Each week we select articles from local newspapers that amuse or interest us and then translate them into English. We wish to stress that these translations are literal --English versions of exactly what was originally written in Spanish by reporters for Por Esto, Diario de Quintana Roo, Novedades and El Seminario. It should also be mentioned that we cannot always verify the facts in the stories we publish here. We leave that job to the newspaper that originally published the article. We appreciate hearing from our readers so please feel free to E-Mail US your questions, suggestions and comments. You may also wish to consider starting a discussion on any topic below that interests you by posting on the Living on Cozumel Forum.

Note: These articles are a great deal of work to find and translate. They are under copyright. But we all know what a temptation it is to want to share interesting info all over the internet. We don't mind you copying short snippets. But .....

The Cozumel News in English, Vol 28

April 23-28, 2005

We would like to give special thanks for the very kind assistance of Israel Sanchez, a professional translator who has volunteered to help us with the more difficult passages. (Thanks, Izzy!). The simpler stuff was translated by the editors.

The mayor Gustavo Ortega Joaquín announced that he will bring criminal charges against the former treasurer of the municipality, Angel Vela Magaña , better known as Chac Dzay, for his presumed responsibility in the removal of the copies of the public accounts for the last three months of the previous Government's administration.

The copy that should have been left with the new government, was removed by the then municipal treasurer, confirms the Comptrollership and Treasurer of the previous Government, right after doing the first investigations.

As part of the changes that the new municipal government has put into place, the festivities of the cedral this year promise to show off a new face and a very different essence to what has been seen in previous years, according to Lourdes Villaneuva Rivero, the festival's new coordinator.

There will be a focus on attempting to involve more indigenous villagers in the celebrations by making it more accessible to them as well as to the community in general, Vilaneuva Rivero explained. In addition, more emphasis would be given to the value and merit of the more traditional elements of the celebration including the dances of the pig's head, the queens and godmother's election, the religious masses, Yucatecan orchestral presentations and sporting events. Besides this the citizenship will be able to contemplate and enjoy the house decorations that will be accomplished in this village in honor of this celebration.

Villaneuva Rivero, manifested that to keep food trash clean up to a minimum, an exclusivec food concessions area will be established, as well as another exclusive space for the sale of beer which will be set up in the surroundings of the bull ring. In short they have reorganized and modified some zones.

In fact one of the new resolves for this year's festival is that it not be turned into an open air cantina and for this reason indiscriminate sale of alcohol will no longer be allowed and the number of booths selling it will be greatly reduced. This, the organizers trust, will greatly contribute to creating a quiet and peaceful environment for enjoying the fair.

She specified that in order that citizenship have access to the major entertainment events such as performances by singers Pablo Montero and Lupita D'Alessio and the appearance of experienced bullfighter Eulalio López and regional comedian Half-Breed Héctor Herrera, the cost of the tickets be priced so as to cover operational expenses and nothing more and therefore be more affordable to a wide number of people so that many can enjoy the spectacles. .

She stated that for the Cedral festival this year they expected the presence of close to 50 thousand people over the four days that the festivities will last making this year's celebration one of the best in the history of the event.

Background info:
Well-known Cancun environmentalist Araceli Domínguez of Gema Grupo Ecologista de el Mayab was accused of defamation of character and arrested and imprisoned Saturday in Cancun for newspaper articles he wrote about the inhumane treatment of dolphins by several "dolphinoriums". The charges were brought by the director of the company Wet 'n Wild, Bernardo Zambrano Lozano.

Ecologists of Cozumel's island, represented by Guadalupe Alvarez Chulim of the environmental group Heaven, Earth and Mar ( Citymar ) lift their voices in protest at what they consider an injustice for the detention of Araceli Domínguez's Gema Grupo Ecologista de el Mayab.

"Instead of persecuting environmentals they should be chasing down delinquents in the street who were actually doing some harm to society. " she insisted .

Guadalupe Alvarez Chulim said that, yes, she is proud to be an environmentalist and, no she is not afraid. However, yes, she is disgusted by law enforcement and the side the authorities have taken in these matters. And the fact that the right to freedom of speech and the press has been violated.

With respect to the dolphins that are found in the delfinario Atlantis on the island, according to Alvarez Chulum, there is "lively evidence that the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Federal Environmental protection agency are corrupt", because before the dolphins were even purchased for this attraction it had already been confirmed by studies that this would not be a suitable setting for keeping them due to the collision of currents at this point on the seafront.

These conditions, the environmentalist continued, would provoke high stress in the mammals that combined with the fact that sometimes they have to complete extremely hard loads of work, there exists the possibility that the dolphins might attack human beings occasionally or kill themselves because of the stress to which they are subjected.

Heriberto Santos Salinas assures that he will continue with the operations of reviewal and inspection of the dive and fishing boat operations in order to ensure that all safety equipment has been installed and therefor accidents at sea may be avoided.Those who do not obey the safety rules will be sanctioned.

He added that the aforementioned inspections are being done at random and at several points around the island of Cozumel including Puerto Abrigo, Calitita, the fiscal and other docks as well as out at sea along the navigational byways. The sea inspections are not popular with the dive operations who get very upset about losing a workday for this, he mentioned.

However, he said that these measures of security are necessary and of utmost importance because this way all will be protected from suffering some mishap on the high sea and can receive help fast as was the case recently when two fishermen divers who were lost 5 nautical miles from the Punta Molas escarpment. were efficiently located and rescued.

He explained than when they detect a deficient boat such as one lacking the proper documentation or equipment, the first time they are only preventing from going out on the water until the corrections are made. Second-time offenders will receive signicant economic sanctions.

He remembered that in the last year close to 20 boats were sanctioned, while so far this year two boats have already been sanction with another two in process.

As to the accidents that have been suffered by three fishing boats in recent weeks, he said that unfortunately many workers of the sea still take the view that nothing bad will happen and so they do not take on the safety gear like radios, life jackets and signal lights, equipment that would be able to save their lives as has happened recently.

He remembered that in the last year close to 20 boats were sanctioned, while so far this year two boats have already been sanction with another two in process. .

Finally, he said that the result of the expert report being carried out by the Merchant Marines in Mexico City regarding the accident where businessman Jaime Agnesi lost his life has not yet been concluded. But this in-depth analysis will , when completed, provide "fearless and unequivocal information about any mistakes that may have been made."

In spite of the fact that there has already been one fatal accident with a mason laboring in the construction of a controversial hotel enclave an Avenida, Rafael E. Melgar, workers continue to take precarious chances with their lives.

Yesterday, these laborers's oversight was about to cause an accident, when they dropped from the top floor a metal bar that exceeded by some centimeters the windshield of a vehicle.

The last February 23, a master builder that was laboring at the construction of a hotel at the avenue Rafael E. Melgar between the streets 13 and 15 South fell from the seventh floor. The fall caused the instantaneous death of the unfortunate worker, according to the first investigations, and the accident may have been avoided if Alfredo Aké Hernández, as he was called, had been wearing a security harness attached to a rope.

Ecología and Urban Desarrollo's director of the Town Council, Sergio Osorio Ximello, indicated that the office does not have an influence in regard to worker security and emphasized that this issue is totally the responsibility of the contractors that do the hiring.

Yesterday, about 10 in the morning the writer took a walk through the work place and observed workers fastened to their feeble scaffolds with only thin ropes seperating them from the void below.

According to a witness on the scene at the time of the accident, one of the workers began to manipulate a metal bar, which slipped from his hands and fell some 20 meters from the building's seventh floor.

At that point a motorcyclist that was going by the place accelerated to avoid the blow and a pickup truck Nissan was on the brink of receiving the impact in the windshield. The situation could become extremely dangerous and cause a deadly accident since the witness, that refused flatly to give his name, guaranteed that the bar fell upright and at a great velocity.

With regret to the violation of Cozumel's Ecological Territory Ordance Plan and a strong opposition on the part of businessmen in Cozumel, the construction of a condominium building of two towers and 15 floors each will take place at kilometer 3,5 of the hotel north zone.

The secretary-general of the Town Council, Troy Becerra Palma, confirmed that before the end of their administration, the previous Government gave the permissions of use and authorized the building permit.The building of 60 condominiums will be financed by the former governor Joaquín Hendricks Díaz, through the company Promotora y Constructora Cozumel, according to reliable sources and will rise on the site where the former Principe Hotel was recently demolished..

Cozumel Tourist Franklin Smith Cline filed a formal complaint, claiming a police officer Erik Moguel Ortiz had attempted to extort US$80.00 from him.  Sources inside the department indicate that Officer Moguel Ortiz relieved Mr. Smith Cline of $80.00 after the complainant had allegedly commited a traffic violation.

Smith Cline rented a red Pointer on Friday at Less Pay located on Refael E. Melgar between 6th and 8th streets.

Sources within the department informed that the tourist was driving along 55th Avenue and was detained at the intersection of Juarez and 55th by the officer, and charged with careless driving.  However, instead of applying the corresponding sanction for that office, the traffic agent demanded and received 80 American dollars.  Upon payment, the tourist was free to go.

The tourist was remained unhappy about the matter and mentioned it to the rental agents when he returned the vehicle.  Upon hearing his story, the employees recommended that Cline Smith make a formal complaint at the Public Security Department.

Our source asked to remain anonymous for obvious reasons and for fear of losing his job if his identity was revealed.  He did, however, indicate that the presumed extortionist simply received a verbal "call to attention" and was then permitted to continue working without problem.

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