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Area Businesses and ServicesHOUSESITTING DATA BASE - I am starting a data base for house sitters and house-sitting opportunities to link up. If you would like to be included, please email me and I will send you an information sheet. Once the list is completed, it will be made available to any interested parties. This is a free service for the communities of Todos Santos and Pescadero. Please Email me at cfolgmann ( -a t- ) hotmail.com - Christine Folgmann, 612 142 5644 SANTANA FABRICATING SHOP - in San Bartolo. Specializing in CNC Plasma Cutting Steel, Stainless Steel Alum Brass Copper, custom steel signs, big ornate strap hinges and matching door hardware, real wrought iron work..gates, arches...Portable sand-blasting. - Robin Stewart, www.santanairon.net santana ( -a t- ) hughes.net, 624 12 80046, cell 612 10 01428. 3-10 CABO HOME DEPOT - We are building a new house in Loreto soon and we stopped at the Home Depot in Cabo on 3/4. For our reference, I am creating an online catalog with pictures and prices of windows, doors, kitchens, etc. I thought this catalog could be useful for folks in the Todos Santos area as you can check the price and availability of some items before driving to Cabo. To see the currently posted items, point your browser to http://loreto.ehuna.org - look for the Home Depot category on the right, I'm adding items every day. We were in Todos Santos last week and it's amazing how the town has changed in the last few years. - Emmanuel Huna and Janelle Tillman, ehuna ( -a t- ) hotmail.com, 6503560088 RE: Moving Company Question From David and Teri - Our local moving and storage company (Redondo Van and Storage) hooked us up with Gateways International, based in Seattle, 206 728 5990 (Brooke Anderson), who in turn handed our US goods over to Relocation & Moving Solutions in Mexico City, +52 (55) 2457 2596 (Raquel Castañón). It cost about triple what the 'we drive fast down the peninsula from San Diego and we never lose anything' companies at the border quoted, but absolutely everything we loaded in the states arrived at our house in Todo and in good order. This method allowed our goods to be fully and individually insured at our stated value, not just insured in bulk in case the truck turned over and burned. None of the San Diego outfits offered anything but bulk insurance. Relocation and Moving was especially valuable to us since they trans-ship in Mexico City and we ended up having to get our goods across the border before the 6 month Menage a Casa timed out, and then store them until our house was ready (moral: NEVER apply for your FM3 until you close on your residence, FINISH any remodeling and you KNOW you can move in in less than 6 months). Their storage charges were reasonable and they were easy to deal with. Soriana Delivers - I recently learned from Lynn Ballen that Soriana's in Cabo will deliver anything we order to Todos Santos. She did a trial run and was 95% pleased. There is only a $20 delivery charge (same as gas to go there) and they asked that we tell all our friends....that way they will feel it is worth their while to keep it up. They shop for you in the store and even tell you if "the green beans are not looking that great". They knew Lynn wanted green beans, and after reporting on their condition saw a load being brought into the store and brought them up here for her if she still wanted them....Try getting THAT service at home! It's great for those super heavy purchases like giant dog food bags, cases of water, etc., cause they bring everything right into your home! Propinas accepted, of course. Must speak Spanish, though. - Wendy Banorte ATM - Great news everybody!! We now have another ATM here in town. It is located just inside La Coronela Restaurante in the Hotel California. The hours to access the ATM will be the same as our restaurante...7 am to 11 pm - Debbie Stewart, info ( -a t- ) hotelcaliforniabaja.com, 612.145.0525 The New Online Phone Book - It is my hope that you will visit http://www.ilovetodossantos.com and update your own personal Phone Book with the CORRECTIONS I am posting there. You may also email me from that site to have your change or correction posted. When the Calendario returns this Fall I will run a small Ad directing residents to the correction site. - Jan Piere, jans ( -a t- ) janimagine.com, Voting With Their Feet - is a global oral history project designed to document politically-motivated emigration during the last forty years--from the Vietnam era to the present. It principally consists of recorded interviews that are being housed in archives at the University for Peace in San Jose, Costa Rica, and at the Mexican Office in LaPaz. The project is under the directorship of Pandora Hopkins, Ph.D., and Victoria Fontan, Ph.D. with Angelica Perez Paulin, Regional Coordinator for Mexico. If you have questions or are interested in participating, please contact us! - Pandora Hopkins, voting_feet ( -a t- ) hotmail.com, 612-1227120 New Hair Stylist in Town - If you want to get a good hair cut and some pampering too, try the new Manik Creando Imagen Beauty & Day Spa on Centenario, behind the green door just a couple of doors up from the Todos Santos Cafe. The owner, Mariana Aguilar, offers men's and women's hair cuts, coloring and extensions, waxing and paraffin treatments, manicures and pedicures, sunless body detailing sprays and massages. Mariana learned her craft as a stylist in Cabo San Lucas and speaks English. You can reach her at 612 117 4052. And the price is right. Although I didn't have time for a waxing or pedicure :), I did get a great cut, wash and style (as well as an unexpected but very enjoyable hot towel facial) all for 80 pesos. Check it out. - Alan NEW SCHOOL FOR DEAF STUDENTS - There are many deaf students in Baja Sur who are not getting the education and communication support they need so I've taken a year's leave of absence (without pay) from my job to try to set up a school for deaf students in Baja Sur. I am volunteering to take on this project and at this point there is no financial support, so I will be paying my own living expenses, medical, etc.. We hope to have the school in San Bartolo, as it is a mid way point between La Paz and San Jose Del Cabo, where many of the deaf children live. I am looking for a house sitting or inexpensive rental in the San Bartolo/Los Barriles area. If you know of anything that would be available starting late August or early September, please let me know! - Thanks, Susan van Gurp, PhD, Administrator - BC School for the Deaf, Canada svangurp ( -a t- ) gmail.com Courtesy, Baja Pony Express HAPPY HOUR ON CABO MIL - Don't forget to tune into the Happy Hour on Cabo Mil 96.3 FM, Sundays from 6-7pm! In English and with great tunes. - Maya Padilla, mayacabomil ( -a t- ) yahoo.com, 624-166-2256 THE FORTALACER PROJECT As residents and visitors to Todos Santos, we are all likely aware of the migrant worker camps that service local farming operations. FORTALACER (Formerly Classroom on Wheels) was born of the desire to bring education, art, and fun to the children of these camps. We are a non-profit organization with the goal of providing a non-traditional classroom environment to these children. The camps are made up of approximately 90 families with approximately 250 children ranging in ages from 3 months to pre-teens. The majority of these families are of indigenous descent, making Spanish a second language. We are in our second year and currently service two agricultural camps. Our volunteers make weekly visits to the camps to provide the children the opportunity to do hands-on activities: art projects, organized games, puzzles, mathematics and other activities. Our principal objective is improving the self esteem and well being of the children by bringing imagination, creativity, and humor into their learning and ultimately into their lives. Fortalacer also provides them the opportunity to learn and practice Spanish. If you have a special talent you would like to share with these wonderful and eager children, please contact Director Elena Ascencio at elenazencio ( -a t- ) hotmail.com or Operations Director Aaron Balducci at balducciaaron ( -a t- ) gmail.com Donations of food, clothing, art supplies, toys, and other items are also welcomed. BUILDING A HOUSE?? WATCH OUT! - As anyone who has built here can tell you it is very hard to find a reliable, honest contractor- unless of course money is no object. Having been here 17 years and having built 4 houses, I would be happy to pass on some names of the very few contractors I know that I can simply cut a contract with and start making progress payments. IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOME NAMES drop me an email- the list is pretty short! - Jim Elfers, bajasurvey ( -a t- ) yahoo.com, 624-10-56028 TS LIBRARY IS OPEN. THANKS TO VOLUNTEERS! - The Todos Santos Library/Biblioteca is officially open. MON, WED & FRI 10 AM TO 1 PM (in the Palapa Center building, white house with green trim on Calle Obregon. 1 1/2 blocks down from where the library used to be) This couldn't have happened without an amazing group of volunteers - library members, Palapa supporters and parents and kids from the after-school program. They all showed up to move boxes, paint, clean, assemble shelves, unpack and organize dusty books and more! BIG THANKS TO: Peter & Cyndi, Oscar Parra F, Roque Arias, Jeanne E, Jeanne C., Prof Norberto, Jesus Malverde, Enrique, Miguel Ballesteros, Pierre J, Chuck T, Pamela, Bonnie, Alyssa, Scotty, Alicia, Vic, Celia, Linda Mac, Serena, Leslie C, Leo, Patty, Dawn, Lynn B, Donna V. and Laurel T. We have lots of great new books. See you all at the library! - Lynn, palapasociety ( -a t- ) yahoo.com, 145-0299 TODOS SANTOS BUDGET RENTAL CAR - Todos Santos has Budget Rent-A-Car. The price from Todos Santos to the San Jose Airport (or SJD to Todos Santos) including drop off is $90. This is much less than the $250 cab fare. - Susan, susanleigh55 ( -a t- ) hotmail.com, 612 111 6195 From the December 20th BWO: We have a new and realizable gas truck in town for the bottle type gas. His name is Goosie and he is very prompt and helpful. He changed out my tank and even replaced the worn connection nut on my regulator. I called him and he arrived 10 minutes later. Quite refreshing to get prompt, courteous service. His cell # 612-119-5371 - James Black 12-28-06 SAN JOSE DEL CABO ORGANIC MARKET - We are very excited to announce that the 2006-2007 season of the San Jose del Cabo Organic Market has started!! Please join us every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Tropicana Jockey Club on the road to Las Animas behind downtown San Jose. This is the same location as last year. Please leave your pets at home and bring your plastic bags to recycle. We are looking forward to a fabulous season with plenty of organic produce, coffee, foods and products, breakfasts, local and regional arts and crafts, Baja books, jewelry, hand painted clothing, on-going workshops on sustainable living, and fun things to do for the whole family. For more information, directions, a map, or to participate as a vendor or workshop facilitator, please e mail mercadoorganicosj ( -a t- ) yahoo.com. DISH NETWORK LOCAL CHANNELS - As you may know, many Dish Network customers in Baja have been having trouble receiving "Distant Local" Networks, ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. First, Dish Network lost the right to distribute network signals from LA and NY to 1,000s of customers. Then last week, they moved the LA locals to spot beams only visible in the LA area. The remaining NY local signals may disappear next. As of today, this is what I know about a potential way to regain the networks for Dish Network: Through a recent arrangement, AllAmericanDirect (http://www.allamericandirect.com) is able to provide the Local Networks from San Francisco and Atlanta through the Dish Network receiver. These signals are available here in Baja. Customers with addresses in SF or Atlanta, or with remote addresses throughout the US apparently qualify to receive these distant locals, but customers with addresses in LA, NY and most other addresses around metropolitan areas, do not. This means that many customers will need to shift their "physical" address to the SF or Atlanta area, or have a rural address that qualifies. An alternative is to get an RV Waiver, which AAD offered to help submit through them. That process takes 30 to 60 days to receive approval. The cost is $2.50 per month per network, or $9.00 per month for all 4 networks. You will receive both the SF and Atlanta feeds for each network. AAD bills customers for 6 months in advance; or $54 for all feeds. They do not need to have your credit card info repeated to add the locals to your Dish Network receiver. They apparently have Dish Network's database and are able to cross reference your account by telephone number and/or Dish Network account number. You will receive a separate charge on your monthly credit card statement from AllAmericanDirect. Many Dish Network customers will be able to make this switch on their own, or you can contact me if you need more info or help. - Alan, alan ( -a t- ) bajasatellite.com ONLINE GRINGO TELEPHONE DIRECTORY - The ONLY online Gringo Telephone Directory serving Baja California is now a 100% FREE Service!! To get listed, just choose one of the two links:. For Residential Listings: www.elmirador.tv/submitresidential.php. For Business Listings: www.elmirador.tv/submitbusiness.php. To lookup someone, just go to www.elmirador.tv/directory..php. Be sure to read the online articles, check out the artists page, classifieds, maps and other information available. - Kathy RECYCLING INFO Aluminum cans can be recycled, I put them outside by the garbage and a guy comes by for them, clear glass can go to the glass factory in Cabo, #1 clear plastic bottles can go to La Paz, as well as cardboard. There is a pilot recycling program in Pescadero. We could have it here if enough people were willing to participate and pay a monthly quota. Anyone interested in pursuing it further? I would host a community meeting after the new year. We could also start a Craig's list style gleaner's column as part of the WO for free stuff which could include surplus building materials like tile, etc. Patricia Baum, Phone: 612.145.0882 teampaty1 ( -a t- ) hotmail.com. SENIOR DISCOUNT CARD REQUIREMENTS CLARIFIED - You need a valid FM2 to show, a copy of the same to leave (sometimes) and two pictures. An FM3 is not acceptable. You do not need a voter's registration card. They may ask for another picture ID. You also may be asked for a water and/or electric bill (this is to show that you have a residence). Of course they might ask for anything else that day. (Dealing with officials, I always take everything along). - Angelique ENGLISH RADIO IN CABO - You CAN get the radio thru your computer...just go to www.cabomil.com.mx. Go to upper right corner of Home Page, there is a button "escuchar" (to listen), click, and you should be able to follow The Happy Hour (6-7 pm Sundays) and the News in English, M-F from 5:40 to 6:00 pm. Sometimes you must download a software in order to hear the broadcast. Roxy (Courtesy, Baja Pony Express) SENIOR DISCOUNTS This is an answer to Celia’s question about Senior Citizen Discounts in Mexico: Yes, Mexican citizens can get discounts from the water department, buses, land taxes and more...You need to get the INSEN (Instituto Nacional de la Senectud) ID, and in other places the voting card. - Iker MORE ON THE SENIOR DISCOUNT CARDS - Regarding the Insen Card (Senior Citizen Discount Card) for foreigners, these were the requirements. An FM2; Age 60 or more; a copy of the FM2, copy of foreign passport, and two photos. These are free. This takes a few days, but is worth the effort. - Jane
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