San Felipe, should I even try to explain this place? Only a few years ago a sleepy fishing village with excellent Sports Fishing and a sustainable Shrimping industry. Today; dreams of becoming the next Cabo San Lucas as The Golf Scene & Golf Course Resorts, Custom Homes & High Rise Condos begin to dot landscapes & beaches. Silver Jewelry...tasteless Tee Shirts. Sport Fishing is still great. An occasional hot day...an occasional cool day. Better than average sewage systems keep the Shrimp industry sustainable. Old guys with white ponytails, dark tans & huaraches sandals....Shakers & Movers investing millions of development money in pristine beach front property. Off Road Racing, Regular Carnivals & Circuses...Lions, & Tigers, & Bears..Oh My! Fire Works, Mariachi Bands, Fish Tacos, Cerveza, & Tequila....Click here for more on San Felipe
Saturday, December 18, 2010
My San Felipe Is Your San Felipe
Monday, April 13, 2009
Clean Up San Felipe...On My Recycleable Soap Box Today
Click pic to enlarge picture
My first visit to San Felipe was only 5 years ago. Since I have now lived here full time for nearly 4 years, I obviously found attributes to San Felipe that made it possible for me to leave Carmel California for San Felipe. But on day one of my first visit to San Felipe I was appalled by the trash. In fact when I was told that there was a dump in San Felipe and that it was free I had to see it. I offered a friend to take some crap they had laying around to the dump to see what it was all about. For reference I ran a small business in Monterey Ca and routinely had to get rid of packaging materials and used beds that I would take away when I delivered a new bed. It cost me $40.00 to get rid of a king size bed in Monterey. Evey vehicle going into the dump was weighted and you paid accordingly. So I was just amazed that the dump in San Felipe was free and yet it was obvious that it wasn't being used to it's potential. People weren't making it all the way to the dump!
We have winds in San Felipe, and the dump itself is a source of blowing garbage. But after living in town for a few years I have seen a bigger problem that is tied into other problems. Some are cultural, some are financial, and we gringo's need not condemn but to educate and help find a solution to the problems. San Felipe has an other problem that needs to be and is being addressed by a small dedicated group of animal lovers, and that is the uncared for/street dog population.
Non existent laws for the containment of garbage. 55 gallon drums without lids as the predominant trash collection device...black plastic bags stacked against the drums when there is excess garbage. Loose dogs & street dogs,... doing as dogs will do, looking for food. San Felipe's love affair with plastic bags, garbage collectors who take little pride in their work, cars trucks and wind spreading the resulting loose garbage everywhere.
I see the problem as being intertwined. While the animal advocacy groups are doing their best to educate, spay and neuter, street dogs continue to produce more street dogs who find food in garbage, tipping over lidless cans and tearing open bags. Trash collectors, who's job description is veg at best and the winds create an endless cycle of blowing trash & street dogs. The perfect perpetual motion machine.
I have several ideas that can be put in motion that could Educate, (remember our commercials when we were younger, of an American Indian with the tears in his eyes over a trash filled pond)?, create new job opportunities and employment in San Felipe, make a huge impact in reducing the uncontrolled garbage in San Felipe and generating revenue for the animal advocates so they can continue to successfully deal with the dog population in the humane manor their charters dictate.
I will be clarifying these ideas and submitting them as proposals in the very near future. However as a first step I submit the idea; that the San Felipe trash collection process must be held responsible for their lax attitude to trash collection. Even if "they", through lack of resources, education, laws, and street dogs, are not responsible for the improper containment of garbage, They are assigned to collect what is offered up... if they are going to collect it take all of it ...Please.
This morning I helping the garbage collection guys pickup stuff,... up the street from me...to make sure it was all picked up. At their next stop I watched and photographed as they picked up some but left nearly a quarter can of garbage on the street. I cleaned it up in about 3 minutes with a rake and a scoop. I don't think it is to much to ask that the San Felipe Garbage Collection Service arm their employees with a rake, a scoop and a new job description. Pick up the damn garbage!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Some good news about safety in Mexico...
News Report Video. Describes how Spring Break Festivities in Cancun are going on without Drug War incidence.
Paranoia
Paranoia
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Oakland California...4 Cops Shot 3 Dead...
Whoops Thought this was going to be an article about how unsafe Mexico was
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mexican tourism official: Travel alerts a ploy to keep dollars in U.S.
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. — The two travel alerts sent out by the U.S. State Department warning travelers about an increase in crime in border cities in Baja California and Sonora are really negative advertising to prevent American citizens from crossing to Mexico and spending their dollars there, said David Rojas Rojas, general director of the Mexicali COTUCO, the Comite de Turismo y Convenciones, the Convention and Visitor Bureau, known by its acronym in Spanish COTUCO.
Rojas, who promotes tourism in Los Algodones, Mexicali and San Felipe, said it was obvious that the economic crisis in the U.S. is the reasoning behind curtailing American tourism in order to prevent dollars being spent in Mexico.
“We are not minimizing the violence that exists in our country but we are doing well,” Rojas said pointing out that there is violence in the U.S. as well.
Read More
Rojas, who promotes tourism in Los Algodones, Mexicali and San Felipe, said it was obvious that the economic crisis in the U.S. is the reasoning behind curtailing American tourism in order to prevent dollars being spent in Mexico.
“We are not minimizing the violence that exists in our country but we are doing well,” Rojas said pointing out that there is violence in the U.S. as well.
Read More
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Weather, Or Not
You heard it here first...Hell is freezing over! Looking over the forecast for Hell, Michigan it appears that it will remain frozen over for quite some time with average daily temperatures below freezing. That's why we don't live there right? Here in San Felipe, after yesterdays early morning low of 43 degrees & 90 % humidity, by my "comfort monitor weather device" and with just enough breeze to make it nippley, I thought I had woken up in hell....during the off season of course. In San Felipe this morning there is virtually no wind and the temperature which was 50F when I started writing has sung to 56F and from the looks of the atmosphere...crystal clear and bright, every detail of the mountains is visible and the water is classic deep blue, it is going to continue to warm through out the day. As the new San Felipe weather czar I proclaim this a glorious day to do something you enjoy outside. If your taste in weather runs to the cooler, you can always go to hell!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Is it just me, or are we starting to expect this kinda crap for The Donald?
Trump pulls name out of Baja development
By Sandra Dibble
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. February 11, 2009
A billboard featuring Donald Trump towers over a development site in October 2007. The billboard was still up last week. (Union-Tribune file photo) -
TIJUANA — Fueled by rapidly rising U.S. real estate prices, the Baja California coastline was booming in October 2006 when Donald Trump lent his name to a planned luxury condo-hotel development overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
But as a global credit crisis envelops the real estate market on both sides of the border, the famed New York real estate mogul has severed his ties with the much-touted project known as Trump Ocean Baja Resort.
Planned on a 17-acre site about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the project envisioned 526 units that ranged in cost from $300,000 to $2.5 million. The project has yet to break ground.
The developer late last year informed purchasers that it still was looking for loans and that the purchasers' deposits, totaling more than $32 million, had been spent, according to a document obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Experts say the project's financing difficulties reflect the changing real estate climate, a situation that is not unique to Baja California nor to the Trump development. But many purchasers, most of them from the United States, have said that Trump's association with the project had made them feel it would be a secure investment.
“I bought this development for one reason, and one reason only – the Trump name,” said Gregory Starn, 47, a U.S. citizen living in Cancun, Mexico, who in 2006 signed a contract for a studio apartment costing $437,000 – but now wants the developers to return his deposit of more than $80,000.
“I'm afraid that without Trump's name, it's less likely the developer will be able to arrange financing,” said Robert Culbertson, 59, a stockbroker from Orlando, Fla., who put down a 30 percent deposit on a one-bedroom unit.
Trump told the Union-Tribune in a 2006 interview that the Trump organization would be a “significant” equity investor; yet he never put his own money into the project, according to the developer. Rather, Trump, who stars in his own television show, “The Celebrity Apprentice,” allowed the developers to use his name on the project through a license agreement.
That arrangement was terminated last month.
“The developer did not comply with certain terms of the license agreement, including the deadlines to obtain construction financing and begin construction,” Trump's executive assistant, Rhona Graff, said in an e-mail.
A billboard with Trump's photograph still loomed over the site one afternoon last week, abandoned save for a security guard at the entrance. Trump's erstwhile partner in the project, Los Angeles-based Irongate, did not return telephone calls.
The numbers for sales agents, attorneys, public relations firms and the escrow company listed on legal documents either did not work or went into voice mail. The project's Web site was recently removed.
A Mexican company, PB Impulsores, is listed as the developer on legal documents. Jorge Torres, named on one document as the company's representative, said last week in a telephone interview from Mexico City that he was not at liberty to talk about the project.
An e-mail sent out by PB Impulsores to purchasers Jan. 28 said that given Trump's termination of the license and pending litigation, “the developer will provide no further comment concerning the project.”
The purchasers' predicament highlights the common practice of using deposits from pre-construction sales to finance development of many Baja California coastal projects.
“We always recommend that buyers read the documentation,” said Ross Buck, president of a the Rosarito Beach branch of AMPI, a national real estate agents group. “It will clearly state how the funds are to be used, if they are able to be used.”
Under California law, builders must keep deposits in escrow or post bonds to protect the funds, said Chris Neri, assistant commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate. Neri added that “a good percentage of builders hold the money in escrow.”
Baja California law allows deposits to be used to finance projects, but only if a series of conditions are met, said Rafael Gama Pérez, a Tijuana attorney who frequently represents U.S. citizens buying coastal property in Baja California. In cases where a builder is determined to have broken the contract, investors are entitled to the return of their deposit plus interest, he said.
“The issue is whether the defendant has the resources to guarantee repayment,” Gama said.
With the heady Baja boom days over, some experts see an end to such financing arrangements for unbuilt projects.
“The market can now settle down to the real world of brick and mortar, finished properties for people who really want to live there, as opposed to speculators,” said Brian Flock, a longtime real estate agent in the region. “The people that I'm talking to these days have some connection to Baja.”
Gama, the Tijuana attorney, believes there will be room for a range of projects, including luxury developments and retirement communities.
“The opportunities will be there, as will the people to take advantage of them,” he said. And with the days of easy credit now over, “the buyers are going to be more solid.”
By Sandra Dibble
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. February 11, 2009
A billboard featuring Donald Trump towers over a development site in October 2007. The billboard was still up last week. (Union-Tribune file photo) -
TIJUANA — Fueled by rapidly rising U.S. real estate prices, the Baja California coastline was booming in October 2006 when Donald Trump lent his name to a planned luxury condo-hotel development overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
But as a global credit crisis envelops the real estate market on both sides of the border, the famed New York real estate mogul has severed his ties with the much-touted project known as Trump Ocean Baja Resort.
Planned on a 17-acre site about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the project envisioned 526 units that ranged in cost from $300,000 to $2.5 million. The project has yet to break ground.
The developer late last year informed purchasers that it still was looking for loans and that the purchasers' deposits, totaling more than $32 million, had been spent, according to a document obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Experts say the project's financing difficulties reflect the changing real estate climate, a situation that is not unique to Baja California nor to the Trump development. But many purchasers, most of them from the United States, have said that Trump's association with the project had made them feel it would be a secure investment.
“I bought this development for one reason, and one reason only – the Trump name,” said Gregory Starn, 47, a U.S. citizen living in Cancun, Mexico, who in 2006 signed a contract for a studio apartment costing $437,000 – but now wants the developers to return his deposit of more than $80,000.
“I'm afraid that without Trump's name, it's less likely the developer will be able to arrange financing,” said Robert Culbertson, 59, a stockbroker from Orlando, Fla., who put down a 30 percent deposit on a one-bedroom unit.
Trump told the Union-Tribune in a 2006 interview that the Trump organization would be a “significant” equity investor; yet he never put his own money into the project, according to the developer. Rather, Trump, who stars in his own television show, “The Celebrity Apprentice,” allowed the developers to use his name on the project through a license agreement.
That arrangement was terminated last month.
“The developer did not comply with certain terms of the license agreement, including the deadlines to obtain construction financing and begin construction,” Trump's executive assistant, Rhona Graff, said in an e-mail.
A billboard with Trump's photograph still loomed over the site one afternoon last week, abandoned save for a security guard at the entrance. Trump's erstwhile partner in the project, Los Angeles-based Irongate, did not return telephone calls.
The numbers for sales agents, attorneys, public relations firms and the escrow company listed on legal documents either did not work or went into voice mail. The project's Web site was recently removed.
A Mexican company, PB Impulsores, is listed as the developer on legal documents. Jorge Torres, named on one document as the company's representative, said last week in a telephone interview from Mexico City that he was not at liberty to talk about the project.
An e-mail sent out by PB Impulsores to purchasers Jan. 28 said that given Trump's termination of the license and pending litigation, “the developer will provide no further comment concerning the project.”
The purchasers' predicament highlights the common practice of using deposits from pre-construction sales to finance development of many Baja California coastal projects.
“We always recommend that buyers read the documentation,” said Ross Buck, president of a the Rosarito Beach branch of AMPI, a national real estate agents group. “It will clearly state how the funds are to be used, if they are able to be used.”
Under California law, builders must keep deposits in escrow or post bonds to protect the funds, said Chris Neri, assistant commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate. Neri added that “a good percentage of builders hold the money in escrow.”
Baja California law allows deposits to be used to finance projects, but only if a series of conditions are met, said Rafael Gama Pérez, a Tijuana attorney who frequently represents U.S. citizens buying coastal property in Baja California. In cases where a builder is determined to have broken the contract, investors are entitled to the return of their deposit plus interest, he said.
“The issue is whether the defendant has the resources to guarantee repayment,” Gama said.
With the heady Baja boom days over, some experts see an end to such financing arrangements for unbuilt projects.
“The market can now settle down to the real world of brick and mortar, finished properties for people who really want to live there, as opposed to speculators,” said Brian Flock, a longtime real estate agent in the region. “The people that I'm talking to these days have some connection to Baja.”
Gama, the Tijuana attorney, believes there will be room for a range of projects, including luxury developments and retirement communities.
“The opportunities will be there, as will the people to take advantage of them,” he said. And with the days of easy credit now over, “the buyers are going to be more solid.”
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