It’s out the door and soon to be on the streets! The revamped – and we believe much improved – “Vallarta Voice” has begun its third season. A continual work in progress, we’re really looking forward to your feedback about the changes. It’s gone from tabloid to magazine format, making it more attractive, easier to handle, and much less likely to get tossed after reading. To provide you with the most comprehensive events directory and news possible, we’re out there in the community doing our best to sniff out upcoming events, conferences, seminars and the like so you have the option of being involved. Thus far, the trend in Vallarta has been that we find out after the fact, which is nothing more than frustrating and worthy of an emphatic “Thanks a lot!”

So please. If you know of an upcoming event with a specific time and place, let us know! With your help this can be a very useful resource for our English-speaking community. And keep in mind that, while the “Voice” is a monthly, the news and calendar are updated every Friday right here on www.virtualvallarta.com.

Excitement’s in the air, with fabulous art and gourmet festivals just around the corner and category-four Hurricane Kenna headed our way. With winds of up to 140 miles per hour, it could really stir the pot. Batten down the hatches, boys, she may be comin’ through! If so – and internet projections show her headed right for us – it will be an unusual occurrence here on the bay, where the mountains of Cabo Corrientes traditionally prevent nature’s wrath from getting any kind of toehold. Time – and I mean the next few hours – will tell. Meanwhile, I flash back to the slogan on my Brownie uniform belt buckle: “Be prepared.” Since I’d prefer not to see my cats imitate flying squirrels, I’ll need to take appropriate measures to protect them if the situation progresses.

Meanwhile, if you’re headed out to eat from November 1 on, make sure you’ve got pesos in your pocket. That’s when restaurants stop accepting credit cards, according to a front-page story in the “Tribuna de la Bahia,” which says the restaurant association has decided the banks have gone overboard on the rates they charge and they are no longer willing to pay them. I’m wondering if the credit card fraud perpetuated at some local businesses has anything to do with this. A friend, who visits a half-dozen times a year and dines out most nights, has had fraudulent charges on her card after every one of her last three visits. And she only used her card at restaurants. On her last trip she ate at just one, her favorite, three or four times and, you guessed it, somebody else’s charges showed up on her statement when she got back to the States. She’s an intelligent woman of the three-strikes-and-you’re-out school of thought, so she had already decided that while she’ll continue patronizing any restaurant she wants to, and really enjoys doing so, she’ll not use a credit card at any of them.

So what may initially seem an aggravation is, in the long run, a good idea for all concerned.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about what you’re reading, you’re encouraged to let me know at heather@mexmags.com.