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SANDAG, state council limiting Mexico travel

By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 28, 2006

A rise in drug violence south of the border is prompting repercussions on the binational front, as two U.S. government groups concerned about safety are discouraging or limiting their travel to Mexico.

This week, the San Diego Association of Governments prohibited staff members from crossing to Tijuana on official business. Additionally, a statewide group, the California Biodiversity Council, modified a tour of the San Diego-Tijuana border area to minimize time spent in Mexico.

“We have decided that the safety of our employees is paramount,” said Anne Steinberger, SANDAG's communications director. “We won't be going there for meetings in the near future until things get more settled down there and we're satisfied that the safety of our employees is improved.

“We're continuing to work with our colleagues on that side of the border, we're just conducting our business on this side of the border.”

SANDAG, whose members are the county's 18 cities and the county government, has had a strong relationship with Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon's government. The group works with Tijuana on a wide range of planning issues, including the environment, economic development, transportation and housing.

The situation caused the California Biodiversity Council to shorten its visit to Tijuana. The group, whose members include representatives of county, state and federal agencies, modified its daylong tour of the border area yesterday to decrease its travel time in Tijuana.

“We would be foolish to ignore our own State Department,” said Crystal Crawford, mayor of Del Mar and SANDAG's representative on the biodiversity council. She was referring to a statement two weeks ago by U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza that Americans traveling to Mexico should take extra precautions to protect themselves.

Meanwhile, a local tourism company said that it has not noticed a drop in the number of people who want to take day trips to Tijuana from San Diego.

Coach America typically shuttles about 600 people a month to Tijuana's tourism center along Avenida Revolucion. That number has remained steady, said Cathy Halgrimson, tour manager for the company, which formerly was known as Contactours.

The biodiversity council's daylong bus tour, months in the planning, highlighted conservation and development issues on both sides of the border within the Tijuana River watershed. Yesterday, however, organizers decided to cancel a stretch of the tour between Tijuana and Tecate showing undeveloped wilderness areas.

More than 80 people joined the tour. Crawford said anyone who felt nervous crossing the border could get off the bus. Except for three SANDAG employees, everyone opted to stay and visit Tijuana's Laureles Canyon. There, they heard a presentation about binational efforts to prevent sedimentation and pollution in the watershed by working with residents.

Hank personally welcomed them, along with top members of his administration and local residents. “Today they'll see perfectly that there is no problem,” said Hank, referring to the U.S. visitors.

The chief organizer of the Tijuana tour was Oscar Romo, coastal training program coordinator for the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. “I'm frustrated that this misunderstanding exists,” Romo said. “Violence exists, but it's very focused. This is totally a war between drug lords; Tijuana is still a peaceful community.”

Staff writer Anna Cearley contributed to this report.


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Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716; sandra.dibble@uniontrib.com