General News

Drivers visiting the immigration office in the Palacio Federal on Avenida Alcalde should be aware of disruptions caused by the construction of the third line of the tren ligero. Drivers coming from Zapopan direction via Avilo Camacho will need to take Calle Guanajuato at the Glorieta Normal, followed by Mariano Barcena. Those coming from downtown Guadalajara can turn onto Avenida Hospital immediately after passing the construction site.

Fashionable Avenida Chapultepec will be illuminated at night by a new system of multi-colored lamps. The fountains, sculptures, and trees of the area will be decorated by the lights, which gradually change colors. The project is part of the “Network of City Lights” scheme organized by City Hall. This project began with the illumination of the Metropolitan Cathedral in March 2013, and will extend to five other locations by February. Apart from the Cathedral and Chapultepec Avenue, the other sites to be illuminated are the Palacio Municipal, La Rotonda de los Jalisciences Illustres, la Biblioteca Iberoamericana, Plaza Universidad and the temples of San Agustin and Santa Maria de Gracia. The Chapultepec project costs 14.5 million pesos ($US 100,000) and is designed to promote local business and tourism.

A group of 200 French citizens took to the streets of Guadalajara in a march of solidarity following the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last week. The protestors carried French flags and colored pencils in honor of the cartoonists, as well as banners that read “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie).  The march was organized by the Colegio Franco Mexicano de Guadalajara to denounce the Paris attacks that left 17 people dead. Besides being an act of terrorism, the violence was considered an aggression against the values of the French Revolution. “They attacked the founding values of our country, they attacked our freedom of expression,” said protestor Violene Dauvois.

“It is important to us to show solidarity with the families and the victims” said Dauvois, who added that she was afraid for the security of her family in Paris. “I think this may not be the last time something like this happens, so we can’t stay quiet.” 

The Guadalajara march, which took place during the Sunday Via RecreActiva event, coincided with mass rallies of unity in Paris and other major European cities. The French community in Guadalajara also sent a letter of condolence to the families of the victims.

Long lines snaked around many government buildings in Guadalajara this week as Tapatios sought to get a head’s start on the year by paying their annual car and property taxes.

A conman from Florida who escaped the authorities for 37 years has finally been captured. Robert Woodring, 81, failed to appear for a seven-year prison sentence for mail fraud back in September 1977. While investigating another fugitive case, officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received a tip that he was living in Guadalajara.

It is not yet clear how long Woodring had been in the area, but U.S. Marshals spokesman Barry Golden said he lived with a Nicaraguan woman.

“For someone to be on the run for 37 years, I can only imagine that the guy was bragging that he eluded capture for more than three decades because, after all this time, how would anyone in Guadalajara have known anything about this?” Golden said.

Woodring, who had reportedly been a federal drug informant, fled from Florida authorities aboard his 60-foot yacht. Two police helicopters and a Coast Guard vessel pursued him but the chase was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean when night fell and Woodring refused to respond to their demands.

Three days later, he was arrested in South Florida, but jumped bail. He was subsequently charged with a 10-month prison term for escaping on the yacht and a seven-year sentence for mail fraud.

Woodring is now held in the federal detention center in Miami, where he has already begun serving the sentence for his convictions.

t’s been a long-standing tradition in Guadalajara for city hall to celebrate Three King’s Day by sharing a giant a rosca de reyes (sweet bread)with the local citizenry.  This year’s offering was somewhat smaller than usual, measuring a mere 20 meters.  However, municipal authorities made up for the shortfall by summoning 350 family sized roscas to hand out to all and sundry.  Around 4,500 Tapatios got to enjoy the treat, which was accompanied by 750 liters of hot chocolate. Enjoying the outdoor feast most of all (right center) was Mayor Ramiro Hernandez and his wife Laura.

Transport police are cracking down on drivers who break the law by speaking on their cellphones or texting. Since the initiative was launched on January 8, almost 700 drivers have been caught engaging in risky behavior behind the wheel. Each has been fined 195 pesos ($US13), equivalent to three days of the minimum salary.

A gray New Year’s Day pall hangs over Guadalajara. Air contamination in the metro area did not improve with the arrival of a new year.  On January 1, readings at four of the city’s nine monitoring stations registered pollution levels higher than 100 Imecas, considered “poor” air quality. The highest reading – 120 Imecas – was recorded at the Miravalle station in the southern part of Guadalajara.