San Pedro Daily
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Ambergris Caye, Belize Saturday August 4, 2007 Belize's only Daily- Seven Days a Week |
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The
impact of dredging on our environment
 As can be seen, dredging also destroys seagrass beds, which are prime breeding grounds for many types of marine life, the repercussions of which are extreme. Dredging
is the term given to digging, gathering, or pulling out material to
deepen waterways and keep waterway entrances and approaches to boat
ramps clear. The material removed during dredging can vary greatly and
can be any combination of rocks, clays, silts or sands.
A lot of people
don't know how negatively dredging impacts
our fragile environment. It does seem like a
necessity especially one required when living on an
island. Transportation by boat is a way of life and bigger boats are
needed as the years go by. However, one must understand that if you
plan to dredge you must gain consent from the Department of Geology and
Mines under the Ministry of Environment to use and develop coastal
Crown land. Applications should be made on a specific application form
for dredging and follow the guidelines, rules and regulations
pertaining to that particular practice. Read More
Belizean is La Reina de la Costa Maya  The
Costa
Maya has a new Queen ... and she will reign from her home
in Belize. That’s right, the four day Costa Maya Festival 2007 kicked
off last night on Ambergris Caye with the Reina de la Costa Maya
pageant. Winning over contestants from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador,
Nicaragua and Honduras was Miss Belize, Maria Jeffrey. Read MoreHealth
Minister: we’re talking to possible U.H.S. buyers
 We also
asked for an update on the situation with Universal Health
Services. Coye said that two foreign groups here expressed an interest
in purchasing the facility. One is said to be a non-profit
organisation, based in France.Jose Coye, Minister of Health “They are interested in it because they are interested to come into the region, into Central America, to get involved in research and also in healthcare services. The other group who have interest in it, they are strictly profit oriented and they are looking at it more in terms of health tourism and they believe that that is the way that they can enhance it, through health tourism as it was originally intended to be. If those things come through, that will solve the problem for us.” But sometimes things have a way of not coming through, and if they don’t, Belmopan is stuck with a thirty-three million dollar headache. Coye said that he was awaiting the final report of the Commission of Inquiry for guidance on how to handle the recovery of funds from U.H.S. Read More Santino’s will be
sold to Benny’s group
 In business
news, one of Belize’s most aggressive retail operations is
about to change hands. Santino’s, founded twenty-two years ago by
popular businessman Santino Castillo, will become the property of the
Benny’s group of companies following stocktaking on September first.
Price of the transaction has not been disclosed, but it has been
confirmed that a letter of intent has been signed and a deposit paid.
For Santino, the sale will allow him to focus on his job as CEO of the
family owned SanCas group, which specialises in wholesale food
products. For Benny’s, owned by the Feinstein family, it means instant
access to coveted product lines like G.E., Hotpoint, Honda, and
Castrol. Benny’s, originally a plumbing supply house, has broken ground
on what promises to be the nation’s largest home products emporium,
located on the Northern Highway in Belize City. It enters the highly
competitive appliance and electronics market against such established
rivals as Courts, Brodie’s, Leslie’s Imports, and Mirab. According to
Santino, no employee will lose his or her job in the changeover. It
should be noted that the Santino’s building, on the corner of New Road
and Hyde’s Lane, is not included in the sale. Read MoreHigh tech equipment
will measure
sea level rise  Scientists tell us
that sea levels are rising due to global warming
... but how do you measure the level of the sea if the land is also
moving up and down? This week Belize became the sixth country in the
Caribbean to install a device called a Continuously Operating Reference
System, CORS. Located on land, CORS will work in conjunction with
soon-to-be installed sea level monitoring equipment, to give an
accurate picture of sea level changes. According to Keith Miller, head
of the Department of Surveying and Land Information at the University
of the West Indies in Trinidad, the instrument systems will also be
useful for surveyors.
Keith Miller, Dept. of Surveying and Land Info, UWI “When you start measuring sea level you never know whether it’s sea level that’s changing or the land mass that is moving, so in order to monitor the formation of the land mass we’re using satellite surveying equipment which operates with G.P.S. equipment, the Global Positioning System. We’re concerned about sustainability of the equipment when it goes in place and the surveying equipment is extremely useful to the local survey community, so by getting them on board in using the equipment we can ensure sustainability of the information that’s in place and the data that we acquire.” Wilford Williams, Principal Surveyor, Lands and Survey Dept. “It should facilitate expediting surveys, especially in remote areas, using this technology. ... The CORS station will provide information in the newer world of G.P.S. technology so that if a surveyor needs to go and work in the field, he can use the advantage of this CORS station, combine it with the other CORS station from the university and get a coordinated point to do his other surveys.” On Thursday approximately twenty surveyors attended a workshop in Belmopan to learn more about CORS. The information from CORS and all the sea level monitoring equipment across the Caribbean is networked to project headquarters in Trinidad. The sea level monitoring equipment, to be installed next month, will replace the older non-functioning apparatus at the pier of the Belize City Port. The CORS equipment is located nearby at the Customs building. Read More THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." Peter Drucker HEALTH
AND BEAUTY
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