Tag Archives: Hugo Torres Chabert

First Group of Baja Tourist Police Set to Graduate on December 18

First Group of Baja Tourist Police Set to Graduate on December 18

First Group of Baja Tourist Police Set to Graduate on December 18

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The first group of a new Metropolitan Police Force to help patrol Baja’s tourist corridor from Tijuana to Ensenada is scheduled for a graduation ceremony Dec. 18 at the San Diego Police Department.

The ceremony will be at 11 a.m. for the 15 officers, five each from Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada. The new uniforms for the special force also will be introduced at that time and the force will have specially marked patrol cars.

The duties of the Metropolitan Police Force, expected to be on duty by early 2010, will be to help other regional departments protect and assist the millions of visitors along northern Baja’s popular 70-mile coastal tourist corridor.
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U.S. Rotary Club Helps Maintain Beach & Makes Statement on Safety of Rosarito

Villanueva, far left; Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres, center in striped maroon sweater; and Bruce Howard, far right in yellow vest

Villanueva, far left; Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres, center in striped maroon sweater; and Bruce Howard, far right in yellow vest

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—Seven members of a California Rotary club joined with about 20 local Rotarians and Rosarito residents Saturday in an event to demonstrate this tourist area is perfectly safe for visitors.

The event organized by Rotarians from Cambria, California was officially a beach maintenance session but Bruce Howard, past president of that club, said its main purpose was to help eliminate inaccurate perceptions that have developed in the U.S.

“We want to tell people that Baja is safe,” said Howard, who owns a vacation home in Rosarito. “We’re coming down, we love coming down and we feel safe and welcome and comfortable here.”

Howard said media coverage of the Mexican government’s aggressive crackdown on drug cartels, including some sensationalized stories, has created the impression among some in the U.S. that the area is unsafe for visitors. read more »

Rosarito Event This Saturday Has 2 Purposes: Maintain The Beach & Support The Region

Rosarito Beach - Photo by Javier Carrillo

Rosarito Beach - Photo by Javier Carrillo

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The Rotary Club of Cambria, California is co-sponsoring with its Rosarito counterpart this Saturday a beach maintenance day — but its main purpose is to show this area is safe for U.S. visitors.

“Any beach can benefit from a clean-up day, but the ones here are maintained very nicely,” said Bruce Howard, past president of the Cambria club. “Our main goal in bringing Rotary members down is to help correct misperceptions in the U.S.”

Participants in the beach maintenance day will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday on the beach in front of the Rosarito Beach Hotel. Local residents can join the effort just by showing up.

One group will head south, towards Rene’s Campo, while the other group will head north to clean up as much of the beach as possible during the two-hour event, according to Edson Ruiz, the President of the Rotary Club of Rosarito.

Ruiz is asking all youth and service groups, clubs and organizations in the area, including members of Rosarito’s large expatriate community, to participate. read more »

Opening Of English-Language Mediation Center In Rosarito Beach Delayed Until Early 2010

Rosarito Beach

Rosarito Beach

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The opening of an English-language mediation center in this city to hear disputes has been postponed until early 2010.

Budget issues and additional time needed for training have caused the delay.

The center under the jurisdiction of Baja Attorney General Rommel Moreno will attempt to resolve disputes and disagreements before it becomes necessary to take them into the court system.

The program is called Centro de Justicia Alternitiva and will be in the Pabellon Grand shopping center at the northern entrance to the city.

“We have an estimated 14,000 expatriates who live here and about a million tourists a year,” said Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres. “This center will be a great step in resolving disagreements in English without court involvement.”

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San Diego To Assist Baja California In Training New Tourist Police Force

San Diego To Assist Baja California In Training New Tourist Police Force

San Diego To Assist Baja California In Training New Tourist Police Force

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The San Diego Police Department will help train members of a new Mexican metropolitan tourist police force that will patrol from Tijuana to Ensenada.

The training agreement was formalized in a letter of intent signed Monday at San Diego City Hall by Mayor Jerry Sanders and mayors of the Baja California cities of Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada.

The new force will patrol primarily the 50-mile coastal tourist corridor from the U.S.-Mexico border to Ensenada. Exact size of the force and other details will be developed in the next few weeks prior to the start of training.

The goal is to have the force in operation by early next year. It will be designed primarily to deal with visitors from the U.S., Baja’s traditional main market.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on our working relationship with our friends to the south,” Sanders said, adding that the economies of the two regions are closely tied and both benefit from binational tourism. read more »

S.D., Baja officials working on tourist-friendly police force

By Leslie Berestein
Union-Tribune Staff Writer

Police Training

Police Training

SAN DIEGO – City officials in San Diego and Baja California are drafting a plan for San Diego cops to train a bilingual, tourist-friendly police force that would work south of the border.

The idea, announced Monday at San Diego City Hall, is to create a unit called the Metropolitan Police to patrol the tourist corridor between Tijuana and Ensenada and points farther south. Officers from the police departments of Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada, and possibly the state police, would be trained in how to better interact with visitors.

The hope is to create a stronger sense of security for tourists, business visitors and others who travel to the region, officials said, and restore Baja California’s battered tourist economy in the wake of drug violence that has caused many businesses dependent on visitors to close.

“If they come down here and see what is happening, they will change the perception they have,” said Hugo Torres, mayor of Rosarito Beach. The city already has a tourist police unit composed of close to 30 municipal officers.

Unlike the tourist police, the new unit will perform the bulk of its work along Baja’s Highway 1, said Cesar Santiesteban, secretary of public safety for Ensenada. The training with San Diego police would enable the Mexican cops to learn “how American police think, how American police work,” Torres said. read more »

Rosarito’s Year-To-Date Crime Total Declines To Lowest Level In 5 Years

Rosarito Beach

Rosarito Beach

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The number of crimes in this city from January to August of 2009 compared to the same eight months of 2008 declined by 24 percent, according to state government figures.

Rosarito had the largest decrease of any of northern Baja’s five cities — which had an average decline of 10 percent — and it was the only city where figures reached a five-year low.

“We are proud of the decrease,” said Rosarito Beach Mayor Hugo Torres. “We attribute it to improving our police force and expanding its size from about 140 officers to about 230, better equipment and expanded citizen watch efforts.”

“Police Chief Jorge Montero also has done an exceptional job,” he said. Montero, a former Army captain, was brought in as chief in December of 2007.

Torres also cited strong support from the state attorney general’s office and arrests of high-level criminals by the Mexican military as reasons for the decline. read more »

Rosarito’s World Famous Puerto Nuevo Celebrates 17th Annual Lobster Fest Oct. 11

A serving of traditional Puerto Nuevo-style lobster. Photo By Rosarito Beach ConVis

A serving of traditional Puerto Nuevo-style lobster. Photo By Rosarito Beach ConVis

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—You very well may have enjoyed Puerto Nuevo-style lobster at many restaurants in California and Mexico — on Oct. 11 you can eat it at a festival where it was invented.

That Sunday from noon to six on Renteria Street (the main thoroughfare) the 17th annual lobster festival will be held in the Puerto Nuevo Lobster Village.  Cost for a plate of lobster and three drinks will be $15.

It is the latest edition of the annual festive celebration of the delicious spiny crustacean that helped make Rosarito a popular tourist destination.

The festival is organized by the Puerto Nuevo Restaurant Union and Rosarito’s Convention & Visitors Bureau. Restaurants participating include La Escondida, Puerto Nuevo II,  Casa de Langosta, Villa Ortegas, Susanna’s and the Grand Baja Resort. read more »

Rosarito-Ensenada Bike Ride Draws 5,000 In A Full Weekend Of Tourism Activities

Start of the Rosarito-Ensenada Bike Ride

Start of the Rosarito-Ensenada Bike Ride

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—The Rosarito-Ensenada 50 Mile Fun Bike Ride had 5,000 participants — an increase of more than 40 percent from the April edition — as the event in its 30th year passed the 20 million mile mark.

The Saturday ride along a scenic route from the seaside resort area to the port city of Ensenada was one of several high-profile weekend events for Rosarito, including the first in a planned annual sand sculpture contest and the annual steak and lobster festival. read more »

Rosarito To Forgive Penalties On Property And Transfer Taxes Now Through October 31

Property Taxes

Property Taxes

ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO—From now through Oct. 31 the city will forgive any past due penalties on people who pay back property taxes, including transfer fees.

“Many people don’t understand what the property tax requirements are and we’re trying to help them by offering this grace period,” said Mayor Hugo Torres.

Much of the confusion is on the transfer fee, which requires buyers of any property that includes some land ownership, including condos, to pay the city 2 percent of the purchase price, Mayor Torres said.

Not only is it illegal not to pay this tax, people who have not done so might not have had the transaction legally registered and their ownership might not have been confirmed.

While the transfer fee is a one-time assessment, penalties can be substantial. For example, the fee on a $300,000 purchase would be $6,000 — but after five years a total of $12,000 in penalties would accumulate, making the amount owed $18,000.

“This grace period until Oct. 31 can result in tremendous savings for people,” said city tax collector Jorge Casteneda. “Plus by paying back obligations, they will know they are in compliance with the law and have clearly established ownership.”

The transfer fee applies to the purchase of undeveloped land, condominiums and structures which include land ownership. It must be paid by the buyer. Penalties on unpaid yearly property taxes also will be forgiven for anyone who pays them by Oct. 31.

To pay back transfer fees, people need a copy of the purchase agreement, an appraisal and a property tax bill. Payments can be made at the Casteneda’s office at City Hall from 8 to 4 Monday through Friday and 9 to 1 on Saturdays.

Additional information is available by calling 661-614-9647.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Ron Raposa
619-948-3740
ronraposa@hotmail.com

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