CTV3
13th Senator Hails From Orange Walk
For the second time in Belize’s history a 13th Senator was elected by the non-government organisation community to have a seat and a voice in the Senate. If you’re wondering why we are saying that Salas is the second 13th Senator-elect in Belize’s political history, it is because the 1st elected 13th Senator was outspoken Maya leader Greg Ch’oc.
Ch’oc had been elected by the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations in October 2008, ahead of the Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s promise to put into force amended laws to allow a 13th Senator. The Prime Minister viewed the election as premature however and went on to ignore his promise, denying enforcement of the amended laws.
Now, back to Salas’ election. The President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, and a well-known Orange Walkeno, bested out four other nominees including Oceana’s Janelle Chanona, BCVI’s Donovan Reneau, and Pablo Collado of Adopt a Child with a Disability, to become the NGO community’s Senator-elect.
Was Selection Process For 13th Senator Adequate?
The process of selecting an NGO Senator has been haunted by criticisms of exclusivism. This is because while there are nearly 140 registered NGOs, only 29 were accepted as “in good standing” by the Attorney General’s Ministry. That’s only 15% of the amount.
And still, of the 29 organisations that were accepted, only 23 participated in the election, giving the indication that the process could have been much more inclusive and representative. Well, Senator-elect Osmany Salas does recognise that there is a problem, and he pledged that it will be one of his objectives to unite the NGO community. Osmany Salas, NGO Senator-Elect:
“We need to show that we are also transparent and accountable, there is an NGO act that we must abide by with the reform set up on that act and the company’s act as well, so what transpired Mrs. Salam and other members of the community have mentioned repeatedly is that the NGO who participated in the process were the ones who were certified in good standing to participate in this process, there were a few that maybe didn’t file their papers in time and I am a little disappointed about that for them because I would have wanted them to get involved in the process..."
OW Businessman Takes Attorney General and Director of Immigration To Cour
A few months ago prominent Orange Walk businessman Rene Cuello decided to take the Attorney General and Director of Immigration Services to court as he believed that his constitutional and human rights had been violated on more than one occasion as he travelled to the Commercial Free Zone located in Belizean territory. Cuello has his mind set that the system in place at Belize’s borders where Belizeans are requested by law to stamp their passport going out and coming into the country is unconstitutional. That case is set to be heard at the Belize Supreme Court on February 22nd. Cuello was a guest this morning on the Despierta Belice Show where he told host Carmelita Perez, that the main objective for pursuing the case is to obtain freedom of movement for all Belizeans in our own territory.
Dorian Pakeman Slap With Mininal Charge
Nine months and two weeks – that’s the length of time it takes in some pregnancies – but it’s also how much time it took for the Police Department to charge Dorian Pakeman, the Director of the Press Office and known UDP supporter.
Pakeman knocked down and killed Gardenia Village resident and father 45 year old Dean Dawson on March 20, 2016.
Dawson was riding his bicycle on his way home along mile 22 on the Phillip Goldson Highway, when Pakeman slammed into him in his Government-assigned Isuzu D-Max pickup. Dawson was killed by the impact. The well-connected Government employee was detained but eventually released without any charges laid on him. The Police claimed that they were waiting on a toxicology report on blood samples taken from Pakeman and when it did come revealing that Pakeman’s blood showed signs of cocaine instead of alcohol, still no charges followed.
LOVE FM
Bondholders Approve Re-negotiations and Debt Restructuring for Belize
ON Monday we told you of a letter dated January 6 informing Belize’s bond trustees in New York of the appeal by Belize to restructure its Superbond 2038 due to unforeseen financial challenges experienced in 2016. Today, we can tell you that the bondholders have approved Belize’s request for renegotiations and a restructured national debt. […]
Osmany Salas Elected By NGOs to Be Belize’s 13th Senator
President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, Osmany Salas, made history today by being elected as the 13th Senator to represent the NGO community. The election was held in Belize City at the Belize Audubon Society headquarters where Salas became the victor after two rounds of voting. Hipolito Novelo has the story. HIPOLITO NOVELO REPORTING […]
Trouble Brews Among the Dumps at Transfer Stations
Not much information was given as to why the solid waste transfer stations are currently not operational at the six locations countrywide. As a matter of fact, the only thing that was said was that the operator of the stations has ceased operations as of yesterday, January 9, 2017. Our attempts to find out what […]
Hit and Run Driver Arrested and Charged
Charges have been laid against a Guatemalan driver in connection with the hit and run incident that happened on Sunday, January 8 in Ladyville Village, Belize District. 35-year-old, Eric Salazar Guzman was arraigned this afternoon on the charges of causing death by careless conduct, manslaughter by negligence, driving without due care and attention as well […]
Press Office Director Arraigned on Fatal Traffic Incident
The suspended Chief Press Officer for the Government of Belize, Dorian Pakeman, has finally been charged for the death of 45 year old Dean Dawson. The thirty four year old Ladyville resident was formally charged today for causing death by careless conduct. Pakemen knocked down and killed Dawson on March 30, more than nine months […]
Mama Chen Robbed
At around 7:30 this morning a man wearing a red hat and a dark sweater broke into Mama Chen business place on Eve Street in Belize City. We are told that the thief got away with one cell phone and injured one of the residents. We were told that the robber made his way into […]
Belize Population: 2nd Highest Percentage Below National Poverty Line at 41.3%
Studies and surveys conducted on Belize are done regularly in various aspects in order to get a better understanding on the developments and progress made in the country. Joan Burke-Skeen who works with young persons and family life, she gave a brief report on findings in a recent country assessment during The Morning Show today. […]
Sharp Increase in Butane Prices as at January 11
The increase of fuel prices at the pumps went under the radar over the last few days but tonight we can tell you that fuel prices are not the only commodity that is seeing a hike in prices as the Belize Bureau of Standards announced today that effective January 11, 2017 there will be increases […]
Coalition Saving Our Natural Heritage through Education on Sea Seep Survey
Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage is holding its own consultations into the Marine Multibeam and Sea Seep Survey. According to the spokesperson, Valentino Shal, the focus is on getting everyone up to date with the information regarding the survey. VALENTINO SHAL “We are trying to meet with our friends, supporters and constituents before […]
Family Life Director Speaks on Social Media Sex, Sugar Daddies, Cougars and Teenage Pregnancy
The issue of teenage pregnancy is one that has loomed over our country for years now. While it was an occurrence that was frowned upon many years ago, it is now one that has been accepted as somewhat of a norm. In the cases of pregnancies of minors, there are very few cases where the […]
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Amandala
Belize loses $109 mil judgments in US courts
The Government of Belize and the Ashcroft Alliance have been in a protracted legal battle over a claim for hundreds of millions of dollars in a slew of litigation dating back to 2009, and reports reaching our newsroom today are that the US Supreme Court has issued a decision today signaling that it will not accept Belize’s petition against enforcing the awards in the USA.
“The justices denied certiorari [an order by which a higher court can revisit a lower court’s decision] to cases that had been originally brought by Belize Social Development Ltd., Newco Ltd. and BCB Holdings Ltd., which stem from awards that were issued by various arbitral tribunals and were all confirmed by the D.C. Circuit,” Law360 reported today.
In a news release issued today, Caribbean Investment Holdings Limited (formally known as BCB Holdings Limited) and the Belize Bank Limited (collectively known as Caribbean Investment Holdings), said that they “have achieved a win in a lengthy process to achieve judicial recognition in the United States of an international arbitration award rendered in London, England in August 2009 against the Government of Belize (‘GOB’).”
Belize loses US$19 mil appeal in US Supreme Court
Belize has reportedly lost its US$19 million litigation battle with Belize Social Development Limited (BSDL)—an Ashcroft company which was created by the Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) while under the control of Brutish billionaire Michael Ashcroft to receive the proceeds of an arbitration award handed down months before the nationalization by the Government of Belize.
A report appearing in Law360, based in New York, reported that the US Supreme Court said today “that it would not take up Belize’s challenge to enforce a 38 million Belize dollar ($19 million) arbitral award to a telecommunications company.”
Financial Secretary Joseph Waight has told our newspaper that the amount sought is now almost double the original award, at roughly $75 million, with interest.
We asked Denys Barrow, SC, counsel for the Government, what the implications of the US court’s decision are, and he told us that the decision means that the claimant which had filed suit in the US against the Government of Belize is able to enforce the award in the US against any property of the Government of Belize that is available for enforcement; however, he said that the asset would have to be a commercial asset – and to his mind, no such asset is available in the US for BSDL to claim.
Electrician, Anthony Gilharry, Sr. died from a broken heart!
Just before he passed away last Friday, January 6, Anthony Gilharry Sr., 40, told his sister, Glenda Archer, that his wife was calling him and that he was leaving. Gilharry’s wife, Miriam Diane Gilharry nee Hyde, died two months ago in November 2016.
Maggie Magdalena Haylock, one of Anthony Gilharry’s sisters, told Amandala tonight that her brother died of a broken heart. “After his wife died, my brother gave up life”, Haylock said.
Gilharry was born on 11th October 1976. He lived in Ranchito Village, Corozal District, as a child. At the age of 7 years, his mother died, so the paternal aunt of him and his siblings offered to assist with his upbringing. He lived with her until adulthood, Haylock explained.
Gilharry attended Ranchito Government School and then Escuela Secondario Mexico High School. He later took vocation-technical training in Belize City, and that was when he fell in love with the electrician profession.
13-year-old Belizean girl missing; police search for Mexican father
A 13-year-old Belizean Hispanic girl is missing and the primary suspect in her disappearance is her father, a Mexican national previously convicted of child molestation in Mexico.
According to Corozal police, the primary school student, Anaseily Gonzalez, was last seen at the Chunox junction in the Corozal District on Friday at around 4:00 p.m.
It is believed that she was taken in a navy-blue taxi to the Orange Walk border with Mexico and was then taken over into Mexico territory.
Today, Monday, our newspaper spoke to Senior Superintendent of Police, Dennis Arnold, who told us that Mexican authorities have confirmed that the child’s father, Javier De La Cruz, 43, had been convicted of child molestation.
It is believed that he and the child may be in La Union or Chetumal, Mexico, he said.
Arnold also revealed that on Sunday, the child contacted her mother, who had made the missing person report.
Guatemala says Belize agreed to no Sarstoon occupation until ICJ
In recent years, there has been a lot of back and forth on Sarstoon Island which Belize and Belizeans have forever known as Belize’s territory. But Guatemala became aggressive in its exertion of supposed sovereignty over the island in the last decade.
A leaked Belize Defence Force confidential report from October 2015 documents, there is an increased aggression on the part of the Guatemalan Armed Forces in the area toward the BDF.
This tension has led to multiple diplomatic meetings and the latest round of encounters on the matter between the Foreign Ministers of both countries have had to do with a protocol for the Sarstoon, which Belizean officials foresee will be something akin to the Confidence Building Measures or CBMs that are in place along the western border.
However, it has since been revealed in Guatemalan official documents that they have rejected any CBMs for the Southern border along the Sarstoon. The Guatemalans have instead insisted on what they call a security protocol that consists of granting Belize the courtesy of allowing our military to traverse the Sarstoon River to simply conduct its changeover at its Cadenas conservation post.
WW New Year’s Race results
Below are the official results from the Weekend Warriors (WW) New Year’s Race held yesterday, Sunday, January 8. Starting at 9:10 a.m., the “A/B” went from Mile 40 on the Philip Goldson Highway towards the Boom Road junction, then took a right, then a left at the George Price Highway, then a left again at the Chetumal Street junction, then a right back again onto the Philip Goldson Highway, then made their way down to the NAPA roundabout, then back up to finish at the M&M Engineering Compound, for 54 miles. 47 riders started the “A/B” race, with 37 finishing.
The “C” class went from Crooked Tree junction and did the same route, starting at 9:15 a.m. 13 of the 14 “C” class starters managed to complete the journey.
Belize’s National Team plays Friendly tonight, travels tomorrow
Belize City football fans cannot fault the Football Federation of Belize (FFB) for not bringing one of the preparation “friendly” matches of our National Team, the Belize Jaguars, to the MCC Grounds, because the playing surface there is acknowledged to be terrible and indeed risky for possible injury to our players. Hopefully, some quick action could be taken to upgrade the surface in time for next month’s start of the PLB Closing Season; and also, so that Belize City fans can once again get to see our National Team in action in the old capital.
On Friday night, the Jaguars defeated a Dangriga selection, 2-nil, at the Carl Ramos Stadium; and yesterday at the Louisiana Field in Orange Walk Town, they defeated an Orange Walk selection, 4-nil. Tonight, in their last practice match before travelling tomorrow to Panama for the UNCAF Copa Centroamericana tournament, the Belize Jaguars take on the Kasvamart Talentos MX from Mexico City. This game takes place at 7:00 p.m. at the FFB Stadium, but reportedly will not be aired on TV.
Secondary schools football begins today at the MCC
The Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) Football Tournament 2016-2017 kicks off today at the MCC Grounds with 2 games scheduled, 1 female and 1 male game.
There are 6 female teams participating in this year’s competition, while the 11 male teams taking part have been separated into two divisions, 6 teams in Division One and 5 teams in Division Two.
Female (F) teams are: Ladyville Technical High (LTH), St. Catherine Academy (SCA), Gwen Lizarraga High (GLH), Wesley College (WES), Maude Williams High (MWH), and Pallotti High School (PHS).
Male (M) teams are:
Division One: Belize High School (BHS), Ladyville Technical High (LTH), Maude Williams High (MWH), Nazarene High School (NHS), St. John’s College (SJC), and Sadie Vernon Technical (SVT).
Football Friendlies in Orange Walk; Belize Jaguars visit
Two friendly games were played on Sunday afternoon at the Louisiana Football Field in Orange Walk.
In the opener, the Corozal Selection won, 5-4, over Carmelita. Goals for Corozal were by Camilo Sanchez (3), Diego Sanchez and Basilio Sutherland; while Carmelita got goals from Jevon Ico (2), Marlon Miranda and Diedron Baptist.
The big featured nightcap saw the Belize Jaguars putting down the Orange Walk Selection, 4-0, with goals from Deon McCaulay (3) and Luis Torres.
The Orange Walk Football Association would like to thank all supporters and fans who came out in numbers to support the Orange Walk team and Belize Jaguars before their departure to Panama.
O.W.
Unity
It may be the greatest cliché ever, but in unity there is strength. The teachers of Belize have proven this truism once again over the course of the last week. The ruling United Democratic Party (UDP), embarrassed by the unity/strength of the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) during the teachers’ October strike last year and the subsequent dispute over strike pay, had succeeded in forcing Belize’s school managements and principals to take the Ministry of Education’s side in the matter of whether Belize’s schools should open on Tuesday, January 3, or Monday, January 9, 2017. Holding firm on a matter of dignity and principle, the BNTU, however, quietly had it their way on Monday, January 9, 2017.
For months, the UDP’s leaders have been using all their political power to divide the teachers along party lines, and clearly the ruling party has succeeded to a certain extent. The UDP has framed the standoffs between the BNTU and the Government of Belize in political terms, and has appealed for teachers with loyalty to the UDP to defy the BNTU’s directives. The UDP has been arguing for months that the BNTU is in the service of the Opposition People’s United Party (PUP), that the national and branch leaderships of the BNTU want to overthrow the government, and BNTU President Luke Palacio has been singled out for special invective and opprobrium.
From The Publisher
In these my senior years, it is usually uncomfortable for me to read material I wrote as a young adult, such as The Crowd Called UBAD, written in 1970 when I was 23 years old. Such material often strikes me now as immature, hence the reason for my discomfort. Still, the material provides a historical record of the era in British Honduras (Belize), and it is therefore relevant and valuable.
In my column today, I will quote from the aforementioned The Crowd Called UBAD with respect to the early days of the United Black Association for Development (UBAD), which was founded on February 9, 1969, with the following executive:
President – Lionel Clarke,
First vice-president – Evan Hyde,
Second vice-president – Robert Livingston,
Treasurer – Wilhelm Arnold,
Asst. Treasurer – Ismail Shabazz,
Secretary – George Flowers,
Asst. Secretary – Penny Casasola,
Councillors – Louis Belisle; Charles X Eagan; Galento Neal; and Alfred Faber.
Homicides, the leading cause of death in the Belize District
In a health bulletin released for the year 2016, the Ministry of Health revealed that homicides are the leading cause of death for the Central Health Region—an area with a population of over 90,000, spanning Belize City, Caye Caulker, San Pedro and the remainder of the Belize District. Ranked second is cardiovascular disease and third is cancer.
There were 70 murders recorded in the Belize District, constituting 51% of the 137 murders recorded countrywide for 2016, based on preliminary police reports.
The Central Health Region bulletin notes that, “Hypertension and diabetes have been the leading non-communicable diseases affecting the region, with incidences of 155 and 110, respectively.” In its December 2016 epidemiology bulletin, the Ministry demonstrates that there has been a rise in the cases of diabetes observed at the national level.
“Diabetes Mellitus, also known as Type II diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes, is the fourth leading cause of death in Belize and a major cause of disability among the population,” the report said.
Breaking Belize News
PUP congratulates 13th Senator
The People’s United Party (PUP) has issued a press release congratulating Osmany Salas, current President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association on his election as the 13th Senator representing the NGOs in the Upper House of the National Assembly. “Based on past experience, we […]
Police need your help in finding 13 year old teenager from Orange Walk
Police in Orange Walk are looking for a 13-year-old teenager who went missing on January 10, 2017. According to police reports, Ideline Adelia Romero was last seen about 7:25 am on January 10, 2017 leaving home to attend classes. she was wearing her her […]
Dorian Pakeman charged
Former Director of the Government Press office, Dorian Pakeman was formally charged for the crime of ‘causing death by careless conduct’ in the Belize City Magistrate Court today. Pakeman, 34, was charged for knocking down Dean Dawson, a mechanic, in March of last year and […]
Crique Sarco residents plea for better road
Residents of Crique Sarco in the Toledo district are pleading to the government for help as the road that connects the mainly Q’eqchi Mayan community to Punta Gorda is in such deplorable conditions that residents have been virtually cut off from the neighboring town. […]
New ambulance for Dangriga
The Southern Regional Hospital in Dangriga is set to receive a used ambulance through the help of a Canadian chiropractor and coordinated efforts between the Rotary Clubs in both countries.Roman Bayrock, the Canadian chiropractor who has done other charitable works in Belize over the last […]
NGO’s select 13 senator
The NGO community, today, elected Osmani Salas of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, to represent them as the 13th Senator. Twenty-three of the 29 NGO’s in good standing participated in the voting process, which was held at the Belize Audubon Society office in Belize […]
Osmany Salas elected as 13th Senator
Osmany Salas has been elected as the 13th Senator. Salas is the national President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) and will now represent the NGO’s in the Senate. “I am honored and humbled to be elected the 13th Senator for the NGO’s,” […]
13 year old missing; allegedly kidnapped by child molester
Thirteen-year-old Anaseily Gonzalez was last seen on Friday January 6, 2017 at 4:16 p.m. at the Chunox junction waiting on a bus. It is alleged that she was kidnapped by her father, Javier de la Cruz, who is a convicted child molester. The Jasmine […]
Belize City police recover nearly four pounds of weed
According to police reports, yesterday evening around 4:24, police conducted a search in an overgrown lot on Mopan Street, Belize City which led to the discovery of a red plastic bag containing 400 grams of cannabis. No one was found in the area and […]
San Ignacio police find almost 500 grams of weed
San Ignacio Police conducted a search in a drain on 18th Street, San Ignacio Town which led to the discovery of a black plastic bag containing 499 grams of cannabis. No one was found in the area and the drugs were deposited as “Found […]
Corozal police find weed
According to police reports, yesterday morning, police conducted a search behind the park in San Andres Village, Corozal District which led to the discovery of a black plastic bag hanging from an avocado tree which contained a transparent plastic bucket containing 377 grams of […]
Motorcycle stolen in Belize city
According to police reports, 20-year-old Raheem Cole reported that between 7:00 p.m. on Sunday and 7:55 a.m. on Monday, someone stole his black and chrome 2016 150CC Lifan motorcycle, with license plate MC-4684, valued at $2,428.30 from a yard at #3 Waight Street, in […]
US Supreme Court rules that Belize needs to pay up US $50 million in arbitration costs
As Belize continues to negotiate with bondholders to restructure the 2038 Bonds, the country’s already fragile economy has taken another crucial blow as US Supreme Court, yesterday, denied the government’s request for a write of certiorari in two pending arbitration settlements, namely: GOB vs. Belize […]
General John Kelly to head US Homeland security department
Today, confirmation hearings begin for General John F Kelly who has been chosen to serve in the Cabinet of United States President-Elect Donald Trump. Kelly will serve as Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He is a retired Marine Corps General. General […]
New Year = New Adventures! Here’s to 2017
Just like that 2016 is over. 2017 welcomes us with open arms, with the opportunity to make new memories and live exciting new experiences. A new year often sees us making resolutions, challenging ourselves to add to the storybook of our lives. There is no better way to do that than creating a list of fun/in Belize. Call it your Belize Bucket List! 1. Dive/snorkel the Blue Hole: This is an easy one, after all who doesn’t want to visit one of the top aquatic destinations in the world? The collapsed sink hole is visited by thousands each year who marvel at its complex structure and amazing marine life. We want you to enjoy that too! 2. Hike up Victoria’s Peak: Time to get those hiking boots ready! While Victoria’s Peak is not the highest summit in Belize (Doyle’s Delight is the highest peak in Belize at 1,124 m), it is the most iconic. At 1,120 m, it definitely gives you enough of a challenge!
International Sources
Is this the Caribbean's most surprising destination?
ou’ll be hiking for 45 minutes, crossing a river three times, then swimming through a cave,” warns the letter on my bed.
The staff at the Ka’ana Resort near San Ignacio may be full of sound advice (“pack bug spray, be prepared to get wet and muddy”) but they give nothing away about the sensational experience that awaits on a day trip to Actun Tunichil Muknal.
One joy of travelling here is how empty Belize seems. While neighbouring Mexico and Guatemala are famously populous and exuberant, here the roads are quiet, the beaches relaxed, the archaeological sites often blissfully free of crowds.
Just 380,000 people inhabit an area similar in size to Wales, and they are a most engaging jumble of cultures, including Maya, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, East Indian, Chinese and Mennonite. That’s very different from the heyday of the Mayan era in the third to 10th centuries when more than a million people lived here, with the ensuing deforestation and pressure on resources thought to be one reason for the demise of this great civilisation.
The most popular destination is Ambergris Caye, a 25-mile-long island in the north that attracts more than 40 per cent of visitors, mostly from North America. Here, protected sites such as the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Alley, where schools of nurse sharks gather, lie just a 10-minute boat ride away.
Belize trustee approves committee for debt talks
The trustee of Belize's so-called superbond has officially recognized a bondholder committee to hold talks with the government on the country's third restructuring in a decade.
Funds including Greylock Capital Management and Grantham Mayo van Otterloo joined forces to form the committee, which was assembled last month to represent bondholders.
Now trustee Bank of New York Mellon has formally approved the committee to negotiate with Belize, which says that its US$530m bond, issued in 2013, is unsustainable.
The bond, which comes due in 2038, came out of the restructuring of a previous note that itself was the consolidation of other debt in a 2007 restructuring.
In a memorandum to BNY made public this week, Financial Secretary Joseph Waight said Belize intends to "imminently" seek the consent of bondholders to amend the terms of the notes.
Caribbean prepares to pilot insurance facility to protect fisheries sector
The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) hosted a working group meeting in Belize City from 9 – 10 January 2017, to advance the implementation of a risk insurance facility for fishers in the region.
When fisheries ministers from CRFM member states met in the Cayman Islands in October 2016, they reviewed the progress made towards the activation of the Caribbean Ocean Assets Sustainability faciliTy (COAST). This week’s working group meeting, which the CRFM is facilitating in collaboration with the US Department of State, will aid in the selection of a representative sample of Caribbean countries in which the initiative will be piloted.
The purpose of this week’s meeting is to chart the steps necessary to qualify a pilot country (or pilot countries) to purchase the COAST insurance product from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC) before the start of the hurricane season on June 1, 2017.
Victim’s mom, 92, seeks to speed trial for high-seas murder suspect, 75
Thirty-eight years after the bodies of two British tourists were found in the Caribbean Sea, the elderly mother of one of the victims is asking a federal district judge to speed up the trial of a Sacramento man accused of murdering the couple on a boating excursion from Belize.
The written appeal from 92-year-old Audrey Farmer, the mother of medical-school graduate Christopher Farmer, added a new element to the bizarre, unfolding criminal case of Silas Duane Boston, 75.
Boston, a former Sacramento resident who was living in a nursing home, was arrested Dec. 2 in the rural town of Paradise and later indicted on two counts of first-degree maritime murder in the 1978 killings of Farmer and the physician’s girlfriend, Peta Frampton, both in their mid-20s. He has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say Boston also is a suspect in the killing of his former wife, Mary Lou Boston of Sacramento, who was last seen in 1968. According to court documents, Boston has claimed to have committed other killings as well, and may have been involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Sacramento’s Lemon Hill neighborhood in 1972.
“My husband and I were very much involved in the search for them and we did all we could to establish how, why and who killed them,” Audrey Farmer wrote of her son and Frampton in a letter introduced in federal court Tuesday. “It was a matter of great sadness that my husband, Charles, died three years ago never knowing the truth surrounding their deaths and that the murderer was never brought to justice.”
She added: “I am myself now 92 years old and Duane Boston is 75. Taking all of this into account, there may be little time left for justice to be seen.”
WestJet Traffic Is Surging
Canadian carrier WestJet continues to show strong traffic growth, according to the company’s latest report.
The company showed 2.098 billion revenue passenger miles in December, a 9.1 percent increase over the same month in 2015.
Available seat miles grew 7.1 percent to 2.598 billion in the same period, while load factor rose by 1.6 percentage points to 80.8 percent.
For the full year 2016, the airline flew 22 million guests, an 8.2 percent jump over 2015 or 1.7 million additional guests.
WestJet has been expanding its Caribbean flights, most recently with new service to Belize.
“We are very pleased with the double-digit traffic growth in 2016 as we achieved our second highest full-year load factor of 81.8 per cent and welcomed a record 22 million guests on board,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “I want to thank our over 12,000 WestJetters for continuing to deliver our award winning brand of friendly caring service during this busy holiday season.”
Videos
Healthy Kidneys, Healthy Belize, 5min. This Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Chronic Renal Failure was initiated in 2016. According to statistics from the Belize government, the prevalence rates of both diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are potential health factors in renal failure disease, are above 30 percent. The purpose of this project is to build capacity among health workers, promote health knowledge, establish a tracking and management system for chronic disease cases, and provide epidemiological reports.
Karate / Mixed Martial Arts, 30min.
BTL Promotions,15 min.
NGO 13th Senator Elections & Way Forward, 35min.
Dolphin Fun at Coco Plum Island Resort, Belize, 1/2min. Friendly, gracious, and "show offs" these dolphins decided to stop by and say hi on a recent fishing trip! Just one of the many reasons to love our Belize Barrier Reef!
Aerial Perspectives of Ambergris Caye Belize, 1min. Aerial views of some of the surrounding areas of the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize.
Recent increase in fuel prices, 8min.
Story time: I found love in Belize!, 14min.
Howler monkey Belize 2017, 1.5min.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
