Christmas traditions : Presepios ; 3 hospitalised with Malaria ; Storm aftermath extensive
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Eiryl … Street artist in Funchal
Anyone fancy a cruise starting from Madeira? : The Island Escape sails from Funchal, Madeira on January 18th, heading for Agadir, Morocco; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, and Palma, before returning to Funchal. Fares for the seven-night cruise start at £489, including flights. Go to CRUISE INFORMATION or call 0800 280 2614.
Elaine (East) managed to catch up on the Christmas traditions series that was running in the Jornal da Madeira in the run up to Xmas, so here is another. Many thanks
Councils in Festa. All municipalities in the region have prepared for this festive season. In Funchal, as just about everywhere, the Council marks this time of celebration. From Câmara de Lobos to Santa Cruz, passing through the other municipalities on the south and the north coast, there are plenty of illuminations and presépios to announce the birth of Jesus. In Câmara de Lobos, on the Avenida Nova Cidade, a presépio, almost full scale, represents the birth, surrounded by a very characteristic flower at this time, precisely, the manhas de Pascoa. The city centre also has some illuminations, as well as in other small housing areas. In Ribeira Brava, in the gardens of the town hall, a presépio has been a special attraction. Again, the illuminations which are characteristic of this season dominate, in particular in the centre of this locality, and also in the area by the sea. Later in Ponta do Sol, we found that several bright ornaments were placed in the county seat, with themes related to Christmas. The presépio was also being prepared, next to the municipal building. The county further west of the region is also alluding to this season. A presépio, and a pine tree topped with a star, are some of the outstanding features. Beginning on the north coast, at Porto Moniz, various illuminations and a presépio next to the natural pool announce this festive period. This is also the case in São Vicente, where the streets have a new colour, with various arrangements of illuminations depicting Christmas and a small presépio next to the church, marking the festival. In Santana, in front of the town hall, was being prepared a presépio, and in the centre of town, the lamps announce a special period. Back on the south coast, the illuminations and the usual Christmas presépio by the municipality are some of the outstanding features. The same happened in Santa Cruz, where the birth of the Boy Jesus was also represented next to the church.
Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :
Rain and strong wind until Wednesday. Rain and strong wind forecasted until the early morning of Wednesday. The Regional Civil Protection recommend caution, especially with the risk of flooding, landslides and mudslides. Delays and cancellations at the airport this morning but conditions improved later on in the day. The Porto Santo ferry did not sail this morning. Good weather expected for the end of the year fireworks display. The worst region affected in Portugal has been Torres Vedras, in the West region, with an estimated 53 million Euros of damage. This is an agricultural region with major damage to horticultural greenhouses, forestry, agricultural land, municipal facilities and infrastructure, hotels, businesses and homes.
Three hospitalized with malaria. The three who were on Christmas vacation in Madeira, after working in Equatorial Guinea, have been admitted to the hospitals in Funchal, two in Marmeleiros Hospital and the other one is in Intensive Care in Dr. Nelio Mendonca Hospital. There might be another case, a Brazilian, whose health is worsening but the screening test is expensive. They were initially diagnosed as having influenza, when they presented with symptoms to a Health Centre at the beginning of the month. Before departing to Guinea, they were advised by the staff at the Bom Jesus Health Centre to stay in Africa if they developed symptoms – fever, headaches and nausea. The Clinical Director at the Dr. Nelio Mendonca Hospital said that medicines have been ordered for the three men. He has asked the doctors to be more aware of the symptoms of malaria as a lot of men are working in Guinea on construction contracts.
PJ clueless about the whereabouts of Martins. He is wanted for the kidnap (half a million Euros ransom was demanded) and murder of Guilherme Alves, who was a businessman in Porto Santo, and found dead in a water tank in Camacha on 17 July 2009. José Gabriel Libano Martins is on an international arrest warrant with an extradition request from Portugal. He is thought to have fled to Brazil, where he is supposed to be married to a local woman, giving him nationality status. Three other suspects have been arrested. The case has a time limit for investigation of a year which can be extended for a complex case. The police will not give details of progress, even to the family. There is a case to be heard in the Court of Porto Santo, on February 4 2010, where Jose Martins as the plaintiff, has mounted civil action against a married couple for civil construction negotiations. The other case, on 2 February 2010, where he is the accused, the MP has brought a case against the construction company Erucasa.
Ponta do Sol population buy bottled water. As a result of flooding in the area of Rabacas, the pipeline was damaged, and in Ponta do Sol and parts of Ribeira Brava, the water has been unsafe to drink since December 24. Despite two tankers of water in the area, the locals have brought bottled water and used home reservoirs and local springs. The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources estimates the supply will be restored by the middle of the week.
Car hit by stones in Encumeada. A landslide on Christmas Day caused damage to the windscreen and bodywork of a car whilst travelling in Encumeada. The woman and four year old in the car went into shock and had minor injuries which were attended to at the Health Centre at Câmara de Lobos.
Two families resettled in Sao Vicente. Ribeira Grande was hardest hit by the storm, 50 people affected and two families resettled in the Hotel Praia Mar in São Vicente. The local population had previously alerted the authorities to work on a road in the Laurissilva Forest, in which earth was deposited in two water courses near Corgo do Atalho and Ribeira Grande. They had also complained to the authorities that trees in Rosario needed cutting to prevent obstructing the flow of water. They were told a permit was required, and although promises were made during the election campaign, no action was taken afterwards. (11 photos on the Diário website).
Three now homeless in Monte. Three people in Tilas in Monte had to leave their dwelling due to rain causing the collapse of a retaining wall. The back garden has already ‘disappeared’. This occurred at 7.30 this morning and they will spend the night at the Pensão of the PSP.
Anonymous donor enables boy’s funeral. The son of Madeiran immigrants in Jersey who was killed in an accident with a firearm on 13 December, while visiting family members in Venezuela, was buried yesterday in Caniçal Municipal Cemetery. The funeral was finally accomplished thanks to a donation of 17,000 Euros (15,000 pounds sterling) by a person who requested anonymity. João Calaca Sousa, aged 8 years, died as a result of firing a gun he found while playing with a cousin, hours after he arrived in Caracas to visit his uncle. The family, from Caniçal, could not afford to pay for the transport of the body to Madeira. The Jersey community, particularly colleagues of the child’s father who is employed by a rent-a-car firm, after the case was highlighted by the local media, launched a campaign to raise funds and the final sum was achieved after an anonymous donation.
Assault suspects deny the PSP version. Two of the three men arrested by Funchal policemen on the night of 21 – 22 December, allegedly about to commit a robbery, refuted the allegations. Paulo Pina and Paulo Nunes, aged 40 and 39 years respectively, said they were at a warehouse in Boa Nova, guided by a third person, to buy dog food which was sold below market price. "The salesperson entered by the building’s front door and being in possession of the controller that opened the door of the store, told us where to go and we had not suspected that something was wrong." Paulo Pina drove his truck into the garage and after he began carrying bags of dog food, a fourth person came in shouting, "Thieves, thieves." The defendants said at least one shot was aimed in the direction of the salesperson, who fled through the interior of the garage. They were panicking and stayed where they were, when the fourth man returned, instructing them to lie on the floor. Paulo Pina, a former soldier, grabbed the wrist of the man who was pointing the gun at them and with the help of his colleague, was able to overpower him and take the gun. They repeated to him that they were not thieves and he fled, out through the front door, as had the salesman. They also left, with the truck remaining inside the garage. They started to go to the Police Station in Funchal to report the matter when they met a patrol car on the Estrada Conde Carvalhal, and flagged it down and reported the incident. The police removed the gun, handcuffed them and took them to Funchal Police Station. The man who was the owner of the gun arrived later and claimed the gun belonged to Paulo Pina who was asked to sign a form to verify that. The police are looking for the salesperson. The military cap in the photo printed by the press was from the truck in the garage. The Diário reporter could not get an official comment over the phone from the Regional Command of the Police.
Hotel occupancy 70% in the last 4 days of the year and 19,000 tourists expected to arrive through the airport. In the last four days of the year, there are 137 flights scheduled to arrive with 22,000 seats and at this time of year, the load factor is usually 85%. Assuming the visitors stay for 3 – 4 nights, the occupancy rate of the 28,000 hotel beds will be as low as 70%. The actual rate will probably be lower as many have only booked for 2 – 3 nights and not everyone will require hotel accommodation. Despite this, many hotels have sold out for New Year’s Eve, for example the Pestana group of hotels on the island. There are also similar high occupancy levels in some areas of Portugal, especially the Algarve and in Porto. In comparison, the Tourism Secretary is optimistically expecting a 90% occupancy rate in Madeira.
2010 commences with new Coral beer campaign. 27 December – 3 January, the manufacturers, ECM, are having a publicity campaign. With 133 medals from the Monde Selection, (79 gold, 32 grand gold), the Coral Branca has 19 medals. The latter will be marketed as light, refreshing and enjoyable. Coral will be back marking its presence at the best parties on the island, details of the beers on their site cervejacoral — Judging by the website, the white is the low alcohol version.
Manuel Antonio Correia rejects criticism. The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources responded to the MPT (Earth Party) leader, Isidora, accusations that the Government is not alleviating storm damage in Ponta do Sol. He said the Government’s actions could not be publicized as the media offices were closed over the Christmas period. The Government, Ponta do Sol Council and the IGA have worked long hours during the 23, 24 and 26 December. Isidora also unfairly criticized Santos Costa, who had been to the area on the 23 and 24 December. The Government also paid attention to areas in Santana, São Vicente, Ribeira Brava and Machico. "I want to assure the public that everything that was humanly and technically possible to lessen the damage was done." The mayor, Rui Marques, also agreed with Manuel António. The Council had two employees working on Christmas Day to ensure that residents had access to a water supply.
Almada back with protest. Roberto Almada of the Left Bloc (BE) accuses the Regional and Local Governments of allowing materials to build up in waterways, leading to their narrowing, despite warnings from opposition politicians and environmentalists. This was particularly evident in São Vicente. When Parliament returns next week, he will lead a protest vote that the Government has behaved irresponsibly.
Gouveia wants National aid for São Vicente. The PS leader and councillor at Sao Vicente said that the area needs millions of Euros in aid due to extensive storm damage. He believes that the Parish Council, County Council and the Regional Government cannot meet the bill, so they will have to go to the National Government and the EU for funds. In Rosario, the damage is particularly bad with houses destroyed, municipal roads blocked and damaged, and farm land under water. He wants Alberto Jardim and José Sócrates to act. Unlike the CDS leader, he does not criticize the governments and authorities for damage in Ribeira de São Vicente since, "there will be other storms that will flood the town again."
Rodrigues attacks Jardim and confronts Sócrates. Yesterday, it was reported that he would write to Sócrates, expecting financial aid to tackle regional storm damage, as has been given to the Azores, and he is also writing a critical letter to Jardim. The CDS leader, José Manuel Rodrigues, starts his letter with the sentences, ‘We are deeply surprised and concerned to note the silence and alienation of the Government. There has been considerable damage to roads and agriculture, networks of water supply were affected; private companies had heavy losses, many farmers saw their crops lost and some land disappeared, some families lost their homes, many Madeirans did not have Christmas. When we expect a reaction from the Government to this reality, we are witnessing a silence and alienation unacceptable.’ There were no Government officials contacting people and comforting families. He was surprised that Jardim had not convened the Council of Government in order to take concrete measures. He agreed with most opposition politicians that the Government was responsible for damage in recent days by the poor construction of certain public works and the disposal of earth in the waterways. He suggests three specific measures: to survey the damage to companies and individuals and ensure support as stipulated in the budget; use national funds and evaluate the possibility of European funds.
Demand goes up 435%, supply only 20%. A report from a PhD thesis about cruise ship movement at the Port of Funchal over the past 50 years. Ships are 3 times larger, the number of calls increased by 94% with 4 times more tourists but the port capacity has increased by only 20%. Lots of facts and figures and helpful charts for anyone specially interested.
Culture news. No municipalities have applied for the title, ‘City of Culture 2010′, the first time since its conception in 2007 by the Regional Government. It was created to decentralize culture, preserve the identity of people, help local economic development and make culture accessible to all. This year the title was held by Câmara de Lobos where the most notable event was the opening of the new Municipal Library. The Government contributes financially to the project but not enough to make it attractive in the present economic situation. An unusual headline, ‘Carlos Costa receives death threats.’ This young Madeiran singer is the winner of the talent competition, Idols. The threats were made through the phone and began in December but ended when the producer decided to bug the phone to listen in.
Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :
* Gripe A : Two more dead and a woman at risk – With the diagnosis of H1N1 Swine Flu, the woman gave birth and now is in a serious condition due to an eclampsia. Eclampsia (Greek, "shining forth"), an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed preeclampsia. (Preeclampsia and eclampsia are collectively called Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and toxemia of pregnancy). Two men aged 37 and 47 died from the infection in the last week, both suffered with obesity. That takes the death toll on Madeira to 5, and the overall number infected since the start to 676. Last week there were 143 suspected swine Flu cases, with 75 confirmed, 46 of which were women. 4,000 new ‘Pandremix’ vaccines are due to be received by tomorrow, 2,000 more than were originally expected. The next at risk group to be treated are children up to the age of 12.
Tickets and bus passes increase in 2010 – The rise hits urban and interurban buses. Urban prices will rise 1.19% and interurban 1.85%. A ticket that now costs €1.55 will rise to €1.57, so lot’s of fiddly change to mess around with.
* City ‘Volta’ without rain or shine – Rui Pedro Silva and Fernanda Ribeiro win the race spoiled by TAP and SATA. Silva won the 51st ‘São Silvestre’ race in Funchal on his first attempt, despite intense rain, and despite having run and won the Marathon in Porto the previous day. Ribeiro won the female version for the fourth time.
Today’s main news headline : Guarantees from the Regional Government nailed to the ceiling – Many of those who received guarantees from the Madeira government failed to get paid on time, reveals the Court of Auditors. Who is coming in with €5 million is the government. That is, the taxpayer.
It’s a toss up to define which is the main headline picture today, but I will go for another storm damage one over the winner of the São Silvestre race. The landslide shown completely blocks a road, and seems to contain bits of a building : Storm leaves families even poorer – Damages in São Vicente. Families homeless in Monte and cut-off in Serra de Água. In Ponta do Sol 5 thousand continue without water. There is support, but only for agriculture. The picture is the same one as above, with the story from Elaine.
I think that’s the gloomiest front page I have ever seen in my years on Madeira, with death, disease, homelessness, ravaged lands and homes, contaminated water, government defaulting on supplier payments, public transport costs rising, and the airlines a-soiling. It’s normally around now that the press look back on the year, and summarise the good and bad highlights, but today’s front page seems to have captured it all except for the financial crisis and unemployment, and we can’t forget those manipulated national and local elections of course. What’s your highlight (or lowlight) of 2009?
One bit of better news though is that the weather forecast for tomorrow night is looking much brighter in Funchal, ready for the big night. The forecast for the passing of the year is to be without any rain, and little more than a breeze, just in Funchal. Elsewhere the rain will continue to fall, the wind will be strong, and there is the possibility of snow on the highest peaks.
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.
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
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.
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.
Christmas only for the great. Political Christmas party rivalry. With three elections this year, the smallest parties have no funds for gatherings. The PSD and the PS will have large celebrations in Madeira Tecnopolo. The PCP (Communists) have never held dinners at this time and the funds will be spent on their convention in February. The MPT (Earth Party) also have insufficient funds. Of the three large parties, only the CDS-PP have a different choice of location for the Christmas dinner; 200 met yesterday in a restaurant in Encumeada. Last year, there were over 1,500 PSD members in the Tecnopolo and this year, the organizers expect a similar number. It will be at 20.00 on 12 December. With the usual protocol, the regional leader, Alberto Jardim, will open the official speeches before the dinner. The Socialists expect a more ambitious gathering than last year when there were 800 at the meal. This year, they expect 1,200 to 1,400 at Tecnopolo. This is scheduled for December 19 at 19.30, with a speech by the party leader João Carlos Gouveia. On 20 December, the Socialists Funchal branch will also hold a Christmas party for children belonging to the militants.
Câmara de Lobos lights up tonight. In Câmara de Lobos, they maintain the tradition of the official opening of the Christmas celebrations on the public holiday assigned to today. In ‘baixa’, the House of Father Christmas at the entrance to the city is the ‘card’ for the visitor. A traditional nativity scene is by the Municipal Market. In the vicinity of the Town Hall, at the entrance to Avenida da Nova Cidade, the garden is decorated with a large nativity scene with a background of the traditional houses of Santana. Other areas for excellent decorations are the churches where the presepios and lapinhas have been authentically constructed.
Fire at Panteada Market. Fire broke out early on Tuesday morning at Panteada Market in Sao Roque, causing extensive damage to 12 fruit and vegetable stalls. The warning was given at 07.07 and two emergency fire vehicles and two ambulances went to the site, manned by 15 men. The firemen wearing breathing apparatus broke down the corrugated zinc door and roof to extinguish the flames and allow the smoke to escape. It is thought that a short-circuit causing overheating of Christmas lights started the fire. After the investigation, the debris can now be cleared away and the losses which are huge are still being evaluated by the stall holders.
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. 
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.
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.
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.
