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Post by Cookie on Oct 6, 2018 18:21:33 GMT
Lots of opinions out there... I have about 1,000 questions to which I haven't found answers. Have any local tour (or other) businesses been successful on Castaway Cay? How do the people of Abaco feel about Castaway Cay? What do they say? Is it relevant to compare Castaway Cay to Lighthouse Point? Has Disney provided a list of those 150 employment slots it promises? Has One Eleuthera Foundation as relates to its own proposal? Could the present owner - recently reported to be "The Related Group headed by billionaire Jorge Perez" - earn some terrific PR and maybe tax benefit by donating the property to the Bahamas National Trust and also fund some local development so that good jobs materialize? (Hey, I can dream.)
I especially appreciate when forum members provide links to articles, as many have done on that other forum.
I'm kinda hoping to nudge this discussion over here from the restaurant thread... where I have trouble finding it...
A native Floridian's opinion as to Disney's development in Florida can be found here: Team Rodent (1998) by Carl Hiaasen. It's an amusing grown-up read, and there is no mistaking how the author feels about Disney.
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Post by Cookie on Oct 6, 2018 21:26:57 GMT
Hey! Jorge Perez has signed the The Giving Pledge. Surely gifting the Lighthouse Beach property to The Bahamas National Trust, to turn it into a national park, and funding development in south Eleuthera so people have jobs would count toward his $1.5 billion commitment to philanthropy??? (Still dreaming.) I don't know where Lenny Kravitz stands on this development of Lighthouse Beach issue, but it's reported (on Wikipedia, sorry🙄 but also in The Real Deal newspaper) that his design firm is doing work for a Miami project of The Related Group/Jorge Perez.
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Post by debc on Oct 6, 2018 21:56:54 GMT
I have lots of questions also Cookie. Not many answers for you though. It's very frustrating for visitors who really have nothing to say, as we just visit. We have been called seaweed or driftwood, I get that and am not offended. For those who have homes, rental or otherwise, and locals, the reality is way different than mine. Not to mention that *news* is not that forthcoming for non-insiders. There are many Facebook pages dedicated to this if, you are on Facebook. If you aren't but, want to be I can direct you to a few. We can be *friends*, Lol. Just let me know, you know me.
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djd
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Post by djd on Oct 9, 2018 4:10:24 GMT
The anti disney people are using facts. the pro disney people are not. I have asked questions over and over and over and have not been given the courtesy of an attempted answer. I have also been called a liar and a crook and an operative (ooh makes me think of Jason Bourne) but haven't had any answers thrown my way. Also apparently the money I spend visiting is "pennies" and the Bahamas "hardly sees a dime of it". SO SO SO misguided. I blame the local politicians for misleading people.
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Post by dahermit on Oct 9, 2018 14:50:05 GMT
My personal opinion is that I wish tourism to D'Rock ended in 1988 when I came here. Don't like what's happening on the island … building rent houses for investment rather than as a second home … cruise ships … jet skis, SUPs, kayaks, horse back riding, etc.
That being said, I'll be Devil's Advocate and try to answer questions from/about both sides.
Yes, Princess Cay was, and is, an economic boon for the people who built the roads, buildings, etc. … also for the people who run the tour busses that take cruisers around the island, for the taxi drivers that pick up an extra fare or two on cruise day, for the people selling at the kiosks outside the gate, for the restaurants that prepare & serve lunch to the tours, for the grocer/farmer that sells the food to the restaurants, for the lady that sells t-shirts & trinkets at the Ocean Hole, for the workers that pick up & haul the cruisers trash, rake the beach, trim the trees, tend the vegetation, clean the toilets, etc. These are real jobs that pay real dollars.
The Disney 'plan' is real, the jobs are real and many are sustainable.
DJD, the money you spend here is real and it's dead wrong to call it "pennies" or to say that the Bahamas "hardly sees a dime of it". These are anti rental-owner comments from those who think owners are getting rich at the expense of locals or that owners contribute little or nothing. They forget that the house was built by Bahamians after paying stamp tax, import duties, VAT, etc. on the land, materials & furnishings. They don't acknowledge the earnings of taxi drivers, car rentals, housekeepers, gardeners, caretakers, restaurant owners & workers, auto mechanics, gas stations, insurance agents, all the jobs that are in any community.
Sadly, the OE plan is just that, a plan. According to the Trib article last week OE hasn't made an offer since 2009. Even IF they can match the offer of Disney for the land, or IF the central government buys the land. What then? It will take additional millions to develop the roads, nature center, hiking trails, toilets, etc.
Where are the jobs that people up south need?
A friend of mine said that IF everyone that signed the petition gave $1000.00 then OE could win.
Feel free to ask questions, I'll try to answer them.
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Post by Cookie on Oct 10, 2018 18:23:57 GMT
Prime Minister Minnis is holding a meeting in Green Castle this evening to discuss the "economy" of south and central Eleuthera: PM Minnis to hold town meeting in Green Castle - October 10 at 7 pmPosted in The Eleutheran online 27 hours before the meeting. I wish I were on the island at present; I would like to attend. PLEASE someone attend and let us know what happens. |
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Post by Cookie on Oct 11, 2018 11:48:44 GMT
This news report says PM Minnis will announce a decision next week: Eyewitness News |
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Post by Cookie on Oct 11, 2018 16:14:49 GMT
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djd
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Post by djd on Oct 12, 2018 0:09:35 GMT
Yes sadly, it was a Disney pep rally. Their words, not mine. I watched the whole nauseating thing safely from my couch, haha.
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Post by potcake2014 on Oct 14, 2018 11:08:56 GMT
seems like a done deal. like the hermit and somebody on the tripadvisor forum suggest, 100 jobs is 100 more than there were there before. it would be nice if the develpment could include some continued public access to the beaches at the point itself. that is easily doable. a parking lot, a trail to the beach, a fence to keep non cruisers out of disney.... or is it more to keep the cruisers in. hahaha, wouldnt want them getting loose and spending money on non disney busineses
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djd
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Post by djd on Oct 14, 2018 21:08:23 GMT
The PM didn't even show up for the meeting with One Eleuthera Foundation. They are promising more jobs than Disney. So there really is no reason for anyone to choose disney over One Eleuthera (Lighthouse Point Partnership). I understand there are some issues with their backers but there should be even bigger hesitation about disney. I just don't get it.
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DaveA
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Post by DaveA on Oct 16, 2018 16:59:36 GMT
Like most, I hope The Mouse goes back in his hole. But I think it’s important to take a close look at both sides, including the development plan offered up by “the good guys.”
Buried way down in a lot of gauzy, well-meaning adjectival clauses is the reality that the LPP alternative relies on an economic alliance with a foreign-owned, for-profit, upscale hotel group who plan to build a 100-unit “eco lodge” at The Point.
Boiled to its essence, that would be a 100-room hotel, by far the largest hotel on Eleuthera. (The inclusion of that hotel was noted in a news story posted Monday on The Nassau Tribune’s website.) That group operates boutique lodgings on Harbour Island. They are high-toned, tent-like “glamping” units that are gorgeous, fully equipped and air conditioned and command up to $1K a night in high season.
Question: Where does all the “eco-electricity” and “eco-water” come from to support a 100-unit hotel? How do they “eco-wash” 100 sets of sheets and towels each day? How do they “eco-air-condition” a 100-room hotel, especially if it the units are tents? How do you “eco-friendly” run the restaurant that would be needed to feed 3 meals a day to up to 200 guests, as there is no other place to eat anywhere near Lighthouse Point? And how would it be “eco-friendly” to build the 2-lane, graded asphalt roadway that would be necessary to transport these guests through the quarry, past the salt ponds and down to The Point?
Again, I hope Disney fails. But in fairness, both sides of this coin need to be examined.
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Post by Cookie on Oct 17, 2018 11:13:29 GMT
Good points Dave A. If we can't keep Lighthouse Beach just as it is (and we can't... private ownership, "progress", jobs, and so on...), then maybe we're talking about choosing the lesser of two evils. Personally, I'll go with the OEF proposal. It seems I spend more time than I'd like choosing between the lesser of two evils. US elections coming up, and all that. But agreed, eyes wide open people!
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Post by Cookie on Oct 17, 2018 11:23:34 GMT
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