The all-new original show, Island View, gets you inside some of the coolest/interesting/unusual places on the island.

The fast-paced TV show is hosted by Grand Bahamian Rico Thompson, who brings his own brand of enthusiasm and excitement to the screen. Rico is certainly not afraid to get his hands dirty, whether it is figuring out how aluminum recycling works or just how many puppies (well over 100!) are at the Humane Society of Grand Bahama’s shelter on Coral Road.

The show was launched on September 1, simultaneously with the launch of Grand Bahama TV, a.k.a. GBTV, which is Grand Bahama island’s first dedicated TV channel. The channel is currently streaming online 24 hours a day with many hours of news, information, features shows and entertainment from some of Grand Bahama’s finest performers. At the GBTV web site you can also choose from more than a dozen shows available “on demand”, including all episodes of Island View. Simply click on a show from the list and it begins to play immediately, and you can pause, rewind and fast forward. The channel plans to launch live TV shows in October.

To get a glimpse of what Island View is all about, watch the promo video below and then go to GrandBahamaTV.com to watch Island View’s first two episodes, with new shows coming soon.

Enjoy!

~ejr~

The dispute appears to be regarding the late payment of rent for three restaurant spaces at Port Lucaya Marketplace, the waterside shopping centre that has become the de facto hub of retail commerce and entertainment in Freeport.

The three restaurants, La Dolce Vita, EAST, and The Pub at Port Lucaya (in the space formerly occupied by ‘Pussers’), are operated by Mr Hayward (son of Sir Jack Hayward), who has asserted that he has been a tenant for 22 years and has paid out more than $3.5 million in rent during that time.

According to court documents and legal papers filed, and subsequently reviewed by this writer, the landlord charges that Mr Hayward has failed to pay rent for those locations for the past ten months, and is in arrears just shy of $230,000.

Last week, the staff of the these businesses arrived to commence work to discover the doors locked and a noticed posted to advise that the landlord had exercised its right to control access due to the overdue sum and that it could further repossess the goods to recover any losses or expenses.

As a result, at least 75 Grand Bahama residents are out of work; while Mr Hayward has promised to continue to pay the workers while the problem is addressed, at the very least the future employment of these workers—and the livelihood of their families—are in jeopardy.

On the surface, it seems that a landlord is rightfully taking action to recover fees owed by a tenant that has fallen behind in a major way, especially given the amounts involved. No landlord can sustain its operation if it must carry such heavy losses over a long period of time; it just doesn’t make good business sense to do so.

For Mr Hayward’s part, today’s economy makes it difficult to continue to pay salaries, insurance, rent and license fees, purchase goods and supplies, and attend to all the other expenses that go along with operating a restaurant business—or three. To do so in a way that ensures that workers are paid regularly and staff levels are kept steady while bearing the constant weight of such costs can be difficult, if not impossible, as business volume steadily wanes.

Mr Hayward contends that his rental fees have more than doubled in the last five years, and he has challenged these increases that he claims have been unjustified and unsustainable.

One of Mr Hayward’s primary objections to the lockout action is that he believes these steps are motivated by the running feud between the owners and management of Port Group Limited, which has involved Sir Jack Hayward, the St George Estate and chairman Hannes Babak. While the ownership dispute and disagreement over management rights remains outstanding, Rick Hayward seems to believe that last week’s clash over his rental debt is driven more by the Port Group Limited than Bourbon Street/Port Lucaya Marketplace.

Such a belief is based on the fact that Port Group Limited’s management issued a letter of demand for the rental payments to Hayward’s company back in Aril 2009—yet Port Group Limited is not the landlord to which Hayward owes the outstanding amounts.

This week, Hayward’s legal counsel stated that the demand from this “third party” was ignored as it was not involved in the matter, which then lead Port Group Limited to respond by locking the doors of the rented space.

Mr Hayward has acknowledged his debt and acquiesced to Bourbon Street’s right to seek relief through the courts to recovered the sums owed. What Mr Hayward has rejected is the involvement of Port Group Limited, as he believes that there are other unrelated motivations spurring such aggressive steps.

While the true motivations and intentions of all the parties would be nigh impossible to decipher, what is clear to most outsiders is that such discord and conflict is nothing more than a gaping wound. This is just another symptom of a cancer that has been slowly disintegrating the integrity and sustainability of Freeport and Grand Bahama.

While the entire Bahamas faces the facts of a globally faltering economy, the evaporation of discretionary spending, and the threats of increasing regional competition (helllloooo, Cuba), Grand Bahama struggles to find its own footing as the very investors, regulators and managers that are charged with its stewardship continue to bicker.

That is not to say that there aren’t real and important matters to be settled, but we have heard from all corners—licensees, gas station attendants and expatriate visitors alike—that it just needs to be done.

The parties should fully appreciate that the lingering dispute is negatively affecting the lives and collective future of the residents of Grand Bahama, and ultimately, the Bahamas. The personal agendas, egos and lack of effective communication are hampering potential investments and stagnating Grand Bahama.

Stop muddying the waters when there are fish to be caught. Stop playing the fiddle while our city burns. And stop holding our futures in limbo while we wonder where our next paycheck is coming from.

~ejr~

NOTE:
Late Thursday evening, July 2, 2009, a statement was issued by Port Group Limited stating that an agreement has been reached between the parties regarding the rental dispute. Click HERE to read that statement.

The event consisted of a wide range of products including housewares, jewelry, small electronics, various gadgets, and unique items, many of which are referred to as “as seen on TV” products.

The event was run by South American Vafiponce Trading Company with a local Bahamian company, Bahamian Supreme Trading Company, representing the plans locally. The events were advertised through newspaper ads, extended infomercials on local TV stations, street banners and live radio remote broadcasts.

As a licensed small business owner, employer and resident of the Bahamas, we reflected on such an event and wondered how this impacts our consumer market, retail outlets and other employers.

Certainly consumers were given opportunities to see and purchase items that may not be otherwise found locally, and the overall thrust of the promotions – particularly the TV-based ones – was that the prices were low, and good deals could be found.

But we wondered: was this group licensed for retail sales of these goods? And could this kind of thing actually hurt local businesses and even consumers?

We talked with two major local general retailers, who asked to remain anonymous, to get an insight into what impact this could have. One might expect that an established local retailer would not be too happy about someone infringing on their market, and this proved to be true. But there was a deeper message than simple defensiveness and protectionism.

One retailer who visited the trade show said it resembled a ‘traveling flea market’, but actually did not fault the organisers or the operators for doing such a thing. The retailer went on to say that they welcome fair competition, even from events such as this. But, they said, competition can only be fair when the same rules and requirements are placed on all of those in a particular area of business. Bahamians and foreigners must be held to the same standard and the same checks; Bahamians must not be disadvantaged.

They claimed to have done some checking and found that no license had been given by the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) for the Freeport event (all businesses operating in the city of Freeport are required to be licensed by the GBPA). The retailer also said that, if a foreign group is permitted to come into this market without paying license fees, work permits, insurances, and complete import duties on goods, then why should a Bahamian be forced to do so?

In an interview with local press, show organiser Pedro Roberts said that the products that were made available are manufactured in Venezuela, Columbia and Peru and do not compete with the local market because they are “one of a kind”.

“Most of these products that the show has cannot be found anywhere else so we do not clash with the local market but enhance it,” Roberts said.

We asked the local retailer that attended the event if this was in fact the case. They said that they observed pots, pans, garden hoses and common jewelry items for sale, and that all of the products they saw were in fact offered for sale by Bahamian companies.

Asked if the prices offered were significantly below local retail prices, one Bahamian retailer said they were told by a local consumer that a similar garden hose that sold at the trade show for $34 was available at a local shop for exactly half — $17. While there were likely savings to be had, you would have been wrong to assume that all deals were good deals.

We were told that there were several items on display that were purported to be a specific brand when in fact the actual product being sold was a no-name brand of apparent inferior quality. As an example, a prominent sign above one display showed the ‘Little Giant’ brand of ladder along with an image of Hal Wing, the personality that appears in the ‘Little Giant’ TV ads. The ladders actually available for sale were not the genuine article.

One Bahamian retailer told us that they received a phone call from one of their regular customers, irate that they (the retailer) would “allow” such an event to happen. The retailer explained that they had no control or influence over such a thing, but that the government and local licensing authorities are the ones that either permit or deny such things.

Bahamian law prohibits foreigners from the unlicensed direct cash sale of items to local consumers, however, from all available information this appears to be precisely what occurred.

In the days when families are struggling to make every dollar count, is such an event really a bad thing? Does it really matter?

We believe it does. In recent weeks, staff of local retailers have been laid off due to slowing business volume. Companies, just like individuals, are scraping for every income opportunity, trying to cut costs, and stay afloat. Consumers also need to be protected from faulty merchandise and must have the basic options for recourse when a product fails.

Traveling bands hawking goods one day and gone the next offer no warranty, no support and no remedy to problems or even questions that can arise. When a ladder fails a week after purchase from a transient salesman, where does one go for a refund or replacement? You’re plain out of luck. But if the same thing happens after that item has been purchased from a local retailer you better believe we’ll be back there looking for money back or a brand new substitute. And so we should.

We are all for a free market economy, but it just doesn’t make sense to allow fleeting traders to compete for our jobs, our incomes and even our safety. Foreigners that come to the Bahamas must adhere to our laws, meet their obligations and act fairly to our people.

If this is not the case, then local retailers should fire their staff, shut their doors, rent a warehouse, and sell from the back door whenever they need a little cash. Why go through all the bother of licensing, insurances, leasehold improvements, and the many other overhead costs when you can sidestep all that and just do as you please?

If we do not enforce our laws and be more mindful of how we may actually be hurting ourselves, then you can believe that harder times are in our future.

~ejr~

A Keen i Media Ltd production. Camera & Edit: Franklyn Williams & Erik Russell

~ejr~

Did you know it costs more to fly from Miami to Grand Bahama than it does to fly from Miami to Las Vegas? That’s CRAZY.

Shot Feb 23, 2009 at Our Lucaya during the 2009 Grand Bahama Business Outlook. Frankie shot this, I did the interview. [Don't you just love that setting? I thought it was pretty cool. ]

Back in May of this year we wrote about the vital missing link in Grand Bahama’s tourism product — namely, a full-service non-U.S. terminal that has been sorely missing since Hurricane Frances struck in 2004. Without such a terminal, Grand Bahama has been effectively locked out of servicing non-U.S. originating or departing flights from important consumer centres such as Canada, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

This new announcement brings a glimmer of hope in an economy that has slowly atrophied over the last four years.

While not a complete or ideal solution, the project will expand the current non-U.S. and domestic terminal (originally intended as only a temporary fix after Hurricane Frances destroyed the former terminal) by 5,000 square feet. It is expected to deliver a departure lounge with a capacity of 600 passengers, upgraded security and baggage handling systems, expanded bathroom facilities, food service areas, and covered walkways.

While the investment amount was not specified, this effort between Grand Bahama Airport Company and Hutchison Port Holdings could be a key salve to soothe the wounds with which Grand Bahama has been suffering.

We believe that enabling Grand Bahama to once again attract direct flights from countries outside of the United States is a reason to celebrate. Not only does it open that door for a more diverse customer base, but it will result in a bigger pay-off for the marketing and market development investments on which our Ministry of Tourism has been so intent.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the announcement is that this expansion is due to be completed by March 2009; a challenge that will not be easily attained but that would be a tremendous achievement.

We do have one question though: what took so long?

~ejr~

First, it is interesting to note that such a pleasant experience is so unexpected, so unusual, so uncharacteristic that it warranted extended praise for the positive experience. We are all for giving credit where credit is due and certainly don’t suggest that praising a positive experience should be discouraged in any way. But we think it is indicative of a consistently inconsistent service experience in so many other areas of our society that we should be so surprised when it happens.

To be sure, those that effectively and consistently deliver quality service to their customers got to be that way because they have learned the things (some even subconscious things) that result in loyalty and overwhelming satisfaction. They have also learned that these qualities will result in a more successful and fulfilling business for themselves, as well.

This got us thinking about other acts and efforts that demand much time in planning, practice and execution.

A pianist is not a pianist because she owns a piano. She doesn’t become a pianist because she knows that the ebony and ivory keys make a noise when she hits them. She doesn’t win praise for her skills because she spends a few hours a day in the living room watching the piano. Such a skill is mastered by focused dedication that is unsatisfied with a stumbling finger or a misguided attack to a piano key. A pianist is born out of training, proper practice, experienced guidance and a willingness to listen to, accept and respond to criticism.

The same can be said of actors, singers, engineers, accountants, lawyers, ship pilots, artists and designers. These skills are not acquired simply by showing up at the place of business or because it is something one really wants to do. It can take years of training, innumerable mistakes, a few triumphs and a hearty helping of humility.

We have watched people who think they are designers because they own a computer and graphic design software – but the work they produce is one dimensional, lacks cohesiveness and fails to deliver the message. The skill – indeed, the art – of design is honed over time, not unpacked from a shopping bag. The proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and for many people their pudding just ain’t too tasty.

For some reason we have come to believe in the Bahamas that someone can excel in the tourism sector of our economy because they simply show up at work. Sure, there are training programmes and apprenticeship opportunities that some engage in and many of those people end up being the exceptional students and successful, career-minded professionals. But others choose a tourism-related job because “it’s there”, almost by default. “Well, I can’t do much else…maybe I should check the hotel and see if they need anybody…?” And so they appear dutifully (well, not always so dutifully) each day thinking that their job skills will improve by absorption or osmosis – if I hang out here long enough something good will happen.

It is these people that offend visitors and build up a negative impression and experience of our beloved country. And it is not often their intention to do so. They are simply unskilled at their job and, like a well-intentioned but bumbling pianist, the symptoms of such a condition are experienced as a lack of clear communication, poor interaction and an oblivion to the important details that create a positive experience.

To be successful in tourism takes a passion to develop the skills necessary for the job. It can take years of training in your field, it can take many long hours of listening and learning from others more experienced than yourself, and it can take an immeasurable amount of humility to admit mistakes, learn from them and move on.

Be assured: quality service in any area of our economy will not happen by accident. It requires effort, perseverance and an uncompromising, unwavering and uncommon commitment to excellence.

~ejr~

While all of the above would be an improvement, we believe there is one vital missing link that is specifically prohibitive to the current and future health of the tourism segment of the Grand Bahama economy, and, by extension, every sector of the Grand Bahama economy. The missing link: a full-service international airport terminal.

What? But there already is an “international” airport terminal in Freeport…isn’t there? Yes, and no. Currently there are two airport terminals in Freeport: one is called the “Domestic and Non-U.S. Departure Terminal”; the other is called the “International Terminal”. The former handles incoming and outgoing flights to other islands in the Bahamas (domestic flights), and is also intended to handle outgoing international flights that are not destined for the United States. The latter, while given the general label of “international”, only processes U.S. and international arrivals, and only U.S. departures.

In reality, the “Domestic and Non-U.S. Departure Terminal” is inadequately equipped to process anything but domestic flights on a consistent basis. While it has a personal and carry-on bag security checkpoint, the departure lounge lacks bathrooms, concessions and sufficient seating to accommodate any more than it currently handles with domestic-only flights. These deficiencies would be unacceptable to any international airline that would consider servicing Grand Bahama on regularly scheduled flights.
In addition, the tarmac area (where aircraft are parked for passenger embarking/disembarking) has inadequate space for more than three or four planes at one time. Currently, international departing passengers must go through the “Domestic and Non-U.S. Departure Terminal” and be bused west to the tarmac behind the U.S. terminal where international aircraft can be accommodated.

Overall, this entire facility — which was intended as only a temporary location following the extensive damage to the former airport terminal during the hurricanes of 2004 — lacks the throughput capacity and basic necessities that would be required for even the most meager number of regularly scheduled, non-U.S. international flights.

This results in the situation Grand Bahama now has: no single airport terminal that can accept and process international flights to and from non-U.S. origins. And that fact results in the elimination of potential tourism feeder markets of millions of people.

Not only does Grand Bahama lose direct flights from Canada and Europe to more accessible destinations such as Nassau and our neighbouring countries, but also the extended value of Freeport’s port and harbour is lost because of our inability to provide homeporting service to cruise ships. (Homeporting is when a cruise ship commences and terminates its excursions in a particular city’s port, and therefore their passengers — potentially hundreds of thousands each year — must transition through the airports of that city.) Homeporting is big business for ports like Miami, Los Angeles, Barbados and New York. Freeport possesses many of the key assets it needs to exploit homeporting — but lacks the necessary international airport terminal to do so.

Jon Markoulis, president of Hutchison (Lucaya) Ltd, owners of Our Lucaya resort, stated this week (The Tribune, Business section, April 28, 2009) that the greatest hindrance to Grand Bahama’s tourism success is that the island’s airlift scope was not broad enough in terms of the cities it reached. We agree. Rather than only having more than a dozen daily flights between Florida and Grand Bahama, we must attract and service the massive markets that lie beyond the United States of America.

Canada, with more than 33 million people, harsh winters and a dollar that is currently trading stronger than the United States dollar, is a prime tourism market for the Bahamas. Canadians can enjoy great value for their money and will gladly soak up the warmth of our climate. Canadians traditionally are loyal tourists to the Bahamas and are prime customers for second home ownership; but they have to be able to get here easily, inexpensively and quickly.

Europe, and more specifically the United Kingdom, holds potentially greater returns for the Bahamas. More than 60 million people live in the U.K., and their currency is among the strongest in the world, presently almost double ($1.97) the value of the U.S. dollar (and the Euro is trading at $1.54 to the U.S. dollar).

The United Kingdom is the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of US$2.15 trillion and an annual growth of 2.9% (2007 estimate). Canada’s annual GDP totals US$1.24 trillion with an annual growth rate nearly equal to that of the U.K., at 2.7% (2007 estimate). With the vibrancy of the economies of Canada and the U.K., and the current slump (and some say it is headed for a true recession) of the United States’ economy, we must ask ourselves: why are we not better servicing the markets of Canada and the United Kingdom?

We would not suggest that the United States market should be ignored or that we should diminish our service to that market. But currently Grand Bahama is essentially snubbing the true realisation of the value of the Canadian, British and European visitor.

BahamaIslandsInfo.com spoke with a British couple that has been visiting Grand Bahama for more than 20 years. They spoke of how difficult and expensive it is today to travel from London’s Heathrow airport to Freeport, and they have seen the diminishing number of visitors from the U.K., especially in the last six years. They said that many of their own friends have instead chosen Nassau, Barbados, Jamaica and Bermuda for their more exotic travel destinations and that Grand Bahama, once a preferable choice, is not even considered.

We spoke with one Canadian legal firm that specifically chose Nassau instead of Freeport as their annual company trip destination this year, primarily because no direct flight from Toronto was available. The company’s owner will not likely “ever” come to Freeport because he sees it as a “huge stumbling block to have to change planes in the U.S. or Nassau and add many more hours to travel time”. In all, 17 people traveled and more than $20,000 was spent over less than four days.

Aside from anecdotal evidence, statistics further show the very real losses. Canadian and European visitors to Grand Bahama have declined dramatically in recent years, down from over 22,000 in 2001 to only 13,746 in 2006, a 37% decrease. We suspect that a significant contributor to these losses is the current absence of an adequate international terminal facility.

When Freeport’s former airport terminal was demolished, the new “international terminal” that was constructed was designed to expand to the east (on the same site as the former terminal). We understand that the expanded section would include all the necessary facilities and amenities needed to fully service inbound and outbound international flights. These plans were apparently shelved last year by the airport partners, the Grand Bahama Development Company and Hutchison Port Holdings, and the temporary hangar that had been functioning as the domestic and non-U.S. departure terminal was given a facelift and became a permanent facility. The site east of the U.S. terminal remains empty and undeveloped.

BahamaIslandsInfo.com contacted Mr Raymond Jones, chief operating officer of Freeport Container Port, Freeport Harbour Company and Grand Bahama Airport Company, via e-mail with questions about accommodating non-U.S. international flights at Grand Bahama International Airport. We asked why such a facility did not exist, if there were any plans to do so and why such flights could not utilise the existing terminal. As of this writing, Mr Jones had not responded to our inquiry.

We also contacted Mr Terrance Roberts, director of business development in Grand Bahama for the Ministry of Tourism, regarding the potential tourism value of the Canadian and European markets and if any specific efforts were underway to reach these markets through advertising for Grand Bahama. Mr Roberts advised us that, while he could not comment on matters under negotiation, as part of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts talks are underway with Canadian tour operators and two European carriers.

Certainly, there is no panacea for the economy of Grand Bahama. Providing a full service international airport terminal will not directly solve issues of employment, investment, or regulatory confinements, nor will it resolve the ownership questions surrounding the Grand Bahama Port Authority. But it could, quite possibly, be the impetus for reversing the negative trends and eventually the revitalisation of Grand Bahama.

~ejr~

We were admonished by one of our subscribers, who wrote to us saying, “It strikes me as very anti-tourism, that you promote a quadruple murder on the Grand Bahama Info newsletter.” The writer of the e-mail seems to be of the opinion that these types of things shouldn’t be talked about, especially if a lot of people will find out about it. We disagree, for several reasons.

First, Grand Bahama Info Newsletter did not “promote” the murders that occurred that weekend. We did present the fact of the murders in our editorial comments because that fact was not only relevant to the topic being discussed, but it is supremely relevant to every citizen, every resident, and every “friend” of the Bahamas.

Secondly, taking a position that discourages discussion, analysis, or even specifically raising awareness, is counterproductive and a sin of omission our society cannot afford. This is tantamount to refusing to visit the doctor when we know that that lump keeps growing larger and has even started to cause us pain. Not being told it is actually cancer does not change the reality that it is cancer and that it can kill us.

Thirdly, an act of being “anti-tourism” is the act of ignoring reality. If the Bahamas–our people and our government–does not find and implement real, practical and effective solutions to the violent crime in our country, we will have committed the ultimate act of “anti-tourism”; we will have assassinated the most critical industry in our country due to our own lack of action. Our intentional and deliberate ignorance today will seal our destruction in the near future.

The Bahamas is not alone in our crime concerns. Our regional neighbours such as Guyana and Jamaica are dealing with incidents where tourists have been murdered–a spectre that we can hardly imagine having to face. The Caribbean region is struggling with a murder rate that is 15 times higher than the West/Central European average. (Read THIS article for more information about the current crime issues in the Caribbean, including comparative statistics.) Should we all stay hush-hush about this and hope no one notices?

We say these things in the context of recent concerns expressed by our Minister of Tourism and editors of local newspapers over the recent blog article that told of free cocaine samples being offered on Nassau’s Bay Street. Such a statement has caused great concern over what potential impact such exposure could have on tourist arrivals. But our Minister’s reaction was dead-on target; he didn’t pretend it didn’t happen (although he hoped it didn’t), but rather explained the police presence, actions that have and will be taken, and reminded us all of our own responsibility in such matters.

“I want to take this opportunity to encourage citizens of The Bahamas to be the citizens that we would wish them to be because The Bahamas belongs to all of us and it takes more than the Ministry of Tourism to make it a success,” Minster Grant said. “As our motto clearly states, ‘Tourism is everybody’s business.”‘

We couldn’t agree more.

~ejr~

================
Additional note:

We received an e-mail from another subscriber this week, just a few hours before the above-referenced one arrived. We found this reader’s perspective ironically positive (even for tourists!), and thought it worth sharing:

Dear Sir/Madam:

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know how much I enjoy reading your newsletters. They are highly informative and they should be on printed paper and displayed in our hotel guest rooms and perhaps, too, sold similar to the Freeport News.

Keep up the good work…its a great thing!

- Ceva Seymour

Ignorance is bliss.

But when truth sideswipes us like a baseball bat, when truth shoves us out of bed onto the tiled floor, when truth drops on our head like a bucket of ice, it’s hard to ignore.

This week, the residents and business owners of Grand Bahama got a sizeable share of truth dumped upon them. Tourists say we’re rude. Cruise ships think we’re boring. Visitors say we’re expensive. The Minister of Tourism says things must change.

Taxi drivers need to see past the hood of their cars. Entertainers need to be more professional. Shopkeepers need to clean house — fire people that don’t know how to serve and hire people that do. Investors need to do more than just show up–they need to step up; develop more innovative amenities, leisure activities and attractions, set a new standard for entertainment. Make being in Grand Bahama something that people want to do. And want to do again. And want to tell their friends to do it.

The fact is, Grand Bahama possesses more potential than any other island in the Bahamas. This fact is indisputable. The infrastructure is unparalleled. Access is extensive. Land mass is sufficient for significant additional expansion. Residential capacity can be quadrupled before straining the island’s resources.

But potential is not reality. And that potential will never be realised until Grand Bahama accepts the truth and is willing to make the hard choices to change.

~ejr~