NASSAU, Bahamas -- WOMEN ON THE R.I.S.E is a celebration of women advancing throughout our country encouraging us to Reflect. Inform. Support. Empower. Our unique symposium is free and open to the general public and affords us the collective opportunity to engage one another. We extend a special invitation to all women to join us as an impressive and diverse roster of speakers will explore:

• Me, Version 1.0 (Self Image & Self Perception)
• Unity Among Women (Political Power & Social Change)
• The Promise in Our Purpose (Purpose & Holistic Development)
• Wealthy Women (Economic Empowerment)
• Whole & Healthy; Mind, Body & Spirit (Mental, Physical, Spiritual Health)
• The POWER of WOMEN

2013 heralds the 50th year that the Eta Psi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has provided exceptional service throughout communities in Nassau, Bahamas.  Eta Psi Omega blossomed as the vision of four phenomenal women and since then, we have supported innumerable environmental, economic, health and women's empowerment initiatives both locally and internationally. During this celebratory year, we will continue to engage and service our community and take this opportunity to connect with you as a civic partner.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Sandals Royal Bahamian sent 15 graduates of its Hospitality Training Programme (HTP) out into the workforce last Tuesday. The resort itself hired 70 percent of those who completed the six week exercise.

The HTP programme is a chance for individuals to receive hospitality training throughout the various departments at Sandals’ prestigious resort property.

However, their training repertoire was not limited to the jobs found around hotels and resorts, but included life skills such as interviewing and etiquette.

“What you have decided to do and get exposed to is really a profession. Never think of it as just training never think of it as just being in a hotel and getting a bit of experience,” Sandals Royal Bahamian’s General Manager Patrick Drake told the HTP graduates.

“What we have tried to do over the past few weeks is to guide the minds, guide the hearts and possibly the heads of you who have been successful through the programme. Maybe hospitality is not for you but you will be able to look back and say I learned something.”

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Students from D.W. Davis Jr. High School learned Thursday what good table manners and table etiquette are all about.

The 80 students and eight teachers gathered around two tables set for a four course meal, as resort trainers Kayla Hilton and Sharon Cartwright showed them the ins and outs of the table setup, table service and table manners.

Several students sat at the tables, getting a practical feel for where the silverware should be placed and how it should be used. They were given instruction on which bread and butter plate to use at the table (a common dilemma), and it was explained why the waiter delivers their food from the left with the left hand and retrieves a finished plate from the right with the right hand.

Ms. Hilton explained to the students that the etiquette they learned is something they could take with them throughout their lives.

“When we talk about etiquette we’re talking about how we behave in public as well as how we eat at a table,” she told the group of eighth graders.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Palm Cay, the upscale waterfront development on Nassau's eastern shore, recently hosted the second annual Bahamas Sports Fishing Network (BSFN) Boat Show. The event drew twice the boats and double the crowds this year and featured vessels on display from $10,000 to $290,000, ranging from centre console open fishing vessels with single outboard engine to elaborate sportsfish models.

"We were proud to have been selected to host the first BSFN Boat Show last year when we had more than 30 boats for exhibit and sale," said Palm Cay Marina Consultant Brooks Russell. "This year, with our marina completely built out with 194 slips, we were pleased to have twice as many boats. The boat show was an excellent opportunity for both boat owners and those who were interested in seeing what was available just in time for the start of the summer boating season."

Vendors from kayak and rowboat dealers to outdoor furniture manufacturers, from jet ski sales to sailmakers, charter boat operators to mechanics and marine suppliers turned the quiet grounds into a bustling arena for all things related to boating. Bouncing castle, Sands beer stands, burgers and an appearance by heavyweight boxer Sherman 'the Tank' Williams added to festivities. For many, it was an opportunity to tour the $200 million high-end development at the eastern end of New Providence with townhomes, single family residences, condos, clubhouse, marina and pool.

Future plans call for a boutique marina condo hotel and cottages as well as full restaurant, fitness centre, tennis courts and other amenities. It is already the site of junior sailing. In 2012, Palm Cay completed a $1.5 million beach refurbishment that included whale tail groynes and left the community with 1200 feet of white powdery sand considered one of the best beaches on the island.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Of all the things Bahamians pay attention to -- politics, talk shows, what's hot in fashion,  cool in music, new in smart phones and viral on YouTube -- one critical area is woefully overlooked and too frequently shunned. That area, say top attorneys and a medical expert, is the eventuality of death. No matter how rich or poor a person is, how successful,  how healthy or otherwise, life will end and failure to prepare can leave loved ones vulnerable and could place an undue burden on family or doctors to make end-of-life life and death decisions in a country where living wills, so accepted elsewhere, are not legally recognised.

Three established attorneys from Halsbury Chambers, Mikia Cooper, Andrea Williams and Nerissa Greene, and the chief of ethics at Doctors Hospital, Dr. Michael Darville, implored Bahamians to prepare better. They were speaking at a forum titled 'Wills, Living Wills & Trusts,' sponsored Halsbury Chambers, the progressive law firm that introduced the first free legal forum 'Information You Need for the Life You Want' in 2005 and has held numerous workshops since on practical issues that touch ordinary lives. The most recent, held April 20 at the British Colonial Hilton, drew a larger than anticipated crowd for the limited seats free session.

"Bahamians think that by talking about a will, they will bring death closer," said senior Halsbury Chambers attorney Nerissa Greene, a sentiment echoed by others, including Dr. Darville. A show of hands told the story. Of nearly 100 persons, fewer than 10 had a will. The unscientific sample was worse than gloomy international figures. According to a widely-published 2007 study, 45% of adults in the U.S. had a will and of those, fewer than one in three African Americans and only 26% of Hispanics did.

NASSAU, The Bahamas --- The Government will ensure that a proper follow-up programme is put in place for discharged residents of the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys in order to better facilitate their return to society, Minister of National Security Dr. the Hon. Bernard J. Nottage said.

Dr. Nottage said the follow-up programme should also help to reduce the recidivism rate at the Centre.

The National Security Minister said former residents of the facility often face “too many distractions” upon their return to their neighbourhoods and must be better equipped to deal with those negative influences in order to live fulfilling, crime-free lives.

“The distractions, or some would say attractions, in the society are many and can cause many to stumble and fall, hence, support for discharged residents is vital if the advances achieved while at the Centre are to be maintained,” Dr. Nottage said.

“While there are many aspects of criminality in The Bahamas that sadden me, chief among them is the rate of recidivism. All recidivists are not hardened criminals; many are persons who, having once committed a crime for which they were incarcerated, are never accepted again into their families or their communities. Unable to find steady employment or a group of accepting peers, they live much of their lives caught in the criminal justice system.