Madeira News Blog

(7th August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Lisbon Already Gave €64 Million In Incentives To Tourism – At the time of assessment, Tourism Of Portugal, the remit of Bernardo Trindade, realised that Madeira has received €10 million more than the Azores’. The imbalance in support has occurred since 2005, the same period of the mandate of the Secretary of State for Tourism, who also happens to be Madeiran. Quite why the Diário would want to stir up problems between Madeira and the Azores beats me, but I would guess the needs and circumstances of both locations are quite different regardless.

‘Suspicion Of Gripe A Isolates Scouts’. Two teenagers from Las Palmas, Canary Islands, are under observation for suspected Gripe A. They are both being kept isolated in the School of Louros to avoid the risk of spreading H1N1 swine flu, whilst analysis is being undertaken to confirm the virus. The rest of the Spanish scout group continue to enjoy their Summer holidays here.

‘Only One Doctor Per Centre In The North’. Not just in Porto Moniz, Santana, and São Vicente, but also on Porto Santo, there is just one family doctor, and other services are having to be provided using retired doctors. The health centres are open up to 24 hours a day, but the clinical director of Madeira’s health service says that the number of daily visits are low enough that the situation is justified. There are 10 vacancies for family doctors on Madeira, so as a temporary arrangement retired doctors are used to help. I am not entirely clear, but it seems there are still emergency doctors in the health centres that are not part of this story.

Half of today’s front page is taken up with a photo of the Brazilian striker named Wanderley Santos Júnior : ‘Nacional ‘Steal’ Wanderley From The Rivals – After being offered as a Marítimo reinforcement, the forward of Cruzeiro is now a Nacional player for 4 seasons. Rui Alves paid €750,000 and responds to the contract given to Alonso by its rival team’. An attempt by the Diário to invent a tit-for-tat story, but it doesn’t really stack up, and the player hasn’t yet agreed terms anyway.

Apart from a political story to follow later, that’s the front page today, so it looks like it’s been a struggle to fill the newspaper again.

Just announced in football, in the new Europa League, Nacional will be playing Zenit St Petersburg. The first leg is away on 20th August, with the home leg the following Thursday (27th), both fixtures are scheduled for 8 pm kick-offs. Zenit were the holders of the 2008 UEFA Cup, and of the 2008 UEFA Super Cup, after beating Manchester United 2-1 in Monaco. Tough one!

‘Church Robbers Are Repeat Offenders – Detained in Tabua they are answering for robberies committed in March and April’. At least two of the three men arrested by police early Wednesday morning in Tabua are identified by police and judicial authorities as responsible for a string of church robberies, including in Santa Cruz, Funchal, Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava and São Vicente. Police enquiries have revealed a ‘modus operandi’ which denotes "a considerable degree of organization and hierarchy", equipped with various construction tools to break in through bars, doors, and windows, also using stolen cars with false number plates to travel between regions and transport their loot, most of which was the proceeds of collection boxes. Two of the robbers didn’t even have driving licences. The Regional Command of the PSP (public security police) will soon issue a press release revealing more details about this wave of church robberies.

‘Firework Positions Already Defined – A government resolution is aimed at overcoming objections about the posts’. Although the year end is still nearly 5 months away, the plan for the firework posts has already been prepared. The plan of the positions was approved by the Council of Government and published in the Official Journal of Madeira on the 28th of July. Resolution No. 860/2009 states that "in recent years there have been some objections raised on the part of private entities, and in particular the use of land, structures and spaces for the placement of posts for the launch of fireworks that were traditionally used for this purpose". 39 positions have been approved to launch fireworks above Funchal and the bay. One new post has been accepted in the anfiteatro in São Martinho, and another has been slightly moved. Meanwhile the Regional Secretary of Tourism and Transport has already published the tender contest for the supply, installation and setting-off of the fireworks for the end-of-year celebrations 2009/2010. The successful tender will be known at the end of September or early October. The last few times it has been Macedo’s Pirotecnia providing the show. Some of the locations shown on the map will have several firework launching posts. Wasn’t it at one time one the purpose of the Atlantic Festival firework competition to find the best entrant and then give that company the year end contract?

The dates for the new school year have been fixed, and the new term will start on 21st September, with the school year finishing in June 2010, either on the 8th, 18th, or 25th, giving a school year of between 160 and 172 days. The first term will run from 21st September to 18th December, with some schools being closed at election times. The second term starts on 4th January and continues until 26th March, less the normal 3 days off at carnival time (15th – 17th February). The final term starts on 12th April.

‘Festival of cocktails in Machico – Twenty-five bartenders demonstrate the ‘art’ of creating cocktails’. The Association of Bartenders of Madeira are promoting a festival of cocktails within Machico Gastronomy Week. The ‘first works’ will emerge around 2.30 pm on Sunday, with the prize giving at 6 pm.

This from the Jornal da Madeira : For only the second time in service on the Porto Santo route, the ferry Lobo Marinho transported over 50,000 passengers in a month. The achievement last month show a recovery in the market, but is also thanks to price reductions forced on the Porto Santo Line, due to poor passenger occupation during the earlier part of this year. the maximum capacity per trip is 1,150, and during the first 7 months of this year the ferry has transported 196,000 passengers.

(27th July). Today’s main news headline : ‘Tourism Gains An Extra €100 Million – Bernardo Trindade presents today a new line of credit that guarantees working capital for the companies in the tourism sector. A measure that includes Madeira’. The Madeiran Trindade, secretary of state in the republic for tourism, who was yesterday accused by president Jardim of being a thieving accomplice (or words to that effect at least) of prime minister José Sócrates, will present a plan today to inject €100m of credit available for tourism purposes. The aim from the government of the republic is to support falling revenues in hotels and other establishments, with particular reference to the Algarve, Lisbon, and Madeira, where the crisis has hit hardest. The loans will be limited to €1 million per applicant, will attract very low interest rates liked to Euribor (1.5% for 3 months), and will have a term of 42 months, with another period of grace for the capital of one year.

‘Police Grab Suspicious Powder In Government Building – Also a locker contained €7,000 in banknotes’. A worker in the government building on Avenida Zarco found the envelope containing around 100 grams of powder and money in a locker on Saturday. The building is used by public service departments, including education, planning and finance. The powder is suspected to be cocaine, but is undergoing tests. Uniformed police were called, and apparently a bit of a row broke out between them and the civil servants.

‘Hospital Release Finishes In Operation In A Clinic’. An individual who attended the urgencies department (A & E) in Funchal Central Hospital with acute pain in the knee, was released after a x-ray and medical examination. Hours later the same person went to a private clinic in extreme pain, where radiography on the knee revealed a serious injury. Close relatives of the patient expressed their disgust at the poor diagnosis at the hospital. The injury, resulting from a football kick-about, was not serious according to a hospital spokesman, but had worsened during the following hours as a result of the person walking in the leg.

‘Cristiano Ronaldo Returns To Not Thrill’. The game between Real Madrid and Al Itihad in Madrid was drawn 1 – 1, and Ronaldo continues not to justify the €94 million paid for him by Real. He was eventually substituted after 66 minutes in the Peace Cup. He may have been put off because his mother and family were not there, choosing to go to the PSD-M rally on Madeira instead. A point that the Diário makes confidently was nothing to do with president Jardim and the politics, but to see the young singer Mickael Carreira.

(26th July). ‘Infertility Is Very Demanding – Artificial insemination and cryopreservation of sperm coming in the near future to Madeira’. Since last week, there is a new service in the field of infertility. The work in this first phase is at the premises of the Centre for Clinical Analysis in Bom Jesus. The objective in this phase is to study the couple and the problems the have in conception, starting with a consultation lasting an hour or more, to establish the history of the couple and any tests and treatment they may have had. The complete study will cost up to €400, including ultrasound and a spermogram. Treatment, including artificial insemination will be likely to cost around €500. Cryopreservation will be available in a month or so, as the clinic is still tendering for the necessary equipment. Longer term the unit is looking to offer other modern techniques in the field.

‘Threatening Text Messages Indicate That Brazil Is The Source – There are also Madeiran businessmen receiving intimidating SMS messages’. They are also people who have had business dealings with José Gabriel Líbano Martins, the man alleged to have kidnapped and murdered a businessman from Porto Santo, before fleeing to Brazil. It was previously reported that the only known text messages had been sent to people on Porto Santo. The number attached to the text messages indicates that Brazil is the origin.

‘Exhibition and conference marking the World Day for Nature Conservation on Tuesday. Santa Cruz marks the day with a photographic exhibition called ‘The marine fauna of the Madeira Archipelago’. It is inaugurated Monday at 10:30am in the Salão Nobre lobby. On Tuesday at 16:30, Rosa Pires, a biologist from the Nature Reserve of Madeira, hosts a conference about the sea lion.

Police detained 21 people last week for road and driving offences. 14 were for drink driving, 4 for driving without a licence, and another 2 for disobedience of a court order preventing them driving.

(10th July). Today’s main news headline : ‘GR Has To ‘Invent’ New Funding – The development societies did 16 projects, counting on the contracts that the audit court did not authorise. The government of Madeira will have to find another solution to pay around €80 million’. The 16 projects, which include the new seafronts at Ribeira Brava (€9.7m), Porto Moniz (€15.8m), Porto Cruz (€3.2m), and Madelena do Mar (€6.8m), and various other works, pools, parks and leisure facilities, have all been rejected by the court and the transfer of public money has been refused, leaving Jardim and his government to find €79.5 million from elsewhere. The development societies that managed and executed the projects, used bank loans to finance the projects. The regional government was to liable to pay the costs starting in 2007, through to 2021, by paying the costs through the service contracts. The courts had already refused the projects, and the government appealed unsuccessfully. There are possible solutions, by restructuring the share capital, or selling off some of the assets (as was the plan in the case of the marina at Lugar do Baixo to the Pestana Group) where the projects are not considered improvements to existing public spaces. Another more drastic solution would be for the government to act as guarantors on the bank loans, and any repayments that become overdue. Many of the works, especially the sea front improvements, do not directly generate any revenue, and these may be particular problems. Wow! What a backward system that allows the development and completion of a project, which then goes for final approval after everything is complete at the risk of rejection. However, I assume that between now and 2021 there will be €80 million in the regional coffers allocated for these repayments, but now available for other purposes. Uncle Bertie always manages to squirm out of these tricky situations he creates, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we never hear about this again. FULL PROJECT LIST

Today’s main picture shows a pair of hands in handcuffs : ‘Police Went To Bring 200 From Home By Order Of Justice – It is what the law requires : Those who fail to attend hearings or fail to fulfil the measures required get a visit from the police. It happened to 200 people in the last 6 months’. The police served 200 arrest warrants in the last six months, but the number is not official, as the Diário has counted up the numbers from the daily press releases over that period. There were 4 served, just on Wednesday. A police spokesman, unable to confirm the numbers, said in most cases the warrants were issued by the judicial authorities because people failed to meet the requirements imposed on them. After that the most common reason was failure to appear at a hearing. Sometimes it is needed to ask around to trace people he said, as some try to avoid arrest by moving home without notifying the authorities, as required by law. Sometimes they run he said, citing one recent case of a man who ran from Santo Amaro and Pico dos Barcelos, chased by dozens of officers. I think we must be officially in Summer news time, as the serious news normally gets a bit thin on the ground this time of year, and the Diário team start digging around to try and fill up the pages.

‘Drain In Laranjal Pours Out Into The Stream For The Last Two Weeks’. The waste water polluting the Ribeiro do Laranjal in Santo António has turned the water brown and unbearably smelly with sewerage discharge. One resident said it started two weeks ago, and a break in a sewerage pipe is suspected of being the cause. But according to a spokesman yesterday at Funchal Council, no one complained, and so the problem wasn’t known about and dealt with. But the matter will now be resolved after officers were sent to inspect the problem yesterday afternoon, leaving with suspicions that someone has been illegally emptying a sceptic tank. That rates at number ten on my disgustingometer, the maximum possible, and if it is true then they would be classed as a true neighbour from hell.

‘Ceremony Reveals ‘Zarco Award 2009′ – Francis  Zino and José Cousa Câmara win. Zino, whose work is in ornithology, and Câmara in food and medical chemistry, were both distinguished on Friday, with the biennial award worth €150,000, after an unanimous decision by the adjudicators. The ‘Zarco Award’ exists to recognize the work, in artistic and literary fields, and in scientific research, of Madeirans born in the region, although the accomplishments can take place both inside and outside the Autonomous Region of Madeira. Câmara was recognised principally for his work on ‘Madeira wine’, whilst Zino concentrated on the preservation of bird species, purely as an unpaid ambition.

The sporting headline : ‘Controls In The Rally ‘Madeira Wine’ Are Going To Tighten – The organiser is going to monitor using GPS’. I don’t understand rally rules and terminology, so I will have to pass on this one. The rally ‘legs’ for the 27th and 28th July, are listed though, but I guess they will also be on the official website at www.rallyvm.com

‘Cinema In The Gardens of Santa Luzia – 8 films are to be shown in the Summer months’. Open air cinema is to be on Friday night’s, always at 9.30pm, starting tonight with ‘In Defence of Honour’. The event is organised by the Junta da Freguesia (Parish Council) of Imaculado Coração de Maria, who hope to attract more that the 1,000+ who attended in 2008.

’90 Exhibitors In The Agricultural Fair – The 54th edition of the exhibition take place this weekend’. 90 livestock exhibitors are expected in Porto Moniz, but also there are exhibitors of arts and crafts and other products present, as well as the organic market. Culinary activities and musical events are also arranged throughout the weekend.

(9th July). ’1,400 Students Don’t Want The ‘Magalhães’ – Schools stop accepting applications today, but it is possible to register online until Sunday’. 11,950 children applied for the small laptop computers in the government sponsored programme, that’s 86% of those eligible. The computers were given to the children free, or at a maximum cost of €50 (depending on family means), and the Diário says that some children did not apply as they already had computers, and for other ‘diverse reasons’. A bit tricky in schools then as this is intended to be a teaching aid, so how will they be able to use them if at least one in ten kids doesn’t have one?

‘Crisis Obliges Cut In Glasses And Trips To The Dentist’. The number of Portuguese that don’t buy new glasses, or no longer go to the dentist, has doubled in the last 7 years, a study has revealed about the state of health in the country. The study, to commemorate 30 years of the national health service assessed the economic access of citizens to health services in five areas.

‘Visit of King Juan Carlos is a "historic" event – The Ambassador for Spain in Portugal stresses that relations between Spain and Madeira are growing , especially in tourism’. The ambassador, Alberto Navarro, yesterday said that he considered the official visit of the King of Spain to Madeira as a "historic opportunity" to deepen economic relations between the two countries. Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia make a private visit here at the invitation of President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva, 30-31st July and 1st August, which includes a visit to the island of Porto Santo. And I thought the King of Spain was called Cristiano Ronaldo … where on earth did I get that idea?

‘Navy Gathers Debris On The Coast’. This is the headline story I couldn’t find online yesterday, but eventually I got hold of a printed copy of the Diário and got the story from there. This is about a navy vessel, that found off the coast of Ribeira Brava debris that might have come from a plane, including a huge signalling buoy, that looked like a bomb. It also mentions that something was found nearer to Ponta do Sol. Inquiries to identify the source have not had any results yet.