Letters

Send your letters to the editor to letters@atencionsanmiguel.org, Atención will not publish offensive, defamatory or anonymous material.

Editor,
I toured the just-opened parking facility on Cardo. Very impressive. Solid construction, nicely landscaped, handsome stone façade and steps, neat. Construction was funded by ISSEG (the State Social Security Agency), so I was not surprised to see their pharmacy on its northeast corner.
We were promised, I recall, several levels of underground parking, leaving room for stores or other development at ground level. But only one level of this new structure is underground. The upper level is about six feet above grade, which means that future stores or theaters or whatever will not have ground-floor access.

At 600+ cars, it's not the 1,300-space facility we originally were promised. Will it relieve congestion in Centro? The fee is 9 pesos per hour for cars. There is no daily rate, no overnight rate, and no pension rate. Obviously, this is not going to attract the several hundred workers who commute daily to Centro. There's no sign of any shuttle service to Centro; I doubt shoppers or tourists will find it convenient.

Even the ISSEG pharmacy, run by a government agency dedicated to be an economical resource for the poor, was more costly-for the drugs I priced-than local retail competitors.
Another white elephant?
Eli Nadel


Editor,
Muchas gracias from two grateful gringos for the random act of kindness from a stranger. Late afternoon on election day, we returned to our parking space on Cjon. de San Antonio and to our dismay discovered that our car was missing. Fortunately, a young man named Abel, whose family has a store nearby on the Ancha, anticipated our dismay and awaited our return to let us know that the policía had towed our car because it was obstructing bus traffic and offered to help us pursue its recovery.

The two-hour process of phoning the policía, driving us to the police stations at the Jardín and at the Carretera a Querétaro, interpreting for us and driving us to the lot behind the Gigante successfully gained the release of our car.

Muchas gracias to Abel and all of the officers who assisted us in this process!

For anyone who may encounter a towing by police in the future: 1) It is helpful to know your auto tag number and carry an ID, preferably a passport; 2) Pay towing charges at the transit office in the Presidencia, across from the Jardín (in our case $381 pesos); 3) Take your receipt to the upstairs police office on Carretera a Querétaro with ID and a copy of the vehicle's title (in our case, the certificate was in the car and we returned to the office to provide a copy); and 4) Take the receipt and release form to the police lot located behind Gigante. Your vehicle will be plastered with numerous paper stickers. After peeling off the stickers, a good method of removing the glue residue is to rub the area with peanut butter and rinse it with soapy water. You will find that this process will bring back childhood memories of finger painting and the aroma of peanut butter sandwiches.
Don and Gigi Barbaree