- August News Round Up

August News Round Up

Written by Samantha Kett

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August News Round Up
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News From the South Valencia & Alicante

Three corpses in 24 hours found off Jávea coast
THREE bodies were found in the space of 24 hours close to the coasts of Jávea, Altea and Calpe last week, leading emergency services to believe that a raft-full of immigrants may have capsized on the high seas.
All three bodies, discovered 20 kilometres out to sea from the Cabo de la Nao cape in Jávea and about 13 miles from Calpe and Altea were said to be in a decomposed state and wearing dark clothes.
The grim discovery was made by fishermen, who firstly found two corpses and then another 12 hours later.
Police have not ruled out finding further bodies in the sea over the next few days, particularly bearing in mind that another, as yet unidentified, corpse surfaced in the same area on May 30 this year.
And at the beginning of July, a number of immigrants attempting to make their way into Spain from North Africa were found sailing into shore both in Benidorm and Santa Pola on wooden rowing boats.
Forensics are currently identifying the bodies and attempting to ascertain whether the victims drowned, or were thrown into the water after they had already perished.

Radical future plans for Oliva and Gandia
A BOULEVARD connecting Gandia and Oliva with factories, shops and other industry, linked by a regular public transport system, is one of the regional government's ambitious plans for the next 20 years.
They hope to use the existing N-332 linking the two towns, and to coincide it with the long-awaited Gandia-Dénia train line, which would connect the cities of Valencia and Alicante by rail along the coast.
The Generalitat hopes to then extend the boulevard northwards to Tavernes de la Valldigna, which they say has great potential for housing more industrial buildings.
María Ángeles Ureña, regional secretary for the ministry of the environment and development, was in Tavernes last week to discuss the region's 20-year strategy for the area.
It will also include tidying up and promoting the rural footpaths along the Serpis and Vaca rivers in the area, and of the Mondúver mountain and the Pego-Oliva Marjal.
“It is very important that local councils get involved, because what they decide now will affect the future of La Safor,” says Ureña.
Other plans could include expanding Gandia port and basing more industry there, dualling the N-332, and extending the Gandia campus of the University of Valencia to make it more prominent in academic terms.

Red Cross helps nearly 22,000 people in one month on region's beaches
RED Cross volunteers have already helped 21,840 people on the region's beaches this summer, including rescuing 619 bathers in trouble and 45 boats in danger.
Most, however, involved minor injuries such as burns, jellyfish stings and bruises, but a total of 223 people on the Comunidad Valenciana's 109 beaches were taken to hospital by the Red Cross in a serious condition for various reasons, including heatstroke.
The majority of the Red Cross' work has been on the beaches in Jávea, Gandia, Dénia, Torrevieja, Guardamar del Segura, Santa Pola, Benicàssim, Valencia and Alicante, with most being in the Alicante province – a total of 11,134 people.
The smallest number of interventions has been in the province of Castellón, with only 2,906 people needing attendance.
Although most beaches in the region have seen millpond-calm waters and the green flag flying almost constantly, the Red Cross has reminded sun-seekers to pay attention to warnings and not to enter the sea if they see a red flag.
Doing so could not only cost bathers their lives, but also those of lifeguards if they choose to attempt to rescue them.
Lifeguards are not obliged to enter the water if a red flag is flying, but most do so out of a sense of moral duty.
Hefty fines can be imposed on those who break the rules.
When the yellow flag is hoisted, bathers should exercise extra caution if they decide to swim, and under-18s are not permitted to enter the sea unless they are accompanied by an adult who is a strong swimmer.
As well as rescue attempts and first aid, the Red Cross has managed to find 535 children who have gone missing on the beach, and helped over 5,000 people with disabilities access the beach and the sea and spend the day sunbathing.
This has largely been made possible using inflatable chairs specially adapted for those with movement difficulties.

Family holiday ends in tragedy on AP-7 near El Verger
TWO children have been killed and their sister and parents injured in a horrifying car crash on the AP-7 level with El Verger last week.
A little girl of 12 and her brother, who was nearly seven, were killed instantly in the impact when the family car veered off the road into a ditch for reasons that have not yet been clarified.
The little boy was still alive, but badly injured and unconscious, when medical services reached the scene, but died before they were able to get him into a helicopter to be airlifted to San Juan hospital near Alicante.
Emergency services say the girl's twin sister suffered from a fractured femur and was rushed to Dénia hospital for surgery.
Their parents, aged 48 and 42, sustained minor injuries.
The family, originally from Toulouse but of North African origin, was said to be travelling home to France after their holidays to celebrate the month of Ramadan.
Their car was piled high with suitcases and presents, which could have blocked the driver's view.
The two deceased children were seen flying through the closed windows of the car, leading traffic police to believe they were not wearing seatbelts.
Officers were forced to close off the southbound carriageway just after the accident, at around 10.00hrs, and a huge tailback was caused at the Oliva-Gandia exit of the motorway as a result.
Police have warned drivers to exercise extra caution on the roads during the month of August, when traffic becomes heavier due to tourism.
Some of the main blackspots include the A-3 exits at Requena, Siete Aguas, Quart de Poblet and Ribarroja, the N-332 through Oliva, Gandia and Bellreguard, and also further south through Altea, Torrevieja and Santa Pola as well as the A-70 as it passes Alicante and the motorway tolls at San Juan.

Extra rubbish tax causes outcry amongst residents
RESIDENTS in the Ribera district and the Valldigna are furious that a new tax covering treatment of household waste – in addition to their existing annual rubbish rates – has been applied without telling them.
They say their local councils have not even bothered to send letters to them to tell them how much they will have to pay.
One woman said she received a letter claiming local authorities had called at her house twice and she was not in.
“That's impossible, because I haven't left my home for days,” she states.
Each district is now responsible for managing its own recycling process and public rubbish tips, which has led to extra tax being slapped on residents in towns where more recycling is carried out, in order to cover the costs.
“This is just going to make people decide not to recycle their rubbish,” another woman, from Alzira, commented.
“We already have to pay our council tax and rubbish tax. With even more taxes to be paid, how are we supposed to afford to eat?” queried a third.
Alzira council says it has been collecting complaint letters and petitions for the last two weeks against the extra tax.
The refuse treatment headquarters in Guadassuar says it has already had 900 written complaints.
And the councillor in charge of rubbish collection for the Ribera Alta, Ribera Baixa and the Valldigna has complained about the 'victimisation' of mayors in affected towns, because these have been 'unable to defend the interests of their people'.
Both Algemesí and Alzira councils have called for the deadline for the tax to be paid to be put off until October, but the refuse treatment headquarters is only prepared to postpone it until the end of the month.
Alginet local authorities say the tax increase 'does not buy any better service' for residents.
In Carlet and Carcaixent, local authorities have decided to absorb the new taxes themselves to avoid levying even more duties on hard-pressed families, paying for the process out of public funds saved by recycling rubbish instead of dumping it over the last year.

Top pop-rock acts at Xàtiva's August fair
THE Wizard of Oz will be the guest of honour at Xàtiva's August fair this month.
But not the one whom Dorothy travelled down the yellow brick road to find – this is Mägo de Oz, one of Spain's most popular modern folk rock and heavy metal bands.
And anyone who buys a ticket for their concert on Monday, August 16 in Xàtiva, for the sum of just 10 euros, will be given free entry to David Bisbal's performance on Wednesday, August 18.
Bisbal, whose career took off after he was a contestant on Spain's answer to Pop Idols – Operación Triunfo – in 2002, has had a long string of top-40 hits including his catchy Bulería and his most recent number one, the bi-lingual World Cup tribute song, Waving flag.
Tickets can be purchased from the information stands at Xàtiva's August fair.
Other acts will include a musical in tribute to legendary Valencian singer Nino Bravo, the Peking acrobatic circus, and displays of dressage with Spanish thoroughbreds.

Three-year setback for new health centres in Cocentaina and Castalla
NEW health centres promised for Cocentaina and Castalla will now not open until at least 2013.
Regional minister of health, Manuel Cervera, announced this disappointing news at the weekend – despite the fact that plans for the two clinics have been on the budget since 2006 and 2009 respectively.
Socialist MP Rebeca Soler has called for a 'logical explanation' for the delay and the fact that the project has been over-valued by more than 100 per cent.
She calls the PP's budgets 'propaganda' and accuses them of false promises.
The expansion works on the doctor's surgery in Cocentaina will not now start until the latter half of 2011 and it is unlikely the centre will be open before the last quarter of 2012.
Patients in Castalla will have to wait even longer, with work starting on building a new health centre at the end of 2011 and not finishing until 2013.
The work was originally budgeted at 700,000 euros, but later paperwork placed it at nearer 1.5 million.
Cervera admitted, when questioned, that he did not know why the costs had suddenly doubled.

Airport road to be open to traffic by November
AFTER months of being held up due to waiting for payment, work has resumed on the CV-13 and CV-10 which will give access to Castellón airport.
They are currently being surfaced, and are expected to be open to traffic by November.
Next, a roundabout will be built to link these roads to the AP-7 motorway and the N-340 national trunk road.
Safety works on the existing roads are being carried out, such as eradicating the dangerous N-340 crossroad with Torrenostra.
All this is being carried out without causing damage to the environment, stresses minister for transport Mario Flores.
The government intends to re-plant various types of flora that had to be moved to make way for the roads, and also says the work was stopped partly to avoid upsetting a rare species of eagle that was in the middle of its breeding season.
Flores attended the official opening of the CV-13 last week, a 14-kilometre stretch which will connect Vilanova d'Alcolea with Torreblanca and then Castellón airport when it is completely finished.
Part of the link from the CV-13 to the N-340 and AP-7 is already open to traffic.

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