The Chapala municipal government hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel, but with some out-of-the-box thinking has pieced together two used vehicles to beef up the fleet of the local Civil Protection and Fire Department. 

Agents of the Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR) confiscated a dozen coined-operated video game devices during a March 7 raid of the play area located inside Chapala’s Soriana supermarket. Officers said the action was prompted by an anonymous tip. The operation of the so-called tragamonedas (coin-gobblers) is prohibited by law on the premise that playing the gadgets is a highly addictive and wasteful pastime for children. However, the clandestine installation of such machines has become commonplace in scores of lakeside area mom-and-pop stores and thousands more small businesses across the nation as a method of generating extra off-the-books income. 

In the wake of unseasonal rains early this week, Avenida Hidalgo, Chapala’s principal east-west thoroughfare, and the contiguous highway to Jocotepec, turned into a virtual obstacle course overnight, riddled from end to end with dozens of treacherous potholes. 

The local government responded quickly to the roadway crisis, sending out work crews and loads of asphalt on Wednesday afternoon to patch up the perilous baches. 

The Lake Chapala Shrine Club stepped off to lead the annual Chili Cookoff parade in Ajijic on Saturday, February 28. The club set a new record with 17 Shriners taking part in the parade along the main highway. The seven flags carried by the Shriners represent the countries in which there are international clubs. SEE COOKOFF STORY & PHOTOS ON PAGES 12, 13.

Just as their lavender-hued flowers began bursting into bloom, the row of jacaranda trees bordering the southern perimeter of Centro Laguna was practically obliterated last week as a safety precaution carried out by the municipal government.

After putting their heads together with Mayor Joaquín Huerta last week, merchants doing business on Chapala’s Avenida Madero are joining forces with the local government to spruce up the main thoroughfare following a uniform color scheme.