Connect with us

News

Farmers Harvest New Crop — Cars That Never Need Gas

Published

on

Nassau, 12 Jan 2016 – Pia Farmer averages 40 miles a day driving around town handling tasks related to business or serving as the honorary consul for Denmark, but it’s been more than a year since she stopped for gas.

Farmer drives a LEAF. Her fuel bill is zero, zip, nada.

“The only time I’ve pulled into a fuel station in the last year was to get a bottle of water,” says Farmer who believes that if others fall in love with the LEAF like she has, attendants at local stations could one day be as lonely as the Maytag repairman.

“I just drive, park, plug in when I get home and repeat the next day,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t even have to recharge. The battery is still close to full.”

Made by Nissan, the all-electric LEAF is about as far as you can get from a gas-guzzling, muffler-throbbing, souped up muscle car — and an equally far cry from the stodgy electric cars of yesteryear.

Yet it is surprisingly a combination of both. Roomy with comfortable seating for five, stylish and fast off the mark, it can hit 60 in under 10 seconds and 93 at top speed. Its promised range of 80 miles between charges can be extended to 100 miles with stop-and-go traffic, thanks to a design that allows the batteries to power up every time the brake is applied. “In other words,” says Farmer, “the traffic in Nassau that drives us crazy is ideal for the LEAF.” Charging can be done with either 110v for a slow charge or 240v for a quicker charge.

Farmer is so impressed with the car she originally chose for environmental reasons that she has talked her husband, John, and his partner into importing them and handling sales through Easy ecoCars, a division of Easy Car Sales on Carmichael Road.

“Denmark is known as a leader in environmental care,” said Mrs. Farmer. “Alternative energy from renewals, policies on climate, environmental education — it’s so much a part of the culture that being part-Danish (the other part, Bahamian), it was natural to be curious about an energy efficient car, especially with my husband being in the car business.” The Farmers other business, Custom Computers, is also cutting edge. “Smart devices, smart tablets, smart cars. It all seems to fit,” says the LEAF lover.

Although the LEAF seems like a solid solution for a city like Nassau with steep gas prices and no lack of stop and go traffic, not to mention a plethora of young drivers who would be attracted to the no-gear shifting, instant torque, fast-off-the-line speed, bringing in the LEAF was not a snap your fingers and it happens move.

There was sourcing the cars at the right price, getting in the software for the diagnostics, specialized training, planning charging stations — they want to do solar stations in key locations within three years. And they wanted to be able to sell the car complete with high tech features including Bluetooth and a Bose sound system, air conditioning, and standard safety features including air bags for all five seats, at around $20,000. Currently, that includes a duty rate of 25%. Standard vehicles attract a 65% duty rate. Beyond all that, they wanted to test the car. Eighteen months later, the Farmers were ready to launch.

With all the puzzle parts in place, Pia Farmer introduced the LEAF at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation Energy Security Forum in early December where it generated a lot of buzz. The first container with cars was not due in until a few weeks later, but there were already potential buyers leaving phone numbers and arranging for a test drive.

“Good for the earth, good for your pocket, bad for the mechanic because there are over 1,000 parts you will never need again and never have to have repaired,” said Farmer. “But we’d be happy to talk to mechanics about retraining…”

Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.

Continue Reading

Bahamas News

Don Jr. Bahamas Wedding to Proceed Without President Trump

Published

on

USA, May 22, 2026 – Donald Trump Jr. is expected to marry Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson this weekend in The Bahamas, but despite speculation surrounding the high-profile ceremony, the exact location remains tightly guarded.

Multiple U.S. media outlets report the couple selected a private island in The Bahamas for what is being described as a small, intimate Memorial Day weekend wedding with roughly 50 close friends and family members in attendance. So far, no publication has publicly confirmed which Bahamian island or cay will host the ceremony, though reports consistently describe it as a secluded and heavily private setting.

The secrecy has only fueled curiosity in a country made up of more than 700 islands and cays, many of which are favored by wealthy international visitors for destination weddings and luxury retreats.

On Friday, President Donald Trump confirmed he will not attend the ceremony, citing international tensions and responsibilities at the White House.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”

Earlier in the week, Trump had indicated he would “try and make it,” but acknowledged the timing was “not good” because of ongoing tensions involving Iran.

Donald Trump Jr., 48, became engaged to Anderson, 39, in December 2025 at Camp David after about a year of dating. This will be his second marriage.

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

Continue Reading

Bahamas News

Over a Week Later, Bahamians Still Waiting on Full Election Numbers

Published

on

The Bahamas, May 22, 2026 – More than a week after Bahamians voted in the country’s 2026 General Election, complete official constituency voting figures still have not been publicly released by the Parliamentary Registration Department.

While winners have been declared across the country’s expanded 41-seat Parliament, no centralized official breakdown showing constituency vote totals, turnout percentages, rejected ballots or margins of victory appears to have been published publicly.

The Progressive Liberal Party is widely reported to have secured 33 seats, while the Free National Movement won eight seats, according to tallies carried by several media houses, including the Nassau Guardian’s election tracker and other regional reports.

Still missing, however, are the underlying numbers which would allow the public to independently assess voter participation levels across the country’s 41 constituencies.

That absence is drawing increasing attention following an election already marked by concerns over long lines, advanced polling confusion, voter register complaints and questions about election administration.

Unofficial turnout estimates circulating in local media place national voter participation near 58 percent. If confirmed, that would represent the lowest voter turnout in modern Bahamian general election history.

Historically, The Bahamas has recorded strong election participation rates, with turnout often exceeding 80 percent in previous decades. But participation declined sharply in 2021, when official turnout fell to roughly 65 percent — at the time considered historically low.

Now, the Coalition of Independents says it plans to challenge aspects of the election process in Election Court and is escalating its criticism of the handling of the vote.

In a sharply worded statement issued to media, Coalition Leader Lincoln Bain announced the party will boycott the opening of Parliament, insisting the election was “flawed from start to finish.”

The Coalition claims the country cannot “celebrate ceremony while justice is ignored,” arguing that unresolved election concerns continue to hang over the legitimacy of the process.

Among the concerns raised by the COI are:

  • allegations of voter register irregularities;
  • claims that the voters register remained open after Parliament was dissolved;
  • accusations of vote buying;
  • concerns tied to the Pinewood constituency race;
  • alleged constitutional breaches involving undeclared government contracts;
  • and alleged conflicts of interest involving gaming operators serving in Cabinet.

The Coalition also referenced allegations surrounding criminal influence and drug-related claims connected to political operations, while calling for what it describes as a “serious local investigation.”

In its statement, the COI said there has been “no proper public accounting, no local investigation announced, and no Commission of Inquiry launched into these matters.”

The group is now demanding a formal Commission of Inquiry into the conduct of the election and related allegations.

Bain said the boycott of Parliament is “not a boycott of democracy” but instead “a stand in defence of democracy.”

The statement further argues that Parliament itself must be protected from “corruption, conflicts of interest, criminal influence, and electoral fraud.”

So far, election authorities have not publicly indicated when complete certified constituency voting figures will be formally released.

And that delay is becoming increasingly significant because the missing data includes the very numbers needed to understand whether Bahamians truly disengaged from the electoral process in record numbers.

If unofficial turnout estimates are accurate, it would mean voter participation in 2026 either matched or fell below the historically low 2021 election turnout — despite The Bahamas recording one of its largest voter registration totals ever, with more than 209,000 people listed to vote.

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

Continue Reading

Health

Grand Turk Residents Fear Norovirus-Linked Cruise as Health Ministry Approves Docking

Published

on

Turks and Caicos, May 22, 2026 – Residents in Grand Turk raised concerns last week after a cruise ship previously linked to a major norovirus outbreak was cleared to dock in the Turks and Caicos Islands days after passengers were reportedly denied disembarkation in The Bahamas over health fears.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak sickened 115 people — including 102 passengers and 13 crew members — during a voyage which ran from April 28 to May 11. The illnesses involved symptoms commonly associated with norovirus, including vomiting and diarrhea.

The outbreak became public on May 7 and quickly triggered concern across the region.

Authorities in Nassau reportedly refused to allow passengers off the vessel because of public health concerns connected to the outbreak.

That decision later fueled anxiety among some Turks and Caicos residents when the ship proceeded to Grand Turk on May 15.

Residents’ concerns were not without cause.

Norovirus is a highly contagious viral illness often associated with cruise ships, hotels, schools and other environments where large groups of people share close quarters. The virus primarily causes sudden vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and nausea, and spreads rapidly through contaminated food, water, surfaces and person-to-person contact.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most healthy people recover within one to three days, but norovirus can become serious — and occasionally fatal — for elderly individuals, young children and people with weakened immune systems because of severe dehydration. While the overall fatality rate is considered very low, the CDC estimates norovirus contributes to hundreds of deaths annually in the United States, mainly among vulnerable populations.

The Turks and Caicos Ministry of Health and Human Services had said in a press statement on May 15, it believed the risks had been effectively neutralized before the vessel arrived in Grand Turk.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Ministry said the ship had already returned to Florida, where passengers disembarked and “comprehensive sanitization and deep-cleaning procedures were completed” before operations resumed.

The Ministry also stressed that its Public Health Team maintained “close and continuous communication” with the ship’s medical personnel, Carnival Cruise Line officials and stakeholders at the Grand Turk Cruise Centre before approving the docking.

Routine inspections and standard port health procedures were also carried out, according to officials.

The Ministry further reassured the public that there were “currently no public health concerns” associated with the vessel’s arrival.

Still, the situation once again highlighted the delicate balancing act Caribbean nations face between protecting public health and sustaining tourism economies heavily dependent on cruise arrivals.

Officials are now encouraging vendors, taxi operators, tour companies and businesses to continue practicing strong sanitation and hygiene measures as an added precaution.

Residents were also reminded that frequent handwashing remains one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of norovirus and other infectious illnesses.

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING