Madeira News Blog

Today’s photos – Many thanks to Pete … "Tail of 3 Ribeiras of Funchal. Are they trying to tell us something, about land erosion and the environment? 1st pic Ribeira de São João   2nd Ribeira de Santa Luzia,  3rd Ribeira de João Gomes. Der – Would a Ribeira campaign of asking people for photos help to make thing more aware in the blog help?". It might do Pete, but please don’t look to me to run it or publicise, as I have more than enough on my plate … any volunteers?

Ken emailed me with this story, thank you : Unfortunate Experience. Having met our family who are on a visit to Madeira, at the airport last night (Saturday, 27th March), we were driving home in Tandem, myself leading my son who was driving a hired car, to go to our home in Estreito da Calheta. Going down the long decline on the Expressway after the exit to Madeira shopping, we were in the right hand lane as we didn’t want to drive faster than about 80 km per hour. Cars were obviously passing us as usual in the left hand passing lane, going down the hill towards the big bridge in the valley. Suddenly we noticed that the flow of passing cars had slowed to our pace, and in fact the pace of cars ahead of us in the right hand lane had also slowed to below 70 kph. The reason soon became clear as we saw a small car ahead in our lane weaving dangerously from side to side. It sometimes went right across the middle line of the road and then back again. The car we saw later was an older model Ford Fiesta, dark blue/black. Both lanes of traffic were reduced to the speed of the offending car, the driver of which seemed to be under the influence of alcohol or perhaps something else.

One or two cars tried to overtake the weaving car, but were forced back by the erratic track of the offender. With the number of cars backed up behind us, my son who is a driver with years of experience of driving on the freeways in and around Los Angeles, who was in the hired Ford Focus, decided to lead the way in overtaking the offender, which he did but for his troubles received a slight side swipe from the inebriate driven vehicle. This was as we were going through Câmara do Lobos at about 20H10. Once my son had overtaken him, the driver of the offending car seemed to get a grip on himself, and stick more to the right hand side of the road than he had previously, and the backlog of cars then followed my son’s example, and went past the offending car. After the rush petered out, we too were able to pass the car. It was driven by a sole occupant. Prior to our overtaking him , whilst he was going through a tunnel, he was in fact so far over to the right that he ran against the walkway curb.

I wonder if any of your other readers were perhaps involved in this incident and can perhaps tell us what the final outcome was. We unfortunately didn’t take the registration of the car. We just hope that no disaster happened either to the stupid driver, or any innocent bystander.

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for these web snippets :

Madeira appeal could top 100,000 pounds. Jersey Appeal

PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD WITH OUR GUIDE TO HIKING HOLS More calorie-based incentives – do the walk, you get to have your Madeira cake and eat it. NEWS OF THE WORLD

Many thanks to Becky for this video and web snippet :

Madeira Island – as beautiful as ever

A comprehensive travel blog from 2008:  "Funchal itself clusters in a valley around a pleasant bay but, as I said, don’t expect a beach. The sea-shore offers only dingy pebbles, and you won’t see anyone bathing. I only saw a few kids on the pebbles and one of the few homeless to be found there. This particular chap was dressed as if for the Arctic, wore the traditional woollen hat with side-flaps – the story has it that these are so the men can let them down to block out nagging wives – they’re considering it for export – and he wore a huge gold chain and medallion around his neck along the lines of a mayor. (Unless he was, indeed, the mayor of Funchal, I would have thought that the police should have taken a closer look at his regalia than I did.)" TRAVEL BLOG

"A nice balanced piece I thought" – Adrian. Bargains to bag as Madeira gets back to normal – Places that rely on tourism for their livelihood develop the ability to bounce back from disaster.  Madeira hit the news in February when a month’s worth of rain fell in just one hour, triggering appalling landslides that temporarily paralysed the island’s capital, Funchal. It was a cataclysmic event that claimed 42 lives and made 200 homeless. Yet within days, the Portuguese island in the Atlantic, famous for its mild climate, was attempting to convince travellers that it was back in business. Previous experience of such disasters suggests that people are inevitably affected by the negative news stories. The TV cameras reveal awful pictures of destruction yet there is no follow-up which shows that things have returned to normal. The Madeira tourist office has vociferously appealed to people not to cancel planned holidays to the island – with limited success. The result is that, in the words of one UK Madeira specialist: "Bookings have fallen off a cliff." In these situations the way to recovery usually lies through cut-price deals. For anyone planning to travel in April, for example, there are extraordinarily good buys to Funchal. Teletext Holidays WEBSITE is offering a seven-night package to a three star hotel for just £186 including a return flight from Gatwick – seven nights’ half-board at a top-grade hotel costs £444. While there are still signs of damage, the message is that Madeira is almost completely back to normal. At the prices currently available, it’s a prospect too good to miss. Frank Barrett.  (Mail on Sunday Travel 28/03/10). Many thanks Adrian.

‘Cheetahs of the Deep’ and other whales off the Calheta Coast! The blog site of the whale & dolphin watching boat ‘Lobosonda’ is reporting with photos impressive sightings in the last few days. Among them are Pilot Whales. The North Atlantic Ocean population runs, in a band that runs from South Carolina in the United States across to Madeira, the Azores and Morocco.

Length (metres): Adults are 3.5 – 6.5 metres in length. When they are born short-finned pilot whales are about 1.4-1.9 metres long.

Weight: At birth, Short-finned Pilot Whales weigh about 60kg (135lb). A fully grown adult will weigh between 1 and 4 tonnes.

Diet: Fish, Squid, Octopus

Life span is about 45 years in males and 60 years in females for both species. Image caption: Globicephala macrorhynchus, The Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

Logging, lobtailing, slapping flukes, porpoise and spyhopping. Short-finned Pilot Whales are very sociable and are rarely seen alone. They are found in groups of ten to thirty, though some pods are as large as sixty. They are sometimes seen logging and will allow boats to get quite close. They rarely breach, but may be seen lobtailing (slapping their flukes on the water surface) and spyhopping (poking their heads above the surface). Before diving, they arch their tails and raise them above the surface. When coming to the surface to breathe, adults tend to show only the top of their head, whereas calves will throw their entire head out of the water. Adults occasionally porpoise (lift most of the body out of the water) when swimming particularly quickly. They are known as the ‘Cheetahs of the Deep’ for the high speed pursuits of squids at depths of hundreds of metres.

Fin whales off the Calheta Coast! Also, Lobosonda has sighted Fin whales. “In the morning there were 4 fin whales that rushed very fast to the east, in the afternoon there were 3 fin whales which went for a while just beside our boat.” They are the second largest whales and the second largest living animal after the blue whale growing to nearly 27 metres long. They live to 94 years of age. Its food consists of small schooling fish, squid, and crustaceans including mysids and krill. Image caption: Fin whale off the Calheta Coast, Madeira.

Image : Fin whale size.  Wiki pages: FIN WHALE PILOT WHALE Link to Lobosonda’s blog:

Many thanks to Paul for all that information on our oversized neighbours. 

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

To purchase a house on Madeira is more expensive – A bank assessment in the Region comes up with values superior to the national average by almost 25%. The price of construction is higher, and the consequent bank evaluations even more so. Madeira has the highest rating in Portugal. According to a study by the National Institute of Statistics, the average bank evaluation on housing in Portugal, during the month of February, stood at 1,183 Euros per square meter, or 0.5% less than in January, but more than 4.5% higher compared to February last year. However the banks have evaluated the value per square metre on Madeira to be €1,470, 24.2% higher than the average for Portugal.

Today’s main news headline : Storm already caused three lawsuits – There are two criminal complaints lodged by relatives of victims (crane and landfill) and an investigation initiated by the MP (Babosas). One of the cases (pictured) is of a crane that fell in Laranjal killing people. One of the lawsuits has actually been instigated by the Prosecution Service (MP) itself, after hearing news and complaints about the situation in Babosas, something that the MP has the power to do. There will be other such cases for sure, as 6 months are allowed from the date of the incident to formalise complaints.

Diocese doesn’t comment on the suspicions of paedophilia – There are cases of two padres on Madeira. But Paço says to the Diário that doesn’t talk "based on conjecture". And that "if there are cases being investigated, they should be investigated, proved, and that each one  assume their own responsibilities". The Diocese ignores investigations of members of the clergy suspected of sexually abusing minors that occurred in 2008 and 2009, according to church spokesman, Father Marcos Gonçalves. The Justice Police are investigating cases following the receipt of anonymous letters.

Free calls to South Africa and Venezuela. Almost old news really, as Cable TV company Zon offers free calls to fixed phones in those two countries between 9 pm and 9 am, from next month. That’s using the telephone package that costs €9.99 per month. The change has happened as Zon increased the list of free-to-call countries from 20 to 30. They now include Austria, Germany, Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Chile, Peru, Australia, China, Japan, Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Canada and USA. With Canada and the USA  you can also make free calls to mobile networks, no doubt subject to some restrictions or conditions, before someone finds out otherwise and sues me.

Social Democrat Party conditions representative of the Socialist Party on the table of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira – Ramos only accepts Serrão.

PP [Peoples Party] criticises deputies on holiday with support, when there are matters from the storm to be dealt with.  Had to guess that one a bit, seemed an impossible headline to translate, but even the Diário often makes errors, even on the front page.

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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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and other material.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … “Madeira soil erosion”.

I saw this photo on Flickr titled ‘Natures Fireworks’, which I thought was very clever and appropriate. It was taken in the Farmers Market in Funchal.

Many thanks to Tom for sending in this link : “The Greek debt crisis has spread to Spain and Portugal in a dangerous escalation as global markets test whether Europe is willing to shore up monetary union with muscle rather than mere words … Credit default swaps (CDS) measuring bankruptcy risk on Portuguese debt surged 28 basis points on Thursday to a record 222 on reports that Jose Socrates was about to resign as prime minister after failing to secure enough votes in parliament to carry out austerity measures … Parliament minister Jorge Lacao said the political dispute has raised fears that the country is no longer governable. “What is at stake is the credibility of the Portuguese state,” he said”. UK DAILY TELEGRAPH It had 112 comments by 9 pm yesterday! 

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 07/02/2010

MADEIRA

Laurissilva among the favourites. The list of 77 candidates for the next stage of the competition, ’7 Natural Wonders of Portugal’, will be released today for public voting between 7 March and 7 September. These have been chosen from the original 323 entries and there will be 11 chosen for each of the seven categories.

The nine wonders of the region
Ilhas Selvagens – Located about 163 miles from Madeira, they represent the extreme south of the country. The Nature Reserve of Selvagens was established in 1971 and is one of the oldest reserves in Portugal.

Ilhas Desertas – Biogenetic Reserve since 1992 and Nature Reserve since 1995, the Ilhas Desertas are one of the last strongholds of Lobo-marinho. They are also an important centre for nesting seabirds.

Floresta Laurissilva – Considered World Natural Heritage by UNESCO and classified as a Biogenetic Reserve by the Council of Europe, the Laurissilva is endemic to Macaronesia.

Cabo Girão – Located in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos, it is the highest promontory in Europe with a height of 580 metres. The viewpoint of the site is one of the most sought after.

Fajã dos Padres – Narrow strip of land along the coast, under a cliff about 250 metres high, this fajã is located on the south coast of Madeira and is endowed with an agricultural area of excellence.

Pico Ana Ferreira – About 283 metres above sea level, it is the highest point of the western part of the island. At its peak there have developed a spectacular set of prismatic columns known as ‘piano’.

Praia do Porto Santo – Stretching over six kilometres between Vila Baleira and Ponta da Calheta, the golden sandy beach is one of the attractions of Porto Santo and the sand has therapeutic capabilities.

Cabeço dos Laranjas – On the islet of Cima (Porto Santo), you can see a spectacular outcrop of fossils of red algae, known locally as ‘oranges’ for their striking resemblance to that fruit.

Galerias do Ilhéu da Cal – In the largest island of Porto Santo, where the limestone mining industry began in the XVIII Century, today there are wonderful galleries where you can see subaquatic lava flows and volcanic ash.

1,000 participants in the Carnival of Câmara de Lobos. 18 groups will participate in this traditional parade held on the evening of February 15th. This year it will include the Associação de Animação Geringonça and  Malta do Furor (Achada de Gaula) and two other newcomers: Banda Filarmónica do Caniço e Eiras and the Escuteiros de São Martinho. Participants from various institutions, of all ages. The parade begins at 21.30, starting at Avenida Nova Cidade and ending at the car park of Baía de Câmara de Lobos.

Plans for Vila Giorgi and Castanheiro in discussion. From 18 February to March 17, plans for the redevelopment of this area of Funchal will be available online. The mayor noted that this is a very balanced plan when it comes to shopping, houses and services as it sets a percentage for each. In between Rua das Pretas and São Pedro, there will be a plaza of 1,700 square metres under which there will be a car park with 450 spaces, and 150 of these will be reserved for local traders. Vila Giorgi is a private development consisting of a five star hotel with 44 rooms and a block of 33 apartments. The detailed plan of the area Ornelas will be available between 18 February and 10 March.

Court establishes that the driver responsible for a fatal accident had no licence.  The accident occurred on the 25 October 2008 near the viewpoint of Cabo Girão. At around 3 am, the car hit a stone wall causing the death of one of the occupants, an 18 year old man and the other was seriously injured. At the time, it was a popular location to practice dangerous manoeuvres. The driver had no licence and the car was uninsured. The driver was still learning at a driving school and had only been in possession of a car for a short period of time.

PT and PSP used in ‘phishing’. If there is an e-mail in the mailbox with the logo of the police and PT (shown), it should be deleted immediately. Clicking on one of these logos takes the user to a copy of the website and an executable file is immediately downloaded.

ECONOMY

430,000 Euros for the Open de Golfe and Rali Vinho Madeira. Turismo de Portugal will provide 330,000 Euros for the Golf Open and 100,000 Euros for the Madeira Wine Rally. This is 30% of the total needed for the golf tournament at Porto Santo, and the Regional Budget will provide an additional half a million Euros. The Wine Rally also needs 1 million Euros in funds and will receive 650,000 Euros from the government.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA – FRONT PAGE NEWS

‘Healer’ takes money and gold at Caniçal. A case of doorstep fraud. A woman and her son knocked at the door of a house where a 40 year old woman lived with her son. The visitors tried to sell clothing but the resident was not interested. The street vendor then changed the course of conversation, claiming that she was a registered healer, reading palms, tarot cards etc. She wanted money for powerful remedies which would be fully effective. Over a period of several days, the victim handed over 3,500 Euros in cash and gold items, totalling 5,000 Euros. The police have found the two suspects, assumed mother and son, and some of the items but not the money. The local people commented on the ridiculous way in which this has happened.

EVENTS

Five robberies in Calheta. Five burglaries in recent days but the assailants have not been caught. Most of the damage has been by the forced entries rather than items stolen. Two houses at Ledo, two at Palheiros and the Junta de Freguesia have been robbed.

ECONOMY

Loja do Cidadão and Dolce Vita have a new innovation. A new information system will be installed in these two areas in Funchal. The user of the Loja do Cidadão can find out their place in the queue for their chosen service and estimated waiting time. The service is also accessible on the second floor of the Dolce Vita commercial mall, so the user can shop or consume food while waiting. This service will be inaugurated at 18.00 on Monday February 8th.

CULTURE

Cortejo folião animated “Festa dos Compadres”. This was the first time this parade has taken place in Santana during the Festa dos Compadres. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, 16 groups from the primary and secondary schools took part. The parade was followed by musical entertainment. Prizes were awarded to the best participating groups and the best participant. The Ball of Compadres followed at 22.00. Many, including families, watched this procession especially as it was the initial one. It is to be kept as a separate additional event from the main parade, which is on the following Sunday afternoon (this afternoon).

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

500 waiting for tobacco consultations. The search for help in quitting smoking grows, but Madeira cannot provide an adequate service, lacking facilities and doctors to cope. [Why is a doctor needed I wonder?]. Outside of Funchal, only Câmara de Lobos can actually offer consultations to help smokers. It has been two years since the publication of the directive of the Directorate General of Health, which called for the creation of specialized clinics in all health centres and hospitals, but decentralization has still not happened.

In politics : Social Democratic Party and Socialist Party without proposals since the Summer – The two biggest parties only came up with two projects of decree in the current legislative session. It’s a good point actually. With the distractions of the regional and national elections, Christmas, the PS leadership election, the Regional Finance Law, and the bad weather, it seems that the politicians here have taken the opportunity for a verrrrry extended Summer holiday.

Many [suffer] damages without the right to compensation. The majority of the storm damage caused over the past weeks, will not be covered for repair or replacement. Natural disaster damage can be covered, such as that experienced recently by thousands of people, and can be remedied, but only for those who have appropriate insurance. The other option for some, is to find someone else to blame, but Saint Peter (São Pedro) himself is exempt from such claims. This is pretty much the situation facing those who are victims of natural phenomena, that may or may not be worsened by human intervention. And the problem is that, except for compulsory insurance associated with bank loans for house purchase, the majority of homes in the region (especially rural) are not insured. The article also has a helpful ‘Question and answer’ session fielded by the Insurance Institute of Portugal, as well as citing various laws that cover this area with insurance policies.  Just for Martin’s benefit, after raising the subject at the weekend.

Today’s main news headline : Bad debt threatens health – The Regional Health Service owes 147 million Euros to suppliers, that admit withholding supplies from the hospitals and health centres. With wisdom the people say : health doesn’t have a price. But the truth is that on Madeira it costs plenty, more than the money that the Region makes available. The shortfall is paid through the long waiting lists, as well as from the medical suppliers whose ‘financial health’ for a long time has been connected to the [life support?] ‘machine’. At the end of 2008 the Regional Health Service (SESARAM) had to pay €147 million to the suppliers, a scary figure if one considers the impacts on the suppliers of essential products to health centres and hospitals. Several other large figures are presented, all related to various categories of debt, or lack of equity, and the Diário once again labels another major organisation as ‘technically bankrupt’. 60% of the health budget on Madeira is used to pay doctors, nurses, and other staff. Skipping through the meat of the article, the Diário changes tact somewhat, and then reports that the average costs of public expenditure per head of population here (in general terms) is 36% higher than in the Azores. In medical terms the two archipelagos compare differently, with Madeira with 2.5 doctors and 7.7 nurses per thousand of population, and the Azores with 2 doctors and 6.7 nurses for the same numbers of people. Both sets of numbers are however well lower than the European average. Madeira spends on health an average per head of population of €1,312 [per year?] compared to €960 on the Azores. So where does that leave us you ask, with a health service in technical bankruptcy? What can we do to protect ourselves in our times of greatest need. Whilst we can all do things to lessen our risk of needing health care, like Uncle Bertie packing in those toppling Cuban cigars for instance, the answer of course lies in Poncha. More research and investment is needed in Poncha, and I am prepared to do my bit to help. Where health facilities are being starved by suppliers of essential medical supplies, low cost Poncha substitutes are the key. We could allocate different flavours for different illnesses for example, with the traditional lemon being used to treat problems with stress and depression, whilst the rather more sickly maracujá flavour could be used for ladies with problems.The main sport / football headline today : What lacked in the paint remained in the points – The game in Barreiros was delayed because one could not see the lines on the pitch. But neither that, nor a barely tolerable performance stopped Marítimo beating União de Leiria [1-0], and overtaking Nacional, defeated  [1-0] in Olhão. The unimpressive photo with this story has the lions share of the front page of the Diário, with the rather bizarre scene out on the football pitch, of a solitary man and a pot of paint and a brush, repainting the seemingly non existent white lines on the pitch. It could only happen here … a premier league match, a cut field with goalposts, two football teams, a refereeing team, a couple of thousand fans, … but someone had forgotten to mark out the pitch, and nobody noticed until it was too late!!! Luckily the game wasn’t televised, as this embarrassment can hopefully be maintained on Madeira. It must have been quick drying paint too. The plot of distraction obviously worked as Marítimo overcame the opposition to win. Well done lads, good tactics (said through gritted teeth).

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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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a photo or video, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

Today’s Photo Thanks to Derek  … close up of a rock strata

Breaking one of my normal rules of scope, there is an tribute here to the English lady who died here on Sunday after a fall on a walk. RUTH HOLDWAY

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

‘Balloon Bar’ robbed while still open. The Yacht Bar, or ‘Balloon Bar’ was attacked this morning while it was still open. More than 2,000 Euros in cash was taken at about 1.30 am from the basement office. The office is next to the toilets so the thieves did not arouse suspicion and with the sound of the speakers, no one heard anything. They were not filmed by the video surveillance cameras. "We spent a lot of money on alarms and security systems but it was the fourth time this year we have been robbed," lamented the manager of the bar in the Avenida do Mar. The theft was detected at two o’clock by an employee who went to the basement for ‘stock’. Both the office door and drawer containing the money had been broken. "This was the work of more than one person, because no one would dare to do this by themselves without having another to watch." "We had a full house and with the finalists (students) the evening was very busy." The manager also complained about crime in the area, "They attacked the bolo do caco stand, the tourist information kiosk, even the beach umbrellas." The Yacht Bar is managed by the Regency hotel group and has been the victim of several assaults, in one of which the thieves took about 5,000 Euros.

Aggression motivated the man wielding knives.  The mother of the 19 year old who was arrested last Friday morning, after walking around Funchal with no shirt on and a knife in each hand, maintains that the attitude of her son was in response to an act of aggression against him. "He was standing by the gate with friends when a man appeared, who he did not know, and punched him," she told the reporter, admitting that the attitude of her child was not the best. "My son was wrong and will pay for it, but saying that he had a chain around his neck or has a mental disorder are completely untrue." On the basis of this alleged aggression, he has relationship problems related to an ex-girlfriend. "He broke it up but she did not accept it." She alleged the police were exaggerated in their response, "No one was hurt, so I do not understand how it forced him to spend the night with the police."

Vacancies at the Institute of Employment. October closed with almost 13,000 registered unemployed and of 400 job vacancies, there were still 256 unfilled. Being older than 35 and having less than ninth year education is the worst situation for gaining employment. Candidates with more ease in getting a job are aged between 20 and 30 years of age with qualifications higher than the 9th year. The age group most affected by unemployment is 25 to 34 years old. Some candidates will not accept jobs requiring lower qualifications or a different skill level. This year, the largest number of job offers (36%) are in catering, 16% in commerce and services and 10% for vendors, operators and demonstrators. There is an imbalance between supply and demand. The Institute has negotiated with some employers to give employment to people with higher qualifications than required. If the job seeker is on unemployment allowance, they have to take any job offered that fits with their education and professional experience. In the last three years, half of the jobs in construction have been lost, dropping from 30,000 to 15,000. Those not entitled to unemployment pay have returned to South Africa, Luanda and Senegal. There are no signs of improvement with reduced EU funds, no private investment and no public funds. The number of unemployed electricians is growing, with wage arrears and no right to compensation. Companies are shutting down and not paying money due, as in the 1970s, and some electricians are saying they will try their luck in Jersey.

More funds for Madeira. The opposition parties are preparing to approve an amendment to the Finance Law that will give more money to Madeira. The State may have to reimburse Madeira about 400 million Euros in the next State Budget. On December 11, Parliament will discuss a resolution by the Assembly of Madeira which aims to replenish the first Finance Law for the autonomous regions, rather than the current law which came into force in 2007 by votes of only the Socialist Party. The document provides a replacement of the money lost from Madeira this year in transfers from the State and it seems, will even be approved. The document will only change the part that concerns the region of Madeira, leaving protected statutory rights acquired by the Azores in the current legislation.

Easier to switch banks. Rules making it easier for customers to switch banks for current accounts came into force in almost all other countries in the European area on November 1. On December 1, Portugal enforced these EU rules, including the possibility of the new bank acting as an intermediary in the amendment and the obligation of the former to provide all necessary information. The former bank must provide the customer and the new database all information about payments, for example direct debits or standing orders, and where possible, without costs. The old bank will have to provide the necessary information within seven days and the new bank has the equivalent time to restore normal operations in question.

Return to Alfândega not until after summer. Rent of Tecnopolo prolonged until the next legislative session. The members of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira debunked to Tecnopolo in April for eight months while the Alfândega building was being renovated and redecorated. Now it is known that the return to the old Customs House on the Avenida do Mar will be prolonged until the end of next summer. There was a delay in opening the tender for the works, which only happened in May. The other delay is due to the structure of the building. The annexe to the building, designed by Chorão Ramalho and built in the 1980s, is very degraded and requires significant strengthening. Currently, this annexe is being excavated and damaged material removed, then it will need to be renovated. The pond at the top of the building will be eliminated as it was responsible for many of the detected infiltrations. The works should be completed in the summer and then sound installations, computer equipment and video need to be installed. The rental of the premises at Tecnopolo and parking lots total more than 230,000 Euros per year and this sum could double to meet the new deadlines (a delay of more than 10 months). The initial cost of the renovation was €1.2 million but this will suffer a major increase.

Opposition calls special meeting. CDS-PP and PS will ask for explanations today from Romeira on the cancellation of some works. Rarely the PS and CDS share the same political views, São Vicente is an exception. The socialists and centrists requested a special meeting as they wanted to know more about cancellations of work. The mayor needs to explain the justification for the withdrawal of the improvement and asphalting of the road link between Ginjas and Paul da Serra. This work has been postponed for more than 20 years. The opposition also want to know whether there will be construction of the promenade at São Vicente. They are challenging many other issues of the mayor Jorge Romeira to try to derail them.

Madeira Wine and embroidery as Christmas gifts. The Regional Natural Resources launches a promotional campaign in the Farmers’ Market in Funchal. The campaign is launched on Wednesday to trigger Madeirans and tourists to buy these products for Christmas gifts. About seven thousand families depend on the sale of wine and embroidery products, so buying them as Christmas gifts is a great way to contribute to the economy and social life of the region. The campaign aims to promote Madeira Wine by associating it with a Madeiran lifestyle, refined and celebrational, suggesting one offers and increases consumption during the Christmas season and end of year. The campaigns represent an investment of 40,000 Euros. The consumption of Madeira Wine in the regional market is about 531,000 litres and represents around 3.8 million Euros.

Lorries overweight and noisy. 60 breaches detected in Operation Safe Environment. The police have been monitoring for breaches of the rules of environmental safety (digging and moving environmental materials). The campaign ran from 23 to 29 November and of the 456 vehicles stopped, 59 were found to be overloaded, too noisy, driving under the influence of alcohol or without proper licensing.

Porto Santo is the seventh in purchasing power. Porto Santo citizens have better purchasing power, 39.92% higher than the national average, which puts Porto Santo in seventh place among all cities. The unusual growth in wealth of the island can be attested to the fact that between 2005 and 2007, purchasing power per capita has risen 12% when the mean for the same period fell 1.2%. 48.2% of the workforce are eligible for a 30% increase in salary as compensation for the double insularity, which requires the regional and municipal budgets to inject an extra 2 million to improve the wages of those working in departments, services and other public structures. Residents on Porto Santo are privileged because they have twice the purchasing power of Madeirans living in the eight municipalities, surpassing even those in Funchal who have a purchasing power per capita 35.44% higher than the national average or 3.3% below that of the inhabitants of Porto Santo. The privileged situation is due to the structure of employment, most working in either public service or hotel work, so very few earn the minimum wage. Over the past seven years, Funchalenses saw their purchasing power rise 25.5%. The only other municipality where purchasing power increased was Porto Moniz, so in the other areas of Madeira, people have become poorer. In Portugal there is a positive association between the degree of urbanization and purchasing power.

Chefs challenged to choose local products. The Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development is to have promotional meetings with heads of national and regional cuisine, challenging them to cook dinner on the basis of Madeiran agro-food. This was the concept for a dinner recently held for more than 100 guests at the hotel Four Views Baia. The Regional director said that the challenge would also launch regional producers: SantoQueijo, OvoGirao, Engenho do Ribeiro Seco, Quinta Pedagogica dos Prazeres, Madeira Agricola and Horticalheta. "With pleasure, participants could enjoy for example, a starter of requeijao com abobora menina e tomate da Madeira with Mel de Cana da Madeira, and the meal itself of fresh lombos de tuna accompanied with a creme de abacante da Madeira. This initiative will be promoted using an increasing number of personalities and influential agents. The aim is a gourmet approach to dining, the consumers, whether professionals or individuals, enjoying regional products associated with the characteristics of taste, aroma, texture and freshness and not less important, the environmental aspects associated with agricultural awareness of the locality.

Today’s front page news headlines from the Diário de Notícias :

Gripe A arrives at the schools through the fault of parents – Carelessness obliges the new rules : Without medical certification, the students with the swine flu virus are obliged to stay at home for seven days. Parents skip the seven day quarantine period and increase the risk of spreading the the H1N1 virus, probably because of the fear of taking time off of work. A new instruction from the secretary for health is causing confusion amongst parents and guardians, and school administrations. It says that to avoid the virus spreading, medical certification is needed stating that the child is not affected by Gripe A, and such certification can be issued by an assistant doctor at a hospital or health centre. Meanwhile schools are refusing to accept certification from private doctors, when they are equally acceptable, because of confusion in the new rules. One case is mentioned where a mother whose child had a temperature (not Gripe A) was obliged to go to a doctor for a certificate, but as her family doctor only gives consultations one day a week, she had to kick up a fuss and get someone else to issue a certificate. Any student with a ‘flu like’ illness is affected by the new rules, and siblings of affected children are also obliged to stay at home for 48 hours, even without symptoms. Up until 29th November 39 schools on Madeira had outbreaks (two or more cases) of swine flu.

Thanks again to Elaine for this one : Today’s main news headline : Government technicians deceive farmers - The development of agricultural projects in the region is a right mess. The ‘scheme’ omits information for the person requesting official support, generates unforeseen charges and involves technical work that is not allowed in an association. The Regional Government technicians prepare the farmer’s projects for the Farmers Association and the farmer pays for the project! Farmers can apply for public funding for investment projects and the Government heralded the technical support to apply for the funds free to the farmers. But when they have applied, the farmers have been surprised to receive an invoice for the preparation cost from the Farmers Association. The eligible maximum amount of preparation costs can be 5% of the project (or 10% for biological products) which amounts to a 2,750 Euros invoice for an investment project of 100,000 Euros, even though the project might not be approved. The Government technicians also work as technicians for the Farmers Association, and prepare the projects for the Farmers Association that charge its members. The problem started in July 2008 when the Government agreed free technical preparation (by Government technicians) only for investment projects of less than 5,000 Euros (small) and all others were to be covered by the Farmers Association. The Government seeks to benefit about 2,000 farmers for small investments and 445 other farmers for medium and large investment projects, until 2013. The President of the Farmers Association assumes that the Association has technical staff who are also part of the Regional Government and they are allowed to prepare the projects outside work hours. This is not so because to avoid a conflict of interest, public officials who want to take part in private-functions must seek permission to do so. The Government staff are also directed to warn the farmer of a project costing more than 5,000 Euros that it will go through the Farmers Association. The Government said it will not stand for any violations and promised to investigate cases and if appropriate hold disciplinary meetings.

Thanks again to Elaine for this one : Councils are waiting for €8 million from the Republic of Portugal – The budget has not been paid since January and concerns tax transfers of the state budget. More than 8 million Euros and by the end of the year, will exceed €9 million, the amount that the Government of the Republic should transfer to the eleven Councils in Madeira in relation to IRS from the State Budget. Since January this year, the 5% has not been paid. This is not how the Government of the Republic have interpreted the rules after the approval of the Local Finance Law. The executive of Prime Minister Sócrates believes that since the tax receipts are in the Autonomous Regions (Azores and Madeira), the Regional Governments should support this payment. In the middle of this tug of war are 30 Municipal Councils, (11 in Madeira and 19 in the Azores). The Regional Municipalities say this is discriminatory as their Portuguese counterparts on the continent continue to receive this money directly from the State Budget. This debt has led to various complications in the management of annual budgets of municipalities, especially for the largest municipalities. To the Mayor of Porto Santo, the big problem is that income tax receipts were entered in the budget of the Council, and this value has not been paid. "This is so since January. The problem is that we introduce these funds in the budgets of the Councils and then no money comes. Of course, there are payments in arrears. If we do not receive these funds, we begin to have difficulty paying, for example, wages to our employees." There are also delays in payments to suppliers. "I know some municipalities have paid small suppliers, because these debts are easier to pay off, however we know this money is needed by businesses. We are in the situation where you pull the blanket to the head and uncover the feet." Because they feel discriminated against compared to other municipalities in the country, the Association of Municipalities of both the Azores and Madeira have been working together to solve the problem. The matter has been put to the Prime Minister, Jose Sócrates and they are still waiting for him to resolve the problem, hopefully soon. The hope of the Associations of Municipalities of the Azores and Madeira also turns to the National Assembly, thanks to the majority that the opposition parties have achieved in recent elections and subsequent reduction of power of the socialists. The two municipal associations have sent to the regional delegations of the parties that are represented in Parliament, a document to explain the situation. They will not send the document to the PS because the party in Madeira agreed with this law. The Mayor of Porto Santo says they want to resolve the situation through dialogue but in the extreme case will go to court, entering an injunction against the decision. The Government of Madeira has been in discussion with the Government of the Azores because they also feel discriminated against.

‘Spread the words’ stirs three thousand children – The project of Funchal Council started in 2008 and develops the enjoyment of books in 6 groups. The scheme aims to boost interest in books and reading amongst children of a very young age (up to 1st cycle basic school), and now has 3,011  participants. At a gathering in Santa Catarina park in Funchal, the children are first allowed to run around and play. "It must be like this" one of the monitors said, explaining that otherwise the youngsters would not focus on the books. After half an hour of running the kids are ready to learn and discover another world. The sessions last about an hour, but it various according to the age of the group, as the younger ones tend to have shorter sessions. So what do the kids think of it all you must be thinking? The Diário obliges with some interviews :

Beatriz, four years old,  confesses not to have books at home because she does not like them. She prefers her dolls, and straight away opened both hands when asked how many had. Rodrigo, of the same age, said he had four books and a remote-control car. "My dad reads to me when I ask" he said, but the subject was soon diverted to his car, a favourite because "it is new and has a remote control with batteries," he said enthusiastically, with all his wisdom. At this age the memory plays tricks and it is not easy to remember the stories, or even the school. Pedro remembers the ‘Spark’, the adventures of the ‘Hero’ but had trouble remembering the other characters in his books. But Rodrigo prefers the story of the ‘Three Little Pigs’ "And the big bad wolf that blows the house" he said, before scattering with the others, hoping a few more minutes of play.

In football : Nacional is going to sell Rúben Micael and Filipe Lopes. The game today at Werder Bremen is "all or nothing", but also a shop window for the business already determined by Nacional president Rui Alves. The article also has the big front page photo today, an odd and slightly surreal picture of players in training. Nothing other than an away win will give Nacional any chance of progressing in the Liga Europa, and even that would then depend on the result of the other match in the same group. Nacional will be playing in near freezing temperatures, with their manager still seriously ill in hospital, so the signs are not good, but the team is fired up by the talk of a ‘walkover’ by Werder Bremen. Players Micael and Lopes will be on their way out of the club in the January transfer window  admits Nacional’s president. The Diário claims to know that Rúben Micael is going to play in England for a transfer fee around the €10 million mark, but adds that a number of scouts (not the sort with toggles) will be at tonight’s match. 6 pm SportTV1.

Unfortunately my laptop is bleeping with just 9 minutes left in the batteries, so I have to go with 2 stories left untranslated … someone help me out here please, pretty please. Elaine stepped in again, as usual … is there  really no one else who can help us out with news stories and translations?

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(13th September). ‘With Fish Market, Without Pier – Lack of services is the main shortcoming of Madalena do Mar. Residents of the Neighbourhood of Fishermen say they are forgotten, and ask for beach facilities to be provided and complain about the the lack of a pier´. The Diário’s featured parish this week. The tranquillity, coupled with the good weather, are the major attractions of Madalena do Mar. The village is very popular in summer for its beach, but loses movement in the Winter. Who lives there complains about the lack of services. Public transport, post office, ATM cashpoint, pharmacy, and a supermarket are some of the shortcomings identified by the population. Fishermen say they have a fish market, but complain that there is no pier, that had been promised, or beach support facilities.

‘Plagiarism On The Loose In The University Of Madeira – Copying text from the internet and presenting it as ones own is common practice’. It happens in all the courses. Teachers admit that the phenomenon has grown in recent years because of the internet, and welcome the decision of the UMa Dean to install anti-plagiarism software. That enthusiasm is not shared by the students representative, Luis Eduardo Nicolau, who says this is "a very delicate matter". The fight against plagiarism, as is happening in UMa, is just one of the functions of the Office of Student Aid, a new body that will mediate in the relationships between students and teachers. This Office will receive from now on all academic work, ensuring that deadlines are met. The work must be submitted in electronic format, so it can then be checked for authenticity, using the new anti-plagiarism software. If the work ‘passes’ the originality test then it goes to the teacher or lecturer who set the assignment for marking, but if it fails the test it’s another story.

The football headline is back today : ‘Four Games Without Winning – Nacional lost yesterday in Vila do Conde. The team attacked a lot, but couldn’t score. Today, after the sermon, the big game in Barreiros’. Nacional lost 2 – 0 at Rio Ave, leaving them with just two point out of a possible 12. Marítimo play Braga today. Yesterday’s game was also today’s main front page photo.

Hot off the press : Marítimo 1 Braga 2, leaving Braga top of the league with a 100% record. 

‘PSP called to restore order in Nogueira – A fight between neighbours, joined by dozens of people, yesterday forced the intervention of the police in the neighbourhood of Nogueira’. One neighbour complained to another about the noise from a party that went late into the night, but the complaint was not well received, and resulted in a slanging match. The lady complainant returned home, but the noisy neighbours followed and kicked her front door in, only to see her husband there armed with a baseball bat. At least one person was taken to hospital during the dispute, which probably woke up much of the neighbourhood. Some interesting readers comments with this article, including "It seems like one of those parts of Iraq, always in an uproar!"

On our roads last week, 49 accidents were reported, resulting in 20 injuries, 5 of which were serious. 28 drivers were detained for driving with excess alcohol. A case of a 19 year old man caught twice driving stolen cars, and without a driving licence, was mentioned on the blog a couple of weeks ago. He has since been caught twice more driving stolen cars. He went to court yesterday morning, and was released again, perplexing the 7 drink drivers forced to appear that same morning, and who were judged and convicted for their misdemeanours.

‘Aedes Aegypti Mosquito May Be Developing – The Institute of Health Administration returns to the land to see if the larvae have proliferated’. IASAÚDE is to undertake a new field study of the insect at the end of this month based on suspicions that the mosquito is again actively breeding. A spokesman for IASAÚDE said he is concerned that the high humidity levels have been helping provide good conditions for the mosquito.

Car Inspections went up in price yesterday as a result of an annual review. An extra 27 cêntimos for light vehicles (cars), and 41c. for heavier vehicles. Getting your car inspected will now cost €22.91 plus 14% VAT / IVA.

UPDATES (Politics) :

Today’s main news headline : ‘Let’s get the Job Done! – On the return of Jardim from his holiday, the Madeira government approved 43 resolutions in two hours’. The workload included 17 special contracts and eight land expropriations. It may not be a record, but it must be coming close. The governing council, led by president Jardim, sat on the 4th of this month and renamed Funchal Central Hospital and the Botanical Gardens, decided an award for a politician in Tabua, made a number of agreements with different sporting organisations, and approved a number of payments to banks. They even reviewed an updated report about how much tourists spend on Madeira. When the documents arrive for the consideration of the government, all the analysis work is already done. All that remains then is the political decision, which is done by resolution. The government refuses access to the minutes of meetings to journalists. No wonder we get so many white elephants on Madeira, if they are taking an average of less than 3 minutes to consider each resolution.

The big debate was on TV last night, between the two main party leaders for this month’s election for the assembly of the Republic. I sat through the whole 70 minutes, and I have to say that José Sócrates, leader of the socialist party, and Manuela Ferreira Leite, leader of the social democrats, were remarkably well composed and polite throughout. The debate started off with Madeira and president Jardim mentioned several times, on the issue of ‘stifling democracy’, Jardim’s false candidature for the Assembly of the Republic (he gets elected, but never attends), and also about the ‘offshore’ financial benefits of our island.  She is a decent very clever lady, but no match for golden boy Sócrates when it comes to stage presence, and he was so much better prepared, with a small stack of essential documents to hand, to prove his points. I have no real preference about who wins the elections this month, aside from continuity issues, but I wouldn’t be surprised as a result of last nights debate if the vote swings to the left a little, but there again how many sad people stay in on a Saturday night a Saturday night to watch a political debate.

‘Election Campaign Begins Officially Today And Finishes On The 25th’. The campaign for the Assembly of the Republic is now officially underway, even though political parties and candidates have been in pre-campaign several weeks already. Madeira has six places available, and at present they are shared equally between the PSD-M socialists and the PS socialists.

(14th June). Today’s main news headline : ‘Suspicious Promotions – Gabriel Farinha goes back to rewarding workers. At the end of his term, the councillor of Porto Moniz nominates an assistant in his office and two secretaries to be councillors’. The president of Porto Moniz for 8 years has an assistant, and the two full time councillors both have secretaries, paid for by the locals.

The main picture on the front page shows a forlorn looking lonely soul stood outside a closed church : ‘Lacking People In Fajã – The youngsters flee from farming. Fajã de Ovelha is an aged parish’. This is the Diário’s featured village of the week. Despite being a sought after place by tourists and locals, the youngsters can’t wait to get away from a life in agriculture, or just to find work elsewhere. One resident there for 40 years says "It is a quiet calm and safe place, but it only comes alive during the week with visits from many tourists, and on Saturdays and Sundays, with visitors normally from outside, that come from Funchal to the houses that they built for days of rest. Most houses are empty or belong to immigrants, or are weekend homes". Many people have emigrated, and those who live there with businesses are generally poor people. There is a lot of abandoned agricultural land there, because there is nobody is left to tend it. People feel that the area lacks a supermarket, and the local church seems doomed to be abandoned, but they enjoy the feeling of security in the area with very few crimes to complain about.

‘Register The Gold – Police Advice : Articles of value kept at home should be photographed. If they are stolen, they act as proof’. The Public Security Police are also recommending that valuables are given identifying marks, such as the initials of a family member, or a date of birth. The police say it will help them return objects to their owners when stolen property is recovered, with jewellery and gold on top of the priority list. It also gives the police undeniable proof that items recovered were stolen, and that can be used in evidence against the person responsible. TVs, DVD players, and computers should also be marked. Criminals may also be deterred if they know homeowners are marking their property, and also people who buy stolen goods (breaking the law in the process) may think twice about doing so. All makes sense of course, but it’s a bit of a sad thing to hear it officially announced on this island that was once renowned for the lack of crimes of this nature.

Yesterday saw the opening of the ‘Feira das Sopas do Campo’ (Country Soup Fair) in Boaventura. In all around 30 soups are available, made and served by various institutions and bars in the area, for the approval of visitors. It continues today with other delicacies and great musical entertainment.

In the space of just a week, 14 drivers involved in car accidents fled the scene before the arrival of the police, hence avoiding showing their documentation and committing an offence punishable by law. Normally it happens just a couple of times a week. The police commissioner, when asked why last week had so many cases, replied that the possible cause was drink driving or having no driving licence. He said all the cases were being following up.

The big forest fire mentioned yesterday that started Friday afternoon in Santo da Serra, was actually extinguished at around 8am the following morning. However, not long after mid-day it reignited, and Santa Cruz firemen had to return for another 8 hour endurance test. I saw another 3 reports of fires in similar situations mentioned in today’s newspaper.