A planter had to be moved with a crane to allow the truck to pass.
After unsuccessful maneuvering attempts and wanting to move the other truck, the operators decided to call a crane to move a planter so that the pickup, whose owner was not present, could be moved and the mammogram unit could get out of the situation.
Translated by Paul Weeks
By: Patrick O’Heffernan
Back in November 2021, our reporter in Jocotepec, Héctor Ruiz Mejía, wrote a story about the trash problem in San Juan Cosalá. He described garbage trucks with no gas, rats invading homes, a school with weeks’ worth of garbage stacked in front of its gates, and more.
Part of the problem is the refusal of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos to allow Jocotepec to continue dumping in the GEN landfill, a problem which the municipality is working on. But something else has come to my attention: the deterioration of the Carretera into the landfill that Jocotepec sorely needs.
If you drive from Ajijic to Joco and pass through the happy gauntlet of touts directing your attention to the seafood restaurants that line the lakefront, you won’t notice the piles of garbage lining the highway across from the eateries. In fact, one restaurant even has a large billboard announcing its presence astride a growing pile of garbage and debris.
Garbage, construction debris, junk, and old furniture now l fill open areas of the roadside of the Carretera practically from the county line to Jocotepec. Garbage trucks have nowhere to put what they collect . But people have to put it somewhere and the roadside is the easiest and most available place.
But do you really want to take your out of town visitors to any of the great restaurants along the lake when you have to drive through a smelly field of trash? Maybe not – after all there are so many great restaurants in both Chapala and Jocotepec on clean, trash-free streets. Some even have great lake views.
To be fair, you can’t blame the Jocotepec municipality for the problem of the lack of a landfill and you have to cheer them for trying to solve it. The Carretera – Highway 23 – is Federal property; neither the state nor the municipalities have the authority nor the funds to clean it. And it is not fair to ask businesses along the Carretera to clean up the piles every day; that is what they pay taxes for. And where would they put it?
Perhaps the solution lies in the kind of collaboration and citizen action we have seen in Ajijic and Chapala. Until Jocotepec acquires a landfill, Expats and Mexican citizens and local businesses can raise funds, purchase a dedicated garbage truck, lease a piece of land, fence it and clean up the highway until Jocotepec has the funds and a landfill.
Yes, the Carretera Federal is managed by the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, SCT) and it is the Federal government’s responsibility. But let’s face it, the garbage would completely block the highway before the SCT got around cleaning the roadside.
In Chapala, expats have purchased fire trucks for the Bomberos. Why not a garbage truck for the Jocotepec Carretera? In Ajijic, the delegado has organized citizens to fill potholes; why not similar brigadistas in Joco to load trash from the roadside into the truck and haul it to a properly fenced and managed leased site.
This is a temporary solution to be sure, but the investment and the collaboration will last a long time and give the Jocotepec government and people an opportunity to show how well they care for their community . And might even pay for itself in increased business to the lakeshore restaurants.
Tras el incidente, elementos de Protección Civil y Bomberos acudieron a rellenar la grieta.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- Como una subsidencia geológica sin causa determinada, fue como Sergio Herrera Robledo, director de la Unidad de Protección Civil y Bomberos de Jocotepec, catalogó la grieta que brotó en la calle Vicente Guerrero el pasado 26 de abril.
Herrera Robledo descartó que ese incidente represente un riesgo mayor para la ciudadanía, aunque dijo que sí se debe transitar con cuidado por la zona, así mismo, reportar cualquier evento similar.
Pues dichos eventos geológicos, los cuales se describen como hundimientos de la superficie podrían tener varias causas, explicó el funcionario, ya sea el movimiento de las placas tectónicas u factor aún no esclarecido.
Al respecto, vecinos de la calle Vicente Guerrero, a su cruce con Pedro Moreno se mostraron preocupados al ver que “bachearon” la grieta de más de ocho metros lineales sin hacer los dictámenes adecuados; no obstante, Herrera Robledo aclaró que fue la Unidad de Protección Civil quien mandó hacer dicha obra.
Asimismo, informó que en los próximos días un equipo de geólogos se encargará de hacer un extenso estudio geofísico, el cual estará dividido en cuatro dictámenes para entender las posibles causas de la falla.
Fue una cámara de seguridad de la zona la que captó el momento exacto en el que el pasado 26 de abril, de forma repentina, una grieta rompió el concreto de la calle Vicente Guerrero, dejando una nube de polvo y un puñado de escombro.
The violent event was recorded during the early evening of April 25. Photo: Twitter.
Editor.- A man and a woman were fatally wounded while drinking in a bar on the Guadalajara-Morelia highway, in the municipality of Tuxcueca, on April 25.
Municipal police responded to the scene in San Luis Soyatlán after gunfire was reported at approximately 6.20 p.m.
Inside the bar, agents found the deceased male victim with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. The injured woman was taken to receive medical attention but died upon arrival at the aid station.
The bodies were transferred to the region’s amphitheater for the autopsy required by law. The victims were not immediately identified.
Various shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting. Evidence was secured with the support of experts from the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Translated by Alan Ferguson
The van rolled a few meters.
Editor: A pickup truck traveling on the Jocotepec bypass went off the asphalt, fell down a slope and overturned. The incident occurred during the afternoon of April 15.
After the truck rolled a few meters down a slope near the flagpole, the driver of the gray truck was trapped inside the unit. The Civil Protection and Firefighters of Jocotepec helped the victim, who was not seriously injured.
Translated by Nita Rudy
Drivers park their vehicles on the bicycle path. Photo: Semanario Laguna.
Two months ago, when the section of the San Juan Cosalá bicycle lane was approximately 90 percent complete, neighbors in the area began to regularly use the spaces to set up businesses.
Neighbors of these areas and residents who pass through the road have commented on the lack of accessibility and the improper use of the bicycle lane.
«The bicycle lane is for cycling and walking at any time, but no, you put yourself in danger when passing through that street, next to the road, because there is not enough room to pass. You must go into the road, and it is not fair. That is the reason the other sidewalk was left free, there to sell. The bicycle lane was created to avoid accidents, not to cause them,» commented an annoyed neighbor.
There are more than three businesses that make use of this public space, in the stretch between Cardenal Street and the crossroads, as an opportunity to expand their space, while others use it as a parking lot.
«The truth is that I don’t have money to rent a place and the bicycle lane is very wide and nobody has told me anything,» commented a merchant interviewed.
Some vendors opted to move to the other side of the road, after being told that they could not continue to set up in that area or there could be a sanction from the authorities.
«When they told us we could not be on the bike path it was difficult to change everything. Some moved, others stayed. A new vendor took over a space that had been used regularly but was vacated. There are people who park their cars as if it were their own house,» concluded another of those consulted.
Translated by Nita Rudy
La carretera Chapala-Guadalajara colapsó debido a la caída de un árbol a la altura del aeropuerto. Foto: Twitter.
Redacción.- La lluvia registrada la noche del martes y la madrugada del miércoles, dejó al menos 14 árboles caídos en diferentes partes de la Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara.
Uno de ellos fue sobre la carretera Chapala-Guadalajara, a la altura del aeropuerto, provocando congestionamiento vial en la zona, hasta que éste fue retirado de la vía.
En total, según contabilizaron las autoridades, se registró un total de 15 árboles caídos entre los municipios de Guadalajara, Zapopan y Tlajomulco.
La Unidad de Protección Civil y Bomberos de Guadalajara informó que los árboles derribados fueron en colonias como Lomas del Paradero, Arcos Vallarta, Americana, Unidad Modelo, Jardines del Bosque, Jardines del Country, Echeverría, San Andrés, Tetlán Río Verde, Vicente Guerrero, San Vicente, Balcones de Oblatos y San Vicente.
Mientras que en Zapopan fue uno en la colonia Seattle y otro en Arcos de Zapopan; ninguno de los incidentes provocó lesiones a personas.
Con información de El Occidental.
The unit only received a slight hit.
A motorist driving a Hyundai did not correctly observe the lane dividing line on the Chapala-Jocotepec highway and ended up giving a slight blow to one of the new Chapala police cars, a Dodge Charger valued at more than 800,000 pesos (about US$40,000).
Unit CH-012 of the Chapala police received a slight impact from a private vehicle that invaded the oncoming lane at around 2:15 pm on Wednesday, April 13, in the delegation of Ajijic.
The incident created a blockage on the highway while the car insurance companies took care of the situation. The cost of the damage is unknown.
Translated by Sandy Britton
Crossing Ajijic by car during Easter Week was fast and smooth.
Staff.- An operation to speed up traffic during the Holy Week holidays was successful in reducing problems with the intense vehicular traffic on the Chapala-Jocotepec highway near Ajijic. Traffic agents were stationed at every traffic light to control the passage of vehicles and thus avoid traffic congestion, resulting in a successful strategy as there were few «traffic jams» in this area, that have in the past been a major problem.
Fourteen traffic officers were deployed in the Chapala and Ajijic area, when regularly there are six. Traffic lights were not deactivated but the officers were, at their discretion, in charge of giving right-of-way to pedestrians and cars that were looking to join the highway or enter the Magic Town.
The operation had good results, since during rush hour and holidays, traffic in the area flowed well and pedestrians did not have to wait so long under the sun to cross the street.
Although no date was specified for Ajijic to implement this road strategy again, the Municipal Government said that they are in the process of increasing the number of traffic officers in order to improve the weekend traffic that suffers from severe saturation due to the tourists.
Officers of the Jalisco Public Safety Secretariat also deserve recognition for their efforts. During the holiday operation they helped a motorist who had been stranded on the curves of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. Municipal police officers also helped another motorist who suffered a breakdown in his vehicle on the Chapala-Ajijic highway.
Translated by Sandy Britton
The truck was left on the retaining wall.
Editor. An accident involving a personnel transport truck left eight people injuredin Poncitlán,. The accident occurred at kilometer 38 of the Santa Rosa La Barca highway, within the municipality of Poncitlán, during the early morning of April 16.
The accident occurred after the driver of the truck lost control and impacted the retaining wall, launching the truck onto the retaining wall
Of those injured, seven suffered minor injuries while one person was reported to be in fair condition and was taken to receive medical attention. The slightly injured people reported that they were very scared.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
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