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June 15, 2003
Dear Editor,
We are regular winter visitors and
watched with great interest the building of the new
bridge in front of Oscar's Restaurant this past January.
Can you tell us about the progress and will you be showing
any pictures of it?
Thank you,
Fay
Dear Fay,
Coincidentally, there is an article
about the bridge in this week’s Local News. And
we do have a photo sent in by a reader who wanted to
know if Vallarta was building a skytrain…
The Ed.
Dear Editor,
Thought you might share this. Yoda
is one of my precious babies (brats). Really enjoy reading
the Tribune. Thank you,
Notice To People Who Visit My Home
- - - -
1. The dog lives here. You don't.
2. If you don't want dog hair on your clothes, stay
off the furniture.
3. Yes, he has some disgusting habits. So do I and so
do you. What's your point?
4. OF COURSE he smells like a dog.
5. It's his nature to try to sniff your crotch. Please
feel free to sniff his.
6. I like him a lot better than I like most people.
7. To you he's a dog. To me he's an adopted son/daughter
who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't
speak clearly. I have no problem with any of these things.
8. Dogs are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask
for money all the time, are easier to train, usually
come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out
with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't
worry about whether they have the latest fashions, don't
wear your clothes, don't need a gazillion dollars for
college, and if they get pregnant you can sell the pups.
Allie
Dear Editor,
When we get messages warning us about
thefts or frauds that have been committed, you never
think that it could happen to you, so once you’ve
deleted the message, you slowly return to feeling safe.
On Wednesday, May 21st, I went to
withdraw some money from the Bancomer ATM in Plaza Caracol,
at 9:45 p.m. Inside, there was a dark-skinned individual,
tall and slim, quickly inserting and withdrawing a yellow
card. He came out telling another customer and myself
that the machine did not work and it was better for
us to move over to the right.
The person in front of me could not
get any cash and left. I withdrew the maximum amount
allowed at the Bancomer ATM’s ($4,000), another
individual that looked like the first one was behind
me, much too close to me, during the entire transaction.
He had a Central American accent and also held a yellow
card in his hand. After chatting with me, he inserted
his card in the same ATM that I had used and then quickly
left without any cash.
The next day, I tried withdrawing
some cash again and was advised that I could not because
I had exceeded my daily limit. When I got onto the Internet
to check my account, I discovered that I was missing
$4,000. pesos that I had supposedly withdrawn that morning
at 6 a.m….
Friday, while discussing the problem
with a Bancomer executive on the phone, we both had
the opportunity to watch on the Internet as my account
was being emptied out.
My card had been cloned. They think
that the first individual had inserted an electromagnetic
item that copied my card when I inserted it into the
slot of the ATM. When the second individual inserted
his card, my magnetic strip was transferred to his card.
Now I am awaiting a response from
Bancomer regarding the reimbursement of my money and
it is very probable that it will not happen as it was
a security problem with their ATM’s. It is truly
shocking that this type of thing should occur in this
city and unfortunately there is no authority or police
that can eliminate this type of organized delinquency.
We have to watch out for our own interests.
So before you go to an ATM and insert
your card, make sure that there is no one behind you.
If you note anything strange, look for another ATM and
report it immediately at the 800 number on the back
of your card.
This is not a joke. It happened to
me.
Alejandra L.
Dear Editor,
I hereby humbly invite the municipal
council, its Health Department and the residents of
Vallarta in general to take a walk along Constitution,
Francisco Madero and Aquiles Serdan Streets, bordering
Rizo’s Supermarket and the Río Cuale to
take a look at them and the hygienic conditions under
which street vendors are selling their products to an
endless number of people who live, walk and make purchases
in that area.
A few personal experiences were all
I needed to stop buying products in that particular
supermarket and approach that zone with caution. Once
it was a container of spices. Another time, some beans
that did not indicate that some little black insects
lived among them. And finally, some croquettes that
were mixed with some other different ones and when I
analyzed the bag carefully looking for the date, I realized
that it had been taped together in a few different spots.
These are foods, and we’re not talking about saying
three times each month: “Señor, bring your
cashier’s receipt and your product and we’ll
exchange it for you.” Three examples I would call
a lack of Service, Hygiene and Quality Control, basic
premises any supermarket should strive for.
The streets are something else, garbage
discarded by people, added to that of the street vendors,
turn this zone into a source of infection that you just
have to breathe a little in order to realize it and
inhale its stench. All this added to a river that no
longer looks like a river, but rather stagnating water
and rottenness inhabited by some varied species that
have managed to survive the filth or that have developed
from it -such as the uncontrolled cat colony- that have
caused the species that used to inhabit the Río
Cuale area to disappear.
And all you have to do is stop along
any bridge over the river or street leading to it to
find shoes, bags filled with garbage, bicycle tires
and sometimes even drowned dogs and cats. That is the
image of the Cuale River, not only for foreigners to
see, but also for us who live here, now that its waters
are no longer so attractive.
E.S.
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