COSTA DE LA LUZ

- Sanlúcar to Rota & Chiclana to Tarifa.

DATELINE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3 2010

Officials from the Andalucía ministry of the environment have announced that this year they have saved 15 chicks born to the endangered Spanish Imperial Eagle. This is a record number and would indicate that this unique programme in Spain to protect this highly endangered species is bearing fruit. The chicks were rescued where they were suffering an extreme risk of death from illness, falling from the nest or the natural phenomenon known as ‘Cainism’ whereby one of the chicks is eliminated so that the stronger may survive. One of the first chicks to be rescued this year was when an egg was abandoned in its nest by its parents because of a lack of food and it was successfully hatched in an incubator. The rescued chicks are taken to the San Jerónimo centre in Sevilla where three are undergoing a programme of recuperation and development. The other 12 have been taken to La Janda area of Cádiz where since 2002 the environment ministry has undertaken a programme of reintroduction into the wild with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. This has led this year to the first pair of Imperial Eagles breeding in La Janda. Since the programme started in 2002 there are now 96 saved Imperial Eagles at large. Apart from La Janda they have also been taken to Doñana to reinforce the population there.

The mayor of Chipiona, Manuel García, has defended plans to construct a marine wind generating plant off the coast of North East Cádiz. He did so after the joint venture company Las Cruces del Mar, set up to create such a wind park was dissolved. The IU in Sanlúcar has strongly opposed the move to privatise the local water service for 25 years with the contract being handed to Aqualia. It has caused the move “deceit” by the PSOE and CIS administration. The closing weeks of August have signalled a boost to the occupancy levels in Chiclana. None the less the hotel and catering trades have seen lower consumption than hoped for with a resulting lower number of people employed. The large fiesta held on the dunes of Caños de Meca has taken its toll on the environment. The coastal authority says 4,000 kilos of rubbish were left behind with damage to the dune system. Two people were injured when an ultra-light helicopter crashed in Conil after suffering a mechanical breakdown. The Austrian pilot and his 70-year-old fellow national female passenger received light injuries. Their emergency landing was hampered by strong winds. A 56-year-old woman was killed in Conil on Monday when her car collided with a lorry. The woman was trapped in her car and died at the scene. The famous Chipiona singer, Rocío Jurado, is to be commemorated with a museum in her honour in the town. The mayor has announced that a provisional museum will be opened at Niño de Oro whilst the permanent home is created. The Pedro Romero bodega in Sanlúcar is having a rough time. It is seeking to come to an agreement with its creditors and has its 30 person workforce under a temporary employment regulation. The employees have staged a number of protests but the company says it is trying to assure its future and the workers will not be adversely affected.