Homeless Mexico

After the Border Patrol van departed carrying the boys who did not run fast enough, Carlitos whistled, the sound echoing in the park beneath sun-glazed downtown office towers. "They're gone!" he shouted in Spanish, inhaling a blast of Octane Booster--a gasoline additive and makeshift drug--from a Coke can. "I chased them off." A dozen youths emerged warily from the trees: homeless illegal immigrants who earn a living in a verdant corner of Balboa Park where the cars circle day and night.

After the Border Patrol van departed carrying the boys who did not run fast enough, Carlitos whistled, the sound echoing in the park beneath sun-glazed downtown office towers. "They're gone!" he shouted in Spanish, inhaling a blast of Octane Booster--a gasoline additive and makeshift drug--from a Coke can. "I chased them off." A dozen youths emerged warily from the trees: homeless illegal immigrants who earn a living in a verdant corner of Balboa Park where the cars circle day and night.

The Mexican delegation that visited Sylmar Juvenile Hall on Wednesday came from Tijuana, a city that--like Los Angeles--must contend with social problems that originated elsewhere. An economic boom in the border region has doubled Tijuana's population to about 2 million over the past decade. But, combined with the continuing massive influx of emigrants bound for the United States, growth has also produced a small army of street children--an estimated 8,000 homeless youths from all over Mexico.

The Mexican delegation that visited Sylmar Juvenile Hall on Wednesday came from Tijuana, a city that--like Los Angeles--must contend with social problems that originated elsewhere. An economic boom in the border region has doubled Tijuana's population to about 2 million over the past decade. But, combined with the continuing massive influx of emigrants bound for the United States, growth has also produced a small army of street children--an estimated 8,000 homeless youths from all over Mexico.

About 9,000 people were left homeless in the southern state of Veracruz after a freak hailstorm destroyed the roofs of their homes, news reports said. The Excelsior news service said Thursday that no major injuries were reported in the hailstorm, which occurred in 12 towns surrounding the Pico de Orizaba Volcano, about 150 miles east of Mexico City. It said numerous people suffered minor head injuries from the falling hailstones. Witnesses reported seeing hailstones the size of oranges.

The barrilero never stops moving. All day he wheels cardboard barrels stuffed with used clothing through the narrow aisles of the warehouse. He dumps the apparel atop tables for sorters, who separate nylons from cottons, satins from silks, denims from plaids. If a sorter is standing around with no garments, it's the barrilero's fault. Supervisors hover nearby. Tons of old clothing come in every week, and tons go back out, to India and Pakistan, where it's sold at outdoor markets.

Bernheimer's criticism of Domingo 's microphone technique while ignoring his obvious musicianship was petty, trivial and completely uncalled for. As violinist in the orchestra that accompanied Domingo at the Aug. 12 benefit concert for the homeless in Mexico City, I can attest to the fact that his large voice requires no amplification to project in a large hall. Perhaps Bernheimer didn't notice that every single instrument in the New American Orchestra had a microphone attached to it and was amplified.

Hurricane Calvin, which has left 28 people dead and thousands homeless in Mexico, will probably have no impact on Orange County weather and surf conditions, meteorologists said Wednesday. Calvin spent Wednesday traveling about 12 m.p.h. along the southwestern coast of Mexico between Manzanillo and Cabo Corrintes, with gusts as strong as 90 m.p.h. But the storm will probably stay too far south and east to cause any damage or ripple the waters off the Southland coast.

Cesar Mondragon couldn't understand why a room full of strangers were lavishing gifts on him Thursday. The 17-year-old Saddleback High School student said he never got a Christmas present before. Now he has a mountain bike, clothes, movie passes, gift certificates for food at grocery stores and restaurants and a two-week paid stay in a hotel. Mondragon, an A and B student, is homeless.

Just when you thought it was safe to forget about those granola bars and canned peaches you meant to stock up on after the Northridge earthquake, along comes the deadly 7.6-magnitude quake that left thousands homeless in Mexico City. Think of it as a wake-up call. It's time to get serious about emergency supplies. Earthquake preparedness consists of a series of precautions in the form of survival kits, which usually can be started or replenished with supplies already on the shelf.

About 9,000 people were left homeless in the southern state of Veracruz after a freak hailstorm destroyed the roofs of their homes, news reports said. The Excelsior news service said Thursday that no major injuries were reported in the hailstorm, which occurred in 12 towns surrounding the Pico de Orizaba Volcano, about 150 miles east of Mexico City. It said numerous people suffered minor head injuries from the falling hailstones. Witnesses reported seeing hailstones the size of oranges.

There were days when Gloria Garcia sat in the bathroom crying because she could not understand a word her teachers were saying. The South Whittier resident hasn't had the easiest life. She watched as her husband almost died in a knife fight, her mother passed away after a stroke a few years ago and her family has struggled with money problems as far back as she can remember. "It's been tough," said the 38-year-old mother of four. "I guess we always found a way to make it."

As hope faded and the death toll rose Tuesday at an eight-story resort hotel that became a mass grave in an instant, Jim and Joanne Proffitt nursed their wounds and reflected on the moment when they nearly joined at least 21 fellow guests and employees in death. The Austin, Tex., couple were on their honeymoon in this Pacific Coast resort, having breakfast in the Costa Real hotel garden, when the 7.6 earthquake hit Monday morning, killing at least 48.