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The Tribune
An Exuma resort developer and its advisers yesterday denied any involvement with videos that the Deputy Prime Minister asserted have defamed him and plan to file police complaints themselves.
Bob Coughlin, the Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club developer, in a statement said he had no participation in, or connection, to the videos despite Chester Cooper, minister of tourism, investments and aviation, naming him as the person responsible for their creation and release.
The Guardian
A coalition has been formed to oppose the development of a Rosewood resort on Sampson Cay, according to a press statement on the group.
That group, calling themselves SEA (Save Exuma Alliance), say they want to be assured by the relevant government authorities that safety and environmental issues will be dealt with before a resort is allowed to be built on the island.
ZNS Network
More than 1,180 individuals have signed a petition calling on the Bahamas government to halt all certificates and permits for the construction of a Rosewood hotel and residential development announced for Big Sampson Cay, Exuma, until “key deficiencies” could be addressed, citing irrevocable impacts on seagrass meadows and other environmental concerns.
The Nassau Guardian
Developer of Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club Bob Coughlin told Guardian Business that he will further delay the development of his resort until he receives confirmation on whether or not Yntegra’s Rosewood project will be allowed to move barges back and forth through the north bay between Sampson Cay and Over Yonder Cay.
The Nassau Guardian
Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club’s environmental consultant Eric Carey launched a petition asking Bahamian environmentalists and concerned citizens to urge the government to protect the marine ecosystem of Sampson Cay in the Exumas, by not allowing investment firm Yntegra to dredge on the island where turtlegrass, baby conch and turtles thrive, according to a press statement on the petition.
The Tribune
HUNGRY for jobs and community development, Exuma residents at a town hall meeting Tuesday night brushed aside a wealthy developer’s environmental complaints concerning a nearby project but questioned why the Davis administration wasn’t getting more involved in resolving the dispute.
BahamasLocal.com
Recently Launched Petition Urges Government to Halt Massive Dredging in Big Sampson Cay, Exuma, Preventing Irreversible Damage.
The Tribune
Two neighbouring Exuma resort developments are at odds over the larger project’s plans for the location of its northern dock and scale of its build-out plans.
The Tribune
THE $40m Rosewood Sampson Cay project plans to dredge almost 240,000 cubic yards of fill to create two marinas for a development set to cover most of the island’s 124 acres when completed in 2031.
AP News
A former career U.S. diplomat was sentenced Friday to 15 years in federal prison after admitting he worked for decades as a secret agent for communist Cuba, a plea agreement that leaves many unanswered questions about a betrayal that stunned the U.S. foreign service.
The Tribune
AN Exuma-based developer says it is pursuing all necessary approvals for a $100m project that has forced a neighbouring resort to place its development plans on hold and raised environmental concerns.
The Nassau Guardian
The $70 million Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club, slated to be developed on a private tract of Big Sampson Cay, has been put on an indefinite hold as its developer waits to see if Yntegra Group’s $100 million development of Crown land on Big Sampson Cay and East Sampson Cay in the Exumas will move forward as planned, environmental consultant for Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club Eric Carey told Guardian Business yesterday.
The Tribune
LABOUR shortages, and the tendency of major developers to rely on foreign contractors, has left Exuma businesses pessimistic over how much they will benefit from multi-million foreign direct investment targeted at the island.
Bloomberg
A Saudi prince is suing a business partnership over $5 million in his purchase of a stake in a lush Bahamian island, the latest of the kingdom’s wealthy royals to turn to Delaware’s Chancery Court to resolve a dispute.