A motorcycle accident that occurred in Chapala in 2018.
Arturo Ortega / Patrick O’Heffernan. – High speeds and lack of safety equipment are behind the upsurge in fatal accidents for motorcyclists in Lakeside according to Chapala Red Cross paramedics and nurses. Cruz Roja staff could not comment on illegal driving by motorcyclists but noted that when traffic officers stop motorcyclists accident numbers drop.
Cruz Roja Relief Coordinator Marco Antonio Gonzalez Hernandez reported that in the months of March, April and May there have been 78 ambulance calls for motorcycle or scooter accidents, most of which involved young adults, adolescents and in some cases, pre-adolescents. While previous year accident data is not currently available, Cruz Roja emergency staff told Semanario that 2021 has already seen more accidents than last year. Injuries such as fractured arms, legs, and skulls, and skin burns due to road friction are among the most common.
Cruz Roja Emergency staff noticed that that the incidence of motorcycle accidents dropped drastically during the operations that the Secretary of Mobility of the State of Jalisco has implemented in Lakeside, inspecting vehicles, checking for helmets and other safety equipment and checking for registration and proper licenses, and in their opinion, this has saved many people from dying in accidents.
Cruz Roja Nursing Coordinator, María Guadalupe Ávalos Alcántar, recalls that there was a time when traffic officers picked up motorcycles that were not regulated or were driven by people who lacked safety equipment, helmets or visibility vests, but since they stopped implementing the crackdown the number of accidents has increased.
She recalls a time when officers picked up unlicensed motorcycles and cited drivers without safety equipment but no more, it seems.
Failure to use basic safety equipment such as wearing a helmet or body protection and arm and leg pads is a serious problem among young riders in Lakeside, she told Laguna, citing the death of a 17-year old girl a few days ago who died from brain injuries when her motorcycle was in an accident. She was not wearing a helmet that likely would have saved her life.
The emergency staff also told Laguna that drugs and alcohol also contribute to the accident numbers because stoned or drunk riders don’t realize how fast they are travelling.
Nursing Coordinator, María Guadalupe also told Laguna that the child injuries in accidents are also rising because adults allow their children to drive scooters or motorcycles and that dealers allow children to buy them even though they are too young to drive legally or safely. The problem of children riding motorcycles or scooters – and motorcycles and scooters in general – is more prevalent in Jocotepec than in Chapala.
Children are injured both as drivers and passengers because in Mexico it is also very common for several people to travel on a single scooter or motorcycle. But Marco Antonio said that while overloading a motorcycle or scooter can make the vehicle unstable, the risk is the same when one or more people travel on a motorcycle because both motorists and motorcyclists lack a culture of road safety.
The Cruz Roja staff emphasized that vehicles such as mopeds, scooters and ATV’s are more unstable at high speeds because they are smaller and therefore have a higher probability of accidents when used on highways such as the freeway to Guadalajara.
Cruz Roja Nursing Coordinator, María Guadalupe Ávalos Alcántar and Relief Coordinator Marco Antonio Gonzalez Hernandez have a message for motorcycle and scooter drivers and motorists: be road-smart, wear helmets, safety vests and pads. Your chances of being injured in an accident will go way down.
Photo: Eukarya. Print by Daniel Acosta
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic JAL. Prolific Mexican artist and printmaker Daniel Acosta will be honored at the opening of “Resiliencia”, an extensive exposition of Mexican artists at the Centro de Cultural, in Ajijic, Saturday.
Acosta, Born in Mexico, has trained in fine art both in his home country and in eastern Europe, where he studied animation, print-making, and portraiture. He has enjoyed successful solo and group shows in his home country, as well as exhibiting in the US, eastern Europe, and Tokyo. This show will be the first at the Centro de Cultura in Ajijic to honor him.
Co-sponsored by the University of Guadalajara and the Graphics Center, it will feature prints, paintings and graphics, Twenty eight artists will be represented, including Acosta. The exposition will run through July 15. The Center is located on the Plaza in Ajijic .
Dialysis center under construction at Cruz Roja Chapala.
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic JAL. Construction is well underway for a Centro de Salud Renal at the Cruz Roja Chapala site near Christina Park in Chapala. The Center is part of the $7 million peso capital campaign launched June 9 at a concert LCS, but the need for kidney treatment in Chapala is so desperate that Cruz Roja has decided to start construction now and plans to complete the Center by August.
The Centro de Salud Renal is part of the larger campaign to build a new Cruz Roja facility in Chapala to replace its current aging structure. Cruz Roja Jalisco will match all funds raised until August and Cruz Roja Chapala is applying for a continuing match so the state organization will match all funds raised in Lakeside.
In an interview with Laguna this week, José García Rodríguez , Coordinador de estatal de Ingeniería Biomédica of the Jalisco, said that Cruz Roja Jalisco is working closely with Yolanda Martínez Llamas, President of Cruz Roja Chapala, and will match funds raised between now and August. To date, Cruz Roja Chapala has raised 720,000 pesos – including funds matched by the state organization – and is putting the money to work immediately on the new dialysis center.
“We will try everything…the community and the expats have been responding really, really well to my emails,” said Yolanda Martinez about the campaign to fund a new Cruz Roja emergency center, adding that donors can see their money at work now at the construction site adjacent to their existing facility.
The need for a local kidney dialysis center is so acute that Cruz Roja is working to meet an ambitious goal of opening by August, a challenge since state and local building codes for dialysis centers are very stringent. But during a tour of the construction site this week, Yolanda Martinez showed Laguna that the meticulous construction was ongoing and on schedule.
The urgent need for the facility comes from the high incidence of kidney disease in Lakeside that forces many families to travel to Guadalajara for expensive treatment. According to José García Chapala accounts for 10% of the kidney disease in Jalisco, far more than its population should produce.
In a memo to Cruz Roja staff he provided to Laguna, he pointed out that 71, 216 cases of kidney disease were reported in Mexico and required dialysis or hemodialysis. The memo pointed to IMSS data that showed that kidney disease cases were concentrated in Chapala where around 10% o of the state’s cases of kidney disease are registered, many at levels 3, 4 and 5 – severe enough to require dialysis,
José García noted in the memo that since not all patients have social security, Cruz Roja Jalisco was concerned that the Lakeside population does not have the means to provide treatment locally, so they joined together with Cruz Roja Chapala to fill this gap by building a dialysis center that initially will have 12 places available, providing up to 1,344 monthly sessions. The Center will offer the necessary ancillary services in nephrology, vascular treatment, nutrition and psychology.
Installing a kidney dialysis center will require Cruz Roja Chapala to meet stringent requirements, develop training programs, increase its staff with specialists, and integrate with its emergency health services.
All of this takes money and an adequate building, hence the $7 million peso fundraising drive. Cruz Roja’s existing building in Christina Park in Chapala is 60 years old and has many problems according to Cruz Roja President Yolanda Martínez Llamas. She told Laguna that it must be replaced to provide the expanded services needed in the area including dialysis.
Fortunately, as the fundraising campaign moves forward, both Mexican and Expats have responded quickly and generously, something Yolanda Martinez is very grateful for.
“I want to thank everyone for the wonderful support you gave us at the June 9 event at LCS. We ask you to keep touching your heart so we can continue to keep helping people. We need a better Red Cross”, she told Laguna.
Donations can made to Cruz Roja through the Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities at https://lakechapalacharities.org/health-human-services/. The Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities is a 501©(3) charity and donations to the foundation and designated to Cruz Roja are tax deductible for Americans. Cash donations can be made at the Cruz Roja headquarters in Chapala or at Yoly’s Unisex Salon in Ajijic, next to El Toritio market.
Volunteers unload assembled chairs.
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic, JAL. In a joint project of Rotary Club of Chapala Sunrise, Foodbank Lakeside, 20 new wheelchairs were distributed Friday, June 18, to deserving recipients in a ceremony at Palapa Don Juan in Chapala. The chairs were provided by Chair the Love, a Florida-based charity that operates worldwide distributing wheelchairs and other mobility devices to disabled people in need.
“We are so happy to be here in Chapala, working with the Chapala Sunrise Rotary and Foodbank Lakeside to find recipients for chairs. Every chair we donate helps not only the person who receives it, but their family and caregivers – multiplying the impact. There are so many stories here of people who are deserving and now will be able to experience the world in a new way”, Chair the Love Founder Glen Mather told Laguna.
The ceremony was filled with wheel chair recipients and their families and caregivers, officials form Chapala Sunrise Rotary including President Beca Pohland and incoming President Barb Wilson and from Foodbank Lakeside including co-founders Paola de Watterlott and Christine Philipson, now a volunteer with the organization.
“ I was contacted by Suzi Lindeman of Rotary, last November, Philipson told Laguna, “ and she asked Foodbank Lakeside for help with this project because of our intake process enables us to really know our people. We were given an opportunity to help our families and we know them extremely well, so we took the opportunity”, Philipson said.
Rotarian Susie Linderman interviewed and identified those most in need. Recipients were all ages, and each had a story. One of the most poignant was was Roberto Nuñez who has kidney failure, heart problems, swollen legs & feet and can barely walk. This is his first wheel chair enabling him to sit up ad move around for the first time in years.
«I’ve lived in Chapala for over 60 years, and this is the first time in five years that I’ve been able to get outside to see my beloved lake … I’m surprised to see the water level so low. But I am so happy to see it, always so beautiful,” he said.
The Rotary Club of Chapala Sunrise has a long history of charitable projects in the area including Save a Future with Education to underwrite the cost of education for poor families. Foodbank Lakeside was created in 2020 in response to the hardships many families were experiencing because of Covid restrictions and has distributed over 12,000 despensas, and currently feeds over 700 families each month.
Chair the Love was founded 12 years ago when Glen Mather was invited to Mexico City as part of a wheelchair distribution project and saw the need for chairs and the joy their delivery generated. Since then, Chair the Love has distributed over 4000 chairs and wheelchair ramps around the world, including an entire shipping container of wheelchairs in Guadalajara last year.
Wall along the border with Sonora.
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajiic. JAL. Citing a “crises at the border”, the Republican governor of Texas, Gregg Abbot, announced that Texas will build a wall between his state and Mexico, using state taxpayer funds and crowd-sourced money raised online.
Human rights and immigration advocates responded quickly saying that the only crisis on the border is the GOP’s lack of a coherent strategy and grandstanding stunts, adding that he does not have the authority to build a border wall.
“I will announce next week the plan for the state of Texas to begin the border wall,” said Abbot at a border security “summit” in Del Rio last week. This week he released details of a plan to use $250 million of state funds for a project manager and preliminary studies while he raised additional billions through a crowd-sourcing website.
His announcement did not address the question of how a state-operated wall would interface with Federal Immigration and Customs, since the state has no Constitutional role in visas, international trade, customs or border crossings. Critics pointed out that if completed, the wall could be an impediment to the thousands of tourists, US and Mexican citizens, and commercial trucks crossing the border in Texas every day, encouraging them to use New Mexico crossings instead of Texas facilities like Laredo.
He also did not address questions about how the state was going to force private landowners to give up their property for a wall when the Federal government was mired for years in court battles, which were declared moot when President Biden cancelled the wall on his first day in office.
Ken Salazar.
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic (JAL) US President Joe Biden has nominated Ken Salazar, a former U.S. Senator from Colorado, to serve as the next ambassador to Mexico. The nomination has to be approved by the full Senate after hearings.
Salazar, 66 and currently in private practice as a lawyer, served as Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama and in the U.S. Senate for a term. He has no prior diplomatic experience, but played an important role in negotiating the cross-border management of the Colorado River with Mexico.
Although a Latino-American and fluent in Spanish, his heritage traces directly to Spain, and not to Mexico. His nomination was applauded in most quarters, although his past associations with oil companies has drawn criticism from environmental organizations and his support for fracking contradicts Mexican policy against it.
A Co-Chair of the President’s election campaign, will be the Biden’s point man in Mexico to move forward on a day-to-day basis the initiatives with Mexico launched by Vice President Harris in her meeting with AMLO last week , especially policies to deal with an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Foto: Archivo.
Laguna team. Drivers approaching the intersection of the Libramiento, the Carretera, and the entrance to Walmart Sunday were frustrated to find that none of the SIOP-installed traffic signals were working.
They were functioning again on Tuesday, but other traffic lights on the Carretera went dark two days later in Ajijic. Laguna met with Director of Chapala Movilidad, Geraldo Bautista Mejía to find out what the problem was.
“The Walmart signals stopped working Sunday – something went wrong in the control box, so when SIOP did not fix the problem, on Monday I personally opened the control box and reset them by turning them on and off,” Bautista Mejía told the Laguna team in his office.
He added that he sent an official letter to the SIOP representative for Chapala because the State is currently responsible for controlling the signals, not him, and he cannot continue to reset them because then the state will blame him for any future problems if he does. But as of our interview Tuesday, there had been no response from SIOP.
When asked about the meeting and the tour of the intersection he told Laguna about during our May 20 interview that SIOP had promised him, he said that it has not happened yet and SIOP has not given him a time and date commitment.
Complicating the situation is the fact that his office and SIOP do not agree with the design and construction of the intersection and its traffic signals, and he has refused to sign a document saying Chapala accepts SIOP’s work and can now take over the intersection. He wants the state to correct the problems first. He added that the lights are also not synchronized and he has asked SIOP to come back and synchronize them, but so far no answer.
In the meantime, drivers were dismayed Thursday morning to find that the traffic signals at the two busiest intersections in central Ajijic had stopped functioning. The traffic signals at the Carretera and Calle Juarez and the Carretera and Calle Colon were dark and later in the afternoon, drivers reported that traffic signals on Calle Galeana and the Carretera, where there is an unrepaired damage signal pole , were also not working. SIOP is responsible for the maintenance of the traffic signals on the Carretera.
The Laguna team asked Bautista Mejía if he felt the Walmart intersection will ever be repaired. He said that he wants it fixed and in Chapala’s control before the end of the current administration, October 1. However, he noted that he cannot control the situation as it is still legally in the hands of SIOP.
After the meeting, the inhabitants dedicated themselves to pointing out what they considered to be deficient works in the project that has not yet been delivered.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)– They want their benches back. A large group of Ajijitecos assembled to protest in the main square for the return of the benches that were removed by the government during the remodeling of the Plaza. During the meeting they collected signatures on a petition for their return.
The assembled Ajijitecos, claimed that the benches the government is planning to use to replace the wrought iron benches removed for the plaza remodeling in no way compare to the originals – they are uncomfortable, ugly and poorly made. Those gathered there on Saturday June 5th also complained about the government’s failure to consult with the citizens before launching public works projects like the Plaza remodeling.
«It is important that there be a work plan between government and citizens that focuses on two areas; a citizens’ consultation where they can point out in advance where mistakes will be made., and on a maintenance plan including a cleaning schedule, maintenance of benches and on electricity and sound equipment. Without citizen input the agencies responsible lose focus and forget their responsibilities. We need to have a document — something written where citizens and government can monitor the public works and maintenance», said Francisco, one of those attending the assembly.
Those gathered there complained about the Ajijic Delegado, Juan Ramón Flores, about how they would like him to be more involved with the town’s problems.
«The delegate should work with the people. There should be a voluntary commission to work for Ajijic,. We are a very big team and we should work together like a team; this is a good opportunity for us to get together to do it,» added Paola de Watterlot, and influential member of the Ajijic community who attended the assembly.
The citizens also criticized the mistakes in the remodeling of the northern part of the plaza, where the benches were installed, ranging from the lack of cleanliness in the work, the government’s failure to replace the trees felled during the remodeling and the arrangement of the benches.
Among the demands that the citizens will make to the City Hall and the State Government are: the benches must be returned, the trees that were felled must be replaced by adequate and endemic trees, general maintenance of the plaza and planters be done, more lamps installed and the return of the cobblestone surface that was removed at the beginning of the work, whose whereabouts are unknown, although months ago the Ajijic Delegado indicated that it would be used for private use in the town.
One of the organizers of the meeting, Alicia Cordova, thanked those at the assembly for participation and for their support.
«When people respond to a call to correct problems, it is good, because it means that they are reacting to the injustices they commit. To the people, I say don’t be afraid, if the lake needs your help, the mountains, the Tepalo, the streets, the Cerro Colorado, we are there. We are many and we can achieve great actions», she said.
So far 84 signatures have been collected, they will continue to be collected, and will be taken to the Delegado of Ajijic, as well as to the municipality of Chapala, along with the written petitions.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
Lupita Jimenez entertains the sold-out crowd.
Patrick O’Heffernan Ajijic (JAL) The sold-out Wednesday afternoon concert starred Lupita Jimenez, Roy Cruz and SAGREY and featured awards, door prizes, opportunities to underwrite a Cruz Roja table at LCS, plus free-flowing alcohol and appetizers. But the real star was Cruz Roja.
Produced by LCS-Board Chair Steve Balfour – who celebrated his birthday at the concert – the event was classily designed with white tablecloth seating, waiters serving delicious appetizers and tequila and a program packed with talent and events. But the focus was on rebuilding Cruz Roja, financially hurt by the Covid crises that prevented its fundraising events, helping it build a badly-needed new facility to treat patients. The LCS concert kicked off a new fundraising campaign for Cruz Roja, netting $320,000 pesos.
Sponsors included Jose Cuervo, Semanario Laguna, Pancho’s Deli Market, and Ray Domenech of Casa Domenech and Angelica’s restaurant. The audience was both Mexican and Expat and the language from the stage was both English and Spanish so everyone felt at home.
The concert opened with Ajijic’s Mexican folkloric troupe performing traditional dances in colorful costumes as cameras clicked and whirred. Next, local Mexican singer Lupita Jimenez, a long-time friend and supporter of Cruz Roja, was introduced and let loose with classic Mexican songs and a few American Standards, and got the crowd singing with her – Expats and Mexicans together in Spanish.
As the applause died down, Yolanda Martinez, President of Cruz Roja Chapala, mounted the stage, almost dwarfed by the huge red cross podium. She thanked the packed crowd for their generosity and then welcomed the National Cruz Roja Vice President and translated his address. The architects for the new facility then walked the audience through the design process, and urged them to look at the plans for the new Cruz Roja medical facility arrayed around the Lawn on easels.
Freddie Mercury imitator Roy Cruz, put on a preview of his coming July 25 performance at LCS, singing Queen’s classics, moving around the crowd, urging them to join him in song and even welcoming a super Queen fan who had traveled here to see him. The local band SAGUEY, fronted by blues/jazz singer Barbara Saguey, kept the crowd dancing until well past closing time.
The music was broken up, however, with a door prize drawing for prime bottles of tequila, an opportunity for people to get together to pledge $40,000 pesos for a new LCS table for Cruz Roja (they did), and a birthday cake for LCS-Board Chair Steve Balfour.
The concert was a one-time event to launch Cruz Roja’s fundraising season, but the need to support Cruz Roja is ongoing. With a monthly budget of $300,000, Cruz Roja ‘s ambulances and food and health services serve everyone but are a lifeline to the poor in Lakeside because it charges no fees for its services, relying on donations for its operations and to build a fund to construct a new facility.
Donations of any amount can be made by dropping them off at Yoly’s Unisex Styling Salon, next to El Torito market in Ajijic or at the Cruz Roja Chapala headquarters in Chapala next to Christina Park.
Looted beach now closed and theft appears to have stopped.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)- After locals stopped the machinery that was looting sand from the lake to allegedly build a dock for private individuals, the pit created by the backhoe was left on the shore and filled in with water. Locals do not know its width or depth but it appears large enough for a person to drown in.
«There are people who fish nearby, or even on weekends they come and there are still people who come in to swim. That pit that is left is a danger, since someone could fall in there and drown, and I don’t see the authorities doing much,» commented a local, who preferred anonymity.
However, Ajijic Delegado Juan Ramón Flores claims the danger will not last long since according to him, the lake does not remain static and the waves will sooner or later fill the pit with sand. In any case, he said, that the solution to the problem is beyond his powers since the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) is responsible for the Federal zone where the pit is located.
Chapala Director of Ecology in Chapala, José Jaime Ibáñez said that he agrees the pit is a serious danger and said he will try to contact CONAGUA for instructions on how to proceed.
For the time being, he said that the only thing the municipality can do is place precautionary signs so that local fishermen and visitors from outside are aware that the terrain in that area can be treacherous
In an interview with Laguna, several residents have pointed out that local officials have not acted adequately or with the speed that this situation requires.
«They cannot leave that hole in the ground just like that for so long here in Ajijic. We know about it but the tourists who may come to that beach do not. The local government needs to act now – they should cover it up so people can’t fall in «, a local resident told Laguna.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
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