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The San Pedro Sun
Micky's Place Says Goodbye
After 26 years of service in San Pedro Town, the iconic Micky's Place Restaurant said its final good-bye, officially closing its doors on December 31, 2013. Micky's was well known for dishing out local food that was anything but ordinary. "I wanted to serve local food to both the San Pedro community and tourists. I always cooked in a manner that makes my food feel like a comforting home cooked meal," said Michaela.
Of course no restaurant is complete without dedicated staff, and Micky'scertainly had one! Helping Michaela prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner were two dedicated and hardworking women: Clara Castellanos who worked at Micky's for 10, years and Maria Mu�oz who has been there for 12 years. "I don't think Micky's would have been able to achieve so many years of success without the help of my workers. They have been here in good and bad times. They have become like family to me," said Michaela.
7th Annual Boom to Manatee Lookout Canoe Race - Post Race Report
The 2014 paddling season kicked off with the 7th Annual Boom to Manatee Lookout Race, sponsored by Bear Mountain Boats, Architectural Accents, Belize Global Travel Services, and Joseph and Taylor. The race was held on Saturday, 11th January, 2014. The race got start at little after 10am. The river was high so teams time to complete the course was one of the fastest ever with the first place team NICH, Oscar Cordon, Efrian and Felix Cruz, completing the race in 1:14. Second place in the male category went to team BTL Cobb's Arm, Roy Cano, Erick Cano, and Andres Cabb. The Belize Bank Bulldogs Armin Lopez, Amado and Daniel Cruz, finished third. D & A Construction slipped into the fourth spot with Leon and Ray Gillett and Jeremy Sanchez paddling for their team. Hener and Ervin Cruz along with Jerry Cante brought their Westrac team into fifth place finishing just ahead of the Joseph and Taylor team made up of Francis Codd, Jerry Rhaburn and Chris Guydis, in the seventh position overall. Rounding up the male category was Watt A Ting from Sea Sports Belize made up of John Searle, Robert Bailey and Tyreek Thompson.
BSU establishes student-exchange program with UB
On Saturday January 11th, Dana Mohler -Faria, President of Bridgewater State University (BSU) in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, USA, along with Dr. Lisa Battaligno, John Marvella, and Mary Comeou were on Ambergris Caye as part of their visit to Belize. The university representatives travelled to the country to sign an agreement which would establish a student exchange program between BSU, The University of Belize (UB) and the Ministry of Education (MOE). Students are chosen for the exchange program based on an established criterion through UB and MOE. Once selected, the students receive a semester scholarship to BSU inclusive of boarding. Such a program allows academic credits to be interchangeable between the two establishments. Upon completion of the exchange, credits are then transferred back to the University of Belize. Students and teachers also have the opportunity to further their professional studies at BSU through any of the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs being offered at the university through the exchange program.
Introducing '12', San Pedro's new Lifestyle Brand
Living on an island as unique as Ambergris Caye usually leads us to search for similarly unique items that fill a variety of niches. Whether it is a gift, party favor, or home d�cor item, our search can be endless.
Well the search is over, thanks to '12'. A subsidiary of Lemon Crush Belize and Romantic Travel Belize, '12' is introducing the Belizean "lifestyle brand".
But what are lifestyle products? Think of items that not only look pretty but represent the culture, heritage and the overall identity of a region or person. Lara Goldman, creator of Lemon Crush Belize and Romantic Travels Belize, has tapped into her deepest creative passions providing the island with local Belizean luxury artisanry. '12' offers gift sets, home items and party favors for all your special occasions, and you can bet they are unique!
Misc Belizean Sources
To The Point
New show coming soon!!. --Politics--Social Issues--Discussions--Debates--Much More!!! Keep tuning Reef tv on Channel 20 for the best programming in La Isla Bonita.
Kelly McGuire "Singing for SAGA" Feb 11 at Fidos
Live in Concert at Fido's Restaurant & Bar
Auction with one of the World's Best Auctioneer
Donation by Fido's for Draft beer & wings orders
Raffle prizes
Support Operation SNIP , which will reach cats and dogs that will probably never see a vet in their lives. The goal is a healthy population of cats and dogs who cannot reproduce.
San Pedro Town power outage Jan. 16th
Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers in San Pedro Town that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 16, 2014.
Areas to be affected: entire San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye.
BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this scheduled power interruption is necessary for the Company to conduct urgent repairs to the San Pedro Substation transformer.
For customer inquiries and information on power outages call us toll free at: 0-800-BEL-CARE OR 0-800-235-2273. To view scheduled outages via our website visit: www.bel.com.bz.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH CONFIRMS THAT H1N1 HAS BEEN CONFIRMED IN BELIZE
Of the five cases sent for testing at CARPHA in Trinidad, three were confirmed positive. Two females were treated and released from the Western Regional Hospital. The third was a 29 yr old female, Belize City resident who died earlier this month. DIFFERENCES between Cold, Seasonal Flu, and H1N1 Symptoms:
Western Ballaz are Cayo's Elite
The Western Ballaz, Cayo's Elite Team. They have their coach, Karim Juan, their colors, red and gold, their logo, a soaring eagle, their schedule, and they are practicing non-stop until the middle of February, when they'll start their streak towards the gold. They'll be playing at Sacred Heart College's new auditorium, and their first home game is February 21st, at 9:00pm.
"The Western Ballaz will be Cayo's team in the new elite basketball league. They'll be practicing often for the games, which start in the middle of February."
National Hero George Price
"On 15 January, 1919, George Cadle Price, considered the Father of the Nation, was born. How many can still remember seeing him in and around Belize and feeling proud of his contributions to our country!? Here is an informational panel with some facts about one of our National Heroes' contributions to Belize."
Belize, Guatemala and the OAS: The poppy show enters stanza 2... and we're ready!
Belizeans and true friends of Belize, from the latest account, it appears as though the principles involved in the ill-fated scheme to get Belizeans to place our sovereignty at the mercy of the jurisprudence of the so-called, "learned Justices" at the ICJ, are back at it again. As our fellow Caribbean brethren might dub the matter, "dem wheel an cum again".
This comes as no surprise because the principles behind this debauchery still believe their mystical hold over the psyche of Belizean citizens, especially when it involves political matters, will carry over into this critical issue. Well, I have some words of wisdom for them� YOU ARE DEAD WRONG!
Disability Cooperatives!
We dare to dream of opportunities
Despite our country lacking visionaries
Why are we importing toys from foreign countries?
With enough talent here to channel those energies
Perhaps we could set up cooperatives
For persons like me living with disabilities
If public sector and private sector could pool together their resources
Then we could offer products and services
With adequate training in agro- business (processing)
We do not want to become menaces
We want opportunities in business
We can produce jams, jellies and juices
Those into trade can do well with help from BELTRADE
We can help build wheel chairs for Help Age
The young ladies, could get into sewing, embroideries, curtains and gift baskets, earrings, trinkets and bracelets
All they would need is capital and an outlet
They can have stores and take orders
Wing Stop Grand Opening
Cayo is getting a Wing Stop on Burns avenue, and they are having their grand opening this Friday. Mistah Geeh, Cloud 9, DJ Richie, and DJ Karizma will all be there for your musical pleasure.
"The wingstop comes to Cayo!!!! Grand opening this friday night!!! New location downtown Burns avenue"
Basic Macaroni and Cheese: Easy and Simple
In this video I show you 2 recipes for Mac and Cheese. The basic and the Cheesier version. You will love how simple it it to make and will love even more how tasty and satisfying they both are.
Multiple vehicles crash in Corozal; one dead
A multiple vehicles crash on the Phillip Goldson Highway tonight has claimed the life of one man and left several others injured. The accident is reported to have happened around 8:30 pm near Chan Chen village, Corozal.
Information received says that it involved a trailer-truck, a passenger van and a pickup truck. Sources say the one fatality is a man from Concepcion village.
The name of the man is being withheld at this time, pending proper notification of his family.
At least 3 other persons were transported to the community Hospital in Corozal for treatment.
Channel 7
First H1N1 Casualty Is A 29 Year Old Mother
Last week Monday, Shahera Bodden, a 29 year old mother, died at the KHMH - at the time her cause of death was listed as pneumonia. But yesterday she was confirmed as Belize's first h1n1 fatality. It's a tragedy unto itself, the loss of such a young life�but it's also a worrying medical event, because Shahera was young and robust, but now she is a victim of what seems to be a particularly strong strain of h1n1. Her death raises all kinds of public and personal health questions - and today at a press conference we asked ministry of health officials what you need to know about her shocking death, and your health concerns:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Dr. Marvin Manzanero - Director Epidemiology Unit
"Of the 5 cases reported only one came back positive for h1n1, which is the patient that died last week Monday. The other 2 cases are from western region, hj1n1 positive, but these are ambulatory patients that recovered and they have no further complications."
The patient that died is Shahera Bodden - a 29 year old mother of a 12 year old. She is the first h1n1 casualty in Belize and what worries authorities is that she had no other illnesses:
Tanzanian Woman Tried To Get Passport by Identity Theft
Tonight, 55 year-old Teena Isaac, a citizen of the East African country of Tanzania, is at the Belize Central Prison after she stole the identity of a Belizean woman and used it to try to apply for a Belizean passport.
The passport document would have been the last document she needed to get to fully assume the identity of Carmen Cantun. She already had a birth certificate from the Vital Statistics Unit, complete with all the information belonging to Carmen Cantun. It says that she was born in San Narciso Village in the Corozal District in July of 1966 and that she is supposedly the daughter of Cebastiana Cantun, who resides in San Narciso Village. This birth certificate indicates that it was issued on December 30, 2013.
She also has a social security card which looks authentic, with her picture in the location instead of the real Carmen Cantun. The work of the forgery is impressive; you wouldn't be able to tell that it's fake document if a public official didn't tell you that it was. The social security card was issued 2 Fridays ago on January 3, 2014, and it expires on January 2, 2024.
Going to The Great Man's Grave
Today was National Hero George Price's birthday. He would have celebrated his 95th birthday, and in memory of his great accomplishments, the PUP held a short wreath laying ceremony at his grave in the Lord Ridge Cemetery.
7News was there this morning, and the Leader of the Opposition said it's about reminding the younger generation of Price's lifetime achievements, and the service he gave to Belize:
Hon. Francis Fonseca - Leader of the Opposition
"We all have paid tribute to Mr. Price's work, his service to our country, and I think all Belizeans recognize that it is critically important. It think especially at a time when we see all the challenges facing Belize. We very often hear people say, 'Well, what would Mr. Price be doing differently?' So, I think that it is very important for us all across the country, as leaders, but also as citizens of the country, to remember the great work and service of George Price, his life, his legacy, and what it meant for Belize. Our young people in particular, many of them, of course, are growing up without knowing enough about Mr. Price's work. Many of them were born after Mr. Price left office, after Independence. They don't fully appreciate the struggle and the fight that he led to give us our Belizean identity. So, I think it's critically important, and as I've said, we in the People's United Party obviously, we are the children of George Price, and we feel a special responsibility, a special obligation."
PUP Back to Its Roots?
Keeping with the significance of George Price and his contribution to the party, today the PUP hosted the launch of it's first party policy paper - part of a series it wants to do to engage voters. This first one is all about the ideal that Price abided to while in service to the country: social justice.
This principle was the pillar of the party's roots, and the new generations of PUP's have been widely criticized for abandoning one of the cornerstone of the party's credo, which, lest we forget, is to "serve the People."
So today, 7News attended, and we tried to find out if the new PUP is really serious about going back to the beginning. Daniel Ortiz reports:
Daniel Ortiz Reporting
The symbolism was in full effect at Independence Hall, this morning, at the cradle of the People's United Party, on George Price's birthday, the party would make a gesture to go back to its roots, and promise the return to the policies which made it the winningest party in Belize's political history.
What Were Shahera's Symptoms?
As we told you at the top of the news, 29 year old mother Shaheera Bodden is the first victim of h1n1 in Belize. She died on January sixth, 2014 at the KHMH intensive care unit. At the time, her family thought she died of pneumonia, but now they know it's h1n1. So what symptoms did she present? And is there a public health lesson in it? That's what Monica Bodden asked her grandmother today - she wished to appear off camera, but she told us what she observed about Shahera's illness:..
Voice of: Shahera's Grandmother
"Well, she came home and she was feeling well. That night, she got sick, and got a high fever. We gave her all kinds of medicine, and the fever refused to break; she wasn't feeling better."
Monica Bodden
"So, you guys were treating it as a flu, like a normal flu right?"
Voice of: Shahera's Grandmother
"Yes, she wasn't feeling well. We took her to the hospital in the ambulance, and they held her the whole day. The next evening, they sent her home, and from there she got sick, and she didn't feel better. We did everything we could for her when she came back home."
Wisconsin Doctors Train Belize Medics In Accident and Emergency
A team of 6 Doctors, 4 nurses and 3 paramedics from the Medical College of Wisconsin in the United States is in Belize conducting training in Accident and Emergency treatment. But, it's not their first time here. The team has been coming for years, but after a decade of discussion, six months ago, a memorandum of understanding was signed to provide structured training in emergency medicine and response for Belize's A and E personnel. Head of the team, Dr. Mark Bruce who's been coming to Belize since the 90's explained:
Dr. Mark Bruce - Medical College of Wisconsin
"The focus of this is elevating the status of the speciality of emergency medicine, and we have identified many of the A & E physicians that are passionate about this also. They have been engaged for the last two weeks in training. This is the beginning of a 2-year modular curriculum, and the design of this is to have multiple teams from the Medical College of Wisconsin return to Belize and to do similar type of work. During the summer, it is expected that there will be representatives from out counterparts here; the doctors, nurses and paramedics will exchange, come up to our home base in the Milwaukee area, where the Medical College of Wisconsin is located, and work in our simulation laboratories, doing specific skill development, and also rotating through 3 of our A & E's in the Milwaukee area."
Guate No Mas on Tucanos
It made big news in April when news came out saying that Guatemala's military was acquiring six light attack planes known as Super Tucanos to patrol the Mayan Bisophere reserve in Peten, which is next door to Belize.
Well, if that caused you concern as a Belizean, you can rest easy tonight. That's because in November it was reported that Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina has cancelled the purchase.
Apparently, the Guatemalan military had a price dispute with the Brazilian manufacturer and has decided instead to repair other older plans that have fallen into disuse.
And that's where Guatemala's old ally, Israel steps in. In December, the President was scheduled to go to Israel for talks about projects including aircraft and weapons systems.
PUP Says Gun Law Was Bad From The Jump
In our last segment, we showed you the launch of the PUP's Social Justice Agenda, an idyllic vision where every citizen enjoys equal rights and protection under the laws. But, in the real world, 30 plus years of independence has taught us that's usually just a fantasy: justice is mostly reserved for those who have strings or who can afford a good attorney.
One law, which has recently come under scrutiny for uneven application, is the gun law where remand is automatic for all gun charges.
As we've showed you, grassroots activists have been up in arms about the case where Reynaldo Verde, a senior tax collector, escaped criminal charges. That's after the police officers determined that the unlicensed Glock 380 pistol, which was found in his house, had been planted there. Today, the media asked the Leader of the Opposition about the gun law in that context. He said that from the time the law was being proposed, the opposition foresaw situations like this:
Tourism Industry Celebrates
The BTB's annual Industry Presentation is an important event for this key industry. Part stocktaking, part self-congratulation, it's about looking ahead, while building on the past. Today the show went to Corozal, where there was a lot to celebrate, and even something to look forward to for that northern town, long neglected as a tourist destination:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Tony's Inn in Corozal was the venue for this year's industry presentation and mestizo dances set the tone for this northern-most town.
There was a lot to celebrate as this promotional video shows:
(Clip of the Video)
Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. - Minister of Tourism
"Our performance in touism over the past year has been well over the average global growth level. In fact, it has placed Belize at the forefront of our region. Our neighbors both to the north and south of us are paying close attention to what we are collectively doing to achieve such success as they continue to slowly rebound from the recession."
Caulker Police Bust Resident With Drug Use Apparatus
Caye Caulker Police have increased their efforts to crack down on drug use on the island, and their efforts have already begun to result in seizures.
38 year-old Tito Rosado, a Caye Caulker resident, is facing criminal charges after he was caught with a crack pipe this morning on Avenida Langosta.
Police officers searched him at around 3:50 a.m., and found a crack pipe of inside his pants. As a result, he was arrested and charged with possession of a pipe, and he was arraigned today in San Pedro Magistrate's Court.
Channel 5
Director of Immigration makes recommendation on officers suspended in Immigration scandal
Back in September, the immigration scandal shook up the government, but it is almost four months later and there is little information on the status of three simultaneous investigations. But [...]
African woman poses as a local to obtain a Belize passport
Since the scandal broke involving the illegal issuance of passports, nationality documents and visas, a number of foreign nationals have been caught by alert immigration officials with fake immigration documents. [...]
29 year old Belize City woman dies from Influenza A-H1N1 (Swine Flu)
The H1N1 also known as the swine flu has resurfaced in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. But there is no need to panic, there is need for caution, because [...]
Although there are 3 confirmed cases, swine flu is not pandemic to Belize
At this time of the year, there is increased influenza activity so there is need for caution by the public. Back in 2009, there was a scare due to an [...]
Ministry speaks on easy practices to prevent spread of influenza
It is well known that prevention is better than cure. The ministry says that easy practices and good hygiene such as the covering of mouths when coughing can assist to [...]
Is there another case of swine flu up north?
Another suspected case of H-one N-one, Influenza A virus, has been reported in the north.� While it remains to be confirmed by the Ministry of Health, News Five understands that [...]
The P.U.P. launches social justice agenda
In politics�.National and political icon George Price died on September nineteenth, 2011, following a fall in his Belize City home. The man hailed as the father of the nation would [...]
P.U.P. leader, Francis Fonseca, says party to commit to more aggressive advocacy
With the launch of its social justice agenda, the P.U.P. is also making a commitment to more aggressive advocacy and agitation on social issues. The party has been seen as [...]
The latest on the recall petition
The P.U.P. last week held a fiery and upstart press conference where leader Francis Fonseca and other outspoken members of the party lashed out. The focus of the attack was [...]
Annual Tourism Presentation: industry in good health
The B.T.B. and B.T.I.A.'s annual tourism presentation was hosted in Corozal Town this morning. Along with a respectable growth in tourism numbers, the industry was celebrating other achievements. There are [...]
Checks issued to Minister Edmond Castro from accounts of Belize Airports Authority
On any given day, evidence that a Minister or Minister of State used his authority to get money from a department in his portfolio would be big news. Checks issued [...]
Caye Caulker Police crack down on sale, distribution and use of illegal drugs
Caye Caulker Police have been cracking down on the sale, distribution and use of illegal drugs on the island. And their diligence and increased patrols have been paying dividends. On [...]
U.S. medical practitioners do emergency medicine residency training at the K.H.M.H.
Prior to the press conference by the Ministry of Health on the reports of Influenza A H-one N-one, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital held an informal press briefing to introduce [...]
�the benefits of the 2-year program in Belize
According to the team, emergency medicine, if not the most popular, is one of the top choices of specialty training in the United States. While its practice is relatively young, [...]
Ministry of Health confirms that a 47 year old man died from leptospirosis
Earlier we reported that a twenty-nine year old mother, Shahira Bodden had died due to the H-one N-one influenza. Another disease that has been detected in Belize is Leptospirosis. And [...]