Madeira News Blog

TODAY’S PHOTO : Well, I know I let you down on the fireworks in Funchal and São João festivals this last week, but Elaine has saved my reputation with a shot of one of the entrants in the classic car rally passing through Lombada in Ponta do Sol on Friday. Thanks Elaine. All we need now is Martin to give us the story on this particular vehicle.

Tobi has gone into competition with me with his new blog, which he emphasises is a ‘fun’ blog. Good luck with it Tobi, and I hope you still have plenty of time left to visit us and chip in as you always have done : TOBI IN MADEIRA

This is quite an interesting article in the Sunday Mercury about William Reid, the brains behind the hotel, who came to Madeira in 1836 at the age of 14 with just £5 in his pocket : REID’S HOTEL MADEIRA

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

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(20th June). Today’s main news headline ‘Electricity Doubles Production – EEM will spend €55 million to buy three groups of electrical-thingies that also guarantee less pollution’. The three things will be top of the range, and the ambitious investment plan upgrades the existing technology to ensure greater efficiency, and above all less pollution. The Electricity Company of Madeira (EEM) are banking on the new units to deliver around 300GWh to the island every year. They will have their own building in Socorridos called Nave III. The justification for the expenditure has been increasing demand, but also the need to maintain standards of safety and reliability. The existing equipment has had over 120,000 hours of operation, and at 30 years old is nearing the end of its useful life. I couldn’t translate the word ELECTROGÉNEOS but I was guessing that we are talking about some type of generator, but why would a generator on it’s own make less pollution, so it must be units that include motors and generators, and indeed steam turbines are mentioned. The units run on either oil or natural gas, and I naively thought that we were were trying to move more to renewable sources, which we have in abundance in the form of water, wind, and waves.

‘Social Housing With €9 Million In Overdue Debts – There are 803 debtors, beside the 358 tenants that are paying through liquidation arrangements. Others ask for rent reductions’. A recycled news story from a couple of months ago. There are 100 cases pending through the courts against tenants in arrears. The debts have been accumulating since 1978 when the government of Madeira developed new social policies, through what is a type of housing association (IHM). The value of €9 million includes arrears, interest and fines. An additional problem is that many families are totally unstructured, and don’t produce the necessary documents to enable the correct calculations and distribution of the rent due, often resulting in higher payments than should be necessary. Those who don’t pay are limited to action allowed by law, and that normally means that there are no reprisals other than to take steps to recover debts through the courts. IHM are also facing many more requests for rent reviews, where people are earning less or someone has lost their job, a situation which can take the rent down to as low as €20 a month (5% of the minimum wage).

‘Sacked Doctor That Refuses To Be Sacked – Different explanations for the exit of Henriqueta Reynolds the director of the anestesia service’. She was effectively fired yesterday by her boss and says she was "invited by the clinical director to resign" because he felt she was not achieving the goals he felt were important, but having a clear conscience on the work she has been doing, she decided not to go. Her boss said she did agree, and that her replacement had already been agreed during the conversation.

‘Francisco Jardim Ramos Available For Dialogue With Doctors And Nurses – Regional Secretary for Social Affairs tries to minimize complaints about the health service management stating that any change always causes dissatisfaction’. He met with the leader of the trade union that represents doctors yesterday, and told him that many of the changes taking place were national issues, and were not the doing of the Madeira management. He denied that there is widespread discontent amongst doctors and nurses, and said that the changes being made were to improve the service being given "taking into account the costs that it incurs with the provision of health care". Very delicately put Sir, and it’s true that changes always cause dissatisfaction, especially cost cutting changes.

Francisco Jardim Ramos also commented on the mosquito problem, and admits that the recent weather changes will provide well for the development of the mosquito ‘Aedes aegypti’, especially with the recent rains. The regional secretary for social affairs has prepared a program to prevent and combat the pest that will cost €400 thousand Euros.

‘Alexandre To The Champion In Santa Cruz – Spectacular victory with many spectators in the superspecial’. Alexandre Camacho won the first stage yesterday that marked the start of the XXVII Rally of the City of Santa Cruz. He completed the 1.98km course in 1 minute and 34.5 seconds, 1.1 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. The rally continues today, with the completion of eight special tests on a new track  that is worrying drivers and spectators because of the high population density in some parts.

‘Sound System Makes Racket In Ribeira Brava – The council agrees to a grant for the church, but the PS counsellor Rui Caetano, claims there are higher priorities’. There seem to be two stories intertwined here, but the PS counsellor Rui Caetano is furious that Ribeira Brava council supports giving a grant to the church at Campanário, that is currently undergoing a costly work of restoration and reconstruction. The new financial support is for a sound system costing €27,000. Socialist Rui says it is a scandal that the priest in Campanário is more concerned with a public address system than with the effects of the crisis that affects many families in his parish. "People are starving" and can’t even manage to pay for medicine he said. The response of the social democrat president of Ribeira Brava council admits the existence of higher priority needs, but justifies the expenditure as of "spiritual significance". That is so weird that last statement, I went back and double checked the translation elsewhere just to be sure. The issue of support for non-essential organisations here is something I have trouble comprehending, for example the huge amounts of money and other support given to Ribeira Brava football club. Surely expenditure of council funds has to either benefit the population of the area as a whole, or go to help the most needy, well before organisations such as sports clubs and the church get a handout (although I do recognise that funding sports clubs does have other beneficial spin-offs for the population as a whole).

(19th June). ‘Race For The Barracas For São Pedro – Sellers invest thousands of Euros for three days of guaranteed business’. Despite the crisis and the competition, more and more sellers are after the 100 or so spaces to erect their barracas (street stands) for the 3 day event. The base price for a prominent bbq space is €100, but bids in Monday’s auction for ‘food and drink’ stands went as high as €800 for top spots on the beach. Street sellers with the usual souvenirs, sweets, and plastic stuff from Korea etc. have to pay €4.71 per square metre per day to the council.

(18th June). Today’s main front page news story takes nearly all the page, and shows an aerial photograph of a part of Funchal, with a new proposed route highlighted : ‘Rochinha – Pena In Half A Minute – Integrated into an existing road structure, a new bridge over the Ribeira de João Gomes is coming, between the zones of Pena and Rochinha. The €4 million project for the viaduct depends on European funding’. The idea was first mentioned in 1972, and lay dormant for many years, but was awoken in May 2008 when Funchal Council (CMF) opened a public tender for the development of a project to connect Rochinha and Alto da Pena through a viaduct. The connection will join two points at 80 or 90 meters in altitude. If built, it will have two lanes, and two supporting pillars, that being the cheapest solution. CLICK HERE FOR A LARGE PHOTO

The "major" rock fall in Lugar de Baixo yesterday afternoon gets a story and picture, saying that a commercial vehicle was hit by rebounding rocks, damaging the front and side, but the only occupant was unhurt. A council spokesman blamed the rock fall on the bad weather. The road was closed for about an hour and a half after a considerable amount of rock fell near the entrance to the marina (what marina!) blocking that road, but fortunately not much directly on the main road, which could have had tragic consequences. The van had it’s windscreen smashed, headlights broken, and a door damaged. This busy stretch of road is a real pain, and I am not aware of any plans to bypass it with a tunnel, leaving a ‘weak link’ in the new ‘fast roads’ that stretch over to the west of Madeira. Just another reason, aside from rough seas, that the marina should never have been built there, having been moved from it’s original safe planned location further east.

‘Curral das Freiras : Father Assaults Two Daughters With Sickle And Shears’. He had already assaulted his wife on Sunday, but she did not make a complaint to the police. The 15 and 17 year old girls had to go to hospital on Tuesday morning, after the attack in Fajã dos Cardos in the Valley of the Nuns. The father, who has problems with alcohol, attacked the younger sister in the face , back and legs, and then when the older sister tried to defend the younger one, she was attacked also. The man was arrested.

‘Rally Of Santa Cruz Generates Apprehension And Enthusiasm’. The XXVIIth Santa Cruz rally route has changed, particularly in the high zones in Lombada, Pico Norte and Faia and that’s why some people are a little nervous about the event which passes close to their front doors, and particularly for those who consider some of the drivers to be ‘crazy’. "Saturday will be a celebration," said resident Roberto Rodrigues, keen to see the passing of the competitors of the Coral Cup rally of 2009. Another says "Many people have already started to take their cars of the road". In the meantime, it seems that some drivers are breaking the regulations of the competition, in doing practice runs out of hours and travelling at incredible speeds, scaring residents who fear to go out on the streets. 

The Association of Friends of the Ecological Park of Funchal on Saturday is promoting an action for the care of the plantations of indigenous trees and shrubs. The initiative also includes in the program, reforestation of ‘desert like’ areas, and as usual is open to public participation. Interested parties may register by phone or fax on 291783999, or via email at amigosdoparque@gmail.com up to 5pm on Friday. The association has made available a coach, departing from the Palace of Justice (Palácio da Justiça) at 8:45 a.m.

‘Alleged Perpetrators Of Twenty+ Thefts Identified – Machico police have recovered various items’. The Public Security Police (PSP) identified two alleged authors of more than twenty thefts which occurred in several regions of Madeira. According to the Regional Command office, the action of the police patrol Machico recovered stolen items, and identified two men involved in the fencing of the property.