elgatoloco - 12-16-2004 at 06:28 PM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20041214-9...
Homeland chief in S.D. for meetings
By Kelly Thornton
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 14, 2004
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said yesterday that he sees a need for a third border crossing in the San Diego region to accommodate record
amounts of traffic and commerce at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.
"I think you've got to keep that option out there," said Ridge, who will leave the department in February.
"At some point in time the security and economic integration of ourselves with our northern and southern neighbors are going to require us to make
substantial infrastructure investments."
Ridge, on a three-day visit to San Diego for meetings with homeland security advisers, discussed a variety of subjects during an interview with the
Union-Tribune editorial board.
Ridge said he is unfamiliar with circumstances surrounding Bernard Kerik's withdrawal from consideration to replace him as security chief, and made no
prediction on who would be chosen next.
About outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson's remarks that he "cannot understand why terrorists have not attacked our food
supply because it's so easy to do," Ridge called the U.S. food supply the "safest in the world," adding: "I view what we do in agriculture much more
optimistically than Tommy does."
And Ridge said he is highly concerned that terrorists may try to join forces with existing drug cartels or smuggling operations to sneak into the
United States from Mexico, although authorities have no specific intelligence indicating that such a connection has been attempted.
"Not yet," Ridge said. "We have every reason to think that the terrorists are quite aware that the networks exist to push drugs and people across the
border."
Ridge said immigration and customs officials are "working far more closely on drug interdiction than ever before" to prevent liaisons among
terrorists, drug lords and smugglers.
He acknowledged that the task is daunting because more people are trying to sneak into the country. Apprehensions of undocumented immigrants
nationwide are up about 15 percent over last year.
And, after a sharp drop in border traffic following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry have registered record
numbers of crossers.
In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, crossings jumped by more than 2 million at the region's two main ports of entry, from 9.3 million to 11.3 million.
San Ysidro is often described as the busiest border crossing in the world.
While waiting for improvements at those ports, private industry should share the enormous expense of moving people and products safely and smoothly
between countries, Ridge said.
Companies in Arizona made contributions that ultimately benefited them, Ridge said. In Nogales, for example, private funds were used to open extra
crossing lanes that were only for truckers who undergo advance security checks ? a move that enhanced security and commerce.
Trucks spend less time idling and wasting fuel, and companies save "hundreds of thousands of dollars" on diesel costs, Ridge said.
He said the project had been expected to take three years and cost $10 million, but with partial financing from private business, it was completed in
one year at a cost of $3 million.
Ridge is scheduled to attend a public meeting this morning with members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, a group of leaders in academia,
private industry and disaster preparedness that makes homeland security recommendations.
Members of the public were screened in advance for security purposes and will not be admitted without a reservation, officials said.
Mexitron - 12-16-2004 at 08:20 PM
That's using your noggin there Grover
Except that most new cars don't
coast very well--auto tranny, power brakes, steering.......but my 4-banger Toyota would love it.