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Campaign to recover heritage towers
May 18th
Following the Sunday guided tour of four, old fortified towers, the "Xàbia Viva " association is launching a campaign to ensure these heritage buildings are properly conserved and restored. In the past, the fortified buildings served as refuges for peasants in the face of raids by north African pirates. The "Torroner" tower (pictured, next to the Rio Gorgos) is in a particularly bad state, since it was badly damaged in the 2007 floods. The property owners can get free advice on how to consolidate and rehabilitate the towers from the Town Hall. from XAD: Xàbia Viva....
Underground car parks incur an annual loss of €205,000
May 18th
The annual maintenance costs of Xàbis two underground car parks amount to €389,921 , being servicing the equipment, tickets, electricity, anti- legionella measures and labour costs. Meanwhile income from the upper car park (near the health centre) amounts to €155,438, while the lower Portal del Clot Car Park took only €29,182, takings in April being a measly €1,793. According to Levante, various solutions have been mooted such as privatising the upper car park, and closing the lower one completely. There is always the possibility of charging for above ground parking. From Levante: Xàbia pierde....
Owners of the "Minister's House" has never paid any IBI
May 18th
The Finca de San Rafael also known as "The Minsiter's House" has not paid IBI since its construction in the '60's since it's registration was lumped in with the Parador. This house is not alone, since around another 300 properties have recently been added to the Xàbia land registry. Most of these are "constructions which were not reported to the Town Hall" including all the industrial buildings near the old drive-in cinema. Their taxes will mean an extra income of some €700,000 for the town's coffers. The property owners will receive bills for IBI and rubbish collection for 2012 and the four previous years. The Town Council is also updating records for unregistered swimming pools and garages, which will net more cash. From Las Provincias: El Chalé...
Illegal petrol station finally to be demolished
May 18th
It seems that the illegal CEPSA petrol station near the Golf Course, on the edge of Benitatell will finally be demolished. The station was built on agricultural land in 1990 and has been ordered for demolition by the courts. It was to have been knocked down in January 2010, but stood its ground until today. The courts are now obliging the Town Hall to carry out the demolition. This will cost the Benitatxell taxpayers some €50,000. Not only that, the owners are asking for 3 million in compensation, since it was the Town Hall whcih granted the building license in the first place . From Las Provincias: Benitatxell.... (Eds note: As of this morning, the station had been cordened off, and access to the station dug up. There were several cars parked on the forecourt and people were standing around using their mobile phones…)
Priorities for Strategic Plan established
May 16th
The Town hall has presented the first extracts of the action plan for Xàbia's strategic plan. The document "Xàbia Qualitat", summarizes actions that public opinion believes will help create jobs, prosperity, promote equal opportunities, and improve the environment and the urban landscape. The extracts of this planning projects include tourism initiatives such as Gastroxabia (a clear commitment to the Mediterranean diet, slow food or complementary actions within the restaurants or even open a culinary showroom in the market), Xàbia Activa (combining sports with the natural landscape), Xàbia Espai Obert (distribution throughout the municipality of all the activities planned with associations) Xàbia Crea (a cultural project) or VisitXàbia (an online tourism platform for the municipality). As with tourism, there are other areas dedicated to culture, education or social welfare, among others. Chulvi stressed that all of these documents "remain open, both for new actions or for modification of those deemed unworkable." For more details see: Announcement of Xàbia Qualitat
Successful Celebration of Danses de Corpus.
May 13th
Summer has definitely arrived as a hot sun shone down on the centre of Jávea for a celebration of the traditional Danses de Corpus that have been performed in the town for some 15 years. 200 Children from primary schools across the town joined with dancers and musicians from the Grup de Danses Portitxol for a series of 14 folk dances around the old church of San Bartolomé which were enjoyed by several hundred people, some of whom enjoyed the lunchtime sunshine whilst most hugged the shade and enjoyed cooling drinks from the local bars and restaurants. From Javea Amigos For photo gallery see Javea Amigos website.
The tradition was revived 15 years ago and there is still time to view the exhibition in the Centre d'Arts Lambert in Calle Major which is open until next weekend.
All Terrain Bike rally postponed until the autumn
May 13th
A bureaucratic problem has resulted in the mountain bikle rally, scheduled for today to be postponed at the last minute until September. The regional Government forgot to advise that all the documentation should be received by the Department of the Environment two months in advance, and the route map had not been updated. Apparently the previous edition of the rally had received an unfavourable report from the Environment Ministry, and it seems possible that a permit to run the rally in the spring was denied since April to June is the breeding season of several species. From XAD Suspendida....
The Hills will be alive - with the sound of boots
May 11th
There seems to be a surfeit of organised excursions in the mountains in May. On Saturday May 12, Gata is organising the walk of the three Ermitas to celebrate 250th anniversary of Santismo Cristo (http://tinyurl.com/7ugd73q); on 12th and 13th, the Centro Excursionista de Xàbia is organising a camp and party to celebrate 25 years of the Montgó Natural Park on Sunday 20th, Gata is organising "Els Tres Tossals" - a 21 Km hiking race over the Tossal de Llsinta, Tossal del Moro and Serrillas (http://www.marinaalta.com/geg/) On Saturday 26th the "Espacio Protegidos de la Marina" are organising a hike along the Sierra Helada (between Albir and Benidorm). PS Don't forget the mountain bike Cycle Rally around Xàbia on May 13th. The Jabalí wont know what hit them !
Spanish Researchers develop a web application to evaluate the ecological status of rivers
May 10th
With just one click, the system provides a list of the macroinvertebrate community that should live in a specific point in any river of the Mediterranean basin, as long as there are no environmental alterations in that point. The list of macroinvertebrates provided by the model is compared against the real list to determine the degree of alteration of the habitat. University of Granada researchers have developed a web application that evaluates the ecological status of any river of the Spanish Mediterranean basin by estimating the variety of aquatic macroinvertebrates that live in each river. The researchers plan to extend the applicability of this model to all rivers in Spain. For full story see: Phys Org
Open Day for Day Care Centre
May 11th
The Day Centre "Centro de Día Santa María de Betania" in the Convent square held an open day today so that guests could see thir services and infrastructure. The clients needs are covered throughout the day, with breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack; psychomotor exercises and entertainment and development workshops. It is possible for people who are not formally signed up with Social security to spend the odd day or short times there. From XAD:El Centro....
Spanish Teams Tops in energy efficient house design competition
May 10th
Madrid company Finnesko 13 recently won a competition to design a house for the Aleutian Islands (out in the sticks of Alaska) conforming to the stringent "Living Building Challenge" specifications. in addition to making the home weather-resistant, easily replicable, and costing no more than $400,000 to build, it has to be net-zero energy. Tying for third place was another Spanish company: SIS Arqhitectes (http://www.2sisarquitectes.eu/) while another Spanish company Studio24 got an honourable mention http://www.24studio.es/. For full story see: MNN - Spanish Team takes....
Arenal underground Rubbish containers finally in service
May 10th
As of Thursday, Javea's Arenal beaches boasts two brand new 3-bin underground recycling and refuse systems - one on Avenida Libertad and the other on Calle San Rafael. These underground waste containers, funded by the "Plan Confianza" of the Plan of the Valencian Government, were finally put into use after being inaugurated on Thursday morning by the Regional Councillor for Infrastructure, Planning and the Environment, Elizabeth Bonig. (Press Release). The bins, funded by the Regional Government's "Plan Confianza" have taken more than 5 years to move from announcement to reality. Other projects uder this plan were road asphalting, construction of the library in the Port (nearly finished) and the renewal of the promenade at the Arenal…which will hopefully start after the summer.Por fin....
Xàbia Bike donates Bike to Red Cross
May 10th
Xàbia Bike has donated a GT Avalanche mountain bike worth 499 Euros to the Red Cross, to help them get about in carrying out their work. From XAD: Xàbia's bike...
Teaching courses for Teachers
May 9th
The Town Hall is organising a series of training courses for teachers on modern methods of programming, evaluating language skills, maths etc. The courses will be given by Trileema Educación - a company specialising in education. 48 teachers have signed up for the four, Thursday evening sessions, which they will attend in their free time. The organisation of this "Basic Skills" course means that the teachers do not have to travle elsewhere to be trained. From Press release. See also XAD: El ayuntamiento...
Ciscar comes to town to explain the cuts
May 8th
Vice President of the Valencia Government, Joseph Ciscar, came to Jávea recently to explain the savings and cuts being carried out to enable a saving of 2,260 million Euros in 2012. This is part of a tour of major municipalities. The audience consisted mainly of PP members and several regional mayors. As far as Jávea was concerned the regional Government's priority would be deal with the run down school buildings of the Garull and Vicent de Tena Schools. Any thoughts of a municipal swimming pool would have to be put on the Back burner. Information about the Valencia Governements ideas for savings, and a link for sending in your own ideas can be found on: http://www.capavant.gva.es/. From Xabia al Día: Ciscar informa... and La Generalitat...
Xàbia Folk draws around 600 audience per night
May 7th
This year's Xàbia folk festival is considered to have been a success with an audience of around 600 per night. The folk theme continues this Friday 11th May with with a free Greek dance workshop at 8.30 pm in the Placa del Baix . For more see: Xàbia Folk 2012
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Valencia pays more than Greece for six-month debt
May 4th
The highly indebted region of Valencia sold 500 million euros of six-month bonds on Thursday, but had to pay yields of seven percent. That's higher than the cost of debt for the three euro-zone countries that have come to symbolize the financial crisis. Greece, which pays 4.947 percent; Portugal, 2.226 percent; and Ireland, 0.988 percent. For full story see: El Pais in English
Teulada hosts Conference on regional Sustainablilty
May 6th
Teulada is organising a one day conference on the Sustainable development of the Marina Alta in the municipal auditorium on Thursday May 10th starting at 9.30 am. The meeting will analyse where the region is now, where it wants to be in the future, and how to get there. There will be presentations from Alicante, Denia, Calpe Jávea and Pedreguer. From XAD:Teulada organiza....
Tour of Old Town in German
May 6th
On Tuesday, May 8th, the Javea Tourist Office will offer a guided tour of the monuments and historic buildings of the Old town in German. The tour starts at 7.00pm and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. It starts at the Old Town Tourist centre. Registration is required at any tourist office. The price is 3 € for adults and 1 € for children, free for 8s. For more information phone 96 579 43 56/96 579 0736/96 646 0605. From Press Release.
Guided tour of forgotten heritage
May 4th
The "Xàbia Viva" association is organising a guided walking tour of four of the less well known heritage buildings of Xàbia, all located on the Pla. These are the fortified buildings of: Casa Forta de Pelletes, del Torroner, de Bolufer and de la Bardissa, all of which are within walking distance of each other. The 4km walk through the orange groves will take place on Sunday May 13th and will be guided by Ximo Bolufer - municipal archaeologist, who will provide a brief account of each of the buildings. Those interested should meet at the old drive-in cinema at 9.00 am, equipped with comfortable walking shoes, water and something to eat. From XAD: Xàbia viva....
Rent this place for one cent (no kidding)
May 4th
Local resident, Jorge Camps has put up an empty shop premises for the nominal rent of one cent. The idea is to rent out the premises (located on the south ring road Avda Palmela) until the number of unemployed in Spain falls to a million or within three years. In return, the tenant must invest in refurbishing the place. All details of the offer can be found on a website, www.hastaqueseacabelacrisis.com and Jorge is assessing the various offers to ensure the one chosen has a good potential for profitability, and hence stability. This initiative has caught the attention of other employers and businesses who will offer their services free or at a discount to the lucky winner of the one cent premises. Their offers can be seen on: http://hastaqueseacabelacrisis.com/empresas-colaboradoras/.
From XAD: Impresarios de la comarca..
EU - Morocco Fishing talks progressing
May 3rd
The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Miguel Arias Cañete, said that talks for a new fishing agreement with Morocco are progressing without many major difficulties. This should allow for the agreement to be reached in the first half of this year. The minister is also in favour of introducing transferable fishing concessions in the European Union, but with the exception of including a change in the definition proposed by the Commission for the artisanal and coastal fleets. For full story see:The Fish site
Cutting Health cares costs - charge something for hospital meals?
May 2nd
The Autonomous regions of Spain are obliged to cut their costs by between 2.9% and 1.5%, and are investigating any formula, however unpopular, to enable them to reduce expenses by 15,000 million euros. Ministry of Health sources indicate that Galicia, Valencia and Castile-La Mancha propose to open the debate on the possibility of charging a part of meal costs to patients in public hospitals. The average cost of feeding a patient in a public medical centre in Spain is 24 euros a day. In other European countries like Germany, patients contribute ten euros a day, after the first 24 hours of hospitalization, to contribute to their upkeep. From Las Provincias: Cuatro comunidades....
Call to re-possess old Telefonica building
May 2nd
Once upon a time (i.e. until 2003) Telefonica used the building next to the Post Office in the Plaza Marina Alta. It aqcuired the land in 1974 for 50,000 pesetas (300 Euros) and used the site for equipment and telephone booths. However, it has been disused since 2003 and a group of residents are now calling for the building to be transferred to Town Hall so that it can be put to some public use. From Las Provincias: Vecinos de Xàbia piden....
Amjasa hit with two blowouts
May 2nd
Amjasa engineers had to tackle two almost simultaneous burst water pipes on Sunday - one was in Thiviers in Calle Cronista Figueras Pacheco, most probably caused by the weight of asphalting machines on the 40 year old water pipes. This area had recently seen works to renovate rainwater drainage (with Plan E funds), but the water supply pipes had not been replaced. Almost at the same time there was another burst in the Port, affecting a number of restaurants at a busy time. This repair was further complicated because the pipe was under a concrete slab. The fault actually lies up in Calle Caleta, which is programmed for repairs in a few weeks time. From XAD: Dos reventones.....
All Terrain Bike rally around Xàbia on 13th May
May 3rd
The second edition of the Round Xabia All Terrain Bike rally will take place on Sunday 13th May. The 35km route will be the same as last year, including the Gurugú and Teuleria footpaths in the Granadella Forestry park and a 750m cumulative ascent. Some 300 to 350 riders are expected. Anyone interested in participating can sign up via http://www.mes3events.es/ . Please note you have to get round within a maximum of 4 hours (From press release)
