Madeira News Blog

(30th August). Today’s main news story : ‘Inter-Island Voyages More Expensive In The Region – To travel by plane between the islands of Madeira costs triple that in the Azores and the Canaries. Airport taxes also penalise the connection between Madeira and Porto Santo’. The Diário conducted a study in the three locations mentioned, about the cost of inter island travel, by air and sea. The conclusion is that mile for mile, the good people of Madeira pay more, and one of the main reasons is the direct government subsidies given (or not given). Cheaper fuel prices and economies of scale also play a part, as well as airport taxes. One of the conclusions is that inter-island travel in the Azores, by sea, costs €0.07 per mile, whilst here it costs €1.20 per mile. By air it costs on SATA between the Azores €3.50 per minute of air travel, whilst here the comparative cost is €9.60 per minute, charged by the same airline. In the Canary Islands the state subsidises residents by almost 60%, the Azores by 25%. Nothing for Madeirans, although those who live on Porto Santo do have an entitlement of 35% discount. It’s a long article, but if anyone wants to know more the two charts on these links sum it up MADEIRA TRAVEL MADEIRA TRAVEL 2

All people suffer from post-holiday syndrome on returning to work and their routines – Syndrome is "a longer version of the sensation that people feel Sunday night, having to return to work". Fatigue, concentration problems, and irritability, are symptoms that experts associate with the post-holiday syndrome, which this time of year affects those who, after a rest period, have to return to work and the routine of everyday life. Many according to a report are suffering from anxiety. An expert on the subject recommends an easing back into the routines, by going to bed early and getting up earlier, and anything else that helps readjust the routines more gradually. I guess that day then for many is tomorrow?

‘Engineer Rui Vieira Died – The agronomist and politician was aged 83′. He was the first director of the Jardim Botânico (Botanic Gardens) of Funchal, and a Euro MP for the CDS / PP. He died yesterday of cancer. 

Today’s sports headline, in football again : ‘Real Madrid Win (3 – 2) With A Goal From Ronaldo – The Madeiran put away a penalty to score one of the goals of the victory of the ‘merengues’ in the start of the Spanish league’.

‘Ponta Delgada Waiting A Civic Centre – With the festival ‘at the door’, it is clear also that it lacks a public bathroom in the centre of the parish’. This sounds like one of those gripping local features that I thought had disappeared a few weeks ago. It has a nice photo of a petrol station / cafe, and a few local men going about their business on the front page of today’s newspaper, but I couldn’t copy that, so we have a scenic view instead. Aside from the WC, it seems that Ponta Delgada has just about everything except adequate parking, and having it’s own petrol station is indeed a great privilege. Aside from that it has it’s own multibanco (ATM), post office, pharmacy, and even a swimming complex. The civic centre was promised to the people ten years ago. As for life there, there is a small drug problem, but mostly out of sight, but people continue to feel safe in the parish. Next weekend is the festa of Bom Jesus, that is one of the most popular and well attended on Madeira, and that is one of the reasons so many people complained about the lack of a public toilet. Like everywhere else here, the youngsters don’t want to work the land their families worked for generations.

‘Funchal Câmara Doesn’t Back Down On The Projects Of Clean Public Transport – President Miguel Albuquerque  assures that the ‘Eco Line’ and the ‘Green Line’ will not affect the taxis’. Despite the opposition of the taxi drivers, Funchal Council will not back down on the projects for environmentally friendly public transport. Eco Line goes into free travel on Tuesday, and September 22nd sees the start up of the Green Line, which connects Praia Formosa Beach to the city centre. The president of CMF believes that the controversy with the taxi drivers is being fed and used by politicians on the eve of elections. As regards to the Green Line, which replaces the various existing buses, Albuquerque states that it will not be free travel, and what changes is that the new buses are environmentally friendly.

‘The president of the Azores, Carlos César, argued yesterday that the Portuguese autonomous regions can not be treated equally by the state – Madeira to Porto Santo is 40 miles, but Santa Maria to Corvo is over 600 miles’. He directed his speech at the elections of 27th September, and to support the re-election of José Sócrates, Prime Minister. In his view, the Government of the Republic can not "treat in the same way things that are different," noting that the Azores are composed of nine islands and Madeira of just two. So the Azores should be entitled to a "positive discrimination" within the Regional Finance Law, which determines the amount of money that comes from the state to the autonomous regions. In other words he argues that the Azores should receive more state money than Madeira. That reality, according to the PS president, "the PSD and Manuela Ferreira Leite (party leader) have not understood" accusing the Social Democrats of wishing to change the calculations of transfers from the islands so as to "harm the Azores". "It is therefore crucial and fundamental to the Azores that the PS and José Sócrates win in the elections of 27th September", he appealed.

UPDATES :

Following the earlier story about the new environmentally friendly buses in Funchal, the council has said it wants to take out out the hotel coaches / buses that frequent Avenida do Mar, and encourage tourists to take the new ‘Green Line’ buses instead. The idea is to reduce congestion along the Avenida and the Estrada Monumental, by taking out the coaches which often carry very few passengers. That means tourists will have to pay for transport in and out of downtown Funchal.

‘RTP-M Interviews 12 Candidates In 12 Days’. The TV station of Madeira has decided to interview the 12 main candidates from the political parties that are standing in the national legislative elections on 27th September. The first one starts on Tuesday, and they will be shown after the 9 pm news. Each candidate or party representative will be given around 30 minutes to express their ideas and positions to the Madeira public. The channel is also considering having debates, but nothing is decided yet.

The final front page article today has a photo that makes no sense at all : ‘Ministers Come To Support Bernardo – A circuit of lectures will include a minister and several secretaries of state’. The objective is to discuss "key areas for the Region" with Bernardo Trindade, the socialist candidate for the parliament, as part of a set of initiatives that will take place from 7th September. He has invited several members of central government to take part, as well as other personalities from Madeira. "The aim is to trigger thought and discussion, and seek to decentralize initiatives," says Bernardo Trindade. The first lecture is scheduled for September 7th in Santa Cruz, and will be dedicated to the environment and spatial planning. The roadshow then goes to Câmara de Lobos (8th), Funchal (10th), administrative simplification will be the subject on 12th, then to Ponta do Sol (14th) to discuss agriculture, and then Machico to discuss employment. Porto Santo will be the venue to discuss tourism and transport on the 16th, with a final lecture still to be arranged on the 18th to discuss policies for autonomy.

‘Sócrates Against Social Security Proposed By The PSD’. The prime minister and secretary general of the Socialist Party, José Sócrates, said yesterday in Faro that he disagrees with Social Security based on "every man for himself", and criticized the social democrats for defending the capping of the Portuguese Social Security, as outlined in its prospectus presented to the public on Thursday. He said what was being proposed certainly means the "privatisation" of part of Social Security, and it would be "a bad decision for the country".

A very thin newspaper today, so that’s it for now. With the holiday season over tomorrow, perhaps there might be a few more journalists on duty.

(25th August). Today’s main news story : ‘Euro Support At Risk – Madeira is the second worst region in Portugal for the use of European funds. Below, only the Algarve’. The EU has allocated €21 billion for expenditure in Portugal, to spend in the period 2007 to 2013. Madeira has 398 approved applications from this funding worth €140 million, but only money from 20 of these. It’s just 2% of the available pot, with the north of Portugal bagging 41%, Alentejo 12%, and the Azores 5%. I am sure there must be a financial scandal against the government here somewhere, for the Diário to have made it the main headline. It’s one of those dreaded financial articles full of abbreviations and financial terms that nobody understands, so I will use my time more effectively elsewhere.

The main photo today shows a taxi rank, with the first in the queue out of his cab and looking rather annoyed : ‘Free ‘Eco Line’ Infuriates Taxi Drivers – The taxi drivers on the rank are worried and indignant with Albuquerque and Conceição Estudante : the free transport in ecologically friendly buses threatens to explode the market’. Taxis in "slow death". "In reality, we don’t know what the future will hold for taxi drivers after 1st September". It is with concern that the president of the Taxi Association AITRAM, António Loreto, sees the future of these professionals after Funchal council and the regional secretary for tourism and transport revealed their intentions to make travel free on the ‘Eco Line’ buses. Alongside the illegal competition from some transport companies, Loreto says that this latest news is tormenting his members and "is going to damage yet more  the life of the taxi drivers". He believes that the Eco Line is a experimental initiative, with a duration of six months. "It seems that we just have to pay taxes, whilst others take our business" he adds, referring to the fact that it will be very difficult to attract tourists and residents when there is a free bus every 10 minutes connecting the main points of the city and hotels. There are 450 taxi drivers in Funchal, and over a thousand jobs overall, that depend on the trade. This week AITRAM will hold an emergency meeting with its members to analyse the problem. Not much sympathy from me when it comes to taxi drivers in Funchal, I guess the ones that are that way inclined will be ripping off a few more tourists to try to fill their pockets. Tough on the good ones though, doing my politically correct bit of course. What price a cleaner environment eh? I am hopping mad with jealousy because we (over my way) will continue to have the filthy old polluting buses of Rodoeste, and still have to pay for them. All the good stuff goes to Funchal as usual, sod the poor people out in the country.

‘Only Two Salvage / Rescue Stations Operational – The programme for 6 marine assistance centres is far from the end’. Network of stations in "dry dock". The six centres for costal rescue stations were promised in 2007, but progress is slow. In fact the only one in operation is in Funchal, although the one in Santa Cruz (which will act as the HQ) situated under the airport runway, is used in necessity, but has not yet been inaugurated. Porto Santo should be ready in 2010. With the other three, the situation is uncertain. In Porto Moniz, APRAM awaits authorisation from the civil protection authorities to start work in the port, and in Lugar de Baixo, well we all know the situation there. Porto da Cruz is in no better situation, depending on the decision of the government regarding the harbour location, with nothing expected to happen before 2011. Despite the uncertainties, SANAS went ahead and have already bought the six lifeguards rescue stations. These are now in ‘dry dock’ waiting to be used. There is a story and / or excuse for almost all the delays, and little concrete information on moving forward. The incident at São Vicente a few days ago when a fisherman was swept out to sea, proves the need for a ready nearby response, rather than waiting for aid to come from afar. When installed, each station will have a lifeboat in readiness to be launched when an alert is raised. We already have one tucked away here in Ribeira Brava, which I believe is operated by our firemen, so perhaps the Diário doesn’t have the full picture regarding sea rescue resources.

Yesterday’s search efforts pictured after a 73 / 75 / 76 year old man disappeared on Porto Santo on Sunday. He went out to do some fishing and didn’t return. ‘Missing Fisherman Of Porto Santo Was The Chauffeur Of The Murdered Businessman’. Despite the headline, nothing has been found to suggest that any third party was involved in the disappearance. Involved in the search are the navy patrol  boat ‘Cuanza’, two launches, a Merlin EH-101 helicopter, firemen and 4 forensic divers from Funchal. The search started yesterday continues today.

‘Seven Detained For Driving Under The Effect Of Alcohol – PSP dealt with 21 accidents at the weekend’. Three of the cases were in Ribeira Brava, the other 4 were spread around. One arrest was made for driving without a licence, and another for having a pop at a police officer. The 21 road accidents caused 5 injuries, one serious. Over the previous week on the via rápida hosted 63 broken down vehicles, as well as 8 vehicles stopped without apparent reason. 9 people were caught ‘on foot’, 8 animals rescued, and 35 objects of ‘risky dimensions’ were removed.

In football : "Terrible Atmosphere" Awaiting Nacional – Zenit player praises the promotion in Russia and makes himself available to collaborate in every way’. The Zenit player is Danny, not born here, but considered as a Madeiran. The stadium is likely to be full (21,000+) of baying Russians, giving Nacional a very ‘warm’ noisy welcome on Thursday. He applauds the decision to use the game to promote ‘destination Madeira’, and considers it a good investment of €10,000. He said he has already told footballing colleagues about Madeira, and some have visited, including the owner of his former club Dynamo Moscow.

‘Cavaco Silva vetoes new law on unions ‘de facto’ - The President of the Republic considers "inappropriate" making substantive changes at the end of term’. The President vetoed the new law on unmarried couples, considering it "inappropriate" at the end of a legislative term changing the current law, and pointing out the lack of a "in depth discussion" on the matter. "Without contesting the eventual need to make an improvement of the legal regime of ‘de facto’ unions … it is considered that at this juncture, this change is not only untimely, but it was not subject to discussion with the depth that the importance of this topic necessarily requires", reads a note posted on the website of the Presidency.

‘Rockfall In Albufeira – Prosecutors opened criminal investigation’. The public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the collapse of a cliff on the beach Maria Luísa in Albufeira on Friday, that killed five people and injured several more. The inquiry will be conducted in Portimão and the report referred to the court in Albufeira. The inquiry will "investigate any responsibility for what happened".

UPDATE : 

‘Police Action Results In Complaints – PSP says it was acting in a situation of public disorder in Camacha’. Three men claim to have been the victims of aggression in the area Nogueira, from the Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) of the Public Security Police. The situation is worsening the already complicated relationship between the police and residents of the zone. The three young men aged 20, 26 and 27 claim they were the target of a revenge attack, because of personal issues that they had had with an officer of BIR. A police spokesman said the BIR was called in to deal with a situation of public disorder. It all happened at the Festa de São Lourenço at around 12.30 am, and witnesses said that the three men were eating espetada without bothering anyone and doing nothing to annoy the police officers, but when the three moved away to go to the toilet they were followed by the BIR team (made up of 9 officers). The toilet entrance was blocked to stop anyone else entering and the three were given a "drubbing that almost killed us", according to one of the three men, as well as being threatened with death. The police used guns, batons, and pepper spray in the attack he said, and he ended up pretending to pass-out to stop the assault. The police version says the men were found in the public toilet when responding to a call about drunkenness and drugs, and they resisted arrest, but were handcuffed and taken to the police station and later released. The case is now with the public prosecutor in Santa Cruz.

‘Police Charge Bar on Porto Santo For Unlicensed Security’. The popular bar in the docks area was caught using two bouncers, when not licensed to do so. The fine for the offence ranges from €10,000 to €100,000. That should put an end to that bar then!

‘Hotels Are Prepared – Hoteliers commend the meeting to clarify matters about Gripe A’. The hotels are already preparing themselves for a possible outbreak of swine flu cases, with the arrival of cooler September temperatures. They have the materials and disinfectants needed, and also a contingency plan. The Diário contacted the main hotel groups of Pestana, Porto Bay, Savoy and Dorisol, and all assured that they were ready for the expected pandemic, with workers instructed and provided with ‘protective kits’, that include long-sleeved uniforms, ‘duck billed’ protective masks, and gels and disinfectants for cleaning telephones, doorknobs, printers, sanitary facilities etc. They are also trained in being diplomatic as to not upset customers. Can’t deny that being an interesting prospect, some one dressed on like a duck billed Darth Vader approaching a sneezing guest and hosing him down with disinfectant and yet maintaining hotel type diplomacy. I can’t deny being a little intrigued by the ‘kits’ containing materials for cleaning ‘printers’, although everything else makes sense. What make printers a special case I wonder? It’s a while since I went to a hotel I must admit, but in this day and age do they now put printers on dinner tables, or do people sleep with them. What about the computers they are connected to, are they somehow immune to Gripe A, and an even worse risk I would guess is the computer keyboard, as that’s where people have their hands after the previous gripe victim has coughed and sneezed all over it. I would have thought that lift buttons, and indeed coins and notes, would present a higher risk and have a higher priority than printers. I am busy saving up my small change, so when the pandemic hits Rib. Bra. I can always pay for things with the exact money … no risk then with infected change. What worries me is the kissey kissey thing and shaking hands with so many people, as I don’t want to offend anyone by refusal. Perhaps I will paint my face with pink spots, then people will avoid me instead.

Only around 20 articles in today’s Diário news sections (excluding sport and events), so that’s it from there today, but might I drift over to the dark side later to see what’s in the Jornal da Madeira, but no promises.

Just this one : "Mistérios das Ilhas" In The Bookshops Of Madeira’. ”Mysteries of the Islands’, controversies and secrets from the history of Madeira, by the author journalist José Luís Cabrita, is already on sale in all good bookshops. It has a preface by a man called Alberto João Jardim, who also happens be the president of Madeira (and presumably that also means that he is protected from any personal embarrassment). The book questions the discovery of Madeira, and looks at the ‘captains’ of the island, it’s settlement, and its inhabitants. It presents little known information about Madeira, some of it controversial. In the preface, Alberto João Jardim believes that "Mysteries of the Islands" is "a new and different image that brings the history of Madeira to political debate". I want to read it, but at €20 a copy, it might have to wait until Xmas.

(15th August). Today’s main photo shows a crowd gathered at night in a decorated street : ‘Crisis Cools The wager In The Festival Of Monte – The people turned up in numbers, but the recession determined the investment from the traders’. A festival that doesn’t weaken. At four in the afternoon there were those cooking their espetada (beef chunks) over a live flame. What might seem early for some, is not the case for those preparing for a night of Monte, the festival of all festivals. And to help the push, the fountain water and banished vinho seco (dry red wine) was not lacking. Customers for the traders are not lacking, with the Madeirans preferring the bolo do caco with garlic butter, whilst the foreigners prefer the bread with the chouriço (sausage). One trader selling meat to barbeque recalls better times for the traders, saying that he sold 30% of what he sold in previous years, adding that the money is still there for some, but in the hands of the workers it is each time less.

In a second article : ‘With The Crisis The People Ask More From Nossa Senhora (Our Lady) – A new flood expected on the Night of Monte’. 550 kilos of meat for espetada, 450 kilos of flour to make 900 ‘bolos do caco’, they are some of the numbers of the Night of Monte, that brings together the faithful and the devoted to Nossa Senhora do Monte. Last year, José Serafim Gomes, a candle seller (or maybe it’s spark plugs), gathered around a ton and a half of wax. This year he expects to sell more, "with the crisis the people ask more from Nossa Senhora", he says. He benefits from the crisis. Meanwhile José Figueira admits to have sold nearly 2,000 kilos of meat during the day, whilst Luís Figueira is very optimistic about how his bolos de caco are going to sell. Don’t ask me why the quantities of meat differ in the article, I just translate. Nice pic … it’s one of the few trades where you get to see the seller actually burning his stock. I wonder if he actually charges more or less for a lit candle rather than a passive one?

Not much mention of the other six festas ongoing alongside Monte, but there is a short article on the one in Porto da Cruz.

‘Taxi Drivers Of Machico 9 Years Waiting For The Airport. Cabbies forgotten by the Madeira government’. Since the opening of the extension of Madeira Airport on 15th September 2000, the taxi drivers of Machico have been waiting for permits to work out of the airport, alongside the taxi drivers of Santa Cruz, for they consider that their right. They believe that because the airport is also situated in Machico, not just in Santa Cruz. Dispirited, they were forgotten by the regional government. In 2005, a partial step was made, when the Regional Directorate of Land Transport published an order permitting 7 taxis to enter the airport each day, but that arrangement lasted just 11 days, when a court imposed an injunction after a complaint by a taxi firm in Gaula, but took another year to give its reason. It seems that the order exceeded the rights of the issuer. The matter has been batted backwards and forwards by politicians and courts ever since. There seems to be no reason why this story hit the front page today, as nothing has changed. The issue mentioned really is secondary, as Madeira just has too many taxis, around 700 if I remember correctly but it could be more, and the stupidity of the council boundary restrictions just makes the matter worse. It is very environmentally unfriendly too, as any taxi driver crossing council boundaries has to return to base empty, pretty much prohibited from picking up passengers in someone else’s territory.

‘Police Raid Causes Damage In Santo Amaro – The entrance into a house of the father of two suspects was by break-in’. PSP agents break doors in search of evidence. One man, whose two sons are suspected of drug trafficking, had doors broken, drawers turned upside down, wardrobe contents emptied, and windows broken. He is heartbroken, and has hired a lawyer to defend his rights. The police admit that that kind of operation can cause discomfort, but point out that the use of force is legitimate, and is a legal means of obtaining evidence. The father of the two argues that the search warrant had the names of his sons, and so the police had no right to break into his home. The police left with two bags of objects, including a mobile phone and a quantity of money. They questioned one of the suspects and threatened to smash the rest of the house, if he didn’t tell them where the drugs were (it’s not clear whose side of the story this is at this point). The use of force is a tough measure, but the Police Commissioner emphasizes that this only happens when the measures of prevention and deterrence fail.

Much of the same in the sports headline : ‘Big Game In Choupana With The Visit Of Sporting – With the statistics in their favour, Nacional receive Sporting of Liedson’. Liedson is Sporting’s star goalscorer. Also ‘Leixões - Belenenses Open 1st League With Zeros’, 0 – 0 in last night’s opening league game.

‘Man Scared Clients With ’11 Calibre’ Knife’. An individual entered a bar in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, and placed a knife with an 11 centimetre blade on the bar. The customers, fearing trouble, scarpered and called the police, who arrived and arrested the man. He didn’t use the knife, or threaten anyone, but under new arms laws a blade of that size is illegal.

’30 Thousand Vaccines Against The Flu – There is no proof that the vaccine for normal seasonal flu protects against Gripe A’. The health authority here, IASAÚDE, has ordered 30,000 vaccines to combat flu this Winter. The annual vaccination programme has been running since 1996, and provides free injections for groups considered to be ‘at risk’. The number of vaccinations requested is 10% higher than last year, because the suppliers usually send less than ordered due to product shortages. The vaccinations should start next month. At present nobody has much idea when the vaccines against Gripe A swine flu will be available.

Petrol (95) goes up 1c. on Monday. That’s €1.20 a litre.

(14th August). The social democrats in Machico council want to convert the municipal cemetery into a public garden. The socialists have proposed that the remains be moved to the new cemetery, leaving a large common tombstone with the names of all the deceased be placed there. To meet legal guidelines and ensure that local people who still go there to visit graves are not upset, it could be ten years before the transformation takes place, but in the meantime it is intended to start by dealing with the neglected graves. The PSD rejected the socialist proposal, saying it was unworkable because the cemetery is over one hundred years old and the records are not complete, but they do intend to leave some sort of memorial there to remind people that it was once a cemetery.

For a change we managed a whole day yesterday without mentioning Porto Santo, but I cheated and held this one over from the Jornal da Madeira yesterday, just to give us a break. "Economic Activities" brings four cases – Porto Santo – Inspections during the Summer continue until late September’. The trade increases exponentially during the Summer, as the tourists flock there, and trade obviously soars, particularly in restaurants. Hence the Regional Inspectorate of Economic Activities is currently on Porto Santo making sure standards don’t slip. Since early Summer 4 establishments have been identified and entered into due process for non-compliance with rules and laws. The charges are : Not displaying a price list; Not having a livro de reclamações (complaints book); Lack of hygiene in the establishment; and, Thursday morning, the transport of food items in unhygienic conditions, brought the latest charge. A spokesman for the agency, Valentim Caldeira says he disagrees with those who say, "Porto Santo is a land where anything goes" and stresses that "in accordance with the experience we have had in recent years, Porto Santo is increasingly a destination for quality. Especially in the restaurants. There have been significant improvements and, hence, as is natural in these circumstances, the number of violations is becoming smaller, which leaves us satisfied, without prejudicing our ongoing duty to inspect in a preventive manner that avoids these offences". As for supermarkets, there have been no complaints. No price list … if that is an offence I am surprised there are many bars left open in my town … actually, now I think about there aren’t that many left.