The Program for Vehicle Verification (Programa de Verificacion Vial) will kick off on January 17th, 2012, as soon as 2 of its 6 centers become operational in the city of Tijuana. This program will try to curb the pollution that currently affects this city, due to the more than 180,000 tons of gases that are dumped into the atmosphere in Tijuana every year, making it one of the most contaminated cities in the entire country of Mexico.

A total of 16 verification centers will dot the state of Baja California North, and during the first 6 months of operation, they’ll simply offer free vehicle inspections and make suggestions to drivers on how to improve the performance and decrease the emissions of their vehicles. After said introductory period, a sticker will be issued by the Secretaria de Proteccion al Ambiente (Environmental Protection) and those vehicles that do not sport said sticker, will be subjected to traffic citations. Even public transportation vehicles and vehicles with United States tags must pass the emissions test.

The test will have a cost of approximately $200 pesos. The first two verification centers will be located on Pio Pico street, Zona Centro and Cerro de las Abejas, on the East side of Tijuana.

The beginning of the year brings back the time to pay your house taxes, known here in Mexico as “predial”. The payment is due in April of each year, but those residents who pay early in the year, receive a discount. Also this year, the Tijuana Secretary of Finances offered to give a free insurance policy to the first 100,000 residents who pay their predial. Said policy only applies to residences, and it is limited to burglary and fire.
To pay your predial, you must bring a receipt from previous years or a water bill. Some cities in Baja allow payment via their official internet websites. But for those who prefer to make their payments in person, lines are short and this errand shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.

The chief of security of Mexico’s most wanted drug dealer, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, was arrested this past week in Culiacan, Sinaloa, during a sting by the Mexican Army.

The detainee, whose full name was not released, is named Felipe “N”, and is currently being held at the SIEDO (Especialized Investigations Unit for the Organized Crime) in Culiacan, under heavy guard, since the authorities fear the El Chapo men may attempt to rescue him.

Felipe “N” is also thought to be El Chapo’s right hand in the Durango and Southern Chihuahua areas. He’s being accused of murder, kidnapping, extortion and kidnapping, as well as as armed attacks against homes and businesses in two states. His arrest is a hard blow on the organized crime in the region, right after authorities also caught Noel “N”, El Chapo Guzman’s lieutenant in Northern and Central Chihuahua.

A 38 year old man was killed and another one injured in front of their family’s astonished eyes, right on Corredor 2000, while changing a flat tire on their vehicle.

The murder took place on December 25th, near the Hacienda Los Venados residential development, when the family’s vehicle got a flat tire, and the victim and another male family member stopped on the road shoulder to change said tire. A few minutes later a white van pulled up behind them, and a man dressed in a red jacket stepped out, and demanded them to give him all their valuables. When they refused, the attacker shot both men, killing 38 year old Samuel de León Martínez and injuring 59 year old José Manuel Mora.

The dead victim’s wife and sister, who were also in the vehicle, called the paramedics, but by the time they arrived, Samuel de León Martínez had already passed away due to a gunshot wound to the chest. The other male victim was rushed to the Hospital General in Tijuana, where he was tended to, due to a gunshot wound to the right arm.

The main road that links Playas de Tijuana with the Tijuana downtown area will undergo repair works starting today, and they’re supposed to last for the next 3 and a half months. The Avenida Internacional will be partially closed, with its southbound lanes unusable, due to intensive maintenance works.

From the Cañón del Matadero up to Carranza street, the southbound lanes will be under repair, and closed at intervals. Although optimistic estimates set the completion date at the end of February 2012, some sources estimate that the work may take closer to 5 months due to the current rainy season.

The Playas de Tijuana authorities are asking the population to use “Calle Segunda” as an alternate route.

Relics of recently canonized pope John Paul II will be on display today in Tijuana, as part of the “Mexican Tour” that is currently taking place.

More than 75,000 people were expected to visit the pope’s relics, but due to the heavy rains only 3,000 so far have done so. Among the relics are a wax figure of John Paul II, the clothes he wore during his last visit to Mexico and a vial with the pope’s blood.

The North Baja portion of the tour began at 6 a.m. Saturday at La Misión at the city’s boundary with Ensenada, and the relics were to be shown at the Playas de Tijuana Parroquia Santísimo Sacramento. After that, and from noon to 4pm, the relics will be on display in the cathedral in Central Tijuana.

Afterward, the relics will be taken to the future cathedral, Nuestra Señora Guadalupe, in the Río zone, where they will remain from 5 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Sunday. Afterward, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., the relics will move to the parish Parroquia Inmaculado Corazón de María, located in the large east-side district of El Florido. From there, they will be moved to the city of Tecate to the parish Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, where they will remain from 2 p.m. until 4 a.m. Monday, when they are to leave Baja California.

The quaint Mexican town of San Felipe, on the Sea of Cortez coast, will hold its most delicious and delightful festival to date: the San Felipe Shrimp Festival! From November 4th thru the 6th.

A unique event that focuses in the culinary aspects of the shrimp season, this festival will include free shrimp tasting, free wine and tequila tasting, arts and crafts and live entertainment. Admission is free, and the venue will be the San Felipe malecon overlooking the beautiful Sea of Cortez. Come taste Baja California’s shrimp, have some free liquor on us and take home a few kilos of their tasty chef-prepared shrimp dishes.

Hours: noon-2 a.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Sat., 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun. Free admission (food and drinks for sale). Info at www.sanfelipeshrimpfestival.com or call San Felipe COTUCO at (686) 577-2300; e-mail: cotucosf@hotmail.com