In an effort to foil criminals who have taken advantage of the recent climate of fear in the lakeside area to prey on unwary residents, leaders of the Chapala Security Initiative (CSI) and police department chief Reynol Contreras lined up a June 1 orientation session to educate the public on the ins and outs of telephone extortion scams.

Some 400 high school students and teachers arrived at Ajijic’s Malecon last Saturday to launch the Labyrinth of Peace meditation garden.

Conventional wisdom disproves headlines in both the Guadalajara and foreign press suggesting that violent crime in the Lake Chapala area has caused an expatriate exodus.

More than a dozen conferences on retirement living in Mexico, a variety of cultural and social activities and a commercial expo of products and services geared for seniors are wrapped into the program for the Baby Boomers 50+ Living Show, scheduled for Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 at the Hotel Real de Chapala, La Floresta.

While lakeside area expats often complain of harassment by local traffic cops, the tables turned on Chapala’s traffic department (SVT) commandant Hector Magaña Rios, who was recently on the receiving end of vile abuse by an expat motorist.

A small but energetic volunteer group is making significant headway in wiping out unsightly graffiti in the heart of Chapala.