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Specials and Events

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


The San Pedro Sun

HGTV Films Heather Beck's International House hunt on Ambergris Caye
It's one of the most popular series on Home and Garden Television (HGTV), and House Hunters International has followed potential homeowners all over the globe as they search for that place to call home. Belize - and Ambergris Caye - has been highlighted a few times on the show, and it was once again time for La Isla Bonita to be featured as HGTV was back on the island. The show will feature long-time visitor and Saga Humane Society Board member Heather Beck as she puts her roots down and buys a home on the island. One of the special highlights of the episode will be Saga's monthly cook-off. Held at Average Joe's bar on August 8th, the appetizer cook-off saw an incredible turnout, with tickets selling out within minutes. Of course, everyone was there to support Saga while indulging in delicious appetizers - and if they had a chance to be on TV, well, it was an added bonus.

BTIA says no to proposed cruise port in Southern Belize
The Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) remains firmly against establishing a major cruise port in southern Belize and the proposed memorandum of understanding between NCL and the Government of Belize. The BTIA had previously made a public statement in relation to this development at Crawl Caye and over the past couple weeks, has taken note of another option for development at Harvest Caye. The BTIA opposes this proposed development in the south of Belize for the following reasons: BTIA has publicly supported the National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan and continues to do so as it defines the long-term plan for sustainable tourism in Belize. This plan was recently supported by government and clearly states that "pocket cruise tourism is the only acceptable form of cruise tourism on the south eastern coast of Belize." The study was emphatic that southern Belize should remain an eco-friendly low impact destination. The BTIA supports this plan and the continued growth of the overnight tourism in this area.

Belize Bird Rescue releases Common Black Hawk on Ambergris Caye
The Belize Bird Rescue, based in Roaring Creek Village in the Cayo District since 2004, released a hawk on northern Ambergris Caye. The juvenile Common Black Hawk was removed off Caye Caulker Village after the chick hatched and its mother became over protective when the property owners were around. In the process of being removed, the bird was injured and had to be taken for rehabilitation at the Belize Bird Rescue center. On Wednesday August 7th, the bird was flown to Ambergris Caye on board a Maya Island Air Flight and was eventually taken to northern part of the caye. On Thursday August 8th, the bird was released into the wild. Jonathon Urbina, who released the hawk, spoke of the entire process. "This bird was rescued from Caye Caulker. The parents had built a nest in somebody's yard and a resident of the island got word that some people wanted to kill the chick. The resident, a lover of wild life, intervened as Common Black Hawk Released-6he thought that the Common Black Hawk is a species worth saving. The hawk was eventually removed, but was injured, and so it was taken to the Belize Bird Rescue Center," said Jonathan.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!
The Great Blue Hole currently ranks in the Top 10 for the 8th Wonder of the World competition. In June of this year VirtualTourist.com launched the world-wide contest which features over three hundred natural and man-made landmarks that are hoping to win the title of '8th Wonder of the World.' We encourage all Belizeans and friends of Belize to continue to vote for the Great Blue Hole every day until September 30th, 2013, at www.virtualtourist.com/8thwonder. Belize stands to gain major PR push and an audience of 2.6 million viewers should the Great Blue Hole win the competition.

Ambergris Today

Belize Bird Rescue Releases Rehabilitated Common Black Hawk in Ambergris Caye
Birds - Can you think of a day that went by without seeing or hearing a bird? According to the Belize Audubon Society there are as many as 587 species of birds recorded in Belize making the country an ideal setting for bird watchers. The tropical forests, savannahs, numerous cayes, wetlands, and coastal plains of Belize offer a myriad of habitat to these birds. Nearly half of our nation's land and adjacent waters are protected under forest reserves, marine reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and other protected area designation. Protection of birds, and endangered animals in general, is a big deal here in Belize. It is with this in mind that in 2004, The Belize Bird Rescue was formed to assist injured parrots in Belize.

San Pedro Sailing Club - Cart Wash & Other News
The young sailors in the San Pedro Sailing Club are holding a cart wash to raise money so that they can go to St George's Caye in September and race in the Battle Regatta. From 9:00 am to 4:00 on Saturday, August 17, the sailors will be washing carts at Caribbean Villas, where advanced tickets are now on sale. The sailors themselves will be around town selling advance tickets for $10.00. Without a ticket, the cost for the wash will be $12.00. Customers with advance tickets will be served one free rum punch at the Catamaran Beach Bar while waiting, and they will receive a free Sailing Club Calendar (2013) signed by the sailors.

Pic of the Week: Sunbathing - A Belizean National Pastime in the Cayes
Maybe we can call this a national pastime here in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. Like lizards to the sun, most people love to lay out in the sun while they spend a relaxing day on the beach or on the boat out by the reef while on the islands. Here we see Miss Costa Maya 2013 (Miss Belize), Destinee Arnold, sunbathing after her snorkling adventure at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Misc Belizean Sources

FERRY CLOSING
Commuters to and from the villages of Progresso, Copper Bank, Chunox, Little Belize, Sarteneja, including developments as Progresso Shores, Progresso Heights, Cerros Sands, Orchid Bay, etc. will be inconvenienced by the closure of the ferry service commencing tomorrow Tuesday, August 13th, 2013. No official notice has been given to the general public by Public Works but operators of the Corozal/Progresso ferry have confirmed to us that they will be commencing repair works on the top of the badly decayed deck. The Corozal Daily has received numerous complaints of the ferry being unsafe to both human and vehicular traffic and people have been reported falling in and getting severely hurt in some of the crevices and holes that exist, especially at night.

The situation in Trinidad could lead to constitutional change in former British colonies
By Wellington C. Ramos Most of the countries that were former British colonies have a government that is similar to the one in Great Britain. In this type of government, the prime minister is the head of government and they have a bicameral legislative body. The prime minister is the leader of his or her political party who is elected to serve in the house of parliament to represent his or her constituency. The leader of the party that wins his or her seat and the majority of seats in the house of parliament automatically becomes the prime minister of the country. However, if the leader of the party loses his or her seat, then he or she cannot serve as the prime minister of the country. The elected members of the party can then choose from among themselves their leader to become the prime minister. In Great Britain, the Queen or King acts as the titular head of state and, as such, he or she swears in the newly elected prime minister. In most of the former British colonies that role is performed by the governor general of the country, who represents the Queen or King of England. Trinidad, Guyana and Dominica are the only three former British colonies in the Caribbean and Latin America that declared themselves republics. They all have a president but the functions of that office are different in each countries. In Trinidad and Dominica, the president's duties is similar to that of a governor general in all the other Caribbean countries but in Guyana the president is the head of state and is elected by all the people through a direct vote.

MUSIC CAMP CONCERT
On Friday, August 9, The Summer Music Camp given by Music Instructor Carlos Perrote came to an end with a bang! It was really amazing seeing these kids of all ages, and even some adults, being a part of this camp. The concert started with the different groups playing the percussions and ended with a very vibrant session with the steel pans. The Mayor was on site to hand out the certificates to all the participants. Kudos to all the organizers and the sponsors of the Music Camp!

VIDEO: Protect The Manatees
We can all do our part to help protect the manatees in Belize.

Derek Anderson Presents Stamina at UB
Derek Anderson gave a motivational speech entitled 'Stamina' at UB last week. "Former NBA player, Derek Anderson delivered a Motivational Speech on Entrepreneurship to basketball players and members of the surrounding areas of Belmopan on August 8 at the Jaguar Auditorium, University of Belize, Central Campus, Belmopan. He is one of 13 players who've won an NBA Championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat, and an NCAA Championship. Growing up poor and without parents who had left him to the streets, Derek found his inner self-motivation that led to his success as a producer, philanthropist, inventor and author. His inspirational story is detailed in his book titled 'Stamina.' Derek's visit to Belize is to reach out and help others who have found themselves in similar situation as he did. He retired from the NBA in 2008."

National Song Competition Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the National Song Competition, and especially Nello Player, who won again! Great photos, Will Moreno! "National Celebrations Commission Announces National Song Competition Winners 2013 The National Song Competition 2013 was held by the National Celebrations Commission in association with Atlantic International Bank on Saturday August 10th at the Memorial Park in Belize City. The competition had three junior entries, ten Belize Song, formerly patriotic seniors, and five carnival senior entries this year. We are proud to present the following winners: Junior Category 1st Place - $1500.00 and a trophy - Jael August 2nd place - $1000.00 and a trophy - Marilyn Vansen Patriotic Senior 1st Place - $6000.00, a Trophy, a music video production and the opportunity to represent Belize at a Regional competition- Winner - Kernelle Parks 'Nello Player' 2nd Place -$3000.00 and a Trophy- Wilson Grinage Carnival Senior 1st Place - $6000.00, a Trophy, a music video production and the opportunity to represent Belize at a Regional competition -winner: -TR Shine 'Kick off the Carnival' 2nd Place -$3000.00 and a Trophy - Ernestine Carballo 'Every day for me is Carnival' A special thanks to all of this year's entrants, and congratulations to all winners. For more information kindly contact National Celebrations Commission"

Rotaract Bingo Sundays are Back
Rotaract is bringing their Bingo Sundays back. They'll be having the next one this Sunday, at Hode's Place, starting at 6:30pm. Good luck! In related news, they've posted a few pictures from their Rave at the Grave fundraiser. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.515381478532659.1073741842.407382502665891 "We're reviving a tradition of the Rotaract Club San Ignacio. Join us for our first Bingo Sunday at Hodes Place in San Ignacio on August 18 at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from Bingo Sunday will be used for future community service projects like: 1. Adopt a Child Program 2. Mount Carmel Primary School: painting of benches at the Infant Division 3. Halloween Horror House (reviving another Rotaract tradition) 4. Christmas Toy Drive; and many more. Support our fundraising efforts. Bring out the entire family and have fun! "

Belize National Song Competition 2013 Highlights
The Belize National Song Competition is an event held every year kicking off the mood for the September Celebrations. It is an event planned by NICH (National Institute of Culture and History), September Celebrations Commission and sponsored by Atlantic International Bank. The event gives Belizean artists an opportunity to showcase new lyrics and original material built around the September Celebrations. The Belize National Song Competition is broken into 3 different categories, Junior Patriotic Song, Senior Patriotic Song and Carnival Song.

Belize Celebrations
September is a festive time of year in Belize. People all over the country gather at public venues...

Channel 7

Hon. Dolores To Hon. Finnegan: "Resign!"
We've shown you a lot from last week's house meeting - but what we didn't show you was one exchange that happened near the end of the session. And we will show you tonight because it's become quite a big deal for the PUP who are calling for a member's resignation. The back and forth started when Dolores Balderamos Garcia stood up to speak on the adjournment. That's reserved for matters of public importance, and Balderamos Garcia used the platform to address the decorum, or lack of it, allegedly shown by the mace-bearer Brian Audinett, known as "Yellow-man". That led to an off colour response from the UDP Party Whip Michael Finnegan. For context to tonight's headline story - we have that exchange from Wednesday - we warn you though, it's definitely rated PG: Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia - Area Representative, Bze Rural Central "Mr. Speaker, I am extremely concerned. I believe that the Sergeant of Arms that we have now, not only has he been found guilty of harm to a woman back in 2006 and charged $150 but I have personally seen the conduct of him being inebriated in these precincts, of him draining the bottle of Belikin outside of this House and of his behavior and of his conduct out in public, urinating in public and now we have a situation."

The Story Behind The Baby Crushed By Truck Tire
On Friday we told you about the tragic case of an infant - who was crushed by a bus tyre in Buttercup, just outside Burrell Boom. It happened on Thursday evening, and by early Friday morning, the 11 month old was dead. Monica Bodden went looking for some answers today:�. This bus tire mounted on a steel rim fell on an 11 month old infant on Friday evening. It happened just outside of Burrel Boom village around 4pm. The child who was playing outside in the yard was left unattended by his mother for a brief moment when the tragedy occurred. Alan Rhaburn - Grand-Uncle and Neighbor "His mom said that she put him to sit down and they were picking up Craboo under the tree and she left him there but he's just starting to walk so he got up from where he was and he went towards the tire and the only way I could put it is, he might have crept there and held on the tire to stand up and the tire fell over him. The tire had on a rim and it was pumped up because it was to go on the bus the same morning and he forgot it. In a way he says he blames himself, but I told him he can't blame himself."

Constable To Court For Weed
And in an update to another story we ran on Friday, Police Constable Darrell Swazo, the officer assigned to the DPP's Office who was caught with 2 kilos of marijuana is out of bail tonight, after he was arraigned in Belmopan Magistrate's Court today. As we reported, Swazo, who works with the DPP's Office in the Case Care Unit, left the DPP's Office on Friday morning to track down a witness, but he was busted with another man in a Mitsubishi Eclipse with the Marijuana at around 3 that afternoon. The officers at a checkpoint in Santa Elena stopped the car and discovered the weed in the back of the car.

Cop Dies From Beat-Up Injuries
A police constable died after he was beaten last week. Over a week ago, at midnight on Sunday, 26 year old constable Roy Robert Fernandez was beaten up in Georgetown Village as he was walking with two females. The man doing the beating was one of the women's ex common law, and he along with his brother put a beating on Fernandez. Fernandez ended up with a swollen face, a burst bottom lip and complained of pain to his upper body. But, he did not report the incident and refused medical attention. Six days later on Saturday morning, Fernandez started complaining that he was experiencing acute pain and was unable to urinate. By Saturday evening, he was dead at the clinic in Independence Village. Police say they are seeking the two brothers for questioning. Fernandez was attached to precinct one in Belize City.

Espejo Catches Cheque Swindler
22 year-old Michael Usher is at prison tonight after he was taken to court for allegedly stealing from his boss, Belize City Councilor Roger Espejo. According to police, Espejo reported that on last week Thursday, he received a call from an employee at JL's Quick Loan, who informed him that she was holding 2 cheques from his company, Asset Guard Manufacture Insurance Ltd, which she suspected was forged. Espejo went to verify, and confirmed that they belonged to him, but the signatures were forged. The cheques were for a total of $970, and they were made out to Usher, and as a result, police searched him, and they recovered $500 in cash. As a result, he was charged with 2 counts of forgery, 2 counts of obtaining property by deception, 2 counts of uttering upon false document, and 2 counts of claiming upon a false document. He was arraigned today before Magistrate Clive Lino, who granted him bail of $6,000 which he wasn't able to meet. He was taken to prison tonight, and he will remain there until he can make bail arrangements.

Stole A Bike At Gunpoint
Tonight, 24 year-old Harry Joseph is at prison tonight joining his alleged accomplice 21-year-old Kyle Chaplin, who according to police, robbed a man at gun point of his bicycle. 34 year-old Rupert Garnett, was riding his beach cruiser, when he was approached by 2 men, one of whom pulled out a firearm and pointed it at him. According to Garnett, the armed man ordered him to get off the bike, and he pistol-whipped him in the head. Garnett got off the bike, and handed it over to his assailants who then rode off. Police charged Joseph and Chaplin robbery and harm; Chaplin was additionally charged with aggravated assault. Chaplain was arraigned and remanded last week, and Joseph was arraigned today before Magistrate Clive Lino, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Song Fest Draws Cheers And Jeers
The National Song Competition was held on Saturday night at Memorial Park. It is seen as the unofficial kickoff of the September Celebrations - and you could have seen it live at the park or her on Channel 7. Daniel Ortiz was front row for all the fun - and he has this report:� Daniel Ortiz reporting The 2013 National Song Competition featured18 artists who provided over 4 hours of entertainment to a Memorial Park crowded with fans who have come to expect a high quality of entertainment from the event. And they got that consistent quality from a variety of performers, some veterans, some newcomers, but in the end, there could only be 3 winners: and those emerged as Ivan 'TR' Burgess, Kernelle 'Nello Player' Parks, and Jael August. Nello Player is now the back to back winner in the Patriotic Song Competition. He's entry 'Da Belize Eh Deh' captivated the audience with its colorful lyrics about Belize and its culture. After the competition, he told us that he was excited about the win. He said that he didn't expect to win:

Blowback From Song Competition
As you saw in our interview with Nello Player, he told us that he didn't think that his performance was the winning piece for the night in Patriotic Song competition. And he's not the only one who has that opinion; when the winners were announced, there was a large portion of the audience who disagreed, believing that the two best performances came from Wilson Grinage and Reecie Pollard. Pollard spoke to us today and pointed to several issues which she says suggest a clear slant against to the unknown faces in the competition. Wilson Grinage - 2nd Place, Patriotic Song Category "It wasn't fair, honestly. I'm being real here and I'm sorry for whoever might hate me for this but if I had come in second to Reecie Pollard I would have been so happy. But second to someone whose stage performance wasn't up to par as comparisson to Reecie and myself, I'm not hating people - I'm really upset because it's really unfair."

Belize to CONCACAF Championships
Tonight, the Belize U-15 Football Team is in Grand Cayman to compete in the 2013 CONCACAF Championships. They're set to play their first against St. Lucia tomorrow, and before they left this afternoon, we got a chance to speak with one of the Assistant Coaches. He told us about Team Belize's Strategy, going into each match: Alex Norales - Assistant Coach, U15 National Team "The entire CONCACAF group - we're going to have representation from teams in the Caribbean. They'll have Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras in different teams. We are in a tight group - we have St. Lucia, we will have Guatemala, Dominican Republic but our first goal is to get over St. Lucia tomorrow as much goals as possible and we believe we can do that and that will give us a moral boost to face the other groups. Jamaica is also in our group as well but Jamaica and El Salvador might be the fourth and last - I might not have it in order but something like that. The group is a good group - we've been working with them, they are disciplined, they listen. We've been working with their flaws and trying to correct those. Our players are fast but not all that technical so what we've been trying to do is trying to identify what they're good at and try to use that at our advantage. We're not going to go and defend, we're going to pressure the team from the beginning, not allow them to play and we are going to do the damage. That's our game plan, what we've been working on - go and pressure them in their field, get the ball, suffocate them so that they cannot come out and then we attack."

The Future Of Car Racing In Belize Begins With Lessons On Safety
Ten days ago we told you about the FIA, the International Federation of Automobiles, which is the governing body for motorsport worldwide - kinda like FIFA for car-racing. Through the Belize Automotive Club they've taken an interest in Belize - and on Saturday, their president who is on a regional tour visited Belize. He held a press conference on Saturday at the Radisson and said that Belize must first take baby steps:�. Jean Todt, FIA President "What we want in a small country like Belize is to participate in better education to the development of motor sport at the grassroots level. As I mentioned earlier we should not speak at the moment to have wrong ambitions but you have to start first by educating the champion - so we are at the level of educating Belize to go in Motor Sport."

G-Collective Returns Home From Triumphant Tour
From mid-June to Saturday August 10th, the Garifuna Collective had a triumphant 25 city tour of north America - probably the most ambitious tour any Belizean band has ever embarked on. These musical ambassadors came home on Sunday after playing in front of tens of thousands of fans at concerts and festivals. 7News greeted them at the airport:.. Joshua Aranda, Drummer "There's no show that I can pin point and say that 'this is our best show' because the receiption was always great because every show was different and every show was special." Desiree Diego - Vocalist "We got the people dancing, we talked to them in Garifuna - I got them talking, saying 'hsietibunu' and you feel that connection with the people, for me it was excellent."

Channel 5

Finnegan's comments in the House that went viral
Comments laden with sexual innuendo which were aimed at member for Belize Rural Central Dolores Balderamos Garcia have resulted in a fiery public outcry outside the House. Mesopotamia's Michael Finnegan [...]

P.U.P. Women want Finnegan to Resign
The raw comments made in the House of Representatives last Wednesday by Finnegan went viral as soon as they were uttered. This morning, Baldermos-Garcia, flanked by women in the People [...]

Finnegan wants Dolores to apologize
Following the P.U.P. Women's Press Conference at Independence Hall, News Five headed over to Michael Finnegan's house. Far from cowering from the pressure of the P.U.P. Women's Group, Finnegan was [...]

Georgetown Cop beaten and dies
One murder was recorded this weekend and at news time tonight, one of two persons is in detention for the homicide of a cop. Twenty-six year old Roy Robert Fernandez [...]

Commuter run-over by bus
A commuter experienced a frightening ordeal this morning when she exited a D and E passenger bus. Raquel Burke, a resident of Bainsville Area in Hattieville, was injured as she [...]

2 Shot through the window in the Gungulung
A shooting early Sunday morning in the Gungulung area of the Old Capital has left one of two persons hospitalized at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.� Eighteen year old Leroy [...]

Shooting victim Stephen Buckley's first weekend with cash
After more than three years of begging on the street to feed his family with no assistance from Government, Stephen Buckley received fifty thousand dollars on Friday. The money is [...]

Senate votes on bills to improve quality of life
This morning the Senate met in Belmopan to debate and vote on bills and motions passed through the House this past Wednesday. One of the financial bills up for approval [...]

Senator argues for the PAC
One motion which never made it past the House floor and wasn't up for debate at the Senate meeting today was on the Public Accounts Committee. The Opposition tabled a [...]

SATIIM refers to US Capital's alleged neo-colonial arrogance
On August first, SATIIM and the communities of the Sarstoon Temash Region wrote to U.S. Capital Energy asking the company to suspend its operations within the Sarstoon Temash National Park. [...]

Busted with City Councilor's cheques
Twenty-two year old Michael Usher, an employee of Asset Guard Manufacture Insurance Ltd., was today charged on eight indictable offenses, including two counts of forgery, two counts of obtaining property [...]

Beach cruiser robbers in jail
Two Belize City men are tonight on lockdown following an armed robbery a few weeks ago. Twenty-four-year-old Harry Joseph appeared unrepresented before Magistrate Clive Lino today where he was read [...]

Expo and the Carnival Road March will be on the same day
The Belize Marketplace Expo and the Carnival Road March are both highly anticipated events in the national celebrations calendar. This year, they are both set for September fourteenth and this [...]

And the winners of the National Song Competition are…
The first event in this year's national celebrations committee took place on Saturday night at the Memorial Park. Junior and senior artists battled to win the top spot in the [...]

Awesome sporting highlights with James Adderley
Good evening I'm James Adderly and this is Sports Monday.   Let's head to the Norman Broaster Stadium where Atlantic Bank interdistrict football competition staged the semi-final match between Triple [...]