Bahamas News

2018 List of Emergency Shelters for All Bahamas

Published

7 years ago

June 25, 2018

Deandrea Hamilton

#Bahamas, June 25, 2018 –

2018 LIST OF EMERGENCY SHELTERS

NEW PROVIDENCE

NO.	DISTRICT AND NAME	LOCATION
	WESTERN DISTRICT
	Mount Moriah Baptist Church	Farrington Road
	New Providence Community Centre	Blake Road
	Hillview Seventh Day Adventist Church	Tonique Williams Darling Hwy
	Love Worth Finding Ministries	Golden Isles Road
	Sir Kendal Isaac’s Gymnasium	University Drive
	St. Paul’s Anglican Church	Lyford Cay

	CENTRAL DISTRICT
	Calvary Haitian Baptist Church	West Avenue
	Church of God of Prophecy	East & Lifebouy Streets
	Salvation Army	Meadow Street
	St. John’s Native Baptist Church	Meeting Street
	Ebenezer Mission Baptist Church	St. Charles Vincent Street

	EASTERN DISTRICT
	New Dimension Church of God	Joe Farrington Road
	Fox Hill Community Center	Joe Farrington Road
	Church of God Auditorium	Joe Farrington Road
	Epiphany Anglican Church	Prince Charles Drive
	Epworth Hall/Ebenezer Methodist Church	Shirley Street
	Holy Cross Anglican Church	Highbury Park off Soldier Road
	Kemp Road Ministries	Kemp Road
	Pilgrim Baptist Church	St. James Road
	Salvation Army	Mackey Street

	SOUTHERN DISTRICT

	Agape Full Gospel Baptist Church	Kennedy Subdivision
	Golden Gates Assembly	Carmichael Road
	New Bethlehem Baptist Church	Independence Drive
	Southwest Cathedral Church of God	Carmichael Road
	All Saints Anglican Parish	Joan’s Heights
	Remnant Tabernacle of Praise	Carmichael Road

HURRICANE SHELTERS IN THE FAMILY ISLANDS

2018 HURRICANE SEASON

ABACO

North Abaco

Amy Roberts Primary School – Green Turtle Cay

Grand Cay All Age School – Grand Cay

Central Abaco

Central Abaco Primary School – Dundas Town

South Abaco

Sandy Point Community Center – Ernest Dean Highway

ACKLINS

Command Centre – Spring Point Acklins

ANDROS

North Andros

Church of God of Prophecy – Conch Sound

Church of God of Prophecy – Mastic Point Town

Nicholls’s Town Primary School – Nicholls’s Town

Bamsi – Barc

Police Station (Command Centre) – Nicholls’s Town

First Baptist Church – San Andros

B.A. Newton Primary – Red Bays

Central Andros

Church of God – Cargill Creek

Pentecostal Church – Bowen Sound

Miracle Revival International – Calabash Bay

New Highway Pentecostal Church – Blanket Sound

New Highway Pentecostal Church – Love Hill

St. Bartholomew Church – Bearing Point

Police Station (Command Centre) – Administration Complex

South Andros

Long Bay Cay Preschool – Long Bay Cays, South Andros

Deep Creek Primary School – Deep Creek

Friendship Native Baptist Church – The Bluff, South Andros

St. Paul’s Baptist Church – Black Point

MANGROVE CAY

Mangrove Cay High School – Swains

Burnt Rock Primary – Burnt Rock

BERRY ISLAND

Church of God of Prophecy – Great Harbour Cay

BIMINI & CAT CAY

Gateway – Bimini

Big Game Fishing Hotel – Bimini

Clinic – Bimini

CAT ISLAND

St. Andrew’s Anglican – Arthur’s Town

Lovely Zion Baptist Church – The Bluff

Sea View Seventh Day Adventist – Dumfries

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church – New Bight

Mt. Sinai – New Bight

Zion Baptist Church – Old Bight

Zion Baptist Church – McQueen’s

St. Mark’s Baptist Church – Port Howe

Children’s Home – Old Bight

CROOKED ISLAND & LONG CAY

Ezekiel Thompson Hall – Cabbage Hill

Church of God of Prophecy – Cripple Hill

Deleveaux’s Residence – Major’s Cay

Don Leadon’s Residence – Albert Town

All Saints Anglican Church/Priest Residence – Church Grove

Command Centre (Ezekiel Thompson Hall) – Cabbage Hill

ELEUTHERA

North Eleuthera District, Mainland, Spanish Wells & Harbour Island

The Haitian Baptist People Church – The Bluff, North Eleuthera

New Jerusalem Church – Blackwood, North Eleuthera

Little Scholars Pre-School – Lower Bogue, North Eleuthera

Charles Wesley Methodist Church – Lower Bogue, North Eleuthera

Mission Church of God – Upper Bogue, North Eleuthera

St. Johns Parish Hall – Harbour Island

New Alliance Church of God – Harbour Island

Harbour Island Public Library – Harbour Island

Zion Methodist Church – Current Island

The Current Community Centre – The Current, North Eleuthera

Central Eleuthera

Governor’s Harbour Primary – Governor’s Harbour

The Salvation Army – Palmetto Point

Church of the Nazarene – Palmetto Point

George E. Johnson Memorial Centre

(St. Mark’s Methodist Church Hall) – Hatchet Bay

Camp Symonette – James Cistern

South Eleuthera

Church of God of Prophecy – Tarpum Bay

Rock Sound Primary School – Rock Sound

Green Castle Primary School – Green Castle

Wemyss’ Bight Primary School – Wemyss Bight

Deep Creek Primary School – Deep Creek

EXUMA

Exuma & Exuma Cays

St. Mary Anglican Church – Williams Town

The New Mt. Olive Union Baptist Church – Hartswell

St. Andrew’s Community Centre – George Town

Bethel Union Baptist Church – Ramsey

Mt. Hermon Union Baptist Church – Mt. Thompson

Palestine Union Baptist Church – The Forest

Ebenezer Baptist Church – Farmer’s Hill

Mt. Sinai Baptist Church – Stuart Manor

St. Theresa’s Catholic Church – George Town

Exuma Resource Centre – Hooper’s Bay

St. Margaret’s Anglican Church – Harts/Steventon

Ebenezer Baptist Church – Barraterre

Calvary Mission Baptist Church – Rolleville

St. Peter’s Union Baptist Church – Forbes Hill

St. Matthew’s Union Baptist Church – The Ferry

St. Mary Anglican Church – Farmer’s Cay

Mt. Olive Union Baptist Church – Staniel Cay

GRAND BAHAMA

City Of Freeport

Foster B. Pestina Center/Pro-Cathedral of

Christ the King (Special Needs Shelter) – East Atlantic Drive & Pioneers Way

First Baptist Church Hall – Columbus Drive & Nansen Ave.

Central Church of God Hall – Pioneers Way West & Coral Rd.

Jack Haywood High School – Wildcat Ave. & Pioneers Loop East

Cancer Association – West Atlantic Drive & Norma Headley Dr.

Shiloh Seventh-Day Adventist Church – Torcross Road

Mack Town To Pinder’s Point

St. George’s High school Gymnasium – Sunset Highway off East Beach Drive

East Grand Bahama

Maurice Moore Primary School – Sandcombe Drive

Freeport Seventh-Day Adventist Church – Grambier and Beach Way Drive

West Grand Bahama

Church of God of Prophecy – Sea Grape, Eight Mile Rock

INAGUA

St. Philip’s Anglican Church – South Street

Zion Baptist Church – Albert’s Street

LONG ISLAND

Seymour’s Gospel Chapel – Seymour’s (North)

Highway Church of God – Doctor’s Creek

St. John’s Anglican Church – Buckley’s (South)

Francis Darville Centre (Holy Cross Anglican Church) – Hamilton’s (South)

Community Centre – Clarence Town (South)

Holy Family Anglican Church – Mortimer’s (South)

First Assemblies of God – Salt Pond

MAYAGUANA

Betsy Bay Community Centre – Betsy Bay

Berea Mission Church – Pirates Well

St. James Native Baptist Church – Abraham’s Bay

RAGGED ISLAND

Holy Innocence (Evacuation if necessary) – Ragged Island

SAN SALVADOR & RUM CAY

Gerace Research Centre – United Estates

Idell Jones Community Hall – Cockburn Town

Fellowship In Christ Kingdom Ministries – Cockburn Town

Rum Cay All Aged – Port Nelson, Rum Cay

Please note that this list would be updated to include those islands, communities or areas where emergency shelters are not yet designated.

For more information contact: Lindsay Thompson, Public Information Officer, NEMA at (242) 322-6081. 322-6085. 361-5569. Email: nemabahamas242@gmail.com. Website: www.bahamas.gov.bs. Facebook: NEMA-Bahamas

Bahamas News

Walker Confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas: A Partner in America’s Extended Family

Published

3 weeks ago

October 14, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media

The United States and The Bahamas share more than proximity — they share a bond of history, trade, and culture that Washington’s newest diplomat calls “part of America’s extended community.”

Now, for the first time in 14 years, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau will again be led by a Senate-confirmed ambassador. Herschel Walker, the Heisman-winning football legend turned entrepreneur, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as America’s official envoy to The Bahamas.

Walker, who will oversee one of the Caribbean’s most strategically positioned U.S. missions, told senators during his confirmation hearing that The Bahamas will play a key role in upcoming U.S. 250th Independence celebrations. “The Bahamian people,” he said, “will be included in this milestone year, because our stories are intertwined — through family, trade, and friendship.”

While his nomination was unconventional, his priorities are anything but vague. Walker vowed to counter growing Chinese influence in the Caribbean, calling Beijing’s investments in Bahamian deep-water ports “a direct threat to U.S. national security.” He pledged to work closely with Bahamian authorities to ensure American interests remain the region’s cornerstone.

“There’s a rise in drug smuggling in The Bahamas, and this is a real danger to the United States,” Walker said, referring to the Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) partnership. He promised to strengthen intelligence sharing, joint patrols, and law enforcement coordination to disrupt trafficking routes that have grown increasingly sophisticated.

But Walker also emphasized opportunity over fear — signaling that his ambassadorship will not only focus on security, but on strengthening The Bahamas as a gateway for U.S. investment, trade, and tourism.

“I will advise the American business community of the vast investment opportunities that exist in The Bahamas,” he said. “And I will make sure the Bahamian government maintains an environment where U.S. companies can invest confidently — because America must prove it is still great as an investor.”

For a small island nation sitting less than 50 miles off the coast of Florida, this renewed diplomatic attention carries weight. Since 2011, the post of U.S. ambassador had remained vacant — a gap that many observers say weakened direct ties, delayed joint security initiatives, and allowed other powers to move in.

Walker’s confirmation — approved 51 to 47 — ends that silence. And with it comes the expectation that this former Olympian and business owner will translate his discipline, charisma, and resilience into diplomatic results.

Critics question his lack of foreign policy experience, but Walker counters with confidence: “Throughout my life, people have underestimated me. I’ve always proved them wrong — by outworking everyone.”

As he prepares to take up residence in Nassau, Walker says his mission is simple: rebuild trust, deepen cooperation, and remind both nations that their futures are tied not just by geography — but by shared purpose, mutual respect, and the enduring ties of community.

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

Bahamas News

PAY STANDOFF: Prime Minister Cancels Talks as Unions Warn of More Protests

Published

3 weeks ago

October 13, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media

Monday, October 13, 2025 — Nassau, The Bahamas – What began as a calm holiday meeting has spiraled into a full-blown standoff between The Bahamas Government and two of the country’s most powerful public sector unions — the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) — after the Prime Minister abruptly cancelled follow-up talks set for Tuesday, blaming public comments made by union leaders.

The announcement of the cancelled meeting came late Monday, just hours after a tense sit-down at the Office of the Prime Minister, held on National Heroes Day, where both BUT President Belinda Wilson and BPSU President Kimsley Ferguson accused the government of dragging its feet on salary increases and retroactive pay owed to thousands of public officers.

Wilson, never one to mince words, said the Prime Minister’s “technical officers” — the very people responsible for executing his instructions — were failing to carry out his directives regarding payment timelines.

“The Prime Minister’s issue,” Wilson said, “is that he has persons working for him who are not following his instructions. If those officers would follow through on what he told them to do, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Wilson added that the BUT and other unions are demanding retroactive pay dating back to September 2024, and that all increases be applied and paid by the October payday, not December as previously stated by the Prime Minister.

“Senior civil servants already received their retroactive pay — thousands of dollars — backdated to September of last year,” Wilson charged. “We’re saying the small man deserves the same. This isn’t a gift. It’s money already earned.”

Her comments came after the government publicly insisted that the salary adjustments would be implemented by December 2025, just ahead of Christmas — a timeline unions flatly reject as too slow.

Ferguson: ‘No More Excuses’

Following Wilson, BPSU President Kimsley Ferguson delivered a fiery statement of his own, telling reporters the unions would no longer tolerate delays or mixed messages from the Davis administration.

“The Prime Minister was receptive — but we’re not accepting excuses,” Ferguson said. “If the Prime Minister’s having a memory lapse, we have the Hansard from Parliament to remind him exactly what he promised public officers.”

Ferguson went further, warning that if Tuesday’s meeting failed to produce results, unions would “visit the House of Assembly” and intensify their campaign for immediate payment.

“Public servants, ready yourselves,” he declared. “We are prepared to stand together — all across The Bahamas — until our needs are met.”

Now, with the Prime Minister cancelling tomorrow’s talks altogether, that threat appears closer to becoming reality.

Government Bungles Response

Observers say the administration’s handling of the matter has been confused and contradictory, with conflicting statements on payment timelines and poor communication fueling frustration among teachers, nurses, and general public officers.

The government has maintained that the funds are allocated and will be disbursed before year’s end, but unionists insist they’ve heard it all before — and this time they want results, not promises.

The Prime Minister’s decision to cancel the meeting, rather than clarify or de-escalate tensions, has drawn sharp criticism across social media and among rank-and-file civil servants who see the move as punitive and dismissive.

Slowdown and the Threat of Another Mass Protest

Across several ministries, departments, and schools, reports are already surfacing of a go-slow in the public service, as workers express solidarity with the unions’ demands.

Many believe another mass demonstration is imminent, similar to the one staged last week Tuesday when thousands of workers gathered outside the House of Assembly on Bay Street as Parliament reopened after summer recess.

That protest brought parts of downtown Nassau to a standstill as union members sang, marched, and even sat in the street — a powerful show of defiance that now threatens to repeat itself unless the government moves quickly to resolve the impasse.

A Political Flashpoint

What began as a straightforward salary dispute has now evolved into a test of credibility and competence for the Davis administration. With a restless public sector, rising inflation, and unions unified across professions, the government risks not only another protest — but a full-blown industrial crisis heading into the year’s end.

For now, the unions are standing firm: they want retroactive pay from September 2024 and full salary adjustments by this October. Anything less, they warn, could push the country’s workforce from a slowdown into open confrontation.

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

Bahamas News

Nassau Cruise Port Marks Sixth Anniversary with Exciting New Additions for Visitors and The community

Published

4 weeks ago

October 8, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

[Nassau, Bahamas, October 8, 2025] Nassau Cruise Port (NCP) proudly celebrates its sixth corporate anniversary by unveiling a series of transformative additions that further enhance the guest and community experience. The anniversary comes at a pivotal moment in the growth of the port, with the opening of a new swimming pool, an expanded marina, and a state-of-the-art ferry terminal that will support transfers to the Royal Beach Club, which is currently under construction on Paradise Island.

Since its $300 million redevelopment, Nassau Cruise Port – the largest transit cruise port in the world – has welcomed millions of visitors and become one of the most vibrant cruise destinations in the world. This anniversary not only reflects its commitment to delivering world-class facilities, but also its dedication to creating meaningful connections between visitors and the Bahamian community.

“This milestone represents much more than the passage of time,” said Mike Maura, Jr., CEO and Director of Nassau Cruise Port. “It reflects our promise to continually elevate the guest experience, contribute to the local economy, and provide opportunities for Bahamians. During our first year (2019) of operating the Nassau Cruise Port, Nassau welcomed approximately. 3.85 million cruise guests, and 2025 will see well over 6 million cruise visitors visit Nassau. Our focus on driving cruise tourism and the $350 million investment in our downtown waterfront is a testament to our vision of making Nassau a premier cruise and leisure destination.”

The new pool offers a refreshing retreat for visitors enjoying Nassau’s waterfront, while the expanded marina will accommodate additional yachts, boosting tourism and local commerce. The ferry terminal expansion enhances passenger flow and supports convenient, seamless transfers to the Royal Beach Club, strengthening Nassau’s position as a hub for Caribbean cruising and leisure.

As part of its anniversary celebrations, NCP will host a series of internal and external activities to celebrate its team and to highlight its ongoing investments in the Bahamian economy, including job creation, local vendor opportunities, and cultural showcases at the port.