American Eagle plans to end operations in Puerto Rico next year
A Puerto Rican newspaper says the regional affiliate of American Airlines is planning to suspend its operations in Puerto Rico next year as it tries to shave $75 million per year from labor costs.
El Vocero reported Sunday that American Eagle will close its Puerto Rico operations by March 2013. The paper is citing a Friday memo from the Association of Flight Attendants to American Eagle’s roughly 150 employees on the U.S. island.
The flight attendants union did not immediately respond to calls Sunday seeking comment.
American Airlines spokeswoman Dori Alvarez said only that the airline has not made any schedule change announcements for American Eagle in San Juan.
--Courtesy of AP
Solid Waste Project to commence
TCI Government has launched an important environmental initiative by signing a contract with Turks and Caicos Environmental Management, Ltd. (TCEM) to clean up the waste disposal sites on Providenciales and Grand Turk and to assume management of these facilities using safe and environmentally sensitive practices.
This agreement marks the culmination of an exhaustive procurement and planning process, and the result is a program that will quickly and aggressively address some of the TCI’s greatest environmental and human health challenges and help ensure long-term sustainability. Specifically, under the agreement TCEM will:
- Clean the Dumps on Providenciales and Grand Turk - Extinguishing fires; compacting and covering the existing waste on the sites in order to minimize odor, windblown litter and dust; installing security, fencing, weigh scales and control mechanisms; and general aesthetic improvement of the sites.
- Manage the sites using internationally recognized solid waste handling practices to minimize the odor, litter and visual impacts of the facilities and control potential human health threats associated with scavengers, landfill runoff water, dust, smoke and vermin.
- Provide safe, secure professionally managed disposal sites for Providenciales and Grand Turk,
The Government of the TCI and TCEM are committed to the long term public and environmental health of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The contract signed today represents a significant investment in the sustainable development of our nation by ensuring that solid waste is managed properly for years to come.
Judith Campbell, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Education, said: “This is a major achievement for the Government and critical for the protection of human health and the environment. If one person is prevented from carbon monoxide poisoning from dump fires, then the investment in this project is well worth it. The Ministry of Health expresses sincere appreciation to staff of the Environmental Health Department, the Chief Engineer and the Deputy Attorney General for making this project a reality."
Lady Gaga wins Glaad outstanding music artist prize
Lady Gaga and Dancing With The Stars were among the winners at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad) awards in Los Angeles.
Dancing With The Stars won outstanding reality TV programme for featuring contestant Chaz Bono, the transgender child of singers Cher and Sonny Bono.
Lady Gaga won outstanding music artist for her album Born This Way.
Glaad promotes positive images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the media.
The producers of new TV musical drama series Smash picked up the Vito Russo award at the ceremony.
Winners Neil Meron and Craig Zadan are also behind movies including Oscar-winning musical Chicago and Hairspray.
The prize is named after the late gay rights activist and presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant contribution to promoting equality.
Zadan said being gay was "part of who I am, so it impacts the work that we do".
Meron said he and Zadan had spent years trying to "fight, persuade and manipulate" the entertainment industry to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters and stories.
They also recounted how they had received death threats following their controversial 2003 mini-series The Reagans, which argued that former US President Ronald Reagan failed to recognise the Aids crisis.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein presented openly gay high school pupil Katy Butler with a special award for spearheading a campign to persuade US film censors to lower its rating for documentary Bully.
HBO's Cinema Verite, meanwhile, picked up the best TV movie or mini-series award.
It starred Tim Robbins, Diane Lane and James Gandolfini and was based on the 1973 PBS American Family documentary that featured the first openly gay person on television.
Best talk show episode went to Oprah Winfrey's programme for the episode Coming Out on the Oprah Show: 25 Years of Unforgettable Guests.
Playwright Tony Kushner won the theatre award for his play, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures.
Tisha Campbell Deals with Smith Couple Rumors and Her Husband’s
Tisha Campbell-Martin is fed up with the rumors about her husband being in the middle of the Smith (Will & Jada) couple’s drama.
She took to the celebrity bullhorn, Twitter, to express her frustration for the lies and the media “attacking” Will and Jada.
“Usually I ignore negativity, but I’m tired of the media attacking TheSmiths. They’re an amazing couple n I wish ppl wld stop perpetuatin LIES,” she wrote.
On top of the madness, she went on to address the long-going rumors that there had been a same-sex affair between her husband, Duane Martin, and Will Smith, alleging that it is the root to the Smith’s marital problems.
In September, Tisha, who’s been married to Duane for more than two decades, told Sister 2 Sister, “We are so incredibly committed to our spouses, and we work really hard in every single facet of our relationships.”
Overall, Tisha and her man are quite fed up and continue to dismiss the negativity about their relationship as well as their industry peers, Will and Jada Smith.
Gary Oldman 'thought he had lost' Batman film script
Gary Oldman has described the moment he thought he had lost the script for Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.
The film, which is out in June, concludes director Christopher Nolan's superhero trilogy - and the plot has been a closely-guarded secret.
"I was in a panic for 20 minutes," Oldman told the BBC. "I thought, 'where the hell have I put it?'"
"It had my name on it," he added. "They would have killed me". The script eventually surfaced in his hotel room.
"I'd gone out for dinner," the actor explained, "and I had put it in the room between the mattress and the bed, because I couldn't scrunch it into the safe.
"I was half-thinking about something else and shoved it there."
The 53-year-old, who plays police commissioner James Gordon in the film series, admitted the script would have been "the worst one to lose."
He described the lengths that Nolan and film studio Warner Bros went to to ensure the script remained under wraps.
"When he [Nolan] gives the script out, it doesn't have the ending. Characters sometimes change, or their names change. And you have to go to the studio to read it."
Oldman was speaking at the Empire film awards, where he received the best actor prize for his role in Cold War thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
He was not the only actor on the red carpet who described the security measures currently being employed by film studios.
Mark Strong was at the ceremony during a break in filming Zero Dark Thirty with director Katherine Bigelow, who won an Oscar last year for The Hurt Locker.
The film, which has been on location in India, is a dramatisation of the raid by US Navy Seals on al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's home in Abbottabad.
Strong said the producers wanted the script to be "as secret as possible".
"You have to apply to read it on your computer," he told the BBC. "If it detects that you haven't read it for a couple of days, it disappears off the computer."
"When you are reading it, if it detects after five minutes that you haven't turned the page, the text goes blurry."
He said the tight security was because the script went into detail on "a lot of CIA procedure" that had been described by "the people who were involved" in the raid.
Oldman said there was also a sound commercial reason for the secrecy surrounding screenplays.
"There's a website that gets hold of scripts and reviews films before they're made, so I can understand the paranoia."
Hunger Games sets US box office record
Action film The Hunger Games has taken $155m (£97m) at the US box office in its opening weekend.
It is the biggest-ever tally for a film that is not a sequel, and the third best opening of all time.
Above it come last year's Harry Potter finale, which took $169.2m (£106.6m) in its first weekend, and 2008's The Dark Knight, which made $158.4m (£99.8m).
Based on Suzanne Collins' novel, Hunger Games follows a teenage girl fighting to survive a life-and-death game show.
It stars Jennifer Lawrence, who won an Oscar nomination for hard-hitting drama Winter's Bone in 2011.
The film has been compared to the Twilight series, which was also based on a series of novels for young adults.
However, its box office takings have eclipsed the vampire series, whose best opening weekend came in 2009, when Twilight: New Moon raked in $141m (£88.8m).
Industry analyst Paul Degerabedian said the film's success marked "the birth of a franchise".
"To launch in this fashion is mind-boggling," added David Spitz, head of distribution at Lionsgate, which released the movie.
"I was so excited to see how everyone was responding to the material and how ecstatic they were to be a part of it."
Indeed, the film's opening figures may rise again, with final box office tallies due to be released by tracking company Exhibitor Relations on Monday.
Whitney and ‘The Bodyguard’ Back in Theaters – One Night Only
In remembrance of the beloved singer and diva, Whitney Houston, “The Bodyguard” is returning to theaters for one night only.
On March 28th at 7:30 p.m., hundreds of movie theaters around the country will celebrate the life of Houston and the movie’s 20th anniversary.
Whitney’s role in the movie was a dynamic and historical moment in movie production. She stole the show and blew audiences away with her perfect vocals and fabulous brilliance that emanated right off the screen.
Co-star Kevin Costner shared a few words at the singer’s funeral, telling the world and the remembered Whitney that she was more than a phenomenal woman.
“A lot of leading men could’ve played my part. But you, Whitney, I truly believe you were the only one who could’ve played Rachel Marron at that time. You weren’t just pretty, you were as beautiful as a woman could be. And people didn’t just like you, Whitney, they loved you.”
Whitney’s final movie, “Sparkle” will premiere on August 17.
--EUR
STREET LIGHTS SWITCHED ON BY INTERIM ADMINISTRATION AND FORTIS TCI
In a joint release by Fortis TCI & TCIG, Acting Governor Patrick Boyle announced today that a new agreement between the Interim Administration and FortisTCI has been reached permitting the restoration of broken street lights throughout Providenciales.
The new Streetlight Takeover Agreement will consist of a $150,000 capital Contribution in aid of Construction (CIAC) from TCIG. FortisTCI will fund the additional costs. The contract includes the instillation, refurbishment or replacement, and ongoing maintenance of all street lights in the Utility’s service territory.
TCIG feels the repairing of street lights damaged during Hurricane Ike in 2008 along Chalk Sound, Leeward and Grace Bay is a further indication of the improving financial situation. It will also address safety concerns of the general public for areas not well lit.
“Switching back on the Providenciales street lights is a real symbol of the improving financial situation of TCIG. We understand how such straightforward things can improve the quality of life for Turks and Caicos Islanders and the tourist visitor experience,” said Patrick Boyle. “As we work towards achieving a financial surplus in financial year 2012/13, resources can be better prioritised into the things that the people of the TCI want money spent on – primary healthcare, schools, roads and causeways.”
FortisTCI’s President and CEO, Eddinton Powell commented saying “the agreement reached between Government and FortisTCI is another milestone and will allow for major improvements to public lighting in all areas of our service territory. The benefits to residents, businesses, and to the tourist industry will be significant. FortisTCI is proud to partner with TCIG on this important project.”
The negotiating teams were led by Devon Cox, Director of T&D Operations & Engineering at FortisTCI and Norman Watts for TCIG.
GOVERNOR DECLARES ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY TO MARK JUBILEE
HE Governor Todd this morning has released that their will be an additional holiday in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
As part of the Turks and Caicos Islands celebrations of Her Majesty the Queens’s Diamond Jubilee, an additional public holiday has been declared by His Excellency Governor Ric Todd, it was announced today, 26th March.
In order to allow people the maximum benefit of the holiday, the Governor is creating an extended weekend by bringing forward the Queen’s Birthday public holiday scheduled on Mon, 11 June to Mon, 4h June, to sit alongside the new additional holiday to celebrate HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary of acceding to the throne on Tue, 5 June 2012.
These moves also have the additional benefit of allowing the people of the TCI to take part in Jubilee celebrations simultaneously with millions of people across the Commonwealth over the same weekend.
The annual Queen’s Birthday parade and medal ceremony will take place on 4th June at the Parade Ground on Grand Turk. The Queen’s Golden Jubilee on 5th June will be celebrated by the lighting of beacons on the beach at Grand Turk and Providenciales at sunset followed by music and dancing. More details on these events, their location and timings will be given in nearer to June.
“These celebrations prove are the perfect opportunity to remember just how much we have in common with the two billion citizens across the 54 countries of the Commonwealth, in particular our deep respect for Her Majesty The Queen, our head of state” said Governor Ric Todd. “I am always being told that Her Majesty’s Birthday celebrations are one of the highlights of the TCI year and now we have twice as many reasons to celebrate together.”
- The Queen came to the throne on 6 Feb 1952 and her coronation was on 2 June 1953.
- She celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years) in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee (50 years) in 2002.
- The first British monarch to mark 50 years on the throne in a significant way was George III.
- The only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897.
- The Royal Household ‘s Diamond Jubilee website is at: http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/
- At two billion, the combined population of the nations within the Commonwealth represents about 30% of the world’s population
POLICE LAUNCH INVESTIGATION AFTER BOATING DEATH
RTCI Police are investigating the death of a man following a boating incident off the beach, close to the Windsong Resort in Provo today (Saturday March 24).
The investigation involves officers from CID and the Marine Branch, along with officials from Department of Environmental and Coastal Resources (DECR).