Madeira News Blog

(9th September). Today’s main news headline, and photo, showing an officer having an award pinned on him (or her?) : ‘More Commendations In The PSP – The distinctions, many of them "pointless", quadrupled in the last four years. The changes in the leadership of the Regional Police Command explains the abundance of ‘rewards’. The sub headline reads : ‘Pointless distinctions make Madeira the ‘El Dorado’ of distinctions’, a comment made by the trade union for police officers, who say the statistics are unparalleled elsewhere in Portugal. One explanation given is that outgoing police commanders hand out commendations like ‘tips’, and usually they change every 3 years, but there were two changes in 6 months. In just the first 4 months of this year, the number of commendations in recognition of "high technical competence", is pretty much the same as for the whole of 2008. The distinctions are intended to recognise police officers "who have committed deeds of extraordinary courage or exceptional dedication in the defence of persons, or property, or assets, risking their own life" and those that demonstrate in their career "an elevated level of technical and professional competence", and those having "elevated abilities of leadership or command", or who have provided "relevant service that contribute to the prestige of the PSP and the country", according to the police statute that governs the matter. The commendations count in career progress. I think that’s a bit mean spirited to refer to distinctions as ‘pointless’, after all they are recognition of a job well done somewhere, and now some officers must be thinking now it was all just talk. Anyway the whole crime and public order scene here has changed an awful lot in 4 years, so the numbers of commendations alone, as shown on the chart, don’t mean much without knowing what the awards were for. When I was in the boy scouts, they handed out merit badges like sweets, but they still meant something even though the chances were that everyone else had the same, or would have soon. You even had to sew them on yourself in those days, but I bet these days they are self adhesive, or laser impregnated, or something easy. I don’t remember ever getting a badge for sewing though?

‘Jellyfish Oblige SANAS To Double Assistance – 60 bathers were stung in just one day in Calheta’. Jellyfish have proved this summer to be the main headache for the lifeguards of SANAS, and there has been no year like it for at least the last ten years, with so many cases. With this Summer still underway, already there are 2099 cases of assistance recorded, compared to 1003 for the same period in 2008, with jellyfish being a major contributor to the difference, instead of minor cuts and falls as normal. An analysis of the numbers show that women have been more vulnerable to jellyfish stings than men, and also younger people and children tended to be more likely victims. Funchal of course had the most call for the recorded lifeguard assistance (43%), followed by Calheta (11%), Reis Magos (7.4%) and Ribeira Brava (7%). Most of the assistance given was in the sea (57.1%), followed by in swimming pools (20.3%), and the rest were categorised as ‘other’ which includes problems encountered on the beach. Three cases involved resuscitation associated with drowning (all successfully executed), whilst drowning without loss of consciousness occurred 9 times. 23 rescues were undertaken for cases of exhaustion. A spokesman for SANAS said "We’re not on the beaches to take care of children", and urged parents and family not to delegate this responsibility to lifeguards, so they can be stretched out on their towels sunbathing.

‘Europe Gave 926 Thousand Euros For A Card That Doesn’t Exist – ACS received funds for the project that never got off the drawing board’. Lino Abreu presented (with pomp and circumstance), in December 2004, an innovative project of the Association of Trade and Services (ACS), called the ‘Cartão das Ilhas Atlânticas’, which was a customer loyalty card useable on the islands of Macaronesia. At a press conference in January 2005, Abreu announced that the new card would be distributed with 15 days, with a computer software programme accessible in the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, to manage the ‘loyalty awards’. However, the project that received €926,224 in European funds never moved of the paper it was written on because of technical difficulties attributed as "the fault of the Spanish", but the Chamber of Commerce and Services continued to receive payments from the EU. The project may still be implemented, although the Diário is of the opinion that the period permitted has now been exceeded.

‘Two More Cases Of Gripe A – Madeira has now had 35 confirmed cases’. That’s two new confirmed cases in the week until Sunday. Nearly all the cases so far are imported, mostly from the UK, Canary Islands, and Venezuela.

Today’s front page sports headlines : ‘Field Without Official Measurements Cost One Million – The synthetic pitch at Paul do Mar is 5 metres short’. The renovated football facility (it is certainly not a stadium), now has a synthetic pitch, and is due to be inaugurated on Sunday. However, one small problem, it is ‘prohibited’ from being able to host games under the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), despite the €1.1 million investment, because it is only 59 metres wide, 5 metres short of the minimum imposed by new rules, introduced by the FPF in June, for international games. All is not lost however, as the pitch may be suitable to host other games, and that possibility is being looked in to. Paul do Mar is not the only victim of the new FPF rule, as a pitch in Calheta is also affected, and after the end of this season will also fall foul of the rule. The Regional Secretary behind the project, justified the situation, claiming that "the (€1.1m) improvement was made in view of the room that was available, and it is sufficient for regional events, and that Calheta already has other facilities that could host international matches". The field size "corresponds to the regional regulatory requirements", he said.

Also : ‘Only A Victory Will Allow The Luso Dream’. Referring to tonight’s World Cup Football Qualifier of course, Hungary v Portugal. Live on TVI, channel 4, at 7.45 pm.

Also : ‘Unprecedented : Marítimo Plays Sunday Morning’. Keen not to lose SportTV coverage, (and presumably the money involved?), Marítimo and Sporting Braga have agreed to bring forward their game, originally scheduled for Monday night, to Sunday morning (11.15 am). The situation is due somewhat by a problem with the floodlights at the Barreiros ground in Funchal. We will all still be in church then, won’t we?

UPDATES :

‘Council Approves An Additional Storey On The Atelier Melim Building’. The project situated on the Estrada Monumental, in the heart of tourist Funchal, is next to the Hotel CS. I think that takes it from 6 to 7 levels, but I am not 100% sure of the exact format or structure. The building licence was issued in August 2008 for the construction of the commercial centre and tourism apartments.

‘Renewal Of Walks Of Pico Ready In Less Than A Year – The council estimate that €1 million will be needed for the redevelopment of the area surrounding the Fortaleza (fortress) of Pico’. The project will start in November to improve the zone, which has suffered as a result of a large increase in population and ‘urban interventions’. To regenerate the site, Funchal council have acquired the entire surrounding area, amounting to 6,700 square metres. The new look site will include an ‘urban park’, a children’s play ground, a ‘green’ space with leisure features, view points, and a rich botanic feel, serving the local population. Some building refurbishment is also included in the project, which is expected to take up to one year to complete.

11 people were caught walking on the via rápida last week (Ribeira Brava – Caniçal). They were removed, along with 6 animals, 27 largish objects. 10 car accidents and 68 breakdowns were also dealt with.

The Association of Portuguese Insurance Companies has said that it would be "highly irresponsible" to cover claims arising from Gripe A swine flu against health insurance policies, and that doing so could lead to bankruptcy for some insurers. According to the association, APS, no insurance company "can measure the risk of an epidemic or pandemic, nor as to its frequency, nor as to its extent, nor as to its cost", and hence such occurrences are excluded from policies. 

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Tobi … "A stranded jellyfish, we caught it in a cap then threw it back in the sea". Hmmm, I think I would left it in peace enjoying the sunbathing personally. At first glance I thought it was something some kids had left behind.

This is a really interesting read, with quite a few facts(?) that I didn’t know. It’s primary subject is grapes and wine, but there is much more also. VINOFILES

This one on the other hand is poorly written, but has a few titbits and some nice photos. HERE

Don’t forget that news / articles will be posted at various times during the day – Check back regularly and keep yourself up to date.

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

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos

(more…)

(11th August). ‘Trade Unions Of TAP Call A Strike For The End Of August And In September – The strike will hit flights for Madeira’. 5 trade unions representing TAP workers have called the coordinated strike for 28th & 29th August, and 11th & 12th September. In a statement to the media, Vitor Mesquita, leader of the Workers Union for Aviation and Airports, said that workers are demanding a wage review and clarification of collective bargaining.

(10th August). ‘Unfair competition and unlawful acts in the ‘Safaris’. The off-road trips for tourists are a growing activity on Madeira, but often the law is disregarded. That creates a particularly difficult situation for an island that depends heavily on tourism, and where the necessary care is not present in the the quality of services offered to visitors. Some voices however criticise the law that is detached from reality. One way or another, the truth is that the extent of illegalities detected is extensive and ranges from the use of drivers without proper qualifications for the job (the law requires a tourism approved driver / mountain guide / guide-interpreter), to the use of vehicles in a poor state of repair and of questionable safety, and through the placement of cards (permits?) allocated to ‘jeep’ agencies’ in unlicensed vehicles belonging to third parties. One company in the sector said "For a start there is little regulation. Since 2006, when my company began to operate, I can assure you that we never had any checks, and never saw anyone doing them. Also, I see almost every day examples of the companies that do not comply with the law, including the provision of qualified drivers. The market is being distorted and those, who like me, comply with the law are the worst affected".

‘Passengers In The Airport Of Madeira Fall 3.2% – The airport lost seven thousand passengers in July compared to the same month in 2008′. The numbers relate to arrival and departure movements. The airport operator ANAM reports that there were 213,941 passengers last month. The decline was mainly due to a 19.1% fall in international traffic, down to 96,135 (118,839 in July 2008), but was mostly offset by an increase in domestic travellers, up 15.4% to 117,086, now representing 55% of all airport passenger movements.

‘Hotels On Porto Santo ‘Resolved’ This Year’. With the threat of the closure of several hotels during the low season this Winter, and still without a tour operator interested in bringing tourists to the island during the low season, the matter of new bed capacity is being questioned, taking into account the prospect of the three new hotels promised. With the Colombo Resort (on hold with financial difficulties), the hotel promised by Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Pestana Dunas (postponed), the council believe it will be a matter of some time until they are moved forward. The Pestana unit will go ahead, and although the work was originally planned to commence early in 2009, work should start at the end of this year, or early next, with the opening in 2011. Pestana already have the licences necessary, and have already started marketing units priced at €259,000. The socialist candidate there in the forthcoming elections is challenging the hotel strategy, asking "who benefits from all this?", with no guarantees of more jobs or opportunities for businesses, whilst tourism is so depressed.

‘Doggy Hotels Also Feel The Crisis’. Apparently dog hotels in the Algarve have seen a drop in bookings of 50 to 60%. A cat hotel too, that was full last August, is just 30% booked for this month, but 80% of their clients are English, French and German. People who used to travel back to their birth countries 3 times a year, are now travelling just once, and leaving their pets with friends and neighbours to be looked after. For one day at €7, the hotel for felines, offers custom hand-painted rooms, "room service" with morning greetings to each guest by the name of the animal, delicacies and water. There are also hygiene care and veterinary services in case of sudden illness. The "check in" Hotel for Dogs can be done between 09:00 and 19:00 and the service is door to door, with taxi, which collects and returns the animal to the owner. If the owners can’t afford to put their dogs in the hotels, when they go off on holiday I guess their pets have to sleep ruff?

There is a general article about the bus company Horários do Funchal, financial stuff and so on, but I was amazed by some of the facts and figures in the article. In 2008, it carried 27.2 million passengers, on journeys amounting to 9 million kilometres. It has 626 employees, all men apart from 35, costing in wages, employment costs, etc. €13.4 million a year.

(9th August). ‘Not Even With Jellyfish And Pollution – During July, the beaches of Funchal continued very popular’. A somewhat more upbeat account than the recent Jornal article about the jellyfish. Even with the complaints about pollution and jellyfish, Madeirans continued to frequent the beaches last month. The company that manages the beach and pool complexes in Funchal, Frente MarFunchal, reports that the number of entrances at Lido, Barreirinha, Ponta Gorda, and Doca do Cavacas rose to 92,000 in July, compared to just 31,000 in June. Lido alone saw 41,138 admissions in July, up also on 2008, with Ponta Gorda admitting 39,251 people. Sea water tests taken up to 2nd August all indicated good quality clean water for swimming at all the Funchal beaches. Sea water quality tests will continue until the end of September. The results can be seen here WATER QUALITY but to save a look, all the beaches of Madeira currently rate GOOD, except Ponta do Sol and Porto da Cruz (both ACCEPTABLE). On the website go to the tab at the top DADOS SINTETIZADOS, and then QUALIDADE DA ÁGUA,  then click Madeira when the map comes up.