Crackdown planned for bad bus drivers; Court to review utility privatization plan; Underwear that fits; Dance festival kicks off; Alleged extortionists killed

Lunes, 11/9/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades – 

Se pone a punto festival de danza conremporánea (Contemporary dance festival gets ready) – The Festival de Danza Contemporánea y Experimental “Cuerpos elementales” will open el 20/9 a las 19:00 in the Antigua Escuela Central. The festival will run through el 23/9. Performances on el 21 & 22/9, also a las 19:00, will be in the Teatro Pumapungo. Free. On el 23/9 a las 19:00, the festival will close with a screening of video dances in the Casa de la Lira.

A proposed rule change would allow traffic agents to fine bus drivers who violate transportation rules on the spot. (El Mercurio)

De El Mercurio del sábado, 9/9 (2 items):
Muestra y comercialización (Show and sale) – There is a show and sale of artesanal products in the lobby of the Palacio Municipal (Sucre entre Luis Cordero y Benigno Malo) from the brands Nunka, ContraHilo, y Kinetic Art that is part of the Escaprate Creativo project. The show will run until el 27/10 and the goal is to place value on works made by Cuencanos. Free.

Taller gratuito de mosaicos (Free mosaic workshop) – There will be a mosaic workshop from el 11-15/9 in the Casa Patrimonial Municipal del Alfarero. Register at calle Convención del 45 y Mariscal Lamar. Participants will use recycled material to make their pieces. Free. <Don’t throw away all that broken crockery from the last time you had a big fight with your significant other. Use them to create a piece of art. You can then keep the art and ditch the significant other.>

Titular –

Para garantizar servicio de buses habrá multas (To guarantee bus service there will be fines) – The Empresa Municipal de Movilidad (EMOV EP) has proposed a regulation that would fine transporters who do not comply with 30 points in a 2018 ordinance meant to improve the quality of bus service. Bus riders complain daily about some drivers who do not adhere to the schedule and don’t respect the posted stops. In answer, EMOV EP has written a regulation that would allow fining those who do not comply with the 2018 ordinance. The idea is that the 10 controllers, once they register an infraccion by a driver, can fine them at the moment. Currently the controllers can’t fine the drivers directly, as opposed to parking controllers who can issue parking tickets on the spot.

The draft for the regulation was presented last month and there will be a meeting with the controllers this week. Gustavo Toledo, manager of Transit and Transport Control of EMOV, said the monetary sanction is the only way to stop this repetitive behavior. The constant problems EMOV sees are not complying with schedules, stopping in zones that are not bus stops, and the cleanliness of the buses. Users see the same things, mainly buses that stop badly. Other passengers said that there are good drivers, but there are always those that aren’t, and for those it’s a good idea to have a way to fine them since it’s the only way some of them will learn.

There has been no statement by the Cámara de Transporte de Cuenca about this measure which the CTC will have to implement. <I hope that stopping next to the curb instead of in the middle of the traffic lane is one of those 30 points. Then passengers wouldn’t have to climb onto the bus from the roadway and traffic wouldn’t get bottled up behind the bus. But I can see drivers arguing that if they didn’t block traffic, it would slow them down so they wouldn’t get to the next stop on time.>

Cuenca –

Habilitan dos programas para culminar la escuela (Two school completion programs enabled) – <This is for those of you who know someone who never got through primary school and want to improve their educational level.> People who never finished primary school can access this scholastic service from the MInisterio de Educación through 2 programs: alfabetización y posalfabetización (literacy and post-literacy – your words for the day. If you’re reading this, neither of those is a problem you have – at least in English.) In the first program, people can complete the 2nd & 3d levels in 10 months, and in the second program, they can complete the 5th, 6th & 7th levels of basic education in 20 months. Go to https://adistancia.education.gob.ec to enroll by el 30/9. The only requirement is that you are over 15.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 9/9 (2 articles):
La Corte admite a trámite recurso de inconstitucionalidad sobre fideicomiso (The Court admits a constitutional challenge on trust fund) – The Corte Constitucional admitted an appeal on creating a trust for the administration of and payments in the electrical sector on the grounds of unconstitutionality. Mayor Zamora said that accepting the appeal indicates that the change to create the trust violates the autonomy granted to public electricity businesses by the Constitution. The trust has the objective of setting up one fund in common with private electric companies who are granted priority in payments for electrical services sold in the country. <Sounds dangerous to give private businesses priority for payments – a license to inflate costs until there’s nothing left to pay the public electric companies.> The proposal to create the trust has been rejected by both Cuenca and Quito.

Jessie Ochoa, embajadora de su marca ‘<Polka dot.’ (Jessie Ochoa, ambassador for her brand ‘<Polka dot.’) – <This is for all you ladies (and gentlemen who like to dress like J. Edgar Hoover in private) who want ropa interior and lencería (underwear and lingerie) that fits.> Ochoa’s conviction is that underwear should adapt to the wearer and not vice versa. Her brand is an alternative to fighting with your underwear every morning. <I imagine a lot of you lean over in the morning and shake your boobs into your bras so that all of the extra stuff on the side gets in.> Her store is at Baltazara de Calderón y Miguel Heredia and the products also available at Anacleta in Cuenca. Her lines include panties, bralettes, and bathing suits. She imports fabrics including cotton, lycra, fittings, polyester, rayon, from Perú and Colombia. <The photo shows underwear with prints and solids and lace.> Prices start at $7.00 and depend on the size and materials. Bathing suits can also be made to order since many women have parts of their bodies they want to show and others they want to hide, such as surgical or cesarean section scars. <Time to grab your wallet and go shopping.>

Sucesos –

Dos hombres fueron asesinados en Sinincay (Two men killed in Sinincay) – Two bodies were discovered on land near a creek in the Victoria Baja sector of the Sinincay Parish around 6:30 ayer. Neighbors saw two people apparently sleeping it off but went to check after they didn’t see any movement in over an hour. They found two men, about 20 and 40, with their hands tied and one with a deep cut on his neck and the other with various injuries on his body. There was a note on one body indicating the cause of the killing. An investigation is under way. Previous killings include a man who was found on el 16/7/2023 on the vía a Nulti whose hands were tied and a note reading “Extorsionadores cogidos terminarán así” (Extortionists caught will end up like this). On el 31/3/2023 in the Ucubamba sector in Cuenca, 2 bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags with messages against extortionists. <Frontier justice. Maybe the people found ayer forgot the lesson from July. Or they didn’t pay attention to the news.>

Agresión por robo (Assault by robbery) – <This is one to scare all you potential tourists or those who are thinking about moving here.> A man was injured as a result of resisting a robbery (mugging) yesterday morning, near the airport. He suffered a cut on his head.

Incendios de magnitud afectó a usuarios de la vía Loja-Catamayo (Major fires affected users of the vía Loja-Catamayo) – A large forest fire in the Villonaco sector of Loja Canton interrupted traffic on the vía Loja-Catamayo. The climatic conditions of drought and strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly in the mountainous zone, affecting plants and animals. The fire fighters said that 95% of fires are human caused. This one was caused by people burning vegetation after clearing trees to enlarge agricultural zones. If you cause a forest fire either directly or indirectly, you can receive a prison sentence of 1-3 years.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne