EIB approve loan for SATA turboprops ; December rain breaks records ; Maritimo sink at home
Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine (west) … presépio in 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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Funchal welcomed thousands in the farewell to 2009. Thousands and thousands of people descended into Funchal. With the help of good weather, the capital of Madeira "was alert" already with some movement, and the tourists were the largest "slice" of those who thronged the streets of Funchal. Our news team made a circuit of the city and found that, indeed, the "smell" of the new year was already in the air. We started by going to the Mercado dos Lavradores where flowers, typical or not of Madeira, were the most photographed and acquired. The flashes did not stop going off. 
Return to Alfândega not until after summer. Rent of Tecnopolo prolonged until the next legislative session. The members of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira debunked to Tecnopolo in April for eight months while the Alfândega building was being renovated and redecorated. Now it is known that the return to the old Customs House on the Avenida do Mar will be prolonged until the end of next summer. There was a delay in opening the tender for the works, which only happened in May. The other delay is due to the structure of the building. The annexe to the building, designed by Chorão Ramalho and built in the 1980s, is very degraded and requires significant strengthening. Currently, this annexe is being excavated and damaged material removed, then it will need to be renovated. The pond at the top of the building will be eliminated as it was responsible for many of the detected infiltrations. The works should be completed in the summer and then sound installations, computer equipment and video need to be installed. The rental of the premises at Tecnopolo and parking lots total more than 230,000 Euros per year and this sum could double to meet the new deadlines (a delay of more than 10 months). The initial cost of the renovation was €1.2 million but this will suffer a major increase. 
Madeira Wine and embroidery as Christmas gifts. The Regional Natural Resources launches a promotional campaign in the Farmers’ Market in Funchal. The campaign is launched on Wednesday to trigger Madeirans and tourists to buy these products for Christmas gifts. About seven thousand families depend on the sale of wine and embroidery products, so buying them as Christmas gifts is a great way to contribute to the economy and social life of the region. The campaign aims to promote Madeira Wine by associating it with a Madeiran lifestyle, refined and celebrational, suggesting one offers and increases consumption during the Christmas season and end of year. The campaigns represent an investment of 40,000 Euros. The consumption of Madeira Wine in the regional market is about 531,000 litres and represents around 3.8 million Euros.
Porto Santo is the seventh in purchasing power. Porto Santo citizens have better purchasing power, 39.92% higher than the national average, which puts Porto Santo in seventh place among all cities. The unusual growth in wealth of the island can be attested to the fact that between 2005 and 2007, purchasing power per capita has risen 12% when the mean for the same period fell 1.2%. 48.2% of the workforce are eligible for a 30% increase in salary as compensation for the double insularity, which requires the regional and municipal budgets to inject an extra 2 million to improve the wages of those working in departments, services and other public structures. Residents on Porto Santo are privileged because they have twice the purchasing power of Madeirans living in the eight municipalities, surpassing even those in Funchal who have a purchasing power per capita 35.44% higher than the national average or 3.3% below that of the inhabitants of Porto Santo. The privileged situation is due to the structure of employment, most working in either public service or hotel work, so very few earn the minimum wage. Over the past seven years, Funchalenses saw their purchasing power rise 25.5%. The only other municipality where purchasing power increased was Porto Moniz, so in the other areas of Madeira, people have become poorer. In Portugal there is a positive association between the degree of urbanization and purchasing power.
Thanks again to Elaine for this one : Councils are waiting for €8 million from the Republic of Portugal – The budget has not been paid since January and concerns tax transfers of the state budget. More than 8 million Euros and by the end of the year, will exceed €9 million, the amount that the Government of the Republic should transfer to the eleven Councils in Madeira in relation to IRS from the State Budget. Since January this year, the 5% has not been paid. This is not how the Government of the Republic have interpreted the rules after the approval of the Local Finance Law. The executive of Prime Minister Sócrates believes that since the tax receipts are in the Autonomous Regions (Azores and Madeira), the Regional Governments should support this payment. In the middle of this tug of war are 30 Municipal Councils, (11 in Madeira and 19 in the Azores). The Regional Municipalities say this is discriminatory as their Portuguese counterparts on the continent continue to receive this money directly from the State Budget. This debt has led to various complications in the management of annual budgets of municipalities, especially for the largest municipalities. To the Mayor of Porto Santo, the big problem is that income tax receipts were entered in the budget of the Council, and this value has not been paid. "This is so since January. The problem is that we introduce these funds in the budgets of the Councils and then no money comes. Of course, there are payments in arrears. If we do not receive these funds, we begin to have difficulty paying, for example, wages to our employees." There are also delays in payments to suppliers. "I know some municipalities have paid small suppliers, because these debts are easier to pay off, however we know this money is needed by businesses. We are in the situation where you pull the blanket to the head and uncover the feet." Because they feel discriminated against compared to other municipalities in the country, the Association of Municipalities of both the Azores and Madeira have been working together to solve the problem. The matter has been put to the Prime Minister, Jose Sócrates and they are still waiting for him to resolve the problem, hopefully soon. The hope of the Associations of Municipalities of the Azores and Madeira also turns to the National Assembly, thanks to the majority that the opposition parties have achieved in recent elections and subsequent reduction of power of the socialists. The two municipal associations have sent to the regional delegations of the parties that are represented in Parliament, a document to explain the situation. They will not send the document to the PS because the party in Madeira agreed with this law. The Mayor of Porto Santo says they want to resolve the situation through dialogue but in the extreme case will go to court, entering an injunction against the decision. The Government of Madeira has been in discussion with the Government of the Azores because they also feel discriminated against.
