Path of the channeled creek at Piedra Barrenada. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- Restaurant owners of the tourist-gastronomic zone of Piedra Barrenada, in San Juan Cosalá, demanded the authorities of Jocotepec take precautions in the creek near the area.
Although authorities assured that work had already been carried out to channel the creek to two outlets, one of the streams passes by the Las Gaviotas restaurant. This has caused the owners to “feel concerned.”
The owner of one of the most affected restaurants, who asked for anonymity, pointed out that after the October 5 downpour, he registered losses of more than 280 thousand pesos (approx. $14,200 US) due to the damage caused by the landslide, «it has been a poorly executed intervention,» he commented.
The restaurateur explained that the depth of the channel is barely over one meter in height so as soon as the rains begin, this section is prone to overflowing due to its shallowness.
«I even sent up a drone to capture what happened in the last storm. Due to the amount of water that fell, the channel became like a lagoon, when it could not hold any more water, all those liters and liters of water flowed out,» he said.
Other businessmen consulted also said they were worried about this coming rainy season. They fear a repetition of last October’s situation, where they not only lost real estate, but one of the restaurateurs was almost swept away by the waterspout.
«Everything, everything was filled with mud and stones. The bar was filled to the top, the kitchen the same. I had to smash the main door so that all the debris would flow out and, in the attempt, I was dragged by the current. Civil Protection had to throw me a rope so that it would not wash me into the lake,” he explained.
For these reasons, they urged the Jocotepec City Hall to act on the matter and conduct the appropriate reports on the stream to rule out another possible landslide, while there is still time before the storms begin.
Translated by Nita Rudy
La contaminación del río Santiago ha afectado a los pobladores de la zona, denunció el colectivo Un Santo de Vida A.C. Foto: Cortesía.
Redacción.- La Comisión Estatal de los Derechos Humanos de Jalisco (CEDHJ) emitió recomendaciones por haber ocultado por casi 10 años los resultados de un estudio sobre los problemas de salud de menores de edad en la cuenca del Río Santiago.
La dependencia señaló que fue la Comisión Estatal del Agua (CEA), la Secretaría de Salud Jalisco, y el OPD Servicios de Salud Jalisco quienes violaron los derechos humanos a la legalidad y seguridad jurídica; a la protección de la salud; al medio ambiente sano; y a los derechos de acceso en materia medioambiental.
Debido a que por casi 10 años, desde mediados de la administración del Gobernador Emilio González Márquez y toda la de Aristóteles Sandoval, se ocultó e ignoró el estudio.
La denuncia ante la CEDHJ que propició la recomendación fue realizada en 2019 por el grupo ambientalista Un Salto de Vida A.C. Dicha organización dijo que durante un recorrido auspiciado por el gobierno del estado ese mismo año se dio a conocer la existencia de un estudio realizado entre 2009 y 2010 por la Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (UASLP) sobre el fallido proyecto de la presa de Arcediano.
Asimismo, Alan Carmona, integrante de esta agrupación señaló que, pese a que el estudio fue revelado a inicios de 2020, el actual Gobierno de Jalisco tampoco ha atendido los graves problemas de contaminación industrial en el Río Santiago.
La recomendación de la CEDH fue presentada el pasado lunes seis de junio, donde se detallan las acciones que deben seguir tanto los alcaldes como los legisladores e instituciones gubernamentales.
Las peticiones fueron dirigidas a once instancias estatales y federales con la finalidad de resarcir los daños ocasionados a las personas residentes de las poblaciones aledañas a la cuenca.
Con información de Milenio y Líder Informativo.
Los hechos violentos se registraron el pasado tres de junio en la colonia San Gabriel de Tizapán el Alto. Foto: Cortesía.
Redacción.- La Fiscalía del Estado de Jalisco (FE), a través de la Fiscalía Regional, abrió una carpeta de investigación en torno a la muerte de una menor de 3 años de edad, además de las lesiones por proyectil de arma de fuego que sufrió su padre, en el municipio de Tizapán El Alto.
El pasado tres de junio, a las 22:50 horas aproximadamente, la policía recibió un reporte que sobre la calle Lauro Caloca, en el cruce de Francisco Dávalos, de la colonia San Gabriel, una menor y un masculino habían sido lesionados por arma de fuego.
Aunque las personas lesionadas fueron trasladadas al Hospital de Tizapán El Alto para su atención médica, momentos después se reportó el deceso de la menor.
Tras los hechos, elementos de la Policía del Estado que fungieron como primeros respondientes acudieron al lugar y procedieron a la detención del posible agresor asegurándole el arma.
De las primeras indagatorias se informó que el presunto agresor, un hombre de 82 años de edad identificado como Jaime “N”, salió de su domicilio con un arma de fuego la cual detonó en contra de las víctimas, padre e hija, lo anterior porque causaban ruido afuera de su casa, además en los disparos también resultó lesionado el atacante.
El probable responsable de estos hechos quedó a disposición del agente del Ministerio Público, quien resolverá su situación jurídica en el término constitucional.
El cuerpo de la niña fue trasladado al anfiteatro para la necropsia de ley.
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.
First International Theater Festival of Jocotepec 2022
When: April 27 to May 31
Information: Casa de Cultura «José Vaca Flores»
Location: Hidalgo Sur #38, Jocotepec, Centro
Information: 387 763-1621
“Where there is music there can be no bad thing” Book presentation
When: Saturday, May 28 7:00pm
Place: Restaurant Beer Garden, private Francisco I. Madero 200A, Chapala Centro
Benefit for Jonathan Márquez
When: Saturday, May 28 7:00pm
Sale of Mexican snacks, drinks, raffles, brincolin and more. Pozole to go from 1:30pm
Place: Flores Magón #31, La Ladrillera, Ajijic
Rezzonante
When: Sunday, May 29 12:30pm
Voice, piano and saxophone concert
Place: González Gallo Cultural Center, Av. González Gallo 1500, Chapala.
Admission: Free
Diploma in massage techniques
When: Thursday, June 2 3:00pm to 7:00pm
Classroom course taught by Idalia Venegas. It will include massage theory, basic techniques, hot stone massage, modeling massage, and spa wraps, among other techniques.
Cost: Per class $499, registration $1,350
Location: Hotel Sol y Luna, Rio Bravo #10A, Ajijic
Information: 333 952-5562 / 331 723-9678
Musical presentation, Mr. Q
When: Thursday, June 2, 5:00pm
Classic Rock Concert.
Place: 4to Sentido, Carretera Chapala – Ajijic 89, top floor, Plaza Paradise Center, San Antonio
From the Roots: La Tierra
When: Saturday, June 4, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Art exhibition with cocktails and live music
Place: Sol y Luna Gallery, Rio Bravo #10A, Ajijic
Meeting of harps, psalteries and more
Day: Wednesday, June 8, 1:00pm
Nematatlin musical group
Place: González Gallo Cultural Center, Av. González Gallo 1500, Chapala
Stone Soup
When: Tuesday, June 14, 8:30pm
Fusion rock event
Place: San Antonio Tlayacapan Square
Translated by Paul Weeks
Martha Alcaraz at the moment she received the «Manuel Altamirano» award from the Ministry of Public Education. Photo: Courtesy.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- A teacher from Jocotepec received state recognition for her more than 40 years of service in education.
Martha Yolanda Alcaraz Ramírez, the coordinator of preschool education for the municipality of Jocotepec, received the «Ignacio Manuel Altamirano» award from the Federal Education System last Sunday, May 15, during the commemoration of Teacher’s Day.
The award was presented to her by the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, and the head of the Jalisco Ministry of Education (SEJ). A total of 1,341 teachers statewide were recognized at the event for having more than 40 years of service.
Alcaraz Ramírez, who assumed the position of coordinator in 1989, said she was pleased with the work that has been done in the municipality at the preschool level, and she appreciated the recognition of her long career as an educator, as well as all the other teachers in the state.
«I want to extend special recognition to all the educators who work to overcome all the problems that have arisen, especially in these times of pandemic,» she said.
In closing, Alcaraz Ramírez told attendees that at 59 years of age, she still has a lot of energy to continue with such important work and that although she is eligible to retire, she assured them that «as long as the body is willing,» she will continue to work in the classroom.
The «Ignacio Manuel Altamirano» award, given to teachers with more than 40 years of service, consists of a gold medal, remuneration and a letter of recognition signed by the President of the Republic.
Translated by Rebecca Zittle
Affectations caused by the guamúchil tree that fell due to the strong winds in Miguel Martínez street in the municipal headwaters. Photograph: Jazmín Stengel.
Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).- Winds of over 50 kilometers per hour in Ajijic and more than 70 (about 43 MPH) in Chapala were recorded for almost 15 minutes during the first rain of the season, which occurred on May 14, around 7:30 pm, according to Civil Protection and Firefighters of Jalisco.
According to reports from the director of Fire and Civil Protection in Chapala, Antonio Lorenzo Salazar Guerrero and the Municipal System of Potable Water and Sewage (SIMAPA), the result of the first rain in the municipality of Chapala was five fallen trees, damage to power lines and obstruction of water well number three.
Of the five trees, two fell in the Atotonilquillo delegation, one at the entrance on the Santa Rosa – La Barca highway and the second at the exit to Juanacatlán, damaging a light pole and telephone cables, which have already been repaired.
Another tree, almost 15 meters (50 feet) high, fell in La Floresta, a subdivision of Ajijic, blocking the road for almost an hour. The Fire and Civil Protection Departments removed it completely.
In the municipal capital, on Emiliano Zapata Street, a tree collapsed and took the perimeter fence of the neighboring land. On Miguel Martinez Street a guamúchil tree fell on the niche of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the gate of house number 480-A, taking down two walls and a metal sign.
Firemen and Civil Protection promised Eliba, owner of the property, that members of the Urban Development Department would come to assess the damage, but a week after the incident they still have not shown up.
In addition, water well number three, located on Teofilo Silva Street, was clogged with sediment, to the extent that only four liters of water per second could be extracted, when on a regular basis it gave 25 liters per second.
At the close of this edition, SIMAPA personnel were re-drilling the well to stabilize the water supply in the Las Redes and Barrio Nuevo subdivisions, located northeast of the municipal capital.
The effects of the rain were also felt in other areas. In school 1066 of Las Redes Chapala, damage was reported to a shade netting structure that was also damaged by the strong winds of the weekend, and was removed by Urban Planning personnel, after an assessment of the structure by Firefighters and Civil Protection.
«Having a municipality rich in green areas also entails risks,» explained Salazar Guerro. Neither Fire and Civil Protection, nor the Directorate of Ecology have conducted a total study of trees in the municipality, to identify how many of them are sick and at risk of collapsing.
Typically, upon receiving a report, the Fire Department and Civil Protection go to the site to diagnose the tree and determine its condition. For this reason, the director of Civil Protection made a request to the public to report to them any type of anomaly in trees in their gardens or public spaces.
Translated by Christalle Dalsted
Bridge near the cemetery being cleaned by hand by delegation personnel. Photo: Sofia Medeles.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).-The cleaning and clearing of bridges and streams in Ajijic is about to be finished, said Maximiano Macías Arceo, in charge of the office.
The bridges in the western zone of the delegation are already cleared, and the excavating machines are only giving the «final touches,» he commented.
The bridges that still need to be cleaned include one located between Rio Zula and Tio Domingo, which Macias Arceo defined as critical due to the obstruction it presents. It passes between several houses and runs into a wall at the hotel «La Joya del Lago» which cuts its course. It has already been reported and will be reviewed by the Urban Development Department.
The second is located in the area known as «three bridges,» which only needs the usual drainage since it was not affected by the landslides of last October 2021.
«Most of them have already been cleared, there is still a bit of work to be done, but they are free now, they are ready for the rainy season and will not have any problems,» concluded Maximiano Macias.
However, as of Sunday, 22 May,Laguna observed large boulders and rocks in the underpass at Sendero Christina, which serves several farms and ranches. The area was surrounded by security tape and large piles of debris had been cleared to one side of the road..
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.
By Patrick O’Heffernan
The 2000 presidential election was one of the closest and most controversial in US history, and expat votes largely determined its outcome. Everything hinged on Florida where Bush’s lead has shrunk to 300 votes. But in the totals there were hundreds of overseas ballots that had arrived past Florida’s deadline for mail in ballots. Florida election officials rejected these ballots, giving Gore the lead. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida famously (or infamously) overturned the rejections, giving Bush Florida with a 537-vote lead and giving him the presidency, based on overseas ballots.
The current election season is now underway as state primary candidates in several states are on the airwaves battling it out. And those primaries are more important than ever because of demographic shifts and gerrymandering. States have redrawn 327 of the US House’s 435 districts in the redistricting process so that only 26 of those districts are considered to be highly competitive. When the court battles are over, that number may rise to 35 competitive seats, meaning that in the remaining 400 Congressional seats, the primary election determines the winner.
So voting now in the primary elections in your state may be the only chance you get to weigh in on Congressional candidates. The same is even more true for the state legislature and is also true for a number of governorships. The lesson is that NOW is the time to register and vote, not in November (do that too!). If you are registered, get your ballot and mail it or email it in. If you are not registered, go to VotefromAbroad.org and register. If you don’t know, go to VotefromAbroad.org and find out. And if you are confused, go to the VoteFromAbroad tent at the Lake Chapala Society Monday morning for all the help you need.
Expat voters can and have determined elections. Now is the time to vote.
© 2016. Todos los derechos reservados. Semanario de la Ribera de Chapala