Imperial Valley Press Quick News

Fire at El Centro apartment complex causes $15,000 in damages

A structure fire at an apartment complex at the 1600 block of Villa Road in El Centro damaged one apartment unit but did not injure anyone.

The fire, which started at about 2:45 p.m. today, caused about $15,000 in damages to the apartment unit, said El Centro Fire Captain Chad Whitlock.

Whitlock said shorted-out electrical wiring in the wall caused the fire, which occurred mostly in the attic of the unit. There was only one occupant in the unit, who was able to get out unharmed, he said.

Whitlock said it took firefighters a little time to locate the source of the blaze, but once they did they had it extinguished within 15 minutes and were finished by 4:15 p.m.

The apartment manager will put up the occupant in another unit in the same complex while the damage is repaired, Whitlock said.

MEGAN GLENN, staff writer

El Centro man died in traffic accident on Thursday

El Centro resident, Jason Suits, died on Thursday after he was ejected from his vehicle during a traffic accident.

Suits, 34, was driving a 2006 Ford Expedition when his vehicle drifted to the right side of the roadway and onto the dirt shoulder. Suits was driving northbound on McConnell Road, south of Stalh Road in El Centro, at 9:30 p.m. Thursday when the accident occurred.

Suits overcorrected, which caused his vehicle to drift across McConnell Road and roll over in an agricultural field. He did not have a seat belt on at the time of the collision.

Suits was pronounced dead after being airlifted from the scene of the accident to Riverside County Area Hospital.

Please read Saturday's edition online or in print for further details.

BROOKE RUTH, Digital Media News Editor

Production being filmed in El Centro

After visiting Desert Security Services earlier this week, the cast and crew of "Trantasia" will be at I.V. Cycle Center Friday and the Glamis Sand Dunes Saturday. The shots filmed in our city will be featured in two episodes.

"Trantasia," a Showtime documentary, has inspired a reality series featuring "The World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant."  

After being contacted by Showtime roughly two months ago, Imperial Valley Film Commission agreed to let the production crew come through El Centro and chose sites that would remind it's audience of a real Southern California town.

Please read Saturday's edition online or in print for further details.

DRESDEN CASTON, Staff Writer

Proposed water rate fee increase could go before voters in Imperial

IMPERIAL --- A proposed water rate fee increase could go before local residents here for a vote once a public hearing is set, officials said.

The proposed fee hikes, which haven't been finalized in draft form, would go toward covering the repair and maintenance of city-owned water facilities and equipment like pipes and water pumps that run 24 hours, seven days a week, said Jackie Loper, Imperial's community development director.

Imperial's Administrative Services Director Laura Gutierrez said that the proposed increases are only in the preliminary stages and that nothing has been decided.

Under state law, any proposed water and sewer fee increase would have to undergo a hearing process before it can be determined whether it should go before the voters. Proposition 218, which was voter-approved in 1996, is designed to limit the method local governments can raise taxes or fees without voter consent.

Please read Friday's issue of the Imperial Valley Press for more information on this story.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer 

Sentencing for convicted Brawley man postponed

An Imperial County Superior Judge granted a continuance today in the case of a Brawley man convicted of fatally stabbing his wife 29 times nearly two years ago.

Horacio Ledon, a former security guard, was ordered by Judge William Lehman to appear back in court Aug. 5, which would allow enough time for his defense attorney Eric Baker to file a motion for a new trial based on new evidence reportedly uncovered by the defendant's relatives.

A jury convicted Ledon May 22 of second-degree murder for slaying his wife Maria in their apartment November 2007 with a pocket knife because he suspected that she was cheating on him. He faces 15 years to life in prison.

Please read Friday's issue of the Imperial Valley Press for more information on this story.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Text message about Amber Alert is false, authorities say

Law enforcement authorities in the Imperial Valley are reporting today that residents have been receiving a false text message about an Amber alert. Residents in the Imperial Valley are urged to ignore the message.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer 

Man arrested after chase in Brawley

A man was arrested at midnight Wednesday, following a chase through part of Brawley.

Police Lt. Brett Houser said that another officer stopped the 35-year-old man, who was on a bike, at the corner of 1st and J streets.

"The guy just takes off" on the bike, Houser said, dropping a meth pipe along the way.

Houser said officers chased him down, caught and arrested him.

Read Thursday's edition online or in print for further details.

-- MEGAN BAKKER, staff writer

Renewable energy to come with costs

An early look at a potential contract between the Imperial Irrigation District and the Greenhunter Mesquite Lake LLC biomass facility showed that while the contract would mean cheap renewable energy for the district, it would still be more expensive than standard generation.

IID's manager of supply and trading, David Kolk, said during Tuesday's meeting that the contract would mean an increase of $1 million to $4 million in the district's power supply costs, if the price of natural gas remains the same over time.

"If it goes up, then the IID could be saving money," Kolk said, of the comparison between natural gas costs and biomass costs.

Even at $4 million, the increase would only be about 1.5 percent of the IID's annual power supply costs. The state is mandating that all utilities use renewable energy to generate 33 percent of their power by 2020.

The contract would move the IID's renewable energy from 8 percent to 11 percent, but comes with financial risks as the company's credit history did not pass the IID's standards.

Read Wednesday's edition of the Imperial Valley Press for more details.

-- MEGAN GLENN, staff writer

Teen turned over to task force officials following discovery of marijuana

A 17-year-old Riverside resident was arrested in connection with the discovery of about 700 pounds of packaged marijuana inside a vehicle the suspect was driving following a traffic stop in El Centro Monday night, according to a press statement issued Tuesday.

The teen-age suspect was pulled over in the 100 block of South McCullom Street, the press statement read. The driver and the marijuana was turned over to members of the Imperial County Narcotics Task Force for follow up investigation.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Fatal Interstate 8 crash victim identified

The woman who was killed Monday during a rollover traffic crash off of westbound Interstate 8 has been identified as 52-year-old Emily Ceballos of Spring Valley. Ceballos was one of two people who did not wear safety belts and were both ejected out of the vehicle they traveled in, California Highway Patrol authorities said.

Please read Wednesday's issue of the Imperial Valley Press for more infomation on this story.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer