Economic Downturn Holds Fierce Grip on Border Town

[lsanderson]

By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: March 16, 2011

EL CENTRO, Calif. — This is the desert, not meant for lush fields and tight cul-de-sacs. But here they are, a few miles from the Mexican border. For a time, this was a thriving place that represented the promise of a new middle-class life, full of hope and optimism.

Now, some of that hope, too, is drying out in the sun. More