STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Michael Richard Lopez, 21, of San Diego, died at El Centro Community Hospital yesterday evening from head injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident on the new Interstate 8 one mile west of the Mountain Springs grade.
According to the San Diego Office of the California Highway Patrol, Lopez was heading east when his motorcycle struck the rear of another motorcycle driven by Steven Harper, 22, of El Cajon. The Lopez machine went into what is known as a “high-speed wobble” — the handlebar began to twist back and forth uncontrollably — and the rider was thrown clear and received a fractured skull.
40 years ago
The majority of undocumented aliens in the United States “pay taxes and do not receive social services,” according to the commissioner of the Department of Immigration and Naturalization.
“What little information we have shows that less than two percent of the undocumented aliens are on welfare,” said Commissioner Leonel Castillo of the U.S. Department of Immigration and Naturalization. “The evidence of whether they are taking jobs from U.S. citizens if fuzzy.”
Castillo addressed the League of California Cities convention in San Francisco recently about a recent proposal designed to curb the influx of illegal aliens. It will be Castillo’s job to implement any of the proposals that are adopted.
Some 60 percent of illegal aliens in the country are from Mexico. There are estimates that 44 percent of all the crossings occur in an 18-mile stretch near Chula Vista and Tijuana.
President Carter announced his proposals to curtail alien traffic Aug. 4. The package is expected to be delivered to Congress for debate in early February. A vote is expected in April.
30 years ago
Teledyne Ryan got the green light Tuesday to use the old Holtville airstrip to test its newly developed remote control spy plane, but not before some members of the Board of Supervisors lashed out at the Combat Heritage Foundation and the county’s real estate property manager.
Additionally, the board took back from Combat Heritage the authority to negotiate use of the facility with the military after learning that the Navy had notified county staff it was ready to stop using the facility due to a dispute over use fees.
Meanwhile, Charles Phillips, director of Combat Heritage, charged that the board is attempting to break his lease on the dilapidated landing strip he says he has spent nearly $500,000 to reclaim because he has angered vandals, trespassers and drug dealers who have friends on the board.
When the dust settled Tuesday, supervisors unanimously agreed to approve the sublease to Teledyne Ryan to test its piloted vehicle, or drone, at the landing strip from now until the end of the year. Supervisors also directed the planning director to issue permits to allow a power hookup for the trailer and mobile lab the company wants to put on the site.
20 years ago
CALEXICO — Less than six months after Calexico Hospital reopened its doors to the public, problems continue to plague the facility.
According to John Pritting, Imperial County Health Department emergency medical services coordinator, the hospital’s emergency room was closed to ambulance patients about 4 p.m. Thursday.
Calexico Hospital officials have placed the hospital on standby, meaning the facility’s emergency room will take only walk-in patients, he said.
The standby status, Pritting added, does not mean the hospital has been downgraded from its basic emergency hospital status. However, he said there is a policy in place that allows hospitals suffering structural damage, overcrowding or staffing problems to put themselves temporarily on standby to address those problems.