Natives of San Antonio Tlayacapan began raising hell this week after discovering what appears to be a clandestine landfill project encroaching on federal land along Lake Chapala’s shoreline.

Lakeside’s original community-based crime report website was reincarnated this week under new management at the revised URL www.lakechapalacrime.com. The site was revived following the sudden demise of Lakeside Crime Tracker, an alternate site developed after Lakeside Crime Watch folded last May.

Some 200 supporters turned up to witness the inauguration of the new office of the recently formed Business Association of Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos.

The outfit responsible for operating the metered pay-to-park zone in downtown Chapala has put metal vehicle immobilization devices on public display as a warning  that more stringent measures may be applied against motorists who omit payment, overstay  allotted times or occupy parking spaces reserved for the disabled with legitimate need.

Property sales up

Home sales in Guadalajara have risen by 4.4 percent this year, according to the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI). This growth is due to an increased demand for apartments valued between 500,000 pesos to two million pesos, says Alma Rosa Rosas Lizarraga, a delegate of AMPI’s Guadalajara chapter. Most activity has been taking place in Guadalajara’s Chapalita and Ciudad del Sol neighborhoods.

The extension of this year’s International Mariachi Festival to the lakeshore area did a lot more than delight a standing-room-only concert audience. It also generated a substantial chunk of change for the Chapala Red Cross.