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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, and other specials

The San Pedro Sun

Saga Humane Society reviews successful year
The Saga Humane Society has wrapped up 2016, a year that brought memorable highlights and much success. With so much accomplished, Saga would like to review all events that played a key role in the past year’s success. Saga is a huge advocate for the improvement of the general health and wellbeing of domestic and wild animals. The start of 2016 thus saw a new leash/collar, tag, and license law in San Pedro Town. Dogs must be restrained on private property by a fence, tether, or leash, in a humane manner. Dog owners are required to keep their dog on a leash and under immediate control any time the dog is taken off the property and in the public. By order of the Belize Dogs Act Chapter 153 Revised Edition 2000 and the San Pedro Town Dog Control Orders of 2012, all dogs six months and older must be licensed, leashed and have a proper and humane collar for identification. The annual license fee per dog is $5BZ, and can be obtained at the San Pedro Town Council.

Presenting your San Pedro Tiger Sharks Team members!
The San Pedro Tiger Sharks has officially introduced their team members for the upcoming season of the National Elite Basketball League (NEBL). The new season that starts on Friday, January 13th will once again see Ambergris Caye represented by the two-time NEBL champions. Coach Rico Black is confident and believes that the team is more than ready for a great performance in the national tournament. The members of the team that will join him this season are: Kurt Burgess, Doug Penland, Douglas Valley, Raul Roches, George Williams, Tyron Edwards, Ashton Edwards, Jamal Kelly, Jay Jex, Rassi Jenkins, Afri Black, Jorrett Jones, and Nayib Casimiro. The island team recently came back from the Central American Basketball Tournament known as COCABA, held in El Salvador. The regional tournament took place between December 13 and 18 of 2016, where they claimed third place for Belize.

Minister Heredia appoints new SP Traffic Board
After being dormant for almost three years, a new traffic board has been appointed for San Pedro Town. The five-member group, officially known as the Ambergris Caye Traffic Control Committee (ACTCC), was assigned by Area Representative and Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Honourable Manuel Heredia Jr., and includes three members from the City of Belmopan and two from Ambergris Caye. Serving as the Chairperson of the Board is Ruth Dawson, while Alberto Nuñez is secretary and the CEO is Ruth Meighan. The other committee members are Commissioner of Transports, Tirso Galvez and San Pedro Town Mayor Daniel Guerrero. Guerrero indicated that the sole responsibility of the ACTCC is to monitor the importation of vehicles to the island. “They will not interfere with the internal affairs of the San Pedro Traffic Department,” Guerrero. “However, all vehicles coming to the island will be needed to be cleared by the new Traffic Board.” He stated that the decision to have outsiders as heads of the committee was unexpected. But Guerrero hopes that it is for the better, and will help decrease traffic congestion on the island.

Misc Belizean Sources

Belize World Heritage Site 20th Anniversary Celebration
The Belize reef celebrated it's 100 millionth birthday with a celebration of its 20th anniversary of becoming a World Heritage Site. A lot of the heavy hitters spoke about the importance of protecting the reef, and there were many performances throughout the night. "The 20th Anniversary of our Belize World Heritage Site featured great and passionate speakers, beautiful performances and people who truly care about our protected areas. Here's a peek into our night."

The Reporter

Sixth murder on the sixth day of 2017
A sixth murder has been recorded on the sixth day of 2017, as another person has met an unexpected end by gun violence. Reports are that 35 year-old Alexander Palacio was shot by a gunman in front of his residence on Santa Maria Street in Punta Gorda Town. The incident occurred at around 7:25 p.m., on January 6,2017. Palacio sustained several gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Palacio was released from prison on parole on December 7, 2016 after serving a sentence for manslaughter in the death of 21 year-old Wasani Belgrave that occurred in 2005. Palacio was accused of the crime after he was found walking away from the scene on the Yabra bridge.

Mexico in social unrest after gas price hike
Massive social unrest in Mexico has sparked widespread protest, blockage of roads and looting of hundreds of stores over the past few days, spreading to the neighboring city of Chetumal. The protest was fueled by a recent sharp gasoline price hike that was introduced by the Mexican government on January 1, 2017. The government as a way of ending regulated prices for gasoline and diesel boosted the average price by 20%. According to several online articles, the price for a litre of premium gas is now $17.79 pesos. That makes 4 litres or about a gallon equal to nearly as much as Mexico’s recently-increased minimum wage for a day’s work. Recent reports have indicated that several stores which Belizeans frequent have been targeted by looters such as Walmart, Plaza de las Americas, Chedraui and Aurera.

Breaking Belize News

Home invader escapes in family’s Escape
A home invasion in Ladyville on Thursday cost the victims of an armed robbery a total loss of over $27,000 and an SUV as the thief stole and made his escape in the family’s Ford Escape. According to police reports, 26-year-old Steven Wade reported that on […]

House fire in Punta Gorda
Last night around 6:25 p.m., police responded to a house fire on West Street in Punta Gorda and saw a wooden structure with zinc roofing measuring approximately 26 by 30 feet engulfed in flames. No one was in the house at the time of […]

Police issue official report on murder in Punta Gorda
According to police reports, last night around 7:28 p.m. , police responded to a shooting incident in the Indian Ville area of Punta Gorda and visited Santa Maria Street where officers saw 35-year-old Alexander Palacio Jr. of Sapodilla Street lying on the street with […]

Police Department reverts to old way of communication
Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie, yesterday during a meeting of police top brass at the Raccoon Street police station in Belize City, announced that police formation commanders would no longer be made available to the media for information and interviews.Instead, the media will be directed […]

Barbados fighting off devaluation
The Central Bank of Barbados, currently facing its own economic uncertainties, recently issued a warning to its government that “painful” fiscal measures are now necessary to avoid a catastrophic devaluation of its currency.Barbados, like Belize, uses a 2:1 exchange rate peg with the US […]

Blogs

Guatemala’s BELOVED Pollo Campero: Is the Fried Chicken Worth the Wait?
From all the talk I’ve heard about Pollo Campero, I could only surmise that it is the very best fried chicken in Central America..perhaps the world. The family owned chain has 350+ franchises included about 70 in the US…and I’ve heard people remember it with eyes tearing and mouths watering. According to the empire, it’s “the chicken you can’t campero”. There are many legends about their specialty – the fried chicken. The first is, that the aroma from the boxes of chicken on flights from El Salvador’s airport (an insanely busy Pollo Campero restaurant) to the U.S. are so ridiculously overpowering that headquarters is working on a special insulted box for transportation. Another rumor (which more than one taxi driver in Belize City has told me) is that the management of the chain came to Belize City to see if they could expand into our country. They went around tasting the most popular fry chicken spots in the city (it’s called “fry chicken”) and announced that Belize had no need for Pollo Campero. We were doing fine on our own. Apparently when relatives visit Guatemala, the only request they get from those in the US is not coffee or beautiful fabric but…you guessed it…Pollo Campero. And…the fries were good but not MacDonald’s crisp, the sweet tea, excellent, the dinner roll was a bit dry and the chicken….ummm…decent. It tastes like some sort of citrus and heavily of black pepper. My least favorite spice in the world. And the meat tasted unseasoned. Clearly all of Central America is right and I am wrong but I’m not a big fan. PLUS, the price was about $6US or Q42.75. That ain’t cheap. Minimum wage here is about Q80-85 per day. That’s a crazy ratio! So it’s just not my taste. What I did notice is that this empire is SO SMARTLY RUN. The technology, service (waiters and waitresses!), the speed, the uniformity, THE SPEED…super impressive.

The Mayan archaeological site of Cuello
Cuello is an ancient Maya site located in Belize’s northern Orange Walk District. One of the oldest Maya sites ever discovered, archeologists believe that the site was first settled more than 4,000 years ago. Excavations beginning in the 1970s revealed a unique style of pottery called “Swasey” after a river in Belize. It is believed that the Swasey pottery styles have no clear parallels. Cuello is believed to have been a relatively unimportant town during the Pre Classic era but served as a regional trade hub as precious items like jade and obsidian have been discovered at the site. Cuello is a fantastic example of a continuously occupied Maya site replete with pottery, evidence of expansion, and the remains of more than 20 human beings who were sacrificed during the dedication of one of the temples. Although the architecture is perhaps less impressive than at other Maya sites, artifacts discovered at Cuello have yielded extremely important information on the early history of the Maya civilization. Cuello is located approximately four miles west of Orange Walk Town via Yo Creek Road. The site is located on private land owned by the Cuello Family, but visitors are permitted to explore the site. The Cuello site is located on the grounds of the Cuello family who operate the Cuello Distillery, makers of the most popular rum in the country: Caribbean Rum. The best way to get to Cuello is to make your way to Orange Walk Town, the capital of Orange Walk District, and take private transportation to the site. Cuello has only been excavated since the 1970s, and lacks a full complement of tourist amenities.

Videos

Meet Kendis Gibson, a native of Belize, who currently works at the ABC News Network, 5min. He joined their team in 2014 and was described as a "talented journalist with wide-ranging experience." Gibson left Belize at the tender age of 10 and has made it to the ABC News as a correspondent. Show some love Belize!

Good morning from Azul resort, North Ambergris, Belize!!!, 1.5min. One of my jobs for this weekend is to photograph a 5* resort from point of view of a client... What a job!!!

Maya Ancient & Modern (Belize), 1min. Promotional video for a cultural tour in Belize.

Traveling of Belize to San Pedro, 4min.

Beautiful Belize, 12min.

2015 BELIZE, 27min. San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.

Belize Snorkel, 12min. Snorkeling Shark Ray Alley.

Belize City - Walking To The Ferry Terminal, 9min. I arrived in Belize City and walked to the ferry terminal to see where it was and to buy a ticket.

Belize, 4min.

Fun in Belize 2016, 3min. Secret Beach

Belize 2016, 5min.

Fishing in Belize, 1.5min. Fishing for barracuda

Belize Diving at Paradise Canyon, 9min. Paradise Canyon outside of San Pedro. Nurse sharks were following us the entire time and we saw a bull shark but the camera wasn't on :(

Belize Sunrise in Corozal, 2.5min. Sunrise in Corozal, Belize looking out the back window of our home rental on Corozal Bay.

Belize Beach Cruisers, 1min. Ridin' Dirty in Caye Caulker, Belize, December 31st, 2016.

Belize Video Diary Part 1, 19min. Video Diary of visit to Belize Black Rock February 2016 Capturing local wildlife and Mayan Ruins.

Belize Video Diary Part 2 HD 1080p, 14min. Belize Wildlife Ambergris Caye; flora and Fauna San Pedro and Victoria house Hotel.