SPANISH NEWS
Signs in braille for Vélez-Málaga beaches
Vélez-Málaga Council will be introducing signs in braille at several beaches in the municipality for the benefit of the visually impaired. more
Health management website launched
The Axarquia Health Management department has launched its own website as a public guide to hospital services and primary care with recommendations, useful links and phone numbers for users of the service and professionals. The address is: www.areasanitariaaxarquia.es
Torrox Council trying for a third time to sell land
Torrox Council is making a third attempt, once again reducing the price, to try and sell three plots of land in Calaceite. more
Renovation of avenida Toré Toré in Torre del Mar is finished
Renovation work on avenida Toré Toré in Torre del Mar is now finished with the ‘new avenue’ now boasting 240 parking places, cycle lanes in both directions, a landscaped central reservation and wide pavements to accommodate bar and restaurant terraces. more
Wire thefts in Alhaurin de la Torre
In just one week, thieves have stolen around 5,700 metres of cabling in and around Alhaurin de la Torre with the thieves, in some cases, carrying out their raids in broad daylight. more
3,000 attend the Día de la Sopa Mondeña
An estimated 3,000 people attended the Día de la Sopa Mondeña in the town of Monda yesterday, sampling vast quantities of what was once the staple diet of farm and mine workers in the area.
New Executive rubber stamped
Rather unsurprisingly, the PSOE-A Congress in Sevilla has endorsed the new Executive of the President of the Junta de Andalucia, José Antonio Griñán. more
Good weekend at the Sierra Nevada ski resort
This weekend has been a good one at the Sierra Nevada ski resort after three weeks of partial opening due to high winds and storms. more
Tranvia system in Cádiz
Work has started on construction of the urban section of the Tranvia tram system on its way through Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz province. more
Immigrant dies in lorry fire
Late last night, several people called the police to report that a truck had caught fire at km 220 on the A-7 in Benalmadena and an investigation has begun after a charred body was found in the engine compartment. more
Tragic death during football match
A 15 year old boy collapsed and died on Friday evening while playing football in Cabezas Rubias, Huelva province. more
Two die in fire in Jaén
Two people died late on Friday night as the result of a fire at a house in avenida de Andalucía in Jaén city although the bodies were not found until Saturday. more
Interior Minister visits Chiclana de la Frontera
The Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, has been visiting Chiclana de la Frontera, one of the areas most devastated by the recent storms in Cádiz province, and has reiterated the Government’s intention to do everything ‘humanly possible’ to get the beaches back in good order for Easter.
Terminal 3 at Málaga airport opens next week
The new Terminal 3 (T3) at Málaga airport is due to be inaugurated by King Juan Carlos on Monday March 15th and will begin operating on Tuesday March 16th. more
Interpretive centre in Torrox
Torrox Council is finalising the relevant documentation ready to start the tendering process for the construction of the interpretive centre at the Roman ruins at Torrox Faro. more
Vélez-Málaga beaches open again
The Local Police in Vélez-Málaga have removed the signs and tape discouraging people from walking along the beach or swimming after the detection of a number of dangerous jellyfish on Tuesday. more
NERJA NEWS
Council disputes Hotels Price Index data
The Councillor for Tourism, José Miguel García, has refuted data published in the media under the title the ‘Hotels Price Index’ (HPI) which claims that hotel prices in Nerja rose by 25% from 2008 to 2009. more
Council wants subsidy for the production of a guide to Maro
The Council is proposing to ask the provincial Council for the Environment for a grant of €6,000 in order to produce a guide book to the Maro Natural Park. more
El Playazo promenade to be debated
The Council is proposing to discuss a motion to make the land at El Playazo beach available to the Ministry of Environment in preparation for the building of a promenade at the beach. more
Applications for kiosks
From March 17th to March 26th is the period allocated for applications for the seasonal kiosks. This year will see 23 kiosks, three more than last year. Applicants must have five years residence in Neraj and may not be in receipt of a retirement pension.
The start of Easter celebrations
Saturday March 20th is the official proclamation (pregón) of Semana Santa (Easter Week – Holy Week) and it will take place at the Iglesia El Salvador on the Balcon de Europa from nine o’clock in the evening. more
New HQ for Senior Citizens Association
The Nerjamar Senior Citizens Association has a new headquarters, the former Tourist Office on the Balcon de Europa. The office will be open daily from 10:00 to 14:00.
Plaza de la Ermita, March 12th 2010
After a very slow start to proceedings in Plaza de la Ermita, presumably an overstretched contractor, things are beginning to move along. more
Plaza Cavana, March 12th 2010
Plaza Cavana still looks like a scene of devastation but it is slowly getting better. The walkway at the bottom end looks good with the mosaic bits and the centre of the square is now getting the same treatment. more
Plaza Cantarero, March 12th 2010
The renovations in Plaza Cantarero are continuing steadily and right up to the fountain bowl which is now carefully propped up.
All the pillars appear to be set ready for the new pergola. Hopefully it will be plant-covered, similar to its predecessor. more
Planned development in Fuente del Baden
The Mayor of Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, has announced the start of the process to develop a 170,640 square metre area of land in Fuente del Baden which will see the construction of up to 425 houses and a hotel. more
Better late than never
The Asociación de Empresarios de Nerja (AEN) and the Centro Comercial Abierto (CCA) have organised a series of working groups to devise strategies to overcome the current financial crisis and to propose future measures and projects. more
Politics and the Nerja Caves
The battle for the Nerja Caves continues as the spokesman for the PP Government and PP representative of the Nerja Caves Foundation, José Miguel García, questioned the legality of the loan granted to the Nerja Caves Foundation for the completion of the Nerja History Museum. more
SPORTS NEWS
No change at the top
No change at the top of La Liga, it’s still Real Madrid on goal difference from Barcelona with Valencia in third, despite losing, and Sevilla holding on to fourth spot. more
Into the relegation zone
Oh dear. CD Nerja have slipped to fifteenth in the Primera Andaluza Grupo 3 and, more importantly, into the relegation zone after a 4-1 defeat by leaders Alhaurin de la Torre. more
LATEST FEATURE
The new Plaza de Andalucia, Nerja
The Plaza de Andalucia was the first of the popular squares in Nerja to undergo major renovation as the Central Government pours money into municipalities under such schemes as the State Plan for Local Investment (FEIL), more commonly known as the ‘Plan Zapatero’.
Currently undergoing renovations are Plaza Cavana, Plaza de la Ermita and Plaza Cantarero.
Plaza de Andalucia, tucked away in the old part of the town, is dominated by the Iglesia San Miguel – St Michael’s Church.
The renovations have not changed the character of the square, or the area, and it remains a peaceful little outpost, a place to relax. more
STRICTLY LOCAL...OR NOT
A bad experience…
March 15th, 2010I received an email from Karen in which she recounted a rather unfortunate experience resulting from a visit to Nerja in November 2009 and a solution to which is still not forthcoming. Rather than paraphrase, here is the full, completely unedited email: more
Strange goings on…
March 13th, 2010Somewhat disturbing to hear, although unconfirmed, that one local business was handed a €3,000 fine for trying to stay open during renovations. They were apparently ‘ordered’ to close while work was carried out in front of their premises.
Businesses are struggling and it is a little incongruous that projects aimed at ’stimulating the local economy’ result in someone being ordered to close and, therefore, actually lose money.
Flying Dolphins at El Rey Alfonso…
March 5th, 2010El Rey Alfonso on the Balcon de Europa now has regular ‘live’ music nights.
What a whopper…
March 2nd, 2010
A few oddities…
March 2nd, 2010
OTHER STUFF
XX (and a few more) certificate
A 43 stone woman is determined to almost double her weight to 71 stone in order to claim the Guinness World Record for the fattest woman. She hopes to reach her desired weight within two years.
Donna Simpson, from New jersey, is already an XXXXXXXL, needs a mobility scooter to go shopping, can’t walk more than 20 feet without a rest and needed a team of thirty medics to deliver her daughter by Caesarean section.
To achieve her goal, Donna will be eating 12,000 calories per day (normal is 2,000) and her weekly shopping bill is around $750. To help fund her project she runs a website where people can watch her eat! Her favourite food is sushi and she can munch her way through seventy pieces in one sitting.
Charity ride
Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire has come to represent the nation in paying respect to fallen soldiers as they are repatriated back to the UK and hundreds of people usually line the high street in silence for each funeral cortege that passes through the town on its way from RAF Lyneham to the coroner in Oxford.
On Sunday, however, crowds gathered along the High Street to hear the roar of over 10,000 bikers with about 5,000 pillion passengers pass the war memorial on route. The ride, believed to the biggest of its kind, has raised more than £100,000 so far for the charity Afghan Heroes. more
Familiar story
In view of the perpetual reports of police officers being ‘unavailable’ to investigate crimes (unless it is for speeding), victims being asked to investigate crimes themselves and requests for help being left unanswered until well after the criminals have departed, one could not help but chuckle at:
Sussex police said Mr Miah should have ‘observed from a safe distance’ before dialling 999.
Mr Miah caught two yobs breaking into his restaurant beer cellar and detained the thieves in his crowded restaurant while his staff called the police. more
A ripe old age
A woman in Georgia is claiming to be the oldest person in the world. Her documents show that she was born on July 8th 1880, making her 130 years old this summer.
Antisa Khvichava lives in a remote part of Georgia, enjoys playing backgammon and is partial to vodka. If her birth documents withstand scrutiny and prove to be genuine she will take over from the current record holder, a 114 year old woman in Japan.
World’s richest
For the third year running, the world has a new ‘richest man’, with Mexican Carlos Slim taking over from Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, the top men for the past couple of years.
Carlos Slim Helu has made his money in telecom holdings, his personal fortune increasing by a staggering 18.5 billion dollars in the past twelve months.
Here is the current list of the top twenty richest people in the world: more
WEB CRAWLER
Internet Safety Guide
Used properly, the internet is a wonderful tool, but there are pitfalls, especially where kids are concerned. Here is a very common sense approach to the internet…Common Sense Internet Safety Guide…
Tortilla
How about a slightly different sort of tortilla recipe for a change? Here’s a recipe for a Potato and Roasted Bell Pepper Tortilla.
In style
If you use Microsoft Word at home or for business, you can save yourself a lot of time, and potential heartache, by setting and using ’style’. This way, if you suddenly want to change something – make it bold for example – throughout a huge document, it is a simple procedure….Styles in Word…
Going, going, gong
Still on the subject of the Oscars, a very interesting view on the current state of the Oscars from the Daily Telegraph entitled Oscars 2010: What makes an Oscar winner these days?
NATURALLY
It’s a bug’s life
Steve Gscmeissner, a scientific photographer from Bedford, has been using a Scanning Electron Microscope to produce up-close and personal 3D images of bugs.
The SEM magnifies the critters up to one million times, whereas a regular light microscope is limited to a magnification of around one thousand.
The results are some great pictures…..Bugs…