Xàbia's Hiking group organises mountain walks for children
Sept 30th
The "Centro Excursionista de Xàbia" is organising a programme of mountain walks once a month on Sundays from October to May. Participating children have to be more than 9 years old, or if younger checked to see if the route is suitable for them. Each child must be accompanied by a parent or tutor. All routes will be in the Marina Alta area,some requiring bus transport which will be free for the children, and €10 for the child's minder. All the valley walks and one planned for the Vall de Pop in Benichembla will also be opne to the general public. From: XAD
Mercadona boss opens new business support and training centre in Valencia port
Sept 30th
A huge office complex for start-up firms, a business school offering undergraduate and master's degrees and an outpost of a company which invests in new ventures has opened in Valencia's old America's Cup marina at the hands of the region's richest resident, Mercadona supermarket founder Juan Roig. Two of the giant warehouses which were used as a base for international sailing teams in 2007 and 2008 have been turned into a complex known as the Marina de Empresas ('companies marina') thanks to a €30 million investment. It has been described as the largest 'entrepreneurial nerve centre' in the Mediterranean. This 'trading pole' cluster is expected to get at least 1,000 people hoping to start their own businesses off the ground, and by 2017 will have helped set up over 200 new firms. Juan Roig says he has 'received so much' from his family, the national supermarket chain he runs, and from society as a whole, that he felt it was 'time to give something back' to the community. for full story see: ThinkSpain
Spains Exports register highest growth in 44 years
Sept 23rd
Spains's international markets have grown faster in 2015 than they have since 1971, slashing the country's trade deficit. Exports went up between January and July inclusive by 5.5%, the greatest hike seen for the same period in 44 years. Sales of goods to Saudi Arabia increased by 42.8% and to Egypt by 28%. Overall figures by the end of July stood at just over €148.6 billion, reducing Spain's negative foreign trade balance from €13.7bn to €12.87bn. Motor vehicles, chemical products and foodstuffs are the most-exported goods. For the full story see: ThinkSpain
All time record for tourism in Spain
Sept 23rd
Spain received an all-time-record 47.2 million tourist visits during the first eight months of this year – a 4.1% rise from 2014, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. The figures, compiled through the ministry’s Tourism Border Movements Survey (Frontur), also show that a record number of 9.2 million visitors from other countries spent their vacations somewhere in Spain last month – a 1.6% rise from August 2014 figures. Britain and France accounted for most of the tourists in the eighth month of the year. for full story see: El Pais in English.
Legislation for sustainable commerce in the pipeline
Sept 23rd
The Valencia Government's Department of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Trade and labour is preparing a new law on Sustainable Trade which "will value urban local shops", regulate shopping hours and the development of large commercial areas in relation to the impact these cause on the land, environment and heritage. The idea is to promote businesses close to urban areas, and thus contribute to the maintenance of urban centres. They plan also to generate an environment favorable to entrepreneurship and small and medium sizes enterprises, and optimise the efficiency of the public sector. There will also be legislation developing commercial management in a coherent way, with spatial and sustainable planning (PATSECOVA), an Action Plan for business in Rural Environments (PACER) and Plan for quality commerce and crafts will also be promoted. from Las Provincias
71 percent of young workers in Spain are on temporary contracts
22nd Sept
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found that Spain also has the highest proportion of 15-to-24-year-olds who are forced to accept part-time contracts. A young Spaniard takes an average six years to find a permanent position, compared with two years in Denmark, the study shows. “The share of youths neither in employment, education nor training (NEET) ranks near the top of the OECD, surpassed only in Mexico, Greece and Italy,” For Full story see: El Pais in English. The full OECD report is in English. It both summarises the problems: "The performance of Spanish students overall is at, or below, the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science, and comparatively few Spanish students are performing at the highest levels of proficiency in these areas.", and suggests policy changes.
Spain's North South divide
17th Sept
Spain’s ten poorest towns are all located in the south of the country according to a study released on September 17th by AIS consultancy, using data collected by Spain’s Office of National Statistics and Habits Big Data. Researchers looked at towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants and discovered that, apart from the capital of Madrid, Spain’s richest towns were all located in the north of the country, while its poorest were all in the south. The poorest municipality in Spain is Ceuta, Spain's north African enclave bordering Morocco, where 44.6 percent of people are at risk of poverty. This is followed by the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Cádiz, where 38.5 percent of people are at risk of poverty, and Lorca in Murcia, where the figure is 38.3 percent. For full story see: The Local
On-line questionnaire to help improve Fiestas
17th Sept
People have been given the chance to offer their opinions and contribute suggestions to improve Xàbia's fiestas in a new initiative put forward by the Department of Fiestas in collaboration with the Department of New Technologies. To start with, a simple questionnaire has been created to sound out opinions and ideas on the Mare de Deu de Loreto fiestas, which finished recently. The anonymous online questionnaire asks people to rate the various events which took place and also send in ideas for improvements or changes for future years. The questionnaire, which is in Valenciano, Castlillian and English will be available for the next two months: Click Enquesta festes de la Mare de Déu de Loreto / Encuesta fiestas Mare de Déu de Loreto / Mare de Déu de Loreto fiesta survey
Xàbia celebrates European Mobility week
Sept 16th
Xabia Town Hall has announced its commitment to the 14th edition of the European Mobility week which will be taking place between 16th and 22nd September. (See: EU Mobility Week web page Under the motto "Choose. Change. Combine.", the event is an initiative of the European Parliament and some 1,643 towns and cities across the continent will be taking part in a week of activities to promote sustainable mobility alternatives to create a more sustainable transport strategy for Europe. At the time of writing, 319 towns across Spain will be taking part, including Xabia, the second most active nation in this year's campaign behind Austria (454); by comparison, the United Kingdom will have only eight taking part. For full story and programme see: Javeamigos Note: Sunday 20th will be a "car free day" - and the day of the bicycle.
Social Employment plan to reinforce Municipal Forestry brigades
Sept 16th
Details have been released for the third edition of the municipal social employment plan which provides temporary work for the long-term unemployed in Xabia. Mayor Jose Chulvi, accompanied by councillors Pepa Gisbert (Social Services), Doris Courcelles (Environment) and Kika Mata (Services), explained that the project, the first in the current legislature, will offer thirty positions consisting of 24 labourers and 6 foremen divided into six teams which, over the next few months, will reinforce the municipal brigades responsible for the cleaning of riverbeds, gulleys, forestry areas and public tracks. For full story see: Javeamigos
School pilots early opening to help working families
Sept 16th
CEIP Vicente Tena in Calle Ramon Llido has put in motion a new pilot project in response to the needs of the many parents who, due to work commitments, have to drop off their children at school before 9.00am. Called 'Escola Matinera', the initiative sees an extension of the school timetable so that children can enter school at 7.45am for pre-school activities supervised by teachers and a dedicated monitor who will both be responsible for the children. It will also be possible for the youngsters to have breakfast in the school canteen. For full story see: Javeamigos.
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Flash floods cause 'tides' in streets of Almería and Benidorm, and claim two lives in Granada
Sept 8th
In the province of Alicante, the streets of Altea and Benidorm were knee-deep. The sea flooded over into the streets with photographs literally depicting tides on the roads leading off the beach, and tourists were seen 'relaxing' on lilos floating on the main boulevards. In Almería, over 30 people have had to be rescued from their cars after being trapped by the floods, and up to two feet of water filled the streets of the towns of Adra, Berja, Roquetas de Mar, Balerma, Almerimar and El Ejido. For full story see: ThinkSpain
Xàbia launches third edition of employment workshop
Sept 6th
The Department of Economic Development at the Ayuntamiento de Xàbia, directed by councillor Cesc Camprubi, is to launch the third edition of the employment workshop 'Xàbia Impulsa', an training initiative to boost job opportunities with the support of the municipal water company AMJASA and the Department of the Environment. The workshop is funded by the European Social Fund, the Generalitat Valenciana's SERVEF and the Ministry of Employment and Social Security and will provide a six-month work contract to 16 unemployment people in Xàbia to participate in a programme of theory and practical training in either potable water distribution systems or forestry. For full story see: Javeamigos
Valencia calls for 'as many refugees as possible' for region
Sept 6th
Valencia's regional government has called for president Mariano Rajoy's cabinet in Madrid to agree to take on far more refugees from the war-torn Middle East than the 2,000 he has proposed to date, saying if every town in the eastern federal community housed one family, this alone would cover more than 1,000. If each of the Comunidad Valenciana's 550 towns and villages took in just one Syrian family, Rajoy's proposed 2,000 would be comfortably covered – and Spain has 16 other autonomously-governed communities, meaning the country could accommodate 34,000 refugees without noticing and at very little extra cost. From ThinkSpain.
Xàbia refurbishes schools for the coming school year
Sept 2nd
The Town Hall has spent €65,000 on repairing and refurbishing the town's public schools so they are fit for the 3282 students enrolled for classes next year. Repairs include painting, cleaning, a bathroom for the disabled, changed doors, leak repairs etc. In addition, the local police and Education department have got together to finalise safe routes for children to walk or bike to school, instead of taking the car, and technical details to deal with parking and traffic changes at school opening and closing times. From Press release.
Neighbourhood councillors launched
Sept 1st
Xàbia Town Hall councillors have been assigned responsibility for different areas of the town, allowing them to have a better perspective and understanding of the strengths and problems. To facilitate contact with the public, the five councillors will have an email address to which residents can forward any concerns, complaints or suggestions relating to their area. In addition, the councillors will create a schedule of appointments to which all those interested can attend. Arenal: Pilar Zamora gro.aibaxja|aromaz.ralip#gro.aibaxja|aromaz.ralip; Thiviers: José Luis Luengo gro.aibaxja|ogneul.siul.esoj#gro.aibaxja|ogneul.siul.esoj; Freginal: Montse Villaverde gro.aibaxja|edrevalliv.estnom#gro.aibaxja|edrevalliv.estnom; Port: Marta Banyuls : gro.aibaxja|slunab.atram#gro.aibaxja|slunab.atram ; Urbanisations: Doris Courcelles gro.aibaxja|sellecruoc.sirod#gro.aibaxja|sellecruoc.sirod. From Javeamigos
Free language courses for the unemployed in Xàbia
Sept 1st
Xàbia's Department of economic development has announced a new season of free language courses taught through Creama thanks to the collaboration of foreigners living in Javea. After the success achieved in previous English and German courses, and in response to demand, this year they want to offer French classes. Creama needs more volunteers to act as teachers. There is already a team to deliver the basic level, but they need more teachers to expand the course to higher levels. All courses will begin in October and the morning classes will extend until March covering over 100 hours. For more information or registration, contact the Creama Office in the Helpdesk Office building. From: Las Provincias
Jesus Pobre's traditional scalding of the grapes to be a "differentator" of the Valencian Community
Sept 1st
Jesus Pobre's traditional scalding of the grapes in the RiuRau Senyoret will be part of a "differentiator" in the tourist offering of the Valencian Community, to separate the region from other, competing areas in Spain. The regional councillor for structuring the Comunidad supports the application for the process to be designated a "Bien de Interés Cultural inmaterial" - Intangible cultural heritage of the community. From: La Marina Plaza
Helicopter gives great aerial views of the Costa Blanca to the world
Sept 1st
The broadcast of the Vuelta a España cycle race to 190 countries gave stunning panoramic views of the Penyon de Ifach (Calpe rock), the Moraira and Xàbia coasts and the crags of Puig Llorença (Cumbre del Sol, Benitatxell). The combination of mountain and sea in the region showed this area to be perfect for the practice of cycling and sports tourism. (Ed's note: apparently several of the major cycling teams have training camps based in Calpe). Teulada / Moraira hit the jackpot with the name of their municipality and a bike outlined in sun umbrellas. from La Marina Plaza. The whole transmission can be seen on You Tube in HD: https://youtu.be/KQ7NLnf2bEs
AMJASA constitutes new board of Directors
Sept 1st
Following the elections last May, the Municipal water company AMJASA has been obliged to modify the composition of its management board. It is comprised of nine members representing the various political parties, (7 from PSPV, 1 PP and 1 from Compromis - XD and CP do not have representation since legally they are not constituted as a municipal group) and includes three councillors. For the first time there will be a majority of women. The board consists of: José Chulvi, Paco Torres, Doris Courcelles, Javier Bonet, Lourdes Ros, Lynn Cobb, Tere Bou, Rosa Ortuño y Paco Catala. The highly successful chief executive from the past four years (José Luis Henarejos) will not be continuing in this post. the councillor for Water, Paco Torres will take over his functions until a Manager is appointed. The selection process for this post started two years ago, but was delayed by various legal complications. However now it has a green light to go ahead. From : XAD.
