Liquor License Notice - PAST DUE

The San Pedro Town Council & the San Pedro Liquor Licensing Board take this opportunity to remind all Liquor License holders that their license has now become past due and payable. All liquor license holders are urged to settle their account by Friday, February 13th, 2009 at the office of the San Pedro Town Council. Failure to do so may result in immediate closure of your establishment.

Local, National and Regional News for Monday, February 9th

TigerSharks stun UB Jaguars in game one of BPN finals

**UB Jaguars led by over 10pts in the 1st quater and Tigersharks narrowed lead in the 2nd quater, but UB still led even at the end of the 2nd quarter.

**UB was up 37-36 when Kelvin Gillett hit a 3pointer to give Tigersharks their 1st lead of the ball game. **UB came back to tie the score at 56-56 in the 4th quarter but UB coach Kevin Siroki protested too much and an irritated referree Glen Gill who gave UB a technical foul and Keith Acosta scored 3 of 4 freethrows. At the end of a very intense encounter, the TigerSharks took game one, 78-68. Read more of this in Thursdays edition of The Sun! keep it locked!

Cane farmers resume cane delivery on Sunday

*The dispute over the core sampler used to test the quality of cane delivered to the BSI factory has been resolved. A compromise for a different mechanism that will ensure quality cane was met following several meetings of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, The Belize Sugar Industries and the Government of Belize. It is expected that cane farmers will now go back to delivering sugar cane.
Eric Eck; Chairman Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association
“The strike is now officially being lifted. After we have gone through intense negotiations today we have reached to an agreement between BSI and the Cane Farmers. I must say that the Core sampler will no longer be used anymore." Cane Farmers halted the delivery of Sugar Cane to the BSI factory last Tuesday and following Monday’s unrest at the BSI Factory their request was for the elimination of the core sampler.
Carlos Magana; CEO Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association
“The problem with the old method or the past method and I can use that term now past method is that it really affected the economy of the household income of all farmers. This one will be the method which farmers across the board will receive the same payment. They will have to work now united. Everything brings challenge; this will also be a challenge but it is going to be a more palatable one where the farmers themselves can work and talk and they will be able to determine when to deliver their sugar cane.”
Magana says he is confident that the membership of the BSCFA will accept this new mechanism that will ensure the delivery of fresh, mature, clean cane to the BSI factory. He tells us how this new system of quality control will work.

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Antigua’s Parliament dissolved-No date for election announced

Prime Minister Spencer seeking 2nd term in office
Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has announced the dissolution of parliament from today Monday February 9th, but stopped short of setting a date for this year's general elections.
Addressing party supporters at a public rally on Sunday night, PM Spencer said certain things have to be in place before he announces the date.
Prime Minister Spencer's governing United Progressive Party (UPP) and the main opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) have been campaigning unofficially, since last November.
Speaking to his supporters, ALP leader Lester Bird said the UPP's time is up.

Plane crash in Brazil

Model of plane in Brazil

Twenty-four people died in a plane crash in Brazil's Amazon basin, civil defense authorities in western Brazil said Sunday.
Four passengers survived including a 9 year old and were rescued by emergency teams after the plane -- a Brazilian-made Bandeirante turboprop -- went down Saturday afternoon.
The plane crashed in the Manacapuru River, a tributary of the Solimoes River, in Brazil's Amazonas state. It had taken off from Coari, about 225 miles (360 kilometers) southwest of Manaus, the state capital.
The plane was trying to make an emergency landing on a makeshift landing strip but crashed into the river. The plane was hired by family members of a well-known local businessman.

Land Dispute Gets Political?

There is yet another land dispute in San Pedro Town, this time it is over the ownership of a parcel of land in the San Juan Area. The two persons involved in the dispute are People’s United Party councilor candidate Deborah Spain and Joel Chi who is employed as the driver for the Minister of Tourism and Area Representative of Belize Rural South, Honorable Manuel Heredia. On December 28th, 2007, Spain received a liaise certificate for parcel number 5444 registered under file R-318/2006 in the San Pedro Registration Section in the Belize District. After applying for property, finally on January 18th, 2008, Spain received a Purchase Price certificate stating that a down payment of $450 on the total value of $2,500 must be made within three months after which Spain would have three years to pay the balance. Receipts show that Spain made a down payment of $1,000. In an interview with The San Pedro Sun, Spain explained that when she returned a few months later to make the final payment, the Ministry of Natural Resources refused payment because the Ministry was being audited and land transactions were under investigation. Notwithstanding, Spain claims that she insisted on making the payment but was told by the Ministry that since there was a change of government, she (Spain) needed a recommendation letter from the Area Representative. Spain stated that she visited the Area Representative, Manuel Heredia who promised to give her the letter. Spain went on to explain that when she revisited the office, the secretary of the Minister had the letter printed but Spain alleges that the Area Representative refused to sign the letter. Because of this, Spain decided to conduct her own investigation and discovered that the Area Representative had recommended the land to his driver Joel Chi instead.

Chi had made an offer to Spain to purchase the land, but Spain refused. It was not until December 16th, 2008 that the Ministry granted a second liaise certificate for the same parcel of land in the name of Joel Chi. Chi moved swiftly to get the land into property and on January 7th, 2009 he received purchase price approval which he paid forthwith.
It was not until January 15th that Spain received a letter from the Minister of Natural Resources stating that her title was cancelled because of breach of section 9 and 12 of the land act. Section 9 of the land act states that “the building to be constructed by the lessee must be completed with a period of three years from the date of approval and to have minimum of value of $20,000 (sum is subject to vary). Section 12 states that (a) Non payment of rent as specified time, (b) any disposition on transfer or subletting of whole or any part of the land without written permission, and (c) non-observances or of non-compliance with any of the condition of herein contained or referred to, or specified in the least.” Spain claims that none of the conditions have been breached.
In a phone interview with Joel Chi, Chi told The San Pedro Sun that after realizing that Spain had no use for the land, he called her to purchase the land but she refused the offer. Chi claims that when he learned that a full payment for the property of the land was not made he proceeded to apply for the land and successfully acquired it. Chi went on to explain that he had no recollection of receiving a recommendation from the Area Representative Manuel Heredia, but stated that he got a recommendation from the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Honorable Gaspar Vega.
Spain claims that she is being victimized because she is contesting the municipal election under the PUP ticket in San Pedro Town and that the situation is purely based on politics. She stated that she is suing the Government of Belize and that the matter is in the hands of her attorney and they are in the process of applying for an injunction until the court makes a ruling. It is important to note that once a payment on purchase price has been made, the holder has three years to pay the balance and the first payment makes the document a binding contract with the government.
Minister of Tourism and Area Representative of Belize Rural South Honorable Manuel Heredia is in London for the next two weeks, hence he was unavailable for comments. Calls were also made to Beverly Castillo, CEO in the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, but Ms. Castillo was unavailable for comment as well.

Football club for young boys, inscribe your child today

“Participation in football builds discipline and teamwork. Instilling a love for the game at a young age is my plan,” stated Gaby Arana who just recently started a football club for young children. With over twenty (20) young boys enrolled, Arana plans to make this small project for young boys a year round event. With only a few bucks for registration, Gabby coaches the kids to be better athletes and challenges them to perform well at the same time as they have fun. Under the team name of “Nairi’s Football Club”, an invitation to play against a team in Chetumal has already been extended in March. A sports enthusiast, Gaby explains that his project exposes young boys to positive peer pressure both on the field of play and in the classroom. With the hopes of getting all equipment and tools for the kids to utilize, Arana states that that is all the club needs, equipment. Special thanks to several individuals and businesses that have donated footballs and uniforms. If your child is interested to join the football club or you want to donate football equipment, you can do so by contacting Gabby Arana at 604-9443.

Audobon's "Shutter Speed"

The Audubon Society turns 40 this year and as part of its anniversary celebration – they have put together a new photo exhibition. It’s called “Shutter Speed” and it opened last night at the Mexican Institute. Today we got a preview of the 53 photos which the Audubon Society says are snapshots from the 9 protected areas it co-manages. Audubon’s Publicity Officer Dirk Francisco took the photos and is in charge of the exhibition. Dirk Francisco, Publicity Officer: “The name ‘Shutter Speed’ because it has something to do with a camera and because the photos are current photos. These photographs have captured history because some of what you see in the photos today, you might not see anymore or they could disappear forever."

Click here to read more
Source: Channel 7 News

CDB head disappointed at lack of CCJ support

CCJ building in Trinidad

The president of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Compton Bourne, says he is disappointed at the delay by most Caricom member states to fully sign on to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Professor Bourne says the CDB raised funds for the Court, because it had been seen as key to the region.

Boutnr stated that there has really been no proper explanation of why most countries have not acceded to membership of the court.

Almost four years after its launch, only Barbados and Guyana recognise the Trinidad-based CCJ as their final court of appeal.

Remains of prehistoric snake found in Columbia

An artist's impression of what Titanboa cerrejonensis would have looked like

Scientists in Colombia have unearthed the remains of a true prehistoric monster believed to be the biggest snake ever to have lived on Earth.

Named Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the snake would have weighed 1,140 kilograms (2,500 pounds) and measured 13 meters (42.7 feet) nose to tail tip -- dwarfing the largest modern pythons and anacondas which can grow to 6 meters (19.5 feet).

Scientists believe it slithered around the planet between 58 and 60 million years ago.
Most large snakes today live in the tropical regions of South America and south-east Asia, where the high temperatures allow them to grow to impressive sizes.

Mangroves and ME poster contest!

With coloring tools in hands and paper on desk, primary school students on the island took the opportunity to sound the alarm of how important the wetlands are to the eco-system. Over a hundred posters were displayed at the Central Park for the first ever World Wetland Day Poster Competition on Monday February 2nd.
The competition was organized jointly by Hol Chan Marine Reserve, The San Pedro Business Association and the Ambergris Caye Citizens for Sustainable Development. After being displayed for over two hours, the judges had the difficult task to choose the three winners and a winner for the most creative poster.

First place was captured by the Standard Six students of La Isla Bonita Elementary Primary School. The students consisted of Mario Guerrero, Walter Tut and Kristian Marin who walked away with $300 and a trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve (including snacks).

Second place was awarded to the Standard One students of Ambergris Caye Elementary Primary School. Kylie, Rochell, Jye, Brandon, Alina, Steven and Lucy walked away with $200.

Most Creative poster

Third place went out to San Pedro RC School student, Rina Godoy who took home $100. A fourth prize was given out after seeing the effort of the students, and Nathan Lisbey of Island Academy was awarded $100 for the most creative poster.

Other students took to their creativity and designed beautiful posters. Below found a couple that caught our attention.

Read more of this story and more in Thursday's edition of The San Pedro Sun Newspaper!