The Coyote's Bicycle (49 page)
Read The Coyote's Bicycle Online
Authors: Kimball Taylor
page 69:
She'd found a hole
. . . This anecdote came about in conversation with Dan Watman, who has worked closely with Maria Teresa Fernandez. Both are members of Friends of Friendship Park.
page 72:
I found Greg Abbott on a clear
. . . Interview with Greg Abbott
page 74:
Abbott spotted
. . . The original report of this rescue was provided to me by the California State Park lifeguards at Silver Strand State Beach.
page 74:
the first sea fence
. . . “Background to the Office of the Inspector General Investigation,” Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Justice Department, 1998
page 76:
Drowning victims
. . . Interview with Chuck Chase, former lifeguard supervisor
page 79:
this was the example
. . .
Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the “Illegal Alien” and the Making of the U.S.âMexico Boundary
, Joseph Nevins, 2002
CHAPTER 8
page 93:
images of the globe at night
. . . In 2012,
NASA
released a composite animation of the globe at night that had been compiled from data gathered by the Suomi
NPP
satellite.
page 93:
Cali and Medellin cartels
. . .
El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency
, Ioan Grillo, 2011
page 94:
as many as forty thousand lives
. . . At the time of my reporting, this estimation of deaths caused by the drug wars that took place between 2006 and 2012 was widely reported. It has since been adjusted upward to sixty thousand by Human Rights Watch. Other estimates go much higher.
page 94:
The war revealed
. . . “Letter from Tijuana: In the Name of the Law,” William Finnegan,
The New Yorker
, October, 13, 2010
page 94:
Calderòn was accusing
. . . “Mexican Cartels Move Beyond Drugs, Seek Domination,” Associated Press, August 4, 2010
page 95:
One of the first events
. . . “Three North County Kite Surfers Robbed at Gunpoint in Baja,” Amy Isackson,
KPBS
News, September 10, 2007
page 96:
Each border reporter
. . . Interview with Amy Isackson
page 96:
Bodies were hung
. . . “Tijuana Drug War Violence: 2 Bodies Hung From Bridge, Man Beheaded,” Mariana Martinez, Associated Press, November 19, 2010
page 97:
843
murders citywide
. . . “2008 winds down with 843 killings in Tijuana,”
Associated Press
, December 31, 2008
page 97:
a visit by President Calderòn
. . . “Tijuana Sees Beheadings, Bodies Hung From Bridges Days After Mexican President Touts City,” Mariana Martinez, Associated Press, October 13, 2010
page 97:
“Obviously, they [narco gangs] don't want
. . . Ibid.
page 98:
secondary border crossing
. . .
Juan Soldado: Rapist, Murderer, Martyr, Saint
, Paul J. Vanderwood, 2004
page 98:
fifty million crossings
. . . San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce and Business Association, http://sanysidrochamber.org/about_us.php
page 98:
strongest emitters
. . . “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Due to Vehicle Delays at the San Diego-Tijuana Border Crossings,” Suzanne Louise Barzee, San Diego State University, 2010
page 99:
unsanctioned tour of Puerta Blanca
. . . This tour was led by Turista Libre, whose generous spirit and “atypical day treks” helped bridge the divide that widened between California and Baja during the drug wars of 2006â2012.
page 99:
The drug warfare had pushed a large percentage
. . . “US a Haven for Tijuana Elite,” Richard Marosi,
Los Angeles Times
, June 7, 2008; “Tijuana kidnappings causing mass exodus to San Diego,” Amy Isackson,
KPBS
, July 17, 2006; “Exodus of the Rich,”
San Diego Reader
, Ernie Grimm, September 28, 2006
page 100:
El Pozoleroâthe Stew Maker
. . . “Families want answers from man who says he dissolved 300 people,” Richard Marosi,
Los Angeles Times
, February 9, 2009
CHAPTER 10
page 124:
Tijuana's original migrant slum, Cartolandia (Cardboard Land)
. . . Beginning in the 1930s, Mexican emigrants to the relatively new city of Tijuana took up residence along the banks of the Tijuana River. The community grew over the following decades, and was known as a home to artisans who sold their wares on Avenida Revolución. Although organized, the neighborhood was also known for severe
poverty. In step with local Catholic charities, relatives on both sides of my family traveled to
Cartolandia
with donations of food and clothing. During a rainstorm in January of 1980, Tijuana officials opened gates in the Rodriguez Dam, less than ten miles upriver. The resulting torrent completely destroyed the community, washing much of it into the United States. The land once occupied by
Cartolandia
in now some of the most upscale in the city.
page 127:
the silt from another such site
. . . Interview with Oscar Romo
page 128:
This was an ancient landscape
. . . Ibid.
page 129:
rain had been falling for four days
. . . “Mother Crushed by Loss of Children,” Sandra Dibble,
San Diego Union-Tribune
, February 11, 2010
page 130:
some of the more distinctive items
. . . The act of setting plastic baby doll heads in strange locations is common throughout Baja California. One instance made the cover of the
San Diego Reader
(volume 43, number 47). When I ask residents of areas where these instillations occur why the act is so prevalent, most describe a sense of humor that veers toward the macabre.
page 130:
Desert Angels volunteer Ricardo Esquivias Villegas and his dog Loba
. . . “Child's Body Discovered in Tijuana River Valley,” Leslie Berestein,
San Diego Union-Tribune
, January 28, 2010
page 131:
led him to dream up a tour of sorts
. . . “San Diego Drain Is Mexican Port of Entry for a Day,” Associated Press, June 4, 2011
page 132:
If former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon hadn't been arrested
. . . “Ex-Mayor of Tijuana Jorge Hank Rhon Arrested,” Richard Marosi,
Los Angeles Times
, June 5, 2011. The military raid uncovered eighty-eight weapons, two of which were later linked to murders. Hank's arrest and the ensuing charges and trial impacted national politics in Mexico.
CHAPTER 12
page 143:
one story about a massacre
. . . “For Tijuana Children, Drug War Gore Is Part of Their School Day,” Richard Marosi,
Los Angeles Times
, October 25, 2008
page 143:
a group threw a birthday party for a giant pothole
. . . “Tijuanans Throw Birthday Party for Pothole,” Adrian Florido,
Fronteras
, February 26, 2013
page 145:
in
2006
, when the Department of Homeland Security
. . . Interview with Dan Watman
page 145:
Watman was most famously detained
. . . Interview with Dan Watman; “Saving Friendship Park,” Jill Holslin,
Wounded Border/Frontera Herida
, 2011
page 146:
“suffused with a feverish neon glow”
. . .
Corpus of Joe Bailey
, Oakley Hall, 1953
page 147:
“a throbbing dynamo of commerce and pleasure”
. . .
Desert Solitaire
, Edward Abbey, 1968
page 148:
manipulated a loophole in Customs and Border Protection
rules
. . . “The Only Way to Walk Across the Border in 5 Minutes,” T. B. Beaudeau,
San Diego Reader
, November 23, 2011
CHAPTER 14
page 171:
They say addicted gamblers get a bigger jolt
. . . “The Almost-Winning Addiction,”
The Economist
, May 6, 2010
page 172:
even to pass a seed across
. . . Interview with Dan Watman
CHAPTER 16
page 186:
experience, one repeated every two and a half minutes
. . . National Bike Registry
page 186:
in England's Selby train station
. . . “Bicycles Theft Hunt,”
UK News
, October 6, 2012
page 186:
responding to suspicious online ads
. . . “S.F. Bicycle Thefts Plummet after Arrest,” Vivian Ho,
San Francisco Chronicle
, July 18, 2012
page 187:
North Vancouver man established Bike Rescue
. . . “Vancouver City Police Put Brakes on âBike Rescue,'”
CTV
British Columbia, January 4, 2008; “
RCMP
Shut Down Controversial Bike Rescue Business,” Tyler Maine,
CTV
News, November 28, 2009; “Bike Rescue Founder Pleads Guilty to Fencing Stolen Goods,” Claire Piech,
Pique
newsmagazine, January 15, 2010; “Bike âRescuer' Arrested Again,” James Weldon,
North Shore News
, October 21, 2012
page 187:
Chrisman rode her Giant touring bike
. . . “Davis Community Replaces Stolen Bike,” Jennifer K. Morita,
Davis Patch
, September 8, 2012
page 188:
automobile assumed total dominance of American streets
. . .
Bicycle: The History
, David V. Herlihy, 2004
page 192:
Border Patrol calls a group
. . . Interview with Border Patrol agent, name withheld
page 193:
trucks over abandoned bicycles
. . . Interview with Terry Tynan
page 193:
storage capacity at the station
. . . “A Vehicle for Quick Crossing,” Janine Zúñiga,
San Diego Union-Tribune
, January 30, 2009
page 194:
the hustle of missing bikes proved formidable
. . . “Who Pinched My Ride?” Patrick Symmes,
Outside
magazine, January 11, 2012
page 195:
wanted his specific black-and-gray Fuji
. . . “Chasing My Stolen Bicycle,” Justin Jouvenal,
San Francisco Bay Guardian Online
, February 13, 2007
page 196:
survey of everyday cyclists
. . . “These 8 Depressing Bike Theft Statistics Show Just How Bad the Problem Is,” Eric Jaffe,
CityLab
, April 6, 2014
page 196:
FBI
fact sheet listed
. . . “Crime in the United States 2011,”
FBI
, www.fbi.gov
page 196:
Financial upside for bike thieves
. . . “What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?” Rohin Dhar,
Priceonomics
, August 28, 2012
page 197:
Sheriff's Department routed a trio
. . . “Sheriff's Department's Major Crimes - Metro Detail Dismantles Bicycle Burglary Ring,” Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, May 9, 2012
CHAPTER 18
page 209:
rusted metal sheets of the wall built during
. . .
Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the “Illegal Alien” and the Making of the U.S.âMexico Boundary
, Joseph Nevins, 2002
page 211:
The agency prefers the word
fence . . . Interview with Friends of Friendship Park members
page 211:
Richard Nixon launched Operation Intercept
. . .
Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the “Illegal Alien” and the Making of the U.S.âMexico Boundary
, Joseph Nevins, 2002
page 211:
Since Jimmy Carter
. . . Ibid.
page 211:
Ronald Reagan extended
. . . Ibid.
page 211:
Bush Senior intercepted
. . . Ibid.
page 212:
Bush Junior's gift wasn't so generous
. . . President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 on October 26, 2006, which ordered seven hundred miles of additional barriers along the border.
page 212:
high-tech surveillance towers
. . . “Watching the Border: the Virtual Fence,” Steve Kroft, Keith Sharman,
60 Minutes
, 2010; “Homeland Security Cancels âVirtual Fence' After $1 Billion Is Spent,” Julia Preston,
New York Times
, January 14, 2011
page 212:
Obama's legacy might be in the sky
. . . The first cross-border drone use took place way back in 1916, when the US Army's 1st Aero Squadron sought out Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa. By
signing the Secure Fence Act of 2006, George W. Bush authorized the use of drones and other technologies in border enforcement. I attribute the Customs and Border Protection drone program to President Obama here, because the country's four National Air Security Operation Centers, which operate
CBP
drones, weren't in operation until 2011, well into the Obama administration. The overwhelming number of flight hours and program development also occurred under the Obama administration's watch. “Customs and Border Protection Drones,” Center for the Study of the Drone, Arthur Holland Michel, January 7, 2015; “Unmanned Aerial Systems: Department of Homeland Security's Review of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Use and Compliance With Privacy and Civil Liberty Laws and Standards,” Homeland Security and Justice, September 30, 2014