Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Bird … "A nightmare alligator-giraffe hybrid monster machine is devouring the Savoy Hotel!"

Thanks a lot to Paul for the following contributions : 

Portugal: global clean-tech leader! The country has a population of 10 million people and covers a land area of 92,345 sq km. As the sunniest spot in Europe, with a long coastline and abundant wind, the country intends to take advantage of what nature has given it, and establish itself as a global clean-tech leader.

Strategy: Portugal expects to generate 31 per cent of all its energy from clean sources by 2020. The country already exceeds its 2010 renewable energy targets. Portugal’s renewable energy plans include the world’s largest wind, wave and solar energy facilities.

The world’s first commercial wave farm became operational in 2008. This facility will provide only a modest amount of electricity to the grid, but, Portugal has set an ambitious generation target of 550MW by 2020. Backed by significant government incentives, the wave energy sector in Portugal is poised to take off.

World’s largest solar power farm in Portugal? The solar sector also benefits from similar support. The world’s largest photovoltaic solar power farm is currently being built in eastern Portugal. The facility, capable of generating enough power for 30 000 homes, represents a play by the country to become a global leader in solar technology.

Photo : Solar power plant (Serpa, Portugal)

The article includes:

-measures taken to stimulate the uptake of renewable energy sources

-Transport Sector targets and measures

-Residential and Services sectors targets and measures

-Industry targets and measures

-Public sector targets and measures:

-Information and communication measures:

-Fiscal measures.

-Financial measures and incentives:

As part of the Action Plan, in September 2008 the Portuguese government began distributing 5 free high-efficiency light bulbs to each of the poorest 13 per cent of households in the country. Link to full article with other links

PUPILS of St John’s Primary School have unveiled a lasting tribute to a fellow pupil who died in a tragic shooting accident while on holiday last year. João Calaça-Sousa (8) died from massive blood loss last November after accidentally shooting himself while playing at his aunt’s house in Venezuela. JERSEY PRESS

Many thanks to Elaine for these two links :

Portugal shows the way on high seas protected areas.  Madeira – WWF today praised Portuguese authorities for announcing the establishment of four marine protected areas on the extended continental shelves of the Azores as well as mainland Portugal. ARTICLE HERE         AND MORE DETAILS

Storming weekend for MML Sports cars. This weekend saw a pair of excellent results for drivers at the wheel of MML Sports Mitsubishi rally cars. António Nunes narrowly missed out on the Group N class victory on Rally Porto Santo Line, the first round of the Madeira Rally Championship while David Westenbrink claimed fifth in his first outing in the Lancer WRCar on the Tank-S rally, round two of the Dutch series. HERE

Shalk, who lives in South Africa, dropped me a line to say : "A lesson in how to get around in Madeira! You have to go up to go down and you have to go down to go up! You have to go right to go left; you have to go left to go right. You have to go around to go straight and you have to go straight to go around. You have to drive right to be right, but if you drive left you wrong. You have to forward to go backwards and you have to go backwards to go forward". Thanks Shalk, I think I will take the weekend to digest that one. Der.

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

DIÁRIO 26/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

5.4% increase in crime. Nationally, there was 1.2% less crime in 2009 than 2008 but in Madeira, it increased by 5.4%. There are 30 – 40 reported crimes per 1,000 inhabitants. The ratio of violent and serious crimes was 1 – 2 per 1,000 inhabitants, or 294. This put Madeira in the top ten of the eighteen administrative districts, the most violent area being Lisbon with a ratio of 4 crimes per 1,000 residents. In the category of crimes against the person, which includes bodily harm, threat or coercion, Madeira was above the national average with an increase of 34.43% compared to 23.32% nationally. Crimes against life in society, including driving under the influence of alcohol, forgery and passing counterfeit currency, 16.41% increase versus a national average of 12.54%. Changes in the prevalence of some other crimes were below the national average. Domestic violence increased by 8.4% compared to 10% on the mainland.

"We are forgotten for hours." On the National Day of the User of the Health Service, Diário questioned the quality of the service. Patients complained of delays and lack of vacancies for consultations. There is a shortage of family doctors in Madeira and sometimes patients go at 7 am to get an appointment. There were no complaints about health care professionals, who were said to be attentive and sympathetic. The Regional Council of the Medical Association received only six complaints that merited an investigation in 2009, showing that the health care services have improved significantly. Doctors and nurses said patients rights do not leave the drawing board. For example, people have the right to a family doctor and nurse but many do not. After receiving treatment in hospital, there is not always continuity in care. There is a right to privacy but the wards are too overcrowded for this to happen. The President of the Order of Nurses said that people do not look after their own health enough and the emphasis is on treatment rather than health promotion. Nurses are on strike on March 31st over a proposed salary scale.

Petrol station on Porto Santo closes at Easter. The main petrol station on Porto Santo will close when the contract with Galp ends on April 1st. There is no attempt by either parties to renew the contract with complaints on both sides, as previously reported. If the petrol station closes on Wednesday, the only one left is a small one that shuts on holidays and Sundays. Porto Santo Council want a petrol station installed immediately in the Industrial Park. The other option is the possibility of having a filling station on land where a camp site is planned.

MADEIRA

Census of the Galinhola attracts 52 volunteers. Next week, there will be the first regional census of this bird, the Woodcock. 35 volunteers are coming from different parts of the country, Spain, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands to help. This is a partnership between SPEA and the Natural Park of Madeira to assess the impact of power lines on vulnerable birds and to identify key locations. This species, Scolopax rusticola, has a ‘vulnerable’ status and is one of the least known birds on the island. The population count will take place between 28 March and 2 April during one hour before sunset and one hour after, at 100 observation posts.

Jaquine said : The Galinhola bird pictured translates as our fairly common woodcock (or snipe).  I think it’s a young woodcock as the markings look right.  It’s still common in the British Isles, in fact  they’re still regarded as fair game in a shoot, although they move very fast & don’t get caught often.

Nine million Euros for repairing irrigation channels. The Regional Government has embarked on an emergency plan to repair agricultural irrigation channels damaged on February 20th. Eight contracts have been signed at a cost of nine million Euros to minimize the effects on agriculture and regional economy. The funding will come from the EU and the Regional Budget. 100 channels with a total length of over 600 kilometres need repairing, which should take 250 workers 90 days.

250 lorry loads removed from the pond.  Progress report on the clean up of the lagoa do Lugar de Baixo. This is the only tidal lagoon in the region, rich in biodiversity and of great ornithological interest. Over the past fortnight, inert materials and sludge deposited by the storm have been cleared out and the project is ongoing. The Regional Directorate of the Environment and the ponta-solense council are funding the operation and hope to improve the area, making it more visibly attractive than previously. Care is taken not to disturb two reed beds where migratory birds are nesting. After the heavy dredging, which should finish next week, Sanas boats will be used for more delicate cleaning.

Police are promoting destination Madeira. The Public Security Police (PSP) today are ‘selling’ Madeira as a "safe and enjoyable" tourist destination. The action is intended to strengthen the trust and confidence of the foreign and local communities, especially in tourist areas. This is in relation to events of 20.02.2010. The operation between 09.00 and 21.00 in the main hotel district and tourist areas in Funchal, is in cooperation with Regional Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Madeiran Executive, Funchal Council and the Folklore Group of Boa Nova. Leaflets will be distributed in English: ‘PSP: Portugal, Safer Place – Madeira Islands: Welcome to the Atlantic’s safest paradise’. A study in 2007 showed that 99% of tourists classified Madeira as a safe and tranquil destination and the police want to build on this. Crimes related to tourists are "isolated", mostly petty theft.

ECONOMY

Ryanair based in the Algarve rather than Madeira. Due to the inertia of the Madeiran authorities, Ryanair will not be flying to Madeira. Ryanair had wanted incentives available through the Fund for New Routes to bear the cost of certification of its pilots. The regional authorities considered this proposal unacceptable because this incentive has not been granted to any other company. Ryanair has made an agreement with ANA-Airports of Portugal (1.2 million Euros), Turismo de Portugal (1.2 million Euros) and Algarve hoteliers (600,000 Euros). This announcement stunned Bernardo Trindade, the Secretary of State for Tourism, who did not even know about this proposal and wants to know what is going on. Ryanair will fly to Faro this summer which will boost tourism and the economy, denied to Madeira, as the low-cost carrier offers competitive rates.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

REGIONAL

Cocktail competition on March 31st. The Madeira Bartenders Association will hold this event at the Porto Mare Hotel from 14.00 – 18.00. The winners will represent Madeira at the national competition in May which will be held in Madeira. 30 bartenders will demonstrate their creations and the art of making cocktails.

Nuno Teixeira wants compensation for banana producers. He wants support for banana producers in Madeira and the Canary Islands. The EU and Latin America have reached an agreement to reduce the import tariff. This will adversely affect Madeira and the Canary Islands due to the physical characteristics of the islands and the small sizes of plantations. There are 2,800 producers in the region and this agricultural sector covers 600 hectares. 14,000 tonnes of fruit were produced last year.

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

Old bridges should remain [stay as footbridges] – Cidrão and D. Manuel : The council tries to avoid demolition, despite of the damage. Other already came down. Quite agree, keep them than as footbridges rather than demolish or reopen to traffic. I wish that was what we had done in Ribeira Brava, with one side of our now totally demolished 100+ year old bridge, being perfectly OK for pedestrians. But the council knocked it down, and what we now have is a shiny brand new metal footbridge in its place.

Today’s main news headline : Support  contradicts criticisms of businesses – Since February 20, 136.7 million Euros were allocated to companies affected by the storm. The numbers diminish the complaints from business associations. Around 800 traders have already been included.

Clocks go forward tonight.

Theatre commemorates its day without guarantees – The theatrical activity will only survive if the participants were to have other jobs. One actor, for example, is a policeman.

The main sport / football headline today : Carvalhal came bringing European hope – Marítimo beat Sporting by 3 – 2 and returned to a league ranking close to the access to the Europa League.

Today is the day of Benfica – Sporting Braga. Paiva (ex-Benfica) and Fernando Luís (ex-Braga) give the motto for the game for the title.

Passos Coelho is the new leader of the national Social Democrat Party – Paulo Rangel wins comfortably on Madeira, but stays in second place. I watched this last night as the results came in, and this has now created quite an interesting situation. Sweet Manuela Ferreira Leite has now gone, and bless her for trying, but she was just no match for the smoothie statesman José Sócrates. Pedro Passos Coelho managed to get 61% of the vote nationally, with Rangel taking just 34%, and forget the other two candidates. But in polls released just a couple of days ago, Rangel had a decent lead over Coelho when punters were asked the question "who would be the best party leader?". In responding to the question "who would make the best prime minister?" however, the punters went for Coelho. That analysis fits perfectly with my own assessment, and I have no personal knowledge about these two men or  their abilities, except to say one is probably a stout and whippet man,  and the other a G&T and ex second hand car salesman type. So last night’s results tell us that the PSD membership at large has opted for ‘prime ministerial potential’ over party leadership and stability, no surprise really, with the current Socialist Government just itching to be toppled.

Anyway, what does that mean for Madeira? The fact that President Jardim had told his followers on Madeira that they could vote as they liked, maybe indicated that perhaps he already knew that he was backing a loser … but they voted for Rangel anyway. The fact that Uncle Bertie said he didn’t care who won as the party would still amble in ‘mindless disarray’, confirms that he knew that he was on for a hiding. As I have said before, Jardim hates Passos Coelho with a vengeance, and had made no secret of the fact up until a week or so again when the two men tried just slightly to publically paper over the cracks. Coelho probably won’t want to go near Jardim, and Jardim wouldn’t stoop to Coelho even in the name of party unity, and it just remains to be seen if he takes a softly softly approach (which would probably last just a few weeks)  or adopts immediately the open-air sniper strategy. There is one other possibility not to be ruled out, that Jardim may try and establish a breakaway party, but I believe this was tried once before and failed. I shall be watching with interest …

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. 

Many thanks to Jaquine for this article from yesterday’s Diário :

Pestana Hotels Turn Out the Lights. All the hotels of the Pestana Group situated in the archipelago of Madeira will be in candle-light in their exterior areas and some communal rooms tomorrow (i.e. Saturday 27th), between 20.30 and 21.30.  The reason is the enrolment of the hotel group in the Hour of the Planet, a major worldwide initiative in the fight against climate change by WWF, the global conservation organisation. ‘It is increasingly important that firms, governments and citizens fight against climate change in
defence of the planet.  Through joining this initiative, the Pestana Group intends not just to contribute to the preservation of the planet but to take part in the greater voluntary platform of citizens against climate change’ says a note distributed yesterday by the biggest national hotel group.

The Hour of the Planet started in 2007, in the Australian city of Sidney, where two million people turned out their lights.  In 2008, more than 50 million people in the whole World participated in the Hour of the Planet.  Portugal joined this movement in 2009, and for the second consecutive year the results have been beyond expectations, with the strong support of various cities and towns of the country. ‘The Pestana Group cannot stop helping this campaign in which it aims to stand out and make a difference and start a real change in behaviour’ added the communication.

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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom …

Many thanks to Becky for sending in this snippet and video :

"The Jersey Football Association Capita Centre of Excellence Year-9 age group is to play four matches in Madeira next month." HERE

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for these website links :

Links with Gibraltar – Madeira Disaster Collection.  HERE

Informative blog about Madeira Wine. HERE

Many thanks to Elaine [West] for this :

SPAD receives help from a German institution. Anima – Hilfe für Tiere (Help for Animals) has donated 10 large kennels for animals. The German institution for the protection of animals ‘Anima – Hilfe für Tiere’ ( ‘Help For Animals’) has given SPAD ten large kennels that will be placed in the Vasco Gil Kennel Site.

The request for help from SPAD came just days after the storm of 20 February, when some animals were brought to the institution because they had lost both owners and their home. At the time, SPAD asked all those wishing to contribute to the work of the association to help supply plastic cages (used or new) for animals to be properly collected. The appeal reached Germany and ‘Anima’ quickly dealt with the deployment of 10 large kennels. Next Thursday, March 25, from 14.30, the kennels will be handed over. On site, a group of five volunteers will be available to unpack and prepare them so they can be finally used by SPAD.

It should be recalled that several years ago ‘Anima’ collaborated with initiatives in Madeira. Recently the German institution has financed free sterilization campaigns in Porto Santo and a number of stray animals (dogs and cats) are sent to Germany each year to homes and families that ‘Anima’ has found for them. In 2008 ‘Anima’ received a total of 28 dogs which were then sterilized and delivered to new owners. Last year various animals from Madeira were received by the them, many of them Huskies. These dogs, although pedigree animals, do not adapt to Madeira’s climate and are often abandoned.

Many thanks to Paul for this :

‘Sisi’ Elisabeth, Empress of Austria & Queen of Hungary (1837-1898) & Madeira. In the 1860′s Elisabeth was considered the world’s most beautiful monarch. In the 1870′s she became the most famous, and probably also the world’s best, female equestrian but, in 1859 left her husband and small children to live in seclusion on Madeira, Corfu, and in Venice. “The Empress had exchanged a carefree country life with the strict etiquette of the Imperial Court and could hardly adapt to it. Francis Joseph loved his wife dearly, but he ruled over an empire of 50 million people and had little time to be with "Sisi" who felt lonely. "I wish he were no emperor", she confided her former governess.”

Sisi likened to Princess Diana. “Little wonder then that following her tragic death Princess Diana was often likened in obituaries to Sisi: Both were women of extraordinary beauty and represented their countries with dignity and elegance. Both succeeded in winning a special place in people’s hearts even amidst the ceremony and protocol of ancient dynasties. Both were dedicated to social causes. And both died tragically before their time.”

Photo : Memorial of Elisabeth (Österreich-Ungarn), also named Sisi, in Funchal, Madeira closed to the Casino. At this location a hotel was located, where Sisi was on holiday.

Sisi Film & Musical. “The romantic legend of how Sisi and Franz Joseph met has been immortalized in the wonderfully romantic and melodramatic Austrian "Sisi" Films starring Romy Schneider as young Sisi. The musical "Elisabeth", which has attracted tourists from all over the world to Vienna for more than five years, is much more realistic.”

In 1998 a hundred years after she died from wounds inflicted during an assassination attempt exhibitions throughout Austria commemorated her life. They documented the intriguing life story of a woman who was an "empress against her will", who was at once fairy-tale princess and liberated woman, a dieting fanatic and expert equestrian, a poet and inveterate traveller.

Photo : Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1864

Video compilation of the Austrian trilogy "SISSI-The Young Empress"

Sisi’s hold on the popular imagination remains undiminished. “Sisi was already a legend in her lifetime. And especially in Budapest (Hungary) many buildings or institutions are named after her, and Elisabeth is still the most often given girl name in Hungary. Even a century after her death, Sisi’s hold on the popular imagination remains undiminished. This can be seen in the popularity of Sisi films and the musical "Elisabeth", which has run for years in Vienna. The sites where the empress lived continue to draw tourists from the world over. Among these are her apartments in Schönbrunn Palace, the Hofburg, and the Hermes Villa in Vienna, her tomb in the imperial burial vault of the capital’s Capuchin Church, and the imperial villa in Bad Ischl, as well as many other places throughout Austria.” Link to full article

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

DIÁRIO 23/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

PEC threatens the solvency of public enterprises. Compliance with the rules contained in the Stability and Growth Pact (PEC), which the Regional Government had no objection to, may be disastrous for the Regional accounts as the State will limit borrowing for all public sector companies. The Government of the Republic, in addition to maintaining the rule of zero net debt to the entities of the Regional and Local Administrations, unless in response to emergencies, will also constrain new financial liabilities when public companies use community funding. Thus, public companies will have lower limits for liabilities as neither Governments can risk having to input capital into these companies. Also, the higher the corporate debt, the worse the country’s external debt. According to Diário, public enterprises have increased their bank liabilities seven fold in six years. Some of these debts are to suppliers and if they cannot resort to credit, the inability to invest and make payments will worsen. Madeira’s contribution to the Portuguese deficit is zero. In 2007, Madeira had not reached the borrowing limit that the EU imposed on the State in the PEC. In 2008, Madeira made a positive contribution to the implementation of the PEC as it still had a net lending capacity of one million Euros, helping to balance the public accounts. — An expert in financial affairs commented that the reason that the 4.1 million Euros subsidy to the Jornal da Madeira stays the same as last year, is probably because no bank will lend to the company. The case is to be heard in the EU Court and if they rule the subsidy is illegal and fine the company, who pays and what happens about any debts?

30,000 pensioners below the minimum wage. Most are women on survivor’s pension of 180 Euros per month. The minimum wage for 2010 is 475 Euros. A similar petition was sent last year, with half the present number of signatures, to the Legislative Assembly of Madeira. This year, the petition will also be sent to the Assembly of the Republic as last year, the two government argued that it was each other’s responsibility.

Public Ministry accuses gang of using children in drug trafficking. A trial started yesterday in Funchal with 19 defendants, including two Italians. 16 attended the hearing, all from social housing estates in Câmara de Lobos, two will be tried in abstentia and one is on the Continent. Six defendants are in prison custody, including two Italians and two Guineans, one is electronically tagged and seven are women. The drugs were imported from Guinea, Senegal and the Netherlands via three couriers, two of them Italian and a child who was detained at Madeira Airport in October 2008 carrying 572 grams of heroin. The drugs were stored in the home of one of the defendants in Bairro da Torre, mainly for local distribution. Many of the children/families of the accused have been used to deliver/collect drugs and money. There is wiretapping evidence to support this allegation. The largest haul was in November 2008 when 12,549 individual doses of heroin (1,045 grams) were detected inside the bodies of the two Italians.The heroin was to be transferred to the Guinean who has spent five years in prison for a previous trafficking offence. The drug gang is suspected of operating from at least mid-2007 to August 2009 and the drugs brought into the country were cocaine and heroin. The Guinean is suspected to be the ringleader. Two of the defendants fabricated a construction company to try to justify the origin of the drug money. Items were seized during house searches, for example mobile phones, home-cinemas and LCDs. Large deposits into the bank accounts of the defendants, especially the ringleader, were traced between January and December 2008 (29,500 +11,570 + 41,915 Euros).

MADEIRA

Revive the neighbourhood by planting trees. 300 school children in the county of Ribeira Brava congregated at the school at Serra de Água as part of the celebrations of World Tree Day. The best way to mark the day was to plant trees. The mayor and a school delegate planted a tree then each school followed suit. This location was chosen as it was the area most devastated by the storm, to plant a symbol of hope and to highlight the rebirth of the parish. The tree planting was followed by entertainment, games and a lunch courtesy of the municipality.

London sends 2,500 kilos of donations. The Portuguese Catholic community attending the Scalabrini Church in Oval, South London, collected 2,500 kilos of donated goods over the past three weeks. The collection was begun on the 21st February and includes infant and children’s clothing, underwear, shoes and linens. During the Masses, 1,500 pounds sterling was collected and the amount was made up to 1,800 pounds from church funds to send the 100 boxes to Madeira. It would normally cost 5,000 pounds to send the container but for the generosity of the haulage firm C. R. Trans/Service, where a Portuguese immigrant works. The container left England last week and arrives in Madeira within a week. It will be forwarded to the Association for Community Development in Funchal/Community Centre of Santo Amaro.

New marine protected areas. Several proposals for the establishment of marine protected areas in waters beyond national jurisdiction will be discussed informally between today and Thursday in Funchal. Attending will be representatives from six countries that signed up to the OSPAR Convention (Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal), and NGOs such as the Worldwide Fund for Wildlife, Northeast Atlantic Ocean Fisheries Commission, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Institution for Conservation of Marine Biology.

ECONOMY

Demolition of the Savoy Hotel is ahead of deadline. The demolition of the Savoy Hotel started in January with a deadline of ten months. The main building is already in ruins and the reception area, gardens, shopping area and car parks are unrecognizable. This is despite the effects of the storms in February. Demolition by implosion was ruled out and the work has to comply with noise and environmental laws. A significant amount of the material will be reused. The firm responsible for the demolition and building of the new hotel is CASAIS. The project architect João Francisco Caires said the new hotel will include classical and traditional Madeiran architecture in proximity to English colonial architecture. The entire project is scheduled to take 36 months at an estimated 120 million Euros. Completion is aimed to be in time for the New Year’s Eve celebrations in 2012.

POLITICS

Tough measures to prevent exploitation. The Regional Government has decided to submit to the Legislative Assembly a proposed law to ensure all entities benefit, and to prevent exploitation of funds for the renovation of Madeira. Careful prioritization will help people and areas affected by the storm and to avoid duplication, the Government will find out who has benefited from other mechanisms such as insurance. The final relocation is underway and 400 new homes are needed and another 400 require renovation. At present, 53 families are still in public establishments, a situation the Executive wants resolving before Easter. The government said any aggregates that are being collected are authorized. The Marine Police is monitoring the situation and has found one case of illegal dumping of flood deposits at the mouth of the stream at Madelena do Mar.

CULTURE

Santa Cruz is still the City of Culture. It was previously reported that Santa Cruz Council had given up the project City of Culture 2010 as it had to redirect finances to storm damage repair work. The council now ensures that the project will go ahead with updates to the cultural program. The mayor has met Rui Massena, the conductor of the OCM, about the possibility of the classical orchestra opening the program but cannot confirm if this will occur. The county has the advantage that the mayor, José Alberto Gonçalves, is the president of the Madeira Classic Foundation that manages the OCM.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

REGIONAL

Gaia calls to Porto to help Madeira. The municipalities of Funchal and Gaia will launch a series of meetings before Easter with businesses in Porto to obtain building materials and furniture for 291 houses. The Vice-mayor of Gaia is impressed with the recovery effort in Funchal and will appeal to businesses in the region of Porto where there is a tradition of furniture manufacture. These 291 houses are outside the risk area and are partially damaged. Other councils in Portugal have pledged help, for example 100,000 Euros from Amadora.

Coração da Madeira helps Serra d’Água. Now this voluntary organization has finished its work in RG3, the volunteers went to Serra d’Água with 74 boxes of donated clothing collected at the church at Nazaré over the past month. In partnership with the English Church, the volunteers will begin to distribute bed linen and clothing to various locations of need.

EVENTS

Two vehicles seized. Since the beginning of the year, there have been four cases of illegal dumping in the serras of Madeira. Last week, a Forest Ranger found two private cars were being used to dump material in Campanário, which came from the excavations for a house. The two cars have been seized as evidence and the case has been reported to the Directorate for the Environment. To recover the cars, the owners will have to first pay the fine for the breach. For dumping light material, fines for private individuals range from 1,500 – 3,740 Euros and for firms from 7,500 – 44,890 Euros. For heavier more damaging material, fines range from 25,000 – 37,500 Euros and for a firm, can go up to 60,000 Euros.

Guides and tourists still use footpaths. The Regional Directorate of Forestry is concerned about the number of people still walking along pedestrian paths despite the warnings, often encouraged by guides. Examples are the Caldeirão Verde and the Boca da Corrida/Encumeada. Eight pathways are closed at present: PR 7 Levada do Moínho (Ribeira da Cruz – Lamaceiros); PR 09 Levada do Caldeirão Verde (Queimadas – Caldeirão Verde), PR 10 Levada do Furado (Ribeiro Frio – Lamaceiros – Portela); PR 12 Caminho Real da Encumeada (Boca da Corrida – Encumeada); PR 14 Levada dos Cedros (Fanal – Curral Falso); PR 16 Levada da Fajã do Rodrigues (Fajã da Ama – Ribeira do Inferno); PR 17 Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal (Lombo do Mouro – Caramulo – Folhadal – Encumeada); PR 18 Levada do Rei (Quebradas – Ribeiro Bonito); Levada do Norte and Levada dos Tornos.

ECONOMY

Mercado de Oportunidades from 25 – 31 March. The erection of 51 tents on the Avenida Arriaga started yesterday. The Opportunities Market is for the selling of old stock at discounted prices, specifically shoes, decorations, clothing, jewellery, domestic electrical appliances, linen, crafts, toys and perfume. Opening hours will be 10.00 – 20.00. The demand has exceeded supply, 80 traders expressing interest but only 60 can participate, so the remaining 20 have places reserved in the second phase in the second half of the year. There will be eight cruise ships in port during this period, especially on the 31st when there will be five.

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

ERC wants to know more names for RTP-Madeira TV – The regulatory entity says it has asked more explanations. RTP received nothing. And already three weeks have passed.

Today’s main news headline : Bureaucracy ties-up traders – The owners of shops badly hit by the storms of February are "fragile, frail and living in financial difficulties because the financial support is delayed in coming". The words are from Lino Abreu, from the Association of Commerce and Services, in disagreement with the excessive ‘red tape’. Whilst waiting for support, traders are just having to do what they can to recuperate what they lost, and are feeling pretty let down because the route to obtain support is complex and long-winded. Abreu says that some traders are so deflated by what has gone on, he fears that they will opt to close down rather than try and reopen their businesses. He says the process needs to be simplified because the traders need support right now. They need to provide strict evidence for their losses, and some of the documentation needed takes a long time to obtain.

Fountains of João Dinis return to see the light of day – The post-storm clean up has returned to view the old fountains, buried 70 years ago during works in the zone of the Palácio. They are going to return to provide drinking water and maybe inspire some old political jibes.

The Government is going to construct 25 homes in Ribeira Brava – The houses will be built in different communities. According to the Housing Association of Madeira [IHM] housing is still lacking for 17 families in the area, made homeless after the floods. IHM already have two or three locations in mind and is out and about looking for more land to built premises that will house several families. The decision to spread the housing is being taken to minimise the impact of the construction work, and also because there is a shortage of land with sufficient capacity for everything. 17 families still live in temporary accommodation, around 40 people. 

SITAM denounces late payment of salaries – The trade union met with the Regional Secretary for Human Resources. Due to the storm on 20 February, there are people who have still not received their salary from February.

Solidarity parade on the eve of the Flower Festival. Madeira’s favourite fashion designer, Fátima Lopes, is organising the event to take place on 17th April, in conjunction with Funchal Council. "I am preparing a solidarity event in April, that will revert to those who need it most," said Fátima. "It will be a big fashion show, open to everyone, with mannequins of the Face Models and many national public figures".

The main sport / football headline today : União SAD ‘half way there’ [?] – Jaime Lucas hopes that the ‘Ruben Micael case’ works out well.

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 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 other material.

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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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Today’s photo – Many thanks to Elaine (West) … The last of the New Year 2010 fireworks photos I was sent, again of course from Funchal

“Cable TV reached 4.3 million households across the country’s major operators at the end of September 2009, representing an increase of 22,000 on the quarter and 93,000 more year-on-year. The increases could be attributed to expansion of the ZON network in Lisbon and the North. ZON also boasted the largest number of subscription TV subscribers, though at 66.6% this is 1.8pp less than in the previous quarter. The medium is prominent in Madeira, Lisbon, the North and the Algarve. DTH presented some 26%, its heartlands being the Alentejo and the centre of the country”. SUBSCRIPTION TV IN PORTUGAL

“Mr and Mrs Kennett’s cruise left Portsmouth on December 22. They flew home from Madeira on January 1. The ship was due to return to Portsmouth today but instead came back yesterday to be deep cleaned. This is not the first time there has been a norovirus outbreak on the ship. There have in fact been cases on the last three Boudicca cruises”. A pretty unpleasant tale, showing that not everyone who was here for the new year 2010 firework display had such a good time. £3,500 DOWN THE DRAIN

Email spam seems to be on the increase again, but not nearly as bad as it was a couple of years ago, until a spamming organisation was closed down. A quick glance through the spam folder this morning, as I feel compelled to do (just in case …), a mail from Felicity Swell was offering me another 4 inches. I didn’t bother to open the email, as I am not a short person by any means, and anyway I can’t afford to buy all new clothes.

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

Porto Santo left with no links  Porto Santo yesterday had no travel connections with Madeira, between the ferry not sailing due to a rest day and the SATA aircraft malfunctioning. A spare part was to be flown from Ponta Delgada in time for the evening flight but dense fog at the airport in the Azores hampered the flight. Porto Santo was left without the daily newspapers and other publications as they are usually flown in. This aircraft also flies between Madeira and the Canary Islands. This failure affected 47 passengers to Porto Santo and 70 to the Canaries. In the past 20 days, the Lobo Marinho ferry has only made half of the 16 scheduled trips. Normally, there are an average of three to four cancellations per year and the difficulties this winter have been due to strong winds hampering docking at Porto Santo. Sometimes the island lacked essential fresh produce and fewer tourists were transported, so considerable damage has been done to the company and to Porto Santo. Both air and maritime links were re-established today. The Lobo Marinho requires annual maintenance work between 12 – 30 January and passengers will be transported by plane, a maximum of 50 residents per day. The work will be carried out locally at Caniçal. In addition, a cargo ship has been chartered weekly.

Tourism awards ‘ambassadors’ The Regional Secretary of Tourism and Transport said yesterday that tourists visiting the archipelago more than once, regularly returning to holiday in the Autonomous Region are true ambassadors of Madeira. She said the Government should reward this preference of tourists, because no one returns to a place where they do not feel good. They are important free advertising and promotion of Madeira as a tourist destination and this has a multiplying effect on family and friends who might one day visit. The Secretary awarded the Finnish couple Erkki Rask and Aino Naltonen with a certificate for their 25th visit.

New AIDA cruise liner named The AIDAsol and another ship are under construction, the latter with a completion date of 2012. The new AIDAblu will enter service this February and its first call at Madeira is on September 9 2010, replacing the weekly AIDAluna. The newly named AIDAsol should join the fleet in April 2011. This ship will replace the AIDAblu for the Canary Islands / Madeira cruise during the winter season; its inaugural visit to Madeira is on September 11 2011. AIDA Cruises carried 414,000 passengers in 2009 and the revenue totalled 720 million Euros. The firm is a German subsidy of the Carnival group. —According to Wikipedia, the old AIDAblu will be transferred to the Ocean Village cruise company and renamed Ocean Village Two.

New Year’s Eve was good for the hospitality sector The Portuguese tourists contributed to the success of the hotels in Madeira during the celebrations of New Year’s Eve. No official figures yet so Diário reporters asked the major hotel groups for feedback. They were often surprised by the occupation rates and income despite the economic downturn. Only flight delays due to bad weather prevented some hotels from being fully booked because some Portuguese travellers cancelled as they had only booked for four nights. Porto Bay Group’s five hotels were 97.8% full, similar to last year. The Pestana Group owns nine hotels in Madeira and their occupancy rate and revenue improved this year. The eight hotels in Funchal were fully booked between 28 December and 1 January and events and entertainments were sold out. Between 29 – 31 December, the restaurant at the Casino averaged 400 meals a night, the Casino Park served 600 dinners on New Year’s Eve and the Copacabana nightclub was full until dawn. The five-star hotels, Reid’s Hotel and the Royal Savoy had lower occupancy rates during Christmas and New Year compared to last year. Reid’s had 5% lower occupancy rate (95% during the last 3 days of the year) but revenue increased at the restaurants and bars. The Royal Savoy achieved 12% less than last year’s revenue with some cancellations due to flight delays. More than half of Tivoli Madeira customers were Portuguese and the higher than normal occupancy rate was 96.2%. The Vine, the new five star hotel in Funchal was full with rates appropriate to the quality of accommodation and service. The gourmet restaurant – Uva – was fully booked and the bars well attended. The Four Views Group had all four hotels full from 28 December – 1 January, mainly Portuguese clientele and they served 1,300 dinners on New Year’s Eve. The other five star hotels, the Melia Madeira Mare was 100% full only on New Year’s Eve with 43% average occupancy rate during 2009; the Choupana Hills had a slight fall in revenue.

Caminho da Gloria transformed into a stream  Access to the Capela da Gloria in Campanário is in a pitiful state and will not be repaired until 2011. The path has cracks in the asphalt and is often flooded by the stream next to it. The Capela da Nossa Senhora da Gloria is located on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the sea. The access path was built in the 1990s and is also affected by water from a pipe placed underneath an overpass over a main road, which is not wide enough and often becomes blocked and overflows onto higher nearby land and the water flows downwards onto the path. The Mayor of Ribeira Brava said that he is aware that intervention is needed but will wait until a new road has been built nearby connecting Porto da Ribeira and Pedra de Nossa Senhora. When this has been completed next year, the path will be repaired and retaining walls built.

Breakdown in the Teleferico das Achadas Cable car access to farm land near the coast at Achadas da Cruz is suspended again due to mechanical breakdown and spare parts have to be sent from Austria. The former mayor of Porto Moniz, Gabriel Farinha had said that the cable car is a ‘bottomless pit’ and costs around 100,000 Euros a year for maintenance. Analyzing the costs, he asked the Government to build a road from the town of Porto Moniz. Initially, the Executive agreed and it was included in the 2007/2011 Government program but Jardim withdrew the action on his last visit to the area because he did not think it was cost-effective. Farmers have difficultly accessing their land as the upward path takes 45 minutes to ascend. Actually, rumour has it that the road project was withdrawn because the locals didn’t vote in the PSD in the local elections. Der

Contradictory evacuation It is a mystery the way in which a Madeira Natural Park warden was evacuated from the Desertas Islands on 29 December. The Associations of Wardens of Nature of Madeira said a request for help was sent to the Portuguese Air Force but they said they did not receive a formal request. The Association also said the Merlin flew over the Desertas on the 29 December but the Air Force said there was no missions between 19 and 29 December. The warden’s health deteriorated on the 28 December and a doctor was consulted over the phone. The Association informed Funchal Harbour / Navy that day but the Schults Xavier ship was unable to approach the island due to 5 – 6 metres waves. The only way off the island was by air but the case was not classified as a medical emergency by the Air Force. The Office of the National Park of Madeira paid for the civilian helicopter Helibravo to evacuate the ill warden, which it managed despite the poor weather conditions. The Emergency Department at the Hospital of Funchal said the man had needed treatment for drainage of his abscesses. The Association cannot understand why the Merlin was not deployed as it is used for life saving missions and it was scheduled to fly over the Desertas Island at that time.

Funchal should increase the budget due to damage The Deputy Mayor of Funchal, Bruno Pereira, admitted that the budget for the swimming facilities would have to be increased after damage by bad weather, especially at Barreirinha. Work cannot be begun until spring (March / April) when the bad weather has definitely ended, so the complex should reopen in June / July. At present, the budget for the swimming complexes is 250,000 Euros. There is structural damage at Barreirinha to the concrete platform, solarium and pool area and minor damage to doors, access road, staircase and electricity supply. The Lido and Ponta Gorda also need repair work as well as the gardens at Ponta Gorda. In addition, Funchal Council rehoused a family from Lajinhas in Monte after access was blocked and the council wanted to rehouse two families in Romeiras, also due to a wall falling, which threatened their houses but they refused to move out. In Ribeira Canavial a family went to live with relatives after an escarpment threatened their home.

7,000 Euros stolen bike returned Four people aged between 17 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of theft in São Martinho. Three had scaled a wall to steal a racing bike from an annexe and had dismantled it to sell the parts. The other young man arrested in São Martinho was an 18 year old who was in possession of 1,100 Euros of tools used in construction work.

— I checked with Jornal da Madeira to confirm the (high) price of the bike. 

and a later bonus from Elaine from the Jornal da Madeira :

520 kg Bolo Rei “filled” Praça do Município. For the fifth consecutive year, Funchal City Council presented the population with a Bolo Rei Gigante, an initiative that yesterday afternoon attracted many hundreds of people to the Praça do Município. The cake weighed 520 kg and measured 160 metres in length. The weather helped, allowing the eve of Dia de Reis to be a joyful event.

Many hundreds of people gathered yesterday in the Praça do Município to anticipate the celebration of the Dia de Reis (yesterday, January 6), through an initiative of the City Council of Funchal that once again offered a Bolo Rei Gigante with great conviviality. “The ‘Kings’ are with us!” said the Mayor of Funchal, greeting the groups of singers who wore the costume of the season. At the door of the City Hall, one of the formations responsible for the animation, the group of “Kings” from the Casa do Povo de São Martinho (Funchal) sang a few songs alluding to the season and were accompanied by the mayor, councillors and other residents. After the singing, Miguel Albuquerque praised the grandeur of the Bolo Rei and invited all present to taste. “We have here in the Praça do Município, 520 kilos of cake which is of 160 metres in length. I think this has a place in Guinness,” he revealed. In a joyful scene, Miguel Albuquerque thanked the fact that São Pedro had helped the party. The mayor used the occasion to wish “a good year to all Madeirans.” The Bolo Rei was made with 250 kg of flour, 40 kg of butter, 35 kg of sugar, 800 eggs, 60 kg of dried fruit, 130 pieces of crystallized fruit, 90 kg of sultanas, rum, Madeira Wine and egg strands.

Confectionery loaded with symbolism – You cannot talk about the typical sweets of the Christmas season without mentioning the famous Bolo Rei with its distinctive crown, crystallized peel, dried fruit, nuts (almonds, walnuts and pine nuts) and the beans. This cake is loaded with symbolism, one can simply say that this cake represents the offerings by the Magi to the Menino Jesus. The côdea (the outer part) symbolizes the gold, the dried fruit and crystallized peel represent the myrrh, and finally the frankincense is represented by the aroma of the cake. An explanation for the existence of the bean inside the Bolo Rei is linked to a legend; that when the Magi saw the Star of Bethlehem which announced the birth of Christ, they disagreed about who had the right to deliver to the Menino the presents they carried. As they could not reach an agreement, a baker, to end the discussion, proposed to make a cake with a bean inside the dough then each of the three Magi from the Orient would take a slice, the one who had the good fortune to take the piece containing the bean won the right to deliver the presents to Jesus. It is not known who had the winning slice, it could have been any one of the three, Baltasar, Belchior or Gaspar. Of course this is only a legend, the Bolo Rei is actually of French origin. The Bolo Rei recipe is known around the world, much of the fame that the cake has gained is due to the prosperity given to the person who eats the slice that possesses the bean. However, tradition dictates that whoever receives the slice with the bean must provide the Bolo Rei next year.

This article is from Vanessa Swesnik … many thanks.

TAP denies discrimination against pregnant employees. The Portuguese airline, TAP, denied discriminating against pregnant workers in the distribution of performance-based bonuses, stating that in 2007, 37 of these payments were awarded to women on maternity leave that were absent for no longer than 6 months.

TAP’s terms and conditions stipulate that employees “who have had absenteeism or suspension of work for an accumulated duration equal to or more than 5 months” are excluded from receiving the bonuses.

The newspaper, “I”, published today that the Portuguese airline operator failed to pay performance-based bonuses to 10 workers who were on maternity leave in 2007. This decision has been classified as “discrimination” by the Commission on Equality, but was granted approval by the Prime Minster’s Cabinet.

“The business argued that because the 10 employees were absent, they did not meet the minimum criteria for work days to earn the bonuses; justifying the decision as in accordance with the company’s terms and conditions. However, a report from the Commission of Equality in the Workplace (Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e Emprego- CITE) labelled the decision as discrimination,” reports the newspaper, “I”.

In a statement released to the press today, TAP clarified that “the conditions for rewarding the bonuses, which are of exclusive responsibility to TAP, respected all applicable legal and contractual provisions.”

On the other hand the company also writes, “no initiatives were taken against pregnant workers,” highlighting the fact that, “all [pregnant workers] that were of service for the specified duration received the bonus in question.”

When questioned by Lusa, the spokesperson for the airline company specified that 37 women on maternity leave earned the performance-based bonus in 2007, but their absence from work did not surpass the 5 months allowed for in the terms and conditions. This year another 10 pregnant workers did not receive the bonus because they surpassed the limit.

The newspaper, “I”, that also heard from many constitutionalists on the issue, wrote that TAP’s decision also violated the Brussels agreement which stipulates that the exclusion of protected periods of time of a mother from the amount of work time needed to receive a retroactively remunerated payment would constitute work discrimination of the female sex.

The constitutionalists are divided on the legitimacy of the measure. SOURCE : DN ECONOMIA

I have left the exact paragraphing for Vanessa’s article and included the source, because Vanessa translates the complete articles, word for word, but of course in her own style. For those trying to learn Portuguese this may be a useful learning aid. Der

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

Demolition of the Savoy Hotel has already begun – The works are going to take 10 months. The new hotel opens with 420 rooms at the end of 2012. Like we didn’t already know, as we had a photo sent in before Xmas of the sign being taken down. So, is anyone brave enough to book now a holiday for Xmas 2012 / new year 2013, staying at the new Savoy Hotel. No I didn’t think so. I reckon if it’s ready by the end of 2013 it will be a miracle.

Today’s main news headline : 1,183 waiting for the student support grants – Withdrawal from the University is the path followed by some of the approximately 1,400 students who applied for financial support to take their courses.  Because until now, only 200 were awarded. Students who registered in Madeira University last June, to start in September 2009, are not being processed fast enough in terms of state financial support according to a spokesman at the University. He says that “there are hundreds of people making an effort to enable students to continue their further education”, and now students are having to leave as families reach their limits in providing financial support.  He says that there have always been delays in providing ‘grants’, but that this year has been a “failure” because of a new system for approving applications, which was actually introduced to simplify and speed up the process. Only 222 out of 1405 applications have actually been awarded their scholarships so far. That is an absolute disgrace! Students who have chosen to continue their education in this time of high unemployment should be given every encouragement, but instead, those in families of limited means are being penalised. And that will probably punish those wanting to take such an important step, quite possibly for the rest of their lives.

Most of today’s front page is taken up with a close up of João Carlos Gouveia, almost ex-leader of the PS Socialists of Madeira : Gouveia on his way out turns into a loose cannon – The day before the PS-M starts to choose a new leader, João Carlos Gouveia has assumed that he lost. And he blames others. Above all, the “two Trojan horses” who resigned and who helped the PND. Other complaints in an interview with the Diário : “It is certain that the MP will make a charge against Dr. Jaime Leandro”; “One obstacle to the strengthening of the PS of Madeira is the PS at national level”; “I have been requested by the Government to give benefits and favours, which I refused”; “90% of the PS representatives want to be in the vice-presidency of the Madeira Legislative Assembly”. Phew, that was a tough one to get through! There is no way today’s party leader Gouveia will get re-elected, and there was not much chance anyway before he gave this interview. What a waste of space he has been for the last two years, and a pretty pathetic opposition leader to a government that tramples on everybody. Lets hope a new leader can pull something together that can at least deserve the tag of ‘opposition’, even if it can’t knock Jardim and the PSD of of their perch.

State owes €1 million for the library of Câmara de Lobos.

The top sport / football headline today : Synthetic [pitch] of União passes from €2.415 to €1.818 million – Bank changes the terms and ‘forces’ the Regional Government to save €579 thousand in interest charges. The new football field in the complex of C.F. União, in Vale Paraíso in Camacha, has to face cutbacks, even though the contract was finalised. The original contract had a period of grace of four years to make payments,  with the last possible payment being made within 15 years, but now the capital repayments and interest will have to start being cleared starting this year, effectively saving the Madeira government €579 in interest payments. Other changes are also imposed. Apparently the complex of União already has two pitches, although no specifics are given, so why our cash-strapped government is putting it’s name to new contracts is beyond me. Beside that, the government has spent years equipping Madeira with new sports complexes and facilities, apparently all vastly underused. But what amazes me is that the government here has any credibility, or even credit, left with the lending institutions. Not a week goes by and we read some news story about the failure to pay suppliers, contracts, and clubs and social institutions etc., and there is no doubt that the money supply here in the public coffers is very tight. If I was a money lender, I would have scrubbed the GR off my list long ago. Not to mention the new hospital that we need so urgently.

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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