Madeira News Blog

Today’s Photo : Thanks to Eiryl … Azulejos tiles at the entrance to old house in Santa Maria Maior, Funchal

Thanks again to Elaine of course for yesterday’s top stories :

Ilhas Afortunadas, ‘Fortunate Islands’ at New Year. The contract for the end of year fireworks display has been awarded to Macedo’s Pirotecnia. The theme this year will be the ‘Fortunate Islands’. The eight minute display will be divided into 21 separate ‘pictures’, each directly inspired from an element of fauna and flora of Madeira, e.g., agapanthus, banana, firecrest, dolphin, sea urchins etc. The aim is to draw attention to the Laurissilva and the importance of preserving the heritage of biological diversity in the region – International Year of Biodiversity is 2010. Estimated cost is just over 1 million Euros. It was in 2007 when Macedo’s helped to get Madeira in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest firework display in the world. The Secretariat of Tourism will present the Christmas and New Year program to the media on November 24. The first phase of the illuminations starts on November 27 and the second on December 4. —– €1 million spent in just over 8 minutes!

Diário wins two European Newspaper Awards. Awarded a prize in the category ‘Front Page’ for the cover of the July 15 2009 edition and ‘Sector in Front Page’ award for two pieces on pages 2 and 3 in the 21 March 2009 issue and the December 8 2008 issue. The Portuguese ‘I’ won the award in the category of ‘Best Newspaper Designed in Europe’ and the ‘Expresso’ achieved various distinctions.

Negligence causes gas explosion. An explosion by a gas cylinder yesterday morning in the Piornais Levada in Funchal caused a huge scare but no casualties or damage. The accident occurred when a woman was changing an empty bottle and the connection was not secure but fortunately it was the empty cylinder that exploded and the flame did not reach the full one.

Illegal parking. Complaint of continual illegal parking near the entrance/exit to the highway at Ribeira Brava, despite road signs.

Infamous development in Porto Novo. A controversial development built on top of a steep cliff. This area contains 48 apartments spread over three blocks and was built by the company JSP Franca. It was subject to court action in 2000 and since then, the complex for public housing has been vandalized while the case has been going through court. The problem is that the land is part of the public maritime domain belonging to the Government and therefore the private properties along the coastline are illegal. The other interpretation of the law, favoured by the Government, is that the land has been recognized by them as private for more than 100 years and therefore detached from the public domain and the development is legal.

Technical problem at the port costs €3 million. The embarking / disembarking equipment bought for the new port is designed to operate in ports where the tidal range is less than 2 metres, which is not always the case in Madeira. The technical solution costs an additional 3 million Euros. The ports authority invested a total of 8 million with a loan and there are questions raised as who will pay the 600/800 thousand Euros per year to finance and operate the service. The shipping agents are concerned that the passenger rates may increase 50%. The doubts about paying the loan are that only 2.5% of port passengers need to use the formal boarding arrangements for checking luggage and other procedures, which will be those starting or ending a cruise in Funchal. Those using Naviera Armas or the Porto Santo Line will not require it. The International Passenger Terminal will not be opened until March next year, instead of this December, due to structural changes in the building.

Tunas festival dates. Tuna Universitaria da Madeira (TUMa) will keep alive the Regional Meeting of Tunas, from 3 December to June 5 this time. The XV Meeting program dates in Funchal are: Thursday December 3 – reception at the Town Hall followed by a tour of the city centre. Saturday December 5, 21.00 – Praça do Municipo.

Madeira Wine awarded silver medal.  Justino’s Madeira Malvasia 10 Years Old was awarded the Silver Medal in the competition Fortified Wine Challenge sponsored by the magazine ‘Drinks International’. This was in the category Madeira, Marsala and Other Styles. This wine has achieved Gold Medals in the International Wine Challenge (2001), the VII Wine Masters Challenge (2006), and The World of Malvasia (2009).

100 hospitalized children will go whale and dolphin watching. The Foundation of Gil has made an agreement with the company Rota dos Cetaceos (Whale Route) to allow children hospitalized for long periods to go on whale and dolphin watching trips.

Porto Moniz Council worker accused foreman of assault. While cutting the roadside vegetation, some workers came across a wasp nest. One man hesitated as he had previously been stung, causing his leg to swell. The foreman said this would not happen again and then the worker inadvertently touched the nest with his podoa (curved sickle for pruning trees). Provoked, the wasps swarmed and attacked the workers. The foreman grabbed the worker by the shoulders and pushed him onto the road and then down a 1.5 metre bank. When pushed over, the worker fell on top of his podoa and had small cuts near his eye and he also cut his right arm. The doctor at the Health Centre provided written evidence for the police and the foreman denies the assault. —- Anyone else fallen on their padoa?

Residents fear using a road in Lazareto. The instability of the slope has caused small landslides onto the road when it rains. These have caused problems to motorists and pedestrians. Small stones can also come loose at any time and are of concern to residents waiting at the bus stop. The council know about the problem and wanted to enlarge the road but this was too expensive.

Retired police commissioner might be subject to disciplinary action. Continuation of the saga about the pre-election violence. On the 2 October during the opening of the expressway to the port, clashes between the populares and the PND required the presence of the BIR. Jardim disputes the inaction of the PSP and accuses the Regional Commissioner of being under "the control of Lisbon" and not adequately protecting the opening. On the 14 October, the Diário learnt that a police officer requested a transfer out of the Region because he believes there are no conditions for performing police functions in the Region where the Government offends the honour, dignity and impartiality of men and women who are in the service of the Regional Command of the PSP. There are now two more similar requests for transfers. The retired commissioner Manuel Felix is said to be in "clear conscience". He has not yet been asked to give evidence to the PSP or Public Ministry. Although he is retired, he might face disciplinary action for neglect of duties. The penalty could be a fine or loss of pension rights.

Front page headlines from today’s Diário de Notícias :

A nice easy job for me today, with just one important story in the eyes of the Diário, which has devoted almost the complete front page to the matter :

África Nossa (our Africa) – Portugal beat Bosnia and qualified for the World Cup Finals 2010. The draw takes place on 4th December. Portugal won 0 – 1 on Bosnia’s home soil, with a very fine goal early in the second half by Raul Meireles. Tricky game, but Portugal reverted to their more natural attacking game and it paid off. I thought the match was going to be called off after some trouble with the crowd in the second half with objects being thrown at players and officials, with a linesman getting hit, but it just prolonged the game another 5 minutes. What a relief, and a what a tonic for the Portuguese sanity.

Slovenia and Algeria, the teams of Nacional’s players  Pecnik and Halliche, are among the 32 teams that qualified.

There were a couple more headlines just about squeezed in at the bottom of the page :

Court Annuls Judgement – High Court sets aside the decision of the Court of Funchal that sentenced a mother to 16 years in prison for the death of her daughter. The court ‘Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa’ annulled the judgement of the court ‘Vara Mista’ in Funchal, that had sentenced a young mother to 16 years in prison for the death of her 2 year old daughter in November 2007, for qualified homicide. The allegation was that she poisoned her whilst she was institutionalised, using biscuits and fruit juice, a fact proved by the autopsy.

Government unties knot in Campanário. The photograph shows that rather awkward junction of the via rápida in Campanário. The government is to put the problems right to ease traffic flow and to improve safety in the problem area. Work to correct the problem area should start early next year, and is being progressed with some haste, even though it has been like that since construction 12 years ago.

‘Case of the suitcase’ has connections to Madeira. This is about a suspended MP in the Assembly of the Republic, António Preto, accused of fiscal fraud. It seems he is involved in the real estate company in Funchal ‘Serbro-Construções Imobiliárias, S.A.’. Did I mention that Senior Preto is a member of the Social Democratic Party? No, well he is, so I can only deduce that such behaviour must run in that orange blood.

44 sympathetic institutions display art. Feel free to send me in a translation for this story.

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You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Selina … "The waterfall by Modelo in Ribeira Brava was extremely fierce, dark brown in colour from all the soil in the water. This picture was taken during a downpour on Sunday morning".

‘Easton resident, native of Madeira, follows calling to become a Spanish teacher – Blue Hills Spanish teacher is well-versed in five languages’. Worth a quick visit to read the beginning bit about the differences in education, and although things have vastly improved here, the kids / parents still have to buy their school books. BOOKS FOR FREE

‘Wind Power in Portugal’. Although not specifically about Madeira, quite an interesting article about renewable energy policy and achievements in Portugal. THAR SHE BLOWS

"Hi all, I have found a website for anyone wanting to learn a new language, you can find it at www.livemocha.com . There are about 160 hours of lessons in 21 different languages available for free, including Portuguese.

The livemocha site offers social-networking tools that augment the online lessons and let users add hints and tips. You are given a personal homepage where you can see what lessons you have taken, how far you have progressed, and how fast you are learning. The site also supports video chat so you can hook up with other students and practise conversations. The site is totally web based, and easy to sign up which I have done, lessons seem quite easy to start you off, and could be a good free way of getting some practise in Portuguese". Tobi.

In today’s news : ‘Seasonal Flu Vaccinations Start On Monday – The campaign gives free jabs  to at risk groups’. The health centres of Madeira will start the injections next week, with the over 65′s, people with chronic conditions and respiratory problems, and other ‘at risk’ illness groups at the head of the queue. 27,000 vaccines were ordered, 3,000 more than last year.

As for Gripe A swine flu, last weeks figures were released and the numbers remain unchanged, with no new cases confirmed from the 10 that were tested. The count since the start remains at 40, mostly being foreigners, with just 4 cases of secondary transmission so far.

‘Mosquito Bites Increase In The Last Few Days’. The complaints have noticeably increased, but it is not possible to confirm whether the ‘Aedes Aegypti’ was responsible, or other mosquito species, particularly as studies in July have shown the AA population to be low. A new study started yesterday looking at the AA population density, and the effectiveness of the insecticides being used.

‘Rock Fall Hits Via Rápida – Junction at Quinta Grande closed in the direction of Ribeira Brava’. At around 2.30 yesterday afternoon a rock fall closed the via rápida, forcing drivers to exit the road at Quinta Grande and rejoin at Campanário. No one was hurt and and the damage caused was minimal. It was hoped to clean up the area and have it reopened last night. The TV coverage didn’t show much evidence of the rock fall, but the workmen were up on the rockface clearing off loose material.

The main news headline today : ‘Fire In Quinta Escuna Creates Political Controversy – The company that owns the property in Santa Cruz said it is the "victim of an act of vandalism" and involves the movement ‘Juntos Pelo Povo’ (JPP) in a communication about the fire of suspect origin on Sunday. The case is already in the hands of the law. JPP threatens it own lawsuit’. The company that administers the Quinta Escuna, Tijolo Branco, has sent a communication to the Diário making 5 points about the fire, that was started by a tyre and petrol, and could have caused much more damage if the emergency services hadn’t arrived quickly. The basis for the blaming of the JPP, who are contesting all the seats in Sunday’s local elections, seems to be based on the fact that an organised event was cancelled due to bad weather, and the fire occurred soon after, after many of the JPP supporters had "frequented the taverns and bars of Santa Cruz". A fire of suspect origin eh? I would suggest that a burning tyre accompanied with petrol was slightly more than ‘suspect’, especially if the rest of the car was missing at the scene.

‘Delays – The Complaints Increase : Correios [Post Office] delay payments to the retired, that increase by more than five thousand in a year’. Madeira has over 37,000 retired pensioners, but add to that those with ‘survival pensions’ and disability pensions, the number rises to close to 64,000, rising by an average of 524 each year over the last decade. These people complain about the services of Correios in sending their pensions, and the Association Of Retirement of Madeira has called a conference next week to discuss the matter. There should be a counter just for complaints at the Correios, as the service just seems to get worse and worse. For me lately, stuff delayed by weeks, stuff correctly addressed but returned to sender, masses of repeat and out of date junk mail, and then last week an attempted delivery that wasn’t when the postman couldn’t be bothered to ring the doorbell, and left a card instead. The days when the bills arrive before the direct debits are taken from the bank have become a rarity. Darn contractors, no pride in the job and the lack of local knowledge, are probably the main reasons, and if we could get Uncle Bertie to give them as good a slating as he did with the police, then maybe the Correios bosses might sit up and take notice.

UPDATES : Thanks again to Elaine in Garajau :

Funchal council demolish building in Rua de Santa Maria. They will demolish part of the building which partially collapsed on Friday, as it is a danger to passing people and adjacent buildings.

Shelter has new attic wing for boys. Funchal council will aid expansion of the shelter for young people, Our Lady of Conception, which at present houses 45 young people, although it can accommodate 50. It successfully helps them integrate back into society.

Camacha has a new Centre for Occupational Activities for children with special needs. Necessary due to geographic location often making travelling difficult to other areas.

Three parish councils provide training for the unemployed. Three areas of Funchal, Sao Martinho, Sao Goncalo and Imaculado Coraçao de Maria, will provide IT and commercial training, leading to recognized qualifications, for 15 people in each area. The courses last 15 months and they will receive a subsidy of 500 Euros.

Rain affected official inaugurations. The rain affected Jardim’s inaugurations of new roads in Câmara de Lobos and Ribeira Brava yesterday. In the first one, he had to use the PSD campaign car’s sound system. Usual refreshments were still served. Jardim looked favourably upon the rain, saying: "It is said that when there is rain there is happiness." "Thanks to God we always need plenty of water for our land, especially for these agricultural areas that have missed the rain". The photo with this story will appear tomorrow, for reasons that will soon become clear.

Two PSD rallies have been cancelled due to the rain, one at Santo António and one at Ponta do Sol.

Government has filed a complaint about Friday’s policing of the opening of the port tunnel. Unlawfully disturbing the activities of the Government can lead up to three years in prison. Jardim keeps stating he has no problem with the PSP of Madeira it is just outside influence (Portugal, I presume).

Political disagreements about the residential home in Porto Moniz. A PS candidate for the area complained that the opening of the home had occurred just prior to elections, although it is not ready to function or would employ as many people as stated. The Foundation which run the home have rebuffed this political accusation.

Usual complaints by all political parties about unfair electioneering by inaugurations, defamation and sweeteners.

Fishermen in Câmara de Lobos complaining. Saying that politicians only think of them during election time. Still want a fishing port, and subsidies during the low season similar to those in Machico and Caniçal. Also, poorer catches of the black scabbard (espada) fish.

PSD confident to win Câmara de Lobos. Usual pre-election poll says they will return to power, as in 2001 and 2005, with 5 seats and 2 to the PS. They will get 50 – 54%  of the vote, less than 61.4% in 2005, and the PS 15.4% instead of 17.6% last time.

PS candidate for Funchal asks the Minister of Finances to resolve the situation of €8 million owed by the Portuguese State. Claims that there has been 5% IRS withheld from the 2009 Budget, 5.4 million Euros from Funchal council and when including other municipalities, 8 million Euros should have been transferred in February.

Porto Santo has emergency plan. More details of proposed work on the island. There will be an emergency fund for housing repairs, food assistance and assistance with medical expenses, especially to the elderly. Road improvement, expansion of the Residential Home, Arts and Crafts Workshop, Cultural Centre, Library and Archive and Fire Department.

Colombo’s Resort still stagnates. Work stopped in 2008 when the developer SITCB needed 60 million Euros to complete the project. Difficulty in obtaining investment and bank loans due to the financial situation. In July, there was supposed to be a memorandum between public and private companies to restart the work but still no progress. Was due for completion in summer 2010. There are still negotiations about the continuation of the works on Madeira Palace Hotel, and management of the Quinta da Lorde Resort in Caniçal.

‘Costa Serena’ will start cruises from Funchal next January. The Costa Cruises Portugal promoter confirmed that you will be able to board in Funchal on the cruise from next January.

Date of next year’s International Film Festival still not certain. Not yet confirmed that it will be 10 – 17 April 2010.

‘Overcoming the Fears’ exhibition opens in the Electricity Museum. Opens at 6 pm tonight. Illustrating the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals, established in 2000 by 189 Governments.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or 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. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos / videos, or if you can contribute regularly, I can give you a special account that allows you to create your own blog postings.
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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 : Thanks to Jim … Funchal view taken from the Botanical Gardens

A well written but samey article on Madeira written for the hard of hearing : HERE

“I went for a walk around the beautiful Eastern part, Ponta de São Lourenço where there are tremendous rock formations leading right out to sea. It is possible to climb up and see both the northern and southern side of the island and the rugged natural beauty, which is totally untouched by civilisation” errr missed Quinta do Lorde, easily done I guess. A travel journalist’s(?) view for Virgin Holidays Cruises. MADEIRA IN FOCUS

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

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos

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