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 29

April 29-May 5, 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 representative of the Government for the island's North zone, Carlos Hernández Blanco, maintains that the charges made by his successor at the mayor's office, Gustavo Ortega Joaquín, about the presumed removal of official documents during the last three months of his administration arise from political issues designed to justify the arrival of a mayor of opposition. Because so far he has verified that all accusations are unfounded.

"I understand his position which is to justify the triumph of a different party taking office and which he is governing. And so he tries to do these grandiose acts," the former mayor stated.

Hernández Blanco claims that from the moment he stepped down from municipal government he has met on three occasions with Cozumel's new mayor and he has chatted by telephone another three. And in everything conversation he made it clear that he was prepared to collaborate with the new mayor about any problems or quandries that might arise at the start of the new administration.

He advises Ortega that if he has proofs of anomalies, he should present a critical report. Otherwise, stop making unfounded declarations.
Translator's Note: As reported in an earlier addition of the Coz News in English, penal actions have been instigated against the former municipal treasurer who stands accused of getting gone 3 months worth of accounts. Now the papers are reporting charges of embezzlement as well as concealment of information.

It now appears that a former administrative official who was carried over into the new administration may also be implicated. Issues being bandied about re illegal activity during those last 3 months for which the accounts have mysteriously disappeared include the possibly illegal authoriziation of a large parking lot and a ticket booth on the ferry pier for the ferry company Ultramar which has apparently been removed and put back several times in the last week due to a combination of size infractions and, currently a lawsuit brought by Ultramar.

Despite the fact that several agents of the municipal police force have been held up on charges of corruption and linkage with drug trafficking within the public security administration and the municipal jail, these men will continue to hold their jobs. But there will be an exhaustive going-over of all their files and at the first sign of a future infraction, they will be discharged as unfit indicated the director of the police administration, Ernesto Cruz Belmont.

The spokesperson indicated that the elements exposed through the written media, uncovered the “sewer” into which the institution has turned, full of ills and corruption. And he invited anyone in the community that has been a victim of any wrong doing on the part of those bad agents to come to Public Security and Transit Headquarters and file a complaint in order to try to put an end to the corruption within the department.

Ernesto Cruz Belmont made available a list of agents and their photographs and indicated that they are on active service and that they are being investigated in regard to acts of corruption within the police. On this list could be observed several commanders who will continue to labor in the regular manner. But if any fault is found in their files, they will be allowed to tender their resignations and leave honorably. However, if they are uncovered commiting any crime at any time in the future, they will be fired in addition to being exposed in front of the whole community, he said.

.Cruz Belmont reinforced the validity of the information presented, since the bad elements of the police force remained untouched despite the complaints filed by the public.

"The situation changed as of April 11 for the corrupt parties who were used to breaking the law and tainting the good name of both this institution and the name of the policeman in good standing in this department."

On the same note, he reported that ever since he started ruling with an iron hand to curb the corruption, he’s been the target of insults, mockery, and pressure, though that will not stop him from running a tight ship.  He also indicated that even though it has been hard to verify the authenticity of the accusations against the bad elements, a detailed review of all service files is taking place, which should help gather some evidence. 

He added that former and retired agents of the municipal police could also be involved. They are suspected of wearing the uniforms to commit their crimes under the cover of the night. (Translator Note: It is possible that this last tidbit explains the Airport Blvd roadblock extortion reported on several website discussion groups recently.)

Under the slogan of "Zero Impunity" and for the sake of showing that action is being taken to recover the image of the Attorney's Office, judiciary police rotation will begin this week with the transfer of 30 officers to different position in Cozumel, Solidaridad and Playa del Carmen.

The rotation of personnel was reportedly instigated after two police officer were stopped and found to be carrying cocaine and illegal firearms.

A brigade from the State Commmission of Drinkable water and Sewer Systems ( CAPE) is in Cozumel to examine the areas most sensitive and susceptible to flooding. It was also announced that to avoid bad smells in certain zones of the city caused by the discharge of black waters towards the treatment plant, CAPA will invest in the reconstruction of several sewer tanks.

The manager of this office, Adolfo Viana García, reported there would be reconstruction of the sewer tanks located in front of the commercial plaza Punta Langosta and the beach area known as Las Casitas. The team will replace the air filters in the sewer tanks with new ones made from grass or activated charcoal. The proposal is ready and they are only now waiting for the resources to be allocated so that they can begin the work..

Viana García indicates they will also continue the program of replacement of intakes and meters, initiated in 2000. Of 13,.200 total users total, they are concerned now to finish taking care of about another two thousand water intakes which would bring the total number of drinkable water meters up to the 100% mark for the city.

CANCUN: After spending nearly 5 days in prison, environmentalist Araceli Domínguez recovered her freedom last night thanks to the intervention of governor, Félix González Canto.

Bernardo Zambrano, the manager of Wet and Wild who had filed defamation of character charges against Araceli Domingues in regards to her written accusations about the importation and treatment of Solomon Island dolphins in his "dolfinorium" , withdrew his charges against the president of the Group Ecologista of the Mayab ( Gem ). Charges against Sara Rincón Gallardo, woman president of the Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals in Cancun, were also dropped.

Araceli Domínguez accepted the pardon with some conditions and basically both party's lawyers indicated that Wet and Wild now acknowledged the work that had been accomplished by the environmentalists and animal rights activitists over the past several years and the environmentalists attested that she meant no personal wrong to the company itself but was merely exercising her right to speak out for a cause in which she believes very strongly..

Close to 11:45 AM, a taxi from the Adolfo López Mateos union, #24, burst into flames while the driver was waiting in the taxi line to pick up cruise passengers at the International pier.

Bider Jorge Miranda Leal, driver of the unit, said that moments before, he began to smell gasoline. He immediately got out of the vehicle, a Tsubame, to verify where the smell was coming from and at that point the taxi caught on fire. According to his report, the flames intensified rapidly and several other taxi drivers spontaneously joined in with portable extinguishers in an attempt to put out the flames.

While this was happening, other taxi drivers called the fireman's central headquarters but because it was an hour of the day with a lot of traffic in the southern hotel zone, the fire department was delayed in arriving.

Ex Governor of the state and minority partner in the development of Passion Island, Jesús Martínez Ross, states that they have had very good results since they turned the island into a tourist development and invested over 10 million dollars to attract cruise ship passengers. However,he envisions a social program that would allow Cozumeleños to visit the island of passion without cost except for the transportation required to get them there.

He mentioned that there had been many questions about the Passion Island Development and some people would like to have the concession revoked. But the interviewee discarded this idea completely asserting that Passion Island is right now private property and no longer a concession. However, there would be no discrimination against Cozumeleños who would certainly have the right to visit the place. (TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: A "concession" is where a company rents land from the federal government. Different types of concessions give the renter rights such as, for example, the right to put up umbrellas and chairs or a restaurant on the beach. In this case, the businessman is saying that Passion Island is private -- not federal park -- property and therefore not subject to the rules pertaining to "concessions.")

The businessman went on to say that he would engage in dialogue with his other 3 associates for the purpose of devising a plan where Cozumeleños can visit without risking a contamination to this fragile place.

According to the report or the transit expert, the lamentable accident took place close to 1:30 AM Monday at kilometer 13,5 of the south road at the Playa Corona turn-around that connects the old road with the new one.

Drivers reported coming upon two bodies sprawled on the pavement here with a third person, a passenger, wandering in a disoriented state.

While alive, the moped driver carried the name George Israel Uitz Miss and was 37 years of age. According to eyewitnesses, he was driving in a state of apparent drunkenness, very negligently and in addition not paying attention to the rules of traffic circulation.

The combination of alcohol and excessive speed prevented moped driver from seeing the lone, un-illuminated bicyclist, Eusebio Dzul Dzul, 48, and the moped rear-ended the bicycle.

All three people fell to the pavement on impact and rolled several meters along the asphalt roadway. Death for the driver of the moped was instantaneous from a skull fracture.The helmet he was wearing was not properly fastened and apparently flew off his head when he was hurled two meters by the impact of the collision. His passenger, Fernando Fernández., suffered only minor abrasions. The cyclists suffered a fracture that exposed his tibia and splintered the bone.

It is pertinent to mention that the Office Of Government Attorney of the Court Of Equity and Judicial state police's agents, as well as the expert in criminology did not arrive at the accident scene until two hours after it happened.

The unfortunate moped driver's body was transferred by the Alcomex Funeral Home to the General Hospital for the postmortem examination required by law. The cyclist was hospitalized as a prisoner due to driving without lights. Passenger Fernando Fernández was absolved of responsibility and said that he and his dead friend were on their way home from a night out at the yearly Festival at Cedral.

Iran Briceño Matus, the assistant director of Cozumel's municipal Transit Authority insured that from last Monday measures are beginning to be taken to eliminate the road chaos that currently exists in the center of downtown. He indicated that these measures will not only extend throughout the downtown but they will go up to the outermost neighborhoods.

The principal problem in the downtown area, he emphasized, is that tradespeople with establishments on the corners and on the sidestreets feeding directly onto the waterfront road are creating private parking areas for themselves in front of their stores. Often they use plastic chairs and benches, that block off sections of the street and make visibility very difficult in some places. Moped rental agencies also pose a problem as they continually park their stock out on the street where they also block visibility and narrow the throughway.

Quite a character is don Perfecto Pech Ricalde known as "The Shark" who, for 20 years, dedicated himself to selling charcoal on the island of Cozumel and also fish. Later, he changed professions and became the island's first hot dog cart salesman, a business that is now managed by one of the 10 children he procreated with his wife, Maria Rufina Peralta Solis.

Originally from Progreso Yucatán, Don Perfecto, now 85, came to Cozumel with the aim of a better life and a source of work, because in his homeland there was no way to subsist. So he came to this beautiful destination where, at the time, the population was minimal and there were only a few streets right in the downtown zone.

In those days, he tells us, there was no gas available and charcoal was bought by the citizens to make fires for cooking. So Don Perfecto soon found his niche and dedicated himself for some years to the sale of charcoal which he extracted from the jungle. He stored the charcoal in his house and sold to the community for 8 pesos a sack.

The charcoal business proved successful enough to maintain his numerous family members and create a profit. With this, after some years, he acquired a fishing boat baptized under the name Isabelita but known as the Chupa Flower, and dedicated himself to fishing.

It was during the period of working as a fisherman that he became famous in the community. Because, as he told the story to fisherman friends at the time, he was in the water beside his boat and having difficulty climbing into it. Suddenly, the quiet water around him became infested with sharks. They brushed against his body on all sides and moved around and under him. He stayed in the water, very still and after awhile the sharks went away leaving him completely unharmed.

From that day on his companions nicknamed him "The Shark", a name that has lasted for him for generations and that his sons have also taken.

His frightening experience did not discourage him from keeping on fishing, however, seeing that it was the only source of income for the family's maintenance, a family that was growing agreeably and ended up totalling 10 children.

“El Tiburon” tells us that during those twenty years, there was no real state market since property would not sell.  Anybody could select a good chunk of land and work it, and that would be sufficient to acquire ownership of it. 

Nowadays, at 85 years of age, memories of his youth resurface bringing a hint of nostalgia for the old days.  Still, despite the limitations brought up by development in the modern Cozumel, he still believes it is a place with lots of virgin territory and the perfect place for those who seek the simple pleasures of nature, the sea, the beach and a tranquil life.

"El Tiburon" is without a doubt one of the men who form a part of the history of our island, of that piece of paradise that the older people miss as it gave them all such a good life.

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