Immigrants urged to vote in 2012 Mexico election

Millions of Mexicans living in the United States follow presidential politics back home religiously. Mexican electoral officials want immigrants to do more than that. They want them to vote. Mexicans living abroad have until Jan. 15 to enroll in a program through the Internet to be able to vote in next summer's presidential election without […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:24 AM PDT

Baja scrambles to control diabetes, devastating effects

TIJUANA – It's a trend health authorities on both sides of the border find alarming: The number of people with diabetes is soaring. In Baja California, diabetes mellitus is one of the three main causes of death. In San Diego County, the disease is a leading contributor to death. [/p] Lidia Pérez, who runs a […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:24 AM PDT

Artists, activists trying to revive Revolución

TIJUANA – Artists, students and "green" activists are moving into a rundown commercial plaza on avenida Revolución, helping breathe new life to the legendary tourist street. They are part of an ambitious plan driven by civic organizations and the business sector to form independent districts focused on art, culture and citizen activism in Tijuana's historic […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:24 AM PDT

Driven by grief, poet challenges Mexico to the core

TIJUANA— One of Mexico's leading poets has stopped writing so the victims of violence can be heard like never before. Javier Sicilia visited this city, which knows violence intimately, to denounce "demonic" criminals, the corrupt government officials he said protect them and ignorant political candidates and their parties. Most of all, he urged ordinary Mexicans […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:23 AM PDT

Sockers take on Anaheim for home opener

The San Diego Sockers have been a perennial powerhouse in both indoor and outdoor soccer the past four decades. The Sockers that dominated the defunct North American Soccer League in the 1970s through mid ‘90s, and the defunct Major Indoor Soccer League in the 2000s combined with the newest version of the franchise have raked […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:23 AM PDT

Musician’s goal: Offer alternative to ‘junk’ on radio

TIJUANA – Horacio Franco looks like a pop star: Fitted clothes, tattoos, pointy shoes and hair styled like James Dean. But when he starts to play the recorder he becomes more like a gypsy playing the hits from the 18th century. "You play an instrument that's been used for a long time, but it's still […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:23 AM PDT

Kidnapping ring that preyed on migrants dismantled

TIJUANA – Authorities have dismantled a criminal group dubbed "Los Chilangos" that allegedly kidnapped would-be immigrants walking through the mountains of Tecate and then demanded that family members in the United States pay a $4,000 ransom for each. The action is the latest crackdown on criminals who prey on one of the most vulnerable populations […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:23 AM PDT

Police free three U.S. citizens kidnapped in Baja

TIJUANA – Three U.S. citizens – a 26-year-old woman and her grandparents – were freed from kidnappers by police, authorities announced Tuesday. The municipal public safety department said the incident began on Monday night around 10 at a house in the Mariano Matamoros neighborhood, on the city’s eastside, when the three arrived from the United […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:23 AM PDT

Office opens to apply for passport without appointment

Federal officials have opened a new office to process applications for a U.S. passport on a walk-in basis in time for the holidays. The office is at the San Diego County Administration Building, 1600 Pacific Highway, room 402. No appointment is needed and there's two hours of free parking. Hours of operation are Monday to […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Tijuana mourns their own who died in crash

TIJUANA– Baja California's political, military and business elite paid posthumous tribute to Mexico's Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora and two of his colleagues at midday Sunday at the Cultural Center. The speakers at the memorial service at the center's theater recalled the professional and political careers of Blake, 45, and of José Alfredo García, 39, […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Mexico makes it easier to shop in the U.S.

TIJUANA.-Just in time for the holiday shopping season, customs authorities are informing residents that they can bring into Mexico up to $300 worth of goods until Jan. 8 without paying taxes on them, up from the regular $75 exemption. The exemption allows Mexican nationals entering from a foreign country by land to avoid paying taxes […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Pope’s relics on tour in Tijuana this weekend

TIJUANA – Despite rain in the forecast, an estimated 75,000 faithful from both sides of the border are expected to turn out to see the relics of Pope John Paul II on tour this weekend at parishes downtown and in the city's east side. Personal items from the pope, who was beloved by Mexicans, have […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Xolos will try to build on solid progress in 2011

There won't be a Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles game this weekend or any other match in the Mexican Apertura Tournament. The playoffs begin Nov. 19 and Tijuana will be watching from home after failing to qualify. The Xolos were not favorites to reach the post season and make an impact in their first season in the […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Mexico’s Interior Secretary dies in helicopter crash

MEXICO CITY – The federal government announced that Interior Secretary Francisco Blake Mora and seven others died when their helicopter crashed en route to a meeting in Cuernavaca. Blake Mora, 45, was reportedly heading there with members of law association and other government officials. The helicopter plummeted to the ground in Xochimilco, south of Mexico […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Campaign warns of ‘pirate’ drivers at border

SAN YSIDRO —The 25,000 or so people who cross the border northbound every day need a way to get to their destination. Many take the trolley or get picked up by friends or family. But many need to travel beyond San Diego, to places like Los Angeles and farther, but are not familiar with the […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Baja police find boy, 3, allegedly abducted in SD

TIJUANA – A three-year-old boy from San Diego County was found in Tijuana on Tuesday after his mother, who allegedly suffers from drug addiction, fled with him during a visit, according to the Baja California Preventive Police. Alfredo Arenas, the international liaison for the state police, said the woman, identified as Lorena Lynn Whitesell, 40, […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

SBA accord will support Latino businesses

CHULA VISTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration is to sign an alliance on Wednesday with a new Latino chamber of commerce to support one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy. The agreement with the Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce provides a framework for the organization's members to obtain information in Spanish about the variety […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Baja police arrest U.S. federal fugitive

TIJUANA – State authorities captured an American citizen who was a federal fugitive in the United States, accused of drug trafficking. The man was identified as José Ignacio Garcia Jr., 30, a Chula Vista native, according to a release issued Tuesday by the Baja California State Preventive Police. It did not say when the arrest […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Cartel lieutenant linked to killings, kidnappings

TIJUANA – State authorities linked the Arellano cartel lieutenant arrested over the weekend to eight cases of kidnapping and four murders. All of the cases linked to Juan Francisco Sillas Rocha occurred last year, according to the Baja California Attorney General's Office. The department's investigations of Silla will continue and will be included in the […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT

Arrest is nail in coffin of Arellano cartel, expert says

TIJUANA – The capture of the principal lieutenant of the leader of the Arellano Félix cartel could mean the end of that criminal organization and the expansion of the Sinaloa cartel, a leading specialist said. It's a defining moment for Baja California, whose battle against drug trafficking is seen as a model across Mexico, he […]

April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM PDT