STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

The 8,100 braceros authorized for the San Joaquin tomato harvest will pass through Imperial Valley late next week, a local official said today.

“They’ll be here on a short stopover in El Centro and continue by bus to Northern California,” said Jerry Falco of California-Arizona Farm Labor Association. (Falco’s association contracts the braceros from Mexico after it is authorized by the Department of Labor.)

Falco said the braceros would come from the Guaymas area of Sonora.

He said they would not be used for any Imperial Valley crops and were authorized only because of an emergency shortage in Northern California.

“There is little chance any braceros will be authorized for Imperial Valley in the near future,” Falco said.

40 years ago

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously opposed state legislation that would exempt the Sundesert nuclear plant from nuclear safety laws. San Diego Gas & Electric Co. spokesmen have said that without the exemption continued funding for the $2.3 billion facility near Palo Verde could be jeopardized.

Although the Board of Supervisors is currently on record favoring construction of the plant just over the county line, the supervisors balked Tuesday at agreeing with a relaxation of nuclear safety laws for the facility.

Supervisor Luis Legaspi said, “Even if you’re for the plant, you can’t give your blessing to removing safeguards.

“That is like saying, ‘I don’t care about the people in Imperial County, they’re expendable.’”

The supervisors adopted a resolution opposing Assembly Bill 1852, which would require the state Energy Commission to recommend whether the proposed plant near Blythe should be exempted from state nuclear safety laws.

30 years ago

A routine traffic stop on Interstate 8 led to the largest cocaine seizure in the history of Imperial County Monday when a California Highway Patrol officer arrested the driver of a flat-bed truck on suspicion of drunken driving, authorities said.

An Imperial County Narcotics Task Force spokesman said 825 pounds of cocaine, worth “millions of dollars,” was discovered after CHP Officer Steven Roberson spotted some packaging material sticking out through an opening under the bed of the vehicle.

The cocaine, packed in 375 kilogram-sized bundles, was hidden in a special compartment built into the frame of the flat-bed truck the NTF officer said. The wholesale value of each bundle was estimated at between $25,000 to $30,000. One veteran officer said to his knowledge, it was the largest amount of cocaine ever seized in Imperial Valley.

20 years ago

WESTMORLAND — A handful of students at Westmorland Elementary School aren’t waiting for adults to solve their problems.

They’re starting at the beginning and attempting to do it themselves by trying to rid this small farm town of its many abandoned buildings.

The program in which the young people are involved, called Law Works, is in its second year. It is a partnership between the state bar association and Citizenship and Law-Related Education Center, a nonprofit Sacramento group. Westmorland Elementary is one of 16 schools participating statewide.