The news will be a bit brief for the next week or so due to time constraints
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Specials and Events
Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, Rise and Shine Morning Show, and the Dickie Bradley Specials
The San Pedro Sun
Mexico & Central America's Leading Destination
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is thrilled to announce that, for the second year in a row, Ambergris Caye has been named Mexico & Central America's Leading Destination at the 2016 World Travel Awards, which took place on July 1, 2016, in Lima, Peru.
The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel tourism and hospitality industry. Today, it is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. Nominees were selected by the World Travel Awards advisory committee, which consists of more than 2,700 media titles and influential tourism figureheads. The short-list was then published and the global industry, as well as travel consumers, were asked to vote for whom they deemed were the best in each category. Votes were limited to one per person, per category. The winner for each category was the one with the most votes.
Obituary: Javier Francisco Arceo
avier Francisco Arceo, Don Fashico but the name that fit you best of all our Tati.
Tati no hay sufficiente palabras para decirle cuanto lo quiero.
I am fortunate to be raised by a most admirable man who made sure to be that one constant in my life to nurture me, watch me grow and to cheer me on in whatever I did. My Tati Fash will forever hold a place in my heart.
The countless early morning fishing trip to the trampas that I was so fortunate to be allowed to go on. Being thrown into the middle of your fish trap by Tio Galento upon your command. Playing in your boat la Monica amazed at the fish all the way up to my knees. I can still hear Mama Vilma Scolding me to go bathe while I felt so proud to witness and be part of that special lifestyle and club you were part of.
Letter to the Editor: Can cisterns save the day?
Dear Editor,
On the TV Newscast from Channel 5 Belize, from June 27, on the San Pedro Town fire, with Fire Chief Ted Smith's comments are reminescent of the famous Donald Rumsfeld explanation of the Iraq War problems: "As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
Having a national fire department, like a national police department, can be both good and bad. On the one hand, the entire country is served. On the other, it is sometimes served poorly in certain regions.
Ambergris Caye has certainly outgrown its two battered engines and small cadre of professional firefighters. But as Chief Smith points out, in a country with limited resources - you can expect limited resources. How many more times can citizens be expected to save the day with the heroics of the bucket brigades?
Or even our own dedicated firemen - with such limited resources and manpower - what happens the next time a fire erupts behind the commercial canyon walls in our very dense downtown? What if they can't get access?
A friend wrote to me asking about firefighting infrastructure - you know, fire hydrants. We may never reach that level of sophistication but how about firefighting cisterns?
Ambergris Today
New Board of Trustees Appointed for Hol Chan Marine Reserve
A new Board of Trustees for the Hol Chan Marine Reserve was appointed by the Honorable Gaspar Vega, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment and Sustainable Development. In making the appointments, Minister Vega asked that the new Board focuses on continuing to build on the accomplishments of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve to make it a first class reserve by ensuring that rules of the reserves are adhered to along with continued monitoring of its marine flora and fauna.
Minister Vega has tasked the new Board to also focus on marine education for both local and international visitors by initiating with private and public sectors, plans for an improved visitor centre which will include an aquarium focused on the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, a World Heritage Site since 1996.
25 Years Ago - Is Coconut Water Still Free on Ambergris Caye?
In the good old days of San Pedro, everyone could drink coconut water without paying one cent. Let us look at the facts of these situations. It used to be the practice that we could pull coconuts all along the coast of Ambergris Caye within the 66 feet of public public domain. Of course nobody walked about with a measuring tape, so we all were free to pull down coconuts to drink everywhere on the island. Furthermore most people had coconut trees in their yards therefore coconuts were readily available, all this without paying one cent. Today it costs anywhere between $10 to $15 for a gallon of coconut water.
Children in San Pedro learned to speak Spanish from their parents. There being no television on the island, children went up to entering the primary school with no knowledge of English. It was at this point that teachers introduced the new language and it was certainly difficult. At times teachers recurred to speaking in Spanish in order to be understood, but on a positive note, children also did not learn Creole, so they learned proper English.
Ambergris Caye is Mexico & Central America's Leading Destination
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is thrilled to announce that, for the second year in a row, Ambergris Caye has been named Mexico & Central America's Leading Destination at the 2016 World Travel Awards, which took place on July 1, 2016, in Lima, Peru.
The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel tourism and hospitality industry. Today, it is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. Nominees were selected by the World Travel Awards advisory committee, which consists of more than 2,700 media titles and influential tourism figureheads. The short-list was then published and the global industry, as well as travel consumers, were asked to vote for whom they deemed were the best in each category. Votes were limited to one per person, per category. The winner for each category was the one with the most votes.
Director of Tourism, Karen Bevans, commented "We are very excited about this win. It's the second year in a row that we are able to bring home this top award, despite being up against other formidable contenders from much bigger destinations. This win is a testament to all the hard work of those who are either directly or indirectly involved in tourism. We all have a role to play because our visitors' experience is determined by every interaction they have when they are here. This is a win for Belize and the BTB congratulates all Belizeans for the success we have been accomplishing in the Tourism Industry."
Misc Belizean Sources
Caye Caulker Musical Summer Camp
We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who sponsored our little ones for this years Musical Summer Camp.
Your assistance means so much to us and we are truly blessed to have you as sponsors. From all of us a huge THANK YOU and many more blessings.
LA ALBORADA - JUNE 28, 2016
On Tuesday, June 28, 2016, San Pedro Town celebrated La Alborada which means, greeting the dawn in front of the Saint Peter statue at the San Pedro R.C. Church.
A day before the St. Peter's Day/Dia de San Pedro is celebrated, the House of Culture in collaboration with the San Pedro R.C. Church host La Alborada which consists of music, dances and some history of why we celebrate our patron saint, Saint Peter.
This year was no exception, as the patron was celebrated with melodious marimba music, vibrant dances by the San Pedro Dance Academy, a display of information on the day and pictures of the past, and a serenade by Elina Palma and San Pedro's very own mariachi, Javier.
The event also consisted of addresses given by the director of the San Pedro House of Culture, Mr. Guillermo Paz, Hon. Manuel Heredia, Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation, Father Scott of the San Pedro R.C. Church and a Guest Speaker who shared a bit of history of the celebration of Dia de San Pedro.
Happy U.S. Independence Day from the U.S. Embassy in Belize!!!!
Checkout some photos from our annual Fourth of July party.
Channel 7
Was Geovanni Gentle Roughly Killed For A Dangerous Dalliance?
31-year-old Geovanni Gentle was gunned down near the corner of Regent Street West and Thurton Lane on the wee hours of Saturday morning. He had just left a dance at the Loyal Endeavor Lodge where police believe he;d had some kind of encounter with a female. And as he was heading home on his bicycle he was ambushed and killed - police say he was killed because of jealousy. Our journalist Emanuel Pech has the details of that report.
31 year old Geovanni Gentle lay here on the concrete pavement on Regent Street West clutching his wounds after he was fatally shot.
ACP Chester Williams - O. C. Eastern Rural North:
"Sometime around 2am, on Saturday morning police were called to Regent Street West near its intersection with Thurton Lane, that is right where the lodge hall is, as information was received of shots being fired in that area."
Police wouldn't say just how many shots were fired, but reports are that as much as 14 expended shells were recovered from the scene.
Reports are that the gunman emerged here from Thurton Lane and released a barrage of bullets at Gentle.
17 Year Old Girl Stabbed 57 Times in Revenge Killing
Police say they are very close to wrapping up Jasmine Petillo's murder case. She's the 17 year old who was stabbed 57 times and then thrown in a ditch in Mahogany Heights. Police have confirmed that Petillo's murder is linked to the June 2015 slaying of Desmond Usher better known as "Mumuch". The reports are that it was Petillo who had lured Usher to his death by phone and a year later, Petillo was the victim of a revenge killing. Well, police have made major progress in this case by finding the house in which Petillo was killed as well as one of the suspect's bloodied suit of clothing. Today police gave us more details and also addressed the element of gang retaliation.
ACP Edward Broaster - OC, Eastern Division Rural:
"We have been doing significant investigation into that matter. We have identified the house in which we believe the young lady was killed. We have also managed to extract blood samples from the house which will be sent to the lab for DNA testing and that will give us the way forward in terms of charges and what have you in respect to that murder case. We have also found bloody clothing in another location which was discarded by another suspect and we are looking for an additional suspect where we will be doing DNA swab as well and sent to the lab for testing."
Dead End in Handyman Murder
And while police have significant leads in this recent Mahogany Heights murder, how about the murder case of 55 year old handy man Lyndon Murrillo? He was shot twice in early June while riding his bicycle home from work. Police say they are still looking for one suspect and can't release a motive at this time.
ACP Edward Broaster - OC, Eastern Division Rural:
"We have one suspect that we are looking at. Right now we are trying to gather evidence to lay charges on that suspect at this time."
Courtney Weatherburne:
"So he is detained?"
ACP Edward Broaster - OC, Eastern Division Rural:
"No he is not detained."
Courtney Weatherburne:
"In terms of any motives into the murder?"
ACP Edward Broaster - OC, Eastern Division Rural:
"I would not want to get into the motive of that at this time."
Teacher Got Distracted While Driving, Lost Life in Accident
A well known Spanish teacher from Belmopan Comprehensive High school, Dunia Escoto, died in an accident on Friday evening.
Escoto and 2 of her close friends - also teachers, Jodine Gill and Dennya Portillo were heading back to Belmopan from a Dangriga road trip. But Gill - who was driving - got distracted by one of her friends and lost control of the vehicle causing it to flip near mile 35. Gill got serious head injuries, Portillo suffered a broken leg while Escoto was fatally injured. This picture was taken on the road trip before the accident.
This is not the first "Compre" teacher who has died in an accident. Another was Science teacher Carlisle Grinage. He died in an accident in 2010 while returning from a staff retreat.
Family Fights For Justice Against GSU Mass Arrest
You may remember the Smith family. They're the Belize City residents who were hauled in as a big group by the Gang Suppression Unit and remanded to prison. That's after a gun was found in their house back in July of 2014. It was particularly distressing for them because they were in mourning and police hauled them in while they were holding a repass for their murdered loved-one, Myron Smith.
The entire ordeal started when the GSU were chasing 2 young men suspected of having a weapon, and one of them dashed into the Smith home on Giles Street, stashed the gun in one of the rooms and tried to hide from the police.
The cops found the gun and because of the old Firearms Amendment Act 2010 - which has since been changed due to the public outcry - the officers arrested all 7 persons who were at home - basically, the entire family.
One of the defendants, a 17 year-old minor, wanted to plead guilty, but the Senior Magistrate warned him that doing so would not free the others.
COLA Complains About NTUCB
For the past two weeks, the activist group COLA has been stepping out and stepping up its public presence - criticizing the Social Security investment in BTL and BEL, and blaming the government for mismanaging the costly BTL nationalization.
And while President Geovanni Brackett has gotten a lot of air time, not much has been accomplished. Today, Brackett held another press conference to tell the media that he's demanding an explanation from the NTUCB on why their representative on the board voted in favour of the 55 million dollar BTL and BEL investment:..
Geovannie Brackett - President - COLA:
"I think the NTUCB by extension needs to give a thorough explanation to this country. Why is it that they voted the way they vote and why is it that it was done so quickly and also we at COLA would want to know if that was presented to the Social Partners on the SSB Board, why weren't they given a leak at least to the media to say these are the reasons why. I think that the NTUCB before that sale is completed should either revisited their voting or give a thorough explanation to the public as to why and to explain to us was there that thorough consultation that the NTUCB normally takes."
Police Withdraw Rape Charge Against Tyrone Meighan Based On DNA
The 2015 Sarkis Bou-Nahra home Invasion case is still very much open. Although 19 persons have been charged with a number of offenses ranging from aggravated burglary to conspiracy to commit rape, police say that test results they have gotten back from a DNA lab in Miami have changed the course of the investigation in regards to the rape of Bou-Nahra's maid. The results say that it was Paul Jex Jr. who raped the maid not Tyrone Meighan. But there might be a second man involved in the sexual assault. Police gave us more details.
ACP Edward Broaster - OC, Eastern Division Rural:
"We want to update you all on the investigation of the aggravated burglary of the Bou-Nahra residence which occurred the 4th December, 2015. We had taken samples for DNA purposes which was sent to the DNA lab in Miami and we got back the results and the genetic profile that was sent linked Paul Jex to the rape of the female at the Bou-Nahra residence and he has since been charged for rape, aggravated burglary, theft, conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to commit rape.
Kieran's Killer Still A Mystery
Turning now to an update on a murder last week Thursday night. That when 2 young men- 20 year old Kieran Morrison and 18 year old Kent Brooks Jr- were gunned down in front of a yard on La Croix Boulevard. Morrison died shortly after, while Brooks still remains at the hospital in a critical condition. Police had initially detained two persons for that fatal shooting, but both have since been released. As it turns out police have been unsuccessful in gathering statements from witnesses - a recurring problem:
ACP Chester Williams - O.C. Eastern South Division:
"Yes we had two persons detained indeed and those persons has been released and like we always say the difficulty getting people to give statements. While we may know who are the perpetrators of those acts, we cannot go with what we know. We must go to court with empirical evidence and we do not have that. So based on that, they were released."
ACP Chester "Ketch Feelings" About Gayle Researchers
But ACP Williams wasn't only talking about crime today, he also had a passionate take on the current state of the media and social research.
To explain we have to go back to last week Wednesday when we told you about the news book called "Like Bush Fire." It's based on a comprehensive report made in 2010 that takes a look at male social participation and urban violence in Belize. The authors and publishers went on a media tour to promote their work. But in the process, ACP Williams took offence to some of the things that were said about the police department based on the report. Today he lashed out at the researchers calling them unprofessional and criticized this media house for having some sort of cynical interest in keeping the crime rate high.
ACP Chester Williams - OC. Eastern Division South:
"I take offense to the fact that my officers are out there every day working their butts off to ensure the safety of people on southside Belize City and to reduce crime, to quell situation between gang and to see someone just come from nowhere and try to say, oh the police are doing foolishness...
The Place Called El Pilar, Confidence Building Through Archaeology?
On Friday's news, we took you deep into the Annual Belize Archaeology and Anthropology Symposium. That's where the local and international academics converge every year for to discuss the work they've been doing along side NICH. And while the symposium had them sitting in a conference hall, their work is in the field, digging in the dirt for clues to the ancient past.
But, one archaeologist's work on an ancient site is very connected to the present. That's Dr. Anabel Ford, who discovered the El Pilar Site in the early 80's and has been working there for at least three decades. Located 7 miles west of Bullet Tree Falls village, this site sits in both Belizean and Guatemalan territory.
The work of Dr. Ford and her team is somewhat complicated by the politics surrounding Belize Guatemala cross-border relations. But for years, she's been able to navigate the often tricky cross border politics to restore and preserve this very important Maya site.
And, yesterday, she even got a number of Ambassadors, Government officials, an OAS Observer, and even a Supreme Court judge to go trekking through bad road, bad weather, and deep into the jungle just for a special ceremony.
Father of Deceased Man Calls On Cops
The Camalote community has been waiting for justice after Akeem Thimbrel and his cousin Shawn Lopez were gunned down in May. But residents are running out of patience because they say the police have not given them any substantial updates on the case and no one has been charged as yet. Today Akeem's father came to our studios pleading to the police for answers. He says if the police do not step up other angry residents might step in and that is the last thing he wants.
Ervin Thimbrel - Akeem's Father:
"One of the things that we struggle with is that I have to be the anchor for my entire family, not only my immediate family, but the extended family who are grieving right now. So, as a pastor it is not easy, it's very difficult but I have to find something to say to my wife and to my other children and to people who come to us. There are members of the community who come to us in tears and we have to find comforting words for them whilst we, ourselves are grieving."
Mystery Shooting In Lord's Bank
A 17 year old male was shot in Lord's Bank on Friday night and police have no idea who shot him and why. It's really a mystery shooting because Micheal Aldana was just driving along the Lord's Bank road when he heard a gunshot. It was only until he reached a friend's house that he realized he had been hit to the arm and knee. Police say they do not have much information in this case.
ACP Edward Broaster - OC, Eastern Division Rural:
"There was a shooting on the 1st July around 10:30, where one, Michael Aldana was seen at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to the left side of his arm and left knee. He is claiming that he was driving on Lord's Bank Road when he heard a single gunshot and felt a burning sensation and didn't realized that he was shot until he arrived at a friend residence. We are looking at this matter and investigating it."
ACP Williams Says Crime Down
And before he got all bent out of shape about the media and crime, Assistant Commissioner Williams discussed crime figures for the southside. From January 1st of this year to the end of June there were a total of 15 confirmed murders in South Side Belize City. That may sound alarming, but ACP Williams says when you compare this same period to the previous three years, the figures are down significantly.
ACP Chester Williams - O.C. Eastern South Division:
"I am pleased to say that January - June 2016, when compared to the same period 2015, 2014 and 2013, is the least deadly period for Southside Belize City. Despite the critics who are saying that our efforts has not been working and that it's a mere coincidence according to some experts out there. So we are happy to know that what we are doing is working and we know that no matter what we do we can't stop all crimes. Even American who have all the sophisticated equipment to fight crime, they have mass shooting and several killings, so we are a small nation. We are still developing."