Election campaigns should be funded by taxpayer dollars and all private money in politics should be eliminated, including that of candidates. The playing field must be leveled, allowing competitive candidates of all backgrounds to equitably participate regardless of access to personal or influencer money.

Also, as with all other government actions, transparency is vital. Robust regulations governing campaign spending must be enacted, and funding and spending must be audited by independent electoral commissions. Stiff penalties on abusers should be levied, including disqualification.

Influencer money - including access to resources such as private aircraft -- especially from foreign nationals has been a long-standing problem. In this sphere, we resemble the United States.

Hmm. The story notes, I quote, "Ms Bowers was the Charge d’Affaires for The Bahamas from 2018 to 2020." Check your knowledge of contemporary US history.

As with so much from our leaders, so hypocritical given our fossil fuel based economy. Almost everything about tourism - from cruise ships to private jets to high powered tour boats to huge resort complexes - and our high consumption, import driven lifestyles.

The finger pointing, whether it be at the cruise lines, government officials, or the United States is unsettling. The disturbing thing is that when a fellow Bahamian is murdered in Nassau (which has one of the highest violent homicide rates in the world), there are not nearly as many comments/discussions about what violent crime is doing to our people.

Yes, we need to be concerned about negative publicity surrounding the tourism industry, but our greatest concern and empathy should be turned inwards. Somehow Bahamians, particularly residents of6New Providence, need to work collectively to make the island a safer place for ALL people, especially our youth and, particularly, our young men.

The population of New Providence is equivalent to that of a small city in the USA. City newspapers would be covering the murders especially as the murder rate per capita in NP is alarmingly high.

True, but the intentional homicide rate is among the top 10 highest in the world.

For comparisons sake, according to 2023 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, statistics, per 100,000 people Jamaica tops the list at 53. The Bahamas is 9th with 31, the United States is 55th with 6.4, and even Mexico which suffers from extreme violent crime has a lower rate than ours coming in 15th with 26.

Somehow we have got to do better. Not for our visitors because, quite frankly, they don't care but for our people.

Ignorance is bliss. How many will result in convictions is a different story, but..

"In all, Trump faces 91 felony counts across two state courts and two different federal districts, any of which could potentially produce a prison sentence. He’s also dealing with a civil suit in New York that could force drastic changes to his business empire, including closing down its operations in his home state."

From https://theconversation.com/more-than-1…

"In areas visited most by tourists, the snow has a higher concentration of black carbon from ship exhaust, which soaks up more heat and leads to snow melt. Ship traffic also risks carrying hitchhiking invasive species into the Southern Ocean’s vulnerable marine ecosystems.

"That’s to say nothing of greenhouse gas emissions. Because of the continent’s remoteness, tourists visiting Antarctica have a higher per capita carbon footprint than other cruise-ship travellers."

I wonder how many members of the audience (and in the pulpit) benefit, or even profit, from hiring illegal (undocumented) immigrants -- either by illegally hiring them or by securing documentation for them (because they can afford the permits and/or have the connections to get the permits)?