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Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5 and CTV 3
Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials


The San Pedro Sun

Kent Gabourel places 2nd at the National Beach Cruise Cycling Classic
On Sunday, September 21st, Kent "Bob" Gabourel, Michael Rowland, Randy Staine, Charles Garay, Arden Garay and Mark Flowers traveled to Punta Gorda Town to participate in the National Beach Cruise Cycling Classic. At the end of the race, star athlete Kent "Bob" Gabourel managed to take second place. The race comprised of 15 laps around the town, starting from Punta Gorda Central Park. By the end of the race, cyclists rode a distance of 38 miles. In first place was Adan Joel Borland from Belmopan City. Inches behind was Gabourel, who took second place. Island cyclist Mark Flowers placed fourth, Ardren Garay placed sixth while Charles Garay placed seventh. Michael Rowland and Randy Staine were unable to finish the race due to physical impediments. The cyclists would like to thank the San Pedro Town Council, Honorable Manuel Heredia Jr., Gaby's Construction, Councilor Gabriel Nu�ez and Elito Arceo for their continued support.

Work on Police Houses set to begin
After 187 days, Deputy Mayor Gabriel "Gaby" Nu�ez has confirmed that work will commence for the transfer and repair of the remaining two police houses on Monday, September 29th. The houses, which currently sit on a lot in the San Pablo area, were originally donated to the Belize Coast Guard by the San Pedro Business Association (SPBA). After the Coast Guard moved to their new base, the houses were given to the San Pedro Police Department to be used as housing for their officers. According to Nu�ez, a foundation will be laid before the houses are moved. "The two wooden houses are not in perfect condition and need several repairs. What we are going to do is that we are going to lay a cement foundation to put the houses on. We are then going to break the houses apart and transport them in sections. Then we are going to rebuild them on the spot," said Nu�ez. On Wednesday August 13th the Ministry of National Security announced that $50,000 was given for the repairs of the two buildings.

Opposition Leader calls for better protection of Belize Territory: PM Barrow announces new programs on Independence Day
Official ceremonies to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of Belize's Independence took place on September 21st in Belmopan City. The event saw the attendance of regional diplomats, the Governor General of Belize, His Excellency Sir Colville Young Sr., Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca and members of the Diplomatic Corp amongst other invitees. The highlight of the event was the traditional main addresses delivered by the Opposition Leader, followed by a response from Prime Minister. During the formalities, the Head of State representative, the Governor General of Belize, inspected the Guard of Honor of the Belize Defense Force. First to speak was the Leader of the Opposition People's United Party Francis Fonseca, who stated that as Belize celebrates its independence, turmoil is brewing in other parts of the globe. He took the opportunity to highlight the emerging threats by the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) and Syria, the continuing crisis in Northwestern Europe and the latest seven-week war between Israel and Hamas.

PlusTV

Conorquie's murderers, Belizean or Guatemalan?
No arrest has been made, no one has been detained, and no official word has been made as to whether Special Constable Danny Conorquie was killed by Belizeans or Guatemalans. The outcry over the shooting death of SC Conorquie, attached to the Tourism police unit, has been widespread, especially since the shooters are believed to be Guatemalans. Danny Conorquie was shot in the Caracol Area, as he was posted at Caracol Mayan site in the Cayo District. Another Police Constable in the area reported that at 11:56 a.m. he heard what appeared to be gunshots, and upon investigation he saw about five men standing around SC Conorquie, who then fired several shots at him, but he escaped. The Hispanic men then fled the scene.

The Reporter

All Saints holds furniture drive
All Saints Primary School held a fund raising event on Saturday, the proceeds of which, are meant to provide furniture for the school's new According to Rae Young, Lower Division vice principal at All Saints Primary, the school set up points in front of Brodie's on Albert Street and on the Phillip Goldson Highway, collecting donations to buy desks and chairs for the new classrooms. Young said there was also a dinner and pastry sale at the school as part of the day of fund raising. Anyone interested in assisting the school can call 223-1390. Young said the school up to this point has not received the kind of support they had hoped for but said they were confident that they would meet their goal.

Man shot early Saturday
Joseph DeBride. 31, was shot three times around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday as he walked along Currasao Street near the corner with Gibnut Street toward the direction of his home. According to Sheryl DeBride, the sister of the victim daid that her brother was shot once to the neck and twice to the body by an unknohkwn assailant who then took off. DeBride says that her brother was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for treatment and has since been listed in stable condition. The family said they had no further details about the incident.

Vatican replaces bishop accused of protecting priest involved in sexual crime
Monsignor Rogelio Livieres Plano", has been replaced as bishop of Ciudad del Este. Pope Francis got rid of the Paraguayan bishop who has been accused of protecting a priest suspected of sexually abusing young parishioners. This is the second time in a week that Pope Francis has taken disciplinary action over clerical sex abuse scandals in Latin America. Prior to this the Pope ordered the arrest of a senior Vatican diplomat, Jozef Wesolowski, accused of the sexual abuse of children during a posting to the Dominican Republic.

Belize City to become more child-friendly
Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley and Minister of Local Government, Godwin Hulse signed a document on Friday as part of a United Nations Children'sFund (UNICEF) program called the Sustainable and Child Friendly Municipality Initiative geared toward addressing issues affecting children in different municipalities across the globe. The official signing was held at the Belize Elementary auditorium and students from various high-schools along with UNICEF representatives were all in attendance for the signing. The ceremony was one of nine as each municipality in the country held simultaneous ceremonies. "We are talking about involving young people in decision making specifically ensuring that young people are represented on various municipal committees," Bradley said about the initiative.

Patrick JonesPJ

Obiturary: Danny Conorquie
The Conorquie family, the Belize Tourism Board and the Tourism Police Unit regret to announce the passing of Special Constable Danny Daniel Conorquie, age 20 of Georgeville village. Danny is predeceased by his grandmother Yvonne Conorquie, grandfather Eric Williams, Sr and father Sherman Williams, Sr. He leaves to mourn his passing his mother Jean Conorquie; Sisters: Whitney Tasher, Brithney Conorquie, Sherese, Vivian, Kayleen and Keandra Williams. Brothers Shane, Sherman Junior, Nigel and Andre Williams.

Lower prices and higher exports highlight August economic statistics
The monthly report of the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) was released earlier this week. Inflation countrywide is down from 1.3% in July to 0.9% in August, helped along by reduced food prices in all categories except for Fish and Seafood. There were higher home rental rates, international airfares, and insurance premiums. Home rental prices rose 2 percent from twelve months ago; international airfares are up 3 percent in comparison to last August. Health and motor vehicle insurance rates were up 3 and 6 percent, respectively. San Ignacio/Santa Elena continues to record the highest inflation rate of the seven municipalities at 1.7 percent, while the lowest was recorded in Corozal Town at only 0.4 percent. Turning to imports and exports, domestic export earnings for August 2014 were valued at $74.4 million, rising by more than $20 million or 38.8 percent in comparison to the same month last year.

Belize: Home Mortgage Crisis Costing Billions
Belize: Home Mortgage Crisis Costing Billions

Blogs

My Week in Belize on Instagram
I've quickly become a giant fan of Instagram. And though it is probably SO 2009, I like that you can jazz up phone snapshot with different filters, look at almost anyone's photos (just search on #Belize or #Peas or whatever your interest is) and you don't have to fool around much with words. Images�all images. Apparently they were doing quite well without me�since Facebook bought them for $1billion bucks in 2012. But that's okay. Here are probably too many from my week. The big September celebration and San Pedro parade last weekend were follow by our only sunny day of the week. The pool where I live at Royal Palm Villas.

Minister Godwin Hulse denies personal interference
On the surface they may not have anything in common: a former relative caught with local sugar suspected of going "through the back" to Guatemala, and a foreign couple whose vessel damaged the Belize Barrier Reef and who allegedly skipped out on payment to the Government. But one man's name runs through both stories: Senator Godwin Hulse, who was suspected of being contacted to intervene. These allegations are serious, but even more so for the Senator because of his famous devotion to personal integrity. And so he rallied to defend himself against the charges on Friday. Concerning the first incident, which involved a former son-in-law, Hulse confirmed that the man no longer has connections to him, and justice must take its course in that regard.

Skilled worker shortage being addressed
Minister of Labour Senator Godwin Hulse must contend with numerous requests for importation of labour for key projects. Recently there were reports that skilled Guatemalan workers were being imported for Santander Sugar, the firm in charge of the Green Tropics project in western Cayo. According to Senator Hulse, they got a pass because we did not have enough locals to fill the positions. But that will change with Government's efforts to re-open the Centers for Employment Training (CET) for persons with lesser academic qualifications who are interested in learning a trade.

EXPLORING BELMOPAN, THE TENTH SMALLEST CAPITAL CITY IN THE WORLD
Most travellers to Belize "skip" the capital. In fact most people don't even know what the capital of Belize is. The answer is - Belmopan. The city of Belmopan has been the capital of Belize since August 1970, although Belize itself only became an independent country in 1981. To confuse things just a bit, it was also known as British Honduras until 1973. When the decision was made to move the capital inland (in the wake of Hurricane Hattie's destruction of former capital Belize City), it was basically like building a new capital for the country. Belmopan was almost started from scratch, and it grew. Previous capitals had been Belize City and St. George's Caye, but the tranquil countryside town of Belmopan won the gig.

International Sourcesizz

Marine Corps to send 200 Marines to Central America during hurricane season
At the start of the next hurricane season, the Corps plans to dispatch about 200 Marines to Central America in the form of a new special purpose Marine air-ground task force. The Marines will engage in partnership training with key military allies in the region, and will be equipped to provide humanitarian relief in the event of a natural disaster. The Marine Corps plans to stand up the new unit for U.S. Southern Command in 2015, said Brig. Gen. David Coffman, commander of Marine Corps Forces South. Like most SOUTHCOM missions, the Marines will largely focus on building partnership in a part of the world laden with violence and uncertainty, which has left some of the most vulnerable members of the local populations - including children - fleeing for the U.S. border. "It's going to be overwhelmingly focused on engagement in Central America and the Caribbean, building partner capacity for our partners to take care of themselves - both in the narcotics trafficking fight and in a broader sense on how they use their military capability," Coffman said.

Central America to Strengthen Ties with Russia
During Central American independence celebrations in Moscow this week, Guatemala's ambassador highlighted the region's achievements. Central American nations looked to strengthen their ties with Russia during Central American independence celebrations held by Moscow. For the second consecutive year, Central American nations have formally attended diplomatic acts held by the Russian government. Central America Invites Russian Investment and Diplomacy During the commemorations, Guatemalan ambassador Estuardo Meneses Coronado spoke about regional integration, referring to the achievements of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and its relationship with Russia. SICA was founded in 1993 and is a political and economic organization of Central American States. Meneses reiterated the regional body's invitation to Russia to join as an extra-regional observer of the Central American institution. He also emphasized Central America's hopes to expand commercial opportunities and investment with Russia in areas such as education, health, science, technology, security, culture, tourism and the environment.

Videos

Video: Belize Adventure Tourism FIU Study Abroad Spring Break 14, 12min.

Video: Howlers near the Jaguar Temple, Lamanai Belize, 1min.

Video: Tarpon on the Fly, Pesca Mahahaul (Megalops atlanticus), 4min.
My first 5 days fly fishing for Tarpon... I am officially obsessed. All footage was filmed on-site in Pesca Mahahual using a GoPro3. Hopefully the first of many Dad! Thanks for a great trip!