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Second Smoke-free Beach In Mexico Will Be In Ensenada

Ensenada city council has unanimously approved yesterday a new rule that will start a procedure to make Playa Hermosa the second tobacco smoke-free beach in Mexico. The first one was San Martin beach in Cozumel but the project is now abandoned in there.

ZOFEMAT (the ones in charge of the federal zone in the beach), will be in charge of certifying the beach before the COFEPRIS (The federal commission for protection against sanitary risks). COFEPRIS is the only authority that can certify a place as “smoke-free”.

Jorge Martinez, local councilman, stated that they will help organize, coordinate and implement the necessary infrastructure for this to happen. He said that signs will be installed on the beach and that a surveillance committee will be formed to enforce the new rule and get the federal certification.

The announcement comes just a few hours after Terra Peninsular stated that in their recent cleaning efforts of local beaches, they were able to gather almost a ton of trash which included 1,495 cigarette butts in just over half a mile of beach. And this wasn’t even in Playa Hermosa, which is the most visited beach in the city. These are the complete results of their cleanup (Yes, we know it’s in spanish, this has little icons so you should be ok):

Hopefully authorities around here will keep the designation longer than San Martin in Cozumel, where now, after only 4 years, people are mostly unaware of it’s smoke-free designation because no one bothered to replace the decaying signs or have anyone in there to enforce the non-smoking rule.

How to identify a real $500 pesos bill

The controversial Benito Juarez $500 pesos bill that was launched last August 27, and looks a lot like the $20 bill, has been, reportedly, been already forged by criminals.

In social media, several persons have stated that they have been victims of this criminals, especially since people haven’t had time to familiarize with its security features.

Don’t be one of these victims and get to know the new bill. The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has listed its security features so you can identify a fake if you need to:

 

1. Multicolor denomination.

In the front part of the bill, over the top-right corner you will find the 500 denomination, this has to shimmer with light and slightly change color from green to blue with the reflection of light.

 

2. Dynamic thread.

The real one should have a vertical thread on the left part of the front, the elements inside this thread should move as you move the bill.

 

3. Watermark

Next to the face of Benito Juarez on the front of the bill, you should find a smaller watermark with the same face and the number 500.

 

4. Embossed Texts

Most texts on the front of the bill are embossed and you can feel them easily when touching it.

 

5. Fluorescent Inks

On the back of the bill, some inks will glow when the bill is placed under a black light.

 

Here is the official video from Banxico, it’s only available in Spanish but you will probably get most of it as the voice is just saying what you just read here:

Water Outage Starts Today In Rosarito and Tijuana

The Tijuana water commission (CESPT)reported that they are starting today with their scheduled water outage for 460 neighborhoods or “colonias” in Tijuana and Rosarito, leaving a big part of both towns without any water for a few days, fully restoring the service on Saturday, October 6th.

 

CESPT reported that the cause of the scheduled outage is the replacement and repairs of the FLORIDO – AGUAJE water pipes in Tijuana, that had several old leaks that have to be fixed now in order to avoid more severe problems in the future. The repairs, that are being done on pipes 20 feet underground, have already begun and are expected to be finished on Friday.

This is the official list of the affected neighborhoods in Rosarito:

12 People Injured In Volaris Flight To Tijuana

Flight 423 from Volaris travelling from Guadalajara to Tijuana this Wednesday, suffered major “turbulence” scaring the bejesus out of the 165 passengers and 5 crew members in there.

Sandra Sanchez, one of the passengers in the flight stated: “This definitely felt more than regular turbulence, it felt more like an impact that lasted for around 2 seconds. After that we still had to fly for more than an hour to get to Tijuana. I’m definitely thankful that we’re alive”.

Volaris stated that the plane “Experimented a clear air turbulence during it’s flight”.

Clear air turbulence (CAT) are dangerous as they happen in clear skies and cannot be detected with conventional radar equipment, although they can cause severe damage to the aircraft and injuries to passengers and crew.

Many videos of the aftermath are circulating online, in one of them a passenger is seen laying on the corridor while others shout for a doctor on board.

Several people were hurt, with 12 of them requiring medical attention in Tijuana hospitals.

At the time of writing 2 crew members were still recovering from their injuries, while the other passengers where all discharged from local hospitals.

Help Adam Come Back Home

An amateur surfer, Adam Francis D’Esposito, was reported missing by his sister. He was last seen September 8, walking on the road in the Baja Malibu area, wet and without shoes.

He is diagnosed with bipolarity, although his sister stated that he was under control when he crossed from San Diego to Baja.

If you have seen him or have any information, please call US phone 760-805-5520, or 409-565-1050.

 

Tropical Storm Rosa On It’s Way To Baja

Tropical Storm “Rosa” is expected to become a hurricane and hit Baja on October 2 and 3. It’s expected to hit Bahia de los Angeles, El Rosario and San Quintin.

Antonio Rosquillas, head of the state civil protection office, stated that the community should be on the lookout for warnings from authorities and take the necessary precautions if you live in those areas.

“Authorities should already be cleaning deeply, river beds and storm drains”, he said.

Except from Baja, the storm is likely to stay far offshore, but it’s winds are already reaching outward up to 60 mph.

Jaime Nieto, head of the civil protection office in Ensenada, stated that although Rosa is not expected to make landfall in the city of Ensenada, more than 1,500 notifications have been sent to people living in risk areas because of the expected torrential rains from “El Niño” this season.

UPDATE: As of 9/26/2018 9:22 AM Rosa has been already classified as a Hurricane.

With information from El Vigia   |   Images from Aviso de Huracanes Xmendez

Rosarito Business Leaders Support The Citizens Council For Public Security in Baja

Just last week, prominent business leaders from Rosarito met with Juan Manual Hernandez, president of the Citizens Council For Public Security in Baja (CCSPBC), a citizens led association focused on overseeing authorities in charge of public security.

HUgo Torres Chabert (center), president of the Tourism Developers Association and owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel with Juan Manuel Hernández Niebla (right), president of the Citizens Council for Public Security in Baja California.

During the meeting, Juan Hernandez shared data for crimes committed this year, which amounts to 1,987 from January to August, and although the number has been going down steadily, he noted that it is still a very high crime rate.

Hernandez stated that they had procured funding from the state public security office in order to poll citizens regarding the official complaints made in government office, so they can compare it with official data.

He also said that now, with social media being so popular, violence is very perceptive. With almost every crime getting a lot of exposure when it’s shared constantly.

Regarding the C5i (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Collaboration, and Intelligence) center, he said that they were still against it as it’s a project that will indebt the state highly without any certainty that it will work.

The C5i for Baja project has been highly controversial, as several citizens groups have said that investment should be done in other parts of public security before investing in this. A better. More efficient court system, better trained police or more equipment for them should be prioritized over the C5i, they have said, as it’s common problem that criminals go free as soon as they are captured for procedural “mistakes”.

The project will cost the state around 43 million USD, to be paid in 10 years, to a private company, which infuriated citizens even more as it is now seemed as another one of the governor’s “businesses”.

Genaro de la Torre, president of the citizens council for public security for Tijuana, stated last year that going ahead with the C5i would be like “giving a baby a bike, first he needs to learn to crawl”.

 

With information from UniRadioInforma.com

There Is Hope For Ensenada

After much speculation about Ensenada being left out of the newly defined border zone that will cut taxes to half, the new Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) stated that he will review the situation.

Jorge Cortes, head of the coordinated businesses council in Ensenada (CCEE), Mario Zepeda, president of the Baja California Citizens Council and federal congressman Armando Reyes, talked at different times with AMLO regarding placing Ensenada into the tax-reduced zone and they all agreed that he was open about the idea but said that he had to review the matter thoroughly.

Although this seems like a win for Ensenada, who wants to be part of the tax-reduced area, no commitment was made by AMLO to include Ensenada in the border zone, which is comprised of every city that is within 19 miles from the border.

One of them did say that AMLO was analyzing the possibility of including Ensenada in the Border Zone  in a second stage of the process.

Jorge Cortes, from CCEE, said that he delivered a letter signed by all the business councils in Ensenada that will be directly affected by the change if it goes through on December 1st, the day he gets starts his term.

Jacobo Zepeda stated that he delivered another letter to AMLO and about 4,000 signatures of concerned citizens.

 

With information from elvigia.net

24 Beaches Being Cleaned This Weekend, And You Can Help!

More than 50 non-profits, schools, businesses & authorities from the state and city levels are working together to clean 24 local beaches as part of the International Coastal Cleanup Movement started by Ocean Conservancy more than 30 years ago.

This is the first time that an alliance is formed with different organizations in order to cover more beaches and pickup the biggest amount of trash possible and create awareness in the community about keeping our beaches and oceans clean.

Each organization will be in charge of cleaning squads that will start the cleanup on Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23 in several beaches around Ensenada and all the way to Baja Sur.

All the trash collected from the cleanup will be organized by type (Ex. cigarette butts, plastic bottles, cans, etc), weight and all the information will be put in a database which will allow authorities and non-profits to know what kind of trash is more often found in particular places. With this information campaigns can be made to address specific trash problems in certain areas.

The results from the ocean cleanups all around the world will be published in Ocean Conservancy’s website www.oceanconservancy.org and will also be available at the next Expo Environment, organized by the local Environmental Protection Office, in a booth that will show visitors the quantity of trash collected and exhibit the most weird objects found in the beach.

You can help by attending any of these cleanups, they start at 8:00AM and end at 1:00PM. Volunteers should bring a hat, comfortable closed shoes, sunscreen, water (in a reusable container), fruit and gloves. They are stressing out to not bring any water in disposable plastic bottles.

The locations available are:

Saturday, September 22, 2018- Ensenada and Baja Sur

  1. San Miguel
  2. Stacks
  3. Tres Emes
  4. El Mosquito
  5. Playa Hermosa
  6. Conalep
  7. Pacifica
  8. La Mision
  9. Villa Jesus Maria
  10. Bahia de Los Angeles
  11. Isla de Cedros
  12. Guerrero Negro
  13. Laguna San Ignacio

Sunday, September 23, 2018 – San Quintin

  1. Arroyo Santo Domingo
  2. Playa San Ramón
  3. Laguna Figueroa
  4. Chapala
  5. Playa Santa María
  6. La Chorera
  7. Humedal El Arco
  8. Punta Azufre
  9. Punta Mazo and Monte Ceniza Natural Reserves

We have no news of organized efforts being made in Rosarito and Tijuana but you can always show up at your local beach and do your part to help out, better yet take some friends over and help even more!

Fore more information visit the Facebook event “Limpieza Internacional Costera“.

 

New Campaign To Prevent Car Break-Ins In Rosarito

The Rosarito Tourism and Conventions Commitee (COTUCO) has launched a new campaign to prevent car break-ins from downtown Rosarito all the way to Popotla.

Car break-ins have been a problem for years all along the free road, with most of the victims being tourists that forget that it’s not safe to leave your valuable belongings at sight inside your car.

Edgar Orozco, head of COTUCO, said that the campaign consists of several signs that are being installed along the Benito Juarez and Popotla Boulevards, informing people to double check their cars before leaving them unattended.

The tourism police said they would pitch in by doing more patrolling around the area. Incredibly enough the chief of tourism police stated that “It’s important for business owners to remind their patrons to not leave their valuable stuff in their cars because opportunity makes the thief”.

No, Mr. Chief of Tourism Police, opportunity doesn’t make the thief. Lack of well-paying job opportunities, drugs and a deficient police department make the thief. On his defense it’s a popular Mexican saying, and he is right, don’t leave your stuff at plain sight in the car, that’s a recipe for disaster and more often than not it’s more expensive to repair the window than what they take.

Written from information from Ecos de Rosarito

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