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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

Another murder on the island; Antonio Pagoada shot dead in San Mateo
The senseless murder of 44-year-old Nieves Antonio Pagoada has San Pedro Police on high alert as they try solving this latest homicide on the island. Since then, police have identified a few persons of interest who they believe can assist them in solving Pagoada’s murder, along with the previous which took the life of Gillett by an unknown shooter as well. In an effort to prevent any more violent incidents, the San Pedro Police Formation will be engaged in a strict operation against a potential spike in crime on the island. As a result, members of the Gang Suppression Unit, along with other security agencies from the mainland will be assisting the local force on the island in their preventative campaign. “We will have a major increase in patrols throughout the island in order to thwart any future illicit activity and bring back the order in San Pedro,” said Deputy Officer in Charge of the Coastal Executive Unit Henry Jemmott. He once again asked the general public to assist the police in any way they can, so together they can continue keeping Ambergris Caye attractive and safe for residents and visitors alike.

Local authorities lay plans to alleviate traffic during high season
Downtown traffic congestion can be a chaotic situation, and with more vehicles and golf carts on the island, the problem just keeps growing. Chris Nuñez, head of the SPTD, said that he and his team are working on a plan that will monitor the amount of town traffic until the late hours of the night. “We are planning to have traffic wardens doing night shifts in order to further monitor the flow of traffic,” said Nuñez. “With the high season fast approaching, we are aware of the increase in traffic, therefore, we want to also increase our presence on the streets and maintain safety at all times.” Nuñez added that it is during the evening hours and into the night that more monitoring needs to be done as that is when people are mostly driving in town as they head to restaurants or bars to recreate. “Another crucial component that will help us, will be the joint work with the police in case we need their assistance in law breaking scenarios,” he said. Another issue that comes along with traffic is when numerous tourists complain that traffic wardens issue them tickets on their first offence. Nuñez indicated that the SPTD is working to alleviate this problem by emphasizing good hospitality. “Every morning we have our sessions, and we encourage our wardens to practice good customer service and public relations, especially with our visitors. We are aware that our street signage is not the best, and it has caused a lot of tourists to complain because they get ticketed. We will be also be encouraging rental companies to give tourists adequate information in regards to traffic regulations. But we try our best to tell our wardens to give our visitors a break and educate them instead. We’re hoping to have a good season this year,” said Nuñez.

Patrick Faber hopes to reach compromise with teacher’s salaries
Following the 11-day strike by the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU), both teachers and students returned to the classrooms on October 19th. Before and after the strike, Minister of Education, Patrick Faber, informed the members of the BNTU that their salaries would be adjusted if they participated. However, after negotiating with BNTU President, Luke Palacio, Faber has offered two proposals in support of teachers receiving their complete salary for the month of October. The first proposal stated that Palacio should use the BNTU’s Strike Fund to finance some teachers’ salaries, and the other proposal states that the MOE will pay the teachers in full whilst demanding that they put in extra hours to make up for time lost in the classrooms. “If we find agreement then the Ministry will proceed with paying full salaries for the teachers on strike on the condition that the BNTU will repay the government from its strike fund the agreed portion that BNTU would be responsible to meet for the teachers who are on strike,” Faber stated in a letter dated October 21st.

DOE orders shut down of Captain Morgan’s Retreat; Heredia intervenes for extension
The San Pedro Sun was informed by Deputy Executive Office for the Coastal Executive Unit, Assistant Superintendent Henry Jemmott that the police “assisted the Department of Environment (DOE) to shut down Captain Morgan’s Retreat, located three and a half miles North of San Pedro Town, entire operations on Tuesday, October 18th.” This information led to an investigation, which revealed that Captain Morgan’s has been in non-compliance with the DOE for several years due to improperly installed sewer waste treatment system. A meeting then took place between Chief Environmental Officer of the DOE Martin Alegria, and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Honorable Manuel Heredia Jr. to discuss a way forward with Captain Morgan’s. In that meeting, the relevant parties reached a compromise, allowing Captain Morgan’s to remain open. Minister Heredia explained to The San Pedro Sun that he asked the DOE to extend their deadline, saying that the situation was just a misunderstanding. “Captain Morgan’s was not shut down. They were going to be shut down because they had be given a timeframe to be able to fix their sewer waste treatment system. They have done some of the work, but they have not complied with the timeframe given. I asked the DOE to let us give them a little more time, and if we see that they are not complying, I will not even lift a finger because it is more than sufficient time for them to get it completed,” said Heredia.

Newlywed couple donates school supplies to town library
The San Pedro Town Public Library received a generous donation of much-needed school supplies and swim toys on Tuesday, October 25th. From crayons to paint, markers, pencils, highlighters, books, and even backpacks, the library welcomed the donations from Rick and Leahann Bernstein. According to Library Assistant Marlene Coral, the Bernsteins visited her previously, and asked her to write a list of school supplies that the library needed. The couple recently tied the knot on Sunday, October 23rd at Caribbean Villas, and they decided to make their wedding a bit more interesting. Instead of asking for wedding gifts, the Bernsteins asked their invited guests to bring school supplies that would be donated to the library instead. With much support from their family and friends, more than two large suitcases were packed with school supplies. For the Bernsteins, the children in San Pedro have a unique charm in them, which they compare to the beauty of the island. “We fell in love with everything about Ambergris Caye, and I love the idea that all of the kids from the different school come to the library. For many of them, the library is the only place they have access to the internet, and we like knowing that this is the place that a little bit goes a long way. We are also very happy to have shared these experiences with our friends who did not know of Belize,” said the Bernsteins.

Misc Belizean Sources

Halloween Events in San Pedro
Here are the upcoming fun Halloween events this week~ Thurs. & Fri. 6-9pm Haunted House at Wayo's, Benefits Food Bank, Hope Haven, Kid's Club & Literacy Program Fri. 7pm Trivia for Red Cross at Crazy Canuck's~ dress in costume to support Red Cross Sat. 9pm- 4am Holiday Hotel Halloween Party $15. (They say no charge if your costume is good enough!) Sunday 11am Saga Halloween Party ~ dress your pup up!! Mon. 5pm-9pm Black Orchid 5th Annual Halloween Social ~ for kids & adults Candy for the kids, drink specials for adults in costume, or come as you are, but be there or be square!!!

2016 Halloween Party at Holiday Hotel
Several photos...

Breast Cancer Awareness Walk/Run!
San Pedro Town residents joined the thousands of Belizeans countrywide at Saturday's Breast Cancer Awareness Walk/Run! A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support!

And off they go! Welcome to Belize WestJet!
Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. Minister of Tourism & Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation alongside Director of Tourism Mrs. Karen Karen P. Bevans getting ready to board the Toronto to Belize 1st WestJet Flight.

CARICOM Secretariat in Collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Belize holds National Consultation On the Draft CARICOM Regional Education
The Ministry of Education, Youth Sports and Culture, Belize is pleased to collaborate with the CARICOM Secretariat in holding Belize’s National Consultation on the draft CARICOM Regional Education and Human Resource Development Strategy 2030 on 31 October, 2016 at the Belize Biltmore Plaza. The consultation will include, inter alia, Ministries of Education, Youth,Health and other relevant areas; Labour, the Private Sector; youth and students; tertiary level institutions. The CARICOM Human Resource Development (HRD) Commission was mandated, among other things, to: “Develop a Regional Education and Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy that would adopt a holistic approach to the transformation of education and which would, inter alia, ensure the continual alignment of education and training with the emerging academic, technical and personal/social skills and attitudes required for the 21st Century labour market and society; and also make more efficient use of regional resources to develop and implement solutions to the identified challenges. Important in this regard is capacity building for Research and Development. Culture should be a guiding principle in achieving the aforementioned and particular emphasis should be placed on the perspectives of children and youth, fostering creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship from the earliest levels;”

Forest Department Responds to Human-Jaguar Encounters
In response to the recent reports of jaguar sightings and attacks on livestock in the Laguna and Yemeri Grove areas, Toledo District, a Forest Department response team has been dispatched to assist farmers and ranchers in livestock husbandry techniques to prevent loss of livestock. The team, consisting of wildlife conservation experts, are also monitoring hotspots and conducting public awareness in these communities in order to better mitigate and reduce human-jaguar conflicts. Forest Department/Panthera representative, Ms. Shanelly Carrillo, explained that even-though jaguars are recognized as an important flagship species both for conservation and tourism, farmers often see them as a nuisance. She noted that with the continuous expansion of farming communities into once pristine forested areas, there is an increasing likelihood of jaguar encounters. Apart from their shrinking habitats, the jaguars’ dwindling natural food sources due to overhunting have also forced them to seek other alternatives outside of the protected areas. Consequently, they pose a direct threat to livestock and other domesticated animals. In some instances, these human-jaguar conflicts lead to the retaliatory killing by residents.

Cancer walk this morning...

MURDER IN BELIZE CITY
Shortly before 7pm, shots rang out on South Creek near Bucks Barbershop. We can confirm that at least two persons were shot; one man is dead and the other is listed in a critical condition at the KHMH. George Young a.k.a Jaro (pictured) was inside the barbershop when he was fatally shot. The other person in the hospital has been identified as Abraham Craig. We received reports that the suspect in this latest homicide has already been picked up by police. Police are processing the scene.

Expofer Chetumal
Belize has arrived! Cecil "Cocono Bwai" Jenkins and Lirahunu Satuye Dance Group will be among the Belizean performers at Expofer Chetumal tonight! It will be Cocono Bwai's first in international performance...

Artist Service Day at Stann Creek House of Culture
Up early and ready to work in Dangriga!

WestJet Inaugural Flight Ceremony!

The Reporter

BTL rolls out Hypernet service to Los Lagos
Residents in the Los Lagos community now have access to high speed internet connection via fiber-optic cables, through Belize Telemidia Limited’s Hypernet service. BTL held the official launch of the service today, with a ceremony within the community. The service, available for residential use only, marks the first time BTL has laid infrastructure in the area. Product executive, Janine Salazar, said that the service brings internet speeds if five, 10, and 12 megabytes, to an area that previously could only get up to 2meg, due to the wireless connection. “We chose the areas that we did because we wanted to take the service into areas where we didn’t previously have infrastructure,” Salazar explained. She added that Los Lagos is the third area to receive the service under the phased rollout: the first two being in Corozal and Orange Walk. BTL is planning to take the service to the Hollywood and New World areas next.

BNTU rally in Belize City
Teachers from all over the country gathered in Belize City today for a solidarity rally with the Belize National Teacher’s Union (BNTU). The BNTU marched through the streets this morning, starting at their office on Coney Drive and ending at the Fort George Memorial Park. BNTU President Luke Palacio engaged the teachers, to remind them that the overall goal is a better Belize. Palacio said that one of the major reasons for today’s rally is to express their dissatisfaction with the way the Minister Education, and it’s Minister Patrick Faber, has been dealing with the teachers post-strike. “We want to remind you that the strike is only on hold, and if you rub we the wrong way then you di ask for it,” Palacio said. ” Our teachers are ready to walk out of the classrooms.”

Stakeholders discuss barriers to accessing HIV-related healthcare services
Representatives from the Government, youth and regional organizations, gathered at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel Saturday morning, to discuss the various barriers that prohibit persons from accessing healthcare services related to HIV. Entities such as the Ministry of Health, and the Department of Youth Services attended the event, which was organized by the National AIDS Commission and in collaboration with the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS). Cedriann Martin UNAIDS, communications advisor, shared the results of two surveys: the first was a public opinion survey on a range of sexual reproductive health, rights, discrimination; and the other was the Belize sample data of an online survey done with men who have sex with men (MSM) around the Caribbean.

BELIFA holds health fair
The Belize Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (BELIFA) held a health fair in Belize City Saturday, as a part of its activities commemorating Life Insurance Awareness Week. The Association teamed up with several other organizations, including the Belize Family Life Association, the Kidney Association of Belize, the Diabetes Association of Belize, and the Health Education and Community Participation Bureau (HECOPAB), to hold the fair at the Lions Club parking lot on Princess Margaret Drive from 9:00 a.m., to 4:00 p.m. At the fair, the participating organizations offered free tests for blood sugar levels, kidney function, blood pressure and HIV. They also offered information on various non-communicable and communicable diseases, and tips for eating healthy. President of BELIFA, Shawn Smith, explained that her organization decided on the health fair as a means of reminding their customers and the public at large about the importance of good health when applying for coverage.

Breaking Belize News

Man shot dead in Belize City
Eight shots were fired an hour ago near Buck’s Barbershop in the North Creek area of Belize City. When the shots were fired one male individual was left dead on the scene. Police have not released his identity but they have confirmed that this […]

Fourth San Pedro murder in a month, police suspect drug war
There has been an estimated three murders in San Pedro for this month. However, last night the fourth was recorded. Antonio Paguda, 41, was shot multiple times by a lone gunman who pounced on him while he was walking in the San Mateo area […]

BNTU demonstrates, turnout low
The Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU) is currently parading through the streets of Belize City. However, the turn out has been minimal when compared to previous marches held in recent times. Nevertheless today’s event is to send a message of thank you to all […]

Smart Belize teach senior citizens at Helpage more about smart phones
Yesterday, some representatives from Smart visited Helpage Belmopan to teach the senior citizens how to properly take care of their phones. The citizens were also taught how to perform functions such as adding credit and texting, and to answer the phone-related questions they had. […]

OAS Online Scholarship Opportunities
The OAS Department of Human Development, Education and Employment and the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia-UPV- in Spain are offering scholarships for the course: “Introducción a la Energía Solar Fotovoltaica”. This is an online course and will be delivered in Spanish. The deadline for receiving […]

NEMO Toledo receives new facility from the US
Yesterday, NEMO Minister Edmond Castro joined United States Ambassador H.E. Carlos Moreno in cutting the symbolic ribbon to inaugurate a new facility for NEMO Toledo consisting of a Disaster Relief Warehouse and Emergency Operations Centre valued at over US$1.5 Million. The facility is located […]

Blogs

Belize Flights for Canadians
Many of my fellow Canucks are super excited about the start of West Jet flights to Belize – this has been a log time coming. As we slide into high season, these new flights will make Belize travel much easier for Canadians. I am hoping it nets me some more visits from my frozen buddies who need a break from winter. Back in 2013, my friend Shirlee started a Facebook campaign to “Bring WestJet to Belize,” and as of today, October 29, 2016 it is now a reality. The direct flights are only going to be seasonally on Saturdays and Wednesdays until April 29, 2017, and only from Toronto but it’s a great start. Flight prices run around $600.00 CAD – currently about $448.00 USD, I will keep you posted if any new flight deals come up. The Facebook page mentioned above is now West to Belize from Western Canada, and you can still join. I was told WestJet does watch Facebook so you can help the cause further develop. If you’re flexible on your dates and are okay with a 5:00 AM departure, you can still get to Belize in 10 hours from Winnipeg as well. Price is around the same. Edmonton is 11 hours and $625.00. The further west in Canada you leave from the less convenient it is (16 hours from Calgary and 17 from Vancouver) but fortunately the prices are around the same and it’s way better than what it used to be.

Clinic Day at the CC Humane Society
Every Saturday morning from 9 – 11 AM the Humane Society holds a clinic for island animals. Today was a busy one! Here are some highlights: Three sisters who had been wandering around stray were reunited. Two have been adopted by clinic volunteer Preston and his family and we have our fingers crossed on the third. A big basket of puppies came in for their second set of shots and worming. They’re sure growing fast! These two look like little stuffed toys but they’re real dogs. They also needed puppy shots and worming.

International Sources

Gov’t and teachers at odds again in Belize
Teachers in Belize were gearing for possibly more industrial action on Saturday after a planned meeting with Education Minister Patrick Faber to discuss wage issues and other matters on Friday failed to take place. The Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) remains adamant it will not bow to Faber’s request for a five-member delegation to meet with him instead of the 25-member BNTU council. “We are going to stand by the side of our members, we are going to stand by the side of our teachers and we are saying, he cannot, and I will repeat, he cannot dictate to us who will represent us at any meeting with him. “We have not said to him you bring yourself and only your CEO or your Chief Education Officer. He is the one, who has decided that he wants five persons to be there, yet they continue to give instructions to their district centre managers and other persons employed in the ministry to continue to threaten and intimidate our teachers. We have the mandate from our teachers to defend them and we will defend them to the fullest,” said BNTU president Luke Palacio.

Belize welcomes WestJet as its first non-stop flight from Canada
Today, with the departure of flight 2604 from Toronto Pearson International Airport, WestJet officially becomes the only Canadian carrier directly connecting Canadians to Belize. Bob Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Commercial, said: “I extend a big thanks to our WestJet team, the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation as well as the Belize Tourism Board for their support in the creation of this significant route. To our guests this morning, we say, “Gud maanin,” and welcome aboard. We look forward to offering both Canadians and Belizeans the chance to experience WestJet’s low fare, high care service over the winter months.” “This is a very exciting moment for the tourism stakeholders in Belize. After a long planning period with WestJet, we are thrilled that the route has become a reality,” said Karen Bevans, Director of Tourism for the Belize Tourism Board. “This flight comes at the perfect time, as we are approaching the start of our upcoming high season, making travelling to Belize so much easier and more convenient for Canadians. We expect that with such ease in accessibility, tourism arrivals from Canada will increase, thereby contributing positively to the growth in the overnight tourism sector in Belize.”

Videos

Belize welcomes West Jet's inaugural flight from Canada, 2min. The Belize Tourism Board hosted an official ceremony today at the Philip Goldson International Airport to welcome WestJet's first flight to Belize!

The Belize National Teacher's Union marching in Belize City, 1min. To show gratitude to all the teachers and parents that supported them during the eleven day strike held earlier this month. We spoke with President of the BNTU Luke Palacio and Senator Elena Smith, tune in to our newscast at 12:30p.m.

Going to Belize, 1.5min. Toronto to Belize City

Full Length Belize Mission Video 2016, 67min.

The Cloisters Tres Cocos Resort San Pedro Belize, 1.5min. Here's a little video review and tour of one of the newly remodeled rooms at The Cloisters Tres Cocos Resort on the Island of Ambergris Caye. A World Class Scuba Diving Mecca, the barrier reef, the Blue Hole and much more make this island and the town of San Pedro a great destination. Fishing, the island life, great food and the sounds of the ocean are part of the Belizean Experience.

Dexta Daps live in Belize, 44min.

Belize: Culture, Nature, History, 1min. A brief introductory video featuring images of the diverse cultures, long history, and bountiful nature of Belize.