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Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, Rise and Shine Morning Show, and the Dickie Bradley Specials


The San Pedro Sun

November celebrates our Garifuna people!
Celebrating November 19th in Belize means celebrating the Garifuna. Garifuna Settlement Day is a national public and bank holiday that pays tribute to a rich Afrocentric culture whose legacy lives on and is today told through dance and drums. As the 19th of November approaches, the sounds of drums bring life to the communities across the nation as the Garinagu gear up to celebrate the day they first arrived on Belizean shores in 1832. Over a hundred years later, re-enactments tell the story of both the survival and flourishment of a resilient people, descendants of Arawak Indians and African slaves. Today, during the early morning of November 19th, Garifuna line the shores in their respective communities across Belize as they usher in water vessels decorated in banana leaves and Garifuna flags, lively singing and drumming as they interpret the first pilgrimage led by Alejo Beni.

Mexican newspaper links former UDP Candidate to Meth Cartel
On Saturday, October 31st, the Mexican newspaper, Diario Respuesta from Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, published an article alleging the link of a United Democratic Party (UDP) representative to organized drug crime along the border. The person in question is Orange Walk South's UDP Standard Bearer Guadalupe "Lupe" Maga�a who is believed, along with her husband, to have connection to Emerlindo "Melin" Vasquez who was arrested for the production of methamphetamine. In their report, Diario Respuesta alleges that Nico Dyck, Maga�a's husband, is part of the same cartel as Vasquez and fueled his wife's campaign with funds from the illicit activities. Diario Respuesta goes on to allege that Dyck, a Mennonite farmer of Blue Creek Village, has reportedly visited Vasquez several times at the Centro de Reinsercion Social in Chetumal where he was remanded after being arrested. "It is presumed that the election campaign is financed by organized crime, where the husband of the candidate, Nyco Dyck, is the link because he is linked to Ermelindo "Melin" Vasquez, a prisoner at the Centro de Reinsercion Social (CERESO) in Chetumal, in the production of methamphetamines.

The British are back!
On Wednesday, October 28th the highest ranking officer of the British Army Land Forces visited Belize. Lieutenant General James Everard, the highest British officer to ever visit Belize, was on an official visit to meet with the commander of the Belize Defense Force (BDF), Brigadier General David Jones and Prime Minister Dean Barrow. The highlight of the visit was to discuss the reestablishment of the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) in Belize after pulling out of the country in 2011. Since 2013, both PM Barrow and BDF commander Jones had been lobbying for the British Army to return BATSUB to its numbers and capacity as it once was back in the days. The visit of Lieutenant General Everard cemented a commitment for a renewed, full scale, BATSUB facility. The decision to downsize the British forces in Belize in 2011 came after British Prime Minister, David Cameron and the British Military brass decided to cut back on military bases worldwide. During that time, the English were focusing their military resources in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their return to Belize signifies a bright future for the continued development of the BDF and the country as well. The arrival of the rest of the British troops should be immediate. Lieutenant General James Everard has been serving in the British Army for the past 32 years and currently holds the highest office in the UK's military. The day before Everard's arrival to Belize, Commander Jones received the visit of the General Officer Commanding London District, Major General Edward Smith-Osbourne. He is directly connected to BATSUB and was also ceremonially welcomed by a Guard of Honor.

Saga promotes Senior Pet Adoption
As part of Adopt a Senior Pet Month, Saga Humane Society is encouraging everyone to consider adopting an older pet during the month of November. National Adopt a Senior Pet Month was started for shelters and rescues across the world to heavily advertise the benefits of adopting an older friend. Older dogs or cats often make for better family pets as they are calmer, have more years of human interaction and don't require as much attention as puppies or kittens. There is a senior pet eagerly awaiting adoption at Fort Dog and Saga's Cattery. Saga invites everyone to stop on by to their office on Sea Star Street from Tuesdays to Fridays between 9AM and 5PM and on Saturdays between 9PM to 12PM to start their adoption process. To learn more on Saga's adoption process visit their website sagahumanesociety.org or call 226-3266.

Misc Belizean Sourcesmzz

This Farmer Is Using Drones to Deal with His Crops
He's no Colonel Kurtz-or Kurtz at all. In fact, Mark Ellenby couldn't be farther from the enigmatic fictional characters found in Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness, both of whom go into the jungle bearing the burden of Western civilization. Instead Ellenby, a long-time tropical fruit farmer whose LNB Groves is one of the most progressive farms in the Homestead, Florida area, has gone deep into the jungle-of Belize-to preserve it and to learn its lessons. Ellenby is a scholarly botanist and a long-time practitioner of transcendental meditation who has spent several decades overseeing more than 150 acres of tropical fruits in South Florida. There he grows longans, sapodilla, mamey, sapote, black sapote, jackfruit, dragon fruit, and more along with his wife Kiki and several of their now-grown four children. He also has a 15-acre organic home farm in Homestead. But Ellenby is spending more and more time in the heart of the dark jungle of late, having recently purchased 80 hectacres (around 1,978 acres) of land in central Belize. There he is on a mission that has nothing to do with that of generations of ivory traders, poachers, and colonists who have left the comforts of Western civilization for the wilds of the third world. Instead, in Belize, Ellenby hopes to show that it is possible to create a sustainable jungle-and to live gently there, off the grid. And in the meantime, he's using drones to map the unchartered territory, developing products using fallen bamboo and medicinal plants, and clearly loving every minute of his Central American adventure. We just had to sit down with him and learn more.

SISE HoC Finados Celebration
They had a very successful Finados altar at the SISE HoC.

Entrepreneurial Training at Blue Hole
The Belize Audubon Society teamed up with the SBDC to bring Entrepreneurial Training to business owners located around the Blue Hole National Park. Thanks, BAS and SBDC! "From October 26th-28th Eco- tourism small business owners and employees of the buffering communities of the St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park participated in a Entrepreneurial Development Training offered by the Belize Audubon Society in Partnership with SBDCBelize. This training was made possible through our partnership with The National Audubon and IDB-MIF to strengthen Bird-based tourism in Belize."

Scarlet Macaw Guardians Needed
The Belize Wildlife Referral Clinic is looking for some Scarlet Macaw Guardians. You could help with the raising of chicks in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. In related news, the BWRC is having their fundraising gala on the 21st. "After this years success (thanks to interns Katie Roehl and Lacey Brown, and of course all other partners and supporters!) we are happy to announce that we are looking for "Macaw Interns" for next year! Contact [email protected] for more information."

Belize Fishing Report for Oct. 26th - Nov. 4th, 2015
Orvis' fall Bonefish bonanza was a great success with many guests fishing outside the bonefish box for permit and tarpon! Many thanks to Sarah and Dan from Orvis travel for putting this trip together and hosting a great bunch of folks. There were lots of brand new Helios 2 rods on hand for all to use.

CTV3

Rodwell Ferguson Wins Recount For Stann Creek West Area Representative
A recount of the votes in the Stann Creek West constituency proved that the actual winner was Rodwell Ferguson and not Walter Garbutt as was widely reported on Election Day. On that decisive day, that constituency had trouble figuring out who was the actual winner even after it had been announced that Garbutt has won by a meagre 8 votes. And now with that discrepancy settled, statistics showed the People's United Party (PUP) candidate; Rodwell Ferguson senior won that seat with 3,300 votes while Garbutt received 49.32% of the votes or 3,292 votes. So what really happened? We spoke to Rodwell Ferguson senior about that huge "blunder" today�. "From the beginning it was one, one and when the last box was left to be counted, I guess somebody from his camp told him that he was winning by three hundred and that was a total lye and then he went out and gave his victory speech and everything about an hour after I get a call that I was winning by eight votes so they call him back you blunder why did you had to go out there and say you won and so when we went through we won by eight votes and although he asked for a reconciliation of every box and when every box was reconciled we were still up by eight we were there until about three thirty in the morning and we way well we will close off and we asked for a recount of every single ballot and then the returning officer agreed for one o'clock the next day when we went through the reconciliation they recount some ballot that had been rejected and so at the end of the day it came back to eight again and so I was victorious by eight votes."

David Nanes Schnitzer Captured By INTERPOL In Island Of Belize
An International report reveals that David Nanes Schnitzer was captured by authorities on a resort island in Belize, with assistance from Interpol and the U.S. Marshals Service. Nanes is wanted by authorities in Mexico for allegedly helping defraud thousands of investors while serving as president of Stanford Group Mexico. Investors in Latin America, including in Mexico, Panama and Venezuela, suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in losses when Stanford's financial empire collapsed. Nanes oversaw Stanford's operations in Mexico, Panama and other parts of the region. Stanford based himself in the Caribbean island of Antigua, and the flamboyant businessman used his firm to bankroll a lavish lifestyle and major international cricket tournaments. Stanford has appealed his conviction.

Breaking Belize NewsPJ

High-school volleyball champs crowned in PG
A total of eight volleyball teams arrived in Punta Gorda (PG) yesterday afternoon to partake in the annual high school nationals for that sport, four being female and four, male, which were all victorious in their zones to qualify for the national games. Games began from around 3:00 p.m. yesterday and continued all day today, featuring female teams from Muffles College, Saint Catherine's Academy, Belmopan Comprehensive High School and Ecumenical High School, as well as male teams from Saint John's, Toledo Community College (TCC), Muffles College and Sacred Heart High School. After some exciting matches, Saint Catherine's Academy rose to the top, edging out Belmopan Comprehensive for the first place trophy in the female category and Ecumenical High School managed to secure third place. In the male category, Saint John's Academy took third place while a tight matchup between Toledo Community College and Muffles College ended favorably for the underdogs, which were the TCC Scorpions, after they rallied back from a discouraging loss in the first set.

Blogs

Saturday Snapshots: My Week on Ambergris Caye
Ahhh the past week and a half�Halloween, dog sitting up north, SUN and lots of driving back and forth up and down the island. Here are my snapshots�my life around the island. I remain Insta-obsessed so almost all of them are on there�even this braggy one about my new Insta-milestone. I'm only about 64.13 million behind Kim Kardashian! Halloween at both the SAGA Kids, Pets and Adults event� �and for the Holiday Hotel. For all the pictures, check out the blogs listed below. My dog ward, Elsie. And one of my cats, Papusa, NOT enjoying all the alone time. While we are on an animal kick�one of my favorite signs in town. Art really. Perhaps I should try to categorize�food, restaurants and new businesses around town? Gorgeous fry jacks at Estel's By the Sea.

Saludable Tortilla de Verdura
Lavar la espinaca perfectamente y retirarle las pencas. Calentar una sart�n limpia y sin aceite y colocar las espinacas por 2 minutos, tapar la sart�n. Repetir este paso con toda la cantidad de verdura. Al cabo de dos minutos, la espinaca habr� disminu�do su tama�o, quedando as�. Es importante retirar la espinaca al cabo de dos minutos -o hasta que haya disminu�do su volumen- porque de esta forma conservar� todos sus nutrientes. Picar la cebolla en peque�os cuadrados, cortando primero tiras y luego rot�ndolas 90° para cortar los dados. Colocar un poco de aceite en una sart�n limpia y volcar la cebolla. Dejar que se cocine hasta que est� dorada en los bordes y m�s transparente en el centro. Reservar.

Tortilla de Tomate
Cuece el tomate (con o sin c�scara) en una olla con un poco de agua. Despu�s p�calo un poco y s�ltalo en una sart�n con un poco de aceite junto a la cebolla. Condimenta con sal y pimienta y revuelve bien. Apaga el fuego. Aparte, bate los 3 huevos con otro poco de sal y pimienta. Luego ll�valos al fuego en una sart�n con un poco de aceite caliente y, cuando est�n empezando a cocinarse, �chales encima el preparado de tomate y cebolla sin revolver, y d�blale encima uno o los dos extremos de la tortilla para darle forma de omelette o de arrollado. Deja unos minutos m�s, pero sin dejar que se queme el fondo, y s�rvelo.

Ensalada de Tomate con Vinagreta de Perejil
En una licuadora combina el perej�l, el aceite, el vinagre, la mostaza y el ajo, salpimienta a gusto y enciende hasta que se mezcle bien todo. Sirve los tomates ya cortados en un plato y riega con la vinagreta. Un consejo, siempre recuerda que la vinagreta se puede guardar en la heladera por un d�a, no m�s.

Tortilla de Espinacas
Para comenzar esta receta, primero necesitas conseguir una sart�n que no se pegue. En un recipiente grande, agrega los huevos previamente batidos, medio vaso de aceite de oliva y la pizca de sal. No olvides revolver por unos pocos minutos para unificar todos los ingredientes. A continuaci�n, agrega el zapalltito rallado, el jam�n picado, tambi�n el queso rallado y la cebolla grande rallada. Vuelve a revolver e incorpora paulatinamente la cantidad de harina necesaria para esta receta.

Tortilla de Papa
1. En una sart�n mediana, calienta � el aceite de oliva, luego sofr�e la cebolla y la papa. Cocina a temperatura baja por 15 minutos aproximadamente o hasta que la papa este suave, pero no muy cocida. 2. En un taz�n bate los huevos, agrega el perejil y el chile morr�n. Agrega la fritura de cebolla y papa sazona con sal y pimienta. 3. Calienta nuevamente la sart�n, agrega el otro � taza de aceite de oliva. Vierte la mezcla de huevo y papa, tapa la sart�n y a temperatura mediana-baja cocina la tortilla por 10 minutos. Dale la vuelta ayud�ndote con la tapa y coc�nala por 5 minutos m�s. Deja reposar unos minutos, luego c�rtala en cuadros y col�calos en un plato para servir.

SIMPLE TORTILLA DE CEBOLLA
Pela las cebollas y c�rtalas en l�minas muy finas. Luego pon una sart�n con aceite a calentar, a fuego medio. A�ade las tiras de cebolla y baja a fuego lento hasta que veas la cebolla transparente. Despu�s escurre todo el aceite de la sart�n, dejando la cebolla. Aparte bate los huevos con un poco de sal y los echas a la sart�n. Remueve con la cebolla hasta hacer la tortilla.

Cheesy Brussels Sprouts
Fill large pan with water and stir in sugar. Bring to boil. Add brussel sprouts. (the sugar takes the bitterness out of the brussel sprouts.) Cook until brussel sprouts are tender when stuck with fork. Drain and put into large casserole dish. (I use one that measures 9 x 13). Dice onion and slice mushrooms. Place in large skillet with butter. Saute until onion and mushrooms are both tender.

Corozal: The Ultimate Belize Retirement Destination
Corozal is situated on a pristine bay that once served as an important stop along the trading routes of Belize's first settlers, the Mayans. But history doesn't begin and end with these people. Over time, forts, towns and outposts were established throughout this vicinity by people migrating here from other countries, and they left plenty of historic sites behind with each iteration of migrants. That stated, if the sites you prefer to frequent are strictly 21st Century ones, you can always head for Sam's Club and Walmart in nearby Chetumal, Mexico! Corozal Town offers the quintessential charm of a picturesque little village loaded with charm and resources. It has become an important and convenient hub frequented by ex-pats seeking shops, banks, a library, churches, schools, stores and even municipal offices. Move here, and whether you require groceries, a good book or legal forms, you won't have to travel far to get exactly what you need.

Videos

  • Travel Insurance: Jumping off things and drinking coke, 6min. Footage from our adventure backpacking West Coast America and Central America.

  • Backpacking Central America EP6 - Belize: Caye Caulker, 4.5min. We arrive in Belize City and head straight to Caye Caulker, a chilled out Caribbean style island where we relax swim and soak up the good vibes.

  • Belize Scuba Dive, 16min. We dived the barrier reef.

  • Belize 2015, 4min.

  • SYLVIA EARLE BELIZE " A TREASURE", 1.5min. Had the great pleasure to explore Turneffe with Sylvia, listen as she speaks about Turneffe Atoll , July 2013. Watch her documentary on Netflix Mission Blue

  • Belize Part 6 Monkey River, 15min. Belize Part 6 Monkey River

  • Skydiving into the Blue Hole, Belize, 8min.