The biggest story, and the biggest tragedy, of 2005 happened late in the year. With only
12 days on the Web, three stories about the Chalk’s
(92) plane crash in Miamiﾠ
(94) rose into the top 100 news stories and were viewed as many times as some of the stories that were on the web for months. Eleven Bahamians died in the crash which was the largest
single loss of Bahamian lifeﾠ(50) in
our country’s independent history .
Air travel was tops in the news on two other occasions this year. When a pilot was killed in a
crash off Exuma
(5) and when a
Florida airline announced the start of regular service to The Bahamas
(6).
The most read story of the year was the report concerning the robberies of cast members of Pirate’s of The Caribbean
(1), which was filming at the new
Gold Rock Creek Studios
(10) in Grand Bahama. The robberies were condemned by a man impersonating a Disney spokesperson. The Nassau Guardian reported that Disney was set to quit the project because of the level of crime on Grand Bahama.
While the robberies did take place, it turned out that the Nassau Guardian reporter was naive enough to quote the source before checking its authenticity.
Disney issued a
statement (25)
the next day, saying that despite the frequent robberies they would not abandon the project
.
The film studio
(37) also topped the headlines, earlier in the year, when the
government
delayed signing the lease (63)
for the studio, agitating the developer and threatening the Disney project. The government quickly
gave the $76
million dollar project (59)
its seal of approval after that alarming story was published .
Filmmaking in the Bahamas also made it into the top 100 stories when it was announced that the newest
James Bond movie
(28) would be partially filmed here.
The Disney scare followed another event that appeared to threaten tourism in The Bahamas, which also turned out to be a false alarm. Earlier in the year, the US announced
new passport requirements
(4) which would have required US travelers to the Bahamas to have valid passports before re-entering the US. Cries from The Bahamas, as well as other Caribbean tourism destinations prompted the United States to postpone the deadline, which could have had a dampening effect on Caribbean tourism.
The most damning assessment of Bahamas tourism, however, came from The Bahamas arch-nemesis
Harald Fuhrmann
(8), the German investor who claims lawyers in the Bahamas have conspired against his obtaining justice in the country after being ripped-off in a real estate transaction over 10 years ago. The Bahamas government and legal community continue to ignore the disgruntled investor who, experts believe, has single handedly caused million dollar losses to the Bahamas tourism industry. Mr. Fuhrmann made headlines all across the globe when he took his story to the American public by driving a truck, laden with anti-Bahamas slogans, along the eastern seaboard of the United States.
Alleged injustice topped the headlines another time in 2005 when a teenage beauty queen
accused pageant organizers of discrimination
(2). The teenager was forced to relinquish her crown after having the integrity to come out of the closet and admit she was gay. The
pageant’s organizers denied any discrimination
(24) but the stigma remained.
The Guana Cay controversy
(3) generated no less than 9 of the top 100 stories as the seemingly
eco-friendly developers
(43) battle against a very vocal group
of Abaco residents
(20) who are outraged
(64) and determined
to derail the development (69). The
controversy will rage again
(21) in the new year. The residents’ appeal for an
injunction to halt the development
(35) will be back in the Supreme Court
(16) for another round of Bahamian justice.
The Bimini Bay
project (45)
also attracted the ire of residents with a protest that received international
attention.
Road Traffic accidents (82)
were in the headlines far too often in 2005 . With 69 traffic fatalities recorded, among a little over 300,000 people, it makes The Bahamas one of the most dangerous places
for driving on the planet. Hit-and-run accidents are among the highest per capita of anywhere on earth. Despite the grotesque number of accidents and all the headlines they generated, only one such story made it into the top 100; the August
death of Crystal Cassar
(9), a second year student at COB. Ms. Cassar’ death was the 36th Bahamas traffic fatality recorded, yet the message to drive safely apparently didn’t sink in, because there were 33 more deaths
to occur later in the year.
Surprisingly enough, the year of the Hurricanes saw only three storm related stories in the top 100. Despite the tremendous damage wreaked by hurricanes in the southern United States and other parts of the Caribbean, The Bahamas suffered only one real beating when
Hurricane Wilma
(11) paid a nasty visit to
Grand Bahama
(14), an island still reeling from the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne the year before.
Nassau and New Providence were spared
(95) the full wrath of all 26 major storms this year.
Unfortunately, Harald Fuhrmann wasn’t the only foreigner complaining about problems in The Bahamas
(12) this past year. Aside from several
perceived injustices
(85), there were numerous tourists who were the victims of crime:
including robberies
on Paradise Island (53)
and murder in
Bimini (77);
or accidents like the boating
mishap in Grand Bahama (15),
or theﾠ drownings
in the Berry Islands (48),
most of which were never properly dealt with by the Bahamas government, leaving many
people with a sour taste in their mouths after visiting The Bahamas
(83).
The Bahamas government’s nonchalant attitude towards tourist crime
(74) prompted
travel warnings from both the United States and Britain
(39) this year
, as well as a strong rebuke from the US Ambassador
(97). Experts believe that out-of-control crime levels may have contributed to the
decline in tourist arrivals
(100) for the year 2005.
Crime isn’t just a problem for tourists in The Bahamas (93),
says noted psychiatrist Dr. David Allen . There were dozens upon dozens of heinous criminal acts splashed across the headlines in 2005. None received more attention that the broad
daylight robbery of Nassau Motor Company
(28) in March. When machine-gun toting thugs can enter a secure environment and terrorize employees, it is a cause for alarm all over the island.
The second highest profile crime was the brutal attacks on jitney passengers
(47) that occurred earlier in the year. Despite promises from government to address the “wild west” mentality of many jitney drivers, another
incident, this time an attack on a teenage female passenger (98), occurred two months later.
Allegations of corruption (48) and financial crimes made the headlines on more than a few occasions. Over a dozen international financial scandals were linked to The Bahamas with thousands of people from around the globe being the victims of financial crime, perpetrated by shady persons and companies who were licensed to operate here. The
shenanigans at Axxess International
(23) captured the most attention, with the exploits of
Victor Kozeny
(71) and Derek Turner
(87) also receiving a lot of press.
The mysterious withholding of public information by the Bahamas Police
(66) worked its way into the top 100 news stories. As did articles on a Bahamian-based Internet drug scam (68) and the Bahamas Immigration Department’s possible involvement in
human trafficking
(78).ﾠ
News about our embattled Prime Minister, Perry Christie, made the top 100 stories only twice this year. The first time was when
the PM had a “mini-stroke” in May
(99). That story received only a little more than half the number of views as a story, published earlier in the year, which accused the PM of
lying to the Bahamian public
(17).
Politics, in general, appears to be the least interesting topic to Bahamas News visitors with only a few articles on the
subject making it into the top 100. Despite all the hoopla about Hubert
Ingraham’s return to the front line of politics and Bernard Nottage’s return to
the PLP, it was Tommy Turnquest’s ill-fated claim to the FNM throne
(42) and calls for Leslie Miller to be fired
(65) that were the only other political stories to rank among the top 100.
It wasn’t all bad news for the Bahamas in 2005. The somewhat surprising Queen’s College victory at the Third Annual Bahamas Web Awards
(19) received plenty of attention. As did the
remarkable success of tourism in Abaco
(18).
Other big stories included the news that Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Director General of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, was moving on to accept the job as Tourism Czar of the Caribbean. Most Bahamians agreed that it was an honour to have one of our own hold such a prestigious position as the
Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation
(7). Fortunately, for The Bahamas, Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace’s shoes were ably filled by his former assistant Vernice Walkine.
The opening of Kerzner’s Marina Village
(22) caught the attention of locals and visitors alike. The report that Sports Illustrated photographed the cover of their notoriously famous
swimsuit issue
(26) on a Bahamian beach also captured worldwide attention.
Bahamas beaches also made the top 100 when a highly respected travel magazine listed two
Bahamian beaches among the best in the world
(62).
Bahamas tourism was featured in several other top stories, including articles on
Bahamas’ cruises
(27), a festival in Exuma
(33), a rap contest in Freeport
(36), an underwater hotel concept
(39) and the hosting of an
international weather summit at Atlantis
(44).
The most articles on tourism, to make the top 100, focused on the massive development of Cable Beach by the BahaMar group
(55). The story about the
implosion of the Crystal Palace
(54) by mid-2007 received the most attention
. At one point, the mega-deal hinged on Philip Ruffin’s decision to sell his properties on Cable Beach. Mr. Ruffin made the top 100
when he walked away from the negotiating
table (67), only to return after the pot was sweetened.
What’s in store for 2006? It appears likely that BahaMar will remain in the news throughout 2006 and even into 2007, as the big project gets further underway. And with experts predicting another active hurricane year, it is likely that we’ll see more headlines related to storms.
Hopefully, road traffic accidents will be out of the headlines as Bahamians learn to better appreciate the need for all on the roads to exercise caution and respect for other drivers.
Sadly, unless the Bahamas government makes some serious progress on decreasing the crime level, effectively prosecuting criminals and providing safety and/or justice for visitors, it would appear that news about tourism is going to be increasingly disappointing. That will, unfortunately, have a bearing on financial news as well.
As we close this year, the entire staff at Bahamas B2B would like to express its condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the Miami plane crash, as well as the families of victims of crime and road traffic accidents.
We would also like to thank our millions of visitors who have made the websites of the Bahamas B2B Network some of the most frequently visited sites in the Bahamas.
One thing, for sure, BahamasB2B will continue to bring you the freshest, most relevant Bahamian-related news stories, from all possible sources, throughout 2006 and beyond.
Happy New Year Bahamas!
