By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

June 5, 2017 (Puerto Nuevo) -- Lobster dinners, Viagra coffee, ponchos and more are to be found in Puerto Nuevo, Baja California, Mexico. 

The city, as legend has it, was named after a Newport cigarette billboard.  The legend goes there was a fishing village that offered cheap lobster dinners.  When people asked where to find this place, south of Rosarito Beach, the directions, before Google map, would instruct tourists to go to the Newport cigarette billboard and they would find this fishing village.  Puerto means “port” and Nuevo “new.”

Article and photos by Susan A Mahalick

October 1, 2015 (Baja California, Mexico)--Kashudi is a talented drummer who lives down here who I have been fortunate to hear on more than one occasion. I heard him 4^th of July at Angel’s Camp for their annual pig roast, and again right before his ceremony when he played to entertain his own guests on his rooftop of his home in La Misión at 3 pm on September 19^th, a Saturday. It was another wonderful Baja day, not too hot, not too windy or humid. The bride and groom picked a fine day for their nuptials and about thirty people showed up, family from here for her as she is Mexican, family from the states for him, his son and daughter, and neighbors all attended to wish the couple well.

Article and photos by Susan A Mahalick

August 7, 2015 (Baja California, Mexico)--Another beautiful summer day for this now locally famous annual event dawned just like most this time of year, with a light marine layer and cool temperatures. The event would not start until 11 a.m., when people have to start cooking their entries on site to be ready for judging and tasting at 2:30 p.m. Booths were mostly set up the night before, with one couple who always has the best spot in the first place where most people start their tasting. Frank and Darlene, who live here, have entered since the first cook-off seven years ago. Two hundred and eighty to three hundred and twenty people were estimated to have attended the event.

June 21, 2015 (San Diego) – On Friday, San Diego County, Imperial County, the state of Baja California and two non-profit organizations signed a memorandum agreeing to continue working together to prevent and control the spread of tuberculosis. The signing makes official a years-long collaboration between the five entities.

East County News Service

December 28, 2014 (San Diego)--The U.S. State Department has broadened its warning for U.S. citizens regarding risks of traveling to parts of Mexico due to criminal activity that has resulted in deaths of 85 American citizens this year, including some who were innocent bystanders. Kidnappings are also on the rise; 130 American citizens were kidnapped during the first 11 months of this year.

East County News Service

September 3, 2014 (San Diego) – Tropical Storm Norbert, the remnants of a hurricane, will move northwest off the coast of Baja California this weekend, bringing thunderstorms to Southern California beginning early Sunday. Stormy weather could last through Tuesday, with the highest chance of thunderstorms in the mountains.

By Susan A. Mahalick

June 11, 2014 (Baja California, Mexico)--Designed by Jo Ann Knox Martino, and situated in the eastern portion of the valley in the same area as Baron Balché in Porvenir, is the elegant cava built for storage, wine making and tastings of her famous Tango wines. The name, Vintango, comes from Jo Ann’s love of tango.

Hooked On Baja, By Tom Gatch, (The Countryman Press, Woodstock, Vermont, 2007, 206 pages.)

Book Review: By Dennis Moore

November 11, 2010 (San Diego) -- Tom Gatch, who has built a solid reputation as one of the foremost writers and photographers focusing on outdoor and recreational topics in Southern California and the Baja Peninsula, has written the definitive book on where and how to fish Mexico’s legendary waters, Hooked On Baja.