Tight security ring around murder trial

The ring of steel circling the Cooper twins murder trial is set to remain firmly in place until a verdict is reached.

Security has been ratcheted up around Supreme Court One during legal arguments which are set to end this morning when a jury is picked.

In one of the biggest operations of its kind in recent years, has seen ten officers ? some armed ? protecting Sessions House last week.

Three guarded the top of the Parliament Street entrance as two patrolled the main gate beside Magistrates? Court.

A Police vehicle with four officers inside was parked at the court car park backing on to Court Street. Another officer ? working with two security guards from a private company who searched bags for any weapons ? manned the ?walk through? metal detector set up inside the entrance to the building.

The trial is scheduled to last four weeks. A Police spokesman said precautionary measures had been taken with tensions running high in the run-up to the trial.

Police declined to give details about how many men would be involved in the operation or how much it would cost a service, already stretched by a serious manpower shortage, to maintain a security cordon during court hours for at least four weeks.

But the spokesman said: ?We will have adequate resources in place.?

Cellularone offers cash prize

The Island?s largest mobile phone provider heated up its marketing efforts Friday by putting up a total of $77,000 in cash to reward customer loyalty.

Cellularone, which brought mobile competition to the Island seven years ago, said in a statement that the ?unprecedented event by a cellular phone company? would see the implementation of a loyalty programme that will allow new and existing customers to win up to $17,500 a quarter.

Cellular One?s subscriber base stood at 22,500 at September 30, 2005, a 21 percent increase in subscribers from 18,600 at September 30, 2004. However, competition in the marketplace has become more heated of late with the arrival of Digicel in December.

That company launched an aggressive marketing program designed to boost its share in the local mobile and data market in the short-term from 20 to 40 percent.

Besides offering up low priced cell phones, Digicel has also brought its own giveaways to the market recently offering up a chance towin a Peugeot 1007 as well as other prizes.

No bulky waste at Tynes Bay

Householders will have to hold on to wood and other bulky waste items until the end of the month while the Tynes Bay Waste Treatment Facility undergoes major maintenance work.

The centre, at Palmetto Road, Devonshire, will close its doors to these items from today until January 29 although commercial and residential waste will still be accepted during this period.

Russell Wade, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Works and Engineering, said the annual maintenance work, which includes servicing of the boiler, is necessary to keep the facility running through the summer.

The Ministry has requested that residents and businesses try to reduce the waste that they put out for collection during this time, and to recycle where possible.

Hospital seeks blood donors

A serious road crash led to a call for emergency blood donations and the cancellation of elective surgeries at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital last week.

On Thursday an emergency blood donor clinic was set up to assist the condition of a seriously injured man and a plea for fresh blood donations was made by the Red Cross Blood Donor Centre.

Meanwhile a hospital spokeswoman said it was necessary to reschedule a few elective surgeries on grounds of patient safety, although most procedures went ahead.

The appeal for blood met with an immediate response from hospital employees, Bermuda Hospitals Board members, business workers and Police officers.

Bermuda Hospitals Board chief executive Joan Dillas-Wright expressed her thanks to hospital staff for their speedy response in a message that was circulated around the hospital.

The injured man at the centre of the drama is now in a stable condition. Anyone who would like to become a future blood donor, and is aged between 18 and 70, should call 236-5067.

Thief nets iPod, other items

A thief netted a haul of electronic goods including two computers and an iPod during a break-in at a Devonshire home on Thursday.

Police, who were alerted at 10.25 p.m. on Thursday, were told by the victims that the culprit had gained access to their Melville Road home sometime between 9 a.m. and 6.45 p.m. that day.

The items stolen were a black & silver laptop computer, a brand new satellite receiver, a silver iPod, a silver Palm Pilot in a silver case, a gold Omega watch, a brown & black Toshiba laptop computer and a black DVD player.

Pedestrian struck

A woman suffered a head injury when she was struck by a motorcycle on a pedestrian crossing in Hamilton on Friday morning.

The accident occurred at 7.10 a.m. outside Number 1 Shed, Front Street, when the motorcycle overtook a truck which was stopped at red traffic lights.

The 51-year-old woman was crossing the road when she was struck by the motorcycle which attempted to stop but slid on the wet road. The 54-year-old male rider, from Warwick, was not injured but the woman, from Pembroke, was taken to hospital suffering from a large bump to the back of her head.

Police calm crowd after crash

A car crash and subsequent argument led Police in Hamilton to call for extra manpower in the early hours of Saturday.

The collision at 4am on Reid Street, near the junction with Court Street, is believed to have been caused by a car reversing into the one behind it.

According to a Police spokesman, the individuals involved got into a heated discussion, and others in the area joined in. As a result, extra units were sent to the scene to keep the peace until the parties involved left the area.

Approval sought for TV studio

The Hamilton Seventh Day Adventist Church has sought final Planning approval to convert part of its basement into an Adventist Television Station (ATV).

The Department of Planning registered the application on December 28 when it was sent to the Corporation of Hamilton for consultation.

?This application includes a reception area a sound/editing room an area for production and support rooms,? Keystone Architecture?s Sheena Smith said.

Ms Smith said a new studio to operate in was ?much needed? by ATV. The architect said the studio would pass fire regulations and it had already been in consultation with Malcolm Johnson of the Bermuda Fire Service.

?The new wall panels will be fire rated and the egress corridor exists directly onto the adjacent parking lot,? she said. ATV has been operating on cable channel 80 since it launched on March 29, 2005.