La Proepa impartió a los municipios ribereños, el curso “Fundamentos y alcances legales de la autoridad municipal en materia de inspección y vigilancia de descargas de aguas residuales”. En la foto una pareja disfruta de un atardecer en el malecón de Chapala. Foto: D. Arturo Ortega.
Redacción.- Con el fin de apoyar los gobiernos locales dentro del Área de Intervención Prioritaria del Río Santiago (Aip), la Procuraduría Estatal de Protección al Ambiente (Proepa) impartió un curso de capacitación sobre la descarga de agua residuales y así dar continuidad a la estrategia Revivamos el Río Santiago.
La capacitación incluyó información sobre legislación federal y estatal, en la cual se señalan atribuciones de la autoridad municipal en materia de aguas residuales, así como Normas Oficiales Mexicanas que establecen límites máximos permisibles de contaminantes para las descargas que se vierten tanto a cuerpos receptores y bienes nacionales, como a redes de alcantarillado urbano o municipal.
El curso busca fortalecer las capacidades técnicas y legales de las autoridades municipales para que el personal técnico y operativo de las áreas y direcciones involucradas en este rubro, conforme a los conocimientos adquiridos, desarrollen habilidades y herramientas que mejoren sus funciones de inspección y vigilancia, llevando a cabo como parte del curso una evaluación diagnóstica previa y una más al final del curso a las y los participantes.
El curso “Fundamentos y alcances legales de la autoridad municipal en materia de inspección y vigilancia de descargas de aguas residuales” estuvo dirigido a autoridades municipales de los ayuntamientos involucrados, así como a municipios que integran la Asociación Intermunicipal para la Protección del Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable del Lago de Chapala (Aipromades) y el Instituto de Planeación y Gestión del Desarrollo del Área Metropolitana de Ocotlán (Imeplan).
Al Centro Cultural Metropolitano Ramón Vargas del Ayuntamiento de Poncitlán, asistieron las y los titulares, así como personal adscrito de las Direcciones de Ecología; de Inspección y Reglamentos; Agua Potable y Alcantarillado; Padrón y Licencias, así como los directores de Aipromades, Gabriel Vázquez Sánchez y Luis Arturo Macías García de Imeplan Ocotlán, entre otros.
Ciudadanos de San Antonio Tlayacapan cortaron los alambres que impedían el libre tránsito. Foto: Armando Esquivel.
Armando Esquivel.- Por considerar una clara invasión a zona federal y poner en riesgo a las personas, pobladores de San Antonio Tlayacapan quitaron postes y retiraron alambres de púas, que algún particular, colocó a la orilla del Lago de Chapala. Durante la acción realizada el 20 de mayo, los activistas fueron recibidos con insultos, gritos y hasta amenazas.
Fue el malecón de la delegación chapalense el lugar en el que los activistas, también conocidos como “tumba-rejas”, se dieron cita durante la tarde del viernes, contagiados de las acciones de sus vecinos, los ciudadanos de Ajijic y con el fin de poner alto a las invasiones. Poco a poco los inconformes fueron llegando, encontrándose mujeres, hombres y personas de la tercera edad, todos dispuestos a defender sus playas.
La primera actividad fue el retirar plásticos negros que cubrían la construcción de una barda ya terminada, misma en la que se encuentran sellos de clausura por parte del Gobierno de Chapala y en la cual una persona salió para videograbar a los inconformes, por lo que luego de un rato, decidieron caminar rumbo al este, donde encontraron varios postes con alambres sobre las orillas del Lago.
Los postes con alambres impedían el paso de las personas por la playa, mientras que algunos de los cercos han sido tragados poco a poco por el agua, por lo que no se pudieron remover. Los “tumba-rejas” se dijeron molestos ante el alambrado que particulares han colocado, pues el riesgo de que alguna persona ingrese al Lago y quede atorado en los alambres, es más que evidente, considerando las víctimas que ha dejado del vaso lacustre.
En una de las propiedades cercanas, dos hombres se asomaron desde su terraza para pegar de gritos a los ciudadanos que quitaban los postes. “Deja de hacer esas cosas, ¿qué no escuchaste?”, “esto es un delito”, “vamos a llamarle a la policía”, fue parte de lo que se escuchó gritar a los enfurecidos hombres, que al final no les quedó más que tomar fotografías y esperar a que los pobladores se retiraran.
Fueron alrededor de 15 postes los removidos, más el corte del alambre de púas, acción que ahora permite el libre tránsito de la ciudadanía por la orilla del Lago. Los “tumba-rejas” de San Antonio Tlayacapan dijeron que continuarán con sus actividades y seguirán en pie de lucha contra las invasiones en zona federal.
View of the Ajijic boardwalk and Lake Chapala. Photo: D. Arturo Ortega.
Editorial Staff.- After the first heavy rain of the year, Lake Chapala is still losing water. To date, Mexico’s largest freshwater lake has lost 93 cm (over 3 feet); it’s at about 63% of total capacity.
From January 1st to May 4th, Lake Chapala dropped from 74.98% of capacity to its current level, a loss of about 12 cm.
Translated by Amy Esperanto
Tilapia hatchlings in a plastic bag before being released. Photo: Archive.
Editor.– As part of the commitment of the Tizapán Aquaculture Center to donate 500 thousand fish hatchlings to reactivate fishing activity in Lake Chapala, the first delivery was made by the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) Jalisco, and this first batch delivered was 150 thousand tilapia hatchlings in Jamay.
This donation of fish hatchlings benefits the 61 fishing organizations on the Chapala shore, made up of 1,661 people. Jamay and Poncitlán are the municipalities with the most fishing organizations, with 15 each. Chapala and Ocotlán have eight cooperatives, Tizapán six, Tuxcueca five and Jocotepec has four fishermen’s groups.
Translated by Paul Weeks
Gente que participó durante el retiro de una de las mallas ciclónicas invasoras. Foto: Facebook.
Sofía Medeles.– Aproximadamente 20 personas se reunieron para recuperar el terreno federal en las playas de la delegación de San Antonio Tlayacapan y protestar contra obras en estas, el pasado domingo 15 de mayo.
Durante la mañana del domingo, vecinos de San Antonio y Ajijic, entre los cuales había miembros del grupo Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera, se dedicaron a remover dos cercados de propiedades invasoras del Lago de Chapala.
Asimismo, los activistas se dedicaron a identificar los rellenos y construcciones ilegales para posteriormente denunciar, además de tratar de retirar un remolque, que se encuentra en el espacio presuntamente invadido por el excandidato del PAN a diputado local, José de Jesús Arambul Solorio.
En cuanto a los cercados, uno de estos se encontraba en una obra en proceso. Esta malla se volvió a colocar en el transcurso de la semana y, pese a que reportaron ante la dirección de Desarrollo Urbano para su clausura, hasta el cierre de esta edición, la autoridad municipal no ha actuado, por lo que el grupo, pretende volver a manifestarse.
“Hay varios rellenos y paredes altas en los terrenos invasores y son muros que, hasta hace un año, no estaban. Son espacios grandísimos, algunos de hasta una hectárea. Buscamos que nos dieran resolución en el ayuntamiento para que se clausuren estos trabajos, pero no lo hicieron”, mencionó un participante del movimiento.
Por otro lado, el remolque que se planeaba quitar durante la manifestación se tuvo que dejar ahí por falta de personas para moverlo, no obstante, se dejó una advertencia para que fuera removido antes del miércoles 18 de mayo; sin embargo, esto no ocurrió. Además, los manifestantes limpiaron el predio, y desconectaron el vehículo de los cables de corriente eléctrica, conexión que, según varios testigos, estaba de manera ilícita.
Debido al caso omiso por parte de autoridades, así como de la falta de apoyo, se está convocando a una manifestación en la misma zona, este próximo viernes 20 de mayo, a la cual asistirán personas de San Antonio, Ajijic y San Juan Cosalá a apoyar, y se espera la asistencia de más participantes, para buscar la liberación de playas y crear espacios recreativos y de deportes.
Actualmente, la sequía de Jocotepec se clasifica como moderada. Foto: Héctor Ruiz.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- Disminuye el índice de sequía de “severa” a “moderada» en el municipio de Jocotepec.
Pese las altas temperaturas que llegan hasta los 34 grados centígrados, registradas en los últimos días, los datos compartidos por el Monitor de Sequía en México indicaron que para la primera quincena de mayo, la humedad en el ambiente provocó que el municipio pasara de sequía severa (D2) a sequía moderada (D1).
Esto representa, como aseguró Carolina Alejandre Ruvalcaba, responsable del programa Cultura del Agua de la Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA) Jalisco que, aunado a la humedad en el ambiente, las condiciones son favorables por el nivel del Lago de Chapala en contraste con años pasados, han ayudado.
Alejandre explicó que la sequía se clasifica en dos categorías: la meteorológica, es decir, la correspondiente a la precipitación de agua en la atmósfera; y la hidrológica, que es el déficit del flujo o almacenamiento que hay en cauces y cuerpos de agua naturales (agua en la superficie).
“Estos factores tienen que ser tomados en cuenta, porque a veces la gente relaciona sequía y desierto o vegetación y que no hay sequía y no es así, son varias las causales que determinan que un territorio esté en sequía, así como sus categorías”.
No obstante, la funcionaria agregó que la clasificación nunca es una escala estática, pues así como los niveles descienden de una quincena a otra, que es el lapso de tiempo que captura el Monitor de Sequía, también pueden aumentar.
Respecto a la intensidad de la actual etapa de sequía (D1) en Jocotepec, la segunda en una escala de cinco, se prevén algunos daños en los cultivos y pastos, un alto riesgo de incendios, bajos niveles en ríos, arroyos y pozos, por lo que se sugiere la restricción voluntaria en el uso del agua.
Por último, Alejandre Ruvalcaba aseguró que las etapas D1 y D2 durante este periodo del año son normales, pues todavía se considera temporada de estiaje, hasta el 15 de mayo que comenzarán el periodo de lluvias.
De acuerdo con el Monitor de Sequía de América del Norte (NADM), la sequía se clasifica en una gráfica de cinco escalas, la cual va desde la mínima como D0 Anormalmente Seco, D1 Sequía Moderada, D2 Sequía Severa, pasando por D3 Sequía Extrema, para finalizar con la D4 Sequía Excepcional.
Ganador del segundo Torneo de Pesca, Jorge Padilla de San Antonio Tlayacapan. Foto: Agustín Vázquez.
Alma Serrano.- Con diez participantes premiados terminó el segundo Torneo de Pesca realizado en el malecón de San Juan Cosalá el pasado 8 de mayo.
La competencia se extendió de las 10:00 de la mañana a las 2:00 de la tarde y registró la asistencia de más de una docena de participantes provenientes de las diferentes poblaciones de la Ribera de Chapala.
El primer lugar del torneo se lo llevó Jorge Padilla, de San Antonio Tlayacapan, Chapala; el segundo lo ganó Pedro Dávila “El Peles”, de San Juan Cosalá, y quien obtuvo el primer lugar en la competencia pasada; mientras que el tercer lugar fue para Matías, de Jocotepec.
Los ganadores de los tres primeros lugares recibieron mil 500 pesos, mil y 700, respectivamente; mientras que el cuarto lugar fue premiado con 400 pesos y del quinto al décimo percibieron entre 50 y 100 pesos.
Brian Mattes, new President of LLT at his home in Ajijic. Photo: Patrick O’Heffernan
Recently elected LLT President Brian Mattes was a Washington lobbyist for the Vanguard Group where he guided legislation to benefit retirees. He has an undergraduate degree in communication and theater and an MBA. Laguna English Editor and longtime radio host Patrick O’Heffernan sat down with Mattes at his home for a conversation on the future of the Lakeside Little Theater. Below is the full interview.
The production of La MIchichuall by La Cochera Cultura i was exciting do you anticipate others like that?
The performance of Michi-Chihualli produced by El Cochera Cultural at LLT was very exciting to me and there will more like that. It was a wonderful collaboration, they were great people to work with and it was a fantastic show. Well received. Why not do more like that? And it is the direction that I want to move the theater ..doing more productions that are different from what LLT used to do. It was ground breaking on some levels, but very exciting and new and different. In the next years we will see more productions like that. We are very inclined to work with them again; we are already in conversations about that and perhaps others as well.
I know there is a bridge between La Cochera Cultural and LLT through donors to both organizations. Will you be able to form those kinds of collaborations without that kind of personal bridge?
I hope so. We would like to see some new productions like that, working within the bylaws, of course, but we can find ways to do that. So , yes. It is more a matter of the production, something that will be exciting and enlightening to the Lakeside audience. One of the visions I have is that LLT becomes a place where it reaches out to not just for entertainment, but for enlightenment, and that is where I want to go, as fast as possible.
Michi-Chiualli was produced by a Mexican organization with Mexicans on stage…is that an opening to the Mexican community or is that a very difficult challenge.
Both. It is a difficult challenge because of language issues and so forth. But I am hoping that it was a was an example of how we can overcome them and work with the Mexican community. I would love to see more Mexicans on stage…we have had the great fortune of having outstanding young Mexicans in certain roles. It was wonderful; we have had outstanding talent come from young Mexicans who filled critical roles. And it very rewarding to see the Mexican families come out and see their children on stage…and they are so happy to see their child on stage in a great production.. That is what it is all about, being happy at seeing a production. And the tradition of families in the Mexican community is paramount. So if a Mexican is on stage, the family will come out. Maybe it will lead to having other Mexicans on stage filling key roles and the families seeing another show.
Do you envision seeing Spanish or bilingual productions on stage?
I never thought about but it could be a good idea. I should explore it more. I am looking for ways to bring more Mexicans into the theater…I have not totally sorted that out yet, but I want to work toward it. May something like the Met’s projected translations project on the stage or on the back of the screen . Maybe if we could find a technical way to do that we could. That would be cool.
Would travelling troupes, Mexican or English be possible at LLT?
I am just exploring the idea of traveling troupes at LLT because there are times when the theater is dark and I am not happy when it is dark. I would like to see more shows in production. If it can filled by a travelling show and it would be giving more to the community.
Could you fill the theater with the local community – Mexicans – when the snow birds go home? Is this possible?
It is . I am exploring reaching out to the local community . It would give us something to with the theater during the summer.
You have so many ideas about theater. Are you a theater person?
I am theater Buff. I have been going to theater for about 50 years. I have seen theater around the world. I have seen professional theater in Broadway, Los Angeles, London. I have seen community theater in little towns in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. I just love theater.
I have an undergraduate degree in communications in theater and an MBA. I bring the artistic side and the business side. I think it is a unique combination to say, I can look at the artistic side but also the business side. We have to be creative, but we have to watch the budget. We have to run the theater as somewhat of a business, but not entirely. There is a great book on management written back in the 90’s called “Good to Great”. The author was challenged if the business metrics can be applied to community theater After researching it, he said that instead of the language of business, which would be naïve, we should apply the language of greatness.
I loved that and explained that to the Board.
My goal is greatness. We will let the patrons define greatness. If we do great shows we will have great audiences, and we will raise more money and produce more great shows, and it will get going like a flywheel.
Greatness can mean changing the culture – a new way of doing things. LLT has been trampled by a herd of sacred cows and my job is to turn them into hamburger. We are culling the herd, one by one, out they go. Do not tell me that that’s the way we have always done it. – that is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
I want to do new things new ways – traveling troupes, collaborations, doing more with the theater in the summer- lots of things to consider..
But, we need more depth in things like directors, stage managers, etc. ,So I am starting the LLT Academy. We have already assembled a number of people who have graduate degrees in theater from here or London or elsewhere, who have done major productions. They can teach Acting 101 or 201 or 401 and courses in stage management, character development, etc. And we will develop a course catalogue for 6 -8 months. I hope to start this in September or October. I hope to have courses running by the end of the year.
I have people on the Board who are excited about this. I have reached out to theater luminaries in the area to teach; some will volunteer, some who will want remuneration. Many are eager to teach. We just have to find a facility to hold it and fit it into our schedule. I want to have them running by the end of the year for people who have an interest in theater but need to learn some skills. This will increase our depth and lead to more greatness.
But this means we need more volunteers. We will get involved in volunteer fairs. I am hoping to have a big volunteer fair, open house at LLT, maybe in September, where people can come and tourn the theater, meet people behind the curtain, meet directors, stage managers, other actors, see the course catalogue an volunteer right there at the theater.
Would the academy be an opportunity to train people for the long term?
That would be my fondest dream. Start someone young in the Academy , taking courses for a year or two or three, then get them involved as an understudy or apprentice who would develop over the years. Then the next thing you know comes Season 60 and we have this huge number of seasoned people who can put on even better shows. I am looking past my term to season 60 and 64 to lay the groundwork for greatness after my term.
And we need to develop backstops…someone to step in when we lose a sound board operator or director, or whatever. We will do this in my first term. We can’t run the risk of not running a show because someone did not wake up, or was incapacitated. We are not running the theater with 30 somethings. We have to consider this; at the retreat with the Board I said we have to have a succession plan in place for all key positions We identify people and train them if we have to.
Demographic changes are happening – younger people are moving here. Is LLT tracking this and its possible impact on programming?
Yes. We are actually tracking a lot of changes in the audience, We have noticed there is a high intellectual capacity in the Lakeside community. There are many people with college degrees, advanced degrees and they are looking for something more novel more enlightening than a fluffy comedy, but something more engaging. This is true for the young families and the cyber nomads. They want something more intellectually challenging.
I have a new board member, Mark Nichols with a fantastic career at the Schubert organization in the US, and I am just tickled that we have him on board. He will bring this kind of analysis to the board of who is our audience and what are they looking for. At the end of the day the we exist to enlighten and entertain our patrons, and that is what we need to give them….I think we need to do an even better job…we are looking at who is our audience, what are they looking for , and give it to them.
Was “Silent Sky” an example that kind of intellectual challenge?
Absolutely! I loved it and the audience loved it…it was so novel, so different. I was stage manager during several performances, so I could talk to audience members coming out at the end of the show. They were thrilled. When you walked into the theater there was this music playing, there was an engaging set that was different, not a bunch of flats that looked like someone’s dining room. …it was mind-expanding. I was so excited by that kind of play , I can’t wait to do more like that.
Is there any risk that you will be too innovative for the existing audience, that they will say this is not the old LLT I am use to?
I hope they say that! I was asked to run for President to not to be a caretaken and I won’t be a caretaker. I will quit first. I want people to say “Wow that is different LLT and I like it”. I don’t want a status quo, doing what we are used to doing. I want to shake things up I want to make LLT a place to go not just for entertainment, but for enlightenment. That is the mark of a great theater. New Things, new ways despite the sacred cows and all that. I understand there exists a magic tome called the LLT Rulebook. If I ever find it, I will have a bonfire on the Angel Terrace to burn it.
We will still have a varied collection of plays each year – a comedy, a music.al, etc. But great plays.
Going back to “Silent Sky” that was such an audience hit, and so was Random World and so was Madre. When people saw Madre, every night, they were in tears, and it was wonderful. That is what I want. We moved the audience with those plays. There was connection. We created something that excited them. I want people to say that is not the old LLT and I love it.
I know there is some risk involved. When radio stations change forms, they lose some of the old audience. But they gain a newer , bigger audience. Cadillac went through a major change because its buyers were old and dying off, They needed to attract new buyers. So they did and sales are up. We have to go through the same thing….change.
Change management is difficult , and some people will be upset. But at the end of the day you have a great product to offer if it is done right. It has to be great, it has to be something they like. They may have liked LLT in the past, but wait until they see what is coming.
And not just the Main stage, maybe travelling troupes, maybe concerts, maybe something else. Look at the staged readings…people loved them. The 10 minute plays are great idea . MT Live has become a big success. I have become acquainted with something called Alice’s Parlor , which has run in 30 theaters in the US, in which of plays with a similar themes are presented over different nights,s o you can see a variations of the play on successive nights. Other things we have not seen at LLT before include summer stock. We can create more reasons to come to LLT and that is very exciting.
Currently, drought in Jocotepec is classified as moderate. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía(Jocotepec).- The drought index decreases from «severe» to «moderate» in the municipality of Jocotepec.
In spite of the high temperatures reaching up to 34 degrees Celsius registered in the last few days, the data shared by the Monitor of Drought in México indicated that for the first two weeks of May, the humidity in the environment caused the municipality to go from severe drought (D2) to moderate drought (D1).
As stated by Carolina Alejandre Ruvalcaba, head of the Water Culture program of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) Jalisco, this represents that, together with the humidity in the environment, favorable conditions due to the level of Lake Chapala in contrast to past years, have helped avoid drought.
Alejandre explained that drought is classified into two categories: meteorological, i.e., corresponding to water precipitation in the atmosphere; and hydrological, which is the deficit of flow or storage in natural watercourses and bodies of water (surface water).
«These factors have to be taken into account, because sometimes people relate drought to desert or vegetation so there is no drought but it is not so, there are several causes that determine that a territory is in drought, as well as its categories».
However, the official added that the classification is never a static scale because just as the levels decrease from one two-week period to the next, which is the period of time captured by the Drought Monitor, they can also increase.
Regarding the intensity of the current drought stage (D1) in Jocotepec, the second on a scale of five, some damage to crops and pastures, a high risk of fires, low levels in rivers, streams and wells are expected, so voluntary restriction in the use of water is recommended.
Finally, Alejandre Ruvalcaba said that stages D1 and D2 during this period of the year are normal since it is still considered the dry season, until May 15, when the rainy season begins.
According to the North American Drought Monitor (NADM), drought is classified in a five-scale chart, which goes from the minimum as D0 Abnormally Dry, D1 Moderate Drought, D2 Severe Drought, passing through D3 Extreme Drought, and ending with D4 Exceptional Drought.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
Vista del malecón de Ajijic y el lago de Chapala. Foto: D. Arturo Ortega.
Redacción.- Luego de las primeras lluvias registradas en la región lacustre del Lago de Chapala, sigue perdiendo nivel. Hasta la fecha, el lago más grande de México ha perdido 93 centímetros, lo que lo ubica al 63 por ciento de su capacidad.
Del primero de enero al cuatro de mayo, el vaso lacustre pasó del 74.98 por ciento de su capacidad hasta el estado en que se encuentra en la actualidad, es decir, perdió casi 12 centímetros.
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