Oceans of Wine ; Water price rise in shortage ; Government protects holiday homes
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … One of the last remaining objects from the railway closed during the II WW, I believe 1941, the last and the only bridge of the train.
Many thanks to Elaine (East) for that cartoon, and this web snippet :
Oceans of Wine: Madeira and the Emergence of American Trade and Taste by David Hancock. New Haven: Yale, 2009. This engaging and thoroughly researched (150 pages of endnotes) work delves into all aspects of Madeira from the growing of the grapes on the Portuguese island of Madeira to the merchants, shippers, and consumers. The often complex and changing transatlantic trade was not restricted to the British colonies, but among many nations. HERE
Becky kindly send in this link to a video of fantastic nature photography HERE
How our islands are made … Pete HERE Thank you both.
Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :
DIÁRIO 16/03/2010
FRONT PAGE NEWS
Government builds walls on the beach. To protect illegal small villas that were originally ‘casas da lancha’, the Regional Government is building walls in the middle of the beach of Porto Santo. These buildings were for storing boats and have been transformed into holiday homes over the past 20 years. Porto Santo Council has made a complaint to the government. The target of the main complaint was the house belonging to Carlos Machado, the ‘Posto Avançado da Democracia’ (shown). Carlos Machado is associated with Alberto Jardim and the first wall built was to protect his holiday home. These artificial barriers impede the natural movement of the sand and sediments and will have a significant impact on the size of the beach. The Regional Government has also allowed the sand dunes to be destroyed by the replacement of wooden boat houses, with the installation of septic tanks that are emptied at night time onto the beach. The width of the beach is now less than 40 metres in areas and some areas are completely submerged at high tide. Over the last three decades, it has been estimated that 350,000 cubic metres of sand have disappeared, equivalent to 23,000 lorry loads. 13,000 cubic metres per year are lost. There are also less sediments transported to the beach by streams, the flow lessened by constructions designed to control storm water. The houses impede the circulation of sand from the north to the south. To remedy the problem, the Regional Government need to dredge the sea bed to replace the lost sand. These holiday homes are illegal yet other structures have been demolished, for example the Bar do Henrique because it was not a wooden construction. The Ports Administration has identified a number of houses in an attempt to prevent their proliferation. Santos Costa, the Regional Secretary for Social Infrastructure has rejected replenishing the sand. He has also allowed the removal of large stones and pebbles that dissipate wave energy and prevent coastal erosion.
Santa Cruz terminate the contract of a firm dumping earth in the ribeira. An ironic situation arose. A construction firm in Santo da Serra was contracted by Santa Cruz Council to clean the estrada do Ribeiro Serrão (Camacha), that had become impassable after the storms on February 20th. The firm deposited the debris from the road into the Ribeiro Serrão, resulting in the council terminating their employment. The council already have a very rigid policy against individuals and companies that harm the county. The debris was being removed from the site of the Ponte de Pau and the action destroyed pipelines that carry drinking water to Camacha. This area had been without a drinking water supply for one week and the pipes had been repaired that very same day. The firm’s manager denied they had worked for the council but instead for ‘Estradas da Madeira’, and did not understand the accusation. The councillor backed his initial statement, adding that the firm dumped the earth into the stream to prevent having to transport it to temporary landfill sites.
MADEIRA
Expenses paid only when there is a conviction. Clarification of a previous report that the police have to pay for injuries sustained to the attacker, whilst defending themselves. Payments for medical treatment and social security contributions after aggressive incidents are paid by the perpetrators only if they are tried and convicted. The decision rests with the courts and not the health service. If the accused is innocent, the costs are paid by those who lose the court case. These procedures apply to both civilians and the police.
Social Security pays 15 million Euros to institutions. In 2009, the Centre for Social Security transferred 15 million Euros to Social Security institutions and other not-for-profit institutions. This is 25% higher than in 2008. The number of institutions has not increased and they are mainly for children and the elderly, the latter increasingly in need of support.
ECONOMY
Two more dredges and the Zenith in port today. Two regional dredges started to clear the Port of Funchal after the storm of February 20th. Two more from Lisbon and Setubal will help them. One dredger, the Varosa, arrived yesterday morning with the aid of the Comandante Águas tug. It is 55 metres long, 11 metres wide and can hold about 670 toneladas (tonnage/tonnes ?) of inerts. The second dredger, the Gruamar, is transported from Setubal by the tug Monfort and arrives today. This vessel has a length of 39.4 metres and a width of 11.5 metres. Today is the inaugural visit of the cruise ship called the Zenith. Coming from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands with 220 tourists on board then sailing on to Lisbon. The ship was built in 1992 in Germany and is 208 metres long, 29 metres wide and can receive 1,374 passengers served by a crew of 657 personnel.
Jorge Sá complains to the police about a dark campaign. A few days after the disaster of February 20th, an e-mail was circulated claiming that the Sá supermarket chain was taking advantage of the break in the drinking water network by raising the price of bottled water in some municipalities. Thousands of people in Madeira received this e-mail. The sender was identified as a former employee who is currently employed by a rival firm. A second e-mail was sent suggesting that people shopped at Pingo Doce supermarkets, mentioning that the owners of this chain were donating one million Euros to help the reconstruction effort, as opposed to the Sá Group not offering any financial help. The e-mail also alleged that Jorge Sá demanded that employees worked overtime without being paid to do so. Jorge Sá denies these accusations.
Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :
Today’s main news headline : Renovation of Serra de Água at the cost of privates [companies] – RTP Television and Sonae have clubbed together €1.5 million with the €1.2 million of Mota Engil, in order to guarantee the construction of 26 new houses.
The joint committee starts work tomorrow on the evaluation of Madeira [damage].
A mysterious ‘Crater’ disturbs Achadas da Cruz – The people are suspicious of something that the scientific community have promised to investigate. The hole that is causing restlessness in Achadas has a diameter of one metre and a depth of 1.8 centimetres [yes I have double checked], and locals believe that it was caused by a meteorite. The hole appeared at the beginning of the month, a few days after the extreme rainfall, but the locals don’t believe that the two matters are related. Maria Pestana, owner of the land which took the hit, says that she can now laugh at the situation. However, in the beginning she was not amused at all, and even prayed about the event. She swears that in 78 years of life that she has never seen anything like it, and refuses to cover it up or peek into the hole. "It’s the power of God," she says. As for a reasonable explanation for the event, she refers to the fall of a "lightning bolt", or at worst, for "something more sumen" striking. What is ‘sumen’, and how can someone peak into a hole that is 1.8 cm deep? Sr. Diário reporter, I think you need to go back an remeasure the depth of that hole.
Undercover officer compromises ‘Caso da Mala’ [The case of the case] – An operation of the PSP [Public Security Police] raises a request of invalidity in a case under judgement.
Madeira promoted in Porto and in Vigo – ‘Tourism’ develops a promotional action following the new route of Transavia. The new air link between Funchal and Porto, by the French ‘low cost’ airline, has prompted the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport to promote Madeira in those two cities. Workshops have been organised with tour operators and travel agents.
Carlos Costa sings in the School Sports festival – The Madeiran ‘pop idol’ participates in the opening session of the event, on the 27th April.
The main sports / football headline today : Councillor condemns "blackmail" of the clubs – Arlindo Gomes [council president] criticises the leaders of Câmara de Lobos and Estreito and warns that he will reduce the support for sport. "Nowhere is there any commitment to continuity of support and the council is going to decide what will be allocated and how much it will allocate, within its capabilities." This is the response of the president of Câmara de Lobos facing the criticism he has suffered, because it has not yet been decided what support to give to sport.
If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated.
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Caminho da Gloria transformed into a stream Access to the Capela da Gloria in Campanário is in a pitiful state and will not be repaired until 2011. The path has cracks in the asphalt and is often flooded by the stream next to it. The Capela da Nossa Senhora da Gloria is located on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the sea. The access path was built in the 1990s and is also affected by water from a pipe placed underneath an overpass over a main road, which is not wide enough and often becomes blocked and overflows onto higher nearby land and the water flows downwards onto the path. The Mayor of Ribeira Brava said that he is aware that intervention is needed but will wait until a new road has been built nearby connecting Porto da Ribeira and Pedra de Nossa Senhora. When this has been completed next year, the path will be repaired and retaining walls built.
Breakdown in the Teleferico das Achadas Cable car access to farm land near the coast at Achadas da Cruz is suspended again due to mechanical breakdown and spare parts have to be sent from Austria. The former mayor of Porto Moniz, Gabriel Farinha had said that the cable car is a ‘bottomless pit’ and costs around 100,000 Euros a year for maintenance. Analyzing the costs, he asked the Government to build a road from the town of Porto Moniz. Initially, the Executive agreed and it was included in the 2007/2011 Government program but Jardim withdrew the action on his last visit to the area because he did not think it was cost-effective. Farmers have difficultly accessing their land as the upward path takes 45 minutes to ascend. 
7,000 Euros stolen bike returned Four people aged between 17 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of theft in São Martinho. Three had scaled a wall to steal a racing bike from an annexe and had dismantled it to sell the parts. The other young man arrested in São Martinho was an 18 year old who was in possession of 1,100 Euros of tools used in construction work.
520 kg Bolo Rei “filled” Praça do Município. For the fifth consecutive year, Funchal City Council presented the population with a Bolo Rei Gigante, an initiative that yesterday afternoon attracted many hundreds of people to the Praça do Município. The cake weighed 520 kg and measured 160 metres in length. The weather helped, allowing the eve of Dia de Reis to be a joyful event. 
(12th July). Today’s main news headline : ‘Patrol Boat To Dive To The Deep – The project was already presented: The issue is whether to create an artificial reef as was done at Porto Santo. The sinking of the war ship destined for its graveyard will be in front of the Lido. It just lacks the go-ahead of the Lisbon Government’. It was done at Porto Santo successfully, with the sinking of a cargo ship, the ‘Madeirense’, to create an artificial reef. The project has already been submitted to the Nautical Association, Funchal Câmara and other authorities, and now just waits the approval of the Secretary of State for defence. The project is an old aspiration of the president of Funchal council, and would bring more tourists to Madeira for diving holidays, as it does at Porto Santo. The planned site is in front of the Lido bathing complex, at a depth of about 30 metres. The vessel is currently in Portugal, and has been decommissioned ready for sinking, but will have to be towed here by tug boat if the scheme is approved. The vessel has not been named, as there are several in Lisbon awaiting sinking, but it is of ‘Cacine’ class, and has a maximum length of 44 metres, and width of 7.7 metres. 
The main photo today shows a mother holding her baby : ‘Baby In Achadas Da Cruz After 8 Years – The barren spell finished with a birth in the tucked-away parish. But Now Vitória has arrived’. The youngsters leave in search of better luck, looking for work on and off the island, leaving behind an ageing parish. It is planned that an old school will be turned into an old peoples home. Vitória Sofia, pictured, is the first birth there for 8 years. The last census in 2001, says that the population is just 220 people, although it is more likely it is little over 100. There are 99 houses registered there. Once upon a time the parish had over 900 people says one resident, with nearly everyone working in agriculture. There are two snack bars and a bus stop, that serve as meeting places for most of the population. There is also a cable car, but there is no bank, post office or police presence nearby. Most of the agricultural land is now abandoned, as the ageing farmers can no longer manage the work, and there is no one left to take over. There are no problems there with drugs and robberies, but the parish also lacks just about everything else. It looks like this is the featured location of the week, but I think the Diário mis-timed it’s efforts as that baby is now four months old. 
‘Survey Takes Place 9 Months After Rockfall – The accident was on 9th October on the Rua da Ribeira in Santa Cruz. The council inspection was delayed’. The rockfall caused significant damage to a house, and totally destroyed a garage and three cars, and the family from the house was relocated to an apartment in Santa Cruz. The council inspection involving engineers, architects and other technical staff did not take place until 3rd July, because the removal of the rock took much longer than expected and because of misunderstandings between the parties involved. The house is probably going to have to be demolished and rebuilt. The owners of the cars have already been compensated. 
