Man found dead near PCC identified ? autopsy planned

The Police have released the name of the 49-year-old man who was found dead near the Pembroke Community Centre on Sunday.

Alfred Franklin Exell was found by a member of the public on Sunday morning on North Shore Road.

Police said that foul play has not been ruled out in Mr. Excell?s death and an autopsy will be carried out.

Two American men were fined $1,000 each in Magistrates? Court yesterday after pleading guilty to importing cannabis.

Christopher Roberts, 39, of California, pleaded guilty to importing 5.75 grams of cannabis.

The court heard that Roberts arrived at the Bermuda International Airport from Atlanta on May 27.

He was stopped after a drug-sniffing dog alerted authorities to his bag. A plastic bag containing plant-like material was found in the golf club cover of his golf bag.

Roberts admitted it was his marijuana and was fined $1,000. A 32-year-old Florida man was also stopped at the airport after a drug-sniffing dog detected drugs in his shorts.

Kenneth Sutter pleaded guilty to importing 21.61 grams of cannabis yesterday. The court heard that on May 29, Sutter was stopped and Customs officers found the drugs in his boxer shorts.

The Bermuda Red Cross has launched an appeal to help the thousands of victims of last week?s devastating floods on Hispaniola.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent is hoping to raise over $720,000 for the relief efforts for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share the island.

?Hundreds of people are dead and thousands have been left homeless,? the Red Cross said in its press release.

?The torrential rains and resulting floods have destroyed crops, homes and livestock. With the water distribution system severely damaged, access to clean water is also a priority to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.

The press release said the disaster has been difficult to assess as there are access problems to many of the affected areas.

?At least 900 people have been killed and thousands have been left homeless,? the press release quoted Nelson Casta?o, head of the Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) as saying. ?There is an urgent need for food, drinking water and other basic relief items.?

Donations can be made to any of the following accounts:

Bank of Bermuda 701-19842, Bank of N.T. Butterfield 20-006-060-663859-200 or Gibbons Deposit Company 35760. Donations can also be phoned in to 236-8253 with debit/credit card numbers or mailed to Bermuda Red Cross, Dominican Republic and Haiti Floods Appeal, Charleswood, 9 Berry Hill Road, Paget, DV 03.

A fire started by children playing with matches burned about 100 square feet of woodland in Warwick on the weekend.

The fire on Dunscombe Road started on Saturday evening and rekindled on Sunday morning.

Bermuda Fire Service spokesman Lt. Dana Lovell said children playing with matches started it.

?They received a stern warning from the fire fighters and were told there would be more serious consequences if it ever happened again,? he said. The fire required 800 gallons of water and seven fire personnel to extinguish, he added.

And a brush fire among tree clippings near Messina House on Boaz Island on Thursday has forced the Fire Service to remind residents that they should contact the service before burning horticultural waste.

Lt. Lovell said the fire occurred in a five-feet by five-feet area of horticultural waste and took fire personnel ten minutes to bring under control. ?Our policy is to encourage people to call us before burning anything,? he said. ?But when people leave the fire - it puts us at a disadvantage because we have to put the fire out.?

Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent is set to reveal details of his plan for more than 100 affordable new homes later this week.

Yesterday, however, Mr. DeVent refused to comment on his plan until a formal announcement is made on Thursday.

Mr. DeVent told The Royal Gazette last week that the plan will allow as many Bermudians as possible to become home owners. He said the 100-plus family homes of one-, two-, three- and four bedrooms would be a substantial development. ?For those who said I had no plan, I say wait and see,? said Mr. DeVent yesterday.

Last week Millard Fuller, president and founder of Habitat for Humanity, urged the Government to get serious about Bermuda?s affordable housing crisis. He said that residents on a low to medium income cannot afford to own a home and suggested one way Government could begin to address the issue was in the form of a land gift.

Currently there are 393 people on Bermuda Housing Corporation?s waiting list and 61 on the emergency waiting list.

Thirty two cellular phones were stolen last week as the Island was hit by a mini-wave of telephone robberies.

Police said thieves broke into the AT&T office on Church Street at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The culprits made away with three Panasonic GU 87 phones, ten T300 phones, one Sagen X-5 phone and ten Nokia 6610 phones.

And on Friday telephone-hungry thieves struck again, breaking into Chatterbox on Middle Road in Southampton. Eight phones were stolen as well as several phone cases, Police said. Inquiries into these incidents are underway.

A newly developed garden area behind Beacon House on Brunswick Street is set to open to the public in late August.

The Corporation of Hamilton has transformed the area into a park called Cedar Gardens as part of its plan to re-develop North Hamilton. The new park has open brick pathways and attractive garden features. Steven DeSilva, Superintendent of Parks for the Corporation, said that in the past the garden was being used by area vagrants.

It is located behind Beacon House, a home for the blind on Brunswick Street. ?We have designed a garden to encourage beneficial use for the general public and for the residents of Beacon House,? said Mr. DeSilva. When the park opens in August its hours of use will be from sunrise to sunset.

Visitors staying at two different Paget guest houses had their rooms broken into early Monday morning.

The first incident occurred between 12.15 a.m. and 5.15 a.m. and an undisclosed amount of cash was stolen from the visitors? room while they slept. They were unable to give a description.

Later the same morning, Police attended another Paget guest house where they spoke to a female complainant. The woman said she woke up around 4.15 a.m. to find an unknown man in her room. She screamed and the man ran out of the room leaving empty handed.

She described the man as being dark skinned, approximately six-foot, one-inch in height with a slim build and close cut hair.

He was wearing an orange or red shirt and dark coloured shorts. He is believed to be in his 30s.

Newly arrived tourists have experienced almost 30 minute waits for taxis at the airport, a Ministry of Transport statement released yesterday revealed.

Airport personnel have noted these wait times for passengers arriving on evening flights, and as a result alternate methods have been set up to ensure passengers leave the airport in a timely manner.

Last month Transport Minister, Ewart Brown said that there was a great dependability of local services, especially transportation, to ensure visitors have the best experience possible when they arrive for their vacations.

Yesterday a Ministry spokesperson said: ?This is concerning because on Saturday evening the dispatching companies were made aware of the passenger loads on those flights and given indications of the need for taxis; even then the industry failed to respond.

?As the Ministry has stated before, the role of the taxi industry in this area cannot be overstated. We want our visitors to have prompt, efficient and friendly service as they move around the Island. This begins at the airport.?

The Ministry urges the taxi industry to help give visitors the best experience in Bermuda possible. Efforts to contact Dr. Brown or an Airport spokesperson for further comment were unsuccessful last night.

The United States got a little taste of two upcoming events on Bermuda?s calendar at a press luncheon held in New York City last month.

The luncheon, hosted by the Department of Tourism, introduced the Bermuda Music Festival and the Bermuda Culinary Arts Festival to members of the US press. Tourism Minister Renee Webb revealed details about both events ? including the line up of musicians and top chefs ? to about 50 US media representatives.

Some of the world?s top chefs from North America and the UK will venture to Bermuda this November to give seminars, cooking demonstrations, tastings and dinners for the Bermuda Culinary Arts festival.

Editors and writers from well known US publications ? Food & Wine, New York Times, The New Yorker, Town & Country, Travel & Leisure, InStyle, Glamour, Bon Appetit, Zagat Survey, Vibe, Gourmet, Robb Report, Wine & Spirits, NY Daily News, Elegant Bride, and Billboard ? attended the luncheon.

Terry Gallagher, the senior vice president of Lou Hammond & Associates, the public relations firm working with Tourism, said: ?We were very pleased with the turnout. Both events received great exposure.?

The Bermuda Culinary Arts Festival will be held from November 11 to 16 and the Bermuda Music Festival will be held from October 6 to 10.

Public Service Commission chairperson Nelda Simons last night declined to comment when asked for an update on the Abdallah Ahad controversy.

?It?s not appropriate. Matters of the Public Service Commission are not my bailiwick to discuss with the media,? Ms Simons said.

Mr. Ahad was required to submit proof of his qualifications after the Bermuda Sun reported that his purported alma maters ? Harvard and Cambridge College ? had never heard of him.

The paper also reported that the university where Mr. Ahad claimed to have obtained a Ph.D. no longer exists, but previously sold degrees online.

Mr. Ahad was required to present proof of his qualifications to the Ministry of Education which began its own investigations and was due to send a report to the PSC by the end of May. Mr. Ahad will continue in his position as Government IT Education Officer unless his qualifications are determined to be false.

He insists he has done nothing wrong. Education Minister Terry Lister did not return calls seeking comment this week.

A man who called Police ?doughnuts? spent the weekend in jail after he was arrested for using offensive words in a public place.

Kimani Fubler, 29, of Sunset View, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to using offensive words yesterday in Magistrates? Court.

The court heard that Fubler was leaning into the window of a car that was stopped on a pedestrian crossing on the corner of Burnaby and Reid Street on May 29.

A Police car pulled up alongside. When the officer opened the car door, Fubler attempted to close the door on the officer. The officer got out of the car and noticed that Fubler was agitated. When the officer told him he would be searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act, Fubler said: ?F**k.?

When the officer warned him, Fubler replied: ?That?s my first warning, I know the law.?

When the officer got back in the car Fubler said: ?You f**king doughnuts.?

He was arrested and taken to the Hamilton Police Station. In court, Fubler said he was telling the girl in the car what he had called the Police officer and didn?t say it to the officer?s face. He said: ?I?ve been locked up all weekend for this. I learned my lesson.?

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves fined Fubler $250.

A man with a penchant for T-bones was fined $750 in Magistrates? Court yesterday.

Raymond Robinson, 40, of Court Street, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to stealing a steak worth $11.23 from the Market Place Supermarket on Church Street.

The court heard that the manager of the grocery store saw Robinson acting suspicious near the meat department of the store on February 23. The manager stopped Robinson and asked if he had taken anything that he didn?t pay for. Robinson pulled out the T-bone steak from the front of his trousers.

When Police arrived Robinson ? using street terminology for stealing ? said: ?The manager caught me trying to jack that meat.?

He showed them what he had stolen and he was then arrested.

Robinson was fined $500 for stealing three T-bone steaks from Arnold?s Supermarket earlier this year.

Yesterday, Acting Senior Magistrate upped that amount, fining Robinson $750 on this charge. ?One thing about you is you have taste,? said Mr. Greaves. ?You love a T-bone steak.?

Developer Gilbert Lopes has submitted plans for a second Dundonald Street condominium development to Planning.

GL Construction has applied to build a 54-unit, seven-storey building at the site of the former English Speaking Union offices on the corner of Dundonald Street and Cedar Avenue.

It is hoped excavation at the site can begin by the end of this year, a spokesperson from S.H.Y Architecture told The Royal Gazette yesterday, will full construction slated to begin in early 2005.

The condos will be a mixture of studio apartments, one-bedrooms, one-bedrooms with dens, two-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms with dens. Developers also hope to make some retail space available.

The building could boast a games room and a rooftop terrace but will not have a pool.

The S.H.Y spokesperson explained that was to keep maintenance costs ?at a reasonable level? for those wishing to buy.

The spokesperson did not put a figure on the cost of construction or the cost of the units, but said there would be a two-year construction period.

?We are hoping for Planning approvals within two months,? he said. ?Due to the size of the development, we have to jump through a number of hoops it could take some time. The Development Applications Board has the last word.?

Mr. Lopes is currently developing another condominium building further down Dundonald Street, adjacent to the Olympic Club.