JULY 4, 2010: TEN YEARS INTO A BRAVE NEW BORDER

Fourth of July 2010. The Drug War has been over for nearly 10 years.
In one of his last acts as president, Bill Clinton pardoned
non-violent prisoners and sent them home to their families. Welfare
rolls shrunk. Empty cells in Cochise County prisons and jails were
turned into motel rooms by former illegal immigrants, who were taught
construction skills on the job by a coalition of Hispanic contractors.
They lived there, being paid for their remodeling work, while the
newly created Department of Family Support sought job training,
educational, and employment possibilities for them on a world-wide
Internet Opportunity Web site.

All immigrants, Mexicans, Central Americans, Russians, Poles, Indians,
Iranians, Chinese, were offered testing for talents in the arts,
crafts, agriculture, mathematics, teaching, cooking, etc. They were
also trained in conversational English at Cochise College, so that
when they relocated from the border, whether they remained in America
or returned to their own countries, they would be better able to help
themselves and their communities.

Substandard dwellings and infrastructures along both sides of the
border were replaced through government grants and community
participation. Broken sewer lines, failing water systems, and
hazardous waste pollution were no longer a problem in the area shared
by the two Nacos. A rail line was built east of these communities,
offering regional freight and passenger service, and relieving the
local roads of much heavy truck traffic.

Hillary Clinton, in her second term as president, pressured the U.S.
Congress and the Mexican government to create "Free Zones" around
border communities, allowing the two Nacos to mingle people and trade
without the usual border hassles. Since then, the area has become a
residential, economic and ecological paradise. Environmentally
friendly tourist trips are conducted into the pristine San Jose
Mountain range southwest of the Nacos. Restaurants, galleries, curio
shops, and an eco-resort hotel enliven the border area under U.S. and
Mexican flags, turning nearly deserted Towner Avenue in Naco, Ariz.,
and the once-squalid main drag in Naco, Sonora, into a mile-long
international tourist and local gathering place.

What were illegal substances during the Drug War are now taxed upon
entry. But the volume of substances, especially marijuana, has
declined dramatically since Congress legalized homegrown.

As a surging Mexican economy began to enrich and empower the poor, the
flood of illegals into Cochise County during the 1990s slowed
considerably by 2010. Immigrants are now directed to processing
centers that once imprisoned drug offenders. Ending the intertwined
wars of illegal drugs and illegal immigrants has also ended the trash,
the broken fences, and the shattering sounds of gun battles and
helicopters. The nightly cries of desperation and death have been
replaced by the howls of hungry coyotes.

The Border Patrol has evolved into a service organization, offering
assistance to stranded or lost travelers. In the "Free Zone" on both
sides of Naco, U.S. Border Patrol agents walk with Mexican agents to
assist when they can and to help keep the peace.

Besides tourists, birders, golfers, retirees, and cyclists who have
discovered the world-class climate and scenery of the two Nacos, a
growing number of archeology and history buffs are visiting area digs
and old military sites that have been partly restored to show the
before and after of life in the hi-desert. The increasing flow of
visitors to Cochise County's border area has brought new motels,
restaurants, and shopping areas. The unemployment rate in the
Bisbee-Naco area has gone from double digits to below the national
average. Some, however, see this economic upswing as the ruination of
rural life.

In education, Cochise College has become a four-year institution,
awarding bachelor degrees in a number of disciplines. A graduate
program in International Relations is being planned. All area schools
have benefited from greatly increased funding, as redistricting after
the 2000 Census realigned the state legislature to realistically
reflect party affiliations.

Countywide bus service began in 2006, and hi-speed rail between
Douglas, Bisbee, Sierra Vista and Tucson could be here by 2013.
Regular commuter air service to Sierra Vista and Tucson is available
from the Bisbee Airport. Colorful, hi-tech dirigibles float around
Cochise County, serving gourmet chile enchiladas to chattering
international Old West fanatics while hovering over Tombstones OK Corral.

The Greater Bisbee-Naco area now boasts two full-blown supermarkets!
Its no longer Safeway or starve. Piggly-Wiggly has doubled our
choices! How about four fast-food franchises, and a five-screen cinema
in San Jose?!

Another wonder is Phelps-Dodge filling the pit with water to create
"Lavender Lake" for sailing, rowing and paddling; no motors allowed.
Bisbee, with its new sewer system, water system, downtown upgrade, and
the border boom, gives cash-burdened visitors more reasons to hang
around.

Best of all, and you should sit for this one, The Greater Bisbee-Naco
Metroplex now boasts home delivery of pizza! There is even talk of
trout fishing in the San Pedro in a few years! What a county! Happy
Fourth of July 2010!