SBC Bulletins
COVID-19 Bulletin October 5, 2020
The next three months could become the most politically tumultuous period in many, many decades in the United States. If chaos ensues after November 3, border restrictions on non-essential travel may very well fall off the national radar, with no new policy in sight. If cooler heads prevail restrictions may be addressed and the potential for lifting them will be greater.
COVID-19 Bulletin September 21, 2020
With news of yet another month of restrictions on non-essential travel at our border, we are now in our seventh month of limited crossings. We are once again bystanders vis-à-vis decisions taken federally in Washington and Mexico City, without regard to specific conditions in border city pairs.
COVID-19 Bulletin September 7, 2020
As I write these lines the Labor Day weekend is upon us. Few thought in February that seven months later we’d be in the throes of a pandemic that is yet untamed. So many have lost their lives, so many families have been devastated, and so many businesses have shuttered. We are all hoping for a vaccine before the end of the year.
COVID-19 Bulletin August 27, 2020
With summer’s end approaching we are heading into an intense political season, with much hanging in the balance. The U.S. presidential election will have an outsized effect on border policy. I don’t think we have had two more divergent views of the border represented in a presidential election in at least the past 50 years.
COVID-19 Bulletin August 10, 2020
The prolific Brazilian author Paulo Coelho wrote, “God turns crises into opportunities, tests into lessons, and problems into blessings.”
COVID-19 Bulletin July 24, 2020
Greetings from El Paso! Though the scenery changes dramatically and the outside temperature is 30 degrees higher than at home, the border is our common denominator. USMCA, immigration, border restrictions, cross-border economy, ports of entry, and trade are trending topics.
COVID-19 Bulletin July 3, 2020
“America is Facing 5 Epic Crises All at Once”. The heading and article by David Brooks in the New York Times on June 25 stunned me (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/opinion/us-coronavirus-protests.html). His description of the topsy-turvy environment we have is an attempt at making sense of it all, but I think it’s too much of a doomsday scenario. Most people don’t feel at ease with the uncertainty brought by changing rules and procedures, devaluations, viruses, earthquakes, and the like, but I believe that many binational stakeholders are especially adept at adapting to changing circumstances and developments beyond our control. There is a resilience, persistence and creativity at the border that we don’t see elsewhere.
COVID-19 Bulletin May 26, 2020
We hope that you and your families are safe and healthy and look forward to emerging from quarantine in the very near future.
COVID-19 BULLETIN April 29, 2020
I wish to express my gratitude to all the fantastic, hardworking people in the far-reaching Smart Border Coalition network who help me compile the insights and information presented in these bulletins. It’s an immense privilege to learn about the efforts of so many friends in our region who are helping their communities to cope with these extraordinary conditions.
COVID-19 BULLETIN April 21, 2020
As Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, put it last week in a Wall Street Journal interview: “Nobody in America’s ever seen anything else like this. This thing is different. Everybody talks as if they know what’s going to happen, and nobody knows what’s going to happen.”
COVID-19 BULLETIN April 12, 2020
This is the second set of frontline insights the Smart Border Coalition is distributing to members, Stakeholders, friends, and allies in its extensive network. In Mexico, Baja California is now #3 for COVID-19 cases despite having only 3% of the population.
COVID-19 Bulletin April 3, 2020
To All Coalition Stakeholders: First, I want you to know how deeply I care about the welfare of each and every one of you and the success of your organizations in confronting the global pandemic. Please feel free to contact me at any time to discuss your experiences, difficulties, and hopes for the future.
Avala Clúster Médico acciones en carril médico
Más de 37 colegios médicos que integran el “Clúster Medico Tijuana” avalan las acciones emprendidas por el Alcalde, Arturo González Cruz, para poner orden en el carril de acceso rápido.
Instala comunidad médica privada filtros para prueba de Covid-19
Tijuana.- Ante la emergencia sanitaria ocasionada por el Coronavirus (COVID-19), el Baja Health Cluster y SIMNSA, junto con otras organizaciones e instituciones empresariales y hospitalarias de ambos lados de la frontera, comenzaron a instalar de filtros de revisión en las inmediaciones de los cruces peatonales de las garitas entre Tijuana y San Diego.
Commentary: On COVID-19, it’s urgent that San Diego and Tijuana border communities coordinate response
The San Diego-Tijuana Smart Border Coalition is a binational organization that advocates for secure and more efficient travel through the ports of entry along our region’s shared border. We believe that San Diego and Tijuana must come together immediately to confront the COVID-19 virus.
