January 4, 2006

Dear Sir,

In response to people (Saturday's ) asking why the Aussie Chef was deported. What's up with the Elbow Beach and food comments that are in bad taste. You would think that these Foodies would have the good culinary sense to avoid making statements that are proven recipes for disaster. Bermudians have been served comments that range from barbecuing chicken on front porches to adding spicy arsenic to politicians' food and yet there are those that are asking/have asked why these worldly experts have/had to leave the island.

In fact the most recent utterances from anonymous white hat supporters suggested that the Bermuda Food Critics Association, aka Immigration, were from the dark ages.

Well it really is quite simple, if you mix the wrong ingredients together and the outcome is hard to digest, the logical conclusion is to discard and start again.

January 1, 2007

Dear Sir,

Bermudians are not fools. We know that the business accounts at The Bermuda College have not been prepared and presented for three years!

We know that we are paying good wages and salaries to staff whose job it is to prepare and submit accounts. Why have these accounts not been prepared?

Bermudians do not like this!

Only the PLP Government can make sure that these accounts are prepared and submitted on time!

Will the PLP Government do what should be done?

Ask your MP/Member of parliament what he has done, or what he will do, to insist that this matter is taken care of in a proper way!

January 2, 2007

Dear Sir,

I believe most Bermudians support the revitalisation of tourism as a solid second pillar of our economy. However, in the apparent absence of an overall plan to achieve this goal, I am greatly concerned about the number of Special Development Orders (SDO's ) being considered by the Department of Planning for two large scale luxury hotel and residence developments proposed for the south shore as well as the new Ritz-Carlton development, the expansion of the Wyndham Resort, the proposed nine-storey hotel at the Coco Reef Resort and the villas at the Fairmont Hotel.

As Dorcas Roberts of the National Trust commented last week, SDO's were originally intended to protect what is left of our rapidly diminishing open spaces. They were to be used to override our critical development restrictions only in the case of national interest and as an option of last resort after public inquiries were held.

The Government has not articulated how this number of proposed new developments would serve the national interest and it appears that no public inquiries are planned, which is in clear violation of the intent of SDO's . These inquiries are important to ensure that a proper balance is maintained between the scope and scale of these developments and the preservation of Bermuda's charm and uniqueness.

This approach is in conflict with the stated intentions of the Sustainable Development document strongly supported by former Premier Alex Scott which sought to maintain between 30-45 percent of Bermuda's land mass as open space for future generations. Some of these proposed developments will encroach on land presently designated as agriculture, green space and woodland reserve. Based upon the experience of other countries, too much overbuilding will eventually have a negative impact on tourism.

In addition to these environmental concerns, I believe the following questions also need to be addressed:

Will there be sufficient demand to ensure these new complexes can generate sufficient occupancy rates to be profitable?

Notwithstanding the encouraging increase in the number of flights serving the island and the addition of low cost carriers, will there be adequate carrying capacity during periods of peak demand?

Will these hotels truly provide work for Bermudians or will we require even more foreign workers, adding to the strain on our infrastructure? I've read that many of these jobs aren't attractive to Bermudians as the wages aren't adequate to support a family. In addition, Bermudians will require extensive training to provide the level of service expected by guests in luxury hotels. Although one group has proposed to train Bermudians abroad, what about the others?

What will be the impact of these developments on the redevelopment of the former Lantana site and the Club Med site in St. George's? The former may be still be viable, but I believe the latter would be doomed due to its necessary size and the overcapacity it would create. The Premier has stated that approximately a dozen groups have expressed interest in this site, but I can't believe interest can be sustained if two massive south shore developments come to fruition. From a strategic perspective, shouldn't St. George's, a World Heritage site, be given priority, particularly since the transition to the mega cruise ships that will be berthed at Dockyard will negatively impact its economy?

- It is true that the Ritz-Carlton would be primarily a business oriented hotel and would help to revitalise Hamilton so I am less concerned about it, but again I believe it should go through the standard planning process which shouldn't have to be overly bureaucratic and drawn out.

In summary, we must revitalise our tourist industry with a product that is geared to upscale 21st century travellers. I believe this does require the renewal of existing hotel properties and the addition of new properties. The critical issues which need to be addressed are how many new properties, their location, how to manage their infrastructure implications, and how to ensure that they have minimum impact on our fragile environment and rapidly diminishing open spaces. Given the strategic nature of these decisions, I do not believe they should be addressed via SDO's .

January 5, 2007

The following objection to the Southlands Estate Development was sent to the Director of Planning and copied to The Royal Gazette.

Dear Sir,

My name is Jonathan Starling. I am writing to object to the proposed development of the Southlands estate into a five star hotel. I have reviewed the plans made available at the Department of Planning, and will list the reasons for my opposition to this development below in bullet points. I am objecting not because I am a neighbour to the estate, but because I am a Bermudian and am concerned about the rampant overdevelopment of my island and the rabid destruction of my country's precious natural areas.

1) The architecture proposed in the development plan is to my eyes a monstrosity, a blemish on the natural beauty of our island. With all due respect to the architects obvious talent, I do not think that this 'Aztec' model is suitable for our island, nor is it wise for a site prone to hurricanes.

2) I object to the 'tunnelisation' of South Shore Road; I find it demeaning as a Bermudian to be reduced to a troglodyte for the benefit of the super rich.

3) I believe the development of the 'foreshore area' would adversely affect the natural rocky shore environment, especially negatively impacting the use of the existing cliff-face by longtails for nesting. (I note that the proposed plan states it will minimise the impact here, but it does not go into sufficient detail, and based on my analysis of the foreshore development, I do not see how the development cannot but impact the longtail nesting population).

4) I am concerned about the impact of construction, and the designs for foreshore development, on the natural boiler reef environment off-shore.

5) I am concerned that the Special Development Order (SDO) being sought for this development will prevent the adequate review of this developments environmental impact.

6) I feel that the SDO will set an extremely bad example for and further exacerbate an already negative trend in Bermudian construction and the destruction of natural areas.

7) I am of the understanding that the Southlands estate currently provides an important natural area especially for migrating and native/endemic birds, especially the 'Chick-of-the-village' that currently use this area for nesting and feeding. Notwithstanding the intended conservation of green space in this area, the construction itself will negatively impact fauna in this area throughout the duration of construction.

8) I believe that the construction of this site will negatively impact the quality of life for the immediate residents of this area, and ultimately for Bermudians as a whole, regardless of where they live on the island.

9) I believe that in Bermuda's current situation of over-employment, the building of this site will require the importation of more foreign workers, and the running of the hotel itself will also necessitate increased importation of workers. Bermuda is already facing various crises stemming from overpopulation, including impacts on rent, general impacts on consumer goods, increased transportation impacts, increased stresses on our education system and general social friction. The importation of more workers risks increasing the pressures already facing Bermudian society, and is an unnecessary risk for our country and people.

10) Jumeriah, the company concerned in running the hotel following the Southlands development, is owned by the Dubai royal family, which constitutes the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of which Dubai is a part of, is cited for numerous labour violations, and has not signed two of the core eight conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (conventions 87 and 98) which ensure the freedom of association for workers (the legalisation of trade unions). Furthermore, the UAE has been cited for flagrant violations of international labour law (other than not signing ILO conventions 87 and 98), and failure to enforce what labour legislation that the government has passed. The UAE has also been accused by the Irish based Human Rights for Change for breaching its obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, accusing the government of operating a system of de facto segregation, which, under the UN Convention cited above, constitutes a form of apartheid. Until the UAE government has satisfactorily proven its commitment to human rights and international labour law, I feel that it is wrong for the people of Bermuda to profit in any way whatsoever from the de facto slavery of construction workers in the UAE. I must state that I am not saying that Jumeriah will institute anti-labour practices in Bermuda, but it is not ethical for us to accept money or business from Jumeriah and the government of Dubai/UAE.

11) I feel that there are adequate alternate 'brownfield' sites such as the Wyndham or Club Med properties which could be developed rather than the destruction of a 'greenfield' site such as Southlands.

12) I am of the understanding that another major hotel development is proposed for an almost adjacent property, I believe for the Grand Atlantic Resort and Residences project. I believe that the development of both these properties would constitute an extreme overdevelopment of this area, further straining our environment and communities.

13) The development threatens to rezone a protected coastal zone.

14) The development threatens to override the protected status of open spaces and woodland contained within the Southlands estate.

15) I feel that the timing of this proposal (it was handed in to the Department of Planning on December 11 2006 according to the stamps within the documents available to the public) coincided with the major holidays of Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Day, which has led to the public having an insufficient time to digest the proposal, inform themselves on the proposal through reviewing the plans, and thus preventing the people from adequately analysing the proposal and forming an informed opinion on the project. The period for allowing people to review the plans and lodging objections should be extended by at least another month (until February 5th 2007).

16) I feel that the Southlands Estate would serve Bermuda better in the form of a national park and museum (I would propose using the site to educate our people on slavery in Bermuda). It would be of great benefit to our country to restore the flora to a pre-colonial state (that is with endemics and natives) as a mainland Nonsuch. This would benefit our country and its people both as a vital nature reserve and as an educational and tourist facility. I further contend that the Bermuda Regiment would benefit from assisting with this culling of invasive flora and the 'floral Bermudianisation,' in that they would be able to refine their skills for hurricane preparedness. I contend that the long term social, environmental/ecological and tourist profit from such an alternate development would rival and exceed the private profit represented by the Jumeriah-McIntosh hotel development of this site.

17) The entire concept contained within the Jumeriah-McIntosh hotel development, and its request for a SDO, renders the concept of sustainable development (SD) and our Governments commitment to SD a mockery, and brings our people, country and the State into disrepute, as the rich and powerful continue to prostitute our great country's rich potential for their own short-term interests, ensuring that the rich continue to get richer and more powerful, while the poor continue to get poorer and weaker. The Jumeriah-McIntosh proposal constitutes an exercise in decadence and disregard for our collective social and ecological welfare.

I hope you will take into consideration my above objections to the Jumeriah-McIntosh hotel proposal for Southlands. I hope you will also make note of my above contention that the period within which to review and make an objection to this plan was either too short or coincided with major holidays, thus preventing a full and proper analysis of this proposal. To allow the initiation of this development, especially the approval of a SDO, following such a flawed period of time for objection would be highly unethical and borderline criminal bearing in mind the legacy and impact that such a development would have on our people and country.

JONATHAN STARLING

Hamilton Parish

December 21, 2006

Dear Sir,

Re: CEO Phillip Butterfield's Overhaul 'colonial' planning system and Trimingham site, Royal Gazette, December 20, 2006

Was Mr. Butterfield talking about the planning system or his BANK!!! Quoting Mr. Butterfield's words regarding the planning system is how his clients feel about the Bank of Bermuda. After reading the whole article you only had to insert Bank of Bermuda every time he used Planning Department in his article.

Mr. Butterfield's quote: "from the outset if someone had correctly predicted how long it would have taken to go through this planning process I would have done something different."

Bank client: "From the outset if someone had correctly predicted how long it would have taken to go through this banking process I would have moved my money and accounts to the Bank of Butterfield!"

Mr. Butterfield's quote: "I have been befuddled by this entire planning exercise."

Bank client: "I have been befuddled by this entire BANKING exercise!"

Mr. Butterfield's quote: "I find that an unacceptable way to do business. I believe the planning process in Bermuda needs systemic reform."

Bank client: "I find that an unacceptable way to do business. I believe the BANKING process in Bank of Bermuda needs systemic reform so us befuddled clients can figure out our accounts and not be told repeatedly that we are overdrawn by their tellers computer, no money in account etc. when there is money in the statement they send us! And to be stranded moneyless overseas because the Bermuda bank cards do not work when you travel abroad!"

Mr. Butterfield's quote: "But I have not found this experience to be welcoming or supportive. It has been an arduous exercise."

Bank client: "ARDUOUS... well Mr. Butterfield please come down from your top floor office and join the ranks of the regular people and stand in line ups out your front door when you only have three tellers and wait up to two hours. Now that is what you call an arduous exercise!!!!!"

Mr. Butterfield's quote: "This notion of Bermuda having to seek the advice ice of some inspector who doesn't live among us to tell us whether or not that which we propose to do is acceptable I find so un-twenty-first century that I believe the system is in need of immediate reform."

Bank client: "This notion of Bermuda having to seek the advice of some FOREIGN BANK who doesn't live among us to tell us to change the banking so it suits North America standards! Aaaah!"

NEW ACCOUNT HOLDER AT BANK OF BUTTERFIELD

Pembroke