living in the bahamas
Bahama Islands News, Articles and Information
Shake-up of benefits will send 85% of claimants back to work
AT LEAST 85 per cent of people on incapacity benefit will be forced to seek work, under welfare reforms unveiled by the government yesterday.Publishing his long-awaited Welfare Reform Bill, the Work and Pensions Secretary, John Hutton, insisted that the shake-up was intended to be "radical, not punitive".
.How Noble Experiments Fail
In 1994 the village of Barrow, Alaska, made a desperate decision. It seems that the harshest polar region in the state, 340 miles north of the Arctic Circle, had a citizenry that was especially prone to binge drinking. Results of this inebriated disorder appeared like clockwork on a biweekly basis. The relatively peaceful town would erupt with crimes such as rapes, assaults, weapon-related felonies, domestic violence, and public intoxication.1 Clinics, hospitals, police stations, and jails filled to overflowing with the victims and the perpetrators. The reason for the strange timing of the binges was that paychecks were distributed biweekly. As soon as the people of Barrow had money, they spent it on booze.Over time, lost work productivity brought the bane of poverty. Alcohol abuse was costing consumers $350,000 every month.
Virgin boss promises better value for money
MONTEGO BAY, St James - Virgin Atlantic Airways, the second largest British airline, made its inaugural flight to this resort city yesterday bringing 451 passengers from England, including its chief executive officer, billionaire Richard Branson, his parents Ted and Eve Branson, and a slew of British media personnel. When the Boeing 747 400 aircraft landed at the Sangster International Airport at about 12:40 pm - amidst much fanfare and excitement - it signalled the start of twice weekly flights between Montego Bay and London's Gatwick International Airport on Mondays and Wednesdays. .TV Lookout: Highlights for the week ahead
Willing to jump into a pirate adventure lacking Johnny Depp? Consider History Channel's "True Caribbean Pirates," which tells dead man's tales about Blackbeard, Black Bart and other pillagers and plunderers.According to the two-hour program debuting 6 p.m. Sunday, piracy had its roots in the practice of "privateering," in which nations lusting for New World riches used freelance private sailors instead of navies to counter dominant Spain in the Caribbean.
The lure of wealth tempted some to cross the line into piracy, but it was peace that really swelled the pirate ranks. With thousands of privateers and sailors out of work, the age of outlaw pirates was under way; even women (Anne Bonny and Mary Read, among them) joined in.
Among the more colorful details in the program: Blackbeard intimidated foes by placing burning rope beneath his heat to create a fearsome cloud of smoke; Nassau, Bahamas, became the site of a sort of all-pirate resort; the iconoclastic Black Bart Roberts conducted religious services but hanged an official from a ship yardarm.
Lowe grabs top award in Miami
Raymond Lowe was recognised by The Caribbean Hotel Association earlier this week, as the region's Supervisor of the Year during a special awards luncheon at The Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference (CHIC) in Miami.'Mr Everything' is the nickname which General Manager Lynn Johnson has given to Lowe, Maintenance Manager at The Green Turtle Club in the Abaco Cays.
"Over the span of a 32-year career at Green Turtle Club, Raymond has amassed and mastered a range of skills and knowledge which makes him a resource for just about 'everything' for employees and guests of the property. We are extremely proud of his achievement and recognition" she stated.
Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) President Earle Bethell, who is attending the conference along with a large delegation of hotel and allied members from BHA, expressed pleasure at receiving the award.
Nestor, Knowles bumped at Wimbledon
American twins Bob and Mike Bryan advanced to their seventh straight Grand Slam doubles final Friday after defeating Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-1 the Wimbledon semifinals.Nestor and Knowles bowed out after playing the longest match in Wimbledon history - a six-hour, nine-minute quarter-final win over Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry.
The Bryans will play Fabrice Santoro of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in Saturday's final. Santoro and Zimonjic beat Martin Damm of the Czech Republic and India's Leander Paes, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.
The Bryans haven't missed a Grand Slam doubles final since the 2004 U.S. Open. They've won two of six finals in between, the 2005 U.S. Open and this year's Australian Open.
Nevis plays host to CARICOM Heads of Government
Charlestown Nevis (July 6, 2006) The CARICOM Heads of Government held a caucus at the prestigious Four Seasons Resort in Nevis on Wednesday July 5 as part of their 27th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which concludes in St. Kitts later today..