Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Sam … Porto Santo and it’s finest asset, taken on a bargain ferry & hotel trip last week. The boat in the distance is the 1896 sail boat ‘Bélem´ leaving Porto Santo for Funchal.

Source : Diário de Notícias 30/5/2008

Funchal City Council (Câmara) voted unanimously on Thursday to pass new rules to reinforce and control it’s planning approval process, but insist that the use of them will be the exception rather than the rule. It restricts the authority of individual councillors to make decisions about planning matters, preferring all matters to be dealt with by committee. There has been some bad publicity recently about this matter, and Madeira is well known for it’s ‘backhander’ planning approach. So how will those affected supplement their losses?  Probably stand for election in another part of Madeira where it’s business as usual … 

Those people staying or living on the west side of Funchal may have had a rude awakening at 8.20 on Thursday morning, as a hefty rockfall occurred onto the beach at Praia Formosa. Fortunately the area was cordoned off for construction workers on the promenade, and doubly fortunately there were no  workers there at the time.

The Regional Government of Madeira is busy buying up pieces of land at the back of Ribeira Brava to make way for a new Via Rapida which will run through to São Vicente. In total 102 plots will be purchased making up nearly 17,000 square meters of land. The land owners in Meia Légua seem to be happy with the whole plan, saying they look forward to improved road safety. The article mentions the famous Poncha Bar situated there, so perhaps that will disappear into the rubble too … lets hope not!

Referring back to something a few days ago about the change in law which prevents utility companies charging for the hire of their meters. Funchal Câmara have announced a new tariff that increases the price of water supply by €3.70 per month to domestic customers … exactly the same amount that the meter hire charge was before being prohibited. A spokesman for Funchal Câmara when asked about this coincidence said that the price rise “had nothing to do with it”. Yeah, right!

so that sets the scene really, the new law is not going to save us any money.

Madeira’s fishermen, although supportive of the national strike, are not taking part on the grounds that their plight with fuel prices is cushioned by government support. Madeira will be able to export some fish to the continent to supplement their shortages, but that will have little impact. I can see two scenarios here … firstly Madeira keeps it’s own fish, but without imports the choice will be limited in the shops, … or secondly someone gets greedy and sees the shortages as a way to get rich quick, selling to the highest bidders, here or in Portugal.

The Pestana Group, who seem hell bent on owning half of this planet, as well as being owners of some of Madeira’s most prestigious hotels, has launched a new online travel agency. With the strapline “Cheap voyages with much sugar”, the new website at www.leitecreme.com is not doing much yet as the links don’t work. There is no special access for English speakers.

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Friday was supposed to be the day when the new proposed tobacco law was supposed to be discussed in the Madeira Assembly, but there was nothing in the news about it. If passed, this would effectively remove the obligations of bars and restaurants in terms of banning smoking inside. Some local opinion is that Jardim is acting outside his authority … apparently when the wearing of seat-belts in cars was made obligatory in law some years ago, President Jardim tried to pass local legislation to stop it … thankfully he failed. Words fail me …

HOWEVER, a friend of mine said that a bar/cafe that she frequents in Funchal, yesterday had ashtrays back on it’s indoor tables for the first time this year?

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Aside from your valued blog responses (you can reply direct using the form at the bottom of each blog page), please send any unreported Madeira news, photos, events information, or snippets for the madeira4u blog to blog@madeira4u.com – thank you!

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Wil … another great underwater shot from his diving exploits off the coast of Madeira (is that you in the picture Wil?)

Source : Diário de Notícias 29/5/2008

A big story that broke yesterday morning made national headlines on the TV, is about a couple of Madeiran businessmen with stakes in several Madeiran companies, including the Savoy Hotel, and the Tobacco Company of Madeira. The two are accused of fiscal fraud, false invoicing, and other monetary crimes, and the authorities carried out searches for evidence and documentation.

Already this year 39 children have been victims of road accidents (4 seriously injured). That is not good, but compared to last year it seems slightly better (1 killed, 12 serious, and 103 non-serious injuries). As a measure to try and improve matters, the Police and a Children’s Protection society are promoting the use of reflective jackets. Young cyclists seem to be particularly vulnerable, and if reflective jackets are to help (presumably mainly after dark?), then you have to ask why kids don’t have lights on their bicycles?

Madeira is home for three different species of bats, but they get very little attention compared to the other endangered and ‘cuddly’ species that this archipelago is home to. Recent studies have shown the populations to be declining due to the destruction of suitable shelter, pesticides, and a prolific increase in new buildings. Also people kill them out of superstition or fear.

85% of Madeira’s electricity output comes from oil and oil based products, with just 15% from renewable and clean sources. It was announced during the ‘World Day of Energy’ that production of the latter source would rise to 27% by 2017, with new hydroelectric initiatives in Calheta and Paul da Serra, amongst others in the mountains. This will save 205,000 tons of CO2 and take it inside the EU target of 20% clean energy by 2020.

12 new Land Rover’s (jeep style) are to be given to the Police (of Public Security) next week. They will be used to patrol the high zones and rural areas. They have been paid for by fines paid by local people, that Madeira is permitted to keep for it’s own budgets. That should put back a few tons of CO2 into the atmosphere that we save through ‘clean’ electricity.

Also on national TV there is much about the fishermen’s strike, which is really a protest over fuel prices, that also involves other countries. The resulting fish shortages are predicted to hit the shops on Saturday, but as it was a national story I am not sure how that applies to Madeira. And still on the subject of fuel prices, yesterday in Madeira petrol ‘gasoline 95′ cost €1.39 per litre, ’98′ cost €1.53, and diesel €1.27, after 3 price increases in the space of a week. Whilst the prices in Portugal were: ’95′ €1.39, ’98′  €1.46, and diesel €1.31. Some of the difference is accounted for by the difference in IVA (VAT) rates. The Azores have much lower fuel prices, as the government there set their own prices.

The old sail ship in Funchal yesterday and today is the ‘Belém’. It is French, and was built in 1896. Having served France with shipments between Brazil and the West Indies, to name a few countries, it was retired from service in 1914. At that point it was brought by the Duke of Westminster who used it as a ‘tall ship of luxury’. In 1984 it was totally restored, and classified as a historical monument. On leaving Funchal this afternoon, it will depart for Boston, and then on to Halifax and Quebec. Anyone got a picture please?

SATA, the Azores airline that also serves Madeira has launched a new website at www.sata.pt. I checked it out yesterday and got ‘system errors’, but even so it seems to be better than the old one which I found unfriendly and hard to find what you were looking for.

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Aside from your valued blog responses (you can reply direct using the form at the bottom of each blog page), please send any unreported Madeira news, photos, events information, or snippets for the madeira4u blog to blog@madeira4u.com – thank you!

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Josie … the military parade at the weekend marking the Funchal 500 celebrations.

Source : Diário de Notícias 28/5/2008

After the mention of the Ilhas Desertas (Deserted Islands) in yesterday’s blog, the headline story is about a fourth endemic species of bird found there. The marine bird ‘Freira do Bugio’ or ‘Pterodoma feae’ has been found to be exclusive to the region. There are similar birds in the island group of Cabo Verde, but genetic blood testing has shown that they are sufficiently different to be counted separately.

In a ‘survey’ carried out Tuesday in Funchal, to mark European Day of Neighbours, most Madeiran people considered that they have good neighbours. They could could turn to their neighbours for help in difficult moments, ask them to keep an eye on their home when absent, ask for ingredients they lacked when cooking, or just have a friendly chat when the opportunity arises.

Some of the strawberries being sold on Madeira have been tested and found to contain pesticides. Unfortunately it is not clear where they are from or where they are being sold.

Travellers from Funchal to Câmara de Lobos should find an easier journey starting from the end of this summer, when the first phase of a new €18 million road will be opened. Most of the 1.2km new stretch is through tunnels. Later phases will make Câmara de Lobos more easily accessible from other directions.

Following the part in yesterdays blog about energy savings, and how not to make them, an online-survey underway shows what people here are doing to cut energy bills.

Little or nothing  16% 

Taking cold baths  2% 

and I bet if it wasn’t for the special deal on energy efficient light bulbs at EEM, then that wouldn’t be the top response!

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Anyone use Skype to make their calls, through the internet? They have introduced special subscription packages to allow unlimited ‘free calls’ within Europe and worldwide. In a special promotion that finishes the end of this month, you can have your own telephone number in the country of your choice (limited) so people can phone you, and free calls to that same country for a year. I paid just under €20 for that deal for a year.  Also there is a new version of Skype software available that cuts down on the amount of connection time, and promises to improve on the situation with ‘dropped calls’ (and with 2 calls received by me in the last 24 hours, so far it seems to be working).

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Aside from your valued blog responses (you can reply direct using the form at the bottom of each blog page), please send any unreported Madeira news, photos, events information, or snippets for the madeira4u blog to blog@madeira4u.com – thank you!