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The San Pedro Sun
Editorial: What happens when child animal abusers grow up?
Two months ago headlines countrywide were heavy with the story about a wild Howler Monkey that was brutally killed by school children at the Belize High School of Agriculture in Orange Walk. As if the story wasn't disturbing enough, a video taken on someone's phone was circulated on the Internet, capturing the gruesome mob of children as they delighted in killing the helpless animal. The act of senseless violence outraged the public and when the Belize Forest Department pressed charges against the killers it was a step applauded by many. And although it was gratifying to see justice served, the root of the problem was overlooked. Just what possessed, and I mean possessed in every sense of the word these children to behave this way. How can children gleefully partake in the beating death of a helpless animal?
Last week The San Pedro Sun reported on another story of children actively participating in animal cruelty. And a very treacherous one at that! Risking life and limb to pull a live crocodile from a trap with the sole intention of torturing and killing it makes for what some may consider an unbalanced mind�and perhaps a dangerous one at that. What would possess a group of young boys to do such a thing? Herein lays the question, and the root of the problem.
Contestants for Miss SPHS announced
San Pedro High School (SPHS) is preparing for its annual Miss SPHS Pageant to be held Saturday June 1st at 7PM at the Angel Nu�ez Auditorium. The seven lovely young contestants that will be competing for the honor of being the 2013/2014 Miss SPHS title are Veronica Choc, Isolene Bailey, Amari Duncan, Janelle Tillet, Reyna Chavez, Vivianie Duran and Chelsea Munoz.
The pageant promises to be a night of fun-filled presentations and entertainment. According to organizer Renison Crawford, the pageant will be bigger and better than ever before. All seven girls are currently being coached in the art of pageantry and dance by Jhoshi Alexander Valencia, Mr. Jade World 2012-2013/ Mr. Centro America y El Pacifico 2013-2014.
The pageant will start with an introduction of all the contestants, after which the young ladies will perform a dance. They will then model professional/business attire, cultural costume, casual wear, the evening gown and then fa
Ministry of Tourism & Culture, NICH & BTB speak on Noh Mul's destruction
The Ministry of Tourism & Culture, along with its line agencies, the National Institute of Culture and History and the Belize Tourism Board, expresses its outrage on the destruction of the Noh Mul Mayan Archaeological Site. This total disregard for Belize's cultural heritage and national patrimony is callous, ignorant and unforgivable. The Ministry of Tourism & Culture, along with relevant agencies, has commissioned a vigorous investigation to determine all the facts in this case. Cultural landmarks such as Noh Mul are sacred artifacts of Belizean history and should be protected at all costs. This expressed disdain for our laws and policies is incomprehensible. The Ministry of Tourism & Culture, the Belize Tourism Board and the National Institute of Culture & History remain committed to its mandate for the sustainable use and protection of Belize's natural and cultural resources.
"Crime Stoppers Belize" signs placed across San Pedro town
Crime Stoppers Belize has donated eight "Crime Stoppers Belize" signs to the newly installed Crime Stoppers San Pedro branch. The signs were placed in key points around San Pedro Town. On Monday, May 13th, Councilor Gabriel "Gaby" Nu�ez, Councilor Wally Nu�ez, SPTC foreman Freddie Gonzalez and SP Chief of Police, Luis Castellanos were up and about installing the signs themselves. The purpose of the signs is to make the "Crime Stoppers Belize" contact number readily available to the community and to encourage people to call and be part of the fight against crime. The signs were strategically placed where they would receive the most visibility for the public. The first two signs were placed in front of each airline station: across from Tropic Air on the south wall of the San Pedro Roman Catholic Primary School, and across from Maya Island Air on the Captain Shark's building. Another two signs were placed in the roundabout located by Banyan Bay Resort. Signs were also placed at both water service terminals: San Pedro/Belize Express Water Taxi and Caye Caulker Water Taxi. The last two signs were placed at both entrances of the Sir Barry Bowen Bridge.
Ambergris Today
New Developments in Belize's Overnight and Cruise Sectors
There is fantastic news to report in the tourism travel industry for Belize. Hot on the heels of the release of record breaking tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2013, new flights and cruise calls to Belize were announced for the final quarter of the year.
Starting in November, Delta Airlines will be adding another Saturday flight from Atlanta to Belize. Delta currently deploys seven flights a week (one flight per day) to Belize, increasing its total number of flights to eight per week (twice on Saturdays). This is an additional 596 seats per month, and will be a permanent addition to Delta's schedule to Belize.
Mothers of San Pedro Honored at Grand Gala
The highlight of the San Pedro Town Council's Mothers' Day Program on Saturday, May 11, 2013 was the performance of X'Pet and El Cocotazo, two comedians from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, but the participation of the mothers on stage also made for great entertainment.
X'Pet and El Cocotazo had everybody in tears as they cracked joke after joke with a non-stop performance for almost one hour long. These great comedians from Mexico were playful and witty and had highly entertaining jokes; not one person with a dry eye. They danced, sang, made fun of each other as well as others in the audience. They really showed their love for San Pedro and expressed their joy of having the opportunity to entertain all the mothers at the show.
Flashback: Real Estate Now Multi Million in San Pedro
Walk around San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye and at every block you will find a Real Estate Office with its walls pasted with photos of properties on sale. Real Estate is a multi-million dollar business on Ambergris Caye. But this is not how it all started. In the beginning it was two or three Sanpedranos/Belizeans who used to advertise by word of mouth and sell properties, small and large to U.S. visitors. These Sanpedranos did not have a college degree nor a realty license (simply not needed). Then came the foreign businessmen like Lester Langdon and South Wind Properties and took control of the Real Estate. On the Front Street, now Barrier Reef Drive, you could not miss the office of South Winds because it was standing all alone right across Fido's on a property belonging to Felipe, "Tio Pil" Paz. It was a tiny office with a huge sign and the amount of business must have been huge also because there was almost a monopoly. When the Island Plaza was built, South Winds moved right across inside the Fido's complex. If you hear that real estate is poor today, it is not true. It is because the pie is being shared by scores of other realties sharing the billion-dollar business.
25 Years Ago:
The British at San Pedro High School
The Brits were very active in Belize from 1970's and through the 80's making reconnaissance flights around the country, airlifting emergency patients, and of course protecting our borders with Guatemala. They also vacationed on Ambergris Caye and were very generous tourists. For a while they were very active in San Pedro and helped tremendously with the construction of the new San Pedro High Building. Since 1981 when we formed the San Pedro High School Building Committee, Mr. Allan Forman, chairman of the committee solicited help from the British High Commission and was very lucky to obtain the help we needed. Approval was given for 20 British soldiers stationed at the Belize airport to come to San Pedro to work on the construction of the building.
Ancient Belize Maya Pyramid Destroyed for Landfill, Somebody Needs to Pay
It's on USA Today, CBS News, FOX News, Washington Post, ABC News, BBC News, Yahoo News, The Huffington Post, Japan Times and who knows what other international media outlet. No it is not John McAfee back in Belize again or a huge murder case in the country, but that of an incident that has all Belizeans in an outrage. A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract crushed rock for a road-building project.
A large portion of the Maya ceremonial temple Noh Mul located in the vicinity of the villages of San Jose/San Pablo, just north of Orange Walk Town, was demolished by a construction company to purportedly use the material to fill roads in a nearby community. Noh Mul (known as Big Hill) stood ten miles north of Orange Walk and was constructed over 2,000 years ago. The site consisted of two twin ceremonial cluster surrounded by plazas and connected by a central cause way. The Maya site did not have a distinctive pyramid temple like most popular sites around the country, but that does not make it less important within our rich Maya heritage.
Misc Belizean Sources
Nightly Closure of Hawksworth Bridge in San Ignacio
Belmopan. May 14, 2013. The Chief Engineer is advising that the Hawksworth Bridge in San Ignacio will be closed to all vehicles effective today from 9:00p.m to 5:00a.m for nine consecutive days.
The Ministry of Works and Transport will be doing major repairs to the bridge.
Any inconvenience caused is regretted.
Placencia Belize Resorts Prepare for the Annual Lobsterfest Celebration in Placencia Village - June 28, 29 & 30
The Placencia Lobsterfest is a grand celebration of the opening of the lobster season in Belize and attracts thousands of local and international visitors to the Placencia Peninsula. The manager of guest services at Chabil Mar, Tiffany Edwards, tells us about what to expect at Placencia Lobsterfest 2013.
"Of course there are lobster dishes of all types and recipes and each dish will be eligible to enter the Placencia Lobsterfest 2013 "Best Lobstah" Dish Competition. And for those not so keen on lobster, no worries. The food vendors have you covered with shrimp, fish, chicken, steak, pork and sumptuous vegetarian sides. Many of the cooks at the Placencia Lobsterfest come to the beach carrying years of strong family kitchen traditions. Food is Placencia's ultimate cultural immersion experience. Taste Creole, Mayan, Garifuna, Caribbean, European, Asian and North American culinary influences at the leading gastronomic party in Belize."
"No Belize festival would be complete without Music. Popular local DJs, musicians and major headlining Belizean bands will have visitors and locals alike moving and shaking their feet in the sand throughout the weekend. Chabil Mar Resort will be featuring Garifuna drummers at their open-air beachside restaurant on Friday evening to compliment the weekend's event and then guests can stroll along the beach to the site of the official festivities."
Rescued Yucatan Spider Monkey
Rescuing animals and getting them to proper care is a costly but very necessary service we need here on the island. Please consider helping if you can!
ACES thanks the BFD and the Belize Tourism Police. He will go to Wildtracks for rehab.
Education Week at Benque Library
Feelgood news of the day. For Education Week, The SIPL met up with the Benque library to do some storytelling to the students of Hills of Promise SDA.
"The San Ignacio Public Library in a joint effort with the Benque branch library teamed up for storytelling and activities for Hills of Promise SDA Std 3 and 4 students. They had a fun and informative afternoon."
La Capitana Cruise on Lake Benque
Did you know that Cayo has lakes, and pontoon boat tours? Lake Benque is very easy and inexpensive to get to, and Martz Farm has the 'La Capitana' pontoon boat. You can see waterfalls, including the Twin Waterfalls, hike the Maya Mountains, swim in granite pools, see exotic wildlife, and even camp overnight if you'd like. La Capitana even has a BBQ grill on it. You can cruise in style, and enjoy lunch right next to waterfalls."Cayo has lakes, and you can boat them now at Martz Farm. There are quite a few waterfalls to hike to and play in around Lake Benque. You can even camp overnight."
Festival of Arts Call for Entries
The Institute of Creative Arts is doing a call for entries for this year's Belize National Festival of Arts, which starts on June 3rd, and runs through June 22nd. If you're an artist, and you create in and of the media listed, then you have until May 24th to submit any entries. Call 227-2110 or email [email protected] for more information. They have the entry form on their fb page.
Martha's Guesthouse Promotional Video
Martha's Guesthouse has a new video out. It showcases their rooms, restaurant, and laundry service, and shows the panoramic view of downtown Cayo from the top floor. Nicely done.
Belizean Cassava/Yuca Pudding or Plastic Pudding
Cassava or Yuca is a vegetable that can be used to make a certain type of bread and puddings. It is very starchy so is makes this pudding gelatinous and sticky, but very tasty. This pudding is a lot like the Taro or Coco Cake already at this site.
May 5, 2013 - May 11, 2013 Fishing Report
We were honored here at El Pescador to host for the second time "Buccaneers and Bones." What a blast. Tom Brokaw landed his biggest bonefish, Lefty told him it was the best cast he had ever seen Tom make�.Yvon get's his first Grand Slam with Captain Emir, Meredith rocked it out the first day with Captain Cesar landing a nice forty pound tarpon�.A twenty five something jack ripped up Lefty's hand, and what was super cool was that Orion's director, Kevin Faye, landed a really nice four pound bone right from the dock! "Start rolling�.and whamoo!" One landed big bone landed on fly from the dock. That was a VERY good omen. Thank you to everyone. We are an extended family at El Pescador. Thank you everyone for a great week of hanging out, fly fishing and most important�building exciting relationships. I look forward to seeing everyone in the future as we pursue our quest to understand and explore more about saltwater fly fishing. The fish don't care if you just started, or if you are a pro. What matters is that is that we have fun trying new tricks and practicing what we have learned along the way.
Channel 7
Tourism and Culture Ministry Say Noh Mul Destruction "Unforgiveable"; DPM Agrees
Today, the chorus of condemnation against the destruction of Noh Mul swelled into an official outrage as the Ministry of Tourism and Culture issued a forceful statement - essentially against operators within the ruling party.
The statement says, quote,
"The Ministry of Tourism & Culture, along with...NICH and the BTB, expresses its outrage on the destruction of the Noh Mul Mayan Archaeological Site. This total disregard for Belize's cultural heritage and national patrimony is callous, ignorant and unforgivable. This expressed disdain for our laws and policies is incomprehensible."
"Unforgivable�incomprehensible"? That's pretty strong stuff, especially considering that Noh Mul was being quarried reportedly to fill roads in the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega's Orange Walk North Division. Today in a press briefing, the CEO in the Ministry of Tourism amplified those comments and, again, pulled no punches:
Tracy Taegar-Panton - CEO, Ministry of Tourism and Culture
"It's incomprehensible, really - there's no recovering the history that we have lost, that is the true tragedy of this situation. We are certainly outraged, saddened and it is unforgivable to us. The destruction 2000 years of our Belizean history and culture - we will deal with this matter to the full extent of the law because it's so important to our national identity and our national patronage."
Mother Accused of Infanticide Felicia Chen Remains At Mental Facility
22 year-old Felicia Chen, the young lady accused of killing her 3 children was back in Magistrates Court today. She had been remanded to a Mental Health facility because the psychologist, Dr. Elma Augustine, certified that she was a danger to herself due to severe clinical depression.
Well, Magistrate Dale Cayetano was presented today with a second report from Dr. Elma Augustine which concluded that Chen needs to continue to be housed at the facility because she is still not able to cope with the trauma. So, she was remanded to the hospital until her next court date, which is set for May 22, 2013. Chen is now being represented by Human Rights attorney, Antoinette Moore.
Man Pleads Guilty To Sodomizing Teenager
26 year-old Kareem Hamilton will spend 4 years in prison because he pleaded guilty to sodomizing a 15 year-old, mentally challenged boy.
A jury was selected to start hearing his trial before Justice Troadio Gonzalez, but before any testimony was heard, Hamilton changed his plea to guilty. Before handing him the sentence, Justice Gonzalez scolded him that he didn't show any signs that he was sorry for what he did. With that, Justice Gonzalez sentenced him to 4 years in prison.
On April 28, 2011, the 15 year-old, who was a student at a mental institution, met Hamilton at his home on Morter's Lane. Hamilton had told him that he had something to give him, but when the young man got there, Hamilton sodomized him.
Two days after the incident, the boy's stepmother that he was walking strangely. She questioned him, and, he started to complain that he was experiencing pain. The stepmother then took him to a doctor who certified that the boy had been sodomized.
Corozal Police Make Major Bust With Mexicans
A Belizean and a Mexican are locked up tonight at the Corozal Police Station where they both face multiple firearm and ammunition charges.
On Sunday Corozal Police chased a black pickup truck in the Dominguez layout area of that town. The driver was 32 year old George Valencia - a Belizean laborer of G-Street south Corozal town. The truck was intercepted, but during the chase, police saw the passengers tossing objects out the truck window.
Police got the truck to stop and George Valencia remained inside, while the men dashed out and ran into the nearby bushes. Police chased them and captured one of the men. He was later identified as 25 year old Juan Alliesto Hernandez Zuniga - a Mexican of Chetumal. The other man who made good his escape is also believed to have been a Mexican.
Family Says Police Never Responded To Progresso Accident Scene
Last night we told you about two weekend traffic facilities in the Belize District, Well, there was one more, in the Orange Walk District. It happened on Sunday night around 7:20 a mile out of Progresso Village - near the junction of the Progresso/San Estevan Road. 42 year old Jose Serafino Marin had flipped his pickup and landed in a ditch. Police say that Marin had extensive head injuries and was apparently dead. Police say he was taken to the Northern Regional hospital where he wa spronoucned dead at 9:55 pm/
But Marin's family has a very different account. They say that their loved one was left on the road for over an hour - while still alive, and no police or ambulance ever came. They say they ended up taking him to the hospital themselves where they had to stretcher him inside themselves - only to hear that he had passed away.
Clinic Robbery In OW Was Pure Terror
Tonight, police are providing startling details on the robbery that occurred yesterday afternoon at a Doctor's Office in Orange Walk.
As we told you last night, at about 1:30 pm, two men stormed into "Brigidos Dental and Medical Clinic" and held everyone at gunpoint. Today police say that a female doctor reported that while she was tending her patients a tall brown skinned man entered the clinic room, pointed a black handgun and asked for her husband. He demanded fifteen thousand dollars which he said both doctors had. His accomplice then tied up three patients with plastic straps.
They then robbed those patients of $450.00 dollars in cash. After that they pointed a gun to head of a 55year old woman who shouted for help. Dr. Angel Brigido - who was sleeping - heard the ruckus and walked outside, which is when one of the culprits fired a single shot towards him but missed. The thieves then ran out of the clinic and escaped. No arrests have been made.
PG Police Not Owning Up to Shooting Death Of 18 Year Old
This evening, a post mortem was conducted on the body of 18 year old Rasheed Eligio. The Punta Gorda teenager was killed by police on Friday - after he escaped on his way to prison. Tonight, many questions surround his shooting death - and his family says police indiscriminately used lethal force. The officer commanding the Southern Region, Robert Mariano has to find out what happened - and bring appropriate charges. But this morning, he called in to the KREM WUB Morning show where he admitted that none of the police in the search team is accepting responsibility. Here's how he put it.
Voice of Sr. Supt. Robert Mariano - O.C. Southern Region Police
"The firearms or some firearms and a led which we expect to retrieve from the body will be forwarded to the ballistic experts and we hope that the ballistic expert could conclude his analysis as early as next week. I can guarantee everybody that as soon as we get the results, a police officer will be arrested."
Broken Jaw at School
Tonight, 18 year-old Ernest Leslie, a 4th Form Senior at Excelsior High School, who is only days away from graduation, is facing a grievous harm charge after he allegedly broke the jaw of one of his female peers on the high school's compound last week Thursday.
The victim of the injuries, 18 year-old Shafane Flowers needs extensive surgery, and today, her mother spoke to the media pleading to the public for assistance.
Daniel Ortiz got her version of the story, and he also spoke with the school's administration. Here's what he found out.
Daniel Ortiz reporting
19 year-old Shafane Flowers is in visible pain as she holds on to her lower jaw which remains broken in 3 separate places. She suffered these injuries due to a fight with a male 4th form student, which took place on the Excelsior High School compound. According to her mother, this situation escalated because her daughter was being bullied for almost a month where the young man reportedly called her disrespectful names. They had an exchange of insults, and it became violent. Now, Flowers' broken jaw makes it difficult for to speak, and more importantly, to eat.
Discount King is Shutdown
This evening at around 3:30, representatives of the Belize City Council went to shut down Discount King, the business at the corner of North Front and Queen Streets. That's because according to the City Hall, the business owner, Alfonso Silva, owed them just under 1 thousand dollars in tax arrears.
So, the CitCo representatives went to enforce an order from their financial department but it didn't go very smoothly because the employees were sure that their employer did pay - and they resisted. They even showed us a receipt.
So, the council workers called in police to help enforce the order, and they got the business closed for half hour. That's the amount of time that Silva took to pay cash to ensure that he didn't owe anything.
He told us this evening, that he is very sure that he doesn't owe anything but he paid so that he could operate his business until the end of the day. He said that he is going to the City Council's office tomorrow, where he will query with them if he does or does not owe any taxes.
Attempted Murder
25 year-old Albert Clother is spending his second night in prison after he was taken to Magistrate's Court for allegedly shooting Samuel Halliday.
According to police, on the evening of Friday, March 22, 2013, Halliday was walking on Vernon Street, when Clother and others ambushed him and fired 5 shots at him, injuring him in the lower back.
Police investigated for almost 2 months, and they charged Albert Clother with attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. He was arraigned yesterday before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer, who remanded him until June 27th. The minor who he is jointly charged with was arraigned and remanded on a separate date.
Police say that they are seeking a third suspect in this shooting.
Aggravated Assault
48 year-old George Dakers is out on bail after he was taken to court for fondling a 10 year-old girl's. The child reported that on Saturday, she visited Dakers' home to borrow a nail. That's when Dakers allegedly grabbed the girl's backside.
The child's guardian requested court action against Dakers, and as a result, he was charged with aggravated assault of an indecent nature. He was arraigned yesterday before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer who granted him bail of $1,500 with the condition that he must stay away from the victim. That's when Dakers told the court that he does not even know who the victim is. He was able to meet bail, and he must return to court on July 8, 2013.
Incident with gun on Dean St.
A lightening quick response by police this evening resulted in the arrest of two suspected robbers and the recovery of a firearm believed to have been used in a robbery. This evening after five four men on bicycles rolled up on a pair of Mennonites who were making sales in their cargo truck at the corner of Amara Avenue and King Street. They robbed the men with a firearm and then rode off towards Dean Street. Precinct police were in the area and responded immediately. They intercepted two of the men on Dean street - and as they went to search them a small .25 pistol fell out of one of the men's pockets. Police also found one of the Mennonite's wallets with a small amount of cash. The men were taken into custody.
More Indians Coming In
Last week we told you about 11 Indians who were caught coming into Belize illegally in the Billy White Area of the Cayo district. Well last night, 11 more were caught - this time in Santa Elena, Cayo. Police were operating a checkpoint when they saw a vehicle loaded with passengers avert to try and avoid the checkpoint. Police set chase and found the 11 persons had been let out and were hiding in a deep drain by the 3 Flags store. They are detained at the San Ignacio Police station pending charges for illegal entry. They were reportedly trying to get to Belize's northern border.
Notably, of the last 11, 6 were remanded to prison. We've been having a hard time trying to find out where the others got to.
Honduran Remanded
48 year-old Honduran National Jose Aquino, was remanded to today for indecent assault against a 9 year-old. According to police, the child, accompanied by her mother reported that Aquino touched her privates yesterday, and as a result, police arrested and charged him with aggravated assault of an indecent nature.
He was arraigned in Magistrate's Court today, and he was remanded because his immigration status in Belize is not known. He is to return to court on July 10.
Broke into the Cancer Society
Last night, the Belize Cancer Society had a break in at their Cancer Center. The culprits broke several of the locks and were able to get inside.
But, they didn't take anything, at least, according to the members of the Cancer Society. They said that they didn't find anything missing, and they suspect that the burglars were looking for cash.
Today, the Director put the burglary in perspective, given that they are working towards raising awareness in Cancer Month, leading up to their annual cancer walk.
Here's how she described THE STATE she found the Cancer Center in this morning.
Ivorine Bulwer - Director, Belize Cancer Society
"This morning when I arrived at the office at 8:17am I opened the door and i observed that one of the door that normally is closed was open and that created a concern so I just exited the office and decided to do a spot check. At that time I observed that doors were opened and were damaged. They gained entry into the building and for more observation nothing has been taken.
Chess Olympiad
On Saturday, The Belize National Youth Chess Foundation, held its 6th annual CHESS OLYMPIAD at the UB GYM in Belmopan. 140 of the best youth chess players in the country participated and Brent Toombs of OXA Productions helped us out with this story on the grand event.
Monica Bodden reporting
As per tradition, the Chess Olympiad started with a rush of fanfare and pageantry but once the opening was done all the bells and whistles were hushed and the players were left to the beauty of strategic silence of their game. Black versus white within the confines of 64 squares - a battle of mental might.
Ella Anderson - National Programme Director, BNYCF
"We really see the best players from all the districts because the idea of the Olympiad is that all players who want to participate have to go through the qualification tournaments in their district and then the best 24 players from each district qualify to play here."
This year the tournament directors are kids who've come up in the programme
Channel 5
Trafficking of Indians; 11 try to cross border
Another group of illegal immigrants were captured in the wee hours of this morning behind a culvert in San Ignacio. At news time, it is known that a B.D.F. soldier is being detained and is likely to be charged. Indications are that there is an organized ring of the trafficking in persons operating under the [...]
U.D.P.'s Grijalva destroyed Maya site for roads in Deputy Prime Minister's constituency
The story and images of the irresponsible destruction of one of the largest Mayan Archaeological Sites in northern Belize has been picked up by most international news networks and there is shock, outrage and disgust expressed in every quarter locally. The scuttling of Noh Mul by U.D.P. political aspirant, Denny Grijalva, has reduced the more [...]
Road fill? N.G.O.s comment on destruction of Noh Mul
The international media, including CNN, the BBC and other major syndicates across the world, are on fire after the destruction of the Noh Mul Archaeological Site in northern Orange Walk. There is widespread outrage, made worse by the knowledge that there is no hope of recovering what has been lost, either in infrastructure, historical value [...]
More time in mental facility for mother accused of filicide of 3 children
Twenty-two year old Felicia Chen, the mother who killed her three children, has been ordered back to a mental facility. She reappeared in court this morning for the April twenty-seventh triple homicide of her children. Dressed in full black and looking frightened and scared, Chen was assigned before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith, who was [...]
Will Denny Grijalva be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for the destruction of Noh Mul?
The headline stories last week was about an attempt to change section fifty-three of the criminal code and our online poll dealt with that issue. There was a record number of persons who voted and shared their views on whether or not sodomy should be decriminalized. The result is as follows: a whopping two hundred [...]
"He was honest" says mother of youth killed by police during escape
Eighteen year old Rasheed Elijio's life was cut short this past Friday when he was killed by Punta Gorda police. The background is that Elijio was being transferred to the Hattieville Prison from Punta Gorda for a charge of carnal knowledge when he, along with another prisoner, nineteen year old Brian Garcia, escaped. Both Elijio [...]
Cops need more cooperation on murder of security guard
The murder of twenty-three year old security guard Randy Casey, while on duty at Kenny's Store on Friday night, goes on unsolved tonight as witnesses to the dreadful killing remain uncooperative with San Ignacio Police.� Following the weekend homicide, two persons, including an employee of the Ministry of Works, were detained, questioned and subsequently released.� [...]
Kareem Hamilton guilty of sodomizing 15 year old boy
In court this morning, twenty-six year old Kareem Hamilton pleaded guilty to sodomizing a fifteen year old mentally challenged minor in April of 2011. Hamilton's trial began with the selection of jury and he soon changed his plea from not guilty to guilty in the court of Justice Troadio Gonzalez.� Hamilton showed no remorse and [...]
Real fight talk lands 2 women in court
A dispute between two women over how to talk to a two year has ended up in court with charges and counter charges. The incident occurred on Monday when thirty-six year old Stefanie Vargas and twenty-eight year old Chanique Robinson became embroiled in fight.�� Today, they appeared before the Belize City Magistrate's Court to answer [...]
Crack dealer flings product outside, but not far enough
A man alleged to be a drug peddler by the Gang Suppression Unit was arrested this morning when members of the unit executed a search warrant at his Antelope Street house. Windell Vernon was seen throwing a plastic bag in an open lot behind his house. In the bag, the GSU claims it retrieved a [...]
Red Bank villagers fuming about results of election
Village council elections were held last week in forty-four communities and by today and not surprisingly, both political parties were claiming overwhelming support. That aside, in the Red Bank Village near Independence, the results are in dispute and residents are clamoring for a reelection. Over a hundred villagers gathered turned out in the center of [...]
Ambassador says Rios Montt trial would have had adverse effects on October 6th referendum
Former Guatemalan dictator Efra�n R�os Montt was sentenced to eighty years in prison after being found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity on May tenth.� Under his regime, one thousand seven hundred and seventy one indigenous people were killed in 1982 and 1983.� A witness at the trial accused current Guatemalan president Otto Perez [...]
Emil Moreno fights to keep status in cycling organization
While the chess Olympiad concluded with many winners, the dust is yet to settle in cycling. Elections for a new president of the Western Regional Association Executive Committee of the Belize Cycling Association were held on Saturday, despite an application for an injunction to bar the exercise.� Former BCA president, Emil Moreno, through attorney Leo [...]