FREEPORT, Bahamas ? A first occurred in GBPA history as The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited, hosted an ?Open Bid Process? meeting for the construction of the new Grand Bahama Arts and Craft Centre, in July of this year. As a part of GBPA?s modus operandi, a second ?Open Bid Process? meeting was held. This time it was for Downtown Turnaround?s Landscape and Irrigation phase one of the revitalization campaign.

Five landscapers publically presented their bids for the revamp landscape and irrigation proposal which encompasses 37 acres of the designated downtown area. President of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited, Ian Rolle , stated, ?Today?s procedures, where business owners have an opportunity to publically announce their bid for a proposed GBPA project is right in line with our ?Making It Happen? initiatives,? expressed Mr. Rolle.

The GBPA is now in the process of investigating proposals submitted, as the tender that is chosen will not be solely based on financial submissions. Bids ranged from over $300,000 to just over $425,000. GBPA is now in the process of investigating proposals submitted, as the tender that is chosen will not be solely based on financial submissions.

It is the intent of The Grand Bahama Port Authority, Limited to take the approach where most licensees who are qualified to engage in the particular works, would have the opportunity to do so on all appropriate projects. This event is the continuation of the new era of transparency in project dealings and GBPA?s ?Open Bid Process? is now a permanent part of the way that GBPA conducts business.

History was made in The Bahamas on Sunday, August 23rd, when Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe for the second consecutive year.

?I feel honoured to be representing my country in this way,? said nineteen-year old Stefan?a Fern?ndez, ?It?s very exciting that we brought the crown home again to our country.?

The win marked the first time that an outgoing queen, in this case Dayana Mendoza, crowned her successor from the same country. It marked an exciting end to the 58th Miss Universe pageant held at the Atlantis, Paradise Island.

Venezuela won its sixth crown and now holds the second most titleholders, one less than th USA, in the Miss Universe. First runner up Dominican Republic had had its strongest finish since 2003, and second runner-up Kosovo debuted last year.

Executive Producer of Miss Universe, Donald Trump, said the event was a success. ?I?d like to thank Dayana (Mendoza) for the excellent work that she?s done during her reign,? said Trump. ?I?d like to congratulate the new queen and look forward to working with her.?

The runners-up included, Miss Dominican Republic, Ada de la Cruz in first place; Miss Kosovo, Marigona Dragusha in second place; Miss Australia Rachel Finch in third place and Miss Puerto Rico Mayra Matos in fourth place. Other awards included Miss Congeniality, which went to Miss China Wang Jingyao; Best Costume went to Miss Panama, Diane Broce and Miss Photogenic went to Miss Thailand, Chutima Durongdej.

This marks the first time the Miss Universe preliminary competition was streamed online to a worldwide audience. The competition was broadcast live on NBC and Telemundo.

BahamasLocal.com interviews Miss Netherlands 2009 at the Miss Universe 2009 Pageant.

The 19 year old beauty was born on 02/04/1990 in the hospital of Zwolle, The Netherlands. Miss Netherlands has also been Twittering since arriving in Nassau. twitter.com/missnetherlands. Avalon-Chanel Weyzig speaks three languages, Dutch, English and Spanish.




Click HERE to view the Miss Universe 2009 Float Parade photo gallery

Click HERE to view the Evening Gown pictures.

Dont forget to call Atlantis box office for tickets on 363-6601 or click HERE for more details.

A POWERFUL human rights group has thrown its weight behind the government?s plan to outlaw marital rape in the Bahamas.

Amnesty International has vowed to back the proposed amendment of the Sexual Offences Act in order to protect the rights of every Bahamian woman.

A spokesman for the group told The Tribune: "Amnesty International would certainly support that law being passed.

?We view women's rights as a human right. If there is abuse in any kind of relationship, whether it is within a marriage or with unmarried couples, or in the case of incest, all of those are matters that need to be dealt with properly within the law.

"On the basic stance of the law, Amnesty would support the way it's written to support persons rights."

The amendment, introduced to the House of Assembly by Minister of State for Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner last month, has sparked a heated national debate on the issue.

In Parliament last month, Mrs Butler-Turner noted that the current law is outdated adding that spousal rape had long been outlawed in many other countries.

American law recognised marital rape as a crime in 1976 but it is still a sensitive issue as many states have lesser penalties for persons convicted of the offence, compared to acquaintance rape or that of a stranger.

The present law in the Bahamas defines rape as an act of any person not under 14 years of age having sex with another person who is not his spouse without the consent of that other person; without consent that had been extorted by threats or fear of bodily harm; with consent obtained by impersonating the spouse of the other person; or with consent obtained by false and fraudulent representations as to the nature and quality of the act.

The proposed amendment would omit the words "who is not his spouse" in essence making it illegal for any person to have sex with another without consent ? regardless if they are married or not.

Under the current law, rape can only occur in a marriage if the couple is legally separated.

Some local religious leaders have argued that a man cannot rape his wife claiming the Bible dictates that a wife must physically submit to her husband.

Controversial pastor Cedric Moss has vocally opposed the legislation claiming the amendment would create a "society of rapists." Citing the "word of God", Mr Moss argued that rape cannot be committed in marriage because the couple gave each other authority over the other's body and agreed to open-ended sexual consent in the marriage contract.

He argued that including spouses as potential rapists would contradict the sacrament of marriage.

"But can it be right to bring married people under such a law designed for unmarried people? No, and a thousand times, no! It is not right and it can never be right to bring all married couples under this definition of rape whereby moment by moment consent is required for every stage of every act of sexual intercourse.

"Each day you will be a potential rapist in your own home if you initiate sex with your wife without her consent," he told the Rotary Club of West Nassau earlier this month. Other opponents believe the proposed change will devastate marriages and families in this
country and say more discussion is needed before the amendment is signed into law.

Women's rights advocates hit back saying rape is rape and that a wife should have the right to tell her husband "No" to sex in order to defend herself from an abusive or promiscuous husband.

In its 2008 Human Rights Reports on the Bahamas, the United Nations noted that while rape is considered illegal in this country the current law does not address spousal rape.

"Violence against women continued to be a serious, widespread
problem. The law prohibits domestic violence, and the government generally enforced the law. However, domestic violence laws do not provide penalties separate from other crimes of assault and battery and do not effectively criminalize sexual
violence within a marriage," said the report.

The report said that the RBPF dealt with 114 reported rapes last year, a decrease from 136 in 2007.