CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR - Algeciras, Castellar, Jimena, La Línea, Los Barrios, San Roque, Tarifa, Gibraltar and the Strait zone.

DATELINE FRIDAY JULY 30 2010

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TILL THE END OF AUGUST WE ARE PRESENTING A COMPACT WEEKLY NEWS SERVICE

NUDISTS ANGRY OVER CÁDIZ BEACH ARREST

By David Eade
 

Ismael Rodrigo, president of the Spanish Federation of Naturism, has reacted angrily to the fines received by three on La Victoria beach in Cádiz city. On July 18 they were ordered to put bathing costumes on by the local police as required by local by-laws and were told that the town hall had not accepted a High Court ruling they could be nude.

The day had been designated as Día sin bañador and three men and a child bathed naked whilst their companions were clothed in fear of actions by the town hall. Rodrigo described the trio as “valiant” who were exercising their right to be naked on the largest number of beaches possible – and to be able to sunbathe without clothes.

He added there was a certain tolerance of this practice but condemned Cádiz for its persecution, reprimanding and fining on a day when the bathing without a costume was being celebrated. Just one day in the year yet Cádiz could not allow this freedom of expression.

FOUR PAINTED TOURIST ROUTES

The Cádiz city tourist office has designed four tourist walks that are marked out in paint on the ground. The idea is that tourists and visitors can following the signs and see the most attractive places in the town. To help people wishing to walk the routes leaflets have also been produced in five languages. They include a map and a description of the places that will be visited. The first visits the Pópulo and Santa María districts, the second goes along the coast visiting the fortifications, the third includes the houses, palaces and watch towers of those who traded with the Indies and the fourth is dedicated to places related to the signing of the Constitution of 1812.

OWNER OF DRUG YACHT NOT GUILTY

The Cádiz provincial court has absolved the owner of a yacht that was intercepted by the Custom authorities a year ago off the Cádiz coast with 2.1 tonnes of hashish on board. The crew of three have been handed six year jail terms. However although the prosecutor wanted a six year and six month prison sentence for the owner the court ruled there was no evidence that he had any knowledge of what was planned or for what purpose his yacht was being used.

OMBUDSMAN TAKES UP CANCER CASE

The Defender of the Patient in Cádiz has lodged an official complaint on the behalf of the parents of a young man from Barbate who died from cancer after three incorrect diagnoses at the Puerto Real Hospital. This resulted in him being given the wrong treatment and he subsequently died. The ombudsman said that at no time was the seriousness of his illness detected.

He died aged 17 in September 2008 after strong pains in his lower back and spine and he went to the Barbate health centre where he was told he had a lumbar region problem. As the pains persisted two days later he went to the Puerto Real Hospital where again his condition was misdiagnosed. After 15 days in the same hospital he had x-rays taken of his lumbar this time the diagnosis was sclerosis for which he was given a variety of pain killers.

It was only when he was taken to Cádiz Hospital that it was noticed that he had a bone lesion compatible with cancer of the bones which had a very aggressive progression. He underwent chemo and radio therapy but died in the January. The ombudsman said that the three misdiagnosis and the lost of time hampered his badly needed treatment and could have resulted in his subsequent death. He is seeking 132,000 euros in compensation for the family.

FIFTEEN PER CENT ARE SELF EMPLOYED

The regional government’s delegate for employment in Cádiz, Juan Bouza, says 15 per cent of those in the labour market in the province are self employed. He was speaking at an employment seminar in Puerto Real where he added that the self employed generated 25 per cent of the jobs in the province.

RED FACES AT THE GUARDIA CIVIL

Embarrassment for the Guardia Civil after one of the quarters at their barracks in El Puerto de Santa María was broken in to. It entered one of the living quarters through a window after climbing up a tree. Personal possessions belonging to the occupier if the apartment were stolen including a laptop computer. The officer was asleep in bed at the time. Although the robbery has caused red faces at the barracks it has also heightened concerns over security.

CHICLANA SEES BOOST IN RENTAL PROPERTIES

The economic crisis has led to a leap in the number of people seeking to rent properties in Chiclana. The move is strong amongst young people who previously would have purchased but are now renting instead. The difficulty in obtaining a mortgage is behind the rise which has also resulted in a sharp drop in house purchases. Eighty per cent of those seeking to rent are under 30 with 20 per cent coming from people who have suffered domestic violence or who have separated or divorced their partner.

BID TO HAVE NUEVO PEPITA AURORA RAISED

The lawyer acting for the sole person accused over the sinking of the fishing vessel the Nuevo Pepita Aurora, Luis Gómez Grosso, has asked the Algeciras court to ask the Ministry of Public Works and the Coast Guard the coast of refloating the ship. It is in 29 metres of water nearly a mile off the south of the Punta de Gracia. The owner José Vega is anxious that the fishing boat should be recovered and taken to a dry dock so that it can be fully examined.

SMALL VINE GROWERS NEED URGENT HELP

The defence of the vine action group, COAG and Trebujena town hall have called on the Andalucía ministry of agriculture to take urgent action to support the small growers who because their crops are not viable might have to abandon the sector. Hundreds of these growers largely in Sanlucar and Trebujena held a protest outside the provincial delegation of agriculture and say their demonstrations will continue to there is a satisfactory response to their demands. They travelled to Cádiz city in a fleet of vehicles and handed out at mid-day 3,000 kilos of grapes saying whilst they grew vines for the famous Jerez wines they faced ruin.

SUPPORT FOR MAYOR ON HUNDER STRIKE

The mayor of La Barca, Roque Valenzuela, has been on hunger strike for a week and has received widespread support from residents, workers and the federation representing local municipal entities. This week around 300 people gathered in his support outside La Barca town hall over payments due to his community from Jerez. If there is no speedy resolution the residents intend to march from La Asunción to Jerez town hall. The federation estimates that over 350,000 euros is owed to La Barca by the Jerez municipality.

ZAHARA COUPLE SHOT DEAD IN DOS HERMANAS

The people of Zahara de la Sierra are in mourning after a husband and wife from the village who now lived in Dos Hermanas in Sevilla were found dead at their home. Both were said to be very ill and had suffered from depression. On Monday at calle Maestro Aparcio 10 in the Consolación area of Dos Hermanas. The brother of Francisco who lived in the same street and the aunt of his wife Teresa discovered their bodies and called the 112 emergency services. The brother visited them on a daily basis but went straight away after Teresa’s elderly mother was worried because they didn’t answer their phone. The two bodies were found in the bedroom and the theory is Francisco shot Teresa then turned the gun on himself. There is no sign of a struggle or Teresa having resisted the attack.

PROTEST WALK TO ALGECIRAS – BY BUS

Around 100 supporters of the Partido Popular in La Línea are expected to walk with the mayor of La Línea, Alejandro Sánchez, as he marches to the government offices in Algeciras to protest at the lack of State aid for his beleaguered town.

In fact they will walk from the border to Campamento then in to Algeciras from the outskirts – the rest of the journey will be made by bus as the authorities deemed it unsafe to walk along the A-7 and other dual carriageways en route.

However although his protest has the blessing of the PP’s leader, Mariano Rajoy, it has little support amongst the people of the border town where 10,000 are jobless. The association of Spanish workers who cross in to Gibraltar each day have said he is dragging La Línea back to the days or Franco and as the municipal work force has still to be paid for June there could be some angry jeering along the way.

The march is just one of several measures aimed at drawing attention to La Línea’s dire situation. These include ordering the local police to carry out document checks on Gibraltar-registered vehicles once they have crossed the border in to Spain plus the controversial plan to charge vehicles and pedestrians heading into Gibraltar.

THE AIR THAT WE BREATHE

Rush out people and fill your lungs with that lovely air! Good eh? Go on, gulp it down! Yes what’s wafting over the bay and the refinery is none other than Andalucía average air so enjoy, enjoy!
That may not have been the exact description of the air that you breathe given by the regional government’s environment delegate in Cádiz but it’s the gist of what Silvia López meant. Tests had shown that the air quality 88 per cent of the time was at an acceptable level – the average for Andalucía. Just don’t breathe in on the other 12 per cent of times!

It was one of a number of test reports from the ‘Informe de Medio Ambiente de 2009’ recently given by López. Another shows that the quality levels of the coastal waters of the bay and the sediment is 100 per cent good.

More good news is that industrial discharges in to the coastal waters have declined by 16 per cent since 2002 although there was a small spike in the Med results in 2007 and 2008. However López is keen to stress the “evolution and trend remains positive.” On the Atlantic coast industrial discharges dropped for the sixth consecutive year.

Data has also been published on the amount of nitrogen, chlorine and phosphorus in the bay and Med coast. However the delegate dismissed these saying they prove nothing more that all these components are discharged in to the bay and we don’t have to worry our pretty little heads about it. The quality of all the coastal waters in Andalucía is 100 per cent good quality and that is sufficient. So until your head turns green worry not.

However urban sewage waste still pours in to the waters off the Cádiz coast and in 2008 was higher than the Andalucía average. The treatment plant in Algeciras is still under construction making it the only major town in Spain to pour raw sewage in to the sea – but she didn’t mention that.

López added that in the Campo de Gibraltar area there is now an environment quality plan for the prevention and reduction of pollution. The purpose of this is provide the quantified and continual improvement of the quality of water, air and soil that is compatible with industry and the generation of wealth plus the providing of 30,000 jobs in the municipalities of the area.

Under the plan there is a monitoring unit with sensors and measuring devices that allows for a rapid response to any environmental danger. The delegate noted that in 2008, 2009 and so far in 2010 these sensors had not activated any alert because EU levels of air pollution or other criteria had not been exceeded. She added that the findings of these monitoring apparatus were used to access the effectiveness of the environmental policies in the area.

Raquel Ñeco is the president of the ecologist association Verdemar in the Campo de Gibraltar. She says it is no surprise that the ‘Informe Anual de Medio Ambiente en Andalucía 2009’ shows that the industrial activity in the bay emits 95 per cent of the nitrogen registered, 87 per cent of the chlorine residue, 80 per cent of the phosphorous and 57 per cent of the suspended solids. She also added that data existed to counter the regional government’s claim that there had been no contaminating episodes in the area over the last two years. She also suggested next time López comes to the area to discuss the environment she invites representatives from Verdemar and other ecologist groups who have a lot to say on the matter.

For the final word on this debate, for now, I asked Justine Olivero to give a Gibraltar perspective. She was heavily involved with former Euro MP Glyn Ford in having the European Parliament debate the need for a study of the high number of cancer deaths on both sides of the border and its relation to the heavy industry especially the refinery. Justine said: “The results which have been produced will not ring true to many people. An independent, cross border epidemiological study is the only way to objectively determine the reality of the position in a way that is credible with the public on both sides of the frontier.”

SHIPS CREW STRANDED IN ALGECIRAS

The owner of the Eastern Planet has yet to solve the plight of the crew that are stranded in Algeciras port since August 22 without fuel or power on the vessel. They are living in darkness without water for the toilets or to wash themselves or their clothes.

The representative of the International Federation of Transport Workers in Andalucía has been in contact with the crew and is trying to organise fuel to run the generators, organise their two months owed salary and for transport home. The UGT union and Caritas charity have taken them food and drink as well as candles.

CARREFOUR BIDS FOR NEW COMMERCIAL CENTRE

On Friday Los Barrios council will debate the application by Carrefour Property to create a new commercial centre on the Palmones industrial estate adjacent to the present hyperstore. The town planning report is said to be favourable and the approval of the council is needed before the company can seek approval from the regional government’s commission for commerce.