San Pedro Sun

Planned Power Outage – San Pedro – Sunday, August 30, 2009 August 30, 2009

Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers on Ambergris Caye that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 1:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 30, 2009.

Areas to be affected: All of San Pedro Town.

BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this outage is necessary for the Company to perform maintenance works and upgrade the distribution system in the area.  

For customer inquiries and services call us toll free at: 0-800-BEL-CARE OR 0-800-235-2273.  To view scheduled outages via our website visit: http://www.bel.com.bz/services_outages.asp

 This notice is for public information purposes only. For more information, contact Belize Electricity Limited, Corporate Communications Department at 227-0954, extension 2502.

Emergency Outage – San Pedro – Saturday, August 29, 2009 August 29, 2009

Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers on Ambergris Caye that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2009.

Areas to be affected: All of Coconut Drive, Sea Grape Drive and the area up to Boca Ciega.

BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this outage is necessary for the Company to perform emergency works on the distribution system in the area.  

For customer inquiries and services call us toll free at: 0-800-BEL-CARE OR 0-800-235-2273.  To view scheduled outages via our website visit: http://www.bel.com.bz/services_outages.asp

 This notice is for public information purposes only. For more information, contact Belize Electricity Limited, Corporate Communications Department at 227-0954, extension 2502.

Kind Kids Adventure 2009 August 28, 2009

    Within the Be Kind Belize program is a very special feature, one that gives children a first hand experience into the animal world. Kind Kids Adventure held its 2009 exploration this past weekend, on August 22^nd and 23^rd. Kids who participated in the adventure where students of the Be Kind Belize program and whose classmates had votes as some of the kindest children in their class.

    Their adventure began with a ride to Belize City courtesy of San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi. According to a press release issued by Be Kind Belize six children attended the trip and included students from Holy Cross Anglican School and Island Academy who were accompanied by two teachers – one from each school. When the adventurers arrived at Belize City, they were each handed a goody bag filled with items donated by Lori and Jim Prediger and Charlene and Ted Jordan. Kids also received a Be Kind Belize t-shirt which was donated by Gecko Graphics.

    The kids not only enjoyed various stops but were educated and enlightened along the way. Places that they visited included the Belize Bird Rescue, Roaring Creek, the Belize Herpetarium and Aquarium Park, Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Belize Zoo.

    Special thanks must be given to donors who supplied funds to make this trip possible. These are Marty Casado from AmbergrisCaye.com, the Jordans and the McGhees. This adventure would not have been possible without the generous support of Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch, San Pedro – Belize Water Taxi, Karen Turner Cruz and Belize Jungle Dome, Deborah Gagnon and Denny’s Canada, Gecko Graphics, KaKaw Chocolate, Lori & Jim Prediger, Belize Bird Rescue, Alyson Coye, Dr. Orlando Baptist, Tony Garel and the Belize Herpatorium and Aquarium Park, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and Belize Zoo/Tropical Education Centre. Also, thanks to Alana Sullivan for carrying the backpacks down from Canada for us. 

    Most of all Be Kind Belize thanks the teachers from Holy Cross Anglican School and Island Academy for being such great companions and excellent role models for the kids – Daniel Jones and Tara McGregor.

Adding Appointments–Two Days Weekly at the US Embassy August 24, 2009

In an effort to better serve our customers, the U.S. Embassy’s American Citizens Services Unit will begin scheduling individual appointments for consular services during two days of each week as of Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

Belize's US Embassy in Belmopan

 Appointments will be available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during normal business hours. Thursdays will be reserved for off-site business and the Unit will be closed to other than emergency walk-in services.

The following services may be scheduled by online appointment:

• Passports: First Time Applications, Renewals, and Additional Visa Pages

• Consular Reports of Birth Abroad

 • Notary Public and Other Legal Services

Monday (8:00 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 to 4 p.m.) and Friday mornings (8:00am to 10:30am) will remain available for walk-in services for those customers unable to make an online appointment or for federal benefits inquiries.

Emergencies involving the death, incarceration, injury, or hospitalization of American citizens do not require an appointment in advance. For emergency services, American citizens may visit the Consular Section during regular business hours or telephone our embassy duty officer at 610-5030 (after business hours and on weekends or holidays).

The Consular Section may be reached via e-mail for non-emergencies at our new email address: ACSBelize@state.gov.

To make an appointment, customers will need to logon to our website at http://belize.usembassy.gov/citizen_services.html, and follow the links—providing information as needed depending upon the service being requested.

The U.S. Embassy is located in Belmopan on Floral Park Road. The general number is 822-4011.

BEL Restores Power to the National Grid August 23, 2009

Press Release, BEL, Saturday, August 22, 2009 – At 9:35 a.m. today power supply was lost to the national grid, as a result of a fault on the power system in the San Pedro area. 

By 11:45 a.m. power was restored to the Northern, Central, Western and Southern Zones of the country, except San Pedro Town and portions of Ladyville. Power was restored to the remaining areas in Ladyville by 12:55 p.m. and to San Pedro by 2:30 p.m.  

BEL apologizes for any inconvenience caused by this power outage. For more information call 0800-BEL-CARE or 0800-235-2273.

 END

Planned Power Outage – San Pedro – Sunday, August 23, 2009 August 22, 2009

Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers on Ambergris Caye that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 1:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 23, 2009.

Areas to be affected: All of San Pedro Town.

BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this outage is necessary for the Company to perform maintenance works and upgrade the distribution system in the area. For customer inquiries and services call us toll free at: 0-800-BEL-CARE OR 0-800-235-2273.

To view scheduled outages via our website visit: http://www.bel.com.bz/services_outages.asp

This notice is for public information purposes only. For more information, contact Belize Electricity Limited, Corporate Communications Department at 227-0954, extension 2502.

Planned Power Outage – San Pedro – Saturday, August 22, 2009 August 21, 2009

Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers on Ambergris Caye that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 1:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, 2009.

Areas to be affected: All of San Pedro Town.

BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this outage is necessary for the Company to perform maintenance works and upgrade the distribution system in the area. 

For customer inquiries and services call us toll free at: 0-800-BEL-CARE OR 0-800-235-2273.  To view scheduled outages via our website visit: http://www.bel.com.bz/services_outages.asp

 This notice is for public information purposes only. For more information, contact Belize Electricity Limited, Corporate Communications Department at 227-0954, extension 2502.

BEL Reminds the Public of the Dangers of Illegal Connections & Illegal Redistribution of Power August 21, 2009

Release Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009

 Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) advises that the issue of power theft is an ongoing challenge for the Company and highly discourages this practice, not only because it is a crime, but it is a safety hazard to the persons involved and is also unfair to honest, paying customers.

 BEL cautions that meter tampering, power diversion and unauthorized installations can result in electric shock or electrocution. 

 BEL has been responding to numerous reports of dangerous and illegal service connections, power diversion and meter tampering.  Unauthorized service connections create a serious safety risk and where the Company finds persons engaged in such illegal practice the person at fault is immediately disconnected and back billed.  In cases where a person is repeatedly found with an illegal connection, the Company pursues legal action.

 The safe use of electricity is a serious concern.  BEL will continue to ensure that electrical equipment is not tampered with or used illegally.  Persons requiring power supply are asked to visit any BEL office countrywide.

 The Company appeals to the public to report all cases of power theft or improper installation of electrical supply by calling toll free at 0-800-BEL-CARE or 0-800-235-2273.  A reward will be given for reported cases that are confirmed.

 -END-

Macal Water “Unfit for Human Consumption” says Environmental Scientist August 20, 2009

The water being released from the Chalillo Dam is unfit for human consumption and cannot be properly disinfected due to the high levels of turbidity, according to Professor Guy Lanza of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, U.S.A. 

Press Release, August 17, 2009, submitted by BELPO and WeBAD – After almost three weeks of believing the rains and the runoff from the Mountain Pine Ridge were causing the Macal River to look worse than anyone can recall, we now know that the source is the intentional release of accumulated sediment and silt from the bottom of the reservoir.  (see photos above)

The Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO) sent the photos of the discolored water to its international network of scientists for review.

After reviewing the photographs, Dr. Lanza, who is a water quality expert with 35 years of experience in analyzing dam impacts and water pollution problems, stated “The recent release of sediments with severe turbidity contaminants from the Chalillo dam is inexcusable and poses immediate risks to human health, livestock health, and the ecology of the Macal, Mopan, and Belize rivers. Immediate action is required to halt the release of additional sediments from the Chalillo dam, and to quickly respond with appropriate remediation strategies to reduce the threats to humans, livestock, and the Macal, Mopan and Belize river ecosystems. 

 “The water in that river is unfit for human consumption and simply cannot be filtered and disinfected due to the high turbidity levels.” added Dr. Lanza.

“The extremely high water turbidity, clearly documented in the photographs, is the result of both organic and inorganic sediment material including silts and clays deliberately released from the dam gates to the Macal River.  The clay material will remain in the water for an extended period.

 “The release is a concern with regard to use of the water for drinking by humans and livestock and also a major concern to the overall water quality and ecology in both the impoundment and downstream in the Macal, Mopan, and Belize rivers.. The turbidity levels considered safe for drinking water are given in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU’s).   NTU’s are a standard measure of light transmission through water and the U.S. Environmental Protection Act acceptable level is 1 NTU; the World Health Organization (WHO) level is 5 NTU’s.  The levels of turbidity in Macal River are thousands of times higher than acceptable WHO standards.

“Turbidity contaminants protect disease-causing waterborne microbes (bacteria, viruses, protozoa) by masking their presence and by interfering with the effectiveness of the disinfection chemicals (e.g. chlorine) used to purify the water for drinking purposes.  Sediment materials producing the turbidity will clog filtration systems used to pre-treat drinking water before using chlorine (or other disinfectants) to inactivate pathogens.  Clogging can occur in engineered sand filters at water treatment plants or in the “natural filtration processes” in soil and subsurface rock.

“It’s not possible to filter and disinfect drinking water with the excessively high levels of turbidity evident in the Macal, Mopan, and Belize rivers.  A good historical example of excess turbidity causing serious human waterborne disease from drinking water was reported in 1993 in Wisconsin (near Milwaukee).  More than 400,000 people became ill with waterborne disease from a protozoan parasite (= cryptosporidium) and more than 100 died.

“Toxic elements including heavy metals, pesticides, and generally non-toxic elements such as iron can have their toxicity increased in turbid water because they are often absorbed or adsorbed to fine clay   Excess accumulation of iron can lead to disturbances in liver function, diabetes mellitus, endocrine disturbances and cardiovascular effects.

“High turbidity will block light entering the impoundment and rivers and that will in turn reduce the normal addition of oxygen to the water by photosynthetic plants, algae, and bacteria.   Also, some of the dissolved and suspended organic material contributing to the turbidity will at the same time remove oxygen from the water through the processes of Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand  (BOD/COD).

“Lower oxygen content will result in the loss of fish and other important aquatic biota and can prolong the survival of disease causing microorganisms.  Another concern is the abrasive effect of suspended materials on fish and other living creatures (a sort of wet sandblasting).  The fact is sediments will clog the bottom habitat essential for the reproduction and survival of many important bottom dwelling organisms.”

CONTACTS:  Dr. Guy R. Lanza
                         Professor of Microbiology and Director
                          Environmental Science Program
                          The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.
                          glanza@mrc.umass.edu  
                          1-413-545-3747

                           Candy Gonzalez, J.D.
                          President, Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO)
                          candybz@gmail.com and/or belpo.belize@gmail.com
                          501-824-2476

London tribunal dismissed the Belize Bank’s claim August 17, 2009

Belmopan. 17^th August 2009 - The Government of Belize has received, from the London Court of International Arbitration, an official copy of the “First Partial Award” made by the Arbitral Tribunal in the matter of the Belize Bank Limited v the Government of Belize. The Tribunal has dismissed all the claims of the Belize Bank against the Government of Belize, arising out of the so-called 2008 oral settlement agreement. That was an agreement between the Musa administration and the Belize Bank, which diverted the 10 million (US) gifted to the people of Belize for housing by the Government of Venezuela. The money was instead paid over to the Belize Bank by the Musa administration in supposed settlement of the infamous UHS debt. It was, however, later recovered by the current administration via the efforts of the Central Bank of Belize.          

In particular, the London tribunal dismissed the Belize Bank’s claim that the payment to and receipt by the Belize Bank of the US $10 million was lawful; and dismissed its claim for damages against the Government of Belize in the sum of US $10 million plus interest from 11 August 2008.

In coming to its decision, the Tribunal impugned the actions of then Prime Minister Said Musa, AG Francis Fonseca and Home Affairs Minister Ralph Fonseca, as well as the conduct of the Belize Bank. The Tribunal declared that the Venezuelan US $10 million “should have been paid into the (Belize) Consolidated Revenue Fund……….before any transfer could be made to the Claimant subject to the controls set out in the Finance Act……..The oral agreement (between the Musa administration and the Belize Bank) therefore violates Article 114 (1) of the Belize Constitution and section 3 of the Finance Act”. Importantly, the tribunal explicitly found that one of the fundamental objectives of the 2008 Settlement Agreement between the Claimant and the Government of Belize…….”was to ensure that the existence of the Venezuelan Funds remained concealed from the National Assembly and the Belize public so that the controls set out in the Finance Act could be avoided……”

In all the circumstances the tribunal declared that the agreement between the Musa administration and the Belize Bank concerning the Venezuelan funds is void for illegality and that the Central Bank of Belize acted properly in requiring the return of the monies.

GOB notes that the London Tribunal is still to determine the Belize Bank’s claim that, the Venezuelan monies apart, the Government of Belize is to pay 33,545,820 under the March 2007 Settlement Agreement and Loan Note made by the Musa administration regarding the UHS debt. That decision has been reserved for a date to be fixed, but in the meantime the government has welcomed the current decision. GOB sees it as a strong censure of the illegal and outrageous secret deal between the PUP government and the Belize Bank, and a vindication of the UDP’s struggle for, and recovery of, the People’s Venezuela 10 million US.