Madeira News Blog

(18th August). Today’s main news headline : ‘Hospitalised Baby Appears With Broken Arm And Hematomas – The baby was in hospital since the day of birth, three months ago. Friday she appeared with a broken arm and several heavy bruises on the head. The clinical director says that the case is running in judicial secrecy. Visits are prohibited’. The family are prevented from visiting the baby girl, and have not been given any explanations. The baby was kept in hospital for detoxification of methadone, as the mother is a drug addict in treatment, and also because she is under the supervision of the Commission for the Protection of Children and the courts. The mother was visiting her baby on Friday when she saw the arm in plaster and the bruises, but nobody had informed her of what had happened or was able to offer any explanations at the time or since. The baby has now been moved to an area where visitors are not permitted. A health spokesman contacted by the Diário was not able to give any more detail, as the case is undergoing an enquiry.

‘Neighbourhood Obliges Officers To Seek Medical Support – Affronts, threats and insults to the Public Security Police in Nogueira puts the officers under heavy pressure, insists the trade union ASPP’. Following on from yesterday’s story about an unpleasant incident in the neighbourhood of Nogueira on Saturday, some of the officers with duties in that area are receiving medical support. In particular those who have the duty of working in the police post in the area, and have to work there alone. The union ASPP (Association of Police Professionals) says that the regional command of the police has the resources and means to calm the area is it wishes. According to Jorge Silva, everything depends on the decision of the commander. For now, the truth is that the "police presence that are in service in Nogueira are under great pressure, and some are receiving medical assistance." Despite the preparation and training, "the police are people of flesh and blood, they also feel", he says. He does not talk of a neighbourhood out of control, but stressed that the climate in Nogueira is complicated, and the worsening of the situation. Jorge Silva does not make any predictions for the future, but reminds that the "little corner of heaven no longer exists in Portugal." Madeira is no exception, nobody can predict anything in a time where there is increasingly less respect for authority. Nogueira has social problems that can not be resolved with one police officer at the police post, and two other in a patrol car. That view coincides with that of Paulo Atouguia, chairman of Housing Investment Madeira (IHM), who said "The Neighbourhood of Nogueira has serious problems of drug addiction, unemployment and crime, that is true. Besides this, a significant part of the population is in adolescence, at an age of risk". He also emphasises that in Nogueira, there are many normal families who live normally, are working, and ensure that the house supplied by the government is looked after. He also points out that Nogueira has its own problems coming from the fact that the population has been relocated (from Câmara de Lobos I believe). "These people are uprooted, coming from far away, they have no connection with the place and that does not facilitate integration". The District of Nogueira was inaugurated in 1994 and now, 1,398 people live in all the 387 ‘side by side’ houses. The houses, with gardens, are nice and well constructed, but for years that area has been associated with trafficking and drug use. There are 312 unemployed people there, mostly men, and 79 people receiving social benefit payments. I have included a typical photo from Nogueira today, as it might surprise some people who expect something quite different. In appearance it is nothing like the trouble hotspots of Funchal.

‘Imaculado Complains Of Lack Of Festival – There are few other problems mentioned by the population’. This is another featured location in the Diário series ‘Through Madeira’, this time in Imaculado Coração de Maria, in Funchal, and the conclusion is that Imaculado "is not one of the worse parishes". Problems with lack of safety are passing with time, but the population still regret the abolition of the parish festival 15 years ago, that used to take place on the last Sunday in August. Nobody knows why it was stopped, but one resident suggests that the padre at the time found the event disrespectful for the church, as there people causing disturbances. Two attempts to resurrect the occasion have failed, and now the event ‘Immaculate Heart of Mary’ is just celebrated within the church. Social / crime problems have improved over the last 5 years, and one can now feel quite secure there, although there are still a few problems, some connected with drugs. The local church causes some criticisms, with locals saying it is a bit of a mess, and needs work doing. The location has a health centre and a football pitch, and public transport is pretty good. Things are even better in one part of the parish. "A corner of heaven" is how the residents feel about the district of Penha de França, describing it as the place to live, without confusion, contempt, problems with neighbours or in connection with violence or drugs. "I love living here, it is quiet, clean, and no one interferes with anyone" says Fernanda Andrade, resident in the neighbourhood for over 30 years. But that area is made up of pre-fabricated houses, which others feel should not exist, and feel that Funchal Council failed to deliver on a promise made 30 years ago to deal with the situation. The council has also neglected the green open spaces, which now pose a fire hazard as well as a home for mice.

The front page football story : ‘Danny Already Informed Zenit About Nacional’. Adopted as an Madeiran, Danny, who plays for Zenit St. Petersburgh, and arrives here this afternoon, has spilt the beans. Asked if he has told his Russian club about Nacional, their opponents on Thursday, he says "Of course. I told them everything. It’s my team". The game on Thursday is the first leg of the tie in the UEFA Europa League qualifying stage. Danny will not play in the game.

‘Capacity Exhausted In The Forum Madeira – Animation and fantasy sum up the second week of open air cinema’. The first day of the initiative last week saw 1,500 people turn up in the central square of the forum to see the film Slum Dog Millionaire. Today one can see Madagascar 2, on Thursday, the Strange Case of Benjamin Button, and on Sunday, Angels and Demons.

‘Illegal Firearms Seized In Calheta – Police arrest an individual’. One arrest and three illegal firearms seized as police from Câmara de Lobos went to Calheta for an ‘intervention’. One of the weapons was actually a compressed air gun. Câmara de Lobos police going to Calheta … we don’t hear about boundary crossovers like this very often.

‘SJ again criticizes dismissals – The Union of Journalists (SJ) returned yesterday to protest against the process of collective redundancies ongoing in the Diário de Notícias’. The union believes that the action is not justifed in sacking 10 journalists and 3 other workers, and has called for the public opinion of Madeira and the support of others in the public eye to protest to the newspaper. The union argues that not only is the action injust, but it will also affect the income of a number of people and their families, who have very few opportunities for equivalent jobs on Madeira, as well as affecting the future quality of the newspaper.

’25 Cases Of Gripe A On Madeira – The ages range between 20 and 54. They are all clinically well’. Whilst nationally the numbers of confirmed cases have soared above 1,400, Madeira had just 4 new cases in the last week, none required to stay in hospital, bringing the running total to 25. 

‘Funchal Marks 501 Years Friday’. I have already covered it and given the link to the programme of events, but it’s worth noting that on Thursday night there is a concert in the Municipal Gardens at 9 pm, when the Bandolins da Madeira and tenor Carlos Guilherme perform.

(9th July). Today’s main news headline : ‘Three Strokes Per Day – Madeira is the region of Portugal with the highest ratio of strokes : 1,200 per year. That makes an average of 3 or 4 per day. In order to deal with the problem, a new unit in the hospital enters officially into service today’. The new AVC unit was already covered here a few days ago, so looking at the high rate of strokes, a doctor in the unit admits that he doesn’t know the reasons for the high incidence of strokes here. "There may be genetic factors, it may be related to changes in life styles …". What used to be a more common occurrence in people aged over 70, is now affecting people earlier. Half of those affected remain with some sort of disability for the rest of their lives. The new stroke unit has already been opened for two weeks, although the inauguration is today, and has already had 5 patients (hardly 3 or 4 a day?)

‘Funchal And Lisbon Attentive To The Spread Of Gripe A (Swine Flu) – Maurício Melim met the Director-General for health yesterday in Lisbon’. The front page has a picture of a lady blowing her nose, with a shortened version of the measures people should take to avoid spreading (not avoid catching) Gripe A : Always when coughing or sneezing cover your nose and mouth with a paper tissue; Wash your hands frequently with soap and water; If you have symptoms of gripe, call the 24 hour health line on 808 24 24 24. There were 4 new cases of gripe A in Portugal yesterday (61 total), but still nothing here on Madeira, although 8 or 9 suspected cases have been handled. The meeting mentioned was just to keep the parties in touch over the spread of the gripe, and it is not clear why the headline refers to Funchal rather than Madeira. There is a fuller pictorial guide at this link for anyone interested, although I expect there is plenty of equivalent information in English on the internet SWINE FLU ADVICE

‘Navy Gathers Debris On The Coast’. I have been through the online newspaper twice trying to find this story, but without luck. If it turns up later I will cover it.

‘PS And PP Fail To Make Coalition In São Vicente – The ‘populars’ claim that they already had a list when approached by the PS for an electoral pact’. A bit of a nothing story really, as the two parties talked, but couldn’t reach agreement on a coalition for the forthcoming local elections. The Peoples Party said it had already decided on its candidate. Neither the PP or the socialists would talk about the matter, so it didn’t really deserve to be a front page story.

The final front page story is about a football agent suing Marítimo for €200,000 which he says the club owes him after the sale of their ex-player Manduca.

‘New Wind Park Is Going To Produce 14.4 MW – The annual estimate is equivalent to the domestic consumption of São Vicente and Ponta do Sol’. ENEREM, a company of EEM (Electricity of Madeira), estimates that the new wind park at Paul da Serra will avoid the emission of 10 kilo tonnes (?) of CO2 a year, as well as save the importation of the required fuel. The investment required was €6.5 million. The site is due to be inaugurated next Wednesday, by President Jardim, probably keen to show his green credentials prior to elections.

‘ECM launches summer campaign – The campaign uses the terms "irreverence" and "good mood". The most famous beer company on Madeira (ECM) yesterday launched a Summer campaign around the Coral brand entitled ‘You already know how it starts’. The campaign will be used in outdoor advertising, the regional press, and on its own website for an extended period.  The website promotes organised events. "Beer is the ‘fun starter’ of excellence, it is a social lubricant, generating conviviality and good moods", said the director of marketing for ECM, João Rodrigues. "Good conversations, great meetings, great parties and great clowning around starts normally around a beer … or two!" Shall I be politically correct … no, I am not in the mood today, but I know ECM are going through tough times, but not really sure if this is the best approach to resolve the problem, on an island that has more than an enough alcohol problems.

(8th July). ‘Combating The ‘Aedes’ Presented In Madeira University – The new technique involves the release of male mosquitoes with a killer gene’. The Laboratory of Human Genetics at the University of Madeira has organized for Friday, a conference on the "Genetic Control of the Dengue Mosquito (Aedes aegypti)". The conference will be overseen by Luke Alphey and his team at the University of Oxford, who have developed a new technology within SIT (Sterile Insect Technique), called RIDL ® (Release of Insects Carrying a Dominant Lethal) to deal with the populations of Aedes aegypti. It is based on the release of modified males (strain OX513A), genetically transformed to have a lethal gene, that following breeding with females will produce young that will not grow beyond the stage of pupa. I remember last year we had a blog discussion on this and one of our readers wrote to the authorities here, and the the Diário also, suggesting this approach. Nothing more was heard of course, but as a similar approach is taken with fruit flies here it seemed to make sense.

‘Madeira To Increase Forest Area’. The final phase of processes to obtain private land are underway in the Serras of Funchal (high zones), destined to become new forested areas. The 330 hectares cover parts of São Roque and Santo António. The Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, said the initiative embodied the challenge to the government in the recovery and conservation of nature, as a strategic objective, deserving special attention despite the financial difficulties that Portugal has imposed on Madeira. At the same time the number of forest wardens is being increased, with another 5 to be recruited, bringing the total up to 84. Manuel António Correia said that after many years in decline, the forest area is now booming, especially after the end of disorderly grazing, and with the emphasis now on actions of creating new and recuperated forest zones.

Thursday’s headline story : ‘Bad Treatment And Drugs Double On Madeira – In the first quarter of this year 192 cases of domestic violence were reported to the public prosecutor, double that in the same period last year. In drug trafficking, there are already 50 investigations up to March’. Funchal has the worse problem with 137 abuse cases. There were also double the number of drug investigations opened in the first quarter of 2009. It’s a long article full of statistics on drugs, domestic violence, driving crimes, and others. This link will give you a pie chart diagram for more information (in Portuguese of course) :  CRIME STATISTICS MARCH 2009

‘All-Nighter At The Door Of The Secretary – Around 40 farmers took drastic action to meet the application deadline for grants’. Accompanied by the days main photograph, showing 10 or more people, queueing outside the office of the Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources. People were sleeping outside in order to ensure they did not miss out on following the essential procedure to ensure they were entitled to agricultural subsidies. There were around 40 farmers waiting when the doors opened yesterday, and some will have to return today when the deadline expires, as the administration service will not be able to process all of them. What’s to blame for the problem you may wonder … it’s as simple as people leaving things to the last moment, having had since February to do what was needed. Since this program is dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, which in turn must comply with EU regulations and deadlines, there is no possibility to extend the deadline.

Yesterday’s good news about the new health service website (SESARAM) is set to develop further, with administrators of the health service saying that next year it will be possible to actually make appointments on-line. At the new website launch, a spokesman said “the intention is to provide online services with strong added value for clients and employees”. The new website offers various services and useful information to users, such as visiting hours, support lines, and information about many pharmacies, health centres and hospitals. 

‘The Crisis Spreads : TRIAM suspends activity and the work of 26 employees, salaries are unpaid in five hotels, and the workers at the closed Savoy Hotel set-off for the fight’. The ‘handling’ contractor employed at Madeira Airport has confirmed it’s indefinite suspension, and is now waiting for instructions from it’s owners. It had already sacked 22 workers in 2008, and now fears are that the remaining 26 will go the same way. The Savoy story has already been covered this week, but the 99 workers have been advised not to negotiate exit deals with the company after the hotel closed it’s doors to customers.

In order to strengthen the ties established between the city of Funchal and Gibraltar, during the Second World War, which brought to Madeira a large community of Gibraltarians, the president of CMF (Funchal council), Miguel Albuquerque, and the Mayor of Gibraltar, signed a twinning agreement on Wednesday. With this initiative, various activities will gain momentum, involving municipal, civil, and public entities. The areas  included will be in economic cooperation and business, tourism, environmental and heritage matters, education, and promotion of cultural and sports events. Nice to see the Diário catching up with old news from madeira4u.