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The Cozumel News in English
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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 .....
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The
Cozumel News in English, Vol 20
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Feb 10-17, 2005 |
Please note we have temporarily lost our expert local translator and in the interim, the editors are soldier through with the help of some pricey translation software and the very kind assistance of Israel Sanchez, a professional translator who has volunteered to help us with the more difficult passages. (Thanks, Izzy!)
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ANOTHER CONFRONTATION BETWEEN TAXI UNION OVER PUBLIC TRANSPORATION |
There was a confrontation yesterday when a group of taxi drivers from the Taxistas Adolfo López Mateos's Labor Union blocked the road to stop a a bus from a company known as Manatee, that was transporting 6 foreign tourists. The secretary-general of the taxi drivers' labor union, Juan Gómez, claims that this tourist bus does not have the concession permits to offer this service and this is why the taxi drivers in question blocked the bus from circulating this past Sunday.
Ultimately, the police arrested two taxi drivers for obstructing the bus but they were freed several hours later when it was agreed that a negotiation session would be set up between the taxi driver union and the hotel association.
The following day, the bus continued to transport tourists, one to the outskirts of Chankannab Park and another to the northern hotel zone. Again the taxi drivers along with their labor union's supervisory patrol blocked the road. The driver's have been fined by the police for blocking the road but not required to end their blockade now in its third day.
Update February 24:
The bus company has official permission #2075/2004 signed and authorized on July 23, 2004 by the head of the office of the Secretary of Communications and Transport for Quinta Roo, Víctor Eroza Zapata
"This conflict was all generated by the narrow-mindedness of taxi drivers who permit nobody that is not in the labor union to offer transport services in Cozumel," a Transportadora Manati official stated.
MISTREATMENT OF COZUMEL LOCALS DENOUNCED -- They are Denied Access to Puerta Maya |
Various cases of discrimation and mistreatment have been registered by employees at the Puerto Maya cruiseship pier. These are Mexicans that live on this island and try to enter the commercial plaza or other areas of the dock.
The security measures that operate at Puerta Maya control people's entrance and exits from the trading areas and it is here that acts of abuse and discrimination against Cozumeleño employees have taken place. Company executives at Carnival Corporation, proprietor of the plaza and dock, have imposed strict rules for entry and exit from the facility.
Yesterday morning, Hugo de Urrutia Cruz, business manager of the company Fantasy Travel Experts, was the victim of one such incident when he tried to park in the Puerta Maya parking lot to pick up two tourists coming in on a ship. Even though he had clear identification of the company for whom he worked, the guards that watch the entrance of the parking lot, blocked his way.
"You tried to take out the parking gate almost by force," accuses Puerta Maya's head of security, César Zepeda, and reaffirmed that the Fantasy Travel Experts manager was coming onto private property. He said he regretted any discriminating acts but he had to take his stand re private property.
Former employees of Puerta Maya affirm that the one and only way to enter this territory is if you are employed by a store in Puerta Maya.
"At the very least they should be less aggressive and give local Cozumeleño business people a better deal," Cruz argued.
"Until now no authority seemed to be worrying about this situation."
EDUCATING COZUMEL'S CHILDREN ABOUT REEF CONTAIMINATION |
A program to sensitize school children about the contamination of the coral reefs and the importance of preserving them began today. The program includes discussion forums, games and excursions--including a submarine trip to help children understand the ecological surroundings of the island.
In the workshops, participants learn about the ecosystem and the species that inhabit the reefs and also about contamination aspect that threaten these natural resources.
Rosalinda García Márquez, head of the dissemination program at the marine park, explained that by giving the participants the opportunity to appreciate the magnificence of the marine surroundings a significant and lasting message will be delivered about protecting its future.
Activities at the workshops include videotaped programs, games, and craft projects where pupils model the reef system and discuss the mode of life and the species that live there.
MAYOR VOWS INVESTIGATIONS AND MASSIVE CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION |
The new mayor of Cozumel, Gustavo Ortega Joaquín, who will take office April 10 assured that there will be a thorough review of all public accounts in 2005 to check that irregularities during Carlos Hernández Blanco's Government have not been committed.
. "It is my duty to do a public accounting of the period 2004-2005," Ortega Joaquin maintained.
"We will audit peso for peso for this fiscal year so that there will be clear accounts of the way resources have been budgeted.
Cozumel's new mayor expressed concern for the way in which the current mayor of the municipality is spending resources.
"We know that so far in the year, the Town Council has been applying large discounts to all types of payments for people close to his Government."
According to the mayor-elect, there will also be special attention paid to the administrative procedures of the previous Government and the various types of authorizations that have been permitted.
"If irregularities and illegal acts have been perpetrated, it will not be able to be concealed." affirmed Ortega Joaquín
The mayor-elect also vowed to study the entire department of law enforcement to see if acts of corruption and violations of Municipal law have been commited.
Finally, he plans an in-depth reorganization of the local government including new departments and deputy managerships that will allow different programs within the government to work together smoothly. One of the new departments he plans to create is a semi-private company to take over trash services.
PREGNANT TEENS MARRY ON ST. VALENTINE'S DAY |
Emely Pech and Anthony Archundia Lazarus, Michael Angel Uk and Dauphine Gutiérrez Onofre; Miguel To and Sandy C are only some of the young teen couples that legalized their commitment to each other in the program of collective weddings on the Day of Love. But what stands out most, according to Bernardo Alonso Marrufo, Judge of the Register Office, is that the majority of these teens are awaiting their first baby
Alonso Marrufo further stated that there were many other pregnant teen couples that wished to be wed in this collective ceremony. But they could not do so because they are minors and theiir parents would not give their permission.
The ceremony took place in the central plaza DIF at 10 in the morning. The 26 couples, their witnesses, relatives and friends were very punctual.
This group ceremony occurs yearly on the Day of Love and Friendship but because February 14 was also Carnival this year, there were not as many couples being married as usual.
Despite the fact that some parents refused to give their permissions to younger teens, close to 50 percent of the couples married at the ceremony were minors.
In the main, Judge Alonso Marrufo said, "the little women is right now waiting for her first baby."
Cozumel's mayor, Carlos Hernández Blanco, who acted as the couples' godfather, read a poem written by Melchor Ocampo and exhorted the young couples to bear in mind that in this new stage of their lives they are "society's foundation."
Judge Alonso Marrufo, explained to the young people that their union was a legal commitment and that by taking this step they had become complete and responsible members of the community.
PLANS FOR NEW RESTAURANT OPPOSED |
Plans for the Palm Trees restaurant which was to be constructed in the federal zone at Punta Langosta has been opposed by several different social organizations who have made a common front to impede the progress of the project.
Noemí Ruiz de Becerra, present of the Cozumel Business Association spoke for the group when she said that the construction of a restaurant in the north polygon of the federal zone of the dock should not be permited. Already the pier has replaced a public park and building a restaurant on the location would further impede the view of the sea -- which should be maintained as a public zone -- not as a restaurant, she maintained.
SPICY NEWS FROM COZUMEL'S RESTAURANTS AND FOOD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION (CANIRAC) |
The implementation of diplomas and a new Seal of Approval to improve the quality of service in Cozumel's restaurant is in the process of being established, according to the president of Cozumel's Restaurant and Food Industries Association (CANIRAC), Benjamín Santos Poot. The program will upgrade the customer's restaurant experience as well as increase sales.
Benjamín Santos Poot indicated that graduates of the new school, which plans to begin classes in April, will train not only managers of restaurants but also waiters, cooks and all the staff pertaining to the sector in order to provide the customer with a better quality of attention,
Basic areas that will be studied include work ethics, attention to customers, selling, courteous techniques, cooking and set-up of dishes, hygiene and manipulation of foodstuffs, handling of complaints, cost control of foodstuff and drinks, wine list and "the married life of wines and foods." The course will total 85 hours over a 6 month period
THE ISLAND HAS ENOUGH DRINKING WATER, ASSURES CAPA |
La Comisión de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado (CAPA) has enough capacity to take care of the demand for this vital liquid in the face of future population growth according to Ernesto Vivas Anduze, manager of the water company. At present there are 246 drilled wells but only 145 are currently being utilitzed because the14 thousand cubic meters of water per second now being supplied to the city is sufficient to fulfill the request of the 12,350 users.
It is pertinent to mention that in additional to the water system the commision also operates a black-water treatment plant that has the capability to process between 125 and 150 liters of waste fluids per second and although this will take care of the city until the end of the year, the continued and accelerated growth of the population will require an expansion of the current plant or the establishment of a new treatment plant by years end.
At present the drinkable water supply utility is offer to 19 neighborhoods 24 hours per day and is only interrupted when the electricity goes out. Because at these times the pumps must be operated manually and the supply of water slows drastically.
MUNICIPAL VEHICLE YARDS AREN'T BIG ENOUGH |
A total of 164 vehicles-- automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles, remain at the two Public parking corales of the Director of Public Security's headquarters and the Headquarters of the Transit and Tourist Police. The majority have not been claimed by their owners. The characteristics of the climate of the island convert the vehicles rapidly into scrap metal.
On Feb 20 the inventory was composed of 123 mopeds, 48 automobiles and 23 bicycles, data that it was possible to discover as a result of an investigation into the corporation of one Carlos López Avilez's who has been implicated in a scandal involving theft of auto-parts.
The vehicles that have been deposited at both warehouses are there for their protection during the judgement process with the Ministerio Publico.
However, according to an expert in the department who was reached for comment this Sunday, the spaces on which the vehicles are parked does not, in fact, belong to the town council and is only on temporarily loan to them and this is why it is not possible to enlarge them, .
He also said that mopedists have the most traffic infractions by far.
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