Yvonne Baldelli remains found

From internet scaredmonkeys:

Panama Confirms that Remains Identified as Missing California Woman Yvonne Lee Baldelli Who Went Missing in November 2011 While Visiting with Boyfriend Brian Brimager
 
42 year old Yvonne Lee Baldelli went missing in November 2011 while visiting Panama with boyfriend Brian Brimager. Panamanian officials have now identified that the skeletal remains of a California woman that were discovered on August 20, 2013. The human remains were found in a ‘green military style’ backpack containing a human skull, some bones and women’s clothing.  DNA testing confirmed that the remains found last week on the island province of Bocas del Toro came from Yvonne Lee Baldelli, who was last seen there in November 2011. Brimager left Panama for Costa Rica and the United States about 10 days after last being seen with Baldelli. Brimager was arrested this past June and charged with obstruction of justice; however, has never been charged in Baldelli’s death.
Facebook – Find Yvonne Baldelli

 Yvonne Lee Baldelli – Facebook

Panamanian officials have identified the skeletal remains of a California woman who disappeared in 2011 in Panama after arriving in the country with her boyfriend, authorities said Wednesday.
DNA testing confirmed that the remains found last week on the island province of Bocas del Toro came from Yvonne Lee Baldelli, who was last seen there in November 2011, prosecutor Vielka Gisela Broce said.
Broce said a man who was cutting bushes found a bag containing Baldelli’s remains on Aug. 20 and contacted police.
The 42-year-old woman from Laguna Nigel, Calif., arrived in Panama with boyfriend Brian Brimager in September 2011. Her family reported her missing the following January.
Baldelli’s family has said Baldelli, a clothing designer, was frequently out of touch so they did not immediately suspect anything was wrong.
Panama police say Brimager left Panama for Costa Rica and the United States about 10 days after last being seen with Baldelli.

Facebook – Find Yvonne Baldelli

UK Daily Mail – Human remains found in Panama are positively identified as California woman missing since 2011

Yvonne Baldelli, 42, went missing in November 2011 while living in Panama with boyfriend Brian Brimager, a former Marine
Local discovered a skull and women’s clothes in a military-style backpack
Brian Brimager, 37, is accused of dumping bloody hotel mattress in the ocean, but not yet of her murder
He is also accused of sending fake emails and withdrawing cash from her bank

Hopefully the her family and friends can finally get “JUSTICE FOR YVONNE”.

Message for U.S. Citizens

acs@state.gov | Add to Contacts

Today, Friday, Aug 16 12:37 PM | Show Details |  View source

Message for U.S. Citizens: Changes in Processing of Federal Benefits

Due to the recent Supreme Court decision on Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, there have been changes in the processing of federal benefits.

The U.S. Embassy in Panama invites you to visit the following websites for information about these changes: 

• To learn more about Social Security changes, please visithttp://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/doma-statement-pr.html orwww.socialsecurity.gov 

  
  

• To learn more about Office of Personnel Management changes, please visithttps://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/08/02/2013-18665/civil-service-retirement-system-and-federal-employees-retirement-system-opportunity-for-annuitants or www.opm.gov

  
  

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  Regularly monitor the State Department's website at http://travel.state.gov, where you can find current Travel Warnings, (including Travel Warnings for Panama), Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution.

  
  

  We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Panama enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) athttps://step.state.gov/step. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don't have Internet access, enroll directly at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

  
  

  For Country Specific Information for Panama visithttp://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_994.html

  
  

  For updated information on the security situation in Panama, please contact the American Citizen Services Unit of the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy at (011)-507-317-5030. The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy is located in Clayton, Building 783, in the Clayton section of Panama.  The Embassy web site ishttp://panama.usembassy.gov/. Address electronic correspondence to Panama-ACS@state.gov. The Embassy’s after-hours and emergency phone number is (011)-507-317-5000.

  
  

  Follow us on Twitter at https://mobile.twitter.com/travelgov and on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/travelgov. 

Opening of the Panama Canal, 99 years old on August 15th

From the U.S. Naval Institute:

99 Years Old: The Panama Canal

Thursday, August 15, 2013 2:00 AM

THE PANAMA CANAL OPENING.-With the successful passing of the Panama Railroad steamship Ancon through the canal on 15 August 1914, in nine and a half hours, the big man-made waterway, one of the wonders of the age, was officially opened to the commerce of the world, and is now ready for the use of all vessels drawing not to exceed 30 feet.-Army and Navy Journal.

 

SS Ancon passes through the newly-opened Panama Canal

THE PANAMA CANAL’S NAVAL SIGNIFICANCE.-So much have the commercial values and aspects of the Panama Canal absorbed the interest of Americans that it may seem to many of them its opening for business in the midst of a world shaking war partakes of the nature of an anachronism, even if the United States is not one of the belligerents. In reality there is a certain fitness in the realization of the dream of Balboa and the prediction of Goethe coming at this particular time. The canal is a great “short cut” open to the use of the world, but it is also a part of the scheme of the military defense of the United States. It doubles the mobility of both our land’ and sea forces, and was built with this consideration in mind. No event in our history gave more impetus to the construction of the canal by the United States than the voyage of the Oregon around Cape Horn to join our fleet in the Caribbean. The necessity of sending a battleship over so many thousand miles of ocean impressed the nation with the importance of having at our command a short route between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The arguments of war and peace are both represented in the canal, built, owned and managed by the United States in its sovereign capacity.-Boston Transcript.

Re-published in the ‘professional notes’ of the September-October, 1914 issue of Proceedings magazine.

COPA Holdings report 2Q net income of $74.4M

New post on World Airline News

Copa Holdings reports 2Q net income of $74.4 million by Bruce Drum

Copa Holdings, S.A. (Copa Airlines and Copa Colombia) has announced financial results for the second quarter of 2013:

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Copa Holdings reported net income of US$74.4 million for 2Q13, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.68.  Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $85.0 million, or $1.92 per share, a 45.3% increase over adjusted net income of US$58.5 million and US$1.32 per share for 2Q12.
• Operating income for 2Q13 came in at US$97.7 million, a 34.5% increase over operating income of US$72.6 million in 2Q12.  Operating margin for the period came in at 16.5%, compared to 14.1% in 2Q12, as a result of lower unit costs.
• Total revenues increased 14.8% to US$592.0 million.  Yield per passenger mile decreased 4.6% to 16.4 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) decreased 2.5% to 12.8 cents.  However, adjusting for a 7.3% increase in length of haul, yields decreased 1.2% and RASM increased 1.0%.
• For 2Q13, passenger traffic (RPMs) grew 20.4% on a 17.7% capacity expansion.  Consolidated load factor came in at 75.3%, or 1.7 percentage points above 2Q12.
• Operating cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 5.2%, from 11.3 cents in 2Q12 to 10.7 cents in 2Q13.  CASM, excluding fuel costs, decreased 2.6% to 6.7 cents.
• Cash, short term and long term investments ended 2Q13 at US$848.7 million, representing 35.0% of the last twelve months' revenues.
• During the second quarter, Copa Airlines took delivery of one Boeing 737-800 aircraft.  As a result, Copa Holdings ended the quarter with a consolidated fleet of 86 aircraft.
• For 2Q13, Copa Holdings reported consolidated on-time performance of 89.3% and a flight-completion factor of 99.7%, maintaining its position among the best in the industry.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

• On July 17, 2013, Copa Airlines announced it will begin nonstop service four times a week from Panama to Tampa, Fla., on December 16, 2013.  Tampa will be Copa Airlines' ninth U.S. destination and its 66th destination overall.
• On August 7, 2013, the Board of Directors of Copa Holdings resolved to change the Company's dividend policy to increase the annual distribution to an amount equal to 40% of the prior years' annual consolidated net income. In addition, dividends going forward will be distributed in equal quarterly installments during the months of March, June, September and December, subject to board approval each quarter.  On August 7, 2013, the Board of Directors also approved dividend payments payable at the end of both 3Q13 and 4Q13, in amounts equal to 10% of the consolidated net income of 2012.

More on Panama Wind Power

More on Panama Wind Power from www.businessspector.com:

First Panama wind farm aims to supply 10% of grid by 2015

Reuters7 Aug, 8:35 AM

• Climate
• Wind power

In a flat, windy agricultural pocket in central Panama, President Ricardo Martinelli on Monday unveiled his nation's first wind turbine, a project that is set to become Central America's biggest wind farm.

The $US450 million ($A495 million) project, run by Spanish-owned Union Eolica Panameña, will produce 220 megawatts (MW) of power by mid-2014 and 337 MW when complete the following year, which is estimated to be about 10 per cent of Panama's electricity demand.

"It will be the biggest in Central America, without a doubt, and one of the top five in Latin America," the company's director, Rafael Perez-Pire Angulo, said.

The project comprises 135 towers equipped with turbines over 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres), and will eventually supply about 850,000 people, Perez-Pire Angulo estimated.

Chinese wind-turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd, will provide 22 turbines for the project that generate a combined 55 megawatts, according to a statement issued by its unit Goldwind USA.

Panama generates about 60 per cent of its electricity from hydropower plants. It plans to build another 15 projects by 2016, but has been hard hit by dry season droughts like one in May that forced electricity rationing and the closure of schools and government offices.

The new wind farm would have an immediate impact, Energy Secretary Vicente Prescott told Reuters.

"The dry season is when we have the least rain but when we have the most wind," he said.

Wind energy is taking hold across Central America. In 2012, Honduras unveiled the region's then-largest wind farm, with capacity of 102 MW. In Nicaragua, total wind-power production is slated to reach 180 MW in 2014 - almost one-third of its total energy demand during peak hours.

In Costa Rica, which produced about 4 per cent of its power from wind farms in 2011, the state-run utility has announced plans to develop 100 MW of wind farms by 2015.

Wind Power in Penonome, Panamá

From Reuters:

Panama's President Martinelli looks at a miniature wind turbine at the Wind Power Park Eolico in Penonome

Source: Reuters - Mon, 5 Aug 2013 23:23 PM

Author: Reuters

    

Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli looks at a miniature wind turbine at the Wind Power Park Eolico during a presentation to the media in Penonome August 5, 2013. According to Union Eolica Panamena's General Director Rafael Perez, the wind farm will build 88 wind turbines by the end of the year, producing 220 Mega Watts of energy, making it the biggest in Central America. REUTERS/ Carlos Jasso (PANAMA - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY)

Gamboa Seminare Today, August 5, 2013

GAMBOA SEMINAR TODAY
--------------------------------------

Please join us TODAY in the schoolhouse for the following seminar:
* Monday, August 5, 2013 - 4:00pm
Krzysztof Kozak (University of Cambridge)
Luis Mejia (North Carolina SU, STRI)
Megan Supple (North Carolina SU, STRI)
Genomics: an introduction for ecologists

--Subscribe to seminar announcements:
http://gamboalife.com/newsletter/subscriptions

Memphis, Tennessee Salutes Panama during May Festival

From  http://www.theintelligencer.com/
 
Memphis in May International Festival Salutes Panama as the Honored Country in 2014 - The Edwardsville Intelligencer

Memphis in May International Festival Salutes Panama as the Honored Country in 2014

Posted: Sunday, August 4, 2013 12:00 am

Memphis in May International Festival announced Panama will be the honored country during the 2014 celebration. The Beale Street Music Festival is May 2-4, 2014; International Week Salute to Panama is May 5-10, 2014; the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is May 15-17, 2014; and the Sunset Symphony is May 24, 2014.

Memphis, TN (PRWEB) August 04, 2013

Officials of Memphis in May International Festival announced plans to honor the Republic of Panama for the 38th edition of the festival during its annual year-end review meeting on August 1 at the Memphis Botanic Garden. James L. Holt, president and CEO of Memphis in May commented: "Panama is a fascinating country that offers a rich heritage and history along with a vibrant modern culture. We look forward to an exciting celebration in May 2014."

Panama is unique to its region as it boasts a cultural multiplicity, a richness enhanced as a result of the constant presence of visitors from all parts of the world. The country is home to a population of nearly 3.5 million people of great ethnic diversity and a growing urban population.

Bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the south by the Pacific Ocean, Panama is comparable in size to the state of South Carolina, with a total area of 23,940 square miles. Panama shares its eastern border with Columbia and its western border with Costa Rica and serves as a bridge between North and South America. With an intense connection to the sea, the country has a similar feel to an island in the Caribbean.

Panama functions as a corridor for East-West trade as the home to one of the world's greatest intersections of commerce, the Panama Canal. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut made it possible for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in half the time previously required. Completed in 1914, the canal enables ships to avoid the lengthy and hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America. The Panama Canal, which sees an average of 3,500 vessels per quarter, is currently undergoing an expansion scheduled for completion in October 2014, which will allow for increased vessel traffic.

Panama's economy is one of the most stable in the Americas, with the highest per capita income and fastest growing economy in Central America, according to the IMF and UN. Its main economic sectors are finance, tourism and logistics, which represent 75 percent of the country's GDP.

The Republic of Panama is an independent and sovereign State in which individual and social rights are observed and respected, and where the will of the majority is represented by the free right to vote. The country gained its independence in 1903 when it seceded from Colombia. Ricardo Martinelli has served as the 49th President of Panama since 2009.

For those interested in experiencing the culture of Panama first-hand, Ron Coleman, 2014 Board Chairman, will lead a delegation on a trip to Panama in March 2014. Persons interested in traveling as part of the Memphis in May International tour are invited to visit the Memphis in May website or call for additional information.

Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long celebration of local and international color, customs, cuisines and culture. The non-profit, community-based organization produces the largest annual events in the City of Memphis and Mid-South region, and does without the benefit of funding from any government taxing authority. Each year the month-long festival celebrates international and Memphis culture generating significant local revenue and important positive impact promoting Memphis to a national and international audience.

2014 Memphis in May International Festival: the Beale Street Music Festival May 2-4, 2014; International Week Salute to Panama May 5-10, 2014; the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest May 15-17, 2014; and the Sunset Symphony May 24, 2014.

For more information about the 2014 celebration, event dates or other information about the Memphis in May International Festival, call (901) 525-4611 or visit the website at http://www.memphisinmay.org or on Facebook at facebook.com/memphisinmay

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb10993473.htm

Third Lock Gates enroute to Panama

From Marinelog.com:

Third Set of Locks headed to Panama Canal

AUGUST 2, 2013—The first four new massive gates for the Panama Canal’s Third Set of Locks is expected to arrive in Panama from Italy on a heavy lift ship on August 19. The locks are one of the biggest milestones of the ExpansionProgram.

The Third Set of Locks has a total of 16 rolling gates (eight for each new lock complex).The new gates weigh an average of 3,300 tons each and are 57.6m x 10m x 31.92m. They were constructed in Italy by subcontractor Cimolai SpA. They will be unloaded in the Atlantic side of the Canal and rolled off the ship onto a special reception dock.

The Expansion Program has an overall progress of 60.4% and will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double the waterway’s capacity. The Third Set of Locks will make room for the transit of more cargo and larger vessels, having a direct impact on economies of scale.

U.S. Navy League meeting in Panama City.

From the U.S. Navy League in Panamá:

Please plan on joining us for an update on events in Egypt from Col.
Court Prisk, US Army Ret.

From December 1979 through May 1981 he was Chief -- Plans Division,
Middle East and Africa, J-5, Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
When the late General H. "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf, Jr. was
ordered to prepare for the first Gulf War, they dusted off Col.
Prisk's plan for the invasion of Iraq and Operation Desert Storm.

He is the co-author of "A Strategic View of Insurgencies: Insights
from El Salvador" with Max G. Manwaring.

Date: August 13
Time: 7:00pm
Place: Hotel Le Meridien
Price: $30 including glass of wine
RSVP to this email before 12:00 noon on the 12th, please.

Kind regards,

Hunter Schultz
President
Navy League Panama
navy.league.panama@gmail.com 

American Robert "Bob" Ehlert missing in Panama

American Robert "Bob" Ehlert missing in Panama

From Denver, Colorado TV Channel 9 news, 

DENVER - A Denver woman told 9 Wants to Know she's desperately searching for her missing father who vanished in a foreign country earlier this summer.

She hopes stories about her father's mysterious disappearance will help prompt someone who knows where he is to come forward.

Bob Ehlert has not been heard from in six weeks. He was last seen in Panama City where he spent time sailing.

Ehlert splits his time between Panama and his home town of Harris, Minnesota. His daughter, Mariah Ehlert, lives in Denver. She recently went to Panama to search for her father.

"The police don't have anywhere near as many resources that we have up here," Mariah Ehlert said.

She tried to do much of the detective work herself while in Panama.

"There are flyers posted everywhere; we contacted real estate agents and travel agencies. The embassy says there have been no deaths reported,' she said.

Ehlert had two sailing friends staying with him when he disappeared. According to a police report, the friends found a note in his condo. It said Ehlert was leaving for two weeks with a woman named Diane to look at properties in a remote resort area called Bocas del Toro.

Mariah said the note was not in her father's handwriting and none of his friends had ever heard of the woman named Diane.

Ehlert's two houseguests have since returned to the United States.

The sheriff's department in Bob's hometown of Harris, Minnesota is also investigating the missing person case. They have looked for clues in Ehlert's financial records.

"The investigator took the computer out of his place a week ago," Ehlert's neighbor Jack Sprinkle said.

According to friends and family, Ehlert's bank statements do not show any activity since he went missing and his sail boat is still docked at a Panamanian marina.

"He's a very energetic and gregarious guy. He's very outgoing," Mariah said about her father.

When asked what her worst fear is at this point Mariah said, "That he's dead, because then we don't get him back."

Advice for foreign travel safety:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/safety/safety_1747.html

State Department foreign travel warnings:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html

State Department website about missing foreign travelers:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/emergencies_3881.html