| | |  Vallarta Living | August 2008 
Out and About in Puerto Vallarta
 Twila Crawford - PVNN
| | Whether you want to stay on top of the latest news or find out what's happening in PV this summer, be sure to read Out and About in Puerto Vallarta. Twila's got the inside scoop on everything that's going on - here in town and around the world. | | |
Returning from a trip to the U.S., a number of murders occurred on a weekend night in one neighborhood in Washington, DC. It was reported as tied to drug activity, and some of the murdered persons may not have been involved in activity. I came back here to more area murders, probably tied to the drug war here... and messages sent. This time a child also was killed.
Some area media reported that Puerto Vallarta's tourist police commander, Juan Carlos Flores Navarro, was murdered while in his car at a traffic light in front of the Universidad de Guadalajara's coastal campus. His 9-year-old son, Carlos Daniel, also died of gunshot wounds. Men on a motorcycle opened fire. Flores' wife and daughter, who also were in the car, were unhurt.
A similar attempt was made, injuring a local police officer the previous night, by a man on a motorcycle. The officer fled to a hospital. A local traffic policeman also was murdered more than a month ago.
In all of these cases, the attackers escaped.
In other violence, a former mayor of Cuautitlan de Garcia Baragan, Juan Manuel Orozco Serrano, was murdered in his Barra de Navidad home by masked men.
Our thoughts are with the innocent and with the grieving families.
My goodness, do you hear all of the sirens we hear in El Centro, traveling who knows where and to what. Indeed a city.
The car of Puerto Vallarta's Community Church's Don and Dianne Powell rolled off of a highway in northern Mexico. They are fine, and grateful, to persons who helped them. Vern and Sylvia Sorenson drove late into the night to bring them home to Vallarta. That small town where the Powells were taken was having gun battles with a number of persons being killed night after night. Talk about courage by the Sorensons who had not driven those roads before and were challenged by heavy rainstorms. Vern relays that they did not know about the violence in the town when they drove as Vern says, "to rescue" the Powells. Glad you all are fine.
I arrived home from my trip to a barking, tan long-yellow-toothed unfriendly roof dog next door. The dog belonged to visitors of the neighbors. Well, I and the neighbors feel safe... if the dog doesn't get to us first.
It is a pleasure as always to return to this scenic city with the water, mountains, ever-changing white and black clouds, with sections of rain over the mountains and moving across the bay. And, of course, to return to friends... some wonderful friends and caring human beings.
We lost another talented U.S. journalist to cancer. Tony Snow, who was a White House spokesman, was so personable and just a great guy. He leaves his wife and three small children.
Saw the Roloff family of TLC television being interviewed by Oprah on a summer rerun. Parents and grandparents, Peggy Roloff, an author, and her husband, spend time in Vallarta. All of the family work hard educating the public about Little People.
Former U.S. consular agent and author Jenny McGill is spending the summer in Talpa de Allende translating documents that are more than 150 years old into Spanish so that they can be used in local history classes. She also is collecting material and writing her next historical book. Her well-received first book, Drama & Diplomacy, now is on Amazon.com.
The Jalisco Congress has barred former Puerto Vallarta mayor, Gustavo Gonzalez Villanseñor, from holding any public office for the next five years. The Congress decided he acted inappropriately in authorizing construction of the Grand Venetian resort in a prohibited zone. Approximately 90 percent of apartments have been sold. Legal experts say judges are unlikely to allow the Grand Venetian to be demolished.
Jalisco Tourism Secretary Aurelio Lopez Rocha is optimistic that drops in visitors and hotel occupancy, including in Puerto Vallarta, will improve soon. He announced the state agency is promoting Costalegre, the southern coastline of Jalisco, which he acknowledged has experienced a dramatic fall in tourism this year.
Canadian Brenda Martin, who was convicted of her alleged role in an investment scam operated out of Puerto Vallarta, and then released, told 680News in Toronto that she is working on a movie and book deal about her time in jail. Martin, according to the radio interview, hopes actress Winona Ryder or Charlize Theron will play her character. She is on parole in Canada until 2011, with reported legal debts needing to be paid.
World Heritage Site San Miguel de Allende features the 30th annual summer chamber music festival until August 17, having started July 31. Traditional and cutting-edge musicians bring a world-wide discussion about what chamber music is and should be.
Caring Pamela Thompson of Vallarta HealthCare Resources is trying to figure out how to have enough backpacks for the Street Boys Center for when it's time to return to school soon. "So I am asking if each of you could purchase and donate only one new boys' sturdy backpack. You can't imagine how much this will help out," she says.
Pamela points out that the backpacks are on sale all over town - from Walmart to Mega. She says the larger size, heavy-duty ones take the wear and tear of boys. You can bring these to Pamela's office at Hospital Medasist, 4th floor, or leave a bag with her name on it at the main reception desk at Hospital Medasist. For further information, email Pamela at pmt15(at)hotmail.com.
 An award-winning journalist, Twila Crawford lives in Puerto Vallarta, where, in addition to contributing articles to BanderasNews, the Vallarta Tribune and other local publications, she writes Out and About in Puerto Vallarta, an informative column that offers inside information about who, what, why, where and when it's happening around Banderas Bay.
Click HERE to read more articles by Twila Crawford. |
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