STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
An alleged smuggler was shot to death this morning, and another was arrested as a result of the actions of two U.S. Border Patrol officers.
Border Patrolmen Allen Gordon and David Lindeman were driving on patrol on State Highway 94 between Tecate and Campo when they noticed a suspicious looking vehicle cruising in the area.
According to Richard Batcheler, deputy chief patrol officer for the Chula Vista sector, Border Patrolmen are aware that such a car cruising usually is a pickup vehicle for smugglers carrying goods on foot across the mountains from Mexico into the United States. According to Batcheler, “This is the usual route for smugglers.”
Following their suspicions, Patrolman Gordon left the car to search the area on foot while his partner kept the suspect vehicle under observation.
At approximately 4:30 a.m., Patrolman Gordon encountered a man walking north toward the highway with a back pack. According to a Border Patrol report, the man was armed with a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver in an open holster on his hip, and later search revealed a .22-caliber pistol concealed under his shirt in a “snap” holster.
40 years ago
Bill Bixby is a man in constant motion. The star of “My Favorite Martian,” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, “The Magician” and now, his biggest success, “The Incredible Hulk,” was a blur as he zoomed about during the shooting of an upcoming “Hulk” episode at Osborn Park.
The 120-person film unit from Universal Studios spent Thursday and Friday filming a dream sequence on the dunes behind Osborn.
Only one and a half minutes of the two-day shooting will show up in the final cut, Bixby said.
The dream sequence will be used in the new season’s two-hour premiere Sept. 22. Most of the other action was filmed in Hawaii.
As soon as Bixby arrived on the scene Friday, he drove up to the shooting location in a jeep, checked the situation out and began helping in production matters.
Meanwhile, Lou Ferrigno, the actor who actually plays the Incredible Hulk, was practicing his routine in the dunes below.
30 years ago
LOS ANGELES — Southern California Gas Co. said it will begin cutting back natural gas deliveries to the Imperial Irrigation District and other electric utilities early today in order to conserve supplies for the winter.
IID spokesman Ron Hull said that based on recent usage figures, the cutback could equal about 47 percent of the natural gas normally used by the district.
To make up for the lost natural gas, the IID and other utilities will turn to fuel oil, which is more expensive and releases more pollutants into the atmosphere.
Because of this, IID customers may see a small rise in their September power bills because there will probably be a slight reduction in the credit they receive from the energy cost adjustment account, Hull say. This credit is used to compensate for fluctuations in the costs of generating and purchasing electricity.
20 years ago
CALEXICO — It’s been more than a month since the alleged mistreatment of Mexicali’s bishop by U.S. Customs inspectors at the downtown Port of Entry here.
Both Mexicali and Customs officials, as well as the bishop himself, have adamantly denied any abuse occurred, yet tempers continue to flare, and the issue won’t die.
Calexico Chronicle Managing Editor Hildy Carrillo-Rivera and her July 16 editorial on the alleged incident have played a big part in keeping the issue on the front-burner.
Despite Bishop Jose Isidro Guerrero Macias’ appearance July 20 on a Mexicali television station when he denied the abuse occurred and a scathing letter from a U.S. Customs official demanding the Calexico Chronicle retract the editorial, Carrillo-Rivera refuses to recant and continues to stick by her story.
“My story was based on the complaint filed at the Calexico Chamber of Commerce by a Mexicali city councilman (Alfredo Arenas),” she said. “And I had no reason not to believe the complaint. People have more important things to do than make up stories.