Madeira News Blog

(12th July). Today’s main news headline : ‘Patrol Boat To Dive To The Deep  – The project was already presented: The issue is whether to create an artificial reef as was done at Porto Santo. The sinking of the war ship destined for its graveyard will be in front of the Lido. It just lacks the go-ahead of the Lisbon Government’. It was done at Porto Santo successfully, with the sinking of a cargo ship, the ‘Madeirense’, to create an artificial reef. The project has already been submitted to the Nautical Association, Funchal Câmara and other authorities, and now just waits the approval of the Secretary of State for defence. The project is an old aspiration of the president of Funchal council, and would bring more tourists to Madeira for diving holidays, as it does at Porto Santo. The planned site is in front of the Lido bathing complex, at a depth of about 30 metres. The vessel is currently in Portugal, and has been decommissioned ready for sinking, but will have to be towed here by tug boat if the scheme is approved. The vessel has not been named, as there are several in Lisbon awaiting sinking, but it is of ‘Cacine’ class, and has a maximum length of 44 metres, and width of 7.7 metres.

 ‘Digital 3D Cinema On The Screens In Funchal – New technological revolution arrives here. The investment is from Castello Lopes and Lusomundo’. In a new phase in cinema, digital projection is coming here to Madeira Shopping and Madeira Shopping, with better quality viewing and the opportunity to see some films in 3D. The new technology will provide extremely realistic images in 35 trillion colours, and the quality will be maintained even after numerous showings, unlike the old film technology which wears with each showing. Ticket prices will be between €1 and €2 more than usual, but the move to 3D will put Madeira at the forefront of European cinemas. From August films planned for showing "at a cinema near you" are ‘Up’, ‘G-Force’, and ‘Final destination’.

The main photo today shows a mother holding her baby : ‘Baby In Achadas Da Cruz After 8 Years – The barren spell finished with a birth in the tucked-away parish. But Now Vitória has arrived’. The  youngsters leave in search of better luck, looking for work on and off the island, leaving behind an ageing parish. It is planned that an old school will be turned into an old peoples home. Vitória Sofia, pictured, is the first birth there for 8 years. The last census in 2001, says that the population is just 220 people, although it is more likely it is little over 100. There are 99 houses registered there. Once upon a time the parish had over 900 people says one resident, with nearly everyone working in agriculture. There are two snack bars and a bus stop, that serve as meeting places for most of the population. There is also a cable car, but there is no bank, post office or police presence nearby. Most of the agricultural land is now abandoned, as the ageing farmers can no longer manage the work, and there is no one left to take over. There are no problems there with drugs and robberies, but the parish also lacks just about everything else. It looks like this is the featured location of the week, but I think the Diário mis-timed it’s efforts as that baby is now four months old.

‘D. Beatriz Anacleta Celebrates 100 Years Of Life’. Her birthday is tomorrow, and a party has been organised by her nephews and nieces. She was born and lived many years in São Vicente, but was forced to move after her house was sold without her consent. She can’t go out of her apartment in Funchal because of eyesight problems, but she still looks good for her age.

‘Survey Takes Place 9 Months After Rockfall – The accident was on 9th October on the Rua da Ribeira in Santa Cruz. The council inspection was delayed’. The rockfall caused significant damage to a house, and totally destroyed a garage and three cars, and the family from the house was relocated to an apartment in Santa Cruz. The council inspection involving engineers, architects and other technical staff did not take place until 3rd July, because the removal of the rock took much longer than expected and because of misunderstandings between the parties involved. The house is probably going to have to be demolished and rebuilt. The owners of the cars have already been compensated.

It’s the sports news that we have all been waiting for : ‘Greats Of Lisbon In Kick-Off – Nacional turns up on the day of the fixture draw that said Sporting will visit the Choupana, and the trip of Marítimo to the Light’. I think I had better elaborate : The first games of the new football season for our teams are Sporting coming to Madeira to play Nacional, and Marítimo off to Lisbon to play Benfica. That should happen on the weekend of 16th August. In the second match, Nacional play Porto away.

‘Portuguese League Against Cancer has New base – The regional nucleus of the organisation opens new facilities in Funchal Central Hospital’. The inauguration by President Jardim will be on Tuesday, for the new support facility for sufferers and their families. The facility cost €40,000 and is situated in the hospital gardens. Half of the funding came through support from various companies. Let me try and predict the headline after the inauguration … ‘Jardim No Jardim’ perhaps?

Fuel prices will decrease again tomorrow. Petrol will cost €1.202 a litre, whilst diesel will drop by almost 1C per litre.

‘GR Launches Support programme For Unemployed Entrepreneurs – Projects receive financial support for the investment and creation of employment’. The new programme starts tomorrow, but as it has been covered several times, I will just say that non-repayable grants will be made for up to 60% of the start-up costs, with more money (repayable) in exceptional circumstances. Projects will need to be presented at the Institute of Employment of Madeira, for technical and financial analysis. For every new job created, the entrepreneur will receive 18 x the monthly minimum salary, with a 10% bonus for taking on over 45 year olds, the long term unemployed, and those on certain types of social support, and something extra for taking on people with registered disabilities.

(20th June). ‘The Police Were On The Streets In Force Last Night – ‘Operation Stop’ took to the commercial areas and lasted up to 8 in the morning’. The regional command of the PSP (Public Security Police) initiated the operation in Funchal and other populated areas on instructions from Portugal, checking vehicles and establishments, with over 50 agents involved. Santa Cruz and Câmara de Lobos are the other two areas mentioned, with smaller operations in other towns. The key objectives or these increasingly frequent operations is to boost public safety perceptions, and deter illegal activities, particularly burglary, theft, and breach of highway laws, with a special focus on drugs in areas of nightlife.

‘Lights-Out In Porto Moniz To See The Stars’. All the street lights will be turned off tonight at around 11pm for half an hour, to enable people to use the telescopes set up at the sea front for star gazing. It is part of the programme of activities arranged to mark the International Year of Astronomy 2009. We had them here a few weeks ago, but unlike this notification in the Diário there was nothing for us, and I think 90% of the local population thought it was an electrical fault that lasted many hours, and definitely not half an hour.

‘Student Takes Exam For Another Person In High School – The attempted fraud took place in the national History exam on Wednesday’. A student turned up for the exam at the secondary school Jamie Moniz without any identification,  but as permitted by the regulations was permitted to take the exam. The truth was detected later, when it was discovered that the person who took the exam was not registered to do it, and the matter was reported to the examination coordinator. In theory the student can be charged with the crimes of fraud and forgery, but that will depend on who else was involved and the intent of the scam, and will be the decision of the public prosecutor. Under a very tight control system, a student who does not have the required identification at the start of an exam is allowed to proceed, but at the end his identity must be confirmed in and a document signed by two other students who can identify the person, and that is then signed by the exam supervisor, and fingerprints are also taken on the same document. The matter has also been reported to the Regional Secretary for Education. What a Wally! Or more likely what two Wallys. That is an unbelievably tight control system though, and hopefully this publicity will at least discourage other potential Wallys.

The Unit of Vascular Surgery, in the Central Hospital of Funchal will be expanded soon, with another specialist being recruited, in order to provide the required number of operations and control the waiting list. With an annual average of 300 surgical procedures, the unit is looking to increase, the number of operations next year "through better organization and updating of existing waiting lists". The unit as it is just able to cope with the current patient list, but the future is expected to bring more patients with lifestyle diseases, caused by alcohol, smoking, and poor dietary habits.

The president of the Association of Travel Agents (APAVT) predicts that sales of holidays will fall by 10% this year, which ties in with the estimates of several travel agencies contacted by the Diário. With poor results in January and February, fears were worse, but more people are now looking for holidays said the president of APAVT, but price and quality are now the principle elements that the Portuguese people are looking for.

‘Price Of Petrol Rises To Levels Of Last October – New increase in fuel prices also shows a disparity with diesel’. Petrol prices are being raised by the Madeira government again, and will from Monday be at the same level as October 2008. The new price will be €1.223 per litre, having been at €1.007 at the start of the year, nearly €0.22 difference. Diesel and industrial diesel have been much more stable, and from Monday will be €0.93 and €0.59 respectively.

In the space of a week, the number of Gripe A (H1N1 swine flu) cases in Portugal has doubled to six, it was yesterday confirmed by the Ministry of Health.

(16^th May) ‘Disaster In Sâo Vicente Results In A 4 Year prison Sentence’.  This story goes back to December 2005, when a coach driver turned his coach on its side, killing 5 Italian tourist passengers in São Vicente. The court ruled that besides from being drunk at the wheel, he was driving too fast (70 kph in a 50 kph zone). He was found guilty on Friday afternoon of negligent homicide, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. The Italians were out on an excursion from the cruise ship ‘Costa Classica’. The lawyer defending the man announced the intention to appeal against the ruling.

(16^th May) ‘Another Robbery On The Petrol Station In Campanário’. It’s the fourth robbery in a year, with money, alcohol, and tobacco taken from the Repsol petrol station. This time two men wearing hats and sunglasses broke in and committed the robbery, which was captured by the CCT camera.

(16^th May) ‘People Of Câmara de Lobos Against Demands Of The Priest : €15 For A Confirmation’. The Diocese of Funchal explains that the cost is the responsibility of the parish, but parents in the parish of São Sebastião are not happy. Over a hundred children are due to attend their first communion on 7^th June, and if all parents pay, then the church will pocket over €1,500, which the priest claims is to cover the cost of the arrangements and the flowers. The priest was uncontactable for comment, but other priests both inside and outside Câmara de Lobos, were surprised to hear that their colleague was charging parents, and felt that even so the cost per head would not exceed €5.

(16th May). Lemon production this year is roughly in line with the last 10 years, at 800 tonnes. The announcement was made at the opening of the Lemon Festival in Ilha yesterday, which runs through until tomorrow. 400 exhibitors are there to show their produce. That must be a real thriller, 400 lemon displays!

Essential rescue equipment bought by Carvoeiro Golfers, tried and tested in Madeira
From – Portugal News On-line 15/5/2009

Last week a group of eight Lagoa firemen embarked on a training course to Madeira, where they were shown by their islander counterparts how to use a new tripod and harness specifically designed for cliff rescues, bought for them with money raised by members of the Carvoeiro Golf and Country Club.

Full story : Portugal News