Imperial Valley Press

TOMORROW'S HEADLINES For this weekend's editions: Frustration continues over extended border waits. Ramer Lake closed for levee repairs. Friday night football.

On the stand Monday, Gonzalez-Buttner’s father, Juan Manuel Gonzalez-Partida, testified that only he and his wife, Yolanda, are on the lease for his apartment. But Annette visits us very, very frequently, he said.

Both teams are undefeated coming into the contest, and tonight’s winner will walk away as outright winner of the Imperial Valley League title.

Krier, who is contract carrot harvester, said he and his crew have stayed at the Travelodge for years when working in the Valley. He said he and others were being evicted to make room for undocumented migrants.

TOMORROW'S HEADLINES For Friday's edition: Travelodge guests displaced by migrants. Highlights of testimony in Gonzalez-Buttner trial. Bell Game preview.

ALERT 2 large groups totaling 88 illegal aliens arrested in the past 24 hours by El Centro Sector USBP agents. The groups consisted of individuals from Brazil, Honduras & Venezuela, most claiming to be family units. Ages ranged from 1 to 49.

Simplified Arrival only uses the biometric facial comparison process at a time and place where travelers are already required by law to verify their identity by presenting a travel document, CBP said. Travelers who arrive at the pedestrian lanes or undergo I-94 processing at Calexico will pause for a photo at the primary inspection point. A CBP officer will review and query the travel document, which will retrieve the traveler’s passport or visa photo from government holdings. The new photo of the traveler will be compared to the photo previously collected.

CMWF Heritage Foundation is offering scholarship to Imperial County residents, ages 17 to 25, who are continuing their education in technology school, trade school or a two-year college and are pursuing training in welding, agricultural mechanical, electrical, livestock, auctioneering, agricultural business or similar field.

The Green is the New Pink workshop, held at the Center for Employment Training (CET) on Third Street, showed five participants how to install drywall and how to work with wood, among other tasks related to the construction trade.

The property at 711 Cesar Chavez Blvd. was formerly the site of a recycling center for mostly cardboard, pallets and tires, Calexico Fire Department Fire Chief Diego Favila said.

TOMORROW'S HEADLINES For Wednesday's edition: County accepts $1 million grant. Health department measures public attitudes on COVID. Community mourns loss of former cop.

The service is available to California residents with an annual household income of less than $57,000. Among the program’s aims is helping qualified individuals and families connect with the federal and state earned income tax credits, as well as California’s Young Child Tax Credit.

Perkins said one issue interfering with aviation training at the base is the ongoing issue of incursions onto the ranges and targets by off-highway vehicle users. Violation of range boundaries puts people at risk while also potentially jeopardizing the safety of the aircrew using the live bombing ranges.

Work on El Centro's 2020 Streets Maintenance & Rehabilitation Improvements Project began on Oct. 12, and will provide maintenance and rehabilitation pavement treatments to help prolong the integrity of 14.2 miles of arterial, collector and local streets.

TOMORROW'S HEADLINES For Thursday's edition: Brawley Planning Commission votes on clinic. IVEDC's Kelley reports to county board. Latest election news.

We were discussing possible scenarios during the meeting, Brawley Union Head Football Coach Jon Self said. But everyone knew what the governor was doing and obviously with the limitations he was suggesting, you were not playing football.

Tuesday’s general election was among the most unusual Imperial County has ever seen, with the COVID-19 pandemic prompting a shift in how voting was conducted and a fiercely partisan presidential race casting skepticism over the entire process.

An attorney for local farmer Mike Abatti is asking the Fourth District Court of Appeal to stay the remittitur it issued to a local court last week, signaling the appeals process has been completed.

On Dec. 9, 10, 11 and 14, a mobile testing van will be available to the public from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Imperial County Fairgrounds. Because the unit is mobile, public health officials will have the flexibility to provide pop-up testing for both the public and private business locations throughout Imperial County. This testing location is able to conduct approximately 528 tests per day, the health department said. Testing is available by appointment.

The Brawley City Council on Tuesday awarded the construction contract to improve Wildcat from South Western Avenue to South First Street.

Early returns from Tuesday’s general election indicate there were be a major shakeup at the Imperial Irrigation District, as well as several other key positions of leadership throughout the county.

Brawley Creamery opened its doors about two weeks before local health orders forced local businesses to close their doors in March.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** In the races for the other two open Imperial Community College trustee seats, incumbent Jerry Hart held a big lead (1,853 votes to 1,127) over local activist Hilton Smith in Area 3, while Isabel Solis was leading Yulil Alonso-Garza 1,281 votes to 764 votes in Area 4.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** In the race for the Area 5 open seat on the Imperial County Board of Education, Lucy Maria Hendry held a sizeable lead (1,303 votes to 1,097) over her opponent Laura Farris Goodsell.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** Mayor James Predmore appears to be done on Holtville’s City Council. He was in fourth place in the race for three seats behind incumbent Michael Pacheco (35.55 percent of the votes counted), newcomer J. Murray Anderson (24.62 percent) and incumbent Virginia Ward (22.94 percent). Predmore was at 16.90 percent.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** The two open seats on Calipatria’s City Council look like they’ll be going to incumbent Maria Nava-Froelich and Sylvia Chavez. They had 35.15 percent and 32.64 percent of the votes counted as of 10:18 p.m. George Prieto and Jacqueline Bravo Riddell were at 17.99 percent and 14.23 percent, respectively.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** The running order of the three open Brawley City Council seats is George Nava, Ramon Castro and Donnie Wharton, with 31.09 percent, 25.22 percent and 24.34 percent of the 4,429 votes counted so far, respectively. Ronald Gray III is on the outside looking in with 19.35 percent of the votes tallied.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** About the only certainty in the El Centro City Council race is that Jason Jackson’s run is over. As of 10:18 p.m., he was sitting dead last among the six contenders with 10.7 percent of the vote. The top vote-getters for the three open seats on the council were Sylvia Marroquin, incumbent Efrain Silva and Martha Cardenas-Singh, with 20.03 percent, 18.75 percent and 18.42 percent of the vote, respectively. Incumbent Edgard Garcia was sitting fourth at 17.57 percent, and Sonia Carter was in fifth with 14.53 percent.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** Darrell Pechtl’s days on the Imperial City Council appear to be coming to an end. He is running a distant fourth to Katie Burnworth for the two seats in play as of 8:03 p.m. Burnworth had 35.83 percent of the vote, while incumbent Robert Amparano had 26.45 percent. Imperial Chamber of Commerce CEO Susan Paradis was running third at 20.78 percent of the vote, with Pechtl sitting at just under 17 percent.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** A major turnover looks likely on the Calexico City Council, with local activist Raul Ureña poised to assume the balance of the term vacated by disgraced former Councilman David Romero. He leads incumbent Morris Reisen by a large margin, 68 percent vs. almost 27 percent of the vote, as of 8:03 p.m. Incumbent Bill Hodge doesn’t look he’ll be getting another term, either. He was sitting in sixth place (9.56 percent of the vote) for the three full terms while fellow Councilman Lewis Pacheco was on the ropes in fourth place with 14.58 percent of the vote. Running first, second and third were Gloria Romo, Javier Moreno and incumbent Camilo Garcia with 15.80 percent, 15.68 percent and 15.37 percent of the vote, respectively. Garcia joined the Calexico City Council in June after Romero resigned.

***ELECTION UPDATE*** Two of the three incumbent trustees on the El Centro Elementary School District appear to be on their way out, with Chuck Fisher and Patricia Dunham sitting fourth and fifth, respectively, for the three seats in contention. Long-time trustee Frances Terrazas looks poised to reclaim the seat she lost in 2018 with 25 percent of the vote. She's followed by teacher Andrew Arevalo with 24.43 percent and incumbent Michael Minnix with 21.65 percent. Fisher and Dunham had collected 16.11 percent and 12.81 percent, respectively as of 8:03 p.m.