Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
Tonight, we're not leading the news with crime news or political intrigues, but with nature. We're talking about birds: 9 majestic Scarlet Macaws flying free in the wild tonight after being rescued from poachers.
These parrots were at risk of being killed or poached, but rangers rescued them and took them back to their research center, where they hand-reared them for four months.
It's a delicate balance between keeping them safe and allowing them to develop naturally, the way they would in the wild. But the team at Friends for. Conservation and Development has mastered the technique, which is proven by their 100% success rate.
And today, they got to witness the fruit of their efforts as the macaws they reared - one from only two days old - flew out into the wild and wide open space of the Chiquibul. Courtney Menzies was there and has this story.
Courtney Menzies: These 9 Scarlett Macaws will soon be soaring through the Chiquibul Forest after spending 4 months here at the Las Cuevas research center. They were rescued as chicks by the team from Friends for Conservation and Development to protect them from poachers that cross into our borders. According to the executive director, if they're not vigilant, these bright red feathers could soon disappear from Belize's forests.
Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD "Historically and in fact if you look all around the country, from Corozal way down to Toledo District, you will find, even at the local community level, you will find out there, there's a certain affinity towards the Scarlett Macaw, either with a photo, with a picture in the park, you'll see it in books, and you're right, it's a colorful species, it is the biggest one that is found in Belize. So there is an attraction to that parrot. That's why it has become the species of higher value on the black market."
"We do know if we don't put conservation activities, anti-poaching, protection of bio-monitoring, enforcement, we do know that these parrots can disappear from Belize."
As it is, there are only about 350 individual parrots in the wild. But today, that number increased just a little.
The soft release begins with placing fruits and nuts on the feeding platform, only this time, it's on the outside of the cage, and the doors are opened. Now, one would expect the parrots to rush out. But they took their time, eating and observing the new environment.
It took about 30 minutes for the first parrot to finally fly out and into a nearby tree - and then about 5 seconds for another to follow behind. And while they perched on branches and nibbled on leaves, the other seven - wet from the rain - decided to hang back for the time being.
It's the most macaws that the FCD have released and the Chief Research Field Coordinator explained how they found them.
Eric Max, Chief Research Field Coordinator, FCD "In the field it's very difficult at times, but it's a passion for our work that we do that really makes us go the extra mile so what happened was that these macaws they had a really great fall from a structure failure so these falls are always vulnerable when there's different aspects in nature. And the macaws were actually on the ground and they would have been predated eventually but however we managed to find them luckily and then extract then out from the wild and brought them here to the lab where they were hand reared and are actually big enough today and hopefully they will integrate back into the wild."
"The other five were in prone areas known to poaching, really remote areas, and the others well of course that were closer to us and that's why we were able to find them because it was easier to mobilize with the transportation that we have."
And the rangers at FCD spend about 6 or 7 months monitoring the macaws - and the trails used by Guatemalan poachers. Once they deem that an area has been traversed a lot, they do what they need to in order to keep the parrots safe. Extraction is usually the last resort, and only if surveillance is not a viable option. But the BRIM technician explained that they ensure the macaws can survive in the wild.
Wilmer Guerra, BRIM Technician, FCD "The care for the macaws is basically, we try to mimic a lot of the wild activities out there in terms of feeding, so the feeding time, the feeding amount we would give them, basically we're trying to mimic what- and that's basically what institute signifies, we try to mimic a lot of what is out there in the wild so whenever we soft release them it's an easy process for them to basically adapt out in the wild."
"We do not interact with them, we do not regard them as pets. They are basically wild macaws that we are feeding and the less we interact with them, the better for us."
And these soft releases occur annually to increase the population and ward off poachers. According to Manzanero, they've had to study the movements of the poachers the way they study the parrots.
Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD "I would see in the last recent years, we have come about poachers, we do know that poachers from Guatemala know exactly the time, they know the dates, when the parrots are basically on the nests. So they're like biologists, they actually have studied also the life history of these parrots so they know when to come in. So what we tend to do is we put that program in place the same time, the anti-poaching program."
"Over the last decade the population has been slightly increasing. You will realize that if you go to the Stann Creek District today, if you go to Red Bank, there are observations of macaws expanding into those areas. Which in a way is a good story because it means parrots are filling new cavities. And so it is then our interest to try and safeguard as best as possible and increase the population, the numbers. so that's pretty much the mission."
And while these macaws were a little shy, today's mission can still be considered a success, and for the next month, they'll be able to come by for a quick snack.
The team has also had successes with other methods of protecting the macaws - such as fostering and swapping the chicks.
Last night we told you about the Tropical Disturbance which would bring two to four inches of rain. Up to this evening, three inches had fallen at the Phillip Goldson Airport in Ladyville and 4.2 inches had fallen at the Coast Guard Base at mile three. That's why here in the city, it felt like a water world, as rain fell through the night into morning.
For the City Council and the MIDH that meant a chance to test the Yabra Pumping Station. When we went there around 10:00, it was hard at work in all its hydraulic glory - lifting water from the canals and dumping it into the Caribbean Sea..
I stopped by today and spoke to the mayor and one of the engineers:
The rains cancelled classes and forced students to tramp home through flooded streets.
The non stop downpour resulting from the Tropical Disturbance
resulted once again in flooded streets across the city. And once the drains and canals begin to overflow on the South side, the city council activates the Pumping Station. They leave it up to these screw turbines to pump the water out of the cans and speed up the draining process.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor "Yeah obviously as you can see here the 4 screws are working efficiently. Really putting out like one cubic meter per screw so you are looking at 4 cubic meter per second of water being pulled. Right now as we sit based on the engineers discussions I've had with them this is just taking off the top of the water currently. We have not locked off the gates as yet because water is being pushed out in its natural form in different areas of the city. But as soon as we begin to generate more of the pull from these screws then those gates will be locked and it will begin to pull totally from the inner part of the city yeah."
"All the areas within these two canals and the outer layers of them obviously, Orange Street, King Street, Dean Street. South street and all the other adjacent streets in the are should see a sort of leveling off of the water pretty quickly."
Aside from the water, the large amounts of garbage and debris is also a problem when there is flooding. Assistant Engineer at the Belize City Council says they also have mechanisms to filter out the garbage while pumping out the water.
Ramon Menjivar, Assistant City Engineer, CITCO "The system allows for us to activate the pumps and get the water much faster not necessarily much faster than what is dropping because you have to compare the amount of landfall dropping on a land mass as compared to the facility of the pumping action."
"Whenever we have flooding we have littering which is a general thing and we need to advocate to the residents and the general public that littering contributes to that. Of course we have our sanitation department that we clean daily we bring our equipment and we remove we have a barrier containment just before the bridge which the garbage or the litter is contained and we remove it on a daily basis but that is an issue that we are advocating very much because it prohibits the water from flowing out as we would want to."
It's not a "in the blink of an eye" process and as the rains are expected to continue into the weekend, the mayor says there is no telling when the streets will be completely dry. He is confident though they have a strong system in place and the pumps will prevail in flood prone areas after the rains have fallen
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor "I came on Fairweather streets just a while ago and Fairweather Street Rivero street have significant flooding. By cemetery road and the pound yard bridge have significant flooding so this will begin to pull that water immediately form the cemetery road, pound yard bridge area because this is a direct canal linked to that area so we should see barring the rain and we expect more rains to continue throughout the day and throughout the night but to the best of my knowledge and to the best of my engineers this system will work and we will see because it's always good to test these systems and so why we never want flooding it's always good to have these testing environments."
But of course, in a low lying city that rises from the swamp of centuries - it's hardly that simple. Flood prone areas that don't drain off are a persistent problem but the Mayor says those just take a little longer to run off as the rains subside. He spoke more on the flooding in the pound yard area.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor "There are culverts there. Like what my engineer told me right because I asked them the same question and it's like do you have a high volume of water. And you have to say a little straw and that water is too huge to get through all at once so it requires time and so we have to be patient as residents. The water will not stay there. The culverts are there. They are functioning, but it is the volume of water in such a short space of time that has come down."
"The culverts we have there They are large culverts and they attach into the canal. So it is working, but it is the volume of water look at this. This is a huge volume of water here being churned out of the city."
The Tropical Disturbance has passed over Belize City and headed west where Cayo was under heavy rain.
Jenny Lovell's sudden death in June was a shock to Belize and to her family. But could the 73 year old have been alive today if it weren't for the negligence of the medical team at the Western Regional Hospital?
Tonight, her sister Glenda who is an experienced physician in the US says that her sister went into the hospital with acute respiratory failure, and should have been admitted to the ICU - instead she got a few tests done and she was discharged later that night.
She's calling it malpractice and has demanded a full investigation from the Minister of Health and Wellness.
Here's what she told KREM News:
In early July Belizean's Bid Farewell to their beloved Song Bird Jenny Lovell who passed away suddenly from a heart attack in her home in Belmopan. Her grieving family members though, suspect that Lovell could have survived the ordeal if she had been treated properly the first time she visited the Western Regional Hospital just hours before her passing. Her sister - who is a Doctor of Internal Medicine with 25 years experience in the US - says it all began with a cryptic string of messages from an unknown number and that's what led her to dig deeper into the death of her sister.
Dr Glenda Lovell, Relative of Deceased "She didn't have any kind of asthma or as far as I know no history of any heart disease she was not a smoker she didn't have emphysema nothing. So her death was a shock to all of us I had gone traveling and when I landed and got to my hotel I received a note to call home immediately and then I was like oh my goodness something happened and when I called they said Jen is gone and I was like what? So I flew back right away and then a few days later I received this like two picture on my phone an anonymous person and it was her medical records. And when I looked at it I was like why ii saw that she had been taken to western regional in extremist. she was hypoxic which means that her oxygen levels were very low. They were in the 80s which is a life-threatening emergency. when I looked at the notes, she was given oxygen and they did a few labs and did a chest x-ray and then of course, given when you give someone oxygen their levels come up, but you need to find out why they were hypoxic in the first place, so she was given oxygen and then discharged which is basically malpractice. So I was like I was questioning what's going on here."
Dr Lovell says that she wrote to the Ministry Of Health and its Director of Hospital Services a month ago, but has not gotten any response. She says that all the family wants is for someone to be held accountable for what she sees as egregious negligence:
Dr Glenda Lovell, Relative of Deceased "I would have thought that she had a heart attack and actually the death certificate showed that she had a heart attack, but the heart attack was caused by a massive pulmonary embolism which is why she was short of breath in the first place and if they had investigated that they could have treated her and she would not have died."
"If they have addressed it, they have not informed any member of the family. What was the outcome? None of us have heard anything and that's all I'm asking. I just need to know what happened so that this does not happen to other Belizeans."
Director of Hospital Services Polanco told KREM News that the issue has already been addressed but the family says no one has contacted them since they wrote the letter on July 25th.
If you ask residents from Placencia, Hopkins, Riversdale, or any of those southern communities where Angelfish Caye is, they'll look at you like you've just made it up. But if you ask them about Will Bauer Flats, they'll have endless stories.
Up until February, most tour guides in the area had no idea that those were two names for the same island. So when they heard of a consultation for an EIA for Angelfish Caye, they paid it no mind.
That was until they saw the dredging equipment surrounding their favorite flats.
That launched a war between the guides and the developers, with the government playing mediator, trying to maneuver between development and sustainability - and public sentiment.
But in the end, the latter two won out, and so did all the fishers whose livelihoods depend on Will Bauer. Yesterday our news team went out with the acting president of the Belize Flat Fishery Association, and the leading voice in this battle, Eworth Garbutt, for a victory lap around the flats. Courtney Menzies has this story.
Courtney Menzies: Only 8 months ago, black dredging tubes snaked around Will Bauer Flats like tentacles threatening to take away Belize's fly fishing goldmine. But southern tour guides fought relentlessly against the proposed development and now these signs mark a victory for both fishers and nature, and a new beginning for conservation on the island.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA "First and foremost the phone just started ringing off the hook and it was a "we" moment where the whole country international partners, everyone said when you talk, tell the government heartfelt kudos, appreciation, thank you, every word with gratitude, we appreciate this move. And direct to Honorable Cordel Hyde, he did the honorable thing, he's a man of his word, he said he would do that right thing and he did the right thing, not just for us but for the heritage coming behind us, this is the best thing we could leave for our kids, this is what we call generational wealth."
Wealth that was worth constant surveillance and countless interviews from dozens of tour guides who rely on Will Bauer. And the 83-year-old guide who gave the flats its unofficial name explained back in February that they were trying to save more than just their livelihoods.
posted (February 9, 2024)
Lincoln Westby Fly Fishing Tour Guide "It's not just fly fishing or sport fishing, it's the tourism industry completely that we are trying to protect."
And since then, the guides and fishers refused to back down. The government placed a suspension order on the dredging in February - but it was quietly lifted three months later. The spurred the locals to make another trip to the flats, where Garbutt made it clear the they weren't giving up.
posted (May 16, 2024)
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA "They have to stop to make us stop. We are not stopping until a stop order is there."
And these guides had key ministers on their side:
posted (May 16, 2024)
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism "To me that area is so sensitive that it should be left alone."
posted (February 16, 2024)
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources "You know, if it's up to me, if it were up to me, I would say just kill it totally. But these things, as you know, have a life of their own."
http://www.7newsbelize.com/images/24/.jpg
But ultimately, the government made the decision to acquire that flats from Angelfish Caye LLC - a move that has the people of the south rejoicing. And for the avoidance of any doubt about how vital Will Bauer is to the flat fishing community, Garbutt showed us how easily a fisher can snag a bonefish.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA "Courtney, you saw firsthand as we reached when the school of bone fish came and welcomed us, it was a school of about 200 and I said something that is key, I haven't heard a guest say Gilligan's Island too often in Belize, when I used to fish, and Mr Lincoln, when I used to come to all these pristine spots, they would say this is like Gilligan's Island, you come here to fish and don't see any development. So this is the last hope for Gilligan's Island and for an ecological system to bloom. So there's no lodge here, right where I caught that bonefish, right there they would have put their guests to sleep, the guests that come to fish this area."
"This is more than just sport fishing, this is food security. This is where the conchs they come to grow, the lobster, the juvenile fish, this is the heritage."
And while Garbutt is grateful, he now has another request: that more people stand up and speak out in the name of sustainability.
Eworth Garbutt, Ag. President, BFFA "Without unity and consistency, I don't believe the message would have gotten through. And I'll say to the media, you all are the best people for us to have our consultations with. You'll hear people say, oh it's Eworth and that crowd with their big mouths. This is what is called lobbying in other countries, not making noise, but lobbying. And the government heard our cry. So I'm asking the NGOs, the stakeholders, every other key players, when we see wrong doing, don't feel like you'll be victimized or step on anybody. The Minister said they can't know everything so let's work and Belize now, September celebrations, I think we can celebrate something."
As we told you before, the acquisition needs to be published once more in the Gazette before it's official. And after, Garbutt is hoping GOB will remove the wooden pegs around the fishing area to make the capture and release of the bonefish easier.
Another American tourist was busted at the airport for bringing marijuana into the country. It's the third US national in two weeks, and this time, 28-year-old eyelash technician Jennifer Marroquin Valencia was caught with 11.1 grams yesterday. She appeared today unrepresented in court to answer to the charge of importation of a controlled drug. She pled guilty and explained that she is from Los Angeles, California, where marijuana has been a legal substance, and was not aware of Belizean laws. She was fined $1,000 plus a $5 cost of court fee, which she was ordered to pay forthwith since she is not a Belizean citizen.
49 year old Roderick Boone and 37 year old Lee Whyms were also busted at PGIA back in late August.
No one was hurt when a bulldozer slid off a trailer on the Coastal Highway today - but it did leave a deep gouge in the pavement.
Tonight a notice from the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing warns the public that there have been damages to the pavement and guardrails at mile 34. The Ministry is currently carrying out remedial works to temporarily repair the pavement. But, they warn that with the heavy weather from the Tropical Disturbance, the road conditions could worsen.
Drivers are asked to drive carefully and within the posted speed limits when traversing this section of the Highway.
The assault laws were recently changed to make it so that assaults on public officers and other important public functionaries - including the press - are now upgraded to aggravated assault.
And that's why the UDP's Deputy Chairman Alberto August is facing a serious charge.
11 days ago, August allegedly told an employee of the Elections and Boundaries office in San Ignacio, Tracy Gonzalez that he doesn't give a (blank) if she sues him. It's not exactly high crime and treason but in the current charged political atmosphere of Cayo it was enough to merit a complaint to the police and charge against August for aggravated assault. Normally it would be "insulting words", but he said it to a public officer so the charge is now upgraded.
He was arraigned and released on bail.
Today a release from the UDP. says August faces, quote, "vindictive and malicious charges designed to silence dissent and distract from a very elaborate and well-organized system of illegal voter registration and electoral fraud at the San Ignacio office of the Elections and Boundaries Department."
The statement concludes, quote, "Mr. August is being charged for saying the Emperor has no clothes...The UDP finds the charge against Mr. Alberto August to be baseless and dangerous to our democracy."
August came to our studios before we saw that piece of news - so we couldn't ask him directly about it. He was here - along with the party's Campaign Manager - to push back against the narrative that the Alliance For Democracy announced on Wednesday: what they call a Unity Convention scheduled for October 6th. By their telling, it will be to elect a new chairman and an interim leader, among other business.
So, while Tracy Panton, Patrick Faber and their allies are running a parallel political operation - we might call them Coke Lite - while Coke Classic is Shyne Barrow and his allies. He says he has 20 standard bearers supporting him and the national executive.
Two of those executive members told us there's no legitimate UDP Unity Convention happening:
Jules Vasquez "So will you, as Deputy Chairman, participate in the October 6th Unity Convention?"
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "Well, I am a party man, we have a leader, a person leading our party and as you rightfully said, the communication out of the party is that these persons have been constructively resigned and that makes them no longer official members of the United Democratic Party, so I don't think there will be any place for me as a Deputy Chairman of the United Democratic Party to be out there."
Jules Vasquez "So do you believe that that Unity Convention will be a legitimate party function?"
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "It cannot be legitimate if these people are no longer, in terms of the structure of the party are no longer considered to be a part of the party."
Jules Vasquez "There is a parallel UDP arising. How do you view it?"
Lindsey Garbutt, National Campaign Manager, UDP "There cannot be two UDPs. There is no parallel UDP. Whether they want to form a new party calling themselves the Alliance for Democracies, is their right, but there is no two UDPs."
"There is one UDP and I may have to hesitate in using the word united at this time, but there is one UDP."
Jules Vasquez "These people have deep loyalties and affiliations in UDP going back over many decades, especially Mr. Faber and Mr. Saldivar. They have people who are loyal to them. What are you all urging party members to do? Because invitation is set. Unity Convention, UDP, October 6th."
Lindsey Garbutt, National Campaign Manager, UDP "You know, Alberto mentioned that one of the reasons we came here is to try to right some of the lies, outright lies than half truth that have been said, you know, and we are hoping that when people hear a different version of what is being put out there by the Alliance that they will be intelligent enough to listen, to reason and to understand, like I said, that there is one UDP."
Jules Vasquez "But are you confident that the executive is acting in the best interest of the mass of the UDPs, which is, let's say, 30 to 40 thousand people who will vote for you all no matter what, is the executive really acting in their best interest and on their behalf or is it acting to fulfill personal agendas and settle grievances against malcontents or persons it deems to be malcontents?"
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "The best interest of the party is always at the heart of the leadership of the party. we are always looking towards reunifying our party."
And so while Alberto August is watching his party Leader Shyne Barrow's back - wasn't he the same one leading the charge along with Patrick Faber to recall and replace Barrow two years ago?
We asked him about that reversal:
Jules Vasquez "Now, your case is unusual, Mr. Deputy Chairman, because the last time you tried recalled against Shyne Barrow, a failed recall, you are the one who took in the recall motion. You are the one when the Chairman Mike Peyrefitte struck off all those names."
"You had the press conference to say that he was acting, his strike -offs were not optimal. How do you end up now being a defender of the man you tried to recall, Shyne Barrow?"
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "Yeah, you're right. I led the charge two years ago for the replacement to recall the party leader at that time."
"Time has passed. I have seen where the party leader has grown to be a different person. I have seen where he has grown to the extent of even being accommodating in some instances where I might not be."
"This is not the time for our party a few months before general elections to be going down that road. The general consensus of the membership of the party is for us to go with the leader that we have, and after we emerge from those elections, however they turn out, then we can concentrate in that regard, but this is certainly not the time for that."
And while August and Garbutt extoll their leader's newfound ability to listen - who was he listening to when he made Ramon Vasquez standard bearer for Belize Rural South? It was an appointment that lasted three days - but the after - embarrassment has continued for weeks and for good reason - sicken Vasquez was recently seen profiling at the PUP Prime Minister's convention.
We asked about those major public mis-steps that defy all political logic:
Jules Vasquez "How can you defend the indefensible behavior of your leader, Shyne Barrow, when he does things, or someone does it, like bringing a standard bearer, like Ramon Vasquez swearing in, or just let him sign on paper, no UDP bona fides, he then defects, rejects, being rejected by Ramon Vasquez is no ordinary rejection, rejects, and then he defects the PUP, and then you bring in somebody without any UDP bona fides, with actual PUP loyalty, which is the gentleman, Harmouche from San Pedro, like, when you see these things, and I believe, personally, that Shyne is the moving hand behind it, how do you sit and defend these things, Mr. Deputy?"
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "I am not defending, I will never seek to defend a position like that, but you know, in every situation, not all of us are perfect, and that is one of the reasons why we are saying that we need to bring the party together, we need to bring this party together so that we can those little imperfections."
Jules Vasquez "It's not little, but..."
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "I consider them as being little."
Jules Vasquez "Little? this is a mass party, you all look like joke."
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "Okay, okay, those imperfections, if the party was not concentrating, if the leader of our party was not concentrating on outing internal fires, then those are some of the areas that we have not ventured into."
Jules Vasquez "Alberto, as a deputy chairman, you have to accept that the recent moves by the UDP to stack up loyalists as standard bearers, removing duely elected standard bearers, and installing new ones by WhatsApp group, and Round Robin, and this type of consensus, those things are explicitly against, if not the letter of the Constitution, certainly the will of the party Constitution to just slap dash bringing three standard bearers and a new committee in one fell swoop just to protect Shyne Barrow so that they cannot succeed with a recall. Those things are repugnant to the Constitution of the UDP."
Alberto August, UDP Deputy Chairman "Well, this is why Jules, we continue to maintain that the Constitution needs major amendments. As you go along, as you go along, seeking to get your party together, there will be some little mistakes. I call them little mistakes happening here and there."
And, while August spoke about Shyne Barrow's missteps as "little imperfections" - Lindsey Garbutt called claims of convention vote count fraud "outright lies":
Lindsey Garbutt, National Campaign Manager, UDP "One is that the convention was stolen. Both Alberto and I supported Tracy in that convention, Jules. There is no way that convention was stolen. The second thing is the NPC meeting where it was said that they were never given a chance to bring up their agenda."
"That is a blatant lie. Michael Peyrefitte said, and I could quote him, verbatim, we will allow everyone here to bring up whatever point they want to bring up if we have to stay here until midnight. However, the order of the meeting will be first."
"We will discuss the substantial loss we suffered in Toledo East. And then we will allow you to bring up whatever point if we have to stay until midnight."
Jules Vasquez "And they wanted the table Phillip Willoughby first."
Lindsey Garbutt, National Campaign Manager, UDP "They wanted the meeting to be how they wanted it to be. My feeling and this is strictly my feeling speaking now as an individual, they did not go there to have a meeting. They went there to break up a meeting."
Today, public officers who have dedicated their lives to serving Belizeans were recognized at the Long Service Awards. Their jobs are often thankless, but necessary to keep the country running, and that's why the Minister of Public Service chose to acknowledge them at a ceremony with their loved ones in attendance. And one "keeper of the flame" - that is, a public officer who gives twenty or more years in service - former Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer was also awarded for her 34 years. Here are snippets of both of their speeches.
7 weeks have passed since the E-buses started running in the City, and so far commuters have embraced the transition to clean energy transportation - even if it costs a little more and stops a little less. The mayor says that the good reviews are borne out by the revenue collection, and he shared those figures with us today.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor "Remember I gave out the preliminary figures for a five week period and the five week period saw 15,000 people you would using the buses which generated in gross revenues something like 33,000. We have had a second week following that five week span and what I can tell you is that within one week after that five weeks span we have had over 4000 people riding the buses in one week after school had opened. So clearly that is like 30% of the previous for weeks in terms of ridership being generated in one week so clearly there is this by the people of the Belize City that they are very pleased with the E transit program and they are clamoring for additional buses."
And while the success of this pilot project is a win for both commuters and the council, they have also been met with backlash from the other city bus operators who run on diesel engines without financial support from UN agencies.
The Mayor says the competition is a good thing.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor "They we're in business for 50 years and the people deserve better. That is all I will say on that matter you can't subject people to substandard service. We are living in the 21st-century. The reality is that climate change is here. People are looking for cleaner energy. We are not certain what is driving the surge in respiratory illnesses and cancer we never know these are clean, transportation, clean, energy, clean buses. Our people deserve only the best. I can't be concerned about what I can only be concerned about what is and what is to come."
"We are not shutting them down. We are not taking away any permits, we don't give permits actually it's the ministry of transport that gives permits so we live in a free society. You the media always saying about free society and democracy. We are not chasing anyone out of business. We are competing and when you have competition, the people benefit."
This evening, the Belize Carnival Association announced that despite the recent rains, the Carnival Road March will proceed tomorrow as scheduled. They say that based on conversations with the Met Service, the Tropical Wave will have passed by later tonight - and that the most they are expecting are a few scattered showers tomorrow morning.
So, to make it clear, the road march is proceeding, even if today the mayor said that if it was up to him he would want it to be postponed. He explained why.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor "I believe that you have to be able to see that the rains will to some extent continue and you don't want indecision, you don't want indecisiveness. Carnival is about an activity where you want the sun it's an experience and if you are in and out and not sure it will turn people off so you have to be decisive in your decision making so we will have it or we will not have it and so you have to begin to make plans to if I'm not having Saturday when will I have it? Cause it's an experience and people will not go and stand up in rain that's the reality. And so the organizers have to quickly decide even if the rain stops will the streets be able to take it will the streets still have moisture on it water on it will it still draw the same sort of excitement? I am all for the carnival being celebrated on another day."
"In my view carnival is with sun We never enjoy a carnival in rain. I don't care what people say. Oh we will dance in the rain. No, it is his son activity. We want the family around We want the children around It's a sort of coming out. We sit down on the sidewalk and we wait around you don't want to be in any rain so while people are saying, let's have it in the rain. I am more a sun activity."
But, as they say, rain can't stop the carnival Bram, and it won't. The carnival energy has been building up all week with the Mas Camp displays and it culminated last night with three dominant senior bands - here's a recap:
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Tonight, we're not leading the news with crime news or political intrigues, but with nature. We're talking about birds: 9 majestic Scarlet Macaws flying free in the wild tonight after being rescued from poachers.
Courtney Menzies: These 9 Scarlett Macaws will soon be soaring through the Chiquibul Forest after spending 4 months here at the Las Cuevas research center. They were rescued as chicks by the team from Friends for Conservation and Development to protect them from poachers that cross into our borders. According to the executive director, if they're not vigilant, these bright red feathers could soon disappear from Belize's forests.
"Historically and in fact if you look all around the country, from Corozal way down to Toledo District, you will find, even at the local community level, you will find out there, there's a certain affinity towards the Scarlett Macaw, either with a photo, with a picture in the park, you'll see it in books, and you're right, it's a colorful species, it is the biggest one that is found in Belize. So there is an attraction to that parrot. That's why it has become the species of higher value on the black market."
Eric Max, Chief Research Field Coordinator, FCD 
"The care for the macaws is basically, we try to mimic a lot of the wild activities out there in terms of feeding, so the feeding time, the feeding amount we would give them, basically we're trying to mimic what- and that's basically what institute signifies, we try to mimic a lot of what is out there in the wild so whenever we soft release them it's an easy process for them to basically adapt out in the wild."
Last night we told you about the Tropical Disturbance which would bring two to four inches of rain. Up to this evening, three inches had fallen at the Phillip Goldson Airport in Ladyville and 4.2 inches had fallen at the Coast Guard Base at mile three. That's why here in the city, it felt like a water world, as rain fell through the night into morning.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor
"The system allows for us to activate the pumps and get the water much faster not necessarily much faster than what is dropping because you have to compare the amount of landfall dropping on a land mass as compared to the facility of the pumping action."
But of course, in a low lying city that rises from the swamp of centuries - it's hardly that simple. Flood prone areas that don't drain off are a persistent problem but the Mayor says those just take a little longer to run off as the rains subside. He spoke more on the flooding in the pound yard area.
Jenny Lovell's sudden death in June was a shock to Belize and to her family. But could the 73 year old have been alive today if it weren't for the negligence of the medical team at the Western Regional Hospital?
"She didn't have any kind of asthma or as far as I know no history of any heart disease she was not a smoker she didn't have emphysema nothing. So her death was a shock to all of us I had gone traveling and when I landed and got to my hotel I received a note to call home immediately and then I was like oh my goodness something happened and when I called they said Jen is gone and I was like what? So I flew back right away and then a few days later I received this like two picture on my phone an anonymous person and it was her medical records. And when I looked at it I was like why ii saw that she had been taken to western regional in extremist. she was hypoxic which means that her oxygen levels were very low. They were in the 80s which is a life-threatening emergency. when I looked at the notes, she was given oxygen and they did a few labs and did a chest x-ray and then of course, given when you give someone oxygen their levels come up, but you need to find out why they were hypoxic in the first place, so she was given oxygen and then discharged which is basically malpractice. So I was like I was questioning what's going on here."
If you ask residents from Placencia, Hopkins, Riversdale, or any of those southern communities where Angelfish Caye is, they'll look at you like you've just made it up. But if you ask them about Will Bauer Flats, they'll have endless stories.
"First and foremost the phone just started ringing off the hook and it was a "we" moment where the whole country international partners, everyone said when you talk, tell the government heartfelt kudos, appreciation, thank you, every word with gratitude, we appreciate this move. And direct to Honorable Cordel Hyde, he did the honorable thing, he's a man of his word, he said he would do that right thing and he did the right thing, not just for us but for the heritage coming behind us, this is the best thing we could leave for our kids, this is what we call generational wealth."
"It's not just fly fishing or sport fishing, it's the tourism industry completely that we are trying to protect."
And these guides had key ministers on their side:
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But ultimately, the government made the decision to acquire that flats from Angelfish Caye LLC - a move that has the people of the south rejoicing. And for the avoidance of any doubt about how vital Will Bauer is to the flat fishing community, Garbutt showed us how easily a fisher can snag a bonefish.
Another American tourist was busted at the airport for bringing marijuana into the country. It's the third US national in two weeks, and this time, 28-year-old eyelash technician Jennifer Marroquin Valencia was caught with 11.1 grams yesterday. She appeared today unrepresented in court to answer to the charge of importation of a controlled drug. She pled guilty and explained that she is from Los Angeles, California, where marijuana has been a legal substance, and was not aware of Belizean laws. She was fined $1,000 plus a $5 cost of court fee, which she was ordered to pay forthwith since she is not a Belizean citizen.
No one was hurt when a bulldozer slid off a trailer on the Coastal Highway today - but it did leave a deep gouge in the pavement.
The assault laws were recently changed to make it so that assaults on public officers and other important public functionaries - including the press - are now upgraded to aggravated assault.
August came to our studios before we saw that piece of news - so we couldn't ask him directly about it. He was here - along with the party's Campaign Manager - to push back against the narrative that the Alliance For Democracy announced on Wednesday: what they call a Unity Convention scheduled for October 6th. By their telling, it will be to elect a new chairman and an interim leader, among other business.
"Well, I am a party man, we have a leader, a person leading our party and as you rightfully said, the communication out of the party is that these persons have been constructively resigned and that makes them no longer official members of the United Democratic Party, so I don't think there will be any place for me as a Deputy Chairman of the United Democratic Party to be out there."
"There cannot be two UDPs. There is no parallel UDP. Whether they want to form a new party calling themselves the Alliance for Democracies, is their right, but there is no two UDPs."
And so while Alberto August is watching his party Leader Shyne Barrow's back - wasn't he the same one leading the charge along with Patrick Faber to recall and replace Barrow two years ago?
And while August and Garbutt extoll their leader's newfound ability to listen - who was he listening to when he made Ramon Vasquez standard bearer for Belize Rural South? It was an appointment that lasted three days - but the after - embarrassment has continued for weeks and for good reason - sicken Vasquez was recently seen profiling at the PUP Prime Minister's convention.
7 weeks have passed since the E-buses started running in the City, and so far commuters have embraced the transition to clean energy transportation - even if it costs a little more and stops a little less. The mayor says that the good reviews are borne out by the revenue collection, and he shared those figures with us today.
And while the success of this pilot project is a win for both commuters and the council, they have also been met with backlash from the other city bus operators who run on diesel engines without financial support from UN agencies.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor