Rosarito Mexico

Sharp Corp. of Japan is doubling its investment in a television and vacuum cleaner assembly plant in Rosarito, Mexico, to $60 million, while two of its suppliers together are investing $40 million in new facilities, Mexican officials said. The appliance manufacturer previously said it would open a plant in October about 20 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border to assemble 1 million TVs and 1.5 million vacuum cleaners a year.

The ripples of the U.S. real estate boom began washing up on the shores of this beach town a few years ago. Californians, feeling flush from the steep run-up in housing values stateside, pulled equity from their primary homes and snapped up vacation properties in northern Baja California as if they were buying $10 lobster dinners. Ground zero was this mid-sized community about 20 miles south of Tijuana, where developers sold hundreds of condominiums on spec.

From the lobby bar of the hillside Marriott Residence Inn Real Del Mar in Baja California, you can step out onto an open-air balcony, look west over the red tile roofs of the hotel's suites, down toward the lushly carpeted first and 17th fairways of the championship golf course, beyond the beach town of Rosarito, and out into the Pacific where the Coronado Islands rise like barren mountain peaks from the sea. Or, you can turn around and look at Leonardo DiCaprio.

A funeral procession for the slain police chief wound its way through a dusty hillside neighborhood Sunday as authorities moved to restore a sense of order in time for the high season in this popular tourist destination. Carlos Bowser Miret, the 49-year-old director of public safety, was ambushed outside his home Saturday morning by two masked assailants -- one of whom sprayed his car with several rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle. Police have not identified suspects or determined a motive.

A sinking ship is fast becoming the unofficial logo of this seaside town. There it is on a big new sign boasting the "original Titanic burger." And down the road on a seafood stand called Mariscos El Titanic. A recently opened glass shop features faux portholes below its name, also Titanic. And, oh yes, there's a "Titanic" museum.

When I was 7 years old, my cousins and I waded into the surf in Baja California. I got caught in a riptide. When my toes could no longer find the sand, I swam. But the commotion of waves quickly drained my strength, so I rolled onto my back and floated. Each time I looked up, the shore was farther away and finally I didn't have the energy to lift my head, so I just stared at the blue sky. Then the color faded. My terror lifted. Time dissipated.

Health advocates who have crusaded against binge drinking by young Americans in Tijuana are now taking aim farther south in Rosarito, spurred by a plug in Playboy magazine calling it one of the top spots for collegians on spring break. Rosarito, still aglow in cinematic celebrity as the filming site for "Titanic," is listed as a "Superhot Spot" amid a review of better-known spring party destinations, such as Cancun, Mexico, and Daytona Beach, Fla.

In a town better known for sand and surf, the latest lure is celluloid. Fox Studios Baja, which brought the world "Titanic," opened its new movie theme park Sunday, giving visitors an inside look at the making of films--including that romantic blockbuster, whose value as a marketing hook here has seemed, well, unsinkable. The park, called Foxploration, is modest in size (with seven acres and room for 3,000 visitors) and in thrill potential (there are no rides--nary a turning teacup).

The ripples of the U.S. real estate boom began washing up on the shores of this beach town a few years ago. Californians, feeling flush from the steep run-up in housing values stateside, pulled equity from their primary homes and snapped up vacation properties in northern Baja California as if they were buying $10 lobster dinners. Ground zero was this mid-sized community about 20 miles south of Tijuana, where developers sold hundreds of condominiums on spec.

Livio Santini is blessed: He owns 26 acres atop an ocean bluff ripe for houses and condominiums, just when this beach town's cachet has never been higher. And he is cursed: A dozen rustic bungalows, long occupied mostly by Southern Californians, block what would be a multimillion-dollar ocean view from his property. He wants them out. The residents, whose homes sit on seaside land owned by the Mexican government, have dug in.

In a town better known for sand and surf, the latest lure is celluloid. Fox Studios Baja, which brought the world "Titanic," opened its new movie theme park Sunday, giving visitors an inside look at the making of films--including that romantic blockbuster, whose value as a marketing hook here has seemed, well, unsinkable. The park, called Foxploration, is modest in size (with seven acres and room for 3,000 visitors) and in thrill potential (there are no rides--nary a turning teacup).

Alice Ford's birthday trip to Rosarito on Friday night fell short by a mere 50 feet. That was as close as the ship on which she stood, margarita in hand, would come to the Mexican coastal city's new pier during this voyage--the inaugural run of a daily casino cruise from San Diego that marks a novel venture for a California Indian tribe. Opening-night delays and concerns about a damaged section of dock kept Ford and the 400 other passengers from disembarking.

Efforts were underway Friday to clean up as much as 110,000 gallons of fuel oil that spilled off the coast of Mexico near Rosarito a day earlier. The oil, which was being piped from a U.S.-owned tanker anchored 1 1/2 miles offshore to an onshore storage facility, spilled due to a pipe failure, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Officials said some of the oil had come ashore and 200 Mexican navy personnel, working with a U.S. cleanup contractor, spent several hours Friday cleaning beaches.

Health advocates who have crusaded against binge drinking by young Americans in Tijuana are now taking aim farther south in Rosarito, spurred by a plug in Playboy magazine calling it one of the top spots for collegians on spring break. Rosarito, still aglow in cinematic celebrity as the filming site for "Titanic," is listed as a "Superhot Spot" amid a review of better-known spring party destinations, such as Cancun, Mexico, and Daytona Beach, Fla.

Livio Santini is blessed: He owns 26 acres atop an ocean bluff ripe for houses and condominiums, just when this beach town's cachet has never been higher. And he is cursed: A dozen rustic bungalows, long occupied mostly by Southern Californians, block what would be a multimillion-dollar ocean view from his property. He wants them out. The residents, whose homes sit on seaside land owned by the Mexican government, have dug in.

Sharp Corp. of Japan is doubling its investment in a television and vacuum cleaner assembly plant in Rosarito, Mexico, to $60 million, while two of its suppliers together are investing $40 million in new facilities, Mexican officials said. The appliance manufacturer previously said it would open a plant in October about 20 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border to assemble 1 million TVs and 1.5 million vacuum cleaners a year.

Efforts were underway Friday to clean up as much as 110,000 gallons of fuel oil that spilled off the coast of Mexico near Rosarito a day earlier. The oil, which was being piped from a U.S.-owned tanker anchored 1 1/2 miles offshore to an onshore storage facility, spilled due to a pipe failure, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Officials said some of the oil had come ashore and 200 Mexican navy personnel, working with a U.S. cleanup contractor, spent several hours Friday cleaning beaches.

Alice Ford's birthday trip to Rosarito on Friday night fell short by a mere 50 feet. That was as close as the ship on which she stood, margarita in hand, would come to the Mexican coastal city's new pier during this voyage--the inaugural run of a daily casino cruise from San Diego that marks a novel venture for a California Indian tribe. Opening-night delays and concerns about a damaged section of dock kept Ford and the 400 other passengers from disembarking.

From the lobby bar of the hillside Marriott Residence Inn Real Del Mar in Baja California, you can step out onto an open-air balcony, look west over the red tile roofs of the hotel's suites, down toward the lushly carpeted first and 17th fairways of the championship golf course, beyond the beach town of Rosarito, and out into the Pacific where the Coronado Islands rise like barren mountain peaks from the sea. Or, you can turn around and look at Leonardo DiCaprio.

A sinking ship is fast becoming the unofficial logo of this seaside town. There it is on a big new sign boasting the "original Titanic burger." And down the road on a seafood stand called Mariscos El Titanic. A recently opened glass shop features faux portholes below its name, also Titanic. And, oh yes, there's a "Titanic" museum.