Summary of eye-witness account by Al Razutis of a meeting between homeowners and interested parties and Carrie Duncan, publisher of Gringo Gazette, at Buzzards Bar and Grill (La Laguna, San Jose del Cabo, BCS) on Wednesday March 1, 2000,

No audio recording was made of this meeting so the summary below is based on memory (as May 19, 2000)

I was not formally invited to this meeting. Al (from Colorado) and I were visiting town for supplies and he suggested we drop in on this meeting since it was being held at Buzzard's along our way. I was interested in hearing from the community and Ms. Duncan about disturbing front-page allegations concerning my neighbors at Los Zacatitos.

Prior to this meeting I had read a copy of the Gringo Gazette Feb. 28 issue. I had also had a chance to talk with a new acquaintance Gene Crane and was alarmed at what he and Peter McGonagle (who I knew only casually) were publicly accused of.

Upon my arrival, I was told by the host of Buzzards that this was a 'serious meeting' and to please refrain from making comments until acknowledged by the moderator (who I later learned was another resident of Los Zacatitos, Dr. Cramer).

I arrived shortly after the start of the meeting. In progress were readings of police reports of charges (read in both Spanish and English) made by a certain Joe Nied (who I have never met) of arson at the construction site and Gene Crain's responding statement to the police.

After a brief response by Ms. Duncan in which she defended the practices of the Gazette, the floor was opened to individuals to make statements.

Every individual spoke with restraint about the issues. Unanimously, the article (accusing Crain and McGonagle of arson) was condemned by the residents and home-owners at the meeting.

Some people spoke out in character reference for Peter McGonagle and Gene Crain. Some presented objections to the way the Gazette had characterized Peter and Gene. Some accused the Gazette of distorting the truth in previous issues, including those that directly misquoted some of the attending members in previous print.

I spoke when acknowledged by the moderator of the history of Zacatitos and our constant vigilance against air-borne (insect) health hazards. I spoke favorably of any action that would terminate infestation and hazards, including the actions supposedly taken by Crane and McGonagle. I reminded everyone that the Health inspectors rarely visit the area, are difficult to bring out, and that health emergencies must be dealt with immediately. I also chastized the Gringo Gazette for first printing supposed 'facts' then coming to meet the accused, and the community for facts.

Other people, including a pregnant woman neighbor of mine, spoke of health concerns and the dangers that airborne infection posed and her serious concerns about its effects on her pregnancy.

A few people were emotional (but polite) in offering disdain of the article directly to Ms. Duncan. They used terms like 'disgusted' or 'offended'.

The meeting was orderly and allowed all to speak in the matter of their concerns.

I distinctly remember Carrie Duncan counseling the people at the meeting on the subject of proper action: 'call the Health department with your concerns'.

I also recall her defending her publication by saying that 'she was well connected' and that 'no one had successfully sued the Gringo Gazette'.

I took those remarks to mean that any protest was futile.

However, I came away from the meeting with the idea that surely she would offer some kind of retraction, and reconciliation with the facts in her next issue.

These are my conclusions as I declared them shortly after the meeting to my neighbors:

The retractions by the Gazette I felt to be inevitable since the article in question and the police reports did not match, since the printed allegations against Crain and McGonagles contained one error in fact after another, since the community present at the meeting had voiced a unanimous displeasure at both the article and the characterization of the life and business on the East Cape.

I was convinced that, based on this new evidence and based on the fact (as I saw it), that the Gazette had criminally libeled Crain, McGonagle and his business Oceana. I expected Carrie Duncan to realize the errors of her writers and reverse the accusations and libel that were contained in its first issue.

However, based on the revelations at this meeting, and my concerns about the community health problem which was still evident at the site, I proposed (and was joined by others) a home-owners petition calling for the Health Department to immediately come out to Zacatitos be circulated and submitted.

This urgency for remedy I felt was due to the fact that the Joe Nied construction site, its environs, and a site adjoining it (the unfinished hillside home by Cactus Bryant) still featured human excrement out in the open and that the health problem had not gone away.

Several days later we had a wind-storm and my sense of urgency for remedy was heightened.