:00:07. > :00:13.Good evening and welcome to the BBC in the Channel Islands. Our
:00:13. > :00:19.headlines: holiday showdown, will Guernsey get its new, improved
:00:19. > :00:24.airport runway? The debate begins. Plus, we hear how politicians and
:00:24. > :00:29.the paying public stopped Jersey Heritage becoming history itself.
:00:29. > :00:39.And depending to 2012 starts here, we meet the Channel Islanders
:00:39. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:51.Well come to the programme. The great -- ingrate summer getaway is
:00:51. > :00:54.under way and dock in Guernsey States has turned to the airport.
:00:55. > :01:00.�80 million of improvements are up for debate. The proposal is to
:01:00. > :01:04.extend, upgrade and move the runway. It could create a better transport
:01:04. > :01:12.links for the island. It was one of a number of hot topics on the
:01:12. > :01:20.political agenda of. No summer holidays for our politicians? Are
:01:20. > :01:24.busy day-to-day? Yes, it was. But let us start with the �80 million
:01:24. > :01:28.airport project. The plan is to change the runway to make it comply
:01:28. > :01:33.with modern safety standards. While most politicians agreed, they have
:01:33. > :01:41.been arguing about the cost and who should work on it. It was feared
:01:41. > :01:46.delayed -- delays cost -- caused by this could cost millions. No
:01:46. > :01:53.decisions were taken and that Fox will go on tomorrow. More on
:01:53. > :01:57.airport tomorrow, what else was decided to do? A major overhaul of
:01:57. > :02:01.the benefits system was agreed in principle. It is it aimed at ending
:02:01. > :02:05.their inequality between learners in privately rented homes and those
:02:05. > :02:10.living in state housing. At the moment, a couple in a state of
:02:10. > :02:13.house can be �142 per week better off than a couple who rent
:02:13. > :02:18.privately. The Minister for Housing says there is still a lot of work
:02:18. > :02:22.to be done. Departments will meet again and pressure will be put on
:02:22. > :02:28.the bones of this green paper. We will come back with detailed
:02:28. > :02:32.proposals later in the year. Finally, the States agreed to spend
:02:32. > :02:39.millions turning a former school into a brand new centre for
:02:39. > :02:41.learning. Six p -- St Peter Port primary will be refurbished. Some
:02:41. > :02:47.of the College of Further Education's lessons will be top
:02:47. > :02:52.there. In total, �3.7 million will be spent transforming this site.
:02:52. > :02:58.Thank you. In Jersey the number of people
:02:58. > :03:05.registered as unemployed has fallen. 1280 people were looking for work
:03:05. > :03:09.in June, 60 fewer than in me. Year on year, unemployment has risen.
:03:09. > :03:14.The number of long-term unemployed has almost doubled.
:03:14. > :03:17.Ack-ack -- a kayaker rescued last night was trying to enter Jersey
:03:17. > :03:20.illegally. The Channel Islands Air Search and St Catherine's lifeboat
:03:20. > :03:23.were allowed to buy French coastguard About a man making his
:03:23. > :03:27.way towards Jersey yesterday evening. He was detained overnight
:03:27. > :03:31.and into the this morning when he claimed asylum. He is now being
:03:31. > :03:35.escorted back to France. The future of Jersey Heritage is
:03:35. > :03:40.looking brighter, according to bosses. The troubled organisation
:03:40. > :03:46.was forced to cut jobs, reducing museum opening hours and take extra
:03:46. > :03:53.cash from the Government. There was a funding crisis which left it �1
:03:53. > :03:57.million a year short. They are Jersey Heritage gems,
:03:57. > :04:02.shall cap -- showcasing valour's the past but the future has been
:04:02. > :04:07.uncertain. Over the last 18 months Heritage has been recovering from a
:04:08. > :04:12.severe funding crisis which saw it �1 million a year assured. Today,
:04:12. > :04:17.bosses have announced that things are looking brighter. A lot of the
:04:17. > :04:22.issues have been resolved. We have had help from the States and the
:04:22. > :04:27.community. But some of those changes have been controversial. To
:04:27. > :04:34.save cash, heritage closed a these museums in the winter and cut 20
:04:34. > :04:39.jobs. Certain things are only open in the summer holidays. The plan is
:04:39. > :04:43.to increase fees through investment. We will build a couple of self-
:04:43. > :04:48.catering units they are, if they are as successful as are other
:04:48. > :04:55.self-catering units, we will be able to wash our face financially.
:04:55. > :05:00.That is the 18th. The organisation is also planning spending to
:05:00. > :05:04.refresh and renew visitor site. Well there remain some challenges,
:05:04. > :05:10.the message is positive. Jersey Heritage is back on track and here
:05:10. > :05:15.to stay. You are watching the BBC in the
:05:15. > :05:19.Channel Islands. Up next: we are looking ahead to next year's London
:05:19. > :05:25.Olympics. Coming up in Spotlight, find out why hundreds of dolphins
:05:25. > :05:29.have been spotted off the Cornish coast.
:05:29. > :05:33.It is exactly one year until the start of the London 2012 Olympic
:05:33. > :05:37.Games. Elite athletes in the Channel Islands are training hard,
:05:37. > :05:41.hoping they will earn a place in the Great Britain team. It will not
:05:41. > :05:48.be easy, none of our athletes competed at a last Olympics, what
:05:48. > :05:52.chance do they have this time round? Here is arrogate. -- our
:05:53. > :05:57.guide. The Olympic Stadium. One year today,
:05:57. > :06:01.it will hope - a course that opening ceremony. Which of our
:06:01. > :06:06.athletes will be taking part? Carl Hester is almost certain to be
:06:06. > :06:12.there, the dressage rider from Sark has appeared at the three previous
:06:12. > :06:16.Olympics. He won team silver at last year's Team Championship. It
:06:16. > :06:22.is not just about his performance, an injury to his horse just before
:06:22. > :06:29.the Beijing Olympics meant he missed the game. If they stay fit,
:06:29. > :06:34.Sark could have an Olympic medallist.
:06:34. > :06:38.Jersey's Becky Herbert also missed out for Beijing and she missed out
:06:38. > :06:44.on the Beijing Olympics. She is a regular for England and is in the
:06:44. > :06:48.GB squad. Fingers crossed she makes the final team for London. It has
:06:48. > :06:52.been a fantastic year for her the Watson, she has been climbing the
:06:52. > :06:57.world tennis rankings and is just outside the top 100. She will need
:06:57. > :07:03.to keep on climbing, only the top 56 players automatically qualify.
:07:03. > :07:08.Given her progress this year, do not bet against her. Another
:07:08. > :07:13.Guernsey hopeful is Lee Merrien, the marathon man needs to finish in
:07:13. > :07:16.the top 20 in September to qualify. He has been busy training at
:07:16. > :07:22.altitude and their impending birth of his second child might give him
:07:22. > :07:30.that extra yards. Elizabeth McCann is the top
:07:30. > :07:38.badminton player but his out ranked. She is right to just four places
:07:38. > :07:42.are up off the top person. That is five other hopefuls. I injury
:07:42. > :07:52.always plays its part in sport, but they will all be hoping their
:07:52. > :07:54.
:07:54. > :07:59.Here BBC Channel Islands we will be following all our were local
:07:59. > :08:04.athletes all the way to London. Well they are training, one of
:08:04. > :08:08.Britain's top Olympic hopefuls has come to Jersey. Lawrence Okoye
:08:08. > :08:15.broke the British discus record earlier this month. He is now in
:08:15. > :08:18.Jersey. Our reporter has be finding out why he chose Jersey is a
:08:18. > :08:23.training base. This was the moment Lawrence Okoye
:08:23. > :08:27.broke the British discus record. A remarkable achievement for a 19-
:08:27. > :08:31.year-old. What is even more remarkable is that he only took up
:08:31. > :08:37.the sport seriously last summer. He is in Jersey to train with his
:08:37. > :08:42.friend Zane Duquemin. Being around Zane Duquemin, you learn things
:08:42. > :08:47.every time you throw. Every time I come here I improve. We can come
:08:47. > :08:52.here any time I want and drain. It is great. They are really well
:08:52. > :08:57.coming here. I am away from everything back home. I will
:08:57. > :09:02.continue to come here for the rest of my career. Lawrence Okoye and
:09:02. > :09:05.Zane Duquemin will compete against each other this weekend. While
:09:05. > :09:11.Lawrence Okoye is throwing 10 metres further than Zane Duquemin,
:09:11. > :09:16.they are still benefiting from each other. It is a good partnership or
:09:16. > :09:21.working together. I will have to stay as close as I can to him. He
:09:21. > :09:25.learned of me technically. Well all the hard work paid off in time for
:09:25. > :09:30.the London 2012 Olympics? Lawrence Okoye has a genuine medal chance
:09:30. > :09:34.and has the desire to be a top- class athlete. I think I can be the
:09:34. > :09:39.best. As an athlete it is important you have that mentality. It is
:09:39. > :09:46.about working hard, been around the right people, making the right
:09:46. > :09:51.decisions. I am sure that one day I will make it to the top. Good luck
:09:51. > :09:54.to Lawrence Okoye and Zane Duquemin. You may remember from our Island
:09:54. > :10:01.Games coverage, both Zane Duquemin and his sister got two gold medals
:10:01. > :10:06.apiece. From Olympic teams to another
:10:06. > :10:10.sporting challenge, and chairs the man has become the first person to
:10:10. > :10:15.swim from Sark to Jersey. This was the moment he came ashore or this
:10:15. > :10:19.afternoon. It took him eight long hours to cover the 14 miles,
:10:19. > :10:22.struggling against the tide at times. He was congratulated by
:10:22. > :10:28.family and friends and said he was pleased to have made it at his was
:10:28. > :10:32.not his first try. It is my second attempt, I am delighted to have
:10:32. > :10:37.done it. I am not getting any younger. My chances were limited if
:10:37. > :10:42.I did not do it this time. They were limited after about five hours,
:10:42. > :10:50.it was a harder swim. Well done, rather you than the! Now, the
:10:50. > :10:54.There is some sunnier and warmer weather to come later on this week.
:10:55. > :10:58.Tomorrow looks like a rather cloudy day. Still fairly warm but the
:10:58. > :11:04.cloud will be brought in due to these weather fronts here. They are
:11:04. > :11:08.moving in from the West. No wet weather to come. They will push
:11:08. > :11:12.cloud across us. There is a chance of some brightness later on and
:11:12. > :11:19.then by Friday lunchtime the high pressure starts to dominate. The
:11:20. > :11:27.funds disappear under a cloud should break up. For tonight, it
:11:27. > :11:32.looks rather cloudy. It should be dry overnight and relatively quiet.
:11:32. > :11:36.It will be 14 Celsius, a minimum overnight. Tomorrow morning will be
:11:37. > :11:41.fairly cloudy. It should remain dry it with some brightness getting
:11:41. > :11:48.through at times. There will be light winds coming in from the
:11:48. > :11:54.north-west. Feeling fairly warm. 21 Celsius is the maximum tomorrow.
:11:54. > :11:59.The winds from the north and north- west are very light. The weather
:11:59. > :12:09.should be fair and there should be good visibility. The times of high
:12:09. > :12:12.
:12:12. > :12:19.Still not huge waves around for the surface but they are generally
:12:19. > :12:24.quite clean. Tomorrow does look rather cloudy, this cloud should
:12:24. > :12:29.start to break up quite nicely by the time we get to Friday. It will
:12:29. > :12:34.feel warmer in the sunshine. Across the weekend it will be quite patchy
:12:34. > :12:44.with cloud. Temperature starts to pick up. By Sunday most of the club
:12:44. > :12:45.