CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED VOL 116 No. 022 IMPERIAL COUNTY, CA Thursday, May 28, 2020

Voices Of Vietnam: RememberingGeorge Richard Annos

BY MAYELLAVASQUEZ

Calexico nativeGeorge Richard Annos isone of about 58,000 U.S.soldiers who died in com-bat during the VietnamWar.

In Vietnam from Oct.28, 1967, to May 16,1967, he was in the 1st AirCavalry Division, in Co.C, 2-8. He was working inthe Binh Dinh Province, IICorps, in the central high-lands, a mountainous areain Vietnam.

He had been in coun-try just six months whenhe was killed in action by“short fire,” an artillery ormortar round that fellshort of its intended tar-get. Annos died due to anaccident, also known as a“friendly fire.”

Annos’ fellow combatmen and friends remem-ber him as a good man, abrave hero and someonewho deserves to beremembered every day,not just on Memorial Day,when we commemoratethose servicememberswho gave the ultimate

sacrifice to their country.“George, as so many

others that served during awar, are the real heroes,”said Fernando Escalante,fellow infantrymen, andclassmate of Annos’ atCalexico High School."They didn't get to comehome. For those that diedin Vietnam, there were nobands playing, no speech-es, no nothing."

Annos was born onMay 15, 1947. He grewduring the ’50s and ’60son Rockwood Avenue,

Continued on page 6Calexico native George Richard Annos, whodied from friendly fire in the Vietnam Warafter just six months in country, is shown priorto being deployed overseas. PHOTO COUR-TESY OF THOMAS HENDERSON

Calexico City Council Member andMayor Pro Tem David Romero.PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OFCALEXICO

Mayor Hodge wants the councilmember to resign now; more isrevealed about Romero and hisalleged co-conspirator, BrunoSuarez-Soto.

Local Churches SayState Guidelines ToRe-open Unworkable

IVC Taking PatientsAs COVID CasesContinue To Climb

Some clergy members won’tboth to hold in-person servicesunder new conditions.

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

Imperial County PublicHealth Department officialsannounced guidelines to re-open churches that left somelocal pastors shaking theirheads, unsure of how to operateunder such strict regulations.

The Rev. Mark Edney,priest at Our Lady ofGuadalupe and St. Mary’sCatholic parishes in El Centro,which together serve more4,000 parishioners, sat along-side county and small business-es officials when the countymade its announcement at apress conference May 26.

“To me, the most positivedevelopment in this is that inthe Catholic services, we willbe available to preform funeralMasses. I have 40 Masses wait-ing to be done. Baptisms andother sacraments will be possi-ble. This is a hard and difficultexperience for all of us. If youare a person of faith and unableto practice that, it is a hardshipthat is unbearable,” Edney saidat the press conference.

Edney was grateful for theopportunity to be able to con-duct service but recognized thecrippling limitations hischurches would experienceunder the newly announcedstate guidelines for re-opening,

Continued on page 9

BY RICHARDMONTENEGRO BROWN

Although the FederalMedical Station at ImperialValley College had what oneofficial described as a "softopening" this week, there werealready six COVID patientsunder quarantine there as ofMay 27, just two days into itsoperation.

With the number ofCOVID-19-positive cases inImperial County continuing tosurge and hospitalizationsoccurring at a steady rate, thereis need for the facility even asretail businesses and churchescan resume some level of re-

opening.Imperial County

Supervisors' Chairman LuisPlancarte said the facility willbe at IVC for two months, andit's a double-edged sword thatit's even here.

"We are very lucky to beable to marshal the resources tohave it here," he said. "But bythat same token, we neverwanted to (have to) have it.

"It's an eerie feeling," headded.

Imperial County numbers ofnew cases of COVID appears tobe somewhat unstable as PublicHealth Department officialsstruggle to meet state metricsfor "epidemiological stability,"

Calexico native and U.S. Army veteran George Richard Annos' grave site isshown at Mountain View Cemetery in Calexico. Annos was killed in Vietnam in1967. MAYELLA VASQUEZ PHOTO

American flags and other patriotic decorationswere found around Mountain View Cemeteryin Calexico on Memorial Day, May 27. CORIS-SA IBARRA PHOTO

David Romero Speaks,While Calexico

Officials Seethe OverBribery Allegations

BY RICHARD MONTENEGRO BROWN

Calexico officials prefaced theircomments with the presumption ofinnocence, but there is clearly angerand extreme disappointment with CityCouncil Member David Romero andhis former political appointee, who arealleged to have solicited $35,000 inbribes from an uncover federal agent.

The mayor wants Romero toresign from office, the city managervows to look into any issue the coun-cil member ever backed, and a countysupervisor who represents the borderarea and served alongside Romero forabout a month calls this “anotherblack eye for Calexico.”

Meanwhile, Romero, who wasnever arrested on the federal chargesbut waived his right (as did his allegedco-defendant, Bruno Suarez-Soto) toindictment and went straight to beingarraigned and released the afternoon

Continued on page 5

This photo of Bruno Suarez-Sotowas cropped from a photo onCalexico City Council MemberDavid Romero’s public and openInstagram page.

Meanwhile, movement on the local Roadmap to Recoverystymied even as state allows some re-openings to occur.

STAFF REPORT

The Imperial ValleyVegetable Growers Associationannounce the recipients of itsImperial Valley ProduceScholarships on May 27.

The purpose of these schol-arships is to assist students whowish to launch or continue theirstudies in agricultural-relatedmajors and is only awarded toImperial Valley students attend-ing a four-year college whomaintain a grade-point averageof 3.0 or above, or a GPA of 3.3or above for high school stu-dents.

This year the associationawarded 14 scholarships. Thefollowing Imperial Valley gradu-ating high school seniors toreceive a “Produce Scholarship”are:

• Kendall Shields, a graduateof Imperial High School, attend-ing Harvard University

• Jessica Friley, a graduate ofBrawley Union High School,attending Cal Poly San LuisObispo

• Abigail Hester, a graduateof Holtville High School, attend-

ing Oklahoma State University • Jake Currier, a graduate of

Brawley Union High School,attending Oklahoma StateUniversity

The following college stu-dents have received the scholar-ship again this year:

• Kimberly Aguirre, a gradu-ate of Calexico Union HighSchool, attending UC Davis

• Sydney Mange, a graduateof Holtville High School, attend-ing CSU Fresno

• Nash Ohland, a graduate ofSouthwest High School, attend-ing Kansas State University

• Keeley Poloni, a graduateof Holtville High School, attend-ing UC Davis

• Brett Thompson, a graduateof Southwest High School,attending Cal Poly San LuisObispo

• Charles Peraza, a graduateof Brawley Union High School,attending New Mexico StateUniversity

• Sarah Grizzle, a graduate ofHoltville High School, attendingCal Poly San Luis Obispo

• Jacob Sanchez, a graduateof Imperial High School, attend-

ing Oklahoma State University The funds for the Produce

Scholarship were raised this yearby the IVVGA from donations tothe scholarship fund at its annualbarbecue held this year at DelRio Country Club in Brawley.

“We had a record of ninedonors this year. We thankSellers Petroleum, Farm CreditServices West, Seed Dynamics,Western Growers AssociationAm-Vac Chemical, Top NotchSeeds, The Dune Company, andRDO Equipment, and Imperial

Irrigation District (IID) for theirinvestment in the future of agri-culture. For the third consecu-tive year, the membership ofIVVGA had the option to make avoluntary donation with theirmembership renewal, with over70 percent of them contributingto the scholarship fund,” accord-ing to the press release announc-ing the scholarships.

The county of Imperial,through its Agricultural Benefitfund, matched the scholarshipdonation to an aggregate maxi-

mum of $3,000 per student, therelease states.

“We applaud these impres-sive students and wish them thebest in their agricultural relatedstudies and careers,” accordingto the release.

BY RICHARDMONTENEGRO BROWN

Although the Calexico CityCouncil was unanimous in princi-ple to split the CommunityServices Department into twodivisions — library and recre-ation — it was not unanimous inits vote to do so after the qualifi-cations for one department man-ager eliminated the requirementfor a college degree.

Prior to the council’s May 20decision to divide the department,which had long been under thedirection of now-retired cityLibrarian Sandra Tauler, all citydepartment managers wererequired to have at least a bache-lor’s degree.

The council approved 3-2splintering community servicesinto a library department and arecreation department contingentupon the qualifications for therecreation manager no longerrequire a B.A.

The motion was made by CityCouncil Member Morris Reisen.Council members RosieFernandez and Bill Hodge agreedwith Reisen, while council mem-bers David Romero and LewisPacheco voted against the move.

Romero and Pacheco werenot against dividing the depart-ment, but they were against elim-inating the college-degreerequirement.

“We’re watering down thisposition,” Pacheco said.

Public Works ManagerLilliana Falomir noted before thevote was taken that because alldepartment heads are required tohave a bachelor’s degree, thescale of pay for the recreationdepartment manager should bechanged as well.

No one disputed that idea, butno one addressed it, either, andthe vote went forward withoutreconsidering the pay for the recdepartment manager position.

The vote not only approveddividing the departments but cre-ating three new positions, twofull-time department managersand a part-time cultural arts assis-tant under the recreation depart-ment, which will now oversee allactivities at the Carmen DurazoCultural Arts Center.

Under the retooled depart-ments, a library manager willoversee the Enrique “Kiki”Camarena Memorial Library andthe Carnegie Technology Center,and the recreation manager willoversee recreation functions andthe Carmen Durazo center,according to a new organization-al structure prepared by cityHuman Resources ManagerDenise Garcia.

Garcia’s report to the councilas part of the agenda stated thereis a negligible effect on the city’sgeneral fund, “compared to thecurrent structure.”

Lizeth Legaspi presentlyoversees the library, and the citymanager’s executive assistant,Norma Gerardo, oversees the

recreation department. Garcia said the city would

advertise for all three new posi-tions.

A&R Wins Million-DollarBid

After receiving two substan-tially different qualifying bids,the council voted 5-0 to selectA&R Construction of Brawley toreplace major sections of thecity’s main sewer line.

With only two qualifying bidsreceived by the late April dead-line, A&R came in at $1.06 mil-lion, compared to PyramidConstruction and Aggregates Inc.of Heber at $3.05 million,according to a report to the coun-cil by Falomir.

Mayor Hodge asked whythere was such a huge discrepan-cy in the bid amounts andwhether that would affect thequality of the work. Romero andHodge also asked whether thatvariance in pricing would lead toincreased change orders or addi-tional costs from A&R down theroad.

Calexico City Manager DavidDale said A&R is reputable, andas a city engineer by training,Dale was comfortable with thebid amount after speaking withA&R officials.

Falomir and Dale said A&Rhave come within budget in pastprojects for the city.

The project calls for thereplacement of 8-inch and 4-inchgravity-fed sewer main pipelinesand adjacent sewer lateral

pipelines at Paulin Avenuebetween Seventh and 10thstreets, at Dool Avenue betweenFifth and Seventh streets, and atBeach Avenue between Fifth andSeventh streets.

Cost for the project wasalready part of the current fiscal2019-2020 budget and will comefrom wastewater enterprise fundsas part of the budget’s capitalimprovement program, Falomirtold the council.

Crafters Awarded MoreFunds in Fence Project

The council signed off on anearly $40,000 change order for a$167,750 fencing project at theCordova Park Little League base-ball fields by unanimous vote.

Due to what Falomirdescribed to the council as a“shortage of staff” who can weld,city staff added to the scope ofwork in a contract already award-ed to a company in order to meeta July project timeline.

The initial contract withCrafters Fence Inc. of Santee was

to install fencing around baseballfields at Adrian C. Cordova Parkon Clinton Avenue betweenZapata and Meadows drives,according to Falomir’s report tothe council.

However, the change wouldbring the new contract to$207,650 by adding the cost ofinstalling six roof structures ondugouts at three baseball fields.That roofs were supposed to bedone in house, but Public Worksdoes not have enough staff,Falomir said.

The additional $39,900 willcome from the same source as theinitial contract — a several-years-old Measure H half-centsales-tax bond already budgetedin the current fiscal year undercapital improvement projects.The initial contract was awardedMarch 18.

Continued on page 4

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 2

Imperial ValleyWeekly - Calexico

Chronicle

Publisher: Brenda Torres

Office Manager: Rosa NoguedaEditor: Gary RedfernReporters: Richard MontenegroBrown, William Roller, CarolHann, Jayson Barniske,Elizabeth VillaProduction:Shawn Carroll, ChristinaVillarreal, Graphic Designer:Online Production:Andrea RedfernPhotographers: Lisa Middeltonand Corissa Ibarra

The Imperial Valley Weekly,Calexico Chronicle, HoltvilleTribune, (USPS 247-880) is pub-lished weekly on Thursday for $42per year by Holtville TribunePublishing. 1239 W. Main Street. ElCentro, CA 92243. Periodicalpostage paid at Holtville, California

Postmaster: send addresschanges to Holtville Tribune, 1239W. Main Street, El Centro, CA92243.

The Imperial Valley Weekly,Calexico Chronicle, HoltvilleTribune is a newspaper of general

circulation for the publication oflegal notices, as defined in Section4460 of the Political Code, State ofCalifornia, in the Superior Court ofImperial County.

Subscription prices: ImperialCounty, 1 year - $42;

2 years - $75. Out of State &Foreign rates, higher.

DEADLINE FOR NEWS & ADS

TUESDAY 5 P.M.CALL (760) 339-4899

Entered as second class mail matter,August 10, 1915 at the Post Office inCalexico, California. Under the actof March 2, 1897. Adjudged a news-paper of general circulation by theSuperior Court of the State ofCalifornia in and for the County ofImperial on Nov. 2, 1951 By decreeNo. 26830. Second class postagepaid at Calexico, California.

Calexico Splits CommunityServices Department On Split Vote

Calexico City Council meets May 20 in council chambers in thisscreen capture of its regularly scheduled meeting. COURTESYPHOTO

I.V. Vegetable Growers Announces ‘Produce Scholarship’ Recipients

which Plancarte said we are farfrom attaining.

Based on the number of testsbeing administered in the county,the percentage of those testingpositive for novel coronavirusshould be decreasing, but they areincreasing, Plancarte said during apress conference May 26, a fact hereiterated during an interview withthis newspaper May 27.

He said a couple of weeks agoImperial County was largely test-ing first-responders, frontlinehealth workers and symptomaticpatients. Now, anyone who wantsto be tested who can get referred tothe many testing venues can do so,including people who are asymp-tomatic, or those who are not pre-senting telltale signs of the virus.

Last week the county was at24 percent of those tested, and thisweek, Plancarte said, that numberhas risen to 29 percent.

"Obviously, it's concerning,"he said, adding the county saw abump in cases due to Mother'sDay (May 10), which likelystemmed from family celebrationsthat put people in close proximityto each other, in spite of countyhealth orders that require peoplenot doing "essential business" tostay at home.

Public health and hospital offi-cials are waiting to see what kindof an increase might come with therecently passed Memorial Dayholiday, May 26, and the upcom-ing Pentecost on May 31, whenmany local churches hope to have

some sort of service.Plancarte said the surges are

being seen anywhere from sevento 10 days after the holidays.

As of May 27, ImperialCounty has had more than 1,350positive cases of COVID, withnearly 9,800 patients tested. Therewere presently 620 active cases.Although the number of what isconsidered new cases has beenmissing from the county's surveil-lance dashboard for the last fewdays, it's new cases that are beingclosely eyed by the state metricsand local public health officials.

To further move down thestate and county's so-calledRoadmap to Recovery, one of thekey metrics of "epidemiologicalstability" - and the only barImperial County has not reached -is a county's ability to have 8 per-cent or less in the number ofCOVID-positive patients of thosetested for seven consecutive days.

That's where the 29 percentPlancarte referred to fits in.

Imperial County is at the lowerend of Stage 2, trying to move intothe higher end of Stage 2, countyPublic Health Director JanetteAngulo said during a May 26press conference.

Meanwhile, many parts ofCalifornia are now moving intoStage 3, Gov. Gavin Newsomannounced during a press confer-ence just before noon May 26.

IVC's Mobile "Hospital" andOfficial Hospital Matters

Plancarte said the Federal

Medical Station is opening slowly.It was built and is being operatedlocally in conjunction with theCalifornia National Guard andCalifornia Emergency MedicalServices Authority's MedicalAssistance Teams (CAL-MAT).

A limited number of patientsare being brought in to try out pro-cedures and equipment, make surethere are enough supplies and seeif the necessary protocols are inplace, Plancarte said.

"You want to make sure you'renot overwhelmed by larger num-bers coming in," he added.

The "ramping up" of opera-tions will be under the direction ofImperial County EmergencyMedical Services Agency MedicalDirector, Dr. Kathy Staats.

The facility is equipped tohandle 80 patients, with large tentsconstructed outside IVC's gym forpatient overflow, he added.

Pioneers Memorial Hospital inBrawley hasn't sent any patients tothe federal facility yet, spokesper-

son Karina Lopez confirmed May27.

As of the afternoon of May 26,Pioneers had 19 COVID-positivepatients, seven of whom were inthe intensive-care unit, Lopez said.She added nine COVID patientswere on ventilators of 30 totalmachines available.

On the other end of the Valley,El Centro Regional MedicalCenter had sent two COVIDpatients to IVC on May 26 andfour more the morning of May 27,Chief Strategy Officer CathyKennerson said.

Kennerson said there were 46total COVID patients in the hospi-tal May 26 with a total bed censusof 85 patients. She did not havethe number of COVID patients inICU or the numbers of ventilatorsin use.

On May 26, there were 47COVID patients in the hospitalwith 13 of them in the ICU, Chief

Continued on page 12

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Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 3

Week of May 25th

World Mental Health Day Summit: InclusionImperial County annually celebrates World Mental Health Day with aseries of informative workshops, recovery-based entertainment, andcommunity-specific information during a day-long event at Imperial

Valley College. Join the Let’s Talk About It! hosts as we speak to pre-senters, guests, and other community members about including diverse

mental health supportive practices in our lifestyles.

A Selection of Presenters, Community Members, Interagency Partners and

ICBHS Experts

(442)-265-1525(442)-265-1525

(442)-265-1525(442)-265-1525

Semana del 25 de mayo 2020La Conferencia Del Día Mundial de la Salud Mental: Inclusión

El Condado del Valle Imperial celebra anualmente el Día Mundial dela Salud Mental con una serie de talleres informativos, entretenimien-

to, basado en la recuperación e información especifica de la comu-nidad durante un evento de un día en el Colegio del Valle Imperial.Únase a los anfitriones de ¡Exprésate! mientras hablamos con los

presentadores, invitados y otros miembros de la comunidad sobre lainclusión de diversas prácticas de apoyo de salud mental en nuestros

estilos de vida.

Una Selección de Presentadores, Miembros de la Comunidad,Socios Interinstitucionales y Expertos de ICBHS

El Centro Approves Spending Another$2.6M on Measure P Projects

Calexico ManagerResponds ToRomero, Soto

ChargesSTAFF REPORT

Calexico City ManagerDavid Dale issued a statementlate in the afternoon May 21 inresponse to federal charges filedagainst Calexico Mayor Pro-TemDavid Romero and formerEconomic and FinancialAdvisory Commissioner BrunoSuarez-Soto.

“The city became awaretoday by way of a news releasefrom the Office of the UnitedStates Attorney for the SouthernDistrict of California that coun-cilmember and Mayor Pro-TemDavid Romero and formerEconomic and FinancialAdvisory Commissioner BrunoSuarez-Soto have been chargedin federal court by the U.S.Attorney with conspiracy to com-mit federal program bribery inconnection with alleged arrange-ments made between the two andan undercover FBI agent tosecure a city permit for acannabis dispensary in the city inexchange for a cash payment of$35,000. Mr. Suarez-Sotoresigned his position of commis-sioner on April 22, 2020 citingresidency issues.

“Mr. Romero and Mr. Suarez-Soto have since been arraignedbefore a U.S. Magistrate Judge infederal court. All the city knowsis that which is contained in theU.S. Attorney’s news release andthis is the city’s first notice of theinvestigation, alleged activity orcharges.

“The city is committed tocomplete integrity and trans-parency in its governance andprocesses and does not condone,and strongly condemns, the kindof conduct alleged by the federalprosecutor. Accordingly, the citywill cooperate with any follow-on inquiries or requests for infor-mation and assistance from eitherthe U S. Attorney or the FBI. Thecity, through its counsel, hasalready reached out to the U.S.Attorney. At this early stage,however, the charges are just

Continued on page 8

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

The El Centro City Councilrecently approved spending anadditional $2.6 million ofMeasure P funds for projects,including for its upcoming state-of-the-art police station.

Some $10 million in MeasureP funds have been have alreadybeen allocated this year to build atotal of 21 projects, five of whichare still in progress, said LizZarate, management assistant forthe city of El Centro.

Zarate made a new requestfor the council to approve spend-ing $2,689,773 of Measure Pfunds during its May 19 CityCouncil meeting.

Measure P is a half-centsales-tax measure that approvedby voters in 2016 to provide addi-tional revenue for city projects.

Zarate made a request forfunds for capital outlay items thatwould not be covered by the gen-eral fund.

The breakdown of the requestis as follows: $529,000 for capi-

tal outlay, $10,000 for consultantservices to monitor Measure Psales tax, $125,000 for consultantservices in building the newpolice station, $25,000 to repairelectronics in the City Councilchambers and $2 million for thenew police station.

Community DevelopmentBlock Grant

The City Council agreed topostpone a decision on allocatingCommunity Development BlockGrant funds until May 29. Thecouncil acted after learning thatnumerous local non-profit organ-izations were requesting a portionof the city’s CDBG funding.

Stacy Mendoza, economicdevelopment director, said, “OnMarch 27, the Corona Virus AidAct for $5 billion was passed. ElCentro was allocated $333,375 inthe CDBG grant.”

Mendoza explained that 20percent of the grant ($66,675)could be allocated for administra-tion and $266,700 is available forother activities responding toCOVID-19 including fundingnon-profit organizations.

A plethora of local non-prof-its and other groups applied forthe grant, including El CentroEconomic Development, ElCentro CommunityDevelopment, El Centro PoliceAthletic League, House of Hope,Spread the Love Charity, SisterEvelyn Mourey Center, ImperialValley Child Abuse PreventionProgram, and IV Small BusinessDevelopment Center, many ofwhich were represented at thecouncil meeting.

Overwhelmed with the largenumber of applicants and unsureof how to prioritize spending, theCity Council asked several of theapplicants present to modify theirapplications to reflect their mostpressing needs. New Library and Greyhound

StationIn other city business,

Abraham Campos, El CentroPublic Works director and cityengineer, gave an update on theprogress of constructing the newlibrary and announced the closureof the Greyhound bus station onState Street.

In answering a question fromcouncil member Tomas Olivaabout whether social distancing isfactored into the design of thenew library building, Campossaid, “We brought it up into dis-cussion. It was highly unlikelyfor a pandemic to happen. But ifit did happen again, the library isbeing designed with more move-able pieces in case we have to goback to social distancing.”

Campos said that engineerswere using the best wipeable sur-faces as part of the design of thelibrary.

Campos then announced thatthe Greyhound station in ElCentro would be closing.Campos explained thatGreyhound was interested inpartnering with the city of ElCentro to put a new Greyhoundstation at the bus stop/regionaltransportation hub in El Centroon State Street and SeventhStreet. Campos showed the coun-cil Greyhound’s plans for the newfacility.

COVID...............................from page one

BY RICHARDMONTENEGRO BROWN

A city of more than 1 millionpeople essentially went on lock-down late last week when itsmayor announced effectiveimmediately the sternest meas-ures yet to stem the fast-risingtide of COVID-19 infections thathave reportedly overwhelmedmuch of the Baja California capi-tal’s healthcare resources.

Around 5 p.m. May 22,Mexicali Mayor Marina del PilarAvila Olmeda took to socialmedia via video message toinform residents that everyonemust be in their homes after 6p.m. each day unless they havejustification or are conductingessential business.

All markets and stores wouldbe closed after 7 p.m., and mainavenues and boulevards would belimited to one open lane each, shesaid in the video.

Additionally, the use of facecoverings/masks are now manda-tory, and only two people cantravel per car, and that must bewith proper justification, themayor said.

The new security measures,which did not come with a time-

line or expiration date, were dueto the substantial increase inCOVID-19 cases in recent days,which have left hospitals in thecity with little space and causedMexicali to be No. 4 on the list ofMexican cities with the highestnumber of COVID cases.

The mayor’s office stated the“government of Mexicali will dowhat is necessary to take care ofthe health and life of all citizens;we ask for your understandingand cooperation in this sensitivesituation.”

Noticias Mexicali announceda few hours later the list of majorstreets that would be down to onelane after 6 p.m. each day.

The limited closures include:• Anáhuac and Terán (circulationsouth)•Independencia and GómezMorín (circulation to the west)• Río nuevo and Cd. Victoria (cir-culation to the south)•Justo Sierra and Cuahutémoc(circulation south)•Lázaro Cárdenas and Yugoslavia(east circulation)

Meanwhile, an ImperialCounty official confirmed lateMay 22 that del Pilar AvilaOlmeda and NezahualcóyotlJáuregui, a member of theMexicali City Council, along

with Mexicali emergency opera-tions personnel were in theImperial Valley on May 21 toattend a binational COVID-19meeting at the CountyAdministrative Center in ElCentro.

The Mexicali officials metwith their Imperial County coun-terparts to discuss a variety ofshared issues, including anupdate on health conditions in theborder cities, Imperial CountyDistrict 1 Supervisor JesusEscobar said May 23.

Del Pilar Avila Olmeda pro-vided some updates on the direconditions in Mexicali.

According to informationposted to the city of Mexicali’sofficial Facebook page, del PilarAvila Olmeda discussed plansand strategies regarding emer-gency services during the pan-demic and medical equipmentneeds, among other issues.

Although Imperial Countymedical officials said earlier inthe week that Mexicali hospitalswere at capacity and turningaway patients, Escobar said delPilar Avila Olmeda’s update saidotherwise.

She did acknowledge that allof the city’s many hospitals andclinics were nearing capacity, butnot yet there, Escobar said.

State-run institutional hospi-tals were close to 100 percentfull, but as of May 21 there wasstill a limited number of bedsavailable, Escobar relayed. Thehospitals included ISSTE (for

federal workers), ISSTE Cali (forstate workers), IMSS (for pri-vately insured/business owners),and Hospital General de Mexicali(for the general public).

Escobar explained Mexicalihas a complicated network ofpublic and private hospitals, withmany organizations operatingmany facilities, “considering it’sa city of 1 million people,” hesaid.

“Mexicali is much moredensely populated than theImperial Valley,” he added.

While Imperial Countyawaits the opening of the state-run, 80-bed federal medical facil-ity inside Imperial Valley

College’s gym for COVIDpatients early next week, a simi-lar “pop-up hospital” in Mexicaliis already in operation atUniversidad Autónoma de BajaCalifornia through a public-pri-vate partnership, Escobar said.

Mexicali was reporting some161 deaths related to COVID-19,1,898 total positive cases, 359positive cases pending confirma-tion, and 374 recoveries as ofMay 26.

Continued on page 8

Pacheco asked whether therewould bleachers as part of theballfield project. Dale said, yes,that those would be purchasedlater and installed in house. Hesaid irrigation and lights are stillto come.

“We’re getting close” to beingfinished, Dale said. “It’s going tobe an elite park in the countywhen it’s done.”

Gas-Tax Projects ID’d for2020-21

To gain access to Calexico’sportion of state Senate Bill 1:Road Repair and AccountabilityAct funding for road-infrastruc-ture projects, the council unani-mously voted 5-0 to adopt a reso-lution identifying a list of projectsthat would be funded through thegas tax.

The resolution was for an esti-mated total of $796,987 for thethree projects in fiscal 2020-2021,which starts July 1. The projectsare for improvements at Weakleyand Scaroni roads and for thewidening of the Second Streetbridge, according to a report to thecouncil by Falomir. Construction

on all three projects would occurin 2021.

The Weakley Road projectinvolves a section of fully rebuiltstreets and the installation ofcurbs, gutters and sidewalks andtraffic controls and utilities relo-cation in the northern section ofthe city. Weakley is an east-westlateral road between ColeBoulevard and Camacho Roadjust west of Highway111/Imperial Avenue.

The same type of work is slat-ed for Scaroni Road, a north-southlateral that runs just parallel and tothe immediate west of Highway111/Imperial Avenue, also aroundCole Boulevard in the northernreaches of the city.

The Second Street bridge-widening is to expand the road-way and make improvements tothe bridge where SecondStreet/Anza Road crosses the NewRiver just west of the new down-town Port of Entry. Second Streetin the southern part of the cityruns mostly parallel (east-west)with the border west of ImperialAvenue/Highway 111.

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 4

Projects...................from page two

Mexicali Mayor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda speaks toImperial County officials May 21 at a private binational COVID-19 meeting in El Centro, where she shared some of the conditionsher city was facing during the pandemic. COURTESY PHOTO

Mexicali Mayor Issues SternLockdown Measures Over COVIDBaja California capital goes on strict curfew May 22, institutesmost forceful orders yet to slow rapid coronavirus cases in cityof 1 million.

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 5

of May 21 on conspiracy to com-mit federal bribery, seemedunfazed when he spoke to thisnewspaper.

“I can’t comment right nowsince it’s an ongoing investigation;hence, I have no statement,”Romero said May 22, when askedto speak to the charges against himand Suarez-Soto, Romero’s rela-tive and appointee to the cityEconomic Development/FinancialAdvisory Commission.

Romero explained he is await-ing advice from his attorney onwhether and when he should makea public statement.

Uncertain how long Romerowould stay on the phone, he wasasked point blank whether he wasinnocent of the charges againsthim. A press release from the U.S.Attorney’s Office did not say howRomero and Suarez-Soto pleadedduring the arraignment.

“No comment,” Romero said.“I can’t …”

Romero was then asked whena public statement might be forth-coming.

“Not sure at the moment; I’mhoping sooner than later. … Don’twant to lie. Hopefully soon,” headded.

Do you intend to remain on theCalexico City Council?

“There’s no decision onwhether I’m resigning or not, so itstays as is,” Romero said, addingthere is “no decision on my part”and, again, he is awaiting legaladvice.

Unsolicited, Romero offered:“I honestly took this call out of

courtesy. I don’t want to feel likeI’m hiding from my constituency.”

And so far, he doesn’t seem tobe.

Although Romero ditched aspecial meeting of the CalexicoCity Council on the afternoon ofMay 21 that was scheduled justone hour after his arraignment, hewas photographed by Brown BagCoalition leaders at BorderFriendship Park later that eveningfeeding the homeless with hischurch group, CEDES ComunidadCristiana Valle Imperial inCalexico, or CEDES IV.

Brown Bag co-founderMaribel Padilla posted the photo toBrown Bag’s Facebook page laterthat night and allowed theCalexico Chronicle to use it forthis story.

Romero and Suarez-Soto, who

is more commonly known aroundthe community as Bruno Suarez,were arraigned at 2 p.m. via videoteleconference before U.S.Magistrate Judge Bernard G.Skomal, who was in his San Diegocourtroom.

Romero and Suarez-Sotopleaded not guilty to the chargesagainst them through Zoom fromthe office of Suarez’s El Centroattorney, Donald LeVine, said

Assistant U.S. Attorney NicholasPilchak when reached May 24.Pilchak added Romero’s attorney,Anthony Colombo Jr., attendedthrough teleconference from hisSan Diego office.

The federal prosecutor could-

n’t say why the news releaseannouncing the arraignment didnot include how the defendantspleaded.

Romero and Soto are accusedof accepting $35,000 in cashbribes from an undercover FBIagent who they believed represent-ed investors seeking to open acannabis dispensary in Calexico,according to the federal chargingdocuments in the case.

“In return, Romero and(Suarez-)Soto ‘guaranteed’ therapid issuance of a city permit forthe dispensary, and to revoke orhinder other applicants, if neces-sary, to ensure that the bribepayer’s application was successful.… Both men admitted they hadtaken bribes from others in thepast,” the May 21 press releasefrom the U.S. Attorney’s Officestated. The release was sent out tothe media and city officials some-time between 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

“Referring to this $35,000 pay-ment, it is alleged they told theundercover agent, ‘This isn’t ourfirst rodeo,’” the release stated.

In a series of meetings thatoccurred between the undercoverFBI agent and Romero and Suarezfrom Dec. 19, 2019, to Jan. 30,2020, money allegedly changedhands twice in installments,Romero allegedly informed agentshe had associates inside City Hallthat could help prioritize cannabispermit applications and push theundercover agent’s application tothe front of the queue, and the menallegedly told the agent they hadformed a shell company to acceptbribes, with Suarez-Soto as themanager of the company, RSGlobal Solutions LLC, accordingto the federal documents.

Pilchak would not commentwhy the men were never taken intocustody or officially arrested. Hesaid it was the U.S. Attorney’s pol-icy to comment only on thosethings that are part of the publicrecord, which included the mediarelease and the charging document.He did acknowledge that it wasagreed between the prosecutionand defense attorneys that Romeroand Suarez would appear for thearraignment date and that theirrelease was agreed upon as long asthey posted a $10,000 bond each.

The next court appearance is at10:30 a.m. July 2 before U.S.District Judge Cathy AnnBencivengo in San Diego federalcourt.

Due to his successful electionto a first term on the council in2018, Romero is relatively well-known in the community. Suarez,on the other hand, seems to bemore of unknown quantity, whocity officials say resigned from hisposition on the economic develop-ment commission April 22 due toresidency issues. Calexico CityManager David Dale said Suarezsaid he was moving to or hadmoved to Mexicali.

Still, this newspaper willattempt to shed more light onRomero and Suarez.

But first, Calexico officialswant the public to know the allega-tions against the two men, espe-cially Romero, are not indicativeof Calexico’s reputation of old, orthe long-held, oft-repeated insult,“Only in Calexico.”

Continued on page 8

Romero................................................................from page one

U.S. Attorney: Calexico City Officials Charged With CorruptionSTAFF REPORT

Calexico City Councilman andMayor Pro Tem David Romero,along with Bruno Suarez-Soto, aformer commissioner on the city’sEconomic Development andFinancial Advisory Commission,were charged in federal court May21 with accepting cash bribes inexchange for promises of officialaction by the city, according to apress release from U.S. Departmentof Justice.

The defendants were arraignedMay 21 via video teleconferencebefore U.S. Magistrate JudgeBernard G. Skomal. They werereleased on $10,000 personalappearance bonds secured by theirown signatures. The next court dateis July 2 at 10:30 a.m. before U.S.District Judge Cathy AnnBencivengo.

According to a charging docu-ment, Romero and Soto accepted$35,000 in cash bribes from anundercover FBI agent who theybelieved represented investorsseeking to open a cannabis dispen-sary in Calexico. In return, Romeroand Soto “guaranteed” the rapidissuance of a city permit for the dis-pensary, and to revoke or hinderother applicants, if necessary, toensure that the bribe payer’s appli-cation was successful. Moreover,both men admitted they had takenbribes from others in the past,according to the charging docu-ment. Referring to this $35,000payment, it is alleged they told theundercover agent, “This isn’t ourfirst rodeo.”

In addition to being a council-

man, Romero serves as Calexico’smayor pro tem, meaning he was setto become mayor in July. Soto wasrecently appointed to the city com-mission responsible for promotingbusiness and community growthand coordinating with prospectivedevelopers to help them invest inthe city of Calexico, according tothe press release.

“Public officials must act withhonesty and integrity when doingthe public’s business,” said U.S.Attorney Robert Brewer. “If civicleaders won’t uphold these stan-dards, we will. We allege that thesedefendants traded on their positionsof trust, selling the integrity of gov-ernment in exchange for thousandsof dollars. We will vigorouslyenforce the law whenever a publicofficial puts his own greed ahead ofthe interests of his constituents.”

“Public corruption remains theFBI’s top criminal priority. Assuch, the FBI in San Diego andImperial County has a robust publiccorruption program that is dedicat-ed to uncovering criminal conductof public officials,” said Acting FBISAC Omer Meisel. “The investi-gation of Mr. Romero and Mr.Suarez-Soto serves as anotherexample of the FBI’s commitmenttoward accountability for thoseserving the public and holding posi-tions of trust.”

The charges allege that during aDec. 19, 2019 meeting at a restau-rant in Calexico with the undercov-er FBI agent, Romero and Sotoagreed to fast-track the agent’s pur-ported application for a cannabisdispensary permit and guaranteedits rapid issuance in exchange for a

$35,000 bribe. The defendants alsooffered to delay permit applicationsby competitors, court records said.

The charging document furtheralleges that toward the conclusionof the December 19, 2019 meeting,when the undercover agent asked ifRomero and Soto might later askfor more than the $35,000 payment,Romero assured him that theywould not. “This is done. Set andsealed,” Romero allegedly said.Romero explained that he and Sotowould require the money to be paidup front, however, because they haddone similar work for other people,and those people had not paid theagreed-upon fee after the favors hadbeen rendered. Soto later added,“This isn’t our first rodeo.” Romeroand Soto agreed to accept paymentof the $35,000 from the agent intwo installments, however: half upfront, and half “when it’s a for surething.”

According to court filings, atthis meeting the undercover agentasked whether the payment of$35,000 would “get us in front ofthe line” of applicants. Sotoanswered, “Hell yeah.” Romeroadded that he “didn’t want to say itin front of everybody, but it will.”

On Jan. 9, Romero and Sotoattended a second meeting with theundercover agent at a restaurant inEl Centro. During the meeting,according to court records, Romeroreminded the undercover agent howdifficult it was to work with the cityof Calexico, and how fortunate itwas that the agent was workingwith Romero. Soto later added thatin return for the bribe, Romerowould cut through “so much bull-

shit (red) tape that exists” with thecity.

During a discussion of theapproval process for the permitapplication referenced in courtrecords, Romero explained that thepeople who have to approve theundercover agent’s license were“my best friends at the entire CityHall.” When asked if the “bestfriends” had already signed off onthe plan, Romero responded “F**k,yeah!” and laughed.

Court filings reveal that at theconclusion of the Jan. 9, 2020 meet-ing, in the parking lot outside therestaurant, with Romero lookingon, the undercover agent handedSoto $17,500 in cash and explainedthat he divided the first installmentof the bribe into two envelopes: onewith $8,800 and another with$8,700. The agent asked whether“we’re good,” and Romeroresponded, “Trust me” and added,“In my line of business, I can’t f**kup. Which means he (Soto) can’tf**k up.”

According to the charging doc-uments, the defendants accepted thesecond installment, $17,500 incash, during a third meeting on Jan.30 in a parking lot outside a restau-rant in El Centro. Court documentsfurther allege both men also admit-ted to creating a shell corporation tolaunder the proceeds of theirbribery scheme.

The charging document alsoalleges that both men lied to theFBI when interviewed by agents atthe conclusion of the Jan. 30 meet-ing. According to court filings,Romero falsely denied being part ofany agreement with the undercover

agent, and denied that anyone hadmade any “guarantees” to the agent.Similarly, Soto falsely denied mak-ing any “guarantees” to the under-cover agent and denied receivingany prior payments from the agent.

U.S. Attorney Brewer praisedAssistant U.S. Attorney NicholasPilchak, DOJ Public IntegritySection trial attorney JoshuaRothstein and FBI agents for work-ing hard to achieve justice in thismatter.

The case against Romero andSuarez-Soto is a public corruptioninvestigation being conducted bythe FBI and the U.S. Attorney’sOffice. Any member of the publicwho has information related to thisor any other public corruption mat-ter in Imperial County or San Diegois encouraged to provide informa-tion to the FBI’s email tip line attips.fbi.gov or to contact their localFBI Field Office. In ImperialCounty, the FBI can be reached 24hours a day at 858-320-1800 or 1-877-NO-BRIBE (662-7423).DEFENDANTSCase Number 20cr1215Calexico City Councilman DavidRomeroAge: 36Residence: Calexico, CACalexico City CommissionerBruno Suarez-Soto Age: 28Residence: Calexico, CASUMMARY OF CHARGESConspiracy to Commit FederalProgram Bribery, in violation ofTitle 18, United States Code,Sections371 and 666 (a) (1) (B)Maximum Penalty: Five years inprison; $250,000 fine

Calexico City Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem DavidRomero (left) can be seen serving food to the homeless at BorderFriendship Park in Calexico the evening of May 21, just a fewhours after he was arraigned on federal bribery charges. PHOTOCOURTESY OF BROWN BAG COALITION

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 Page 6

across the street from BenValenzuela, a fellow Vietnamveteran.

Valenzuela remembersCalexico in those “innocentdays,” when you could safelyplay baseball until midnight,and everyone knew each other,and that was just the way it was.

"I knew him since we werekindergarten," Valenzuelarecounted. "We were very goodfriends since he lived across thestreet."

They grew up together andwere on the same sports teams.

"We challenged each other,and were just having a goodtime," said Valenzuela. "His lit-tle brother, Eddie Annos, wasvery good friends with myyounger brother, Louie. We hada tight relationship. Everybodyin Calexico knew everybody,you did the best with what youhad, which it was."

Annos was known as“Bomber.”

"Back in high school, he gotbusted for making a makeshiftbomb out of firecrackers, so thenickname 'Bomber' stuck withhim," Valenzuela said with alaugh.

While in high school,Valenzuela remembers how the

two spent most of their time onthe football team, trying to lookcool in front of girls, and hang-ing out. The two were also partof their own club. They calledthemselves the “Latins.”

"It was a group of about 16guys, going to a dance, wearingthe same dressed-up clothes try-ing to hit on girls. We did thatfor about two years, our juniorand senior year," Valenzuelasaid.

Valenzuela remembers heand his friends would drivearound Calexico and just “hangout” when they were young.

“We'd go to school, and thenlater that evening, we'd go toOwen's, the local drive-in, andhave a bunch of laughs andenjoy our time — that was basi-cally our lives," Valenzuela said.

Soon after senior year, theirlives changed. Valenzuela andAnnos were drafted alongsidetheir other friends and class-mates.

"We all knew we were des-tined to go to the Army, that'ssomething you did. It wasn'tunexpected. It was our turn.That's how I felt," Valenzuelasaid.

Soon the young men weredrafted and taken to Los

Angeles. Valenzuela remembershow he was “packed into whatlooked like a labor truck”alongside about 30 others.

"There were kids from ElCentro, Brawley and Imperial.We knew some of them becausewe played against them,"Valenzuela said.

Before boarding the bus, alocal newspaper had taken aphoto of them.

"My mom had that picture. Iremember seeing it. I saw howyoung and dumb we lookedback then when we got drafted,"Valenzuela said.

From L.A., they were sent toFort Hood, the reception centerin Texas. Valenzuela, Annos,and their classmate, CarlosBasabe, planned on going “air-borne” or becoming soldierstrained to parachute into battle.While Basabe and Valenzuelasigned up to go airborne, afterboot camp, Annos signed upbefore.

“At that time, we toldBomber, 'I'll see you then.' Wewent to Fort Riley in Kansas,and I think Bomber went to FortBenning in Georgia. The recep-tion center was the last time Isaw him," said Valenzuela.

Annos died May 16, 1967, a

day after his birthday.While in

Vietnam, Valenzuelahad gotten the newsthat his friend haddied through a mili-tary newspaper.Later, his mom wroteto him.

"I told my momthat I wasn't out inthe jungle, doing thesame things as aBomber; I lied. I keptwhat I was goingthrough, and where Iwas, very private,"Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela andBasabe were togeth-er when they got thenews of Annos'death.

"I remember sit-ting with my friend, CarlosBasabe. It was hard for us tounderstand and believe thatBomber was no longer with us,"Valenzuela said. "It's sad for mewhen I think about it. You thinka lot about what you did differ-ently to survive that; you ques-tion yourself all the time."

Valenzuela remembers thatliving in Vietnam was hard.Thinking about Vietnam now, heis in disbelief of what he wentthrough.

Fernando Escalante sharessimilar sentiments of his time inVietnam.

"My first month in Vietnam,in October of '69, everythingwent very well. I thought that itwould be like being in the BoyScouts, camping," Escalantesaid. "In my second month, allhell broke loose.”

During his second month,Escalante lived through fivehours of an invasion of theNorth Vietnamese Army on theirbase, Firebase Jerri. This samemonth he also had his firstexchange of gunfire, a “fire-fight.”

"It was not like seeing a JohnWayne movie," Escalante said."The enemy was for real, andthey loved hunting us, andkilling us.”

Escalante explained thatVietnam combat infantrymenstill call their wartime buddies“brothers,” because they didtheir job to survive as brothers.

"When I saw my combatbrothers get KIA or WIA (killedor wounded in action), all of uschanged, and we adapted to sur-vive. We fought for each other,"said Escalante. "My briefwartime story is probably whatGeorge Annos went through. Itwas like a nightmare, surreal,but nevertheless, it really didhappen. Unfortunately, George,like many others, didn't comehome.”

On Memorial Day, weremember the thousands ofAmericans who lost their livesin combat, like George RichardAnnos.

"It's important that we honorall who served in the militaryduring wartime and died fortheir country. The brave onesthat didn't come home shouldnever be forgotten," Escalantesaid. "Freedom is not free."

Annos..............................from page one

American flags and other patriotic decorations were found around MountainView Cemetery in Calexico on Memorial Day, May 27. CORISSA IBARRA PHOTO

Calexico native GeorgeRichard Annos, who died inthe Vietnam War, is shown inthis high school photo. PHOTOCOURTESY OF THOMASHENDERSON

Calexico native GeorgeRichard Annos, who died fromfriendly fire in the VietnamWar after just six months incountry, is shown prior tobeing deployed overseas.PHOTO COURTESY OFTHOMAS HENDERSON

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 7

Business Buzz: City of Holtville is Having a Growth Spurt

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

Holtville is experiencing a growthspurt even as COVID-19 clamps down onthe economy.

“The Dollar General is moving for-ward. They did some demo work, pulled apermit and they are ready to go. It shouldbe open by early fall,” city Planner JeorgeGalvan said last week about the projectHoltville residents are most excited about.

“We are excited to have more retail inHoltville. Some are worried about havingduplicate stores, but after speaking to rep-resentatives from Dollar General, it seemsto happen a lot in small towns,” CityManager Nick Wells explained after hear-ing some residents are concerned aboutDollar General and the existing FamilyDollar being too similar.

The Dollar General is being built byNNN Retail Development of San Diego.

Dollar General is being developed on a42,000-square-foot lot on the southwest

corner of Palm Avenue/Highway 115 andWest Fifth Street. The store structure islisted at 7,225 square feet.

The project site is about 300 feet westof Family Dollar, also on West Fifth Street.

“Dollar General sells quality, name-brand and private brand merchandise suchas foods, health and beauty products,home cleaning supplies, housewares, sta-tionery, seasonal items and basic clothing.In addition to high quality private brands,Dollar General sells products fromAmerica's most-trusted brands …” AngelaPetkovic, public relations for DollarGeneral corporate in Goodlettsville, Tenn.,wrote in an email to the Holtville Tribunelate last year.

Meanwhile, several other projects inHoltville are in various stages of develop-ment.

“We have a 43-unit mixed affordablehousing project under currently under con-struction on the northwest corner of Fernand Fourth (Street) that we expect to seecompleted toward the end of the year,”

Galvan said of the first project. Wells spoke about how a mixed-

affordable housing project is structured.“At the mixed-use housing project on

Fern there are some units that are afford-able housing and there are some at themarket rate,” he said.

Galvan spoke about the second, yetmore distant construction project inHoltville, a 130-unit apartment complexon the northwest corner of Melon Avenueand 10th Street.

“This is a fairly large project andrequires an extensive environmentalprocess be followed,” Galvan said.

Wells explained the detail behind themassive project.

“It’s been a process for quite sometime. The person in charge of it is a localfarmer, John Hawk,” Wells said.

Hawk has drawn up all the plans hastaken steps with the city to complete thepermitting process before finding aninvestor, Wells said.

Another project in the works inHoltville that recently acquired permitsfrom the planning commission is therestaurant Las Palmitas, whose owners arelooking to construct a new building.

Holtville Mayor Jim Predmore said heis happy to see the new construction in thecity.

“When I originally campaigned forcity council eight years ago, I felt Holtvilleneeded to grow and I still do,” he said.

Predmore shared his excitement aboutHoltville’s upcoming culinary attractions.

“Cuchi’s Raspados is building a newlocation in Holtville. Donut Avenue hasalso renovated a new location on 5thStreet,” he said.

Predmore said Cuchi’s Raspados willbe ready to open its doors soon and thenew Donut Avenue location is ready toopen but is waiting for opening restrictionsto decrease due to COVID before begin-ning operations in its new location.

The mayor explained why it is so diffi-cult to develop a small town like Holtville.

“There is more to it than I originallythought. It always comes down to a devel-oper being willing to create those opportu-

nities for a small community. The more wegrow, the more opportunities there are fordevelopers,” Predmore said.

Developments can take years to cometo fruition. Due to a dispute between theproperty owner and the developer at theDollar General site, it took five years toreach an agreement and be able to startconstruction, he said.

Bringing fast food to the small city is agoal on the horizon for Predmore, whosaid most fast-food chains basic require-ment for coming to a city is a population of10,000.

“The city of Holtville is at 6,000, andwith the outskirts, we are up to about9,000. These new developments could putus close to that 10,000 mark,” he said.

Construction was under way for the Dollar General location on the southwest cor-ner of Palm Avenue/Highway 115 and West Fifth Street. Dollar General is beingdeveloped on a 42,000-square-foot lot. The store structure is listed at 7,225 squarefeet. CORISSA IBARRA PHOTO

Construction was under way for thenew Cuchi's Raspados location on HoltAve. in Holtville.

The new Donut Avenue on Fifth Streetin Holtville is ready to go, but MayorJim Predmore says it will not openuntil restrictions for business due to thecoronavirus ease. STAFF PHOTO

Mark R. Wheeler has beennamed associate dean for aca-demic affairs at San Diego StateUniversity-Imperial Valley cam-pus in Calexico. Wheeler willstart the job in June. Next tohim is his wife, Alexandra Hart.COURTESY PHOTO

New Associate Dean For Academic Affairs Named At SDSU-IVSTAFF REPORT

Mark R. Wheeler has beennamed associate dean for academ-ic affairs at San Diego StateUniversity-Imperial Valley cam-pus in Calexico. Wheeler will startthe job in June, according to anSDSU-IV press release.

“A lot of things just cametogether to make this the righttime for me to take this step,”Wheeler stated in a press release.

He is currently chair of theSDSU University Senate andchair of the SDSU Faculty.Additionally, Wheeler is chair ofthe SDSU Department ofPhilosophy, where he has pursuedresearch and has been teachingsince 1995.

Wheeler joins the administra-tive team at a time when SDSU-IV Dean Gregorio M. Ponce andSDSU President Adela de la Torrehave stated their intent to see the

Calexico campus enrollment dou-ble to more than 2,000 studentsover the next few years.

“Since I’ve known Mark, he’soffered to do anything he can tohelp us achieve our goals for thecampus. He’s enthusiastic aboutwhat we are doing. And, he hasthe experience and connections inthe university and the CSU systemto help us build this local univer-sity to meet the Imperial Valley’shigher education needs,” Poncestated in the release.

Even as he prepares for hisnew position, Wheeler hasworked to ensure SDSU-IV is rec-ognized and fully integrated inSDSU governance. In March, forthe first time in the university’shistory, Wheeler convened aUniversity Senate meeting at theImperial Valley campus, withother members of the university’sgoverning body joining throughZoom. And he put into motion a

plan to include SDSU-IV as oneof the regular sites for theUniversity Senate’s meetings infuture years.

Wheeler’s book, “BeingMeasured: Truth and Falsehood inAristotle’s Metaphysics,” wasrecently published by SUNYPress. The book is based on about25 years of research and writing,he said.

Wheeler has a Ph.D. in philos-ophy from the University ofRochester, in Rochester, N.Y. Hejoined the philosophy faculty atSDSU as an assistant professor in1995. In August 2019, he wasmade a full professor.

In addition to being chair ofthe Department of Philosophy atSDSU, he is director of theInstitute of Ethics and PublicAffairs at SDSU and has heldnumerous other leadership roles inthe university. He has publishednumerous articles and book chap-

ters and received many accoladesand honors, including the MostInfluential Faculty Award for theSDSU Department of Philosophyin 2018-19.

He stated he is enthusiasticabout joining the Imperial Valleycampus team and the chance towork with Dean Ponce.

“I see how he comports him-self as a diplomatic leader,”Wheeler stated. “He’s just a won-derful human being.”

Wheeler and his wife,Alexandra Hart, a noted metal-smith and jeweler, are moving tothe Valley and plan to immersethemselves in the campus andbroader community.

“It is the perfect time for me tomake a change, to bring togetherwhat I enjoy and what I am goodat,” he stated. “I like to be a leaderwith people I am serving.”

Calexico Officials Offer HarshCriticism

With a special City Councilmeeting scheduled for budgethearings for the upcoming fiscalyear, city officials, council mem-bers and the city attorney werealready gathered in City Hall onMay 21, so within hours ofRomero and Suarez’s arraignment,legal counsel advised policymak-ers not to comment to the media,and Dale, on behalf of the city,crafted an impassioned andlengthy response on the allega-tions.

Dale clarified that city officialshad been hearing rumors thateither an arrest or an indictment ofRomero and another person wasimminent by federal authorities forabout a month or little more, butcity officials did not know theexact nature of the charges or theextent of the allegations that wouldbe filed until they were made pub-lic that afternoon in the U.S.Attorney’s press release and thecharging documents filed in SanDiego federal court.

“We all know how Calexicorumors are. You can’t believe it tillyou see it,” Dale said May 23.

As complete as Dale’s state-ment seemed at the time, it didn’tgo far enough for Calexico MayorBill Hodge, who was still angryover the allegations against the twocity representatives when Hodgewas contacted for comment May24.

“The city of Calexico stronglycondemns these egregious andappalling allegations againstMayor Pro Tem Romero andBruno Suarez. Calexico will nottolerate or soft pedal this allegedcriminal behavior. We are a city oftransparency and integrity,” Hodgesaid.

“I’m saddened and especiallydisappointed in this young man(Romero) … I hope that heresigns. It would be best for himand the City Council,” the mayorsaid. “I know that by law he hasthe right to sit on the City Counciluntil convicted … Even thoughthis is an alleged crime, I don’t, inmy heart, feel comfortable withhim on the dais.”

Romero is due to becomemayor in July, according to thecity’s preset ceremonial rotation.

Hodge and Dale both sayCalexico has worked diligentlyover the past couple of years torepair city finances and rebuild itsreputation through transparencyand fiduciary responsibility.

“I personally like David(Romero), but he’s alleged of

doing wrong. For me, just the alle-gations alone upset me, disturb me… People should not generalizefrom these individuals that all CityCouncil members, or employeesare corrupt,” Hodge said. “Thesetwo individuals are accused ofabhorrent criminal behavior.”

Council members RosieFernandez, Lewis Pacheco andMorris Reisen were all contactedto comment on this story.Fernandez would not comment,and Pacheco could not immediate-ly be reached.

Although Reisen initially saidhe was advised not to say anythingby City Attorney Carlos Campos,he added, “This is the tip of theiceberg.”

“A lot of things are going tohappen, and everything’s going tocome out once they do an investi-gation,” Reisen said May 22. Hewouldn’t comment further whenpressed.

Imperial County District 1Supervisor Jesus Escobar, whowas leaving the Calexico councilto take a seat on the county Boardof Supervisors, crossed paths withRomero for one or two councilmeetings in late 2018/early 2019.

He called the allegations dis-appointing and “another black eyefor Calexico.”

Escobar said such incidentsgive the public more fuel for thefire with talk of “only inCalexico.”Looking Into Cannabis, Other

Romero-backed ItemsDale acknowledged in his pre-

pared statement that the citywould be looking at its processesand procedures regarding the per-mitting of cannabis-related busi-nesses.

With one retail storefrontoperating, two delivery-only serv-ices open and a testing lab doingbusiness in downtown Calexico,Dale doesn’t think any internalinvestigation should affect theongoing businesses.

However, he said one of thefirst things he plans to do May 26is to figure out how the city willdetermine what the weaknesses orshortcomings are in the process.

“I think we should check intoeverything. Not just stop atcannabis but look at everything inthe most transparent way. We areall heartbroken and disappointed,”Dale said.

“He (Romero) was involved ina lot of things,” the city manageradded. “We need to see what waspushed and what was not pushed(by Romero).”

Hodge said he doesn’t want to

see the existing cannabis business-es affected, either, but he wouldlike to see all movement on theunopened but permitted cannabisoperations stalled while an inter-nal probe is done.

“Obviously there has to beholes in (the process) that allowsfor corruption,” Hodge said.

Dale, who has been with thecity in some form while the per-mitting process was developed forcannabis, said “nothing sticks out”that shows him how the processcould easily be corrupted.

“I can’t see it,” he said.With 13 retail storefront per-

mits on the books, the permitswere all approved as they cameup. After the initial five wereapproved, city staff, the planningcommission and the councilapproved additional permits asthey were needed, Dale said. Also,caps have never been reached onsome of the other types of permits,like cultivation, manufacturing,and distribution.

“It’s going to take some foren-sic accounting to look into it,”Dale said.

As a member of the city’scannabis subcommittee withReisen, Hodge agreed, “We, needto re-examine (the process), yes.”

Hodge and Dale are most trou-bled by Romero’s assertion thatthere are city staffers involved inpermitting that Romero claimedhe could exert influence over,according to allegations in the fed-eral charging document.

That is one of the worst state-ments in the entire document, Dalesaid.

More About Romero andSuarez

Romero, age 36, was born inMexicali and moved to Calexicowith his parents when he wasaround 5 years old, he said in avideo from 2018, when he wasrunning for Calexico CityCouncil. He has long known in thecommunity, as has his family,which owns a carpet-cleaningbusiness.

A 2002 Calexico High Schoolgraduate, Romero is married withtwo children. He attended DoolElementary School and De AnzaMiddle School. It’s not clearwhere he is presently employed,but Romero was an insurancesalesman at one point, a city offi-cial said.

Recently, he identified himselfas a sales adviser for FergorDental/SMART DentALL inMexicali on his public Facebookpage. Romero appears on promo-tional photos for SMART

DentALL on his Facebook andInstagram social media pages,which are open to the public andnot set to private.

Romero is a U.S. Army veter-an who arrived in Kuwait when hewas 19 years old and took part inOperation Iraqi Freedom in 2003,“when it first got real,” he toldJose Alejos on a Sept. 15, 2018,episode of Alejos’ “Que PasaCalexico” podcast when Romerowas running for office.

(To find Romero’s interviewon “Que Pasa Calexico,” go here:h t t p s : / / a n c h o r . f m / j o s e -alejos3/episodes/Episode-12---David-Romero-e27urc )

“Excited now to be one ofthose contributing adults to thetown,” Romero told Alejos he wasa member of the same cityEconomic Development/FinancialAdvisory Commission that hewould later appoint co-defendantSuarez to.

Romero, in 2018, was formerCalexico City Council MemberArmando “Mandy” Real’sappointee to the commission.Romero held the position of secre-tary.

Ironically (or perhaps not),during the “Que Pasa Calexico”podcast, Bruno Suarez submitted aquestion online for Romero toanswer during the interviewregarding revitalizing downtownCalexico.

For about five years, Romerohas been a regular volunteer withCEDES IV at Brown BagCoalition’s nightly feedings of thehomeless in Calexico, MaribelPadilla said. She added CEDES IVfeeds about once a month.

Padilla, who said she doesn’tconsider Romero a good friend oranything, said she was surprised tosee him show up to feed the home-less the night of May 21, just a fewhours after his arraignment asnews broke around town about theallegations.

“I was disappointed obviouslyin anything that makes us look likeidiots,” Padilla said of the newsabout Romero, citing the often-repeated “only in Calexico” insult.However, Padilla said she wasmore concerned that someone wasthere to feed the homeless, soRomero was welcomed.

In the 2018 interview, Romerotalked about what it meant to be anhonest politician and an engaged,concerned citizen.

“I want to people when theysee me to say, ‘There’s the politi-cian who’s trying to do the rightthing’ … I am a politician, but Iwant to give a good name to politi-

cians. You hear, ‘Oh, he’s corrupt,’‘no, he’s shady’ … I want to hearthem say, ‘No, he’s good, he’ssquared away.’ That’s what I wantto bring back to Calexico,”Romero told Alejos in the inter-view.

Romero also spoke aboutcannabis, which in fall 2018, wasstill in the formative stages inCalexico.

“In the beginning I was like,‘Ugh, cannabis.’ Obviously grow-ing up, they tell you cannabis isbad, you know, it’s taboo, it’s formarijuanos. But once you reallystart to educate yourself on thebenefits of cannabis … I think it’sa great idea,” he told Alejos.

“What Calexico has to do withcannabis is be a little bit moretransparent with how they handletheir financials with their budgetsand stuff like that,” Romero saidin 2018.

Suarez is a bit more of a mys-tery. People know him, but in amore general way. Padilla has seenhim around the Brown Bag feed-ings often, as he has identifiedhimself as a friend of Romero’sand as a member of CEDES IV,she said.

The 28-year-old is believed tobe a graduate of Calexico High,and while his city of residence islisted as Calexico in the U.S.Attorney’s press release, Dale saidhe resigned from the economicdevelopment commission in lateApril citing “residency issues”; hewas reportedly moving toMexicali, or had already done so.

As of May 22, he had noactive social media presence tospeak of, but his photo was foundtwice on David Romero’s publicInstagram feed. First, in a photo ofRomero alongside all of his com-mission appointees, and second, ina promotional photo forSMARTDentALL, where itappeared he is also an employee.

In the federal charging docu-ment, Suarez is referred to as arelative of Romero’s. It also sayshe was the manager of a consult-ing firm created to filter the bribemoney, according to the allega-tions in the charging document.

Suarez’s name does not appearon the California Secretary ofState’s website under RS GlobalSolutions LLC, which shows thelimited liability company registra-tion was cancelled. The companyregistered with the state March 4,2019, and last filed a statementMay 27, 2019.

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 8

Romero................................................................from page five

that, and the Mr. Romero and Mr.Suarez-Soto are presumed notguilty of the charges until guilt isproven in a court of law. Thatsaid, the city will take action toaddress these serious allegationswhich strike at the heart of citygovernance and integrity.

“First, the city is makingefforts to determine whether anyof its processes were affected bythe arrangements described in theU.S. Attorney’s new release andthe charging document. If so, thecity will act immediately toensure that those processes arecorrected or abated pending out-come of the charges.

“Second, the city will havediscussions with Mr. Romeroconcerning his continued partici-pation in municipal governanceduring the pendency of thesecharges as a member of the coun-cil and mayor pro tem.

“Third, the city is not awareof any involvement of any othercity employees, appointed com-missioners or City Council mem-bers. If we are made aware, wewill take appropriate action.

“Any inquiries regarding thismatter should be directed to thefederal officials conducting theinvestigation and prosecution.”

Response............from page threeAlthough no specific date has

been set, Escobar said due toshared conditions along the bor-der, he thinks there will be anoth-er binational COVID-19 meetingin the next two to three weeks.However, he could not be certain.

Early last week, El CentroRegional Medical Center went on“divert” due to a surge ofMexicali residents with U.S. citi-zenship seeking treatment there,officials said. The “diversion,”which means the hospital was nottaking any new COVID-19patients, was due to the influx ofill that started arriving at theemergency room late May 18. Thehospital went off diversion by theevening of May 19.

ECRMC Chief ExecutiveOfficer Adolphe Edward said ear-lier in the day May 19 viaFacebook Live that reports May18 were that all hospitals inMexicali were full and no longeraccepting COVID-positivepatients, but ECRMC officialsmodified that message toward theend of the day.

“Patients presenting at theemergency room (were) reportinghospitals in Mexicali weren’t tak-ing any more COVID patients.We have confirmed two of the pri-vate hospitals were not acceptingadditional COVID patients as ofthis morning. Keep in mind thisis a very fluid situation, so whatwas true this morning, may have

changed,” El Centro hospital offi-cials stated in an email to thisnewspaper in the afternoon May19.

Although he had no firm dataavailable at the time, ImperialCounty Public Health Officer, Dr.Stephen Munday, told the countyBoard of Supervisors on May 19that “there is a very difficult situ-ation in northern Baja(California).”

He said Mexicali hospitalsand emergency services were“overwhelmed,” supplies of per-sonal protective equipment wereexhausted and “overwhelmed,”and COVID hospitals had “turnedpeople away, because there’s notenough capacity to help them.”

Mexicali............from page four

which are 25 percent of totalcapacity of the facility or a maxi-mum of 100 people; whichevernumber is smaller, explainedcounty health officials.

“The one objection I have isthe capacity limit is very diffi-cult. In my two parishes I have4,000 regular Mass attenders onthe weekend. What will I do witha capacity of 100? Do 40 massesa weekend?” Edney said.

He added during the pressconference such an “arbitrarylimit … doesn’t seem just.”

Meanwhile, some local cler-gy members are already sayingthey will not immediately resumein-person services under thestate’s new conditions, calling itimpossible to do.

In an interview over thephone after the press conference,Edney explained that he answersto a higher authority who willdetermine when he opens hisdoors.

“The Catholic Church willresume weekend Masses on theweekend of June 13/14. What amI going to say to 4,000 people try-ing to come in?” Edney onceagain asked.

That date was announced aday earlier by the bishop of theSan Diego Diocese of theCatholic Church, which overseesImperial County.

Numbers aren’t the only lim-its placed on churches by thestate. During the press confer-ence, county Public HealthOfficer, Dr. Stephen Munday,said, “Singing, reciting prayers,and the passing of an offeringdish are restricted by state guide-lines for churches to reopen.”

Munday explained strictauditory regulations are in placebecause the coronavirus is highlycontagious in instances ofaerosolization, the dispersal of asubstance through the air, and hesaid studies have shown loudspeaking and singing can spraythe virus beyond social distanc-ing distances of six feet.

The county health officer alsoreferenced a tragedy in March inMount Vernon, Washington,where a choir practice left 52infected, two members of whomdied from the virus.

When asked about the coun-ty’s ability to open restrictions forlocal religious centers, Mundaysaid, “We can make the regula-tions stricter, but we cannot makeit less strict than what the statestandard is. So, for us to move toa larger number, the state willhave to change their parameters.”

Regardless of an inability tomodify state regulations, thoseclergy members interviewed forthis article commented on howgracious county officials havebeen in working with localchurches to re-open.

“The county has been a bless-ing, working hard to get churchesre-opened. We are very gratefulfor the dialogue that local countyofficials, and especially the cityof El Centro, has been willing towork with churches. The gover-nor was trying to appease faith-based communities acrossCalifornia but for the largerchurches it doesn’t help,” saidWalter Colace, head pastor atChrist Community Church.

Although Colace wants des-perately to revive his Sundayworship program, he feels thereare bigger fish to fry at themoment.

“There is a spike (of COVID-19) in the Valley. ChristCommunity Church is not readyto open. There are members ofour congregation who have

COVID-19,” Colace said. “Weare trying to put in security pro-cedures and guidelines to keepour congregation safe. I’m happyto see other churches can open,but we are still in the preparationphase.”

Colace said he feels thatcounty officials are backed into acorner and want churches openand that the governor will reach apoint where he has to trust thatpeople are able to be responsiblein following the guidelines.

The main regulation that allpastors with large congregationshave qualms with is the 100-per-son maximum limit for churchservices.

“For us, the new guidelinesdon’t help at all. Our sanctuaryseats 1,147 and at 25 percentcapacity, we would be able tohave 286 people. Under stateguidelines we are only allowed100 people, and we will need atleast 20 people to help run theservice. Holding services in thisway will frustrate people morethan help them,” Colace said.

Lead pastor at FaithAssembly in Imperial, DanBruce, is praying for guidance indeciding whether it is safe to re-open with the current surge ofnew cases in the Valley.

“I am in two minds. On onehand, I absolutely take this virusseriously and want to see no onecatch this and no one have to suf-fer through this sickness. On theother hand, it is very frustratingthat our church is not able tooperate as freely as I would like,”Bruce said in a phone interview.

He said he feels that churchescan operate more effectively interms of respecting state regula-tions than the big-box stores longdeemed essential by the state anddoes not agree with such strictregulations being placed onchurches.

“The guidelines are so strictthat you can’t meet them. If wecan only have 100 people in theroom at a time, including worshipteam, tech people such as sound,lights, computer, ushers, greeters,people at the door to take temper-atures and even having minimalstaff, you’re gonna use up at least25 of those 100 positions just tohave the infrastructure to put aservice on,” Bruce said.

He added that is likely whyFaith Assembly will not re-openunder these restrictions.

Bruce described how each ofthe guidelines would undermineany attempt made to hold aSunday service.

“They are disallowing publicsinging, passing the offeringplate, even saying prayersallowed. They want to limitpreaching because they are say-ing singing can spread aerosol 21feet. I am gonna kill 21 servicepeople trying to do eight servicesa day. From what I see is thatonly small churches could followthose regulations,” Bruce said.

Bruce said March 31 was atarget day fir many churches toopen because of the Pentecost.

“Pentecost is a day that isconsidered the birth of theChristian Church. In Acts 2 in theBible, Pentecost is the day Godpoured out the Holy Spirit onpeople, Peter gave out a serviceand 3,000 people came to thelove of Christ. There is a move-ment in many churches that aregoing to defiantly open (togreater numbers that what thestate is allowing) on Pentecost,”Bruce explained.

Bruce said that at a recentmeeting of local church leaders,the vast majority of pastors in the

area agreed to not hold servicesthis week.

Pastor Fernando Lainez ofTurning Point Ministries inHoltville has been giving hisweekly Spanish-languageSunday services via Zoom sincethe quarantine began. Lainezoffers the perspective of a how asmall church can be severelyimpacted by the state regulationsto re-open.

“My church is small, maybe80 people. This ministry has onlybeen open for two years. Mymaximum capacity is 80 people. Iwill need at least five people tohelp run the service, so thatleaves me with only 15 seats foreach service,” Lainez said.

With these hurdles in plainsight, Lainez is enthusiastic andcautious about how he will pro-ceed.

“We are going to take thingsvery cautiously and follow therules of the county to avoidspreading the virus. I am going tohave two services on Sunday. Wewill also stream our service liveon Facebook,” he said.

Church services at TurningPoint will not be the same as theywere before COVID-19, Lainezsaid.

“I feel sad because with allthe congregation coming togeth-er, singing, clapping hands in thepresence of the Lord, is the bestpart of our church. It feels weirdnot being able to do that,” hesaid. “A Hispanic church is bigon worshiping God. My handsare tied. I will probably give asermon and that’s it.”

Lainez was to meet the morn-ing of May 26 at Turning PointMinistries with a large group oflocal pastors to discuss how tomove forward regarding the newguidelines for churches and thecurrent wave of new COVIDcases. The meeting occurred afterthis newspaper’s deadline.

At the county’s press confer-ence, the elephant in the room, atidal wave of new COVID-19cases in the Valley, seemed totake the wind out of Gov. GavinNewsom’s announcement earlierin the day of regulations to re-open churches and the overall

movement of most ofthe state’s counties toStage 3 on theRoadmap to Recovery.

Janette Angulo,county Public HealthDepartment director,said Imperial Countyis in a much differentplace.

“We are (still) talk-ing about are movingfrom Stage 2 low riskto Stage 2 high risk.As a community, weneed to move into theupcoming stages in avery safe and healthymanner. We need tothink about mid-termand long-term,”Angulo said. “It willtake every single oneof us in the community

to stop the spread of COVID-19.The last thing we want as a com-munity is to move back intoStage 1. We want to reopen, butwe want to re-open in a very safeand healthy manner.”

Although Imperial Countyhas met nearly every standard thestate has set to move forward, isfar from the one key metric on“epidemiological stability,” arequirement that the county have8 percent or fewer new cases ofCOVID among those tested for aperiod of seven days.

“We are still testing very highper our capacity at 29 percent.Whether it is the Mother’s Daybump or not, I am very con-cerned. We should be at 8 per-cent. I encourage you to go gettested. There should be ampletesting in the community,”Imperial County Supervisor andboard Chairman Luis Plancartesaid near the end of the press con-ference.

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Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 9

THEME: LAWYER LINGO

ACROSS1. Requests5. Pub dispenser8. Feline sound11. HGTV's "____ or Flop"12. Ferdinand, e.g.13. Like a ghost14. *Pro ____, or in proportion15. Miscellany16. *Elsewhere17. *Response to #51 Across?19. Cher has one20. Marine enchantress21. Not tac nor toe22. *Not underwear!25. *Battery's companion29. Literary "even"30. "____ it ____," or go fullforce33. Quartet minus one34. Greyish brown36. Common conjunction37. Ban from school, e.g.38. Homesteader's measurement39. Complete failure41. "Stand and Deliver" singer42. Relating to breastbone44. Spectacle venues

46. Marcia's jealous sister47. Type of assistant, for short49. Sudden and brilliant success51. *Courtroom protest55. Like blue sky56. Twins, e.g.57. Was a passenger58. Shirking work59. Volcano in Sicily60. All over again61. *____ se or ____ tem62. Bear's hangout63. Quiet attention grabber

DOWN1. Big do2. Eastern European3. Toy with a tail4. Thinly spread5. Tutu fabric6. Mork from Ork7. Walk, as through mud8. Cripple9. Major European river10. Ancient Chinese dynasty12. Stock exchange, in Paris13. Mollify16. Anisette, for short18. Often precedes through, tosearch

21. Cough syrup amt.22. Greek Bs23. Don't just stand there!24. Habituate25. Gives a hand26. Of a city27. Tarzan's swing rope28. *Reasons to sue31. Peacock's pride32. Genetic initials35. *Lie made under oath37. Pre-Ionic39. Belieber or Parrothead, e.g.40. Usually not allowed in court43. Back of the neck45. *To lure into a compromisingact47. *To annul or suspend48. Jinn or genie49. Old Russian autocrat50. Anis-flavored aperitif51. Newspaper piece52. Atom that lost an electron, pl.53. Words from Wordsworth, pl.54. Type of salamander55. European peak

Solutions on page 10

Churches.......................................from page one

Father Mark Edney (from left) of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Mary’sCatholic churches, Katie Luna of the Imperial Valley Business RecoveryTaskforce, Imperial County Public Health Department Director JanetteAngulo, Public Health Officer, Dr. Stephen Munday, and Supervisors’Chairman Luis Plancarte gather for a press conference in El Centro on May26. COURTESY PHOTO

Trustee Sale No. CA1700278769Notice Of Trustee's Sale Title Order No. 8697137 APN045-100-055-00; 045-100-057-000; 045-100-069-000 You AreIn Default Under A Deed OfTrust Dated 05/01/2012. UnlessYou Take Action To Protect YourProperty, It May Be Sold At APublic Sale. If You Need AnExplanation Of The Nature OfThe Proceedings Against You,You Should Contact A Lawyer.On 06/23/2020 at 2:00PM, FirstAmerican Title InsuranceCompany as the duly appointedTrustee under and pursuant toDeed of Trust recorded on May 9,2012 as Document Number2012-010231 of official recordsin the Office of the Recorder ofImperial County, California, exe-cuted by: Imperial Palms Resort,LLC, as Trustor, ClearinghouseCommunity DevelopmentFinancial Institution, asBeneficiary, Will Sell At PublicAuction To The Highest BidderFor Cash (payable at time of salein lawful money of the UnitedStates, by cash, a cashier's checkdrawn by a state or national bank,a check drawn by a state or feder-al credit union, or a check drawnby a state or federal savings andloan association, savings associa-tion, or savings bank specified insection 5102 of the FinancialCode and authorized to do busi-ness in this state). At: the frontsteps to the County Courthouse,939 Main St., El Centro, CA, allright, title and interest conveyedto and now held by it under saidDeed of Trust in the property sit-uated in said County, Californiadescribing the land therein:See Exhibit "A" attached heretoand incorporated by referenceherein The property heretoforedescribed is being sold "as is".The street address and other com-mon designation, if any, of thereal property described above ispurported to be: 2050 CountryClub Drive, Holtville, CA92250. The undersigned Trusteedisclaims any liability for anyincorrectness of the street addressand other common designation, ifany, shown herein. Said sale willbe made, but without covenant orwarranty, expressed or implied,regarding title, possession, orencumbrances, to pay the remain-ing principal sum of the note(s)secured by said Deed of Trust,with interest thereon, as providedin said note(s), advances, if any,under the terms of the Deed of

Trust, estimated fees, charges andexpenses of the Trustee and of thetrusts created by said Deed ofTrust, to-wit: $3,528,511.81(Estimated) Accrued interest andadditional advances, if any, willincrease this figure prior to sale.The beneficiary under said Deedof Trust heretofore executed anddelivered to the undersigned awritten Declaration of Defaultand Demand for Sale, and a writ-ten Notice of Default andElection to Sell. The undersignedcaused said Notice of Default andElection to Sell to be recorded inthe county where the real proper-ty is located and more than threemonths have elapsed since suchrecordation. Notice To PotentialBidders: If you are consideringbidding on this property lien, youshould understand that there arerisks involved in bidding at atrustee auction. You will be bid-ding on a lien, not on the proper-ty itself. Placing the highest bid ata trustee auction does not auto-matically entitle you to free andclear ownership of the property.You should also be aware that thelien being auctioned off may be ajunior lien. If you are the highestbidder at the auction, you are ormay be responsible for paying offall liens senior to the lien beingauctioned off, before you canreceive clear title to the property.You are encouraged to investigatethe existence, priority, and size ofoutstanding liens that may existon this property by contacting thecounty recorder's office or a titleinsurance company, either ofwhich may charge you a fee forthis information. If you consulteither of these resources, youshould be aware that the samelender may hold more than onemortgage or deed of trust on theproperty. Notice To PropertyOwner: The sale date shown onthis notice of sale may be post-poned one or more times by themortgagee, beneficiary, trustee,or a court, pursuant to Section2924g of the California CivilCode. The law requires that infor-mation about trustee sale post-ponements be made available toyou and to the public, as a cour-tesy to those not present at thesale. If you wish to learn whetheryour sale date has been post-poned, and, if applicable, therescheduled time and date for thesale of this property, you mayvisit the website below using thefile number assigned to this case.Information about postpone-

ments that are very short in dura-tion or that occur close in time tothe scheduled sale may notimmediately be reflected on theInternet Web site. The best way toverify postponement informationis to attend the scheduled sale.For information on sale datesplease visit our website at:http://www.firstam.com/title/commercial/foreclosure/ Date:5/21/20 First American TitleInsurance Company 4380 LaJolla Village Drive Suite 110 SanDiego, CA 92122 (858) 410-2158 /s/David Z. Bark,Foreclosure Trustee Exhibit "A"Parcel 1: That Portion Of Tract46, Township 15 South, Range 15East, S.B.M., In AnUnincorporated Area Of TheCounty Of Imperial, State OfCalifornia, According To TheOfficial Plat Thereof, DescribedAs Follows: Beginning At TheSoutheast Corner Of Said Tract46; Thence Along The BoundaryOf Said Tract 46 As Follows:North 0° 08' West, 1320.14 FeetTo The Northeast Corner Of SaidTract 46; Thence South 89° 56'10" West 1361 Feet To TheNorthwesterly Corner Of LandFirst Described In Book 885,Page 521 Of Official Records OfImperial County, Dated May 17,1954; Thence Continuing AlongThe Northerly Line Of Said Tract46, South 89° 56' 10" West,184.89 Feet To The MostWesterly Corner Of That ParcelOf Land Described In Book1271, Page 1184 Of OfficialRecords Of Imperial County,Dated December 30, 1968;Thence Along The Boundary OfSaid Parcel Last Above ReferredTo, South 35° 50' 30" East,1626.27 Feet To The SoutherlyLine Of Said Tract 46; ThenceAlong The Said Southerly LineNorth 89° 58' East, 62.34 Feet ToThe Southwesterly Corner OfSaid Land First Described In SaidBook 885, Page 521 AboveReferred To; Thence ContinuingAlong Said Southerly Line North89° 58' East, 530.88 Feet To ThePoint Of Beginning. ExceptingTherefrom That Portion LyingWithin Tract 820 According ToMap On File In Book 12, Page 34Of Final Maps In The Office OfThe County Recorder OfImperial County. Also ExceptingTherefrom That Portion LyingWithin Tract 839 According ToMap On File In Book 13, Page 14Of Final Maps In The Office OfThe County Recorder Of

Imperial County. Also ExceptingTherefrom That Portion Of Tract46 Described As Follows:Beginning At The SouthwestCorner Of Lot 6, Tract 820According To Map On File InBook 12, Page 34 Of Final Maps,In The Office Of The CountyRecorder Of Imperial County;Thence West 5 Feet; ThenceNorth 72 Feet; Thence East 5Feet To The Northwest Corner OfSaid Lot 6; Thence South AlongThe West Line Of Said Lot 6 ToThe Point Of Beginning. Parcel2: Lots 16 And 17, Section 33,And Lots 4, 15 And 17, Section34 And That Portion Of Tract 68,Township 15 South, Range 15East, S.B.M., In AnUnincorporated Area Of TheCounty Of Imperial, State OfCalifornia, According To TheOfficial Plat Thereof, DescribedAs Follows: Beginning At TheSouthwest Corner Of Said Tract68; Thence East Along The SouthLine Of Said Tract, 3005.6 Feet;Thence North Parallel With TheWest Line Of Said Tract, 540.7Feet To The South Line Of TheRight Of Way Of Holton Inter-Urban Railway; ThenceSouthwesterly Along The SouthLine Of Said Right Of Way ToThe Intersection Thereof WithThe West Line Of Tract 68;Thence South Along Said WestLine To The Point Of Beginning.Excepting That Portion Of Tract68, Conveyed To W.G. Driver ByDeed Recorded October 2, 1917In Book 128, Page 84 Of Deeds.Also Excepting That PortionConveyed To The State OfCalifornia By Deed Recorded InBook 885, Page 522 Of OfficialRecords. Also ExceptingTherefrom That Portion Of Tract68, Township 15 South, Range 15East, S.B.M., Described AsFollows: Beginning At TheNorthwest Corner Of Tract 47,Township 15 South, Range 15

East, S.B.M.; Thence North 0°08' West Along A Line Which IsThe Northerly Prolongation OfThe West Line Of Said Tract 47,389.28 Feet To A Point; ThenceSouth 84° 30' 20" West, 895.70Feet To A Point On The SouthRight Of Way Line Of U.S.Highway 80, Said Point BeingHighway Station 371 +90.80 AsShown On State Of CaliforniaDivision Of Highway Right OfWay Map On District Xi, CountyOf Imperial, Route 27, Section C,Sheet 31, Survey Of 1952 AndSaid Point Also Being The TruePoint Of Beginning; ThenceSouth 5° 29' 40" East 150 Feet ToA Point; Thence South 84° 30'20" West, 150 Feet To A Point;Thence North 5° 29' 40" West,150 Feet To A Point On SaidSouth Right Of Way Line Of U.S.Highway 80; Thence Along SaidSouth Right Of Way Line Of U.S.Highway 80, 150 Feet To TheTrue Point Of Beginning. AlsoExcepting All Of Tract 729,County Of Imperial, State OfCalifornia, According To Map OnFile In Book 9, Page 35 Of FinalMaps In The Office Of TheCounty Recorder Of ImperialCounty. Also Excepting FromSaid Lot 15, Any Portion ThereofLying Within Tract 839,According To Map On File InBook 13, Page 14 Of Final MapsIn The Office Of The CountyRecorder Of Imperial County.Parcel 3: All That Portion OfGovernment Lot 6, Section 34,Township 15 South, Range 15East, S.B.M., In AnUnincorporated Area Of TheCounty Of Imperial, State OfCalifornia, According To TheOfficial Plat Thereof, Lying WestOf The County Road NowEstablished And Used Over SaidLot, Said Road CommonlyKnown As Barbara Worth Road.May 28, June 4, 11, 2020Legal 8952

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 10

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Crossword Puzzle Solutionsfrom page 9

ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20Aries, assess a situation beforeacting. Only then can you have aclear view and map out an appro-priate course of action. Find afriend who can help with yourplan.

TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21Taurus, relationships are chal-lenging but well worth the effort.Nurture an existing relationshipand do your best to see thingsthrough the other's perspective.

GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21Gemini, a hectic week makes ithard to keep track of all thethings you need to get done in thecoming days. Focusing on beingorganized will go a long way.

CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22Cancer, solutions to a difficult

problem become more clearwhen you take a break and find anew perspective. This break isjust what you need to crack thategg.

LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23Leo, others are looking to you foradvice, so do your best to providethoughtful suggestions. Yourpoint of view and demeanormake others very trusting of youradvice.

VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22The only person who can helpyou this week is you, Virgo. Beoptimistic and trust your instinctsas you tackle the tasks at handover the next several days.

LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23Happy times are on the horizon,Libra. You just have to make it

through a few more obstaclesbefore you can reach the finishline and relax.

SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22Scorpio, when it rains it pours,but this week there is not a cloudin sight. Enjoy the next severaldays as everything seems to begoing your way and turning uproses.

SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec21Sagittarius, provide some supportand encouragement when a friendcomes to you for help in the com-ing days. Just being there to listenmight be all your friend needs.

CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20Things are completely out ofyour hands this week, Capricorn.While you thought you would

feel helpless, the experience mayactually prove liberating for youinstead.

AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18Aquarius, you have some timeoff coming up and you canÕtwait to make the most of thisdowntime. Start making your listof planned excursions.

PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20A helping hand will help you getout of a sticky situation, Pisces.You are lucky to have this personon your side.

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HOROSCOPES: MAY 28-JUNE 4

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE OF PETITION TOADMINISTER ESTATE OF:Raymond Dale VanderfordCASE NUMBER: EPR000622To all heirs, beneficiaries, credi-tors, contingent creditors, andpersons who may otherwise beinterested in the will or estate, orboth, of: Raymond DaleVanderfordA Petition for Probate has beenfiled by: Robert Vanderford inthe Superior Court of California,County of: IMPERIALThe Petition for Probate requeststhat Robert Vanderford beappointed as personal representa-tive to administer the estate of thedecedent.

The petition requests authority toadminister the estate under theIndependent Administration ofEstates Act. The independentadministration authority will begranted unless an interested per-son files an objection to the peti-tion and shows good cause whythe court should not grant theauthority.A hearing on the petition willbe held in this court as follows:Date: May 28, 2020Time: 8:30 a.m.Dept. 9Address of court:Superior Court of California, County of Imperial939 West Main Street

El Centro, CA 92243If you object to the granting ofthe petition, you should appear atthe hearing and state your objec-tions or file written objectionswith the court before the hearing.Your appearance may be in per-son or by your attorney.If you are a creditor or a con-tingent creditor of the dece-dent, you must file your claimwith the court and mail a copy tothe personal representativeappointed by the court within thelater of either (1) four monthsfrom the date of first issuance ofletters to a general personal rep-resentative, as defined in section58(b) of the California Probate

Code, or (2) 60 days from thedate of mailing or personal deliv-ery to you of a notice under sec-tion 9052 of the CaliforniaProbate Code.Other California statutes andlegal authority may affect yourrights as a creditor. You maywant to consult with an attor-ney knowledgeable inCalifornia law.You may examine the file keptby the court. If you are a personinterested in the estate, you mayfile with the court a Request forSpecial Notice (form DE-154) ofthe filing of an inventory andappraisal of estate assets or ofany petition or account as provid-

ed in Probate Code section 1250.A Request for Special Noticeform is available from the courtclerk.Petitioner:Robert Vanderford640 Euclid Ave.El Centro, CA 92243(619) 674-3973Filed:May 7, 2020Superior CourtCounty of Imperial Clerk of the CourtBy: Irma de la Rosa, DeputyLegal 6340Publish: May 14, 21, 28, 2020

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSEFOR CHANGE OF NAMECASE NUMBER: ECU001315TO ALL INTERESTED PER-SONS: Petitioner (name): AnaGabriel Hernandez Martinezfiled a petition with this court fora decree changing names as fol-lows: Present name :Valentina Alvizo HernandezValeria Alvizo HernandezProposed name:Valentina GarciaValeria Garcia

THE COURT ORDERS thatall persons interested in this mat-ter appear before this court at thehearing indicated below to showcause, if any, why the petition for

change of name should not begranted. Any person objecting tothe name changes describedabove must file a written objec-tion that includes the reasons forthe objection at least two courtdays before the matter is sched-uled to be heard and must appearat the hearing to show cause whythe petition should not be grant-ed. If no written objection istimely filed, the court may grantthe petition without a hearing.NOTICE OF HEARINGDate: May 11, 2020Time: 8:30 a.m.Dept.: 9The address of the court is:Superior Court of California,County of Imperial

939 W. Main StreetEl Centro, CA 92243A copy of this Order to ShowCause shall be published at leastonce each week for four succes-sive weeks prior to the date setfor hearing on the petition in thefollowing newspaper of generalcirculation, printed in this county(specify newspaper): CalexicoChronicle/Imperial ValleyWeeklyDate: March 12, 2020L. Brooks AnderholtJudge of the Superior CourtFiled: March 12, 2020

Superior CourtCounty of ImperialClerk of the CourtBy: Joselyn Martinez, Deputy

Legal 5931 Publish: May 7, 14, 21, 28 2020

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 11

Need to publish your FictitiousBusiness Name Statement, Order

To Show Cause For Name Change,Summons or Probates?

Give Us A Call(760) 339-4899

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Legal Notices

Notice of Hearing NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Imperial County Citrus PestControl District #1 (ICCPCD#1) will hold a budget hearing onWednesday, June 3, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. Governor's Executive OrderN-25-20 (March 17, 2020) allows the Board and the public to partic-ipate in the meeting via teleconference. The call-in number for thismeeting is (442) 265-7999, passcode 72874705. Members of thepublic are strongly discouraged from attending in person, howeverthe following location has been designated for public participation:1000 Broadway, El Centro, CA 92243. Public comments may be sub-mitted in advance via email to agcom@co.imperial.ca.us.

The summary of the FY 2020-2021 preliminary budget is as follows:Expenditures for administration, facilities and equipment, and servic-es is $308,255.00. Revenues are $315,000. It is the intention to raise$210,000.00 of the revenue by levying an assessment of $30 per acreupon the assessed value of the citrus acreage within the district. It isthe intention to raise $105,000 of the revenue by levying an addi-tional assessment of $15 per acre to cover the cost of materials for thetreatment of the citrus acreage within the district. The original budg-et is on file with ICCPCD#1 and is available for review.

Legal 8949Publish: May 21, 28, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICEFICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-262The following person is conduct-ing business as:Desert Fence1850 Lincoln Ave. Spc #33El Centro, CA 92243County of ImperialMailing Address:

P.O. Box 4191 El Centro, CA 92244Full Name of Registrant:German Almazan1850 Lincoln Ave. Spc. #33El Centro, CA 92243This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant has not yet com-menced to transact business

under the Fictitious BusinessName(s) listed above.I, German Almazan Declare thatall of the information in thisstatement is true and correct.Signature: German Almazan,OwnerThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use inthis State or a Fictitious Business

Name in Violation of the Rightsof another under Federal, State orCommon Law.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: May 5, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: May 4, 2025. A new state-ment must be filed prior to theexpiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-

RecorderVictoria Camarillo, DeputyLegal 6341 Publish: May 14, 21, 28, June 4,2020

LIEN SALEThe following vehicle will besold at Lien Sale on June 11,2020 at 572 Bowker Rd.,Calexico, CA 92231 at 9:00AM, 15 HONDA, CIVIC,4D, 7JWE133, CA,19XFB2F80FE218484. Calexico ChronicleLegal 5935 Publish: May 28, 2020

LIEN SALEThe following vehicle will besold at Lien Sale on June 11,2020 at 280 E Cole Rd.,Calexico, CA 92231 at 9:00AM, 18, NISS, ROGUE, 4D,468358X, CA,JN8AT2MT4JW468358 Calexico ChronicleLegal 5936 Publish: May 28, 2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-243The following person is conduct-ing business as:FLX FITNESS2451 Rockwood Avenue, Ste. 108Calexico, California 92231County of ImperialMailing Address:2451 Rockwood Avenue, Ste. 108Calexico, California 92231Full Name of Registrant:Juan Moran1130 Torquoise StreetCalexico, California 92231This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant commenced to trans-act business under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed aboveon: January 1, 2014I, Juan Moran declare that all of

the information in this statementis true and correct.Signature: Juan Moran, OwnerThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use inthis State or a Fictitious BusinessName in Violation of the Rightsof another under Federal, State orCommon Law.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: April 23,2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: April 23, 2025. A new state-ment must be filed prior to theexpiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderVictoria Camarillo, DeputyLegal 6342 Publish: May 14, 21, 28, June 4,2020

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, May 28, 2020 PAGE 12

Care like Family, Comfort like Home103 S. Haskell Drive, El Centro, CA 92243 • 442-283-5500

www.cottageview.org • Facility #134603706

Executive Officer AdolpheEdward said during his FacebookLive update.

Edward mentioned during theFacebook session that hospital offi-cials were to meet to discuss clini-cal criteria to move COVIDpatients from the medical center tothe federal facility. That criteriawasn't immediately available fromEl Centro, but Kennerson saidEdward did want to see it looseneda bit, presumably to send over morepatients and alleviate the impact onECRMC, which has been gettingthe bulk of the COVID patients inthe county.

Pioneers officials did provide asketch of the clinical criteria need-ed to send patients to the federalfacility.

IVC is described as "an alter-nate care site meant for stable, low-acuity COVID-positive patientswho require ongoing professionalcare. The aim is to decompressImperial County hospitals so thatthey can continue to care for sickerpatients," according to the criteriadocument dated May 25.

Criteria include those over 18,not pregnant, who have beenCOVID-positive within the lastmonth, who have stable vital signswithin the last 24 hours, according

to the document provided byPioneers.

Further, the patient must beable to return to their prior livingsituation, patients are made awareof the living conditions, that is, noprivate rooms, shared bathrooms,not many true hospital beds butcots, etc.

Patients cannot be a threat toself or others, and they cannotrequire a "sitter, 1:1 (ratio) or safe-ty checks. No delirium or acutemental status changes in the last 24hours. Able to communicate withmedical staff," the document states.

Medication, supplies, andequipment must arrive withpatients, there are no labs, dialysisservices or isolation units availableat the federal facility, and as far asnursing care, there is "no continu-ous monitoring is available. Vitalsigns will only be checked twicedaily. If patient requires time inten-sive or specialized nursing cares(continuous/frequent/multiple IVmedicines, wound vacs), this mustbe discussed with IVC chargenurse," the document states.

Update on the Roadmap toRecovery

Part of what occurred out ofNewsom's announcement May 26,and later reiterated by the county,

was movement and changes to thestate's Roadmap to Recovery.

While most of the state wasallowed to move to Stage 3, whichincludes the re-opening of barber-shops and hair salons, and dining inat restaurants with strict social-dis-tancing protocols in place, much ofthe news did not affect ImperialCounty.

Rather, because transmissionrates and percentages are still sohigh, Imperial County is in the lowend of Stage 2, trying to move tothe higher-end of Stage 2.

What was affected, however,was the limited re-opening ofchurches to some extent, which isdetailed in another story in this edi-tion and on our website, and themovement of formerly nonessentialretail businesses from the higherend of Stage 2 to the lower end ofStage 2, where the county is now.

County Public Health Officer,Dr. Stephen Munday, amended thelocal health order to reflect thechanges, however, the stay-at-homeorders, social-distancing require-ments, and mandates to wear facecoverings remain.

What changes is, businessesthat were open to retail curbsidepickup and delivery (except forrestaurants) can now open to foottraffic with strict physical-distanc-ing guidelines in place.

Calexico City Manager DavidDale, for one, was pleased to hearabout the development. Calexico'seconomy, which is largely depend-ent on retail business from Mexicalishoppers, indicated this a positivestep forward.

"I know county staff is doingeverything they can to get business-es open as soon as possible. I havebeen in Zoom meetings and confer-ence calls and have seen how hardthey are working to make this hap-pen. I am pleased that retailers andhouses of worship can now opentheir doors, at least to a limitedextent," Dale stated.

"It is our hope that people fol-low the social-distancing rules,hand washing, wearing face cover-ings, avoiding large gatherings, etc.to slow the transmission of thevirus in this county, so that we canmove into the next stage of reopen-ing. Also, we encourage everyonethat can to get tested for the virus,"Dale stated in an email to thisnewspaper.

Yet, as the rest of the state goes

out for a haircut, barbers in theValley are still smarting.

Albert Zavala of Imperial ownsZavala's Barbershop on ImperialAvenue in El Centro.

"I think we need to open. I getcalls every day asking if I am open,so the community is eager to getback to some normalcy as well. Ithink my shop is just as safe as anyplace, especially with the newguidelines. I have planned for acomplete change in practice witheliminating walk-ins and stayingstrictly appointment only," Zavalastated through FacebookMessenger.

"We have pre-existing sanitiz-ing requirements implemented bythe state and have already orderedproducts to enhance and add tothose processes. Masks are requiredby the county and I will extend thatinto the shop. The extended lock-down is affecting the livelihood ofbarbers (and other businessesdeemed non-essential) as well asthe community's economy. I sayopen up," Zavala stated May 27.

Sergio Verduzco, owner of ClipEm Up Barber Shop in El Centro, isfrustrated that he must keep hisdoors closed and blames countyofficials for what barbers are expe-riencing.

"They are saying we are notallowed to open as a countybecause no council members sub-mitted a plan or a roadmap for howbarbers could work toward reopen-

ing," Verduzco said.Verduzco was aware that

Imperial County is one of the onlycounties in the state in which bar-bers are still not allowed to operate.

"It's kind of dumb. If you thinkabout it, you can drive two hours toSan Diego to get a haircut. They areour neighbors, but you can't get ahaircut here," he added.

But Plancarte explained, likechurches resuming full scale, bar-bershops, hair salons, people eatingin restaurants, even with guidelines,there are increased infection risks,that's why the state left them inStage 3 but modified.

It's about "exposure, time andproximity," Plancarte said.

"When you increase proximityand increase time of exposure, itincreases rate of transfer," heexplained, and therein lies the rubwith re-opening barbershops, hairsalons and personal services toosoon.

He said a great example of themixed openings at work will be there-opened Imperial Valley Mall,where hair salons, nail salons andbarbershops, as well as dine-inrestaurants and the gym will be offlimits, but formerly nonessentialretailers will now be re-opened, andeven ice cream shops will allowyou to grab a cup or cone and movealong, he said.

It's prolonged personal contactthat is under scrutiny and notallowed, Plancarte explained.

COVID-19................................................................from page three

STERILE UNUSED BEDS, at the newly established FederalMedical Station in the Imperial Valley College gym are shown. ElCentro Regional Medical Center have so far sent six patientsthere as of May 27. Pioneers Memorial Hospital has not sent anypatients yet as of deadline. IMPERIAL VALLEY COLLEGEPHOTO IMPERIAL VALLEY COLLEGE PHOTO

EL CENTRO REGIONAL Medical Center ChiefExecutive Officer Adolphe Edward holds up a photo ofthe new tent outside the hospital to handle overflow ofCOVID-positive patients that was provided byCalifornia Emergency Medical Services Authority’sMedical Assistance Teams (CAL-MAT). He was show-ing the photo during his Facebook Live session May26. COURTESY PHOTO