4 residents admitted sighting unknown object on “clear night.” One resident told Amandala that object “moved at the speed of lightning,” and had “bright light radiating underneath; another resident “wondered if he was seeing a comet;” yet another said the object “made no sound.”
The PUP Lake I (Cordel Hyde) and Albert (Mark Espat) resignations follow that of Caribbean Shores (Anthony Mahler)... “The PUP has been in preparation for an early election, and a March 7 election, since December, and with the replacement of Anthony Mahler in Caribbean Shores by Dr. David Hoy now complete, no further shockwaves should hit Independence Hall.” (From headline story, “Barrow rolls the dice March 7!” in Amandala #2585, Sunday, February 5, 2012).
235 candidates face the people - 71 general, 164 municipal... General, city and municipal elections will
be held on the same day... “We have achieved much …despite the super bond!” – PM Barrow... PUP, Unity Alliance call for change
Judge says decision in UNIBAM’s constitutional challenge will be delivered at a later date... Amidst high and mixed emotions in the Belizean community, a constitutional challenge filed by the United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) and its president, Caleb Orozco, against the Government of Belize, returned to the Supreme Court for the preliminary hearing.
5-member panel of CCJ judges concurred that they would not permit the “leapfrogging” of the lower courts in Belize. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), via video conferencing this afternoon, announced that it would stay hearings on the constitutional challenge by the Ashcroft Alliance, specifically Dean Boyce, former chairman of the executive committee of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), and British Caribbean Bank (BCB), who had separately filed suits against the Attorney General and the Minister of Public Utilities, challenging first the 2009 nationalization of BTL, and subsequently, the 2011 nationalization, which Government had effected to correct perceived flaws in the first nationalization.
Director of the Institute of Archaeology in Belize, Dr. Jaime Awe, told Amandala today that he and a team of university and high school students, citizens, visitors and his staff have been working to excavate and document a significant archaeological find right in the heart of San Ignacio.
UDP municipal election candidate caught in San Pedro Elections and Boundaries Office after hours – EBD employee faces suspension as investigation begins... An employee at the sub-office of the Election and Boundaries Department (EBD) on San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Marilee Squires, has been asked to go on administrative leave and faces formal suspension from her duties as the investigation of an incident on the island this past Tuesday night, in which an aspirant for the ruling United Democratic Party (UDP), Dr. Severo Guerrero, Jr., was found inside the office, begins.
Consumers have been denied their rate reduction since 2009 and deserve it ASAP: PUC Chairman, John Avery... The Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) today reacted to an initial decision issued on Thursday, January 12, by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), calling for an average 6.1% reduction in tariffs, amounting to savings of roughly $6 for every $100 customers pay on their light bills.
SSB CEO and internal auditor sent home for two weeks while “urgent review” takes place... Chairman of the Social Security Board (SSB), Lois Young, commenced the process today of trying to engage an external auditor to look into allegations that over 20 SSB staff from varying ranks had been involved in what she has described as an apparent “insider trading” scheme, involving a proposed multi-million-dollar, mortgage write-off program initiated by Central Government.
Rodolfo “Boxie” Perrera, 37, murdered on Oleander... Well-known Orange Walk businessman and reportedly the father of 2, Rodolfo “Boxie” Perrera, 37, was pronounced dead on Saturday, January 7, at around 9:30 p.m. at the Northern Regional Hospital, after he was ambushed and shot multiple times in front of his home on Oleander Street.
Belize’s premier commercial port in Belize City, owned and operated by Luke Espat’s Port of Belize Limited (PBL), came under the control of Michael Ashcroft’s Private Investment Limited (PIL) early this morning, after weeks of reports that bankers were about to move in and take over the operations due to problems with financing a $64 million loan tied to the adjacent Southside cruise port and free zone project, which has been on an extended standstill.
Anacleta Pech’s other daughter, Ana Julia Clarita Cortez, was shot to death... Police are investigating a double murder and an attempted murder in the remote village of Carmelita, Orange Walk District, but the gunman responsible is presently beyond the reach of the law.
Mayoral candidate Stephen Okeke says his workers and their families have been threatened with death if they don’t stop working for him. Businessman and independent mayoral candidate for Belize City, Stephen Okeke, came to the media in November, declaring that he was out of the political race because of violent threats that he said he had been receiving to force him to back down.
