May 2012 News Headlines

Spanish renewable-energy companies desert the nation

May 31st
Spanish renewable-energy companies that once got Europe’s biggest subsidies are deserting the nation after the government shut off aid, pushing project developers and equipment-makers to work abroad or perish. From wind-turbine maker Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA (GAM) to solar park developer T-Solar Global SA, companies are locked out of their home market for new business. These are the same suppliers that spearheaded more than $69 billion of wind and solar projects since 2004 that today supply more than 50 percent of Spain’s power demand on the most breezy and sunny days. For full article in English see: Bloomberg Spain ejects clean power....

Floral Xàbia competition

May 31st
The Xabia Historica business association has opened registration for the popular balconies and charming corners contest, a competition that has run successfully for the past three years to encourage residents and business owners of the Old Town to decorate their homes and businesses with flowers as a means of making their surroundings more attractive. The 2012 contest will be split into awards for individual decorations with a new addition of a contest for whole streets that have at least five balconies or building facades decorated with flowers. The competition will run from June until September with cash prizes. For details see: Floral balconies competition 2012

Getting rid of overhead electricity cables in the Old Town

May 31st
Iberdrola will start removing some 1500 metres of overhead power lines and 40 poles in the Old Town. 16 new low voltage underground power lines will be installed (totalling 3000m) as well as new power boxes. These improvements will not only enhance the aesthetics of the Old Town but also help meet future electricity demands. Local electricians will be hired, working under the supervision of Iberola engineers. From Press Release.

Local Police force beefed up with 2 minivans and 2 motorcycles

May 31st
The Javea Local Police (92 officers in total) recently added two new minivans and two motorcycles to its fleet of vehicles. The two cars have been leased, resulting in a savings of 10% in comparison to purchase, as it includes monthly maintenance, insurance and possible repairs. From Press Release. For more see:Local police report May 2012

International Festival after San Juan

May 31st
For the first time, Xàbia's International Festival will not clash with the San Juan festivities. San Juan runs from 14th - 24th June, while the International Festival takes place on 28th - 30th June. (From Press Release)

Parks and gardens maintenance up for tender

May 28th
Javea Town Hall has divided those parks and gardens not maintained by the municipal brigade into five lots to put their maintenance contracts out to tender. Due to the monetary value of the contracts, the Local Council is able to award them through the negotiated bidding process, that is by inviting several companies in the municipality and then choosing the lowest bidder. For details see:Parks and Gardens contracts 2012

Xábia beach cleanliness ranked as "Excellent"

May 28th
The European Environmental agency has ranked every bathing spot in Europe by how clean they are. All of Jávea's beaches were ranked as "Excellent" in 2011, a step up from the previous two years when they were categorised as "compliant with the mandatory and the guide values of the directive" See interactive map of Europe's best beaches on: The Guardian Data Blog

EU fishing reforms face weakening

May 28th
Talks on Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform are seeing important changes in moves to eliminate discards, reduce fishing fleets and rebuild fish stocks. The original aim of repopulating stocks by 2015 is facing a five-year delay. About three-quarters of European stocks are overfished, and studies show fishermen would have a more prosperous future by curbing catches now. The main battle line pits more conservation-minded northern countries such as Germany and Sweden against southern states keener to protect fishermen's' short-term interests, including Spain, Portugal and France. For full article see: BBC News

Subsidised beginners sailing courses for Jávea children

May 25th
The Javea Yacht Club has presented its beginner sailing courses aimed at the hundreds of school children between ages 7 and 14 that live in the municipality. The courses, which will take place from June 25 to July 14, will group the students by ages, with different schedules. The participants must be able to swim to take part in the courses, although the club will also apply safety measures in the classes taught in “Gamba” group boats with an on-board instructor. The reduced registration fee of 30 Euros was made possible by a subsidy from the Javea Town Hall thanks to the partnership agreement signed with the yacht club. From Press Release.

Proposals to revamp Xàbia's web presence

May 25th
Proposals for the Strategic plan outlined in the "Xàbia Qualitat" document, propose developing a proper marketing strategy for Xàbia, including a "VisitaXàbia" web presence and used of social networks. They note that potential tourists use digital technology to help make decisions and bookings and share their experiences and that mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are becoming more widely used. Any website will need to be supported by a wide range of platforms. (Ed's note: The Town Hall's current Tourist web page http://www.xabia.org/ is rather "corporate" in appeareance, and doesn't contain much concrete information.) Download the Strategic Plan document in PDF (Castellano) via this link: Xàbia Qualitat

200 schoolchildren take part in environmental awareness workshop

May 25th
A total of 200 schoolchildren participated in a series of environmental awareness workshops organised by the Town Hall and CESPA. Activities involved a visit to the municipal eco-park, where an instructor explained the importance of selective recycling household waste, the location of the various green points nd how the eco-park works. During the visit, the school children deposited various disposable items from their homes or schools in the facilities, including batteries, cell phones, ink cartridges, bulbs, etc. The aim of this workshop is to allow the students to deepen their understanding of recycling and the importance of selective recycling. It was hoped that the children would transmit this information to their families. From Press Release.

A second lane for the way out of Xàbia .

May 25th
The single lane 60 meter stretch between the two roundabouts on the way out of Xàbia via the Avenida de la Palmela will soon be two lane. The road widening will involve the demolition of the pavement and the existing wall. After the modifications are made, there will be two exit lanes 3.5 metres wide and a 1.8 metre pavement. Work starts on Monday and is expected to last three weeks. From XAD: El Ayuntamiento....

Exhibition takes you inside prehistoric burial cave on the Montgó

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May 23rd
A state of the art exhibition entitled: "Art and death in the Montgó, the cave in the Migdia ravine" - opens in the Xàbia Cirne Foundation premises ( Avinguda Alacant 18) on Friday. This features cave paintings, bones and artefacts dating back over 4000 years found in a cave high on the sunny side of the Montgó. The Cova del Migdia was discovered in 1989, but archaeological excavations began only in 2009. The site has turned out to be a very important copper age burial chamber, with the remains of eight individuals, grave goods and cave paintings. Financial backing from the CIRNE foundation and Ministry of Culture enabled three excavations, 3D scanning of the chamber and DNA analysis of the bones. The exhibition continues until June 30th (from 6.00pm - 9.00pm Monday to Saturday) Therafter it will move to the Soler Blasco Museum. For more details see: Cova del barranc de Migdia

Nit de Focs Booklet and DVD

May 18th
The Javea Town Hall has published a commemorative booklet on the Nit dels Focs de Sant Joan. The 20-page booklet has been produced by artist Alvaro Tamarit, linking text written by Pepa Guardiola with a collection of illustrations and photographs, layout designed by La Banyera and the printing by Imprenta Botella, the publication has been 100% created by professionals within the municipality. This booklet and a DVD that includes a montage of images of the 'Nit dels Focs' will be offered to everyone who buys the special commemorative Fogueres de Sant Joan book that has been produced by the Fogueres Commission and is already available for purchase. From Press Release.

Xàbia girl crowned national Muay Thai champion

May 18th
On Friday evening friends, family and the Javea Town Council received the champion of Spain in the Muay Thai K1 category, Rossanna Chorro. The 20-year-old, born in Javea and member of the Javea Muay Thai Club, was recently proclaimed the number one in the country in this discipline, following a meteoric rise in the Thai fighting sport. From Press Release.

German national TV in Jávea

May 18th
Javea Town Hall received the visit of a production team from the German television programme "Heute in Europe", that airs daily on ZDF, the only German channel that can be viewed throughout the entire country. The purpose of this visit was to film a story on the German courses for the unemployed organised by the Town Hall of Javea through Creama and the Foreign Residents Department. From press release: For more on this story see: German TV in Jávea

Official Fogueres de Sant Joan book to be sold door-to-door

May 16th
The Fogueres Commission and the Fiestas Department have presented the official commemorative book of the "Fogueres de Sant Joan 2012". The publication of almost 200 pages includes the programme of events, as well as photographs of all those involved in the celebrations, and several contributions on local history and peculiarities of the fiesta. There is also a special feature celebrating the 25th anniversary of Quintà 1987 "La Moguda". The organisers are making great efforts to distribute the book as soon as possible and several years since the habit was lost, the current Quintà will be selling the book door-to-door to help fund the fiesta. The publication will be available from Monday 21st May from town newspaper shops and stationers as well as from the tourist offices at a price of 20 euros. From Press Release. For details of this and the Fiesta Programme see: Fogueres 2012

Seminar on "Open Data"

May 20th
The Citizen Participation department has scheduled a conference next week on "OPEN DATA: Going from 'Government' to 'Open Government', a commitment to transparency" by the technology and innovation consultant Emili Giralt Guarro. The talk is scheduled for Friday, 25th May 25 at 8.00 pm in the meeting room of the Soler Blasco Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum in Javea and admission is free. Sources from the department directed by Cesc Camprubí have indicated that OPEN DATA is a global initiative designed to make data and information from the government accessible for redistribution and re-utilisation by individuals and companies. Open Data is based on transparency, collaboration, participation and generating economic growth and prosperity. This benefits both the government administrations that release their data, and the individual citizens and companies that now have free access to information previously maintained unavailable. Press Release. For more about Open Data see Wikipedia: Open Data

Campaign to recover heritage towers

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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

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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

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Table of Contents

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

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)

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