Christmas is coming early for thousands of people in the state of Jalisco, as the Mexican government continues its handout of digital television sets in preparation for the analog shutdown next year.

In an unprecedented step, state police have disarmed officers in two Jalisco municipalities and confined them to barracks, under instructions from Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval.

Fifty-two people in Jalisco have died as a result of the cold in 2014, prompting welfare agencies to introduce new measures to guarantee that the state’s homeless population are protected this winter.

One question asked frequently  by Mexicans: “Why, if Mexico’s police forces are being purged ruthlessly for rogue elements, are the nation’s judges not being subjected to the same treatment?”

Despite the ongoing violence plaguing the nation, economic hardship, large-scale demonstrations and anguish over the disappearance of 43 students, the denizens of Jalisco enjoy “high levels of happiness,” State Social Development Secretary Salvado Rizo Castelo said this week.

An exhalation of the Colima Volcano midday on Friday sent a plume of smoke and ash soaring three kilometers into the sky.