Madeira News Blog

(21st July). Today’s main news headline and photo. The picture shows a chain across a rough road leading to seemingly nowhere. ‘Plan Was Foreseeing More Kidnaps – A small group of individuals will have been motivated with by a plan to kidnap several people, including a Madeiran engineer and contractors. An attempted murder at Cabo Girão in May would have been punishment for the quitting of one of the group members. The first kidnapping, that put an end to Guilherme Alves, hastened events. Interpol already have the responsibility to trace a suspect’. A group of four men began, between March and May, planning the kidnappings of businessmen in Madeira with the aim of demanding ransoms. It seems that the justice police were alerted to the gang, when they tried to kill one of their own members in Cabo Girão with gunshots to the head, but the man miraculously survived, but suffered memory loss. The police could do nothing further without proof, but they did tie kidnapping to the case, but couldn’t act in time to save the businessman from Porto Santo. 

‘Police Issues Arrest Warrant For The Murder of Guilherme Alves – Business man of 45 years will have fled to Brazil’. Interpol has received the request from the Portuguese police to locate and detain the man accused of the kidnapping and murder of the businessman from Porto Santo. The man on the run, from the construction sector, is said to be called José Martins.

‘Only 15% Of The Houses On Madeira Are Rented – Madeira has a high rate of ownership’. The market has started to move again due to changes in the access to credit through the banks. The repayments to the bank can be expensive, but for now, the Madeirans prefer a mortgage to paying rent to a landlord. Data on the housing sector here reveals that just 15.6% of residential buildings are occupied by tenants, and ownership at 84% is higher than the national average of 74%. The figure are revealed by IHM, a housing investment company here, and show that the rental sector is currently weak. In 2007 the tax declarations to IRS said that 3,298 families were paying rent, yet according to the last census (2001) there were 72,000 families on Madeira. The article also mentions a sort of ‘black market’, where premises are rented out without the correct licences. Tax avoidance is also a motive, as there are also plenty of properties to rent ‘on word of mouth’, where no rental agreements exist.

The reopening ceremony of the landmark church at Campanário is set for Friday, also the day of the parish, with the Bishop of Funchal attending the ceremony. The ceremony is set for 7pm, followed later by musical entertainment, and with fireworks to close.

‘Enjoy The Sun In The Shade For Protection – The nationwide campaign will also be run on Madeira’. The initiative is promoted by the Portuguese Association For Skin Cancer (APCC) in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health (DGS), and aims to increase the awareness of the general population to take precautions with sun exposure in the country, on the beach or in the pool, whether in leisure or through working outdoors. Besides posters, several information leaflets on avoiding sunburn and skin cancer and diagnosis are also available.

This is the new image to be used for a campaign of awareness and education for the population of Madeira in respect of the mosquito ‘Aedes Aegypti’. The campaign will have several fronts, and is the responsibility of the regional health service IASAÚDE. "We are vigilant and we fight for this cause" said a spokesman, pointing out that the whole community, without exception, must come together for this purpose. The female of the species is the one that bites us humans, hence the catchphrase "She’s Out There Somewhere". All hope of eradicating the species that arrived on Madeira 4 years ago have now disappeared, and now the task is to control it, particularly as it is a potential carrier of dengue disease.

This hole appeared on a public footpath in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos over a year ago, and it has been reported to the council several times. A person who was partially blind has now fallen in it and suffered several injuries. It seems if it doesn’t grab the headlines, for the council, and / or for the PSD, then it’s not worth bothering with. Well it’s got headlines now.

In politics : ‘Left Block Denounce Pressure On Candidates In The Council Elections – Cases in Porto Santo, Machico, and Santana’. The Left Block (BE) party coordinator says that he will start criminal proceedings against those who overstep the mark. Firstly it was the socialists (PS-M) to complain, and now the BE. The BE coordinator says the problem is mainly for candidates in the local elections, who are subjected to "threats and pressures", just for taking on the candidacy. The accusations are levelled against the social democrats. Typically the problems do not come from the presidents of the councils, more the second line troops or local chiefs, who hide their actions but leave a clear message, often with the aim of dissuading candidates from standing for the BE. No surprises there I suppose, but as the BE is a ‘no hoper’ party, I don’t really understand why the PSD-M would bother to make the effort, but there again I don’t really understand what would make someone want to be be a candidate for a ‘no hoper’ in the first place.

‘Protest In The Assembly Against TAP & SATA’. The social democrats, PSD-M, delivered a proposal for a vote of protest yesterday in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira. At issue is the reintroduction of fuel surcharges on flights between Madeira and Portugal, due to recent price rises in the purchase of aviation fuel. The charge has been reintroduced at €4 per journey. The PSD-M consider it "inappropriate given an island reality", and is a barrier to the people here when it is necessary to increase the mobility of citizens.

(16th July). ‘Neighbourhood Of Bad Name And Scorn – Permanent tension. Inhabitants are unwelcome in the market for employment. Children without ATL(?). Families attempt to flee from there’. Nogueira doesn’t have a solution. Madeira’s government creates better conditions, but the residents wreck everything. It’s an area where unemployment is a true reality, where the residents suffer the fact nobody wants to employ someone living in Bairro da Nogueira, where the social problems just get worse. The population is stigmatised by drug addiction, where children have nowhere to pass their free time this Summer because the ATL(?) was vandalised and closed years ago. The more structured families appeal to the government to be moved out, while the neighbourhood becomes each day more of a ‘social labyrinth’. The area is of ill repute as far as Madeira is concerned, and the most scorned part of the island. They look to new alternatives, but this neighbourhood is at a crossroads of problems without solutions in sight. This long article is quite a scary read, it really is. I don’t think I have ever read such a damning write up about anywhere on Madeira. Whilst the day times are comparatively quiet, at night the streets come to life with people with drug and alcohol problems, and then there is often violence. The police are not respected, and the area even has the makings of a no-go zone. Everyone is watching everyone else, with a particular eye for strangers says the article.

‘Worker Dies Of Electrocution In Works In Bemposta, Machico’. The accident occurred when part of a cement mixer touched high voltage cables. A 39 year old man died, another was taken to the emergency unit in Funchal Central Hospital with serious electrical burns. An investigation into the incident has commenced.

‘Police Operation Against Drug Barons Bursts Into Estreito’. Estreito de Câmara de Lobos was the latest target for armed police wearing helmets, bullet proof vests, and protective clothing, in the fight against drugs. The operation started at daybreak yesterday, and took locals by surprise. The police were equipped with a court search warrant to raid a premise heavily suspected of being a ‘drugs barn’. Two men were arrested and detained, one was later released. The police also seized a vehicle, drugs, articles related to drug trafficking, and cash exceeding €20,000.

‘CMF Pays ‘Time & Hours’ Bad Debt Of 2005′. Funchal Council is making gains with it’s efforts to clear old debts, but the auditors of the court responsible for checks say that the council could be penalised through paying interest to the state. Some of the debts go back as far as FOURTEEN YEARS! Under the state programme which loosely means ‘Pay On Time’, auditors discovered that 91% of the backlog related to debts from 2007 & 2008, amounting to over €9 million. Much of the debt was not accounted for properly, and one debt for the supply of sand from a construction company was 4,943 days old.

‘Madeira On The End Of The List’. We are in the region of Portugal that builds the most new homes and apartments, and with the lowest rate of rehabilitation. It is also the region with the worst record for delays in building works.

In sport : ‘A Record In The International Meeting On Madeira’. Pole-vault, or ‘Jumping With A Stick’ as the Portuguese actually translates, brought a new national record in the XIV International Athletics Meeting on Madeira yesterday. A junior athlete managed a height of 5.11 metres at the sports stadium in Ribeira Brava.  

  
Photo caption : With the opening of a new miradouro (viewpoint) in Achada at a cost of €93,000, Funchal now has 24 miradouros.

‘Rivers Flow Against Europe – Europe wants to re-naturalise our rivers and water courses, but Madeira moves towards artificialisation’. Under a European directive (200/60/EC), all member countries should make their rivers and streams comply with ecological quality objectives, and be there for the enjoyment of the people, moving back towards a natural state without evidence of man made intervention. Hélder Spinola, of the environmental agency Quercus, says that Madeira is going in the opposite direction, and not only in Funchal. The EU directive is aimed particularly at combating pollution, although on Madeira, because of the specific nature of the topography of the island, there are other concerns such as safety and public protection. The head of Quercus is particularly concerned about the more frequent floods, caused by the higher frequency of heavy rainstorms that deposit more water in shorter periods. He refers to the choking of waterways with increasing numbers of concrete walls, bridges and roads, spreading throughout the island, although the effect is now slowing if only due to the lack of money for new works. Any specific new initiatives now seem to focus on water quality, and not on the wider issues of managing natural water resources.

Portugal news : As of this morning 107 cases of Gripe A (H1N1 swine flu) have been recorded, but of these 104 victims have already been treated and released.

’45 workers contest their dismissal by the Savoy – The decision was made yesterday in a session with the trade union representing hotel workers’.  The 45 workers, who did not sign the termination agreements from the SIET Savoy Group, will challenge the collective dismissal through two lawsuits, with the objective of returning to work. 55 workers who accepted the termination of their employment received a payment based on length of service, and are now able to receive unemployment benefit. The Savoy hotel was closed a couple of months ago, in preparation for demolition to make way for a new hotel.

‘Friends of the Park’ are in action Saturday in Areeiro and Cabeço da Lenha – The Association continues the project of planting trees and shrubs which began in 2001′. The indigenous trees and shrubs will be planted in the Ecological Park and in the Field of Environmental Education in Cabeço da Lenha. The general public are invited to participate. Those interested should make contact by phone or fax on 291783999, or by e-mail to amigosdoparque@gmail.com before 5pm on Friday.

‘Astronomy Night – Night of the stars – Calheta puts out the lights on Saturday to assess light pollution’. The tour of ‘Astronomy Night’, to mark the international year of astronomy, moves to Calheta this weekend. Measurements will also be taken to establish the levels of light pollution, and to make the population aware of the "dangers of the use of excessive light", which cause "serious environmental and social damage".

(15th July). ‘Living Close To A School Does Not Guarantee Places – School denies ‘connections’ and says that the morning shift is not available to all students’. The secretary for education says that living near to a school does not guarantee a place, and although there are rules that may give priority to locals, parents are finding out that the reality is quite different. Also, as many children will be allocated an early or late ‘shift’ in school, this also is not determined by ‘connections’. The later shift has a worse reputation in education terms, a situation denied by one school leader in the article.

***

It’s the Banana Exhibition / Festival in Madalena do Mar this weekend. I believe it starts Saturday evening and runs through to Sunday night, but I am sure someone will correct me if necessary.