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| Puerto Vallarta |
| August, 2007 |
Four Million Pesos Earmarked for Studies and Projects on Urban Mobility
Provided By Ambito
The studies will give solutions to existing problems as to transportation, roads and related issues
 Within the framework of the discussion panel on urban mobility of the Great Alliance for Jalisco, Jalisco Secretary of Roads and Transportation Jose Manuel Verdin Diaz announce the earmarking of four million pesos for studies and projects in Puerto Vallarta regarding these issues, which are among the priorities of Javier Bravo’s office.
Commenting on this matter, the mayor said that there has been a continuous dialogue with the state government to negotiate resources to fund studies on urban mobility, and the four millions to be provided by the Social Development Ministry (Sedesol, Spanish initials) will greatly benefit Puerto Vallarta.
He mentioned that the proposal from the Road and Transportation Secretariat will be submitted to the assembly of the City Council, however, no obstacles are foreseen for its approval, which will benefit Puerto Vallarta’s residents and visitors alike, and the problem lived every day in the streets of the destination will be solved.
Jose Manuel Verdin Diaz explained that the funds come from a “seed capital” fund of the federal and state governments, and they would be used in studies and executive projects on a subject that is of the utmost importance such as urban mobility, and went on to say that every peso disbursed by the federal and state government will be matched by the municipal government.
The head of Roads and Transportation said that the sum earmarked is four million pesos, a pledge of Emilio Gonzalez Government but with the participation of the municipality it may reach 8 million pesos, on the basis of the scheme to be proposed by the municipality itself.
In closing, Verdin Diaz said that with these funds the studies may be set in motion to assess the needs of the destination aiming at solving the problems of transport and roads and other aspects regarding urban mobility in the destination.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Tourism Board Presents Activities Report
Provided By Ambito - Alan Yamil Hinojos a
Among other relevant facts, the new Public Relations Coordinator of the Tourism Board was introduced at the press conference
In a press conference, members of the Tourism Board of Puerto Vallarta presented a report on the activities being carried out this season, and introduced the new coordinator of Public Relations: Nora Ocegueda.
As of June 15, Nora Ocegueda has joined the Tourism Board team; she is a native of Puerto Vallarta and has over ten years experience in the tourism scene; she has worked for Holiday Inn, Premiere and Buenaventura; as well as restaurants such as Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood, to mention a few. Best of luck and welcome to Nora from all of us.
In the press conference it was announced that Puerto Vallarta as a a destination has implemented a specialization program for travel agents from United States and Canada, called PV Pro, an interactive tool that allows professionals to obtain greater and better knowledge on everything the destination has to offer.
The participation of the tourism Board n the fifth edition of the Meeting Place Mexico, which was a huge success with the participation of 57 national incentive travel specialists, and 103 professionals of conventions and incentives, 74 participants in 94 stands offering a variety of services according to the high standards convention and incentive purchasers require .
Jalisco is Mexico Seminar It was also announced that on July 12th a seminar will be held in Los Angeles, California, titled Jalisco is Mexico, organized jointly with the State Tourism Secretariat and the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Guadalalara, aimed at California travel agents, where all the attractions of the state of Jalisco will be promoted. The Mexican Council of Tourist Promotion is supporting the organization of the event.
During the first half of the year, the Tourism Board has participated in 63 promotional events, allowing for a constant proximity to travel agents, airlines, wholesalers, internet portals and the general public, reinforcing the positioning of the Puerto Vallarta brand in the mind of our partners and future visitors.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Judicial Power Must Guarantee Citizen's Confidence
Provided By Ambito
Vallarta Mayor highlighted that economic development is linked to legal security
State Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez and Mayor Javier Bravo Carbajal presided over the works of the eighth National Convention of Judges, taking place in this Port, in which judges from the different courts in the states making up the Mexican Republic participate .
In its welcome message, the mayor said that the primordial role of the judicial system is to institutionalize laws, since these originate from different schemes and criteria that have been established in the courts, and even everyday practices happening within a framework of confidence and certainty; he also emphasized that economic development is directly linked to legal security within which different exchange relations operate.
The work carried out day after day by judges, strengthens any judicial system, especially the Mexican judicial system, and it is a fundamental factor in the development of Mexico, that is why the Judicial Power must guarantee the confidence that the citizen requires to develop as human being and economically with his rights guaranteed.
Javier Bravo emphasized that the administration he chairs is convinced that judges play a fundamental role in the development of our country, by easing the work of the higher courts. In this convention they will have the opportunity to analyze the problems ailing the judicial system and come up with solutions to improve the administration of justice.
In turn, Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez remarked on the importance of regaining credibility before the population, an issue that is linked to efficiency required from the services, prevailing justice and that law be the framework in which all civil servants move, keeping in mind that impunity is the enemy.
He said that the works to be carried out during the three-day convention will provide the criteria, procedures, policies and issues to be further discussed as to essential matters, all of them with the aim to recover confidence in the three levels of government and find the tools that will make us more efficient.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Sanitary and Ecology Regulations to be Enforced
Provided By Ambito
The objective begin to affirm hygiene culture among the citizens
To the end of raising awareness as to the importance of creating a culture of hygiene in the municipality, on Thursday the heads of several municipal departments got together to look for a viable way to avoid garbage on the streets, by means of the citizens’ involvement to maintain the destination clean, as it’s been the pledge of Javier Bravo Carbajal.
During the meeting several articles of the Public Sanitation and Ecology Regulations, mainly dealing with general considerations, obligations, sanctions, prohibitions, safety measures, among others, were discussed. The group looked for ways of reinforcing the hygienic actions in each of the neighborhoods of Puerto Vallarta, which means equalizing the regulations as to these issues.
 Likewise, council members and executives resolved that starting August, a supervision operation will commence, aiming at enforcing current regulations, and fines will be applied when sanitary conditions are not maintained both on the streets and inside businesses and homes.
On the other hand, meetings will be held with district superintendents and agents, and presidents of the neighbors associations; as well as the private sector, to formally announce the operations to be set in motion.
At the meeting were Council members Concesa Pelayo Arciniega, Rodolfo Buenrostro Ahued, Jose Luis García Delgado, as well as Director of Public Services Juan Pablo García Castillón, Under director of Ecology Rafael García Quevedo Machain, Chief of Regulations Carmen Aurora Cabrera, Coordinator of Municipal Districts David de la Rosa and Chief of Citizen Partuicipation Jose Guadalupe Pelayo Martinez.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Agreement for City Center Rescue Passed by Council
Provided By Ambito
Puerto Vallarta will join in the marine habitat recovery project, by creating artificial reefs
 By unanimous vote of the City Council assembly during the ordinary session last Monday, the motion proposed by Mayor Javier Bravo to enter a collaboration agreement for the first stage of the town center rescue was passed.
The agreement establishes the participation of the state and federal governments to carry out the works involved in the rescue of the center of town. Each of the participating levels of government will contribute 6 million pesos, earmarked to fund the early stages of the rescue program.
Mayor Javier Bravo said the municipality is ready to disburse the first six million pesos, to be applied to the setting in motion of the first stage, scheduled to take off on Friday, July 20, with the façade rescue stage.
Mayor Bravo went on to say that the signing of this agreement will be the basis to negotiate the rest of the funds before the corresponding state and federal authorities, to make this great effort possible and will result in the improvement of this area of the city.
On other matters, and due to its significance for Puerto Vallarta, the proposal to join in the agreement to recover the marine habitat through the project of artificial reefs presented by the University of Guadalajara’s South Coast University Center, to the end of strengthening the fisheries in the region by encouraging the reproduction of some marine species and by eradicating activities that are harmful to the environment.
Thus Puerto Vallarta joins the municipalities of Cihuatlan, La Huerta, Cabo Corrientes and Tomatlan in the realization of such tasks, and will contribute 100 thousand pesos from the municipal budget’s section 4207, support to industries. Fishing cooperatives and other groups will be in charge of carrying out the works.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Efforts Unified to Make September the Tourism Month
Provided By Ambito - Alan Yamil Hinojosa
Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo will celebrate World Tourism Day in Puerto Vallarta
Aiming at promoting tourist activity in Puerto Vallarta, and celebrating the World Tourism Day, it was resolved to dedicate September as the month of tourism. To that end, in recent days, the program titled “September, Month of Tourism” was announced.
The program is the sum of efforts of tourism authorities, both municipal and state, the local private sector and tourist services providers, who have put a series of activities and projects to boost tourist activity in town during the month of September, especially during the second half of the month.
President of the Restaurant Chamber Luis Fitch announced that member restaurants will offer discounts throughout the month, and from September 17 to 30, a Gastronomic Festival will be held with the participation not only of elite restaurants, but small, popular restaurants as well, such as fondas and diners.
The State Tourism Secretariat, in the voice of the Regional Director Ludwig Estrada Virgen, announced that a formal invitation had been addressed to Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo to be Guest of Honor of Puerto Vallarta on the World Tourism Day, September 27. A conference is also planned to be dictated by a top level specialist.
 The Hotel and Motel Association will offer added values to its services, by means of promotional packages throughout the month of September. The Convention of Travel Agents will take place in Puerto Vallarta on September 25 to 30, and it has been confirmed that Mexican celebrity Marco Antonio Regil will give a sales seminar to attending agents.
A special Wine Fest event will take place on September 20.
Merchants affiliated to the Chamber of Commerce will offer a minimum discount of 20% in all sales, and employers union Coparmex member companies will offer guided tours and lectures on the goods and services they produce. API, the maritime terminal administration, will open its gates to visitors and offer guided tours of the facilities, and probably discounts on bay cruises as well.
The four of the local universities, University of Guadalajara Coastal University Center (CUC), Arkos University, Superior Technological Institute and the University of the Atemajac Valley (UNIVA) will participate with academic, sports and cultural activities.
CUC, for instance has announced the cultural event “100 Years of Frida Kahlo, A Three-year Homage: Conviction, Rebelliousness or Whim” encompassing three different disciplines, contemporary dance, folkloric dance and theater. Likewise, CUC will re-stage “From the blind to the not so blind” at the campus’ Dr. Cifuentes Auditorium.
The City’s Culture Department will present a series of events like a Piano and Violin Concert by international artists. In turn, the Sports Promotion Department will organize a World Badminton Championship.
The Tourism Department will present a grand event on September 27, World Tourism Day, to honor Rafael Zamarripa, creator of the seahorse and child statue. Homage will be paid also to Jalisco singer Marco Antonio Muñiz, who will perform for the people of Puerto Vallarta and visitors on the date. The Puerto Vallarta’s pride, the Xiutla Ballet, will be featured as well.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Alma Increases Flights to Puerto Vallarta
Provided By Ambito - Alan Yamil Hinojosa
A new route Ciudad Juarez-Aguascalientes-Puerto Vallarta Hill attract new visitors from the north and center of the country
 At a press conference, the announcement was made by Alma executives that starting July 15 the airline has increased the number of flights to Puerto Vallarta up to five daily flights from and to Guadalajara. New routes being opened were announced as well.
Alma’s Commercial Director Hector Gonzalez Weeks explained that the new route will cover Ciudad Juarez-Aguascalientes-Puerto Vallarta.
Gonzalez Weeks put emphasis on the fact that the new route was designed in close collaboration with Puerto Vallarta’s Tourism Board, the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and the Mexican Council for Tourist Promotion (CPTM, Spanish initials), and a promotional plan worth 750 thousand pesos was set in motion, funded jointly by the CVB, CPTM and Alma.
The new flight to Aguascalientes will be departing from Puerto Vallarta at 12:30 p.m. and arriving in Aguascalientes at 13:20 hours. The return flight will depart from Aguascalientes at 16:50 and arriving in Puerto Vallarta at 16:50 hours. The fare, tax included, is 1,100 pesos one way.
CVB’s General Director Miguel Gonzalez said that a seminar dealing with new ways to travel was held in Puerto Vallarta with the participation of a number of travel agents. A second seminar of this type is scheduled to take place here in September. There are four promotion cities, Guadalajara, Aguascalientes, Queretaro and Ciudad Juarez. It is worth noting that, although there is not a direct flight from and to Queretaro, the route is covered by means of a connection in Guadalajara, with only a fifteen-minute wait.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Sister Cities Committee Renewed
Provided By Ambito
The main objective is to strengthen friendship ties, as well as cultural and sports liaisons to benefit the population
On Thrusday, the new members of the Highland Park-Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Committee were sworn in .
The new board is chaired by Danilo Rottigni, Astrid Castañeda is Vice president, ana Maria Flores and Juan Carlos Balderas are in charge of Public Relations, David Gomez is the new secretary, while Fidel Martínez is treasurer and Jorge Luis García Delgado will be the coordinator of municipal affairs. The swear-in ceremony was presided over by Councilwoman Concesa Pelayo Arciniega, representing Mayor Javier Bravo Carbajal.
García Delgado said that the government headed by Javier Bravio will continue to support the actions and the labor carried out by the committees in benefit of the community of Puerto Vallarta and which will enable cultural, artistic and sports exchange to grow stronger.
In turn, the new chairman of the Sister Cities Committee, Danilo Rottigni, said that the work to be carried out with the team that will accompany him during the 2007-2008 term, is oriented towards enriching cultural liaisons, and the emphasis will be put on children and youth with programs that encourage self-improvement in the different disciplines, both artistic and athletic.
At the event were in attendance council members Andres Gonzalez Palomera, Heriberto Sanchez Ruiz, Rafael Castro Vargas, and the head of Social Communication of the City Hall, Juan Carlos Peralta Cabrales. Also in attendance were Municipal Treasurer Aurora Arreola Ureña, State Congress Deputy Jorge Villanueva; Highland Park Sister Cities Committee Members Richard and Carol Wolfe, as well as other committees’ members and representatives of the private sector.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Historic Center Rescue Begins
Provided By Ambito
18 million pesos earmarked for the first stage of the project, including façades recovery, underground cabling and sidewalk repair.
“Today, an old yearning of Vallartans is about to come true. It’s a yearning for preservation, for rescue of what our identity is. The rescue of the heart itself of Puerto Vallarta.” These were the words of Mayor Javier Bravo Carbajal, upon marking the official start of the first stage of the rescue and improvement of the center of town, joined by Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez.
In the presence of state and municipal authorities, as well as representative of the different sectors of society, the mayor emphasized that the setting in motion of these tasks represents a significative act for Puerto Vallarta, since through this project, the essence of 61 blocks in the heart of the city will be recovered.
 To this end, the mayor said, actions will be implemented regarding recovery of facades, underground cabling, the rescue of the visual image of the municipality and urban mobility that will come to reinforce the pride of this important zone of the municipality.
The mayor stressed the fact that these works are the result of the valuable sum of the willingness on the part of the three levels of government, the private sector, the media and the citizens in general, through which it will be possible to reach this valuable goal.
“Let’s not stop, Puerto Vallarta will be thankful for it.” He went on to say that these works will be carried out within the next three years, and it is foreseen that by the end of 2007, the first eleven blocks will be rehabilitated, at a cost of 18 million pesos out of a total 90 millions, through the joint participation of the three levels of government.
 Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, in turn, made the announcement that as part of this project, within the next sixty days a study will be integrated as to the withdrawal of the public transport from the center of the city.
He said that there is a commitment to concretize this proposal within a six month period, with the rescue of public spaces through a structured service with an ecological, tourist scheme that avoids saturated traffic as it happens today in this zone of the municipality.
Later on, the governor and the mayor set the rescue of the first eleven blocks in motion.
Actions for the rescue of the center include five lines of action; characterization and rescue of facades, urban mobility, reforestation and waste management, infrastructure and regulation of use of land.
At the early stages, besides the façade renovations, sidewalk rehabilitation and introduction of underground cabling on Jose Guadalupe Sanchez Street will be taking place as well.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Alma's Inaugural Flight from Aguascalientes Arrives in Puerto Vallarta
Provided By Ambito
A protocol act affirming the efforts and work commitments between Aguascalientes, Puerto Vallarta and Alma de Mexico airline was held last Wednesday. The welcome ceremony of the inaugural flight from Aguascalientes took place at the Gustavo Diaz Ordaz Airport. The plane carried a delegation of ten people coming to Vallarta as representatives of the Aguascalientes state government.
The delegation was headed by Aguascalientes Tourism Secretary Fernando Pol Perez, who was greeted at the airport by City Council members, as well as by Tourism Director Marcelo Alcaraz and Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Miguel Gonzalez.
 At the welcome lunch party were also in attendance representative of the hoteliers and the state government of Jalisco, like Ludwig Estrada, Denis Whitelaw, Oscar Rivero and Gema García Arce, among others.
After the brief welcome ceremony, a video on Puerto Vallarta was shown, and after lunch, the distinguished visitors returned to Aguascalientes aboard the same plane, on the return flight.
It was mentioned at the event that on July 12, 2006, Alma began operating the route Puebla-Guadalajara, and July 15 is the date they began operating the flight Ciudad Juarez-Aguascalientes-Puerto Vallarta.
The airline currently operates 22 routes and starting August 1st, it will be operating 120 flights.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Snip and Clip Clinic 2
Provided By Ambito
Preventing an unwanted birth is preventing the future suffering, sickness and inhumane death of an animal.” A quote from Molly Fisher, director of the non-profit coalition PEACE, which is the umbrella organization over Ayuda Los Animales (Help The Animals) and other community-based projects in the Bay of Banderas .
The Jalisco Department of Health (Salud de Jalisco) joined hands with PEACE to hold a high-volume spay and neuter clinic in the colonia, Mojoneras. 65 animals were either spayed or neutered over four days at the municipal building on July 9, 10, 12 and 13, 2007. There is no cost to the pet owner, it is totally free and includes antibiotics, parasite medicine plus flea and tick treatment.
Originally, two of the clinic days were to be held in colonia, Cañadas, but due to ankle deep mud it was canceled and remained in Mojoneras. These high-volume spay/neuter programs clip the overpopulation issue by getting to the root of the problem, eliminating unwanted births and improving the quality of life for the animals.
Consider these facts: In just six years, one female dog and her offspring can be the source of 67,000 puppies. In seven years one cat and her young can produce 420,000 kittens, WOW! Do the math. This uncontrolled breeding produces more animals than loving homes to accommodate them.
The plethora of details making up a clinic is mind-boggling. There is a desperate need for supplies and volunteers in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Think of it as a m*A*s*h* unit, mobile ANIMAL surgical hospital. Someone has to inventory medicines, instruments, crates, linens, etc. Flyers and posters must be copied, passed out and hung up. Radio announcements have to be broadcast. And of course, the running of the clinic itself.
The morning of the clinic all supplies require transportation from a bodega to the clinic site. Vallarta Adventures donated personnel and one of their trucks to assist with the Mojoneras clinic. The mobile hospital is then assembled into different areas, registration, pre-surgery, operating room, recovery and release. Volunteers man these positions.
PEACE cordially invites everyone to check out a clinic in Nayrarit or Jalisco. Stop by and see the action. It is truly amazing. You might be moved to volunteer, which would be greatly appreciated .
Dr. Enrique Castanon from Mexico City was flown in by PEACE to assist with the operations and to provide new surgery techniques and advice. Dr. Veronica Villasenor, a former Secretaria de Salud Jalisco state employee, volunteered to perform spay and neuters, along with publicity. She is awesome.
The first step for the pet and its owner is paperwork. Once completed the animal is placed in a crate. Pre-op is performed and then the surgery itself. Once a patient’s operation is complete, he or she is transferred to the recovery room. Here their vital signs are continually monitored. After the animals awaken from the anesthesia, they are placed in a crate to await their owners.
Pet parents are given a certificate of surgery, which lists instructions for post-surgery care. The people who bring in their pets for the operation truly appreciate this service. These free clinics are designed for animal lovers who cannot afford to go to a vet for basic care and a spay or neuter procedure.
PEACE has already received several phone calls from presidents of other colonias in Jalisco asking when clinics can be held in their neck of the woods. Unfortunately, no future clinics are scheduled for Jalisco due to lack of government support, volunteers and money.
This is the second high-volume clinic held in Jalisco with the assistance of PEACE. The first Snip and Clip Clinic took place in March 2007.
Many say, people should come first, but remember, a healthy population of domestic animals improves public health and means fewer diseases being spread to wildlife and humans, an aspect of conservation that is often neglected.
Look for future articles on volunteering, supplies needed and how you can help PEACE in their continuing efforts to improve life in paradise. The clinics are truly community efforts and the more everyone can work together the better off people and animals will be.
For more information about PEACE, visit their website at www.peacemexico.org
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
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