The village of Santa Martha is located off the Philip Goldson Highway; it is home to about six hundred residents of which about one hundred and sixty are of school age. This morning while the school doors were open, only two students showed up for classes. As in other communities, a problem over the lack […]
John McAfee…depending on your particular perspective he’s anything from a lovable rogue to a nuisance to a devil in disguise or a demented lunatic. Whatever he really is, and nobody is quite sure, he captured the attention of local, regional and foreign media for almost a month as he led Belize Police on a merry […]
Street works around the City, have been causing delays in traffic for months but this morning, trying to get to work, school or almost everywhere else, was absolute madness. The rerouting of a main thoroughfare backed up traffic significantly. Carla Bradley reports. Carla Bradley “If you were traveling from Central American Boulevard towards Freetown […]
We have been reporting on the slew of complaints since the take- over of burial service by City Hall. As recent as Wednesday News Five spoke to David Coye, proprietor of the David Coye Funeral Home and Parlour. He had nothing but criticism for the Belize City Council. Now…that translates to big losses for Coye […]
On Wednesday the Referendum Unit created to lead a strategic awareness campaign on the pros, cons and risks of going to the ICJ hosted a media mixer. Speaking to a wide cross-section of mainstream and independent media personnel were experts and officials in the dispute negotiations and referendum process including Ambassadors Stuart Leslie and James […]
The National Emergency Management Organization held an essay competition at the primary school level last December. The names of the three winners have been announced: first place winner, Dayne Guy of St. Benedict R.C. School, second place went to Sharin Espejo of Grace Primary and Noammi Ortiz came in at third place. All three winners […]
The sudden death of a fisherman in the Harvest Caye Point area near Monkey River Village is being investigated by police. Sixty-three yr old Eugene Roberts’ body was discovered with his hands hanging on the capsized canoe and the rest of his body in the water at around two pm on January sixteenth.
The Steadfast Masonic Lodge received a donation from its Grandmaster Lodge in Florida which they hope will help the children in the community. Eric Vernon is the Senior Warden and he told us exactly what was donated and who will benefit from the generous donation. Eric Vernon, Senior Warden Steadfast Masonic Lodge “We have […]
Belizeans have not been at all reticent about weighing in on the rosewood burning issue. Last Friday morning in Golden Stream, Minister Lisel Alamilla set on fire a stock of confiscated rosewood from a bust that yielded over seven hundred flitches. It was the Minister’s way of signaling her frustration since even with a moratorium […]
On Tuesday, the Public Utilities Commission held a press conference to present its final decision on the approved almost seventeen percent increase in electricity rates. The final amendment is for government to pay less for street lights and to pass on the shortfall to the consumers. It means that government will spend fifty-five cents per […]
There is ongoing discontent in the burial service industry since the Belize City Council arbitrarily announced that it would be taking over those services. And it is bound to get louder because the cost of providing those services has now increased drastically, in some cases by as much as two hundred percent. And as to […]
The Commander Designate of the Belize Defense Force on Tuesday received new vehicles to add to its current fleet and enhance their ability to patrol our borders and aid in fighting crime. This morning Colonel David Jones, who takes over command of the B.D.F. on February first, received another donation. The US Embassy is handing […]
Many Belizeans welcomed the New Year with a cringe following the announcement at the end of December that electricity rates would increase by as much as sixteen point eight-seven percent effective the first of January. Since the announcement, many have prepared – at least mentally – for what is sure to be more dollars spent […]
So government maintains its tariff for street lights and will continue to pay fifty-five cents per kilowatt hour and not the sixty-four cents that was presented in the first draft. That nine cents as pointed out by Almendarez will be redistributed. So who will bear the shortfall? All other consumers, Dr. Almendarez explains. […]
There was mayhem inside the Magistrate’s Court detention area this morning and a BERT ambulance had to be called to the scene after a fight broke out between prison inmates and police officers. It happened early this morning when the Kolbe Correctional Facility bus arrived in the area transporting as many as sixty-eight prisoners charged […]
With the ICJ question up in the air, a referendum on the Belize/Guatemala dispute scheduled for October sixth and persistent incursions into our borders, the lack of security at the borders has been a major concern. But to increase patrols, it also means additional resources—human and otherwise. In a brief ceremony in Belmopan this morning, […]
Late last week, Belize City Mayor, Darrell Bradley, confirmed to News Five that residents who are behind in the payment of taxes will have to pay up those arrears, possibly through a payment plan, before they can receive or renew their drivers’ licenses. According to the Mayor, the Council is on an aggressive timetable of […]
An executive meeting of the Belize National Teachers’ Union branches will be held tonight in advance of membership meetings later this week as the unions begin to mobilize in response to current issues. Top on the list is crime, the state of the economy, the partially-resolved collective bargaining agreement with Government and the ICJ referendum […]
Today Revenue Fairs were held around the country, and like its name suggests, it is all about making sure that government receives its share of the pie. The first fair, held last year, was the brainchild of the Income Tax Department, but today’s event featured the participation of other departments with one goal – collecting […]
The Belize Tourism Board held its industry presentation this morning at La Isla Bonita. The Board was out in full force and the report on the state of the industry was glowing with arrivals on an upward trend. A master plan for the next two years was unveiled and so was a new logo: Belize: […]
There is a serious allegation against a prominent attorney tonight. A couple from Michigan in the US is accusing attorney Arthur Saldivar of accepting payment, but not delivering services. The couple, John and Cynthia Engelhardt, claim that they paid Saldivar thirteen thousand dollars to process their title for a condo in San Pedro. That was […]
The Lord’s Ridge Cemetery and Eternal Garden are the two resting sites controlled by the Belize City Council. On December seventeenth, 2012, the Council informed undertakers and funeral homes that it would take control of the building of tombs and vaults at these sites to ensure quality control. There has been an expected backlash from […]
In a decade of what some may call inactivity and decaying infrastructure, Mayor Darrell Bradley is adding his personal touch to the city’s landscape. Instead of constructing unsightly signs with names of donors, as has been done in the past, the mayor is concreting streets that have fallen apart. The ongoing work which has to […]
Youth Enhancement Services received a cheque of one hundred and eighty-seven thousand one hundred U.S. dollars courtesy of the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). The monies will fund a three year project that is being undertaken in collaboration with Community Policing Unit of the Police Department to fulfill three goals including: the renovation of […]
Following the murder of the George Street associates, the U.S. Embassy issued a travel advisory for Belize regarding gang-related homicides. And though there was no indication of threats to U.S. citizens the release said quote “There is a possibility that retaliatory violence could take place. As a precaution, the Embassy’s Regional Security Officer has advised […]
