Cont. from front page,
Jorge Zavala, head of the Public Works Department, said that they will try to cause as few traffic problems as possible while doing work on the third lane. However, the pavement maintenance has not yet been finished, since there is not a white line dividing the lanes in the upper part of the Libramiento where there are already three lanes, which may cause more car accidents in a road where there have already been several. Mercadillo ensured that this dividing line will be painted as soon as the work on the pavements is finished in a section of the Salida a Dolores road.
According to Zavala, the purpose of this third lane is “to improve the existing road infrastructure and to provide a fast and safe way of car circulation for drivers.” The work, which will be done by Movimientos Industriales de la Construcción, a construction company from Guanajuato, will include 1.8 meters of 7 meter wide road, which is equivalent to 13,000 square meters of pavement 10 centimeters thick. “The widening of the roads will be done on both sides, but mostly on the side closest to the city, which means retaining walls and filler for more than 1,500 cubic meters are necessary,” said Zavala, who added that the roads to nearby neighborhoods will be respected, as well as roads to private properties. During the first stage, some private properties were affected by the third lane because they had not respected the 20 meters, which, according to the law, are federal property. “This time, no private property will be affected since there is no invasion of federal property,” said Zavala. “The two pedestrian
bridges, the one in Nuevo Pantoja and the one in Colonia Allende, will be replaced by new ones and the old ones will be kept for use in another street or avenue.”
The budget granted by the Social and Human Development State Department consists of 13,600,000 pesos. “We have an important savings of 3,700,000 since the contract with the construction company is for only 9,900,000. The remaining amount will be used for some other work on the same road, maybe for a round-about in front of La Luciérnaga and SAPASMA.”
The work began at the Nuevo Pantoja pedestrian bridge, some meters away from Mega. Mayor Jesús Correa inaugurated the work, which included operating the machine. “During the first weeks the construction company will be working on the track on the sides of the road,” explained Zavala, who announced that the third lane will be finished by the end of November. “We may have a delay of some 15 days because of the rainy season,” he explained.
Hot car scams and frauds
By Jesús Ibarra
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A used car is a modern symbol of uncertainty. When buying one, you may decide the price is right and the paperwork legal, only to be stranded by a breakdown a week later. If you sell one, it might be to a getaway driver or hot-check artist. |
A few precautions, however, will help you avoid the worst of possible disasters.
Buying a used car
Ethical and legal frauds “are the two types associated with buying used cars,” said Francisco González, whose buiness is in buying and selling used cars. According to González, a person might take a car to a mechanic who advises, “Your car is in bad condition; it will cost a lot to repair. You should sell it.” If the mechanic then says, “I can pour some additive in the oil to give a little longer life to the engine so you can sell it for a better price,” he is committing ethical fraud since he is advising the owner to cheat the potential buyer.
González recommends that you have a used car checked by a mechanic before buying it. Be sure it does not leak water or oil and that the engine does not overheat. “It’s not possible to check this in five minutes. It would be preferable to keep the car for a whole day at least.”
Legal fraud is falsification of the car’s papers. González says that the first thing to check is the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). “It is a unique number and it includes 17 digits. This number can be found on the car’s front panel and it must coincide with the one on the vehicle’s invoice.”
District Attorney César Augusto Gasca Toledo said that to avoid legal fraud, buyers should take the car to the checking stand of the Attorney General’s Office. In San Miguel, it is located at Alfonso Esparza Oteo 17, Colonia Guadalupe, telephone 154-9450. “They will check the car through a database to see if has been stolen,” said Toledo.
The best way to buy a used car is through an established used car dealer, according to González. “Some dealers are certified by ANCA (National Association of Car Vendors) which guarantees that the car has no legal problems.” The website for ANCA is anca.org.mx.
Gasca Toledo said that car tianguis (car markets which usually are open weekends in cities like Querétaro or Celaya) are also trustworthy places to buy used cars. “The Attorney General’s office has stands in these tianguis to verify the car’s legality,” said Gasca.
González also suggested buyers check with the Treasury Department, on San Francisco Street, to ascertain that all the car taxes are paid. When buying or selling a used car, the transfer of ownership must be done at the Treasury Department. If the new owner crashes the car, knocks someone down, or has an accident and abandons the car, the original owner is responsible if his name appears as owner on the car’s papers. “If the new owner does not pay the taxes after he acquires the car, the original owner will be charged with them if his name still appears on the papers,” said González.
Selling a used car
The most common fraud in selling cars is payment with bad checks. “The cheater deposits a check in the victim’s account five minutes before the bank closes,” explained Gasca. “Then he presents the deposit receipt to the victim. If the victim checks his balance at the ATM, the check appears as paid into the account. But since the check is from another bank, it is not actually paid into the account until two days later. The victim hands the car keys to the buyer, who disappears with the car. Two days later, the bank notices that the check has been returned for insufficient funds or that it is false and informs the victim, who then realizes that he or she has been cheated. But it’s too late to find the cheater and to recover the car.”
Gasca said cheaters also will open bank accounts with false identification cards. So, when the check is charged, it may belong to a nonexistent account, or the account may be in the name of a person who may not even exist.
Real cases
In the past month, two cases of car fraud have been reported in San Miguel. According to District Attorney Gasca Toledo, it is difficult to catch the criminals, since they often give false names and do not live in the city where the fraud took place.
One of the two cases of fraud in selling a car in San Miguel was that of Cristiana, who told her story to Atención:
“One Monday afternoon I was at home. My car was outside on the street with a “For Sale” sign in the window. Suddenly someone knocked on the door. It was a young man, about 24 years old, who told me his name was José Luis Monroy and that he came from Dolores. He looked clean and well-educated, and inspired me with confidence. He told me he was interested in buying my car. He had just sold his and his father would help him pay for it. The next day his “father” called me. He said he would deposit the money in my account and his son would bring me the receipt. The father said he did not want to pay me cash because he came from Celaya and it made him nervous to bring so much cash with him. I agreed. The next day at 4:10pm the boy came to my house with the deposit receipt. I called my boyfriend to verify the balance of the account in the ATM. It seemed to be all right. I signed the factura and handed him the car keys. The next day, the bank called to tell us that the check had been returned for lack of funds. I went to the Public Ministry but since it wasn’t a robbery—(M)I had handed the car over to him voluntarily—(M)the only thing they could do is search for the boy I had described. He had even given me a false cell phone number.”
Alfonso López, an accountant, foiled an attempted fraud while trying to sell his car. “The person interested in buying my car told me that he would deposit a check in my bank account. I told him that I would not accept a check, that I would go with him to the bank and would only accept the deposit in cash. He agreed to meet me outside the bank, but he never arrived.”
Gasca Toledo warns that the best way to avoid fraud is to refuse checks as payment. Accept only cash and go with the buyer to the bank to make the deposit to make sure there are no counterfeit bills.
In San Miguel, the Tuesday placita (market), or tianguis, is a common site for selling and buying foreign cars, but to sell cars with foreign license plates is illegal. Before buying a foreign car, one must be sure the car is legalized. Procedures for foreign car legalization can be done at the Treasury Department at San Francisco 23, next to the San Agustín restaurant. The procedure takes three or four months.
What to do before buying a car
- Take it for a mechanical check-up.
- Take it to the car checking stand of the District Attorney’s Office in Colonia Guadalupe to verify the legality of papers.
- Verify at the Treasury Department that all the taxes are paid.
- To transfer ownership at the Treasury Department on San Francisco Street. You have to present:
o the factura properly signed by the original owner
o official identification of both seller and buyer
o proof of address
o circulating card
o license plates.
- To transfer ownership:
o all the taxes must be paid
o foreigners must present an FM2, FM3 or passport
o cost will depend on the car
Requirements for foreign car legalization
- Official identification
- Property title
- Border crossing permit
- The cost depends on the car.
Parque Juárez murderer caught, confesses
By Jesús Ibarra
| Alfredo Bonilla
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Hermelinda, whose identity was at first unknown to the authorities, was found dead and seminaked on a stone wall near the basketball courts at Parque Juárez by park maintenance personnel. Her sister later identified her, saying that Hermelinda was a domestic worker and had a husband and two children who lived in the United States. According to the authorities she was 33 years old; however, her employers, an American couple, said she was 43.
In an August 3 Atención obituary, her employers said Hermelinda was “a slender, petite 43-year-old woman who appeared much younger that her years. She had a ready smile, was bright, eager, competent, hard working, wholly honest and extremely responsible.” She had a 19-year-old son and a 22-year-old daughter, who worked in Dallas along with their father.
District Attorney Daniel Chowell Arenas said they learned the murderer’s identity after an exhaustive investigation by the state police, analysis and study of the body and crime scene and interviews with 12 witnesses.
Chowell announced that according to Bonilla’s confession, on the night of July 29, Hermelinda arrived at the bar where he played guitar. After he finished, he left with another woman. This annoyed Hermelinda, with whom he had had a love affair for some time. When she followed the couple, Bonilla told his companion to go home alone and he went with Hermelinda in order to solve their problems. They took a taxi that dropped them off close to Parque Juárez. Hermelinda suggested going into the park to talk. They sat on a stone wall, talking, near the basketball courts. They quarreled over Hermelinda’s accusations. Angrily, Bonilla pushed her. She hit her head and fell semiconscious. Then he decided to rape her using a condom and simultaneously he strangled her. After raping and killing her, he sat down beside her body, saying that all had happened because of her stubbornness. He left the site, taking the condom and one of her boots with him, which he threw from the bridge. Outside the park, he took a taxi to Calle
Tanque, in Colonia Atascadero, where he was staying.
Bonilla was caught at 6am Monday. As we went to press, the judge declared his detention by the Public Ministry as legal.
Bids for Presidencia building projects
By Jesús Ibarra
| The city council published a new bid requesting citizens to present possible projects for the old Presidencia building. The previous bid, published some months ago, was cancelled because it did not fulfill all the legal requirements. | |
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The new bid sets residence and experience requirements. A bidder must be able to prove Mexican citizenship, or if a foreigner, a legal 10-year residence in San Miguel de Allende. The bidder also must offer proof of five years of experience in cultural, museum, artistic, historical or media projects. |
An assistant council composed of three local cultural figures will consult on the selection of projects. City hall secretary Cristóbal Finkesltein announced that the members are: Francisco Vidargas, ex-head of Bellas Artes; architect Hernán Ferro de la Sota; and the writer and historian Maruja González).
To register a project, the proposal must include: Name of the author, telephone number, email address, official identification, and curriculum vitae (in case of group projects, it must include the names of all participants, as well as a letter granting one of them the title of representative).
If the project is presented by a Civil Association, the constituting document must be presented.
The proposal should provide a detailed description of the project (an explanation of each stage of the project); type of people to which it would be directed; sustainability; and final results expected.
One of the main objectives of the project must be the development of offerings or services for cultural tourism, with the intention of valuing and spreading the historical, cultural, artistic, and natural heritage of the municipality, in a joint effort between the government and the different sectors of the society.
Projects proposals will be received from August 9 to October 8, 2007, from 8:30am to 4pm, in the office of city councilor Gerardo Arteaga, President of the Urban Development and Public Works Commission, located on the second floor of the new administrative building. Telephone number: 120-4585 and 120 4586 extension 166; email address: gerardoarteaga@sanmiguelallende.gob.mx. Project proposals must be bound with a GBC plastic spiral binding or similar
If the project does not have the required documentation and information, or is not delivered by the deadline, it will not be accepted.
The three selected project proposals will be kept by the Commission of Urban Development and Public Works. The rest of the proposals must be picked up at the same office 10 days after the results are published.
. On October 16, the assistant council will offer a public hearing so that citizens may express opinions about the selected projects.
The city council and the assistant council will evaluate the three projects according to the criteria previously selected by both councils.
The results will be presented by the mayor before October 23, 2007.
McDonald’s comes to La Luciérnaga
By Jesús Ibarra
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On Thursday, August 1, sanmiguelenses can satisfy their cravings for McDonald’s hamburgers without going to Querétaro or Celaya. The fast-food giant opened an outlet at La Luciérnaga shopping center, across from the Italian Coffee Company. |
Mayor Jesús Correa and his wife Patricia attended the opening ceremony. The mayor cut the opening ribbon, and greeted all the boys and girls “responsible for their parents coming to McDonald’s.”
Oscar Muñoz Paz, president of McDonlad’s Bajío, thanked the audience and said this is the 11th McDonald’s in the state of Guanajuato. The first one opened in León in December, 1991. Muñoz Paz also thanked his working team, pointing out that all of McDonald’s achievements are thanks to them.
According to Muñoz Paz, McDonald’s does more than sell hamburgers. The company intends to help the communities where they do business. The World Day of Children, an annual event organized by McDonald’s to help children with hearing problems, is an example. McDonald’s granted more than 16,000 hearing aids across the country over the last five years.
Laura Muñoz, head of McDonald’s staff, said the San Miguel location will give jobs to 40 people.
City celebrates local athletes
Tonight, Friday, August 10 in the Jardin local sportsmen and women will be honored with the presentation of the Premio del Deporte Sanmiguelense (San Miguel Sports Award). The program was designed to honor athletes who are residents of San Miguel and recognize the discipline and work involved with sports. Awards will be given to the winners of several different categories, such as Best Referee, Trainer, Athlete and Municipal School.
GravityWorks, the local aerial dance troupe, performs at 8:30pm, in the Gala del Deporte (Sports Gala). GravityWorks Mexico was founded in 2001 by Nisha Ferguson, a San Miguel ceramic artist. Since then, she has trained performers in the circus aerial arts of trapeze. They have performed in the Angela Peralta Theater, La Carpa (the circus tent), the Jardin and private venues in town.
The troupe will be joined by some of their young summer school students Paulina Briones Zubeldía, Emma Lieberman and Erica Lieberman.