Featured Articles from the Imperial Valley Press Online

BRAWLEY - A 9-year-old girl and 18-year-old man died as a result of a two-car collision Saturday in which drunk driving is suspected, according to a California Highway Patrol report. Anthony J. Aubry, 22, was driving an Acura west on Fredericks Road about 12:45 p.m. Saturday when he apparently failed to yield the right of way to a Honda Accord heading south on State Route 86 north of Brawley. The Accord had five people from Riverside inside. The Acura hit the Accord, causing it to roll over and fatally injure Andrea T. Cerda, 9, and Alan D. Cerda, 18, according to the report.

PLASTER CITY — The Baja Volkswagen Beetle El Centro Police Chief Jim McGinley built as a promotional vehicle for public events always grabs people’s attention. The glossy off-road racing machine McGinley restored from his own money has also caught the attention of Dune Buggies and Hot VWs, an international magazine devoted to Volkswagen vehicles. McGinley took the prized Beetle, made to look like a black and white patrol car, out here Friday to show how it handles as an off-road vehicle.

IMPERIAL - The teachers poured into classrooms, becoming students at Imperial Valley College on Saturday. The subject of the day: technology and how it can help improve education for the students in the Valley. IVC and the Imperial County Office of Education jointly held a technology conference at the community college's new science building, bringing out about 300 educators, students and presenters to the Cinco de Mayo-themed event, Tech de Mayo. The purpose of the one-day conference was to bring educators from around the county together to learn new techniques and technologies they can incorporate in the classroom, said Todd Finnell, vice president for information technology for IVC. “It's just amazing stuff that people here are doing,” he said.

It isn't known why, but it is a fact - Oscar De La Hoya visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in El Centro on Tuesday. De La Hoya, also known as “Golden Boy,” refused to give comments or even say a word to an editor from Adelante Valle seeking a comment. He was accompanied by three men and a woman, all of whom were unidentified. The source who called in the tip alleged De La Hoya was visiting an inmate at the detention center and was there for about an hour.

SAN DIEGO ? Bank of America awarded scholarships to 32 Imperial County and San Diego-area high school seniors as winners and finalists in its annual academic competition. Students competed for scholarship awards at the Bank of America 2002 Achievement Awards regional final event held in San Diego. The four Valley seniors each won $500 as finalists. Garrett E. Bishop and Breezy D. Boniface, both of Southwest High School in El Centro, won in applied arts and fine arts, respectively.

The drug trade was such an epidemic during the early 1970s that the multi-agency Imperial County Narcotics Task Force was created to stem its influence. Mike Lloyd, senior commander of the task force, said the task force?s mission remains the same after 35 years: to combat the flow and manufacture of drugs in Imperial County. Today, hundreds of local law enforcement members from the Imperial Valley are expected to help honor the task force?s history and share memories during a celebration at the Eagle?

SANTEE - What does New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady have in common with a San Diego County-based football team? In 2007, Brady directed the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 record, extending the streak to 18 straight before falling in Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants. Likewise, a local ballclub posted a perfect record before falling in the national championship last season. That ballclub is the San Diego Surge, members of the 62-team Women's Football Association. The long-time quarterback for the Surge is Melissa Gallegos, who begins her 10th season with the Surge, a team known by several names over the years including Sunfire and Scorpions.

HOLTVILLE ? A National City woman and her 7-year-old daughter were killed when the pickup in which they were passengers rolled several times Saturday afternoon on Interstate 8 east of Bonds Corner Road. Melissa Mosier, 37, died of head injuries, the California Highway Patrol reported Saturday. Her daughter Kendra Goodner, 7, suffered probable head, neck and internal injuries, according to a Highway Patrol report. Driver Nolan Young, 22, of National City suffered a punctured lung and was taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center, the report states.

CALEXICO ? Because this city's public high school does not usually have enough turnout to field a junior varsity football squad, many of the game's young enthusiasts return to play Pop Warner football after their freshman year at De Anza or William Moreno junior high schools. The midgets division of Pop Warner is open to kids from 13-15 years old, and this year, the midgets squad of the Calexico Bulldogs wants to hit its mark. "I don't have a very big team down here," said midgets head coach Earl Roberts.

When it comes to the state prison system and inmate medical care, there seems to be a huge disconnect between what the bureaucrats think and what the public thinks. What's more, not even the bureaucrats are on the same page. At present there is a three-way tug o' war playing out in federal court between the state, a federal receiver in charge of California's prison healthcare system and inmate advocates, who are all at odds over the state of said medical care and who should be in charge of it. The state wants to take back control over medical care in an effort to cut costs, the receiver wants to wait and advocates want more improvements to care in general.  Taking a good long look from the sidelines is the public, which sees a state inmate population that in all cases gets quicker access to health care and actual physicians than the rest of the public.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent, who a California Highway Patrol official said was reportedly suicidal during an incident along Interstate 8, has been medically cleared to resume her duties, a spokesman said Tuesday. The 27-year-old agent who has worked with the Border Patrol's El Centro Sector for the past three years had undergone an evaluation at the county's Behavioral Health department following the incident that occurred Sunday afternoon, said Border Patrol Agent Adrian Corona.

The red, white and blue turned charcoal black as the U.S. flag burned. The two drums of fire spewing dark smoke weren't a protest, but rather a show of honor for Old Glory. Third- and fifth-graders from Booker T. Washington Elementary School watched as more than 150 flags were retired Tuesday morning by Korean War veterans from the Imperial Valley. “U.S. veterans, we're very proud of our flag, and we want to make sure the etiquette of disposing of our flag is done right,” said “Benny” Benavidez with the Korean War Veterans Association.

New county Supervisor Louis Fuentes finished his post-swearing-in ceremony speech just as the Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Fuentes thanked his family, friends and even his little league coach for supporting him. He said plans to advocate for those in his district, including people who elected him to the Calexico City Council office and all those who supported his predecessor Victor Carrillo. Fuentes was sworn in by Superior Court Judge Barrett Foerster as the supervisor from district one, which spans the area south of Heber from the new port of entry to just short of Ocotillo.