Remember when you were a child and you ask your parents to buy you a toy and they say "NO, Christmas right around the corner." And you use to go looking around the corner to see if you see Christmas. But you didn't. Or Maybe you couldn't. Then one morning you woke up and see the big Christmas tree loaded with lights and toys and, more importantly, the toy you been asking for all along. Well so shall it be with the freedom of information act.

Does *The Tribune's* headline really reflect what is being said in its article or is it an attempt to incite anger with BPL? The headline states that there is no end in sight for the power outages but the article says that the corporation expects to have the rental generators installed and running by next week. So if the rented generators are not going to help with the frequent power outages what was the purpose of renting them. But the fact of the matter is that as summer draws to an end BPL should have a plan in place to start work and do needed repairs to its main generators since the demand will be less. Consumers can much more tolerate power outages in October/November than they can tolerate in the dead heat of summer.

A recent news release says that steps are being taken to have Zika testing done locally. In any event the cost for testing for Zika is very expansive and you know who gets most of that money regardless if the tests are done here or abroad. One major concern should be the increased spraying to kill the mosquito that bears the virus. So much more harm is done to bbirds and bees and even crops and other vegetation. In Florida, like here they put Zika cases into two categories: (1) local infections and (2) travel related infections and they treat the cases differently. WIth travel related infections they try to isolate the patient as much as possible and identify persons he/she may have come in contact with. For local infections they resort to spraying or fogging the general area where the person lives and treating waters. Florida has now resorted to aero fogging which is what is used in Brazil where most of the deformed babies are born. How about introducing natural predators of the Aedes aegypti mosquito to help control them.

BPL /BEC's major problem is that it needs to cut the suit to fit the cloth. The company is still operating on the lowest form of fossil fuel when countries around the world have refitted with more energy efficient engines, incorporated natural energy production like solar and wind and ocean currents and brought the cost of electricity down so low anyone can afford it to the point of running air conditioning 24-7 and even then some power companies are giving away power just to match demand with what they are supplying. No one can walk into BEC/BPL with a hammer and screw driver and fix the company over night. There has to be immediate, mid range and long term goals. There has to be a definitive and achievable plan. And among the major objectives are keeping the power on and keeping the power affordable. This must be done within the constraints of the company making a profit. So it must involve the production of less expensive electricity and also a more efficient operation. B.EC. Must get to a point where it is not penalizing consumers for using additional power and can offer discounted supplies to large businesses and production operations. Its capacity planning must be a few years of what the demand is. Having to resort to the costly rental of generators or having to lose millions in revenue because consumers are off so often is counterproductive. In passing the cost of fuel gas) is 21 cents less than it was last year. In the Bahamas gas is 51 cents more than it was this time last year and 72 cents higher than it was compared to fuel in the US last year. Even after discounting for VAT the increase in unconscionable.

A split and splintered opposition to the PLP cannot vein a general election. Not only because the will split up and have to share the opposition votes, but also because voters will get mixed votes and decide to vote PLP. Call it arrogance but Branville McCartney finds himself in a strange and favorable position. He has proven that his newly formed DNA party has hang time as it has not only survived the 5 years between elections, but it has also been highly visible and very active. With the FNM seeming to be under attack from all quarters and especially from within, Branville's party appear like a fresh bright rose in a field of weeds. The DNA has everything to lose if they decide to join up with the FNM and don't dot all the 'i's' and cross all the 'T's'. Main time the FNM seem more ruffled and raggedy as it has ever been since its inception. The party never seemed to get its bearing ever since the day Hubert A. Ingraham resigned as leader, walked out and slammed the door behind him. The pitiful thing is he never seem to look back until the party has reached this very low ebb. It is definitely not election ready and as Branville observed it may be trying to pull the DNA on to a sinking ship. Can a coalition work when there is so many personalities in the party, each one having their own opinion about where the party should be headed and who should be leader. You would thing by now everyone would have put away pettiness and self serving ambitions and join forces for the good of country and party. But no.

the plot just keeps getting curiouser:
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> Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); `now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!' (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off). `Oh, my poor little feet, I wonder who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I'm sure I shan't be able! I shall be a great deal too far off to trouble myself about you: you must manage the best way you can; --but I must be kind to them,' thought Alice, `or perhaps they won't walk the way I want to go! Let me see: I'll give them a new pair of boots every Christmas.'

I am no expert but is increased spraying of insecticide in densely populated areas the right approach to combating Zika? Especially since some experts believe the chemicals used to eradicate the mosquitos that carry Zika may be more dangerous than the virus itself and may contribute to birth deformities. Data also indicates that the mosquitos that carry the virus do not travel far distances so should this be taken into consideration when planning strategy to combat Zika?

I am no expert but is increased spraying of insecticide in densely populated areas the right approach to combating Zika? Especially since some experts believe the chemicals used to eradicate the mosquitos that carry Zika may be more dangerous than the virus itself and may contribute to birth deformities. Data also indicates that the mosquitos that carry the virus do not travel far distances so should this be taken into consideration when planning strategy to combat Zika?

Do you know it is the Chinese modus operandi to stall projects in the middle of operations or when they are nearing completion? And they are doing it on projects all around the world, every continent and in over one hundred countries. This is their way of getting governments and owners of private to "bow" to China. And they, the Chinese, always com out having the project owners yield to greater demands. This may be in the form of cash or longer duration for the project, meaning more employment of Chinese nationals, or even expansion of projects resulting in more materials, capital and labor from China. And yes, sometimes they do ask for participation in the ownership of the project or even for management contracts. And now China is threatening to move all its corporate headquarters located in the UK because of conflicts resulting from Britain's exit from the EU. You must negotiate with China with stiff gloves and never ever bow down.

Despite the recent spate of crime that involved shootings and stabbings that resulted in murder, there is a very strong probability (based on the statistics for the past three months) that the country can record under 90 murders this year. The summer is usually the active season for murders and September and October are slow months. What should not be allowed to happen is these "hit' murders to become prominent again. Murders where someone is in their car or at home, even in their bed and they are assassinated under the cover of night or even in broad daylight and there is very little evidence left to track down the killer(s). Police and citizens alike must continue to be vigilant and persons who know of these crimes must report them, if only for the sake of country. The reputation for murder is killing our economy. The courts must continue to do their jobs sending murderers away for as long sentences as the law allows until the message hits home that no murder will go unpunished. The very severe downturn in the economy has led to an increase in armed robberies, car-jackings, house and shop breakins and even fraud and shoplifting, even by parents shopping with their children for back-to-school. In the main time, while there is lull in murders, the police homicide division may want to revisit unsolved murders and cold cases with hopes of bringing those killers to justice. The key is to not let up and not let the problem get to what it was, especially like last year and the past 10 years.