By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 9, 2008
A second border crossing at Otay Mesa and longer-term improvements at the San Ysdiro and downtown Calexico ports are crucial to the region's economy, business and political leaders from the United States and Mexico said yesterday.
But they said immediate measures must be taken to reduce congestion at California-Mexico crossings.
Seeking input from the private and public sectors, organizers of the United States-Mexico Border Efficiency Conference plan to present proposals for improving the region's crossings to federal officials from both countries.
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“We intend to be loud,” said John McNeece, outgoing chairman of the Mexico Business Center of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, which organized the conference at the University of San Diego.
Border delays are costing the region billions of dollars, according to a study released last month by the San Diego Association of Governments that was commissioned by the California Department of Transportation. In 2007, the study calculated losses of $5.1 billion and 51,570 jobs for San Diego and Baja California.
“If we don't make the improvements that are necessary, the economic engines are going to go somewhere else,” said Pedro Orso-Delgado, director of the Caltrans regional office in San Diego.
Plans for construction of a second crossing at Otay Mesa, known as Otay East, would be linked to a proposed toll road in San Diego County, state Route 11. The new crossing, if approved, could be completed by the end of 2015, according to Caltrans.
Also discussed was an airport border crossing connecting Tijuana's A.L. Rodriguez International Airport with a U.S. terminal in Otay Mesa. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is exploring the cross-border terminal as a way to reduce congestion at Lindbergh Field.
At the San Ysidro crossing, the U.S. General Services Administration is embarking on a $580 million redesign to increase the capacity and efficiency of inspections. In Calexico, the federal government plans to build a new downtown port of entry and expand capacity at a newer crossing to the east, Imperial County Supervisor Victor M. Carrillo said.
While Carrillo and others applauded the plans for improvements, they also called for short-term measures, such as expanding hours, increasing staff and speeding the flow of traffic by having two inspectors per lane.
Alejandra Mier y Terán, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce, said the GSA is studying the possibility of expanding capacity at Otay Mesa for both commercial and regular crossers.
“These are very specific projects that we can start moving forward as soon as possible,” she said.
Although federal governments control the border crossings, local officials in Tijuana have been able to reduce wait times for certain crossers by rerouting traffic to the border.
Oscar Escobedo Carignan, Baja California's secretary of tourism, said U.S. visitors returning from medical appointments in Tijuana are now routed to a special lane, and the government plans to expand the program to other crossers that bring revenue to Baja California.
In Algodones, a desert crossing popular with many elderly tourists seeking medicine and dental care, the Baja California government has built benches and awnings to help them endure the northbound wait in the pedestrian line. For summer months, the government is considering installing misters to help them withstand triple-digit temperatures.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
5.4 quake hits Baja California
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A moderate earthquake rocked Baja California in Mexico, shutting down factories near the U.S. border and leaving about 400,000 people without power, authorities said Saturday. No major damage or injuries were immediately reported.
The quake that struck around 11:15 p.m. Friday had a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. It was centered 16 miles southeast of the border town of Mexicali and about 100 miles east of Tijuana.
"It has been felt pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico," Sigala said.
It was followed by at least 15 aftershocks, including four with preliminary magnitudes of 3.8, 3.6, 3.5 and 3.0.
The quake left about 400,000 people without electricity and 1.2 million without cellular telephone service, said Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, director of civil defense in Mexicali.
About 80,000 workers were evacuated or were unable to enter factories for Sony Corp., Honeywell International Inc. and other major corporations that typically run 24 hours a day until the buildings could be checked for damage, he said.
Two bridges showed 2- to 3-inch cracks and were closed until engineers could assess their safety, he said.
The Baja peninsula is a geologically active region. In 2006, a magnitude 5.4 temblor struck the Mexicali area, but there were no injuries or damage. E-mail to a friend
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The quake that struck around 11:15 p.m. Friday had a preliminary magnitude of 5.4, said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado. It was centered 16 miles southeast of the border town of Mexicali and about 100 miles east of Tijuana.
"It has been felt pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico," Sigala said.
It was followed by at least 15 aftershocks, including four with preliminary magnitudes of 3.8, 3.6, 3.5 and 3.0.
The quake left about 400,000 people without electricity and 1.2 million without cellular telephone service, said Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, director of civil defense in Mexicali.
About 80,000 workers were evacuated or were unable to enter factories for Sony Corp., Honeywell International Inc. and other major corporations that typically run 24 hours a day until the buildings could be checked for damage, he said.
Two bridges showed 2- to 3-inch cracks and were closed until engineers could assess their safety, he said.
The Baja peninsula is a geologically active region. In 2006, a magnitude 5.4 temblor struck the Mexicali area, but there were no injuries or damage. E-mail to a friend
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Boating in Baja Still Down
Baja California Reports Tourism Down — but Not Boating
By: Capt. Pat Rains Thursday, February 07, 2008 12:00:00 AM
Last updated: Thursday, February 07, 2008 2:31:00 PM
Reports are mixed on nautical tourism, but mostly good.BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO — Despite concerns about a recent crime wave in Northern Baja California, many U.S. boaters continue to visit — by land and sea. However, some have changed their travel plans.
Photo by: Pat Rains photo
Coming Back — Like this boat’s crew in Ensenada Harbor, many U.S. boaters continue their love affair with Baja California. However, generalized fears spawned by last year’s attacks on land-based tourists may be keeping some boaters away — especially trailerboaters who must travel between Tijuana and Ensenada.
“The image of the security problem has hit the state very badly,” said Oscar Escobedo Carignan, tourism secretary for Baja California, in a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Along with a government effort to beef up security along the Tijuana-to-Ensenada toll road, tourism officials are fighting back by launching a new campaign to attract U.S. visitors, with the slogan “Come Back.” In addition, a “Get Your Passport” campaign being launched this month will offer discounts for U.S. tourists at many Northern Baja California hotels, restaurants, bars and retail businesses. On the Road“Tourism just plummeted from right after Thanksgiving through the end of 2007,” said Carol Kramer, owner of Discover Baja Travel Club in San Diego. “It was all due to three reports of attacks on tourists that kept getting repeated,” she said. “But during January, our business was up more than 10 percent over last January,” Kramer said. Discover Baja provides tourist cards, fishing licenses and insurance to about 350 U.S. citizens heading to Mexico each year by land. “As far as the number of trailerboats heading south, we haven’t see a decrease,” said Monica Garcia, also with Discover Baja, “although everyone is pretty much aware” of the violence in Tijuana, she added. “Most of our club members have been going to Baja for years, and they’re not too worried about going down there,” Garcia said. The most significant change is that “More people have been calling us to make sure their insurance is in effect (for their boat, trailer and RV or tow vehicle) before they drive down Baja with their boats and RVs,” Garcia said. “But they’re going.” However, not all trailerboaters are going back. Rick Rochmes of San Diego said he used to trailer his fishing boats to San Quintín, El Rosario and Cabo San Lucas, making “half a dozen trips down Baja a year. But after what’s happened, that’s it. It just doesn’t feel safe anymore,” Rochmes said. Rochmes, whose parents lived in San Felipe for 18 years, said he frequently used to drive there at night — until several years ago, when he said he was threatened by armed men at an unofficial roadblock one night. “For people driving down, the main safety precaution is still the same as it’s always been: Drive during the day, not at night,” Garcia said. On the WaterEnsenada, in Northern Baja California, is the first city south of the border with large pleasureboat harbors. Here, boating tourism is booming, thanks in part to the return of the California state sales tax exemption for boats delivered offshore and kept out of state for more than 90 days. When asked if the number of U.S. boaters using Marina Coral has gone down recently due to fears of attacks on tourists, Dockmaster Fito Espinosa said, “No, not in our case. In fact, our occupancy rate is growing, not shrinking. … For the larger yachts, we have a waiting list for slips.” Marina Coral has 500 yacht slips and a floating fuel dock within a breakwater 2.75 miles north of Ensenada harbor. Acknowledging that some land-based tourism has dropped due to fears about crime, Espinosa said, “We do have a small number of boaters who have said that they don’t feel as comfortable as they used to about driving between Tijuana and Ensenada. Some of them now take the bus up and down.” Regarding land alternatives for better security, Espinosa said, “We have had a few more marina guests using the pickup service” in December and January. The marina is part of Hotel Coral Resort, which can pick up guests at the U.S. border or at the San Diego airports and bring them to Ensenada in a shuttle van. “Of course, there’s a fee for the shuttle service,” Espinosa said. A reservation is required for the marina’s shuttle service. Similarly, U.S. boaters are also present in large numbers at Cruiseport Village Marina in Ensenada, according to dockmaster Gerald Wiseman. “We’ve had no cancellations in slip reservations,” Wiseman said. His marina has 210 yacht slips inside the harbor’s cruise-ship mole. Wiseman said some long-term marina guests keep cars in Ensenada for driving to the border and back, and no problems have been reported. “There’s just as many shoppers on Mateos Street as always,” Wiseman said. He said none of the restaurants, hotels or other tourist businesses in Ensenada that he knows of are offering discounts or other incentives to lure tourists as is the case in Tijuana’s shopping district. Wiseman noted an increase in Mexican navy security patrols within Ensenada harbor, but as of Jan. 30, he hadn’t seen any of the additional federal police or military in downtown Ensenada. Increased Border SecurityMexico’s President Felipe Calderon on Jan. 27 announced a major offensive against drug cartel violence in northern Baja California and across Mexico, partly in response to pleas from tourism officials in Tijuana, Ensenada and Baja California. Secretary of Interior Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuña said during a news conference in Mexico City that the offensive is sending 2,620 soldiers, 21 airplanes, nine helicopters, 28 boats, 247 vehicles and a canine unit — and that the Mexican navy is sending high-speed boats and helicopters to intercept criminals along the coast. Requirements for passports or other identification have been in effect for mariners for decades, so recreational boaters are not significantly affected by the new law that went into effect Jan. 31. At the U.S. border checkpoint in San Yisidro, the first day of the new passport requirements was reportedly “business as usual,” according to reports in the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I did notice long lines of cars backed up on the Mexican side of the border last week (Jan. 28),” Kramer said. “It looked like 15 to 20 federales were checking cars and trucks heading north.” Southern Baja CaliforniaFarther south, the new Marina at Puerto Los Cabos in San Jose del Cabo is reportedly operating at maximum capacity, “considering that we’re still in construction,” said a marina official. In La Paz, one marina-based resort has offered incentives to lure more land-based tourists south of the border for specific dates during January, February and March. Marina CostaBaja’s new “Play with the Whales” package includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, a four-day whale watching tour to Magdalena Bay, tours of La Paz, plus meals and lodging. Marina CostaBaja offers 250 slips and a floating fuel dock just north of La Paz harbor. According to Marina CostaBaja’s assistant dockmaster, no U.S. boat owners have cancelled slip reservations.
This article first appeared in the February 2008 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated.
By: Capt. Pat Rains Thursday, February 07, 2008 12:00:00 AM
Last updated: Thursday, February 07, 2008 2:31:00 PM
Reports are mixed on nautical tourism, but mostly good.BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO — Despite concerns about a recent crime wave in Northern Baja California, many U.S. boaters continue to visit — by land and sea. However, some have changed their travel plans.
Photo by: Pat Rains photo
Coming Back — Like this boat’s crew in Ensenada Harbor, many U.S. boaters continue their love affair with Baja California. However, generalized fears spawned by last year’s attacks on land-based tourists may be keeping some boaters away — especially trailerboaters who must travel between Tijuana and Ensenada.
“The image of the security problem has hit the state very badly,” said Oscar Escobedo Carignan, tourism secretary for Baja California, in a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Along with a government effort to beef up security along the Tijuana-to-Ensenada toll road, tourism officials are fighting back by launching a new campaign to attract U.S. visitors, with the slogan “Come Back.” In addition, a “Get Your Passport” campaign being launched this month will offer discounts for U.S. tourists at many Northern Baja California hotels, restaurants, bars and retail businesses. On the Road“Tourism just plummeted from right after Thanksgiving through the end of 2007,” said Carol Kramer, owner of Discover Baja Travel Club in San Diego. “It was all due to three reports of attacks on tourists that kept getting repeated,” she said. “But during January, our business was up more than 10 percent over last January,” Kramer said. Discover Baja provides tourist cards, fishing licenses and insurance to about 350 U.S. citizens heading to Mexico each year by land. “As far as the number of trailerboats heading south, we haven’t see a decrease,” said Monica Garcia, also with Discover Baja, “although everyone is pretty much aware” of the violence in Tijuana, she added. “Most of our club members have been going to Baja for years, and they’re not too worried about going down there,” Garcia said. The most significant change is that “More people have been calling us to make sure their insurance is in effect (for their boat, trailer and RV or tow vehicle) before they drive down Baja with their boats and RVs,” Garcia said. “But they’re going.” However, not all trailerboaters are going back. Rick Rochmes of San Diego said he used to trailer his fishing boats to San Quintín, El Rosario and Cabo San Lucas, making “half a dozen trips down Baja a year. But after what’s happened, that’s it. It just doesn’t feel safe anymore,” Rochmes said. Rochmes, whose parents lived in San Felipe for 18 years, said he frequently used to drive there at night — until several years ago, when he said he was threatened by armed men at an unofficial roadblock one night. “For people driving down, the main safety precaution is still the same as it’s always been: Drive during the day, not at night,” Garcia said. On the WaterEnsenada, in Northern Baja California, is the first city south of the border with large pleasureboat harbors. Here, boating tourism is booming, thanks in part to the return of the California state sales tax exemption for boats delivered offshore and kept out of state for more than 90 days. When asked if the number of U.S. boaters using Marina Coral has gone down recently due to fears of attacks on tourists, Dockmaster Fito Espinosa said, “No, not in our case. In fact, our occupancy rate is growing, not shrinking. … For the larger yachts, we have a waiting list for slips.” Marina Coral has 500 yacht slips and a floating fuel dock within a breakwater 2.75 miles north of Ensenada harbor. Acknowledging that some land-based tourism has dropped due to fears about crime, Espinosa said, “We do have a small number of boaters who have said that they don’t feel as comfortable as they used to about driving between Tijuana and Ensenada. Some of them now take the bus up and down.” Regarding land alternatives for better security, Espinosa said, “We have had a few more marina guests using the pickup service” in December and January. The marina is part of Hotel Coral Resort, which can pick up guests at the U.S. border or at the San Diego airports and bring them to Ensenada in a shuttle van. “Of course, there’s a fee for the shuttle service,” Espinosa said. A reservation is required for the marina’s shuttle service. Similarly, U.S. boaters are also present in large numbers at Cruiseport Village Marina in Ensenada, according to dockmaster Gerald Wiseman. “We’ve had no cancellations in slip reservations,” Wiseman said. His marina has 210 yacht slips inside the harbor’s cruise-ship mole. Wiseman said some long-term marina guests keep cars in Ensenada for driving to the border and back, and no problems have been reported. “There’s just as many shoppers on Mateos Street as always,” Wiseman said. He said none of the restaurants, hotels or other tourist businesses in Ensenada that he knows of are offering discounts or other incentives to lure tourists as is the case in Tijuana’s shopping district. Wiseman noted an increase in Mexican navy security patrols within Ensenada harbor, but as of Jan. 30, he hadn’t seen any of the additional federal police or military in downtown Ensenada. Increased Border SecurityMexico’s President Felipe Calderon on Jan. 27 announced a major offensive against drug cartel violence in northern Baja California and across Mexico, partly in response to pleas from tourism officials in Tijuana, Ensenada and Baja California. Secretary of Interior Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuña said during a news conference in Mexico City that the offensive is sending 2,620 soldiers, 21 airplanes, nine helicopters, 28 boats, 247 vehicles and a canine unit — and that the Mexican navy is sending high-speed boats and helicopters to intercept criminals along the coast. Requirements for passports or other identification have been in effect for mariners for decades, so recreational boaters are not significantly affected by the new law that went into effect Jan. 31. At the U.S. border checkpoint in San Yisidro, the first day of the new passport requirements was reportedly “business as usual,” according to reports in the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I did notice long lines of cars backed up on the Mexican side of the border last week (Jan. 28),” Kramer said. “It looked like 15 to 20 federales were checking cars and trucks heading north.” Southern Baja CaliforniaFarther south, the new Marina at Puerto Los Cabos in San Jose del Cabo is reportedly operating at maximum capacity, “considering that we’re still in construction,” said a marina official. In La Paz, one marina-based resort has offered incentives to lure more land-based tourists south of the border for specific dates during January, February and March. Marina CostaBaja’s new “Play with the Whales” package includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, a four-day whale watching tour to Magdalena Bay, tours of La Paz, plus meals and lodging. Marina CostaBaja offers 250 slips and a floating fuel dock just north of La Paz harbor. According to Marina CostaBaja’s assistant dockmaster, no U.S. boat owners have cancelled slip reservations.
This article first appeared in the February 2008 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated.
Mexican gangs try to bribe army as drug war flares
By Lizbeth DiazTIJUANA, Mexico, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Mexican drug gangs are trying to corrupt the army into siding with them in a turf war near the U.S. border, threatening to blunt President Felipe Calderon's offensive against the cartels.Military men from generals to foot soldiers say they are being offered up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to turn a blind eye to shipments or call off anti-drugs operations in Baja California state, where there has been a surge of violence this year."These groups are coming to us to try to negotiate, to take us over to their side, trying to break us down," Gen. Sergio Aponte, who co-heads the military operation in Baja California, told reporters.Since the late 1990s, Mexico has convicted at least five army generals for taking drug money, including the man who was once its anti-drugs czar and led the war against the gangs but was later found to be on the payroll of the Juarez Cartel.Despite that record, Calderon has used the army as the driving force in his effort to destroy the cartels, sending 25,000 troops into action in an unprecedented campaign that began shortly after he took office in late 2006.More than 2,500 people were killed in drug violence in Mexico in 2007 and at least 250 have died so far this year as cartels smuggling cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine fight each other for control of routes to the United States.The military is widely regarded as cleaner and more efficient than Mexico's thousands of local, state and federal police forces.Senior military personnel have taken over municipal and state police forces in Baja California to root out officers working for the region's main drug cartel, the Arellano Felix gang.Soldiers in Tijuana, just south of San Diego and one of the busiest border crossings into the United States, say they have rejected bribes but fear drug money will tempt others."We are not used to this kind of civilian contact, the army was always such a closed institution and it brings risks in Baja California, where corruption is such a problem," an army captain who declined to be named told Reuters.STACKS OF CASHTraffickers now offer discreet stacks of cash instead of the drugs, jewels and prostitutes commonly used in the past to bribe police and the army, soldiers say.Political analysts believe the military is so far largely untainted by corruption but that may not last."The only institution in Baja California that's not corrupt is the army, but if it is corrupted, and there is that risk, Calderon's whole security project collapses," said Victor Clark, a drug trade expert at San Diego State University."The long-term threat is that the traffickers control senior military officers," he added.Calderon hopes the army can dampen drug violence as a consortium of smugglers from the Pacific state of Sinaloa, led by Mexico's most wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, wages war against other cartels.The president faces criticism from rights groups about his use of the army and he is eager to reassure the public that military operations will eventually be phased out."Once we have cleansed and strengthened police forces and the state prosecutor's office ... the role of the army will gradually diminish," he said this week.Wages sometimes as low as a few hundred dollars a month have played a part in pushing many police to the drug trade to supplement their pay."We are catching traffickers who have police radios with them, who show all the signs of working on a daily basis with police protection," said an army major who declined to be named. "They sell information, alert the gangs to our operations."Calderon hiked army wages on taking office to prevent them from going the way of the police, but desertion rates are high and some of those who leave join the drug gangs.A group of U.S.-trained Mexican special forces soldiers switched sides in the late 1990s to work for the powerful Gulf Cartel and create the gang's ferocious armed wing, the Zetas. (Additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Monterrey; Editing by Kieran Murray)
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