Americas Now...made in Mexico

In the eyes of many world travelers, Tijuana Mexico has long been seen as little more than a tourist trap across the US border for cheap souvenirs and tequila and for its prostitutes peddling their services on the back streets of Avenida Revolucion. Its negative image cemented further by memories of violent turf battles in the streets between drug gangs and police in the not so distant past particularly this shootout back in 2008 that saw kindergarten children caught in the crossfire, having to be rescued from harms way by authorities. And today visitors here often see daily arrests of criminal suspects outside Tijuana’s souvenir shops. One shop owner hoping tourists might focus on more positive attributes like Tijuana’s favorite son legendary rock musician Carlos Santana. Santana aside what has gone virtually unnoticed here by the outside world is Tijuana’s extraordinary transformation in the last decade as a world class manufacturing center with armies of highly skilled Mexican workers. 165 thousand of them showing up for work each dayfor 600 hundred top foreign national companies here that are producing billions of dollars in exports each year. A “business boom” said to be directly responsible for turning this once impoverished town of 3 million citizens into a modern middle class metropolis -- with elegant gated communities rivaling those across the border in San Diego, California. Housing developments built not from the “drug money” of Mexico’s narcotics gangs but from the hard earned pesos of an exploding working middle class moving into them. A point man for Tijuana’s rise as a global manufacturing giant is Tijuana native Flavio Olivieri that is CEO of the Tijuana Economic Development Corporation.His nonprofit agency facilitating is the arrival of foreign multinational companies keen on doing business in Tijuana. He says they are a link between the companies and the government agencies and all of the services required to do business in Tijuana. Currently they have about 52 industrial parks that house close to 600 companies and manufacturing facilities. And they also have Samsung from Korea. They manufacture here their large format TV sets and their smart TV sets. And not just a handful of them, but 17 million Samsung flat screen TVs with their “Made in Mexico” stamp are exported each year from Tijuana to retailers just across the border in San Diego and across the United States - and to the European continent. As well Japanese electronics giant Sony has made Tijuana a major manufacturing base for its flat screen TVs. Toyota has a huge plant on the outskirts of Tijuana producing the popular “Tacoma” pickup truck for export in the United States. US aerospace giant Honeywell employs nearly 15 thousand local workers manufacturing aerial defense systems for the US military.And San Diego based 3DRobotics has made Tijuana its manufacturing hub for its highly popular amateur unmanned aerial vehicles known as ‘quad copters” selling in most countries around the world. So impressive are Tijuana’s manufacturing capabilities and output that the city of San Diego has become the first US city to open a binational affairs office in Tijuana to encourage more US-Mexico business partnerships says office director Mario Lopez. ATijuana has born Mexican American who commutes to and from Tijuana almost daily by San Diego’s trolley line to the US-Mexico border. Mario Lopez says: “We think of this as a mega region the only way to really thrive instead of competing instead of looking at each other on different terms is actually creating synergy that’s the only way in the long term that we’re going to be able to compete with other places in the world.” Though, “being able to compete,” say human rights groups, should not come at the expense of the Mexicans doing the work here, who they claim have historically been among the most exploited in the world. While industrial parks like these across Tijuana have created thousands of jobs, there remains a contentious issue with many workers: Low wages. The minimum wage in Mexico, for example, is almost five times lower than the 7 dollars and 25 cents an hour workers earn in the United States.Admittedly a controversial issue, says Tijuana’s business facilitator Flavio Olivieri. He tells us the hour wage is about one dollar that is fifty cents. Well it is not a lot of money compared to the US. It is more than other parts of the world and Mexico.And people with that wage are able to get their benefits and be able to get insurance and loans for buying a house and they get all the medical services they require. Olivieri says an example of how working conditions and benefits have improved here in recent years is the US Company DJO Global and its manufacturing plant in Tijuana voted one of the top 3 “Best Places to Work” in Mexico for two years running. Its 2,000 employees assembling orthopedic products here are offered everything from free college education - providing they stay with and move up in the company to home loans to free health careto a weekly discount Farmers Market - set up out front of the plant to save employees the time and expense of food shopping elsewhere each week. To a “Hollywood Star” style “Walk of Fame” for “Employees of the month” meant to boost morale. To this music system in the plant’s cafeteria “Karaoke Optional” We requested an opportunity to interview some of the floor workers here -- but the company told us none were willing to take part.We were, instead, offered an interview with an employee from the Human Resources department. Mildred Herrera Martinez claims the company changed her life for the better 13 years ago when she started work here on the production line at the legal working age in Mexico of 14. Her hourly wage has risen from 1 dollar fifty cents to 5 dollars an hour - earning her 40 dollars a day - 200 dollars a week. She worked her way up from the production line and after, they helped her finish university. And now she has risen to a position with Human Resources. Tijuana’s business leaders say the city’s manufacturing boom is slowly sending a message to its American neighbors to the north that Mexicans - when given the opportunity -- are capable of and happy to find jobs in their own country rather than crossing the border illegally for employment in the United States. Flavio Olivieri says: “You know the perception of Mexico has been very negative...and played very strongly by the media and downplaying the capabilities...and the opportunities with Mexico. And I think Americans can really notice the partnership...that could be developed with Mexico...because we complement each other...and we can be more competitive if we work together.” As for the issue of crime and security in Tijuana - Olivieri says drug war violence today is almost non-existent around the city. And while every day crime still exists, he says, it’s no more than in other major cities around the world. Flavio Olivieri thinks what really shows that crime is not a factor is the growth of companies. They continue to see existing companies to invest more and more and expand and expand. Tijuana’s future, he says, is brighter than it’s ever been and thanks to a more highly trained work force capable of higher standard production methods. That is meeting the demands of more and more US companies opening manufacturing plants here. That has Mexicans, these days, feeling quite proud.Tijuana is making its mark as a global manufacturing leader. Editor:James |Source: CCTV.com www.bajainvestment.com

How to Find Gas at $1.46 Less Per Gallon (Really)

By Dennis Romero Fri., Mar. 16 2012 at 7:00 AM Comments (6) Categories: Economy

Tricia Wang ​What if we told you we knew of a place where you could save about $1.46 a gallon on gas -- today? What if we told you, while you were in the neighborhood getting your cheap gas you could also dine on meals that have the foodie nation buzzing, get a huge discount on your prescription drugs, and take a picture with a zonkey (that's a zebra crossed with a donkey, but not really)? You'd say we sound like a cheesy salesman using the "what if we told you" ruse? Yes, but other than that you'd be all about this. Well, not so fast. You see, this non-mythical land of gas and gastronomy is 135 miles away, at least. So you'd have to dedicate a day to it. And the savings would do you no good unless you really wanted to go there anyway. But you do:

starlen Tijuana scenery. ​ A round trip drive to Tijuana with a car that gets 20 miles per gallon, with an average L.A. gas price of $4.35, will cost you nearly $59 in fuel. But if you fill her up in TJ (yes, despite what the New Yorker says, even locals have been calling it TJ -- for decades) you can see a savings of $20 on that 13 or so gallons it would take for your outing. The San Diego Union-Tribune says the savings between SoCal gas prices and Tijuana gas prices, given the peso exchange rate, is about $1.46 a gallon. And, yes, people in Southern California are already taking advantage of the discount. Heck, $20 dollars in Tijuana can buy you like a couple buckets of beer, a huge bag of crap weed (don't try bringing it across the border, though), or a nice dinner for two. Of course, Mexican gas is not as complicated as California's clean-burning blends (and that's part of the reason why it's cheaper), and finding Mexican gas with high enough octane for this reporter's car would be a feat. And then there's this: They kill people in Mexico. A lot of them, it seems. But mostly they're people in the business. Yeah, that business. But that's none of your business, so you're probably safe. And some locals now claim that things are much better in Tijuana -- so much so that the rich folks are starting to move back there from their second and third homes in San Diego. Given all that, it's still a little bit of a gamble -- like betting on the greyhounds at Caliente. But $20 certainly gives you a few more chips to play with. [@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews] www.bajainvestment.com

Tijuana at 30 miles per hour

By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE

August 30, 2010

Sandra Dibble holds a cup of clamato juice, a popular treat in Baja California, on Sunday in Rosarito Beach

This was a difficult assignment: In the space of just a few hours, give my new editor, Hieu Tran Phan, a tour of Tijuana. On one quiet Sunday afternoon, what could I possibly show him? Tijuana has about two million people, hundreds of neighborhoods, vast contrasts. After 16 years of reporting here, driving across Tijuana still fills me with a sense of wonder, and more than anything I wanted him to get a sense of the city’s rich texture and variety.


We started at Colonia Federal, a tiny neighborhood just southwest of the San Ysidro border crossing, cruising past the house where drug smugglers once dug a tunnel. Now a binational group has taken over, converting it into an arts center, La Casa del Tunel. We headed east into Colonia Libertad, to the top of a steep hill that offers a breathtaking view of the border. Then down into the Zona Rio, past the giant pastel globe and deep red cube that make up the Tijuana Cultural Center, past the Via Corporativo, a new office building that is Baja California’s first certified green structure.

Zooming down the Via Rapida, a highway that crosses the city, we headed toward El Cerro Colorado, Tijuana’s tallest hill and the gateway to eastern Tijuana, where the city has been growing rapidly in recent years. We drove and drove, past the huge boxlike factory buildings that make up El Florido Industrial Park. Past tens of thousands of tiny houses that make up the newer housing developments.

In El Nino, we stopped for tacos and ran into a church group from San Clemente whose members had come to build houses. We pressed on, toward Tecate, into Valle de las Palmas, where authorities are planning a satellite city with more than one million residents.

We drove down Boulevard 2000, and in no time found ourselves in Rosarito Beach, taking in the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Then back into Tijuana, to Colonia Chapultepec, whose large hillside mansions reminded Hieu (he was raised in Vietnam and Orange County) of the hills of Laguna Beach.

A day after our tour, Hieu says he was struck by the city’s contrasts and the determination of its residents to make the most of their circumstances, wherever they may find themselves

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Your Baja real estate

Rosarito Harley Charity Run

As you all know, our destination is Rosarito, Baja California but the children of Ensenada and Tijuana also benefit greatly from this charity event. There have been lots of changes made not only to enhance our experience but also to make Rosarito in general a much safer place to visit and there is no doubt in my mind that this year's event is going to be the best ever! My wife and I have been making regular trips to Baja and the enhancements are pretty obvious; the police for example have a new perspective on how to better protect and serve the community as well as going above and beyond to cater to us tourists. The level of courtesy shown to us is astounding, and it seems to be safer now than I can ever remember, and as you know, we have been going down there for years. Since Rosarito's main source of revenue is tourism, the hotels, bars, and restaurants are literally going out of their way to make our stay as memorable as possible. We are treated like royalty! CLICK TO READ MORE...

Unity of the Californias Is Main Message For the 5th Binational Mayor’s Summit

CABILDEO FAVORABLE PARA LA ZONA ECONÓMICA ESTRATÉGICA: CANACO

CÁMARA NACIONAL DE COMERCIO, SERVICIOS Y TURISMO DE TIJUANA

Prosiguiendo con la labor de cabildeo en las distintas dependencias del Gobierno Federal involucradas con la propuesta de Zona Económica Estratégica (ZEE) para la Región Fronteriza, después de ser planteada al Presidente de la República Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, hoy hubo una reunión en las oficinas del Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT), con su Titular, Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortíz Mena, para presentarle el proyecto a efecto de conocer su punto de vista en lo conducente a las atribuciones y facultades que le competen.


En dicha junta de trabajo participaron el Senador de la República por Baja California, Fernando Castro Trenti; el Presidente del Consejo Coordinador Empresarial de Tijuana A.C.; Fernando Otañez Martínez y el Presidente de la Cámara Nacional de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo de Tijuana, Mario J. Escobedo Carignan,


Además de exponerle las bondades genéricas del proyecto, así como los alcances económicos y ventajas naturales y potenciales que posee la región para su implementación, informó Escobedo Carignan, se comentaron algunos indicadores que alcanzarían resultados muy favorables conforme a la maduración de la ZEE.


Entre ellos, advirtió el Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) de Baja California crecería en un 22%, habría un incremento en la ocupación del 12.7% y aumentarían los ingresos tributarios en un 32.5%.


En términos generales dijo causó buena impresión el proyecto, manifestando el Jefe del SAT “que no habría inconveniente de apoyar tan importante iniciativa desde el punto de vista de las medidas que correspondan al ámbito de su competencia”.



También comentó el funcionario federal que en los próximos días procurará una reunión con el Sub-Secretario de Ingresos de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP), José Antonio Meade para intercambiar opiniones y escuchar su postura acerca de la zona.

 Desde esta perspectiva consideró viable arrancar con la primera etapa de Desgravación Arancelaria y Desregulación Administrativa propuesta, tema que en gran medida tendrá que analizarse igualmente con la Secretaria de Economía.

www.bajainvestment.com

Weekly Fishing Column: Rosarito Beach welcomes anglers

By Phil Friedman,

Arturo Martinez from the tourism department was at the National Sports Grill in Torrance Thursday at 7 p.m., to talk about a weekend trip to Rosarito Beach, April 9-11.

The trip will feature a surf and pier fishing competition that usually produces barred perch, corbina and halibut.

The key to catching a big halibut on the pier is using live bait. Bring some mackerel snag rigs and snag yourself a few mackerel. Toss one of those mackerel off the pier and you stand a great chance of catching a nice flatfish.

The key to catching corbina is light line. Six-pound test with a trout rod is perfect. A cast of just a few feet is usually perfect. The corbina are in the surf right where the waves are crashing, so that's where you want to present your bait. Sand crabs, muscles, ghost shrimp and Berkley gulp bait all work really well.

Martinez says you get two nights at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, two welcome drinks, two breakfast buffets, two no-host parties, a free barbecue on Saturday, 4 p.m. late checkout and 15 percent off in the hotel spa. The cost is only $285 per couple.

In addition to the fishing, there will be a casino tour, a wine country tour, golf and lots to do at the hotel.

On Saturday, 150 children from the local orphanages will be bused to the Rosarito Beach pier for a day of fishing, beach games and swimming and a basketball clinic put on by world champion Laker Flynn Robinson. You can be a mentor to the kids if you like for what promises to be a special day.


Martinez is making it easy for South Bay residents to get to the Rosarito Beach Hotel. For $99, you can board a bus departing from Wilson Park at 2 p.m. on April 9 to take you to the beach resort. Libations and snacks are included. The bus will depart the hotel on Sunday at 4 p.m. to take you back to Torrance. To sign up for the excursion, call 310-328-8426 or email philip@976-TUNA.com.

Correlation? Sea Adventure II skipper Terry Clayton was fishing for blackgill cod on a commercial trip last week when a spot of 15-pound albacore breezed down the side of his boat. Just as the school approached, a fish jumped clear out of the water.

"I could see its wings perfectly," Clayton said.

This could be a sign of an accelerated season due to the warm El Ni o waters.

"This has to be a good sign for 2010," he said.

Chris Toth of Rancho Palos Verdes was scuba diving recently with friends off Abalone Cove when he looked into a cave only to see a giant eye staring back at him. That eye belonged to a 23-pound sheephead that Toth speared.

The creature thrashed around and mangled Toth's spear, leaving it lodged in the cave. Toth handed the prize member of the wrasse family to a friend who swam it to the surface.

It was the biggest fish Toth had ever speared and a thrilling experience for everyone who was there.

"And the best part of it was those fish tacos," Toth said.

Jennifer Aniston celebrated her 41st birthday last week in Cabo San Lucas.

The actress chose Cabo San Lucas to rebut claims of rampant swine flu and violence. She also is involved in raising funds for a Tijuana orphanage called El Faro.

http://www.bajainvestment.com/

Weekly Fishing Column: Punta Colonet well worth trip to Baja

The Daily Breeze
By Phil Friedman, Correspondent


Punta Colonet is located 120 miles south of the Mexican border in Tijuana.


The drive there takes you through some of the most picturesque geography of northern Baja California. You will pass through Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, Ensenada, the Baja Wine Country and more.


Highway Mexico 1 will take you through breath-taking views of the Coronado Islands, sheer cliffs, fish taco stands and wonderfully warm Baja California people. Hugo Torres, Mayor of Rosarito Beach, has done everything in his power to make Rosarito safe. The fact is, despite the fact no tourists have been killed in Northern Baja, the 24-hour news cycle as well as other influences have made the drive to Baja less desirable.


I have driven to Cabo San Lucas five times in the last two years without incident and have hooked my two sons on the Baja experience. There is so much to love about a road trip to Baja but for my sons, it always comes down to the warm and friendly people of Baja.


There is another way to get to Punta Colonet. You can jump on a sportboat out of San Diego for the next several months and enjoy spectacular fishing.


Yes, you will miss the people and the drive but you will experience the rich and bountiful seas of Punta Colonet.


Mike Acker of Long Beach made the trip on the New Lo-An last weekend.


"This was as good as fishing as I have ever seen," Acker said.


"Huge lingcod, big red snapper, halibut and more," he continued. "If


you are into action and great eating fish then this is it."
Acker said from the time they arrived, it was constant action on a variety of fish. In fact, while Acker is not a big fan of bottom fishing, he soon became a convert.


"You only fish in about 200 feet of water so you feel the fight," he said. "Besides, these are some of the best, if not the best eating fish of the sea."


Nothing makes a better fish taco than a colonet red snapper. Deep fried and battered, the filet is put in a corn tortilla and then garnished with salsa, cilantro, onions, guacamole, sour cream and more. You talk about culinary ecstasy, this is it. Put some rice and beans on the side and you have a meal that your guests will remember for a long time to come.


Proper tackle on a colonet trip only requires a couple of outfits. A 25- and 40- pound outfit will be perfect. Eight- to 16-ounce sinkers are perfect along with 3-O hooks. Lingcod are another aggressive and delicious fish that are bountiful off Punta Colonet. Tagging studies show that lingcod are largely non-migratory and colonize in localized areas.


Lingcod live on the bottom, but may feed throughout the water column. And unlike many other bottom fish species like rockfish, lingcod do not have an air bladder, which enables them to freely swim up and down the water column without injury. Sport or commercial anglers can haul lingcod from depths of 500 feet or more to the surface and release them unharmed. Hard-fighting, great eating and yet another reason to head south of the border.


This Friday night, the Pacific Queen is departing from Fisherman's Landing in San Diego on a weekend trip to the rich waters of Colonet. The tips is priced at $250 with food and permits extra.


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Weekly Fishing Column: Mexico is safer than you think

By Phil Friedman, Correspondent

Mexico has been reduced to a single, small, geographical piece of this earth. If there is a murder in Michoacan, then the presumption of the 24-hour news cycle has been that it is too dangerous to travel to Rosarito Beach even though it is thousands of miles away.

According to Arturo Martinez from the Mexican Tourism office, no tourists have been killed in the drug war violence throughout Mexico.

Still, on a recent CNN news report, U.S. citizens were warned not to travel to Mexico. Well what part of Mexico was CNN referring to? Mexico is a huge country and to say travel to Mexico is dangerous is not only inadequate information but very misleading.

Please do not misunderstand me. If you want to find trouble in Tijuana, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, I have no doubt that with the proper directions, you will find trouble and the dregs of society you seek.

If however, you use common sense, stay out of bad neighborhoods, do not travel at night etc., your journey to Mexico should be not only safe, but a memorable trip with lifetime memories.

Mexico is not standing still amid the criticism, unjust or not. If you have any trouble at all once you cross the border into Baja California Norte, all you have to do is dial 078 and press send on your cell phone. You will be connected with English speaking Mexican travel officials eager to help you, drive out to your location or assist you in anyway. I have personally tried this system on many occasions and never failed to get connected to the Mexican travel bureau.
If you have an emergency in Mexico, you can also dial 911 on your cell phone and you will immediately be connected with and English speaker ready to assist you.

For private boaters, Mexico has announced as search and rescue fleet. The commanders of these Ensenada-based vessels have been trained by the U.S. Coast Guard and speak excellent English. The sole purpose of the team is to help boaters in distress. Their vessels are capable of more than 50 knots and can quickly respond to rescue a distressed boater.

A recent visit by officials from Sportfishing Association of California resulted in the comment that they had great equipment, were well-trained and had friendly personnel. This will greatly increase the desire of yachts, sailboats, and fishermen to go south of the border again. The unit has a 24-hour Radio Watch on Marine Channel 16 and can also be reached by telephone from the United States by calling 01152 646-1-72-40-00.

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Flow to river channel to drop; irrigation uses seen

By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

September 26, 2008

TIJUANA – It sits on a hillside miles from San Diego, rising above tightly packed colonias in Tijuana's fast-growing eastern end. Despite its distance from the border, the new Monte de Los Olivos sewage treatment plant has been drawing applause in California.
Expected to begin operation within a month, the $9 million plant will at full capacity treat the waste of some 265,000 residents to a tertiary level, clean enough for irrigation. Together with a smaller but similar plant, La Morita, set to open this year, Monte de Los Olivos will dramatically decrease the flow of untreated sewage down the Tijuana River channel that leads to the border.

The operation of the two plants also will relieve Tijuana's main sewage treatment plant, the over-burdened Punta Bandera facility south of Playas de Tijuana. By the middle of next year, officials hope the operation of the new plants will largely eliminate the coastal discharges of untreated sewage at Punta Bandera.

“This project puts Baja California at the vanguard of sewage treatment in Mexico,” Baja California Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán told a crowd of more than 300 gathered for yesterday's inauguration ceremony at Monte de los Olivos.

The plant's opening marks the first step in an ambitious state-led reclamation project for Tijuana that will take years to develop. The city's 1.4 million residents look to piped-in water from the Colorado River to meet more than 90 percent of their water needs, and the state has been hard-pressed to expand the region's supply.

By using treated water for irrigation and industry, the state hopes to save the Colorado River water for residential and commercial purposes. But before they can proceed, they need to build a network of pipes to deliver the reclaimed water, and find enough users.

No one disputes that the plants at Monte de los Olivos and La Morita, which will treat sewage in the Tijuana River watershed, represent a major step forward for the city. Financing for the two plants, along with a third scheduled to open next year in southern Tijuana, is through a low-interest loan from the Japanese government and Mexico's federal government. The builder is a Mexico City-based company named Fypasa.

Initially, only 10 percent of Monte de los Olivos' output capacity will be used for reclamation, said Hernando Duran, head of the state public service commission in Tijuana, known as CESPT. The state is setting up a system that will pipe any of the unused treated effluent for discharge into the Pacific Ocean south of Punta Bandera.
“While the system is designed, it's not fully ready,” Romo said. “Overall, it's a very good sign, but people should not expect results by tomorrow.”

Within four years, Duran said the hope is to be using at least three-fourths of Monte de los Olivos' capacity in reclamation projects. Beyond that, the state is also studying the possibility of piping some of the reclaimed water to a point above Tijuana's RodrNguez Dam, allowing it to filter through into the reservoir.

“They deserve a huge amount of credit for what they've done,” said Bart Christensen, senior engineer with California's State Water Resources Control Board, and his agency's border coordinator. “They have the same goals as San Diego, but they don't have the resources San Diego has. They have to be really creative to get their infrastructure implemented in Tijuana. This really demonstrates Mexico's commitment to addressing their own waste water infrastructure needs.”

Despite progress, Tijuana's sewage flow continues to exceed the city's treatment capacity. Cross-border sewage spills have for decades been a contentious issue, as incidents in the Tijuana River basin are likely to be felt across the border in the Tijuana River estuary in Imperial Beach. Though dry weather flows have largely been eliminated, cross-border sewage flows during wet weather continue to shut down South Bay beaches.

Monte de los Olivos “is a critical facility that's necessary to meet Tijuana's waste water treatment needs today and in the future,” said Su Cox, an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has been working closely with CESPT on a plan to connect an additional 34,000 residents in eastern Tijuana to the sewer system.

“The thing that's great about this is that it addresses environmental health and public health needs on both sides of the border.”

Highlights
Cost: The $9 million Monte de los Olivos plant will treat sewage from about 265,000 residents in eastern Tijuana.

Irrigation: The plant launches a major reuse project for Tijuana, and officials are installing pipes to distribute the water to green areas. Most of the flow will initially be discharged into the ocean.

Coastal discharge: The plant provides relief for the overburdened coastal Punta Bandera plant. Together with future La Morita plant and new sewage collection projects, the coastal discharge of untreated sewage from the Punta Bandera plant is near an end.

Cross-border: Cross-border sewage flows in wet weather will continue, but the concentration of sewage in those flows is expected to decrease.

Other projects: A third sewage treatment plant in southern Tijuana, a desalination plant in Ensenada that will produce 5.7 million gallons of water a day, and expansion of the Colorado River aqueduct.

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, POTENCIA DE ENERGÍAS RENOVABLES

Inversiones por un monto de 4 mil 900 millones de dólares se esperan recibir a mediano plazo en el corredor Mexicali-Tijuana mediante la ejecución proyectos de energías alternativas, informó el secretario de Desarrollo Económico del Estado, José Posada Gallego. Con lo cual, dijo, Baja California se colocaría como una potencia en la producción de aparatos para generar energías renovables.
El funcionario estatal indicó que la Entidad tiene un crecimiento en demanda energética al año de poco más de 100 megawatts, por lo que se ha fijado como meta obtener 20 por ciento de su energía de fuentes renovables.

En reciente gira de promoción realizada en España, lograron contactar a cinco empresas proveedoras de insumos de la industria de energías alternas. El secretario de la Sedeco dijo que la empresa española Abengoa, la cual aplica soluciones innovadoras para el desarrollo sostenible en los sectores de infraestructura, medio ambiente y energía, expertos en la gestión de agua, anunció la apertura de una oficina en Baja California para Octubre del 2008 en el área de investigación y desarrollo de tecnología de manejo de agua. Por lo que, Posada Gallego aseguró que el Estado sigue siendo muy competitivo en cuanto a la atracción de nuevas inversiones en las áreas de la aeroespacial, aeronáutica, energías renovables, tecnologías de la información y electrónica.

The Real Story About Baja as Told by American Expatriates

Baja California American and Canadian expatriates become stars of documentary

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- After months of endless sensational news articles on ongoing and constant rehashing of old stories scaring visitors to stay away, American expatriates living in Baja California said, "Enough."

The Baja California peninsula is home to an estimated 250,000 American expatriates with some 30,000 of them living in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada. Rosarito alone touts over 14,000 American retirees, nearly 10 percent of their 150,000 population.

Melinda Bates, former Social Director for the White House during the eight years of the Clinton Administration, has lived in Rosarito for over three years said, "I read the same news everyone else reads, but I feel perfectly safe here." Mona Keys, originally from Denver who moved to San Diego only to find she couldn't afford to live along the coast so she and her husband moved to Baja Mar in Ensenada said, "My mother calls me from Denver because the news about Baja frightened her, but I tell her not to worry, we're perfectly safe here."

Anne Hines, Canadian expatriate living in Rosarito for 10 year said, "The biggest challenge my fellow expats and I have is allying the fears of our family and friends when they read the headlines and many embellished or just plain untrue stories of the dire consequences for anyone venturing down to Baja."

Many expatriates believe US journalists purposely do not interview them because it would belie the notion that Americans are not safe in Baja.

The expats quickly volunteered to be interviewed for the documentary, The North Baja Coast: Come Visit - Stay to Live, produced by San Diego based TransBorder Communications. The documentary shows the beauty of Baja but the stars are the expatriates who tell their stories on living in Mexico including their personal security, quality and costs of medical services, cost of living and quality of life.

The documentary also highlights each of the four Baja California municipalities: Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, Ensenada, Tecate and Mexicali along with San Felipe, Baja's Palm Springs with a beach.

The half-hour documentary will be shown 50 times from August 25 through September 14 on a number of Time Warner Cable channels in West Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley, Ventura, Orange and Inland Empire counties.

Contact:
Hector C. Molina
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Baja Tourism Secretary Announces New Campaign

Oscar Escobedo Carignan, the Secretary of Tourism for the state of Baja California, Mexico, announces the implementation of a new campaign to promote tourism throughout the state of Baja. Rosarito artesan furniture event is part of initial campaign efforts.

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (PRWEB) August 24, 2008 -- In a statement issued in the just-released August/September issue of Baja Breeze magazine, Oscar Escobedo Carignan, the Secretary of Tourism for Baja California, Mexico, announced that the government is implementing a new promotional campaign to encourage tourism in the state of Baja.

Escobedo noted that this new effort has been designated as "do Baja". The initial campaign efforts are being launched primarily throughout Mexico and the United States, and focus on activities that are specific to Baja, such as gray whale-watching during their migration periods; sport-fishing; boating, bicycling, and off-road races; tours of the emerging Mexico wine country; historic tourism, featuring Spanish missions and exploration of prehistoric cave paintings, as well as the more traditional pastimes of shopping for silver, ceramic-ware and art, and native and handcrafted items from area artisans and regional Indian tribes.

The goal of "do Baja", says Escobedo, is to increase awareness of Baja's many destination locations, as well as to highlight opportunities for continued development in ecotourism, as well as the culinary, wine, olive oil and cheese industries. In addition, a special thrust will be made to promote conventions and meetings in Baja.

Among the first activities to be promoted as part of "do Baja" is Rosarito's Home & Furniture Expo, September 4-7, at the new Pabellon Rosarito Grande. This three-day extravaganza features vendors, a Tequila Show, wines from Baron Balche, and food festivals including Paella (Saturday, September 6) and Steak and Lobster (Sunday, September 7). The event is sponsored by AFAMARO, www.afamaro.com, a trade association formed recently in Rosarito Beach by manufacturers of fine and rustic furniture in wood and wrought iron, artisans and accessory dealers. Many of these vendors represent familial businesses that began decades ago in northern Baja and that have preserved a legacy of artesenal quality in the crafts and arts of Mexico.

Escobedo believes that what has been referred to as the 'Baja Bloom' is not over. He cites the fact that there are currently more than 100 residential and tourism developments under construction, comprised of approximately 23,000 condominiums and living units. He adds that Baja is the third most important destination for cruise line arrivals in Mexico, with more than 500,000 passengers arriving in the port of Ensenada, alone, this year.

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Binational group forms to address border issues. Inspections are among the chamber's concerns

By Janine Zúñiga
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 14, 2008
SAN YSIDRO – The San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with all five Baja California border cities and with chambers of commerce from here to Calexico to create the Binational Chamber of Border Commerce.
The group will meet to tackle common issues that affect business on both sides of the border. Those issues, the group says, include inefficient border-crossing inspections and a lack of infrastructure.
Jason M-B Wells, San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce executive director and Binational Chamber of Border Commerce organizer, said the border business group can't sit idly by while politicians in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City decide what's best for ports of entry 3,000 miles away.
“We live this every day,” he said. “We know what works.”
Wells said the border between California and Baja California is home to the busiest land port of entry in the world, the second-busiest cargo crossing and the largest binational economy in the Western Hemisphere.
The group hopes its strength and single voice can help push initiatives to help speed up border-crossing times, such as putting in more “stacked” booths at San Ysidro.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is testing the idea, similar to a method used in checkout lines at some big-box stores, where two checkers help one lane of customers. Stacking has proved to reduce border wait times, the group said.
The binational group also wants at least one 24-hour lane at all California-Baja California ports of entry, and additional agents on both sides of the border where needed. The group also hopes border officials will stop conducting secondary inspections in primary inspection lanes. They said officers at various ports often spend too much time with one vehicle, when they should send it forward for further inspection to keep traffic flowing.
Wells also organized an association of business and community groups in recent months whose members were concerned with plans for a redesign of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. When plans last year showed the loss of a considerable amount of private property, the Smart Border Coalition got involved. The federal government has since reduced the amount of land it planned to take.
Wells said the coalition's efforts gave him the idea for the binational group.
“We realized that a lot of the issues aren't specific to just San Ysidro,” he said. “We had to look at our entire border and make sure we had binational buy-in.”
Wells said the Smart Border Coalition introduced the idea of a southbound pedestrian crossing on the east side of Interstate 5. He said it would help local businesses. The current southbound crossing, on the west side of I-5, diverts potential shoppers away from them.
He also said a southbound crossing near the trolley, also east of I-5, would make it more convenient for people who use the transit system to enter Mexico.
“We need both sides in agreement for how that should be,” said Wells, referring to having officials in the United States and Mexico working out the design of the new pedestrian crossing.
Wells said increased border-crossing wait times have grown to unacceptable levels. Businesses and the economy are hurt when half or two-thirds of a company's work force is a half hour to two hours late, or doesn't show up at all, he said. He said increased border wait times also have a detrimental effect on the number of trips tourists and shoppers make.
Construction on the San Ysidro Port of Entry is set to begin this month. More than 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians use the port daily to cross into the United States. Studies have pointed to an expected increase of the number of vehicles crossing of up to 70 percent by 2030.
The $577 million project will increase the number of lanes in each direction and is the federal government's largest border-crossing project.
Wells said many details on the San Ysidro redesign project aren't complete. He also said some projects such as the southbound pedestrian crossing are unfunded but included in the plans. He said the group will continue to push for improvements at all border crossings.
Members of the binational group from the United States include the chambers of commerce in San Ysidro, Calexico, Chula Vista and Tecate Community; the Imperial Valley and South County economic development corporations; and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In Mexico, members include the chambers of commerce in Tijuana, Ensenada, Mexicali, Playas de Rosarito and Tecate.