Mr. Mayor, use your power

January 21, 2008

Dear Sir,

I understand that the Mayor of Hamilton has the power of veto on Corporation matters and decisions but that, in his words "this is rarely used".

Now of all times is the time that this power of veto should be used by the Mayor. The eviction of the Bermuda Society of Arts from the City Hall will have major ramifications on all artists in Bermuda, as well as the hundreds of young persons who might take up art in the future. The possible loss of this cultural icon has already, and rightly so, provoked outrage and disappointment from the Bermuda community.

I, like many others before and those that will follow, first showed my work at the BSoA gallery. That experience, 32 years ago, was the catalyst that led to a lifelong passion for painting and a thirst for developing my techniques and abilities. Without that exposure I have no idea where my artistic leanings might now be.

I now serve on the governing body of the BSoA along with eight other unpaid but interested members although this letter is a reflection of my personal opinion only. I personally, and especially through my involvement with the BSoA have always encouraged and tried to motivate up and coming artists and have seen many evolve from rank beginners to accomplished artists.

Believe me, in most cases these same artists would not have succeeded had the BSoA not been there as a source of information, of mentors and as an integrated, friendly society where all are considered equal with the only differential being the medium we choose to work in.

There is little doubt in my mind that, should the BSoA be evicted as it is currently planned by the Corporation, the Society would not be able to continue and will join the ranks of the many good things from the good old days that have disappeared from the Bermuda landscape forever. I cannot begin to understand how little thought has gone into the ramifications of this proposed eviction by the Corporation. All previous Mayors have allowed the BSoA to continue its invaluable work on the third floor of City Hall. Some have even encouraged and openly supported the BSoA's task of encouraging, educating and promoting budding young, and not so young, artists.

I fail to understand how the present Mayor, although implying that he does not personally support the eviction, might allow the demise of the BSoA and seems to be willing to assume the legacy of the Mayor that killed the arts in Bermuda. A simple veto of the proposed short sighted eviction would put the minds at ease of present artists, future artists, particularly our young people, art teachers of our schools, are collectors and the art loving residents of Bermuda of which there are many. Judging by the attendance at the regular openings of shows every three weeks, even Hamilton businessmen and women, many of whom are City Taxpayers, would be regretting the decision to evict.

CHRISTOPHER M. GRIMES

Southampton

A note of thanks

January 18, 2008

Dear Sir,

May I through the medium of your newspaper, take this opportunity to once again thank all those thousands of kind and generous friends who have supported PALS during the year. We are constantly amazed at the imaginative and fun ways that many of you have used to raise funds in support of our cancer patients including donations in lieu of birthdays (from one year to one hundred!), directors fees, union dues, leaving gifts, Christmas cards and gifts, weddings and anniversaries.

The list is endless. The fantastic St Baldrick's Head Shaving event provided funds to help children with cancer. Students from Warwick Academy made individual gift baskets for our needy patients and joined those from Saltus, CedarBridge, Gilbert Institute and St. Patrick's Youth Group who gave up their Sunday mornings to help decorate the Washington Mall. Some 2000 of you who have lost loved ones came to our special Memorial Trees of Remembrance in the Mall and Butterfield Bank and left touching messages, along with donations even though there has never been a charge.

To each and every one of you who have supported us in any way, we are eternally grateful. It is only because of your generosity that we are able to continue our mission to provide compassionate and comprehensive care to any cancer patient, in any stage of their disease, who require our services. May I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

ANN SMITH GORDON MBE, JP

President & Chief Executive Officer PALS

Sad and far from Bermudian

January 15, 2008

Dear Sir,

This letter is in response to the article that appeared in your paper today in relation to the housing complex planned for returning students, to be built on St. Augustine Road. The first paragraph really got under my skin: "Up to 40 residents are petitioning Government against an apartment complex designed to provide affordable housing for students returning from overseas."

Even after reading their weak excuses for petitioning these plans, there is so much one can find wrong with the motives of these selfish people. This "not in my back yard" mentality has got to stop before we find ourselves so far apart that we won't be able to tell a Bermudian apart from a expat. The only way Bermuda can move forward is if we truly come together and work with one another to ensure progress. This means sometimes having to give or take a little.

Allow me to put my thoughts behind their reasons to be against what I believe is a much needed and beneficial development; "We oppose the size and scale of the complex" Bermuda is a small Island and there is not much space to build, so any land that is able to be used to house many is beneficial and should be taking advantage of. "Such scale and planned use of the complex will create additional traffic and the ancillary problems such as parking, noise, garbage, etc."

OK, a young person returning from college ready to start a productive, professional lifestyle, having an affordable place to sleep until they get on their feet holds no weight against your petty conveniences? That is sad and far from Bermudian. I wonder if you would feel that way if it were your children returning home and needing a place to stay. They go on to suggest that the complex" will lead to anti-social behaviour". They describe drug deals and violence etc. That is why young people feel so out of place in this island.

Here we have college students who before they even arrive back on this Island are labelled as bad. They have been working hard to achieve an education and still are looked at in a negative light due to the negative actions of a select few who may never have even stepped foot in a college classroom. These are college grads we are talking about, I doubt after all the time and money they put into their education that they will come back here to sit on walls and cause havoc. They have bigger plans for themselves, like being successful in the filed that they earned a degree in.

The last of the petitioners' reasons to be against this worthy cause that I will touch on is the big one and what I feel is their only real reason. That the complex will lead to "devaluation of properties". Money! It's all about money. Is this what Bermuda has come to? Do we really care more about a dollar then we do about the lives of fellow Bermudians? I can't believe that people in Bermuda will see young people that are the future of this Island live in the streets before they would see them living next to them simply because they may lose some money if they decided to sell their house one day.

Bermuda, we need to wake up this road of greed and selfishness will destroy us. We are better than that. To the people of St. Augustine Road, if you really want to prevent further problems in your neighbourhood, instead of being against the complex you should embrace it. Use the energy you are putting into your petition and put it into the young people that will stay there.

Work with them, spread community love, help them help themselves, set a good example of how to respect others and take care of your neighbourhood and respect them. Do this from the beginning and you will find that things will be more positive then you now believe and in return for your kind works they will in turn be able to pass the message on to others. And that in turn will be a step toward moving this Island forward in progress and returning it to the loving place it once was, in fact it may help make it more loving and friendly then ever.

As I said over and over before, we all have a part to play in making this Island a better place, sometimes you just have to look deep inside yourself to find out what your part is. The answer can lie right outside your door.

MAKAI DICKERSON

Sandys

It does not look good

January 19, 2008

Dear Sir,

I have some reflections on human beings (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) and the perceptions and intolerances of them. Firstly I re-read Rene Webb's opinion (Royal Gazette December 22, 2007) and the fine letter of "Clean Slate" (January 4) and wondered how I could be so wrong when I guessed that the UBP would get at least 18 seats; I lost a few dollars in bets on that.

I had always said that if we cannot have racial tolerance in Bermuda there was little chance in the rest of the world. I figured that possibly 77 out of 100 black voters would be so appalled by the history of corruption of the PLP and their blatant racial message. Many of my black friends were of the same opinion; in fact one said to me "we are two bananas away from a republic".

Other black friends including the wife of a doctor, an engineer, and an attorney have given me some insight; one comment was "where's the proof" referring to the corruption. I thought there was an enough in the evidence found and published by (Sir) Harold Darrell, a man that I know well and a man with more integrity than anyone I have ever met.

There were so many other scandals too numerous to mention that did get published and the voters know very well that the Berkeley project was and is a complete financial disaster and that nearly a billion dollars is unaudited in the Ministry of Finance. By the way there was absolutely no chance of the Privy Council overturning the Courts here; just the fact that the Auditor General was harassed by the Police was enough; one of the key standards of a true democracy is the independence of the Auditor General.

On the issue of racial hatred ably practised on the radio and by some members of the PLP in your columns, I was of the opinion that the at least the more intelligent members of the PLP would not buy the message; maybe some did and did not vote, but not many. It was also my opinion that the USA was far behind us in tolerance; the Aryan Nation, the "crackers" and the nasty history of many states. However we have Senator Obama winning the nomination in Iowa where about 98 percent of the people are white or at least would not call themselves "black". He is also doing well in the rest of the country where only about 15 percent of the voters describe themselves as black. Is dear old friendly Bermuda now way behind the USA in racial tolerance? Yet by my estimate nearly 81 out of every hundred "blacks" in this country voted for the Brown regime.

Although 15,000 voters voted for a change of government and perhaps there is still some hope for this country that we are not going to get on the most corrupt countries list by 2012 and whatever the UBP and independents do you are probably going to get more of the same by the Brown family and friends; as Brown said in his RG Magazine interview of two years ago "In Bermuda it is winner take all". So it does not look good; expect a mega hotel on the South Shore; details of the contract withheld; is there going to be a casino as well? Lastly who will be the owners of that? Who is morally bankrupt? One footnote re Renee Webb and her Opinion. Although she had vilified whites as a minister and Member of Parliament, when it came to an issue of intellectual integrity and " human rights for all" the people outside the House were at least 75 percent white.

TAXPAYER NO. 737

Smith's Parish