Month: August 2010

Griñán: 2011 budget “very restricted”

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President Griñán of Andalucía has warned that due to falling tax revenues, the 2011 budget of Andalucía will be “not happy, and extremely restrictive”. He said that certain ministries must expect “sweeping” budget cuts. He made the comments in a press meeting today after leaving a government meeting which was discussing the 2011 budget. However, he has promised to maintain the programme of “social inclusion” – ie, enourmous handouts to people who don’t want to Continue reading Griñán: 2011 budget “very restricted”→

29 illegal taxis seized in province

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A police swoop over the weekend has resulted in 29 illegal taxi drivers having their vehicles confiscated, and receiving severe fines of between 1,500€ and 6,000€. These taxi drivers, who mainly take people to the airport and bus station, have all been the subject of a series of complaints from watchers from the official taxi guild. The official taxis have long been pressing for a greater crackdown on illegal taxi drivers, especially the ones carrying Continue reading 29 illegal taxis seized in province→

US ends Palomares nuclear cleanup payments

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El Pais has discovered that the US government will not continue to pay for cleanup efforts or continuing blood tests for the 1,500 people who live in Palomares. The US government pays some 314,000€ a year to the Spanish government to control the effects of the nuclear spill in the village, caused after a long range US bomber equipped with nuclear bombs crashed there in ’66. At least one bomb split open, spilling radiation across Continue reading US ends Palomares nuclear cleanup payments→

Nobody wants to audit El Ejido townhall accounts

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The townhall of El Ejido has (quietly) confirmed that no one single private company has tendered a bid for an independent audit of the townhall accounts with the municipal mixed services company ElSur. You will remember that the public prosecutor has claimed that the townhall of El Ejido channeled 150 MILLION euros of public money through this company, using false invoices. The townhall’s only response to these allegations was to offer to conduct an “independent” Continue reading Nobody wants to audit El Ejido townhall accounts→

Almeria feria

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Almería feria has kicked off in full style, and fun is being had by all. Lots of happy photos here, in case you can’t attend in person: http://www.ideal.es/almeria/multimedia/fotos/almeria/61567-inauguracion-feria-mediodia-almeria-0.html. No need to worry about the food, seven full time food inspectors are on call, examining all the food stalls.

Mojacar’s tourism future – quality or quantity?

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There is currently a debate raging about the future of Mojácar’s tourism. To understand the debate, you must understand that Spain attempts to quantify tourism into neat little socio-economical blocks, which academics can then pigeonhole into whatever half assed plan the politicos come up with. So we have many different types of “theoretical” types of tourism, such as turismo rural, where people go and stay in a rural hotel; turismo gastronomico, which are tourists attracted Continue reading Mojacar’s tourism future – quality or quantity?→

A lovely day in Mojacar (not)

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This picture of a not so sunny beach resort called Mojacar was taken early this morning from Turre, after a cloudburst hit the region overnight. According to reports from early morning people, car parks are four feet deep in water, basements are flooded, and La Parata was cut off after the rambla there filled with water, washing the road away. I assume that the lack of vegetation in that area isn’t helping with the rain Continue reading A lovely day in Mojacar (not)→