NASSAU, Bahamas -- Doctors Hospital and The Bahamas will be featured this summer on the documentary series In View, hosted by legendary talk show host Larry King.

The series, which features stories covering topics ranging from education and business to agriculture, technology and medicine, is highlighting High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), a minimally invasive treatment option for localized prostate cancer.

HIFU is the focusing of high intensity sound waves to create heat at a focal point and destroy targeted tissue.

Doctors Hospital is one of just a handful of facilities around the world where the relatively new procedure is offered. Because the procedure is still undergoing FDA trials in the United States, hundreds of American men have come to Doctors Hospital to have the potentially life-saving and enhancing treatment.

When the Larry King show decided to feature the procedure in an upcoming episode, the medical team at International HIFU decided to have this particular patient treated at Doctors Hospital where they have been bringing patients and surgeons for HIFU treatment for the past five years.

Since 2008, more than 520 patients have received the HIFU treatment at Doctors Hospital.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Erin Metz and her fiancée Tom Sardina dreamed of having a destination wedding, and a cruise to The Bahamas with 60 of their closest friends and family onboard seemed ideal. Her father, Gordon Metz dreamed of watching his daughter say ‘I do’.  Both their dreams came true last month when nurses, physicians and staff at Doctors Hospital went well beyond the call of duty.

The father of the bride had been diagnosed with an aggressive pancreatic cancer in July, 2012, but he had been doing well with his treatment and there was nothing to suggest he should not make the journey to his daughter’s Bahamas wedding.  The night before the wedding, however, as the cruise ship was making its way into Nassau, Mr Metz suffered what turned out to be a massive stroke.

Early the morning on what was to be her carefully planned wedding on the western end of the island, Erin instead found herself, along with her mother, sister and fiancée, keeping vigil at Doctors Hospital.  Despite her mother’s insistence that they go ahead with the wedding, Erin didn’t feel right getting married without her parents there, and so she and her fiancée decided to cancel it.

“At that point I really wasn’t concerned with the wedding. I was upset by it obviously, but that was really secondary to what was going on with my father,” she recalls, “I was conflicted because my mother wanted us to go ahead with our scheduled morning wedding, but I didn’t want to get married without my parents there.”

That was until Dr Duane Sands asked her if she still wanted to get married that day and introduced her to Doctors Hospital Patient Relations Coordinator Tabitha Butler.

“I'll never forget what he said to us. He said, ‘This is Tabitha; she works in patient relations, but today, she'll be your wedding coordinator,’” Erin smiles.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- On April 20 the law firm of Halsbury Chambers will host a free legal forum at the British Colonial Hilton, Exuma Island Room, titled Wills, Living Wills & Trusts. The first in a new series and sister to the annual Free Legal Clinic “Information You Need for the Life You Want,” the mini-forum will be limited to the first 50 persons to pre-register and will be held from 11am to 1pm.

"When we decided on a series of mini-forums on specific subjects that impact people's lives, we wanted to begin with a topic that too few Bahamians pay sufficient attention to and that is the preparations you make and leave in place to safeguard the assets you want to leave your loved ones," said Branville McCartney, Managing Partner of the progressive firm headquartered on Village Road.

"There is probably nothing that people procrastinate more than preparing a will. It does not have to be complicated and there is no requirement for you to be rich to have a will. At the same time, we wanted to address the concept of living wills, that is the legal and ethical issues surrounding the right to direct medical treatment during incapacitation, including what rights you have to choose not to be resuscitated or whether you want to be kept alive by mechanical means. We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to understand the differences among all the options, wills, living wills and trusts. The worst time to deal with having to make critical decisions is at the time of the loss of a loved one when you are grieving or when your loved one is mentally unable to make decisions for themselves."

According to McCartney, the forum will also tackle the sensitive issues surrounding Alzheimer's.

"We have many instances of persons suffering from Alzheimer's Disease in The Bahamas and the question of how to handle the affairs of someone who is no longer always capable of handling their own affairs will be discussed," said McCartney.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- A new $6 million state-of-the-art marina is slated to open by mid-June in the heart of historic Nassau.

Called Bay Street Marina, the 90-slip facility capable of handling vessels up to 150 feet in length is located on Nassau harbour directly behind -- or in front of -- Luciano's of Chicago and the adjacent Green Parrot Restaurant on East Bay Street. There is a floating dock for temporary tie-ups for restaurant-goers arriving by boat.

The multimillion investment, say owners and developers -- a joint venture between the Bethell and Symonette families -- is reaffirmation of their commitment to the revitalization of historic Nassau.

"With shipping moved from downtown Nassau, you can feel Nassau coming back to life," said John F. Bethell, of Bethell Estates. "Fortunately, the bones of this city of remarkable architectural treasures, though tired, are still strong. As we look around us, we believe that this marina is the first in what we hope will be a series of investments over many years that will help Nassau realise her full potential as a vibrant, living city where people want to be to work, live and play."

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay continues to win the hearts and minds of the public, just two weeks after its vital launch. The Lyford Cay Property Owners Association (LCPOA) is the latest prominent name to add its weight to the fight to protect Clifton Bay, other common marine environments surrounding New Providence Island, and The Bahamas.

LCPOA Chairman, Philip Dunkley said, “This is a natural collaboration, given the proximity of Clifton and Lyford and the shared concerns of the Coalition and the Lyford Cay community for the protection of the Bahamian environment. The Coalition provides a platform for all stakeholders and interested persons to unite in a common goal to protect and preserve the unique Clifton Bay area for the mutual benefit of us all.  We are privileged to live in the world's most beautiful island nation and we must accept the responsibility to do all that we can to preserve that unparalleled beauty for the enjoyment of future Bahamians.”

This latest high-profile endorsement of the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay marks the culmination of a highly successful launch for the body, establishing its position as a prime mover in environmental protection. In just two weeks over 1,200 people have joined the Coalition’s Facebook page and over 500 individuals have signed the Coalition’s petition to Prime Minister Perry Christie, asking him to help save the endangered bays. The Coalition is campaigning for new laws, including an Environmental Protection and Freedom of Information Act, plus the strengthening of existing laws to prevent unscrupulous development and other activities, which damage the environment.

Leading environmental lawyer and Coalition member Fred Smith QC said, “Lyford Cay is the most affluent and established residential community in The Bahamas and makes a vital contribution to our economy and society. I see Clifton Bay as a microcosm. We must work together to promote a working, balanced and responsible relationship between all stakeholders at Clifton. We are looking for ways for industry at Clifton, which disgorges hazardous and toxic pollution, to harmoniously co-exist with our natural history, culture and recreation park at Clifton heritage site and not impact on ecotourism.”

3^rd April 2013

The late Dr. Cleveland Eneas used to say that if you want to hide something from a Bahamian put it in writing.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks since a completely innocuous midyear statement was made to the House about how the government proposes to conduct its immigration policy.

The debate has been framed to a large extent by the usual suspects who have a knee jerk reaction to any policy proposed by the PLP, but what they cannot say truthfully is that they did not know, that they did not understand and that it is not the right policy.

I said it this way in another place: what part about Bahamians first don’t you understand?

Politics makes strange bedfellows it is said. It is the art of the possible. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So you would not then be surprised then that the man who made his political career after one term in office as an immigration minister, calling for a crackdown on immigration, is now saying that a crackdown on immigration would be injurious to the economy. He argues that the policy is misplaced because it deals with legal immigration and not illegal immigration. Wrong on both scores. In any event, it is the need for legal migration that is driving illegal migration so if we get legal migration under control, we also solve the illegal migration. He has in this found new religion and common cause with another perennial critic.