
few pounds, you gain it back and more. Greedy companies prey on people
with phony promises, bogus beliefs, false and faulty research. They
recruit fanatic followers. Where’s the science, folks? The fitness
industry needs to divorce the fad diet business. We have to be aware of
health hype and question dieting madness.
The following funky diets are a taste of my humorous rederick. So, don’t try them at home...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Humor for holiday stress - Nov 18, 2019 - 10:00:08 AM
Instead of a frazzled freak-out around the hectic holidays, what about
trying laughter. Not hysterical ‘lose your mind’ chortling or ‘milk
coming out of your nose’ snickering. But, belly-laughing glee with
giggles and guffaws.
Funny
A hilarious holiday tune—sing
along with me. Grandma got run over by a reindeer/ Walking home from our
house Christmas Eve/ You can say there’s no such thing as Santa/ But
for me and grandpa we believe...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: ‘Tis the season to thank newspaper people - Nov 4, 2019 - 8:00:29 AM
Whether you read your news in the morning, afternoon, or evening;
whether you read your newspapers in print or digital; whether you read
national or local newspapers—take time to sprinkle a few words of kudos
in an email, text, or card to the dedicated folks in front of and behind
the printing presses.
Think about the many employment positions
at newspaper offices. From the publisher to the delivery employee, each
person needs appreciation for the teamwork it takes to publish a daily, a
weekly, a monthly, print or digital newspaper. From the paper version
to the online version, it takes diligence to report on events, stories,
and happenings...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: Clemency for battered women in prison - Oct 27, 2019 - 10:30:55 PM
Kill or be killed. “On the night he died, after a day of heavy drinking,
Andrew Harris sexually and verbally assaulted Mia. When the abuse
became physical, Mia told Andrew “No,” and told him to leave her home.
Instead, he cut her. When she tried to escape, he strangled her until
she passed out. Before she passed out, she was able to grab a knife and
stabbed him with it. When she awoke, Andrew continued beating her, and
poured hot sauce in her eyes. Mia swung the knife at Andrew to keep him
away, causing 22 wounds over his body. One cut sliced Andrew’s femoral
artery behind his knee causing him bleed to death.” www.ohiojpc.org...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Melissa Martin: When adults bully adults, kids suffer - Oct 27, 2019 - 12:05:18 PM
October is National Bullying Prevention Month on some parts of the
planet. “Every day thousands of young people experience bullying from
their peers while at school, after school in their neighborhoods, and
even when they are at home, through social media and texts,” PACER
points out. Founded in 2006, PACER is a National Bullying Prevention
Center. wwwpacer.org.
But, here’s my question. How do we as
adults hope to prevent bullying among our youth when adults can be some
of the vilest verbal word-villains?
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Allyson Gibson, " Why should illegal persons in The Bahamas be treated differently?" - Oct 6, 2019 - 7:30:29 PM
 Dear Editor,
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.” – Genesis
1:31
You and I enjoy democracy and everything that goes with it
because there were women like Georgiana K. Symonette (my Grandmother),
Mary Ingraham, Bertha Isaacs, Eugenia Lockhart and hundreds of others
who sacrificed so that the equality and dignity of women and black men,
would be recognized by their enfranchisement. I remember bursting with
pride and thinking, “I want to be like her”, the day I witnessed my
Grandmother stand up to the campaign general of the most powerful man in
the country – Stafford Sands...
Columns :
Letters to The Editor
Pamela Burnside: Power to the People NOW - Aug 17, 2019 - 10:36:50 AM
 Electrical power is a necessity and a priority! Any modern country in
the 21st century cannot run effectively and efficiently without it –
period!
This electricity crisis has been decades in the making,
because basic planning and commonsense is not being utilized by the
‘powers that be’ with regards to development and nobody is seeing the
big picture and nobody is paying attention to the small details...
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