CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED VOL 116 No. 030 IMPERIAL COUNTY, CA Thursday, July 23, 2020

BY RICHARD MONTENEGRO BROWN

Ready to start its summer recess,the Calexico City Council wastedlittle time during its last meeting,honoring Mexicali’s mayor with thekey to the city, awarding the newcity manager a five-year contractwith hefty “at-will” provisions andrejected and accepted some majorpublic bids, among several otherissues.

In addition to a full action calen-dar on July 15, members of thecouncil also took time to addresssome of the ongoing criticisms theyhave been facing from members ofthe community amid continuedprotests over the appointment ofRosie Arreola Fernandez as mayorand the general discontent somegroups have over the present mem-bers of the council.

Continued on page 4

Chicano Perspective AsSeen Through TwoCalexico Generations

BY MAYELLA VASQUEZ

Calexico natives JavierRangel and Michael Aguirre havededicated their careers in acade-mia to learning, recording, andteaching others about the strug-gles that many Mexican-Americans face in the UnitedStates, albeit from two differentgenerational perspectives.

On one end is Rangel. At age59, the Imperial Valley Collegeprofessor’s interest in theChicano perspective began asRangel was growing up, when he

did not see his identity acknowl-edged in the United States untilhe moved away from the ImperialValley.

"My interest in Chicano cul-ture and Chicano literature beganbecause I knew very little aboutit," Rangel said. "I didn't knowabout Mexicano/a history in thiscountry."

On the other end is Aguirre.At age 34, the Chicano move-ment was pretty well-defined bythe time he came of age, yet he

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Still Reeling From COVID, FundraiserFor Rosas Family Planned July 25

BY RICHARDMONTENEGRO BROWN

AND CHARLIE M.ZAMARRIPA

The Rosas family's story islikely becoming all too familiarin Imperial County, as waves ofCOVID infections spread amongsiblings, mothers and fathers,husbands and wives, some withmore devastating effects thanothers.

For the Rosas family of ElCentro, they know for certain thatbrother, father and son, LuisRosas, 36, lost his battle with thevirus on June 14, but according to

sister, Melissa Rosas, it's still abit murky whether youngerbrother, Edward, 32, who testednegative for the virus but laterdied from pneumonia on May 29,might have succumbed toCOVID-related complications aswell.

Melissa, 29, is still recover-ing herself from a severe boutwith the illness, which apparentlystarted with Luis' wife, AnnaRosas, who works at El CentroRegional Medical Center, whichthen spread to Luis, possiblyEdward, and for certain spread toMelissa's mother, Rosa, andMelissa's girlfriend, who askednot to be named for this story.

Further illustrating the needfor even the closest of familymembers to stay clear of eachother during this pandemic, thetransmission started with a back-yard get-together on the nightbefore Mother's Day, Saturday,May 9.

Local public health officialshave noted a community surge ofcases can be traced to Mother'sDay weekend, when many fami-lies defied stay-at-home orders toparty and celebrate with familymembers and friends.

"I want to let people knowthis is no joke. I lost two familymembers," said Melissa, whospoke with this newspaper last

week in an effort to prevent whathappened to her family.

"I was like a lot of peoplewho don't take it seriously. I see alot of my friends and familymembers out and about traveling,vacationing; it's not time forthat," Melissa said.

Melissa, too, thought shemight die as she lay in anOceanside hospital breathingwith the help of a ventilator. Notonly was Melissa intubated, butso was her mother, Rosa, 59, whowas treated in El Centro RegionalMedical Center but rehabilitatedin an El Cajon facility.

Continued on page 5

Calexico Neighborhood House Finds New Ways ToServe Through COVID

BY MAYELLA VASQUEZ

Calexico NeighborhoodHouse has been working on newways to serve the ImperialValley during the COVID-19pandemic. Throughout theyears, the organization hasserved the community throughits homeless shelter for womenand children, youth programs,clothing, and food donationservices.

Though the pandemic hasclosed many of NeighborhoodHouse’s in-person services, theorganization has made use oftechnology as an aid to continueto serve the new needs of thecommunity.

At the moment,Neighborhood House is usingtechnology to facilitate itslargest program, the CNH HappyKids Preschool to educate chil-dren and support their parentsthrough distance learning.

There are also plans to use

technology to create a "tel-eresource" network that theagency says will serve thehomeless community byremotely connecting home-less people with providersof the supplies they need,such as food and clothing.The importance of this proj-ect, known as theNeighborhood House StreetOutreach ServicesInitiative, is that it has thepotential to change the waythe homeless population isserved throughout theImperial Valley.

Molina Healthcareinformed NeighborhoodHouse that it will receive a$75,000 grant to support theorganization's NH-SOSInitiative, which uses technologyas a tool to assist the homelesspopulation's needs in theImperial Valley.

The hope is that Molina’sdonation and a grant fromImperial County will support the

organization's initiative, "whichis dedicated to building a posi-tive relationship with peopleexperiencing homelessnessthroughout the city,"Neighborhood House states.

The goal is to provide telere-sources that directly connect a

person in need with a providerthat can help them through men-tal health services, shelter, hous-ing, and food/necessities.

Special Project DirectorRicardo Ortega elaborated on

Continued on page 6

(LEFT) Calexico native and Imperial Valley College professorJavier Rangel, 59, views Chicano studies is through the lens ofChicano literature, which he finds fills in many of the gaps of thewhole narrative of humanity. (RIGHT) Michael Aguirre, 34, is aCalexico native and historian of labor, migration, social move-ments, and political economy, whose research is centered inImperial County. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow withHarvard University’s Inequality in America Initiative. COUR-TESY PHOTOS

Calexico Neighborhood House has been working on new ways to con-tinue to serve the Imperial Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic.Throughout the years the organization has served the communitythrough its homeless shelter for homeless women and children, youthprograms, clothing and food donation services. MAYELLA VASQUEZPHOTO

Edward Rosas of Calexicodied May 29, although familymembers remain uncertain ifhis death was ruled due toCOVID. COURTESY PHOTO

Luis Rosas of Calexico diedJune 14 from complicationsdue to COVID-19. COURTESYPHOTO

Calexico CouncilAwards FigueroaContract, WelcomesMexicali Mayor,Answers Critics

BY ELIZABETH VILLA

A young family's lovestory and creative visionstarted with a single piece ofart.

"I saw his artwork on thewall, and my mind justblew," Gina Rivas Varela ofHoltville said.

About eight years ago,Gina was the coordinator ofart exhibits at the Café 101restaurant in El Centro forabout four years.

That same art piece wasseen by Ramon Villa, anoth-er Holtville resident.

"It was a zombie head,and it looked like it was fly-ing through the air. It wassuper detailed - it lookedrealistic," Villa said. That artpiece was by Gabriel Varela.

"Gina provided an outlet

for the youth to stay out oftrouble because they weredoing something positiveinstead of just roaming thestreets, because that is howkids get into bad things,drugs, vandalizing, gangs,etc.," Villa said.

Villa recalls attendingabout four art shows at Café101, where he displayedabout eight of his ownpieces.

"Sometimes I didn't haveanything to display, but Iwould hang out because theywould have music and freefood and a lot of my friendswere there. It was somethingto do honestly, because inthe Valley there is nothing todo," he said.

Through the Café 101collective of loosely affiliat-ed artist, Gina stated, we"built this safe haven for

people to show case theirwork, with music groups,local bands, poetry, evenartists from Yuma and SanDiego came to the events. Itwas a big legit thing, butCafé 101 had to make a busi-ness decision and had torelocate."

That was the end of theCafé 101 collective.

Out of the Ashes, VarelaCollective is Born

Several years later,Varela Collective was born.An art stu-dio ande x h i b i tcollective,the VarelaCollectiveart studioo f f e r si n s t r u c -t i o n a lclasses for

youths and is based inHoltville.

Varela Collective ismade up of Gina andGabriel Varela, RaymondRivas, and Nina Earls. Thecollective contains artworkfrom various artists fromthe Imperial Valley.

Gina does the commis-sion work, reaching out toorganizations, and other

Continued on page 12

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 2

Imperial ValleyWeekly -

Calexico Chronicle

Publisher: Brenda Torres

Office Manager: Rosa NoguedaEditor: Richard MontenegroBrownReporters: Richard MontenegroBrown, Carol Hann, JaysonBarniske, Elizabeth VillaProduction: Christina VillarrealOnline 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 generalcirculation for the publication oflegal notices, as defined in Section

4460 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.

12.5-Hour Road ClosureOn I-8 July 23-24STAFF REPORT

Construction crews were toclose all freeway lanes onInterstate 8 between ForresterRoad and Fourth Street/StateRoute 86 in the city of El Centrofrom 6:30 p.m. July 23 to 7 a.m.July 24, according to a July 17press release from the stateDepartment of Transportation.

The 12.5-hour closure isneeded to remove and demolishthe existing bridge as part of theI-8/Imperial Avenue InterchangeProject.

Closures will also take placeat the Forrester Road on-ramp toeastbound I-8, the westbound I-8on- and off-ramps at ImperialAvenue, and the FourthStreet/SR-86 and Dogwood Roadon-ramps to westbound I-8.

Detour signs will be posted atadjacent interchanges. Motoristson eastbound I-8 will be detouredto Forrester Road north to EvanHewes Highway east, to south-bound Fourth Street/SR-86 to I-8.

Motorists on westbound I-8will be detoured to northboundFourth Street/SR-86, to EvanHewes Highway west, then toForrester Road south to I-8.

The recommended detourmap for the closure can be foundat https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-11/current-proj-ects/i8-imp-interchange.

The nighttime bridge demoli-tion will be loud and dusty,according to the Caltrans pressrelease. Crews will work toreduce noise and dust as much as

possible during construction.Caltrans and the city of El Centrowill monitor/detour traffic tominimize delays.

Motorists are reminded toallow additional travel time, slowdown, watch out for constructionpersonnel and equipment and“Be Work Zone Alert,” theCaltrans press release states.

The construction schedule issubject to change based onweather and other unforeseenfactors.

The I-8/Imperial AvenueInterchange Project will removethe existing bridge and eastboundon- and off-ramps, then recon-struct the structure and the on-and off-ramps in both directions.Construction will include a newentrance loop ramp from south-bound Imperial Avenue to east-bound I-8 and create access to theCity of El Centro’s upcomingextension of southbound ImperialAvenue to city areas south of I-8.Project construction began spring2020 with Stage 1 closures of theeastbound on- and off ramps inearly July for eight to 10 months.Stage 2 will require closing theentire interchange for six to eightmonths in spring 2021.

The interchange is expectedto open to traffic in mid-2022with completion in 2023.

For real-time traffic informa-tion including traffic speeds, laneand road closures due to con-struction and maintenance activi-ties, go tohttp://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.

Parents Relieved, Concerned ByDecision To Keep Schools Online Only

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

When Alejandra Noriegalearned no Imperial Countyschools would be re-opening inthe late summer/fall to physicalclasses, she said her first emotionwas one of “relief.”

“I am so relieved that now Iknow what will happen withschools in the fall and can planaccordingly. I will figure out away to make my daughter’s edu-cation work and am grateful I donot have to worry about mymother getting sick,” Noriegasaid in a July 20 interview.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July18 announcement that closedmost schools in the state (includ-ing those in Imperial County) toin-person education in the fallgives local parents cause for bothrelief and concern.

“Schools can physically openfor in-person education when thecounty that they are operating inhas been off our monitoring listfor 14 consecutive days,” saidNewsom, who mandated distancelearning for 32 of 58 Californiacounties where COVID-19 is stillconsidered out of control.

Prior to Newsom’s announce-ment, Noriega was worried. Shefavored the specialized intensiveinstruction her daughter receivedin a face-to-face environment,but worried that going back toschool might also due her motherharm, who is battling cancer.

“My daughter has ADD, sothey send her to a class called‘Little Learners’ at McCabe witha maximum of three students pertutor for one hour every day. Shegoes to regular class, but theysend her there when she is strug-gling,” said Noriega, who felt herdaughter benefitted from theclasses in a way Noriega couldnot help her daughter with on herown.

Yet she worried her daugh-

ter’s exposure to others at schoolmight endanger Noriega’s moth-er, who has cancer.

“I will do the best I can tomake my daughter’s educationwork and possibly find a tutor tohelp her with distance learningand thankfully I no longer haveto worry about my mother gettingsick,” Noriega said.

Although the decision hasbeen made for her, AmandaVenuti of El Centro struggled atthe end of the last school yearwith distance learning.

With six children in five dif-ferent grade levels and only threecomputers in the household, it iseasy to see how Venuti could bechallenged by the process of edu-cating her children.

“I feel like my kids deservebetter than distance learning andthat I am not qualified as ateacher to help them. They wouldreceive a better education if theywere in school,” said Venuti in aJuly 14 interview.

With so many children in thehouse, Venuti explained howextraordinary complicationsoften arise when educating herchildren at home.

“It happened more than oncewhere I had four kids who all hadan 11 o’clock Zoom meeting.What am I supposed to do?” saidVenuti, who was hoping for localschools to open in the fall.

After learning of the gover-nor’s announcement, Venuti saidshe is panicked and does notknow how she will educate herchildren.

Kevin Grizzle, who serves onthe Holtville Unified SchoolBoard, said in a July 15 interviewthat the board has regularly beenin meetings with colleaguesabout how to handle fall’s dis-tance learning classes.

“We are going to have virtualschool for sure in the fall,” saidGrizzle, who added he feels safehaving his children go back to

schools when they ultimatelyreopen.

“When we eventually goback, there will be part-timeclasses and social distancing. Ifand when my school comes back,they will have a staggered sys-tem,” said Grizzle, who has twokids attending college at Cal Polyand one at Holtville’s middleschool.

Grizzle said he and his col-leagues have discussed the topicof how to open schools in the fall,but the decision falls on theCOVID-19 numbers and thestate’s response.

Grizzle said he would sendhis daughter to on-campus class-es if school opened, because hefeels confident that when schoolsopen, they will do so in a mannerthat keeps the students safe.

“I would like to go back toregular classes at school, but I donot think I will get the chance thisyear. If we were allowed to goback to classes, I would not beworried about catching COVID-19, but since the numbers aregoing up, it’s probably safer tostay at home,” said Kate Grizzle,13, who attends Holtville MiddleSchool.

Though Gov. Newsom’saction has taken the decision outof the hands of local schools,eventually local educationadministrators will decide thenext step in the re-openingprocess.

McCabe Union ElementarySchool District board memberAlexa Horne, who previouslytaught kindergarten for 30 years,shared her guidance for parentsfor when they will have to sendtheir children back to school.

“My advice is to do what youthink is best for your own family.Also believe the school district isgoing to do everything they canto ensure the health of theiremployees,” Horne said.

Young Holtville Family Paying It Forward With Art

"TODDLER" BY HOLTVILLE artist Gina Varela isshown. COURTESY PHOTO

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 3

Week of July 20thTeen Dating Violence Awareness

(Originally aired on March 2018)February marked the inaugural Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

for Imperial County. One in four women will fall victim to relationship violence. Early prevention is key. Only about one in five teens who

experience teen dating violence tell their parents. Join us as Judi Klein-Pritchard, provides more in-depth information about this important and

sometimes overlooked topic.

Judith R. Klein-Pritchard, M.S.F.S.Director of Legal Services

WomanHaven, A Center for Family Solutions

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

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

Semana del 20 de julio 2020Conciencia Sobre la Violencia en el Noviazgo Adolescente

(Originalmente transmitido en junio 2018)En febrero del 2018, marcó el primer mes para crear conciencia sobre La

Violencia entre Parejas Adolescentes en el Condado Imperial. Una de cadacuatro mujeres será víctima de violencia doméstica. La prevención tempranaes clave. Solo alrededor de uno de cada cinco adolescentes que experimentan

violencia entre parejas se lo dicen a sus padres. Únase a nosotros yescucharemos a Tomas Olivas; él nos dará información detallada sobre este

tema tan importante, que en muchas ocasiones se pasa por alto.

Tomas OlivasVicepresidente del

Consejo de Administración WomanHavenCentro para Soluciones Familiares

Visit us online!Check out our new website!www.calexicochronicle.com

You can send us breaking news and read

our weekly E-Edition.

Holtville Ag Station In Action: BachieCompletes Two-Year Insecticide Study

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

Oli Bachie swung his netfrom side to side collecting thefinal insect samples in a sugarbeet field at the DesertResearch and Extension Centerin Holtville on July 21.

Although the director of theUniversity of CaliforniaCooperative Extension-Imperial County appeared a bitmad, he was in fact carrying outthe final experiment in a two-year study in search of an alter-native for the banned insecti-cide chlorpyrifos.

Many local farmers use thepesticide to control flea beetles,armyworms, and grasshoppersin several different crops, pri-marily sugar beets and alfalfa,Bachie said.

“Chlorpyrifos is a broad-spectrum insecticide that killsinsects. It is widely used, but inrecent years has been consid-ered a carcinogen. As ofFebruary 2020, the EPA bannedthe insecticide,” Bachie said.“The growers in ImperialValley who are heavily depend-ent on chlorpyrifos expressedtheir concerns to the ag station”to find an effective alternative.

The study is significant inthat this is one of the manyfunctions of a UC CooperativeExtension agricultural advisorto help make Imperial County’smulti-billion-dollar farm econ-omy tick.

From similar studies, tofield trials on new and develop-ing varieties of produce, tostudying pests and pathogensthemselves, a farm advisor suchas Bachie, whose specialty isagronomy (the study of cropsand soils) but whose experienceis broad-based, his assistance iskey to assisting the agriculturalcommunity.

Agriculture contributesmore than $4.5 billion toImperial County’s economy,directly through crops and live-stock values and indirectlythrough affected businesses like

fertilizer and pesticide brokers,banks that work with farmers,seed companies, and dozensmore, according to reports fromthe Imperial CountyAgriculture Commissioner’soffice.

Data has also shown that theindustry supports nearly 25,000local jobs, with one in every sixworkers tied directly to farm

and livestock operations, andnearly that same amounttouched by agriculture dollarscirculating in the community insome capacity.

In the case of studies thatseek viable alternatives tobanned substances, the workBachie is doing can have atremendous affect on what thegrowers do locally. Those crops

affected by chlorpyrifos, sugarbeets and alfalfa, are two of thebiggest cash crops the countyhas.

Chlorpyrifos was banned inCalifornia in 2019 when thepesticide was found to be linkedto brain damage in children andsome types of cancer. The toxicsubstance was pulled off themarket in early 2020 and grow-ers have until the end of 2020 toexhaust their supplies. DDT,which is also banned, was thepredecessor to chlorpyrifos,Bachie said.

“As part of the research, weare sampling insects after we dothe treatment. In this one field,we did 10 passes collectingpests and this will give us dataon which treatment works thebest,” Bachie said.

Insects collected in thestudy were immediately takento the on-site lab and frozenuntil researchers could furtheranalyze and record the data theyprovided. Beet samples werealso collected from the field andweighed to determine the bio-mass of the yield. The beetswould then be sent to SpreckelsSugar to determine their sugarcontent.

“For beets, when the yield isbetter, it is expected the sugarcontent will be higher, but notalways. In some cases whenyou control the insects, it doesnot necessarily mean youimprove the sugar content. Thatis what this experiment is test-ing,” Bachie said.

Bachie received fundingfrom the county to research dif-ferent insecticides that can beused in lieu of chlorpyrifos.Part of his findings will be pub-lished in the Imperial Ag brief,an industry paper.

He experimented with fivealternatives for the bannedinsecticide and with the use of aseed coating called Pancho Betato help in germination and sur-vival of the seedling. Bachiefound two to three alternativeinsecticides that may do asmuch effectively as chlorpyri-

fos. Although he could not yetrelease any details of the study,Bachie was optimistic about theresults of his experiment.

Long-NeededPositions Soon ToBe Filled At DesertResearch Center

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

Local farmers are getting clos-er to having a much-needed full-time integrated pest-managementspecialist at the University ofCalifornia Cooperative Extension-Imperial County Desert Researchand Extension Center in Holtville.

“This five-year position is co-funded between the University ofCalifornia and Imperial Countyand will also cover Riverside andSan Diego counties. It is a verybroad discipline covering ento-mology, the study of insects,pathology, the study of plant dis-ease and weed sciences, the studyof plants that are not desirable,”said Oli Bachie, a University ofCalifornia agronomist and directorof Holtville’s Desert Research andExtension Center.

The integrated pest-manage-ment specialist will be based outof Holtville.

Agriculture contributes morethan $4.5 billion to ImperialCounty’s economy through cropsand livestock values and otherancillary means, according toreports from the Imperial CountyAgriculture Commissioner’soffice. The industry supports near-ly 25,000 local jobs, with one inevery six workers tied directly tofarm and livestock operations, soit’s easy to see how vital a fullystaffed a Desert Research andExtension Center can be.

In recent years, as the univer-sity has had intermittent fundingissues or as agriculture advisershave retired or moved on, thenumber of scientists assigned toImperial County has dwindled.Now, there seems to be an ongo-ing effort to reconstitute staffing atthe Holtville ag station.

Continued on page 7

Oli Bachie, an agronomist and director of the University ofCalifornia Cooperative Extension-Imperial County DesertResearch and Extension Center in Holtville, deposits insect sam-ples collected into a bag held by Tayebeh Hosseini, who immedi-ately took the samples to be frozen. July 21 was the final day of

Oli Bachie, an agronomist and director of the University ofCalifornia Cooperative Extension-Imperial County DesertResearch and Extension Center in Holtville, shows off a sugarbeet from his experiment. July 21 was the final day of Bachie'sstudy in search of an alternative for the banned insecticide chlor-pyrifos. JAYSON BARNISKE PHOTOS

BY JAYSON BARNISKE

Although Imperial IrrigationDistrict officials are pleased withthe outcome of last week’s deci-sion by the Court of Appeals sid-ing with the district’s position thatthere is no privileged class ofwater users, the case could still bechallenged in state Supreme Courtby plaintiff and farmer MikeAbatti.

For now, though, the district isclaiming victory over a case thatchallenged IID’s domain as thestewards of the Imperial Valley’swater rights on behalf of all waterusers. The district won a decisionto the state’s Fourth AppellateDistrict, Division 1 Court ofAppeals, on July 16 that someyears earlier saw Imperial CountySuperior Court Judge BrooksAnderholt side with Abatti.

“It’s definitely a victory forthe rule of law that water shouldbe distributed equally to allusers,” IID board Chair NormaSierra Galindo said. “If the rulinghad not gone in our favor, it wouldallow special interests to deter-mine how we use our water. Theruling affirmed that the water isheld in trust by the district to bedistributed.”

However, the court ruling stat-ed that the district would have togo back to the drawing board andre-evaluate its EquitableDistribution Plan with farmers.The plan, which determines howIID’s share of Colorado Riverwater would be divided amongfarmers in a drought condition,had drawn sharp criticism fromsome growers and was the basisfor the IID-Abatti lawsuit in thefirst place, which dates to back to2017.

Despite multiple attempts foran interview, Abatti nor his attor-ney, Cheryl Orr, could be reachedfor comment.

“At this point in time, we need

to look at the ruling and see howwe are going to make theEquitable Distribution Plan. Thislawsuit was about one specialgroup trying to control how IIDcould use its discretion. How itshapes up for the future, that is forthe board to determine. It is a verycomplicated process,” said FrankOswalt, IID’s legal counsel.

This case has a long back-ground and has been ongoingsince September 2017, saidAntonio Ortega, IID’s govern-ment affairs and communicationsofficer.

“IID filed its appeal at theFourth Appellate Court. The oralarguments in the case took placeon June 12. We’ve been waitingfor this decision since then,” saidOrtega.

He said that page 11 of thecourt’s ruling sums up IID’s mostimportant victory in the case:“The district is the sole owner ofappropriative water rights ofColorado River water, all userspossess only a right to service.”

In its ruling, the Court ofAppeals reversed the ruling ofAnderholt, stating there wereerrors in the judgment, Ortegasaid. The Court of Appeals in turnreversed the ruling of the lowercourt.

“Mike Abatti and his attorneysbelieve it is the farmers who ownthe rights to the water. IID’s posi-tion is that it is the public, all thepublic that the IID serves who hasthose rights to service not privateinterest groups. IID holds thoserights on behalf of those cus-tomers,” Galindo added.

She explained the decisionmakes it possible for the IID tomove forward with plans to issuea water-use contract to Ormat forits Heber geothermal energy facil-ity.

IID officials argue the rulingdoes not negatively impact farm-ers.

“Farmers have the same rights

to water service than anyone elsedoes. To extend or go beyond thatis what this case was about. Thedecision stated that farmers have aright to service like everybodyelse but that is where those rightsstop,” Ortega said.

“The court rejected Abatti’sargument and reaffirmed what weknew all along. It’s not for a pri-vate interest group to determinehow we should allocate ourwater,” Galindo said. “The victoryis a win for our users. Not allfarmers were empathetic to thisparticular lawsuit. This was a spe-cial interest group made up ofsome specific farmers who shareAbatti’s views.”

When asked if this rulingcould prevent future attemptsagainst the IID’s claim toColorado River water, Galindoaffirmed the IID will always haveto fight for its rights to water.

“What part of ‘no’ don’t theyunderstand. This does not pre-clude them from bringing futureclaims to our water. This is nevergoing to stop because our water isvery valuable. What it says afterall these attempts is that it affirmsthat the water is held by the boardto determine how the water is dis-tributed. It does not preclude theparties involved to take it to theSupreme Court or bring aboutfuture lawsuits, but for now weare back to where we should be,which is to distribute water equal-ly to everyone who uses it.”

Customers can rest assuredthat the IID will continue to fightfor the Imperial Valley’s waterrights no matter what hurdlespresent themselves in the future,Galindo said.

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 4

IID Scores Big Win In Abatti Case Appeal

STAFF REPORT

SALTON CITY - El CentroSector Border Patrol agents seizedmethamphetamine at the Highway86 checkpoint the morning of July20, according to a press release.

The incident occurred at 10:08a.m., when a woman driving ablack 2013 Acura sedanapproached the checkpoint forinspection. A Border Patrolcanine-detection team alerted tothe vehicle. Agents sent the vehi-cle to secondary inspection forfurther investigation.

A search of the vehiclerevealed two packages hiddenunder the vehicle's front seats. Thebundles were wrapped in camou-

flage duct tape in attempt to fur-ther conceal the packages fromview. In addition, a search of thepassenger's front pocket revealed asmall clear bindle with the samesubstance. The white crystallinesubstance inside the packages andbindle tested positive for the char-acteristics of methamphetamine.

The total weight of themethamphetamine was 11.11pounds with an estimated streetvalue of $24,991, according to thepress release.

The driver and passenger, bothUnited States citizens, and thevehicle and narcotics were turnedover to the federal DrugEnforcement Administration.

Methamphetamine Seized AtBorder Patrol Checkpoint

BP Agents Rescue 17 Immigrants,Including Two Small Children In5 Events Within 2 DaysSTAFF REPORT

OCOTILLO - U.S. BorderPatrol agents from the El CentroSector saved 12 undocumentedimmigrants in distress in theJacumba Wilderness region andfive undocumented immigrants inthe Yuha Desert in five separaterescue events over the weekend.

The first incident occurredabout 2:48 a.m. July 18, when ElCentro station received a tele-phone call from a woman fromSan Francisco. The caller statedthat her brother-in-law and anotherindividual were lost in the desertnear Centinela State Prison. Thecaller was advised to have his lostbrother-in-law call 9-1-1 in orderto obtain GPS coordinates. Theinformation was relayed to agentsperforming their assigned duties inthe area and they responded to thelocation to begin searching for thepair.

Around 2:58 a.m., El CentroSector dispatch was called byImperial County Sheriff's Officeand provided dispatch with thenewly acquired GPS coordinatesof the lost individuals. This infor-mation was relayed to agents thatwere in route to search for the lostindividuals.

Around 3:32 a.m., agentsfound the first individual, and 28minutes later, they found the sec-ond one. Both were medicallyevaluated at the scene and did notrequire any medical attention.

The two men, both immigrantsfrom Mexico, were taken to therally point for processing andexpelled back to their country oforigin.

The second incident occurredJuly 18 at 10:55 a.m., when dis-patch was notified by El CentroSector Foreign Operations Branchthat they had received informationfrom Grupo Beta of an individualin distress in the mountainsapproximately 43 miles west ofCalexico. Grupo Beta is a serviceby the National Institute ofMigration of Mexico offeringwater, medical aid, and informa-tion to immigrants at risk. GrupoBeta stated that they had found anindividual who was lost and out ofwater for three days just south ofthe U.S.-Mexico international bor-der. The individual also stated thathe was traveling with someoneelse and could provide the generallocation of his missing companion.Agents from the El Centro StationMountain Disrupt Unit (MDU) aswell as El Centro SectorBORSTAR (Border SearchTrauma and Rescue) responded tothe area to assist in the search.

Around 12:34 p.m., MDU andBORSTAR agents located the lostindividual, provided water, med-ically evaluated him and deter-mined he did not require medicalattention.

The individual, an adult maleand illegal alien from Mexico, wastaken to the rally point for process-ing and expelled back to countryof origin.

The third incident occurredJuly 18 at 7:32 p.m., when dis-patch was notified by ICSO of adistress call made by a woman

Continued on page 8

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 5

Abrings in the element of castingan eye toward the future of themovement by evaluating the pastand present, what men and womenlike Rangel experienced firsthand.

"I want to write about theImperial Valley because this is myhometown, and I care about it, andthis is my history," Aguirre said."A history I started knowingthrough hearing stories from mygrandparents and family memberswhen they would point things outthat happened that wasn't commonknowledge, because it wasn't his-tory that was discussed, let alonediscussed in history textbooks."

Aguirre, a historian, is usingthe past to rewrite the future,through his postdoctoral fellow-ship with Harvard University'sInequality in America Initiative.The initiative “is a multidiscipli-nary effort to elevate and energizeteaching and research on socialand economic inequality and to usewhat we learn to inform the publicdebate and public response to thesechallenges,” he said.

Aguirre's work focuses on theImperial Valley and hopes that byrecording the full complexity andproblems found in labor andmigrant communities of the past,the future can be informed by the“public debate and public responseto these challenges.”

"I decided that my dissertationand first book should be onMexicali and Imperial Valleybecause there is just a real magnet-ic pull about wanting to writeabout the place you are from andthat is a place that has a lot ofacknowledged but not written his-tory," Aguirre said. "For better orfor worse, when you write thingsdown, that history is captured, andI wanted to capture that history,and preserve the history and bringthe Mexican-American,Mexicano/a and Chicano/a experi-ence in the Imperial Valley to theforefront.”

Aguirre said he hopes to influ-

ence the way the Mexican-American is viewed in the UnitedStates.

His work with the WorldEconomic Forum, whose missionis cited as "committed to improv-ing the state of the world by engag-ing business, political, academic,and other leaders of society toshape global, regional, and indus-try agendas," is an example of howand what is reported on and givenpriority.

To Aguirre, conversationsabout the past from a Mexican-American perspective brings tolight struggles of his communitythat he never saw acknowledged.Without a Chicano perspectivetaken into consideration, society inthe United States becomesunaware of how multi-dimensionalcurrent issues such as migrationare in some communities.

Through history, one can askand answer questions of how thepast has shaped society, Aguirresaid. As a community, awarenessof the past informs the way thatcommunity views the future, andhow it acts moving forwardthrough its conversations, he said.

One way to be informed abouta Chicano perspective is throughstudying in Imperial ValleyCollege's first Chicano studies pro-gram, which now allows theChicano narrative to be an optionto be learned and discussed by stu-dents living in a valley affected bymany Chicano issues.

Rangel is the man who willmake that experience possible, ashe begins the program in thespring.

Telling the stories of Chicanos,and recording them, gives a fullpicture of history, and shares a per-spective that Aguirre describes as"history from below."

"Chicano studies and ethnicstudies are critical to writing about‘histories from below,’ or the histo-ry of the people living day to day,not the history made and told by

politicians or congressional lead-ers, but by those who are affectedby their choices," Aguirre said.

Historically, these “historiesfrom below” often are not taught inmost classrooms in the UnitedStates, which has left many gaps inthe narrative of the past. And oftenAguirre thinks these fields of studyhave been disregarded, which lim-its what people are able toacknowledge and learn about inhigher education.

When this other narrative istaught, the full complexity of his-tory is realized.

"In these studies, their(Chicano/a's) history and presenceis validated, for all its complexity,"Aguirre said. "There is no one nar-rative, there's no one historical tra-jectory, it's wide, and that's whyChicano studies fill in many of thegaps that are not always present inU.S. history -- it's another lens."

The desire to fill in gaps in his-tory and share another perspectiveis the purpose behind Aguirre'swork.

"Chicano studies and ethnicstudies have often been critiquedas "erasing history," or that thesepeople are not studying "real histo-ry," because it's not a part of a con-tinuous line of Enlightenmentthought," Aguirre said. "But whatChicano and ethnic studies does isthat it captures this other portion ofhistory that people know is thereand feel is there, but haven't hadaccess to study it in a formal waythat is also acknowledged by insti-tutions, communities, and systemsof higher education."

Rangel, who moved back tothe Imperial Valley a decade ago tohelp start the program at IVC, rec-ognizes the importance of dis-cussing the Chicano perspectiveinside the classroom, but realizeshow the conversations over issuesthat affect Mexican-Americancommunities go beyond academia.

"University was an enlighten-ing experience, but the people that

I met, my classmates, were whochallenged me beyond the class-room. That was an important andenlightening way of educatingmyself beyond the classroom,beyond what the professor tellsyou to read, beyond the basicexperience,” Rangel said.

During college, Rangel strayedfrom classes that taught subjectslike history and literature in a tra-ditional structure and looked forclasses that gave him anotherworld view that represented him,and the problems that he identifiedwith.

"There was no ‘me’ in somecurriculums, no mention of strikesand a resistance that has beengoing on for almost 200 years,there's no mention of my way oflooking at life through traditionalways of coming of age, music, oralpoetry, traditional theater," Rangelsaid.

Rangel has a background in lit-erature and earned his Bachelorand Master of Arts degrees fromSan Diego State University maincampus in the 1970s and in the1990s, he earned a Ph.D. inHispanic literature and culturefrom University of California LosAngeles. And he finds thatthrough the lens of Chicano litera-ture, many of the gaps of the wholenarrative of history are filled.

While in San Diego and LosAngeles, Rangel was exposed toother Chicano/as that shared,spoke out, and fought for many ofthe issues he identified and stoodby. These experiences in collegeare what has led Rangel to believethat the Chicano/a perspective pro-vides a counter text to the ways theworld was being viewed.

"You have to reflect on whatthe Chicano perspective does, inany field ... if you are a Chicanohistorian, sociologist, or someonewho deals with literature, which ismy field; they will give you thecounter text, the other version ofhistory, sociology, and literature,"

Rangel said. "In that sense, wepoint out what is missing from thenarrative, the poetic voice, andwhat is on stage, and many timesit's what people don't want tohear."

By giving a counter text andresponding to past narratives (orlack of) of Chicano/as in theUnited States, Rangel believes heis making a difference in theChicano/a community. If theChicano perspective is not dis-cussed, then the past struggles ofthe Chicano community are notrepresented, and this may leavemany issues still unresolved in thefuture.

“What draws me to Chicano/aissues are because they are myissues and the issues of my ances-tors that haven't been resolvedeither here in the U.S. or Mexico,"Rangel said. "I see myself continu-ing on with the Chicano struggle,probably with different tools, butthat's a way to make a difference. Idon't necessarily have to be in amarch, but my education andteaching are a way of being active... you have to respond, and youhave to answer back, you have totry to be committed and make adifference in people's lives.”

Rangel’s work through educa-tion, and in particular his contribu-tion to IVC’s Chicano studies pro-gram, matters. Programs such asthese give a community a place todiscuss struggles that, as Aguirrehad expressed, “feel are there, buthaven't had access to study it in aformal way that is also acknowl-edged,” and “where their(Chicano/a's) history and presenceis validated, for all its complexity."

Education is just one tool, asRangel said, his tool to how heresponds, answers back, andmakes a difference in people'slives, in the continued Chicanostruggle.

Chicano Perspective..............................from page one

Rosas.....................................from page oneLuis died in ECRMC, while

Edward died at home. He initial-ly tested negative for the virus,but fell ill some days later,showed up at the El Centro ERand was sent home to be treatedfor his pneumonia, Melissa said.Edward had pre-existing condi-tions including obesity and dia-betes, she said.

Luis's wife, Anna, andMelissa's girlfriend both recov-ered in isolation at home.

It has been a devastatingexperience for the Rosas family.Although Melissa said Annaspoke with a reporter early onfrom the national media, she hassince declined to be interviewedon several occasions about herfamily's ordeal due to how diffi-cult the first interview was.

For Melissa, though, shewants to get the word out thateven a casual get-together withjust a few people can have tragicconsequences.

Speaking through her daugh-ter, Rosa Rosas agreed "that peo-ple need to be conscious of whatthey're doing, about their deci-sions.

"She said this is going to be avery hard tragedy and journey(for the family)," Rosa said inSpanish through Melissa. "We'restill recovering from it."

Melissa said the night of theget-together, Anna was already ill

but did not know it. Melissaremembers sharing drinks withher brothers and sister-in-law,including drinking from Anna'scup. Basically, everyone was tast-ing each other's drinks and inclose proximity with no face cov-erings.

Luis is survived by Anna,along with their 8-year-old son,Diego. And while Edward wassingle, the uncertainty around hismanner of death, has the musicalcommunity, of which Luis washeavily involved, raising fundsfor Luis and Edward through anonline memorial concert July 25.

Details About "Jamming forLuis" July 25

To be livestreamed on a"Jamming for Luis" Facebookevent page (https://www.face-book.com/events/728356381042885) from 5 to 9 p.m. July 25, avirtual benefit concert will raisefunds for Anna, Diego and fami-ly.

Almost immediately afterlearning of Luis' death, closefriends Maricella "Chela"Moreno and Fernie and BrendaAyon got the ball rolling for thebenefit. With Anna's blessing,Moreno and the Ayons knew whoto ask for help.

Luis' passing hit home forMoreno, who was compelled toact: "He deserves so much more,"she said.

She remembered how Luis'band with long-time friend AldoArellano, known collectively asHijos Del Hombre, volunteeredto play for a music festivalMoreno was a part of putting onduring her time with local non-profit organization, Friends ofKegger.

Luis' passion for music (hewas a bassist) and for promotinglocal bands led him to start a pro-motions group where bandscould book shows. Luis andHijos band member and gui-tarist/vocalist Arellano formedthe I.V. Music Collective to pro-mote the music scene in theValley. They had known eachother for 10 years.

"What I am going to miss themost about (Luis) is his motiva-tion and drive to accomplishinggoals," which Arellano saidincluded helping nurture a hun-gry music scene here in theImperial Valley.

One goal that Luis andArellano had was recordingunder the Hijos Del Hombremoniker. The album has beenrecorded, Arellano said, and isnow being produced and mixedby friend Ayon.

"It's been hard to complete,"Arellano said. "It's hard to listento … I got chills all over mybody. It was crazy, man."

He goes on to express the dif-

ficulty he will have July 25 whenhe performs a solo acoustic setdedicated to Luis.

Ruben Hernandez, who willperform a solo set without hisband mates in Los Esmiths, hasalso shared the stage with Hijoson several occasions.

It is during "times like thesethat (we prove that we are a)strong community ... we cometogether, which Luis was allabout," Hernandez said.

Four of the seven Rosas family members shown in this familyphoto came down with COVID-19 after a family get-together,including brother. husband and father, Luis Rosas, who died June14 from the illness. Shown are sister Melissa Rosas (foreground,and clockwise from left), her mother and father, Rosa and JoseLuis Rosas, brothers Luis and Edward Rosas, and Luis's wife,Anna Rosas, all of El Centro. COURTESY PHOTO

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 Page 6

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how Neighborhood House cur-rently uses technology to servethe homeless communities andtheir upcoming plans.

"We are trying to identifypeople and where groups aremeeting, meaning that maybe agroup meets at the men's shelteror a group that meets in down-town El Centro. Within thesegroups, we try to find who is theleader, the person turned to, andwe give them information andhelp the people who are withthem,” Ortega said. "We aremaking an effort to do that."

Eventually, there are alsoplans to set up laptops in differ-ent locations where they canhave access to resources. Thegoal is to take the concept oftelemedicine and expand theconcept into teleresources.Doing so is a challenging projectsince many organizations andservices and their clients bothhave to be set up with the properequipment.

"It's not giving them a list,but direct contact to see and talkto somebody, but getting to thatpoint will take a year, maybe twoyears," Ortega said. "The prob-lem is how to ensure someonewho calls will be connected withsomeone who is ready for theircall or can consistently contactthem and know how the technol-ogy functions. It may also take awhile because many providersare also not set up, and there aremany different groups doingfood and clothing services."

Getting everyone coordinat-ed on both ends is the currentissue Neighborhood House isworking on with MolinaHealthcare and Imperial Countyto get this project off the ground.

Meanwhile, another focus ofNeighborhood House is its pre-school.

Ortega explained some of theprovisions the organization hasbeen phasing into its education.At the moment, it is holdingclasses virtually, and plans tocontinue until in-person classescan be resumed. A priority hasbeen working with parents to

keep them informed and wellsupported.

"We have continued distancelearning for the children -- that isthe largest program. We havealmost 280 to 300 children. Theyare our major focus," Ortegasaid. "We are trying to work hardwith the parents by keeping theminformed on what is coming upfrom the health department, orCDC, so that has been a bigfocus for us."

Neighborhood House hasalso been working to ensure thatparents are equipped with theproper resources to help theirstudents at home. Teachers havebeen restructuring their classesby creating "double lessonplans," a lesson plan for them-selves, and one for the parents tounderstand what is being taught.The hope is that these resourceswill help parents become "PATs,"or parents as teachers.Additionally, NeighborhoodHouse has been working along-side homeschooling associationsto learn some ways to continue toprovide quality education fortheir students.

Another service being pro-vided is meals for the students,especially those who do not haveaccess to transportation.

"We are just beginning tolook into meals for the children.The Calexico (Unified) SchoolDistrict has been fantastic. Theyhave provided meals for kids inCalexico on Tuesday andThursday," Ortega said. "Whatwe've done is identified parentsin our preschool who have notbeen able to pick up the foodmaybe because they do not havea car, and we pick up the food forthem and take it to their house."

When preschool students areallowed to resume classes,Neighborhood House plans toimplement 10 portable hand-washing units it recently pur-chased to maintain classroomcleanliness. But as of now,organization will continue toimprove its distance-learningframework.

Neighborhood House....................................from page one Stolen VehicleResults InImperial PursuitSTAFF REPORT

An El Centro man on paroleled Imperial police officers on ahigh-speed pursuit throughImperial and El Centro’s surfacestreets after he stole a vehicle July19, according to an ImperialPolice Department press release.

The suspect, who was lateridentified as Arthur Garrido, a 35-year-old parolee from El Centro,was booked into the ImperialCounty jail on suspicion of multi-ple felony counts of evadingpolice, burglary, and possessionof a stolen vehicle.

Imperial police responded to acall of a stolen vehicle beinglocated by its owner. Earlier in theday, the Imperial PoliceDepartment received a call abouta male walking into the victim’shouse and stealing keys to thevehicle. The vehicle was stolenfrom the residence and describedas a dark grey Nissan Sentra.

An officer located the vehiclenear 12th Street and Highway 86in the city of Imperial. When theofficer attempted to stop the vehi-cle, the vehicle fled at a high rateof speed. The pursuit ran throughsurface streets of Imperial and ElCentro, reaching speeds of 100mph, according to the pressrelease.

The vehicle then got ontoInterstate 8, where it reachedspeeds of 130 mph as Imperialpolice continued their pursuit. Thevehicle exited the freeway andheaded north on Forrester Road,eventually crashing into a cementditch bank near Forrester Roadand Murphy Road.

No police officers norGarrido, who was taken into cus-tody following the crash, were notinjured in the pursuit, the pressrelease stated.

Calexico Neighborhood House board member Pastor Garcia cutshair at one of the agency's many events for the homeless commu-nity. Neighborhood House has been working on new ways to con-tinue to serve the Imperial Valley during the COVID-19 pandem-ic. Throughout the years the organization has served the com-munity through its homeless shelter for homeless women and chil-dren, youth programs, clothing and food donation services.COURTESY PHOTO

The original Calexico Neighborhood House in 1938 is shown inthis photo. Neighborhood House has been working on new waysto continue to serve the Imperial Valley during the COVID-19pandemic. Throughout the years the organization has served thecommunity through its homeless shelter for homeless women andchildren, youth programs, clothing and food donation services.COURTESY PHOTO

Dark the rest of July and all ofAugust, the Calexico City Councilwill not meet again until Sept. 5.

Although not quite as made-for-broadcast — streaming live viaFacebook, that is — as the presen-tation of a ceremonial key to thecity to Mexicali Mayor Marina delPilar Avila Olmeda, the night’smost important decision wasarguably the ratification of incom-ing City Manager MiguelFigueroa’s employment contract.

He assumes the position fromoutgoing City Manager DavidDale on Aug. 1, who resignedmore than two weeks ago.Council Awards Figueroa Five-

Year AgreementAlthough little was said during

the meeting, the contract awarded to Figueroa was deep in protec-tions in the event that Figueroa isfired “without cause” by the coun-cil in the first three years of hisemployment.

This was “the same contractwe had with (former CityManager) Armando Villa,”Calexico City Attorney CarlosCampos said in presenting the con-tract to the council. It wasn’t clearif that was something that Figueroaspecifically requested, butFigueroa has made it known thathe admired Villa and has referredto himself as being of Villa’s styleof management.

The five-year contract has abase salary of $169,000 a year,with a $400 annual car allowanceand allows for merit increases ofup to 5 percent per year.

Since such contracts are at thewill of the council, meaning a citymanager can be fired withoutcause, certain provisions werewritten in offering severance andthresholds the council needs tomeet that would allow Figueroa tobe terminated.

City manager positions arehighly political. AlthoughFigueroa has the full support of thecurrent council that unanimouslyappointed him to the permanentposition following the resignation

of Dale on July 1, there is also amajor election of the Calexico CityCouncil looming Nov. 3, withthree full-term seats and one two-year short-term seat up for elec-tion.

That could dramatically alterthe direction of the council.

To that end, according to thetenets of Figueroa’s contract,which were accepted by a 5-0 voteJuly 15, if Figueroa is terminatedwithout cause in the first year ofthe contract, he would be paid aseverance package equal to 10months of salary and have hismedical insurance paid for thesame term.

If fired in year two, his sever-ance would increase to equal to 11months, and increase to the valueof 12 months if fired in the thirdyear.

Also, if fired within the firstthree years of the contract, thecouncil has to agree 4-1 to do so“without cause”; otherwise, it willrequire a 3-2 vote “with cause.”

Calexico City Council memberBill Hodge said he thought thecontract was equitable and fair andthat the rate of pay was “not toohigh, and not too low.”

According to information inthe meeting agenda backup report,most recent Calexico city man-agers have been paid between$144,000 and $198,000.

As a team, Assistant CityManager Miguel Figueroa andDale “did a great job, were a greatteam,” council member LewisPacheco said.

Mexicali Mayor on Hand toReceive Key

Mexicali’s Mayor AvilaOlmeda, at the invitation of MayorFernandez, brought several staffmembers with her to the meetingJuly 15 to accept a key to the citythat Fernandez said reaffirmed the“sisterhood” agreement betweenthe cities established May 24,2017, to work together and pro-mote public health, the economiesof both cities, the environment andpublic safety.

Fernandez described theregion as inextricably linkedthrough “trade, commerce, culture,energy that comes with the uniquestatus as international gatewaycities,” especially at a time wherethe communities are under threatfrom a public health crisis likeCOVID-19.

In presenting the key, she reit-erated the desire for the region towork together during COVID andbeyond.

“I’m very happy right now.This is an honor for us … I amglad to be here in Calexico, ourneighbor and literally our sistercity,” Avila Olmeda said, referringto the historical precedent of twowomen serving as mayor ofadjoining international cities.

“Historically, you cannotunderstand Mexicali withoutCalexico, nor Calexico withoutMexicali. Beyond the diplomaticsisterhood we all know, we are asingle region, together, with therest of the Imperial Valley,” AvilaOlmeda explained. “We here haveaffections, stories and live experi-ences in the city … always givingeach other a hand because weunderstand we are one communi-ty.”

The Mexicali mayor reiteratedthe commitment to workingtogether to get past COVID in theregion and protect residents onboth sides of the border.

“We have a long way to over-come (this) pandemic, but if wecan work together, we can be astrong region,” she added.Council Awards $755,500 Bid to

Tom Watson for ParkAlthough Dale, in his final

meeting with the council, recom-mended that the council reject alone bid for the installation ofsports lighting at Adrian C.Cordova Park, the council movedforward anyway and voted unani-mously to award a $755,501 con-tract to Tom Watson Inc., a localelectrical contractor out of ElCentro.

Because only one qualified bid

was received by city staff evenafter the project was highly adver-tised and bid solicited through theusual channels, Dale was con-cerned over any “perception ofcorruption” by the public at such ahighly politically charged time.

Dale said Tom Watson hasdone excellent work for the city inthe past (most recently withinstalling light poles at Joel ReisenField) and came well within theproject estimates for Cordova Parkof $800,000, staff was still recom-mending that the project be reject-ed and bid again, a process he saidwould take about two months.

Mayor Pro Tem Morris Reisenmentioned that Watson was com-mitted to building a restroom atReisen Field as well, so hemotioned the council move for-ward with the bid award. Pachecoseconded the motion, sayingWatson has a reputation for doing“excellent work.”

The contract calls for “option2” in which Watson installs LEDlighting for three baseball fields,lighting for one soccer field andlighting for one basketball court atCordova.

The project will be paid forfrom Measure H bond fundsalready programmed into the fiscal2020-2021 budget. Council Rejects Airport Rehab

BidsWhile it was not explicitly

said, COVID was likely the culpritin undermining federal funding fora taxiway rehabilitation and recon-struction project at CalexicoInternational Airport.

Public Works staff recom-mended the council reject allreceived bids to rehabilitate andreconstruct taxiway A at the airportoff Anza Road due to a lack offunding available from the FederalAviation Administration, whichtold public works staff in June thatthe FAA would not be providingall that was promised for the cur-rent federal fiscal year.

After the FAA paid more than$238,000 in 2018 for the designphase of a taxiway rehab project,the city had been amassing andstowing away annual FAA allot-ments (usually $150,000 a year)for work to be done at the airport.

In late May, the city receivedfour qualified bids to actually per-

form the construction at the taxi-way. After sending the FAA the bidtabulation, Public Works DirectorLilliana Falomir’s report to thecouncil states FAA said that thecity would either need to scaleback its project or hold off untilfiscal 2021 to get the remainder ofthe funding.

The bids ranged from a base of$3.165 million on the low endfrom Vance Corp., to $4.14 millionon the high side from GraniteConstruction Co.

The project calls for a newconcrete taxiway and parallelaccess roads, new lighting and sig-nage, drainage improvements andother infrastructure.

The council rejected the bids.Council Approves Five-Year

LTA List for ProjectsIn order to secure Imperial

County Local TransportationAuthority funding, or Calexico’sallotment of its Measure D gastaxes, the council needed toapprove a five-year project list forfiscal years 2020 through 2025.

That list, according to Falomir,includes a $5 million to $6 millionestimated roads project that wentout to bid July 21 in which another58 streets in the city will get over-hauled. That particular project,however, is already paid forthrough LTA bond funds from2018, she said.

The council voted 5-0 to sub-mit the list, which also includesbride widening and reconstructionprojects, and other major streetsand infrastructure projects.

Council Approved Adding toFire Station Contract

The council unanimouslyapproved another $55,000 pay-ment to 10 Over Studios of SanLuis Obispo to handle all construc-tion management of the newCalexico Fire Department head-quarters project. The city has beenworking with 10 Over Studiossince 2017, when the firm washired to design the new fire station.

In June, the council awarded a$5.827 million bid to OakviewConstructors Inc. of Calimesa by aunanimous vote to build the state-of-the-art Fire Department head-quarters at 430 E. Fifth St.

Continued on page 9

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 7

In November 2019, the countyBoard of Supervisors moved tohalf fund a pest adviser positionfor the University of CaliforniaCooperative Extension-ImperialCounty at $385,000 over five yearsfrom the county’s AgriculturalBenefit Grant Program. UC wouldtake care of the other half of theposition.

“We have a large pool of appli-cants and the committee has doneextensive screening to come upwith three applicants. The selec-tion committee finally recom-mended one,” Bachie said.Negotiations with the individualare ongoing.

Bachie said he anticipates theindividual ultimately hired will beon board in January, which is not amajor issue because research at thecenter has slowed due to COVID-19.

Bachie also announced thatanother position will soon be filledat the Desert Research andExtension Center.

“I have been here for eightyears and the vegetable productionadviser position has not been filled

since I have been here,” Bachieadded. “The position covers organ-ic food production particularly forvegetable crops and horticulturalcrops (including tree crops).”

Research Center administra-tors have already begun interview-ing potential candidates and whit-tled the large pool down to ninecandidates, Bachie said.

“The final round of interviewsis going to start very soon.Candidates for both of these posi-tions are from all over the world.Some are from close by. It is theUC policy that when they recruit,they advertise globally,” saidBachie, who himself hails fromEthiopia.

As for the integrated pest-man-agement post, one of the key func-tions will be to monitor invasiveinsect species, which uncheckedand uncontrolled can be nothingshort of cataclysmic.

In fall 1990, the sweet potatowhitefly arrived and made countyfarmland its dinner table, devastat-ing that season’s melon, broccoli,cabbage, and cauliflower crops. Itstuck around for a couple of years.

By fall 1992, the countyAgricultural Commissioner’soffice estimated whitefly damageat $111 million in losses in grossvalue and production, according topublished academic reports.

From November 1991 throughJanuary 1992, the whitefly’s effecton fall vegetable crops resulted ina 21 percent upsurge in unemploy-ment insurance filings by fieldworkers from the same period ayear earlier, it was reported.

“The whitefly is a good exam-ple of why we need pest manage-ment,” District 5 Imperial CountySupervisor Ray Castillo said in aNov. 9, 2019, interview with theHoltville Tribune. “It just camesuddenly and caught everybody offguard. Whole fields (of can-taloupes) had to be plowed under. Ican recall driving through theValley, and there were swarms andswarms everywhere.”

He added, “To avoid a catas-trophe of that type to other prod-ucts, we need to have someonewith that background and knowl-edge.”

Research Center......................from page three

Calexico Council................................from page one

Calexico Mayor Rosie Arreola Fernandez (left) and MexicaliMayor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda are shown together July15, when Avila Olmeda was presented with the key to the city ofCalexico during a council meeting. COURTESY PHOTO

with her two young children.The information was relayed toagents performing their assignedduties in the area and theyresponded to the location tobegin searching for the family.

At 8:01 p.m., agents locatedthe trio and transported them toHighway 98, where ImperialCounty Fire DepartmentOcotillo substation and an AMRambulance were waiting forthem. AMR determined that nofurther medical attention wasneeded and cleared the trio.

The adult mother and hertwo children, 8 and 6, all undoc-

umented immigrants fromGuatemala, were taken to therally point for processing andexpelled.

The fourth incident occurredon July 19 at 11:40 a.m., whendispatch was notified byCalifornia Highway Patrol com-munications of a distress callmade by a group of seven indi-viduals. The individuals statedhe and six others were lost andout of water. The informationalong with GPS coordinates wasrelayed to El Centro Stationagents performing their assignedduties in the area and they

responded to the location tobegin searching for the group.

At 12:15 p.m., an Air andMarine Operations helicoptercrew assigned to the San DiegoAir and Marine Branch respond-ed to a request from dispatch toassist with the search. At 12:45p.m., the helicopter crew arrivednear the GPS coordinates andwere able to locate the seven lostindividuals. The crew aboard thehelicopter was able to guideagents on the ground to the loca-tion of the group.

Once located, agents provid-ed water, medically evaluated

the group and determined thatno further medical attention wasneeded.

The seven individuals, sixadult males and one 16-year-oldmale, all undocumented immi-grants from Mexico, wheretaken to the rally point for pro-cessing and expelled back toMexico.

The fifth incident occurredJuly 19 at 10:45 p.m., when dis-patch was notified by ICSO of adistress call made by a group offour individuals. The group stat-ed that they were dehydratedand in need of assistance. Theinformation along with GPScoordinates was relayed to ElCentro station agents perform-ing their assigned duties in the

area as well as BORSTAR. Theyimmediately responded to thelocation to begin searching forthe group.

At 11:31 p.m., BORSTARagents were able to locate thefour individuals. BORSTARagents provided water, medical-ly evaluated the group and deter-mined that no further medicalattention was needed.

The four individuals, alladult males, all undocumentedimmigrants from Mexico, wheretaken to the rally point for pro-cessing and expelled back toMexico.

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 8

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Notices CallUs, YourCounty

AdjudicatedNewspaper.

ImperialValley

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PART IBIDDING INFORMATION

COUNTY OF IMPERIALNOTICE TO BIDDERS

Sealed proposals will be received at the office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at theCounty Administration Center located at 940 Main Street, Suite 209 in El Centro, California92243, until 3:00 O'clock p.m. on _August 21, 2020_at which time they will be publicly openedand read at the above stated time and place, for construction in accordance with the specifica-tions therefore, to which special reference is made, as follows:

RIO VISTA ST. FROM HOLT AVE. TO HEIL AVE. (SOUTH SIDE) IMPROVEMENTS INSEELEY - IMPERIAL COUNTY

Federal Aid Project No. CML-5958 (106)County of Imperial Project No. 6365

The DBE Contract Goal for the projects is 12%

The contractor shall possess a California contractor's license, Class A, at the time this contractis awarded. In all contracts subject to this part where federal funds are involved, no bid sub-mitted shall be invalidated by the failure of the bidder to be licensed in accordance with the lawsof the State of California. However, at the time the contract is awarded, the contractor shall beproperly licensed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. The first payment forwork or material under any contract shall not be made unless and until the Registrar ofContractors verifies to the agency that the records of the Contractors' State License Board indi-cate that the contractor was properly licensed at the time other contract was awarded. Any bid-der or contractor not so licensed shall be subject to all legal penalties imposed by law, includ-ing, but not limited to, any appropriate disciplinary action by the Contractors' State LicenseBoard.

THIS PROJECT IS SUBJECT TO THE "BUY AMERICA" PROVISIONS OF THESURFACE TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1982 AS AMENDED BY THEINTERMODAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY ACT OF 1991.

Bids are required for the entire work described herein. The contractor does not have the optionto submit a bid proposal on only a portion of the following described work. The contractor mustrespond with a bid proposal for Base Bid.

For purposes of determination of the lowest bid, Public Contract Code Section 20103.8 (a) willbe used.

Plans, specifications, and proposal forms (bid documents) for bidding this project can beobtained at the office of the Imperial County Department of Public Works; 155 South 11thStreet, El Centro, CA 92243. A $100.00 fee is required (no refund will be made). Mail serv-ice is available at an additional cost of $15.00 per set of documents. Make checks payable tothe County of Imperial Department of Public Works.

Alternately, the bid documents can be found on Imperial County Public Works website under"Projects Out to Bid" at www.co.imperial.ca.us/PublicWorks/Index.htm.

Only those firms who have purchased the bid documents and the required trade journals will bedirectly provided any addendums that may be issued for this project prior to the bid openingdate. Every attempt will be made to post addendums on the above mentioned Imperial CountyPublic Works website as well.

This contract is subject to state contract nondiscrimination and compliance requirements pur-suant to Government Code, Section 12990.

Inquiries or questions based on alleged patent ambiguity of the plans, specifications, or estimatemust be communicated as a bidder inquiry prior to bid opening. Any such inquiries or ques-tions, submitted after bid opening, will not be treated as a bid protest.

Bid security shall accompany the bid in the form of a certified or cashier's check, or a Bid Bondfor ten (10) percent of the maximum bid amount being proposed.

The successful bidder shall furnish a payment bond and a performance bond, both equal to100% of the contract amount.

Bidders are advised that, they may substitute securities in place retained funds withheld byCounty. Cal. Pub. Cont. Code Section 22300. Alternatively, an escrow agreement, in the formprescribed by the code, may be used by the bidder.

The County of Imperial hereby affirms and notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insurethat in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enter-prises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will notbe discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, color, or national origin in considerationfor an award.

Federal, State and local regulations and reporting requirements applicable to the proposed workmust be complied with for this project.

Pursuant to Section 1773 of the Labor Code, the general prevailing rate of wages in the Countyin which the work is to be done has been determined by the Director of the CaliforniaDepartment of Industrial Relations and are on file and available from the Clerk of the Board ofSupervisors located at the County Administration Center, 940 Main Street, Suite 209, El Centro,CA 92243.

These wages are also available from the California Department of Industrial Relations' Internetweb site at http://www.dir.ca.gov. Future effective general prevailing wage rates, which havebeen predetermined and are on file with the California Department of Industrial Relations arereferenced but not printed in the general prevailing wage rates.

Attention is directed to the Federal minimum wage rate requirements set forth elsewhere inthese special provisions. If there is a difference between the minimum wage rates predeter-mined by the Secretary of Labor and the general prevailing wage rates determined by theDirector of the California Department of Industrial Relations for similar classifications of labor,the Contractor and subcontractors shall pay not less than the higher wage rate. The Departmentwill not accept lower State wage rates not specifically included in the Federal minimum wagedeterminations. This includes "helper" (or other classifications based on hours of experience)or any other classification not appearing in the Federal wage determinations. Where Federalwage determinations do not contain

the State wage rate determination otherwise available for use by the Contractor and subcon-tractors, the Contractor and subcontractors shall pay not less than the Federal minimum wagerate, which most closely approximates the duties of the employees in question.

If there is a difference between the minimum wage rates predetermined by the Secretary ofLabor and the prevailing wage rates determined by the State for similar classifications of labor,the Contractor and his subcontractor shall pay not less than the higher wage rate.

Bidders are advised that, as required by federal law, the State has established a statewide over-all DBE goal. This County of Imperial federal-aid contract is considered to be part of thestatewide overall DBE goal. The Agency is required to report to Caltrans on DBE participationfor all Federal-Aid contracts each year so that attainment efforts may be evaluated.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) provides a toll-free "hotline" service to reportbid rigging activities. Bid rigging activities can be reported Mondays through Fridays, between8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., eastern time, telephone no. 1-800-424-9071. Anyone with knowledgeof possible bid rigging, bidder collusion, or other fraudulent activities should use the "hotline"to report these activities. The "hotline" is part of the DOT's continuing effort to identify andinvestigate highway construction contract fraud and abuse and is operated under the directionof the DOT Inspector General. All information will be treated confidentially and calleranonymity will be respected.

Withdrawal of bids shall not be permitted for a period of seventy five (75) days after the dateset for the opening thereof.

Monies withheld by the owner to ensure performance under the contract may be released inaccordance with Government Code Section 4590 and these contract documents.

Blanca AcostaClerk of the Board of Supervisors

Legal 8965 Publish: July 23, 2020

CITY OF IMPERIAL, CALIFORNIA

NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF ORDINANCES WHICHPROVIDES FOR AN ADULT USE CANNABIS

DISPENSARIES

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that during its meeting of July 15, 2020,the City Council of the City of Imperial adopted ordinances whichprovides for the dispensing of adult use cannabis as defined inProposition 64; an initiative known as the Adult Use of MarijuanaAct. As adopted, a medical cannabis dispensary legally operatingand in good standing in the City of Imperial, may, in the discretionof the Community Development Director, proceed to operate also asan adult use dispensary, subject to such additional conditions as maybe imposed by the Community Development Director. In theabsence of a qualifying medical cannabis dispensary, the proposedordinance sets forth a process by which an adult use dispensary maybe considered.

Information regarding access to the adopted ordinance on the City'sweb site may be obtained by contacting Debra Jackson, ImperialCity Clerk at 760.355.3334.

The council members voting for and against the ordinances were asfollows:For: Geoff Dale, Karin Eugenio, James Tucker and Darrell Pechtl.Against: Robert Amparano

Legal 6369 Publish: July 23, 2020

CITY OF IMPERIAL, CALIFORNIA

NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMENDTHE SIGN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF IMPERIAL

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that during its meeting of July 15, 2020,the City Council of the City of Imperial adopted an ordinance thatamends the City of Imperial sign ordinance. As adopted, the ordi-nance makes provision for signs that are currently prohibited such asflags, banners, streamers, pennants, posters and vehicle mountedsigns. The ordinance also makes provision for temporary signs,including provision for signs during specified holidays.

Information regarding access to the adopted ordinance on the City'sweb site may be obtained by contacting Debra Jackson, ImperialCity Clerk at 760.355.3334.

The Council members voting for and against the ordinance are as fol-lows:For: Robert Amparano, Geoff Dale, Karin Eugenio, James Tucker,and Darrell PechtlAgainst: None.

Legal 6368 Publish: July 23, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

Rescue..........................................from page four

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 9

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICE

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAMESTATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-380The following person is conductingbusiness as:Hope Center for Legal Solutions 836West State St.El Centro, CA 92243Phone: 760-352-6262County of ImperialFull Name of Registrant:Hope Center For Legal Solutions836 West State St.El Centro, CA 92243This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant commenced to transactbusiness under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed above on04/01/2020I, Declare that all of the information

in this statement is true and correct.Signature: Rebecca S. Tharp, CFOThe filing of this statement does notof itself authorize the use in this Stateor a Fictitious Business Name inViolation of the Rights of anotherunder Federal, State or CommonLaw.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: July 8, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expires on:July 7, 2025. A new statement mustbe filed prior to the expiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 6362 Publish: July 16, 23, 30, August 6,2020

PUBLIC NOTICE

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAMESTATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-375The following person is conductingbusiness as:RS Legal Services1074 E Cole Blvd Ste. 6Calexico, CA 92231County of ImperialFull Name of Registrant:Rosina Sanchez1103 Avenida De Oro #70Calexico, CA 92231This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant commenced to transactbusiness under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed above onJanuary 19, 2012.I, Declare that all of the information

in this statement is true and correct.Signature: Rosina SanchezThe filing of this statement does notof itself authorize the use in this Stateor a Fictitious Business Name inViolation of the Rights of anotherunder Federal, State or CommonLaw.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: July 7, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expires on:July 6, 2025. A new statement mustbe filed prior to the expiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 5861 Publish: July 23, 30, August 6, 13,2020

CITY OF IMPERIALREQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

PLAYGROUND SURFACING IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Imperial, acting by and through its CITY COUNCIL, here-inafter referred to as the "CITY", will receive up to, but no later 3:00 p.m. on Friday, August 7, 2020,PROPOSALS for negotiation and award of a contract concerning Labor Compliance Consulting Services.

To be considered, one original and three copies of PROPOSALS must be received in the office of theCITY CLERK, 420 South Imperial, CA, 92251, Attention: Debra Jackson, City Clerk, by the time speci-fied above.

It is the CITY's intention to select the Consultant whose proposal is deemed to be most advantageous tothe CITY in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in this Request for Proposals. The ParksDepartment will review and score the proposals and recommend the most responsive and responsible firmto receive the contract award. City staff recommendation will be forwarded to the IMPERIAL CITYCOUNCIL for final determination.

Each proposal must conform and be responsive to the City of Imperial's Governing Agreement, a copy ofwhich is attached as Attachment C. This Governing Agreement may also be obtained at the offices of theParks Department located at 420 South Imperial Avenue, Imperial CA 92251.

The CITY reserves the right to reject any or all PROPOSALS, or to waive any irregularities or informal-ities in any qualifications or in the selection process. Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE), andVeteran Owned Businesses (VOB) are encouraged to participate.

Questions concerning the proposal should be directed to Tony Lopez, Parks Superintendent, with the Cityof Imperial at (760) 355-3134 or via email: tlopez@cityofimperial.org.

Legal 6367 Publish: July 23, 2020

Need to publish your Fictitious Business Name Statement, Order To Show Cause

For Name Change, Summons or Probates?Give Us A Call (760) 339-4899

PART IBIDDING INFORMATION

COUNTY OF IMPERIALNOTICE TO BIDDERS

Sealed proposals will be received at the office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at theCounty Administration Center located at 940 Main Street, Suite 209 in El Centro, California92243, until 2:30 O'clock p.m. on August 21, 2020 at which time they will be publicly openedand read at the above stated time and place, for construction in accordance with the specifica-tions therefore, to which special reference is made, as follows:

RIO VISTA ST. FROM SAN DIEGO AVE. TO HOLT AVE. (SOUTH SIDE)IMPROVEMENTS IN SEELEY - IMPERIAL COUNTY

Federal Aid Project No. CML-5958 (105)County of Imperial Project No. 6321

The DBE Contract Goal for the projects is 12%

The contractor shall possess a California contractor's license, Class A, at the time this contractis awarded. In all contracts subject to this part where federal funds are involved, no bid sub-mitted shall be invalidated by the failure of the bidder to be licensed in accordance with the lawsof the State of California. However, at the time the contract is awarded, the contractor shall beproperly licensed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. The first payment forwork or material under any contract shall not be made unless and until the Registrar ofContractors verifies to the agency that the records of the Contractors' State License Board indi-cate that the contractor was properly licensed at the time other contract was awarded. Any bid-der or contractor not so licensed shall be subject to all legal penalties imposed by law, includ-ing, but not limited to, any appropriate disciplinary action by the Contractors' State LicenseBoard.

THIS PROJECT IS SUBJECT TO THE "BUY AMERICA" PROVISIONS OF THESURFACE TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1982 AS AMENDED BY THEINTERMODAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY ACT OF 1991.

Bids are required for the entire work described herein. The contractor does not have the optionto submit a bid proposal on only a portion of the following described work. The contractor mustrespond with a bid proposal for Base Bid.

For purposes of determination of the lowest bid, Public Contract Code Section 20103.8 (a) willbe used.

Plans, specifications, and proposal forms (bid documents) for bidding this project can beobtained at the office of the Imperial County Department of Public Works; 155 South 11thStreet, El Centro, CA 92243. A $100.00 fee is required (no refund will be made). Mail serv-ice is available at an additional cost of $15.00 per set of documents. Make checks payable tothe County of Imperial Department of Public Works.

Alternately, the bid documents can be found on Imperial County Public Works website under"Projects Out to Bid" at www.co.imperial.ca.us/PublicWorks/Index.htm.

Only those firms who have purchased the bid documents and the required trade journals will bedirectly provided any addendums that may be issued for this project prior to the bid openingdate. Every attempt will be made to post addendums on the above mentioned Imperial CountyPublic Works website as well.

This contract is subject to state contract nondiscrimination and compliance requirements pur-suant to Government Code, Section 12990.

Inquiries or questions based on alleged patent ambiguity of the plans, specifications, or estimatemust be communicated as a bidder inquiry prior to bid opening. Any such inquiries or ques-tions, submitted after bid opening, will not be treated as a bid protest.

Bid security shall accompany the bid in the form of a certified or cashier's check, or a Bid Bondfor ten (10) percent of the maximum bid amount being proposed.

The successful bidder shall furnish a payment bond and a performance bond, both equal to100% of the contract amount.Bidders are advised that, they may substitute securities in place retained funds withheld byCounty. Cal. Pub. Cont. Code Section 22300. Alternatively, an escrow agreement, in the formprescribed by the code, may be used by the bidder.

The County of Imperial hereby affirms and notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insurethat in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enter-prises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will notbe discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, color, or national origin in considerationfor an award.

Federal, State and local regulations and reporting requirements applicable to the proposed workmust be complied with for this project.

Pursuant to Section 1773 of the Labor Code, the general prevailing rate of wages in the Countyin which the work is to be done has been determined by the Director of the CaliforniaDepartment of Industrial Relations and are on file and available from the Clerk of the Board ofSupervisors located at the County Administration Center, 940 Main Street, Suite 209, El Centro,CA 92243.

These wages are also available from the California Department of Industrial Relations' Internetweb site at http://www.dir.ca.gov. Future effective general prevailing wage rates, which havebeen predetermined and are on file with the California Department of Industrial Relations arereferenced but not printed in the general prevailing wage rates.

Attention is directed to the Federal minimum wage rate requirements set forth elsewhere inthese special provisions. If there is a difference between the minimum wage rates predeter-mined by the Secretary of Labor and the general prevailing wage rates determined by theDirector of the California Department of Industrial Relations for similar classifications of labor,the Contractor and subcontractors shall pay not less than the higher wage rate. The Departmentwill not accept lower State wage rates not specifically included in the Federal minimum wagedeterminations. This includes "helper" (or other classifications based on hours of experience)or any other classification not appearing in the Federal wage determinations. Where Federalwage determinations do not contain the State wage rate determination otherwise available foruse by the Contractor and subcontractors, the Contractor and subcontractors shall pay not lessthan the Federal minimum wage rate, which most closely approximates the duties of theemployees in question.

If there is a difference between the minimum wage rates predetermined by the Secretary ofLabor and the prevailing wage rates determined by the State for similar classifications of labor,the Contractor and his subcontractor shall pay not less than the higher wage rate.

Bidders are advised that, as required by federal law, the State has established a statewide over-all DBE goal. This County of Imperial federal-aid contract is considered to be part of thestatewide overall DBE goal. The Agency is required to report to Caltrans on DBE participationfor all Federal-Aid contracts each year so that attainment efforts may be evaluated.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) provides a toll-free "hotline" service to reportbid rigging activities. Bid rigging activities can be reported Mondays through Fridays, between8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., eastern time, telephone no. 1-800-424-9071. Anyone with knowledgeof possible bid rigging, bidder collusion, or other fraudulent activities should use the "hotline"to report these activities. The "hotline" is part of the DOT's continuing effort to identify andinvestigate highway construction contract fraud and abuse and is operated under the directionof the DOT Inspector General. All information will be treated confidentially and calleranonymity will be respected.

Withdrawal of bids shall not be permitted for a period of seventy five (75) days after the dateset for the opening thereof.

Monies withheld by the owner to ensure performance under the contract may be released inaccordance with Government Code Section 4590 and these contract documents.

Blanca AcostaClerk of the Board of Supervisors

Legal 8964Publish: July 23, 2020

Council Members Respond toCritics

Calexico council membersHodge and Pacheco used theircouncil comment periods toaddress the continued criticismcoming toward members of thecouncil since Fernandez was elect-ed mayor.

Fernandez has chosen not torespond to any of the criticismpublicly, and Mayor Pro TemMorris Reisen has fired back viasocial media and in this newspa-per.

Pacheco told critics that fellowcouncil members cannot be forcedto resign or uninstalled without

formal processes, instead he sug-gested that members of the com-munity with concerns take theproper route and run for office tooust them.

Hodge used his time to reiter-ate that the council has done muchgood and are not corrupt politi-cians as some are saying. He said

the actions of one “millennium”politician (David Romero) shouldnot undo all the council hasaccomplished as a group over thelast two years, including rightingthe city’s budget problems, restor-ing parks, rehabbing streets andworking on major infrastructureprojects across the board.

Some of the organizers behindthe recent calls to unseat the “fos-sils,” the word used to describe thecouncil on various hand-paintedsigns posted across the city sinceJuly 4, held a car caravan proteston July 17. One organizer said asmany as 30 cars showed up to par-ticipate.

Calexico Council...............................from page seven

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-390The following person is conduct-ing business as:Villegas Insurance and FinancialServices1074 E Cole Blvd Ste. 4Calexico, CA 92231

(760) 768-1400County of ImperialFull Name of Registrant:Aaron Guzman Villegas2566 Vista Del MarImperial, CA 92251This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant commenced to trans-

act business under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed aboveon: December 1, 2014.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Aaron Villegas,OwnerThe filing of this statement does

not 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: July 13,2020.NOTICE: This statement expires

on: July 12, 2025. A new state-ment must be filed prior to theexpiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 5962 Publish: July 23, 30, August 6,13, 2020

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 10

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-365The following persons are conduct-ing business as:Townhouse Inn & SuitesTownhouse Lodge Motelwww.brawleymotel.com135 Main StreetBrawley, CA 92227Imperial CountyFull Name of Registrants:Rameshwar Inc.135 Main StreetBrawley, CA 92227This business conducted by: A

CorporationArticles of Incorporation:C2735854Registrant commenced to transactbusiness under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed above on:2005.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Mehul C. Patel, CEOThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use inthis State or a Fictitious BusinessName in Violation of the Rights ofanother under Federal, State or

Common Law.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: August 17,2015.NOTICE: This statement expireson: August 16, 2025. A new state-ment must be filed prior to theexpiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 6360 Publish: July 16, 23, 30, August 6,2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-371The following persons are con-ducting business as:ComeHome201 Spear Street, Suite 1400San Francisco, CA 94105San Francisco County

Phone: 855-681-6177Full Name of Registrants:HouseCanary Inc.201 Spear Street, Suite 1400San Francisco, CA 94105This business conducted by: ACorporationArticles of Incorporation:C3894719

Registrant commenced to transactbusiness under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed above on:11/13/2018.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Jeremy Sicklick, CEOThe filing of this statement does

not of itself authorize the use inthis State or a Fictitious BusinessName in Violation of the Rights ofanother under Federal, State orCommon Law.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: July 6, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: July 5, 2025. A new statement

must be filed prior to the expira-tion date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderVictoria Camarillo, DeputyLegal 6364 Publish: July 16, 23, 30, August 6,2020

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSEFOR CHANGE OF NAMECASE NUMBER: ECU001448TO ALL INTERESTED PER-SONS: Petitioner GuadalupeSandoval Juarez filed a petitionwith this court for a decree chang-ing names as follows: Present name:Efrem Adler Sandoval De La PenaSantiago Yahir Sandoval De LaPenaProposed name:Efrem Adler De La Peña SandovalSantiago Yahir De La PeñaSandoval

THE COURT ORDERS that allpersons interested in this matterappear before this court at the hear-ing indicated below to show cause,if any, why the petition for changeof name should not be granted. Anyperson objecting to the namechanges described above must filea written objection that includesthe reasons for the objection atleast two court days before the mat-ter is scheduled to be heard andmust appear at the hearing to showcause why the petition should notbe granted. If no written objectionis timely filed, the court may grant

the petition without a hearing.NOTICE OF HEARINGDate: August 25, 2020Time: 8:30 a.m.Dept.: 7The address of the court is:Superior Court of California,County of Imperial939 W. Main StreetEl Centro, CA 92243A copy of this Order to ShowCause shall be published at leastonce each week for four successiveweeks prior to the date set for hear-ing on the petition in the followingnewspaper of general circulation,printed in this county (specifynewspaper): CalexicoChronicle/Imperial Valley WeeklyDate: March 5, 2020

Judge of the Superior CourtFiled: 06/29/2020Superior Court of CaliforniaCounty of Imperial

By Sabian Felix , Deputy Clerk

Legal 6354 Publish: July 2, 9, 16, 23, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICE

T.S. No.: 2020-00889-CAA.P.N.:053-371-022-000Property Address: 1025 West HamiltonAvenue, EL CENTRO, CA 92243

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALEPURSUANT TO CIVIL CODE §2923.3(a) and (d), THE SUMMARY OFINFORMATION REFERRED TOBELOW IS NOT ATTACHED TO THERECORDED COPY OF THIS DOCU-MENT BUT ONLY TO THE COPIESPROVIDED TO THE TRUSTOR.NOTE: THERE IS A SUMMARY OFTHE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCU-MENT ATTACHED

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PROPER-TY OWNER:

YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER ADEED OF TRUST DATED 04/11/2003.UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PRO-TECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BESOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOUNEED AN EXPLANATION OF THENATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGAGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CON-TACT A LAWYER.Trustor: VIRGINIA A. VASQUEZ, AMARRIED WOMAN AS HER SOLEAND SEPARATE PROPERTYDuly Appointed Trustee: WesternProgressive, LLCDeed of Trust Recorded 04/17/2003 asInstrument No. 2003-011262 in book2195, page 443 and of Official Records inthe office of the Recorder of ImperialCounty, California, Date of Sale: 09/04/2020 at 02:00 PMPlace of Sale: MAIN ENTRANCE,IMPERIAL COUNTY COURT-HOUSE, 939 W. MAIN STREET, ELCENTRO, CA 92243

Estimated amount of unpaid balance, rea-sonably estimated costs and other charges:$ 145,804.26

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALETHE TRUSTEE WILL SELL AT PUBLICAUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDER FORCASH, CASHIER'S CHECK DRAWNON A STATE OR NATIONAL BANK, ACHECK DRAWN BY A STATE OR FED-ERAL CREDIT UNION, OR A CHECKDRAWN BY A STATE OR FEDERALSAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION,A SAVINGS ASSOCIATION OR SAV-INGS BANK SPECIFIED IN SECTION5102 OF THE FINANCIAL CODE ANDAUTHORIZED TO DO BUSINESS INTHIS STATE:All right, title, and interest conveyed toand now held by the trustee in the here-inafter described property under and pur-suant to a Deed of Trust described as:More fully described in said Deed of Trust.Street Address or other common designa-tion of real property: 1025 West HamiltonAvenue, EL CENTRO, CA 92243 A.P.N.: 053-371-022-000The undersigned Trustee disclaims any lia-bility for any incorrectness of the streetaddress or other common designation, ifany, shown above.The sale will be made, but withoutcovenant or warranty, expressed orimplied, regarding title, possession, orencumbrances, to pay the remaining prin-cipal sum of the note(s) secured by theDeed of Trust with interest thereon, as pro-vided in said note(s), advances, under theterms of said Deed of Trust, fees, chargesand expenses of the Trustee and of thetrusts created by said Deed of Trust. Thetotal amount of the unpaid balance of theobligation secured by the property to besold and reasonable estimated costs,expenses and advances at the time of theinitial publication of the Notice of Sale is: $ 145,804.26.Note: Because the Beneficiary reserves

the right to bid less than the total debtowed, it is possible that at the time of thesale the opening bid may be less than thetotal debt.If the Trustee is unable to convey titlefor any reason, the successful bidder'ssole and exclusive remedy shall be thereturn of monies paid to the Trustee,and the successful bidder shall have nofurther recourse.The beneficiary of the Deed of Trust hasexecuted and delivered to the undersigneda written request to commence foreclo-sure, and the undersigned caused a Noticeof Default and Election to Sell to berecorded in the county where the real prop-erty is located.

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALENOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS:If you are considering bidding on thisproperty lien, you should understand thatthere are risks involved in bidding at atrustee auction. You will be bidding on alien, not on the property itself. Placing thehighest bid at a trustee auction does notautomatically entitle you to free and clearownership of the property. You should alsobe aware that the lien being auctioned offmay be a junior lien. If you are the highestbidder at the auction, you are or may beresponsible for paying off all liens seniorto the lien being auctioned off, before youcan receive clear title to the property. Youare encouraged to investigate the exis-tence, priority, and size of outstandingliens that may exist on this property bycontacting the county recorder's office or atitle insurance company, either of whichmay charge you a fee for this information.If you consult either of these resources,you should be aware that the same lendermay hold more than one mortgage or deedof trust on this property.NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER:The sale date shown on this notice of salemay be postponed one or more times bythe mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a

court, pursuant to Section 2924g of theCalifornia Civil Code. The law requiresthat information about trustee sale post-ponements be made available to you and tothe public, as a courtesy to those not pres-ent at the sale. If you wish to learn whetheryour sale date has been postponed, and, ifapplicable, the rescheduled time and datefor the sale of this property, you may call(866)-960-8299 or visit this Internet Website http://www.altisource. com/MortgageServices/DefaultManagement/TrusteeServices.aspx using the file numberassigned to this case 2020-00889-CA.Information about postponements that arevery short in duration or that occur close intime to the scheduled sale may not imme-diately be reflected in the telephone infor-mation or on the Internet Web site. Thebest way to verify postponement informa-tion is to attend the scheduled sale.Date: July 3, 2020Western Progressive, LLC, as Trusteefor beneficiaryC/o 1500 Palma Drive, Suite 237Ventura, CA 93003Sale Information Line: (866) 960-8299http://www.altisource.com/MortgageServices/DefaultManagement/TrusteeServices.aspx

________________________________________________Trustee Sale AssistantWESTERN PROGRESSIVE, LLC MAYBE ACTING AS A DEBT COLLECTORATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT.ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED MAYBE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.July 16, 23, 30, 2020Legal 8963

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-366The following person is conductingbusiness as:MexGift699 Wake Ave., Apt. 62El Centro, CA 92243Phone: 760-587-6619

County of ImperialFull Name of Registrant:Isaac Oswaldo Torres699 Wake Ave., Apt. 62El Centro, CA 92243This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant has not commenced totransact business under the

Fictitious Business Name(s) listedabove.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Isaac Torres, SoleProprietorThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use in this

State or a Fictitious Business Namein Violation of the Rights of anoth-er under Federal, State or CommonLaw.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: July 1, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: June 30, 2025. A new statementmust be filed prior to the expiration

date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 6363 Publish: July 16, 23, 30, August 6,2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-379The following persons are conduct-ing business as:Broken Yolk Cafe3049 N. Imperial Ave.El Centro, CA 92243Imperial CountyPhone: 760-352-9655

Mailing Address:P.O. Box 1843El Centro, CA 92244Full Name of Registrants:Ever Restaurants Inc.3049 N. Imperial Ave.El Centro, CA 92243This business conducted by: ACorporationArticles of Incorporation:

C3491846Registrant has not commenced totransact business under theFictitious Business Name(s) listedabove.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Jacob Eyer, VicePresident

The filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use in thisState or a Fictitious Business Namein Violation of the Rights of anoth-er under Federal, State or CommonLaw.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: July 7, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: July 6, 2025. A new statement

must be filed prior to the expirationdate.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 6361 Publish: July 16, 23, 30, August 6,2020

NOTICE OF PETITION TOADMINISTER ESTATE OF:THOMAS CECIL BROWN

CASE NO. EPR000739To all heirs, beneficiaries, credi-tors, contingent creditors, andpersons who may otherwise beinterested in the WILL or estate,or both of THOMAS CECILBROWN.A PETITION FOR PROBATEhas been filed by STEVEN VANLYONS in the Superior Court ofCalifornia, County of IMPERI-AL.THE PETITION FOR PRO-BATE requests that STEVENVAN LYONS be appointed aspersonal representative to admin-

ister the estate of the decedent.THE PETITION requests thedecedent's WILL and codicils, ifany, be admitted to probate. TheWILL and any codicils are avail-able for examination in the filekept by the court. THE PETITION requests author-ity to administer the estate underthe Independent Administrationof Estates Act. (This authoritywill allow the personal represen-tative to take many actions with-out obtaining court approval.Before taking certain very impor-tant actions, however, the person-al representative will be requiredto give notice to interested per-sons unless they have waived

notice or consented to the pro-posed action.) 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:08/28/20 at 8:30AM in Dept. 9located at 939 WEST MAINSTREET, EL CENTRO, CA92243IF YOU OBJECT to the grantingof the petition, you should appearat the hearing and state yourobjections or file written objec-tions with the court before thehearing. Your appearance may bein person or by your attorney.IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or acontingent creditor of the dece-dent, you must file your claimwith the court and mail a copy tothe personal representative

appointed 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 ProbateCode, 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 may wantto consult with an attorneyknowledgeable in California law.YOU MAY EXAMINE the filekept by the court. If you are a per-son interested in the estate, youmay file with the court a Requestfor Special Notice (form DE-154)of the 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 Notice

form is available from the courtclerk.In Pro Per PetitionerSTEVEN VAN LYONS4351 STANFORD PL.LA MESA CA 919427/9, 7/16, 7/23/20CNS-3377207#IMPERIAL VALLEY WEEKLYLegal 6357

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALET.S. No.: 2020-02042-A Loan No.:GAMBOA/ROLDAN YOU AREIN DEFAULT UNDER A DEEDOF TRUST DATED 07/31/2018.UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTIONTO PROTECT YOUR PROPER-TY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUB-LIC SALE. IF YOU NEED ANEXPLANATION OF THENATURE OF THE PROCEED-ING AGAINST YOU, YOUSHOULD CONTACT ALAWYER. A public auction sale tothe highest bidder for cash,cashier's check drawn on a state ornational bank, check drawn by astate or federal credit union, or acheck drawn by a state or federalsavings and loan association, orsavings association, or savingsbank specified in Section 5102 ofthe Financial Code and authorizedto do business in this state will beheld by the duly appointed trusteeas shown below, of all right, title,and interest conveyed to and nowheld by the trustee in the here-inafter described property underand pursuant to a Deed of Trust

described below. The sale will bemade, but without covenant or war-ranty, expressed or implied, regard-ing title, possession, or encum-brances, to pay the remaining prin-cipal sum of the note(s) secured bythe Deed of Trust, with interest andlate charges thereon, as provided inthe note(s), advances, under theterms of the Deed of Trust, interestthereon, fees, charges and expensesof the Trustee for the total amount(at the time of the initial publica-tion of the Notice of Sale) reason-ably estimated to be set forthbelow. The amount may be greateron the day of sale. Trustor:MANUEL A. GAMBOA DulyAppointed Trustee: ForeclosureSpecialists, Inc,. A CaliforniaCorporation Recorded 09/19/2018as Instrument No. 2018017329 inbook , page of Official Records inthe office of the Recorder of IMPE-RIAL County, California, Date ofSale: 07/30/2020 at 02:00PM Placeof Sale: At the North entrance tothe County Courthouse at 939Main Street, El Centro, CA 92243.Amount of unpaid balance and

other charges: $114,566.69 StreetAddress or other common designa-tion of real property: 374 CAMA-CHO STREET CALEXICO, CAA.P.N.: 058-030-054-000 Theundersigned Trustee disclaims anyliability for any incorrectness ofthe street address or other commondesignation, if any, shown above. Ifno street address or other commondesignation is shown, directions tothe location of the property may beobtained by sending a writtenrequest to the beneficiary within 10days of the date of first publicationof this Notice of Sale. NOTICE TOPOTENTIAL BIDDERS: If youare considering bidding on thisproperty lien, you should under-stand that there are risks involvedin bidding at a trustee auction. Youwill be bidding on a lien, not on theproperty itself. Placing the highestbid at a trustee auction does notautomatically entitle you to freeand clear ownership of the proper-ty. You should also be aware thatthe lien being auctioned off may bea junior lien. If you are the highestbidder at the auction, you are or

may 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 exist onthis property by contacting thecounty recorder's office or a titleinsurance company, either of whichmay charge you a fee for this infor-mation. If you consult either ofthese resources, you should beaware that the same lender mayhold more than one mortgage ordeed of trust on the property.NOTICE TO PROPERTYOWNER: The sale date shown onthis notice of sale may be post-poned one or more times by themortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, ora court, pursuant to Section 2924gof the California Civil Code. Thelaw requires that information abouttrustee sale postponements bemade available to you and to thepublic, as a courtesy to those notpresent at the sale. If you wish tolearn whether your sale date hasbeen postponed, and, if applicable,

the rescheduled time and date forthe sale of this property, you maycall 760-758-7622 or visit thisInternet Web siteWWW.ZENITHTRUSTEE.COM,using the file number assigned tothis case 2020-02042-A.Information about postponementsthat are very short in duration orthat occur close in time to thescheduled sale may not immediate-ly be reflected in the telephoneinformation or on the Internet Website. The best way to verify post-ponement information is to attendthe scheduled sale. Date:06/30/2020 ForeclosureSpecialists, Inc,. A CaliforniaCorporation DBA Zenith TrusteeServices 217 Civic Center Drive #2 Vista, California 92084 SaleLine: 760-758-7622 Dana A.Fazio, Trustee OfficerNPP0370754 To: CALEXICOCHRONICLE 07/09/2020,07/16/2020, 07/23/2020Legal 5959

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-341The following person is conductingbusiness as:C-19 Sanitizers2589 Valle Verde Ln.Imperial, CA 92251County of ImperialFull Name of Registrant:James Cervantes Sandoval2589 Valle Verde LnImperial, CA 92251This business conducted by: AnIndividualRegistrant commenced to transactbusiness under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed above on:June 5, 2020I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true and

correct.Signature: James CervantesSandoval, OwnerThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use in thisState or a Fictitious Business Namein Violation of the Rights of anoth-er under Federal, State or CommonLaw.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: June 19, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: June 18, 2025. A new statementmust be filed prior to the expirationdate.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderVictoria Camarillo, DeputyLegal 5956 Publish: July 2, 9, 16, 23, 2020

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 11

PUBLIC NOTICE

CLASSIFIED ADS

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

CLASSIFIED AD

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-350The following persons are conduct-ing business as:Irene’s Hair Salon2451 Rockwood Ave. Ste 102BCalexico, CA 92231County of ImperialMailing Address:1960 Bush Ct.Calexico, CA 92231Full Name of Registrants:Irene Guadalupe Matheus1960 Bush Ct.Calexico, CA 92231Norman Louis Matheus1960 Bush Ct.Calexico, CA 92231This business conducted by: AMarried CoupleRegistrant has not commenced totransact business under theFictitious Business Name(s) listed

above.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Norman L. Matheus,OwnerThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use inthis State or a Fictitious BusinessName in Violation of the Rights ofanother under Federal, State orCommon Law.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: June 23, 2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: June 22, 2025. A new statementmust be filed prior to the expirationdate.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 5957 Publish: July 2, 9, 16, 23, 2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO.: 20-352The following persons are con-ducting business as:Fortune Garden Family Inc.3309 S Dogwood Ave.El Centro, CA 92243County of ImperialFull Name of Registrants:Fortune Garden Family Inc.3309 S Dogwood Ave.El Centro, CA 92243This business conducted by: ACorporation

Articles of Incorporation:C4561743Registrant commenced to trans-act business under the FictitiousBusiness Name(s) listed aboveon: March 23, 2020.I, Declare that all of the informa-tion in this statement is true andcorrect.Signature: Andrew Wilson Zhou,CEOThe filing of this statement doesnot of itself authorize the use inthis State or a Fictitious BusinessName in Violation of the Rights

of another under Federal, State orCommon Law.Filed with the Imperial CountyClerk-Recorder on: June 23,2020.NOTICE: This statement expireson: June 22, 2025. A new state-ment must be filed prior to theexpiration date.Chuck Storey/County Clerk-RecorderElise Puyot, DeputyLegal 6358 Publish: July 9, 16, 23, 30, 2020

CLASS A DRIVERFULL TIME POSITIONBRING CURRENT DMV PRINT OUTAPPLY IN PERSON AT:BULL ENTERPRISES INC1701 BOWKER RD, EL CENTRO CA 92243(760) 353-92354tp - July 16, 23, 30, Aug. 6, 2020

Weekly-Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 PAGE 12

SUMMONS(CITACION JUDICIAL)

NOTICE TO DEFENDANT:(AVISO AL DEMANDADO):

E. S. BATEMAN; and All PersonsUnknown, Claiming Any Legalor Equitable Right, Title, Estate,Lien, or Interest in the PropertyDescribed in Complaint Adverseto Plaintiff's Title, or Any CloudOn Plaintiff's Title or Any Cloudon Plaintiff's Title Thereto; andDOES 1 through 100. The prop-erties described in the Complaint,that the Plaintiffs seek to quiettitle to are hereto described: TheSouth half of Lot 10, Section 1,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The North half of Lot 12;the North half and the Southwestquarter of Lot 13, and theSoutheast quarter of Lot 14,Section 1, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The South halfof Lot 11, Section 1, Township 10South, Range 18 East, S.B.M., inthe County of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The South halfof the Northeast quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 1,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southwest quarter ofthe Southwest quarter of Section1, Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof; EXCEPTING THERE-FROM, the West half of theSouthwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter. The Northhalf of the Southwest quarter ofthe Southeast quarter of Section1, Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southeast quarter ofthe Southwest quarter of theSoutheast quarter of Section 1,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southwest quarter ofLot 13 and the Southeast quarterof Lot 14 of Section 3, Township10 South, Range 18 East, S.B.M.,in the County of Imperial, Stateof California, according to theofficial plat thereof. Lot 3; theSoutheast quarter of Lot 9 and theWest half of Lot 10 of Section 3,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The North half of Lot 11and all of Lot 12 of Section 3,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The West half ofSoutheast quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 3,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southwest quarter ofthe Southwest quarter of Section3, Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northwest quarter ofthe Northwest quarter of theSoutheast quarter and theNorthwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter and the South

half of the Northeast quarter ofthe Southwest quarter and theNortheast quarter of theNortheast quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 3,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northwest quarter ofLot 8 of Section 5, Township 10South, Range 18 East, S.B.M., inthe County of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Southeastquarter of Lot 8 of Section 5,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The West half of Lot 11and the East half of Lot 12 ofSection 5, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The North halfof Lot 13; the Southeast quarterof Lot 13 and the North half ofLot 14 of Section 5, Township 10South, Range 18 East, S.B.M., inthe County of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Northwestquarter of the Northeast quarterof the Southwest quarter and theSouth half of the Northeast quar-ter of the Southwest quarter ofSection 5, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. Lots 3 and 4; theNorth half of Lot 9 and theNorthwest quarter of Lot 10 ofSection 5, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Northeastquarter of the Southwest quarterof the Southwest quarter ofSection 5, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Northeastquarter of the Southwest quarterof the Northwest quarter ofSection 11, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Northeastquarter of the Northwest quarterand the North half of theSoutheast quarter of theNorthwest quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northwest quarter ofthe Northwest quarter of theNortheast quarter and the Southhalf of the Northwest quarter ofthe Northeast quarter and theNorthwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of theNortheast quarter and the Southhalf of the Southwest quarter ofthe Northeast quarter of Section11, Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southeast quarter ofthe Northeast quarter of theNortheast quarter and theSoutheast quarter of theNortheast quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northeast quarter ofthe Northeast quarter of theSoutheast quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,

according to the official platthereof. The South half theSoutheast quarter of theSoutheast quarter and theNortheast quarter of theSoutheast quarter of theSoutheast quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northeast quarter ofthe Northwest quarter of theSouthwest quarterand Northwest quarter of theNortheast quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northwest quarter ofthe Northwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southwest quarter ofthe Northwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northeast quarter ofthe Southwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southeast quarter ofthe Southwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 11,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The North half of theNorthwest quarter of theNorthwest quarter and the Southhalf of the Northeast quarter ofthe Northwest quarter and theNorthwest quarter of theNortheast quarter of theNorthwest quarter of Section 13,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The South half of theNorthwest quarter of Section 13,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof; EXCEPTING THERE-FROM of the Southeast quarterof the Southeast quarter of saidNorthwest quarter. The Northhalf of the Northeast quarter ofthe Southeast quarter of Section13, Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Southeast quarter ofthe Southeast quarter and theSouth half of the Southwest quar-ter of the Southeast quarter ofSection 13, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Southwestquarter of the Northeast quarterof the Southwest quarter ofSection 15, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The Northeastquarter of the Southeast quarterof the Southwest quarter ofSection 15, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The East half ofthe Southwest quarter of the

Southwest quarter and theNorthwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of theSouthwest quarter of Section 15,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The Northwest quarter ofthe Northeast quarter and theNorth half of the Northeast quar-ter of the Northeast quarter ofSection 15, Township 10 South,Range 18 East, S.B.M., in theCounty of Imperial, State ofCalifornia, according to the offi-cial plat thereof. The West half ofthe Southwest quarter of theNortheast quarter; the Northeastquarter of the Southwest quarterof the Northeast quarter and theNorthwest quarter of theSoutheast quarter of theNortheast quarter of Section 15,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof. The South half of theSoutheast quarter of theNorthwest quarter and theNorthwest quarter of theSoutheast quarter of theNorthwest quarter of Section 15,Township 10 South, Range 18East, S.B.M., in the County ofImperial, State of California,according to the official platthereof.YOU ARE BEING SUED BYPLAINTIFF:(LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDOEL DEMANDANTE):ROBERT SPAIN; GERALDENESPAIN; and WILLIAM MEIN-HARDTNOTICE! You have been sued.The court may decide against youwithout your being heard unlessyou respond within 30 days.Read the information below. Youhave 30 CALENDAR DAYSafter this summons and legalpapers are served on you to file awritten response at this court andhave a copy served on the plain-tiff. A letter or phone call will notprotect you. Your writtenresponse must be in proper legalform if you want the court to hearyour case. There may be a courtform that you can use for yourresponse. You can find thesecourt forms and more informa-tion at the California CourtsOnline Self-Help Center(www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp),your county law library, or thecourthouse nearest you. If youcannot pay the filing fee, ask thecourt clerk for a fee waiver form.If you do not file your responseon time, you may lose the case bydefault, and your wages, money,and property may be taken with-out further warning from thecourt. There are other legalrequirements. You may want tocall an attorney right away. If youdo not know an attorney, youmay want to call an attorneyreferral service. If you cannotafford an attorney, you may beeligible for free legal servicesfrom a nonprofit legal servicesprogram. You can locate thesenonprofit groups at the CaliforniaLegal Services Web site(www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), theCalifornia Courts Online Self-Help Center(www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp),or by contacting your local courtor county bar association. NOTE:The court has a statutory lien forwaived fees and costs on any set-tlement or arbitration award of$10,000 or more in a civil case.The court's lien must be paidbefore the court will dismiss thecase.

¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Sino responde dentro de 30 días, lacorte puede decidir en su contrasin escuchar su versión. Lea lainformación a continuación.Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALEN-DARIO después de que leentreguen esta citación y papeleslegales para presentar unarespuesta por escrito en estacorte y hacer que se entregue unacopia al demandante. Una cartao una llamada telefónica no loprotegen. Su respuesta porescrito tiene que estar en formatolegal correcto si desea que proce-sen su caso en la corte. Es posi-ble que haya un formulario queusted pueda usar para surespuesta. Puede encontrar estosformularios de la corte y másinformación en el Centro deAyuda de las Cortes deCalifornia (www.sucorte.ca.gov),en la biblioteca de leyes de sucondado o en la corte que lequede más cerca. Si no puedepagar la cuota de presentación,pida al secretario de la corte quele dé un formulario de exenciónde pago de cuotas. Si no presentasu respuesta a tiempo, puedeperder el caso por incumplimien-to y la corte le podrá quitar susueldo, dinero y bienes sin másadvertencia. Hay otros requisitoslegales. Es recomendable quellame a un abogado inmediata-mente. Si no conoce a un aboga-do, puede llamar a un servicio deremisión a abogados. Si no puedepagar a un abogado, es posibleque cumpla con los requisitospara obtener servicios legalesgratuitos de un programa de ser-vicios legales sin fines de lucro.Puede encontrar estos grupos sinfines de lucro en el sitio web deCalifornia Legal Services,(www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), enel Centro de Ayuda de las Cortesde California,(www.sucorte.ca.gov) o ponién-dose en contacto con la corte o elcolegio de abogados locales.AVISO: Por ley, la corte tienederecho a reclamar las cuotas ylos costos exentos por imponerun gravamen sobre cualquierrecuperación de $10,000 ó másde valor recibida mediante unacuerdo o una concesión de arbi-traje en un caso de derecho civil.Tiene que pagar el gravamen dela corte antes de que la cortepueda desechar el caso.CASE NUMBER:(Numero del Caso)ECU001433The name and address of thecourt is:(El nombre y dirección de lacorte es):Imperial County Superior Court939 Main St., El Centro,California 92243The name, address, and tele-phone number of plaintiff's attor-ney, or plaintiff without an attor-ney, is: (El nombre, la dirección yel número de teléfono del aboga-do del demandante, o del deman-dante que no tiene abogado, es):Orlando B. Foote; HORTONKNOX CARTER & FOOTE,LLP; 1221 W. State St. PO Box3307, El Centro, CA 92243;(760) 352-2821

Date: 6/11/2020

Clerk, by(Secretario)Maria Rhinehart/Clerk of Court

Deputy(Adjunto)M. Garcia

Legal 6370

LEGAL NOTICE

people. Gabriel is a mentor to the collective anddoes commission work as well.

Raymond Rivas (Gina's brother) is the tech-nical person and is also a digital artist. He is thegatekeeper for the website. He loads up the pic-tures of art pieces and handles emails, logos,mass media, etc.

Nina Earls (Gina's sister) does familyfriendly live craft videos on Facebook everyFriday. Because it is summer break, it is anoth-er tool given out for free.

"It (art) is more than a distraction," it's amethod of expressing themselves, Gina, anadvocate for art who believes it saves lives."With what is happening in the world right now,it (art) is a way of coping with your emotions."

Varela is using Facebook and Instagram andother methods of media to help people duringthis time.

Helping the Schools During Pandemic"Due to COVID, all schools were closed,

and they turned to Zoom and virtual learning,"Gina said. "At end of this school year, a friendfrom El Centro Elementary School Districtreached out to me. She asked if I would mind

teaching a Zoom class for her students K-6thgrade. I worked on something for each agegroup. Within a week we came up with real artbasics starting with paper and pen."

The class noted the endless possibilities inthe art world, from makeup, costume designs,drawing, mockups, production, all starting withpen and paper.

"This Zoom class was held the last threeweeks of school, and it was a huge success. Thekids loved it, and we (Varela Collective) wererecognized by the school board," Gina said.

Taking a New Path for the Bettermentof the Community

Pre-COVID-19, the Varela family was plan-ning to stage art workshops for youth ages 5-18in a one-on-one classroom environment with anominal fee of $10 per person for materials.

"Unfortunately, this had to be cancelled dueto COVID," said Gina. "We also reached out tothe virtual world for online but didn't get a lot ofengagement, so instead we started to work onImperial Valley charitable work."

Each month a different charity was chosen.The first charity month was May, starting

with Holtville High's Yellow Ribbon Club,which is a suicide prevention club. June wasCancer Resource Center of the Desert. July wasfor the Niland fire fund.

The collective "gathered artwork from dif-ferent artists in the Valley and did an auction forthe Niland fire victims. Within one week (end-ing July 8), we raised over $840 after expenses.We partnered with Spread the Love Charity,who had a fire fund going on, and the proceedswere donated to that fire fund," Gina said.

How Gina and Gabriel Found TheirInspiration

Gina started art at a young age. "Going through an emotional period, we

had just lost our brother who was only 32. I was13 and I didn't know where my life was going;however, I was very passionate - I wanted to bean artist … I did apprentice work at a local tat-too shop but figured this is not the place forme," she said.

After the tattoo shop, she went off doingown thing, going to different art forms. Thenshe got pregnant at a young age and her priorityshifted to provide for her daughter. Gina started

working at age 18."One day, while I was at work, the owner of

Café 101 showed up and asked if I would beinterested in displaying my artwork at hisrestaurant," she said. From there, Gina startedgetting artists together and promoting the artexhibits at Café 101.

"Local businesses were donating $50, $100here and there for materials. It took a lot of workand materials. The exhibits continued everymonth for about three to four years," Gina said.

Gabriel and Gina have a young family - twogirls (ages 10 and 3) and one boy (7 monthsold).

Gabriel is the drawer and Gina is thepainter. Gabriel works with pastel, graphite,charcoal, etc., and he specializes in ballpointpen and ink. Gina specializes in colored-pencilportraits. She recently painted a mini-mural infront of her house that represents unity.

Gina graduated from Holtville High School.Gina says she was inspired by her art instructor,Eddie Shiffer, Holtville High School.

"He opened my eyes to a whole other worldof art - different medias and tools."

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