-by La Huerita
I know it's Friday and El Gitano is supposed to have a column, but he got that itchy foot feeling and decided to scratch it by heading off to San Felipe to see how the other half lives. Hmmm. I wonder what's up with that??? Hopefully he'll let us know next week...
In the meantime there's a bit of buzz from the beach to report.
First up, the company that owns the Los Corales project in the Mirador is expanding elsewhere, which is kind of interesting. Omega Commercial Finance Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire the majority interest of a 440 acre development project in Fresno, CA.
The development called Running Horse consists of 440 acres of prime real estate complete with an 18 hole PGA sanctioned golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. Current plans call for 620 single family homes, 140 (2 unit) townhomes, 400 apartments catering to senior citizens, 96 apartments for workers to the area, a clubhouse/pro shop, a hotel/conference center, gas station, restaurant and 180,000 sq. ft. of retail commercial development. Omega has also announced the signing of a letter of intent to acquire the Ruby Trust gold mine in Cusco, Peru as part of an effort to enter the gold commodities market.
This is all swell, leading one to assume the company doesn't have money problems. But when are they going to start finishing Los Corales?
Circus Mexicus, with Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, was a big success last weekend. I've seen a few reports that attendance was down over prior years, but one of the event organizers says attendance was actually up over 30% over last year. I hope the latter is accurate, but however it turns out there is no denying that everyone had a great time-- as usual! Kudos to the organizers, the participating bands and all the RCPM fans who showed up! For those of you (us) who couldn't make it, well, there's always next year...
Down in the Playa Encanto development the electrification project is moving along. CFE has decided to build the substation on the Caborca road instead of the original plan to hook on to the Mayan substation, which I mentioned in a previous Beach Buzz, so pedestals are being installed again on the beach. I don't know why the change was made, but the plan seems to suit everyone and they are still on budget so it probably doesn't matter. With all of the electric construction and moving of main roads within Playa Encanto, keeping the roads passable has been a challenge but they seem to be up to it. Nevertheless, I'd imagine everyone will be glad when it's all done.
As for the auction of 175 acres of land on June 4, most of it owned by Larry Large, there were no buyers. None, zero, zip. The land (and the two commercial buildings) is still on the market. And the crunch is not being felt only here. Across the Sea of Cortez, in Loreto, Baja, TSD Loreto Partners has informed its clients and stakeholders that, "due to the challenging situation in the international real estate and financial markets", all operating and construction activities for Loreto Bay Villages have been suspended. The company has been unable to find a new buyer or new investor to infuse enough money in the project to keep it going. Very bad news for owners there, especially those with half finished homes.
A communication from the company said, among other things: "The Company understands that individual homes are at different stages of construction and as such, the Company is diligently working with several third-party construction management companies that will provide homeowners feasible alternatives to finish the construction of their homes." Whoopee. Fonatur, the government agency originally in charge of developing Loreto (and Cancun, Los Cabos, Huatulco and Ixtapa) has asked the government to allow it to take the project over so it can be kept open until a buyer is found...
In border news, US Border Patrol agents made a couple of major pot seizures, south of Why, AZ and at the Aqua Linda Checkpoint. The haul netted nearly three tons of marijuana with an estimated street value of around US$4.5 million. Over at Rocky Point Talk ernesto recalls having a large pot seizure himself during his college days... :-)
And that's it for Beach Buzz this week. Maybe next week El Gitano will fill us in on what the heck he was doing in San Felipe and what he found there.
Peace out.
About Beach Buzz: Not necessarily the news, this is a place for information, opinion, speculation, gossip, tips and other good stuff about Rocky Point, and Mexico in general. If you have something you'd like to share, I'd like to hear from you!
Contact me at lahuerita2@gmail.com
