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February events ; Invest in trees ; Car Boot Sale washed out ; The point of acupuncture?

February 02, 2010 By: admin Category: Madeira & General News, Reader Chat & Questions

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine out West … dried herbs and chillies on sale in Funchal Market

madeira news blog 1001 elaine W dried herbs and chillies on sale in Funchal Market 1

"Docking early in Funchal meant there was plenty of time to explore the city before taking an afternoon excursion. A member of the crew then introduces everyone to each other which is a nice and informal way to get to know your shipmates. Funchal is a bustling city and I soon found myself at the indoor flower, vegetable and fish market. It was fun to wander around the groaning stalls of fruit and to see the magnificent display of fish. And as for the flowers, they were stunning and I couldn’t resist buying a bunch of roses for my cabin". A reporter for the UK Daily Mirror newspaper took a cruise that took in Madeira, a place she seemed pretty struck by. FULL ARTICLE

Boeing 737-800 – From Wien to Madeira Funchal with Lauda Air. Yes, it’s another one of those ‘pilot’s view’ videos, but this one is a little different if you have 8 minutes to spare. It shows the take of from a snowy runway, and the landing at Madeira Airport from the other ‘easy’ end.

Some more from Becky’s latest batch of interesting web links :

Madeira is a property hot-spot according to this recent article. VESTED INTERESTS?

Here’s a blog from some cruise passengers.  Although I love to see the cruise ships coming in and out of Funchal, is it just me or is the photo of all those identical balconies rather depressing.? I love to look at them, but would hate to be on one. Which makes it all the more puzzling why "Torsten" only got off the ship to go to a shopping centre! bem-vindo a Funchal

Caught in the act? Becky reckons this lad was having a grope of this statue’s feminine assets in Santa Catarina Park and was caught on this webcam grab on Saturday. Captions invited.

madeira news blog 1001 becky groper

Vanessa Swesnik has kindly done a full and exact translation of the article covered yesterday by Elaine. The original article link is given below, for any Portuguese students who might find it useful.

Region has a Scarcity of Park Rangers – Currently, the regional corps has about 30 staff members. Currently there are only a few more than three dozen people in the region working as Park Rangers. The number has grown substantially since 1988 when the first corps of Rangers (then three or four) was created; however, there are still not enough for the large array of tasks undertaken by these professionals.

During this week in which another National Park Ranger Day is celebrated, João Paulo Mendes, president of the Association of Madeira Park Rangers (Associação de Vigilantes da Natureza da Madeira- AVNM) explained to the DIÁRIO DE NOTÍCIAS that with the current legislation in force, the area allows for up to 50 Rangers. “Even that wouldn’t be very many,” he states.

Over the past few years, protected areas and natural reserves have grown under the auspices of the Madeira Park Services (Serviço do Parque Natural da Madeira- SPNM). Additionally, every year the number of conservation and preservation projects (in terms of animal and plant species) grow and the SPNM Rangers are asked more and more to support awareness-raising actions and environmental education projects in schools and other establishments.

João Paulo Mendez says that even though much of the community associates Ranger work with just keeping an eye on things, the truth is that these professionals do much more than “keep watch over” important areas.

“We work in a variety of functions,” he clarifies. “From environmental education to conservation projects of the Park Services – we also work as guides when people visit reserves and when we are stationed on the Desert and Savage Islands we have to do a little bit of everything because we are more isolated.

Despite currently being few in number, one of the other challenges faced by the regional corps is that no new Park Rangers have come aboard over the past past few years. “All of them are in the same age group [between 30 and 35], and if no new Rangers enter the corps, we will have a group that is too old to respond to daily demands within 15 years.”

According to the AVNM President, the daily work is complicated because in the grand majority of cases it demands a lot of skill and physical strength. “For example, some surrenders are made by boat, we have to load materials, collaborate on Freira da Madeira’s and Freira do Búgio’s conservation projects, and we have to know how to mountain climb and rappel,” João Paulo Mendes explains.

The three week tours on the Desert and Savage Islands aren’t easy either, although improvements in mobile communications have minimized the effect of separation from family and friends.

“Park Rangers either enjoy their work, or they don’t make it.” Regardless, João Paulo Mendes says the work is very gratifying in that Park Rangers can see the results up close of that conservation projects implemented by the Region.

Celebrations: National Day of Celebration in the Region on Tuesday : The AVNM is promoting a commemorative event for National Park Ranger Day this Tuesday, February 2 with the objective of “raising awareness of the profession and its importance in the world of nature and biodiversity conservation.”

The event will take place in the auditorium of the Regional Authority of the Environment and Natural Resources in the Golden Building (Secretária Regional do Ambiente e Recursos Naturais – Edifício Golden) at about 9:15 AM with an opening session presided over by the Director of the Madeira Park Service, Paulo Oliveira, and followed by another opening statement by the President of AVNM, João Paulo Mendes. Afterwards at 9:30 AM there will be a presentation by Park Ranger Nélson Pereira on “The Park Ranger’s Contribution to Nature Conservancy in Madeira” and another on “Biodiversity post 2010” by Domingos Abreu, President of The Order of Biologists.

There will even be a debate moderated by Paulo Oliveira followed by a speech at 11:00 AM by the Regional Environmental Secretary, Manual António Correira, and then an appreciation ceremony to praise local Park Rangers with outstanding job performance. The Closing Ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 AM.

In addition to this celebration, AVNM is working with its National counterpart in placing a bid to receive the 2012 International Rangers Convention. João Paulo Mendes says that if the event takes place here, it will be a good opportunity to publicize Park Rangers’ work here and throughout the world. FULL ARTICLE IN PORTUGUESE

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

Madeira Tourism Site – Information for February.

Tourist Entertainment Calendars for 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish.

5th to 16th – Carnival Celebrations – Funchal. Carnival, one of the main tourist attractions of Madeira, is fiercely enjoyed by both Madeirans and the hundreds of tourists who visit us. It is a week of "revelry", which invades the hotels, bars and nightclubs, transforming them into continuous parties. This atmosphere of boundless joy bubbles with astoundingly creative and imaginative initiatives that find themselves audaciously parodied in the Slapstick Parade that takes place on the Tuesday of Carnival. The highlight of the celebrations is on the Saturday night (13 February) when the majestic float parade takes to the avenues of Funchal. Various groups with thousands of participants take part in this parade, flooding the city with music and joy.

The Tuesday of Carnival (16 February) is reserved for the Slapstick Parade. This is a typically Madeiran parade, open to all, where humour and social satire are the main themes. Gigantic puppets, floats and many "bunglers" entertain and interact with the public in a manner that nobody takes the wrong way. The detailed programme can be found HERE

6th to 7th – Festa dos Compadres – Santana. The Festa dos Compadres is a celebration that marks the start of Carnival in Madeira. Giant puppets travel the main streets of Santana, a small and peaceful town located on the north coast of the Island of Madeira, transforming it into the setting for a parade of humour, lots of colour and joy.

DRAC site – Cultural Agenda for February can be downloaded.

DIÁRIO 01/02/2010 – FRONT PAGE HEADLINES

Serrão asks Cavaco to intervene in debt. "It is a problem of the regime. There must be an upper intervention. The President must intervene." This is the position of Jacinto Serrão on the amount of debt of the region, its consequences and the attitude of the Regional Government, especially Ventura Garcês. The new president of the Socialist Party, Serrão, said he would inform the President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, to intervene in the case. During the debate and approval of the Regional Budget for this year, Ventura Garcês only admitted to 1.2 billion Euros of direct debt and hid the indirect debt, despite being confronted by deputies of the opposition parties. Serrão considers this a serious situation and shows that Ventura Garcês cannot resolve the situation and must resign. According to this socialist’s calculations, at a 5% interest rate on the 5 billion Euros total debt of Madeira, the interest is 250 million Euros per year, 20% of the Regional Budget. He says this is an impossible situation which cannot be solved without the intervention of the State. But you have to assign responsibilities and they are on the side of Jardim’s Government. It is an episode with negative consequences for the lives of Madeirenses. During the debate on the budget, the socialists calculated the total debt as nearly 6 billion Euros but Ventura Garcês said it would not exceed 2 billion Euros and he would "teach the opposition how to make accounts," and that the direct debt would not exceed 18% PIB (GDP).

MADEIRA

Landings limited. The reason why several SATA and TAP planes could not land in poor weather conditions during the last two weeks of December whereas other planes, EasyJet and some from European capitals could, was the extra safety restrictions of TAP and SATA airlines.  A TAP spokesman said the planes only land when the conditions are ideal for security and every company sets its own security standards. Aircraft failing to land cost more than those that land. Despite this, the other airlines are not breaching safety regulations of the airport or INAC, National Institute of Civil Aircraft.

ECONOMY

Campaigns that marked 2009. Still end of year round-ups. The most remembered adverts were for Meo and Orange telecommunications firms and Pingo Doce supermarket chain. Marktest survey found 4/10 respondents remembered the campaigns with Meo Gato Fedorento, 3.4 the TMN advert and 3.4 the Pingo Doce brand. Of the brands recalled, Coca-Cola dominated followed by Optimus, Jumbo (Portuguese supermarket chain), Modelo and Zon, showing that advertisements of telephone operators and supermarkets are the most successful.

Investment in a forest has a good return. The Portuguese can now invest in a forest. A Spanish company, Madeiras Nobres, has a branch in Portugal and will start planting trees this month at the Casal do Serrão in Loures. The return on the investment is between 8 and 13% per year depending on the batch of trees purchased. The company buys the land, plants hardwood trees – carvalhos, castanheiros or nogueiras – and cultivates them. The investor does not pay anything beyond the initial outlay and when the life cycle is complete and the tree harvested and sold, 90% of the sale goes to the investor and 10% to the firm. "This is a forestry investment with a big return." People who invest in forests "will have an economic return in the future". In addition to providing income, the trees produce oxygen, water-retaining soil, absorb carbon dioxide, combat desertification and produce high quality woods, helping to preserve virgin rain forests. Carvalhos (oaks) will be planted and the life cycle lasts 22 years. Each lot costs 1,700 Euros and a conservative annual return is around 9%.

Brazilian tourists this Easter. The Brazilian tour operator, Bis, in its program for Portugal includes an extension to Madeira this year. Tourists will fly from Salvador to Lisbon then to Madeira. Since last year, customers have shown more interest in visiting Madeira. The program is in conjunction with Windsor Travel, representing the Brazilian operator in Madeira. There are no official regional tourist promotion agencies in Brazil although interest was shown last October at the largest Latin American tourist fair in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s economy is in the fifth place globally and the currency is robust, so Brazilians are a great potential in terms of holidaymakers.

POLITICS

Câmara de Lobos asks for more than 900 thousand Euros. Espada to Venezuela and help to Timor. At the council’s public meeting, they focused on the need for a short-term loan of 900,000 Euros. This decision needs ratification by the Municipal Assembly. The Carnival in Câmara de Lobos will need an investment of 21,000 Euros; money is required for the air fares for a câmara-lobense, Tiago Brito, to take part in the 19ª Maratona de Lisboa; approval was given for the membership of the council to the Associação de Municípios Portugueses do Vinho; 1,250 Euros for the renovation of the Mercado de Bacau in East Timor and expenses for sending 300 kilos of espada preto to Latin America for the  4º Encontro dos ‘Filhos de Câmara de Lobos na Venezuela’. — 300 kilos of black scabbard fish – how many will that feed / costs?

CULTURE

‘The Nature of Things’ in John dos Passos. The Centro Cultural John dos Passos in Ponta do Sol, opens on Thursday 4 February a group exhibition entitled ‘The Nature of Things’. This is the first of ten exhibitions scheduled for this year. The centre can show new talent and allow local artists to exhibit their work, an opportunity they would not normally have. This exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, photography and drawings. One of the five exhibitors is António Pascal, who interprets various stories and legends of the region and draws satirical cartoons. Examples of his work HERE. — His webpage is interesting.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

CRIAMAR have new project. This association supports young people and has a new project named the Sol da Esperança (Sun of Hope). This was unveiled at yesterday’s car boot sale (Feira da Amizade). Funds raised from this new venture are for young people too old to continue in institutions but too young / unable to be employed, i.e. 15 – 20 years old. Two ex-users of Aldeia da Paz are funded to help with the renovation of Abrigo da Nossa Senhora da Conceição, one of whom is waiting for a place on a course run by the Pestana hotel group. There are already more than ten names on the waiting list for funding. Yesterday’s Feira da Amizade was poorly attended by both vendors and visitors as it rained heavily all day. There were 10 stalls and the visitors were mainly foreigners. The fairs will be held in the car park of the Pestana Casino of Madeira, from 10 – 17 on the last Sunday of every month. Anyone can sell items for this charity and further information is at: CAR BOOT SALE.

Two more acupuncture centres in the region. Since the opening of the Acupuncture Centre in Funchal in 2001, the response rate has been quite large as people have seen good results in various illnesses. People are more informed today and have either previously used acupuncture or know others who have. Two more centres will open this year and they hope to have demonstrations at this year’s Chinese Medicine meeting. Most of the treatments are given for pain and allergic conditions, especially respiratory. Combined with a diet plan, weight loss can be achieved and Chinese medicine can treat almost all illnesses. Children of any age can be treated and they can use a laser device instead of needles.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

SIAP gives deadline to the command in order to keep the commissioner away – After going to the Ministry, the Trade Union is preparing itself to go to take the case of Roberto Fernandes to the Public Prosecutor. This follows the headline from a few days ago, when the TU representing police officers tried to escalate within the political system in Portugal, the case of a police commissioner who is alleged to have different sets of rules for his troops and the senior officers. Now the Independent Union for Police Agents (SIAP) has launched a national petition calling for the acquittal of police officers charged under the disciplinary regime of commissioner Roberto Fernandes, and has given the Regional Police Command a two week deadline to remove Fernandes from his current duties, under the threat of exposing the ‘dossier of protectionism’. The ‘dossier’ has already been given to the national director of the PSP police force following advice given to the TU official by the responsible Minister for Internal Affairs. This story just gets weirder and weirder, but hopefully will expose any wrongdoings and result in a cleaner more accountable police force.

SIC refuses to divulge voting in the [Pop] ‘Idols’ [competition]. Carlos Costa complains of the jury, that made biased appeals. The young man from Porto Moniz is out of the competition, saying that the jury on the TV show appealed for votes for the other contestants.

Today’s main news headline : Four years of losses given as profit – Engineering accounting allows ‘Valor Ambiente’ to present an administration with a negative result of 10 million Euros as a profit of €5 million. And the total liabilities are 177 million Euros. A bit of trouble translating that headline, and I am not sure that even now it is 100% right, so I certainly won’t be attempting the whole story.

In politics : Albuquerque against the Jardim theory – The leader [Jardim] wants the major meeting of the national Social Democrat Party closed to the media. The Funchal counsellor already feels "foolish" about the ‘closed door’ conventions. President Jardim and leader of the PSD-M feels that a closed event is needed because the party is going through a difficult time. The previous Regional Convention was also behind closed doors.

Filipe de Sousa rejects return to the Socialist Party of [Jacinto] Serrão. Sousa and his ex-PS-M pals in Santa Cruz broke away from the party to form the JPP (Juntos pelo Povo), which had some impressive success in last years local elections. But now that ex-party leader Gouveia has been sidelined, the new leader has appealed for those who distanced themselves from the party to return. "Out of the question" says Sousa. A shame really as the PS is the only party that has any chance of scoring any victories over the PSD-M in the coming years, and some sort of alliance would benefit all concerned, especially now the new leadership gives opportunities for a fresh start, and Uncle Bertie’s lot are really in the hot seat over debt and finances. Maybe our man in the Cruz will have a word in the ear of Sr. Sousa, for the benefit of Madeira, not just politics.

The main sport / football headline today : Victory in Matasinhos interrupts the suffering of the Verde-Rubro [Green-Reds] – The end of the game yesterday was a double relief : to guarantee a victory suffered away to the detriment of Leixões (1 – 2) and for interrupting a cycle of four defeats.

Argelino Abdelmalek Cherrad reinforces the Verde-Rubro attack. The normally unflappable Tánia Spinola, the news presenter for the TV station RTP Madeira, was stopped in her tracks on this story this morning. Eventually she got a similar sounding name out, making the excuse that it "was very difficult to pronounce".

Also lots of bad weather stories today, or should I say damage caused by the bad weather. Bad weather causes collapses, floods, and fall of trees. Santana was the area worst hit, with various streets cut off due to landslides or rockfalls. Walls also fell, but there is no account of any personal injury. The airport is working as normal, although one plane was diverted to Lisbon due to the rain. Three schools in Madeira closed due to bad weather. The children of the schools of Porto da Cruz, São Roque do Faial and Santana will be most disappointed today. Der forced by rain to stay in pub until long after closing time. Blog writer Der, when out for a walk last night, was forced with a friend into a pub by driving horizontal rain. Unable to borrow an umbrella, the two were forced to stay there with other customers who were unable to leave on foot. After two hours the landlord called time, and gave those stranded a lift home. Jesus … poor guy! No wonder his blog is late today.

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. 

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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.

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EIB approve loan for SATA turboprops ; December rain breaks records ; Maritimo sink at home

January 10, 2010 By: admin Category: Madeira & General News, Reader Chat & Questions

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine (west) … presépio in Santana

madeira news blog 1001 elaine east presepio santana EIB loan for air transport within Azores and Madeira – The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €37 million loan to SATA Air Acores for the acquisition of four turboprop aircraft to provide inter-island transport services within the Azores archipelago, replacing the same number of older aircraft. The aircraft will be operated by SATA from its home base at Ponta Delgada (Azores) on essential public services within the Azores and Madeira islands as well as on services to the Canary Islands in Spain. The new aircraft will replace less fuel efficient aircraft. Source Europolitics : Are the new aircraft operating yet on the Madeira – Porto Santo domestic route?

"Dear Friends, walking on Madeira is a spectacular experience. You have the oppertunity to walk a " thousand miles" track on the levada’s around the island and in the mountains. Funchal is the best starting point for walks for the east side. Ribereira da Brava, app. 10 miles from Funchal a very good starting point for the west side of the island. We have been here to celebrate the "Reveillion 2009/2010" with fireworks not seen before in the world". A short explanation of the "levada" walks 

Ribereira da Brava eh, that rings a bell somewhere.

Not really what I was expecting at all, but worth a quick visit for something a little different :  A Walk thru Funchal’s Dark Side

Dear Madam or Sir, I am sending you an article or letter about Madeira and sustainable mobility, which I hope will be interesting for you to publish. Kind regards. (Marta).

BETTER ISLAND FOR LOCALS AND TOURISTS – Yesterday, my husband and I came back from our wonderful holidays on this island, thinking about a couple of improvements for locals and tourists.

Firstly, there should be more road security especially for pedestrians. Non-expensive traffic calming measures, which would reduce excessive car speed, would certainly favour all citizens. No tourist wants to be almost run over by a car and no local citizen wants his or her child involved in a serious accident either.

Secondly, considering the effects of climate change and also the increasing overweight problems of some locals and tourists, a basic environmental traffic plan should be carried out. That would include car sharing, car pooling and electric vehicles including electrobikes. If traffic calming on small roads and streets were to be achieved, electric bikes should only need some bike lanes in places where the road could easily be widened. Of course electrobikes have a limit and could not be used in all the steepiest places but in some places they would prove efficient.

Finally, the implementation of all mentioned would be a major benefit for everybody in terms of general health and economic growth.

MARTA POMBO SALLÉS, SANT BOI DE LLOBREGAT (BARCELONA)

Thank you Marta, and I can assure you that I cannot be of the least assistance, but I do hope that somebody super-important will read your comments and suggestions. Der

This is from Elaine (west) from yesterday’s Diário … many thanks.

December rain breaks records - The city of Funchal had its highest amount since 1931. In December 2009 Funchal had its highest rainfall since 1931, when records began. According to Mafalda Mitchell, a meteorologist at the Meteorological Observatory in Funchal, there has not been a day in the month in which rainfall was not higher. The amount of precipitation for December in Funchal reached 286.1 millimetres. In terms of daily precipitation it was lower than usual. The maximum stood at 38.8 millimetres. What was crucial, according to Mafalda, was the fact that it rained heavily for several days during the last month of 2009.

In Pico do Areeiro, the figures go up much higher. The amount of monthly rainfall was 1102.9 millimetres, whereas the average between 1971 and 2000 was 447.7 millimetres. In terms of temperature, there were no major changes. In Funchal, the maximum temperature in December was 23.6° on the 14th, and the minimum of 13.5 on the 30th and 31st. These figures reflect a rise of a degree in the norm for the month of December. In Pico do Areeiro the maximum temperature was around 14.1°, also on the 14th and a minimum of 1.2 on the last day of the year.

The Institute of Meteorology (IM) yesterday announced the data for December, reporting the month as having the most rain of the 21st century in continental Portugal. The IM also observed high winds associated with low pressure systems that affected the whole of the continent, particularly in the west (23 December), when there were exceptionally strong winds. "In Madeira there was an extreme situation in terms of intensity of winds, with gusts registering above 100 km / h for more than 20% of the month“, the report states.

In the Azores, the rainfall was also much higher than normal, being the second largest amount recorded since 1931. In terms of temperature in Portugal in December, the trend of recent years was confirmed. This was the seventh consecutive December to have temperatures below normal, with an anomaly of -0.6 °, -0.4 ° and -0.5 ° for maximum temperatures, minimum and average, respectively. The heavy rain ended Portugal’s 10 month drought and means that the Water Institute can confirm that there will be no restrictions on water use.

Marítimo blew it at home yesterday against Guimarães, losing 0 – 1.

Many thanks to Elaine for yesterday’s top news headlines :

Fuel prices increase on Monday Price of fuel will rise two cêntimos.

Agricultural Cooperative teaches gardening Workshops are free, begin today and take place every Saturday between 10 – 11 am, until the end of the first quarter of 2010. Promoted by the Agricultural Cooperative of Funchal to provide basic knowledge of gardening to the general public. The events are limited to the first 20 arrivals and occur at the premises of the Cooperative in Sao Martinho.

Contingency plans to be updated Next week, the Civil Defence has meetings with the Councils. The municipal emergency plans require updating and new plans are being prepared to include recent legislative changes in 2008/9. These plans identify critical areas and measures to deal with different situations. Rather than just the municipal assembly approving plans, they must now also be approved by the Regional Service for Civil Protection and the Bombeiros of Madeira.

Two elderly ladies gagged and bound at home Two sisters, one 79 and the other 81, with mobility problems, were gagged and bound inside their house in Amoreiras in Arco da Calheta. This was around 1.30 am on Wednesday morning when two individuals, wearing gloves and with their faces obscured, forced an entry and threatened to murder them if they did not say where their savings were. The two aggressors stole cash and gold articles, then later one of the women managed to free herself and ask the neighbours for help. The local population are worried, especially elderly residents living alone because the two robbers have not yet been identified or caught. The women were frightened and shocked, suffered bruising from the tape wound around their face and were taken by the police to Calheta Health Centre. Maria da Conceição Teixeira continued to explain what happened. "They began by locking the dog in the kennel. They broke down the door of the residence with an iron crowbar (pe-de-cabra). They burst in with lanterns, to prevent using the lights so as not to draw the attention of the neighbourhood. They said, "We are not aggressors" but the first thing they did was to put tape on our mouths to keep us from screaming. Then they tied our hands so we could not do anything and asked us with threats where the money was. I said that the retirement money was in the post but they would not know that. They searched everywhere, emptied drawers, looked under beds and took all the money we had left for expenses. They stole the valuable pieces we had, including a two metre gold chain, two rings and a necklace, all made of gold.  We experienced moments of terror inside the house. When the individuals left us in those conditions, I manage to free, with difficulty, the adhesive tape around my mouth and phoned the neighbours for help. – who were celebrating the Dia de Reis – and they almost immediately came to our aid." Yesterday morning, scattered around the floor of the access to the house, were cigarette butts and a cigarette packet of a particular brand that is not known locally. This indicates that the attackers spent time hiding near the house before engaging in the crime, smoking cigarettes.

Lobo acquitted with the four defendants The former mayor of Ponta do Sol, António Lobo, who was accused of serious crimes of fraud and bribery and four other defendants in this case, charged with bribery, were all acquitted due to lack of evidence. António Lobo was accused of receiving three cheques from a developer to facilitate the licensing of an apartment block in Ponta do Sol. The four other defendants were a contractor, financial advisor, and ex-deputy and ex-councillor, both PSD. All three cheques from the promoter of the apartment block had been deposited into the personal account of António Lobo but the court could not establish any resulting benefit to the contractor. The same decision was made for the alleged corruption by Lobo since it was the Council which approved the project. António Lobo is still serving six years in prison in Lisbon. All defendants said that justice had been done and criticized the media interest but the public present thought it was a controversial decision.

Madeira present five alterations to the law  Five proposed amendments to the Regional Finance Law which are discussed next week in Lisbon. The changes are aimed to receive the recovery of money owed to the Region due to the Regional Finance Law being enforced. Madeira wants to recover the money which the Region should be entitled to under the previous law of 1998, without prejudicing the Azores. The Madeiran Government wants to recover the 111.56 million Euros in budget transfers from the Portuguese Government which it failed to receive between 2007 – 2009. The second major change relates to existing penalties to the Region for exceeding the debt limit. This money should be retained by the State to pay the Regional debt or support projects of common interest. Projects of common interest should be included in the State budget (e.g. new Hospital of Funchal). The final changes are that adjustments should be made in the budget transfers.

Department of Infrastructure guarantees that aggregates are the property of the Region Reply to yesterday’s article in Diário about the dredging of more than 700 truckloads of stone from storm damaged regions. The methods taken are deemed necessary and urgent to restore the normality of physical spaces and the lives of people affected by the unusual recent storms. "It is necessary to act immediately, assessing the costs and benefits of decisions and above all, setting priorities for intervention, which are weighted by various factors in the present circumstances."  "In Madalena do Mar, the immediate dredging of the stream was identified as a priority because the weather is unstable, to prevent or minimize the impact of possible storms that may occur again." "Faced with this emergency, the SRES, acting within its powers contacted the two companies for this purpose, and all the material that is removed and deposited in their yards will be quantitatively controlled by monitoring." "Staff of the Secretariat will also identify and evaluate the areas adjacent to increased erosion, followed by the removal of selected materials by the process of dredging to strengthen these areas where it is technically justified." "The material taken from the mouth of the stream by the purpose of dredging is the property of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and only in the case of leftover material, can be purchased by businesses. Should this occur, the value as may be determined is, yes, minus the total cost of dredging."

PS denounce illegal firms in Ribeira de São Vicente The Socialist Party call for an end to all industrial activity in the Ribeira de São Vicente. The activity is not licensed and the parish council, municipal council and Regional Government do not receive any contribution. The Socialist Party leader, João Gouveia, condemns not only the exploitation of the geological wealth of Madeira, mud and stones are deposited in the stream, threatening the flow of water and the town of São Vicente.

Passenger traffic drops 4.3% The number of passengers recorded in December passing through Madeira Airport fell 4.3% compared to 2008. In December 2009, there were 160,858 entries and exits against 168,065 in December 2008. Therefore, 7,207 fewer passengers. The decline reflects a drop of passengers on international flights (-15.7%), which is mitigated by the growth of domestic routes (6.5%).  In 2009, the number passing through the airport totalled 2,335,811 which is 101,756 less than 2008.

12% more patients treated in 2009 than 2008 in the Hospital of Funchal Data from the Office of Internal Medicine. Of the 10,756 patients treated, 5,735 were high problematic. The average length of hospitalization was 8 days with 12 days for those high problematic. Positive changes have come from the unification of the three previous departments: Medicine I, Medicine II and Medicine III. The areas of Internal Medicine are Internal Medicine, Hypertension, Prevention of Atherosclerosis and Dyslipidaemias, Prevention of Vascular Diseases, Metabolic Diseases, and Pulmonary Hypertension (in collaboration with Cardiology). Included are blood coagulation disorders / thromboembolic events in collaboration with Obstetrics.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Today’s main news headline : It is illegal to dump earth [mud] in the sea – Domingos Abreu, biologist and ex-regional director for the environment [DRA],  is against the view of the current holder of that post : There is no exception to the law and authorized dumping at the coastline of São Vicente should be prohibited. Abreu says that one "cannot combat evil with another evil, even though it may be lesser". Correia, the current DRA post holder says however that he has no official knowledge of dumping on the coast of São Vicente, and that the law allows exceptions for these sorts of cases. "It is a situation of public interest" he says, refusing to brand the dumping operation as illegal. One thing that is clear is that this island should have contingency plans for dealing with such matters, and despite of having had several years of similar weather problems and the consequences, still nothing seems coordinated or organised in coping with the aftermath.

Carlos Costa shakes ‘idols’ – Fátima Marques is anxious. In each show, the mother of the contestant rings 20 to 30 times to 760300508. I guess that is the number to vote for her, and the Diário has no shame in publishing that number on it’s front page. Just like I always say, it’s a big farce, but it seems that big farces are as popular as ever.

Jacinto Serrão reconquers PS-M – Serrão is the new leader – Victor Freitas lost the contest by 52 votes. At 8 pm Jacinto Serrão breathed a sigh of relief. The ‘blogs’ are singing victory, but the competition was fierce and the result did not become official until shortly after 10 pm. Overall Serrão won 665 votes, for leadership of the Socialist Party of Madeira, against the 623 of Freitas (and I have noticed that the difference is only 42, not 52). Funny thing that yesterday his name was spelt Vítor, so losers get a name change perhaps, or more likely an overworked Diário reporter with maths difficulties? COMPLETE RESULTS

APRAM [Port Authority] fosters unfair competition – The accusation is made in the action of the shipping companies in the scope of the operation ‘Armas’ Saturday. Naviera Armas has assured the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Lisbon that will comply with the law of Portugal, including the terms under which the operation in Funchal is licensed. The judge in the case had warned Armas that it was not operating within the law last Thursday. The port authority APRAM have also taken measures to ensure that the operations are legitimate, in which the ferry will use tractors carried on board to move freight from ship to land. The accusation of unfair competition is undeniably true of course. The Armas passenger ferry between Madeira and Portugal and the Canary Islands has an exclusive licence to carry freight as well as passengers in and out of Funchal, whilst the other shipowners have to load and offload freight elsewhere. The Armas operation needs the freight to make the ferry financially viable, so if it were to be stopped you can imagine the impact on this island … less tourists … and higher transportation costs, being two of the more obvious. I can’t see any way out of this except by giving the other ship owners a ‘sweetener’ to keep them quiet, and then at some time in the future go out to tender for a mainland ferry service for fright and passengers, when every one can compete (theoretically at least).

The front page headlines in sport / football : Marítimo continue leaky – The Verde-rubros register a third consecutive defeat at home to Guimarães in game played on a waterlogged pitch. That is also the main photo today, and it does look very wet. Marítimo lost 0 – 1, which also put their opponents in spitting distance of local rivals Nacional.

Footballers of Pontassolense threaten to boycott the derby game today, with União, if they don’t receive part of their wages in arrears.

F. Vieira confirmed in the ‘Dinner of the Supporters of Benfica’ on Saturday

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. 

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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.

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

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Celebrity Solstice premiers ; The impacts of Chinese businesses ; Dumps on Porto Santo

December 07, 2009 By: admin Category: Madeira & General News, Reader Chat & Questions

Today’s Photo Thanks to Derek  … Queimadas thatched Madeiran house.

madeira news blog 0911 derek Queimadas thatched Madeiran house

‘Funchal Daily Photo’ had a photo yesterday of the Google camera car making its way through Funchal, capturing images for ‘Street View’. HERE

Anyone thinking of a late break to Madeira, coming from Scotland, might want to check out these hotel deals on the airline website. Some very cheap deals for sure, especially if you can travel today or next week, or even straight after new year. FLYGLOBESPAN

madeira news blog 0912 martin father christmas

 

 

Martin L sent me this photo from a slightly familiar looking venue, with the caption ‘Uncle Bertie has a part time job?‘. Any other suggestions?

 

 

 

It’s a public holiday tomorrow for the ‘Immaculate Conception’, and the final traditional street festival of the year. I shall be making a visit to my very local one and making the most of it tonight, as it’s a long wait to the next one.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

Premier visit of the Celebrity Solstice. The cruise ship the Celebrity Solstice has her first visit to the region today at 9 am. The ship arrived from Cartagena and the visit is part of a transatlantic repositioning cruise to its final destination of the Caribbean. The 2,594 tourists on board are mainly American (1,771). Traditional welcoming ceremony of exchange of gifts with the Captain, water jets and entities of the authorities and Ship Enthusiasts Club. This is a relatively new ship built in 2008 and can accommodate 2,850 tourists with a crew of 1,250. This year, Madeira has received 11 inaugural visits by cruise ships and there will be two more this year, the Azamara Journey and the MSC Magnifica on the 8 and 14 December, respectively.

ACIM discuss the actual impacts of the ‘rising sun’ trade. On Wednesday in Porto Santo, the Commerce and Industrial Association will discuss the impact of the entry of the Chinese traders into the region. The aim of the conference is to clarify the opinions of the public and traders of the impact of the proliferation of Chinese shops in the region. Traditional business is threatened and the price payable by the local residents will be in ruin and social imbalance. The conference also aims to dispel taboos around the advantages of Chinese trade.

Police target five illegal dumps in Porto Santo.  Five unlicensed rubbish tips were found in Porto Santo on Friday in a joint environmental monitoring operation by the police, Forestry Police and the local authority. The first part of the operation focused on prevention and the police went to several auto repair shops to inform the owners about the effect of toxic waste; oils, tyres, vehicle and body parts. The second phase was enforcement action and five sites were detected but locations have not been revealed.  Reports for prosecution purposes will go to the Directorate for the Environment and the Municipality of Porto Santo.

Venezuelan cuisine fair. Occurring at Fajã do Penedo in Boaventura, 5 and 6 December. This is the fourth year and this year there are two stands where traditional Venezuelan dishes will be cooked. There are also ten pavilions with regional flavours; carne de vinho e alhos, soup, poncha, broas, bolos-de-mel and others. Also, traditional Madeiran entertainment. —- Notice a bit late in Diário. According to the websites of the Casas do Povo in the area, a lot of food fairs and cultural activities during the year.

Market Night in Câmara de Lobos. Tuesday 22 December at the Municipal Market. Usually attended by thousands of locals and visitors to relive the Christmas traditions. Variety of entertainment from philharmonic bands, folklore and carol singing to modern music. In parallel, there will be the Christmas Craft Fair in the same area.

Farmer’s Market holds Sexy New Year Eve’s Party. The party at the Farmer’s Market in Funchal will have two separate areas for different audiences with separate access. The entrance to the ‘VIP Area’ will be at the entrance to the Market with a red carpet in front. The exterior and interior walls will be painted red and iced Madeira Wine with lemon will be served at the door. This area is for personalities from the media and famous people have been invited. Entrance fee 15 Euros. A second zone with the entrance south of the fish market has a 10 Euros entrance fee. The musical selection of DJ Nelio Fabricio and the dual Sexy DJs will play from 1 am until 3 am. There will be four bars, two in each area and a ‘coffee break’ service. Powerful lighting and sound system and led curtains. Tickets soon on sale at the kiosks at the Yacht Bar Marina.

Santa Claus does not give kisses to children and washes his hands every hour. Santa Claus hides a different gift in his bag this year: an influenza A kit. In the shopping centres, he is forbidden to give kisses to children, instead he must blow kisses through the air, shake hands and make bows. Dozens of Santa Clauses are working in the 13 shopping centres of Sonae Sierra in Portugal, hired by the firm Bee Action. All players have had special training from a drama teacher on the character role. If they feel unwell, they are automatically replaced as 36 people have been hired to fill this role. They also disinfect surrounding surfaces hourly.

Trade is strengthened against assaults. The Christmas season is synonymous with an increased volume of sales in shops but also more theft and robbery. Small and medium businesses cannot afford to hire security guards, alarm systems and video surveillance cameras. Instead it is down to employees to be more vigilant in response to an increased number of shoppers. The culprits blamed are the toxicodependents and an increased number of unemployed, often to support their family. The police respond by more officers on the streets and in Operation Christmas last year, there were 41 per day in Funchal centre.

PSP in force in downtown Funchal. For twelve consecutive hours on Saturday night / Sunday morning, 66 police officers surrounded the main streets of downtown Funchal in a Special Crime Prevention Operation. A total of 672 vehicles were stopped, 262 drivers breathalysed and speeds monitored. 32 were arrested for driving offences and driving under the influence of alcohol, 16 were identified and 2 sticks of wood seized.

Expansion of Tecnopolo stopped by Arabic crisis. Expansion of the Science and Technology park in Panteada postponed without date. Announced with pomp and ceremony in June 2005 that the second development phase of the Science and Technology Park  would feature a multinational Arab group, the Tricon Group. The project is now stagnant because the economic crisis affects the investors. The area reserved for the expansion is on the left and right margins of Ribeira de São João and the only development has been a new access road. The development company renamed itself Madeira Knowledge City (MKC) in 2006. The plans are for construction of buildings with their operation and maintenance, to support technology and business. Also themed public spaces; leisure and sports, a garden of biodiversity, a multi-purpose pavilion, a science centre, a home for the orchestra and a cable-car running throughout the length of the complex.  The Government Program for the next three years is to invest 560,000, 750,000 and 500,000 Euros for the years 2010 – 2012. From 1996 to 2008, the investment has been 9.632.347 Euros. The Chairman of the Board of the Science and Technology Park answered some of Diário’s questions. They have had promotional activities to attract investors in Singapore, Northern Europe, India and the USA. They emphasize the location, climate and presence of the International Business Centre. They are focusing on other areas; interaction with research and technology departments of the University of Madeira and University of Carnegie Mellon, and tourism and energy in conjunction with the University of Madeira.

Dallas circus tent in the car park of Tecnopolo. After all, Funchal will not spend the festive season without the circus. After much controversy surrounding lack of space, the Madeira Tecnopolo was the site chosen. The circus opens at 21.30 on the 22 December and is here until 15 January. Performances held every day at 15.00, 18.00 and 20.30. The tent has a capacity for 2,000 spectators. This year the show will be more diverse with many animals, including lions, horses, ponies, pigeons, dogs, camels, macaws, parrots and cockatoos. Performances by clowns, a juggler and a ventriloquist.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Maurício Melim insists on the priority groups – The Health Administration is against Miguel Ferreira : The vaccines go to ‘at risk’ groups. You would need to read yesterdays main headline (on the blog), but it seems on the face of it that the two superpowers in health here are at odds on who can and who can’t get priority vaccinations against Gripe A swine flu. The vaccination plan against Gripe A will remain as before, and the president of the Institute of Health Administration (IASAÚDE) insists that the vaccine doses are only available to give to people from priority groups. In other words, pregnant women, the chronically ill, and children up to two years old. Maurício Melim understands the concern of the clinical director of the health service, Miguel Ferreira, but reminds him that the vaccination plans are specified by the Public Health authorities. Around three thousand vaccinations have already been made, and another two thousand vaccine doses are just coming available. The reality is that both men are saying that with a doctor’s recommendation, anyone can get the jab, but Melim clearly wants to play down what Ferreira said, which suggests a clear and deliberate breach of what was demanded by the Directorate General of Health.

Mega-operation leads to 32 arrests – Driving under the influence of alcohol and / or disobedience, were the causes of the arrests made Friday through Saturday in downtown Funchal by the PSP police. This is the 5th special anti-crime operation and lasted around 12 hours. Already mentioned by Elaine above, but to add that, this is the highest number of detentions ever in such an operation. The operations objectives included vehicle checks, criminal investigations, checks for weapons and explosives, and checks on private security and establishments.

Today’s main news headline : Race to retirement - Facilities granted for the choice of retirement have led to growing demand. From 2006 / 2007 to 2008 / 2009, there was a was a doubling of requests, with a corresponding increase in pensioners. * No time for me to translate this today, but what is that photo all about? I have noticed this before in newspapers, that when they are struggling for a photo of an article about people, they select a ‘stock photo’ showing people walking away from the camera. I suppose the philosophy is that every story should have an illustration, but in this case no one has any idea whether these people are the ones plumping for early retirement, and they could just be a bunch of people off to do their Xmas shopping. We have an ex-journalist who reads this blog, so maybe they can shed some light on the subject?

Câmara de Lobos prepares a budget of €45 million. *

Marítimo return to the convincing victories – At 5 – 2 Olhanense hid the difficulties experienced by the red-greens. Marítimo had a splendid 5 – 2 win against Olhanense yesterday, that takes them into 4th position in the league.  Baba got a hat-trick with 3 late goals within 13 minutes, and captain Bruno, who this time last week was in bed with Gripe A swine flu, also scored.

Nacional play tonight in Leiria, Machado shows improvement. Manager of Nacional, Manuel Machado, who was on the critical list a week ago after an infection during a surgical procedure, is gradually recovering.

Paulo Franco, swimmer with Nacional sports club, beats national record. *

* For anyone with the time and urge to translate these articles, you could make a lot of people very happy. Here is the LINK

Also, yesterday the Diário did a really useful article on tax matters. It was in the printed edition at least. Too long to go into detail here, but the highlights might prove useful. As always with these matters, although I am confident in the translation, if anyone is to use the information, you should confirm your situation with your own accountant or tax advisor. This is especially important as some of the allowances or deductions have conditions attached, and some also have claim limits (some of which are shown in the article).

You can still gain with IRS (tax) – Organisation is important , despite there being only 26 days until the end of the tax year. The year end is close, but you can still organise yourself and pay less in tax to Finanças with some organisation and planning. Expenses on health, and education and training, investments in renewable energy, pensions savings plans, life and accident insurance premiums, and many other items also count as ‘deductibles’. There is no shortage of ways and tricks to make life in 2010 somewhat financially easier, and because we are at Christmas it comes to the fore the ‘spirit’ of charitable donations, that are tax deductible to 25% of the amount spent (see below). The important thing is to take into account is that the organization of documents regarding expenditure and revenue earned this year, will bring only benefits. Mainly, because if you forget to declare a receipt, you may have to pay the extra income tax, increasing the overall tax burden.

The article also list the tax bands and tax rates for 2009, that will apply to the next income tax submissions in the Spring. The rates applied range from 8% to 41%, depending on which earnings band you fall into.

Health expenses – 30% (no limit).
Interest on health loans – 30% (no limit).
Expenditure on education and rehabilitation of disabled people – 30% (no limit).
Expenditure on education and professional training – 30% (maximum 720 Euros and 135 Euros more per dependent student).
Insurance premiums rehabilitation of taxpayers, disabled or dependent – 25% (limit of 15% of collection)
Amounts spent on homes and institutions in support of old age – 25% (limit of 382.50 Euros)
Interest and amortization on debts of property acquisition, construction or improvement of property – 30% (minimum 586 Euros, plus 10% for certain categories)
Interest and amortization of debt through contracts with social housing – 30% (ditto)
Payment of rent on properties – 30% (ditto)
Charges incurred for the rehabilitation of buildings – 30% (maximum €500)
Premiums for life insurance and personal accident – 30% (limit of €64 for single taxpayers and married €128).
Insurance premiums covering only health risks – 30% (limit of €84 Euros for singles and €168 for married couples, with 42 Euros for each dependent).
Expenditure on new equipment using renewable energy or natural gas – 30% (limit of 796 Euros. Cannot be combined with deductions for buildings).
Purchase of  ‘environmentally friendly’ cars – 30% (maximum 796 Euros and can not use in combination with deductions in respect of renewable energy).
Purchase of personal computers – 50% (limit of 250 Euros)
Donations to the State, Autonomous Regions and Municipalities – 25% (no limit)
Donations to other entities – 25%. Donations to churches or religious institutions 130% (limit of 15% of collection).

Source: ‘Tax Guide 2009′

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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.

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