Ensenada municipal government announced that a plague of insects called “Ambrosia Beetles” have been found in Doña Petra Canyon and in Revolución Park. Read more
Que Pasa In Baja?
Goodbye tax breaks. Ensenada can say goodbye to the proposed border tax-break that Mexico’s new president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has proposed. In a meeting with Kiko Vega, our state governor, AMLO has already confirmed that cities in the border zone that will receive these benefits will only be the ones located up to 19 miles from the US border.
There is still some confusion regarding what will happen to cities that are stuck in half, like Rosarito, that has a piece of its land out of the so-called “border zone”. If the measure is strict, everything south of K 34 would not be included; that would be El Descanso, Calafia, Las Gaviotas, El Pescador, Puerto Nuevo, Cantamar and Primo Tapia.
Our Wine Valley is getting water. An agreement has been formalized between our state government and an Israeli company in order to build a water treatment plant in Tijuana and a water line to deliver the treated water all the way to the wine valley.
The $72 million USD project will bring up to 290 gallons of water per second to the valley when the project is completed in June 2020, although it would be able to start delivering about a fourth of that amount in a little less than a year.
The Israeli company, Odis Adversa, has stated that the quality of water will be superior to the one being extracted from natural sources present in the valley.
This new endeavor will allow the valley to grow sustainably while reducing the amount of contaminated water going to the ocean in Tijuana.
More corruption, really? An elaborate network of corrupt officials and import/export companies focused on car imports has been “officially” discovered by federal authorities.
For a $300 USD “fee” per car, authorities allowed the legal importation of cars into Mexico with false documentation that stated that the cars were valued at about 10% of their real cost, thus lowering the taxes imposed on these imports by thousands of dollars per vehicle.
It is said that that up to 80,000 vehicles were imported this way, and the chiefs of the Mexican customs offices in Mexicali and Juarez were involved in the scheme.
It was a productive racket for those involved, who pocketed more than $24 million USD while it lasted.
No jail time has been announced for the corrupt officials yet, and incarceration will probably not happen.
Toll road fee increase, again. For a second time this year, there was an increase on the toll road fees, 1 more peso on the Playas and Rosarito toll booths ($36 pesos), and 3 pesos more for Ensenada ($40 pesos).
This is the second increase this year, bringing the price of traveling on the road up 14% since the start of this year.
The increase was national, with most of the toll roads in the country being subject to surges of varying percentages.
Ensenada Gets A New Development
About 11 years ago, a group of real estate developers from Mexico City were attracted to our area with promises of a booming real estate market that had more qualified clients than inventory to sell.
The group had just started their project in Ensenada and had already received deposits for 5 of their condo units when the reality hit: the subprime mortgage crisis had started. Read more
Que Pasa in Baja?
This edition we discuss the beginning of the low season for tourism, the huge fire that broke out in Ensenada, how the Ensenada police is equipping to detect high-volume noise offenders, the new hotel being developed in Cuatro Cuatros, the donation of K-9 agents from the US to Mexico, new investments in alternative energy generation and what the SWAT spring-breakers tourism company is preparing for next year in Rosarito.
Que Pasa in Baja?
This week we talk about how the totoaba could be back on the market soon, the Margarita cocktail turning 69 (at least in Ensenada!), about how a crooked lawyer swindled money from a group of retired americans, how our beloved Baja’s feelings got hurt, the importance of checking your pets for ticks and lastly about the influx of tourists this year.
Que Pasa in Baja?
Coastal property rentals on high demand. In a recent statement, Marco Antonio Preciado, head of Baja’s Real Estate Professionals Association (CEPIBC), said that the demand for rental properties in the so-called “Golden Zone” which includes Tijuana, Rosarito, and Ensenada; exceeds the offerings available. Read more
Que Pasa in Baja?
Teachers on strike. More than 2,000 state teachers have been on strike, intermittently demanding salary payments from the state government for temporary teachers and for the ones that have recently retired but have not received their pensions. Read more
Green Light on the Off-Road Museum
Good! We will need some new attractions for those tourists that get to Ensenada through the new airport.
The Ensenada business council has officially asked the State Government to build the Off Road Museum in the city’s main boulevard, right where the state tourism office is located, next to CEARTE. Read more
The Ensenada Airport Just Got Real
Governor announces he is officially looking for a partner to build it
Northern Baja governor Francisco “Kiko” Vega just announced that the process to choose the company that will operate the new Ensenada airport has just begun. It looks like the project, that was so talked about, just got real. Read more
Que Pasa in Baja?
Tourist snaggers regulated. We can’t say we haven’t heard that before, this time Ensenada is the one that is trying to eradicate the annoying practice on the tourist streets of the city.
Jorge Menchaca, head of the local chamber of commerce, said that they pressured authorities to do something about the growing problem. Read more
