Jalisco health officials say the concerted vaccination campaign at the end of November and beginning of December is responsible for the dramatic drop in the number of influenza cases reported in the state this season.

The Jalisco Health Department had registered 59 cases up until the start of this week, compared to 380 for the same period in the 2013-14 flu season.

State health authorities aquired two million doses to fight this winter’s flu strains – 800,000 more than last year.

The public is welcome to enjoy a pancake supper at St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Guadalajara to celebrate Shrove Tuesday on February 17 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The meal will be prepared by the men of the parish and includes bacon, beverages and more. The cost is 50 pesos, payable at the door.

When Dr. Phli Wegand started making some noise about an important Western Mexican civilization in and around Etzatlan, Jalisco five decades ago, locals started digging up the earth as if it was gold. Clay figures that they found are now selling on ebay fetching hundreds of dollars. 

A series of accusations, ranging from cocaine possession to fraud, have been made against a Jalisco politician who hopes to be the next mayor of El Salto.

Demonstrators in central Guadalajara were encouraging people not to vote in the 2015 elections. Protestors gathered on the corner of Calzada Independencia and Avenida Juarez on Wednesday, February 4, to call for a boycott of the political process. The movement is a response to the disappearance of 43 student protestors in Guerrero last September.

Jorge Alberto Arizpe Garcia, the Operations Commandant for the Jalisco division of Mexico’s Federal Police, will appear at the Lake Chapala Society on Thursday, February 12, 1 p.m., for an open public presentation focusing on safe travel in the state and surrounding areas.  He will offer suggestions on preferable travel routes to various destinations and single out locations to be avoided. The talk will also touch on the history of the Federal Police and their current role in providing safety and enforcement activities in the region.

Arizpe will also be accompanied by Fernanda Cerda Vera, also from the Federal Police, who will alert the community to prevalent scams that have been detected in Jalisco. Among the most notorious incidents are telephone extortion ploys in which a purported relative calls the victim, asking for money to get out of some terrible situation. She will explain how to recognize and protect yourself from these cons. 

Everyone is welcome to attend the event and learn more about these timely topics.