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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

Problematic Beachside Croc Captured by ACES
Water enthusiasts on the southern end of Ambergris Caye can swim a little safer now that a rogue crocodile has been captured by the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES) team. It is believed that the croc is the culprit in a encounter that harmed an Ex-Pat spear-fisherman last week as reported by The San Pedro Sun in Vol. 23 Issue 39. Over the last several weeks ACES has received many calls from residents of the southern beachside area of the caye who have sighted a crocodile swimming near the shore and under various docks. Based on information gathered, ACES was lead to believe it was the same croc that was involved in the recent altercation. On the evening of October 10th ACES Animal Behaviorist and Wrangler Vince Rose and ACES Apprentice Chris Summers set out to capture the troublesome croc once and for all. Aboard their boat The Swamp Thing, the team, along with the assistance of US Marines Andy and Roy and Navy Medic Axel , was able to lasso the croc in what resembled a Caribbean crocodile rodeo. The scrappy reptile eluded the team for quite some time and put up a good fight when it was finally captured.

SPTC and Cultural Committee host first ever Dia de la Raza celebration
The San Pedro Town Council working along with the San Pedro Cultural Committee celebrated, for the first time, the Dia de la Raza. The event was geared to celebrate the island’s rich ethnicity while showcasing how multi-cultural Belize is. Dia de la Raza was celebrated under the theme “Promoting Unity through Cultural Diversity – Belize, a Melting Pot,” and was held to coincide with Pan-American Day on October 12th. The event kicked off with a short ceremony where the Mayor of San Pedro Daniel Guerrero applauded the organizers for keeping culture at the forefront of the island’s events. In addressing the gathering, Carla Rosado of the Museum of Belize explained that San Pedro Town is living up to the national tourism mandate of “promoting cultural tourism.” Guest speaker at the event was Minister of Tourism and Culture Honorable Manuel Heredia Jr. “We at the Ministry applaud these efforts that seek to highlight our culture while promoting our country. It showcases how rich we are and how diverse Belize is when compared to our neighbors,” said Heredia.

Counting the ways to spend your days on Ambergris Caye: Marco Gonzalez Archaeological Site (#4)
You may find it hard to imagine that thousands of years ago the island of Ambergris Caye served as a trading post for the Maya. Locals have known about the concealed Marco Gonzalez Maya site located at the southern end of the island for many years, but with the ruins tucked deep within forbidding dense jungle only grave robbers braved the biting insects, slithery creatures and fierce flora to unearth and make off with invaluable artifacts. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Marco Gonzalez Board of Directors and the Belize Archaeological Department this hidden treasure is slowly seeing the light of day. With excited teams of archaeologist and their students unearthing a history 2,000 years old we now have the rare opportunity to explore the only island archaeological reserve in Belize. The elevated boardwalk and cleared areas allow passage to the sites where you learn about the amazing ways the Maya traveled, traded and lived on Ambergris Caye. The guided tour includes exploring the various excavated sites while you discover pottery shards and artifacts. Within the forest live exotic birds, iguanas and other harmless creatures that add to the outdoor experience.

Ambergris Today

Joel Magana Boasts Large Collection of Money from Around the World
He has been collecting monetary notes from around the world for over 12 years now and boasts bills from over 93 countries around the globe. You can say that Joel Magaña is the island’s resident money collector; a hobby that has gotten him quite an impressive collection. Joel dared us to name any country in the world and surely he pulled out money from at least five countries that we named out. There are some from countries that I had not even heard of, far, far away from our little island. He keeps them bound in an album and proudly displays them to anyone interested in learning more about his collection.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapeños at Black Orchid Restaurant
Everybody who makes them has his own special stuffing for the spicy pepper. Some only add melted cheddar cheese; others make a special cheese sauce, while some use cream cheese, but probably the best are the ones stuffed with a chicken/cream cheese mixture. Delightful! Then there is the outside batter – crispy, lightly or double battered or even beer battered. We all have our favorite combination. Black Orchid is the only place on the island that I have heard wrapping them delicious jalapeño peppers with bacon and let me tell you, they are amazing! The appetizer brings two large peppers sliced in half stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in yummy bacon! They are not battered and fried, just grilled to give the pepper a light charred flavor.

Misc Belizean Sources

Saga HS and Hopkins HS SNIP-a-thon San Mateo
Saga Humane Society is please to hosting Hopkins Belize Humane Society this weekend for our October SNIP-a-thon. Friday Oct. 17-Sunday Oct. 20 there will be visiting Vets doing a FREE SNIP clinic with check ups, vaccinations and vitamins. It will be a MASH clinic at the entrance to San Mateo. Please help us spread the word. San Mateo knows It's Hip to SNIP!

Belize Voted Among Most Relaxing Destinations by Lonely Planet
According to Chaa Creek’s Bryony Fleming Bradley, Lonely Planet’s nod to Belize as one of the top ten most relaxing destinations in the world is especially good news to travellers from the Americas. “It’s no surprise to us that a Lonely Planet blog survey listed Belize as one of the world’s most relaxing destinations. And it’s also good to hear that we’re in some very good company in the survey, which puts us on par with more upscale, distant chill-out destinations such as Greece, the Maldives, Seychelles and Thailand. “But what’s great news to travellers from South, North America and Canada, it means that you can travel to one of the top ten most relaxing destinations of the world at a fraction of the price of some of the others, as Belize is so close to many important North American travel hubs. To my mind, that makes Belize even more attractive,” Ms Fleming Bradley said

Buy and Sell Classifieds 15-Oct
This week's online issue of Buy and Sell Weekly Classifieds. Hidden Valley Inn is hiring. Le Mar's Emporium is having their grand opening in November. Heinekin Happy Hour tomorrow in Belmopan. Smart has a new app. Mary Open Doors is having a Dia de Los Muertos bake sale.

Galen Initiative for a Valued Education
Galen had their GIVE fundraiser, which will allow them to award a high school scholarship to a lucky student. The Galen Eagles Band was there providing great entertainment. Thanks, Galen! "On Saturday, October 12 2013, the Fall 2012 MBA cohort hosted it's GIVE (Galen Initiative for a Valued Education) fundraising initiative at the ITVET, in Belize City. The gala was executed as the capstone project in partial fulfillment of the Master in Business Administration degree, with greater efforts in fundraising for a 4 year high school scholarship that will be given to one deserving Belizean student. The dinner/dance gala was well organized, and great support was received from guests in attendance. Filled with enthusiasm, all were happy to be a part of such a momentous occasion! Job well done Galen Eagles!!"

Archaeology Day at the IA
The Institute of Archaeology is celebrating International Archaeology Day today at the Museum Building in Belmopan. They'll be announcing the winners of the 'Preserving the Past for the Future' poster competition. They'll also have many Maya artifacts on display, and the IA team will be there to test your skills with some trivia.

BWRC Current Patients
The Belize Wildlife and Referral Clinic has some pictures of their current patients. Cute! They have a new post on their site in regards to their first year of operations. We are very exited to share that tomorrow Dr. Maas returns to help us reassess his work on Izzies arm and to provide assistance for several other patients cared for by Wildtracks, Belize Bird Rescue and possibly the Green Iguana Project (he is a rare board certified reptile vet after all...!) To begin with, we want to give a HUGE thank You to Adolf Maas for his amazing support, to Wildtracks for covering his plane ticket, to Ella Baron and Ian Anderson from Cavesbranch, Mariam Roberson from San Ignacio Resort Hotel and Sam Glionna for a free stay at your beautiful resorts and home. Looking forward to an amazing week, in gratitude (Dr. Isabelle)"

MML Adventure Sport Training Package
Maya Mountain Lodge is giving a 50% resident discount for their Adventure Sport Training Package. For more information, email them at jungle@mayamountain.com or call them at 824-2164. In related news, they also have a cooking school package where they teach Mestizo and Mayan cooking..

BCS San Ignacio Branch
The Belize Cancer Society has a San Ignacio Branch that's been opened since March, 2013. It's located at the BFLA office on Church street. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, they are having their 'Paint Belize Pink' campaign to increase awareness. They are also having a Cancer Walk from Esperanza to San Ignacio on the morning of the 26th.

Immigration Problems Through the Looking Glass – US and Belize
Here's the astoundingly modest claim of the Immigration Minister from the Central American nation of Belize: And we do have some honest people in the Immigration Department. This was his reply, as recorded by a local TV station to a question about reports of widespread corrupt issuance of illicit visas and nationality papers by members of his staff. He went on to say: But the world is real and things are real and if ten thousand and fifteen thousand is put in front of some people, the temptation is strong. So here we have a cabinet member, Godwin Hulse, ineffectively, trying to limit illegal immigration to his Third World country, but many members of his staff are not cooperating.

Primary School Competition, Dia de los Muertos
Open call to all primary schools in the Corozal District to participate in the Dia de los Muertos Altar Competition and Exhibit. Come out and be part of this cultural revival! Visit the Corozal House of Culture (NICH) for more information or call 422-0071. Deadline for entries is October 22.

Channel 7

Eric Chang Stripped Of Deputy Post + Portfolios
Deputy Mayor Eric Chang left Belize for Taiwan on September third - and six weeks later, he still hasn't returned. That is after he said he'd be back on October 3rd. When he didn't show, his boss, Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley wrote to him saying he had to be back by October 11th, or else! Well the 11th came and went, with Chang only calling the mayor to ask for an indefinite extension. The mayor didn't accept it, and today the City Council met to decide Chang's fate. They decided to recall him as deputy Mayor on the basis that his prolonged absence was a "prejudice to the governance and order of the city." The mayor told us that - with the allegation of Chang's involvement in the Citizen Kim scandal - and his unexcused absence, the council had to act:.. Mayor Darrell Bradley "I had written him, we had a telephone conversation and he indicated to me that he couldn’t give me a time frame when he would return to the City and definitely he could not come back by Friday of last week. I indicated to him that that was unacceptable and that the council needed to move on and by moving on I mean that the council will reconvene again and we will make a determination whether or not his absence is causing a prejudice to the governance and order of the City which we deemed this morning at the council meeting that it was."

Penner Has 100,000 Reasons Not To Resign
So now Chang stands stripped, much like the man he is allegedly linked to in the Citizen Kim Affair, Elvin Penner - which as we've noted before, is kind of odd, since each is, respectively, the first Chinese and first Mennonite elected in Belize. But coincidences aside, the situation for Penner is far more serious. As we've reported he's being asked by his own party and government to resign, while the opposition is trying to have him recalled - while at the same time he is at the center of at least two other investigations. Tonight, best reports say he remains in Guatemala- where he told Prime Minister Dean Barrow he would be seeking treatment for crushing migraine headaches. He still has not given the Prime Minister any answer on whether he will or won't resign - though he has been sending texts to members of the Cayo Northeast Committee saying he plans to go back to his people, which, observers say, will be quite a feat without cover from his party.

Hon. Elrington Says Visa Racket Has Touched Ministry of Foreign Affairs
And while that is the political dimension of the story - there is still the scandal side of it. There are no dramatic new revelations tonight, but we did have a quite frank discussion with the Foreign Minister about the alleged involvement of employees of his ministry in circulating Belize visas to dubious recipients in Cuba. As we reported in mid-June, Belizean Carlos Murga was intercepted at the Cuban Airport with 7 foreign passports bearing valid, new Belize visas. The Ministry of Immigration said the visas were properly paid for and documented. They concluded that Murga was just a courier, carrying passports across borders to Cuba. But, information around the case suggested that employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were involved in the carriage and conveyance of these visas - and that really, it was a little ring running from Cuba to Cancun to Belmopan - where passports would be delivered on that end, and new applications brought back. The lynchpin in that whole scenario is that Carlos Murga's sister worked as a secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hon. Edmund Castro Denies Making Sexual Advances On Protocol Officer
For the past two months, it seems like the Barrow Administration has been lurching from scandal to scandal. And somewhere in there is the Edmund Castro incident €“ which, depending on who you talk to, either did or didn’t happen when he visited Taiwan in mid-September. The report we got was that the Taiwanese had complained directly to the Prime Minister that Castro had made unwelcome sexual advances on a female protocol officer who was his escort in Taiwan. But no formal diplomatic complaint has been made, and while all kinds of stories have been buzzing on certain media outlets, we haven’t heard from the man himself. We got the opportunity to do that today when we met him at the Sandhill Community center. Here’s what he said:.. Jules Vasquez "What happened in Taiwan?" Hon. Edmund Castro "My brother, that’s pure foolishness. I heard about this foolishness when I got back home and I don’t believe in slandering anybody, so whoever is slandering me I don’t pay any mind to slander them back because that is not my style. I know my heart is clean. I know I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary - I didn’t do anything wrong. So, wherever that foolishness came from I can’t respond to something I don’t know about."

Imprisoned Man Gets 3 More Years For Wounding Warden
Tonight, 23 year-old Jason Anderson, who is on remand awaiting trial for murder, is spending the first night of a 3 year sentence after he pleaded guilty to wounding a Prison Officer during a routine search inside the Belize Central Prison. According to Officer Fernando Teck, on February 5, 2013, he attempted to search Anderson, who resisted, which caused them to get into a physical struggle. Anderson ended up pushing Teck to the ground, and he injured his knee, for which he had to receive medical treatment. Teck reported the incident to police who charged Anderson with harm, and today, his trial was to start in the Magisrate's Court. Before it could start, however, Anderson changed his plea to guilty, and because he has no previous convictions, and the fact that he didn't waste the court's time, Magistrate Leslie Hamilton sentenced him to 3 years, instead of the of the possible 5.

Man Found On Bus With Hundred Pound Bag Of Weed
Yesterday, Cayo Police arrested and charged 25 year-old Guatemalan Gerson Garcia, a resident of Melchor, with drug trafficking after officers stopped a bus and found over a hundred pounds of weed being transported among the luggage of other passengers. It happened on Monday morning at around 10:30, when a crowded Shaw Bus was passing through the Succotz Village in Cayo. The officers, acting on intelligence, stopped the bus at a checkpoint and searched among the luggage. They found 3 separate bags which contained a total of 104 pounds of marijuana. As a result, they detained 3 men who were on the bus, including Garcia, and after each men were questioned, the officers found out that it was he who boarded the bus with the illegal cargo. As a result, he was arrested and charged, while the other 2 men were released.

Hon. Elrington Unfazed By Guat Counterpart Carrerra’s Comments
Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington made waves his bold address to the United Nations at the end of September. Seeming to adapt a stance of No more Mr. Nice Guy, Elrington called out the Guatemalans for encroaching upon, pillaging and laying waste to Belizean territory. That elicited an angry response from his Guatemalan counterpart Fernando Castellanos. Today, Elrington told us he isn’t moved by it one bit:... Jules Vasquez "Fernando Carrera, the Foreign Minister was extremely offended at the address you gave at the United Nations. They sent a 12 point letter of complaint to the OAS. Have you spoken to Mr. Carrera?" Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs "I have not spoken to Fernando Carrera and I am not concern to be candid to what Carrera thought of the speech. What concerned me was what Jules Vasquez thought of the speech - I've never heard him made a comment on it. I didn’t say I applaud the Foreign Minister for standing up so robustly for Belize or nothing like that. The suggestion was that again the Foreign Minister might have messed up because we offended the Guatemalans.

Whose Property Is That Song You Downloaded?
We caught up with Elrington at a two-day national workshop on Copyright and Intellectual Property rights. Now these rights go largely ignored in Belize, but in fact, every published work, every trademark, every song, every usable idea that you document is protected under these laws. That’s why today was an awareness session where we found out more about these rarely invoked rights:.. Candace Westby Fisher, Deputy Registrar - BELIPO "The purpose of this workshop is to sensitize persons like yourself and the Belizean public as to copyright and the importance of it. It’s more than a song, it’s more than music. It affects everybody, it affects the users, the libraries, the archives - everyone and we are hoping that through this workshop we can provide you with answers as to what is copyright and why do I need to know about it and how will it help me."

City Council Nearing 100 Street Benchmark
The Belize City Council pledged to pave 100 streets in a year - and, quite incredibly, they are right on target. The mayor today told us that they are nearing 100 streets, and it's all coming together - even if drivers and pedestrians still feel inconvenienced. Here's how he explained the method behind what sometimes feels like madness:.... Mayor Darrell Bradley "We are at Street number 93 and we are working very closely with the various utility companies, especially the water company. We are identifying a list of additional streets. By the time we finish this year we should be at 110. We had budgeted for 100, we are able to do a little bit extra because of our tendering process and because of the way we select councilors and contractors and also because the City Council doing some of the work itself. We save on the labor costs and things like that and because of our tendering process also we were able to generate resources to contribute towards BTL Park and Battlefield Park, so the residence of Belize are getting extra out of this 20 million dollars; more than the 100 streets and you are getting public spaces."

What To Watch At Taiwanese Film Festival
The Taiwanese embassy in collaboration with NICH is hosting a Taiwan Film Festival at the Bliss this weekend. The 2 day event will feature 3 films that you won’t find on HBO or Showtime. It is free for movie-goers and today we found out what’s on the lineup. Kimberly Vasquez, ICA - NICH "This weekend the Embassy of the Republic of China Taiwan in collaboration with NICH are hosting their Taiwan Film Festival here at the Bliss Center. It’s a 2 day event and we have 3 films on the lineup all of them with English subtitles." Monica Bodden "Tell us a little bit about these films?" Kimberly Vasquez, ICA - NICH "There are something for everyone; there is a live action kung fu movie (Kung Fu Dunk), there is a romantic comedy (Fishing Luck), and then there is the Oscar Nominated Cape #7 which was one of the biggest films to come out of Taiwan, so we have something for everyone in the film festival."

O-ZONE POEM…
Yesterday was celebrated around the world as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer to mark the date of the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The National Ozone Unit of Belize held a poem competition where high school students were invited to write poems about the importance of the ozone layer. Today, the Ozone Unit handed out prizes to the winners of the competition at the Department of Environment in Belmopan. Vickey Chan of Muffles College won first place and she was awarded with a tablet. Tsehay Eck from St. Catherine Academy won second place, and was awarded with a digital camera. Tristian Coleman of Muffles College won third place, and was awarded with a 64 gig flash drive. The theme for this year's celebration was "A healthy atmosphere, the Future We Want".

Celebrating the Credit Union Movement
Today Belize joined in with the rest of the world in celebrating World Credit Union Day. Since 1948 Credit Unions around the world have been using this day to reflect and give recognition to the history of the movement. And around the country Credit Unions gave back to its customers today. We found out more. Lisa Coleman "Today is the International Credit Union Day, this is celebrated worldwide every 3rd Thursday in October. Since 1948 we have been celebrating International Credit Union Day, everybody worldwide is doing it. It’s a day in which credit unions reflect and just give recognition to the movement and the histories of credit union and give acknowledgment to its members for all its work and its contribution throughout the year." "This is day when credit unions around the world do little things for their members. Countrywide the credits unions are doing a little something like giving away little snacks whenever you go in there. You have St. John's that is doing blood test for their members, you can go there and do sugar test and high blood pressure test."

How Boost Works In Rural Bze.
Boost is a targeted social assistance programme that has been praised by multi-lateral agencies as a model programme. It not just welfare or handouts, but is an incentive based system which ties assistance to how many children a mother has in school, whether they are actually going to school, or in the case of newborns, if they are going to the clinic. In Belize rural north 160 mothers got on the programme in 2011, and today the Department of Social Services went back to that community to sing up 75 more. We went to the Sandhill community center to find out how it’s going:... Hon. Edmund Castro "These single mothers are receiving cash money to make sure that their kids have food to eat and for them t go to school." Erlene Baptist "You come and you bring your Social Security card for your children, you get a credit union and they interview you and its as easy as that, easy as ABC." Jules Vasquez "How does it work? Like how many kids you have?" Erlene Baptist "Like how many kids you have and old folks at home. It goes according to the age of the child. I you have a baby, he/she gets like $20. If you have a child in 1st form, you get $45 and every year it goes up."

Channel 5

Eric Chang recalled as Deputy Mayor of Belize City
Eric Chang has not been back to Belize since his name came up in the passport scandal that has been dogging the government. It has been a little over a [...]

B.Q. Pitts Junior elected new deputy mayor for Belize City
According to Mayor Bradley, there are statutes within the City Council Act which prohibit councilors from prolonged, unexplained absences from office.  In this case, Chang has not maintained sufficient contact [...]

Foreign Minister he was approached about visas just days after assuming office
The sale of visas to Asian nationals and others by agents has been ongoing for years facilitated by high level officials.  Last Thursday, the Prime Minister told the media that [...]

Elrington says his secretary has been transferred from ministry following passport incident
Minister Elrington says that despite his secretary not having any involvement in the sale or facilitation of Belizean visas, direct measures were taken to transfer her from Foreign Affairs.  The [...]

Elrington says Penner scandal won’t affect Barrow Administration
Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington has also weighed in on the passport scandal.  His position is that despite the severe infractions that have taken place at the Immigration Department at the [...]

Sniffing on the trail of the brand new Belizeans
The investigation into the passport scandal is in its thirtieth day. There have been two major press conferences during that time. The Financial Intelligence Unit is on the case. The [...]

The richest Belizean on the Forbes also acquired Belizean citizenship
We first reported on Huang Maoru in May 2008. Maoru caught our attention because he was the first Belizean to make it as the richest man on Forbes Magazine. Huang [...]

Ambassador says he is concerned if Taiwanese nationals also broke immigration laws
The Ambassador of Taiwan to Belize has remained under the radar as it relates to the passport scandal even though Wonhong Kim was in a Taipei prison when he obtained [...]

Ordinary Belizeans weigh in on whether Elvin Penner should be criminal charged
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Barrow threw Elvin Penner under the bus and asked him to resign as area representative and from the United Democratic Party. The Prime Minister’s decision came [...]

Private sector in favor of senate-led investigation on immigration department
While ordinary Belizeans overwhelming support a criminal investigation, we asked the private sector today if they support a motion for a senate investigation. During a special sitting on October second, [...]

Lizarraga says that even if motion is passed, will it be endorsed by House
The irony, says Senator Lizarraga, is that regardless of the motion being tabled at the Senate, for it to be passed, it will need to be endorsed by the House [...]

Audrey Matura and client serves injunction against Fort Street Tourism Village
The Fort Street Tourism Village was created to give Belizean businesses an opportunity to profit from tourism. But for some time now, there has been a change in ownership and [...]

Freelance reporter freed of charge
After two weeks on remand, freelance reporter, Roy Davis, left the courtroom today a freeman. Two weeks ago, Davis was convicted of wounding Joyceln Davis when he punched her on [...]

1st ever Taiwanese Film Festival debuts this weekend at the Bliss
NICH in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is hosting a two day film festival. It is a cultural exchange program that will open with a [...]

Public consultations on the amendment to the Criminal Code
On October eight, the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee met in Belmopan. On the table were amendments to the Criminal Code, officially proposed to strengthen the protection of children against [...]

Healthy Living features caretakers; the work they do and the care they need
On October tenth, Belizeans joined in on the celebration of World Mental health Day. This year’s theme focused on Mental Health & Older Adults. And while the aging population certainly [...]

LOVE FM

Transport System Has Its Difficulties
And while Edmund Castro is taking care of business in his constituency, as the Minister of Transport, getting the commercial buses to adhere to the regulations seems to be more of a challenge. Castro says that while there has been some improvement since inheriting the Ministry, getting the bus operators to comply with traffic laws has been easier said than done. Edmund Castro, Minister of Transport “We have hotline numbers that people can call in and report foolishness that is going on in the bus that they are riding; we have number system for buses. We have a phone bank per se that receives all the text messages and information and we process and follow through with letters to the owners of the busses once we get a number of complaints on them. But there are several things that we are still lagging behind such as the ticket system. The ticket system will not eliminate all of the problems but some of them because it is difficult to put all two hundred bus owners together.

Eric Chang Dismissed as Belize City’s Deputy Mayor
The Belize City Council today unanimously voted for a new Deputy Mayor. Bernard Pitts Junior has replaced Eric Chang, who has remained out of the country since he left Belize on September third to visit Taiwan. Today, Mayor Darrell Bradley told reporters that Chang’s prolonged absence has impeded the Council’s performance in the area of Works, for which Change was responsible, and Chang’s absence could not any longer be acceptable. Darrell Bradley, Mayor, Belize City “The Council voted unanimously to select somebody else as Deputy Mayor particularly because we require that the Deputy Mayor be within the jurisdiction. I asked him to come back, he did not come back. I communicated with him in writing, the seriousness of this; I communicated with him over the telephone, the seriousness of this, he still did not return and so we need to do what is in the best interest of Belize City.

Taiwan Films Hit Silver Screen in Belize
The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in collaboration with NICH is co-hosting the Taiwan Film Festival at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts this weekend, with the objective of promoting cultural exchange. Kim Vasquez, Program Officer at the Institute of Creative Arts, says that Belizeans are very much interested in this initiative and the response has been positive. KIM VASQUEZ “You know we have an international film festival here every year and so films coming in are not something new and Taiwan was not able to make the deadline this year to participate in that festival and we think it was a wonderful initiative on their part to decide to have their own film festival and the response we are getting so far from the public is great. I think there are different types of movies in the festival; there is a comedy, there is a drama, an Oscar nominated film at that; there is an action pack kung fu movie and so there is something for everybody. We have been getting a lot of calls and we have been getting a lot of positive feedback from the public.”

Education on Copyright Imparted Through Workshop
The Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO) is holding a two day workshop in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Issues on Copyright and Related Rights. According to Candice Westby Fisher of BELIPO the workshop aims to provide public awareness as to the rights available to rights holders as well as to get the input of Belize’s creative industry on the necessary factors to move copyright forward in Belize. CANDICE WESTBY “Well the purpose of this workshop is to sensitize persons like yourself and the Belizean public as to copyright and the importance of it. We realize that it is a foreign concept and so we are hoping that through this workshop we can provide an introductory to what is copyright that it’s more than a song. You will notice that on the topic, it’s more than a song, it’s more than music. It affects everyone; it affects the users; it affects the libraries, the archives, everyone and we are hoping that through this workshop we can provide you with answers as to what is copyright? Why we need to know about it? How will it help me? What is the purpose of this copyright and this intimate share of property? There are several issues, as you said earlier, with accessing materials freely; we have two collective management organizations in Belize and what they do is they should provide schools and so on with licenses in order for you to use material.

Movements of Belize Passport to Other Countries Uncovered
There are reports that functionaries of the Foreign Affairs Ministry have been allegedly involved in what has been termed as a “Visa Quote System”. In fact, reports are that those persons involved are facilitating the movement of the passports to Mexico where an intermediary picks them up and takes them to Cuba. Furthermore, reports coming out from Mexico are that in Cancun, a Belizean- the brother of a female employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was caught in Cancun with reportedly seven passports in his possession. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington, told the media this morning what action was taken in that regards. WILFRED ELRINGTON “In relation to the relative of an employee, if a relative of an employee is caught but the employee is not caught but the suggestion as spun by the media and the rest is that this poor relative supposed to be responsible or in some way involved, when there is really no factual basis for it but nonetheless and very regretfully as soon as that information came to light, we terminated the services of that poor employee, without in fact, having any more information than that in fact her brother is involved in the transporting of passport. I don’t know if that is actually and totally fair to her but this is now the climate in Belize where if your brother do something wrong you’re supposed to be responsible for it; I can’t see how the two is connected.”

CTV3

Four Persons Charged For Nearly Deadly Chopping Incident
An entire family of four; a father, a mother, and their two sons are lucky to be alive tonight and out of the Corozal Police Station. A few days ago we reported on the chopping incident in the village of Cristo Rey which resulted in six young men being severely injured. According to police, the young men were socializing at the football field in Cristo Rey when they were approached by one, Gaudencio Che who requested that they stop making noise. That is when the group went over to Che’s house which is located near the football field and began throwing stones at the residence. Members of the Che family came out armed with machetes and sticks which they used to inflicted a number of injuries to the group of six. As a result, four members of the Che family were arrested by police and charged at the Corozal Magistrates Court. However, the family told us today they were wrongfully charged. Reporter Irvin Aragon travelled today to the village and got the family’s side of the story.

P.M Willing To Spend Vast Amounts Of Money To Retain Majority At The House
The Prime Minister of Belize is presently out of the country seeking medical attention for his back and so is Elvin Penner only that he is consulting doctors in Guatemala for high blood pressure or at least that is what is being fed to the Belizean people. Penner traveled out of the country the exact same day that Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that he had asked Penner to resign as Area Representative for Cayo Northeast and from the United Democratic Party. What paved the road to Penner’s demise from politics is the fact that he assisted Kim Wong Hong, a South Korean National being investigating for embezzlement, to obtain a Belizean Passport while in detention in Taiwan. Most recently, an investigation carried out at the Immigration and Nationality Department has revealed more irregularities involving the former minister of state. While Penner has stated that he will consult with his constituents before making a decision as to his political carrier, the fact remains that he has become the prodigal son who is no longer wanted by the Barrow Administration. One thing the Prime Minister wants; though, is to hold on to his party’s majority in the House of Representatives and he intends to do so even if it means spending vast amounts of money.

Cholera Outbreak In Mexico Allegedly Causing Problems For Mexican Vendors At The CCFZ
In the month of September, an outbreak of Cholera in the Mexican State of Hidalgo was reported. Given the close proximity and the extensive borderline of Belize with Mexico, Belizean health authorities immediately took action to prevent the spread of the virus into Belizean soil. With the record sitting at forty four confirmed cases and an additional thirty three cases still awaiting confirmation in Mexico, a group of health inspectors were dispatched to the Corozal Commercial Free Zone to monitor the situation. Drastic measures had to be taken so much so that no Mexican food vendors are currently being allowed to sell food in the free zone.

LICU Celebrates International Credit Union Day
International Credit Union Day is celebrated on the third Thursday of every October to recognize and reflect on the history of the credit union movement and to promote its achievements. It is a day to honor those who have dedicated their lives to the movement, recognize the hard work of those working in the credit union industry and its membership. This year Credit Union Week is being celebrated under the theme “Credit Unions Unite for Good: A Better Way” and joining in the celebration was La Inmaculada Credit Union Limited. Yolanda Gomez – LICU Manager “We are celebrating this year under the theme, Credit Unions Unite for Good a Better Way, that is so very fitting because the Credit Union is actually the pooling of resources be it our finances, be it our talents to be able to help each other, so it is people helping people through the pooling of our resources. Today we actually had a market day and a health fair. We have our members owners who sale plantain chips, who sales pastries, who sales delicious rice and beans, tamalitos, coconut oil, our plants and we had also the community based organization the socially responsible groups like ourselves, like the cancer support groups, we had the people from HECOPAB ensuring that we are creating an awareness for health, people giving out flu shots and SIRDI of course, trying to create strengthening of the sugar industry through the proper rehabilitation of the cane fields so these are just some of the activities we’ve been having today, we are ting up our day and we want to end with a raffle.”

More News: Scroll up from here

PlusTV

What is the Police role in Immigration scandal?
Last week, the Police Department announced that it had launched an investigation at the Ministry of Immigration. A few days later, Commissioner of Police, Allen Whylie dropped a bombshell, when he informed the media that the man believed to be in the middle of the scandal, former Minister of...

Much debate and mass walkout at Tuesday’s public meeting
On Tuesday at the second Public Hearing, and possibly the last, in which the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Standing Committee discussed with concerned bodies the proposed amendments to the criminal code of Belize, we shared with you Minister Patrick Faber’s comments on one of the most controversial issues surrounding...

PUP Leader defends party’s position on Immigration Investigation
At Tuesday’s press conference inside a packed Independence Hall, leader of the People’s United Party (PUP) and parliamentary minority, Francis Fonseca, was asked what moral authority they had to lead a charge for investigating the current immigration scandal at whose center is former Minister of State and embattled representative...

Senator Lisa Shoman calls for Senate Immigration Investigation
The woman leading the charge in the upper house for an investigation chaired by the Senate into the Immigration scandal, Senator Lisa Shoman, explained the benefits of such an investigation when asked if, like a previous look into the affairs of the Social Security Board, nothing seemed to come...

Arthur Saldivar hands over Immigration documents to Police
To some extent, Tuesday’s press conference was to have been the Arthur Saldivar Show. The intrepid attorney had been dominating headlines for much of last week after claiming to have recovered over 150 files he says were destined to be burned by the Immigration and Nationality...

Mayor Gilbert Swazo is not satisfied with progress of Dangriga Market
With the Immigration scandal dominating headlines for much of the last few weeks, few remember the scandal of the Social Investment Fund (SIF) being unable to monitor contractor Kennard Smart at the site of the renovated Dangriga Town Market because of alleged internal bribe-and-gift-taking that...

Police recover drugs from bus
30lbs of weed was confiscated from off a bus on Tuesday afternoon. Acting upon a tip, San Ignacio C.I.B Personnel intercepted the Westline bus between miles 64 and 65. Upon searching the back portion of the bus, Police found a Blanca Nieves soup powder box on top of the...

2010 Census Report is officially launched
In celebration of the Caribbean Statistics Day 2013, the Statistic Institute of Belize (SIB) in collaboration with the University of Belize held its official launch of the 2010 Census Report on Wednesday morning at the UB Jaguar Auditorium. This report, done every decade, gives insight to crucial information used...

PUP campaign to recall Elvin Penner continues
At 1,500 signatures and counting, the People’s United Party (PUP) caretaker in Cayo Northeast, Orlando Habet, stands very close to another chance at entering the House of Representatives. During his party’s press briefing at Independence Hall, Mr Habet, who enjoys the confidence of the party, gave...

UB President explains tenure system
Recently some lecturers of UB, through the media, anonymously expressed their discontent with the tenure system in the University. A press release issued on Tuesday from the University explained that there was a mere misunderstanding with the terms of employment within UB. We spoke with the president of UB...

Conference looks at ways to improve prosecution of illegal fishing
We have reported on instances where fishermen have been caught with illegal quantities of seafood products out of season and other instances of illegal fishing. Beginning on Wednesday in the Caribbean island of Grenada, authorities from the region are meeting to review techniques in terms of prosecution of offenses....

PM leaves for LA
Prime Minister, Hon. Dean Barrow left the country on Wednesday for Los Angeles, California at the invitation of Belizeans living in that region of the United States. The Belizean Task Force in Los Angeles has organized several meetings and fund-raising functions which the Prime Minister will attend. Prime Minister...

The Guardian

When Baby Want To Cry...
Certain extreme elements within Belizean Church groups are like the proverbial baby ... you look ‘pon them and they cry.' Many of them are influenced by hard core Religious Right organisations coming out of the USA and receive programmatic material, support and financial assistance from them. Naturally, the agendas of these elements within Belizean church groups are heavily influenced by the aims and core beliefs of US Religious Right Organisations since financial and programmatic support is more readily available to those who are fully aligned with their agenda. Churches, like any other organisations, are driven by numbers – numbers of members, numbers of backsides on pews, numbers of sympathisers, numbers related to financial contributions in the collection plate. Some of the mainstream churches have become so concerned by the inroads made by the more extreme evangelical churches that they have been tempted to become theological followers instead of leaders. Many political activists have also cynically jumped on the bandwagon, seeing this movement as an easy way to win support and votes.

No to Corruption!
The message was clear and the messenger was dead serious on Tuesday, October 15th, when Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize, made his way to the NEMO building in Belmopan with the entire cabinet with him. He was to make a historic announcement- the United Democratic Party will simply not tolerate corruption even if it means that it comes that much closer to losing its margin of victory. The Prime Minister announced during a press conference that by a unanimous decision from Cabinet, it was decided that Hon. Elvin Penner would be asked to resign as a member of the Party and as Area Representative for Cayo North East. The decision was made after, “other instances of what to us are irregularities surfaced,” stated PM Barrow. He added that while the evidence presented to Cabinet was enough for it to act, in this manner, there may not be sufficient for a court of law to act on. He pointed out that there was a difference between “factual guilt and legal guilt.” He added that there was enough “material presented to cabinet to prove he was involved in irregularities.”

GOB gets $12M in Dividends from BTL
The Belize Telemedia Limited declared dividends in the sum of $11,889,000 for the year ended March 2012 and $12,388,000 for the year ended March 2013. In 2012 Dean Boyce and British Caribbean Bank Limited made an application to the Caribbean Court of Justice to restrain BTL from paying dividends to shareholders since the constitutionality of the nationalization was being disputed. On September 26th, 2012 the CCJ ordered that Government, being the majority shareholder of BTL, should ensure that no dividends be released before December 14th, 2012. Shortly after that order expired and the company had proceeded to pay dividends to its shareholders, the CCJ granted an extension on the previous order and ordered Government to return the money to an escrow account. Government abided by the ruling but made an application to the CCJ on December 17th, 2012 on behalf of the more than 1400 small shareholders. The CCJ approved Government’s application and dividends were paid to the small shareholders. However, the CCJ further ordered that there be no payment of dividends to the large shareholders (GOB, Central Bank of Belize and the Social Security Board) until the Court says otherwise or the matter is heard to completion.

The Trough is full - PUP looking to pillage!
You could almost see them salivating as they spoke during their press conference on Tuesday. The PUPs are hungry for power and much more so, they cannot bear being out of office because they cannot feast at the bounty that the Prime Minister, Hon. Dean Barrow, has been able to prepare for the people of Belize. In his Independence Day address the Prime Minister highlighted that the government has almost 100 million dollars which will be spent on infrastructural development across the country. He explained that 25 million dollars will be spent at the Lake Independence Boulevard with the construction of a number of facilities including a bus terminal, a community center, a bridge and even an office for the National Bank. Then he explained that there will be 30 million dollars spent on the Belize City Center and 40 million more which will be spent on a sporting facility in each municipality.

Look who is Pointing Fingers
I think the Prime Minister made an excellent decision yesterday, October 15, to withdraw support from Penner at any level of representation in the National Assembly. While I was initially inclined to agree with the reasoning that Penner had been punished sufficiently by being dismissed as a Minister of State, many UDP supporters were expressing to me that the degree of shame that this gentlemen has wrought upon our country is too deep to merely demote him. They were saying that no amount of wailing at a wake can bring back the dead, and Penner is dead as a politician. It was a better decision to figuratively bury him and take our chances with the electorate, hoping that a newer, cleaner candidate will be more appealing to campaign for. Why I said I was keen on the PM’s decision is that although I think that Penner would have survived the recall process, he would have brought too much long term political damage to the United Democratic Party even if he were only an area representative. We would have been seen like Social Security in the old PUP days, that whenever a benefit claim was denied, the worker would curse out the SSB employees and accuse them of jilting pennies from the workers but allowing Courtney to walk away with $3.34 million.

Harsher Penalties for Immigration Offenses
Senator Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration, Labour, Local Government, Rural Development and NEMO, has announced proposed changes to the process for becoming a Belizean citizen. Minister Hulse is well aware of the weaknesses in the system and has raised concerns about it long before he was appointed to the Cabinet. Soon after he was appointed Minister of Immigration, he reformed the Passport issuance system to limit the potential for fraud and under table dealings. His next objective was to improve the Nationality section of the Immigration Department by first starting with a review of the system. However, in wake of the Wong Hong Kim experience, Senator Hulse expedited that review and announced changes on Thursday, October 10th.

Public Consultation on the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2013
Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee A public consultation on the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2013 was held on Tuesday of this week in the Jaguar Auditorium at the University of Belize Campus in Belmopan. Organized by the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee, the public meeting was to further consider the Act, which was read in the House of Representatives at the last house meeting and which seeks to protect children from various sexual offences.

The PUP Grunt
Fishermen in Belize have a belief that when they go on fishing expeditions and the first fish caught is a grunt, they immediately have to move away from that fishing spot. The Grunt is one of the most undesirable fish in the sea and when it is hauled up, it is time to move away. Figuratively speaking, that is what Arthur Saldivar is to the People's United Party. He is the PUP Grunt, so it was that when he showed up at the PUP press conference on Tuesday everyone simply moved away.

People’s Coalition Committee in Cayo has a new Board
A new Board for the People’s Coalition Committee (PCC) in the Cayo District has been elected. Those elected last week Wednesday night at the San Ignacio Police Station were Julian Sherrard to the post of Chairman , Edwardo Juan to Vice Chairman, Sherry Gibbs to Secretary, Mary Loan to Treasurer and Superintendent Ralf Phillip Moody to the position of Ex-Officio Member.

Diamonds In The Rough
Roger Espejo and kids and Devon Tyrone Bowden doing homework It's 9:30p.m. in Cadle Alley where residents have shut down from the world - all is clear and all is quiet. A lone young man works from an old, cranky, wooden verandah and hovers over the steps as he scribbles away, buried in a school book and an exercise book - the only positive sign of life within this area. Positive because compared to the only other two souls around - one of them smoking a blunt and another rolling a joint close by - Devon Tyrone Bowden shines like a diamond. Pensively working at English Literature this late, in the heart of the ghetto, with no supervision, dangling off an old verandah, and impressively using the light from a public lamp to deliver on his home work, this young boy separates himself from most kids his age. UDP caretaker, Roger Espejo, visits with Devon's mother, Azarene Flowers and pledges support on his behalf and that of the Ministry of Education. Like many other deserving kids that have received an “education subsidy” from Mr. Espejo in Fort George this young star embodies the dedication required to succeed. "If half the kids in school would study with that tenacity, "Mr. Espejo tells his chairlady who accompanies him on this nocturnal mission, "the city would be a much different place."

Mark King assists Fire Victim
On October 3rd a fire destroyed a home in the Lake Independence constituency, leaving the Taylor family homeless. Having seen the need of the fire victim, Hon. Mark King quickly activated resources to assist the family and on Monday, October 14th, a family fun day was organized at the basketball court behind the Charles Bartlett Hyde (complex) Building to raise funds to assist the fire victims.

New Members appointed to UB Board of Trustees
The inaugural meeting for new members of the Board of Trustees of the University of Belize in accordance of the University of Belize Act Chapter 37, Revised Edition 2000 was held October 11, 2013 at the Conference Room, UB’s Administration Building, Central Campus, Belmopan.

Driver charged for Forgery
On Tuesday, October 15th, a salesman and a driver were arraigned in Magistrate’s Court on charges of theft and forgery. First to be arraigned was a Universal BPO salesman, 26-year-old Godswell Phillip Flores, who was read two indictable offenses. They include one count of theft and one count of forgery. Flores is accused that sometime between October 5, 2013 and October 7, 2013, whilst in Belize City, with intent to defraud Universal BPO, he forged a Belize Bank cheque with serial number, #000793 dated October 4, 2013 in the amount of $860.94. He is also accused that on October 5th, 2013, he dishonestly appropriated for himself, 6 blank cheques property of Universal BPO with serial numbers, #793, #794, #795, #796, #797 and #798, which cost $.10 each, all to a total of $.60 cents, property of Universal BPO.

Murder in Cristo Rey Village, Cayo
On Friday last, a man lost his life in Cristo Rey Village in the Cayo District. The body of Leroy Tzib, twenty years of age, and a caretaker of Cristo Rey Village was observed to be on the center of the main road through the Village. Leroy Tzib had a cut wound to the left side of the neck, rib cage and right side of the chin and as a result was lying face down in a pool of blood. At the scene of the crime, Geovanni Oscar Pech, a 24 years old handy-man handed himself to police. Found on Geovanni Pech was a pocket knife strapped to his belt, which was “suspected” to be the murder weapon as it was stained with a red substance. Geovanni Pech, who was observed to have a wound on the head, reports that at about 8:30p.m. last Friday, he and his nephew Fernando Tzib were attacked by a group of male persons and he was only defending himself. The body of Leroy Moises Tzib was transported to the San Ignacio Hospital morgue and at10:25 p.m., after examination by a Doctor, he was pronounced dead. Pech meanwhile has been charged in relation to the killing of Tzib. Cristo Rey Village is a tightly knit community of close family members living side by side. This latest incident in Cristo Rey has strained these family relationships and brought a new set of concerns for the local Crime Neighborhood Watch Committee.

83-year-old murder suspect granted bail
On Friday, October 11th, 83-year-old Manuel Cucul was today granted bail in Supreme Court in the sum of $10,000 or two sureties of $5,000 each after being on remand for the May 10th, 2012 murder of his wife in the village of San Marcus in the Toledo district. His attorney, Kevin Arthurs was successful in securing his bail after he submitted that his client is not in good condition to be at the Kolbe Foundation due to his age. He added that his client has been diagnosed with dementia and amnesia on June 1, 2012 by a Psychiatric Nurse. The nurse who accessed him said he is disoriented, repetitious and deluded and that he had impaired mental and physical ability. Arthurs also submitted to the court that his client's physical and mental condition were also deteriorating. The Kolbe Foundation had become alarmed that he was in a feeble state and they questioned how long he would be able to survive in the harsh conditions at the prison. According to Arthurs, at age 83, his client was the oldest inmate at the Belize Central Prison. Arthurs also submitted to the court that the dementia was affecting his client’s ability to defend or prepare a defense in his case.

Corozal man walks from murder charge
Victor Hendy, 27, was acquitted of murder on Tuesday, October 15th, when he appeared in the Orange Walk Supreme Court. Hendy stood accused of the murder of his girlfriend, 29-year-old Annette Palacio, an Orange Walk woman who was strangled to death, on January 30th, 2009. Hendy was set free after a no case submission was made on his behalf by his attorney Kevin Arthurs. The submission was upheld by Justice Herbert Lord and Hendy was free to go. Justice Lord was of the view that there were a number of inconsistencies between the testimonies of the police officers who came to the court which gave way to doubts. There was also very little evidence against Hendy. With that, Justice Lord directed a 12 member jury of 7 women and 5 men to return a formal verdict of not guilty against Hendy. The police evidence against the accused was that he was in a relationship with the deceased, Annette Palacio, 29. On the night of January 30, 2009, he left Belize City enroute to Orange Walk and upon his arrival, he got a call that his girlfriend, was at a bar drinking with another man.

Stabbing incident has Woman charged with attempted murder
On Tuesday, October 15th, 19-year-old Stacey Jones, an unemployed of #10 Victoria Street in Belize City was arraigned in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court after being in lock down since an early morning stabbing incident on Friday, October 11, on North Front Street in Belize City. Jones, who was unrepresented, appeared before Magistrate Dale Cayetano where she was charged with one count of attempted murder, grievous harm and use of deadly means of harm upon Acteshia Nunez. No plea was taken and due to the nature of the offences bail was denied and she was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until November 29th. The allege stabbing incident is said to have occurred on Friday night, on North Front Street at about 1:30 a.m. Police investigation into the incident led them to visit the KHMH trauma room where they saw Acteshia Nunez, suffering from multiple stab wounds to the upper part of her body. Police recorded a statement from Nunez who told them that her attacker was Stacey Jones.

Leroy Ramsey in Court of Appeal for Attempted Murder
28-year-old Leroy Ramsey was convicted on two counts of attempted murder on April 19th of this year. He was accused of trying to kill Lindon Broaster and Cecilio Madrill on February 19th, 2008. Supreme Court Justice Traodio Gonzalez sentenced Ramsey to 8 years for each count but ordered that they run concurrently. On Tuesday, October 15th, his case was brought before the Supreme Court by Anthony Sylvester. In court, Sylvester submitted that the trial judge erred during the trial in a number of areas. Sylvester said there was a miscarriage of justice when the trial judge did not give clear instructions; hence the jurors could have interpreted the law poorly. The second ground for appeal submitted by Sylvester was that the trial judge failed to adequately direct the jurors regarding the accused alibi witness which in the trial was his common-law wife, Stacey Williams. On the night of the shooting, Broaster, Madrill and Robert Wagner were together on Raccoon Street. Madrill did not show up to testify in court and Broaster had to be treated as a hostile witness when he took the stand and testified contrary to his statements provided to police. Broaster maintained that he did not see who shot him. Wagner was the only cooperating witness for the prosecution. According to Wagner, he saw when Ramsey pulled out a gun and fired shots in the direction of Broaster and Madrill. Broaster was shot in the left chest while Madrill escaped unhurt. After the hearing, Ramsey escorted back to the Belize Central Prison where he awaits the decision of the court.

20 Acres of Corn Harvested in 17 Minutes to Benefit Hundreds of Children
Hundreds of children from Belize City will be able to attend summer camps thanks to an extremely successful harvest of corn on Saturday, October 12th. The Belize Camping Experience (B.C.E.) is a non-profit Belizean organization that was established in 2006. They work with schools, churches and community residents to organize summer camps. Last year, there were over 1000 children in B.C.E. camps. After the camp is over, there is a follow up program in which members of B.C.E. hold regular fellowship with children from the camp throughout the year. B.C.E. is preparing to host a number of camps for the 2014 summer and the organization is expecting to host more than 1200 children. In order to cover most of the expense for the camps, B.C.E. holds an event called Harvest for Kids. Under the Harvest for Kids program the organization approach farmers and asks them to loan the program some of their best farm land. Last year four farmers loaned the group a total of 40 acres of farm land. This year, Harvest for Kids has a total of 77 acres land for crops. The organization then reaches out for donations of seeds, fertilizers and chemicals. The organizers work with farmers to plant corn and tend to the crop. They also take children from camp to the farms in order to teach them about farming. Most of the children enjoy riding on the heavy duty machines such as the fertilizer spreader and four-wheelers.

Love Crew involved in Accident
Love Fm’s talk show host Ava Diaz-Sosa, and cameraman, Brian Castillo, were involved in a traffic mishap at mile 43 on the George Price Highway. Castillo who was driving a Love FM’s pickup truck was headed towards Belize City when upon reaching an area near mile 43 he lost control of the vehicle on the slippery highway and ran off the road into some bushes. The vehicle ended up on its left side with Castillo and Sosa inside. Sosa told us that they were travelling towards Belize City when the driver just lost control on the slick road and the vehicle ran off the road into a ditch on the side of the road. She said she was thankful that she had on her seatbelt at the time of the incident and that she and her driver escaped unhurt.

Customs faces Port of Belize in Firms’ Basketball show down
The Belize District Basketball Association Firms’ Competition will commence its championship round on Friday, October 18th, at Bird’s Isle in Belize City at 9:00 pm between the Port of Belize/Airport and Customs. The championship round will utilise the best of three format.

Paradise Freedom Fighters take over lead in Belikin Cup
The 2013 Opening Season of the Premier League of Belize Belikin Cup Competition continued over the last weekend with three games on the schedule. On Saturday, October 12th, at the Isidoro Beaton Stadium in Belmopan, the defending champions, Police United, and the visiting Verdes FC played to a 1-1 draw. The home team, Police United, was the first to get onto the scoreboard when Bernard Linares scored his team’s only goal of the game in the 19th minute of play to give the Police United a 1-0 lead. The first half of the game ended 1-0 in favour of the Police United. In the second half of the game, the visiting Verdes FC was finally able to get onto the scoreboard when Jamil Cano scored the equalising goal in the 75th minute of play for a 1-1 draw.

Hilly Martinez receives Mario Vasquez Raña Sport Merit Award
At the General Assembly of the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) held in Toronto, Canada from October 9-12, 2013, Mr. Hilberto “Hilly” Martinez, President of the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, was conferred with the “President Mario Vasquez Raña Sport Merit Award”, the highest Award in the Americas. Hilly has served the sporting community in Belize for over 40 years especially in the discipline of Weight Lifting, Basketball, Softball, Cycling and Sailing. In 2008, the International Softball Federation elected and inducted him into the International Softball Federation’s Hall of Fame. He has also served in the International Community as a Member of the Technical Commission of the Central American Sports Organisation (ORDECA) and has been the Chef-de-Mission of many Belizean Contingents to regional and international games. Hilly Martinez has served as Secretary General of the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association for over 30 years. In February of this year, he was unanimously elected as President of the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association.

Primary Schools Football Competition at the MCC
The Belize City Primary Schools Football Competition continued at the MCC Grounds with a number of games. On Tuesday, October 15th, in the first of three male games played, Queen Street Baptist School defeated Salvation Army School by the score of 2-1. The goals for Queen Street Baptist were scored by Arthur Bailey while Shawn Billary scored for Salvation Army. In the second game, St. Luke Methodist School defeated Ephesus SDA by the score of 3-1. All three goals for St. Luke Methodist School were scored by Justin Menzies, while Jose Ramos scored the only of the game for Ephesus SDA. In the third and final game of the day Ebenezer Methodist School blanked Unity Presbyterian School by the score of 9-0. The goals for Ebenezer Methodist School were scored by Tyreek Muschamp (3), Bernard Bailey (3), Godwin Neal (2) and Jonathan Perrera. The competition continued on Friday, October 11th with two games. In the first game played, Queen St. Baptist defeated Unity Presbyterian School by the score of 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored Keenan Rowley.

Caye Caulker Chronicles

Belize Tourism Board’s Digital Workshop
A Digital Workshop will be held on October 25th at Tropical Paradise starting at 9m to 12 noon. The BTB wants to promote your business to potential visitors. By listing your accommodation service, transportation service or tour/activity operation, you will encourage thousands of tourists to learn about your business and potentially visit when they arrive. This is a great opportunity to get exposure and gain revenue. Participants can expect to be facilitated by BTB personnel in setting up and accessing their listing on the newly redesigned www.travelbelize.org website. Come out and learn about the new Content Management System which will allow each stakeholder ease of access via persinalized codes to manage and update his/property’s profile on the recently redesigned www.travelbelize.org

Blogs

“Golden Years” in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.
Up just before 04.00 hours yesterday morning to find when I got out on the veranda with my coffee (black) and iPad that it had rained during the night/ early morning (couldn’t tell you which because the sound of rain has no chance of waking me from my sleep). Straight to The Times on-line to read the various articles covering England’s victory the previous day over Poland. I know that I watched the game but … I then set about producing yesterday’s edition of the blog and finished pulling it together and publishing it around 06.00 hours when I showered, shaved and dressed. I had to get out early so that I could meet Victor (the welder) to give him the money for the materials he needs to buy for the hatch covers for the septic tank that he is going to make for us before he caught the 07.30 hours Belize Water Taxi to Belize City. I did this with time to spare – met him at 06.45 hours – and then headed off to Estel’s for (in my opinion) a well deserved breakfast. And, while I was there, started to write today’s edition.

Eight Things I LOVE About Cancun and Some Things That…Well…Not So Much
I often hear from people that they hate Cancun. ”I SO would not go there ever again.” But the more I visit (I’m guessing I’ve been here at least 15 times), the more I like Cancun. The better it gets. But first a few simple warnings. Cancun is NOT the place to visit if you are looking for an exotic locale. Or if you are looking to impress your friends. Or If you want to commune with the locals (the Mexican accent you hear at the front desk may be the only way you know you are in Mexico.) Not the place if you want to get off the beaten path. If you want to have a beach to yourself. If you actually want to feel like you are in a foreign country. Do Americans even need a passport to get here? I think maybe they do. But that is a recent development. (Imagine Mexicans trying to get into the USA with only a birth certificate? No. You probably can’t.) Cancun is…EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. Fantastic. And here is what I think IT is. I LOVE Cancun and I’m not ashamed. Here is why.

Simple Pizza Sauce
This pizza sauce is semi-homemade because I don't start from scratch with tomatoes. I actually start with tomato sauce and tomato paste. Nevertheless this sauce is way more healthier than store bought sauce. You can control the taste by adding your own favorite spices to the sauce.

Simple Homemade Pizza
mmmm