Empty Shelves on Long Island, Exuma’s Big Day Tomorrow, and a $700 Million Question in Nassau

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Exuma gets ready for its 20th annual Business Outlook in George Town, the mailboat crisis leaves Long Island’s south with empty shelves, a union deadline looms for former Grand Lucayan workers, and in the capital a court ruling for Sandals Royal Bahamian and hard questions over the National Investment Fund lead the national news.

Listen to the full briefing

Exuma: Business Outlook tomorrow, ALIV deepens its roots

The 20th annual Exuma Business Outlook is tomorrow, Thursday, October 15, at the St. Andrew’s Anglican Church Community Centre in George Town. Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who is also Exuma’s MP and Minister of Education, leads the speakers alongside Labour Minister Pia Glover Rolle and Bradley Fox, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs.

Under the theme “Strengthening foundations for long-term prosperity,” the Outlook focuses on infrastructure, aviation, workforce development, entrepreneurship and economic diversification. Exuma Chamber of Commerce executive director Emmett Saunders says speakers have been asked for Exuma-specific recommendations and realistic timeframes. Aviation panellists include Bahamasair managing director Tracy Cooper and Sarah Swainson of Makers Air and Staniel Cay Yacht Club, with airports in George Town, Staniel Cay and Black Point on the agenda. Registration: Margaret Albury at The Counsellors, (242) 322-1000. Source: The Tribune

ALIV is expanding its footprint on the island as the company marks ten years. Director of Sales Kieran Chase said ALIV has been in the Exuma community since 2018 and that customers should get the same experience as in New Providence. The company has partnered with local government on community projects, including the basketball court in George Town, and Exuma Deputy Chief Councillor Monique Morley says she wants that kind of corporate involvement to continue. Source: Our News

Sampson Cay: there is still no Supreme Court ruling in the challenge to the Rosewood Exuma environmental approvals.

Visiting Exuma: stay, eat, shop, play

Stay: Peace & Plenty on Elizabeth Harbour makes a practical George Town base if you rent a car; Staniel Cay Yacht Club puts you beside Big Major Cay and Thunderball Grotto. Eat: the Fish Fry on Queen’s Highway just west of George Town for fresh conch salad, snapper and lobster; Santanna’s Bar & Grill near Williams Town, Little Exuma, for fried lobster and homemade peppa sauce; Mom’s Bakery nearby for rum cake and coconut bread. Shop: the Exuma Straw Market in George Town for handmade straw work.

Natural fun: Tropic of Cancer Beach on Little Exuma (about 30 minutes south of George Town; no bathrooms, bring water, drive the dirt road slowly); kayaking the mangroves and sandbars of Moriah Harbour Cay National Park; Compass Cay’s nurse sharks; and the no-take Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. Boating tips: expect east-northeast breezes around 10 to 12 mph and some chop in open water; check the marine forecast, leave a float plan, monitor VHF channel 16, carry extra water and fuel, visit Thunderball Grotto near low tide, slow down near snorkelers, and use park moorings instead of anchoring on coral.

Local people to know: Emmett Saunders of the Exuma Chamber of Commerce; Bryan Strachan of Aquaquest Escapes; Carson Gray of Exuma TV and Gray Media; and Demerus “Demi” Darville, founder of Fitfinity Fitness — the three entrepreneurs are on tomorrow’s Outlook panel.

The far south: a quiet check-in

From Inagua and Mayaguana through Acklins, Crooked Island and Ragged Island, we found no new local headlines in this morning’s check of the major newsrooms.

Long Island: empty shelves as mailboat delays bite

Empty store shelves, spoiled produce and businesses turning customers away: that is what residents in southern Long Island say unreliable mailboat service is doing to daily life, Our News reported.

Knowles says service to the south of the island has been unreliable for years and has grown worse, while the north gets more consistent calls. When boats are delayed, fresh produce can sit for days before it even leaves Nassau.

Jill Smith, co-owner and manager of Stella Maris Resort Club, said the resort opened with half an order of food and she drove 30 miles south looking for potatoes ahead of a Thursday event. She said another local business closed over the holiday weekend when its food shipment did not arrive, and that limited storage makes stocking up hard. “You cannot operate a business like this,” she said. “It’s not sustainable.”

Long Island MP Andre Rollins has raised the issue in the House of Assembly, calling mailboat service an economic lifeline and saying the delays keep some seniors from receiving essentials sent by family in New Providence. Knowles wants action against operators who cannot meet their obligations: “We’re tired of talk. Let’s get it resolved.” We found no new government response since the report. Source: Our News

Cat Island, San Salvador and Rum Cay: no new local headlines this morning.

Eleuthera to Grand Bahama

This Saturday, October 17, Olympian Devynne Charlton brings her Barrier Breakers free hurdles clinic to Preston H. Albury High School in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. Source: Our News

Andros, the Berry Islands, Bimini and Abaco: no brand-new local headlines beyond stories we have already reported.

Eyewitness News reports union leader Obie Ferguson is warning the government to pay former Grand Lucayan workers by Friday. Ferguson, president of the Trades Union Congress, told The Tribune late last month the union was prepared to seek a court order for the money with interest, and said workers had been told they would be paid by February 27. Prime Minister Philip Davis has said the workers were paid and that what remains is a dispute over the amounts. Source: Eyewitness News · Source: The Tribune

Please keep sharing: 75-year-old Lynda Pinder of Lewis Yard, who lives with Alzheimer’s, has been missing since late September. Her family says the Criminal Investigation Department has the case, there are no new leads, and the public should ignore false rumours that she has been found. If you have seen her, call the police. Source: Our News

Nassau and the nation

Sandals wins dismissal on time-limit grounds. In a ruling dated October 13, Supreme Court Justice Darron Ellis dismissed a lawsuit by an American couple against West Bay Management Limited, operator of Sandals Royal Bahamian, over an alleged sexual assault during their destination-wedding celebrations in April 2016. The case was not started in The Bahamas until October 14, 2020. The judge found the resort’s one-year contractual deadline unenforceable but held the claim was still barred by the three-year personal-injury limit in Section 9 of the Limitation Act 1995. He stressed the ruling is not a finding on whether the alleged assault occurred or on liability. Costs go to the resort operator. Source: Eyewitness News

The $700 million question. Public Accounts Committee chairman Michael Pintard says evidence so far suggests the legally appointed National Investment Fund board may not have known about major transactions carried out in the Fund’s name. He named five appointees with records dating to August 2025 and said the board was never formally convened. Evidence suggests the Central Bank account known as the NIF account was run under the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury. The PAC is still seeking full records on about $700 million in excess borrowing linked to the Fund, and separately probing a voucher programme of more than $1 million. No final findings have been made; reports are targeted for mid-November. Source: Bahamas Latest

Courts. Three men — Joseph Coriolan and Ralph Hercule, both 21, and Jhon Moneus, 22 — have been charged with rape and indecent assault of a 19-year-old woman at a party at an Airbnb on October 4. They were not required to plead, bail was denied, and they were remanded until January 28. They are presumed innocent. Source: Our News

Schools. C.C. Sweeting Senior High has reopened after a week-long closure over electrical problems, though parents want assurance the fix holds. Bahamas Educators Managerial Union president Stephen McPhee is urging the Ministry of Health to better inform the public about impetigo cases, saying fear is spreading because teachers do not know what they are dealing with. Source: Our News · Source: Eyewitness News

Weather and tropical outlook

New Providence on Wednesday: mostly cloudy and warm, a high near 88°F, a low around 78°F, east-northeast winds up to about 12 mph, and about a 26 percent chance of a passing shower. Thursday: a high near 89°F, a low around 77°F, winds turning more easterly, and about a 33 percent shower chance (Open-Meteo). The U.S. National Hurricane Center reports no tropical cyclones at this time and says tropical cyclone formation is not expected over the next 7 days.

Our advice

If you have family on Long Island, especially seniors, call today and ask what they need — and if you are sending goods on the mailboat, send items that keep, and send them early. Exuma business owners: show up at the Business Outlook tomorrow and hold speakers to those realistic timeframes. Parents: if your child has an itchy, crusty sore, get it checked, keep it covered and keep hands washed.